Pakistan and Three Cups of Tea

© Janelle Meraz Hooper 2009 The unknown gardener

What's up:
On my bed table: If you want a true insight into what is going on in Pakistan right now, read Three Cups of Tea (toward the end) by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Some of you must wonder if I worked on this book somehow, because I mention it so much. I did not. I just really think it is a dynamite book. I’m almost finished, so you’ll hear about different books soon…unless I decide to read it again.

On my TV: Silly stuff. MTV is running some shows of famous cribs…that may even be the name of the show, I didn’t notice. It was fun to see how the richer segment lives, but I think one show was enough. I get the idea. They’re rich. I’m not. But, hey, as long as I have my computer, I’m happy.

Bernie: How’s Ole Bernie doing over in the big house, has anyone heard? What’s for lunch, Bernie?

Quote du jour:
“Be the type of woman who everyday, when you get up, the devil says, ‘Oh, crap. She’s up!’” In an email from my daughter.

***

eBook sale: Bears in the Hibiscus, a humorous romance, $3.00 (short time only)

On my website: http://www.janellemerazhooper.com/ Free chapter samples on site.

Too many tubs!

© Dick Hooper, 2009

Today’s news- What’s with those ED ads Jim Moran (D-Virginia) is complaining about? I’m old, so I know stuff: folks, it doesn't matter how many pills you take, there’s not going to be any magic happening unless you get rid of at least one of those tubs…

The economy- What’s for lunch over in the big house, Bernie?

On my bed table- Along with my other books, I’ve been re-reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It’s much better, and longer, than I remember. The other stuff includes Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I’m loving this glimpse of another culture.

On my TV- The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC). She has the most interesting and timely guests.

In the neighborhood- Right down the street, just feet from a busy intersection, there’s a new eagle’s nest. I’m wondering if they’re there for the road kill?

Quote du jour:
"Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of the night." P.J. ORourke, AARP May/June/2002

Recession fighter:
eBook sale! $3.00 (short time only)
Bears in the Hibiscus
(also available on Kindle at regular price)
www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

Biden is right!

V.P. Biden- Biden is right! Planes are dirty, and those hepa filters they have might really work--if they cleaned them once in a while. I'm flying low today, or I'd have a lot more to say on this subject. I know we have a problem in the economy, but the airlines don't get a free pass for dirty planes just so they can make a buck. People's health comes first.

http://www.janellemerazhooper.com/

Confusion among the masses (all 2 of them)

Title Trouble- On some book sites, the title of one of my latest novels may read: Custer and His N**ked Ladies. I guess it's triggering some kind of porn filter. Oy! People! Naked Ladies are a flower in Oklahoma--and a metaphor in the book. I can't tell you more because it will spoil the surprise. While I'm at it, Custer isn't that Custer--he died in a miscount years ago...

Fox News- I've heard that Fox News keeps referring to Caesar Chavaz as a dictator. Not so! He was elected. It's all in the details, Fox. Get some.

Bernie- What's Ole Bernie having for lunch over in the big house? Has anybody heard?

Quote du jour:
"Anything worth having is worth cheating for." W. C. Fields, My Little Chickadee (unless, of course, your name is Bernie Madoff)

No apple pie today

graphics courtesy of Microsoft

Food bank- Today, I was going to post a photo of two apple pies my husband made. Works of art they were, with steam still coming out of the vents on the crusts. I thought better of it. I'm re-posting the above photo instead.

I know times are tough. They're even tougher for others that we seldom see. Out of sight, out of mind. Those of you who read my blog have read this before, but we still have the problem, so you're going to read it again.

Please, support your local food bank.

Support global efforts to feed the hungry.

We're getting so much wrong, you'd think we could get this one simple thing right. Momma don't want no more hungry children in the world, hear? Now's a great time to write a check. Much better than tomorrow or the next day. 25,000 people a day die from hungar. People! This is a problem we can fix! Let's get on it!

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

What's up?

© 2009 JanelleMerazHooper, Saturday night

In my kitchen- I’ve got a few Easter eggs left. Some cheesecake, ham, and potato salad. I won’t really get back to work until at least the cheesecake is gone.

