Richard Stephens's Blog, page 3

Wake Up

   I woke up early, as I usually do. The room was still dark. Only a sliver from the waiting morning peaked through a crack in the curtains. Kevin, my boy, was snuggled under his new transformers blanket. From my spot at the foot of the bed, I stretched and yawned loudly; hoping Kevin would wake up and take me outside. It didn’t work, so I continued onto step two. Slowly working my way up to the head of the bed, I pushed my nose under the covers and licked Kevin’s ear. He was warm and smelled like the chocolate chip cookies he snuck into our bedroom and shared with me last night.

“Leave me alone, Ranger,” Kevin grumbled, pulling the covers back over his head. As far as I was concerned, this was not an option for the simple fact that some matters of nature can’t wait.

On to step three; I began walking up and down the length of the bed, stepping on and over Kevin on each pass. Every so often, I would stop to lick his ear, or whatever I could reach through his protective arms.

“Come on Ranger, it’s Saturday!” he cried.

    Don’t care, I barked.

“Please?” he asked through the blanket.

Wagging my tail, I jumped up and down and barked until Kevin threw back the covers and looked at me. His sleepy frown quickly turned to giggles when I lunged forward and licked his face.

“Okay boy, I’ll take you outside, and then we’ll get some breakfast.”

Filed under: Short Story Tagged: boy, Breakfast, Dog, Humor, Love

Looking for a fun gift for a child?

 

Join Brandon, his sister Squeak, and their best friend Rolly as they search for the new bird feeder at the edge of the woods.
But make sure you keep a good look out for Big-Flo the Hawk.
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Brandon and the Red Backpack (Volume 1)

 

   When I wrote my first children’s book, “Brandon And The red Backpack,” I pictured my granddaughter Natalie, sitting on my lap as I read it to her. And while I tried to keep the writing simple, I believed, and still do, that a good story should be fun for both the young and the young at heart. In a world gone mad, I encourage everyone to slow down, spend a few minutes each day reading to a child. Sharing the gift of time and imagination is probably coolest gift I can you can give anyone.
Share the fun

Please Read A Book!

  Borrow a book, share a book, donate a book. READ a book!

In a world run by social media, it seems many (especially our younger ones) have forgotten the joy of reading a good book. Okay, any book.

Sadly, I can’t remember the last time I saw a group of people not glued to their ipad or iphone. (No offense to you non-apple folks) Sure, maybe a few are reading an eBook, or maybe listening to an Audio-Book, but being the curious(Nosy) writer that I am, I often ask what they’re doing. 9 out of 10 times they’ll be texting, posting, liking, following, UN-following, taking selfies, sharing selfies, adding emojis, and sometimes actually talking to someone on their phone. People still do that don’t they?

I think what gets me the most is the total annihilation of the English language. Not happy to use some basic abbreviations, I’ve seen text where the words were so completely distorted, I was willing to offer $100 to the first person able to translate it for me.

Okay, enough with the soapbox. I guess all I’m asking is where will the book readers of tomorrow come from? Will we as a writers have to learn a new abbreviated language for our future generations, just so they can read it? Or add #tags to everything followed by an emoji? LOL.

Let’s hope we always have a world filled with dreamers. Dreamers willing to imagine new worlds through the carefully crafted words of the many talented writers still willing to share the fruits of their imaginations.

Salty Tails

 

Filed under: Maine Author, Salty Tails Tagged: Books, Cat, Humor, Read, social media, Writer

Who’s Elvis?

Around 11:00, Penny came in with the mutts. “Cuervo’s not a big fan of seagulls.” She said and laughed.

Another mystery solved, I thought. What did you do? I asked him, Knock over another bag lady?

Better, Tawny said. He ran into one of the other undercover agents, knocked him to the ground, and made him lose his radio-earpiece.

Nice job, I said to Cuervo.

It was an accident. I saw some seagulls talking to a squirrel and had to break it up, he growled.

You didn’t happen to see Elvis did you? I asked.

No, who’s Elvis?

If you have to ask, I replied.

Don and Pete shuffled in with a box of donuts.

