Tuesday Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #51 by Keith Channing

November 17, 2015November 16, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 16 Comments

As you may know, I have become enamored by the talent of Keith Channing. He has a weekly prompt named Kreative Kue, which runs on Mondays. Here are the instructions from Keith for the prompt. “Using this photo 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 on Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). If you post it on your blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated.”

His advice. “Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries, with links to your blog or website, next Monday.” Here is the photo.

Kreative Kue #51

“Okay, ladies I placed the call. Anything happen while I was away.”

“No nothing much. Charlene here has cold feet.”

“I do not have cold feet. I just said we should think it over and make sure the plan is airtight. Betty’s the one who’s concerned.”

“You can’t say that Charlene. All I said was I don’t want to get caught. Tell us again Jean your thought on getting away.”

“Well to me it’s simple. We go in with our disguises on, and when we come out and get in the cars, we take them off. No one will know it’s us.”

“I think it’s a good plan, Jean. How about the rest of you? You’ve been quiet Mariann. What do you think?”

“I’m just about finished with my disguise, and I say we do it.”

“Good job Marianne. So if you are all okay here’s the plan. We get in the cars and drive to the location. We park as close as we can but avoid the surveillance cameras. We go in and spread out. We use the big bags to take as much as we can. When we think we are finished we get out clean and head for the cars. Everyone got it? Any questions?”

“I have one.”

“Yes, Charlene what is it?”

“Who’s idea was it to do Black Friday at Wal-Mart in the first place?”

A Big Thank You to Susan Nicholls for Helping Launch His Revenge

November 16, 2015November 16, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 2 Comments

s-k-nicholls (1)

Susan Nicholls is helping launch His Revenge today. You can visit her post HERE to see it.

Susan is the very talented author of Red Clay and Roses 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.

Click cover to visit Amazon

Susan 2

Here is more about Susan in her words.

“I am an author and a history loving Registered Nurse, with a 30-year career in everything from ER, CCU, med-surg, pediatrics, geriatrics, hospice, and psychiatry to forensics. I am currently performing wellness screenings. I am a GA farm girl, transplanted, living in and loving the city life of Orlando, and the sleepy little fishing village style along the coasts.

I wrote “Red Clay and Roses,” a novel that explores civil rights, interracial relations, and women’s issues in the 1950s and 60s. Currently, I am working on a crime novel series. I plan to have three or four novels completed in The Naked Eye series before I publish.

I am also a wife, mother, and grandmother, but I created this “About” page not to tell you about me, but for you to tell me about you. I’ve been blogging for a little over one year and, so far, I love it. I am also curious about you. What inspires you to blog and where do you come from?

I don’t profess to be a genius at anything at all. My husband, the rocket scientist, put that name on my blog as a joke when I was reading articles about branding. I wanted a social blog to get to know writers and readers. I thought it was funny and it just sort of stuck. What I am finding as I ~~begin~~ continue my blogging journey, is that there are zillions of geniuses out here. Whether it is a clever blog post, a photograph, book reviews, some other awesome artistic display, or a fantastically creative blog, it is comforting to know that I am surrounded by a myriad of geniuses.

Just when I began to despair about the direction of society as a whole, I found this whole community with it’s own brand of genius. I wanted to stake my claim, so I kept mybrandofgenius as the subtitle of my blog. I feel that I am in good company with a host of interesting people with meaningful stories, inspiring poetry, beautiful artwork, creative ideas, thoughts, suggestions, and useful information. I am fascinated by you! I am delighted to be here. I learn something every day and I laugh every day, two things that are required to survive in today’s world.”

Thank you again, Susan

#RRBC Play it Forward – Featuring Suzanne McKenna Link

November 16, 2015November 16, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 15 Comments

It’s Rave Reviews Book Club “PAY IT FORWARD” WEEK. This week has been set aside for us to take the promotion attention off ourselves and “pay it forward” by showering someone else with attention! This week of awesome support will begin on Monday, November 16 and will run for 3 days during that week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday only) ending on Friday,

November 20th. If you would like to visit RRBC and find our more go HERE

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Suzanne McKenna Link. Suzanne is the talented author of the novel Saving Toby which took a Top Pick award at Night Owl Reviews.

