Kate Collins's Blog, page 38
April 13, 2019
The Spotlight Is On Blythe Cove Manor
by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett
It's always a fun day when you have a new book drop. Yesterday, Foul Weather Friends, my 5th Tale From Blythe Cove Manor, becames available. Check it out!
Alone and suddenly single, Teagan Tate's visit to Martha’s Vineyard for a previously planned couples weekend leaves her feeling more of a third wheel. And when the last ferry off the island is cancelled, she finds herself stranded in the middle of a nor’easter. Will the magic of Blythe Cove Manor and the kindness of two strangers help her find a new and happier life path?
Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books | Smashwords
April 12, 2019
Poppy and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett
Our kittens are growing like weeds, but they are still kittens. They get into EVERYTHING.
Yesterday, I pulled out my computer tower because I needed to unplug it to try to coax it back to life. (It has issues.) I try to start it up (cue the Stones) every few hours. Because I was going to do that, I left it pulled out from under my desk.
For some reason, the kittens decided that playing behind the tower was a fun thing to do. They got yelled at several times, but--they're reckless teens. (That's why we have no guns and motorcycles around here.) Poppy got back there and, usually when I holler, she listens to me and stops her bad behavior, but this time she didn't come out. I hauled the tower out even farther and found she was totally entangled in cords for the computer, the label printer, the Internet, the router--you name it. One of the cords was wrapped around her neck. Needless to say, I panicked but quickly managed to extricate her. Holy crap! My kitten nearly strangled herself!!!
Half an hour later, they had their (second) breakfast. (They get kitty kibble as a snack, then an hour or so later, the REAL breakfast of Friskees.) Soon after Poppy ate her food, she started pawing at her mouth and sounding like she was choking. YIKES! She did this for about ten minutes. She let me look in her mouth, but I couldn't see anything stuck on her teeth.
I called the vet, but got put on hold. While waiting, she stopped the pawing. I got cut off, but decided I was overreaching. Until ... two hours later, she started doing it again. Now I was getting panicky. What if near strangulation had hurt her throat? She seemed to be breathing a lot faster than her sister when snoozing.
The vet was able to squeeze us in and so off we went. They had a lull and we were sent right in and were relieved that it was our favorite vet who saw Poppy. As soon as I told her about the noise Poppy had made, she went, "Aha." And then she showed us that Poppy already had a couple of her adult teeth, and that her gums were a little red and she had a wiggly tooth, but not wiggly enough to come out. (She tried.) Boy, was I relieved.
I'M A NEW MOM. I PANIC, OKAY?
And just as good, the vet didn't charge us for our little emergency. (The woman is a saint and a brilliant kitty surgeon.) She said all Poppy needed was a visit from the tooth fairy.
Okay, I've lived around cats all my life, but we weren't around the babies all that much because we worked 8-5. Now, more than 20 years later, we're around them 24/7 and ... honestly, I never saw a kitten teething before.
So, first Poppy nearly got strangled, then her teeth hurt, then she was stuck in a carrier and driven to the (horrors!) vet. Yes, it really was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Poppy. But we gave her extra cookies for Happy Hour and she seems to have overcome her ordeal.
Have you had a panicky moment with your pet?
Our kittens are growing like weeds, but they are still kittens. They get into EVERYTHING.
Yesterday, I pulled out my computer tower because I needed to unplug it to try to coax it back to life. (It has issues.) I try to start it up (cue the Stones) every few hours. Because I was going to do that, I left it pulled out from under my desk.
For some reason, the kittens decided that playing behind the tower was a fun thing to do. They got yelled at several times, but--they're reckless teens. (That's why we have no guns and motorcycles around here.) Poppy got back there and, usually when I holler, she listens to me and stops her bad behavior, but this time she didn't come out. I hauled the tower out even farther and found she was totally entangled in cords for the computer, the label printer, the Internet, the router--you name it. One of the cords was wrapped around her neck. Needless to say, I panicked but quickly managed to extricate her. Holy crap! My kitten nearly strangled herself!!!Half an hour later, they had their (second) breakfast. (They get kitty kibble as a snack, then an hour or so later, the REAL breakfast of Friskees.) Soon after Poppy ate her food, she started pawing at her mouth and sounding like she was choking. YIKES! She did this for about ten minutes. She let me look in her mouth, but I couldn't see anything stuck on her teeth.
