Author: John W. Howell

I have been working in business for over forty years and now have the time to work in special areas of interest. My passion has always been to create compelling stories of fiction. I have authored six novels and am working on my Seventh. The first novel is still in manuscript form and being utilized as a door stop in the laundry room. The second is a contemporary fiction novel of 89,000 words and is complete and I am currently seeking a publisher. I also write poetry but have not had the guts to share any with anyone. The one time I read a piece to a person their only comment was, “it doesn’t rhyme.” I will continue to write and hopefully my blog, Fiction Favorites at www.johnwhowell.com will provide some entertainment and an interesting thought or two. I live in the Austin area with my wife Molly and an assortment of loving pets.

Top Ten Things Not to Do on Labor Day

~ John W. Howell ~ 35 Comments

Labor Day

 

In honor of Labor Day and since I’m currently preparing for the launch of Our Justice, I’ve decided to use the same blog as last year and boil the top ten list down to the most important items. Let’s all remember those who make our lives easier and more pleasant. The remembrance includes we authors.

Top Ten Things Not to do on Labor Day

10 through 1

On Labor Day have fun but do not drink and drive. If you do, at best you are a fool. At worst, you could hurt or kill an innocent person not to mention your guilty self.

Happy Labor Day all.

A Little Bit of Fun

~ John W. Howell ~ 17 Comments

Curse

Dave Barclay at https://barclaydave.wordpress.com and John Howell at http://johnwhowell.com got to fooling around one day on a few comments back and forth. The subject turned from the serious to the ridiculous with a couple of iterations on the question, “What are the curses of mankind?” We had to admit that after we developed our curse statement we had a good laugh and thought you would like to join in on the fun.

Here are the curses we identified

“Work is the curse of the drinking class.”
“Sleep is the curse of the drinking class.”

So how about you? Think of a curse and put it in the reblog comment section and then reblog. It is that easy.

Views of the Neighborhood

~ John W. Howell ~ 52 Comments

Today’s view of the neighborhood is the Chapel in the Dunes. On top of the highest dune in Port Aransas sits a tiny chapel. It was built in 1937 by Aline Carter who later became the Poet Laureate of Texas. It was in this chapel that Ms. Carter gave Bible lessons to the children of Port Aransas.

In the 1970’s Texas Artist John Cobb was inspired by Ms. Carter’s memory to paint the walls and ceiling of the chapel. His artistry along classic lines of the ancient biblical painters took over three years to finish.

So come with me on a tour.

We start with a long climb to the top of the dune

stairs to the Chapel

We see the chapel at the top

 

The woman to the right will give you an idea of the size of the chapel. Very tiny.

chapel

Inside there are several pews, and you can begin to see the result of John Cobb’s work. The altar in the center of scenes depicting the multiple religions of the world. You can also see that the floors made of pieces of granite cut in the Texas hill country and shipped to Port Aransas. The altar is solid marble.

Chapel

 

As you enter the Chapel facing the altar the walls on the left depict scenes from the Old Testament of the Bible and the right from the new.

Here is a sample of the left wall showing Adam and Eve and other stories.

Chapel

Here is the right. Although hard to see, New Testament events such as the coming of Christ are recreated.

Chapel

Here is a shot of the back wall.  This is a summary of faith with Christ (in the center above the door) holding the keys to heaven (left) and hell (right).

Chapel

 

The final shot is a thank you to our Docent Laura Davis for taking us on the tour.

Chapel

 

 

Naked Alliances up for Eversion Pre-Order and Paperback is Published

~ John W. Howell ~ 4 Comments

Susan Nicholls has a new book. I read the beta and can tell you it is a fun read.

S.K. Nicholls's avatarS.K. Nicholls

As you may have noticed, I’ve been off social media for a while. There were too many things on my mind and loads of work to get done. I’m packing to go to Michigan to see my new grandbaby…my first born’s first born. Really excited about that.

We also have a book. Naked Alliances is now available in paperback only and the eversion is up for pre-order. Yay!!!

4

Had to go this route this time. The publicist package we won at Sleuthfest came with a publicist who insists we have a book before she begins her marketing campaign. (I personally believe in a lot of pre-marketing, but she needed ARCs for reviewers and this is the only way to get them with CreateSpace.)

Mayglenn McCombs, the publicist, will be doing a blog tour, but I’d also like to set one up on my own. Anyone willing to help, let me…

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Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “accumulate.”

~ John W. Howell ~ 44 Comments

 

SOCS

It is Saturday and time for Stream of Consciousness. This week’s prompt is “accumulate.” Linda Hill says we can use the word any way we want. I was thinking of naming a piece of furniture Accumulate given it has been in the way for a while. I don’t believe that use was what Linda had in mind. If you would like to see what this prompt is all about you can visit Linda’s post here.