McKenna1 McKinna2

Available on Amazon

Suzanne McKenna Link works for a family of newspapers that cover events in and around the South Shore of Long Island, New York. She lives in the town of Sayville with her husband and two children.

SAVING TOBY is her debut novel. The literary love story follows the moving journey of a damaged young man and his love for a girl who might just save him. An avid interest in psychology has Suzanne digging deep into the reasons for her characters’ behaviors. The native Long Islander is fascinated by the how and why of people’s actions. As a result, her characters come to life on the page.

Author Bio

Suzanne McKenna Link is an Independent Author who enjoys writing realistic fictional tales of the trials and tribulations of young adults. Her debut novel, Saving Toby, is a gritty, modern-day love story set on the South Shore of Long Island, New York. Starting out as a graphic artist, Suzanne returned to her life-long dream of writing during a hiatus from her design work and is committed to fulfilling her dream of being a recognized, published author. She lives on Long Island, minutes from her childhood home with her husband, two children and two, adored, spoiled cats.

Contact Susanne

Email: suzannelink17@gmail.com
Blog or Website: http://suzannemckennalink.blogspot.com
Twitter Handle: @SuzMcKLink
Facebook Page URL: https://www.facebook.com/SuzanneMckennaLink

Ten Things Not to Expect from Others

November 16, 2015November 12, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 32 Comments

Expectations

This list is inspired by a study of the results of expecting others to react in a certain way and being totally fooled. As a reminder, this list is intended for humor only and is not the output of a detailed study on the subject. Universities and corporations should be cautious about asking me to take up residence based on a misconceived opinion that I have some unique qualifications in predicting human behavior. (Hello Harvard. I’m talking to you.)

Top Ten Thing Not to Expect From Others

10 If you are pulled over by a police officer, do not expect to be excused for the reason you were pulled over. At best, your friendly attitude might be interpreted as something to hide. At worst, your question of “How do we make this go away?” might be construed as a bribe offer. (You sure look funny on the hood of that patrol car especially with your arms handcuffed behind your back)

9 If you answer the grocery clerks, question, “did you find everything today?” with an honest answer about missing items don’t expect a positive response. If you do, at best you won’t like what you hear. At worst, the fact that the clerk shrugs and says “whatever,” causes you to completely lose your cool and are forcibly removed from the store. (Yes, you were right in wondering why they ask if nothing is to be done but sitting in this mud puddle is the last thing you expected to happen.)

8 If you call an appliance repair person, do not expect the machine to be repaired on the initial visit. If you do, at best you will need to rearrange your schedule for another visit. At worst, you will make a fool out of yourself asking the repair person questions for which they have no answer. (You need to know the first visit is diagnostic. The second is repair, and the third is repair of the repair)

7 If you go to an electronics store, do not think there is someone there who can help. If you do, at best you will need to go home and Google your problem more carefully. At worst, you will buy the splitter or whatnot that is supposed to fix the problem only to find you now need a new transformer. (You see most of the employees have a life and can’t be bothered reading about the technology.)

6 If you place a call to customer care, do not believe anyone you talk to is going to disprove the fact that “customer care” is an oxymoron. If you do, at best you are in for a bumpy ride indeed. At worst, you will finally escalate the call to someone of higher rank who will tell you to quit bothering them. (Your feelings got hurt didn’t they? Bunkie)

5 If you spend extra money on a warranty do not expect your problem to be covered. If you do, at best the realization that you wasted your money will set in quickly. At worst, you and the warranty company will get into a battle if wills that could end up in court. (Guess who has more money for lawyers?)

4 If you ask your server which entrée they recommend, do not think the recommendation is about the best dish, If you do, at best you will over expect what will be under delivered. At worst, you will realize you have been had by the server who is in cahoots with the owner to move a dish that even the help wouldn’t eat for dinner, and it was free to them. (Don’t send it back. Right now it is 99% spit-free. It may not come back that way.)

