Fiction Favorites is brought to you by the Fiction Thriller My GRL available on Amazon and where ever fine books are sold. It is offered in the ever cherished paper and ever popular e-book editions.
My GRL is the story of John Cannon a San Francisco Attorney who decides to take a leave of absence from the firm and buys a boat he names My GRL. John is unaware his boat has been selected by a terrorist group to be used to destroy a symbol of America’s greatness. His first hint of trouble is when he wakes up in the hospital and is told he was found unconscious next to the body of the young woman who sold him the boat in the first place. John is the only one standing between the terrorists and the successful completion of their mission.
What is your latest release and what genre is it?Red Clay and Roses is a roman a clef in the vein of historical fiction
Quick description:Red Clay and Roses is a fictionalized true story of life in the Deep South during the time of Jim Crow Law, and before Roe vs. Wade. Women were supposed to keep quiet and serve, abortion was illegal, adoption difficult, and racism rampant. The discovery of an old ledger opens a window into the dynamics of the 1950s-60s, when the world was beginning to change. Steeped in history, this novel deeply penetrates the surface of a complex era as the cast of characters grapples with inequality in the Jim Crow South.
Brief biography: Susan Koone Nicholls is a retired R.N. living in Orlando, Florida, with her husband, Greg, a rocket scientist. She was born, raised and educated in Georgia, where she…
Tomorrow, my second book in the Ranger Martin series releases. That sentence makes it sound as if something’s about to escape the San Diego Zoo. From what I know, literature doesn’t eat people. At least I don’t think it does. So I wouldn’t worry about wild books named Ranger Martin and the Alien Invasion running rampant in the streets. It’s just not going to happen—although you may encounter a slightly crazed author attempting to sell you his novel. And I use the word “attempting” in the loosest of terms because half the time, I have no clue what I’m doing.
Jack Flacco takes action to a new level.
I mean, I’d rather drive around aimlessly than spare myself the embarrassment of asking for directions. That’s how one year my family and I made it through Maine to Nova Scotia. How else do you think I’ve survived this long? I’m…
This list was inspired by attending over 300 team building events in my corporate career. I hope you like it and find the advice useful for your next team building event. If you are in charge of team building events, I am begging you to stop holding team building events.
Ten Things Not to Do at a Corporate Team Building Event
10 If your company is having a team building event, do not think your team relationships will last. If you do, at best you will be seen as weak and someone to avoid. At worst, the next promotion will go to your new friend who explained to the boss how needy you are.
9 If your company has a team building event, do not fall for the old trust building exercise. If you do, at best your trust will not be reciprocated. At worst, you will place your trust in someone who in the end wants to see you dead.
8 If your company has a team building event, do not get paired with the boss. If you do, at best you will get low grades for being too subservient. At worst, your boss will think you are not made of the stuff originally thought and will introduce you to the meaning of the phrase persona non grata.
7 If your company has a team building event, do not believe the idea is to have fun. If you do, at best you will be the only one. At worst, the note taker will immediately label you as someone who does not take work seriously.
6 If your company has a team building event, do not believe the wearing apparel instructions. If you do, at best you and the company psychologist will be the only ones dressed in jeans and sweatshirt. At worst, the biggest boss on the planet will drop by the exercise to see how it is going and will enquire of your boss, “who’s the other psychologist?”
5 If your company has a team building event, do not try to be the best player in the skill competition. If you are, at best your boss will believe you have too much time on your hands. At worst, your boss will appoint you as team leader for the next team building event.
4 If your company has a team building event, do not think the free food and drinks are on an all you can eat buffet. If you do, at best you will be seen as someone who is obviously lacking self-control. At worst, your boss will wonder if you always take advantage of the company expense account and inform finance to conduct an audit of your expenses.
3 If your company has a team building event, do not think the truth hour is for telling the truth. If you do, at best you and the company psychologist will become simpatico. At worst, your boss will be counting the moments until you and they will be alone so that the longer term franchise you were counting on can be terminated.
2 If your company has a team building event, do not try to bring any new ideas during creative hour. If you do, at best your peers will poke enough holes in your idea to kill it. At worst, thinking outside the box will only convince your boss that perhaps your belongings should be in a similar container and both of you escorted out by security.
1 If your company has a team building event do not sing along when the psychologist puts the Queen CD in the player and “We Are the Champions”starts playing. If you do, at best your co-workers will think you are a throwback to the 80s. At worst, your boss loves “We Are the Champions” and your off note singing is making the neck hair stand up which will be a reminder to ask HR to have you transferred to Guam before the next team building event.
Friday is here again and is the signal to start the relaxing engine. Whoa, we have to wait until after five o’clock, but then we can turn up the throttle to full speed. This week I have been thinking of doing something a little different from the usual JohnKu (a term coined by Words 4jp) I thought this week I would give you some views of the current conditions here on the Gulf. We have had some nice rains and by and large the tourist population has just about disappeared. The temperatures are still in the nineties and as the local radio station says, “now that summer is over we can look forward to three more months of summer.”
The first picture is of a nice storm that blew in from Mexico and was a left over from a tropical storm there. This was taken about 9:30 in the morning.