On my bed table- I have a stack of books and a new Kindle 2. I don’t know which to read first. In the last two weeks, I’ve read The World Wide Rave by David Meerman Scott (Marketing), Graphics on the Kindle, 2nd edition by Manuel Burgos, Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style, and Isaac Mizrahi’s How to Have Style. You may know, I’m heavily into self-help and self-improvement books. The marketing book is a real winner. The graphic book resulted in my dynamite cover on my new Kindle book, Bears in the Hibiscus. So far, I haven’t dazzled anyone with my new style. I don’t care what anyone says, I’m keeping my wardrobe of tee-shirts from book festivals.

Politics- The fizzle in the drizzle. One reporter’s description of The Tea Bag Rebellion in D. C. courtesy of The Rachel Maddow show, MSNBC

No one mentions the pollution all of those teabags are creating in the water. Where’s the EPA?

Bernie-What’s for lunch over there in the big house, Bernie?

Quote du jour:
Make tax day and election day on the same day. Anonymous. Seen on a billboard

New! Baseball short story posted on:

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

Three Cups of Tea

©2009 Joyce Stevens

What’s up?

In my pictures file-a photo (see above) sent to me by my lifelong friend, Joyce, on her Hawaiian vacation. I have a good picture of her eating a snow cone, but I’m afraid she’ll hurt me if I post it! (Aw, Joyce, everyone wears a bikini in Hawaii!)

On my bed table- Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
I ordered this book so that I could participate in Pierce County Reads, the program where everyone in a certain area reads the same book. I wasn’t real enthusiastic because I had a new book to read already on my bed table, one that I was really excited about: The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). However, I am delighted with the book by Mortenson and Relin. I can barely tear myself away from it to do my work. Get it, you won’t be sorry!

In my garden- Twice in about twenty years, my red camellia in the backyard has bloomed. This is one of those years. I wish I knew what the magic trick is. It is truly gorgeous.

On my TV- Baseball! Go Mariners! And more Boston Legal. Can’t get enough of that Shatner guy.

Politics- Oh! did anyone hear what Ole Bernie had for lunch over in the big house today?

Quote du jour:
“Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything—even die.”--Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan (Three Cups of Tea)

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

My new novel on Kindle:

Bears in the Hibiscus

Order from Amazon Kindle

Bears in the Hibiscus

Kindle cover, Rare Arts

My new romance- Bears in the Hibiscus, is now on Kindle! Thank you, everyone who helped with this project!

Politics-How about our President Obama and First Lady Michelle? Woo-hoo! The magic is back!

Ole Bernie-How's he doing today? What are they serving for lunch over there in the big house? I hear they keep confiscating millions and millions that he thought he'd hidden. How does that song go? You can't run from the long arm of the law?

Bush et all-I hear some of our past elected officials better not travel abroad--they may be arrested for war crimes. Will someone send those guys a travel catalog?

Amazon-I'm waiting for delivery of a whole stack of books. My UPS man and Bezos make such a nice couple.

Quote du jour:

"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Die Another Day, movie

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

New, improved cover!

Cover art: Kindle@RareArts.com

Book design: Walt@FiveRainbows.com

Kindle Project-For those of you producing a book to put on Amazon's Kindle, take note of the two resources below my new cover. Believe me, it will make your life so much easier. There is also a helpful book on Kindle Graphics: Graphics On The Kindle by Manuel Burgos (Rare Arts). If you're an author and don't know about the 16 shades of gray, get this book!

After days of trying to get this project done on my own, I turned to these two sources. They improved the design and readibility of my book immensely. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Bernie Madoff-I didn't get my wish. They didn't send Ole Bernie to a regular prison. But at least, they sent him to prison.

AIG-I feel so much better about them after their name change to AIU, don't you? It should have been changed to AOU (America Owns Us). Those greedy stinkers.

Republicans-When will they catch up with the rest of the nation? They are so out of touch they need a ladder to pick flowers.

Obama-I love the example he's setting for the rest of the nation's fathers. Taking time off to be with his family for his girls' spring break is fabulous! I am very impressed.

On my TV- I have just discovered Boston Legal (I'm always about three years behind the trend when it comes to TV shows because they have to compete with the History Channel and baseball). I love it! William Shatner is such a delight. His sidekick, James Spader, is also wonderful, but the whole cast shines. What fun to see Candice Burgen more often!

On my bed table- I've been researching old westerns. They are so bad, I won't list them here. But the American West is a new passion of mine. Along with Lawrence of Arabia. I have a lot of new books on order from that www place that is named after a jungle. So I'll be reading some more of the newer bestsellers. I have to order paperbacks instead of Kindle books because of a complicated gift card purchase I made from a relative.

