Fantasy Series In Progress.

My manuscript writing project for 2020.

Cursed with plenty of time during the pandemic, I was in the mood to explore the genre of fantasy. Something with magic, possibly enchanted pets, flying carriages, and spells affected by true love's kiss. I wished to create a new twist on a fairy tale. 

My manuscript, 'The Reborn Prince,' is being drafted and is undergoing beta reading as of early 2021. I'm enjoying this process more than any other! It's my take on the popular 'Beauty and the Beast' theme and stars a somewhat macho, egotistical former nobleman who gets taken down a notch. :) It is set in 18th-century France, one of my absolute favorite historical times and places, closely tied with Regency England and Civil War America. 

I hope to keep readers updated on when it is ready for release. Here are some mood boards and images to give a feel for my book-in-progress! 

The beautiful peak of autumn's splendor has come! OCTOBER! Best month of all.

50 Blessings

Our challenge today at church was to list 50 blessings- things to be thankful for, look on the positive side of life, and all that jazz. Yay! 

...

1. My awesome husband! He's a go-getter, a hero, a veteran, and a great dad. 

2. Our firstborn daughter, 20. She loves her boyfriend, horror movies, choir singing, hiking, and The Office.

3. Our middle-born daughter, 18. She loves her BFF's, soccer, horses, sunbathing, and Nike sportswear.

4. Our son and youngest child, 11. He loves Marvel movies, beef stroganoff, mango juice, and UNO cards.

5. Our home in small-town Wisconsin where we've lived for over 20 years.

6. Diet iced tea. 

7. My air conditioning unit. 

8. Lake Hayward, with its deep drop off point that makes your feet feel chilly.

9. My friends who manage to drag me out of my house once in a while.

10. The aspen tree and pine forest behind our backyard.

11. The field of long grass in our backyard; the way it sways in the breeze.

12. Laundry hanging on the line in the summertime.

13. Daisies.

14. 80's music.

15. Our choir cantata that I sing in, and our director Holly.

16. Black cherry diet soda.

17. Refillable plastic water bottles.

18. Coffee.

19. The maple tree in the front of our house, that has grown from a sapling over 15 years.

20. Our dog, Lexie.

21. Facebook and Twitter (when I can use them without addiction)

22. My blue bedsheets, the super-soft ones.

23. Ibuprofen pills.

24. Maxi pads.

25. My laptop, which I use for writing and for wasting too much time.

26. Marvel movies. 

27. The 'oldies' radio show on 101.7 that plays good 70's and 80's music.

28. Disney movies.

29. Amazon.com's Kindle program and various other websites, (including this one!) which have allowed me to publish my mediocre writing- and improve my writing abilities to where I've published my own novels.

30. Books. Lots! Of! Books!

31. The Sherman and Ruth Weiss Community Library.

32. Miller's Market.

33. Backroads Coffee.

34. Hayward Coffee Company.

35. DiGiorno's Stuffed Crust Frozen Pizza.

36. Snap Fitness. (So I can eat DiGiorno's pizza, drink Backroads' frappes, and eat Miller's subs!)

37. Bath and Body Works' shower gels and hand soaps.

38. Maurice's clearance rack.

39. Walmart's clearance rack.

40. The song of the Red-Winged Blackbird, especially when springtime begins.

41. The song of Eastern Grey tree frogs at night.

42. The full moon, which rises over the eastern skyline from my backyard.

43. The stars on a clear night.

44. Lilacs in June.

45. Fall- the turning colors, pumpkin patches, apple pie baking, and cooler days.

46. Thanksgiving time, when Ben and I have our birthdays, which leads into Christmastime.

47. Christmastime.

48. Kohl's store in Rice Lake.

49. My Dodge Caravan which is still driveable and has a working A/C and heat.

50. Our church. And thank you to Chad, for challenging us to make this list! :)

A Prayer for My Daughter, on her Graduation Day

A cap and gown hang in my younger daughter's room.

She's graduating soon, and I cannot believe how fast time has gone. She's ready and excited, and so am I, but it's bittersweet. 

Since the day she was born and wrapped her tiny fingers around mine, and I could see that her eyes were brown, not blue like her sister's nor green like mine, I knew she was a unique person. 

This parenting journey has been the hardest, funniest, most terrifying, inspiring, holy mess…and there are a lot of parts I messed up that I wish I could do again.

I look back at it all, and could not be happier with this gift of a daughter, 'my Christmas present' I like to call her, since I went to the hospital in labor with her on Christmas Day, and she was born 10 minutes after midnight. She is my pride and joy, my middle child. 

