File This Under “What Was I Thinking?”

Okay. I admit it. I’m addicted to books. I’m addicted to reading books. I’m addicted to piling them all over my shelves, and stopping by them now and then just to pet the covers. But mostly, I am addicted to downloading Kindle books. Constantly. Especially FREE Kindle books. I have lots and lots of them waiting to be read. And by lots, I mean well over 350 of them. GAH. If I live to be 125, which is what I’m aiming for, I’ll never finish reading them all!

Add to that, the fact that I’ve got at least five books I’ve promised to read and review waiting for me, and oh, yeah…I’m writing a second novel, myself, which is a Time Suck of astronomical proportions. Where, oh where, in all of this, have I left myself time to LIVE MY LIFE?? I really don’t know. But I can’t think about it right now…the latest BookGorilla email just arrived. Free books are calling me! Later, boys and girls!

😀

Thank You!!

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who took advantage of the free promotion for Summer Magic: Poems of Life & Love. Sure hope you enjoy it! 

FREE Is GOOD!

Last day! Summer Magic: Poems of Life & Love is free for download on Kindle. Free is good, because…well, it’s FREE, and you don’t pay for it, and stuff. 🙂 Get it? Well, then go GET it! 😉

Summer Magic

Poetry: I’m on Hold

Don’t know about you, but I think this is brilliant! Who can’t identify?

Does It Mean It’s a Good Book When People Are Willing To Steal It?

OH, my. I left a copy of my book, Wake-Robin Ridge, with my 89-year old mother in her nursing home, and someone stole it out of her room the next day! What kind of person would steal from an elderly woman in a nursing home? I can only hope they just couldn’t resist it, once they saw the beautiful cover and read the blurb on back. Sheesh. Maybe my next review on amazon will start out, “I stole the BEST book yesterday!” 🙂

Ya gotta laugh, right? And I promised my mother another copy, so she’s happy now, too. But I have to say, sometimes people just flabbergast me.  Now promise me none of you will steal it. You can get it for a mere $4.99 on Amazon, you know. I swear, it’s worth it. 😉

Wake-Robin Ridge (A Darcy’s Corner Novel)

Freezin’ in Florida!

Look What You’re Missing!

Went down in the mid-30’s last night, and was still only 37 out when I woke up, but no ice in the birdbaths, anyway. This doesn’t sound like much to you folks in the Frozen North, I know, but when you consider it was over 80 degrees here less than a week ago, well…it is a bit of a shock to the system. And it will be back up in the 80’s again in a couple of days, I’m sure. Not as bad as last month, when the temps dropped 50 degrees in one night, and then soared again in 24 hours. But still. It’s a good day to stay home by the fire, and I think that’s just what I’ll do. Throw in a few hours on the computer, working on my next book, Swamp Ghosts, and it will be okay with me to postpone my winter gardening for another day.

How is it where YOU are? Cold? Freezing cold? Or my tongue’s stuck to a lamppost, someone just shoot me now, cold? 🙂  Hope you are all snug in your toasty homes until this lets up.

 

Moccasins

One more for the night, also from Summer Magic: Poems of Life & Love. This is from the Mac At Ten collection. Hope you enjoy it.

Moccasins

Sneakers on,
Laces tight,
Crunching noisily
Along the path,
And wishing…
Wishing for
The silent tread
Of the Cherokee
Who walked these hills
Before him. 

Sighing,
He flings himself
Down on the rock,
And stares at the
Campfire.
I could sneak up on deer,
He tells his dad,
If I had moccasins.
I could walk
Quiet, quiet,
Down each trail.
Now I clomp,
Clomp, clomp!
They know I’m coming.
I’ll never see them
Before they
See me. 

Dad smiles.
Here, son.
Your mom said
To give you this. 

He takes the package,
Curiousity rising,
Even as he tears the paper.
What’s in here, dad?
What did she send? 

A flash of brown,
Soft In his hands.
He breathes in
The warm smell of
Leather,
And laughs with joy!
Moccasins!
How did she know, Dad?
Oh, look how soft they are!
I will be silent now,
Quiet as a mouse.
How did she know
I wanted these
So much? 

