Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Til Death Do Us Part

Today, we welcome author K.S. David. She is doing a virtual book blast tour for Til Death Do Us Part, a romantic suspense available in June.


K.S. David will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to place your comment:

Blurb

Quinn McGuire is settling into her new life just fine. She's moving beyond the trauma of her past. She's fallen in love with her best friend, Jack Lassiter, and slowly rebuilding the career she'd once abandoned. Then her old nemesis is arrested for murdering her husband. To the surprise of everyone, Glenda Penderherst wants Quinn to represent her as legal counsel. Quinn doesn't do criminal defense anymore. Nope, she's focusing on areas a little more refined - less drama. 

Naomi Banker, the resident vibrational therapist, asks Quinn to look into an intellectual property rights claim. The request seems innocent enough - but boring. Things soon spice up when Quinn discovers that Naomi was romantically linked to Glenda's murdered husband. Soon, more body's start to surface and like it or not, Quinn finds herself caught in a whirlwind of broken hearts and private alliances, all while trying to manage a few special secrets of her own. She’s convinced of Naomi's innocence and starts to dig for answers. But if she's not careful, she'll end up being added to the body count.

Excerpt

The day before, I’d told Jack about my disappointment in meeting Naomi. I wanted no part of her case.  He didn’t push me to explain. I sensed that he wasn’t surprised. 

“She said something about hearing noises and seeing strange lights behind her home.”

Jack straightened. “What kind of noises? What kind of lights?”

“She doesn’t describe it well. She just says that she sees eerie lights come from the trees behind her house and sometimes she hears voices. So, I thought if I went back there I could find a practical explanation. There’s a footpath just beyond the edge of her property. You won’t believe what I found. And, you won’t believe whose house sits on the opposite end of those woods.”

Jack’s brow narrowed. He’d reached in his pocket and withdrew a red and white peppermint, popped it into his mouth and stared off into the distance, thoughtful. He’d grown up in the Hills and knew every street.

“I’ll be damned,” he huffed. “It has to be the Penderherst home.” I nodded when he looked at me for confirmation. 

“Exactly. There’s more, Jack. You have to see the place for yourself.” I could tell him about the tents. I could tell him about the heaps of trash and the footsteps that danced way too close to Naomi’s house but there was no substitute for a first-hand experience.  

Instead of driving straight to Naomi’s house, Jack parked in front of the Penderherst home. Yellow and black police tape still covered the drive and stretched over the doorway. Jack and I followed the stone path around the house. The Penderhersts’ lawn needed to be cut. The edges were overgrown, and the grass could use a good dosing of fertilizer. Brown spots were peaking up through the weeds. Jack and I walked up on the patio. The wooden slats were warped. A few looked gnawed away by wear and age. After a moment, we descended the steps and headed into the woods. We’d barely walked a hundred yards when Jack turned and looked back at the house.

“They sure didn’t overspend on curtains,” he noted as we peered through the crossed arms of branches. “Someone standing here can see straight through the entire house at nightfall,” he said. 

I tugged at Jack’s hand. “Come on, you have to see the rest.” 

There was no way I ever would have gone back alone. My skin started to prickle just thinking about the sense of foreboding that had washed over me earlier. 

We had started moving deeper into the woods again when Jack asked, “Did you seriously come back here alone?” The foliage was growing dense and the unruly branches darkened the space around us. 

“Yes.” I sighed, knowing the complaint that was going to follow once Jack saw what waited inside the clearing. 

A low growl escaped him.



Author bio and links


K. S. David lives in the Mid-Atlantic with her husband, their three children and a menagerie of pets. New storylines are constantly running through her head. She keeps notebooks tucked in pockets of the car, the nightstand and makes voice recordings just about all day long. She's addicted to true life mysteries and crime shows, both of which marry well with a great romance. Some of her favorite things are long walks, reading in bed, baking and of course, writing her next novel. 

Links:
https://www.amazon.com/K.-S.-David/e/B00BP1U4BI
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6979268.K_S_David
https://twitter.com/ksdavidromance
https://www.facebook.com/ks.david.52

Sunday, May 26, 2019

Astraeus

Please welcome author Haley Cavanagh today. Haley is doing a virtual book blast tour for Astraeus, a sci-fi YA romance available now from Covey Publishing. This book blast tour takes place from today until May 31st.