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Sept. 3/16

Accumulate by John W. Howell © 2016

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out how I managed to accumulate all this junk.”

“What junk? I see a garage full of things but no junk.”

“Well to you it may be things to me it’s junk. Look at this saw for instance.”

“What about it?”

“It is not sharp. Look I can run my hand along the teeth and not get . . . oops.”

“What happened. Oh my gosh you’ve cut yourself.”

“I would say so. Hand me that towel.”

“Here. Is it serious? It’s not supposed to be serious.”

“Nah. This is nothing. See its stopped bleeding already. What do you mean it’s not supposed to be serious.”

“I’m glad it’s not serious. I intended to say I hope it’s not serious. So what other junk are you talking about?”

“Look at this old bike. It needs new everything.”

“You could fix that if you had the time, and it would be like new.”

“Who has the time. Look at this tennis racket and all this other stuff.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that you have quite an accumulation of things and time is a premium.”

“Ha. See.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about it, though.”

“Why’s that and by the way. Who are you?”

“Who am I? They call me the grim reaper and I have come for your soul.”

“You’re kidding right?”

“Nope. That’s who I am.”

“I’m sorta relieved.”

“How so?”

“Look at this accumulation. Who wants to deal with that mess?”

“As I said.”

 

Friday JohnKu – AKA TGIF

~ John W. Howell ~ 20 Comments

Friday.

This has been quite a week. We received over five inches of rain on Tuesday which was a blessing. The tropical storm Hermine took a right turn and is heading to the Southeast. I have to hope those folks in the Southeast are spared any hardships. Reports of heavy rain and the fact that the storm might become a hurricane before landfall make this hope dim. Today’s JohnKu talks about how ordinary things seem until they change.

Change By John W. Howell ©2016

The sun shines on us,

Never need question it’s there. . .

Till the dark descends.

Thursday – A Little Personal – Peggy Update

~ John W. Howell ~ 45 Comments

It has been a while since I have updated Peggy the Heron’s status. For those not familiar with Peggy, she is a Blue Heron and has one injured leg. None of the rescue folks have been able to catch her and so for the last couple of years, she is one of our neighbors. I am happy to report Peggy is dong well. She is still giving the sad limp to fishermen and collecting fish in the process. Here is a photo of her on the beach.Peggy on the beach

Another taken last December in the water. There is a fisherman off camera, and she is asking him for a sample. She can only use one leg to stand.

IMG_1284

Here is a photo of her taken from our backyard.  As you can imagine, she also enjoys the benefits of pond life. The photo is a little blurred because I tried to do a close up with my iPhone. My old man hands couldn’t hold the phone steady enough, but you can get the idea.

Peggy

Here is a better shot showing the pond and Peggy.

Peggy

So as you can see, Peggy has branched out from Gulf fishing to include pond fishing. She usually spends the mornings on the beach and afternoons in our yard. We are alway glad to see her. She looks great and is doing well.

Wednesday Story Day – AKA Hump Day

~ John W. Howell ~ 45 Comments

 

Funny College

It is Wednesday Story Day again and last week Mrs. Worthe put Ben in an impenetrable garage that seems to spell the end for Ben. Not that too many of us care that old Ben has the potential to take a walk over the rainbow bridge, but he his a character after all. We need to go back and see if there is any hope for the boy.
“Mom where is Ben?”
“I put him in the garage. He won’t be bothering us anymore.”
“That makes me feel sad. I liked Ben.”
“Yeah didn’t we all. He represents a risk to us Alexis.”
“Isn’t there a way to shut him up without having him die a slow death in your torture chamber.”
“I tried, honey. He has some relationship with that fleabag priest. If in fact he is a priest.”
“Just the same can’t we take him for a ride and do it quickly?”
“Too many messy ends, sweetheart. I would like to be humane, but we just don’t have that luxury.”
“So when we come back we’ll have to deal with the body.”
“Yes. Your dad is good with those kinds of clean up chores. He’ll take care of it.”
“At least I won’t have to deal with it. Okay, mommy, you know best. Wait.”
“What is it, honey?”
“Do you smell gasoline?”
“Oh, my God. That idiot must have found some gas. I told your father to be super careful and check to make sure there was none in the garage.”
“Ralph. Come in here.”
“Yes, darling what is it?”
“Did you check the garage for gasoline?”
“Of course. What do you think I am an idiot.”
“I have to wonder sometimes, my sweet. Did yo empty the lawn mower?”
“Yes.”
“The trimmer?”
“Yes.”
“The chainsaw?”
“Oops.”
“You didn’t empty the chainsaw?”
“I’m afraid it is worse than that. The chainsaw has a mixture, and I forgot the container as well.”
“How much is in the container?”
“A gallon I would say.”
“A gallon? That is enough to burn for a while.”
“What the hell is he going to burn. He will run out of air.”
“Except for the house side wall. That is standard construction. All he has to do is throw some gas on the wall and touch it off. He may die, but I can tell you the fire department will be here to find the body.”
“Okay, I get it. We need to get him out of there.”
“Are there any matches in the garage.”
“No, but there’s a propane torch.”
“You left a torch?”
“Not the gas container but the igniter can make a spark if he finds it.”
“We need to move fast.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #92 by Keith Channing