I called the vet, but got put on hold. While waiting, she stopped the pawing. I got cut off, but decided I was overreaching. Until ... two hours later, she started doing it again. Now I was getting panicky. What if near strangulation had hurt her throat? She seemed to be breathing a lot faster than her sister when snoozing.
The vet was able to squeeze us in and so off we went. They had a lull and we were sent right in and were relieved that it was our favorite vet who saw Poppy. As soon as I told her about the noise Poppy had made, she went, "Aha." And then she showed us that Poppy already had a couple of her adult teeth, and that her gums were a little red and she had a wiggly tooth, but not wiggly enough to come out. (She tried.) Boy, was I relieved.
I'M A NEW MOM. I PANIC, OKAY?
And just as good, the vet didn't charge us for our little emergency. (The woman is a saint and a brilliant kitty surgeon.) She said all Poppy needed was a visit from the tooth fairy.
Okay, I've lived around cats all my life, but we weren't around the babies all that much because we worked 8-5. Now, more than 20 years later, we're around them 24/7 and ... honestly, I never saw a kitten teething before.
So, first Poppy nearly got strangled, then her teeth hurt, then she was stuck in a carrier and driven to the (horrors!) vet. Yes, it really was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Poppy. But we gave her extra cookies for Happy Hour and she seems to have overcome her ordeal.
Have you had a panicky moment with your pet?
April 10, 2019
One Step At A Time--Home Improvement & Writing
by Karen Rose Smith
Over the past two weeks, our daily routine has been disrupted by the sounds of hammers, saws, drills and strange voices as we had the carpet removed from our staircase and replaced with hardwood treads. When we entertained the idea of undertaking the project, I had no idea what was involved and how long it would take.
The first day was consumed with removal of the old carpet and preparing the steps for their refacing. When the workers left at the end of the day, one lonely step was completed...which meant that there were still twelve more to finish. The next day, they made a little more progress and reached the landing. Since that area was a bit of a strange configuration of angles and shapes, that took the entire next day. There were still six more steps to go.
The cats and I were becoming more and more restless as we were all locked in my office. But the workers assured us that the last few steps would go much more quickly and, true to their word, they completed the last step before the end of the fourth work day. They cleaned up their mess and headed out, only to inform us that they would be returning the next day for a half day of touch up, caulking and painting. That meant another morning of captivity for me and the cats. But, at last, the steps are finished and they look awesome, well worth the temporary inconvenience.
Looking back over the experience, I realized how similar installing the new steps was to developing and writing a new novel. STEP BY STEP is how I approach the process, just as the workers did with the new stairs:
Find a concept that will make me excited about writing the book...whether it is a romance or a mystery.Flesh out the concept to see if there is enough motivation and conflict to propel the story to a significant turning point.Develop main characters whose personalities fit into the story line.Choose a setting that will enhance the events that happen in the story.Develop secondary characters who will stir up circumstances or provide opportunities to show the best aspects of the main characters and provide growth.Develop a chapter-by-chapter outline with three scenes per chapter, providing as many chapters as I need for my contracted word count.Write the story and hope that with a little skill and a lot of patience, I will develop a masterpiece, mystery or romance, as impressive as my new stairs!
Over the past two weeks, our daily routine has been disrupted by the sounds of hammers, saws, drills and strange voices as we had the carpet removed from our staircase and replaced with hardwood treads. When we entertained the idea of undertaking the project, I had no idea what was involved and how long it would take.
The first day was consumed with removal of the old carpet and preparing the steps for their refacing. When the workers left at the end of the day, one lonely step was completed...which meant that there were still twelve more to finish. The next day, they made a little more progress and reached the landing. Since that area was a bit of a strange configuration of angles and shapes, that took the entire next day. There were still six more steps to go.
