What’s in a Name?

By Heather

I’ve had names on my mind lately. I’m working on three proposals (cross your fingers, okay?), and of course I have lots of characters. I can’t help myself. All my books have tons of characters—and those people need names. Two, really. First and last.

This isn’t an easy process, coming up with a name. The name needs to match the personality. It needs to roll off my tongue. It needs to fit. Oftentimes, there’s something that clicks within me when a name is perfect. But where do I turn to find these names?

Everywhere. From TV to phone books to major league baseball rosters to baby name books (and name generators) to the orthodontist.

The orthodontist??? Yep. You read that right. I was at the orthodontist yesterday with son # 2, and the girl who was in the chair next to him was named “Demetria” and her nickname was “Mimi.” It clicked. I will, at some point in the future have a character with that name. No idea who she is just yet, but she’s there.

In two of the proposals, I’ve created towns. Those towns need people. Tons of people. So, I’m looking for a little help from all of you. What are some of your favorite names? Everyday names, unusual names, ethnic names. First and last. I may not use them all, but I’d love to have more options…

~Heather

Mama's Comin To Visit

I just got home from Utah and my house is a mess.

Two kittens have filled the litter box to capacity, strewn their kibble across the floor, and shredded every roll of toilet paper they could get their claws on!

The pantry and refrigerator are bare.

My plants are dead in their pots.

Does this happen to you? A special house guest is on the way and suddenly you realize your windows are dirty, the tile grout has taken on a yellow tinge, and your carpets could do with a serious steam clean.

My mom won't care - she knows what my life is like, but you could eat off her floors any given day (and that's impressive considering she has 7 cats), so I'd better get going! I figure a vase of flowers in the guest room might distract her from noticing the mound of laundry in the next room.

What do you try to do to shape up your place for cherished visitors?

Take A Chance On Me!

"Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try

Take a chance on me
(That's all I ask of you honey)
Take a chance on me" ~ Abba

I really have no idea why the lyrics to "Take a Chance On Me" is running through my head and out my fingertips. Maybe it's because I feel a little like Sophie's author friend Rosie in Mama Mia. Taking my own chance, reaching out to you.

So here's what started it. I've been waiting for the September 7th launch of Buzz Off every since the idea first came to me. At least two years ago, if you count selling the proposal, the time to write it, all the steps that go into production. 

Only 7 more days to go!

Then one of my facebook friends (love them!) said she picked up her copy a few days ago in New Hampshire. What? Really? So yesterday my status mentioned that fact. And others started responding. Apparently, Amazon claims they are shipping on the 13th, 6 days late, which I can't believe. Then someone spotted Buzz Off at Books A Million. Another friend pre-ordered through Barnes and Noble, got her copy last week, and read it already.

Okay, then, exactly when should I start celebrating??? Because won't most booksellers wait until the day after Labor Day to put them out? I could start right now and go right through the long weekend into next week. And beyond.

While I make that important decision, keep your eyes peeled for Buzz Off.

Take a chance on me.

I promise you won't regret it.

Hannah Reed (aka Deb Baker)

Barnes & Noble Gift Card Winner!

Congratulations to VICKIE, this month's B&N gift card winner(for your comment left on 8/29)!

Please send an email to heather@heatherwebber.com with your email address to claim your electronic gift card from B&N.com.
 
Thanks so much for your comments and for supporting all of us here at the Cozy Chicks blog!
 
(Unfortunately, if I don't hear from you within a week, another winner will be chosen.)

Back East in the Big Cities

What fun! I got to spend my birthday (August 27) weekend in Manhattan with two of my daughters, Melissa & Maria. Believe me, whenever I have a chance to spend time with any of my daughters, I jump on it. I adjust my writing schedule (which lends itself to flexibility) if it allows me to schedule a quick visit. So, this weekend was a special treat. Pictured at right is just a photo shot of a typical NYC cafe w/outside tables. Since the weather was great all weekend, Melissa, Maria & I had ample opportunites to sit outside and dine al fresco or simply enjoy a drink & appetizers.