His dad smiles.
Moms are like that, Mac.
Moms always know what
Their children want most.
And Moms always want
Their children to have their
Heart’s desire. 

He watches his son
Tearing off his sneakers,
Sliding narrow feet
Into soft, brown leather,
Face aglow with delight,
Current dreams having
All come true.
And he wishes his son’s
Happiness would always be
As easy to come by as
A new pair of
Moccasins.

– Marcia Meara –

Lending Fate A Hand

Thought I would share one of my poems tonight, just for fun. Enjoy.

Lending Fate A Hand

Standing near the shop,
I watch.
People rush in and out,
Jostling, hurrying.
Carrying steaming cups
To offices nearby. 

I wait for the right one.
Finally! He exits and
Heads toward me.
My heart stutters
With pleasure
As I admire him.
He’s tall, wide-shouldered,
Very blonde.
A Viking in Armani.
Yes, I think. Oh, yes.
He’s just as perfect as
He looked yesterday.

With careful timing,
I step into his path,
And we collide.
Oh! I’m so sorry!
He stops, surprised.
Then bends to pick up my purse.
Handing it back, he smiles.
My fault, he says.
I should have been paying attention.

We stand for a moment,
Assessing each other,
Then I laugh awkwardly,
And flash him a look
He can’t mistake.
His eyes widen slightly,
His smile, as well.
And I know.
He’ll be here tomorrow,
Ordering latte, and
Looking for me.
I’ll be waiting.

     – Marcia Meara –

 

Thank You!

WOW! Thank you so much to the 1,969 good folks who downloaded copies of Wake-Robin Ridge yesterday. I’m very happy with how that free promotion turned out, and I hope each of you enjoys the book. If so, I also hope you’ll remember to leave a kind review on Amazon. That’s what helps move the book up through the listings so it’s easier for shoppers to find. I’d really appreciate it. Reviews are more important than you can imagine. 

Again, thank you to everyone who grabbed a copy while they were free. Hope you’ll also tell your friends and family. And make a mental note that I’m nearly finished with my second novel, Swamp Ghosts, and soon it will be available for download, as well. Book #3 will revisit Darcy’s Corner, and for those who have been asking, yes, Sarah & Mac will be featured in a completely new story. 

Happy New Year to all of you, and thanks for making mine so special!

Free Today Only!

Wake-Robin Ridge is free for download on Amazon. Free is good!! Grab it while you can, and be sure to tell all your friends. 

Wake-Robin Ridge (A Darcy’s Corner Novel)

Heartless by Gail Carriger

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Still working on the Parasol Protectorate series, and happily, still enjoying it very much. Book 4, Heartless, shakes things up a bit with a change in the status of the werewolves and their abode, and likewise, with the “hive” of Vampires. (A totally unexpected twist, for me.) And of course, the family situations change a great deal, too, from Alexia’s relationship

Writer’s Digest Self-Published Authors Competition Results

Entered Wake-Robin Ridge in a self-published authors contest sponsored by Writer’s Digest, just to get the “brief critique” promised to all entrants. (I had no thoughts of winning, you understand. This contest is huge, and many contestants have been doing this a long, long time, and are very good.) Finally got my long-awaited critique, and was very pleased and

What Are You Reading?

Better late than never, I always figure!  Time for What Are You Reading, once again. I’m on Book 4 of the droll and amusing Victorian Steampunk series, The Parasol Protectorate. When I finish the last book, #5, I’ll be sad. The books are so funny, I can hardly wait to review this one. 

So what are YOU reading? As always, inquiring minds wanna know!

Excerpt From Wake-Robin Ridge #2

Happy Reading!