Haley will be awariding a $10 Amazon or Barnes&Noble GC to a randomly drawn commenter via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to place your comment:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3055

Blurb

One pre-apocalyptic Earth. One desperate space mission to find a solution. One unexpected
alien.
When Dr. Sakota Thorell signed onto the mission to scout out a new, habitable planet, she knew
discovering extraterrestrial life was always a possibility. But she never expected to find an alien
adrift in space, nor for that alien to be so intriguing. Sakota feels an instant and undeniable
attraction to Astraeus, but he represents a million possibilities, and just as many threats.

There are others hunting Astraeus, and his rescue may cost Earth its last hope.


Excerpt

She moved to pull away, but the man’s fingers closed over her wrist.
“Let me go.” She jerked her arm, but he wouldn’t release his grip. She gave him a cautionary
look, and he loosened his fingers, though he still held her. Warning bells went off. What if he’s
not here in peace? But his eyes sparkled impishly. He seemed to enjoy her skin pressed against
his. Maybe he hadn’t been touched in a while. Or maybe he had a crush. Who knew.
Before she could extricate herself, the intercom chimed. “Sakota, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. He’s just being friendly—”

The man’s forefinger trailed along her arm again. She sucked in a breath and shut her eyes as a
series of images flashed through her mind. A high wall made of stacked stones. A hand spread
out to touch the tips of tall, golden wheat of a field. Multihued buildings in the distance under a
purple sky. Children’s laughter and then screams. She jerked when the images changed.
Strange rain, like metal. Black ships attacking from the sky, horrible screams which rent the air,
death. A gentle brush against her hand again. She inhaled and opened her eyes. The man
searched her, calm and patient. She struggled to see straight, but her mind spun.
“W-was that your—”
The isolation walls shot up. Rutledge burst into the room and advanced like an angry bear,
brutish, immaculate, and combat ready in his black Oceanstone fatigues. “Let her go,” he
snarled.
Rutledge yanked the man’s hand off her and pushed her aside. She fell to the floor on her back
in a dizzy haze, reeling from the vision. She turned her head. The man bellowed and tore loose
from his restraints. His and Rutledge’s images faded into one as they collided and fought.
Rutledge’s weapon whirred as he strained to activate it. The rifle propelled over her head and hit
the wall.
“Stop.” Her pleas fell on deaf ears. She closed her eyes.
The men barged into the room with heavy footfalls and angry shouts. She opened her eyes, but
her vision swirled. The blurred image of the alien lifted Rutledge’s lieutenant like a kitchen chair
and catapulted him in the same direction as the weapon. “Stop,” she hollered to the men. “Don’t
shoot him. He wasn’t attacking me.”
Another soldier fell to the floor with a sick thud, holding his stomach. “Yeah? Well, he’s attacking
me.”
The alien pounced over her, crouching low. He caged her with his body and made a guttural
rumble in his throat, a warning to the men. She turned her head to the marines, who zeroed
their weapons in on them.


Author bio and links


Haley Cavanagh is a military veteran, wife, and mother. She is an alumna of Columbia College, a musical theater nut, and she loves to dive into any book that crosses her path. Haley resides with her family in the United States and enjoys spending time with her husband and children when she’s not writing. She loves to hear from her readers, and encourages you to contact her via her website and social media.


Social media links:

Buy links:


The audio book for Astraeus is live! Here are some links:

General elections

Today, general elections are being organized in Belgium. Everyone over 18 has to vote for (either) Flemish or Walloon government, for the federal government and lastly for Europe.

The past government was about the worst we ever had. And it took over a year to have it functioning. I wonder how long it's going to take this time!

Now, the general sentiment is that something needs to change. It will depend upon which party gets the majority to see what is going to happen. For instance, Green will want to put the accent on taxing those who pollute most. The socialists and their Walloon counterparts want to bring down the tax on electricity and gas from 21% to 6% as this clearly is not a luxury product. And they are going to change back the pension age to 65 instead of 67. Liberals want to make the factories and companies a bit richer, while NVA silently wants the independence of Flanders.

Yes, politics here in Belgium are quite something. And most people don't even care. It's that we are obliged to go voting, we can't just stay at home and do nothing (otherwise you'll get a fine).

Tomorrow will bring more insight.

Friday, May 24, 2019

Count-down begins

Today, 24th of May, is exactly one year before our beloved Horse Bayard makes its rounds around the town once more.

