Laura Benedict's Blog, page 9
November 1, 2017
Have Yourself a Low-Stress Holiday Season
Here’s a picture of a peacock with some recycled Christmas trees. No jingle bells here…yet.
“You’re already holiday shopping, so…”
Dear PayPal: It’s November 1st. We’re not even done with Allhallowtide and Veteran’s Day is November 11th (Observed Friday the 10th.) Thanksgiving comes on Thursday, November 23rd. I gather, PayPal, that the holiday shopping to which you refer is linked to the winter holidays, mainly Hanukkah (December 12-20) and Christmas, December 25th. If I’m doing any holida...
October 31, 2017
Rabbit, Rabbit!
Photo via Creative Commons
How was your Halloween? We spent a pleasant evening eating grilled steaks and watching Stranger Things, and though I miss having trick-or-treaters, we had plenty of Halloween spirit.
Today I’m hanging out at the Kill Zone blog, talking about audiobooks vs. ebooks/paper books. I’ve become addicted to listening to audiobooks these days. I hope you’ll come by and give it a look. We’re a very jolly bunch over there–we love ALL the books.
In addition to the books I’...
Happy Halloween 2017
Happy spookiest day of the year, my dears!
First, I need to announce the winner of the drawing from last Wednesday’s blog about Halloween costumes. I got such a kick out of your stories. Thank you for sharing them. You are a brave and generous bunch. Just know that the winner was chosen by a random number generator, and not by comment content.
And the winner is…Lily Smith! Lily, please drop me an email at laura@laurabenedict.com so I can send you your books.
Books on the way to Lily–plus a co...
October 29, 2017
Sunday, 29 October 2017
If it’s flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s, be the best hamburger flipper in the world. Whatever it is you do you have to master your craft. –Snoop Dogg
There are few things as satisfying as working hard to get good at something. There’s that moment that eventually comes when you just know you’re there. It doesn’t mean you don’t have more work to do, or can’t be better, but it’s a moment of confidence that may feel fleeting, yet it never leaves you. A learned painter friend of mine told...
October 28, 2017
Saturday, 28 October 2017
Serendipity makes a life worth living.
Bits and Bobs
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold is a documentary on Didion’s life, by her nephew Griffin Dunne. Here’s the story behind it.
Does music affect you in an intense way? This is so true for me–tears and goosebumps, oh my.
Why you shouldn’t charge your phone overnight. Guilty!
Books and Film and Such
While I think October is a bit early for a best-of list, here’s Publisher’s Weekly’s list for 2017
One of my favorite websites for creepy...
October 26, 2017
Looking for Horror Treats? You Know I’ve Got You Covered!
It’s still October, the spooky month, and I’ve been looking at all the deals on horror novels out there. Horror is hot right now–Mr. King gave it a big kick in the pants with the long-related release of the film adaptation of IT. That’s pretty cool. And a rising tide of blood affects all boats–isn’t that the saying?
There aren’t a lot of women writing horror novels out there, but we sure do read them. Not all of my novels are horror–I like to call most of them dark suspense. The Bliss House n...
October 25, 2017
Photoshoot Peek
My whirlwind photo shoot trip to St Louis was a blast. You might remember I was a little worried about it…I certainly needn’t have worried because I was in very capable hands.
Ashley Hercules, of Emily Miller, did both my makeup and hair, and was sweet as sugar pie to boot. She had great ideas that dovetailed with my own–though she made mine better. So professional, and so fast, too.
After we were done, I buzzed over to my photographer’s workspace, where we shot inside and out for an hour. Fi...
October 24, 2017
A Halloween Zebra, and a Spooky Prize, too
Who wouldn’t want to be a zebra?
Are you ready for Halloween? In the not-too-distant past, I had a lot of fun putting together costumes for my kids–but I also quite liked dressing up myself. While nothing ever quite brought me the joy I got from my ready-made Casper the Friendly Ghost costume I wore at age five, I got a big kick out of my homemade zebra costume from 2009.
Tell us about your favorite Halloween costume!
If you comment between now and midnight, Saturday the 28th of October, yo...
Tuesday Photos: Airport Yarnbombing
On my way home from Bouchercon 2017 in Toronto I had a long layover in the Philadelphia International Airport. I came across this delightful exhibit of yarnbombing. It’s retro and modern and charming, all at the same time. The artist calls herself Marbufs.
Such joy!
It’s like a Partridge Family memorial.
Sportsball for everyone.
Be still my middle school heart.
How cute are these?!
Bikes! Look at that little helmet…
Come on, get happy!
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October 23, 2017
Productive Movement, or Why Treadmills Bore Me to Death
Sometime in the last fractious decade I read an article that caused a great kerfuffle about the average increase in the weight of the American woman over the last fifty or so years. Its clickbait title said something about the decline in hours that women spend doing housework, which was, I assume, what people were irritated about. The truth is that everyone’s average weight has increased (except fashion models’) due to a veritable buffet of reasons, especially the availability of higher calor...