Quote du jour:

"Never pass up a good beach!" Janelle Meraz Hooper (Inspired from my new romance.)

Read sample pages from my new book:

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

Bears in the Hibiscus

Hi! I finally did get the PayPal connected for my new novel on www.JanelleMerazHooper.com . I don't think there's a way to do it here on Google. Wait, there has to be. Maybe it's time for bed. It's been a 13-hour day.

Quote du jour:

"I'm either going to be a writer or a bum." Carl Sandburg

That big, yellow square box in the road...

Yesterday, it snowed again here (and for the three days before). We live on a hill, and a school bus stalled right in front of my house. The woman got out, and dutifully put a small, orange triangular warning road hazard sign behind the bus. How funny! It's required, I know, but if someone can't see a big yellow school bus stuck in white snow...I'm just sayin'...

Bears in the Hibiscus is ready. Maybe I'll get the Paypal hooked up today on www.JanelleMerazHooper.com It'll be on Kindle soon, too. Maybe even Sony. And in a paper cup with string near you...

Rainbow Bookfest is gone for another year

The Rainbow Bookfest in Seattle, celebrating writers of color, came and went on Saturday. I love these events. I always meet such wonderful people and learn so much. This time, I took time away from my book-selling table to visit with other authors, take a class on zines (what a wonderful, creative art form!), and listened to a lecture on Woman at War (in Columbia and other South American locations).
I even bought a book that was so beautiful I couldn't resist it, even though it is in Spanish. It's loaded with wonderful color art plates and even has a CD tucked into the back. I have no idea what the cd says, but the whole book it is so beautifully produced: Cantares de un Alma Gitana, by Maria Nelida Mendoza. If you get a chance, give it a look. There was no website listed on the book, but they must have one.

I did release my new romance, Bears in the Hibiscus in an advance copy format. The final is yet to come. I tweaked too long. I always do.

Obama's speech last week- I'm still waiting for that Harvard Online Catalog so I can get that extra year of education that our President wants me to have. In the meantime, as a back-up, I've found some interesting alternatives in the local adult education class schedule: Aerospace Composite Mechanic looks promising, as does: Accounting spreadsheets (I can add 2 plus 2 and get 22 everytime, as my daughter says), American sign language (with my crooked, arthritic fingers, this should be really interesting), Welding and metal skills---well, you get the idea. Seriously, I really did find one I liked: How to make it in voice-overs. I had a radio show years ago, but everything has changed since then. I could really use this.

Have to go. I'm way behind. No time to edit. Send corrections to: http://www.janellemerazhooper.com/

Quote du jour:
"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says, "Oh crap, she's up!" courtesy of my daughter, Chanel Studebaker

Oh! BAM a!

Obama's State of the Union Message:
What a speech! I am a little worried about that part about every American getting one more year of education. Does he mean me too? I just turned 65. Well, okay. If he's askin', I'm taskin'. I'm sending for that class schedule from Harvard. I hear they're online now...

Quote du jour:
"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." Milton Berle

Rainbow Bookfest, February 28th, 2009

Come see me! I'll be on the memoir panel

February 28th, 2009

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center

104-17th Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98144

I'm going to release my new romance*, an eBook, at the Rainbow Bookfest on Saturday. Come pick up a copy at the special price of $6.00 (after Rainbow, I'll be charging $2.00 extra for S&H). This is one of my green projects for the year. I have one more planned, a compilation of good work done by Northwest writers. I plan to post this on our website: http://www.northwestauthors.com/ . Yes, we can, America!

