On Memorial Day Weekend, I went to Fort Benton with my older sister. A tradition we started last year was to have a sister weekend and travel to an interesting place. (Next year my younger sister and mother will be able to join us.) Last year we went to Boulder, Montana, where we went antique-ing in near by towns and stayed in the fabulous Boulder Hot Springs Inn, and soaked our bones. We also sat in a radon mine, but that's another story.
So this year I suggested we go to Fort Benton. It's a great little town with lots of history. If you haven't been, I would highly recommend going. (And stay at this nice B&B.)
To make a long story short, we stopped at this Antique place north of Fort Benton. Virgelle is really in the middle of nowhere. There is a ferry to take you across the Missouri, a boat dock, a grain shiloh, and the Virgelle Mercantile and Bank.
In the basement of the Mercantile, I found this.
Now, I have been looking for a desk for a long time. Can you believe that I have been doing all my writing perched on a stool in front of my clothes dresser? Well, I have. You don't know how many times I had to stop and walk around because my legs fell asleep.
So I bought this sewing cabinet, one: because it was a steal at $60, and two: I have fond memories of a Singer trundle that was at my Grandparents ranch. It was in the kitchen and had a huge butcher block on top. As a child, I would press the peddle with my hands and watch the wheel move.
So I brought the cabinet home and cleaned it up.
Sanded it down.
Gave the base a new coat of paint.
And refinished the cabinet.
Now I have a proper desk.
Plus I have the added bonus of getting a workout while a write.
Yeah, I know, when I heard the title "Mary Janes Farm" it raised my eyebrows too. But my older sister told me to "trust" her and she handed me this great magazine to which I became instantly addicted. Gardening, cooking, baking, crafting, all with western flair, speaking to cowgirl and urban cowgirl alike.
I loved the style, the writing, and the gorgeous photography from Mary Jane Butters and crew. I ended up writing an article for them and now it is printed and available for you to read. (Thanks to SDQuilter and Blaze Champion for letting me know - I haven't gotten my copy yet.) Here is a link to their site: http://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/Magazine
If you enjoy great ideas, cooking, and organic living, I suggest reading this magazine. And welcome and thank you to all those who saw my article and decided to "trust" me and check me out.
Thank you also to the editors and staff at Mary Janes Farm for making me look as awesome as they are.
I've been in a haunting mood, lately. Strange, I know. It is more suited for Halloween and not Easter. However, I've been researching for a new book.
Also I am a huge paranormal reality show nut, and "Haunting:Austrailia" just started on Syfy. Man, that last episode was intense. They had the best evidence caught by a ghost hunting tv crew in a long time.
You'll have to check it out, it was amazing.
I have had my own brush with the paranormal. One time, a long time ago, when I was living in Phoenix, I had an encounter in my apartment. I lived alone, apart from my greyhound mix dog named Pepe, and I had just returned home from work. It was around four in the afternoon and I had gone into my room to change clothes before taking Pepe out for a walk. She of course followed me in and sat on the floor.
Suddenly, there was a loud banging in the kitchen, as though someone was slamming a pot on the stove. Bang! Bang! Bang! This was coming inside the apartment, and not next door, it was to sharp of a sound, and not muffled by walls. My dog looked over her shoulder, then back at me. Her eyes widened, but she did not bark. I looked into my kitchen and found nothing, no pot on the stove, nobody around. I went back into my room and sat down on the bed. Bang! Bang! Bang! The metal on metal clang happened again. I looked at Pepe and said out loud. "I don't know who that is, but they don't belong here. And they better leave, now!" Soon I heard the sound of the front door opening and shutting. It never happened again.
I also believe that Pepe, who died before I left Phoenix, stayed with me until she knew I was safe and happy. Soon after she passed, I would hear her sigh like she did when she thought I was taking to long to take her for a walk. I even heard it when I moved away and was back in Montana.
But the creepiest encounter I had was at the guest ranch I worked at. It was a beautiful sunny day, and one of the girls that I worked with and I were taking a break in the lodge. Everyone else that worked on the ranch had taken the day off and went into town and were not expected back until the next day. We were sitting in the main lodge, finishing our lunches and talking when I saw a dark figure pass the large window, just behind my co-worker. I thought, "Oh, someone forgot something or it was a river floater who decided to stop." As it was, the property sat on a river and we would have floaters stop for a game of golf or a drink at our bar. I didn't say anything, but ran out of the lodge, and saw, that's right, nothing.
My co-worker wanted to know what I was doing, and I told her I saw someone walk by the window, or at least their shadow. "It could have been a bear," she suggested. Bears were always trying to get into our coolers, but there was no bear.
