Connie Cockrell's Blog, page 12

December, Recipe for Truffles: Monday Blog Post

Truffles cooling in my cold garage

Newest News:

If you’re like me, you’re looking at the calendar and
going, what happened? It’s December 9th already? Wha???? Anyway, my
Christmas prep is abbreviated this year. Just the string of lights on the eves
outside, plus the little wooden Christmas sign in the flowerpot near the
sidewalk. Inside, we have the tree up, an angel on top, and pretty much nothing
else. Very minimalist. I did make my traditional truffles. I think I’m going to
make a batch of cookies. I send these to my brother, my daughter and her ex. I
have mailed out my Christmas cards, but again, it’s an abbreviated list.

As a Christmas gift, I’ll give you the recipe for the
truffles. I got this recipe from the Martha Stewart Living magazine years ago
and I’ve loved it from the beginning. Use the best chocolate you can for the
best treats. I use a teaspoon measuring spoon to scoop the interior as I don’t
have a miniature scoop. A cookie dough scoop is too big, you only want about
half of that. I always double this recipe as I like to give them to friends,
family, and even the mail person, garbage truck driver, and my newspaper
delivery person. Enjoy.

From Martha Stewart Living

Classic Truffles

Makes about 4 dozen.

Martha’s note: Using a 2 ¼ inch ice-cream scoop is the
easiest way to form truffles, but two spoons will also work.

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

1 pound finely chopped semisweet chocolate, plus 12
ounces for dipping

1 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted.

In
small saucepan, bring cream, butter, and corn syrup to a full boil over medium
heat. Turn off heat. Add 1 pound chocolate; gently swirl pan to cover chocolate
with cream, but do not stir. Let stand, undisturbed, 5 minutes.Slowly
whisk until combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; refrigerate, stiffing
every 15 minutes. (This really is an important step!)After
45 minutes, mixture will thicken quickly, so stir every 3 to 5 minutes until
thick enough to scoop, 10 to 20 minutes more. (This step could take longer but
is also important. The whisking and stirring make the truffle centers delightfully
smooth and melt in your mouth.)  Using two
spoons or a small ice-cream scoop, form into 1-inch balls; transfer to a
parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet. (I do scoop, but then roll the ball
of ganache in my hands to make a smoother ball. It’s up to you but warning, my
method is extremely messy.)4.
Chill until firm, but not hard, about 10 minutes. Remove from refrigerator;
roll in palms to form a ball, (skip if you’ve already rolled them) and press
gently with fingers to create irregular shapes. Chill until ready to dip, up to
1 week. Place remaining 12 ounces chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of
simmering water; still occasionally until chocolate melts. Remove from heat.Place
cocoa in a small bowl. Remove centers from refrigerator. Using one hand, dip
one center into melted chocolate, then roll around in your hand to coat evenly,
letting excess drip back into the pan. Place truffle in cocoa. With your clean
hand, cover truffle with cocoa. Let sit in bowl 20 seconds. (Note: I drop the
cold centers in the melted chocolate one at a time then pick them out with a
fork. I use a second fork to tap excess chocolate from the covered center, then
place on a wax paper lined baking sheet. I skip the cocoa powder step all
together. No one has ever complained. The cocoa is supposed to make the candy
truffle look like a real truffle, but again, no one in my circle cares about
that.)Lift
out, set on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Repeat, one at a time, with
remaining truffles. If your kitchen is warm, refrigerate 5 minutes to set. You
can store truffles in an airtight container up to 1 week at cool room temperature.
(I store mine in the refrigerator. They can last longer that way, if no one is
sneaking into the container and taking the truffles. To serve, bring back up to
room temp for the best chocolate flavor.)

If you have leftover melted chocolate, dump some dried
fruit (cranberry, raisin, apricot,) and nuts, (walnut, sliced almond) or even
crushed peppermint candy canes, whatever you have, into the melted chocolate,
stir to coat, and pour out onto wax paper. When cooled and hardened, you now
have a wonderful, home-made chocolate bark.

Giveaways:

The Christmas giveaway is now open! For my giveaway I’m featuring an ebook copy of Slave Elf and a $10 Amazon gift card. There are 21 other great prizes available and a $72 Grand Prize in PayPal cash. I hope you can stop in and try for a prize here.