The cats and I were becoming more and more restless as we were all locked in my office. But the workers assured us that the last few steps would go much more quickly and, true to their word, they completed the last step before the end of the fourth work day. They cleaned up their mess and headed out, only to inform us that they would be returning the next day for a half day of touch up, caulking and painting. That meant another morning of captivity for me and the cats. But, at last, the steps are finished and they look awesome, well worth the temporary inconvenience.
Looking back over the experience, I realized how similar installing the new steps was to developing and writing a new novel. STEP BY STEP is how I approach the process, just as the workers did with the new stairs:
Find a concept that will make me excited about writing the book...whether it is a romance or a mystery.Flesh out the concept to see if there is enough motivation and conflict to propel the story to a significant turning point.Develop main characters whose personalities fit into the story line.Choose a setting that will enhance the events that happen in the story.Develop secondary characters who will stir up circumstances or provide opportunities to show the best aspects of the main characters and provide growth.Develop a chapter-by-chapter outline with three scenes per chapter, providing as many chapters as I need for my contracted word count.Write the story and hope that with a little skill and a lot of patience, I will develop a masterpiece, mystery or romance, as impressive as my new stairs!
Why we play
I just learned…make that am learning…to play Mahjongg. I really like it but not so sure it likes me. What brought me to do this is my sister-in-law. I planned a trip to Florida to visit her and she said learn to play before you come done.Let me tell you, this is not like remember to bring your bathing suit or don’t forget sunscreen. The first time I watched a friend playing was like spaghetti...tiles going everywhere with no rhyme or reason.
So what to do when nothing makes sense? Read the instructions. As my kids call it RTFM which stands for Read the Freaking Manual. And it helped a ton.So I went to Florida and played with my sister-in-law and the group she plays with. I didn’t do too badly as there were other newbees in the group and that truly helped.
But then I realized that there is a definite upside beyond the game that is really fun. I was meeting new people and chatting. Writing is a lonely profession. The readers are my salvation to be sure but to actually chat and think and laugh with new friends is a benefit I hadn’t counted on.
I am a loner and realize that being alone is not being lonely but interaction is important too so I don’t regress to eating soup out of the pot and staying in my jammies all day.So my question to you today is do you have a fave social activity? Play canasta? Book club? Gym class?
April 8, 2019
Doggies Getting Older
by Maggie SeftonThis photo was taken a few years ago at the Vet's office. But Katy looks about the same today. Of course, she does have a lot more grey hair around her face, now. And my hair doesn't look as tousled---I hope. :)
Yesterday, Monday, I took my 15 1/2 year old dog Katy to the Vet for her checkup.
The Vet's verdict was that Katy is in great shape for a doggie her age. She's got a little Arthritis in her hips, but not enough to keep her from running and sauntering in my Colorado backyard. She eats well and all systems are normal. She's a little deaf so you have to wave at her to get her attention. :) Other than that, however, she's in good shape.
That's always a relief for me to hear. I don't want to lose Katy anytime soon. My sweet Hound Dog Max passed away last Fall and it was traumatic to lose that sweet boy. But Cancer came and stole him away. Max was ten years old. Losing a beloved pet is always painful. Thankfully, whenever I travel Katy goes with Tammie who raised her from a tiny puppy, so Katy is loved whenever she's there at the Doggie Ranch or here with me.
As all of you know, I travel a lot mainly because three of my four daughters and all seven of my grandchildren are Back East in Northern Virginia, my old hometown area. In fact, I'll be flying there this week to see Family and Friends for the Easter holidays. It's always a treat to travel back to the Northern VA/DC/Suburban MD area in the Springtime. The Cherry Blossoms are in bloom, the tulips have pushed up through the ground, and the Azalea bushes are getting blooms.
Actually, all of the tall Maple trees in my front and back yards here in Colorado are full of buds. Plus the Lilac bushes that line one whole side of the backyard fence with my next door neighbor are laden with buds, just ready to burst into bloom. We have had a milder March and April is much warmer, so those buds should be popping soon.
What's happening where you folks are located? Are you being teased with Spring already? Or, is Winter's Cold still blowing?