It's hard to believe for anyone who wasn't born in Dendermonde, but here we really LOVE our horse! It's a medieval tradition, going back to the times of the mighty town guilds, which had a yearly procession to thank their patron saint. The most important ones had a giant, which refered to their trade (Indian, Mars and Goliath). I've talked about them already in earlier blogs.

But more important than the giants is of course Horse Bayard. There's a picture here to show how it looks in realty.


It's a massive structure, carried by teams of 12 sturdy men, who make it walk and even canter and raise on it's hind legs. On top sit 4 young boys. According to the tradition, they have to be born in Dendermonde (preferably also their parents and grandparents) and no girl should come in-between them. Hard to find nowadays, but they still manage!

In earlier times, Bayard only roamed the streets of our town on special occasions. My first time was with the World Expo in 1958. I remember I sat on a cushion, next to a priest and one of the figurants got away with his hat! Then the next time was 1975, on occasion of the completion of the works on the new Dender.  Then in 1990. But the people wanted to see more of the horse, and so the town council determined that from now every 10 years there would be a big celebration.

Next time it will be on 24th May 2020. So tonight the count-down officially starts with a big party on the town square. The three giants will make their appearance and dance for the public, and afterwards there's a reception for everyone who attends. Nice gesture!

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Road works...

Some weeks ago, we were notified that there would be roadworks this week. Indeed, our street really needed some work: it was full of holes. The constructor for these roadworks set up his material on Monday. First they scraped off the old layer of tarmac. We didn't hear any noise because we only arrived back home around noon, so no telling when the work started.

Also yesterday morning, no problem. The work only started after 1 pm because the garbage collection takes place every Tuesday morning and the vehicles needed to pass the street.

But this morning... Around 5.30 am (!) we were woken by the loud noise of the heavy machinery as construction work already started. I really didn't appreciate this. We know that construction workers often start around 7 am (which is still a bit too early, as town regulations stipulate there should be no heavy noise between 10 pm and 8 am) but as we get up around 7 that's no problem. But these guys... It's not even daylight at that hour. I've already filed a complaint but suppose it won't help a lot.

Let's just hope they can finish today so we can sleep until 7 am tomorrow morning!

Monday, May 20, 2019

Murder by Munchhausen

Please welcome author M.T. Bass today. The author is doing a virtuals book blast tour for Murder by Munchausen Trilogy Set, a mystery/sci-fi/police procedural available May 27th from Electron Alley Publications. This book blast tour takes place from May 20th to 24th.


M.T. Bass will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to place your comment:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3054

Blurb

A police procedural sci fi thriller ripped from future headlines!


After Jake shoots and kills a murder suspect who turns out to be the son of a powerful city councilman, he finds himself demoted to the Artificial Crimes Unit, tracking down androids hacked and programmed to be hit men.

When his case of an “extra-judicial” divorce settlement takes a nasty turn with DNA from a hundred-year-old murder in Boston and a signature that harkens back to the very first serial killer ever in London, Jake finds himself tangled up in the brutal slayings of prostitutes being investigated by his former Robbery/Homicide partner, Maddie–who is now his lover. 

But a madman, The Baron, is just getting started with his AI recreations of Jack the Ripper's brutal crimes.  And Maddie and Jake are teamed up again to stop the carnage as the Baron's army of human replicants imitate history's most notorious serial killers.


"It might not make sense, but the beloved Media tags it 'Murder by Munchausen.' For a price, there are hackers out there who will reprogram a synthoid to do your dirty work. The bad news: no fingerprints or DNA left at the crime scene. The good news—at least for us—is that they’re like missiles: once they hit their target, they’re usually as harmless as empty brass. The trick is to get them before they melt down their core OS data, so you can get the unit into forensics for analysis and, hopefully, an arrest." [excerpt from Murder by Munchausen]


Artificial Intelligence? Fuhgeddaboudit!

Artificial Evil has a name…Munchausen.