Where will I Be?:

Saturday I’m at the Mesa Book Festival. The date is December 14th from 10am – 5pm and the location has changed to 225 E Main St, Mesa. This is the Benedictine University, for those familiar with Mesa. I am sharing a booth space with the wonderful Marsha Ward. The site only promotes the author registering the table, so you’ll only see Marsha’s name, not mine. But I promise, I’ll be there. You can find all the details and a map at https://anthology.org/category/mesa-book-festival/.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

My 2020 Calendar, which I’ve titled Arizona Reflections, is now available. I love doing these calendars. The beautiful pictures of Arizona wildlife, insects, reptiles, and landscapes relaxes me every time I look at them. The wall calendar has both U.S. and Canadian holidays listed and blocks for keeping track of appointments. You can find the calendar for purchase at: http://www.lulu.com/content/legacy-lulustudio-calendar/arizona-impressions/25183877. Alternatively, you can go to my website, at my Books and Other Products page and it’s the first thing you see. I hope you enjoy it.

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

End of November, Nano, Writing Schedule, Giveaway Winners: Monday Blog Post

View from my front walk, Saturday, 30th of November

Newest News:

I hope that however you celebrated the American
Thanksgiving Day, it was wonderful. In my area, we had a storm and depending on
the altitude, it could be snow, ice, or rain. The weather deterred my guests so
I made the entire meal for just the hubby and I. So yes, it’s Monday and we’re
still eating leftovers. The storm wasn’t done with us on Thursday. On Friday,
it snowed all day. That’s a very rare occurrence for where I live. The storm dropped
four or five inches of wet heavy snow. Hubby was wonderful and went out and
shoveled the front walk and ¾ of the driveway. On Saturday, it dawned bright
and beautiful. I went out my front door and took a picture of the lots across
the street before the warm air melted everything. Beautiful. We’re going to
have temps in the 40’s and 50’s for the next few days so all the snow will melt
quickly. A good start to get me in the mood for Christmas.

National Novel Writing Month is over. I reached 50,700 words last Tuesday, so I didn’t stress about Thanksgiving or writing all last week. Tuesday was a marathon though. I wrote a bunch then was going to quit for the day when I realized I was only a few hundred words from finishing. So I kept writing. Another 1700 words came flowing out and at nearly 5k for the day, hooray! I was a winner. The story, All About a Home, isn’t finished. I’ll finish it before the end of the year. Then the editing will begin. I hope to have all five out in 2020 in quick succession. Perhaps one per month. Stay tuned for the updates in my newsletter. Cover reveals will be there first as well.

In other writing news, I’ve added Mystery at the Reunion back into my to be written to do list. The story, first drafted two years ago, needed a little something. I’m working on the sub-plot that’s set in Jean’s past in the military in Afghanistan. I think that’s just the thing to bring the story I first drafted the missing element I’ve been struggling with all this time. So, once All About a Home is finished, Mystery at the Reunion is back in the writing queue. Of course, I’ll continue the serial, The Party. The two stories are so different, I won’t have any trouble writing them at the same time.

Giveaways:

The Ghoulishly Great Reads Halloween Author/Blogger giveaway has winners! My winners are Tina and Nikki, both from the U.S. I want to congratulate you on being my winners for the Halloween giveaway. Thank you both so much for participating! Emails were sent to you on getting your prizes.

You want to be a winner too? The Christmas giveaway is now open! For my giveaway I’m featuring an ebook copy of Slave Elf and a $10 Amazon gift card. There are 21 other great prizes available and a $72 Grand Prize in PayPal cash. I hope you can stop in and try for a prize here.

Where will I Be?:

December Mesa Book Festival. The date is December 14th from 10am – 5pm and the location has changed to 225 E Main St, Mesa. This is the Benedictine University, for those familiar with Mesa. I am sharing a booth space with the wonderful Marsha Ward. The site only promotes the author registering the table, so you’ll only see Marsha’s name, not mine. But I promise, I’ll be there. You can find all the details and a map at https://anthology.org/category/mesa-book-festival/.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

My 2020 Calendar, which I’ve titled Arizona Reflections, is now available. I love doing these calendars. The beautiful pictures of Arizona wildlife, insects, reptiles, and landscapes relaxes me every time I look at them. The wall calendar has both U.S. and Canadian holidays listed and blocks for keeping track of appointments. You can find the calendar for purchase at: http://www.lulu.com/content/legacy-lulustudio-calendar/arizona-impressions/25183877. Alternatively, you can go to my website, at my Books and Other Products page and it’s the first thing you see. I hope you enjoy it.

