My first novel, a thriller/mystery, is free on my Smashwords site starting today! Help yourself and if you like it, leave a review, on Smashwords or Goodreads. Enjoy!
"Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!" from the book entitled "Auntie Mame" by Patrick Dennis
Ad Week has reported that one of every eleven people walk out of a store with one item that they didn't purchase. Shoplifting is up 11% in 2011. The favorite items seem to be Nike products, Chanel No. 5, Jameson Whisky, electric tools and iphone and Gillette products. Not tooo shabby!
As I said in my Thanksgiving post......all the late night hours and holiday store openings are just an opportunity for shoplifting. So, why does business have a mindset of staying open? Has business greed gone so far that it has pushed businessmen over the edge of sanity? Are the bigger businesses ashamed of their endless avarice, and now like to sit back and watch the little people steal some back? That's it......I steal some, you steal some and then we're even, right? Joe Blow can come off the day shift, if he's lucky enough to work one, and the store will stay open later to accommodate all his shoplifting needs! It's a new twist on the old theme of Goodwill toward all Men! It is a strange perversion of the Ebenezer Scrooge-Bob Cratchit theme in which modern day Cratchits just take what they need and Scrooges rub their hands with delight! 'See, little people, it's all just fun and games! That's the spirit!'
I still think we are in a season of preparation for Christ's coming. It's a season of giving, praise and thankgiving, and a time to make genuine Goodwill among men. This means parties, kindnesses and remembering old friends. I actually look forward to sending cards to friends from long ago, who I don't often see due to distance and responsibilities. It's a season when I give when I feel like it, and whether or not I actually do feel like it. Put on some Christmas music, ride around to see the holiday lights, go into New York City to see the store windows displays. Have some hot coffee at Rockefeller Center, or at 30 Rock, as the fans like to call it. And..... if a display product takes my fancy, pick it up and examine, and then return to where it belongs.
I was bemused by the Target employees who circulated a petition to allow its employees an opportunity to celebrate the traditional, the first, national holiday our founders instituted. It's tradition for Americans to buy the turkey, compare sizes with friends, swap recipes, invite those they don't see often to share their bounty. It's tradition to send a check to Salvation Army to sponsor dinner for guests who must find a charity table for this holiday, no matter the reason. Is there anyone among us that hasn't at any number of times been put into a position of accepting charity in the form of an unexpected gift, a kind word that came unsolicited, or a visit at a time of need? If you're anything like me, it causes you to stop briefly in awe of such a gift, to be touched to your very marrow by the beauty of a gift that restores, or that elevates you or your situation to a higher level.
With this in mind, I cut two ways on the proposition of closing the Target stores for the holiday. Let me say, I am all for it. Truth is, the shopping I do for the holidays can be done in a trip or two, anytime at all during the Season. A quick seven hours and I am finished. Then myself and my husband, including any of our children who are available head out for lunch and a toast to the Christmas Season. It's very enjoyable! We shop and then have a party! Isn't that what Christmas is all about? It has been my experience for years now, that the sales last right up until Christmas Eve closing of the stores.
Let's face it, if family are gathering after December 25, we can clean up during the day after sales. So why the rush to the doors of stores that are open every other day of the year outside of December 25?
I heard on the news about the woman who pepper-sprayed a competitive shopper in order to secure her purchase. Huh!? Do I really want to work off my Thanksgiving dinner fighting off an assault by a fellow shopper with an IQ deficit and no sense of manners or perspective? The answer is 'no', and by the way, it has caused me to stay home Black Friday, and today, Saturday, as well. I saw film of a store opening at midnight Thanksgiving and the customers pouring in from the dark night. They were in a jovial holiday mood, to say the least. You'd have to be physically strong to sustain the pushing and shoving sure to occur during an onslaught of hundreds stampeding through the store after having holiday drinks. I have to wonder if the stores will hide the truth: that is, that they lost significant stock due to shoplifting while the mob circulated. Exit pictures of shoppers show them carrying a single bag, at most.
And, I remember the Long Island store security worker who lost his life during a stampede there last year at this time! Shoppers like these just aren't my type of people.
America, no matter your economic status, you need to take time to stay home and share the holidays with family, friends and those in need. I know Target is trying to be competitive with the other stores by going along with the trend to keep stores open. Everywhere I've shopped since October 1 this year, I have been regaled with Christmas decorations and theme products. Truth is, I did buy a gift because of that, but won't wind up buying a greater number of gifts due to the early advertising. I control what I spend, not the marketers.
