Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

October 30, 2015October 29, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 26 Comments

Friday at last. Long week this week. I had a bunch of things to do, and it seemed everything I needed to do took more time than originally estimated. The result was less got done, so it became a little frustrating. All’s well that ends well, however. By the end of today, I will have all the to do’s done. Today’s JohnKu talks about the challenge of attacking the list of things to do. Have a great Friday.

Many desires wait,

The accomplishments take time. . .

Some done, some never.

Thursday – A Little Personal

October 29, 2015October 29, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 20 Comments

As the regulars know I’m getting set to launch my second John Cannon thriller. The official launch will be on Sunday after I post the Fifty Two Views of the Gulf. For the rest of the week, I will be trying to recognize those who have volunteered to carry the launch message. This activity will get in the way of my normal schedule, and so I don’t post too many times during the week and become a total nuisance I am suspending the regular programming. I will resume with the next Fifty-Two Views of the Gulf. So Monday’s Top Ten Things Not to Do, Tuesday-Anything Possible, Wednesday Story Day, Thursday – A Little Personal, Friday John Ku, and Stream of Consciousness Saturday will not be posted next week.

Thanks for your understanding. In the meantime here is a trailer for His Revenge. Hope you find it interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTaDFcY9l_s

Wednesday – Story Day – AKA Hump Day

October 28, 2015October 27, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 27 Comments

Wednesday Story Day again. Last week we left Alexis and Ben wondering if they could convince Alexis’ father to give them C4 explosives even if Mrs. Worthe poisons him against the kids. We found out Alexis has some photos that she would be willing to share with her dad as a way of turning him against Mrs. Worthe. These people make up some family don’t they? Well, we had better get over there to see what happens. Alexis and Ben are at her parents house.

“Hi, daddy.”

“Well hello, Alexis and Ben. What a surprise. Come on in.”

“Thanks, Mr. Worthe.”

“You can call me Alex Ben.”

“Yes, sir. I mean yes Sir Alex.”

That a boy. How are you, Alexis.”

“Doing okay dad. Ben and I have a little business to discuss.”

“Well let’s go into the den.”

“Is mom home?”

“No, she had to run a couple of errands. She’ll be back shortly. Have a seat. You two need anything to drink or eat?”

No thanks daddy. We are in a little bit of a hurry.”

“Okay then shoot. What’s this business you mentioned?”

“You know Ben and I are planning to make a statement at the Student Union.”

“Your mother mentioned it, Yes.”

“Well, you know we need some C4 right?”

“Yes. I think she mentioned about one hundred twenty pounds.”

“Yes, that’s right. We pan about thirty for each corner.”

“Should make a nice hole.”

“Ha ha ha. That’s pretty funny daddy.”

“It was? I didn’t mean it as a joke.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am a little nervous about you two making a mistake and getting blown up with the building.”

“I know mom said as much.”

“Also I have to worry about what to say to the feds when the stuff goes off. It will be traced to me.”

“We have that figured out. A robbery.”

“A robbery?”

“Yes, you call and report a robbery. You know you did a regular audit and were missing one hundred twenty pounds. Then boom. It shows up. No one will suspect you.”

“Hmm. Might work. Then how about you two idiots blowing yourselves up?”

“Sir I have studied this explosive and can set the percussion timers, and we will be long gone.”

“Let me think. It sounds like it might work. You know I can’t deny you when you ask for something, Alexis.”

“Oh hello darlings. What a delightful surprise.”

“OMG. Hello, mom. Back early I see.”

“Good thing too if what I just heard is correct.”

“Mrs. Worthe. Nice to see you.”

“Shut up Ben. We need to talk.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #48 by Keith Channing

October 27, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 20 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.

“I surely wish you would slow down. My feet are killing me.”

“Not much farther Blanch. I can see the house from here.”

“Grr.”

“Whatdju say?”

“Oh, nothing. You wouldn’t care anyway.”

“Now Blanch. Let’s not be a spoiled sport and ruin everything.”

“Ruin everything you say? How about when you sold the car. Did you not think walking everywhere would wear me out?”

“I thought it would be good for both of us. You know fresh air, exercise, healthy lifestyle.”

“Healthy my butt.”

“What? You are getting further away I can’t hear you.”

“WHY DON’T YOU SLOW DOWN THEN.”

“Okay, okay. It’s that I.m anxious to see our new house.”

“Yeah, our new house that is only reachable across this godforsaken river on this rickety old footbridge.”

“Aw Blanch. We agreed the price was too good to pass up.”

“No one mentioned this bridge, and that filthy river down there.”

“It’s not filthy. It’s just brown that’s all.”

“So what do we do when we need groceries? Walk all the way to town?”

“Well…yeah.”

“I’m not going another step.”

“Fine, I’ll go alone.”

“You see the bridge is falling apart don’t you?”

“I’ll give you it needs a little repair. Come on Blanch, it’ll be fun.”