~ John W. Howell ~ 32 Comments

So here is another photo prompt from Keith Channing. He explains what we are doing here. “Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; and either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithkreates@channing.fr before 6pm next Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here – pingbacks don’t work.

Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries, with links to your own blog or web site, next Monday.”

The photo.

Kreative Kue #92

Audition by John W. Howell © 2016

“Okay now try to relax and give us your name.”

“Um. My name is Silly.”

“Silly what?”

“Silly Goose.”

“Alright, Ms. Goose. What we need you to do is act natural and say the word AFLAC. Can you do that?”

“I-I think so.”

“Listen toots. This is no place for geese to ‘think’ anything. You are trying out for a major part in a commercial. It could mean a lot of money if you pass this audition.”

“I understand. Yes, I can say APLAC.”

“No, no, no. It’s ‘AFLAC,’ Say it.”

“It.”

“Ms. Goose. Are you trying to be funny? If so, we have other geese just waiting to try out. Look at that guy next in line. Hey, buster. No eating the lawn. It’s a prop. Man! I told my agent I didn’t want to cast this dog and look what I got.”

“I’m sorry I thought you said to say,’it'”

“Okay let’s take this a little slower. See that camera? When I say ‘action’ you are going to say ‘AFLAC.’ Got it?”

“I see the camera. When I hear ‘action,’ I say ‘AFLAC.’ I got it. I do have a question, though.”

“I could have guessed. What’s the question?”

“What’s my motivation?”

“Motivation?” What do you mean ‘motivation?”‘

“Why am I saying ‘APLAC?'”

“IT’S AFLAC. Where in the heck did this person come from anyway? Who brought her in here?”

“I did.”

“Oh, Mr. Big. I didn’t see you there.”

“Is there a problem with my pet goose?”

“No, sir. Everything is fine. We can dub the sound. Ready Ms. Goose? ‘ACTION.'”

“APLAC.”

“Thank you that’s a wrap. Very good Ms. Goose.”

Top Ten Things To Do at an Animal Adoption Day

~ John W. Howell ~ 24 Comments

As you may know, I normally do a Top Ten Things Not to Do on Mondays. Since last Friday was Dog Day and since my Lucy is a rescue I thought I would turn the tables a little. My wife helps out at Austin Boxer Rescue and was the technical consultant for this post. Here is the sign that she has on her car when making home inspection visits. (Yes there is a screening process for adoptive prospects) Austin Boxer rescue

Ten Things To Do at an Animal Adoption Day

10 If you go to an animal adoption day, understand that all the people with an animal are foster volunteers. They appreciate you being there and would like nothing more than to find a good forever home for their foster.

9 If you go to an animal adoption day, take the time to get to know the pet you might be interested in adopting. Looks are not everything and most important is the fit with your family.

8 If you go to an animal adoption day, do not be shy about asking the foster about the good and challenging traits of the pet you are thinking of adopting. The foster knows the pet as well as anyone.

7 If you go to an animal adoption day, do ask to take the pet for a walk. A walk is a good way to determine any behavior issues while on a leash.

6 If you go to an animal adoption day, do not feel you need to decide on an animal if you are not sure. The animal and the foster are both anxious to find a forever home and would rather not be chosen then to get into an unhappy situation.

5 If you go to an animal adoption day, do not expect the organization to hand you an animal without checking on suitability. The fit has to be right for both.

4 If you go to an animal adoption day, do offer to donate to the organization if you feel inclined. Many times organizations are understaffed and underfunded and can use all the help they can find.

3 If you go to an animal adoption day, do not feel bad if you don’t find a pet you can live with today. Most organizations have a number of pets that can be seen at other adoption days or with private arrangements.

2 If you go to an animal adoption day, do not expect the animal to be free. Most organizations provide the animal with vet care, immunizations, and sterilization. These services cost money and also when there is a re-homing fee, history shows the incidences of failure are much less.

1 If you go to an animal adoption day, remember if you can’t adopt volunteer. If you can’t  volunteer, then donate. There are too many unwanted animals and not enough organization resources to help all.

Lucy says,” Thanks for reading my John’s post.”

Lucy