Just Me Talking to Myself

What’s New? (Tuesday’s Tell All)

/ Janna Hill / 2 Comments

What’s new?

Is nothing and a lot an appropriate answer?

Well it will have to suffice.

Let me first assure you I am not in a funk nor am I suffering from writer’s block.

On the contrary, potential stories abound!! I say potential because none have made it past my imagination.

In the garden, the grocery store, in front of the television or at a restaurant….

The list goes on forever.

So this morning as I was rocking and sipping my coffee (without spilling a drop), I asked myself,

Self, why haven’t you written a damn thing ??? Not so much as a blog post since April. And you failed miserably at supporting NPM

I pondered the question while I kept rocking and sipping, listening to the birds, watching the butterflies in the mimosa tree and waiting for a response.

Finally self answered. Well, (in no chronological order) let’s see...

You got older and slower so multi-tasking got a little harder.

You had Covid twice…

You focused more on family…

A large portion of last year was consumed when the home had to be gutted and restored due to the flood after the freeze. And the fishing shack had to have all of the pipes replaced due to the same freeze.

You spend a lot of time “working” in the yard and gardens. But honestly you “meander” as much as you work.

Your dog died and you got a new kitten.

Read an eBook Week #Tbt

/ Janna Hill / Leave a comment

Ah I vaguely recall my start as an independent writer; it almost seems like a lifetime ago.

I can’t even remember how I found [the oddly named] Smashwords, but I am glad we connected. Mark Coker’s publishing platform really simplified my life.

And then Draft2Digital with Books2Read came along with their pretty little layouts and boom I had a new crush. And a new distributor.

But I never left Smashwords.

By the way, it is true Smashwords and Draft2Digital are merging and I think that’s a good thing.

I’m not sure if Smashword’s support of the annual Read an eBook will continue in the years to come, but it is going on right now through March 12th. I, of course, am participating. Several of my books are available free or at a drastically reduced price. Just scroll through and check it out.

I believe The Perpetual Series was the first, or one of the first books I published with Smashwords; that was in 2013. Can you believe that?

I recall making the cover from a photograph I had taken of a flower blooming in the yard. Sadly, that flower never returned.

… that flower and so many other things.

Sigh

Happy Thursday Y’all. XoXo

I Was Just Thinking … Quotes & Covers & Useless Experiments

/ Janna Hill / 2 Comments

I love this quote:

“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

And while thinking (or living out loud and flinging cake against the wall) it occurred to me:
J.R.R. Tolkien’s quote from The Hobbit may have inspired GREED, a trio of short stories. Though these stories are another genre and tremble in the shadows of Tolkien’s [other] worldly genius, it is the bent finger of that beautiful quote that lured me to my conclusion.

About GREED:
What does A Face in the Falls, August Wolf and The Sharecropper’s Son have in common?
These stories reveal the perplexities, the strengths and the weakness of people that are true to life and, like life; these stories expose the innate greed present in mankind.

“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

We have changed the book cover at all stores except Amazon. Call it a lopsided useless experiment. 😉

The Amazon cover

GREED Amazon
B&N, iBook’s, Kobo (and all other stores) cover

GREED ext

A Face in the Falls was first published in Unshod, An Anthology of Traditional and Contemporary Western Short Stories by AIW Press,LLC

Psst. If you haven’t read The Hobbit or want to re-read it again there is a special 75th anniversary audio/video edition for for $9.99. MeRrY ChristMas to you, huh. 😀

August is Hell and That’s Just Peachy

/ Janna Hill / Leave a comment

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.

I wear your shoes

/ Janna Hill / 6 Comments

We had pulled over and began hiking a random hill in Eureka Springs Arkansas. I thought we were going for a leisurely drive so I was not dressed for such an occasion; nonetheless I followed the others up the hill. I slipped and giggled, the sound caught my son’s attention.  His eyes scanned me quickly. Seeing I was unharmed he shook his head and smiled.

“Are you wearing Mamaw’s shoes?” he asked. I nodded and laughed, brushing away the dirt and leaves before wriggling my foot back into the loafer.

“You should write about that.” He said, resuming his sure footed trek.

He did not need to say more, we both understood.

Mama's Shoes (800x484).jpg

I wear your shoes

I have your purse …

Filled with scraps of paper –

Scribblings of ancient phone numbers,

and a message from me, the old me.

I have your wallet –

Your social security card,

a useless driver’s license,

a few crinkled one dollar bills

and a handful of change.

I have your letters –

A few anyway,

Written to daddy

Unstamped envelopes with no address

Because there is no zip code

for the dead.

I wear your shoes –

Black loafers with a silver buckle

They fit my feet comfortably

But they pinch my heart

The sole, too thick with patience

and forgiveness and tolerance

Slows my step and weighs me down

The pain of the soft ebony leather

is almost more than I can bear

I place one foot in front of the other

and wonder…

Will this mile ever end?

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Taken from the poetic memoir Getting Me back (The Voices Within). Those are the actual shoes written about in the photo above.

Tomorrow morning, Sunday May 14th, I will share a [more upbeat] Mother’s Day gift with my followers (please share it with yours), in the afternoon I will  happily celebrate the day with my children (I hope you spend the day with yours), Sunday night I will cry myself to sleep knowing that next Sunday May 21st marks the fourth year of her passing. Mama & Cameron.1.jpg

Monday I will blow my nose, find something to laugh about and get busy living because that is how it should be.