(From Sarah Gray’s Point of View)

Oh, I felt very lucky, all right. And filled with an optimism I hadn’t felt in ten years of cataloging endless mountains of manuscripts and dusty documents. But no more of that for me. Now, I was free to

Parasol Protectorate Books #2 & #3 by Gail Carriger

  

My Ratings for Each Book: 4 of 5 Stars

I am still having great fun with this series. Gail Carriger has managed to make this crazy world totally believable, and completely enjoyable.  This is a Victorian steampunk sort of adventure, but not like any others I’ve read. Oh, there are dirigibles, to be sure. I’m guessing you can’t write steampunk without them. And there are odd little

Silver Birch Press NOIR Erasure Poetry Anthology: Already a Collector’s Item!

Isn’t this AMAZING! Congratulations to SBP and to everyone who participated in the book. I’m so happy to have been a part of it, too!

Silver Birch Press

While checking the amazon.com page for the Silver Birch Press NOIR Erasure Poetry Anthology — released about 30 days ago — I noticed that several online booksellers had listed the book for around $1,000 (yes one thousand dollars). I have no idea what this is all about — only that some “experts” feel that the book is collectible. Perhaps Guy Budziak‘s superb cover art has led to this phenemenon.

Get a new copy today for the bargain price of $10.15 at Amazon.com.

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No Shorts Today!

Finally got cold down here. But warmer temps are due tomorrow, already. I guess today was winter! 😀

Who's Your Granny?

The temperature dropped 50 degrees overnight, from 80 to 30! Wow! Talk about a shock to your system! First time in 3 years, we are having a freeze in central Florida. Ice in the birdbaths, plants looking limp and unhappy, possibly expired, even, and a roaring fire in my fireplace. I never turn on the heat, my husband’s philosophy being “I have to pay big bucks to freeze all summer. I’d like to freeze for FREE in the winter!” But I do love a good fire. Cats and dogs are fighting for couch space nearby, and I’m cozy as I pack away the last of the Christmas decorations for another year.

Funnily enough, my best garden pal, Nicki, and I were planning to visit some local nurseries this weekend to get our winter annuals (violas, petunias, pansies, and some herbs), and maybe to look for a new rose or two…

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Soulless by Gail Carriger

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

As soon as I read the line, “A novel of vampires, werewolves and parasols,” I knew I was going to like Gail Carriger. She did not disappoint me. Soulless was a romp through a wildly unpredictable Victorian/Steampunk landscape, unlike any I’ve visited to date. Carriger’s world building is first rate, and the characters,

Excerpt From Wake-Robin Ridge

Available on Amazon in Kindle & Print Format

Thought I’d start the new year by sharing the occasional excerpt from my book, Wake-Robin Ridge, and possibly from the draft of my newest novel, Swamp Ghosts. So, here ya go. An excerpt from the Prologue of Wake-Robin Ridge. Enjoy!

~~~

..He found a spot behind some thick but low-growing bushes. It was a perfect place to hunker down and wait. In the gray light of early morning, he pulled out his favorite filleting knife and a small whetstone, spat on the stone, and began to slide the knife back and forth across the surface. Falling into a rhythm, eyes half closed, he continued to hone the knife, metal caressing stone again and again.

“Black Arts” by Faith Hunter

Coming January 7

The new Jane Yellowrock novel arrives in just three days! I can’t wait. I’m dying to know what’s next for Jane and Rick. Oh, yeah…and all those other characters, too. 😉  Mark your calendars!

To Tweet Or Not To Tweet…

 

…that is, indeed, the question. I’ve been reading lots about social media lately, in an attempt to learn more about self-marketing (and to make new friends, of course), and it seems to be the general consensus of opinion that a writer simply must Tweet. Trouble is, even after following a tutorial and setting up an account on Twitter, I’m still scratching my head in confusion. So many little messages, everywhere I look! GAH. I can’t even read them all. I feel like a truck full of snail mail backed up to my house, lifted off the roof, and dumped tons of paper on my head. 

Question to those of you more familiar with Twitterverse than I (which would be just about every living soul on the planet, except for some guy in Outer Mongolia, maybe)…does it get easier? Less confusing? Maybe actually fun? Any tips on how to get from Here to There? Any experiences you’d care to share? Anyone? Help….