“Only if you promise to get another car.”

“That will be hard.”

“Why?”

“The money went into the house.”

“Oh. Well, I guess I will have to make the best of it.”

“That’s my Blanch. Here give us a peck.”

“With a club I’d like to give you a peck.”

Top Ten Things Not to do During a Storm

October 26, 2015October 25, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 55 Comments

Stock photo. Not a picture of the three-day storm

The inspiration for this list is a recent three-day storm here in Texas. Although I had enough sense not to do these things, they did come to mind as I was going through the various circumstances.

Top Ten Things Not to do During a Storm

10 If you are in a storm, do not decide to drive around to check out the damage. If you do, at best you may find yourself stranded by high water. At worst, you might be trying to explain to the nasty looking guardsman why you didn’t heed the warnings to stay inside. (You have to wonder if that rifle has real bullets)

9 If you are in a storm, do not call the electric company to report a power outage. If you do, at best you will be on hold for hours. At worst, you will be reminded that the entire grid is down and asked the embarrassing questions designed to point out the dark all around you. (Never thought to look out the window huh?

8 If you are in a storm, do not rush your grocery store for a month’s worth of food and water. If you do, at best you will be in the company of your hysterical neighbors. At worst, you will find yourself in a primal fight over a roll of toilet tissue with Shultz, who is the county cow tossing champion. (And you almost wrestled it away before you blacked out)

7 If you are in a storm, do not ignore the weather warnings. If you do, at best you might be surprised at how fast things come at you. At worst, you might be challenged to swim for safety with only a duckie ring as a flotation device. (And you read on the duckie that it is not to be used as a flotation device. What’s that hissing sound?)

6 If you are in a storm, do not try to move through the darkened house without a flashlight. If you do, at best your shins will take a beating on the furniture you fall over. At worst, that candle you lit will somehow fall into the pile of newspapers you left in the living room last night. (And guess how long it will take the fire department to reach you?)

5 If you are in a storm, do not keep driving in the heavy rain. If you do, at best you will stress out to the maximum. At worst, your car might be invisible to that giant 18 wheeler behind you with the devil himself at the wheel. (It must be the devil given the recklessness of the driving)

4 If you are in a storm, do not think all your emergency gear takes the place of common sense. If you do, at best the gear may not fully perform. At worst, you will think you will be able to ride out the storm only to change your mind two minutes after it is too late. (That wall of water is called a Tsunami)

3 If you are in a storm, do not think you need to go outside to fix something in the middle of wind and downpour. If you do, at best you will get very wet. At worst, you could find yourself being carried away along with some your neighbor’s roof shingles. (You might be able to turn around in a mile or so.)

2 If you are in a storm, do not think a quick dash to the mailbox doesn’t require wet weather outer gear. If you do, at best you will need a bath and hot cocoa to thaw out. At worst, the chill you received on the jaunt turns into something that keeps you in bed for a week. (And what you are doing cannot be remotely described as enjoying yourself.)

1 If you are in a storm, do not think you have to brave the elements to get to work. If you do, at best you will show up, and no one else will be there. At worst, you will have battled the storm for hours and once you get there all questions about your judgment skills will be answered. (And you thought you were indispensable)

Sunday – Fifty-Two Views of the Gulf

October 25, 2015October 24, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 29 Comments

I described the Gulf on Friday as resembling a pot of boiling Navy Beans. It is not quite as rough today, but still quite active. You will notice that the wind and tide action is bringing the water right up to the walkway at night. You can see how high the water is by looking at last week’s photo and comparing the two. The footprints have vanished in the tide, and the seaweed deposit tell the story. We are expecting five or more inches of rain by the end of the storm on Monday.

Last week’s photo.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 25 Comments

It is Stream of Consciousness Saturday time again. This week’s prompt is “beef.” Linda the benevolent has allowed we poor souls to use the prompt anyway we want. If you would like to join in, the fun, visit Linda’s lair site and jump in. http://lindaghill.com/2015/10/23/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-2315/

“Don’t give me that where’s the beef stuff.”

“What? I haven’t said a word.’

“I know, but you were about to say it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’ve been around you long enough to know exactly what’s on your mind.”

“I promise I was not going to say where’s the beef?”

“Okay then. What do you think of my story?”

“The story you asked me to read?”

“No the one in the New York Times. YES, the one I asked you to read.”

“Well…”

“I knew it. You didn’t like it.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t say you liked it.”

“You didn’t give me a chance.”

I would think a simple I liked it could be the first thing out of your mouth.”

“That would be if I liked it.”

“So?”

“There seems to be a little bit missing.”

“Missing. What’s missing?”

“You talk about a sesame bun, lettuce, tomato, and special sauce.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Er, it would make sense to talk about two all beef patties then.”

“Arg. I knew it. You are so conventional. Can’t you see the metaphor?”

“In a word. No.”