We also took an early morning walk through Central Park, which is beautiful, in case you've never strolled through it. And since all three of us work out every day, we made our early morning walk our "workout" for the day. Maria had already made reservations for my birthday dinner, and it was wonderful. We were at a cafe near Union Square on their terrace. And Maria had an after-dinner treat that was even better than the fattening dessert we shouldn't have consumed. She'd bought tickets to the Broadway musical "Wicked," which I'd always wanted to see but had managed to miss every time I traveled to Manhattan. It was a fantastic production. I loved it! Thank you again, Maria!

Monday, I flew down to Washington, DC, and I'm staying in a hotel in the midst of the city near Thomas Circle in an area filled with shops and cafes and an easy walk to several of my favorite

destinations in Washington---Georgetown, Pennsylvania Avenue with the White House and all the historic buildings nearby, Lafayette Square and surrounding Federal style row houses that border that beautiful park on three sides, Foggy Bottom, the Capital itself, The Mall. . .just for starters. Washington is truly a beautiful Nation's Capital, and I encourage every one of you readers, bloggers, or visitors to consider making a visit there if you haven't yet. You won't regret it. The city is filled with fun & educational treasures. The museums and art galleries---some of the finest in the world, no exaggeration, are absolutely free. All the time. You can browse all day and into the evening and not even leave to eat. They have great cafes in ALL of them. Think about visiting and taking your families, especially if they've never been.

As for me----I'll be writing away on my Washington, DC--based mystery series with the character Molly Malone. More on Molly & her story later this Fall. Meanwhile, I'll be working away in a city that I love---and enjoying myself at the same time. Then on Saturday morning VERY early, I will drive off through adjacent Maryland and across the Chesapeake Bay via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the OTHER side of Chesapeake Bay and the rest of the state of Maryland which borders the Bay southward.

Check out your maps, folks. It's easier to see than explain. Anyway, I'm staying at a beautiful inn right on the Bay for the Labor Day weekend, not far from the charming and picturesque village of St. Michaels, MD. I plan to relax BIG TIME in that beautiful setting. The inn is situated on a point of land that is surrounded by water on three sides. I intend to relax on a screened porch, or terrace, or patio, or one of their lawn chairs scattered under the trees---in the shade. All weekend. Well. . .I may wander into that charming town once or twice, then scurry back to a comfy spot and stare out at the water. . .again. . .and again. How do you folks plan to enjoy the weekend?

I'll be traveling next Tuesday, so Mary Jane Maffini, cozy mystery author of the new release CLOSET CONFIDENTIAL, will be posting in my spot September 7th. Meanwhile, enjoy the Labor Day Weekend, everyone!

Stop Smoking by....Shooting Yourself?

by Kate

We all laugh at those drug commercials that show happy, frolicking people who have subdued the symptoms caused by an ailment (but not the ailment itself) by taking a magic pill, while in the background, a quietly somber voice lists the possible horrendous side effects of the drug.

We make fun of the pharmaceutical companies for producing ads that are shorter than their lists of side effects, and we mock the actors in the commercials who dance, shop, and smooch, oblivious of the voice of doom behind them telling them their anti-depressant can cause suicidal thoughts or behaviors, their allergy medication can cause severe sinus problems, or their new birth control pills can cause infertility.

Do we ever take those warnings seriously?

True story: A man in his forties came into my husband’s law office last week seeking help for a personal matter. As they talked, my husband couldn’t help but notice that the man kept rubbing his chest, as though it hurt, and a bandage was visible in the open collar of the man’s shirt.

Finally, my curious spouse asked the man if he was in pain. Yes, the man said, from a gunshot wound to his chest when he attempted to kill himself. Had he been depressed? No, he was trying to stop smoking. His doctor had prescribed one of the two drugs used for smoking cessation and had him taking a double dose. Then, get this, the doctor had him sign a waiver required by the drug’s maker.

I looked up this anti-smoking drug. In a huge black box in the middle of the page, the information started like this:

“WARNING: SERIOUS NEUROPSYCHIATRIC EVENTS

Serious neuropsychiatric events including, but not limited to, depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt and completed suicide have been reported in patients taking XXXXXXX.” (Emphasis mine).

The box continued for a total of five lengthy paragraphs. Remember, the doctor had prescribed a double dose and made him sign a waiver. Did this poor man even ask the doctor what the possible side effects were? Did the doctor offer?