Excerpt

The Three Laws

1. A civilian-owned and operated synthetic humanoid entity may not act in any manner so as to engage in or cause any harmful or offensive contact against a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A civilian-owned and operated synthetic humanoid entity must obey the directives and orders given it by human beings except in those instances where such directives and orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A civilian-owned and operated synthetic humanoid entity may protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

Federal Technology Administration Regulations

Author bio and links


M.T. Bass is a scribbler of fiction who holds fast to the notion that while victors may get to write history, novelists get to write/right reality. He lives, writes, flies and makes music in Mudcat Falls, USA.
Born in Athens, Ohio, M.T. Bass grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, majoring in English and Philosophy, then worked in the private sector (where they expect “results”) mainly in the Aerospace & Defense manufacturing market. During those years, Bass continued to write fiction. He is the author of eight novels: My Brother’s Keeper, Crossroads, In the Black, Somethin’ for Nothin’, Murder by Munchausen, The Darknet (Murder by Munchausen Mystery #2), The Invisible Mind (Murder by Munchausen Mystery #3) and Article 15. His writing spans various genres, including Mystery, Adventure, Romance, Black Comedy and TechnoThrillers. A Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor, airplanes and pilots are featured in many of his stories. Bass currently lives on the shores of Lake Erie near Lorain, Ohio.


M.T. Bass Author Links
Website:  https://www.mtbass.net
Blog:  https://www.owl-works.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/owlworks/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Owlworks
Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/author/mtbass
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5270962.M_T_Bass

Murder by Munchausen Trilogy Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Munchausen-Trilogy-Future-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07QDGHYZ6
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/murder-by-munchausen-trilogy-books-1-3/id1458934052?mt=11
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1131145794?ean=2940156040681
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/murder-by-munchausen-trilogy
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/932579

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Another year added...

Today I became 63 years young. Time flies by! Still, I don't feel like I'm in my sixties. I can still do whatever I like without any problem. I can ride a horse, I can ski down a hill, I ride my bike, I walk all the time... Yes, despite being a cancer patient I feel quite fit.

This morning, I woke up to a nice sunny sky. That always gives me a good feeling. I like it when the sun shines on my birthday. And the day hasn't finished yet. My sister is going to cook a favorite of mine for dinner and there'll be something sweet later on. And the postman hasn't delivered the post yet (we only get in in the early afternoon, that's Belgian post)...

One thing I'm definitely not going to do, is partying. I don't like it that much - never did, not even as a teenager or twen. I don't like going out to disco's or bars, having to listen to loud music and not understanding what someone's saying. I much prefer a quiet evening with friends - something to eat, good wine and nice music, perhaps some dancing when the mood strikes.


Already got the first birthday card yesterday. It was from my sister. She sent it a bit early because last year the post delivered it a couple of days late (our postal services aren't too good) I quite liked it, especially because she used a picture that was taken last year during our trip to Dubai. We made an excursion into the desert then.

Monday, May 13, 2019

Once again, forced change of plans

A person can make plans - but sometimes they are crossed by events beyond our reach. My sister and I had planned a Chrismas trip to Vienna and Bratislava (the capital of Slowakia). We had booked our flight, made reservations for hotels. All set, or so we thought.

On Thursday we received an email from the airline, notifying us that our flight from Brussels to Vienna 'had changed'. When you read that, you expect that the time of departure has been altered by some minutes or half an hour. But no, instead of a flight on Friday, they offered a flight on Saturday! When I called the airline and explained this wouldn't do for us, the attendant wasn't very friendly. He tried to persuade us to take the flight, or even one very early on Friday morning. I explained him (calmly) this wouldn't do either, as we depend on public transport and there are not trains running before 6 am in the week or 7 am in weekends. I told him we'd liked to cancel the flights and get our money back. It finally got done, but with a lot of sighing.

I really don't appreciate the attitude of this airline. We had a similar experience twice before, and both times, we could cancel the flight without any problem and got our money back on the spot.

 Cancelling the reservations for the hotels wasn't difficult either. We always make a reservation where you can cancel up to the day of arrival. It costs you a bit more, but it pays when you need to cancel unexpectedly.

Then the next problem came: what do do instead of going to Vienna/Bratislava??? We were set on spending the first week of the holidays abroad. For European flights it was already a bit too late to get the least expensive flights. And we've seen pretty much of Europe already. We brainstormed for a couple of days and spent a lot of time online, searching for destinations.

Finally we found something that appealed to both of us and wasn't too big a stretch on our finances. We are going to Egypt. Finally have the chance of seeing the piramids and crossing one more line on my bucket list! And a plus is that the weather will be around 23° Celsius - a week to soak up some suntan and enjoy the warmth....

