Thankful for Me by Alicia Dean

Okay, so maybe this is the wrong time of year to be self-centered, but I think that, once in a while, we need to celebrate ourselves. Mind you, this is not easy for me. I'm not a tooting my own horn kind of person. And, I have many, many things in life to be grateful for that I had nothing to do with. I'm just very blessed. But, some of my blessings ARE of my own making, so why not acknowledge it? Are you with me? I want you do to the same, post in the comments some things that you're grateful for, which YOU made happen. I'll start...

I'm grateful that...

1 - I didn't give up on my dream to be a writer. That I worked hard and cultivated my craft and stuck with it, even when it wasn't easy.

2 - I am a good friend. It has helped me to form wonderful, lasting friendships that I treasure.

3 - I am a good mother, sister, daughter, and ex-wife. :) Because of that, I have three wonderful children, a close relationship with my family, and I get along with my ex, which had been a huge benefit in raising our children. 

4 - I overcame my fear of speaking in front of a crowd, and it has allowed me to give presentations to writing groups that can learn from my experience. The workshops I've given have been well-received (or people are just very polite :)), and not only am I teaching others, I am learning from them.

5 – I am thick-skinned, which enables me to be amused by critical reviews, such as the one below for Haunting at Spook Light Inn: A World of Gothic - Oklahoma. (There ARE some compliments scattered throughout, so not all bad. :)) 

3.0 out of 5 stars

Decent

By A. Savidgeon November 14, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition

I thought the love story/murder mystery aspect was kind of lightweight and not fully developed. However, the spooky part of the story was fascinating. I couldn’t stop reading, except to look it up on google maps and google. Very interesting. The ghost story was pretty good with the final reveal at least not run of the mill. I think with a little more experience, she’s going to be a good author.

I had to share, only because of that last line, ‘with a little more experience’ – Yikes! I hate to disappoint A. Savidgeon, but I’ve been writing since I was 10, so experience isn’t going to help a damn bit, LOL.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Best Cranberry Sauce Ever by Jannine Gallant

Thanksgiving is almost here, so of course we're all thinking about food. The smell of the turkey roasting in the oven. The gorgeousness of the pumpkin pie waiting on the counter. I love to cook, and I frequently make up my own recipes, so I thought I'd share my family's traditional holiday fare with you. One problem, though...I never measure anything. I make a killer scratch stuffing for that roasting turkey, but it's hard to write down, "Sprinkle (or dump) in a little of this and a little of that, taste, and add more." Not very helpful. There is one dish I have actually put into recipe form. Cranberry sauce. If you are currently eating this with your holiday meal...

...I'm here to save you from yourself. Even if you're dressing it up so it looks like this...

...it still tastes like that can. Trust me on this. For years, I tried different cranberry sauce recipes, looking for one that was perfect. They all failed my taste test, so I gave up and created my own. It's simple to make and extremely tasty. Give it a shot, so your family can have this...

...with your holiday meal, instead!

Cranberry Sauce

12 oz. bag of cranberries, washed
1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped apple
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider

Bring all ingredients to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer 30 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and mash. Cool then chill until serving.

If you're looking for an exciting read during the holidays to while away your time while the turkey is roasting, visit my WEBSITE to find out more about my books. Happy Thanksgiving! Please eat responsibly... LOL

People Are Like Leaves by Betsy Ashton

People and leaves share much in common. Some hang around your entire life, some only for a season, others for a few days before they blow away on the wind.

I love the evergreens, the pines, the cedars, the firs. While not officially leaves but needles, the greenery stays year after year, decade after decade. The evergreens are with you through good times and bad. They wipe your nose, hold your head, and kiss you no matter what. They are the ones you can call in the middle of the night because ghouls and goblins are warring in your brain. They may be family members. More likely, they are people you've met in your travels and stuck to you like burrs.

Others are seasonal, erupting in new green leaves in the spring, glowing with health in the summer, changing colors and falling in autumn. Some of these are your absolute best friend when you need one and may stay with you until your need passes. Some drift in and out through the seasons, never staying long but always being on the end of a branch if you need them.

Some rare leaves come in only for a few days. They make a huge impact while they are around, but they don't last. You need them, but you don't count on them to appear. You most certainly don't expect them to stay.

We are entering the holiday season, as if we didn't know it. We have enough Christmas ads on TV to kill any interest in shopping. But if we step back and really look at the holiday season, we can see how we fit into our leaf metaphor.

I pick brightly colored leaves in October, add maple seed pods, and gather acorns to fill vases for Thanksgiving decorating. I use evergreens at Christmas, a fir or two every year, decorated to within an inch of their needles. I hang a bay leaf wreath in the dining room, because it smells so terrific, even though it is made of those rare leaves that don't last.

I need all of these leaves. I hope I'm an evergreen person, but I know I've been seasonal and even passing at times. I have been rethinking how I want to use all leaves in my life.

What kind of leaves surround you? And what kind of leaves are you? How many are evergreen, seasonal, or fleeting?

Happy Thanksgiving to all Roses and your families. I'll catch you one more time before the end of the year for a little Ho! Ho! Ho!