April 7, 2019
THOSE PESKY ROBOCALLS, PART TWO
By Mary Kennedy
It seems a lot of people could relate to last week's blog on robocalls. Did you know that there are nearly 50 billion calls a year? A lot of you messaged me with some valuable suggestions.
First, few interesting stats.
Almost 40% of robocalls are scams--an excellent reason to screen your calls!
Nearly 24% are alerts and reminders, 18% are telemarketing and almost 20% are payment reminders.
And a bit of advice. If you don't recognize the number on Caller ID, don't pick it up. Let it go to voice mail. "Call spoofing" of course, lets spammers' calls come through, showing fake numbers that often look real. This is why Nomorobo can't keep up.
Don't pin your hopes on the Do Not Call List. It's almost useless and can't keep up with the new technology.
A third of people say that call blocking apps are useless. 30% say the apps were useful for a while but the calls have picked back up.
Is there hope? Yes, here's something you can do right now. You can sign a petition Consumer Reports is sending to the FCC, asking them to act immediately against robocalls and fine companies that engage in them.
Just go to robocallspetition.cr.org and sign up! You'll feel better and maybe in the end, the consumers can prevail. I hope so!
Mary Kennedy
It seems a lot of people could relate to last week's blog on robocalls. Did you know that there are nearly 50 billion calls a year? A lot of you messaged me with some valuable suggestions.
First, few interesting stats.
Almost 40% of robocalls are scams--an excellent reason to screen your calls!
Nearly 24% are alerts and reminders, 18% are telemarketing and almost 20% are payment reminders.
And a bit of advice. If you don't recognize the number on Caller ID, don't pick it up. Let it go to voice mail. "Call spoofing" of course, lets spammers' calls come through, showing fake numbers that often look real. This is why Nomorobo can't keep up.
Don't pin your hopes on the Do Not Call List. It's almost useless and can't keep up with the new technology.
A third of people say that call blocking apps are useless. 30% say the apps were useful for a while but the calls have picked back up.
Is there hope? Yes, here's something you can do right now. You can sign a petition Consumer Reports is sending to the FCC, asking them to act immediately against robocalls and fine companies that engage in them.
Just go to robocallspetition.cr.org and sign up! You'll feel better and maybe in the end, the consumers can prevail. I hope so!
Mary Kennedy
April 6, 2019
It's a brew-tea-ful day!
The Cozy Chicks realized that tea was such a perfect complement to cozy mysteries that we decided to write a book about it. Not only does Tea Time with the Cozy Chicks have delicious recipes, but it also includes themed tea menus, fascinating articles, fun facts, curious quotes, and helpful hints on how to host the most memorable tea parties ever! And for an extra treat, a few of us have included excerpts of our work as well! Read, cook, drink tea, savor, and most of all enjoy!
Order your copy now!
Amazon (Print edition) | Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books
April 5, 2019
You'll always get The Best From Swans Nest
by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett
Woo-hoo! Two years in the making, but at last
THE BEST FROM SWANS NEST
is now available for pre-order. It's a companion cookbook for the Lotus Bay Mystery series.
What's been fun for me is giving background information for Kathy Grant and what her inn and food mean to her. If you're a fan of the Lotus Bay Mysteries, and you like to eat, you'll want to add this companion to the series to your ereader. (And yes, it will also be available in print -- hopefully on the same day as the ebook. I'll keep you posted.)
Here's a brief description:
Kathy Grant, owner of the Swans Nest Inn on beautiful Lotus Bay, has collected more than a hundred mouth-watering recipes that she not only offers her B&B guests, but the brides who book their engagement and wedding parties at the inn.
Now you can enjoy the same treats like sweet sausage coffee ring, lots of marvelous muffins, quiche, stuffed mushrooms and many, many more!
Kindle US | Kindle UK | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books
Woo-hoo! Two years in the making, but at last
THE BEST FROM SWANS NEST
is now available for pre-order. It's a companion cookbook for the Lotus Bay Mystery series.What's been fun for me is giving background information for Kathy Grant and what her inn and food mean to her. If you're a fan of the Lotus Bay Mysteries, and you like to eat, you'll want to add this companion to the series to your ereader. (And yes, it will also be available in print -- hopefully on the same day as the ebook. I'll keep you posted.)
