Candace Colt's Blog: Keep showing up and shining out!, page 4

Keep Showing Up and Shining Out

Hello!!  I was so happy to be invited to guest blog on fabulous author Joanne Guidoccio’s webpage.  I wrote about the challenges of the second act–whether you plan for them, or it happens to you.

What I hoped to convey is this: you are unique! Your life story is unique. And to paraphrase my yoga studio motto–no matter what, keep showing up and shining out!

After you read the blog, I hope you’ll hop over and join my readers’ group (open to everyone) and let’s chat.  (20+) Candace Colt’s Reader Salon | Facebook

Just Keep Showing Up and Shining Out! | Joanne Guidoccio

 

 

What is the craziest thing I’ve ever done?

I think this counts as the craziest thing!

Years ago, my husband and I were talked into training for a 26.2-mile marathon. I was a plodding runner—well, walk-runner. So, guess which one we decided to do first? London! I know. Crazy, right? Yes, it was. We finished but looking back now, I have no idea how. We started in Greenwich, a town in southeast London.  The race goes over Tower Bridge and finishes at Buckingham Palace. Amazing experience, but would I do it again? Nope. Am I proud of my finishers’ medal? Yep!

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What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

Years ago, my husband and I were talked into training for a 26.2-mile marathon. I was a plodding runner—well, walk-runner. So, guess which one we decided to do first? London! I know. Crazy, right? Yes, it was. We finished but looking back now, I have no idea how. We started in Greenwich, a town in southeast London.  The race goes over Tower Bridge and finishes at Buckingham Palace. Amazing experience, but would I do it again? Nope.

 

DCI Colt at your service

Recently I was a guest on author K. J. Pierce’s blog.

Her questions really got me thinking, especially this one: “If you could write yourself into any TV show, which would you choose, and why?”

During quarantine, we binge-watched a ton of television (mostly cable and subscription services). It would have to be one of the British shows. It doesn’t matter  that they are really old. Classy writing and acting are timeless. And you never know what actors might show up as their younger selves. VERY young Sam Heughan and Tobias Menzies were both on Midsomer Murders. Tom Ellis had a starring role in Miranda. And that’s just for starters.

But how to narrow down where I’d write myself into the show? Gack! So hard.

I love Doc Martin. I could be a teacher in Louisa’s school. Or an investigator on the edgy series Line of Duty. With my quirky sense of humor, I’d fit right in on the absolutely hysterical show called Miranda. (“What fun!”). The ensemble acting team in Death in Paradise is terrific. I could live on Saint Marie and work in Catherine’s Bar in a heartbeat. Father Brown is charming, though the plot is predictable. I could be a great asset in his crime-solving escapades. Vera is another clever detective show where I think I’d be a good fit.

But who wins?  It has to be Midsomer Murders! How can such a lovely place as Causton have so many gruesome and wicked murders? Hence, DCI Barnaby needs an industrious, savvy, intelligent, never-say-die associate! I’d be perfect. The only itsy problem is that I don’t know how to drive on the road’s left side. Hey, if I’m writing myself into the story, I can simply add that skill set.

So, tell me, what TV show would you pick? What role would you play?

RONE Award Finalist!

Some very exciting news!  The Cat’s Paw Cove Romance holiday book MEOWS & MISTLETOE is a finalist for a 2020 RONE award for an anthology presented by  InD’tale Magazine. 

The RONE is awarded to the best books in the Indie and Small publishing industry.  One of the Cat’s Paw Cove Romance founders, Catherine Kean, is also a finalist in the Paranormal, Long category for Hot Magic. 

I’m so honored to be a part of this author group! Congratulations to all of us!

Sharon Buchbinder       Darcy Devlon          Mandie Stevens           Debra Jess     Sue-Ellen Welfonder      Kristal Hollis      Kerry Evelyn      and me!

I’ll keep you posted!

 

 

Cat’s Paw Cove Romance

I am so excited to be a part of this new venture, so I thought you might like to know a bit more about Cat’s Paw Cove!

Many readers tell us they wished it was a real place.  Wonderful! That means the Cat’s Paw Cove authors are doing something right!  All of us believe that everyone deserves their happily ever after, no matter who you are, where you come from, what period you live (or lived in!), or what magical abilities you have. 

You can read all about Cat’s Paw Cove at www.catspawcoveromance.com and the creative geniuses behind this concept, authors Catherine Kean and Wynter Daniels. Meanwhile here are a few interesting tidbits.

Cat’s Paw Cove is a fictional town, located south of St. Augustine on Florida’s Atlantic coast. 
The name derived from the small islands in the harbor, which look like the pads of a cat’s paw.
The town was founded in 1645 by British families who survived a shipwreck on their way from England to Barbados.
The shipwrecked vessel was the Guinevere that encountered a violent storm and sank off the coast of Florida in a hook-shaped harbor. Most, but not all of the passengers survived.
There’s something unusual about the town’s residents.
Most of the town’s cats descend from a fictional breed called the Sherwood cats that originated in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire. Their facial markings resemble eye masks like Robin Hood might have worn. And they have magical abilities.

Guest authors create their story-within-a-story in Cat’s Paw Cove and blend their stories within the context of existing businesses and characters. That’s when the fun begins!

I created my storyline based on my family ancestry research. My 9th great grandmother was Rebecca Towne Nurse, who sadly found her place in history after being hanged as a witch in 1692 during the Salem witch fervor. I’ve become addicted to learning more about this period in our history and my ancestor. I discovered Rebecca’s mother was a Blessing, and that name became the genesis of my Cat’s Paw Cove family. I had a name. But I needed a story.