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

Happy Thanksgiving, NANOWRIMO, Friday Flash The Party: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

Thanksgiving is this week and I hope you have a great
holiday planned, whether you’re staying home and resting up for the holiday
onslaught the rest of the year, or you have the entire extended family over.
Our holiday will be small this year. But I’ve heard the BBC America and several
other channels have great movie marathons going on that day. So whether you
watch Bruce Willis throw Hans Gruber off of the tower or you have Hallmark
Holiday Christmas movies lined up, enjoy.

National Novel Writing Month has turned around for me. I’ve caught up to where I should be this time of the month in my story writing journey and have about five thousand words left to go to win the challenge for 50,000 words by the end of November. If you’re a participant this year, I hope you’ve had a great writing month. If life has interfered with your writing plans, don’t worry, you got some words in and that’s more than you had at the start of the month. Remember. If you decide it, every month can be Nanowrimo.

I missed my Friday flash fiction post on my serial, The Party, again. With missing a week of Nano writing, I’ve been trying to catch up and unfortunately, The Party serial story is suffering. I do apologize for that. On the other hand, it’s given my unconscious mind a chance to mull over various ways this story can go. It will resume in December for sure.

Giveaways:

The Ghoulishly Great Reads Halloween
Author/Blogger giveaway is now over! Twenty-two authors participated giving us
a $66 Paypal grand prize plus 22 other great prizes and 22 free books. Soon
I’ll have the list of winners, which I’ll share with you.

The Christmas giveaway is now open! For my giveaway I’m featuring a copy of Slave Elf and a $10 Amazon gift card. There are 21 other great prizes available and a $72 Grand Prize in PayPal cash. I hope you can stop in and try for a prize here.

Where will I Be?:

December Mesa Book Festival. The date is December 14th from 10am – 5pm and the location has changed to 225 E Main St, Mesa. This is the Benedictine University, for those familiar with Mesa. I am sharing a booth space with the wonderful Marsha Ward. The site only promotes the author registering the table, so you’ll only see Marsha’s name, not mine. But I promise, I’ll be there. You can find all the details and a map at https://anthology.org/category/mesa-book-festival/.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

My 2020 Calendar, which I’ve titled Arizona Reflections, is now available. I love doing these calendars. The beautiful pictures of Arizona wildlife, insects, reptiles, and landscapes relaxes me every time I look at them. The wall calendar has both U.S. and Canadian holidays listed and blocks for keeping track of appointments. You can find the calendar for purchase at: http://www.lulu.com/content/legacy-lulustudio-calendar/arizona-impressions/25183877. Alternatively, you can go to my website, at my Books and Other Products page and it’s the first thing you see. I hope you enjoy it.

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

NANOWRIMO, To Do List, Friday Flash The Party, Giveaways News: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

So how is National Novel Writing Month going for me? Well, I’ve had a dearth of motivation this last week and skipped writing from Tuesday through Saturday. Well, Saturday I spent on the road. I had a meeting in Tucson so there was about four hours each way on the road, plus the meeting I attended and a lunch and social couple of hours afterward. That has put me behind. Not so far I can’t catch up, but I’ll have to work harder and longer to get the words in that I need to complete the NaNo challenge this year. When I do write, the story seems to be moving along. This is after, It’s All About the Girl, had a particularly slow start. No matter. The words are flowing and I should finish the month strong. I cannot believe the month is already half over with. That’s what happens when you spend so much time in other worlds. LOL!

In between writing sessions I’m like most women, thinking about Thanksgiving, and beyond that Christmas. Planning needs to be done. People invited over. Presents to be acquired. Candy to be made. I also haven’t finished updating everything needed to be done for the Payson Book Festival, so that’s nagging at me in the back of my brain. Lots to do. I’m sure many of you are in the same situation. My plan is to just take one thing at a time and get it all done. Hope your plan works for you!

Oh. And I missed my Friday flash fiction post on my serial, The Party. It fell into that same lack of gumption as It’s All About the Girl. However. I have been thinking about it. It looks like I have about eleven characters. Somehow, before the end of the story, they’re all, or at least most of them, are going to intersect in some way. I have no idea how. I do have a glimmer of how the story could end. I’m really writing this by the seat of my pants so hang on. It’s going to be a ride.

