Author: P.J. MacLayne

The Oak Grove Mysteries are available here https://www.amazon.com/Oak-Grove-Mysteries-3-Book/dp/B072F4WBWH  or check out the My Books page of this blog.

And now that I’ve managed to offend Jake, I’m going to finish my beer and go check out the character interviews by the rest of the authors.

November 6, 2017 – Pick a character from one of your books and interview him or her.
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In the words of an old camp song:

I love the mountains,
I love the rolling hills,
I love the flowers,
I love the daffodils,
I love the fireside,
When all the lights are low

Some of my earliest memories take place in the out of doors. We lived in the country, and I remember my mother telling me I could go as far as I wanted as long as I could still see the tops of the willow trees that grew alongside the house. Then the area expanded to as far as I could go and still hear her call that it was time to go home. The older I got, the larger the “safe” zone for me to explore got.

I discovered the old tree that had fallen across the nearby creek and served as a bridge. I followed the creek to the springs that bubbled out of the ground and fed it. I knew here the wild huckleberries and blackberries grew.

I stood quietly and admired the ancient buck I came across until he got tired of me and walked away. I tracked the path of a field mouse in the first winter snow. I sat by the edge of a remote pond and watched the tadpoles at play.

It should come as no surprise that I draw inspiration for my writing from nature. Not only do I try to write outdoor scenes into my stories, I find I’m most creative when I get a “fix” from nature. Going for a walk, or driving down a mountain road, or just sitting in my back yard and soaking in the sun.

Even when I can’t get away, I bring nature to me. My screensaver is a rolling compilation of my favorite nature photos—mountains, flowers, rocks, trees, and combinations of all of these.

So what inspires you? Feel free to share in the comments. In the meantime, I’m going to go find out what inspired the others on this hop.

October 30, 2017 – Inspiration. Where do you get your inspiration for writing? When you’re running low on ideas or creative flow, how do you get your inspiration back?
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There’s lots of advice on walking on the intranet.Walking fast vs. slow. How far to go. What to wear. How to get in the most steps for your fitness device. Don’t bother googling it, because I am going to tell you how to break the rules.

Start by finding your most comfortable shoes. They don’t have to be fancy or expensive or a certain manufacturer. You just want to be able to get home without blisters.

Dress for the weather. Coat, no coat, pants or shorts, tank top or sweatshirt. That’s going to change day by day. If you’re going into the woods (we’ll get to that) take bug spray.

Ready? Not until you’ve turned off your cell phone. (Or at least turned down the volume.) Leave your MP3 player by the computer. You don’t need it.

Now, where are you going? Around the block? Out to the back 40? Maybe to the park down the way? it doesn’t matter. Take a deep breath and walk out the door, locking it behind you if necessary. When you get outside, stop for a minute. Look up at the sky. Is it sunny or are the stars out? Take another deep breath, and this time smell the world. Is the neighbor barbecuing or is that the smell of falling leaves. All that’s left is to move one foot in front of another.

It doesn’t matter if you go slow of fast. This isn’t about where you are going or how quickly you get there. It’s about the journey. At the house down the street, stop and admire the potted flowers on the windowsill. Or watch the red-tailed hawk circling overhead. Or savor the smell of salt drifting in from the ocean.

Don’t let the blaring of car horns distract you from your task. Did I forget to mention that you have something to accomplish? A little nothing, really. I want you to daydream. When was the last time you did that? So feel free to take a break and sit on a big rock or park bench for a few minutes.

Then keep putting one foot in front of the other. You’re getting there. Wherever ‘there’ is. Remember, there’s no deadline. You can stop whenever you want to look around. See all those things you’ve never noticed before even if you’ve been by there five times before. Maybe it’s the dew on a spider web sparkling in the early morning sun. Or the way the clouds drift behind that skyscraper. Or the way that noisy little mutt’s body quivers with excitement when you pet him.

Listen to the world around you. Smile at the people passing by. Watch the children play. Take your time and really see the world around you. There’s beauty there.

Remember the words of the greats, Simon & Garfunkel:

“The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)”

Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy
Ba da da da da da da, feelin’ groovy

Hello, lamppost, what’cha knowin’?
I’ve come to watch your flowers growin’
Ain’t’cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in doo-doo, feelin’ groovy
Ba da da da da da da, feelin’ groovy

I got no deeds to do
No promises to keep
I’m dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me
Life, I love you
All is groovy

And that’s how to take a walk.

Let’s find out what the other authors are sharing by following the links below.

