Tag Archives: Garden

AZ Creates Podcast Appearance, My Garden, A New Story Idea: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

This is the week! My Youtube podcast interview with Laurie Fagen and AZ Creates, will be posted at 7pm on May 27th! I thought it was a great interview. Even better, once the link is up, you’ll be able to see it at anytime that’s convenient for you. I’ll have the link on my website. First on my blog, then in my media page for viewing at any time. I’ll post it on Facebook as well. Join me for my interview!

Garden Rose with Shower Sprinkles

This is the time of year everyone talks about their garden. Whether it’s a container on your balcony or a quarter acre in the back yard, we are all excited about the growing season. I need to spread my new garden dirt and go down to the garden shop and pick up some small plants. Some fencing too, if we want anything to survive the chipmunks and squirrels. My herbs are doing very well. I have ground lamb to turn into mini-meatballs for tonight’s pasta dinner and my oregano will be just the thing to mince up and include in the meat and sauce. Yum. I’m looking forward to that.

Lonely Old Woman From DepositPhotos.com/53251343 x1 2015

Anyone listen to their local FM Radio? I do. And Saturday I had it on while I did up the breakfast dishes. A song which I’m very familiar with came on the air. You may know it, Only 100 years. I had to look up the proper title and band, which is Five For Fighting and the song title, “100 Years”, from their album, The Battle For Everything. The song, always kind of melancholy and sad, brought me to tears over my dishwater. A sign of old age I suspect as when it first came out in 2004, I was not as emotional about those 100 years. I bring this all up because an actual story idea, probably a flash or short story, popped into mind with the song as the base of it. Over twenty-four hours later and the story is still bubbling in my back brain. It may turn into something or not. I’ll have to take some time to put words to screen. Is there a song that just brings you to tears? I’d love to hear why. Share in the comments if you like.

Hoping everyone is able to access a covid shot, or two if needed. We’ll only beat this disease if we all work together.

Giveaways:

Our Spring giveaway is now live. New with this giveaway is a video graphic to show the books and prizes. How cool is this! Big thanks to Lynn Lamb, one of our administrators, for this lovely graphic. Check out the link at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ to enter.

Where will I Be?

Artists on AZ Creates! for May

An established novelist from Payson is one of the guests in May for the final season episodes of AZ Creates!, a YouTube web series television show highlighting artists and authors. Other interviewees include creatives from Chandler, Tucson and Scottsdale.

In Episode 16, which premieres May 27, the Creative Connection artists are actors Harold and Maedell Dixon of Tucson. Husband and wife, both have performed off Broadway, where Harold also directed. They’ve worked in theatre, television and films, and both are long-time Actors Equity members.

Also on that program is author Connie Cockrell of Payson, who has written 20 books, is in five anthologies and published online. Following a 20-year Air Force career, she writes in many genres, and will be discussing her cozy mystery series.

In the program’s regular arts events segments, called “Something to Look Forward To,” co-host and graphic designer Cathy Beard of Chandler will highlight in-person and virtual art happenings from around the state.

The featured nonprofit for Episode 16, the Arizona Professional Writers will be highlighted.

The programs all close with a “Creative Quote of the Day.”

Episode #16 on May 27. All episodes are available on the AZ Creates! YouTube channel on demand, along with other video content.

AZ Creates! is a half-hour video web series to highlight artists, writers, dancers, musicians, film, theatre and TV creatives, and other artistic people in Arizona. Fagen, an artist and crime fiction novel writer, designed the program to connect art patrons with artists, and to work on a positive project during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fagen is resuming her work on “Bleeder,” book three in her mystery series.

Sponsors for the show are Sibley’s West, an Arizona and Chandler Gift Shop and Times Media.

Subscribe to the AZ Creates channel on Youtube.com at www.youtube/c/AZCreatesShow, visit the Art Online AZ Facebook and Instagram pages or email [email protected] for details.

On July 17th, I’ll be at the Payson Book Festival! Yes!! That’s correct! The Payson Book Festival is now a GO! Details are being resolved, but you’ll be able to visit us, in person, meet authors, and have some fun picking out your next books to read. See more at http://www.PaysonBookFestival.org.

 

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, in Kindle Unlimited or for purchase at $.99. 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.

Art, BookShop.Org, The Garden, Fire: Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

I belong to a Facebook group that does casual art. The admin posts a new prompt once a day and if you feel the prompt, you draw, paint, photograph to the prompt. The other day the prompt was campfire. Above is what I did. It’s pencil and watercolor paint on art paper.

The other day I was scrolling through Facebook posts and there was one from an author group I belong to talking about a newish website called BookShop.org. They said the site had their books on it so I clicked over to take a look. BookShop’s About page describe it as an alternative to Amazon and the site supports local bookstores. I went ahead and set up a page on there. You can now find my books, all except Gold Dreams, at bookshop.org/shop/conniesrandomthoughts. Check it out.

The weather here has been hot and dry and windy. My garden plants are taking a bit of a beating but still doing well. The tomato plants are blooming, so that’s a good thing, though I won’t have any tomatoes until well after the 4th of July. The basil is still surviving, and the potatoes are dying back quickly. I just need to harvest them promptly when they’re ready. The peas and beans that were overwhelmed by the potatoes are now visible and the peas, especially, seem quite happy. They’re blooming too. The roses are past their 1st glorious bloom and if I weren’t so lazy, I’d deadhead them and get a nice second blush. Sigh.

https://wildfiretoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Bush-Fire-closes-Hwy-87.jpg

There is a major fire burning just 60 miles south of us, called the Bush Fire. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6773/ Nearby neighborhoods, directly east of the fire just this morning, have been issued an evacuate order. The air here is smoky and people with breathing problems have been advised to stay indoors. This was a human caused fire, a car caught fire on the highway that runs between Phoenix and Payson. So not deliberately set. Unfortunately, it has closed the highway since Friday afternoon and the traffic confusion that has resulted on Saturday and Sunday has been immense. All the valley campers up here for the weekend were forced to take very long reroutes to get back home. I17, to our west, had 50-mile backups as there was a fire near that travel artery as well. Arizona is beautiful, but escape routes, especially for rural areas like ours can be down to just one or two ways out. So everyone who heads out of your city and to the country for weekends or vacations, please, please, please follow no burn rules if they’re in place. A careless camper can devastate miles and miles of countryside, potentially destroying local towns, and send residents running for their lives. We have a saying up here, “If it’s not camping without a campfire, just think what it’s like with no forest.”

