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Hot rocks and cool coatis: a visit to Chiricahua National Monument
This week I’ll take you on a visit Chiricahua National Monument, billed by the National Park Service as, “A Wonderland of Rocks.” So strap in and get ready for lots of pictures of… Rocks. Big rocks. Tall rocks. Round rocks. Skinny rocks. OK, I’ll stop channeling Dr. Seuss. What was I talking about? Oh, yeah: Rocks. Also coatimundi, a/k/a coatis, possibly the cutest animals I’ve ever seen in a national park. Also memes. But first: This post is part of the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Grab a treat, have a seat, and let’s get this party started. Weekly Weather Whining For the last week+, we’ve enjoyed…
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The monthly book roundup
We’re talkin’ books this week, because it’s time for the monthly What’s On Your Bookshelf Challenge (hosted by Sue, Donna, Jo and Deb). A light reading month Not an exciting reading month here at Camp WTF. I finished re-listening to Charlaine Harris’ Lily Bard series for the umpty-gazillionth time. A couple of them got me through the General Unpleasantness known as colonoscopy prep. I should probably create a Goodreads list of the best books for this particular occasion, because, trust me, distraction is necessary. Colonoscopy prep pro tip: drink Mountain Dew on fasting day. All that sugar and caffeine really helps with suppressing appetite. And you thought you wouldn’t learn anything useful on this…
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Visiting Willcox, Arizona + a few updates
This week we’ll visit the tiny desert town of Willcox, Arizona, and I’ll share a few updates since I haven’t done a Weekend Coffee Share (hosted by Natalie the Explorer) post in a couple of weeks. So come on in, grab a drink, put your feet up on the coffee table, and let’s chat. [Update: there’s no Weekend Coffee Share this week. Oh, well–enjoy the visit to Willcox anyway.] Weekly weather whining I whine so much about weather on here, I’ve decided to make it an official feature, at least during the inferno months. I’m happy to report our summer temperatures have been a little more bearable the last few…
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Finding balance as an author
In this month’s post for the IWSG, let’s talk about finding balance as an author. How do we choose how best to spend our limited time and energy when there are approximately 40 gazillion author-related tasks clamoring for our attention? But first: In case you’re new here, the first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writers Support Group day, on which we insecure writers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are Kate Larkindale, Diane Burton, Shannon Lawrence–and me! This will be my third time co-hosting the monthly IWSG blog hop, and it’s always a blast. Come on in and join the party! We IWSG-ers are…
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In which I am ambushed by the embodiment of pure evil (and there are books)
The summer doldrums continue here at Camp WTF. I used up most of my vacation time roaming around Michigan in May, and it’s too hot to do much of anything here in Tucson except migrate between my air-conditioned house and air-conditioned office, whine about the heat, and count the days till October (72 according to Google. I’m too lazy to count them myself). Fortunately, it’s time for the monthly What’s On Your Bookshelf Challenge (hosted by Sue, Donna, Jo and Deb), so I have some content for this week’s update besides whining about the weather. This post is also part of the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Grab a (cold) treat,…
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A Visit to Mission San Xavier del Bac
I visited Mission San Xavier del Bac back in April when my friend Laurel was visiting. I shared a few pictures in my April roundup but then I got busy with May travel and June recovery, so I never posted the rest of them. Since I’ve done absolutely nothing interesting for yet another week, I’m going to trot out the rest of them for this week’s Weekend Coffee Share (hosted by Natalie the Explorer). Here we go: What is Mission San Xavier del Bac? I know you’ll be surprised to learn that it’s… a mission! A Spanish Catholic one, to be precise. Founded in 1692, it’s located about 10 miles…
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Where do I get my writing ideas?
Where do you get your ideas? People ask writers that question so often it’s become a cliché, yet it usually elicits interesting answers. So I thought I’d share a little about how I get my weird and wacky story ideas. But first: In case you’re new here, the first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writers Support Group day, on which we insecure writers share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Our awesome co-hosts this month are PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre. We’re also given an optional question we can answer in our posts. This month’s question is: Where do your writing ideas predominantly come from? The origin stories…
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The June wrap-up, or how I spent 30 days doing virtually nothing
If you’ve been hanging out in my demented corner of the interwebs for very long, you know I participate in a monthly blog hop called What’s Been on Your Calendar (hosted by Sue, Debbie, Donna, and Jo), in which we post highlights from the month just past. So, what did I do in June? Nothing. OK, there’s this week’s post taken care of. See you next week. Just kidding. Sort of. I really didn’t do much in June. After the craziness that was May, I wanted to curl up in a sunny window with a stack of books for the rest of the summer. I wasn’t quite that lazy, but this may be…
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Flowers and birds and whining about the heat
Last week I finished sharing the Michigan pics, just in time to start my annual whining about the heat. We’ve had a much cooler than normal spring, so the abomination you’re about to behold is several weeks late in coming. I’d rather it didn’t show up at all. To avoid spontaneous combustion, I plan to spend the weekend sitting under an AC vent with a book. Does anyone in a cooler climate need a house sitter? Please???? Don’t worry–I won’t spend the entire post whining about the heat (just most of it). But before I resume whining: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a…
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Podcast appearance, Michigan trip, and books
This post is a hodgepodge–my podcast appearance, the last of the pictures from my trip to Michigan, and what I’ve been reading lately. But before we get to all that: This post is part of the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer, and What’s On Your Bookshelf, hosted by Sue, Donna, Jo and Deb. Grab a treat, have a seat, and let’s get to it. I’m on the Big Blend Radio podcast! Last month I appeared on the Big Blend Radio podcast, along with other authors whose stories appeared in the Trouble in Tucson anthology. More details in this post. Last batch of pix from the Michigan trip In my last two…
Suspense | Horror | Romance