I have to add, that while I agree with the Target employees in spirit, I wouldn't be surprised, nor would I feel it right to object, if they were fired for insubordination. It's an excellent, very patriotic idea whose time has definitely come around once again. It's interesting to note here that Target employees are given stock in their company as part of their benefits. Is this a case of employees being carried away with a little power? As stockholders, do they have an ulterior motive in what appears to be a move to be disloyal to the 'hand that feeds them?'
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"If the only prayer you ever say in your life is 'thank you', that will suffice."
"Whoever possesses God in their being has Him in a divine manner, and He shines out to them in all things; for them all things taste of God and it is God's image they see in all things."
Quotes from Meister Eckhart (Dominican Priest, 1260-1327 A.D.)
"Whoever possesses God in their being, has Him in a divine manner, and He shines out to them in all things; for them, all things taste of God and in all things it is God's image that they see."
Meister Eckhart
"If the only prayer you said in your life was 'thank you', that would suffice."
Meister Eckhart
1260-1327 A.D.
Welcome to my blog. Stop awhile while I reminisce about past Halloweens. I also want to announce a giveaway of my newly published Halloween novella entitled “I Love Pie!”, a thriller/spoof that takes place in bucolic Saranac Lake and which is made of equal parts thriller, romance story, and humor. Leave a comment and your email address to take a chance on winning a copy of “I Love Pie!”.
A BARGAIN AT JUST 99 CENTS!!! THAT'S RIGHT, LESS THAN A DOLLAR! BUY NOW!
Click on the picture to the right, that of the Angel at Bethesda Fountain, to go to Smashwords.com to view a portion of my other Halloween-based novel, a murder mystery set in Central Park. Leave a comment here, and you might well win an eBook copy of “Angel’s”.
http://www.amazon.com/I-Love-Pie-ebook/dp/B005MZSVFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317155242&sr=8-1 OR
http://smashwords.com/books/view/88848
It’s the time of year when our thoughts turn to Halloween. I eye candy displays at Target, not only marveling, but delighting, that they have set aside a square of the store to sell confectionery goods….er….Halloween candy.
Oooh………the large amounts of candy I collected All Hallow’s Eve when I was a kid! We were city kids, my brothers and sisters and I. That meant large concentrations of candy within a small geographic area. Not only that, but at that time, neighborhoods were very predictable, because all our folks just bought houses and stayed put. So much easier than when my own children were trick or treaters. They would have had a general idea of who would dole out the most generous amounts of quality candy; but, if housing values rose during the previous year, they were at the mercy of Lady Luck because the high rollers among the candied elite might well have gone on to better digs.
We kids would lay out our strategy of covering our three to four block territory, giving tips back and forth on whose house to skip as well as who had the best (translate ‘most’) candy to give. It was pretty typical that we came home three hours later, each with half a grocery bag filled with goodies. Then began the trading and the hiding of the delicacies under mattresses or beneath our beds. The candy still didn’t last us long, though. Halloween for us was what Mardi Gras is for New Orleans–a chance to party on.
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"Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there's alot to smile about".........Marilyn Monroe
ALOT LIKE GIVING BIRTH
On this day, February 7, 1935, Parker Brothers began marketing what would become the most popular game in the United States, called MONOPOLY.
A man named Charles Darrow, a man who had promised to make himself a millionaire, was, as were so many in the 1930s, in a reduced financial situation caused by a worldwide Depression. Like so many in the times before the invention of the television, he and his wife played cards and board games in their homes in the evening for entertainment.
One such game, already called MONOPOLY, was becoming popular via word of mouth. He liked to play it with his wife and made a board and cut out some oil cloth designs; had his wife and son hand print the many cards associated with this game; and they colored the spaces. Everything done by hand. Friends heard about it and began buying it for $4.00 a game.
Mr. Darrow approached Milton Bradley to have them buy the rights. They turned him down. In 1934, he asked Parker Brothers to make a deal to market it. They refused, saying it had no end, was too complicated,and resulted in no obvious winner. So, Charles Darrow commissioned a professional printing company to produce the game, and sold 5,000 of his MONOPOLY game through a toy shop in Philadelphia. The game was a hit!. Parker Brothers changed their mind, and bought the rights for $1,000,000.
My point is, that although times are difficult financially right now, and books are hard to sell, it's important to use what we have to promote ourselves and keep creating and perfecting our product, much like Charles Darrow did back in the early 1930s.
I love stories like these!!
Happy Groundhog Day from Punxsutawney!
Phil Says Expect an Early Spring!
Phil's official forecast as read February 2nd, 2011, at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, PA:
Here Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye
Groundhog Day, February 2, 2011
Punxsutawney Phil was raised from his burrow
By the call of President Bill Deeley.
He greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.
After casting an inquisitive eye towards thousands of his faithful followers,
He proclaimed that the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl!
