Health, Cozy Mystery: Monday Blog Post

Widgeons at our local park

Newest News:

I’m still recovering from the surgery I had on the 1st. Incisions are at the itching stage of healing, and I’m restricted from lifting anything for a few weeks yet. Broken toe is also healing, though I still need to keep it taped to the toe next to it. Between the two issues, there’s no exercise for me which kind of sucks because the weather has cooled down and every day right now is just gorgeous. It would be great to walk around the neighborhood but while the mind is willing, the body isn’t ready.

I didn’t work much on writing. The healing process involves naps in the afternoon and that cuts into my writing time. No worries though, I’ll be working on Mystery at the Reunion soon.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The Halloween giveaway is up! You can check it out at: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting is October 26th, at 1pm. This is still on! It will be held at the ramada next to the Pine Thrift Store. If you happen to be in Pine, AZ, on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing. Social distancing and mask wearing will be the fashion. See you there!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Published, Health, 5th Cozy Mystery?: Monday Blog Post

Cover designed by J.A. Marlow

Newest News:

Hooray! This week’s big news. I received the Creature in the Night cover from my designer. It’s just lovely. Then, Saturday, I went ahead and published the story. I did something different. I posted it in Kindle Unlimited. So, for those of you who subscribe to that service, there it is. If you don’t, it’s only 0.99 to purchase. The link above will take you right to the sale page. If you do read it, a review would be so helpful. Then, there are links in the story to go to my other fantasy stories or you may want to branch out into my SciFi, my Cozy Mysteries, or something else. I hope you enjoy it.

Last Thursday I had abdominal surgery. To be honest, I’m not moving around very quickly as I recover. Hubby is a gem and is doing the cooking and cleaning and fetching for me as I struggle to get up out of chairs. Recovery should be swift. Even today I feel better which is a good thing. The extra strength Tylenol probably helps. The surgery was out-patient, so don’t worry. More stories are coming.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I’ve been working on my 4th cozy mystery, Mystery at the Reunion. I have had to do a lot of chapter shuffling and I don’t think I have it right yet. I’m also adding scenes from Jean’s time in Afghanistan. All of that work has created a large number of continuity errors, all of which must be fixed. At any rate. I am working on it and will get it out as soon as I can. In the meantime, National Novel Writing Month is just over three weeks away. I don’t have any ideas yet for a new story, well, not exactly true, something is percolating in the back of my mind for another Jean Hays story. We’ll see how that goes.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The Halloween giveaway is up! You can check it out at: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting is October 26th, at 1pm. This is still on! It will be held at the ramada next to the Pine Thrift Store. If you happen to be in Pine, AZ, on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing. Social distancing and mask wearing will be the fashion. See you there!

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Creature in the Night, a short Halloween, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Fantasy story has been published. It is up on Amazon, You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Critters in the Yard, Hurt Back, Creature in the Night: Monday Blog Post

You can see one branch stripped but the rest of the tree is fine.

Newest News:

I’m reporting more critters in the yard, some nice, some destructive. I have a better picture of the birds in my basil. Turns out they’re gold finches. Cute, and there’s still lots of basil seed for me to gather for next year’s planting.

Goldfinch eating basil seed. There’s one below and to the left, sitting in the dried out arugula stems, probably eating the arugula seed.

The front yard apple tree, attacked last week, was decimated, probably early Sunday morning. Above is the picture from the earlier attack and below, my poor tree when I got up Sunday morning. The elk probably did the damage and they eat the little apple producing buds so again, for another couple of years, no apples for me. I’m also still harvesting the abundance of zucchini and yellow squash. I found a recipe today for zucchini ravioli. No pasta, just zucchini as the shell and stuffed with seasoned ricotta. It will be on the menu in the next few days.

Poor tree. all the branches stripped.

Critters in the Yard, Hurt Back, Creature in the Night: Monday Blog Post

Has it only been a week since I broke my toe? I did see the doc. They took x-rays. It’s fractured. The primary care doc referred me to a podiatrist, but everyone had said there’s not much to do about it but what I did immediately after breaking it. Buddy taping, the primary doc called it. So I declined the referral and am just going on about my days, hobbling around. Then on Thursday, yep, that’s right, just a week after the broken toe, I felt good enough to start a beginning yoga class on a Youtube channel. That morning, I “tweaked” my back by shifting slightly in the bathroom while brushing my teeth. I didn’t think much of it other than the yoga may stretch out the injury. Because of my toe I skipped difficult floor exercises and did mostly chair yoga. Ha! Silly woman. By 11am I was in big pain so laid down and napped for nearly 4 hours. Could barely move by the time I got up. Hubby thinks it was damage from limping around. I don’t know. All I do know is that between my toe and my back, sleeping is mainly an on again off again struggle.

