Lissa Matthews's Blog, page 15

I Miss Bookstores

I know I’ve used this image before, but I love it. A stack of books reaching high into the sky and mixing into the scenery, weaving stories. I mean, really, for lovers of the written word, what isn’t there to love about it?

The loss of bookstores makes me sad. The lack of a variety of bookstores makes me sad when I used to spend hours and hours and hours combing the shelves, grabbing a stack, sitting in comfy chairs, and flipping through pages, then often taking most of my stack to the cashi...

2016-2017 College Football Bowl Games, Days 10 & 11

I can’t say the last two days have gone too much better in regards to my record. I can’t say the record is improving, but I have won some key match-ups in my household and that goes a long way to restoring my confidence. Here’s hoping it won’t be all that short lived…

Day 10:

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Northwestern vs Pittsburgh (I didn’t start out the day well…at all. This was a loss. Sadly.)

Russell Athletic Bowl, Miami (FL) vs West Virginia (I got one!)

Foster Farms Bowl, Indiana vs Utah (An...

There are no words, and yet…

I was 6 years old when the first Star Wars movie came out. 6. I have watched Carrie Fisher all my life. 40 years.

At the time, I didn’t know what was so incredible about her or what was going on in the world. As I grew up, other things invaded my consciousness and it wasn’t until later in life did I realize her incredible gifts beyond Star Wars. Laughter. Creativity. Honesty. She was more than an actress. She was more than the gold bikini. She was a voice for those battling internal demons....

2016-2017 College Football Bowl Games, Days 8 & 9

And… My losing streak has NOT improved. Unless you count continuing to lose a good thing, then by all means…

St. Petersburg Bowl – Miami (Oh) vs Mississippi State (Yay! A win!)

Quick Lane Bowl – Boston College vs Maryland (Yay! Another win… Can it continue? Can I get 3 in a row?)

Camping World Independence Bowl – NC State vs Vanderbilt (No. No it cannot continue and no I didn’t get 3 wins in a row…)

Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl – Army vs North Texas (Oh but wait… Here’s a win!)

Military Bowl...

Music Monday – George Michael

Yesterday… 2016 took another one.

George Michael was an incredible entertainer. A pioneer. And he’s gone from us too soon. He was part of my growing up, part of my formidable years.

Rest In Peace, George. You are already missed.

~lissa

2016-2017 College Football Bowl Games, Days 4-7

Well, my record hasn’t been all that great this bowl season. If I continue this way, well…laughs

Day 4 (December 21) – San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, BYU vs Wyoming (This was a Win! The next 3 were not!))

Day 5 (December 22) – Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Idaho vs Colorado State

Day 6 (December 23) – Popeyes Bahamas Bowl, Old Dominion vs Eastern Michigan

Lockhead Martin Armed Forces Bowl, Louisiana Tech vs Navy

Dollar General Bowl, Troy vs Ohio (This was another win!! Yay!)

Day...

2016-2017 College Football Bowl Games, Day 2 & 3

Well, dear readers, Day 2 (Monday, December 19) didn’t go so good. Not at all.

The game was a blowout. Just awful.

Miami Beach Bowl: Tulsa vs Central Michigan

The score was Tulsa 55 and Central Michigan not even close at 10.

So, we moved on to Day 3 (Tuesday, December 20). It went better.

Boca Raton Bowl: Memphis vs Western Kentucky.

This game was closer and my pick of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers paid off.

Western Kentucky 51, Memphis 31

My son is one game behind me in the win column....

2016-2017 College Football Bowl Games, Day 1

Okay, so as the title says, it’s Day 1 of College Football Bowl Games. Over the next few weeks, there are a lot of college football games. I love bowl season. It’s fun. It’s pointless. But it’s fun watching teams play each other that don’t usually have the chance during the regular season.

In our house, we all print out the list of bowl game match-ups and we all pick which teams we think are gonna win. Kinda like the March Madness Brackets, but bowl games picks aren’t as all consuming across...

If you don’t want to be here…

…don’t let the virtual door hit you on the ass on the way out!

Newsletter sign-ups. It’s optional. No one is twisting your arm. Yes, a lot of authors and other companies offer a lot of free stuff and some even offer monthly money to attract subscribers. Some hold contests. But damn, y’all! When you subscribe for whatever reason… it irks the fuckin’ shit out of me when my newsletters are reported as Spam.

There’s a report, you see…

Are there legit times when the newsletter ends up in the Spam...

10K Weekends for Writers – December 15-18, 2016

Are ya gonna play with me? Write with me? Cheer me on?

What do you mean, no? Meanie…

Okay, seriously… Who’s with me? Yeah, I know it’s the weekend before Christmas, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get our write on a little bit, does it? Of course it doesn’t!

10,000 words or however many you can manage with your hectic holiday schedule. Me, I have no plans but to write. Well, college football bowl games start Saturday, so… But, I can still write.

And write I will. There’s another holiday book...