“Nice look, Don,” Stormy said, “Does your wife know you left the house like that?” He was wearing a bright orange Hawaiian shirt over green plaid shorts. The dark blue socks he wore with his cheap plastic flip-flops, framed the whitest knees I’d ever seen.

“He actually wore this to the station,” Pete said, shaking his head. Pete was wearing a pastel colored oxford, tucked into a pair of ironed blue jeans over polished black cowboy boots.

Chuck snapped a picture of Don with his phone and whispered to Bailey, “This is for the next time you complain about my clothes.

Download your copy of Obsession Tales for only 0.99
Filed under: Maine Author Tagged: A Salty Tails Mystery, Cat, Cozy Mystery, Humor, Romance

Are you Carrying?

   Pete stopped next to Stormy on his way out. “Are you carrying a gun?”

“No.”

“You should be, and with your connections I’m sure it could be handled pretty quickly.”

“It’s not going to happen,” Stormy replied. Pete shrugged and walked out.

Monica stepped closer to Stormy and watched the door close behind Pete. “I’m happy you don’t want to have guns around, but I’m a little surprised, and you’re so adamant about it.”

Stormy sighed. “When JD and I were younger – in our early twenties – we used to go out to the Mojave Desert and target shoot. Mostly .45 caliber, single action revolvers and rifles, like the old cowboys shot. A friend of ours from high school, Todd Castle, he used to go with us. Todd was a practical joker – always looking for ways to pull our leg. Well, one day Todd was playing around with his gun, pointing it at the car, at the sky, and even at himself. JD told him to stop messing around, but Todd wouldn’t stop, and started taunting JD. The more JD kept on him, the more erratic Todd became. Finally, Todd pointed his gun at JD’s truck and pulled the trigger.”

“He shot JD’s truck?”

“Not really; it sounded like it and a lot of smoke came out, but no slug.” Monica waited. “Todd had loaded his gun with blanks. I thought JD was going to kill him.” Stormy shook his head. “Todd shot his gun a couple of more times – once at the ground and once in the air – to show JD that the gun was loaded with blanks,”

“I’m guessing JD didn’t see the humor.”

“No, and JD’s got a pretty good sense of humor, but not when it comes to guns. So he’s yelling at Todd to put the gun down. But instead of putting it down he points the gun at his stomach and says, ‘Come on JD, there just blanks,’ and pulls the trigger.” Monica’s eyes went wide, when Stormy shook his head. “The shot knocked him on the ground and blew a hole through his stomach.”

“Oh Stormy, I’m so sorry. What happened to him?”

“It took JD and I, a minute to realize what had happened, at first we thought it was one of Todd’s pranks, but when we saw the blood we knew it wasn’t. So we loaded him into JD’s truck and headed for the nearest hospital in Lancaster – an hour and a half away.”

“Did you make it?”

“No, he died before we could get there.”

“Monica wrapped her arms around Stormy’s waist and held him tight. “How did he shoot himself if the gun was loaded with blanks?”

“When the police investigated, they found that one of the six rounds was live. Unfortunately, we’ll never know if it was an accident or if Todd was playing a sick game of Russian roulette.”

Read more from Obsession Tales on Amazon
Filed under: Salty Tails Tagged: Adventure, Cats, Cozy Mystery, Kindle, Richard Stephens, Romance

Are you happy now Salty?

I stopped writing long enough to get the new website up and running, so Salty Tails can finally get off my back about it. You would think I have nothing better to do with my time but work for him.

Stop by and tell us what you think.

www.richardstephens.me

Filed under: Maine Author

I Am A Cat

   “I’m giving you one last warning, Salty.” Stormy looked down at me. “You stay out of the bait.” I’d been warned under threat of death, or at the very least, a full body shave, to stay out of the bait this time. The problem is I love fresh squid, and sometimes can’t control myself. Seriously, what did he expect? I am a cat.

    Fortunately, I had a plan. I knew if I played my cards right, I could easily manipulate all four of them, especially JD and Chuck. The bigger they are the harder they fall, I always say. All I had to do was look sad, ask politely, and purr a lot, and all four of them would toss me extra pieces of fresh tasty squid. I said I was a cat – not stupid.

