Tag: fiction favorites

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “TA”

~ John W. Howell ~ 26 Comments

 

 

 

Stream Of Consciousness SaturdayOnce again time for Stream of Consciousness Saturday. This week Linda has come up with another two letter prompt. It is “Ta” which Linda explains is British slang for goodbye. I remember the old TTFN designation used may years ago. It stands for Ta Ta For Now.  I’m not sure people still sat TTFN, but if you want to join the fun, please visit Linda at https://lindaghill.com/2016/04/22/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-2316/ Here is my interpretation of “Ta.”

Ta by John W. Howell ©2016

“So what are you writing?”

“A little sign to put up in my yard.”

“Yard? What for?”

“Well, as you know I have had a bunch of people constantly wandering around my property.”

“No, I didn’t know. What’s that all about?”

“I’m not sure. I asked one guy about it, and he told me there was a rare bird nesting in a tree in my backyard.”

“So these people are visiting the bird.”

“I guess so. You would think they would ask me if it was okay.”

“Yeah, seems like the decent thing to do.”

“I haven’t had one ask. When I go up to them and politely ask them to leave, they just look at me.”

“So why not call the cops?”

“Did. They said there was nothing they could do.”

“Brother. So what is the sign going to say.”

“Ta ta for now. Take you and your bird watching stuff and beat it or else.”

“Uh. I don’t think that’s going to do anything.”

“Would you read a sign like this and not react.”

“I would be asking myself or else what?”

“Hmm, good point. How about this?”

“Or the bird gets it. You mean that?”

“No, but who is going to call my bluff?”

“Not bird people. That’s for sure. Good job.”

 

 

 

 

Friday JohnKu – AKA TGIF

~ John W. Howell ~ 39 Comments

Another week is history. It was a pretty productive one. I made some progress on my WIP. I had to figure out an ending that would make more sense to more people. I have to admit I was a little too esoteric on the ending, and it raised some questions as to feasibility in the minds of some beta readers. One of the great things about beta readers is they tend to tell it like it is, and when something makes vague sense to them, it is time to change things up a bit. So I spent the week going back over the ending a few times and hopefully it will work better for everyone. I can say I’m pleased with  it, so I think a number of good things came out as a result of the beta reader’s comments. Today’s John Ku talks about advice. Have a great weekend.

Advice by John W. Howell ©2016

We all get advice,

Well-meaning friends give the best…

Not to be ignored.

Thursday – A little personal

~ John W. Howell ~ 40 Comments

Two weeks ago I ran a photo of Peggy the Heron and received a number of questions on the state of her health.  She is doing well and to more or less prove my point I have some photos to share.  This first is from about a week ago.

Peggy Looking for a hand out

This was a foggy morning. You can see a couple of fisher people. Peggy is right there with them and you will get an idea on how she stays healthy. It is very hard for folks to deny her a handout especially when she puts on her injured bird routine.

Peggy keeping watch

This was taken yesterday. Peggy is perched on the dune and waiting for a group of fisherfolk to get settled. Once they are ready to bait hooks she will fly down and land on one leg. There will be aw’s and a call to the rescue group (who have given up catching her). Finally, a few undersized fish will be tossed and Peggy will have had her normal day.

This last photo is not of Peggy but thought you would enjoy one of the sights greeting me each morning.

On watch

It is another Heron sitting on the beach marker. This was also taken yesterday

 

Wednesday – Story Day – AKA Hump Day

~ John W. Howell ~ 28 Comments

Story Day photo

 

Wednesday Story Day time again. Last week we were introduced to Father Lightfoot the priest that Ben had requested earlier. Mrs. Worthe points out to the priest that Ben has been restrained by the hospital staff and could be insane. To add a little spice to the scene, Ben declares Mrs. Worthe to be the devil. Such a statement does not go a long way in convincing others that he is normal. Let’s go back and see how the priest reacts to this scene.

