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Literary genres that are not for me
One of my author bios reads something like, “Janet writes everything from romance to horror, because genres are suggestions, right?” In my rather brief writing “career,” I’ve written: romantic suspense with time travel (see what I mean about genres being suggestions?), a post-apocalyptic short story (subscribe to my newsletter for a free copy), romance, and suspense/mystery/thriller–and even a few poems and personal essays. So when I saw this month’s IWSG question, What genre would be the worst one for you to tackle and why?, I had to pause and think: Is there anything I absolutely wouldn’t write? Yeah, there is. But before we get to that: Happy IWSG day! I…
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Saguaro National Park 2: Critters and Flowers
Last week I took you on a virtual hike in the east unit of Saguaro National Park, where the desert is green and lush from all the rain we’ve had. This week we’re going to get up close and personal with plants and critters. But first: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! And since I have so many flower pics in this post, I’m also linking up with Cee’s Flower of the Day photo challenge. Lace up your boots, pour your coffee in a Thermos, and let’s hit the trail!
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Saguaro National Park East during a wet monsoon
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that we’ve had lots of rain, and the mountains are greening up. Well, we’ve had more rain, and the mountains are even greener, and Long-Suffering Husband and I finally made time to get out and enjoy them. And you, lucky reader, get to tag along. But first: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Lace up your hiking boots and grab your water bottle–we’re going to do some Sonoran Desert hiking!
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Risking my life for new bookcases
Last week I shared that I was planning to spend a long weekend installing new bookcases in my home office. Friday morning I ordered 2 Billy bookcases from the Tempe IKEA, and Long-Suffering Husband and I headed out on I-10 in my pickup to get them. The first thing to note here is that neither of us thought twice about driving 100 miles to buy bookcases. Well, he probably did, but he’s lived with me for over 35 years, so he didn’t bother to argue. The next thing to note is that the weather forecast called for dust storms and thunderstorms. Our solution? Pack a tarp and go anyway. I…
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Late summer in Tucson–it’s hot and there are bats
Today I’m going to introspect about late summer and take you on a visit to a local bat colony. Feel free to skim past the narcissistic navel gazing and go right to the bats. But first: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a treat and let’s go bat-watching!
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No serial killers this week, because that would be too exciting
This week’s update will be short and serial-killer-free (unlike most of the rest of my July posts–apparently it’s serial killer month here at Camp WTF). I could make a bunch of exciting-sounding excuses: I’m flying to Fiji in an hour! I need to prepare for a call with an agent who wants to represent me! I have an appointment with a financial advisor to help me figure out what to do with my lottery winnings! Right. Uh huh. Here’s the sad truth: Exactly two exciting things happened this week. We bought a new freezer. It rained. Kids, that’s what you have to look forward to when you hit middle age:…
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A bomb threat and more serial killers
The title of this week’s post–A Bomb Threat and More Serial Killers–makes my week sound waaaaayyyyyy more exciting than it actually was. In fact, Long-Suffering Husband, Son, and I have all felt lousy all week, so we haven’t done much. Plus–and I know this will come as a huge shock–it’s seriously hot here in Arizona in July, so my goal has been to do as little as possible and avoid going outside. Part of that goal–the not going outside part–was thwarted big time earlier this week, unfortunately. I’ll get to that in a minute, but first: welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! It’s also What’s…
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No, I don’t want to live in a fictional world
I’m so excited to be co-hosting the IWSG monthly blog hop, along with my wonderful co-hosts, J Lenni Dorner, PJ Colando, Jenni Enzor, and Diane Burton! Please stop by their blogs and show them some comment love. Also, this is my 30th IWSG post. How the heck did that happen? (If you’re really bored, you can go here to read the first 29). In this month’s post, I’ll answer the optional question, If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose? But first, a couple of things. I have a newsletter! After spending several quality hours with MailerLite, I have a newsletter! If you’d like to see my nonsense witty commentary…
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Long-Suffering Husband catches a backyard serial killer, and I meet some deadlines
It’s been a busy week here at Camp WTF. Long-Suffering Husband caught a serial killer* in the act, and I met a couple of writing deadlines. But before we get to those thrilling tales: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a treat, pull up a seat, and let’s chat. * Note: a nonstandard definition of, “serial killer,” is used in this post.
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Lockett Meadow, writing news, memes, and more
Good afternoon, and happy Saturday! It’s a balmy 100F here in Satan’s Anus, which is a helluva lot better than the 108 we endured yesterday. In this week’s missive, I bring you some pretty pictures of Lockett Meadow in the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, my writing progress (such as it is), a few interesting dribs and drabs I found on the internet when I should have been writing, and a fresh batch of memes I also found on the internet when I should have been writing. But first: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a treat, pull up a seat, and let’s get…