   From Vanished Tales ~ Book two of my Romantic Cozy-Cat mystery’s.

Filed under: Maine Author Tagged: Amazon, Cat sleuth, Cat-Mystery-Book, Catitude, Cozy Mystery, Richard Stephens, Romance

I Like To Eat!

When friends ask me why I like to cook, my response is this-

“Because I like to eat.”

Like my character, Stormy McGuire, I learned a long time ago, that if you want to eat good (and not go broke) you need to know how to cook.

To me, cooking is more than just good eats, it’s about feeling and emotion. Like art or a good book, the creative process is just as important as the finished product. And I’ve found it doesn’t have to be some fancy, new, or exotic dish to get my juices flowing. Sometimes an old favorite – something as simple as meatloaf and potatoes – brings just as much satisfaction to me. Like writing a favorite character, it’s comfort food.

Like most artists, sharing my work can bring anxiety and joy. The fear that no one will like it, or how far is the emergency room? Satisfaction of a table full of empty plates and request for seconds. No you can’t have the recipe, it’s a family secret.

In today’s world of fast food and microwaves, it would be nice if everyone, young and older, took the time to learn the basics of cooking. Personally, I believe cooking a nice meal for someone is the sincerest form of love. Give it a try sometime. And if you need a recipe, I’m always available.

Richard

Filed under: Love Tagged: Cooking, Food, Love, Richard Stephens, Shrimp risotto recipe, Stormy McGuire

Is the cat with you?

   After parking and covering the car, Stormy and I made our way down to the crowded collection of boats. We easily spotted what we were looking for; it was the only boat with yellow police tape draped around it. Sitting next to it was a uniformed police officer reading a tattered paperback. The police officer looked up from his book when we approached. He was young and his eyes shifted between us. “Is the cat with you?”

“Don’t leave home without him.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Stormy smiled. “He thinks he’s a dog.” Stormy hit a new low with that one, and I guarantee it’ll cost him. I think I’m a dog – that will be the day. Don’t be surprised when you find a fur ball in your favorite shoes, I growled.

Back in the car, Stormy sat behind the wheel and watched a half dozen seagulls fight over a dropped bag of fries.

“That’s as bad as it gets Salty. I don’t know how the cops deal with that every day.” Stormy started the car, put his hand on the gearshift and paused. “Let’s give Dave a call.” Stormy’s younger brother Dave lived in Maine with his wife Lisa and two kids.

“Hey bro,” Dave answered. “How’s life in Hollyweird?”

“Getting weirder by the minute.” Stormy replied.

  By Salty Tails (with a little help from Richard Stephens.)

Read more from my first book, “Pirate Tales.”

 

Filed under: Cat-Mystery-Book, Cozy Mystery, e-book, Pirate Tales Tagged: Amazon, Cat, Cat-Mystery-Book, Cozy Mystery, Dog, Humor, Maine Author, Romance

Let Your Hair Down for Cancer

As I sat in the waiting room, waiting for my wife of only 11 days come out of a 4 hour surgery to remove cancer, I am overwhelmingly reminded of how fragile life is. I’m reminded how important love and family is to each of us.

I think back at my life before I met Jes. Yes, I was content, but I wasn’t complete. Now, for the first time in many many years, maybe ever, I felt true love in my heart. I write romance, trust me when I say – nothing compares with the real thing.

I’m certainly not alone in these feelings of love or felt the devastation of cancer. Everyone is touched by cancer. Family, a close friend, or even personally. I myself know several cancer survivors, some, like my wife, beat the big “C” while others still battle. I miss those who fought and lost.

When I first heard this wonderful song by, The Adam Ezra Group, I was immediately touched by Adams words. The video blew me away.

   Salty Tails and I would like to share this video with everyone touched by cancer.

Filed under: Cancer Survivor, Love, Maine Author, Romance, Salty Tails Tagged: Cancer Survivor, Love, Maine Author, Richard Stephens, Romance, Salty Tails