“Say it.”

“As much as it hurts me to say it. Where’s the beef?”

“Peasant.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA TGIF

October 23, 2015October 23, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 26 Comments

Friday here at last. We finally have been getting some rain. The Gulf looks like a boiling pot of navy beans, and the water is right up to the dunes but at lease our reservoirs are getting an excellent refill. This week saw a bunch of book activity. I have a tour starting with 4Wills Publishing on November 6th and did manage to get the posts written. I am currently in the process of updating all the various places where you can list your book for free. When I introduced My GRL back in 2014, I was a younger man. Right now my eyes hurt from squinting at the update various forms. I am happy that all is going according to plan, and I will be sending an e-mail out soon to those nice folks who offered to help spread the word. I plan to announce the launch of His Revenge on November 1st so the month of November will be pretty occupied with launch activities. Today’s JohnKu talks about being prepared which is a good idea when it rains or when launching a book. I hope you like it.

Just in time is fine,

Better is to plan ahead. . .

To avoid a miss.

Thursday – A little personal #RRBC Blog Talk Radio interview with Stuart Hotchkiss

October 22, 2015October 19, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 12 Comments

Today is the day for my monthly RRBC Rave Waves Blog Talk Radio interview show. It is live at 11:00 CDT right here at this link http://tobtr.com/7979979

My guest today is Stuart Hotchkiss the author of a spellbinding memoir Southern Fried Fiction available on Amazon.

Southern Fried Fiction is about Stuart Hotchkiss is at the end of his rope. Underemployment, bankruptcy, and a looming third divorce have worn him down. His mother has died. He’s estranged from his own son. Death seems like a release.

The son of a once significant Southern family, Hotchkiss spent his early life struggling to escape familial expectations and secrets. He paid for his own education and eventually secured a position as president of a national media conglomerate, only to resign a year later and bring senseless litigation that rendered him permanently underemployed.

Southern Fried Fiction is all that a memoir should be—a captivating story, real and raw, with a healthy dose of humor to carry readers through the pain of its author’s loss and past mistakes. Through it, Hotchkiss eloquently exorcises the demons of his climb toward success, capping it off with a spark of hope beyond the veil of his near suicide, one that even the most cynical of us can find inspiration in.

In the vein of Russell Baker’s “Growing Up” and Michael Gates Gill’s “How Starbucks Saved My Life,” Hotchkiss’s memoir is a moving account of one man’s battle to overcome his demons and start over.

Stuart Hotchkiss is a former publishing chief who served as the executive creative director of Time Inc. and the president of Time Home Entertainment Inc. He is also a past president of the Direct Marketing Association of Washington.

A native of Richmond, Virginia, Hotchkiss now lives in Boise, Idaho, where he serves as vice president of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho’s executive council.

Twitter: @HSHotchkiss

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happyhank

Website address: www.stuarthotchkiss.com

Wednesday story Day – AKA Hump Day

October 21, 2015October 19, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 23 Comments

Wednesday story Day again which reminds us that last week Alexis and Ben were trying to manage some contingency plans in case Alexis’ father refused to give them some C4 explosives. Ben has an idea to use Ammonium Sulfate as a bomb. He knows that it will take more than he can carry so suggested they pack a van with the stuff. Alexis as a true Millennial refuses to be seen in a van and suggests a Porsche SUV instead. We need to go back and see Ben’s reaction. This should be good.

“A Porsche? What the hell Alexis? Do you know how hard those suckers are to steal?”

“Oh, I’m sure you have the skill to do it my genius man.”

“Now come on. Those things have alarm systems on top of systems. Even if we make a getaway all the owner has to do is use his smart phone to turn the thing off.”

“Okay, then what we have to do is convince my father to give us the C4.”

“He already said he would.”

“Wait till my mother gets her claws into him. She’ll paint a picture of boom and gloom so to speak.”

“Why is she so against this deal?”

“My guess? Cause she is jealous and wants in.”

“Let’s let her in then. A simple solution to me.”

“To you yes it would be. To me, it would be a nightmare.’

“How so?”

“Alexis do this. Alexis do that. Alexis, you’re not doing it right. OMG, I can see it all now.”

“Alright then. How do we get your dad to cough up the C4?”

“I think I will have to use some charm and try to poo-poo all the things mother tells him.”

“What will you say about the danger?”

“Daddy. We have detonators connected to timers. We will be long gone.”

“Yeah, that’s good. How about if he says it is too risky for him given he is one of the few C4 dealers around.”

“Daddy dear. Ben and I will fake a burglary at your place and then you will call the police just as soon as you discover the break-in. That will be the morning after the explosion.”

“Sounds good. I would go for it.”

“Is there any other argument he could come up with do you think?”

“He could say something to the effect that my mother is against it.”

“What will you say to that one?”

“Daddy dear. Would you like to see some pictures of mommy with Mr. Thompson.”