“I’m sorry my boy, but your statement about the devil and Mrs. Worthe leads me to believe you have some problems that need attention.”
“You can help can’t you father?”
“Well I can certainly pray for you, but my speciality is not mental illness.”
“I’m not mentally ill.”
“So says the boy strapped to a gurney. Come on father we are wasting time here. This person needs some professional help.”
“Just a minute Mrs. Worthe. Let me say a prayer for Ben.”
“Knock yourself out, father. He is so far gone I think drugs will be the course of treatment here.”
“I understand Mrs. Worthe. If you could leave us for a moment. I would like to concentrate on a healing message.”
“Sure father. By the way does your Parrish have any special needs that I could help with a donation?”
“Let’s talk a little about that after I finish with Ben.”
“Suit yourself. I’ll be right outside. Take care Ben. Don’t forget we all love you. Oh yes and Mr. Thumb was asking for you. I’ll call and tell him you are doing fine. Bye now.”
“Mr. Thumb? Is that why you are confused about Mrs. Worthe and your thumb.”
“Father. Listen to me. She mentioned thumb to remind me of her threat to cut mine off if I talk.”
“Oh now come on my son. How would she do that to you? There are too many witnesses here.”
“She will wait until everyone is gone. Then she will attack.”
“Let us pray, my son.”
“No father you must help me. Give me three minutes and then if you still think I’m crazy, you can just forget what I tell you. If that his the case then you need to tell Mrs. Worthe that I said nothing. How about it?”
“Well, I guess three minutes can’t hurt.”
“Thank you, father. Let me start at the beginning.”
“Yes, my son. Start at the beginning.”
“Alexis. Uh, Mrs. Worthe’s daughter and I decided to blow up the Student Union at the University.”
“Okay, Ben. I think you should stop right there and let me do the praying.”
“W-why father?”
“Do you realize what you just said is crazy talk.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Creative Kue #73 By Keith Channing

~ John W. Howell ~ 24 Comments

Another Tuesday and another Kreative Kue. Keith Channing can explain

“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 – for reasons I have yet to fathom, pingbacks don’t seem to be working.

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.

Kreative Kue #73

“I don’t see anything funny about wet tobacco.”

“Well, take a look at the dog. I don’t think he finds anything funny either.”

“What would make a dog lick a pipe until it’s wet.”

“I think he would ask what makes a human try to smoke a dog slobbered pipe of tobacco.”

“I would answer the mutt, ‘Because it is all I have left you dumb dog. It would be dry if you kept your tongue to yourself.”‘

“I think he is trying to save you from cancer.”

“What about licking tobacco. He should save himself.”

“Just shows how much he loves you.”

“Let’s be clear. That dog does not love me. He finds every excuse under the sun to make me miserable.”

“Oh, come on now. How does he make you miserable?”

“Ask Joey over there. Oh, sorry Joey I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“Ralph says the dog hates him and will do anything to make him miserable.”

“Yeah I think that could be true.”

“See Joey knows.”

“So tell me how does he make you miserable?”

“For one thing, he sits on my pillow when I’m not in the bedroom.”

“How do you know?”

“Joey saw him do it. Right Joey?”

“Yeah, I sure did. He also dragged his butt across the pillow.”

“OMG, you never told me that?”

“I think he only did it once.”

“What were you doing in Ralph’s bedroom Joey?”

“Ralph asked me to keep an eye on the dog.”

“So you two have been in cahoots in collecting evidence of the dog making Ralph miserable.”

“Sure Ray. What’s wrong with that?”

“No wonder the dog hates you. You don’t trust him.”

“Ha. So you admit he hates me.”

“I’m just saying.”

“So now that we have determined the dog hates me. What are we going to do?”

“Joey do you have a suggestion?”

“I think Ralph should get another place to live.”

“Why doesn’t the dog find a new place to live.”

“Gee Ralph Joey and I like the dog.”

“What about me?”

“Not so much.”

 

Top Ten Things Not to Do if You Are Moving

~ John W. Howell ~ 45 Comments

 

 

The inspiration for this list is our youngest is moving from an efficiency apartment to a one bedroom. Although her move gave me the idea I’m happy to say she is not guilty of any of the items on this list.

Top Ten Things Not to Do if You Are Moving

10 If you are moving, do not wait until the movers show up to begin thinking of what you want to pack. If you do, at best you will have a lot of hourly overtime to pay. At worst, your crew is likely to leave to move someone else and suggest you get organized in the meantime. (A little embarrassing to be left alone in the middle of a mess isn’t it?)