Bears in the Hibiscus

Janelle Meraz Hooper

-1-
Harvest Joy

When Mary’s husband, Brian, decided to end their marriage, it didn’t take him long to pack. That was because he had already been leaving, piece by piece, for years. Most of his clothes were already on the yacht that belonged to his father’s timber company. He had never been the outdoorsy type, so they had no closets filled with tents and blue-speckled coffeepots to sort through like some divorcing Northwest couples did. When the end finally came, she didn’t cry a tear; all she felt was relief. As he rushed from room to room, opening closets and cupboards to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, Mary searched for parting words to mark the occasion. She found none. The best she could think of was a few hand gestures that she managed, with great effort, to keep to herself.
It was a hard adjustment for Mary and her daughter, Kate. Now, nearly two years later, they were comfortable on their own. It was a Sunday morning, and Mary was on her deck. The sun didn't have any real warmth to it yet, but the air was fresh and lightly scented with spring.
She savored her days off, even though she considered herself incredibly lucky to get a job in a literary field at her age. She still didn't know what made the publisher hire her. She’d never used her degree in journalism, and the world was full of writers. Almost all of them were younger and more qualified. It had to be that she and the publisher were both single mothers trying to survive in a new world that had, without notice, changed the rules about men going to work and women staying home to raise their kids, prune the camellias, and make the meatloaf.
At least, the timing was good. Her daughter, Kate, was in high school now, and Mary had baked her share of cookies for the PTA, served on the county’s charity boards, and worked on the state’s political campaigns. She was bored, and ready for some new challenges. Ready but unprepared. Although logic should have told her that her marriage would end someday, she hadn’t made any preparations for joining the workforce. Divorce found her with an empty closet, her nails a wreck from the camellias, and hair that hadn’t seen a good cut since she’d found a coupon in the library parking lot one rainy day.
Oh. And she was an emotional wreck that, for some reason, she was unable to overcome or hide. Other newly divorced women managed to put on a perky face, bravely go to the next singles’ party, and flirt until they dropped. Why couldn’t she? Twice, for days, she’d planned outfits to wear to singles’ events. When she got there, she looked around at the men oozing with so much confidence they hadn’t even bothered to change out of their faded polo shirts and wrinkled khaki pants. Each time, she’d made a quick break for the parking lot. She was not that needy. She would never be that needy. She’d become a nun first.
It had been a shock to be single again, and realize just how little her stock was worth in the dating market, now that she was no longer in her twenties. Once reality had set in, she was no longer surprised or hurt when her phone didn’t ring on Saturday night. She had become like the big moon snails on the beach at Hood Canal. Still soft on the inside, but tough as a geode on the outside. With a clear idea of what was likely, and what was not, she was finally moving on with her life.
Stretched out in the old plastic lounge chair on her deck, Mary forced herself to start a whole new train of thought. She closed her eyes to daydream about the imaginary man du jour. She had a lot of them. Some were serious. Some were funny. Some were short. Some were tall. But they all had one thing in common: they all adored her.
Today’s man was one of the best so far. They were on a yacht on Puget Sound on a starry night. She snuggled into her hair and imagined him, thin, late fortyish, and bright. Mary squirmed in her chair and smelled his cologne. His closeness was electric as he sat beside her on some cushions on the deck and handed her a glass of wine. Together they gazed at the stars. She smiled. In her mind, it was easy to create a perfect world with no nastiness, no late child-support checks, no ex-husband, and no intimidating in-laws.
This gorgeous, literate man was nuzzling her neck and the side of her face. Mary could feel the gentle bobbing of the boat beneath them. “I want to make love to you,” he whispered. Feeling no resistance, he pulled the cushions off the bench seats and made a comfortable spot for the two of them on the floor of the yacht and cradled Mary in his arms. He kissed her long and slow on the mouth and ran his fingers through her hair. His hand moved down her neck and easily found her breasts. He slipped his hand underneath her bottom as he pulled one of his legs over hers. His soft laughter surprised her, and she felt the warmth of it on her neck. Before she could ask him what he found that was amusing, he rolled over and looked at the starry sky, took a deep breath of night sea air and said, “You know, I got a bigger boat than I needed for one person just so I’d have comfortable sleeping quarters on board.”
“Is that funny?” Mary asked.
“No," he said, “what's funny is we're sprawled out on the deck like teenagers...let's go below...”
“I kind of like it here.”
“Me too, but there's not as much privacy on the deck as you might think. We're close to the traffic channel and the bigger yachts passing us have a clear view of us snuggled up on our cushions. Besides, I bought matching sheets and everything.” He pulled himself up off of the deck and headed toward the cabin.

“I'll turn down the bed and you join me when you're ready. Then he winked at her and added, “If you dare...I plan to have my way with you!”
The mood was broken when the dog next door started howling at a siren on a fire truck blocks away. Mary pulled herself up in her chair and pulled her sun hat down over her forehead. Oh, what was the use? So she was lonely. What else was new? At times like this, she forced herself to remember that she had been alone for years before her divorce. Days and weeks went by when she barely saw her husband. Even when he was home, it was only physically. His mind was off someplace else. At family events, Brian’s absences raised his parents’ eyebrows. Mary made excuses for him, but she, too, wondered what he was up to. Was he really working? She suspected not, but there was no way to prove it, short of hiring a private detective. Snooping on people wasn’t her style, so loneliness and suspicion seeped into her life, like the mold that worked its way into cracks in her bathroom tile. She much preferred the loneliness she was experiencing now that she was divorced. It was a more honest kind of alone, and it didn’t hurt nearly as much as when she was married and her empty bed refused to answer her question, “Where is he tonight? Who is he with?”
She reached for her coffee cup. It was empty. Great. No sex. No coffee. What's next, world chaos? No wait, we already have that, she reminded herself.