That’s when the “what if” game began!  Though Goody Nurse was innocent of any blasphemous evil, “what if” there were townspeople who practiced magic? “What if” they escaped before they too were murdered?

“What if” one particular family, the Blessings, had an inherited gift of bringing the dead forward that was passed from generation to generation for centuries?  “What if” one fine day in modern times, Dr. Theodosia Blessing, the wonder-child of historians around the world, yearned for anonymity after renouncing this magical inheritance?  “What if” she returned to her hometown of Cat’s Paw Cove, Florida, reinvented herself as Theo the potter, and lived with her familiar, a cat named Aloysius?

And “what if” she discovers she can no more renounce the gift than win an argument with her mind-reading tortoiseshell cat?

Just “what if,” indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Familiar Blessings: Book One in The Magic Potter Series

A little teaser!

A gifted medium, Theo Blessing renounced her magic, tired of being hounded by the greedy dead. Former Army Ranger Ethan Cooper promised to repay a debt to a man whose wise counsel brought him out of war’s dark shadow. Ethan appears on Theo’s doorstep with a puzzling letter. If what it says is true, the reluctant medium and skeptical Ranger must travel back to 1720 to save a young boy from the gallows.

An Excerpt:

A gentleman shouldn’t stare at a woman. But Ethan didn’t consider himself a ‘gentle’ man.

Pool, after all, was a game of angles and strategy and keeping an eye on the opponent.

Theo’s first shot broke the trio of balls and pocketed two. She stood, and her blouse glided back.

“This is a betting game,” she said.

Ethan laughed. “Really? Your break shot is nearly impossible to beat, and now you want to wager.”

She shrugged. “I might miss. You never know.”

Ethan doubted it. Not the way she handled the stick. She considered her next shot, then bent over to make it.

Bam. The third ball found the pocket, and the cue ball lazily rolled to mid-table.

“You’re up.” She retrieved and racked the balls for him.

He should have gone to the motel to get some relief from his aching leg. But he wasn’t quite ready to tell this woman good-bye.

“Beating two isn’t impossible.” Ethan leaned to the side to take the weight off his bad foot, then prepared for his shot.

“It follows the principle of elastic energy consumption that factors into how the cue ball interacts with the others,” he said. “A simple matter of equal energy transfer.”

He peeked over his shoulder to gauge Theo’s reaction. “All about equal angles; equal velocity.”

Unphased, she leaned on her stick and jutted her chin. “Bring it on.”

Maybe he’d misjudged this woman. He liked her bad-ass attitude. He jimmied his body position to adjust his approach, then slid the stick under his bridged fingers. The third time he struck the cue ball like a missile on target.

By the grace of all saints, the racked balls split and banked. Each one went into a pocket, and the white ball came to rest precisely mid-table.

Thank God for the laws of physics.

He squared his shoulders and faced his worthy opponent. “Shall we wager on the next round?”

Copyright Candace Colt 2019

First Date

Remember that first date? Sometimes it’s all good. Sometimes, not.
My flash fiction piece originally appeared in FLASHQUAKE e-zine.

 

Otherwise Unremarkable © 2004
Oh hell, goodbye, she said.
Wait, you just got here, he said.
I know, but this just isn’t working.
C’mon. Stay longer. Only one drink; just one.
No. This isn’t right.
One drink.
No. I mean it.
Scotch? Vodka?
Too strong.
Beer? Ale?
Too bitter.
Merlot?
Headaches.
Chardonnay?
Hate the taste.
Zinfandel?
Too sweet.
Tea?
No caffeine.
Water, then?
Bottled only.
Perrier?
Evian.
Oh hell, goodbye, he said.

 

Words

Writers have a love-hate relationship with words and I am no exception. I am convinced that words have their own agenda. 

 

Words
By Candace Colt
© 2006

Glazed periwinkle blue, a clay jar sits alone on the window sill. Loosened, the cork stopper no longer shields my stash from daylight’s glare.
Single file my words escape to the floor, sidle past the sleeping cat, and bow to those who lie in repose on bits of crumpled paper.
The motley parade scrambles onto the blank page and jostles for a position like misbehaving schoolchildren; jabbing ribs, batting heads, and pulling shirts.
With self-satisfied smiles, they whisper. Take the pen, give us life, or else we die.
I take pity and write till my hand goes numb and my knuckles crack.
When the ink runs dry, they still come.
The little bastards never utter a single thank you.
Played like a fool by my own words,  I reseal the jar to quiet the others.
Almost too late, I realize their plan to exchange my life for theirs.

 

Photo from https://www.pexels.com/@lanophotography

 

My Favorite Girl Scout Badge?

The Dabbler

They retired it years ago. Did you even know they retired badges? I didn’t. Today, there are badges for things I would never have dreamed.

Geocaching?

Robotics?

Computer coding?

Cybersecurity?

And I’m in love with this one! 

Senior Novelist 

It makes me extremely proud of how well the Girl Scouts of the United States of America continue to empower girls to dream big.  I loved being a Brownie and a Girl Scout. Fun times and great memories.  

For the record, and full disclosure, I’m still a dabbler. Whew. It felt good to admit that. Along with my writing, I dabble in cooking (not really my strong suit unless it’s something I can throw in a crockpot!).

And rock painting. And yoga. And Tai Chi. And line dancing. And journal making. And leathercraft. And jimbe drumming.

Here are a few of my dabble-examples. 

I’d love to hear about your dabbling. Leave a comment and let’s start the discussion!

 

 

**Images of current GSA badges from https://www.girlscoutshop.com/BADGES-...