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The Season Approacheth

3/22/2014

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Our great discontent during this past winter (we hope it's past, anyway) has not yet spurred us to make any camping reservations. The photo is a planning party from a couple of years ago. Obviously we started sooner that year. I don't know why we are so slow this year except for an underlying reluctance to believe that spring will actually arrive. Ever.

But the bear is gradually awakening. Last week Butch plugged in the trailer, opened the slide, took the battery out to charge it, and fiddled with the furnace.

I went so far as to take the extra pillows out of the closet and return them to the trailer. This week, several friends have bought or are considering new RV units and we've begun to plan.

Part of our inspiration is browsing the old camping scrapbooks. So many places we want to revisit, but so there are many new ones we'd like to hit.

The biggest issue for me is remembering where I put everything that I brought into the house last November. Some things come in because they will freeze and some because we might be able to use them inside during the winter: the extra pillows and blankets, a soup ladle, the big electric skillet, etc.

I've discovered a number of camping pages on Facebook that are fun to look at and have great plans and ideas. One called 'Vintage Camper Trailers' shows amazing and clever restoration of old trailers. I recently joined Sisters on the Fly, a group of women who say on their website "
Our activities run the gamut from fly fishing, kayaking, "Cowgirl College," wine tasting and horseback riding to whatever else sounds like fun.' Although it appears most of their events take place in the West or Southwest, some of the themes a very intriguing. (A meatloaf festival? Who knew?)

I also joined a FB group called 'Midwest Glampers.' Glamping is a word devised to describe luxury camping. This group has modified that to include
anything that adds a little touch of home, creativity and/or glamor to camping. One post showed using bright cupcake papers on top of a canning jar held in place with the jar ring and with a hole poked in the top for a straw--a beverage container to keep the bugs out!

I confess that part of the reason for perusing these pages is research about different types of camping and campers. Some Sisters on the Fly will appear in my new book, The Lady of the Lake. As will The Barefoot Lady--some of you may remember her from our bed and breakfast days.


Nevertheless, I am a firm believe in putting a personal touch on one's camping abode. And one of the things I like about camping is the opportunity to take part in a wide gamut of activities--maybe even 'Cowgirl College.' Well, I could at least watch. And take notes.



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Like Me! Like Me!

3/9/2014

8 Comments

 
Don't we all think that from time to time? But, seriously, if you enjoy my blog and/or my books--even a little bit--I would appreciate a like both here on my website (home page) and my author page on Facebook. In the interest of full disclosure, you would then get notifications of updates and announcements on my author page. So if you don't want any of that, better not like me. I'll get over it.

I have written on here before about the next Frannie Shoemaker mystery, Grilling the Suspect. Well, I'm putting that aside for now. I need to do more research. This of course will be a trial, doing research at barbecue contests, but I am willing to face any sacrifice for my writing.

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Meanwhile, as of Thursday, I have started what I hope really will be Frannie's next adventure, The Lady of the Lake. It will be based on Beed's Lake State Park, and those of you who are fellow Hamptonites are very familiar with the legend of the lady who walks the lake in the middle of the night looking for her lost children. Maybe you've even seen her. So there's a hint.

According to the Internet, which we know never lies, the dam at Beed's Lake is the most photographed dam in the Midwest. And it just happens that while Frannie and her friends are camping there, the Franklin County Fair is going on. So watch for local twists.

And the contest to submit camping hints and recipes is still going on; just click on the envelope icon at the top of the page and send me an email.

One last thing: I mentioned last week that Peete and Repeat had made the short list in the Chanticleer's Book Review CLUE Awards contest. Well, so did The Blue Coyote! In a bit of literary irony, author Dianne Harman had submitted two of her mysteries: Blue Coyote Motel and Coyote in Provence. In the original list, there was a typo: Blue Coyote by Dianne Harman. Turns out both my Blue Coyote and her Blue Coyote Motel were both supposed to be on the list. Kind of the Year of the Blue Coyote. Get your t-shirts now.

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When Things Are Crashing All Around...

3/4/2014

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Like computers, for instance, sometimes there's a silver lining. I have been having computer problems off and on for a month to the point that when I finally get back on, I can't remember where I left off. But I think (hope) it's resolved, and meanwhile received some very good news. The Blue Coyote has been selected as an Indie BRAGMedallion honoree, as Bats and Bones was last year. Indie BRAG does an amazing job of screening self-published books for everything from editing and formatting to plot and characters. If you have a chance, please check out their site for children's, YA, and adult books that have met their criteria: bragmedallion.com.

And Peete and Repeat was chosen as a finalist in the Chanticleer Book Reviews & Media's CLUE Awards for 2013. Winners in each of nine categories will be announced in about two months.

Not to be outdone, Bats and Bones
will be only .99 for about three more days. I didn't intend for this bargain to run this long but that's what computer woes will do to you.

The camping tips contest is still on until the end of the month, but I have removed the form from this site. You know those little nonsense letters that you have to type in a box sometimes to prove you are a real person? I found out why. If you put a form on the Web and don't have that little security gizmo, you get inundated with spam from around the world. So hints and recipes can still be entered; use the email icon on the upper right-hand corner of this page to send them to me. Sigh. Nothing is ever easy.

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    Some random thoughts about writing, camping, and eating.

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