Giveaways:

The Ghoulishly Great Reads Halloween
Author/Blogger giveaway is now over! Twenty-two authors are participated giving
us a $66 Paypal grand prize plus 22 other great prizes and 22 free books. Soon
I’ll have the list of winners, which I’ll share with you.

The Christmas giveaway is now open! For my giveaway I’m featuring a copy of Slave Elf and a $10 Amazon gift card. There are 21 other great prizes available and a $72 Grand Prize in PayPal cash. I hope you can stop in and try for a prize here.

Where will I Be?:

December Mesa Book Festival. The date is December 14th from 10am – 5pm and the location has changed to 225 E Main St, Mesa. This is the Benedictine University, for those familiar with Mesa. I am sharing a booth space with the wonderful Marsha Ward. The site only promotes the author registering the table, so you’ll only see Marsha’s name, not mine. But I promise, I’ll be there. You can find all the details and a map at https://anthology.org/category/mesa-book-festival/.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

My 2020 Calendar, which I’ve titled Arizona Reflections, is now available. I love doing these calendars. The beautiful pictures of Arizona wildlife, insects, reptiles, and landscapes relaxes me every time I look at them. The wall calendar has both U.S. and Canadian holidays listed and blocks for keeping track of appointments. You can find the calendar for purchase at: http://www.lulu.com/content/legacy-lulustudio-calendar/arizona-impressions/25183877. Alternatively, you can go to my website, at my Books and Other Products page and it’s the first thing you see. I hope you enjoy it.

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

Veteran’s Day, NANOWRIMO, Gratefullness: Monday Blog Post

Airman 1st Class Wilcox

Newest News:

Happy Veteran’s Day! The youngster in the above
picture is me. Airman 1st class. I had no idea what I was doing,
where I was going, or what the future would bring. Fortunately, mostly good
stuff and for that I’m grateful. May the vets in your life have nothing but
happiness from now on.

Yay! It’s November and with it, National Novel Writing Month! This is the annual challenge to all writers to put your editing brain in the closet and just write, write, write! As of Sunday morning, I’ve written almost 18,000 words so far. I have transitioned to the next All About Bob story, which right now I’m calling, It’s All About the Girl. This story isn’t flowing as well as the last one but not everything is perfect. I’m slogging along on it and with luck will have it done sooner rather than later and be able to start the last one, It’s All About Home. If you’re writing this month, good for you. Hope you get it finished. If you’re a reader, brace yourself. All of these stories will be out in about a year.

I have been putting my gratefulness posts on my author page. So click on over to my author page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ConniesRandomThoughts/, and check it out. Share what you’re grateful for as well!

Giveaways:

The Ghoulishly Great Reads Halloween
Author/Blogger giveaway is ending soon! Twenty-two authors are participating
giving us a $66 Paypal grand prize plus 22 other great prizes and 22 free
books. So jump on this giveaway, over on my website Giveaways page. Soon I’ll have the list of winners, which I’ll share with
you.

The the Christmas giveaway will start very soon! For my giveaway I’m featuring a copy of Slave Elf and a $10 Amazon gift card. Other great prizes are also available. I hope you can stop in and try for a prize.

Where will I Be?:

December Mesa Book Festival. The date is December 14th from 10am – 5pm and the location has changed to 225 E Main St, Mesa. This is the Benedictine University, for those familiar with Mesa. I am sharing a booth space with the wonderful Marsha Ward. The site only promotes the author registering the table, so you’ll only see Marsha’s name, not mine. But I promise, I’ll be there. You can find all the details and a map at https://anthology.org/category/mesa-book-festival/.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

My 2020 Calendar, which I’ve titled Arizona Reflections, is now available. I love doing these calendars. The beautiful pictures of Arizona wildlife, insects, reptiles, and landscapes relaxes me every time I look at them. The wall calendar has both U.S. and Canadian holidays listed and blocks for keeping track of appointments. You can find the calendar for purchase at: http://www.lulu.com/content/legacy-lulustudio-calendar/arizona-impressions/25183877. Alternatively, you can go to my website, at my Books and Other Products page and it’s the first thing you see. I hope you enjoy it.

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

The Party: Lt Col Flynn – Flash Fiction Friday Post

Yes, this is political. I offer you trigger warnings for language and sexual and racist slurs and comments. Future episodes may also contain rape, abuse, and other unpleasant things.