The synopsis for Bears in the Hibiscus is on the previous post.

Quote du jour:

"Be good and you will be lonesome." Mark Twain

(epigraph, Bears in the Hibiscus)

http://www.janellemerazhooper.com/

Psst! Republicans! Knock it off. we're watching you!

Republicans and Wall Street still don't get it!

Coming in February 2009!

Bears in the Hibiscus, an eBook
Janelle Meraz Hooper

Mary Bergstrom, a single mom, has left her twenty-five year marriage and entered the work force for the first time.
Luckily, she has found a job she loves and two good friends who are also starting their lives over. Despite challenges, they haven’t lost their positive, humorous outlook. Mary has a plan to make a success of her new life that includes fiscal stability and excludes men. Not that she has anything against them, she just thinks she can’t afford them. Unlike Mary, her friend, Roxanne, is launching a detailed plan to find Captain marvelous with a yacht. Ray, another friend, bounces from coffee baristas to business moguls looking for love that’s lasting and real.
Mary’s plans aren’t that grand. All she wants is a Hawaiian vacation so she can relax. Too late, she discovers her ex-brother-in-law, Mark, a park ranger from Montana, will be there at the same time for a conference on state parks. He leaves a note for her at the hotel desk warning her to watch out for bears. He hasn’t seen any, but he thinks there might be Bears in the Hibiscus.
Mark’s interest in her brings complications she isn’t ready for: romance; wealthy, demanding in-laws that she didn’t like the first time she’d married into the family; a jealous and vindictive ex-husband; and a greedy and crazed ex-sister-in-law who dumps her two daughters to follow a con man into a scheme to get-rich-quick raising emus. Then, when that fails, she takes off with a rich Arab in a silk keffiyah.
Mary can’t deny she may have found true love in Mark, but is it worth it if it means being a part of that family again?

More info soon

Now you know where I've been! Politics or no, a girl has to work! Not that I haven't noticed how badly the Republicans and Wall Street moguls have been behaving. They just don't get it. I'm hoping Obama jerks a knot in their tail (he says he's got to be conciliatory, but I don't!).

Message to the Republicans: Knock it off!

Message to Wall Street: We want our money back!

Quote du jour:

"Never write a letter. Never throw a letter away." Mayor Richard J. Daley, Chicago (courtesy Keith Olbermann, Countdown)

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

At last! An Idaho Baker!

Poster courtesy of Joyce Stevens

Thanks, Joyce!

Over two years ago, upon seeing the candidates for president in 2008, I complained that they were all Tater Tots, and what this country needed was an Idaho Baker.
We got him. No more hash browns!
God bless America. God bless our new president, Barack Obama.

Songs du jour:

"Joy to the world. All the boys and girls now. Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea. Joy to you and me." Three Dog Night

"Birds flyin' high. You know how I feel...it's a new dawn...it's a new day...feelin' good." Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse

S. J. Robinson, Guest Author, Health Care Reform

S. J. Robinson and her novel, The Price of Death

A few weeks ago, in my rant about Americans having a lot of work to do to get this country back on the right track, I mentioned several target areas. Among them, the war, infrastructure, education, and health care. Here to speak on health care reform is fellow author S. J. Robinson, who is uniquely qualified to speak to our health care issues.

LET’S PUT ADULTS IN CHARGE
S. J. Robinson

S.J. Robinson is a former nurse, lawyer and authors. Her debut novel, The Price of Death, is a medical malpractice fiction illustrating the startling events that go on behind the scenes in our health care system. You think you know what is wrong with our health care system? You need to read this book. See more of S. J. Robinson’s information about our health care system and, more importantly, how to fix it, at . www.sjrobinson.com/


We have been relying on the free enterprise system to provide us with many of our needs for a long time—food, clothing, medical care, housing. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Why doesn’t it always work? Because no one is in charge!