Here's a brief description:
Kathy Grant, owner of the Swans Nest Inn on beautiful Lotus Bay, has collected more than a hundred mouth-watering recipes that she not only offers her B&B guests, but the brides who book their engagement and wedding parties at the inn.
Now you can enjoy the same treats like sweet sausage coffee ring, lots of marvelous muffins, quiche, stuffed mushrooms and many, many more!
Kindle US | Kindle UK | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books
April 3, 2019
What Do You Do On A Beautiful Spring Day?
by Karen Rose Smith
Last weekend, the temperatures finally climbed into the seventies. After a long winter cooped up inside with the cats and my computer, I was ready to get out and celebrate spring. My husband's idea of soaking up the sunshine was to roll out the riding mower and start it up to see if it was ready for a long spring and summer of mowing grass--a "welcome" sign to a writer who loves quiet when she is writing!
My thoughts, however, immediately went to enjoying the warm sunshine and temperatures at an outlet mall in our vicinity. The strip-type mall offers a main street with outlet stores lining both sides along brick and concrete walkways.
We compromised and we headed for the outlets in late morning and planned to window shop and, of course, visit my favorite stores. We were both in a shoe-buying mood, so most of our stops were at footwear outlet stores. We did pass a Civil War store which intrigued me because I had just written a Civil War side story in my December 2019 Daisy's Tea Garden mystery, MURDER WITH CHERRY TARTS.
After we were finished shopping, we headed for the TGIF restaurant which is located at the edge of the outlet complex. I particularly enjoyed the decor which was centered around the 1960's. We were taken back to our high school and college years. The heroine in my Caprice De Luca Home Staging Mysteries is a Beatles fan and she also loves the tie-dyed and hippie -style clothing of the era...as well as pop art.
After lunch we headed home so hubby could roll out the mower and do his spring-things with it.
So we were both able to enjoy the beautiful arrival of spring in our own ways and also enjoy time together.
How do you like to spend a warm spring day full of sunshine and warm temperatures?
Last weekend, the temperatures finally climbed into the seventies. After a long winter cooped up inside with the cats and my computer, I was ready to get out and celebrate spring. My husband's idea of soaking up the sunshine was to roll out the riding mower and start it up to see if it was ready for a long spring and summer of mowing grass--a "welcome" sign to a writer who loves quiet when she is writing!
My thoughts, however, immediately went to enjoying the warm sunshine and temperatures at an outlet mall in our vicinity. The strip-type mall offers a main street with outlet stores lining both sides along brick and concrete walkways.We compromised and we headed for the outlets in late morning and planned to window shop and, of course, visit my favorite stores. We were both in a shoe-buying mood, so most of our stops were at footwear outlet stores. We did pass a Civil War store which intrigued me because I had just written a Civil War side story in my December 2019 Daisy's Tea Garden mystery, MURDER WITH CHERRY TARTS.
After we were finished shopping, we headed for the TGIF restaurant which is located at the edge of the outlet complex. I particularly enjoyed the decor which was centered around the 1960's. We were taken back to our high school and college years. The heroine in my Caprice De Luca Home Staging Mysteries is a Beatles fan and she also loves the tie-dyed and hippie -style clothing of the era...as well as pop art.
After lunch we headed home so hubby could roll out the mower and do his spring-things with it.
So we were both able to enjoy the beautiful arrival of spring in our own ways and also enjoy time together.
How do you like to spend a warm spring day full of sunshine and warm temperatures?
April 2, 2019
Wedding Day...yikes!