Back to the business at hand...
He surveyed his surroundings carefully and found that there was no shadow around,
So, an early spring it will be.
So sayeth the Punxutawney website devoted to Phil. Predictions of an early Spring leave me wondering if what I'm seeing outside this morning is even real–a Winter Wonderland–mounds of snow from the past two months of record snowfall. I hear the crunching on the sidewalk below as the man we hire for outside work does his daily job of chopping ice and snow off our walks to make for easy passing. Ed has had a cold for the past month, poor guy. I think we should do something nice for him.
Snow has slowed us down in many ways this winter. I made the decision to stay off the roads completely on days when the snow hadn't yet been cleared by city or state plows. In years gone by,when I lived in the snowbelt of Upstate New York, that type of hindrance simply was a side fact. Nothing kept us home. Then, again, being that it was an area of almost daily snowfall, the salters were out the night prior, and the plows as soon as two inches or more had hit the ground. That made our roads more easily negotiable than they are here, in New Jersey, where residents tell me they haven't seen a winter similar to this one in close to fifteen years. Last year, I wore winter boots only one day! Not so these past months.
It has been more than a decade since I lived in a true, northern winter environment. I dreaded ever going back after experiencing a warmer climate. I have to admit, though, that the polar bear blood that is in my veins by nature and upbringing, sprang right to the fore this year. I love the snow, and the cold didn't bother me at all.
So, thanks, Punxsutawney Phil. By the time Spring arrives, I'll be as happy as the next camper around this area. There is something to be said about seasonal change, though. This winter reinforced that for me.
Now, I'll just go get some cough drops for Ed!
Photos: Punxsutawney Phil - Topix
First, congratulations to romance author Diane Craver who won a copy of HCAS. She posted a 'thank you' on romanceandmorepromotions praising the cover of the book. I had fun promoting the book in my area by being allowed to leave several copies at my locally run drugstore. I've sold half of them. I won't be rolling in the money at the price I asked, $4.99. It IS lots of fun to get out there with people and talk about the book.
I've enjoyed the September respite from the awful heat we had during the summer in NJ. I didn't do well with it. This week, once again, we've had a heat wave. But, the colors are beautiful and everything looks golden. It promises to get cool again soon, not like this past summer.
I'm busy getting ready to print "Angel's Requiem", my NYC murder mystery; I've enjoyed the learning process in creating and producing this book-should be out in the next week, publishing through CreateSpace.
Win a print copy of "Halloween Collection". Just leave a comment on this post. This blog doesn't send newsletters. To purchase in print, click on the link below:
HTTP://victorytalespress.yolasite.com/online-store.php
Kate: I am pleased and delighted today to interview the always eloquent Miss Mae. She published her first professional book in 2007, a romance mystery entitled, “See No Evil, My Pretty Lady”, and from there, she has gone on to win a list of awards including< Winner of the 2009 P&E Readers Poll for YA category, 2nd place in the 2009 P&E Readers Poll in Short Story Romance; 2008 and 2009 Top Ten Reads; Best Book of the Week. Welcome, Miss Mae.
Miss Mae: Thank you, I’m happy you asked me to join you.
Kate: Looking at your latest book, “Catch Me If You Can”, I liked your solid, focused story line. How do you choose a storyline for your books? How do you fulfill your plot? Does your story line change continually till ‘The End’ or do you configure it completely and map every chapter ahead of time?
MM: Thanks for the compliment, Kate! I’m glad you enjoyed “Catch Me If You Can”. To answer your question, I’m not sure if I choose a storyline or if it chooses me! That said, usually a germ of an idea will flare up--for whatever reason, after viewing a news story, reading the newspaper or even a blurb from another author’s book--and I will mull it over for a while, mentally adding a lot of “what if’s”, “why’s”, and “maybe’s”. And yes, it has been known to change along the way, especially if there’s a word limit that I need to meet, then new scenes will be born. No, I don’t map each chapter ahead, I just write.
Kate: So, you are what is known as a “FBTSOYP writer. I write like that, too. In any course a person would take to learn writing, we are told to map it out. I don’t seem to do that, though. When did you start to write?
Miss Mae: If this is general, then my first “work” was when I was probably ten years old. Several of us neighborhood kids got together and out of trying to come up with some fun ideas of how to entertain ourselves, I wrote “Midnight Horror” and we acted it out.
Kate: That sounds like a lot of fun! Must have been a Halloween-type story, whether it was Halloween time or not. We hung a sheet on the clothes lines in the backyard; used olives for eyeballs and cold spaghetti for brains; with ketchup for blood and a floor mop for a woman’s body and hair. It wasn’t a play-it was a museum neighbors could tour for a nickel (or whatever they’d give us). Lots of hilarity (and upset stomachs). You all sound like mini-intellectuals by comparison. Excuse, me, I digress. Please go on.