As a less serious, but still troubling example, my friend’s husband is on a popular name brand statin to reduce cholesterol levels that are barely over that magical line set by Big Pharma. Three years into taking the drug, he developed memory problems severe enough to affect his work. Not realizing the connection, since his diet is healthy, his weight excellent, and he exercises regularly, he decided to cut back on his pills, taking half instead of a whole. Guess what? Memory problems are gone. He said it’s as if a fog has lifted. His goal now is to get off the pills altogether.

Here’s what I found by Googling this popular statin:

In addition to serious muscle and liver problems much clinical research has shown that XXXXXX’s negative side effects could include sexual performance problems and sexual dysfunction, as well as memory loss, irritability and personality changes.

It seems that we are so inundated by drug commercials that we tune them out, then joke about them later. But those two anecdotes are examples of why we shouldn’t be cavalier about the drug warnings. The side-effects are very real. They do happen to people.

Do you find this as scary as I do? Have you experienced any pharmacy-related side effects? What did you do about them?

The "Kids" Are Coming!

by Leann

For the first time in I don't know when, my grown children are both coming without their spouses or children. It will be like stepping back in time for a few days.

There are passages in everyone's life, but since I was estranged from my own parents, the transitions were different, fractured, dysfunctional. What that led to, for me, was a long bout of depression when my own kids left home. I'd worked hard to create a family environment where everything was different than when I grew up. Not perfect, but loving and caring and involved. But I failed to prepare myself for what it would be like without them close--and they are on opposite ends of the country now.

I miss them terribly. I would love to be able to have lunch with my daughter or babysit my granddaughter. Play Trivial Pursuit with my son-in-law and watch The Daily Show with him. My husband dislikes that program but Jeffrey loves it and we laugh so much when he's here and we turn that show on. These may seem like such small things, but gosh, the small things make a huge pile.

Traveling is difficult for me with the fatigue issues I deal with. It has certainly become a factor in not seeing my family as much as I would like. We text and call and Skype, but there is nothing like wrapping your arms around someone you love, someone you gave life to. That is what I am looking forward to the most in the next few days: hugs and smiles and laughs. Dinner out and board games or cards. And conversation with the two amazing adults that they have become.

What about you. Is there someone you miss? Has a passage to a different time in your life been tough? Tell me about it!

Who stole my summer, dude?

After a long cold miserable winter, I so look forward to a long, WARM summer.  Well, we got warm this year.  Very warm.  Very, VERY warm.  And muggy.  And those hot muggy days went on week after week, month after month. 

I hate that.  If you're lucky (?) you have central air conditioning, which makes you a virtual prisoner in your house, because if you dare step outside your hair instantly frizzes and you break into a sweat, and those wet moons under your armpits just aren't that attractive.

So it was a bit of a shock when we had a gray weekend that morphed into a cool week.  A week that required a sweater.  Even the air took on a new scent:  fall. Fall means school.  School always filled me with DREAD.  The pinch of new, not-broken-in shoes, a shopping trip to buy notebooks, pens and new clothes.

But fall and school are locked together in my brain and I found myself cleaning my office, getting read for ... something.  I mean, I haven't been to school in decades (and we won't get into how many that is).  I consolidated boxes of books and bookmarks, stowed away the stuff I've been accumulating for next year's Malice Domestic charity baskets, and may even break out the vacuum.

It's the changing of the seasons and I'm really not ready for it, simply because I've spent almost the entire summer INSIDE.  I've been writing, and revising, and working on blogs (four of them!) and I haven't had much of a chance to sit back and relax and do anything fun.

In other words, I want my summer back, because that long, cold, lonely winter is right around the corner.

Did this summer go too fast for you, too?

Old Lady? Or Awesome?

By Wendy Lyn Watson

I live in an adorable little town. For those who’ve read the Mysteries a la Mode, the fictional town of Dalliance, Texas bears a suspicious (albeit not particularly mysterious) resemblance to the real-life Denton, Texas. Our adorable Arts & Crafts bungalow is right in the heart of that cute little town, too. I can walk (and have walked) to my office on campus, the town square, all the best restaurants, the best coffee shops, the grocery store, the library, the park, my doctor’s office, the pharmacy, the post office . . . you get the idea.

But you know what’s better than walking? Biking. On a bike, I could manage to get frozen food home from the grocery store before it turns into a puddle in my eco-friendly canvas tote. On a bike, I could haul my books home from my office or the library without needing a chiropractor afterward. On a bike, I could run my errands without it taking all dang day.