Gee, I haven't posted in a while!

Here is a pic of our choir performing the Cantata "Hope is Born Emmanuel" last week. I loved these songs and the way the narrators presented the story so much! I'm in the second row from top above a lady with white hair.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! 

Book Review- And She Was, by Alison Gaylin

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https://www.amazon.com/She-Was-Suspense-Brenna-Spector/dp/0061878200/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473194449&sr=1-1&keywords=and+she+was

Okay, summer is over, school is back in session, and looking back, I definitely can tell you what my favorite book I've read over the summer of 2016 is.

"And She Was, a Brenna Spector Mystery" by Alison Gaylin is a mystery crime suspense about how Brenna Spector uses her unique gift of recalling her most detailed life memories, to the exact date- to help solve crimes.

It is also a book that takes a look at missing persons, a grim topic in the light of the news of a 27 year old case of an abducted boy from Minnesota being confirmed as murdered- a story I'd followed since I was an 18 year old freshman in college. I wish there had been a happier ending for that. Prayers to his mom and family. :(

There is a connection between the recent disappearance of a suburban wife named Carol Wentz, and a little 6 year old girl named Iris, who went missing several years back. That is what Brenna is fighting to prove to the skeptical authorities. Her only allies are her tech assistant Trent (a fun character! He's kind of like a male, muscle shirt wearing version of Penelope Garcia, lol!) and detective Nick Morasco, who Brenna has a very subtle chemistry with. I do ship them, but I really liked the idea that there were no romances in this book to detract from the suspense and mystery plot. I also like how the author describes the setting, this pristine suburban town founded by a millionaire family, who huddle together with the local police department to protect their dark secrets.


Brenna's backstory is interesting, too. When she was a little girl in the 80's, her big sister Clea was also abducted and remains missing. When I found out there was a sequel, I was so excited. I have all of Gaylin's other books on my 'must read' list.

I was quick to give this book 5 stars on Amazon.

Book Review- 'A Picture Purrfect Christmas (A Klepto-Cat Mystery)'

http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Purrfect-Christmas-Klepto-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B016BBY2GY/ref=cm_rdp_product

"A Picture-Purrfect Christmas (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 13)" by Patricia Fry, is a book in her series that works perfectly fine as a stand-alone novel.

This is a very sweet and heartwarming story! Even though it touches on the dark subject matter of child abduction and abuse, the tone of the book is positive, full of adorable moments with children and animals. Of course, the heroic pet and the title character is the loyal and brilliant cat named Rags, who belongs to the main protagonist, Savannah Ivey.

Savannah and her husband Michael are veterinarians, whose home is filled with love and pets as well their baby daughter Lily. Savannah and her schoolteacher friend Shelly become involved in teaching a photography class to at-risk children. The characterizations of the kids in this group, ages about 10-12- is probably my favorite part of the book, because they seem so REAL. One of the kids in the group is a young girl named Marissa, whose legs were damaged by an early injury and never repaired. Marissa is a half-orphan who is living a nightmare in a squalid and unmonitored foster home. Her older foster sister, Erin, has been the only comfort in her life.

Marissa's life begins to be turned around when she joins the photography class with Shelly and Savannah. Shelly has an acquaintance, a man called Esse, who seems overly eager to come along and teach photography to the children. This is where things get odd and interesting. Rags, Shelly's cat, acts strange around Esse, as he has a 'sixth sense' about people and shows strong preference in which humans he likes and who he doesn't like. Esse is on Rags' 'bad' list, and little Marissa feels uncomfortable about him when he tries to push her wheelchair away from the group to get her alone. Marissa tells Savannah that she feels uncomfortable with the man as well.

Eventually- the concerns Savannah has about Esse, Marissa's foster family, and some shady characters in the community come to pass. Marissa is abducted. Savannah, her husband Michael, and her detective friend Craig join their animal heroes Rags the cat and Peaches the horse on the hunt to find the missing girl. I do think there could have been more background on the 'villain' characters and why they did what they did.

I liked Savannah, but she seemed too judgemental and 'classist' at one point. She judged a whole neighborhood for the way they 'left cars parked on lawns' and 'people lounging on their porches like they have nothing better to do.' It was good to show a little bit of Savannah's flaws though, because she comes off to me as the 'perfect' woman, a career mom with lots of productive hobbies, compassion for kids and animals- but I sensed some snobbiness in her, too.

I enjoyed this story and the sweet moments with all the characters, both human and animal. I hope to read the rest of the series!

I was given a free copy of this Kindle book for an honest review.