M.J. Compton's Blog, page 51
October 19, 2016
A Tribute to His Bob-Ness
If you know anything at all about me, you know I am a Bob Dylan fan.
I have been a Bob Dylan fan since there was such a thing to be.
When I was a teenager, I wanted to be Bob Dylan. I wrote a term paper comparing His Bob-ness’s lyrics to those of Paul Simon.
I have actually read–multiple times–Tarantula. I still quote it regularly. And yes, it’s well-loved. (See the red electrical tape on the spine?)
Yes, I still have the Milton Glaser poster, although it it battered from being hung in so many apartments. Unframed. With thumbtacks. Shoot me now.
On one of our early dates, TV Stevie asked me what my favorite Dylan album was. “Blood on the Tracks,” I replied. “Mine, too,” he said. Turns out the man had every single Dylan album, plus a lot of bootleg stuff. (Remember, music wasn’t as accessible back then as it is now. The bootleg stuff? Was really bootlegged.) I’ve been joking for over 25 years that I married TV Stevie for his Dylan collection.
The first concert to which we took the chromos was Bob Dylan (and Willie Nelson) at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY. X-Chromo does a fabulous Dylan imitation.
A current co-worker once said, “Everyone back then was a Beatles or Rolling Stone fan.” “Hello?” I said. “Not me. His Bob-ness was my musical mecca.” Co-worker laughed and conceded the point.
I have a mix of songs I call “Dylan Says It Best” that I listen to when I’m angry or upset. If the situation is right, I sing along as loud as I can. I don’t have to worry about being on key.
Imagine my utter delight when I learned His Bob-ness won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I have been saying for years that he is a lyrical genius. Guess I’m not the only one who thinks that.
So, just for fun, I’m resurrecting a post from April 2014.
Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. It’s a lot harder than you think!
Pick your Artist: Bob Dylan
Are you a Male or a Female: JUST LIKE A WOMAN
Describe Yourself: ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME
How do you feel: FOREVER YOUNG
Describe where you currently live: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: BLACK DIAMOND BAY
Your Favorite form of Transportation: BLOWING IN THE WIND or LIKE A ROLLING STONE
Your Best Friend is: ABSOLUTELY SWEET MARIE
You and your best friends are: RAINY DAY WOMEN
What’s the weather like: A HARD RAIN’S GONNA FALL or HURRICANE
Favorite Time of Day: MEET ME IN THE MORNING
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: WHEN I PAINT MY MASTERPIECE
What is life to you: I SHALL BE FREE
Your last relationship: MR. TAMBOURINE MAN
Your fear: MONEY BLUES
What is the best advice you have to give: DON’T THINK TWICE, IT’S ALL RIGHT
Thought for the day: ONE MORE CUP OF COFFEE
How I would like to die: KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR
My soul’s present condition: BEYOND THE HORIZON
My motto: THE TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGING
October 16, 2016
National Dictionary Day.
Celebrating dictionaries!
All kinds of dictionaries!
And yes, I can look that up in my Funk & Wagnall.
But one thing I’ve never understood: when I used to ask how to spell something, teachers/parents would say, “Look it up in the dictionary.” Hello? How am I supposed to look up something I can’ spell?
October 12, 2016
The Organized Writer Pt 4
One of my RWA chapter mates asked me how I can come up with blogs on a regular basis. I needed to think about it. But I did come up with a true answer.
I spent 30 years in local television, the last couple of them writing news promos. Daily. Looking for the unique angle to make our newscasts stand out over the others in town. My brain is wired to think of the little hooks.
I have also adapted the calendar (Excel spreadsheet) I used when scheduling sweeps story promos (rating period special news series). I now use the calendar to keep track of my blogs.
It’s all about adapting existing skill sets to current needs.
October 9, 2016
Ten Things You May Not Know About Me
I have green eyes. According to my nephew, this (along with my blood type) makes me prime alien abduction material. Cue The Byrds.
I’ve never been to Disney World or Disneyland.
I don’t watch television. Once in a while, I’ll binge watch DVDs of TV series with my husband, but I don’t sit down to watch anything just for something to do. And I never have.
