M.J. Compton's Blog, page 14
May 11, 2020
MJ Monday-Movies: We’re the Millers
My husband and I watched We’re the Millers one night, and I couldn’t stop laughing. I bought my own copy of the flick and took it with me on my next writing retreat. My crit partners couldn’t stop laughing. At least one of them borrowed the DVD from me so she could show it to her […]
May 7, 2020
Thursday Thought-Self Help: Deep Work
Deep Work by Cal Newport was recommended in a recent class I took. A bunch of fellow like-minded people started a book club and chose this title as the first to be read. Okay, maybe I’m not as deep a thinker as the others. Or maybe I’ve read too many “self-help for productivity” books over […]
May 4, 2020
MJ Monday-Meals: Pasta Salad
\ Pasta has always been my “fallback” ingredient. It’s budget friendly, filling, and shelf-stable. What with COVID-19 reshaping our lives, I’ve been more and more dependent on pasta. Every couple of weeks, I’ve been making a pasta salad. I think I’ve made more so far this year than I have in the previous two years. […]
April 30, 2020
Office Update
I’m making slow but steady progress in my quest to redo my office. I’m cleaning out stuff that should have been cleaned out ages–even decades–ago. Example. I had over twenty years worth of old Romance Writers Report magazines that I mean to go through, tear out articles I wanted or wanted to save because I’d […]
April 27, 2020
MJ Monday-Manuscript: Excerpt
Here’s an excerpt from the very rough draft of BESIEGED BY THE MOON, tentatively scheduled for July 2020 publication: “So you’re doctor? My mother will be thrilled,” Phoebe lied. Parker chuckled, the vibrations rumbling against her back. I’m an EMT, working toward being a paramedic. Big difference.” “They have schools that teach lycan medicine? Doctors […]
April 23, 2020
Thursday Thoughts: On Being Essential
My day job is working for a beverage distributor. According to the Department of Homeland Security and the governor of my state, I am essential. My employer takes this seriously. Not because they can make money, but because we are a business-to-business industry; we help other business stay in business. (My internal editor is cringing […]
April 20, 2020
MJ Monday-Music: Linda Ronstadt
My husband and I tuned into the Kennedy Center Honors this year because we both wanted to see Sally Field and Linda Ronstadt. Ronstadt’s music is an integral part of the sound track of my life. Shortly after the Kennedy Center TV special we watched the documentary, LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE. I […]
April 16, 2020
Thursday Thought: The Colors of Pain
When I was a child, I saw pain in two colors. Ear aches were red. Stomach aches were black. As I grew older and experienced different types of pain, they always red or black. RED PAIN: Headaches sinus infections foot cramps leg cramps torn meniscus damaged ACL toothaches coughing giving birth BLACK PAIN: gas pains […]
April 14, 2020
MJ Monday-Movies: Yesterday
I’m surprised the movie Yesterday isn’t better known than it is. I am unfamiliar with the male lead, but the female lead is Lily James of Downton Abbey and the Guernsey Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society fame. Ed Sheeran and Kate McKinnon are also in the movie. The plot is simple: a struggling […]
April 9, 2020
Book Review: Karen Robards-BAIT
Karen Robards is a master at writing romantic suspense, and her 2004 release Bait is no exception. The heroine is an advertising exec going after a big account. The hero is an FBI agent tracking a serial killer. The story includes: a mistaken identity a secret identity a great supporting cast (including a secondary romance and […]