Does anyone else have any ghost stories to tell? It is Easter, the ultimate ghost story if I've ever heard one. (Jesus died, then appears to all his followers...I'm just sayin')
Sorry for the long absence from the blog. I assure you I've felt just awful about it. I've been entertaining family from far flung reaches of the earth. I am not used to children in my living space (currently, one is sticking plastic ants and snakes down my shirt) and thus I fear I am allergic to them, for I come down with the most awful symptoms. Or, my theory of kids being walking petrie dishes is confirmed.
Sometimes I think I am turning green, not with jealousy, but like the Grinch. I can't stand all the noise, noise, noise. Can't we just carve the roast beast and be done with all this merriment.
I did find this enlightening personality quiz on Buzzfeed, and I scored quite high. But as my wise friend always said to me, "this, too, shall pass."
I think I can hold out. I got some great remedies and am figuring out new flavor pairings (Hot dogs and mac and cheese DO NOT go well with hot toddies.)
But you will all be happy to know that I did complete my NaNoWriMo commitment, though I have no title, I am happy with how the story turned out.
I had planned on editing it and the third in the Angel Hacker Series, while I was on holiday break, but as you can see, there is a snake up my shirt.
I'll get to it eventually.
So I wish you a great new year, and hope I can get everything edited and published in this next year.
So I've joined this crazy movement called NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month) I heard about it last year, but it was a bit late to join. So this year, I saw a few of my friends sign up and thought, "Hey, it seems like a great motivator. I've got a slight start on one novel, why not use this as a way to finish the first draft in a month?"
Good idea or another thing to stress me out? I guess we should find out.
I should confess, I feel like I am slightly cheating. As I have mentioned I had a good start on this mystery novel I'm writing and wanted to make sure I had an accurate word count for this competition. Thus I entered the word count I had, plus the thousand words I wrote today and BOOM 7,106 word count on day one. Boy, don't I look like a super duper writer.
In reality, I struggle to get 1K a day. But now that I have a good start I think I can push the 1.5K I need to reach the 50K by the end of the month. Whoot!
In the meantime, the Christmas Anthology came out today. You can check it out HERE! Even if you aren't into the saccharine-Lifetime-movie-Halmark-channel-warm-fuzzy type of story, I highly recommend it. The stories are really good. They'll make you laugh, they'll make you cry, they'll make your shrivelled grinchy heart grow 10 sizes and then some.
Music is the ultimate of inspirations. People listen to music to get pumped up while on the treadmill at the gym, to unwind after a stressful day, to get into the (wink wink) mood.
I am always listening to music while I write. I tend to go for some dark, yet energetic songs. Mostly they are Alternative Rock, but sometimes, I throw it a throwback classic.
Having always been the mixed tape type of person, I now make up playlists to go along with what I'm writing.
Nothing puts me in a good mood for writing about bad-ass hackers like a great group of songs.
(Click on the songs to watch the videos)
Here are some of the songs/artists to whom I listen to get in the mood: She's Long Gone by The Black Keys
I love The Black Keys for their gritty, underground vibe.
Fresh Blood by theEels The Eels I discovered late, but thank goodness for iTunes and their recommendations. I guess Fresh Blood is the opening song for some kind of show about vampires, I had no clue.
Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand I used to listen to this song full blast in my car with the windows rolled down, like a gangsta. Except that I'm horrifyingly white and drove a Hyundai Accent. Do I Want to Know by Arctic Monkeys I like this for the same reason I like The Black Keys, except it's more rock.
Tainted Love covered by Imelda May
Rock-a-billy cover of a great 80's song? Hell yeah!
Let's Dance by David Bowie
Since I'm in an 80's mood. I'll listen to any Bowie, actually. Except for that one he did with Mick Jagger - that one sucks.
What the Water Gave Me by Florence + The Machine
I love her haunting voice and lyrics. Makes me want to sit alone in a dark room and hug myself.
I guess that gives you a good look at my musical tastes, though that is just the tip of the iceberg of my musical collection.
Fellow Sister in Crime member E.M. Powell is the author of #1 Amazon bestselling historical thriller, The Fifth Knight. The sequel, The Blood of The Fifth Knight, will be published by Thomas & Mercer on December 09 2014. Find out more HERE!
Jessie Bishop Powell is author of Marriage on Rue Morgue and the delightful blog on her website, Jester Queen.
Also Paty Jager, Author of the Halsey Brothers Series and numerous other romance, paranormal, and action adventure novels with a western flair. Visit her blog here.
If you'd like to participate in the hop please go here for more info.
