Sherry Ellis's Blog, page 28

A New Kind of Language

Yesterday, as I was doing the dishes, my son came up to me and started making funny sounds:  "Vrooom, brrrrrm,brmmm, vroommmmmmm!"

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him. "Bubba, I can't understand a word you're saying."

"Brrmmmmmm, Barooooommmm, Vroooommmmm!"

I shook my head. "Dude, if you want to have a conversation with me, you need to speak a coherent language."

"But, Mama, I am speaking a language. It's motorcycle!"

Oh. Of course.

Taking out the Trash

One of the chores my son has to do, is take out the garbage. Admittedly, it's not one of his favorites.

The other day, I asked the boy to do his job. "Okay, Mama," he said.

I went out and came back a little later. I didn't think about the garbage until I was preparing dinner. When I went to throw out some trash, I noticed something strange. The garbage can wasn't there.

"Bubba," I called. "Where's the garbage?"

"I threw it away," he answered. "Just like you asked."

"Okay. Great. You took out the trash. But where is the garbage can?"

"I threw that away, too. I got rid of all of it. Now we don't have to worry about taking out the garbage anymore."

(Needless to say, I sent him out to retrieve the can. He wasn't getting out of garbage duty that easily!)

Pizza Prints

The other day, my son was eating a piece of pizza.

Instead of simply eating it, he commenced a full examination. He examined every crack and crevice. "Mama," he said after he was finished. "Did you know that every slice of pizza is unique - like a fingerprint?"

"Well, Bubba," I said. "I hadn't really thought of it. But I suppose you're right."

"Yes, I am." He flipped the piece over. "Look at the oven burn here. It's unique. No other piece has marks like that." Then he grinned. "I know what they are."

"What are they, Bubba?"

"Pizza prints!"

Okay. So, ladies and gentlemen, next time you eat a piece of pizza, flip the thing over (careful not to lose the toppings) and check out the pizza prints!

The Thing That Turned Me and Author Interview with Tonja Drecker

Today, I'm happy to have as a guest, Tonja Drecker, who is a contributing author to an anthology which will be coming out later this year. It's called, The Thing That Turned Me. It's a collection of stories from various authors (including yours truly) about people, places, events, or ideas that have made a difference in a life.

Here's the trailer:


Now, please welcome Tonja! 
Hi, Tonja! I'm really excited about this new anthology that will be coming out, and I'm so happy that you'll be one of the contributing authors. Please tell us a little about your contribution. One Small Glowworm takes a historical plunge into the year 1949.  This fictional short story is set in poverty ridden, post war Germany and glimpses at an eighteen-year-old young woman's battle to break free from  the scars and chains of her past.   That sounds intriguing. What a great idea to use historical fiction! What was the inspiration for the story? When I was first invited to join this anthology, I had a completely different story in mind, but no matter how much I worked on it, the words didn't want to come out right. While I was sulking over chocolate, the memory of something I had once heard while living in Germany popped into my head. . .a spark out of nowhere. And it seemed to fit the theme of the anthology well. The story is centered around a fairly unknown historical event, but it was something that changed the lives drastically for over 230 German women ages seventeen to their later twenties. I don't want to spoil anything, so I can't say too much. But it was the courage of these women, which inspired me to write this.  I'd love to say more, but it's better if I don't. Knowing me, I'd reveal too much.    Chocolate always helps! This sounds like a great story, and I can't wait to read it! Has there ever been a person or thing that has made a significant difference in your life? Yes. Most definitely. There are several things/people which have put my life on its head more than once over the years. I can't image how awful it would have been not to have experienced these 'turning points'. No matter how drastic a change they caused (and I wasn't enthusiastic about all of them either), each of these moments ended up enriching my life more than I could have ever could imagined. I can only hope there are many more to come. We often think of people or events that turn us as being positive influences. But you bring up a good point. Sometimes even the negative things in our lives make us better people.   Anything else you'd like to add? Only that I'm very excited about this anthology. There are so many amazing writers involved, and they come from such a large range of genres and directions. It's going to be a real treat. 
I agree. This is going to be a great collection of stories.


 Where can readers connect with you?
BlogBookworm for Kids Blog
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Thank you so much for joining us, today!  Best of luck with all of your writing projects! 
After growing up in Denver, Tonja Drecker followed her heart to Germany.  She enjoyed discovering the harsh secrets behind many fairy tales while exploring forgotten castles and mystical forests with her husband and four children. Now in the Ozarks, she's spending more time writing between pastures and cows. Her stories have appeared in children magazines as well as several anthologies, including Real Girls Don't Rust  (Spencerhill) and SuperHero Tales (Melusine Muse Press).

Spitting Llamas

Yesterday, I caught my son, Bubba, standing at the top of the stairs making strange noises.