Thursday, May 9, 2019

A Curse of the Lucky

Please welcome author Nathan Wrann today. Nathan is doing a virtual book blast tour for A Curse of the Lucky, a YA paranormal available as of April 30th, 2019 from Dalton Gang Press. This book blast tour takes place between May 6th and May 10th, 2019.


Nathan Wrann will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes&Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the following link to place your comment:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3025

Blurb

Two things that Jack Smith has always had: bad legs and bad luck. With a violent attack at the Tarrytown Independence Day Carnival, that bad luck has caught up to him with deadly consequences. Going on the run with Jaelle–the mysterious girl of his dreams–he descends into a world of curses, blessings, and fortunetelling Gypsies. The deeper he gets, the more he realizes she might just be the one to save his life... or end it.

The Mr. Lucky Trilogy begins with A Curse of the Lucky.


Excerpt


“This place is huge,” she replied in a hushed tone.

“You must have missed the sign on the way in. It’s a group home. Or was. I’m the only resident left. Long story.”

“Like an orphanage?”

“Yeah. Now we have to be quiet.”

She nodded and clutched her massive duffel-purse closely to her chest. 

I opened the car door slowly, got out, closed the door without a sound, then leaned on it hard to make the latch click closed. Jaelle did the same on her side of the car and followed me as I crutched across the wet grass of the front lawn. I got to my bedroom window between the shrubs and slid it open. Lowering myself in, I touched down on the bench press. 

Once on the floor I waved for Jaelle to lower herself. As she slipped in, feet-first through the window, her skirt snagged on the sill and slid up. My heart jumped into my throat. Her toned, smooth calves hung in the air, followed by the backs of her knees, then her silky thighs. Right in front of my face. Was this really happening? 

Oh God! I actually had a girl sneaking into my bedroom. Was it clean? Had I left my dirty laundry out? Dirty dishes? Underwear? Lingerie catalogs? I tried to scope out the room in the dark to see what I could quickly stash.

“Psst. Hey!” Jaelle whispered harshly.

“Yeah?” I said turning back to her, greeted by her naked legs dangling from the window. 

“A little help?” She said tugging on her skirt. 

“Oh, sorry.” I unhooked her skirt from the sill. 

Jaelle lowered herself the rest of the way in until she stood on the bench press and pulled her bag in after.

I crossed the room and opened the door a crack, listened for a few seconds, heard nothing from upstairs and closed it quietly. I flipped the light switch and heard a gasp. 

Great. What did I leave out?

I turned to find Jaelle standing in front of the painting. 

“Jack?” she asked, turning to me and pointing to the painting. “Is that me? Did you do that?”

“Yes. Uh, and yes.”

“Wow.”

“Kinda stalkerish and creepy. I know.” I crossed the room as quickly as possible and grabbed the painting to stash it behind something. Anything.

“No, it’s beautiful. I mean, it sounds conceited for me to say a picture of me is beautiful but, uh, yeah.”

“Thanks.” We stood in awkward silence for a moment, looking at the painting. “Can I ask you a question?”…



Author bio and links


Nathan Wrann was born in Florida and moved around a lot as a child, growing up in New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, California and finally back to Florida. No matter where he lived you would likely find Marvel Comics or a book in his hand with genres ranging from fantasy (The Black Cauldron), to SE Hinton's teen dramas (The Outsiders), to Stephen King's entire catalogue from Carrie through Tommyknockers. At the age of seventeen he joined the U.S. Army as a Military Policeman, and following that, graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a degree in video production and theater. 
Currently Mr. Wrann is a writer, publisher and (formerly) independent filmmaker living in West Haven, Connecticut with his rescued Chihuahuas Napoleon and Gatsby, pain-in-the-butt cat Konstantine, and wife Kimberly. Nowadays, in between books, you'll find him enjoying horror films, YA Paranormal TV series (Vampire Diaries, Sabrina, etc), and the Marvel and Star Wars Cinematic Universes.