Most importantly, on a bike, I could look really cool.

Well, not quite. See, I’m, uh, coordination-challenged. I can’t ride a two-wheel bike. I guess, technically, I can . . . it’s just really not safe.

So I’ve been longing for a three-wheeler. The pedaling kind. O.K., let’s just call it what it is: an adult tricycle.

I tried visiting the local bike stores to see if they had one in stock, but no soap. The cute boys in their spandex shorts all scoffed. “You mean like the old ladies ride?” Yes, young whippersnapper, just like the old ladies ride. Now stop laughing or I’ll beat you over the head with my massive handbag.

I began to despair of ever finding my sweet three-wheeled ride. But finally I found a model and a distributor and ordered one in all the way from Miami. And it’s pink! The color is officially called “raspberry,” which is even better than “pink” because it’s delicious. It has a basket on the back, and I don’t care if little old ladies ride trikes, this one makes me feel like a kid. And it makes me feel pretty cool, too.

I’m totally in love with my trike, but I think I need to trick it out a little more, up the cool-quotient further still. I don’t know . . . what do you think? Streamers on the handles? An awesome bell? Help me pimp my ride.

-Wendy

Wendy Lyn Watson writes deliciously funny cozy mysteries with a dollop of romance. Her Mysteries a la Mode (I Scream, You Scream (October, 2009) and Scoop to Kill (September, 2010)) feature amateur sleuth Tallulah Jones, who solves murders in between scooping sundaes. While she does not commit--or solve--murders in real life, Wendy can kill a pint of ice cream in nothing flat. She's also passionately devoted to 80s music, Asian horror films, and reality TV.

Diet Time, Blah!

It’s that time again.

Diet time.

Blah!

It’s my own fault. I’ve been slacking off on the exercise front all summer and it’s caught up to me (a whole ten pounds worth!)

Why is it that women can put on ten pounds in a few weeks but it will take us six months to lose it? So unfair, right?

It didn’t help that every place I went with the kids seemed to end up with their eating meals that came with mountains of crisp, salty French fries. Naturally, they couldn’t finish them all and I routinely broke one of the Golden Mommy Rules: Do not finish the food on your children’s plate!

I also tend to gain weight when I get off schedule and this summer, my kids were in camp and I went months without attending my usual gym classes. Apparently, I don’t push myself as much as an instructor does. I totally need a drill sergeant!

So “back to school” means I go back to the gym, back to my schedule, back to healthier meals.

Did anyone else gain or lose weight over the summer? Do you have new food or exercise goals for the fall?

Celebrating a New Series Release

Two weeks from now!
September 7th is the release date for Buzz Off!
Under my pen name, Hannah Reed.

And the local bookstore is planning a big party to celebrate. Door prizes, a fabulous dinner based on the book, mead (honey wine) tasting. The invites are going out. Everyone is welcome (with advanced registration). Eve and Norm from Martha Merrell's Books & Cafe in downtown Waukesha, WI created the menu.

• Chilled pear soup with wild clover honey and fresh basil
• Mixed greens with raspberry vinaigrette
• Glazed chicken breast with salsa and jack cheese
• Diced golden potatoes with sweet peppers
• Roasted beets, carrots, and squash
• Apple gingersnap crunch with whipped cream

The fresh garden salsa and the apple gingersnap crunch are from the newsletter in the back of the book.
Here's the dessert recipe, created exclusively for Buzz Off by local librarian, Heidi Cox:

Apple Gingersnap Crunch

This is the best! It includes sugar and honey.

1 cup gingersnap cookies, crumbled
½ cup sugar
½ cup flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup butter
4 apples, cut into chunks
½ cup honey
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup pecans, chopped

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Mix cookie crumbs, ½ cup sugar, flour, and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly but holds together when pressed. Spread half over the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish and pack down lightly.

Mix together apples, honey, and cinnamon. Spread in pan. Add pecans to remaining cookie mix and spread over top.

Bake 50-60 minutes or until fruit is tender and topping is well browned.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Since the  Cozy Chick's community is spread out all over the map, I know most of you can't physically come to the celebration, but please join me in spirit.