Chapter 18: Lt Col Flynn

Tyler Flynn crouched behind a bush on a hillside
overlooking a small town in West Virginia. In his earpiece, he heard a single
click. Go time. He made a motion with his hand and watched as his troops moved down
the hill. He was responsible for surrounding the southeast side of the town.
Not too close, though. The plan was to bomb the place.

Two days ago he’d been in a staff meeting with Colonel
Marcus and other company commanders. A map of the town, Collinwood, was
projected at the front of the conference room. They’d already discussed their individual
approaches. Three sides, in all. Now the rest of the plan was being detailed.

When Marcus said the town was going to be bombed, the
room fell dead silent. “I know,” Marcus said. The man wasn’t stupid, Flynn
thought. “A daylight raid, us surrounding the town, and a full-scale bombing.
Yes. There will be elderly, women, and children in there. The order is to kill
every person.” He looked around the room. “We’re sending a message, gentlemen.
There will be cameras, in the air and with the surrounding men.” He took a deep
breath. “This will be televised. Anyone escaping will be captured and
eventually interrogated for information on the insurrection. Any questions?”

There weren’t. Later in the day, the men were briefed.
They didn’t like it, he could see that clearly on their faces. But like their officers,
no one asked any questions. This was no longer an army where questions were
welcomed.

So now it was beginning. A few cars had left town, but
his team didn’t stop them. There were details further down the road to pick
them up. In his earpiece, he heard Marcus’ voice. “Bombing run beginning. Hold
your positions.”

Flynn keyed his mic. “Hold your positions. Bombing run
initiating.”

From his position he could see his men taking cover.
It didn’t take long. Drones came overhead and flew straight for the town. Bombs
fell, silently, and Flynn felt as though he were watching a silent movie. The bombs
fell, black silhouettes against the bright blue sky. They hit, first at the
edges, then moving into the town center. Factories, churches, schools, stores.
They all lit up in flame and then smoke. He could hear the screaming from his
perch on the hill and his stomach rolled. Another flight of drones followed,
hitting buildings untouched by the first pass. People were beginning to
straggle out of the town.

“Pick them up,” he said into his mic. As he watched,
his men stood and began to move forward. He watched as his men directed the
people to the temporary confinement area. Trained since birth to trust their
own soldiers, forgetting they didn’t live in that world any longer, and truth
be told, more than likely confused from the bombing, the survivors did what
they were told.

He knew there was first aid set up there, there hadn’t
been any orders to be cruel. The people would be treated and moved into the
fenced area. Flynn looked at the town, it was totally on fire. There didn’t
seem to be a single building that wasn’t already a pile of ruble or on fire. Immaculata
my ass, he thought. More like Satan’s spawn. He spat to the side to try and get
the taste of treachery out of his mouth. It didn’t work. He moved down the
hill. It was time to join his men.

Thank you for reading.

NANOWRIMO, Gratefulness November: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

Yay! It’s November and with it, National Novel Writing
Month! This is the annual challenge to all writers to put your editing brain in
the closet and just write, write, write! As of Sunday morning, I’ve written
4600 words and am going strong on finishing It’s All About the Music. Then I’ll
transition to the next All About Bob story, which right now I’m calling, It’s
All About the Girl. I don’t really like that title, so hopefully, when I’m
writing it, I’ll come up with something better. The last planned book in that
series will be, perhaps titled, It’s All About Home. With luck and nimble
fingers, I’ll have all three done by the end of the month. We’ll see how it
goes.

Also in November, I practice gratitude and thankfulness. I’ve done this for several years now and find it comforting. I generally post my daily thankful for on my personal facebook page. I should do that on my author page too, don’t you think? Yeah! I’ll do that. So click on over to my author page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ConniesRandomThoughts/, and check it out. Share what you’re grateful for as well!

Giveaways:

The Ghoulishly Great Reads Halloween
Author/Blogger giveaway is ending soon! Twenty-two authors are participating
giving us a $66 Paypal grand prize plus 22 other great prizes and 22 free
books. So jump on this giveaway, over on my website Giveaways page. Soon I’ll have the list of winners, which I’ll share with
you.

Then the Christmas giveaway will start. For my giveaway I’m featuring a copy of Slave Elf and a $10 Amazon gift card. Other great prizes are also available. I hope you can stop in and try for a prize.