Miss Mae: (Ahem!) But when Miss Mae came on the scene, that was in 2007 when I wrote my first book, “See No Evil, My Pretty Lady”.
Kate: Who are the most influential authors on your style of writing?
Miss Mae: Ah, definitely Agatha Christie and Doyle.
Kate: How do your personal interests influence what you write? Do you have a world-view you promote?
Miss Mae: I suppose my worldview would be that of the “old fashioned” era where the heroine is always feminine, and the hero masculine. He’s always there to protect her and she doesn’t raise a fuss. Frankly, I tire of reading about these macho heroines who shrill, “I can take care of myself!” If that’s true, then I want to ask why is there a need for a h
The last couple of days here in northern New Jersey have been a godsend of cool nights with breezes that sent me reaching for my conforter. A wonderful break from the almost tropical weather we had in June and July - I understand we are in for more temperatures in the 90's this coming week. Time to hide out again in any air conditioned spot.
I was quite impressed with the approximated turnout at the Washington Mall yesterday for Glenn Beck's and Sarah Palin's 'Restore Honor March' - somewhere between 300,000 - 500,000 people was estimated by some news sources. Naturally, it could have been lower, say, 100,000 and more. Doesn't matter! The numbers are huge and stay huge, and have since Ron Paul lit a fire under his countrymen in the 2007 Presidential race. That gave birth to the Tea Party and to a resurrected voter involvement in the governmental process. Whatever a person's political viewpoint, all would agree, I think, that voter involvement is essential in a republic. Close by, Rev. Al Sharpton had assembled a large group at the Lincoln Memorial to honor the memory of civil rights leader Martin L. King on the anniversary of his speech that set the movement on fire, "I Have A Dream".
All to the good!
This is a first post since my first post, July 12. I've suffered a computer crash due to a virus that keeps recurring now despite having the computer cleaned and daily scans with Microsoft Security Essentials. I've notice in the scans that anything with the words 'WIN32' at the beginning cause the scanner to linger, say, up to seven minutes on this file. Looked up WIN32 and it's a very lethal enemy of any computer. So, I looked up 'how to' get rid of it, and I'll let you know if it works. I have to handpick each WIN32 item from my registry AFTER turning off the backup system, so that it doesn't reproduce, which it does.
I also suffered pneumonia and a long hospitalization during that time. That was the last week in July and during my hospital stay, the virus ate my computer! I did take along a book by romance author Laura Shinn entitled, "Someone To Watch Over Me". Its cover shows a handsome stud angel with a set of muscles that is definitely of the physical type rather than spiritual. While unfortunately, I did not have the focus during that time to fully read her action romance, the cover and the name (same as a famous song), drew plenty of attention from the nursing staff. I said at the time that that beefcake angel picture helped me get terrific care in the hospital. Great cover work by Laura! I'd be curious to know if Laura saw an increase in book sales right then.
The story involves an angel, David, sent to guard Sarah and her little girl, Nicole, when killers hunt them for months because Nicole had witnessed her father's murder. Together constantly, David and Sarah fall in love. Asking God's permission, David marries Sarah and relinquishes his angelic abilities and privileges. As a man, without angelic protection, he takes an almost fatal bullet in his successful efforts at rescuing his family. Still, he decides it all worth it to have Sarah as his wife, and Nicole as his daughter. He promises God to do great things for Him as he continues to represent his Lord as a human.
Along the way, there is a great deal of action as they escape the bad guys; and the Christian theme of the book is accented through the couple's helping two other characters who find love, Louis and Billie, accept Christianity, and to become their friends.
"Someone To Watch Over Me" is a wonderful choice for those of us who like action romance.
Laura is a formatter and adviser as well as cover artist and writer for a new set of books coming out by a group of writers for Halloween. It will be a collection of novellas and novelettes, enough to comprise two volumes, with a Halloween theme. I have submitted a Halloween romance horror story with comical overtones whose title is, "I Love Pie". The Halloween Anthology is being produced by publisher Rebecca Vickery, owner of Victory Tales Press. Rebecca is herself a highly accomplished writer whose work will be included as well. Coming out at the end of September on Smashwords. com
LINKS: http://smashwords.com/books/view/17475?ref=kkindle
Hello, and welcome! I am a writer, newly published on Smashwords.com. My book, Angel's Requiem, is a fast-paced and quick reading summer book that you can enjoy on the run. I also write children's books, and romance.
You're right! Still, I think most of us want to enjoy our families.