Summer's End? Time to Travel!

Oh, no! I LOVE Summer. And. . .it's about to end. Darn. No matter how hard we try, we can't stop Time. August is coming to a close. Next week, September will arrive with Autumn's colors and schedules. Ahhhhh. . .but it's been a great Summer. Pretty hot temps, sometimes, but gorgeous days where I could be outside in the shade, reading and enjoying. Pretty hectic, I'll admit. Message to Maggie: Do NOT schedule way overdue doc appts for the summer. Or, other miscellaneous appts.

I did get to see some good movies. I have to say that the last two were the best of the summer. Avatar came out before, so that's not included. I already posted about the fun ones, Shrek and Toy Story 3. Toy 3 was funnier than ever. However, these last two are really worth mentioning. Inception--which is a great kind of sci-fi mixed with fantasy, hard to say what. But it definitely is intriguing. The concepts are fascinating. But---the best so far has been "SALT." Wow. Is THAT an action flick that delivers. Now, you guys all know how much I love action flicks. And this is definitely the BEST action flick I've seen so far in 2010 (not counting Avatar because that's fantasy action). Jolie is the best I've seen her, and this female CIA operative role allows her to do more than shoot people and dodge bullets. The plot is twisty and has lots of surprises. Plus the other actors are excellent, including the marvelous Liev Schreiber (sp?).

Movies over---now I'm about to travel again. As you can see from some of the photos I've included. I'm heading to Manhattan Thursday (top left) so I can spend my birthday (August 27) weekend with daughter Melissa AND daughter Maria (in NoVa/DC) is coming up for Friday. So---I'll get to spend time with two of my daughters! What a treat! We're already thinking of what we want to do. Weather is good, but even if it rains, not a problem. I always travel with my Colorado hiking jacket w/hood. :)

Monday after weekend, I fly to Washington, DC, to stay in the midst of the city (my old hometown) and work on my Molly Malone series. That's the mystery series which is set in Washington, DC, and I'll have more information on that later this Fall. After that week, I'll head for the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, all the way to the Eastern Shore. But I'll share more of that in an upcoming post. Meanwhile, folks----enjoy the last of Summer!

What do you have planned to spend these last few days of Summer?

How Can One Bathroom Remodel Go So Wrong?

by Kate

Ah, let me count the ways. And the days. And the red haze -- of anger over my eyes. All because I’ve had a dream for years to have a travertine floor in my bathroom. Talk about a dream turned nightmare!

Our first mistake was going to a “big box” home improvement store. You know those lovely commercials on TV? Don’t fall for them. We had a local flooring guy do another room a few years back, so we had a basis for comparison, and trust me, there was none.

So Big Box contracts the job out to an installation company who contracts the job out to a floor company in another city. So that would be a sub-sub contractor, right? The Sub-sub sends their guy to measure and work up a quote.

Mistake number two was believing that this guy knew what he was talking about. First that it would take 3-4 days to complete. Then: “Don’t put in a heating element under the tile. They always go bad. We always have to rip them out.” Well, he seemed experienced and knowledgeable, so we scrapped that dream even though our bathroom floor gets icy cold in the winter.

Then he bad-mouthed the big box store, saying that their bid would be way higher than the local guy, almost as though he was trying to scotch the job. I still believe that was his motive because I heard him telling his helper later that he “hated these home remodels” and preferred “new construction.” Probably because there weren’t any owners to watch over him.

Mistake three: Letting him back in the door to do the job. Same guy, same cocky, know-it-all attitude. Here is a summary of the damage he did: Gouged walnut banister, damaged wool carpet runner, badly scratched wood trim on the staircase, berry stains from trees on painted doors, half inch gaps between the new tile floor and our bedroom carpet, white powder, followed by brown dust, on every surface of at least 4 rooms because he would open doors and not shut them, globs of grout on newly painted walls and in all corners, and hunks of setting material left to harden on the tiles which he sealed over. He put plastic runner on the upstairs floor, but not up the staircase, which he and his helper traversed at least one hundred times.

He started late and finished early. He cancelled several days’ work, forcing us to reschedule the painters and the carpet cleaners. We complained to big box, and directly to his employer, who said he was no longer working for them.