October 23, 2017 – How to post. Pick something and explain how to do it. It can be writing related, craft related, garden related – just share how you do it.
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People hate computers. Come on, admit it. There a necessary nuisance as far as you’re concerned.

So when I mention I’m in IT, you roll your eyes and say “Better you than me.” Or something like that. Right?

Here’s the thing. Me and machines don’t get along. At least we didn’t. I can cause a radio to go all static-y by just walking in the room. But me and computers? Different story.

Now, I’m not an expert in all things computer. But I’m definitely above average. Not bad for someone who didn’t touch their first computer until she was over 30 years old.

Thing is, I’m not afraid of them. Just like I know how to break them, (and I have broken a few)  I know how to fix them. To me, it’s fun It’s the logical side of my brain analyzing a problem and figuring out how to resolve it.

So what would I change about my industry? Same thing as I do on a regular basis. Help the end user understand what how they can use all that power at their fingertips. I don’t expect everyone to be able to open a computer case and understand all the bits and pieces inside, but they should be able to make an effort to understand the programs they use on a regular basis. For example, they don’t have to hit Caps Lock to make a capitol letter, that’s what  the shift key is for.

Is it scary? Sure, at first. But, as in many things,  too many people aren’t even willing to try.And that’s what I would change.

Let’s find out what our other authors would change by following the links below.

October 16, 2017 – Things you want to see change in your industry.
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Thank heavens for the internet. When I started this process of being a writer, I relied on magazines as a source of information. Anyone still subscribe to Writer’s Digest? Or Coda? (now Poets & Writers)

That was back in my poetry writing days, and they were a lifeline. Inspiring articles, success stories of other writers, lists of potential markets. All things I would have never found  on my own.

Then I started writing books and everything changed. The list of literary magazines I haunted on a regular basis held no value anymore. I needed a list of agents and instructions on the proper way to type up a manuscript. At least that’s what I thought.

Then I signed up for my first writer’s newsgroup through Yahoo. I thought I might get some tips on writing as well as information on how to submit a query. What I got was so much more.

I’d vaguely been aware of ebooks, but hadn’t seen one. I still made my weekly or so trips to the library to get my reading materials. The first few electronic books I downloaded were enjoyable reading, but I missed the feel of paper in my hands. (And still do!)

When the first discussions of indie publishing came to my attention, I followed them with curiosity. Then interest. I could publish my books without an agent or a publisher? I didn’t have to
change my stories to fit someone else’s boring standards?

Eventually I discovered other writers on Facebook. And on-line critique groups. And sites where you can check your work for spelling and grammatical errors. And free blogging sites (Like this one! Thanks, blogger!) And so on and so on.

So thanks, internet, you’ve been a great help.

*****

Here’s a few links a starting author might be interesting in.

prowritingaid.com/Free-Editing-Software.aspx

https://www.grammarly.com

http://www.critiquecircle.com/default.asp

Now let’s go find out what everyone is using!

“October 9, 2017 – My favorite business resources.
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I suppose some people wouldn’t consider my favorite charity as a charity at all. They consider it more of a club, but it couldn’t exist without contributions from lots of people.

I grew up wearing brown and then green with this organization. As a teen, I spent summers as both a volunteer and a paid employee working for this group. I was lucky enough to be able to move on to being an adult volunteer first and a paid employee later.

It was with this group that I learned my love of nature. The trees, the hills, the sun and the rain. I learned how to build fires and how to put them out. I hiked trails and helped build them where none existed.
.

I learned self-reliance and child care and how to manage money. Through this organization, I got to  explore cities and places where I’d never traveled before.I got to have relationships with adults that weren’t my parents and be more of an adult myself. And yes, I sold cookies.

It was on a camping trip with this group that I first decided I wanted to grow my hair long. One of the adults on the trip-another girl’s grandmother- always wore her hair in a braid that was wrapped into a bun. Very old fashioned. But one morning she took it down to comb it out and it was the longest, most beautiful silver hair I’d every seen. I’ll have hair like that some day.

So here’s to the Girl Scouts. Still my favorite charity. I know they’ve been having some tough times lately, but I hope they stick around for years to come.

Now let’s go find out what charities the other authors like.

October 2, 2017 – Talk about your favorite charity and why it’s your favorite?
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I don’t claim to be the most business-savvy author you’ll ever meet. In fact, I’m still learning. But the toughest lesson I’ve learned is that it takes money to make money.

For the most part (and there are rare exceptions) writing a good book isn’t enough to make you successful. There are lots of good books out there, and it’s tough to get noticed in the crowd. You can try all the free sites in the world and sell a few books, but that won’t support your writing habit.