Where will I Be?:

December Mesa Book Festival. The date is December 14th from 10am – 5pm and the location has changed to 225 E Main St, Mesa. This is the Benedictine University, for those familiar with Mesa. I am sharing a booth space with the wonderful Marsha Ward. The site only promotes the author registering the table, so you’ll only see Marsha’s name, not mine. But I promise, I’ll be there. You can find all the details and a map at https://anthology.org/category/mesa-book-festival/.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working
on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books
are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

My 2020 Calendar, which I’ve titled Arizona Reflections, is now available. I love doing these calendars. The beautiful pictures of Arizona wildlife, insects, reptiles, and landscapes relaxes me every time I look at them. The wall calendar has both U.S. and Canadian holidays listed and blocks for keeping track of appointments. You can find the calendar for purchase at: http://www.lulu.com/content/legacy-lulustudio-calendar/arizona-impressions/25183877. Alternatively, you can go to my website, at my Books and Other Products page and it’s the first thing you see. I hope you enjoy it.

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

The Party: Chapter 17 – Andy McGuire, Flash Fiction Friday Post

Yes, this is political. I offer you trigger warnings for language and sexual
and racist slurs and comments. Future episodes may also contain rape, abuse,
and other unpleasant things.

Chapter 17: Andy McGuire

Andy sat in the row along the wall behind his boss,
Duncan Angelson. Andy had a lapful of files, all color tabbed and memorized.
He’d read the entire pile, of course. He had no idea what his job, Special
Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of the Chief of Staff,
was before the President for Life, but now, it seemed to him, to be nothing but
a go-fer for Duncan.

He tried to focus on the current speaker, Joe Evans.
Not that he was interested but because if Duncan raised his hand over the top
of his leather high-topped chair, Andy had better have the file that pertained
to whatever the current blow-hard speaker was talking about.

The meeting had begun half an hour ago and to Andy, it
was overkill. Hadn’t The Party already contained any possible interference?
Thousands had already been rounded up, killed, detained, children sent to
camps. There he caught a breath. Camps. What had some of the World War Two Jewish
survivors said about camps? They’d been stunned by the term. “Camps!” They’d
said. “You think these were summer camps where we swam and hiked?” They were
outraged.

Andy had to agree. He knew entirely too much about
camps. This isn’t what his college classes had prepared him for. He managed to
check into Joe Evans interminable speech. Nothing yet. The blow-hard was still
pontificating on how he and his organization deserved credit for the current
state of affairs. As though the Sons of America white supremacy organization
was the be all and end all of political high-ground.

Andy wished he had the spine to record this crap.
Someday, he thought. Then quashed the idea. No. Not the country he’d grown up
with. Damn his father, shoving him into this hell hole. But that’s what it was
now. Sons—shoved into opportune positions to further the family fortunes. He
tried to clear his throat of the bile, but quietly. No need to draw attention
to himself.

He envied his sister, kept at home, though he knew
full well that she chafed under the confinement. Safer for her, he thought. At
least she’s not in this mess. But he knew she’d disagree.

He focused. What had Evans said? Oh, yes. Duncan had
his hand up. Andy pulled the file and passed it up. Numbers on Jews rounded up.
Dim wit, Andy thought. Bankers, stockbrokers, docs, lawyers, judges, social
workers, it was endless. The Jews were everywhere and were the glue holding the
whole country together. What were Joe’s people thinking? It was obvious to him
but the rest? Nope. Just shoving their heads in the sand.

It didn’t matter. The whole thing was water under the
bridge. There were no more independent judges or lawyers, doctors or social
workers. Everything was now about the Party. There would be no dissent. There
would be no others. Andy sighed. The numbers were rolling in. Production was
down. Mental health issues, as far as the Party tracked them, were up. There
weren’t enough people to do the work in farms or factories or even in fast food
places.

Joe Evans sat down. The next person, some professor of
what and which that Andy didn’t catch, stood. He chanted on about the
rebalancing of socio-economic status. As though no one recognized the
euphemisms. Andy understood. They were going to start to transition the
enslaved population into the subservient roles in society. Slave labor, though
he already knew that was happening.

Then, Andy perked up. The sad-sack professor began
talking about women. Not just baby-makers, he said. Servants. Nannies,
housekeepers, more. Andy’s thoughts flashed to his sister. She’d stab someone’s
eyes out with a pencil before she’d submit to this crap. He feared, for the
first time in this whole nightmare. CarrieAnn would die before she’d put up
with this crap. His hands began to sweat.

The Doctor sat down and Andy tried to breathe. Can’t
happen, Andy thought. Cannot happen. Then the Director of Homeland Security
stood up. “We’ve found a pocket of dissidents,” he told the room. Andy paid
attention even though he didn’t have any files that pertained to that topic.