I mentioned last week that I have been coordinating with my cover designer for Creature in the Night. We’ve selected the major art, see above, to provide the feeling of “poor little girl” and “mystery”. Since the story is Halloween, Christmas, Fantasy, we’re trying for a mix of all three between the art and the font choices. This is a semi-final product.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The Summer giveaway has ended! My winner for Prize 1: an ebook copy of Mystery at the Fair, is Mary Preston. She’s already received her book. Prize 2: an Amazon gift card, was sent to Lisa Christoph. She’s already received her gift. I just want to thank everyone who participated. All of us authors truly appreciate it.

The Halloween giveaway is up! You can check it out at: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting is October 26th, at 1pm. If you happen to be in Pine, AZ, on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Mystery at the Reunion, Gardening, Lifestyle Change: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

I had the time over the last week to delete all of the stupid and repetitive chapters in Mystery at the Reunion, and add some sections concerning Jean’s time in Afghanistan. I lost 20K words with the revision. I also introduced a LOT of continuity errors while I was deleting, adding, and shuffling sections of the story around. I changed the beginning of the book from Jean to Dwight (Jean’s ex-husband) because he arrives at the venue for the reunion first. The end of the book needs to be added to, so that loose ends are tied up. I’ll be able to make up some length there. This is not going to be a quick turnaround. I apologize to those of you waiting for the next Jean Hays. It seemed so easy when I first had the idea, but I’ll get it done.

Other writing news, my horror story, Creature in the Night was rejected. One thing I’ve wanted to try, is the option for Kindle Unlimited. This story seems like a good way for me to try out the whole process. It’s not part of a series, it’s already done and ready to publish, and it’s short, less than 3000 words. Since the story is also based on the Winter Solstice, it may be the perfect time for me to put it up on KU for both the Halloween and Christmas seasons. Any of you use KU? Let’s see how it works.

Zucchini madness continues. I gave Sue a second bag of zucchini. I made Italian stuffed zucchini boats the other night for supper. I have 3 small and one medium zucchini in the fridge right now. I don’t know what vitamins or minerals are in summer squash but I’m getting plenty of them this summer.

Dropped to about 214 this last week. I don’t have my glasses with me in the early morning and the tiny lines on the scale are very hard to see, so the reading is approximate. I had an outpatient surgery last Thursday, so that might be why I had a 4-pound drop for the week. I’m fine now, so not to worry. I’m still drinking my green juice morning and lunchtime. Hubby said he’s very impressed at my persistence with that, especially the cleaning of the juicer immediately after doing the juicing. I’ve been upping my steps per day as well. Not a lot, but it’s something. Goal, 6K steps per day. Then we’ll adjust. Maybe some yoga? Weights? Drop a comment below if you’d like to share your story!

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The Summer giveaway is in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting is Octobr 26th, still at 1pm. So, if you happen to be in Pine, AZ on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Writing, Gardening, Lifestyle Change: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

About 7 chapters lightly edited. At this point I’m checking for the continuity issues that are most certainly being added as I add the flashbacks to Afghanistan. I’m also pulling the stupid, just for words only, stuff I put in the story in Dwight’s point of view. Not that Dwight, Jean’s ex-husband, is stupid. Just the repetitive crap I put into the story in his POV. It’s a work in progress, people. Emphasis on work.

Zucchini madness is still upon me. Friday I foisted, er, uh, gifted, my author friend Sue a bag full of zucchini. She claims to love zoodles, so there she is. Unfortunately, Saturday I found 2 large zukes and 3 small ones hiding under the leaves. Ugh. Sunday I turned the big ones into grated zucchini and froze them. Zucchini patties and zucchini bread for the winter, I guess. Others I turned into zoodles for more zoodles and spaghetti sauce on Sunday. I’m closing in on getting the veggie drawer emptied but I know there are at least 5 of the little green guys growing in the garden. Probably at harvestable stage on Monday.

