Tag Archives: book

Book 1 Chapter 3

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(credit to Bing.com images.)

Normally, I’m good with faces, so I can’t believe I don’t remember him that is if he is speaking the truth. It could be a way to toy with me.

“I don’t remember you.”

“I worked for a local farmer in the summer of 1999, you came out to the farm with a girl, she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Can’t remember her name but I didn’t forget you. We hung out on the farm and then went to a party that night.”

“Hmm, the friend has to be Dorie but I’m not remembering the farm or party.”

He looked at me with the most amazing grin on his face. My heart did a flip-flop like I have never felt before. Why did that just happen? What is it about those blue eyes that make me weak in the knees?

Mystery man walked over to me. He leaned on the table inches from my face. I could feel the warmth of his breath on me and smell the sweetest cologne. This man should make my blood boil with rage not set it on fire with lust. What the heck is wrong with me? He snatched me.

I stood up and stepped back. My heart racing and my hands shaking.

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(credit to my daughter, it is her.)

“I do not remember you, I’m sorry. I just want to leave.” I spoke.

“I don’t know if leaving would be too wise. See, when I found you a man had been chasing you and when I went out earlier he was still out there only with several others. I am not the guilty one. I put you in that storage closet in case he happened to come to the door asking questions. You were hidden in there if he would happen to come to the door.”

I don’t know if he is telling the truth. I was knocked out. I suppose in a way it would make sense. Explains not being tied up and that he allowed me to come out and eat. No guns lying around. Now what do I say or do.

“Well, then I thank you for not leaving me there for him. Remember falling and my head hurting. Sorry. But how did you get me away from him if he hit me?”

A loud bang came from outside that made us both jump.

He ran over, grabbed my arm and led me back to the storage room. He shut the door behind us. Motioned for me to be quiet. He locked the door gently and put his arm on mine as if to tell me to stay still.

A knocking came from the front door. The door knob began turning. Several footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor. No one spoke. It’s like they knew we would be hiding.

I could feel a sneeze coming. Crap. Doing everything I could to hold it in. I sneezed my funny half sneeze. Mystery man covered my face up in case there was another one coming. I normally do sneeze more than once, luckily this time I did not. Did he remember that from years ago? Why can’t I remember?

A pair of footsteps came to the storage door and tried the knob. When it wouldn’t turn, the person tried shoving on the door but luckily it didn’t budge.

Mystery man motioned for me to follow him on hands and knees to the back of the room. He opened that metal box that smelled awful.

He motioned for me to crawl into the box. I shook my head no, not in that smelly thing. He motioned again with a rather angry look and whispered get in. I peered over the side of it and saw the bottom had been opened and there was a ladder leading down below. Just like out of an adventure novel! I smiled. Did my best to not think of the smell.

I climbed in. Placed my foot on the ladder rungs one after the other praying that they were not old and rickety. I looked up to see him closing the lid after him and locking it from the inside. Then when he got past the bottom of the box he closed that as well and sealed it with an extra bar lock.

It was airy and pitch black. It smelled musty and I could hear running water. My feet touched ground. After he was down, he took my hand and he led us closer to the water sound.

I hope those guys above don’t find the box. I wonder how this place got here. Many questions popping in my head. Exciting. Terrifying.

His hand feels warm and fits perfectly around mine. I don’t want to let go.

He dropped my hand, bummer.

Mystery man lit a small candle and placed it on a wooden table against the wall. He started opening tubs searching for something. He found a flashlight and shone it in my eyes. Bright light.

“I was hoping it wasn’t dead. We will head further down the tunnel just in case they find the passage way. I don’t think they will but better to be safe than sorry.” He said looking at me and then blowing the candle out.

“Why didn’t you just lock me in the room and answer the door?” I asked, thinking why go to all this trouble.

“Several of them, one of me if things went wrong.”

I didn’t know what to say or think. I am floored. This is like out of a spy movie. I guess I got my adventure I was wanting.

I shook my head in agreement and began to follow him down the cold, dark cave like tunnel. Just where it leads and what the story is behind this, I can’t wait to find out. My heart won’t stop racing from the unknown and Mr. Blue eyes.

