M.J. Compton's Blog, page 10

MJ Monday-Manuscript: Update

As I type this blog, the first draft of the next (so very delayed) book is complete. A preliminary round of revisions have been noted. I plan to delve into revisions after finishing this blog. I used my three-week July vacation to push to the end. The problem, you see, is my writing process. And … Continue reading MJ Monday-Manuscript: Update

Thursday Thoughts: Planners

It’s that time of hear again! Thinking about next year and what I’m going to use as a planner. For the past three years, I used one company, and I loved the planner. The cover said, “She Designed A Life She Loved,” and that meant so much to me. A few weeks ago I learned … Continue reading Thursday Thoughts: Planners

MJ Monday-Music: Connie Dover

Many years ago, my husband and I were wandering around the village of Cooperstown, NY. We’d already visited the Baseball Hall of Fame. I wanted to shop. I didn’t want baseball related stuff. I didn’t want the usual tourist town trinkets. I walked into an alley leading off Main Street, seduced by the music being … Continue reading MJ Monday-Music: Connie Dover

Thursday Thoughts: Manly Obsessions

My dad had a thing for flashlights. And he was always misplacing them. Once, when he climbed into the attic, he found a flashlight he’d left there the previous year. I recall at least one birthday when he received flashlights from everyone. I think they were all misplaced within six months. My husband is the … Continue reading Thursday Thoughts: Manly Obsessions

MJ Monday-Movies: Nightmare Alley

My husband thought I would like Nightmare Alley, and he was correct. I had seen Tyrone Power in a Zoro movie and liked him. I was familiar with Joan Blondell from TV. Power plays a carnival huckster who eventually gets his comeuppance. Lots of plot in the story. Lots of emotion. I also learned where the … Continue reading MJ Monday-Movies: Nightmare Alley

Book Review-Linda Howard: Drop Dead Gorgeous

Drop Dead Gorgeous is the second book in a two-part series Linda Howard wrote in first person.  The heroine. Blair Mallory, is a ditzy but savvy former cheerleader who now owns her own health club. (See my July 9, 2020 blog for info on the first book.)  Drop Dead Gorgeous picks up where To Die For ends. Someone … Continue reading Book Review-Linda Howard: Drop Dead Gorgeous

MJ Monday-Meals: Leftover Salt Potatoes for Breakfast

I learned this trick when I was in high school, when I would spend weeks at a friend’s camp in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. The first ingredient is leftover salt potatoes. Salt potatoes are a Central New York favorite. No summer event is complete without them. I am not a fan of … Continue reading MJ Monday-Meals: Leftover Salt Potatoes for Breakfast

Thursday Thought: Self-Help: Make Your Creative Dreams Real

For several years, I was “into” SARK. Believe it or not, Positivity is one of my strengths, and SARK is very much into being positive. I love her bright colors and creative drawings. When I saw her book Make Your Creative Dreams REAL in a bookstore I naturally had to purchase it. Like the more popular … Continue reading Thursday Thought: Self-Help: Make Your Creative Dreams Real

MJ Monday-Motivation: Lightning Bugs

Once again, my schedule–writing and day job–prevented me from getting to my patio/garden/back yard in a timely manner. It doesn’t help that the person who had all these grandiose plans for the space disappeared on me last year. The first year of my garden was the best. It looked amazing. I had fresh herbs. I … Continue reading MJ Monday-Motivation: Lightning Bugs

Thursday Thought: Typewriters

The other day I recaptured a memory from when I was very, very young. My aunts and uncles and cousins always got together with extended family, so I knew my cousins’ aunts from the other side of their family.  This memory comes before I went to school, so I couldn’t have been much older than … Continue reading Thursday Thought: Typewriters