In other garden news. The hummingbirds are in a feeding frenzy for their migration. The pic at the top is of one of the little guys loading up. Above, this bug, bee?, appeared on my oregano as I was watering Saturday. Not the best picture, I know, but still, he’s quite a distinctive looking little fellow. Anyone know what it is?

On my new diet, no weight loss last week. Still at 218. I knew the rapid weight loss was just water, but it was nice while it lasted. I certainly feel better. I’m just thinking about how much better I’ll feel when I drop another 20ish pounds. I’ve changed up my first thing in the morning celery juice for a more mixed green juice. If you’ve ever seen Fat Sick and Nearly Dead with Joe Cross, you’ll know what I mean. My friend Debbie is a certified trainer and swears by the stuff. See her story here, https://thehealthygrandma.wpcomstaging.com/my-family-and-our-story/. At any rate, it’s a wider variety of vitamins and minerals and a different flavor from straight celery juice, so I’m liking it. Have you tried Green Juice? Drop a comment below!

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The Summer giveaway is now in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting,is October 26th, still at 1pm. So, if you happen to be in Pine, AZ on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Writing, Gardening, Getting in Shape: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

I got into Mystery at the Reunion last week and will continue on with it this week. I added the scenes I wrote early in the month and have been making some corrections and additions as I read through the manuscript. I still have at least one more scene to add, maybe a couple, that are set in Afghanistan. I also have to delete some horrible chapters I added just for word count. Ugh. I will have to make that word count up somehow just to make the book actual novel length. Unless… Hmm… Unless it really just should be a novella. What would you all think about that? Something to ponder.

The garden is overflowing with zucchini. I have just one plant. It produces about 4-5 zuke’s per week. My veggie drawer is full of them. Then, the other day I asked hubby to pick up organic cucumbers while he was at the store. He came back with 4 zucchinis. Sigh. Sunday, I made spaghetti sauce from scratch, no sugar added, and zoodles. Just to use them up. Hubby wasn’t interested in zoodles, he wanted regular pasta. All I have on hand is gluten free stuff. He picked a box of that and made it for himself. No matter to me. Zoodles and sauce are great, and I have leftovers for weekday lunches. Yummy. Disappointing are the tomatoes. I have had a few ripen but not a lot. The ones I have had though, have been just wonderful. Come on, tomatoes! Let’s get ripe!

Cilantro Lime Salmon ove rCaliflower rice

I began my lifestyle change on the 12th of August, with cutting out the unnecessary stuff. Like the evening wine! I had a chat with a nutritionist friend of mine on the 18th, where she recommended a sugar detox. Since I’d already begun just that sort of thing, though not completely, I said I’d go for it. I began that on the 19th. Had a bit of a headache that day, nothing major. I don’t eat a lot of sugar to start with and dropping what was left wasn’t difficult though I was surprised by the headache. My friend mentioned that sugar is as difficult to kick as cocaine, and I guess the headache proved it, though I’ve felt fine since. I began my diet on the 12th at 230 pounds. Sunday morning, my usual weigh-in day, I was at 218. Did I mention I eat gluten free and paleo? Works for me every time. Want to share your path to wellness? Jump in the comments and leave a story!

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The Summer giveaway is now in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, has been officially rescheduled. The new date for my appearance is October 26th, still at 1pm. If you happen to be in Pine, AZ, on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

The Bunny, Writing, Getting in Shape: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

Last year a baby bunny moved into my fenced back yard and ate my garden all summer. Then it disappeared. A few days ago I saw it streak across my back yard from south to north. Uh oh, I thought. The bunny is back. On Saturday, I saw it crossing the back yard again, this time north to south. It was moving along but not as though it was being chased. I got up to see if it stopped at the fence. Nope. It stopped at my last garden bed. This year I have basil in there. It also turns out that I had watered in the morning. The rabbit stood for a moment at the edge of the raised bed, then hopped in amongst the basil. I was going to pound on the glass patio door to scare it off but it didn’t even begin to eat the basil. It just sniffed at it, moving around the individual plants. Then it settled down in the shade of the basil, belly to what I can only imagine as still damp and cool dirt, at the edge of the bed, right behind the solar light. It’s little head just stuck up over the edge of the board, but it looked so comfy, and it was so hot out, (about 101F), that I took pity on the creature and let it be. Fifteen minutes later a thunderstorm blew up and the bunny took off. So. If I whine about the rabbit eating my tomatoes, peppers, or summer squash, I guess it’s all my fault.

