“Okay, I’ll give you till the count of three.” “I will not need any time to escape a water buffalo.” “Suit yourself.”
Another Friday is here. If you saw the post yesterday, then you know we finally got a break in the weather. This summer has been one for the record books. Not only were the temps in the 100s but the heat indexes were in from 105 to 110. Of course, this is 2020 so what should we expect? We hope to stay in the 90s for the rest of the season. (Imagine being thankful for 90-degree temps)
We are also missing all the rain. Those to the North, West, and East of us are getting tons. We are getting nada. They say maybe this weekend. Sure let’s have a labor Day deluge. Would be perfect for this year. At least it would be rain.
The launch of Eternal Road – The final stop is going well. I am so grateful for all the nice folks who volunteered to help. I know I’ve said that before but it bears repeating. I hope you enjoy the excerpts as well. They are all different parts of the book.
Today’s JohnKu talks about gratitude (again)
I want to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Labor Day Weekend.
I hope you visit since I have another excerpt for you to read.
Teri is a talented YA author and here is a little about her in her words.
“Several years back, a friend told me I should read the Harry Potter series – I think the third one was out by then. I laughed, saying they were for kids, but she convinced me to give them a try, and for that, I’ll always be thankful. Reading YA opened up a whole new world for me, and I haven’t looked back.
Some of my favorite things in life are books (no romance), music (preferably alt/rock and absolutely no country), movies (rarely chick flicks), red wine (no merlot) and dark chocolate (please don’t add any fruit to what is already perfection). On the flip side of that, I strongly dislike the color pink and loathe shopping – unless it’s in a bookstore or someplace I can buy movies, music, wine, or chocolate. That being said, it’s pretty evident why my female friends think I’m a little strange.
You can take it from me, her books are terrific. I’ve enjoyed them all.
“Lucy.” “Don’t ask. It’s Wednesday.” “Ah, two more nap days.”
It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week we learned that in all probability, Stanković, the guy who fingered Lazar, is not involved in the current mess. He may be a candidate in the future, but right now, with all his connections, he is a hot potato. The team wants to know more from Lazar about Cortez and Taggert. The ADA will need some pretty substantial firsthand evidence to go forward with an indictment. Our team is heading back into the interrogation room. We better get there to hear what is next.
“Okay, so Mr. Popović, it seems I’m going to need a little more information from you before we can talk about any kind of a deal.”
“What kind of information? I’ve told you about Taggert and Cortez.”
“you. Have told us nothing. Right now, you are looking at spending the rest of your life behind bars unless we can get some substantial information on how Cortez and Taggert are connected.”
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, Mr. Stannis.”
“My client is terrified of what can happen to him if he speaks up regarding the activities of his associates. We need to work out a way where he can tell you what you need to know and then be safe.”
“I’ve already said if the information is actionable, he will get all the protection he needs. So far, though, he has said nothing. You both need to trust that if lazar knows something, he should talk.”
“We had the same conversation while you were out of the room. I think my client is ready to give you more details.”
“That sounds good. So Lazar, what kind of information can you provide? Can you make a direct connection between Taggert, Cortez, and the drugs?”
“I sure can. In fact, I have phone conversations recorded.”
“You what?”
“Conversations.”
“With who?”
“Me and Taggert. Me and Cortez and Cortez, me, and Taggert.”
“Where are these conversations now?”
“In the cloud somewhere.”
“Can you get them?”
“Yeah. I just access Dropbox. They are all there.”
“Ok, so wait a minute. How is it that you were able to get phone conversations?”
“I got this app called TTSPY. It works on Android phones, which are the burner phones of choice of Cortez and Taggert.”
“They didn’t know you were recording.”
“God, no. I would be a dead man if they found out. I set the phone to record whenever they call. I never call them, so I didn’t get the other way conversations.”
“What made you decide to do the recordings?”