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(credit to Bing.com images)

©JwlsMacRay 2016


 

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Time Goes Fast

cover_city_of_dark_magic1-184x300 (credit to http://www.magnusflyte.com)

Loved this book. Lots of interesting characters that are fun and real. Friendships, little romance, and several murders mixed with time travel and a treasure hunt. Love the setting in Prague and the castles. The villain is an intriguing character with a KGB past. Lots of fun reading. Terrifically wrote! Recommend!

I had checked this out at the library and almost didn’t because it was such a long book. I actually read most of it yesterday. 🙂 Now, I want to read the next one.

So far my Goodreads reading challenge is at halfway. Better than last year, so that is ok. I probably could read the other half of the books but we are coming up on a busy time of year. I won’t hold myself to it. I should have read more earlier in the year.

Ooops. Goal for next year.

I am glad that I am reading regularly again. For the better part of twenty years I didn’t read much other than textbooks and kids books. I guess that counts.  🙂

Personal accomplishments since last blog:

  1. Normal day-to-day house and kids’ taxi service. When will the taxi service stop? lol
  2. Garage reorganized, again. Oldest daughter has her stuff in there now so it needed better placement. Now there is room for working on some furniture refinishing projects. And all the bugs are swept out for the Fall. It was bugging me seeing all of them. 🙂
  3. Kids are doing good. Good grades. Youngest had broken his school tablet but since it was an accident at school and his first warning we didn’t have to pay for it. Thank goodness. That would have been tough. Still not a fan of having school laptops. I believe in paper and pen.
  4. I still haven’t finished my Halloween decorating. Working on one wood project that will have Halloween on one side and Fall on the other. Will post when I complete this week. I’m not sure I will hand out candy this year. Our street gets really busy and one might as well sit outside and hand it out as many times as the doorbell rings. We have a doorbell camera and after a while last year it started going off on its own. Ghost? Maybe. lol

It’s been a bit productive. Time just flies so fast these days. I need more hours in the day to accomplish all that I want. I have stopped watching as much evening TV shows. I now catch up later with OnDemand. Lots of new shows. I really like Bull, Lethal Weapon, and Secrets and Lies to name a few.

I hope everyone has a lovely day and read something good! 🙂

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A Chill Is In The Air

Snow (Credit to Bing.com images)

I had a few frosty things on my car windshield today. I don’t think I am ready for that. Fall yes but not getting downright cold. I had to turn my heater on last night for the first time. Ugh.

I do love this time of year because of all the decorating. I have started. I don’t know why I have not put it all out at once. A bit here and there. I am painting a few wood projects for Fall decorating. So much fun.

I have tormented the cats with hanging insects on yarn hanging from the doorways. They are loving it. Good fun and exercise.

Have been keeping busy with every other household chore there is to do and taxing kids everywhere.

I have not jumped into writing much other than for some writing assignments. More like advertising to me. I enjoy it. Pays a little.

I think about things to write on a daily basis just haven’t put to paper. I thought putting it on my to do list would help but nope. I am not sure yet if I will try the NaNoWriMo next month.

Pondering.

Procrastinating.

I have been reading. The book I just finished last night is really good!

The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman

200px-ocean_at_the_end_of_the_lane_us_cover (credit to Bing.com images)

I won’t tell the story because I want you to read it. I hate reading the whole plot of a story. I still read the book but sucks to know what will happen.

It is about a young 7-year-old boy who encounters magical people.

Loved the story!

Well written.

Kept me turning the page.

Author has a terrific fun, loving imagination. Definitely a must read if you like magical stuff, even if you don’t. 🙂 I think magical people watching out for you would be awesome!

I checked this one out at the library. Go me. I went to the library. 🙂

 

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What Have I Been Up To?

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  1. Survived 2nd week of boys back to school! 🙂
  2. Solved middle son’s health issue. So relieved it turned out minor. He is a smiley boy again.
  3. Surviving the oldest and only daughter invading our house. LOL. She moved back in for a while. It’s been nice to have a female around once more.
  4. Began editing my novel, again. I believe I have solved the first chapter whoas. It was holding me back. Now on to checking grammar and flow of the rest of the book. 🙂
  5. Getting a lot of computer work done. Some paid, some not. Lots of learning being accomplished. I love learning. I soak in all I can.
  6. I have started going to the library again. It helps that my middle son’s school is close by. 🙂 Win, win situation. I go a little early and spend time reading. End result, reading more! 🙂
  7. I have been going through totes, boxes, and files. Tossing, sorting, and finding forgotten treasures. It has been way overdue. I have separated the 4 kids’ stuff into their own tote. Plan on making memory journals instead of traditional photo albums. It’s been fun. 🙂

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Editing Enough Said

notafraidfirstdrafts(I think I got this from the NaNo site?)