Then three days later, he showed up to finish the job. He put three brown tiles in the middle of all of the light colored tiles, as in the photo. He left knives open on the floor. And last but not least, the day he finished (day 14) he asked my husband if he could put “a few scraps” in our garbage can. When my husband went to roll it out to the curb, it wouldn’t move. Seems Mr. Know-It-All had filled it with a 60 pound tub of mud, all the pieces of the heavy tile left over, wood trim that had been ripped out, and every other item he’d decided to discard. It was all crammed into a plastic garbage bin instead of into the back of his pickup.

Needless to say, this has soured us on any further remodeling, and for sure we would not use a big box home improvement store for anything other than buying nails and paint. I’m wondering if this was simply an aberration, or if any of you have experienced anything like this.

What's With the Bathtubs in the Forest?

by Leann

Sometimes I don't mind commercials. Some of them can be darn entertaining--especially come Super Bowl time. Right now I'm liking the one with the "invisible monkey" staging a celebration in a new car lot. One of my faves is the dog having nightmares about his bone being lost or being stolen by the cat. There's a long and short version with the song "Trouble" by Ray Whose Last Name I Can't Spell. I never get tired of that one.

But the E.D. commercials with the old fashioned bathtubs outdoors? Um, can you spell STUPID? Raise your hand if you have matching tubs outside and take a bath there with your husband or significant other. Raise your hand if you'd ever want to do that.

What I especially despise is the the long list of all the side effects from medications at the end of these commercials. Scary, huh? yet people end up going to their doctor and asking for these drugs. For me, this is a perfect example of the tail wagging the dog. Since when do the drug companies decide what medicine you need? Oh. Since they started making BUCKETS OF MONEY. Do you ever wonder how your doctor feels about this? What do they think when a patient comes into the office with a list of drugs that might "fix" them? Who's the diagnostician? I think the lines have become blurred and I, for one--and as a retired RN--do NOT like this.

Okay, rant over. Tell me your thoughts!

Are you a Book Booster?

By Lorna

Before Chapter & Hearse, the 4th Booktown Mystery, was published, I held a number of contests.  The prize(s)?  An ARC (Advance Review Copy) of Chapter & Hearse.  My publisher was very generous and gave me 20 copies of the book, 19 of which I gave away. 

Let's review what that ARC is all about:  ADVANCE REVIEW COPY.  What do you think that means?

It means the person who reads it receives the book knowing something is expected.

Oh, wait, you didn't get that part about REVIEWING the book?  And you didn't review the book you were dying to read?  The one you said you'd KILL to get your hands on?  (Pardon me, but you would not believe the begging that often goes on to get these suckers.)

Of the 19 I gave away, I've so far been told about/seen six reviews of the book.  Make no mistake, I have kept a list of who got the book.  Who do you think will get copies of my ARCs in the future?  Hmmm...let's see, by process of elimination . . . .

I'm sorry to sound so grumpy, but the other 13 ARCs should have gone to better homes.  I believed the people who got those books were sincere about writing a review.  I did NOT ask them for a positive review.  I asked them if they liked the book, to please review it.

I guess they didn't like the book.

Which brings me to my next point.  I got a note from a reader who's on the list to receive review copies of ALL of Berkley Prime Crime's books.  She asked me, "Is there a way I can get them to ONLY send the books I WANT to read?"

Uh, that would be no.  They have one little slip of a woman who does that job, plus has to do all the rest of the PR for about 100 authors.  Picking and choosing just the books this one potential reviewer MIGHT like to read is just one more thing she doesn't need to handle.

And the point of all this? 

 Are you a book booster?  Never heard of it?  It's something that the Killer Characters Blog is advocating.  Simply put, midlist authors only stay published if they sell books.  PERIOD.  Members of one of the reader lists I belong to were lamenting the fact that so many mystery series they LOVE have been canceled.  It did not occur to these nice ladies that the reason they were canceled wasn't because the authors were bored writing them, THEY DIDN'T SELL ENOUGH FOR THE PUBLISHER TO KEEP PUBLISHING THEM.

So please, check out the Killer Characters Book Booster page.  And the next time you lament that a favorite series has stopped being written remember just why that is.

P.S.  Four of my author friends have recently had their series canceled.  (And no, I'm not going to tell you which ones.)  I have a feeling that in about six months from now there'll be another post on that reader loop asking, "What ever happened to the ______________ series???"