“You know, Ms. Thomas, I’m a God-fearing man. I figured I better protect myself since the deals were getting bigger, which means the stakes were getting higher. I just looked up on Google, how to record off a mobile phone, bought the app, and the rest is history.”
“So, how many conversations?”
“I’d have to say maybe forty or fifty.”
“Excuse me, Ms. Thomas.”
“Yes, Mr.Dunfee.”
“Can I ask a question?”
“Certainly.”
“Did these guys discuss getting rid of Andrew and me?”
“Yeah, you bet. Cortez told me he was putting out the hit and would I be interested.”
“Well?”
“Not my kind of work, Mr. Dunfee. I said I was a God-fearing man. Thou shalt not kill.”
“I get it, Lazar. Maybe God would have appreciated it if you gave out a warning.”
“I didn’t need Cortez putting out a hit on me, which would have happened had I done that.”
“Okay, gentlemen. We now have attempted murder to add to the stack. When can we start listening to the recordings, Mr. Popović?”
“I can call them up anytime.”
“Maybe we’ll have someone transcribe them. For now, let’s talk about a few things.”
“Like what?”
“Like how much drug trade have you’ve been involved with and how deep are Taggert and Cortez in it.”
“Up to their eyebrows, Ms. Thomas. Could I get a glass of water.?”
“Yeah, let’s take a break. This has been very interesting.
I’m sure you all have heard of Craig since he is one of the most inventive writers on the scene today. His books are very entertaining and since he calls his work Speculative Fiction, he is unbound by traditional genres.
Here is a little about Craig in his words
“I’m on the verge of being an empty nester, and I like to write fiction. This blog is to share ideas with readers and writers. I have a decent body of work on Amazon, and I hope you’ll check some of them out. They are all speculative fiction, but seem to stay closest to science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy.
I have other interests that may sneak in from time to time. I like the great outdoors and all it has to offer. Morels and huckleberrys are particularly fun. I once caught and released a 7-foot white sturgeon from the Snake River.”
Right now, Craig is in the process of launching two books but has many more from which to choose.
H.M.S Lanternfish and Murder They Wrote with Seven Authors
In Keith’s words. “Using this photo as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com 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.
Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries next Monday.”
Marcia is doing the kick off hosting duty for the Eternal Home – The final stop blog tour. Here is a link to the post this morning. I hope you will visit and take a look at her fabulous place. Her blog title is the Write Stuff “Writers Helping Writers” with Marcia Meara & Friends. She does that all the time. Here is more about her. Thank you for you help Marcia
Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years, four big cats, and one small dachshund.
When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.
Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish a book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?
As you may know, I’m deeply into preparing to launch my next book, Eternal Road – The final stop. Part of that preparedness is to author a number of guest posts and announcements. Since tomorrow is the kick-off I hope you will forgive me running a post from August 27th, 2018. If you have seen it before thank you for last time. You may also like to visit Story Empire today since I’m there talking about the benefits of doing a preorder period with Amazon. Here is the link.
The inspiration for this list is the idea of matching Ten Things Not to Do with historical events. I hope you enjoy this one.
10 If you are caught at the battle of the Alamo, do not think offering margaritas all around is going to help anything. If you do, at best, everyone will be too busy to take you up on the offer. At worst, only the best shooters on your side decided to have a couple and now can’t hit the broad side of a barn. (I guess you were hoping the Mexicans would be in a similar shape, huh, Fritz?)
9 If you are caught at the battle of the Alamo, do not ask Tiny the WWF champ if you can borrow his gun. If you do, at best, he’ll just say no. At worst, since he extremely nearsighted, he may mistake you for a Mexican soldier and give you a body slam over the wall. (It only hurts getting up, Felco so, I would just lay there.)
8 If you are caught at the battle of the Alamo, do not walk around eating a bean burrito. If you do, at best you will have to share. At worst, from far away, a sharpshooter may mistake you for a Mexican Federal soldier. ( I know you were hungry, Freddie, but the food of the day is hardtack and salt pork. Tortillas are the other side food of the day.)
