Tag Archives: Labor Day

Happy Labor Day, Mystery at the Reunion, Critters in the Car, : Monday Blog Post

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Newest News:

Happy fall! I know it’s not officially fall but it’s Labor Day today and I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer and are all set to have a very great Autumn. I’m not a pumpkin spice kind of person but if you are, have at it!

Hooray. Found a military woman to talk to me about Afghanistan! I’ll be talking to her on Tuesday and I’m really looking forward to it.  

It’s now 8 days until I go to jury duty.

https://www.deviantart.com/dea1h/art/Mouse-4-149456841 British harvest mouse.

More news about the critter or critters in my garage. Last week I mentioned that hubby cleaned a new nest out of the car air conditioning duct. Sunday, he checked it and what do we find? A new nest built. The mouse is bringing dried out peaches in from the yard at the other end of the house and putting them in the nest. Ugh. Hubby is now setting traps under the car. While under there, he found a small cover that’s hanging open. He suspects that’s where the mouse (we’re pretty sure it’s a mouse) is getting into the car. He’s duct taped it up as it’s broken, while we wait for a new cover to arrive from Toyota.

Giveaways:

The Summer Giveaway is open! There are 33 participating authors with 33 book prizes and 33 summer gift prizes. The Grand Prize is $100 in Paypal cash. This is certainly a giveaway to get involved with.

Where will I Be?:

I don’t have anything on my calendar until the December Mesa Book Festival. The date is December 14th from 10am – 5pm and the location has changed to 225 E Main St, Mesa. This is the Benedictine University, for those familiar with Mesa. I am sharing a booth space with the wonderful Marsha Ward. The site only promotes the author registering the table, so you’ll only see Marsha’s name, not mine. But I promise, I’ll be there. You can find all the details and a map at https://anthology.org/category/mesa-book-festival/.

On the other hand, if something juicy comes up, because it’s a long time between July and December, I’ll let you know. Do you know of an event where you’d like to see me? I’d love to know about it. Contact me here and say the word.

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:

Gold Dreams released May 13th, 2019. I have finished reformatting the book for the other platforms. It sometimes takes a few days or even a week to get them all live. It 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.

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Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad

Newest News:

Happy Labor Day everyone. My mom and dad were blue collar workers and both were in unions. Mom, because she worked for White Mop company making steel mop heads, buckets, wringers and such, was a steel worker. Dad was a Laborer, meaning he did the heaviest grunt work in the construction world. I’m proud of both of them for providing all of us kids a home, food, clothes, and a knowledge of the value of a dollar and hard work. Thanks Mom and Dad.

Zoe Ohale rewrite is with my editor for the second time. I’m am working on my cover and it’s taking longer than I thought. I still want my “A” Team to review possible covers and tget to select which of the draft covers will be my release cover. If you’d like to be in on the action, respond to this blog and let me know your name and email address. Do it now cause who knows when I’ll finalize those covers and get ready to release. Cover reveal will be to the “A” Team first, then the newsletter subscribers, then here on the blog. Want to be in the know first? Comment on this blog to join the A Team.

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The Northern Gila County Fair again took up a lot of time last week with meetings, last minute details and other work. The fair starts this Friday, the 9th, at 8am, so this week will be filled with the setup in preparation for the opening. I also attended a meeting for the Book Festival finalizing details of a new venue. All of my book festival goers and authors, stay tuned for an announcement about that. Are you in Central Arizona this coming weekend? Come to the fair! www.NorthernGilaCountyFair.com

Giveaways:

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The Red Hot Summer has been extended to the 8th, so you have just a little more time to get in on the fun. You can find the Rafflecopter link above on my website. You do have to sign up to Rafflecopter but after that, you’re free to click away. I have links to it on my facebook and twitter pages, too. This giveaway I offer a free ebook, Mystery at the Fair, or for second prize, a $10 Amazon card. Over a hundred prizes from 50 authors plus a grand prize of $150 Paypal Cash. It’s not hard to enter, there are multiple ways to enter, and it doesn’t cost you anything. You could easily win a prize. If you haven’t entered yet, enter today and every day but hurry, only 14 days left!

Instafreebie September 18- 20th, 2016

Instafreebie September 18- 20th, 2016

Starting 1 September, I’m involved with a group doing a promotion on Instafreebie. The main promo is going to be September 19-20th. There will be a lot of authors involved and we’ll be cross promoting the books so you get the best selection of cozy mysteries we could put together. Click on http://annertan.com/free-mystery-books/ and then click on the book cover to take you directly to the book you want. My link on Instafreebie is https://www.instafreebie.com/free/rXIZT and the book, Mystery at the Fair, is free! I know! Last week I said .99 but nah, it’s free! Hashtags for the giveaway will be #instafreebie, #mystery, #freemystery, #20Mysteries. Please share the tweets and posts. Let everyone in on the fun. More details as they come out. But check for us on Facebook and Twitter.

