Sandra Cox's Blog, page 299

Rallying Cry

No taxation without representation~*~Rallying cry of the American Revolution

Hmm. It seems middle-class is still getting the brunt of taxation without the representation.

Acting Childish

Graphics Fairy

Acting childishly seems to come naturally, but acting like an adult, no matter how old we are, just doesn't come easy to us ~*~ Lily Tomlin

2012

This video was shared by friends and is one of the most amazing I've ever seen. Hope you enjoy.

The Priest and The Peaches

With me today is Larry Peterson to talk about his new book The Priest and The Peaches. Welcome, Larry, tell us about your current project.

I have started writing the sequel to "The Priest and The Peaches". This will take place during summer vacation when the younger boys go to stay with friend's of Father Sullivan's who live in rural New Jersey. We venture into the paranormal with this story. No vampires or zombies or anything like that. It will be more about good vs evil. It is a work in progress and has a long way to go.

What will I as a reader like best about your hero?

Teddy, 18, even though frightened of his circumstances and all of the unknowns he must confront, plods forward doing his best for his family. It's not always "pretty". I think you have to admire him for that.

How will women identify with your heroine?

I'm not sure. Joanie was only 13 when her mom died. She was surrounded by an all male household and was thrust into the unintended position as 'woman of the house'. I would imagine that women might feel sorry for her, secretly admire her and never want to be put in her position.

Is your muse currently sitting on your shoulder or is she illusive?

My muse is a scatter-brain. I wish I could slow him down sometimes and make him focus more. I think he has ADD.

Who is your favorite author?

I always go back to Hemingway because of his "The Old Man & The Sea". A simple read but powerful in that you can feel the love and respect between the old man, Santiago, and the boy, Manolin and even the sadness in Santiago's heart when he knew he must kill the great fish. Beautifully done.

What books of yours are currently for sale and where can a reader buy them?

My children's book, "Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes" is available in hardback and all of the e-apps. www.slipperywillie.blogspot.com and "The Priest and The Peaches" is available in all the e-apps. http://www.thepriestandthepeaches.com You can also go to www.tribute-books.com for both of them.

Where you can find Larry:

Larry Peterson's blog:
http://www.ThePriestandthePeaches.com

Larry Peterson's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/larrytpbx

Larry Peterson's Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/slipperywillie

Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com

Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176

Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks

The Priest and the Peaches Book Summary
Historical fiction novel set in the Bronx in the mid-1960s

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Larry Peterson's Bio:
Larry Peterson was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. A former Metal Lather/Reinforcing Iron-worker, he left that business after coming down with MS. He, his wife and three kids moved to Florida 30 years ago. Larry began doing freelance newspaper commentary after graduating from Tampa College in 1984.

His first children's picture book, Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes was published in 2011. In 2012, his full length novel, The Priest and the Peaches was released and he is presently working on the sequel.

He also has a blog ( http://www.ThePriestandthePeaches.com ) where he posts weekly commentary. He lives in Pinellas Park, Florida and his kids and six grandchildren all live within three miles of each other.

eBook
ISBN: 978-0-9837418-4-8
ISBN: 978-1-4658-6327-0
Pages: 285
Release: January 1, 2012

Kindle buy link
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006P0EYI8/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tributebooks-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006P0EYI8

Nook buy link
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&subid=&offerid=239662.1&type=10&tmpid=8432&RD_PARM1=http%253A%2F%2Fwww.barnesandnoble.com%2Fw%252Fthe-priest-and-the-peaches-larry-peterson%252F1108051518%3Fean%253D2940013858190%26itm%253D1%26usri%3Dthe%252Bpriest%2Band%2Bthe%252Bpeaches

iBookstore buy link (coming soon)

Smashwords buy link
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/116166?ref=tributebooks

PDF buy link
https://www.payloadz.com/go/sip?id=1538819

Murphy In The Paw-Paw Patch

Friend and fellow-author Ruth Hartman has just published her first children's book. For those of you with young ones, grandchildren, or nieces and nephews, this sounds like a winner to me. Here's where you can purchase it:

http://www.amazon.com/Murphy-Paw-Paw-Patch-Ruth-Hartman/dp/1935817205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322682840&sr=1-1 http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/collections/childrens/products/murphy-in-the-paw-paw-patch

And here's what the story's about:

Murphy the cat is different. And he doesn't like it! All the other cats have paw pads. But he was born without them. Will Murphy's journey to find some at the Paw-Paw Patch fulfill his dream?

~*~

I love cats. They've always been a huge part of my life. There's one sitting on my lap as I type this, in fact. And the way he's curled in a perfect ball with his paw covering his face, he's not going anywhere for a while. So that means, neither am I.

Way back when, I took a course on writing children's books from the Institute of Children's Literature. "Murphy in the Paw-Paw Patch", in an earlier form, was what I wrote for one of my assignments. It's gone through lots of changes over the years and was submitted to countless publishers. No takers.

But Turquoise Morning Press, a publisher of several of my romances, had started a children's book section. Murphy found a home with them earlier this year. From the time I took that course, I always wanted to write a children's book. And it had to be about a cat. It had to! There's never been a time in my life when I haven't had at least one of the little furballs hanging around, and I hope there never will be.

I'd always heard the term paw-paw patch, although I've never seen one. One day, though, I decided it would be funny if the paw-paw patch had something to do with paws. Animals paws. Cat paws. Yep. My story was born.

Murphy the cat was born without pads on his paws. He sees all of the other cats running, skipping and doing cartwheels. But he can't do those things. It hurts his feet since he's padless. He takes a journey to a place called the paw-paw patch. His adventure leads him not only to his dream, but he makes a friend, Oliver the owl along the way.

I hope you'll enjoy reading this story to your children, as much as I enjoyed writing and illustrating it.

When Its Going Well

If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.~*~Steven Wright

Your Duck Is Dead

You may have already seen this, but I think its funny. So if you've already read it, ignore it, if not give it a shot. You'll either laugh or groan at my taste in jokes:)

Your Duck is Dead--

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon.
As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.

After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said,
"I'm sorry, your duck, Quackers, has passed away."

The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead," replied the vet..

"How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.

The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said,
"I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."

The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman..

The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill.
"$150!" she cried, "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!"

The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $150."

Invasion of the Birds

We have this happen about once a year when the birds are migrating. There are hundreds of them and they completely surround the property flocking in the trees. The noise they make is deafening. I always feel like I'm a cast member for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. This year I got some pics.
Beware....they may be on their way to your house next.
~*~




My lovely daughter is flying in tonight. Be safe Ms. M.
~*~
Blogs of interest:
Amarinda Jones
Anny Cook
Julia Barrett
Molly Daniels

Pleasant Surprise

MINDER, my next release is with Muse It Up Publishing. I haven't gotten through the entire process but so far, I'm impressed with this new company. They keep their financials transparent and are author and reader friendly. Over the holidays they sent out an email to all their authors asking them to pick out a book from Muse that they'd like to read and they'd send them a free download. I thought that was pretty nice. I've never worked with a publishing company before that's offered that. It may not seem like a big deal but when you sent out several hundred downloads for free it adds up. My pick? Crewkin by good bud, Rhobin Courtright.
~*~
Blogs of interest:
Amarinda Jones
Anny Cook
Julia Barrett

Happy New Year

Wishing you all the best in 2012