One of my favorite classical music pieces is Schwanda the Bagpiper: Polka & Fugue.
I used to have a horse. And a pony.
I gave up drinking coffee about 8 years ago.
I tell people I’m allergic to eggs because they gross me out to the point of gagging if I even smell them.
I subscribe to the Aquatic Theory of Evolution.
I have never had strep throat, and I’ve had the flu only twice.
October 5, 2016
Nat’l Do Something Nice Day
Today is National Do Something Nice Day.
I try to do something nice every day. I try to post uplifting things on social media. I try to be pleasant to everyone I encounter.
But doing something nice isn’t just about doing for others.
Sometimes you have to do “nice” for yourself.
Whether it’s going for a leisurely walk in the neighborhood after a busy day at the office or curling up in a blanket on the sofa with a cup of tea and a good book on a rainy afternoon (with some mellow jazz drifting in the background), everyone deserves a nice moment every once in a while.
If something nice doesn’t come your way, reach out for it.
October 2, 2016
National Name Your Car Day
It’s National Name Your Car Day.
Yes, people do really name their cars.
The first time I read about this was when I was in elementary school and I read a book that was to become one of my favorites for that time: Don’t Call Me Katie Rose by Leonora Mattingly Weber. One of the high school students had an old Mercedes Benz he called “Mercy Bee.”
The second time I read about this habit was in an old book club book that belonged to my mother, Cape Cod Summer. I don’t know the author (and it’s not the book listed on Amazon). The heroine of the book called her ancient rust bucket, “Dear Ruin”, after a line in a poem.
My third encounter was with a 1965 Chevy Malibu (287 V8!) I owned that was indestructible. A co-worker dubbed it “The Tank.”
Since then, I have tried to name my vehicles, but nothing stuck. Until my current car. It’s a Buick Lacrosse and she it affectionately known as “La-la”.
Do you name your vehicle?
September 28, 2016
The Organized Writer, Part 3
If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I’m trying to get myself organized for 2017. I’m changing my calendar/planner setup. I’m looking at a variety of options.
One thing I need to consider is what I want the planner to keep track of. To that end, I’ve started a list of things I would like to see on a daily or weekly basis.
Tarot Card of the Day
Random Act of Kindness
Blog Schedule
Brain Dump
Daily Hydration
Food journal
Inspirational Quote of the Day/Week/Month
One Good Thing
Promotional tasks
Rose Sheet (this is a CNYRW thing)
Weather
What I Am Listening to
What I am Reading
Writing Goals
Walk/Yoga
Meditation
These are just some of the ideas I’ve come up with. At this point, I’m just toying.
If you were creating your ideal planner, what would you include?
September 25, 2016
Snarky Sunday: A Rant About Labeling Books
I have a pet peeve.(That doesn’t surprise anyone who knows me.) And I might offend some people. But the label or classification some people apply to certain books offends me.
It all came to a head when I read this advice in a recent article: “write a clean book”.
A “clean” book.
Well, my books are trayf–which is Yiddish for UNCLEAN.
Examples:
In my upcoming Halloween novella–there’s a shrimp appetizer in the form of a human brain. Definitely trayf.
Pulled pork sliders put in an appearance, too.(Now there’s a dish with some double entendre built right in.)
Andouille (Cajun pork sausage) is eaten in the Mardi Gras novella I’m currently writing.
I’m sure one of my characters in one of my books eats a cheeseburger washed down with a glass of milk.
And bacon! Pages are spattered with bacon.
Why are Jewish dietary laws even a consideration in romance writing?
I don’t have a problem with sweet romance. I like reading sweet romance. And if the story I’m writing doesn’t call for a sex scene, then I won’t write one.
Labeling sex-free books “clean” is a passive-aggressive way of judging books that do contain physical love scenes. And it is insulting to the authors of those books by implying sex-free books are somehow better than others. They are not.
Insults, no matter how subtle, are not what the romance writing community is about. We lift each other up. We support each other.
So let’s get rid of the label “clean” and find a category description that is less polarizing.