"Dude," I said. "What are you doing?"

"Spitting like a llama."

I nearly went ballistic. "What? Spitting? In the house? No way. You are going to stop that right now!"

He grinned and did it, again.

That infuriated me. I don't normally get angry, but spitting in the house crosses the line!

Bubba knew I was mad.  "Don't worry, Mama. I'm not actually spitting. I'm just making it sound like I am, because it's funny."

"How do you figure that's funny?" I asked.

He pulled out his handy dandy iPad and showed me some videos of spitting llamas. 

"Tell me that's not funny," he said after we viewed them.

I cracked a little smile. "Okay, maybe they're just a little funny. But you'd better not actually spit like them!"

He agreed, and we have a truce.

Here's a video in case you want to get your giggle of the day:

   

Rocks and Pebbles

The other day I was eating a bowl of cereal. It was one of those healthy kinds with chia seeds, buckwheat, and apple chunks. It looked kind of strange - not like the usual flake cereal.

My husband walked past me and did a double take. "What is that?" he asked, peering into the bowl.

"Bird seed," I said.

He gave me a funny look. "That's not bird seed. It's rocks and pebbles. You're eating a bowl of rocks and pebbles."

"No, it's not 'rocks and pebbles'," I said. I showed him the bag of cereal.

He took it from me, and got out a black marker. He crossed out the name of the cereal and wrote, Rocks and Pebbles, across the top.

So, now ladies and gentlemen, every morning, I eat a bowl of rocks and pebbles - the breakfast of champions!

The Cat Caper

Our cat, Bootsy, is a rather clever creature. Let me tell you about his latest escapade.

Yesterday, we made chicken soup from scratch. When we were done, we bagged the  chicken carcass and tossed it in the garbage. We didn't think anything of it until we let our German Shepherd, Schultz, out to do his business. He usually does it then returns to the back door to be let in. Not this time.

When he didn't return, we went out to see what was going on. That's when we heard a strange noise coming from the garbage can. The lid was cracked open, and there was a scratching sound coming from inside. We walked around, and found Schultz lying on the ground next to the can with a chicken bone. Make that several chicken bones. 

But that didn't explain the strange sound.

We walked over to the garbage can and lifted the lid. Who do you think we saw? Bootsy! He had cracked open the lid, opened the bag with the carcass, and was happily stuffing his face. Apparently he was in a magnanimous mood, because he had tossed a few bones out for Schultz to gnaw on.

The creatures were enjoying a tasty feast. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. We tossed the cat out of the can and took away the bones, thus ending the cat's big caper.  

Call of the Wild

Our German Shepherd, Schultz, got in a little trouble. Let me tell you about it.

My husband was working on his car. He let the dog hang out in the front yard without a leash. Normally, this isn't a problem. Schultz lays on the grass and watches my husband, without moving an inch.

That isn't what happened this time. Keen-eared Schultz heard something that made him take off like a mad man. Through the woods he went, faster than a speeding bullet. (Okay, well maybe not that fast, but faster than we could run!)

My husband commanded him to come, but Schultz either didn't hear him, or chose to disobey.

The dog was out of there. My husband, fuming, went on a search to find the wayward canine. After forty-five minutes of searching on foot, and still not finding the dog, he came back, got his car, and went out again. A half hour later, he finally returned. This time he had the beast.

"Do you know where he was?" my husband growled.

I shook my head.

"Two neighborhoods away, playing with a female golden retriever. The owner was the same guy who brought Schultz back last time."

Then I understood. Schultz has a thing for golden retrievers. In Cincinnati, where I used to live, he had a crush on a female golden retriever. This dog must be his girlfriend, and he couldn't resist seeing her again!

 

Winner of the Giveaway and Tough Job for the Tooth Fairy

I'd like to thank everyone who stopped by for author, Dennis Higgins' interview. Heather Holden is the winner of his book, Pennies from Across the Veil. Congratulations, Heather!

Now for the story:

I'm almost finished with my job as the tooth fairy. I think my son has just one more tooth to lose. That's a good thing, because since he has discovered that I'm the tooth fairy, he has been determined to make my job as difficult as possible.

Last week, he lost two teeth, on two separate days. The first one, I found lying on the coffee table in the family room.

"Dude," I said. "That's disgusting! I don't want to find blood-crusted teeth in random places around the house. Go put it in the tooth fairy pocket where it belongs."

He made a face and took the tooth. Unfortunately, the tooth didn't end up in the tooth fairy pocket. It ended up with the Elf on the Shelf which was still out. I don't know exactly how I managed to find it, but I did, just by pure accident.

The next morning, I questioned the boy. "Exactly why was your tooth not in the tooth fairy pocket? What were you thinking?"