3 If you have a friend in the car business do not expect a good deal on the car you are about to buy. If you do, at best you will probably pay 20% more than the friend’s enemies pay. At worst, your friend will take his commission and buy a car that is bigger and nicer than yours without even a thank you. (You will continue to wonder how he could afford such a car and at some quiet moment it will hit you.)

2 If you arrange for a contractor to do some work, do not expect the final bill to be at or under the bid price. If you do, at best the surprise factor of the overrun will cause you a visit to the ER. At worst, you realize you won’t have the money for the additional costs, and your contractor resembles Marlon Brando in the Godfather when he explains how “we have a problem.” (You should have checked with the Better Business Bureau before taking the lowball bid. Now it looks like you are going on a long ride in a big black car.)

1 If you hire a party planner, do not expect the party to be anything like your original thought. If you do, at best you won’t be able to relax and enjoy yourself. At worst, the theme that you rejected twelve times will be the one for the evening. Although you are trying to keep an open mind, you still are having trouble warming to the zombie apocalypse décor. (Is that the waiter’s arm laying on the floor?)

Sunday – Fifty-Two Views of the Gulf

November 15, 2015November 14, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 15 Comments

Today’s photo shows somewhat of an improvement over the past couple of days. The sun is out and looks like a glorious morning. The beach is relatively deserted and the temp is around 68 degrees. We are expecting some thunderstorms on Tuesday which we can always use.

Last week’s photo

2015-11-07 08.07.15

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Indescribable

November 14, 2015November 13, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 23 Comments

Well, it is another Stream of Consciousness Saturday. This week’s prompt is “indescribable” and the ~~dungeon master~~ leader Miss Linda says we can use the actual word or base the post on something that defies description. (hmmm I guess that’s what the word means) If you would like to add additional ~~stress~~ meaning to your writing life why not go to Linda’s site and see what it takes. Here is the link, http://lindaghill.com/2015/11/13/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-nov-1415/ Here is my contribution.

“So come on tell me what it was like.”

“You would not believe it. I was standing there, and all of a sudden a blinding light washed over me.”

“Then what happened?”

“Then this voice came out of the light and told me to buy a lotto ticket.”

“And you did?”

“No. Not then.”

“So what did you do?”

“Well, I went to the convenience store and asked the clerk what I should do.”

“Come on you’re killing me. What then?”

“She told me to go back to the light and find out the numbers to play.”

“That was excellent advice. Did you do it?”

“I sure did. The light was still there, and so I asked what numbers to play.”

“You got the numbers?”

“Well no. What happened next defies description.”

“Shoot me in the face. Finish the story.”

“The big ole light tells me to think of a number from one to one hundred.”

“What did you say?”

“I picked twenty-one.”

“Then what?”

“The light said, nope that ain’t it.”

“Okay, What happened next.”

“We did that six more times and each time the light told me I was wrong.”

“How does this end?”

“The light yelled at me, and my fear was indescribable.”

“What did the light yell?”

“Quick pick you idiot, is what it said.”

“You are a sick person. You know that right?”

“I prefer indescribably eccentric.”

“Did you win?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t play.”

“I’ll give you the count of three to take off running.”

Thank you Marie Ann Bailey for Helping Launch His Revenge

November 13, 2015November 13, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 2 Comments

Marie Bailey)

Marie Ann Bailey is helping with the His Revenge Launch today. You can see her post on her blog 1 Write Way. I would like to thank Marie as she is a wonderful person who dedicates herself to her job, her husband, her cats, her knitting and most certainly to her writing. Marie is the author of 1WriteWay a delicious combination of original work, collaboration, interesting reblogs and other supporting posts in favor of supporting other authors.

I have also had the pleasure to work with Marie on the collaborative posts that were simu-published on each of our blogs on Mondays for a year. She was a delight in the collaboration. (And made me look good to boot.)

Marie is currently participating in NaNoWriMo and has great expectations of achieving the 50,000-word target. I have faith she will make it.