September 21, 2016
The Organized Writer pt 2
If you follow my blog, you know I’m trying to get myself organized. I’m looking into systems for 2017. The first thing I need to decide on is what do I really need from a planner.
I think I still need a physical planner as opposed to a digital one. Maybe. Because my Dayrunner is so bulky,
it’s not working for me. Part of the problem is the way I have it set up. I don’t want to be flipping from section to section to section.
What worked in the Day Job isn’t working for my new life.
In the new Day Job, I use a combination of digital and physical: I color-code my incoming emails and flag them as to priorities. I keep a running list in a note book of what needs to be done. This method works very well for me. In fact, several of my colleagues who depend on me for follow-through now call me to add items to my list, knowing I will stay on top of what needs to be done.
It’s a list. In a notebook. Not sections I need to flip between.
It’s simple. I think I need simple.
September 18, 2016
The Purse Project: Maggie Mundy
At first glance, the items in my bag seems just like anyone else’s contents, but there are a few giveaways about me.
I am asthmatic, so I have to carry a puffer unless you want me to sound like Darth Vader.
The lanyard on my car key is from Romance Writers of Australia, so my writing gig is out of the bag, so to speak.
The owl tape measure is due to the fact I collect owls. I reckon it is my totem animal.
I am an operating room nurse, and the nail file keeps my nails clean and neat. No false nails for me.
Last but not least I have my business card. It has a lady with blood dripping from her mouth. Maybe people should be afraid. Don’t worry it’s all just in my head or in the books I write.
I also carry:
Lipstick
Car and house keys
Wallet
Notebook
Brush
Pen
Hand cream
Tissues
Perfume spray
You can’t be found if no one knows where you are.
Idolize is book one in the The Dark Storm series. The books are based around the lives of actors on the show.
Cassi moved to LA to escape a violent past and wants anonymity for herself and her son. She is starting to get her life back on track when she meets Declan Reed. He is latest hit on the Hollywood scene, playing the lead in the TV series Dark Storm. She gets the love of a TV star and the fame that comes with it causes her past to come back and haunt her with what could be fatal consequences.
Excerpt
Cassi knew it was the brandy talking, but when would she have a Hollywood actor captive in a cabin again? He put his glass down and raised one eyebrow as he peered at her. Then he patted the couch in front of him. Okay, she had drunk two big brandies, but what was he suggesting here?
He placed a finger under her chin and lifted it so she gazed in his eyes. She gulped. He didn’t need to say anything. She would kiss him anyway. All he needed to do was ask.
“When you left that day, you took part of me with you. I’ve been looking around and meeting other people and other women trying to find it. I was a fool to let you go then. Now you’re here, Cassi, I’m not going to let you go without telling you how much I care.”
His face was close as his palm cupped her cheek. Her mouth hung open and she felt a strong ache between her legs showing the need for physical contact she had not received for so long. She could feel his breath on her lips. His eyes connected with hers and then moved down to her lips. He ran his thumb along her lower lip and she moved forward. She knew this wasn’t real and something he had rehearsed, but didn’t care. He only had to say the word and she would have sex with him all night long. He didn’t say anything more, but their lips almost touched. Then he moved away.
Breathe.
“It’s a scene from our next episode. It doesn’t turn out well as she’s a vampire and sells me out. I get back at her through some crazy ritual, though. Sorry I took the advantage by adding your name.”
Declan was still holding his palm against her cheek and she didn’t want him to move away.
“You’re good.” He was more than good as she was putty in his hands right now.
Buy now at Amazon.
About Maggie Mundy:
I live in Adelaide, Australia with my husband, one cat, two dogs and a snake. I have a motorbike that I would like to ride more than I do and I love walking at the beach and listening to the waves. I’ve always loved reading all forms of fiction from high fantasy and paranormal to contemporary and decided the stories in my head needed to be written down. It was either that or start on medication. Unlike many, I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer until a few years back. I started off doing a degree in drama but soon realized my love was in writing, though there is a play lurking somewhere on my computer. My day job is as a nurse in the operating room. I believe romance can be fun to read and write but it’s exciting to spice it up with the uncertainty that comes with suspense where the rules can be broken.
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