Diversion Tactics

By Heather

I’m easily amused. And distracted. Case in point: I’ve been working on a new proposal where my main character has a bit of a shady background. In one scene I have her describing where some people hide their money.

In some catalogue, somewhere, I knew I’d seen little safes that looked like another object completely. I just didn’t know what to call them. So, I did what any good researcher does.

I Googled.

And lo and behold—a whole new world opened up to me. The world of the “diversion” safe. I spent at least an hour looking at various sites. Look at some of these and you can see why. Electrical sockets, cleansers, mayo jars, books, flower pots... How clever. You know I want the Dr Pepper safe. That would fit right in here at my house. My favorite, though, might be the pillar candle.

The funny thing is I haven’t used these safes in the book yet—I went with a generic Band-aid box. But I have a feeling I will use them at some point.

Now, I’m not going to ask where you hide your valuables, but I will ask you to share the funniest/most interesting place you’ve heard of someone else hiding things. I heard a story once of an old woman who hid her good jewels at the bottom of an ice cream carton (she’d meticulously scooped the ice cream out and replaced it after she stashed her goods). Then one day there was a power outage and one of her kids came over to help clean out the fridge. Yep. He tossed the ice cream in the trash, and no one realized it until it was too late…

All You Need Is Love

After my kitty passed away last week, a very wise woman on Facebook told me that I'd heal quicker if I rescued another cat. I took her advice. In fact, I took it an extra length and adopted a pair of brothers from our local shelter.

For ages, I've been talking to friends and family about buying a Siamese or an Abyssinian or a Bengal to commemorate my 40th b-day this Saturday. In the end, however, I couldn't do it. I knew there were cats waiting for me in the shelter and so I packed the kids in the car and off we went to meet some of them.

Wow, picking just two out of the fifty some beautiful kittens was tough! In the end, however, the cats chose us. These two tabby brothers stuck their paws out of their cage and nearly tripped me, drawing my attention to the bottom most shelf and to their beautiful gray faces and the rumble of their purrs.

It was over from that moment. And now Merry and Pippin (named after the hobbits from Tolkien's books) are home.

I am so in love!

Have you brought home a new animal this year? Have you ever rescued an animal from a shelter? Feel free to share names and stories. These will make us all smile!

Yooperland, Here I Come

I'm a Yooper and proud of it. It's an exclusive club. You are either born a Yooper, or you get a Yooper green card until you live in the Michigan Upper Peninsula long enough for the locals to forget you aren't native. When I was a kid, we said we were from the U.P. Somehow that morphed into Yooper.

As you read this, I'm on a road trip from home (between Milwaukee and Madison) to Rock, MI, where my family still has a 'camp'. Eighty glorious acres - wildflower fields combined with pine ridges. And the dinkiest house you'll ever see. Since the Finns and Swedes settled the area, and saunas are big with them, the camp used to have a sauna. Until my brother accidentally burned it down.
 

On the way to our place, I'll stop in Escanaba for a pasty (pronounced past-ee), not to be confused with those things exotic dancers wear on their..you know. Those are paste-ees. A pasty is like a pot pie, sort of, stuffed with meat, potatoes, onions, rutabagas, and whatever else. We drench them in ketchup and dig in.

My very first mystery (Murder Passes the Buck) was set in the U.P., because that's what I know best.

Yes, Yooper's rock! We can do the hokey pokey and the chicken dance. We can tell the difference between a squirrel and a skunk. We think 40 below is a 'might chilly'. And yes, we roll in the snow naked after our saunas, while all God's creatures look on.

Can't wait to get there.

Escape to the Mountains

I got to escape into the High Country last week. Finally! It was only for a day, but it was worth it. Somehow, My July and half of August wound up scheduled with long-delayed appointments, meetings, etc that I hadn't been able to escape until now. That's unusual. Usually I race up to the mountains in mid-July if I can.

Since I could only escape for a day and had to return that evening, I drove to the closest spot that had gorgeous views of the mountains---Rocky Mountain National Park. It's only an hour from my front door. Estes Park, the charming little village at the mouth (and near both entrances) of the park, is filled with cafes and hotels/motels AND a beautiful lake right at the edge of town. Lake Estes greets you as you crest the top of a ridge leading into town. As soon as you round the curve of Highway 34, coming from Fort Collins/Loveland right through the beautiful Big Thompson canyon---there it is. The lake, the village of Estes Park, and surrounding it all---Rocky Mountain peaks. almost a complete circle of gorgeous mountain peaks.

