Sandra Cox's Blog, page 109

Monday-Tuesday

We went to a Lee Rocker concert. OMG. He's awesome. He plays a double bass like most play a guitar. A little bit of trivia: his parents are classical clarinetists and his sister is a country music singer/songwriter. He wrote a song called 'If Things Aren't Going Right Turn Left' Heh. I LOVE rockabilly.



AND...
The Impossible Whopper (a plant burger).
Anyone tried it yet?  I liked it. It was a little dry, but not enough to be a problem. I thought the flavor was  good.
AND...
Hobos. Ever fixed hobos(veggies and  potatoes with butter and seasoning  wrapped in aluminum) on the grill? I've started fixing mine in the oven and adding a little olive oil.
AND...
The HH picked this up for me.
AND...
Got a surprise in the mail from Ro. Thanks, Rockin Ro. Love it.
AND...
Looks like the mum I had no idea the color of is the same as Di's, red:)
AND...
Saw Ad Astra. Enjoyed it. The special effects were amazing.



Oh my cod. It's carpet shampooing week. For those of you who have wood floors...Don't want to hear it:)

So what about you. Tried the Impossible Whopper? Seen Ad Astra? Like Lee Rocker? Got your Halloween on? Got mums? Shampooed carpets lately? (If so, you have my complete sympathy:)

Weekend Wishes

10-4 Good buddy.

Did You Know

Did you know the world's oldest living rose bush is over a thousand years old.

Wacky Writerly Wednesday

Monday-Tuesday

Cover Reveal   Warning. Besides hand-tooled boots, content contains: a big-hearted, hasty-tempered cowboy, a homeless young woman, an orphaned little girl and a wild white stallion.

 Blurb. Coop Malloy receives a telegram that his sister and brother-in-law have died and Kallie, his ten-year-old niece, is on her way to Texas to live with him. Still reeling from the loss of his sister, he receives another shock when his childhood friend Randa Lockhart steps off the stage with Kallie. He’s stunned to see that the little pigtailed nuisance that tagged after him and his best friend years ago has turned into a beautiful young woman.Randa and Kallie have barely settled in when Coop finds buffalo hunter Marvin Doolin beating the local blacksmith within an inch of his life for laming his horse. Coop steps in and when the buffalo hunter tries to kill him, shoots him. Now Doolin’s four brothers are out to even the score. When they go after Randa, they cross the line. They’re about to find out that’s there’s nothing Coop won’t do, and no one he won’t track down to protect the two females that have burrowed hard and fast into his heart.
Short Excerpt.A May sun beat hot on Cooper Malloy’s shoulders. He hooked a dusty boot heel on the wooden sidewalk and pulled a creased telegram out of his pocket. The paper, torn in spots from handling, crackled as he unfolded it and read it again. Your sister, Patsy Mae, and her husband have passed. Stop. Your niece, Kalinda Raine, arriving on stage, May 16, 1880. Stop. Sincerely, Montgomery Smith, Attorney-at-Law.His breath whistled past the lump in his throat. A hot kernel of grief had lodged in his heart when he’d received the telegram a week ago and showed no signs of leaving. What the hell had happened? Even though they’d been married eleven years both Patsy and George were young, Patsy twenty-eight, George—his childhood best friend—thirty. They’d grown up together in St. Louie. He and George had raised all kinds of hell till he’d got an itch to go west and George fell in love with Patsy.Thundering hooves and a cloud of dust tore him from his painful reverie. He straightened as the stage pulled into the small town of Mobeetie, Texas.“Whoa, there,” the black-bearded, wiry driver called out, bringing his team to a stomping, snorting halt. The door swung back against the side of the coach with a thump. A thin, little man hopped out and offered his hand to a lovely young woman with honey-colored hair and doe-brown eyes, her skirt rustling as she descended.  Cooper’s gaze coasted past her looking eagerly for his ten-year-old niece.
Pre-order available here.

Weekend Wishes

AND...My review of The Quest for Home-Jacqui Murray
5 out of 5 stars.★★★★★
This story takes place where Survival leaves off. Xhosa and her people are on a quest for a new home. She has a small tight group, including a wolf, that she can depend on. Xhosa leads with compassion and courage. Her goal: keep her people safe. The odds are stacked against her, weather, rival bands and worst of all betrayal from an unexpected source, still she perseveres.
Murray has created a story rich in history and has built a solid world with a colorful cast of characters. I found myself rooting for the protagonists and hoping the villains got their comeuppance.
 I can’t begin to imagine the hours of research, not to mention the actual writing time, that went into this wonderful gem of a story. I highly recommend this book. It’s a must read for those who love prehistoric fiction.
Available at Amazon.

AND...

The Quest For Home

I’m so pleased to have good bud and awesome author Jacqui Murray visiting today to share information on her latest release. Just let me say, I read it. Reviewed it. Loved it. I also had a question for her:
Chased by a ruthless and powerful enemy, Xhosa flees with her People, leaving behind her African homeland, leading her People on a grueling journey through unknown and perilous lands. As they struggle to overcome treachery, lies, danger, tragedy, hidden secrets, and Nature herself, Xhosa must face the reality that her most dangerous enemy isn’t the one she expected. It may be one she trusts with her life. The story is   set 850,000 years ago, a time in prehistory when man populated Eurasia. He was a violent species, fully capable of addressing the many hardships that threatened his survival except for one: future man, the one destined to obliterate any who came before. Based on a true story, this is the unforgettable saga of hardship and determination, conflict and passion as early man makes his way across Eurasia, fleeing those who would kill him. He must be bigger-than-life, prepared time and again to do the impossible because nothing less than the future of mankind is at stake.Book information:
 Title and author: The Quest for HomeSeries: Book 2 in the Crossroads series, part of the Man vs. Nature sagaGenre: Prehistoric fictionAvailable at:  Kindle US     Kindle UK    Kindle CA    Kindle AU Author bio:

