Galleys Finished

My galleys are finished!

Regrets, I've Had a Few

I had a few regrets when I left the Midwest. No, the weather wasn't one of them. heh heh.
I, of course, regretted leaving family and friends. But what was the hardest shock to absorb was reaching the South and finding there were no Fannie May Candy Stores. No one had even heard of it. Woe was me. Woe was me.
Now if you're from the Midwest, especially Illinois, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Fannie Mae candies has the best chocolate--to my mind--in this world or any other. Its smooth without being heavy, rich without overpowering, and compared to other fine chocolates, reasonably priced.
Easter in the Midwest found people lined up at the Fannie Mae stores to get their specialty Easter Eggs, items that could only be bought once a year: pink fruit and nut eggs and chocolate fudge eggs rolled in caramel and pecans. I kid you not, their chocolate can make you weak in the knees.
After serious withdrawals in the South when I no longer found Fannie Mae in my stocking and Easter Basket, I finally convinced the Easter Bunny how serious this situation was and he went on line to order it, only to discover they'd cut back their line and no longer carried their specialty items. Woe was me. Woe was me.
So there I was still stuck with no Fannie Mae. A few more years went by and the company saw the error of their ways and brought back their specialty Easter Eggs. Life was once again good. Santa and the Easter Bunny delivered via UPS.
So I've been in the South for ten years with no one having a clue what I'm talking about. I look at them pityingly. They have no idea what they're messing.
Then like a miracle, I walk into Walgreens about a month before Christmas and of course hit the chocolate aisle. And there they were: Fannie Mae Pixies and Meltaways individually packaged at a $1.49 per candy. I scoop up a handful and raced to the counter where the clerk informs me that a woman was in just a bit ago and bought a whole boxful. I laugh and say, "She had to have been from Illinois."

~*~
There's always something entertaining going on at Amarinda Jones', Julia Barrett's or Anny Cook's blog. Addies on the right.

Down for the Count

My DS brought me something from NY....the flu

Cosmic Anecdote

The whole universe is singing!
The rhythm of its movements
Multiplies measure upon measure,
Exploding the silence of the deep,
Then tumbles back
Into a syncopate refrain,
Only to break free again
In a kaleidoscopic twist.

Parts of a part
Burst forth in the heat of the day,
Cool in the sea breezes
And fall back to earth
Under an evening star,
Only to rise again,
Under a different sky,

Did you think
You were not
A part
Of the pattern?
Mike Cox

Strange Happenings

Have you seen the stories about the dead birds and fish?
Five thousand red-winged black birds died in Arkansas, recently. The cause of death: internal trauma and bleeding.
Eighty-three thousand fish died in Arkansas, recently.
They say the two are not related.....Hmmm.
Another five hundred black birds and starlings in Louisiana died.
Reasons suggested for the mass deaths:
Storms
Fireworks
Aerial Spraying
And the coming of 2012

I found the red-winged black bird story especially sad. I grew up in the mid-west where red-wings were a common sight. Seeing them always made me smile with pleasure.
Lets hope there are no more mass deaths of our wildlife.

There's always something interesting going on at Amarinda Jones', Anny Cook's and Julia Barrett's blog.

Julia Barrett

With us today is my good friend and extraordinarily talented author, Julia Barrett. Welcome, Julia please tell us about your current release, Come Back to Me.

Come Back To Me…a descent into darkness.

This was not an easy book to write. Come Back To Me didn’t begin as a work for publication; it began as an exercise or rather, an exorcism. I had a few demons buried inside and they needed to see the light of day. I was fascinated by how easily the words flowed from my brain to my fingers to my computer screen. I expected the process to be much more difficult; I assumed I’d have to pry the words out, as the work is more or less autobiographical, but I didn’t.

Once I completed this unusual, emotional memoir, I decided to re-write and edit, make it a bit more commercial. After two re-writes, I sent if off, only to be rejected, twice, by publishers who told me that while they loved the story, readers will not buy a dark tale in dark times. Evernight Publishing picked the book up without hesitation. While Come Back To Me has a happy ending, which is real and true to life, the main theme of the book is personal growth, not a heroic rescue. Where does a woman, abused from childhood, find the strength to stand on her own two feet? How far will she allow herself to be pushed until she fights back for the sake of herself and her unborn child?

You can find Come Back To Me here: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/products/Come-Back-to-Me-by-Julia-Rachel-Barrett.html

Blurb:

Sometimes the safest path is to keep people at a distance…especially men.

Cara’s life has been one nightmare after another. Abused as a child and neglected by her parents, she’s quick to blame herself for every cruel thing that happens to her. And then there’s James, the only man capable of making her forget her misgivings and learn to love again.

James, a young doctor in training, is aware of Cara’s history. He’s determined to break through her barriers and build a life with her…and fails. Cara runs away in an attempt to reinvent herself and James fears he’s lost her for good. When she falls into the hands of a drug dealer and mob boss, life as they know it is about to get a whole lot worse.

Can their love withstand the demons of her past and present?

Read more on my website: http://juliarachelbarrett.net

~*~

And don't forget to visit Amarinda Jones and Molly Daniels.

Happy New Year

Wishing You Joy in the New Year.

Blogs to visit: Amarinda Jones and Julia Barrett.