M.J. Compton's Blog, page 50

Ten Musical Genres, Ten Songs

Music is very important to me, and I’m thankful I have it in my life.  I like some songs in just about every genre. Here are some of my favorites:

Rock – Nights in White Satin (Moody Blues)

2. Folk – Love Over and Over (Kate & Anna McGarrigle)

3. Opera – Addio (La Traviatta)

4. Classical –  Vivaldi’s Flute Concerto

5. Rap – Hear Me Now (Hollywood Undead)

6. Country – Dreamwalking (Toby Keith)

7. New Age –  Hymne (Vangelis)

8. Show Tune – It’s Hard to Be the Bard (Something Rotten)

9. Latin – Energia (Fido & Alexis)

10. Reggae –  Redemption Song (Bob Marley)

What are some of your favorite songs?

The Purse Project: Kate Collier

What does my purse say about me? Let’s start with why I have Vera Bradley purse.

Because it’s a colorful floral; all those pockets keep me organized; the strap is cross-body; and the bag weighs next to nothing. I also love the whole idea of two women turning a good product idea into a thriving business that benefits breast cancer research.

The matching zippered pouch holds delicious lip balm to prevent chapped lips and eyedrops to soothe my dry eyes. Why suffer when I want to take a walk on the lakeshore on a cold windy day?  Or when I can’t tear myself away from a writing session? The pouch also hides my loyalty cards. I recently added the black one, for MacKimmee’s on Church Street in Lenox, MA, where I finally found a simple black alpaca sweater, warm enough for the coldest days, dressy enough for dinner, and lightweight enough to carry in a weekend bag.

Two other cards are neither credit cards nor loyalty cards. The one on the left is an appointment card; that’s my acupuncturist’s office, which was originally the Trolley Barn for my town. The lime green card? That’s for Sonnenberg, an impressive mansion in my town. I love walking the grounds, meditating in the Japanese Garden, smelling the roses in the formal garden, and taking pictures of the changing landscape as the seasons unfold. The fabric pencil box was made by a cousin who is both a romance author and a talented craftsperson. Even though I do all my writing on my laptop, I’m lost out in the world without sharpened pencils (with erasers, please!) to jot ideas and write notes.

These items are obvious: a bookmark for my romance series, a business card for my mystery series, a B&N coupon, a hair clip, and mouthwash. Those in the know recognize the anniversary coin from a 12-step program (29 years and counting!). But what in heaven’s name is the teeny old man hugging his knees and wearing a quirky cap? That’s a Piskie from Cornwall.  I don’t leave home without that Piskie, and I don’t let anyone see me rubbing it for good luck.

Ah, more items that are always in my purse: a pick to tame wind damage after a walk, hand sanitizer, nourishing lotion for my hands, and yummy gluten free fig newtons.

Finally, the one item that’s so valuable it has to be pinned to the inside of my purse: the smartkey to my hybrid vehicle. I love my Prius, which is pushing 100,000 miles and still getting 48+ mpg. You’re thinking, cars come with two keys, don’t they? Yes, and mine did, too. But somehow I lost one key during a trip to Ireland, the trip before I got the Cornish Piskie.

 

 

Writing as C. T. Collier, Kate’s newest release is Planted, first in The Penningtons Investigate, a series of traditional mysteries set in the Finger Lakes of upstate New York.

Learn more about C. T. Collier and the Penningtons at: http://drkatecollier.wordpress.com

 

National Fast Food Day

Happy National Fast Food Day.

Terribly unhealthy, but fast food fulfills a need. How many nights did I pick up my children from their after school program and hit the drive through on the way to religious ed/dance/jazz ensemble/drama club rehearsal and so on? Fast food is a necessity in the crazy-paced world we live in.

I’ve tried to back off (altho’ I am addicted to breakfast items at the drive thru between my house and my Day Job), but hitting the drive through at lunch is just too convenient. And for a quick meal? No prep, no clean up.  More time to write.

Can’t beat it!

 

Tantalizing Trivia: Election Trivia (Historical, Not Current)

Election Trivia Time!

Who was the only presidential candidate to receive electoral college votes even though he was dead?

Horace Greeley, in 1872. Ulysses S. Grant was easily re-elected that year, but because Greeley died before the electoral ballot was cast, there was a lot of confusion. No 24-hour cable news networks or Internet to help clarify things, either. In all the hoo-ha, Greeley ended up receiving 3 electoral votes, which Congress eventually disallowed.

More Greeley Trivia:

A lot of people, myself included, know Greeley mostly for saying “Go west, young man.” Turns out he borrowed the phrase from someone else: John Babsone Lane Soule wrote it in a Terre Haute newspaper, where Greeley read it and tweaked it for an editorial in the New York Tribune.

Crackpot Theory: Romance and Remote Car Locks

When TV Stevie and I first started dating neither of us owned cars with remote door locks. If such a thing were even around, they were reserved only for the high-end vehicles. We are not luxury vehicle kind of people. We’re more like, “does it get us where we need to go in a safe manner?” folks.

TV would unlock the passenger door and open it for me, then close it. I would slide over and unlock the driver’s door.  This became our ritual. Even after we were married and had babies, then small children, if it was just the two of us, we observed our habit.

Until he bought a car with remote door locks. Yes, he still held the door open for me, but there was no longer a need for me to unlock his side.  And eventually, even the opening of my door went away. It was unlocked.

Sometimes I miss those little gestures of courtship.

Being An Introvert

I am an introvert. What that means is that being around a lot of people in the midst of a lot of noise with a lot of things happening complete depletes me. Even after my local RWA Chapter meeting–when I’m with my tribe–I usually spend the next day trying to recover.

