Back to Normal!

Of course I have to plug this book with the playoffs going on right now! Even though my team isn't competing.

I have to admit, I had a better week. I have been able to work on all three books which is time consuming but well worth it. None of them are close to being done but at least I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

On Thursday, a high school classmate came here with her daughter and spent the night. It was good to see her and we chatted way to long in the night gossiping about our class mates. I see future material from our chat. We pulled some crazy stuff and to think we were at an all girls Catholic high school. It wasn't bad but the nuns found out about it and did we ever get into trouble. I think we wore out our rosaries!

I like quiet time and I hope it stays that way so I can concentrate on writing which I love to do. Keep your fingers crossed for me, please?

Thanks!

Life vs Writing

What a week! I'm exhausted both mentally and physically.

I survived Jury Duty on Monday. It was the longest stint I've had and not to be selected. I was there from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon. It was a criminal case of evading an arresting officer and the defendant was a black female; the officer was white. This judge only needed 12 jurors however, selected 60 from the pool. We met at 10:30 and the prosecuting attorney presented her case. We broke for lunch and met back at 1:30 to hear what the other defending attorney had to say. We broke up at 3:30 and waited and waited while decisions were made. I couldn't even think on my drive home! All for $6.00!

But over the weekend, I broke two crowns while munching on a piece of pizza. Of course that's no excuse to miss Jury Duty, so I made an appointment with the dentist when I got home and she squeezed me in on Wednesday.

Tuesday, I sat down and wrote about four pages on my Billionaire story and felt really good about it. I also got excited about my Wednesday Author Interview on my editor's blogpost.

Wednesday came and I posted on social media and my website for the Interview and then sat in the dentist's chair for two and a half hours. I got home and my mind was as numb as my mouth. I had soup for dinner and went to bed.

My neighbor next door is renovating his house and has hired a company to do it. The thing is, the workers are cutting kitchen and bathroom countertops outside and right in front of my bedroom windows. (Our Master Bedroom is on the first floor.) They continually look into my windows and this bothers me. I resorted to closing the blinds rather than to complain and be a bitchy neighbor.

The reason I bring this up is what happened on Thursday morning. Sirens in our neighborhood are common. We live two blocks away from a nursing home and a major high school. It's to the point where we tune it out unless someone in my family has left for work and I hope it's not them. When I came back downstairs from my office, I noticed two police cars in front of my house and saw a fire truck and ambulance across the street. What? Is everything okay with my neighbor and great friend? I ran to our bedroom and peeked through the blinds. I saw the EMT's walk Barbara on a stretcher to the awaiting ambulance. She didn't look right and her body bounced just like Bernie from the movie Weekend at Bernie's. My husband had joined me and I told him I think she's dead. He said no because they would have had a coroner there but apparently they were in no hurry as the ambulance pulled away.

I prayed she was okay but then went on my morning business as usual. When I got home, my cell phone rang and it read 'Barbara Bay'. I snatched it up and said, "Are you okay? What happened?"

Barbara's husband had called using her cell phone. He told me she had passed. Didn't I see it? Well no because of the nosy workers. But he said he found her on the bathroom floor and she wasn't breathing. The EMT's tried to revive her but couldn't. She was only 49. I went numb. I couldn't process this. All I could see was her body bouncing on the stretcher.

I pulled myself together and went to the store and bought a card and white flowers, her favorite. I brought it over to the house but her husband and daughter were at the funeral home. Her best friend was minding the house and we talked. Barbara was a very ill woman, which I knew. She was a cancer survivor, a diabetic, had experienced numerous serious illnesses but had always pulled through. Not this time. My heart hurts so much.

Friday, I had come to grips with her passing and it's like she scolded me to stop grieving and work on your darn book, Lois. So, I did. I wrote 10,000 words on Friday! I know she's watching over me! 

Author Interview

Check out my Author Interview at brynnpaulin.blogspot.com!

Good advice!

More and more with my Facebook feed, I'm getting linked to experienced authors who have a wealth of information to share. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it since I seem to live in this tiny bubble of my office, rarely getting out only to run errands!

I made some headway on my Billionaire series but struggling to devote as much time as I'd like.

And I'm angry. I know I should be thankful for living in a country with free speech, but I was once again, for the fifth time in my life, selected for Jury Duty. I go this Monday and who knows how long it will take. I have friends of over thirty years old who would love to be selected but never are. I don't get it. It's all random. Even Mr. Obama was selected for Jury Duty.

Last time I went, they didn't select me because I was a published author.  I had to go back the next day in order to get paid. I could've donated the money to the state, but I wanted to be reimbursed for gas. The court house is not close!

