The light in the window was just bright enough to make the shadows seem to dance across the ceiling. Mary stared out at the large oaks waving to the hanging clouds; their long arms outstretched to the heavens. A full moon was looming and she could not sleep…
Excerpt from Behind the Rage (Clan Destiny, #2)
Happy Labor Day to the muscles, masses, heartbeats, sweat and backbones that make America great.
With all the troubles and tension felt in today’s USA y’all deserve to relax and be recognized.
However I must say as tough as it sometimes seems I believe this country has certainly seen worse. Our predecessors and ancestors would probably attest to that. As a matter of fact The Sharecropper’s Son, though written as fiction was based on such history.
As many of you already know The Sharecropper’s Son was inspired by a photograph (and a few stories) of my husband’s late grandfather who was indeed a sharecropper in Navarro County, Texas. That is him on the cover dressed in his “Sunday best”. My work is not always as grueling or strenuous as that of the ‘blue collar’ man but it is a labor of love nonetheless . If you haven’t read The Sharecropper’s Son yet, today is a good day to start.
Between the stock market crash, a rich man’s greed and the Navarro County drought an indentured slave is left with few choices. Jamison Baines Weir is born the son of a sharecropper where hard times and sorrow are a way of life. It is a way of life Jamie never questions until famine and malice force him to leave the dying farm and follow a path that leads to murder and mystery.
Throw Back Thursday just became Rollback Thursday.
Remember (fifty or 100 years ago) when you could buy books for .25¢ to .99¢
Well we’ve partnered with Google Books/Google Play so you can throw it back to the good ole days.
When the chief suggested these penny sales (I’m talking 25¢, 33¢, 49¢, 54¢, 78¢ and 99¢ books) I was like, Whoa. I don’t think you can do that.
When he assured me we could indeed, I was quite amused.
So it appears we are slashing prices and doing away with dollar$ for the entire month of August. I know it’s cRaZy but it also makes cents.
Now if Starbucks would follow suit…
Did you know August is National Peach Month?
The first thing(s) that came to mind when I read the notification was:
Ham’s Orchard – a peach orchard not far from here that sells peach ice cream as well as a hundred other things; The Peach Orchard Ogre – a short story I wrote years ago, and August Wolf – another story.
What do these things have in common?
Nothing other than giving you a glimpse at how my mind works, a lame promo and a reason to say, “August is hell and that’s just peachy.”
Oh, and the GIF is kind of cute too.
Rated G for gross
The gruesome photograph that inspired the title [and the book cover] for Once Upon a Dead Gull. That was 3 1/2 years ago and [amazingly] this cover hasn’t changed.
A peculiar short story anthology, I admit, but it was written for the horror genre.
Even more peculiar is that none of these stories are about a dead gull.
The poor seagull’s parting gift to mankind… to me, was simply to inspire a title I had been struggling with.
A world inside a world inside a world…
Creation is mind boggling. Just when you think you have it all figured out you realize you don’t know jack-squat.
This fact just re-occurred to me.
I take pictures to clear my mind and maybe I was pouting a little because an author friend told me I missed a great opportunity to create a buzz with the books released this summer. Yeah. The 2017 Summer Release.
It was an accurate observation but as I said before, “The only buzz I am motivated to create comes in the aftermath of consuming liquor.”
I was just being silly, the truth is I don’t drink much but maybe I should – I would be much more obnoxious outgoing.
Tick-tock, tick-tock… Tsk, tsk, tsk.
There I was, hanging my head, dragging my camera along like a blanket as I clomped outside and boom!
“My goodness, look at the Marigolds!”
I forgot about creating anything and became enchanted by the creation around me.
Just FYI: lying on the ground with a camera can be very relaxing and entertaining and educational and thought provoking… and itchy.
These photographs are just a few of the larger insects. I tell you it is like another world inside that flowerbed! I plan to go back out there and lay down again… as soon as these ant bites clear up.
Oh yeah, and here is “the buzz”: Cloud Wrangler, The Sharecropper’s Son and Greed are available at your favorite e-book store.
I do love to write some mystery but after finishing Cloud Wrangler, The Sharecropper’s Son and Greed I decided to take a break from writing for a bit and since it is getting too hot to grow much here more than weeds y’all know that means I’ve been taking more pictures.
Well…
I was telling a few friends (because, bless my heart, I only have a few) on my Facebook page about Pretty Kitty Puddin’ Jam wanting to be a star.
You see…
I took a few photos of her and they were accepted at Dreamstime and now she thinks she’s an icon!
I don’t mind her being a little prissy about it, I get it. I was cute once. I have a beautiful daughter and granddaughters. Heck all the women I know are beautiful and sometimes we get a little “full of ourselves” – it happens. BUT, it is not okay to be cheeky and mean. At least not to our own clan – our tribal members – our own sisters and that is what [not so] Pretty Kitty did. They usually play so well together. Usually.
So here’s what happened…
I thought it would be adorable to get a few pictures of Mia Bella (aka Mimi or Mimi-fifikins) and Miss Puddin Jam playing in a basket outdoors. After all, who wouldn’t smile at the image of a kitten and a Chihuahua playfully scuffling in a white wicker basket that just happened to be sitting in shade of jasmine ivy?
So I situated the basket, helped the two inside and told them, “just have fun.” As I turned back to take my position for the shoot I heard a belittling remark followed by a peculiar plluuhh. I whipped around and snapped.
Oh my goodness, I snapped alright – in more ways than one! I told Miss Pretty Kitty Puddin’ Jam that she was the ugliest cat I had ever seen in all my life. A knock-kneed, cock-eyed, dull-witted, poor excuse of a pet! I gave her the “pretty is as pretty does” lecture and told her she should be ashamed for spitefully hurting her sister.
The truth is she has all the makings of a star and maybe on some subconscious level I am jealous? Maybe I expect too much from a kitten? Maybe I need medicine? Oh lord, we can analyze it later but I told her I would never [ever] take her picture again unless she kissed Mimi and said she was sorry.
Like most stars her apology appeared reluctant and less than heartfelt but what can I say? This is my crazy life… obsessed at the moment with cats and conundrums.
Kendra Lords makes her audio debut reading Espionage (A juvenile short story).
Espionage is short story centered on five juveniles. Chris, Matt, Tony, Jesse and Sam entertain themselves as amateur agents in a game of espionage with a delightful twist.
Plus the poetic tale of Hailey & Taylor’s Adventure.
This truly is writing for children unlike my other attempts. Of course it is also the brain child of my late mother.
Available at Audible, Amazon and iTunes
The Real Janna Hill in 