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building A Midshipman, the story of her daughter's journey from high school to the Naval Academy, the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and the Man VS Nature saga. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, blog webmaster, an Amazon Vine Voice, a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist for tech ed topics. Look for her next prehistoric fiction In the Footstep of Giants, Winter 2020, the final in the Crossroads Trilogy. Social Media contacts:
 Amazon Author Page:         https://www.amazon.com/Jacqui-Murray/e/B002E78CQQ/ Blog:                                        https://worddreams.wordpress.com Instagram:                              https://www.instagram.com/jacquimurraywriter/ LinkedIn:                                 http://linkedin.com/in/jacquimurray Pinterest:                                http://pinterest.com/askatechteacher Twitter:                                    http://twitter.com/worddreams  
Website:                                 https://jacquimurray.net Here’s a sneak peak. Excerpt:
 Northern shore of what we now call the Mediterranean SeaPain came first, pulsing through her body like cactus spines. When she moved her head, it exploded. Flat on her back and lying as still as possible, Xhosa blindly clawed for her neck sack with the healing plants. Her shoulder screamed and she froze, gasping. How can anything hurt that much? She cracked one eye, slowly. The bright sun filled the sky, almost straight over her head.And how did I sleep so long?Fractured memories hit her—the raging storm, death, and helplessness, unconnected pieces that made no sense. Overshadowing it was a visceral sense of tragedy that made her shake so violently she hugged her chest despite the searing pain. After it passed, she pushed up on her arms and shook her head to shed the twigs and grit that clung to her long hair. Fire burned through her shoulders, up her neck and down her arms, but less than before. She ignored it.A shadow blocked Sun’s glare replaced by dark worried eyes that relaxed when hers caught his. “Nightshade.” Relief washed over her and she tried to smile. Somehow, with him here, everything would work out. Her Lead Warrior leaned forward. Dripping water pooled at her side, smelling of salt, rotten vegetation, mud, and blood.“You are alright, Leader Xhosa,” he motioned, hands erratic. Her People communicated with a rich collection of grunts, sounds, gestures, facial expressions, and arm movements, all augmented with whistles, hoots, howls, and chirps. “Yes,” but her answer came out low and scratchy, the beat inside her chest noisy as it tried to burst through her skin. Tears filled her eyes, not from pain but happiness that Nightshade was here, exactly where she needed him. His face, the one that brought fear to those who might attack the People and devastation to those who did, projected fear. She cocked her head and motioned, “You?” Deep bruises marred swaths of Nightshade’s handsome physique, as though he had been pummeled by rocks.  An angry gash pulsed at the top of his leg. His strong upper arm wept from a fresh wound, its raw redness extending up his stout neck, over his stubbled cheek, and into his thick hair. Cuts and tears shredded his hands.“I am fine,” and he fell silent. Why would he say more? He protected the People, not whined about injuries. When she fumbled again for her neck sack, he reached in and handed her the plant she needed, a root tipped with white bulbs. She chewed as Nightshade scanned the surroundings, never pausing anywhere long, always coming back to her. The sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky. Sweltering heat hammered down, sucking up the last of the rain that had collected in puddles on the shore. Xhosa’s protective animal skin was torn into shreds but what bothered her was she couldn’t remember how she got here.“Nightshade, what happened?” Her memories were a blur—terrified screams and flashes of people flying through the air, some drowning, others clinging desperately to bits of wood. Nightshade motioned, slowly, “The storm—it hit us with a fury, the rain as heavy and fierce as a waterfall.”A memory surfaced. Hawk, the powerful leader of the Hawk People, one arm clutching someone as the other clawed at the wet sand, dragging himself up the beach. He was alive! It was Hawk who offered her People a home when they had none, after more than a Moon of fleeing for their lives through lands so desolate, she didn’t know how anyone survived. Finding Hawk and his People, she thought she’d found a new homeland. Her last hunt with Hawk flashed through her mind—the stone tip they created like the Big Head’s weapon, how she had hung by her ankles from a tree trunk to cross a deep ravine. How he grinned when she reached the other side, chest heaving but radiant with satisfaction. He told her many of his warriors shook with fear as they crossed. His pride in her that day glowed like flames at night. For the first time in her life, she felt Sun’s warmth inside of her. She looked around, saw quiet groups huddled together, males talking and females grooming children. Pan-do bent over a child, whispering something in her ear but no Hawk. Where is he? But she didn’t ask Nightshade. The last time she’d seen the two together, they had fought.She couldn’t imagine a world without Hawk. They had planned to pairmate, combine their groups into one so strong no one could ever again drive her away. She hadn’t known there were enemies worse than Big Heads until Hawk told her about the Ice Mountain invaders. They attacked Hawk’s People long before Xhosa arrived. Hawk had killed most and chased the rest back to their home, icy white cliffs that extended from Sun’s waking place to its sleeping nest, bereft of plants and animals. When he saw where they lived, he understood why they wanted his land. The children of those dead invaders grew up and wanted revenge. Someone moaned. She jerked to find who needed help and realized it was her.
Congrats, Jacqui.

Wacky Writerly Wednesday

Monday-Tuesday

Got a sick Grand. I'll be back online tomorrow. YOU have a great one.

Weekend Wishes