Links:
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005165L8O
Twitter: @nathanwrann https://twitter.com/nathanwrann?lang=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNathanWrann/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nwrann


Author’s Note RE: the Mr. Lucky Trilogy & Dark Matter Heart:
The Mr. Lucky Trilogy is a Dark Matter Heart World Expander. The events in this series take place in the same world, with the same paranormal concepts and rules as Dark Matter Heart, but with all new characters and adventures. Opportunity abounds for crossover stories bringing all the characters together.
It is not necessary to read Dark Matter Heart to enjoy the Mr. Lucky Trilogy, but I think you’ll like it. 
Get Book Two: From Out of Chaos FREE here: https://mailchi.mp/f5ce21a5921c/freedmh2
Thank you Dear Reader, we have much fun ahead of us.
-Nathan Wrann 

Second scan of the year

Yesterday, I spent an entire morning and part of the afternoon in hospital. Three times per year, I have to get a scan of the abdomen, with kidney-protection. That is necessary because I only have only kidney after my opereration. The scan itself doesn't take very long (I'm quite used to it by now) but then it's waiting for the result.

Despite the fact you feel it's going to be ok, there's always some anxiety. But no worries, the result was positive once more. One of the small metastases has even diminished in format. To be honest, they're all quite small, otherwise I wouldn't be feeling this good! I count myself very lucky.

In my circle of friends and acquaintances, we were five who got the diagnosis of cancer around two years ago. Our neighbor died last year is September (lung cancer). Then in December a once school colleague (we both taught in Soest, Germany) died of bowel cancer. She was around my age. Last month another colleague died of a spread cancer throughout the body. Guy only was in his forties. And lastly, the son of my once best friend is dying right now. The doctors can't help him anymore. He's in his thirties.

Of those five, I'm the one who does well (up to now). My sister says there's always one who's lucky. I don't win the lottery (or any other game) but perhaps I win this one. Fingers crossed!

Monday, May 6, 2019

Joy After Noon

Please welcome author Debra Coleman Jeter today. Debra's doing a blurb blitz tour for Joy After Noon, a contemporary romance available now from Elk Lake Publishing Inc. This blurb blitz tour will run from April 29th until  May 17th, 2019. 


Debra Coleman Jeter will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes&Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during this tour. Please use the following link to place your comment:  

Blurb

Joy marries a widowed bank executive caught in an ethical dilemma and misreads his obvious frustration while struggling to integrate into her new family. Inspired in part by Love, Come Softly, this novel explores the challenges of second marriages and dealing with step-children during the crucial years of puberty and teenage angst. A college professor coming up shortly for the huge tenure decision, Joy finds herself falling apart as her career and her home issues deteriorate and collide. 


Excerpt

Joy opened a cabinet door to gaze at the rows of hand-painted spices, little bottles labeled in delicate, loopy cursive and  decorated with yellow daffodils, each flower unique. What kind of woman would take the time to transfer store-bought spices into hand-crafted containers? The same woman who painted the daffodils? As a teacher of finance, Joy would question whether she could sell the hand-painted jars for enough cash to compensate for the materials and labor.

 In this new universe, the question was altogether different. What was the question? Joy felt lost. 

The jars appeared to be aligned in alphabetical order, and she checked to be sure. Coriander seed, cumin ... tarragon, turmeric. They probably hadn’t been used since Carolyn died. Either that, or Carolyn had trained Ray and the girls to keep them in their proper sequence. 

The phone rang, startling Joy in the unaccustomed setting. She recognized the voice at once. Her colleague and coauthor Natalie. Yes, the honeymoon was wonderful, Joy told her. She elaborated on the brilliant turquoise of the water, the amazing world she and Ray explored together beneath the sea. She couldn’t tell Natalie the real wonder. To be held, to be nurtured, to feel cherished for the first time in so many years. For the first time ever by a man. She flushed at the thought of confessing as much, at her age. 

“I haven’t forgotten our paper,” she said instead. “I know I’ve been negligent lately. But I’ll get on it. Right away.” 

Author bio and links

Debra Coleman Jeter has published both fiction and nonfiction in popular magazines, including Working Woman, New Woman, Self, Home Life, Savvy, Christian Woman, and American Baby. Her first novel, The Ticket, was a finalist for a Selah Award, as well as for Jerry Jenkins’ Operation First Novel. Her story, “Recovery,” was awarded first prize in a short story competition sponsored by Christian Woman; and her nonfiction book “Pshaw, It’s Me Grandson”: Tales of a Young Actor was a finalist in the USA Book News Awards. She is a co-writer of the screenplay for Jess + Moss, a feature film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, screened at nearly forty film festivals around the world, and captured several domestic and international awards.  