This next one is of the rainbow that followed the storm. You may see it is a double, but the camera is not the best so it is hard
This is a shot is of our Boxer Lucy standing very patiently while I take a photo of the totally deserted beach which is a complete contrast to how it looked on labor day.
Here is a photo of the Gulf and how it looks today. This was taken from the same spot as the storm photo and about the same time. The camera is aimed a little more North
The final shot is of the Birds of Paradise that are in front of the house. They have been really prolific this season. We have had one plant that has not bloomed in seven years and it has a flower as well.
Hope you enjoyed the change of pace and wish you a very nice weekend.
Wednesday is here. Is your week good so far? I hope it is since that is the true way to have the work week move along at a better pace. Of course, we all know that. (Reminds me of the Geico commercial) Today’s story is one that has been on my brain for a couple of weeks and one of the best ways to give my brain a rest is to plunk it down here. The story is a little longer than I, usually, run it is 967 words. If you have the time I hope you like it.
So with nothing better to do, I figured I will stop at Jerry’s place and grab a couple a drinks and a burger. I, usually, don’t go there on Saturday night since there’s a crap load of amateurs takin’ up what I would consider prime space. Having not spent enough at Jerry’s to warrant bring able to call the shots, seat wise, I try to avoid Saturday if I can. Even so I go through the door, stop and have a look around. There’s the usual weekend crowd alright, hanging on each other like they never had a date before. I tighten my eyelids against the smoke and can make out four guys by the pool table and what looks like a couple of girls fetching drinks. I cross hustling some rubes out of a few bucks off my list since they will be forever playing eight ball with themselves.
Straight ahead is the bar and I do believe there is a place right in the middle. I get my feet to move in that direction while looking over the other side. The tables all seem jammed with happy drunks. There are buckets of empties on each table and I see the barmaid trying to sell more. She’s not having much luck since most of these people just spent their last five bucks on this outing. I make it to the chair and hoist myself up and lean on the bar.
“Hey Sammy,” Jerry says. “Whadda you have?”
“Evening Jerry. Gimmie a double Crown neat and a beer back.”
“Comin’ up.”
I like Jerry’s no-nonsense way he handles things. He doesn’t like small talk and gets right to business. I can feel my eyes start to smart from the smoke and wonder how Jerry gets away with letting people kill themselves when it is clearly not allowed in this kind of establishment.
“Here you go Sammy. Want me to run a tab?”
“Yeah, Jerry I would appreciate that. I intend to have another drink and then a burger.”
“No problem. Gimme the high sign when you’re ready for another.”
“Will do Jerry. Thanks.”
“For you buddy anything.”
I should mention Jerry and I go back a ways. We were in the Army together and had ourselves a real ball. We could hardly believe we were getting paid for having so much fun. I take a sip of my drink and wait for the hot assed burn in my throat which signals the good stuff. There it is. I take a swig of the beer and almost believe life is good. I think I’ll wait for the whiskey to get to the brain before making any judgment.
While I’m waiting for the warmth of the Crown go from my stomach to my head, I check out the folk sitting on either side. Not too friendly as they both have their backs turned to me and are engrossed in some kind of discussion with their neighbor. I figure it’s just as well, since I don’t want to go through that old “what do you do” bullshit. I also don’t figure on staying the night, so no use getting into any long discussions about life.
I look down at my Crown and start to wonder what’s going to happen tomorrow. It’s gonna be Sunday and my daughter wants to come and visit. She lives in Connecticut and we don’t see each other often. It’s only an hour’s drive or even less by train, but it seems like a world away. Her husband is a nice enough guy, yet I always wonder if he has someplace important to go when I visit. He never sits still and is on the phone or at the computer. He makes a good living, but it seems to me a person could take an hour to sit and talk. I never had a son and was looking forward to some kind of relationship when he and daughter got married. It’s never going to happen with him.
I take another pull at my drink and notice the burn is lessened. It happens every time. First sip initiation I call it. It’s like the first puff of a cigarette, hits ya hard then after nothing. I decide to let daughter pretty much have the agenda tomorrow. She and I have not really had a chance to talk for a while. I think she blamed me when her mother ran off with that guy with the house on the Hudson. He has a title and the old gal couldn’t resist, but I think daughter always felt I should have done something. Her mother’s sleeping with another guy. What the hell can I do about that? I’ll just go with the flow. If she wants to go out we will. If she wants to stay in we can do that too. I better think about getting some food in the house. Of course, we can always order in. I need to move on to my drink and let this go. Tomorrow will be what it is. I hope we can somehow patch up whatever is wrong.
For some reason, I feel pretty tired and think I will go ahead and finish my drink. Maybe I’ll just go home and forget the burger. First though I think I’ll just shut my eyes for a minute. My hands feel good as I put my head down.
“Hey, Sammy,” Jerry says. I barely hear him yell. “What’s the matter you taking a nap? Sammy?” I can feel him shake me, but I have no interest in waking up. His voice gets further away and I think he says, “oh my god Sophie call 911 quick.” Now the room goes silent and I am so tired.
I followed Charles Yallowitz’s advice and went to Hei! Books here and did an interview. If you would like to do it as well it is easy and fun. You can see the interview of the author of My GRL on this link.
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