He grinned. "It's too easy for the tooth fairy to just go to the pocket and get the tooth. She needs to do a little work."

I narrowed my eyes at the kid. "You'd better not make it too hard, or you won't be getting any cash for your teeth!"

The next time, he left his tooth on the floor outside his bedroom door. I guess that's better than hiding it with the Elf on the Shelf. Who knew that being a tooth fairy could be so difficult?    

Guest Author, Dennis Higgins and Question of the Month

Today, I have special guest, Dennis Higgins, at my pad. He's going to tell us a little bit about his wonderful new book, Pennies from Across the Veil. He's also going to give away a copy to one lucky winner. For your chance to win, just leave a comment below.


Blurb: Pennies From Across the Veil is a love story… about death. Karl Himmel tells the story to an unknown presence, of how he met, fell in love, and married the woman of his dreams, Jenny Engels. But at the time of the telling, Karl and Jenny find themselves on different sides of the veil—the separation we call death.

But not even death can stop true love.

Powerful signs come to those from loved ones who have passed. They can be found any and everywhere, we just need to look for them. The most significant for Karl and Jenny was the finding of numerous wheat-back pennies. However, could there have been many others, and did these signs have a deeper meaning?


Word from Dennis about Pennies From Across the Veil:
Out of all the books I have written, none are as important to me as Pennies From Across the Veil. Its influence came from every person I ever knew, loved and happened to die. This is especially true when my own mother passed away in June of 2014. Things started happening immediately after her death. In her house, coins were found daily, where the room had been cleared the day before. I had strong feelings that she was with me, leading me to things. When we got the call that first night, our canary sang at the top of his lungs (which he never ever did at night before). None of these things were scary because I knew they could only have come from her. It made me recall when my dear sister died years before, and the things that happened at that time. In fact, with each and every person I ever knew who passed from this world to the next, came signs, dreams, and occurrences, especially right afterwards. Then I discovered, it happened to other people as well. Sometime the similarity of the occurrences were striking. There were often common themes, such as butterflies, feathers late night phone calls and yes, pennies.
I was deeply moved to take all these experiences and combine them into one romantic love story about death. This is not a ghost story, but a story of love, passion and survival. 
The seemingly paranormal phenomena recorded in this book, are entirely based on true events. My review: Pennies from Across the Veil opens with protagonist, Karl Himmel, in an unknown, dark place, sharing the story of his lost love, Jenny Engels. Jenny has died and is on the other side of the "veil." But even in death, the bond of love is strong. Signs, some in the form of pennies, tell Karl that Jenny is still present in is life. The story twists and turns, revealing much about the relationship between Karl and Jenny, as well as other key players in Karl's life. The end is quite unexpected.