Links:

Website and Blog:  www.debracolemanjeter.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/njjeter/the-ticket-a-novel/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/debra.c.jeter
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/DebColemanJeter
The Amazon page:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/1941103863
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
The Ticket trailer:  https://vimeo.com/50187275

Weekend Antwerp

Taking a break from everyday life is always fun - even when the weather doesn't cooperate in full. Taling about the weather, it's been nasty for the past two weeks - and it's still going on. Too cold for the time of year, rain (and even hail), dark skies...

Nevertheless, we locked our house Friday noon and headed to the train station to board the train to Antwerp. There we walked (through some bout of rain) to the Hilton hotel in the town center (near Groenplaats and Antwerp cathedral). We had booked an executive room for two nights, but when we arrived in the hotel the clerk let us know we were upgraded to a suite. And not just an ordinary one - no, it was one of the more expensive in the hotel. Nice surprise!

We had some coffee and then did some walking, as the rain had stopped for a while. I found a nice skirt in a shop that sells produce from manufacturers in Tibet. Completely in cotton and beautiful design. The rest of the evening was fine as well. Enjoyed the free drinks and tidbits in the executive lounge (where we found out that some teams of the Final Four in basketball were staying in the hotel as well) and did some reading before going to bed.

The next morning we visited the home of painter Peter Paul Rubens. I never visited that one before! And it was worth the while. Lots of original painting by the master himself, but also of Van Dijck and Breughel. And the old furniture... Could  have brought along some items, haha!


After a delicious lunch in our favorite Antwerp restaurant, De Arme Duvel, we did some more shopping. I had gotten some vouchers for my upcoming birthday and decided to use them. Bought two pairs of pants at Esprit. Need them, as all my old stuff has become too wide since my weight loss.

In the evening we went to the theatre. Went to see a show about the Tina Turner story. Great show, with great singers.

Spent another night of peaceful sleep and enjoyed a lazy breakfast before checking out and heading back home.

Friday, May 3, 2019

Greta Thunberg can actually 'see' CO2

In a recent book Greta Thunberg's mother wrote, she mentioned that her daughter can really see CO2 exhaust escaping from chimneys. I suppose lots of people won't believe this, even laugh at this statement.

Now we know that Greta suffers from Asperger syndrome. And Asperger patients often have a higher intelligence. In some case, a high IQ means that the one having it can see things another can't. So Greta's mother's statement may be true.

Both my sister and I have a higher IQ. And we can 'see' things another can't. For instance, when sitting on a bench and watching people go by, we can immediately tell which nationality they have. 'That's a Dutchman, here's a German, that one is English.' And we'll always be right. We can also 'see' the (lack of) intelligence in someone's face. I once surprised a psychologist who had tested a pupil for IQ. I told her the girl had about 80 - and she reacted quite surprised, asking me: Have you also tested her? When I answered I didn't, just thought it to be that way, she said her tests had resulted an 81.

Well, not wanting to say that a high IQ is a blessing. It often sets you apart. I know I couldn't work well in group, because I couldn't bear the endless discussions about a problem that was really easy to solve - only my colleagues wouldn't believe it to be. I got my best results in teaching when I had a group that had a reasonable intelligence. Working with less intelligent pupils was straining because I had problems understanding why they did not understand my explanation, even if I tried it ten times in different ways. That's another thing in teaching. Most people will not understand that dumb people won't get more intelligent by teaching.

Are there any others with similar capabilities?

Thursday, May 2, 2019

How to live under false accusations

It must be terrible, to be accused of something horrible - while you have done nothing bad at all! How can you live under this stress???

'Thuis' (At Home), the most popular soap in Flanders (daily around 1,3 million viewers) is presenting this problem right now. Swimming coach Jaques is accused of having had inappropriate sex with one of his young swimmers. He loses his job, nobody talks to him, everyone tries to avoid him. Later on, we learn that young Stan has made up these accusations because he doesn't feel well (he also beats his own mother). Now Jaques is offically cleared, but still he is looked at weirdly. Some of the muck still sticks.

It is also true in real life. Some years ago, a primary school teacher was falsely accused. She lost the job she so much liked, lost most of her so-called friends. All these years later, she still can't return to teaching because most heads thinks she has 'a reputation'. She got a new job later on, married and is now mother of a child, but there is something lacking.

I suppose it's very hard to ward of a false accusation. When you're named a pedophile, the name sticks, even when it's not true. Just make the people believe you're not a crook!

In my opinion, people should think twice before they utter an accusation. Think of the life you can possibly destroy. Can you live with that???