“It’s been a difficult road,” the Director said.
“Here’s the near end. After much surveillance, we’ve found what we think is the
center of the resistance.” A map flashed up on the end wall behind the
Director. “Look here.” He walked back to the projection and pointed at a map of
West Virginia. “A small town, apparently a hot bed. We’ve been slowly
extricating the loyalists from the town. We’re now ready to move.”

A new slide appeared on the wall. “We have three
divisions of the Army surrounding the town and one company of the Immaculata at
strategic points. We’re going to hit in twenty-four hours. The entire town will
be obliterated. The resistance will be sorely injured.”

The room erupted in clapping. Andy’s stomach rolled.
The town was his sister’s college town. She had friends were there—favorite
teachers. Duncan turned and gave Andy a look. Andy’s half effort to rise
failed. He sank the two inches back into his chair and Duncan turned back to
the table. What would CarrieAnn think of him? He clasped the files to his chest
and closed his eyes in an effort not to see the glee on the faces of the people
supposedly superior to him.

The meeting finally closed, and Andy followed Duncan
from the room. They had to stop every few feet to shake a hand or trade a quip.
Nothing to do with him, he thanked his lucky stars. He was in no shape to be
social.

Duncan waited until they were back in his office.
“What the hell, Andy!”

“Sorry, boss.”

“Don’t be sorry. I don’t want to bring your father
into this.”

“No, Sir. Won’t be necessary.”

“Better not be. Get out of here.”

Andy scurried out. It took eighteen minutes in the
bathroom to get his emotions under control.

Thank you for reading.

Autumn has Arrived, NANOWRIMO, Best Website News: Monday Blog Post

Stirling Pass, Sedona, by Randy Cockrell

Newest News:

Cooler
weather has arrived in Central Arizona. I have broken out my jeans and started
making casseroles again. Sunday was scalloped potatoes and pork chops. An old
favorite of mine that my mom used to make. Even better, the fall color has
arrived in the moister places—canyons, stream sides, and so on. The above picture
was taken in Sedona on a hike there by my husband.

My
cold is much better, as are the swollen lymph in my neck and the ear infection.
A couple more days and I’m back to the doc for a follow-up.

We’re just days from the start of National Novel Writing Month and I’ve decided to work on more of my All About Bob series. Since these are shorter books, novelettes/novellas, that makes me a NaNo Rebel this year. I’ll still be writing to that 50,000 word goal. I’ll just spread it out over 3 books. One book. All about the Music, was started last year and I never finished it. So I’ll wrap that up and then move on to two more. Neither of which I have titles for or even plots. Well, maybe a plot for one. The other, well, I’ll figure that out when I get there. So, wish me luck. Nano starts November 1st.

It’s Fixed!

BEST NEWS! After much futzing around with my website, I have finally figured out my blog sign up issue. It’s back, now located at the top right of my blog page. It has taken me hours and hours of spelunking around the back end of the website to figure it out. But now it’s back and I’m so happy. If you’ve wanted to share the website but haven’t, now’s the time. I’d love to get my subscriber numbers back up.

Giveaways:

The Ghoulishly Great Reads Halloween Author/Blogger giveaway is now running! Twenty-two authors are participating giving us a $66 Paypal grand prize plus 22 other great prizes and 22 free books. So jump on this giveaway, over on my website Giveaways page. It won’t last long.

Where will I Be?:

December Mesa Book Festival. The date is December 14th from 10am – 5pm and the location has changed to 225 E Main St, Mesa. This is the Benedictine University, for those familiar with Mesa. I am sharing a booth space with the wonderful Marsha Ward. The site only promotes the author registering the table, so you’ll only see Marsha’s name, not mine. But I promise, I’ll be there. You can find all the details and a map at https://anthology.org/category/mesa-book-festival/.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click
here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and
the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If
you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun
and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m
working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new
books are coming.

Don’t
forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the
newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

My 2020 Calendar, which I’ve titled Arizona Reflections, is now available. I love doing these calendars. The beautiful pictures of Arizona wildlife, insects, reptiles, and landscapes relaxes me every time I look at them. The wall calendar has both U.S. and Canadian holidays listed and blocks for keeping track of appointments. You can find the calendar for purchase at: http://www.lulu.com/content/legacy-lulustudio-calendar/arizona-impressions/25183877. Alternatively, you can go to my website, at my Books and Other Products page and it’s the first thing you see. I hope you enjoy it.