Here is more about Marie in her own words. Thank you so much, Marie

“I am a writer, living with three cats, more yarn than I can knit up in a lifetime, and a dear husband who doubles as my best friend. I started this blog a few years ago when I was toying with the idea of becoming a freelance editor. I wanted 1WriteWay.com to be a serious resource of all things related to writing and editing. But then life happened, I got distracted, and went offline for a while. Now I’m back but with a different purpose for this blog. I just want to write. I’m old enough to be looking forward to retirement (as opposed to what my next career move should be), and the more writing I can do now, the better shape I’ll be in to make writing my primary focus when I’m no longer at the office 40 hours a week. I enjoy my current job and my coworkers and that actually has made it more difficult to be disciplined with my writing. I do derive intrinsic satisfaction from what I do at the daily grind, but the urge to write hasn’t left. In fact, the more I think about retirement, the more I want to write.

I started writing about when I was 9 years old. At least, I remember once reading aloud a story to my 4th grade class. I took creative writing classes whenever I could, joined the college literary guilds, and participated in readings. But I was never very confident (if at all) about my writing talent, and it was easy for me to “give up” periodically, in spite of the support I got from mentors and fellow writers. And once I got a “real” job (in an office with a biweekly paycheck and benefits), it was hard to argue with anyone that I should or could expect to do better by writing. I’ve made a lot of detours in the past 30 years, trying to become a “professional” whatever (social worker, data analyst), trying to believe in careers and working in offices and 401k’s. But now that I’m about 10 years shy of official retirement (fewer years if I’m lucky), I’ve finally started to wake up to the fact that those things–career, working in an office, going to meetings, conferences–means little to me. I’d rather be writing (ideally, in my jammies with a pot of hot tea for fuel).

I also have the slightly queasy sense of time running out. I’m way past the halfway mark, even if genetics are in my favor and I live to my mom’s age of 90 (and counting). Anything can happen, and I have more time to make up for than I have time left. So I’m dusting off the blog and hope that people stop by, have a read, and enjoy themselves. I welcome any comments on any of my posts. The “Like” buttons are a nice new feature at WordPress, but if you do like my posts, I hope you can take a moment to tell me why. I will reciprocate.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

November 13, 2015November 13, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 23 Comments

Friday the 13th

What a couple of weeks this has been. This book promotion stuff can wear you down. I’m sure my steady readers now know I have a new book titled His Revenge. At least I laid off the regular stuff during the busiest time so that the notifications were kept down to a dull roar. I appreciate everyone who helped spread the word on the launch. The reason I thanked each publicly is I was taught to send a thank you note when receiving a gift. I considered each of the posts about His Revenge to be a gift and wanted the giver to know how much I appreciated their help. As of today, there are only three more blogs about His Revenge. One today, one on Monday and one later in November. I’ll just say this is like a political campaign and for now the WordPress media part is almost finished. One final group 4Wills Publishing should be thanked for setting up a tour with Rave Review Book Club members for last weekend. It was a bunch of fun, and I welcomed their help. My JohnKu today is a reflection of how I feel about the support I have received.

Under heavy load,

Making the journey too hard. . .

More hands more success.

Thank You to Karen Oberlaender for Helping the His Revenge Launch

November 12, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 2 Comments

Karen Oberlaender is helping launch His Revenge today on her blog My Train of Thought. Please visit and tell her hello from me.

Karen lives in Germany and is a Linguist, technical author, urban fantasy writer, book blogger, and a member of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team. She does extensive reviews and can be found at https://mytrainofthoughtson.wordpress.com/

Karen also posts book reviews here; LinkedIn, Twitter, Goodreads, Tumblr, Google+

Karen enjoys reading; Mystery, Urban Fantasy, Thriller, Paranormal, Young Adult, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Short Story, Horror, New Adult, Science Fiction

Book formats Karen prefers when reviewing are; e-pub or mobi

Hobbies, interests, and any pets? Reading, writing, nature, films; cats (cohabitants)

Thank you Karen.

Thursday – A little Personal – Cross Genre Promotion with Twelve Spectacular Authors

November 12, 2015November 11, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 4 Comments

promobanner

Banner by Luciana Cavallaro

This post is to announce a ten-day cross-genre promotion featuring twelve authors. Each of the authors has special promotional details to share with you when you visit their blog post. Right now a His Revenge Kindle edition is available for free with the purchase of a paperback copy. The details are HERE. Amazon calls it the matchbook offer.