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is now open. You can get to it here, on my Giveaways page.

Where will I Be?

Phoenix Fan Fusion, September 25th – 27th. This event has been postponed until the end of September. Note that the event is a day shorter, starting on Friday rather than Thursday. For people who have special Thursday passes and other special tickets, check out the Fan Fusion website for details on how those will be handled.

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.

Wildlife, The Garden: Monday Blog Post

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Found out this is a Gopher Snake.

Newest News:

So, just an Arizona thing. We went for a drive around town in areas we don’t normally travel, just to see what’s new, where new homes are being built, just a joy ride. On a back street, we saw the above fellow, crossing the street. It isn’t a rattlesnake, as there are no rattles. We don’t know what he is but he was a good three plus feet long. Handsome, isn’t he? Any pictures of wildlife in your area you’d like to share?

A rose getting a drink from the birdbath.

The tomato and pepper plants I bought last week have survived the heat and the chipmunks. So at Saturday’s Farmer’s Market, I decided to press my luck and bought two basil plants. We’ll see if chipmunks like those. The roses are mostly gone, now, and the arugula has all gone to flowers. The lavender in the front yard is almost ready to bloom. Things are happening all over the yard. I have not yet seen our Chiricahua lizards yet this year but there have been plenty of others, darting around both the front and the back. The hummingbirds are also returning. Not enough as yet, to hang the second feeder, but they’re out there, fighting about who gets to drink at the feeder we do have up.

Stay safe. Stay well.

Giveaways:

The spring giveaway, Spring Flings and Book Things, is now open. You can get to it here, on my Giveaways page.

Where will I Be?

Phoenix Fan Fusion, September 25th – 27th. This event has been postponed until the end of September. Note that the event is a day shorter, starting on Friday rather than Thursday. For people who have special Thursday passes and other special tickets, check out the Fan Fusion website for details on how those will be handled.

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.

Travel, Garden, Poetry, Camp Nano: Monday Blog Post

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Me at the Beach

 

Newest News:

Hubby and I traveled to southern California last week to visit our daughter. We went to the beach, (it was cold), and to Solvang (it was hot!), and just hung around with her. On the way home, we stopped for the night in Laughlin NV, where we found a huge motorcycle rally starting. That was a surprise. However, the bikers we met were very nice and we left the next day so weren’t really all that put out.

Planting Potatoes

Sunday I managed to get some gardening in. I watered everything. Unfortunately, it was too late for the sage. It was all dead. So, I’ll dig it all out and plant more. I did get the potatoes in. The peas and beans are next. The seeds are sitting on my dining room table, so all I have to do is water the bed and get them in. I did manage to get the dead flower stalks cut from the oregano, which is coming up just fine. But didn’t get them trimmed from the lavender out in the front yard. Another day, I guess. All of the fruit trees have little fruit buds on them, so that’s a good thing. And the deep watering I gave them should help them along for the next couple of weeks. I do need to put the fertilizer spikes in at each tree. That should be easier now that the ground is moist. How’s your garden coming?

Just a reminder, Mystery at the Fair is in a book bundle called Cozy Winter Reads and has five other authors in it with me. The Bundle Rabbit link is:   https://bundlerabbit.com/b/cozy-winter-reads and you can get the bundle in whatever format you’d like. I can hardly wait to read all of these new to me other authors. Hope you enjoy it. Just $7.99 for six books!

Nothing to do with poetry or Camp Nano but pretty none the less.

April is both National Poetry month and Camp Nano. I’ve been working on my third, All About Bob story. I’m calling it “It’s all about the Music”. I’m not going to make my challenge for It’s All About the Music. Too many days without writing, though I did get about 5k words done while I was in California. I’m still writing a poem a day, even if it’s several in a day. I’ll finish all thirty days worth and put them out as a small book of poems. It’s surprising how easy it is using these forms my friend Stephanie has researched. The link again is https://stephaniesaysso.blogspot.com/2018/04/. Have you tried to write any poems?

Giveaways:

The 2018 Authors/Bloggers Spring Giveaway at https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/giveaways-and-prizes/ has started. So many free books and prizes, you’ll be amazed. Click the link to get to the Rafflecopter.

Shout Out:

Shout out to my friend Susan Haught. She’s redoing the covers on her series, Whisper of the Pines, and has received the first one back from her cover designer. It looks fantastic! Check her out at http://susanhaught.com.

Where Will I Be?

Check my website, https://conniesrandomthoughts.com/where-will-i-be/ for my next engagements.

I attended the Payson Women’s Wellness Forum on April 28th, 2018. I saw a lot of the women I know and I sold nine books! The program was fantastic. If your area has something like this, you should attend. It’s fun, it’s informative, and the lunch was great.

My next event is Phoenix Comic Fest. I have costumes this year! Come on by my tables in Artists Alley, AA928 and AA930 and we can take selfies!

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 Book Release:

Tested released January 31st and I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords, today! 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. It’s 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 paypal.me/ConniesRandomThought. I appreciate any donation to help support this blog.