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank
you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes
time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the
recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support
this blog.

The Party: Chapter 16 – Bill Brown, Friday Flash Fiction

Yes, this is political. I offer you trigger warnings for language and sexual and racist slurs and comments. Future episodes may also contain rape, abuse, and other unpleasant things.

Chapter 16: Bill Brown #9645990

Bill, rose stiffly from bed at the chimes. It had been
two weeks since he’d asked Officer Fernald about writing to his family. Before
he knew what was happening, Fernald, someone Bill had thought was pretty nice,
given the circumstances, was zapping him with the cattle prod. The officer,
while Bill was still writhing on the hall floor, blew a whistle. Three other
guards ran up and Fernald began beating him with the prod. The others joined in
with their prods and with boots to the back, stomach, anywhere they could
reach.

Bill had woken in the infirmary, hands and feet
strapped to the bed. A tube was in his mouth, he couldn’t breathe through his
nose, and an IV was hooked to his arm. A headache felt like the top of his head
was going to blow off. A white-coated doctor came in.

He glanced at the monitor beside the bed, turned so
Bill couldn’t see it. “Well, 9645990, you’re a lucky guy.”

Bill didn’t feel lucky. Every part of him hurt.

“I would suggest, in the future, you not ask for
anything. You have four broken ribs, a broken arm, kidney damage, and your left
femur has a fracture. Your nose is broken, that’s why you can’t breathe through
it. I’ll get the nurse to unhook the ventilator. It looks like you’re breathing
on your own now.”

Bill grunted. It was all he could do with the
ventilator in his mouth.

“I’ll see you get some water. Your mouth is probably
very dry.”

Bill managed a small nod.

“Headache?”

Bill nodded again, though the movement made his eyes
water.

“We’ll get you something for the pain.” He looked at
the monitor again. “Trust me on this. The next time you’ll be headed to the
morgue.” With that he turned and was gone.

After the nurse came in and unhooked the ventilator,
given him some water and took a few minutes to wipe his face. Bill felt
somewhat better. The male nurse had been gentle, but all of the activity had
ramped up the pain levels. He was happy when the nurse came back and shot
something into his IV bag.

“Pain meds. Doc says you can have them for the next
twenty-four hours. After that, you’ll have to suck it up.” With that the guy
was gone.

A day later, despite the kidney pain, and casts on arm
and leg, he was sent, with a crutch, back to his dorm. No one spoke to him.

It was two days before one of his dorm mates told him,
they’d all been hit with the cattle prods for his indiscretion. The whole thing
was a huge lesson for him. And, he realized, for everyone. They really were
nothing but farm animals. Slaves, he finally recognized. And anything any one
of them did was going to result in punishment for the whole group. Bill went
into a slump, emotionally. It was too much to take in.

After a week, the other men began to talk to him
again. George, from his work room, walked with him a moment on the track. “You
okay?”

Bill shrugged. “Yeah. I can hobble along, after a
fashion. Try and get my strength back.” The crutch hurt him under his arm.
Especially since he couldn’t change sides with it. But he’d learned his lesson.
He didn’t ask the guards for anything.

“Happens to at least one person in every group. They
make an example. Sorry it had to be you.”

“Me too.” Bill nodded to George, then George moved off
before one of the guards blew his whistle.

Bill hobbled on. It took him the whole thirty minutes
to get around the track once. He was breathless and light-headed as they went
back into work. He’d learned his lesson. Now, he watched everything around him.
What he’d thought was kindness on the part of any of the guards was simply a
strict adherence to their rules. Mostly it was that they weren’t sadistic
assholes. And some of the guards were sadistic. They’d cattle prod a man for no
reason, then snigger when the man fell to the floor, flopping like a fish out
of water.

He noticed they didn’t laugh, though. They eyed the cameras;
then would kick the guy they’d just zapped to stand up with a slur matched to
the man. Nigger, Spic, Kike—Bill thought those names had been long forgotten,
but apparently not. He also realized the guards were under as much scrutiny as the
workers were. Perhaps just not punished as much. Though after a month and a
half, he recognized that guards were replaced. Especially the sadistic ones.
Just one day, someone else would be in the old guard’s place. That was
something, he thought to himself. But it didn’t make it much better. He was
still a slave. And that stuck in his craw.

Thank you for reading.