No writing this week though I have had some writer Zoom meetings which all go to fueling my reviving desire to get writing. My Jean Hays mystery is calling me. But it’s such a mess, I’m reluctant to tackle it. I know. I know. One thing at a time and then, before I know it, it’ll be done.

I don’t know about you, but it’s time to get back into shape. I understand that round is a shape but it’s not the shape I want to be. So. Last Wednesday I cut my evening wine. This week I start juicing my organic celery again. Shoot. Exercise may even reenter the equation as well as moving back to my Paleo diet. Note: I always eat gluten-free as I have both Celiac and Hashimoto’s, but dropping the rest of the sugar, grains, and dairy from my diet really helps me drop the poundage. My 2nd brother started in mid-July and has dropped 18 pounds. Time for me to join him. You can join in too! Leave a note in the comments and share what you’re doing. I know I’ll appreciate the company.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is over and the winners have been drawn. The Grand Prize Paypal cash winner is Denise and she’s been notified by the giveaway organizer. My first prize winner, Ignazia, won an ebook copy of  my book, Troubled Streets. An email has been sent to her with instructions on how to pick up her prize. My second prize winner, Mike, won a $5 Amazon gift card. He’s been notified and has collected his prize. Thank you to everyone who participated. Don’t miss the Summer giveaway, links below!

The Summer giveaway is now in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, has been officially rescheduled. The new date for my appearance is October 26th, still at 1pm. So, if you happen to be in Pine, AZ on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Painting, Writing, Poll Worker: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

If you’ve been following my blog for a long time, you may remember that in October 2018, I brought my mom from New York to live with me here in Arizona. We had decorated the room she was in with a fresh coat of lilac paint, her favorite color. She passed on December 31, 2018. To be honest, I hadn’t done much with the room since then. However, a few days ago my hubby decided that lilac was too feminine and wanted to repaint. I went in the room for a moment. Pictures of her children and grand-children and great-grand-children, and her beloved dog now long past, were on the walls. Shelves held her bric-a-brac. I took a last look and said yes. So we emptied the walls, moved the lighter furniture out of the room, and prepped it for painting. You can see above, the taped walls and the dot of the test patch, a suede-brown, that my husband chose. I’ll miss the lilac color. I really liked it. But, as with all things, it’s time to move on. I still have her pictures and some of the bric-a-brac. I definitely still have the memories.

Last week I volunteered to be a poll worker for the Arizona Primary. The experience was interesting, as I’d never done that kind of work before. The day started at 3:30am for me as I wanted a shower before I left the house. Then I had a half-hour drive to the little town north of us where I’d been assigned to work. After reviewing my handbook, I felt I was ready. The small town where I was working doesn’t usually have a huge turnout. Arizona has mail-in balloting and most people vote that way. So there was some time on and off through the day where I could pick up my Jean Hays story and fill in some of the story from her time in Afghanistan. I filled 10 hand-written pages with two scenes. I felt good about it and I’m sure those of you waiting for the next story will be glad to hear that. Later in the week I typed up my hand-written notes and did some light editing. The scenes aren’t inserted into the story yet but I know about where they’ll go in the manuscript.

As for the poll work, the polling place had a larger than usual turnout. There were several hotly contested local races so interest was high. I found the entire process fascinating. We spent the day in masks and social distancing. We also were wiping down tables, voting booths, door handles, and pretty much any other spot we saw voters touching. It’s been a week since then and I’ve stayed home, just in case. One more week at home and I’ll feel confident I didn’t pick up the Corona. With the election coming up, there will be a need for poll workers and poll watchers again in November. Call your county registrar if you’d like to help out. I’m already signed up for November.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is over. I’ll let you know when the winners are drawn.

In the meantime, the Summer giveaway is now in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, has been officially rescheduled. The new date for my apprearance is October 26th, still at 1pm. So if you happen to be in Pine, AZ on that date, Come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Fund Raiser Results, Gardening, Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

My Facebook fundraiser is over, and my friends and family donated $170! I’m so pleased. Thank you’s to everyone who donated. That money will go a long way to providing children’s programming or speaker honorariums, or advertising. I appreciate your generosity so much. You can find out more about our festival at www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

Last week I mentioned my garden and so this week I took a couple of pictures of the tomatoes and the peppers. You can see from the pepper picture that some critter or other has sampled the fruit. It’s still good, of course. I’ll just let it get bigger before I pick it. The zucchini and yellow squash have tiny squashes. We’ll see how long they last or if the chipmunks will leave them alone altogether.