Here are some facts about introverts:

We’re not shy. We just don’t like hanging out for the sake of hanging out.
While we may not have a lot of friends, we have a few close friends, and that’s enough.
We need quiet/down time in order to be healthy.
We’re individuals, not part of a group. Some employers think we’re not team players. Maybe society puts too much emphasis on teams and not enough about nurturing the individual.
We’re observers. We notice the little things.
Many of us thrive online. It’s not intrusive, like the telephone or unexpected company. We get to think about what we want to say.

Lists: 5 Favorite Aromas

Here are five of my favorite aromas:

Earthworms after a spring rain: You can smell the soil and in my part of the world that usually means winter is finally over.
Lilacs: The fragrance of lilacs means spring. Sometimes it can be a touch overwhelming, but I love walking outside on a late May morning and having the scent greet my nose.
Thanksgiving Dinner (including dessert) being cooked: What’s to explain?
A bonfire on a chilly autumn evening: Reminds me of sweatshirts, jeans, and friendship.
Sausage, pepper, and onion sandwiches (without green peppers): nothing says summer like the smell of sausage, peppers & onions on the grill. Except green peppers. They smell (and taste) nasty.

 

 

Snarky Sunday: Saying Good Morning

My Day Job is in the corporate world. I have co-workers and colleagues (unlike my writing job, where I have Facebook & Twitter).

Not many of those co-workers/colleagues say good morning, unless prompted.

I don’t get it.

I think starting the work day out on a cheerful note tries to set the tone for the work day.

So GOOD MORNING!

New Release: Masks of October

The last thing caterer Skye Schuyler needs is for her crush on sexy baseball catcher Tag Gentry to develop into something more. She craves stability and a home base. Falling for a guy who thrives on road trips will only lead to heartache. But fate isn’t following her line-up. When his team hires Skye to feed him while he recuperates from a severe leg injury, Skye struggles to remain out of play for him.

 Tag’s World Series dream is shattered along with his leg and possibly his career. His only pleasure comes from flirting with Skye. He’s the one who usually calls the plays, but he can’t tell if she’s shaking him off or going for the pitch.

When Tag learns Skye is catering a Halloween party for the team’s notoriously sketchy owner, he steps up to the plate to keep Skye’s involvement from going foul. He doesn’t like batting clean-up, but he goes for the assist because sometimes a player has to sacrifice for the good of the team. And he and Skye have formed a team.

The trick now is convincing the sexy caterer hooking up can be a treat.

Masks of October by MJ Compton

Available from

Loose Id
All Romance Ebooks
Amazon
Google Play
iBooks
Kobo

 

The Purse Project: J. Lynn Rowan

I kind of hate purses. This aversion goes back to my college years, when I felt it necessary to separate myself from the less-than-adorable purses my well-meaning relatives tended to gift me around holidays and birthdays. I had one of those itty bitty college wallets, embossed with my school’s logo, that didn’t hold much behind my official ID, driver’s license, and five bills. And if I could get away with not carrying even that tiny, relatively useless thing, I’d do it.

Supposedly, the contents of a woman’s purse can reveal things about her personality and lifestyle. You’d have to take the contents of my purse in tandem with the contents of whatever larger bag it’s usually being carried in to really get a sense of who I am.

Purse + work bag = teacher who keeps procrastinating about grading papers.

Purse + diaper bag = mom who really wishes her kid would figure out how to use the potty so we can downsize said diaper bag.

When you narrow it down to just my purse, though, it’s pretty basic.

A wallet. Yes, it matches the purse (and diaper bag). I like things to color coordinate.

Smartphone. Because connectivity.
Gift cards that may or may not have money left on them.
Lip balm of some sort, usually Blistex. My lips always seem to be chapped.
Lipstick and lip gloss, specifically Mary Kay because that’s the only brand of lip color I’ve purchased in the past ten years. The only reason it’s even in there is because I went to a wedding a month and a half ago, and still haven’t remembered to take the lip color back OUT of my purse.
Business card carrier, because you never know when someone might ask about your books and you want to send them easily to your website.

Interestingly, I rarely carry my keys in my purse, unless I’m out and about without one of my larger bags.

I guess I’m still a minimalist at heart.

At least when it comes to my purse.

Marissa O’Brien has sworn off long-term relationships. But all her rules fly out the window when she grabs the attention of a sexy, international stranger during her weekly Girls’ Night Out.

Josh Mattingly has spent the last two years trying to turn over a new leaf. In Asheville, North Carolina, on business, the last thing he’d planned on was getting involved with a local girl. But one encounter with Marissa has him hooked.

Marissa recognizes a playboy when she sees one and tries to keep her attraction to Josh under wraps–until they share a passionate kiss that leaves both of them singed. Now Josh has to prove to Marissa that she can trust him with her heart.

The One I’m With is available at Amazon.

About the author: Lynn Rowan started writing stories as a small child, usually starring her favorite cartoon characters. Most of her work through middle and high school was filled with typical teenage angst and melodrama, and usually mirrored the books she loved to read. But eventually she found her own author’s voice and decided to seriously pursue a writing career.

Historical fiction remains J. Lynn’s “first love”, but she has enjoyed the journey to becoming an author of romance and chick lit. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Central New York Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society. She is also a teacher who tries to instill a love of learning, reading, and writing in her students.

When she’s not writing, J. Lynn enjoys travelling, gardening poorly but enthusiastically, studying various topics in American history for her own expertise, and channeling Julia Child every time she steps into the kitchen.

A native of Oswego, NY, she now lives in Charlotte, NC, with her own Romantic Hero of a husband and the most adorable toddler on the planet.

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