I Finally Found a Use for Twitter by Alison Henderson

I've never been a fan of Twitter. I joined when I became a published author because I had to and only used it to promote other authors' books as part of a promo group. I've just never gotten it. The brief format didn't appeal to me--I could never understand how people claimed to have developed useful relationships with strangers in 140 characters--and doubling it doesn't make much difference. Too many posts in my feed are brief, cryptic messages with some unidentifiable link attached. I'm not about to open something like that from someone I don't know! And then there's the fact that some of the worst behavior in modern times seems to occur on or because of Twitter. It hasn't been a place I've really wanted to be.

However, I think I've finally found a use for it.

I'm normally a Facebook person. I like the format, the longer posts, and the ability to  converse with friends. And because I try to keep my presence upbeat and positive, I avoid  posting anything political on my page. I have strong feelings, but arguments--especially with strangers--give me hives, and these days I'm working hard to keep myself as calm as possible. At any rate, a few weeks ago, I felt an urgent need to say something political. I didn't need or want to have a conversation with anyone--I just needed to put my thoughts out in the universe. The words appeared in my brain and screamed to be set free. All writers will understand. If I didn't write them down and send them somewhere, they would continue to pester me.

The question was, where?

As I've said, I didn't want to put them on Facebook, although many would have. I considered my blog. I rarely post there and could safely assume no one would read anything I wrote there if I didn't draw attention to it. Then I remembered Twitter. It would be perfect. I may have 1,500 followers, but they don't actually follow me because there's nothing to follow. Most have no idea who I am and would skim past anything I posted. If they did happen to read the tweet and liked or retweeted it, great! I would never know. If they hated my statement and made ugly comments, the same would apply. I could get the idea out of my head and move on. What did I have to lose?

My tweet turned out to have fewer than 140 characters so off it went. Guess what happened. As predicted, almost nothing. One like and two retweets. Except now the thought is no longer munching around in my brain. Now I know what to do with those unimportant little bits of brilliance that pop into my head from time to time. I can post them on Twitter and send them off into the ether like a note inside a balloon. If they reach someone, fine, but that's not important. I'm free of them, and that's what matters.

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com 

Ten Things I'm Thankful For by Christine DePetrillo

In no particular order...

1. A reclining couch. I just think better leaning back at a 120-degree angle. I do all my writing on my reclining couch and the words come a lot faster than when at a 90-degree angle. And 180 degrees would just make me sleepy.
2. Saturdays. My favorite day of the week. Anything is possible on a Saturday. It’s got its own brand of magic.
3. The woods. The happiest of places for me. I love the music nature makes. Trees offer a serenity I can’t find anywhere else.
4. The Werewolf. He reminds me to play… and growl at neighbors.
5. The Husband. I wouldn’t know how to vinyl side a house if he and I never met. There’s actually many things I wouldn’t know without him.
6. Family and friends. It’s always good knowing there are people in my corner, cheering me on or ready to laugh with me.
7. My readers. I love those loyal fans who are the first to buy my books and are willing to tell (or in some cases bully) people to read my stories. I write for you, peeps.
8. Book Boyfriends. Where else can you collect men and have it be acceptable to society? Only in the pages of those happily-ever-afters. I can’t get enough of them.
9. Opportunities. They are all around us if we keep our eyes and hearts open. I’ve been doing that more lately and am amazed at how doors open when you pay attention. 
10. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Because I had to have one sweet treat on this list. Peanut butter cups are my go-to candy. Just don’t leave me alone with a bag of them. I don’t really understand the concept of “serving size” when left unattended with these.

What are you thankful for this year?

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

Elbow deep in NaNo

As I think I mentioned earlier, I'm using NaNoWriMo as my chance to get caught up on publishing business stuff. I don't really need motivation to sit down and write -- I write a 65,000 word novel in 3 months, usually, and bigger ones in 6 months (my 110,000 word ones). Nope, writing is covered.

Business, though -- that's another story. I'm using this month to look at what I have self-published and seeing how to market it in a different way. I'll be asking for rights back to a few books to self-publish those, so I want to learn the whole formatting business for that. I'm also working on setting up a literary estate (an LLC) to handle writing-related business things.

NaNo came around at just the right time -- I finished one manuscript and will be doing reviews in December prior to starting another book in January. So the timing is perfect. And I'm enthused after attending a conference for indy-published authors, where I picked up some intriguing ideas.

I'll report back in at the end of the month on how things went. I don't participate in the holiday story, so that'll be my last post for the year. I'm sure by then I'll be itching to get back to writing. So wish me luck -- I need to plow through a bunch of Stuff before I get to do what I love!

J L
(jayellwilson.com)

A Veterans Day Tribute by Margo Hoornstra

It's Veterans Day. Please join me in paying tribute to those among us with the courage to lay their lives on the line if need be to protect the freedoms all of us cherish and enjoy.

Though my colleagues have posted similar columns on these pages of late, in my opinion, you can never, ever thank them too much.

As my grandson, soon to be 18, wrote a few years ago...

Every year on November 11th the United States honors those who have served in our armed forces. The holiday originally marked the anniversary of the Armistice between the Allies and Germany. The signing effectively ended all fighting in World War I. However, in 1954 Congress approved a name change from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. This was done as a tribute to honor and thank all veterans of all wars. On Veterans Day it is encouraged to fly flags at full staff in observance of the holiday. In addition, if you see a veteran be sure to thank them for their service.

At this time, we would like to have a moment of silence to honor all the service men and women who have died.

Thanks, Brett. I couldn't have said it better myself.

My days to blog here are the 11th and 23rd.

If you're so inclined, please visit my WEBSITE