Then there are other places that charge varying degrees of money to publicize your book for you. Usually the price of their advertising matches the size of their audience. The bigger the number of their followers, the more money you have you spend to get listed with them. But there’s a reason that authors buy promotions with those sites—they sell books!

I’m not going to give you a comprehensive list of sites that will publicize your books. A quick search on the internet will give you that information. Two moderately priced ones I had good luck with are E-Reader News Today and Robin Reads. Each costs around $50 to promote a book in the mystery genre.

There are also services that will send out tweets to their followers and others that will post to groups on Facebook for you. Some offer to promote your book across a wide range of social media. What you do depends on how you want to reach your target audience.

So if I had to start over, I’d make sure I had a “bank” to use for paid promotion services. I know it may seem unnecessary after sinking money into editing, formatting and a professional cover, but it’s worth it.

And that’s my 2¢ worth. Now I’m off to learn from my fellow authors!

September 25, 2017 – Tell us your biggest business lesson learned. If you were to start your writing career all over again, what would you do differently?
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I’m tickled to help out a friend with her cover reveal today.It’s her next book in the Enforcer series.

Ryleigh, take it away!

Reveal Date: 9/19/2017
Blurb:
She was too broken and I couldn’t save her.

I’ve survived multiple deployments to places that just hearing the name makes people cringe. I think nothing of attempting to save lives when they have the most impossible injuries, all while sustaining my own wounds. I’m a medic, a healer, a helper, a fixer. I must do this to conceal my dark, scarred, broken soul. I loved her beyond reason even though I knew I could never have her.

Now I’m dragging myself back to the light, the land of the living with the help of my friends.I need to find her. The one who will be my rock. My heart. But to find her, I have one more battle to fight.

This one will be the most difficult yet.

Links:
https://twitter.com/ryleigh_rhodes
https://www.facebook.com/RhodesRyleighAuthor/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35431235-j

Photographer: Kruse Images and Photography – https://www.facebook.com/KIPmodelsandboudoir/
Cover Artist: Rebel Edit and Design – https://www.facebook.com/rebeleditdesign/

Hashtags:
#AuthorRyleighRhodes #EnforcerSeries

First, let’s get one thing straight. The difference between a recession and a depression.

A recession is an economic downturn characterized by an uptick in unemployment. They normally at least 6 months. A depression is more severe and may last years. There have been 8 recessions since 1960, according to The National Bureau of Economic Research. Bet you didn’t know that! I didn’t.

So surviving a recession isn’t so hard, especially if you are lucky enough to keep your job. Here’s a few things you can do beforehand to get ready for one:

Keep your debt as low as possible. I get it, that new gadget is really hard to resist . But do you need it? Is it worth buying now and paying interest for several years? Interest is low right now, but it might not be in several years.

Stash some cash. Forget what the experts say about saving enough to cover several months of your expenses, that’s unrealistic for many of us. But save something. Every bit helps.

Remember the old saying—waste not, want not? I had a friend who used to throw away things that were old but not broke. (She’s not a friend anymore.) She didn’t want to be bothered with storing them (which I understood) or donating them (which I didn’t understand.) We as a society are too quick to discard things. I’m a strong proponent of recycling and believe that might save us some problems down the road.

But what to do if another recession hits? First off, don’t worry about maintaining your current lifestyle. That may be a losing proposition. Instead, figure out a new lifestyle that is sustainable Can you live on unemployment and food stamps? (in the US)

Grow your own food. Well, not all of it, but start with fresh vegetables and spices. Even if you live in an apartment, there are some you can grow on a windowsill. Eat out less and cook more.

Live simpler. How many pairs of shoes do you need? Same goes for everything else you buy. How many TV channels can you watch at once? In fact, turn off the TV and read a book (and save electricity at the same time.) You can borrow them from the public library for free.

Learn how to fix the things you already have. Sew on a button or change the hem yourself instead of taking that outfit somewhere else to be fixed. By the way, bartering is a way to get goods and services without spending money and it works. What are you good at that you can use as a bargaining chip?

Like to travel? Take day trips instead of week long trips. You’ll still need to buy gas but you’ll save the cost of a hotel room.Or, go primitive camping. See nature from the ground up.

How wold you adapt to a recession? Tell me in the comments. In the meantime, let’s hop over and see what the other authors have to say.

September 18, 2017 – The Great Recession. We have probably all heard of if not lived through a recession. If a recession occurred today, what would you do to sustain your lifestyle? What changes would you make?
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