The time before that, I lived in Reading, PA. I have a cousin who is a lawyer and also an uncle who is a retired Chicago policeman. I used that card and BAM! I was selected and was there until 7 pm.

And the other times, either the case was cancelled or they didn't select me.

On top of that, I broke a crown last night. My dentist does not work on weekends but I would like to get it fixed ASAP. I have to wait to see what the Jury Duty involves.

On a positive note, I will be a guest author on my editors blog on 4/14. I will keep you posted with the blog address!

And it's cold here in Dallas! It's only 44 with a windchill of 28! Brrr! Where's spring?

Ready to get back to writing!

People have often asked me where I get my material for my books. Real life!

We took a vacation to Orlando and the first couple of days we were there, it was beautiful! Weather was perfect but the pools were filled with kids because it was Spring Break. But that's okay. Since we live in Texas, we have a pool, so my heart wasn't broken.

The rest of the trip took a downward spiral. There was a tornado warning in our city and I had to call the front desk to ask where we could take shelter. In the inner bathroom in the tub covered with pillows. We were spared, but then the temps dropped down to the forties. Not what you expect in Florida. It was warmer back home!

Then my husband threw out his back on the golf course and left after the seventh hole. He limped back to the condo and couldn't move. We spent the rest of the week inside the condo, with the heat on. And it smelled of Ben Gay.

I'm worried about the luggage because if his back doesn't improve, I'm responsible for lugging everything including his golf bag which is bigger than me. Fortunately, that wasn't the case.

Got home late Saturday night. I got a message that company is arriving Sunday and will stay until Friday. Needless to say, I was busy 24/7 with them. By Friday, I was stressed out and now I have a stiff neck. Guess who borrowed the Ben Gay? I hope this goes away real soon because I do not like feeling under the weather!

Tomorrow will be dedicated to me! Writing and doing what I want!!!

Working Vacation

I am on vacation in Orlando, FL. Yet, I'm still working!

It is hard to take a vacation as an author, or I think so. My mind keeps on going no matter where I am.

I guess its because my mind is relaxed that my characters really talk to me or because I can give them my undivided attention.

Then there is always the bonus of new material as I encounter new people and situations that I wouldn't be experiencing at home.

The plane trip and the passengers gave me plenty of ammunition as well as driving around the Disney complex. We have no intentions of going anywhere near there because it is spring break!

My billionaire story is doing really well and I need to buckle down on my NHRA series.

Also, I've been given the chance to be a guest on a blog which has thrilled me to the moon and back!

We have scheduled something everyday, so my life will be filled with adventures!

Thanks for following me!

Writing - Would a pet help?

Good news! I no longer have Vertigo! I went to the ENT on Thursday and he verified my ears were clear and my hearing was in the range of an 18 year old. I did tell him I listened to Led Zepplin and other heavy metal bands in my youth, but so far so good!

He did determine I was very congested and wanted to put me on steriods but my mom was on them for years with her asthma. Her face bloated and she had unwanted weight gain. Nope. So I'm back to nasal sprays which seem to help.

The good thing, is I'm getting a lot of writing time in which is wonderful! My characters and I are in sync and my hands are flying over the keyboard.

The only problem is the house was very quiet. My husband was out of town and my daughter works full time and is barely home. You can hear a pin drop. Is it time to get another dog?

For those who really don't know me, I've had two dogs in my life and both were Siberian Huskies. Noibn, came to us when I was fourteen and died two days after my daughter was born.

Indiana Jones came to live with us in 1996. My husband had never had a pet before and is not an animal lover. When we lived in Pennsylvania, he traveled 70% of the time for his job. It was only my daughter and I; no family close by at all. Indy was protection for us and guarded his girls with ferocity. He and hubby didn't get along at all for the first five years of his life because they were both jealous of each other. But then they became best friends. They did everything together.

But he was thirteen when we moved to Texas and not in good health. On our wedding anniversary, 12/20/2009, he couldn't move and cried and cried. We made the hardest decision in our life and put him down. His screams were heart wrenching and we didn't want him in any pain.

That all changed once we got to the vet. He still couldn't walk, but he was alert and acted as if nothing was wrong. But we stood firm. It took two dosages and then we spent time with him to say goodbye.  Then we looked at him. His fur was so mottled with age and he had no hair left on his tail. We should've done this sooner.

We all cried and hubby says we're not going through this again. The old me would've said, "the hell with you!" and gone out adopted a dog. But for some reason, I just can't do it. I need to bite the bullet and say, "where's the old Lois? Show a little backbone!"