I don’t know if I mentioned that I signed up for July’s Camp National Novel Writing Month. I haven’t written a word toward the book I’m trying to finish, Mystery at the Reunion. I have the notes I want to work from. I have readers who want the next book. I just need the ambition to get it done. Want to help? Send some good wishes and maybe even a word about any of my books that you’ve read.

Stay safe. Stay well. Wear a mask!

Giveaways:

New sale! Over on Smashwords starting the 1st of July, it’s the summer/winter sale. Several of my books are on sale and I hope you get a chance to go to that site and check them out. Click on the link and scroll through the list to see books on discount sale. Have fun and check out some other authors while you’re there! https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell Don’t forget. The sale starts 1 July and ends on the 31st.

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is over. I’ll let you know when the winners are drawn.

In the meantime, the Summer giveaway is now in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always, each author is giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, has been officially rescheduled. The new date for my apprearance is October 26th, still at 1pm. So if you happen to be in Pine AZ on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.

Fund Raiser Reminder, Hibernation, Gardening, Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale: Monday Blog Post

Newest News:

It’s the last few days and I’m asking that people donate to my favorite 501c3 non-profit, the Payson Book Festival as my birthday fundraiser. Cancelled this year for the Coronavirus, I thought I’d try to get a jump on earning money so that the 2021 Payson Book Festival will be even better than before. So if you’d care to, pop on over to Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/donate/952277878565180/10217646111446962/, and drop a little money into the kitty. You can find out more about our festival at www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

Avocado Pesto

How many of you are using this time to make some changes in your life? Losing weight? Working out? Writing more? That would not be me. I’m in a twilight zone, scrolling through Facebook, writing small, almost throw away things, and have hardly touched a vegetable, unless you count tomato pasta sauce. Hibernation. That’s what I’m doing. Keep up the good work, whatever you’re doing. Share if you’d care to.

From a couple of years ago

The garden, well at least the tomatoes and the green sweet pepper plant are doing well. The squash plants keep having their blossoms eaten, probably by the squirrel or the chipmunks, so if I get a zucchini or a yellow squash it will be a miracle. Are you growing anything? Share a picture if you’d like.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

New sale! Over on Smashwords starting the 1st of July, it’s the summer/winter sale. Several of my books are on sale and I hope you get a chance to go to that site and check them out. Click on the link and scroll through the list to see books on discount sale. Have fun and check out some other authors while you’re there! https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/conniecockrell Don’t forget. The sale starts 1 July and ends on the 31st.

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is over. I’ll let you know when the winners are drawn.

In the meantime, the Summer giveaway is now in progress! Check it out here: https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/. As always the authors are giving away at least 2 prizes and there’s a Paypal cash grand prize.

Where will I Be?

Pine Library, 6124 W. Randall Place, Pine AZ, Friends of the Library meeting, has been rescheduled. The new date for my appearance is October 26th, still at 1pm. So, if you happen to be in Pine, AZ on that date, come on by. I’ll have some books available for purchase and signing.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up gifts on the regular and the SciFi/Fantasy and the Cozy Mystery newsletter sign-ups. That’s right. If you sign up for my newsletter you get a free story from me. Be prepared for fun and contests! Click on the video link for a short video from me. Hear what I’m working on. Join my “A” Team to be the first to read my books and hear what new books are coming. Don’t forget to follow my blog, too. Different material goes in the blog as in the newsletter. You can share both, so spread the word!

Newest Releases:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. It is up on Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, (Direct link doesn’t work, copy the URL and paste it into your browser, or go directly to Kobo.com and search for Gold Dreams, Connie Cockrell), and Smashwords. The print version is available on Amazon. You can also see all my books on https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a short, honest, review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads or BookBub. Your review is critical to help me promote the books to other readers. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for reading my blog. Like all of the other work I do as an author, it takes time and money. If you enjoy this Monday blog and the Friday free story and the recipe I put up on the 25th of every month, consider donating to https://www.paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.