9 If you are moving, do not pack your crystal pieces with your hand weights. At best, you might get some chips. At worst, you will arrive at the new place with a box of crystal snow.  (You were going to take the weights out but forgot huh Bunky?)

8 If you are moving, do not forget to put your frozen food in a safe but frigid place. If you do forget, at best you will have a bunch of thawed food on arrival. At worst, the thawing food will be in a place to drip through at least six boxes of your clothes. (Those white things look beautiful with that pot roast branding.)

7 If you are moving, do not be tempted to throw out your old pots and pans just cause you are tired of them. If you are, at best you will need to replace everything before you can eat at home again. At worst, you didn’t realize the cookware was a precious gift from your parents, and now they are going through the dumpster. (How were you to know that was their first set?)

6 If you are moving, do not try to save and pack that delicious casserole you had last night. If you do, at best it will be spoiled during the trip, and you’ll know it. At worst, you will ignore the signs of spoilage and dig in. (Those sirens you now hear is EMS. Gotta hope they get there in time)

5 If you are moving, do not think you and your friends have to consume all the liquor the night before the move. If you do, at best your headache, chills, and nausea will be gone around 3:00 pm. At worst, you will not only be sick but will have to deal with five or six comatose friends. (Pretty hard to carry that dresser over all those bodies isn’t it Buster?)

4 If you are moving, do not tell the movers to put stuff “anywhere.” If you do, at best you will have a living room that looks like a bedroom. At worst, you will have one room filled with furniture.(It’s the first room you enter right?)

3 If you are moving, do not think your boxes don’t need marking because you remember what’s in each one. If you do, at best you will be opening boxes and searching for things for a week. At worst, you will finally give up and stack all the boxes in such a way as to imitate the world’s worst hoarder. (Pretty tough for the sunlight to get in through all those boxes. You say you feel like a rat in a maze?)

2 If you are moving, do not forget to fill out the forwarding cards for your new address. If you forget, at best you will wonder where your mail went after three months. At worst, you will begin to wonder about all those phone calls regarding your lights, water, cable, and telephone. (That is until they all go dark. Now a rat in a dark and lonely maze.)

1 If you are moving, do not have friends help. If you do, at best there will be only a few dented, scratched, and broken items. At worst you realize no one knows how to dismantle your bed and couch and you are forced to leave them behind. (How in the hell did those items get into the apartment in the first place?)

Sunday – Views of the Neighborhood

~ John W. Howell ~ 39 Comments

Yesterday was overcast and very humid. It was a perfect day to have a turtle release here on Mustang Island. There is an organization Animal Rehabilitation Keep (ARK) here in Port Aransas, and their mission is to rescue wildlife and to rehabilitate the animals for release back into the wild. One of the major activities is the rescue of sea turtles. So when the turtles are well enough, they are once again set free. There was a total of fourteen turtles released, and I hope you enjoy the photos I took at the event.

This first photo will give you an idea of the number of people who show up for a turtle release. For most of these folks, this was the first time they had ever seen such a sight.

 

I am standing in the Gulf. The turtles will be released into the water after being carried down this aisle of visitors.

 

Here is the director of the ARK Tony Amos carrying an anxious turtle into the surf.

 

Hard to see but the turtle immediately headed for the open water.

 

Here is a large fellow who decided to walk to the water since he weighs over one hundred pounds.

 

Off he goes and hopefully won’t be caught in a fishing net again.

 

Here is a beautiful turtle who decided to come back to land. She had to go to the deeper water to get the idea. She finally said goodbye.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “No”

~ John W. Howell ~ 24 Comments

Stream Of Consciousness Saturday

 

It is Stream of Consciousness Saturday once more. This week’s prompt is “No.” Linda Hill says we can use it as an abbreviation of the word number or just as it is. If you would like to see what all this is about, go to Linda’s blog and check it out. https://lindaghill.com/2016/04/15/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-1616/

No By John W. Howell © 2106

“What number do you have three?”

“No.Seventy two.”

“No kidding. What number are they serving?”

“They have been stuck on two for the last hour. No movement.”