I keep telling myself this. I was surprised today when I began editing my novella that it had been a whole year since I had touched chapters six and beyond. Wow.

I guess I was afraid! LOL. I did spend a few days on the first five chapters throughout the year. Hopefully, I did not over edit but I read through them and I like what I have. I don’t know if others will but as long as I do right now that is what counts. At least that is what I tell myself. 🙂

Once again, I waited until the last-minute to finish editing before I tackle the next part of the series, novella #2. It might actually be a longer book. We will see how much extra I end up with this next month. Those filler words tend to sneak their way into the book before the end of the month deadline. 🙂

I have a good feeling that I will get this accomplished this time.

Even though, I may not pick the pen up much over the year I am constantly thinking of the plot to the book. I do jot down notes so not all is lost on the writing. When I finished the first book I knew something was missing and it was not coming to me over the last few years. I knew when I felt the words rolling out on the screen today the missing part has been found. 🙂

I did start writing the second book a year ago and why I feel better about it is beyond me. I have always been a bit backwards though. LOL.

I am going to try my best to stay busy the next few days. Social media will not interfere I tell myself, over and over. 🙂

Happy writing! I am off to make spaghetti! 🙂

thR2OCW7UY(Bing.com image)

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Tess’s Tale by Donna Joy Usher

I read this book as part of a pre-release reading group I signed up for. I was surprised I made the cut, usually I do not get to my emails for days. Ooops.

I am doing better now with the emails since keeping up with them pays off!

Love this author. First book I read by her was The Seven Steps to Closure. I laughed my butt off! Highly recommend it.

This book belongs to a series, first book is Cocoa & Chanel and the second one is Goons N Roses. They are both fun and easy reads. Full of mischief and great characters.

I read the whole series and loved it!

If you click on the title it will take you to her Goodreads page and if you would like to purchase and read you may. 🙂

I read it in one day! I would definitely read the first two so it will make more sense. 🙂

Tess's Tale (The Chanel Series Book 3)

Tess’s Tale by Donna Joy Usher

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That Journal Thing Again…June 14-20, 2015

summer fun 015 What my journal looks like. Spans five years. 2012-2016.

As I take a look in my journal, I see lots of empty spaces during the first six months. I would think that would be a better time to write than during the last when all the holidays happen.

Weird.

Maybe I have more to write about then. 🙂 I will add a goal to do better at writing in it and add a post once a month or twice. I don’t think I want to fill up my blog with every week, that is a lot of entries. 🙂

June 14th – question?         Did you exercise today?

2012    Actually did walk on treadmill for 20 minutes and sweated like crazy. I am trying to do regular exercise because it does make me feel better.

2013   Blank.

2014   Nope. I thought about it. Should have done it. Motivation was nowhere to be found.

2015   A little. Played in the front flower garden. Pulled weeds, removed the old mulch, and placed stone pavers down.

June 15th – question?      What’s your favorite gadget?

2012   The apps I have downloaded on my phone. Love them. It helps to keep track of things. Organize. Budget. Awesome. I use the apps more than call or text.

2013   Blank.

2014   My favorite would be my NOOK! I love it! I love it for all the apps. I love it for reading new authors that I would not have known about. 🙂

2015   My Galaxy Note 3 phone. I like the apps as always. It is nice being able to look stuff up on the internet on the spur of the moment. Love the camera! Lots of cool features.

June 16th– question?      What makes you cynical?

2012   Fake friends. Especially when they are only out for themselves. Makes me want to disappear and hide in my own little world.

2013   Blank. Thinking it was not a good year. 🙂

2014   “distrustful of human nature”, mocking. When someone you thought cared about you ends up not making an effort to be there when you need them most. Trust disappears.

2015   Fake people. People who lie a lot. People who ignore me.

June 17th– question?       The best hour today was_____. Why?

2012   7pm. Eating pizza with my boys. Nice to eat together. Plus Shay will be at college soon and not eating with us as much.

2013   Blank. Shock!

2014   5pm. Being at the movies with the boys and then eating afterwards at IHOP. Spending time with them. It was Shay’s treat which made it even better. 🙂 We had fun and got out of the house.