Shout Out:

L&M Cover

On August 7th, my author interview is with D. M. Simpson, author of Lyric and Michael. An author of paranormal romance, Dawn lives in Florida with an assortment of pets, kids and husband. You can find Lyric and Michael at http://www.amazon.com/DM-Simpson/e/B00KYRQQTI as well as her newest book, Christine and Daniel!

Garden News:

AugGarden007

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. Paste, Early Girl and Cherries. Then there’s the zucchini. Lots and lots of zucchini. We eat them at just about every meal. I made a spaghetti sauce from mostly cherry tomatoes on Saturday because I had so many. Some paste and Early Girls went into the sauce, too. I thought it’d be sweet but an application of red pepper flakes gave it a nice balance. Yay! Sunday I froze a bumper pick of green beans. We’ll have plenty for all winter long. That’s very satisfying. How’s your garden doing? Are you enjoying an abundance of something? Do tell.

Where Will I Be?:

The wonderful people at Dog-Eared Pages Book store (http://www.dogearedpagesusedbooks.com/) were nice enough to put a few of my Mystery at the Fair books on their shelves. If you’re in Phoenix, stop by the shop and say hi to the nice people there.

FallFest2016

9th annual Fall Festival in Pine, AZ. October 8th and 9th. http://pinestrawberrybusinesscommunityaz.com/fallapple.html. I’ll be there all weekend as part of the local author book signing. My hubby will be there as part of the chili cook-off at noon on Saturday. There are also crafters and a very excellent antique show scheduled, not to mention music and food!

Want more details about this event? Click here for more information.

Newsletter Sign Up:

Click here to sign up for my newsletter. I’ve put sign-up prizes on both the regular and the Brown Rain 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! I’m getting ready to share some things on the Zoe Ohale book. I’d love to see you there.

Newest Book Release:

Kindred Spirits Ad

Kindred Spirits released on March 14th! I’m pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: Apple, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, Gumroads  or Chatebooks today! You can also see all of my books on www.ConniesRandomThoughts.com. If you’ve read any of my books, please drop a review on the site where you bought it or on Goodreads. It’s a big help to me in the book rankings each vendor uses to promote the books on their sites. Thanks in advance.

Labor Day

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I’m retired.  And I like it.  That doesn’t mean I don’t work though.

I volunteer with the Phoenix Chapter of the Project Management Institute where I am a credentialed Project Manager and the Director of Member Services.  I keep my hand in just to stay in touch with the business world and stay abreast of changes in Project Management.  Anyone who knows me understands how much being a Project Manager fits me.  All of that organization!

I also am a 4-H leader.  I spent until my 18th birthday in the 4-H when I was a kid.  It gave me all kinds of skills I use to this day.  I also enjoy showing kids how to do something so I have a club that does cooking, sewing, crafts and gardening.  They learn and have fun and I learn and have fun.

Another volunteer role is as a member of the Northern Gila County Fair board.  The fair is the 6 – 9th of September. Yep, just a few days away.  My week is going to be very busy.  I enjoy doing it because I love going to the fair.  The kids and farm families showing off their livestock, country women showing off their jam, jelly and baking skills, backyard gardeners sharing the exotic varieties of produce.  My husband is entering 3 pictures in the Photography Department this year.  All sorts of wonderful talent coming out from all over the county!

I do have a small paying job; I’m a GED test examiner for the Gila County Education folks.  Nothing tickles me more than people who have decided to go ahead and finally get their High School diploma.  It takes a lot of guts and the test is hard!  Don’t let anyone kid you.  My mom got her GED when my third brother (I have 4!) graduated High School.  We all joke that they graduated together.

But I’m retired, it’s not all work.  I go hiking, backpacking, I garden and do crafts.  First Friday is a time for my husband and I to join friends at the local art gallery, meeting other friends and looking at all of the fantastic artistic talent in town.

Of course, I spend a couple of hours a day writing, or at least engaging in some sort of writing business.  If anyone remembers Maslow, I’ve reached the self-actualization step in his hierarchy of needs.

So here is to everyone, enjoying their Labor Day weekend or who have to work.  May you all be able to reach your self-actualization goals
.