“Aw man. Don’t they know we need to go fishing today or no dinner?”

“Gee you think? No, they don’t know.”

“Why on earth did you decide to get your license renewed on a Saturday? This is no day for a DMV trip.”

“Hey, I work all week. No other time but Saturday.”

“I guess you’re right. I meant no offense.”

“None taken. Sit down and relax. No need to get riled up. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“No? It looks like it may take several days. If they have done two in an hour, it will take thirty-six hours to get to you.”

“No, you’re right.This isn’t logical. I’ll go see. Hold on.”

“I’m back. Well, they have had some kind of computer glitch. It’s fixed now. She told me no worries we will be out in forty-five minutes.”

“Joy. Then it is an hour and a half to the lake.No way to make it before noon.”

“What do you care? What else do you have to do today? No other job but catching fish.”

“Okay, I have no other engagements. I’m just going to sit here with my mouth shut and enjoy the quiet.”

“No kidding. You can relax knowing we have to sit here another forty-five minutes?”

“Wait a minute. You had me all calmed down. Now for no reason you have me fired up again.”

“There is no way you can make it on your own. You know that right?”

 

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

~ John W. Howell ~ 40 Comments

funny-friday-smiling-bulldog-dog

 

Friday again and no I’m not going to talk about how quick the week has flown. I think I’m finally over wondering about time passing. I have given into the fact that like sand in an hourglass these are the days of our lives.(Brought to you by Ivory soap)

I managed to get a lot done this week on my WIP. As most of you know I’m finishing up the John J. Cannon Trilogy with the last book titled Our Justice. I sent my manuscript off to Beta readers and received some great comments. For those of you who do not use Beta readers, I would highly recommend that you begin. It is so good to get another set of eyes to look critically at your work. The feedback was all received by me by the first of April. I have been spending the time editing the story taking into account the excellent comments. I will be sending the revised MS to the editor on May 3rd. I have a little time, and I am going to meet the deadline. I made excellent progress this week. Today’s JohnKu talks about setting a goal as the way to accomplish more. I hope you enjoy it and have a great weekend.

The Goal By John W. Howell © 2016

Wander aimlessly,

Hoping to achieve something…

A goal is magic.

Thursday – A little Personal Radio Interview with Anna Celeste Burke #RRBC

~ John W. Howell ~ 10 Comments

Blog talk radio image.unnamed

I am very pleased to be interviewing Anna Celeste Burke on the RAVE WAVES BlogTalkRadio production of “Spotlight Honors” at 11:00 CDT Today. You can listen in by clicking on this LINK.

Anna Celeste Burke

About Anna Celeste Burke in her words

“Life is an extravaganza! Figuring out how to hang tough and make the most of the wild ride is the challenge. On my way to Oahu, to join the rock musician and high school drop-out I had married in Tijuana, I was nabbed as a runaway. Eventually, the police let me go, but the rock band broke up. Our next stop: Disney World, where we ‘worked for the Mouse’ as chefs, courtesy of Walt Disney World University Chef’s School. More education landed us in academia at The Ohio State University. For decades, I researched, wrote, and taught a number of gloriously nerdy topics. Retired now, I’m still married to the same, sweet, guy and live with him near Palm Springs, California. I write mysteries set in sunny California! The Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series set here in the Coachella Valley and the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery Series set in California’s Central Coast, The Georgie Shaw Mystery series and coming soon, The Misadventures of Betsy Stark.”

A Dead Husband

Book Blurb

“My first day as a sleuth was more Stephanie Plum than Miss Marple.” Jessica Huntington, amateur sleuth with a shopping jones and a black AMEX card, finds out money can’t buy happiness, or save your neck. Her well-planned life in shambles, she’s hiding out near Palm Springs. When her best friend’s husband is murdered, Jessica and her friends are soon stalked by scoundrels in pantyhose, stilettos, Bruno Maglis, and Armani suits. Roger Stone had something that got him killed. What was it and what will they do to get it back?

Contact Anna

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aburke59?lang=en

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

Website address: http://www.desertcitiesmystery.com

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Anna-Celeste-Burke/e/B00H8J4IQS/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1459439732&sr=8-2-ent
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7553558.Anna_Celeste_Burke