2015   6pm. Watching the boys play baseball. Love baseball.

June 18th– question?        What’s the last meal someone cooked for you?

2012   Have to be when hubby was home on R&R in May. It was his favorite mac & cheese with hamburger in it. Miss him. Deployment almost done.

2013   Blank.

2014   Monday Shay made the sloppy Joes while I caught up on dishes. It was yummy and simple. He is learning.

2015   A few weekends ago hubby cooked supper. I’m usually the one cooking.

June 19th– question?       What was the last personal letter you received?

2012   Gosh can not recall. Have had cards but not much wrote in them and those were from hubby. I think last letter was Farra when she went to school in Colby.

2013   Blank.

2014   It’s been since Christmas and that was a newsletter type letter. We get mostly junk mail. Blah.

2015   Last week from a LetterMo pen pal! Love pen pals. Now I need to return writing to her.

June 20th– question?       Write the first sentence of your autobiography.

2012   I am a creative but quiet woman who loves adventure.

2013   Blank.

2014   Who am I?

2015   Once upon a time I was a social butterfly, then I preferred the quiet life.

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Blueberry Muffin Murder

th Credit to Bing.com images

This book is set in Lake Eden, MN. It is about a young lady named Hannah who co-owns a bakery named The Cookie Jar. She has a meddling mom who can not stay out of fixing her love life. Hannah is seeing two men. One is a cop and the other a dentist. She can not decide between the two. 🙂

Hannah tends to find dead bodies more than the average person. In this story the town people are getting ready for the big Winter Carnival when she finds the first dead body. The boyfriend cop warns her to stay out of the investigation. The cop has also named her other boyfriend as a suspect. Hannah can not believe it and thinks he is jealous of the dentist boyfriend. She does what she does best and begins to investigate. She also has the help of her realtor sister, Andrea. Andrea’s husband is also a cop. They do not let either cop know what they are doing.

Through out the book Hannah whips up her cookies and muffins and delivers them while questioning people along the way. The recipes are listed in the book for the reader to try them out. 🙂 They are simple and look yummy. I wrote them down and will give them a try. 🙂 If I can bake them, anyone can. 😉

The book is fun and entertaining with lots of great characters and plot twists. There is a whole series of these books by this author. I have read a few and enjoy each one. Eventually, I will read them all. 🙂 I discovered the author while visiting the local library.

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I Swear It Was Not That

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A few weeks ago I ordered a new 2-page quarter year calendar journal from Day Timer. I was excited to open it when it arrived. The first thing I noticed was that it was for October, November, and December 2015. WHAT?

I can not believe I did not notice that when ordering it. I remember thinking October was an odd time to start a date book but I know you can get one’s that start in September, so I did not think anything of it.

I should have paid better attention.

But, all is not lost. January actually began the same day October will. I scratched out the October and put January on all the month’s pages.

February has a few extra days since it is actually November, crossed those out.

March is a bit more tricky. I crossed out the day of the week and will write above it the true day.

This all led to thinking, I can doodle and put color on the pages to hide the month and day when needed. Works pretty well. I always doodled on my notes when I was in high school and college. I also wrote with colored pen. Love colored pens.

Why, would I not send it back and get the real one?

I did not want to wait. LOL

Plus, why waste it. It is easily fixed and it was my error. I will make sure to double check the next quarterly calendar that I order in March!

I really like this one too.

It has a place for

To Be Done Today (Action List): I use this for the day’s task I want to complete. Some days it is huge and others I am rather lazy. Interesting to see what I really get done.

A section for appointments with the time beginning at 7am – 10pm: I put down kids’ schedules and mine. I write what I get accomplished plus how long. Good for making me write.

Phone call section, expense record section: Not much goes here. I do not get many calls. I sometimes use it for other things I want to track.

Next page is an entire page of work record: This is where all my ideas go. When I complete them I flip back and check them off. It includes my writing ideas plus all the art stuff I want to get done.

It even acts as a diary in a way. I will jot down funny stuff that happens or things I want to remember. I wish I had done this a long time ago with things the kids do or say. 🙂

In the beginning, I wrote down my New Year Goals. It will be fun to see what I achieve at the end of the year. I did another page with my creative goals. I put these on the beginning days 1-5 because the calendar did not arrive until after the 5th.

The best part, it fits in my purse. 🙂

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