Hi Reagan Summerside here to talk weddings. The good, the bad and the deadly
You know that old saying, always the bridesmaid never the bride, well I’ve been both. The bride part didn’t take proven by the fact that I caught Hollis, my husband and the hound of Savannah, doing the horizontal hula with Cupcake right there in his office. That was some staff meeting, all right.The last wedding I attended I came to deliver a bowtie to the groom as he misplaced his. The good part of that wedding was the cake was delicious. The deadly part was that the groom wound up dead in five tiers of icing and fondant, the ugly part was that my BFF, Chantilly, the groom’s ex got accused of the murder. Round tables decked out in peach-tone wedding linens with white flower arrangements of roses and forget-me-nots dotted the room and Doreen-the-wedding-planner lay crumbled in a heap on the floor. “Oh dear Lord!” I starting for Doreen but stopped in my tracks because Simon was there too. He was face down in his very own five-tiered wedding cake with a silver cake knife sticking out of his back. Chantilly shouldn’t have been at the wedding in the first place of course but she and her UPS truck just sort of wound up there. “You shouldn’t be here,” I said to Chantilly as she swiveled round in the driver’s seat of her UPS van. White icing and cake crumbs smeared her lips and a glob of raspberry filling dripped down her chin. A pink butter cream rose stuck to the front of her brown uniform blouse. “Dear God in heaven! You went and ate the wedding cake!”“One slice,” she mumbled around a mouthful. “Who’s going to miss one little old slice? The freaking thing is five tiers high. It took three Cakery Bakery employees and the owner Delta Longford herself to lug it in. They even made GracieAnn Harlow stand on a ladder to get the bride and groom thing on top.” Chantilly held up a chunk of mangled pastry. “This here should be my wedding cake, except for the pink roses. This should be my wedding day, my wedding colors of creamy-peach and blue-morning-rain. Simon is my man. We were engaged! How could he marry someone else!” Chantilly wailed, a tear sliding down her cheek and cutting a path across a white icing smear. Hopefully none of the weddings you’ve attended were like this one with the groom dead as Lincoln right there in his own cake. What do you think is the best part of a wedding? The cake? The first dance? The saying I Do? What are your favorite wedding colors? Favorite locations…destination weddings, church weddings, garden weddings?Let me know and I’ll give away two Killer in Crinoline tote bags from the answers.Hugs, Reagan
You know that old saying, always the bridesmaid never the bride, well I’ve been both. The bride part didn’t take proven by the fact that I caught Hollis, my husband and the hound of Savannah, doing the horizontal hula with Cupcake right there in his office. That was some staff meeting, all right.The last wedding I attended I came to deliver a bowtie to the groom as he misplaced his. The good part of that wedding was the cake was delicious. The deadly part was that the groom wound up dead in five tiers of icing and fondant, the ugly part was that my BFF, Chantilly, the groom’s ex got accused of the murder. Round tables decked out in peach-tone wedding linens with white flower arrangements of roses and forget-me-nots dotted the room and Doreen-the-wedding-planner lay crumbled in a heap on the floor. “Oh dear Lord!” I starting for Doreen but stopped in my tracks because Simon was there too. He was face down in his very own five-tiered wedding cake with a silver cake knife sticking out of his back. Chantilly shouldn’t have been at the wedding in the first place of course but she and her UPS truck just sort of wound up there. “You shouldn’t be here,” I said to Chantilly as she swiveled round in the driver’s seat of her UPS van. White icing and cake crumbs smeared her lips and a glob of raspberry filling dripped down her chin. A pink butter cream rose stuck to the front of her brown uniform blouse. “Dear God in heaven! You went and ate the wedding cake!”“One slice,” she mumbled around a mouthful. “Who’s going to miss one little old slice? The freaking thing is five tiers high. It took three Cakery Bakery employees and the owner Delta Longford herself to lug it in. They even made GracieAnn Harlow stand on a ladder to get the bride and groom thing on top.” Chantilly held up a chunk of mangled pastry. “This here should be my wedding cake, except for the pink roses. This should be my wedding day, my wedding colors of creamy-peach and blue-morning-rain. Simon is my man. We were engaged! How could he marry someone else!” Chantilly wailed, a tear sliding down her cheek and cutting a path across a white icing smear. Hopefully none of the weddings you’ve attended were like this one with the groom dead as Lincoln right there in his own cake. What do you think is the best part of a wedding? The cake? The first dance? The saying I Do? What are your favorite wedding colors? Favorite locations…destination weddings, church weddings, garden weddings?Let me know and I’ll give away two Killer in Crinoline tote bags from the answers.Hugs, Reagan