A totally unregulated free enterprise system is like a room full of kindergartners without a teacher. The kids are likely to come up with some very creative ideas. The problem is that they don’t plan ahead.

We need some adults in charge, people with experience to set the guidelines for the kindergartners. That is what the government is supposed to be doing. Unfortunately, it failed with the banking sector and it is failing in our medical system.

In both these areas the government failed because the only goal it set was to make a profit. That’s right, by historical accident corporations are legally required to think of profits ahead of your welfare. The best way to do that is to convince the public to accept the least amount of service at the highest price. That is what caused banks to make loans that they knew were unlikely to be repaid, and why big pharma and insurance companies haven’t come up with an efficient, practical way to deliver health care to the millions of upcoming baby-boomers. We know what happened in banking, but did you know that the US spends twice as much on health care as any other country and we rank 37th in the world in health care delivery, just after Costa Rica?

Medicine has known for years that the human body has about a 50-year warranty and after that things start going wrong. We have also known that there are a number of baby-boomers who are approaching or have passed age 50, yet we continue to rely on the free-enterprise system to solve the problem of delivering health care to this burgeoning population. There are lots of good points about the free-enterprise system, but planning for this catastrophe under the old rules is not one of them.

We need adults in charge to reset the rules so that the kindergartners can come up with their great ideas in an environment that doesn’t kill us or them. Let’s reset the goals for private enterprise. The new rules should require the best, sustainable service possible for their customers, not making profits for their shareholders.

Thank you, Sue, for all of your efforts on our behalf. I'm one of the lucky ones who can cover my health care costs (but not much else!). It breaks my heart when I see people go without good health care. Visit her website and get involved. We can do better, America.

Mt. Rainier in a flood mode

Mt. Rainier, January, 2009

Maybe you heard. After our snow, came floods. I know this is a lousy photo, but it was lousy weather. This is what millions of gallons of snow looks like when it's melting into the local rivers and towns. The good news was, our levies held--there was some doubt if they would when the river rose 36 feet above flood level. All in all, great weather for writing. I got all the way through another edit of Bears in the Hibiscus.

It's two in the morning, and I've never dazzled anyone at this hour (Well, maybe when I was much younger...). Before I go back to bed, who's watching Bush tomorrow?

PS- If anyone needs a creative way to save a 100-year-old Chickering from flood waters, let me know...

First Annual Stir-crazy Writers' Contest winner!

© Charlie Brough, December, 2008

Announcing the winner in the First Annual Stir-crazy Writers' Contest!

Charlie has a new book out:

Mama, I'm Coming Home
Charlie E. Brough

The first book Thank God for Pigs 1926-1945, introduced the author's family. A host of other people, both real and fictitious. There is the great depression, World War II, and for Duncan McGrew, a new beginning. For Cathie, his wife, a new life, but not without troubles similar to Job in the bible, all while rearing four children on an unproductive dirt farm. Book two of three, Mama, I'm Coming Home Bremerton, WA, 1945 - 1953 takes the reader on a historical, humorous and sometimes sad journey for a country bumpkin family attempting to adjust to life in the city after 19 years on the near waterless dirt farm. Tom McGrew survives Rheumatic Fever, but can he live in the same house with his father? Arnie joins the National Guard at age 16. Leane and Nora suffer over mothering from being molested by her father as a child. Arnie meets Lisa, his true love at the high school sweetheart swirl, then loses her. Trouble brews for her and Arnie. Then already in trouble, Arnie tells his father that he's joined the army during the middle of the Korean War. Duncan says things he regrets. Will he ever get the chance to tell his son how he really feels? iUniverse, $33.95 USD

I don't have my copy yet. I could have used a new read during this snow.

I'm not including other entries, as I'm not sure of their original source, and I don't want a bunch of copyright lawyers on my doorstep. But they were very funny.

I'm hosting the local flu bug this week, so will close.

Before I got sick, I did post two new stories on my book website:

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

Old Joe and His Yellow Cadillac is very different from my normal work--it's very sad. Tango Moma is really just a filler about my mother.

STILL snowed in...

2008 winter storm- I was here, but I had to get up to take the picture...

I'm getting a lot of silly stuff from my very non-techie writer friends today who live in the area. I decided to join in. Oy! Will the snow never quit?!

Have you heard the rumor about the $30 billion buy-out plan for writers? As soon as I get my hands on the paperwork, I'll pass it on.

Quote du jour:

"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Die Another Day