M.J. Compton's Blog, page 28

MJ’s Musings: “Do You Have Change for a Twenty?”

I dread having someone ask me this question. People like me, who use ATMs, always have too many twenty dollar bills.  I’m fortunate that my bank’s ATM has an option with $5 increments, so when I withdraw cash, I make sure it’s $35 or $55 or $75 dollars. (If you take out $95, you get […]

MJ Monday: Meals-Carol’s Casserole

Welcome to 2019! I’m shaking up my blog a bit this year. Mondays are now MJ Monday…where I talk about food, music, movies, my manuscript in progress, and motivation. This week is the debut of MJ’s Meals. One of my retreat friends has been on a very restrictive diet, so when we were planning a […]

MJ’s Musings: SEP-Kiss An Angel

In 2019, my Thursday Thoughts blog will feature a review of a Susan Elizabeth Phillips novel on the first Thursday of every month. This month’s review is one of my top three favorite SEP books: KISS AN ANGEL. My paper copy disintegrated, so I purchased it on Kindle. When I learn people who are SEP […]

#UpbeatAuthors: Thriftiness with Self

It’s the end of the year, which is a time I like to look forward instead of back. That means looking at my social media schedule, as well as the things I know I will have going on with my life. I also need to take other things into consideration: specifically, my elderly parents and […]

The Name Tag Game

A long time ago, when I was an author in search of an agent, I had a bite from a somewhat local agent. I wanted written correspondence with her; she wanted to do everything over the phone. I researched her a little more deeply than I had originally, and discovered she was not an agent […]

#UpbeatAuthors: A Time to Toss Thriftiness

The darkness is about to fade, little by little each day, allowing the light to return to our lives. Don’t be frugal with your light. Don’t be frugal with your love.

Pregnancy Dreams

Back when I was pregnant, my doctor didn’t believe in routine sonograms. If something was wrong–spotting, or a baby refusing to be born–that was different. Even if you did have a sono, the techs weren’t allowed to tell you the baby’s sex. But each time, I knew what I was going to have. Yes, I […]

#UpbeatAuthors: Time Has Value

December is one of those months where it seems like there is no time to: A) sleep B) breathe C) recuperate When you know there is going to be a stretch of time that is going to require massive chunks of your life, it’s smart to schedule down time. I have a lot of friends […]

Something Else I Don’t Get

Several years ago, when X-Chromo was still in high school, I attended some sort of awards breakfast. I ended up sitting with a woman who lives around the corner from me, and with whom I had butted heads–in a very minor way–on several occasions when our daughters were in middle school. X and this woman’s […]

#UpbeatAuthors: Support Your Local Library

My husband likes movies. He was a cinema major in college. He buys movies. Nearly every week, a package comes in the mail. More movies! We will never be able to watch all the movies in our house that are still in their cellophane in our lifetimes. We’re too busy trying to watch what’s on […]