7 If you are caught at the battle of the Alamo, do not wear your Santa Anna Sucks t-shirt. If you do, at best, no one will notice. At worst, Santa Anna will want it as a souvenir. ( I think you heard him right, Faris. He said he didn’t care if it was bloodstained or not. Just give it to him.)
6 If you are caught at the battle of the Alamo, do not ask Davy Crockett for an autograph. If you do, at best, he’ll just laugh. At worst, he’ll give you a lesson in flying. (You could flap your arms more, Farid, but I think you are going to hit the ground pretty hard. That wall is quite high.)
5 If you are caught at the battle of the Alamo, do not tell someone you know all about cannons if you don’t. If you do, at best you won’t be asked to fill in on one. At worst, you’ll be put in charge of the only cannon that guards the entrance. (Now what did the manual say, Fabumi? Load the ball then light the fuse? Or was it the other way around? You better hurry looks like those doors won’t last another minute.)
4 If you are caught at the battle of the Alamo, do not think it is time to start Spanish lessons. If you do, at best, you may learn a few words. At worst, whether or not you speak Spanish will not help you in the end. (It looks like the order of the day is take no prisoners, Fadeyka. I think it’s going to take a little more than a few “holas” and “Buenos Dias” to save you.)
3 If you are caught at the battle of the Alamo, do not think that sombrero and serape will be an effective disguise. If you do, at best, no one will laugh at you. At worst the troops will consider you a spy. (You know what they do to spies, Fallon. Dump that outfit now.)
2 If you are caught at the battle of the Alamo, do not wave that “Come and Take It” cannon flag from the Battle of Gonzales. If you do, at best, you will make the Mexicans angry. At worst, you will be singled out for elimination. (That flag has been a sore spot since the Texas revolution began, Falk. No need to start that fire again.)
1 If you are caught at the battle of the Alamo, do not make plans for your summer holiday. If you do, at best, your heirs will have to cancel. At worst, you may lose some of your deposits. (I guess no one told you that getting out of the Alamo was a feet-first proposition, huh, Farnley?)
Yes, again this week some random shots that have nothing in common.
At least I’m not going to ask you to walk around. We will take the Bentley Turbo Convertable dealer loaner for a spin. So grab a water and we’ll be off.
This is a shot of Lake Travis in a drought condition. The water is usually up to the sand and rocks in the foreground. Rain needed.
I couldn’t pass up a photo of First World trash. A grill waiting for trash pickup always strikes me as unusual.
Most will remember the photo of the steel cactus a few weeks back. It looks like the lack of rain got to it too. (I know, weird joke)
What better thing to give as a present but a Mercedes Sedan. Personally, I would rather have a Bentley.
I have to explain this one. Those are downspouts and gutters which have been painted and are waiting to be reinstalled. This house used to be an unsightly color of brick and the owners decided to paint it themselves. I’m glad they waited for 100-degree weather to begin the project. I expect to see two heatstroke victims at some time.
This is a very sad photo. This big ole ape is crying out for a new owner. Seems like an ignoble ending for such a giving toy.
This one I can’t explain. Yes, that is a baby bottle nipple waiting for its owner to claim it. There is a pretty ruffled turkey making sure that whoever claims the nipple is the rightful owner. A few beads are also up for grabs.
Photo by Unsplash
Well, that’s it for this week. Thanks for coming along and I guess we learned that this Bentley is not big enough for all of us. Maybe a big yellow bus next time. We can put a jug of margaritas in the back.
It is Stream of Consciousness Saturday time again, and here is Linda Hill to describe this week’s prompt. “Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “more than a hundred.” Write your post inspired by something you have more than a hundred of in your home right now. Enjoy!”
Thanks, Linda. If you would like to enjoy working a prompt visit Linda’s blog and read how simple it is. Here is the link.