These are the high peaks, too. The 12,000, 13,000, and 14,000 foot peaks. If you're ever in Rocky Mountain National Park, you will be able to drive a stunning road to the very highest point in the park and down again toward Grand Lake, Colorado, on Trail Ridge Road. At that height, you are "above timberline," as they say---in the alpine tundra. Lots of mountain trails there, too, as there are all throughout Rocky Mountain National park. There are trails beside mountain streams, through fields of flowers, and climbing the sides of mountains.

I drove throughout the park on one of my favorite drives, then back to Lake Estes, and to a beautiful lodge right on the lake. Lakeshore Lodge, as a matter of fact. There, I settled in on the shady portion of the wraparound deck overlooking the beautiful lake---and read. And gazed at the setting. And----relaxed. I was past due for some mountain relaxation.

I enjoyed myself so much even with that short trip, I plan to escape another day this week. Either back to that prime spot on the lake or---maybe I'll drive up into the Cache La Poudre canyon north of Fort Collins. It's a wilderness river, the Cache La Poudre, and the canyon is Roosevelt National Forest. Only camping is allowed. And the river is a beautiful, powerful mountain river. I've "waxed poetic" about the river ---or as close to poetic as I get---in some of the Kelly Flynn Knitting mysteries.

I keep a folding chair in the trunk of my car all the time during the summer in case I get the urge to escape into the canyon and go sit beside that beautiful river----and write---or brainstorm---or simply relax.

How about you? Where's your favorite nature spot nearby where you like to escape to relax and recharge?

Raw Milk War: Who Do You Think Will Win?

by Kate

Take a look at this picture of my mom milking the family cow. It’s one of my favorite photos of her. Can you see what she’s doing? She’s giving the cat a drink before taking the rest into the house. The milk didn’t have any added hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides in it. It wasn’t pasteurized or homogenized, either. It was as God, or nature, made it, what all farmers and their families drank, and was extremely healthy.

Raw (unpasteurized) milk contains enzymes and bacteria that have been shown to strengthen the immune system, promote healthy bacteria in the intestines and reduce the risks of everything from respiratory disease to obesity. Pasteurization, however, destroys both good and bad bacteria, so you’re basically drinking dead food with bovine hormones and other toxins in it. Imagine if the FDA suddenly announced that breast milk had to be pasteurized and homogenized before a baby could drink it. Isn’t that ridiculous?

Yet that’s exactly what the FDA is doing those of us who wish to buy fresh, living milk from dairy farmers who don’t contaminate or kill their milk. Here’s the irony. Millions of Americans get sick every year from eating contaminated foods. (Think spinach). According to FDA statistics, at least 325,000 will be hospitalized and 5,000 will die. Yet, over a 13 year period, only about 116 illnesses a year were linked to raw milk. Percentage wise, it doesn't even rate.

The Daily Finance reports: "... the number of people sickened by raw milk compared to other foods does not seem to warrant the FDA's focused, expensive campaign ...
No government regulations of interstate commerce in peanuts, kale, or cantaloupes have been suggested, despite the much greater number of people sickened by consuming these foods. Sushi, a raw food that provides a greater opportunity for illness than raw milk, is legal in all 50 states, too."

So what’s up with the FDA? Well, guess. If people demanded raw milk, Big Dairy would have to change the way they run their dairy factories. Cows would have to be treated humanely, and it would cut profits. And guess who the Food and Drug Administration, who is supposed to protect the citizens of this country, sides with? Not the little dairy farmer. Not those of us who don’t want dead milk.

This freedom to buy pure milk is a concern that became dear to my heart as I researched SLEEPING WITH ANEMONE and found out how dairy farm factories treat their animals. If you want to protect your freedom to buy whatever kind of milk or dairy products you choose, here’s a site for more info. http://www.organicpastures.com/

Scary, but with their unfettered power, the FDA could ban organic vegetables next.

Do you think the FDA will win or is there a chance the power of the people will prevail? Would you drink raw milk if you trusted the farmer who sold it?