Sandra Cox's Blog, page 40

IWSG Wednesday

 

Thefirst Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. IWSG was formed by NinjaCaptain Alex Cavanaugh. Members post about their doubts and fears, discussstruggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.

Theawesome co-hosts for the April 5 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Nancy Gideon, and Natalie Aguirre!

Every month, we announce a question that memberscan answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice,insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question inyour IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with somethingto say. 

Remember,the question is optional!

 

April 5 question - Do you remember writing your first book?What were your thoughts about a career path on writing? Where are you now andhow is it working out for you? If you're at the start of the journey, what areyour goals?

 

 

 

I do indeed. Unfortunately, it never sawthe light of day. I started writing in the dark ages. Back then, it was trad ordie. Mine died 😊 But I’ve been writing ever since. My writing goal was to be successfulenough to support myself with my writing. Unfortunately, that never materialized.But that’s okay. Mind you, I’d click my heels in the air then come down and doa tap dance, if I ever got a movie contract or hit Amazon’s number one bestseller 😊 but for right now I just keep fighting the good fight or morelike writing a good fight😊 What about you?

 

 

March/April Reviews in no particular order.

* Disclaimer. If I run into an occasional typo, I ignorethem and don't factor them into my review.

 

NO SUCH LUCK (Keystone Couples) by Staci Troilo

Adelightful short

Piper, ayoung female reporter, loses her job at the same time she loses her good luckcharm—a dried red carnation from a high school crush—and blames her misfortuneson the loss of her charm. Between jobs, she heads back home where she reuniteswith her best friend Jack and begins to reevaluate where her luck really lies.

I reallyenjoy the author’s writing style. Her stories flow smoothly and arewell-developed. Her characters are fleshed-out and relatable, and her world buildingis seamless. Everything I’ve read by Ms. Troilo has held my interest. If you’relooking for a fun read that will leave you with a smile on your face when youfinish it, I highly recommend this story and this series😉

Available at Amazon

 

 

 

THE PLAYER(MEN OF WarHawks Series Book 2) by Jacquie Biggar

 

Ithoroughly enjoyed this read and finished it in one sitting. The writingsparkled, funny in parts, suspenseful in others. The descriptive visuals flowedlike poetry. The characters were down to earth, likeable and relatable. AND thestory has a cat in it😊Definitely oneof my favorites by this author. Highly recommended to Biggar fans—of which I amone—and anyone just looking for a feel-good tale.

AND Don't ya just love this cover? It had me at the cat:)

Available at Amazon

 

 

TALES FROMTHE VALLEY by WATCH Youth

A gem of a collection.

Thesecaptivating shorts were all written by young people. Their narratives rangefrom paranormal, horror and suspense to relationship abuse.  Every story well told.

Asfascinating as I found the stories and they were all exceptionally well written,I found the brief bios at the end of the stories even more so.  For example: “As a critter lover, Ashlynwants to assure readers that no animals are ever harmed in the making of any ofher stories.” 😊 FYI: Ashlynis an 8th grade honor student.

Anotherwriter is an ‘advocate for teen dating violence victims’.

Another isin the 4th grade.

One is ateen bakery owner.

One is amember of an improv troupe. And the list goes on.

Ithoroughly enjoyed the stories and think you will to. There’s something foreveryone. Kudos to the writers. Their author-mentor and their publisher, bothof whom, made this book possible.

Available at Amazon

 

 

THEY CALLME MOM: Making a Difference as an Elementary School Teacher by Pete Springer

Thisnonfiction is geared toward the teaching profession and those interested injoining the profession. I’m not a teacher, but my husband was, and my son anddaughter are, so I read the book with great interest.

Mr.Springer touches all bases. He delves into working with co-workers, the administrators,students and their parents.

He shares thefrustrations that teachers encounter in their chosen profession along with specialstudents he’s had and moments he’s shared with them.  He even touches on setting up the classroom.

And though, as mentioned previously, I’m not an instructor, Ithoroughly enjoyed the read and appreciate how much of himself the authorshared with the reader.

My takeaway: We need more folks like this talented man teaching our children.Recommended for the professionals, parents and those that just enjoy a feel-goodread.

Available at Amazon

 

 

FYI: Scammers have moved into the writing world. Natalie Acquire had an excellent article on literary agent scammers you might want to check out.

http://www.literaryrambles.com/2023/03/agent-scam-alert-how-to-protect.html

 

 

It's Ketch-up Day

 

 How was your weekend and Monday? We hooked up with my sister in TN.We hadn't seen her since pre-Covid. You might remember, she was planning to come in Christmas and got caught in the Southwest fiasco. We visited a bird sanctuary while we were there and met some fascinating characters. I thought of Sue (EC). She sees the kin of so many of these beauties in her backyard everyday. Vid of a cockatoo 'getting down':) and pics of sanctuary and birds below.

 

 

My sister and her new friend.

More pics next week.

Weekend Wishes

 

AND

Did You Know

 Did you know that Mark Twain, a huge cat fan, at one point had nineteen cats?

 

"If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat."~ Mark Twain

Writerly Wednesday

 What's your synonym or definition for:

Hiatus Day

 

Hope your weekend and Monday were fab.  See you,  in a manner of speaking:) tomorrow.

Weekend Wishes

 

Did You Know

 Did you know, that in a sealed container, properly stored, honey has no expiration date?

The fact that it has so little water aids its preservative ability.

 

Writerly Wednesday

 What is your synonym for:

It's Ketch-up Day

 

How are you?

See the little bed beside Frank? It belongs in a cat house on the porch. And before you start snickering it really is a cat house, you know, like a dog house:) Anyhoo, Frank constantly pulls out the bed and drags it around, even tries to bring it in the house. I can't figure out if he thinks it's his blankie, his girlfriend or prey. 

AND

Time for another calendar pictures installment:

 
That's it for me, folks. I'll be around to see what's going on in your corner of the world.

AND

No sign of grocery prices coming down yet..... AND speaking of which has anyone else given up sodie? I can't justify paying the meteoric rise in price for water, coloring, flavoring and carbonation so I've stopped drinking it. The HH, on the other hand, who is a soda guzzler just dropped down to generic sodie:)