Pennies from across the Veil is a difficult story to put down. The voice of Karl is such that it feels like he is actually talking to the reader. The characters are very well-developed. It's easy to become emotionally involved in their story. Not only is it a compelling love story, but it's a story that makes one think about the nature of death, life after death, and love. Highly recommended.  Five Stars. Interview:  Hi Dennis!  Welcome to my pad!
Sherry, Thank you so much for having me today. 
Pennies from Across the Veil is an intriguing story of love that transcends time, a love that goes beyond the grave. What gave you the idea for this unusual story?
 It started years ago when people I loved would pass away. Things started happening, dreams, signs, voices… I also witnessed other people in my life having things happen to them, such as my dad when his wife died. But it was when my own mom died last year that I experienced amazing signs. It was her death that influenced my writing this story. The romance part, well, that’s just me. I have a romance with love, lol! 
You mentioned that you have experienced signs and occurrences which happened after loved ones in your life died. Can you share some of those with us?
Sure Sherry. Everything found in the book happened to me or someone I knew. I changed them slightly to make it a fictional story, but they all happened. Here are a few things that happened to me personally:  
When my sister died by her own hand in 1980, I heard her voice calling my name as clear as a bell. I could even point to the direction the voice came from. Then one night I had a dream which was Purgatorial in nature. She was there and I saw her taken to heaven. This dream comforted my family very much, because of the nature of her death. It was a very powerful dream. It then created the base for my story.  
Fast forward to last year when mom passed away. I felt her presence in her condo as I went through her pictures, I could hear her talking to me in my head and leading me to find lost things. Then the coins started. My wife and I both found them. This in itself is not a big deal to find coins lying around in a condo…at first. But it became eerie when I would leave the place clean, go back the next day and find a coin sitting in clear sight, like on a counter or the bathroom sink. When I knew the house was clean the day before. I would look around real well, leave, come back the next day and there would be a coin. Only I had the keys. The last one we received was months after her death when my wife found one in the pew at church, right where my mom would always sit with us. She handed it to me and said, “Here, your mom wants you to have this.” We both got chills. I carry a silver dollar we found with me every day. Sorry Sherry, once I start talking about these things, I can’t stop. But I have one more I’d like to tell you about.  
The night my mom passed. We got the phone call in the wee hours of the morning when the house was pitch black. Our canary started singing at the top of his little lungs. He never ever sang at night. He sang for her.
 Wow! Those are really amazing things! I have to believe that loved ones can communicate with us even after they've died. I've had a few interesting experiences myself.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book? 
I have to modestly say, I like all my books, but as I was writing this one, I knew it was special. I could feel it, like I was being guided. I was also free to write it in a more adult way than my NA series Time Pilgrims. It reminded me more of my first book, Parallel Roads (Lost on Route 66) in that sense.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated? 
I always did well in school with writing assignments, however, my grammar and spelling wasn’t good at all. I had to learn that over the years. I had a big imagination and would fantasize about being in another time, perhaps falling in love with a woman from the past. One fantasy that nagged away at me was time traveling to the great Chicago Fire. I talked to a man whose grandparents watched the glow of the fire from their back porch. I would always think, I should write a book about that one day. It eventually became Katya and Cyrus Time Pilgrims. But first I wrote about seeing Route 66 in two different timelines. I have always loved things or events that no longer exist or have changed so much you don’t recognize them. I would love to go back and see these things as they once were. That is why I mostly write time travel stories, except for Pennies of course. But as you said, even that transcends time. 
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
There’s life beyond writing? Well, I like to take photographs, watch movies, spend time with my wife, travel. In fact, we would like to visit my self-adopted sister, Author Virginia Wright in Maine one day. Maybe this summer. Both Virginia and I lost sisters, so we adopted each other as siblings.
 Virginia is a wonderful lady and friend! I hope you do get to visit her this year.
If you could sit down and talk to one person who has already passed from this life, who would it be? 
That’s a tough question and it changes over time. Before, I might have said, Author Jack Finney who is the daddy of time travel authors, or Jesus, or Elvis, lol. Now I guess it would be my mom. It’s not like I was a mamma’s boy, I wasn’t. But she lived close by and we were together every Sunday morning for church and breakfast. She was there at every birthday I ever had, including the very first one. She was there for all my Christmases, Easters and Thanksgivings. I never knew I could miss someone this much.
 It sounds like you had a great relationship with your mom!


Are you working on any other projects?
Yes, in fact this goes along with the last question. When my mom passed away, I found an intriguing 1940s, World War II scrapbook in her possessions. I didn’t know the people in the scrapbook but then realized it was made by a women who was engaged to my mom’s uncle. The only thing I knew about him was that he died in the war. But I had to find out who the woman was, who put this book together and suffered such a loss. I so wished I could have sat down with mom to talk to her about this. However, months of research finally paid off when I was able to find the woman’s children through one little hint in the scrapbook itself. Talk about guiding my hand, now I had my mom and the woman from the scrapbook. The novella will be out soon, in the early part of 2016. I call it simply, The Old Scrapbook.
 Sherry, how would you like an exclusive early cover reveal? It will be seen here and only here for your readers.
 Thanks, Dennis! What an extra special treat! This sounds like it will be a great book!
 Where can we buy your books?
Pretty much everywhere, especially Pennies From Across the Veil. It’s easier to go to my website, where I have all the button links to the sales portals.
Amazon Link
 
 Where can readers connect with you?


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Thank you so much for being a guest on my blog!
Sherry, Thank you for having me and writing a wonderful review on Amazon for my book.   Award winning author, Dennis Higgins is a distant relative of Davy Crockett, King of the wild frontier. He has travelled the world over, collecting story ideas. As a native of Chicago, Illinois, Dennis Higgins has a passion for things that are gone but not forgotten, a romance with the past. For him, time travel is the answer. If not for real, then in the pages of his books. Quote: “I once had a passionate affair with an Irish lass back in 1871 Chicago. I broke her heart. It just wasn't our time.”  He now lived in the Chicago suburbs with his lovely wife, a dog and a couple of birds.   The winner of Dennis' book will be announced on January 6th.     I have to do one more thing before I go. It's time for the question of the month, hosted by Michael D'Agostino.   The question is, "What is your New Year's Resolution?" Uh, I don't do those things.  So the next question is, "Why not?" Mostly because I don't want to get depressed if I don't keep them. So I set goals instead. My goals are usually writing-related. For the next year, I want to revise five manuscripts and begin work on a novel.  Questions for you:  Have you ever experienced unusual occurrences after someone you know has died? Do you think those who have died can communicate with the living? What are your resolutions or goals? I wish you all a happy, healthy, and productive 2016! Happy New Year!