I missed posting at the end of the month because 1) I forgot, and 2) I had guests! It’s still the first week of the month, so here goes…
May
May was challenging for soooooo many reasons. There was all the prep and pageantry related to the 18-year-old’s graduation, and the entire family contracted COVID—something we evaded for over two years! Folks, get your shots and boosters! We’re all recovering, although some slower than others!
Here’s what I managed to accomplish…
Work-related:
I completed only 2 editing projects for other authors in May!
I wrote eight chapters of my next book! I had hoped to finish the thing, but considering the alternative… 🙂
Health-related:
I fell off the Weight Watchers wagon. However, I am maintaining 25-27 pounds of my loss! I’ve been doing this since January, and am committed to going slow, so I do not view this as a failure!
As to physical activity, the pool finally got warm enough toward the end of the month, but COVID kept me from doing much swimming and impacted my steps.
Happiness-related:Â
I finished the #100DayProject art challenge! I didn’t hit 100 pieces completed, but I did get to 83! Here are the last two pieces I finished…
June
Here’s me putting this out in the world…
For work-related, I plan:
To complete and publish Victoria’s Six on June 21st! And this one, I can guarantee will happen!
To complete and publish Wild Thing in June—something that’s very questionable at the moment!
To begin work on my next Montana Bounty Hunter story!
To complete 4 editing projects in June!
For health-related, I plan:
To get back on the Weight Watchers wagon and hope to lose at least 5 pounds, remembering: Slow is good!
To swim at least five days out of the week!
To begin some low-impact aerobics, which will include a video workout, plus, add some outdoor activities, like pool maintenance and blowing the patio. Maybe I’ll do more housework, too. (This is an old goal, but I’ll repeat it. Maybe I’ll actually do it!)
For happiness-related, I plan:Â
To continue working on getting my art room better organized.
To produce something art-related at least once a week! More than that would be hard due to my work schedule!
Contest
Solve the puzzle then comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me about any special summer plans or tell me what you plan to read… Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
Thank you so much for letting me visit you so I can share my news with your loyal readers.
Free books!
Pretty cool, eh?
So the deets—I’m launching an indie series in the fall. I’ve written a bunch of books for the serie,s and it’s time I put them out in the world. I’ve titled the series Mission City. Pretty simple, eh? (I’m Canadian…I just had to throw that in.) Anyway, in writing those books, I developed a number of secondary characters whose stories I couldn’t wait to tell. Ace’s Placeand Marcus’s Cadence are two of them. Characters from both stories have already appeared in several books published under the pen names Gabbi Grey and Gabbi Black. Although each story I write is a standalone, I like to interweave characters into the stories. I think it brings a richness and, to those who read across my genres, an opportunity to see old friends.
Today I’m letting your readers know about the two short stories—available on all platforms for free—and offering a contest. What is your favorite trope? What type of stories do you return to again and again? I’m a big fan of second chances. I’ve written age-gap. And many of my stories have a touch of angst (although not these two). Share your thoughts for a chance to win an audiobook of either Ace’s Place or Marcus’s Cadence—coming soon and narrated by the amazing Michael Dean. If you don’t listen to audiobooks, I’ll be happy to give you any book from my back catalog—Gabbi Grey or Gabbi Black.
Thanks for hosting me, Delilah. I love sharing my good news with your lovely readers!
Ace’s Place
Derek Murphy has come to the godforsaken small town of Merritt, British Columbia in search of a new beginning. The man is tired, jaded, and resigned to never having sex again. Until Friday night at the local sports bar changes everything.
Harold Graham, hometown boy made good, has lived in Merritt his entire life. When he meets the new guy in town, he’s compelled to reach out the hand of friendship. And maybe more.
But secrets and omissions cloud what could be the beginning of something special. Can they take a chance on being vulnerable enough to fall in love?
What happens when your biggest crush turns up on your doorstep after twelve years?
Cadence Crawford has a good thing going. He’s making waves as a realtor in Mission City, British Columbia. Yes, he’s recently suffered a personal loss, but he’s moving on, and his path forward includes selling the only true home he’s ever known.
Marcus Brannigan is doing fine. He has his physiotherapy practice, he watches over his younger twin sisters, and he’s happy. When he unexpectedly runs into Cadence, who is selling the home he’s always coveted, he’s prepared to do some negotiating.
Neither knew they were seriously crushing on each other. Now they’ve admitted the truth, is happily ever after in the cards?
Marcus’s Cadence is a 7k second-chance gay romance, instalove short story with a very happy ending and a malti-poo named Kiki.
Gabbi lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black and Gabbi Powell.
Psst! Just a reminder!
There are four open contests on this blog. Be sure to enter while you still can!
While I was down for the count with COVID, I watched a bunch of movies. Some romcoms, a short British series called Slow Horses (loved it BTW!), and some Hallmark Mysteries. Those Hallmarks have long been my guilty pleasure. I love the Crossword Mysteries and the Aurora Teagarden series, in particular. Not high art, but they aren’t meant to be. Some light sexual tension between the leads, and a mystery to solve. I hate it when I figure it out too quickly!
On Sunday night, with everyone feeling better and a little housebound, we decided to have some fun outside! Nothing too strenuous, because we’re still feeling the effects of the disease.
We set up a projector attached to a laptop and shined the image at the side of a shed in our yard. It was the perfect outside theater! Of course, we scouted the location ahead of time for fire ants! We burned a large citronella candle and lit tiki torches around our perimeter to discourage mosquitoes. We brought out drinks and snacks and laid on blankets with pillows (or they did—I lazed in an Adirondack chair). We tried streaming My Girl, at first, but the buffering got annoying, so we decided to pull out a DVD and ended up watching episodes of Jimmy Neutron! It was so much fun and reminded me of my childhood when my parents would load up the station wagon with all four kids and head to the drive-in theater, sleeping bags laid out for the kids in back, and a pillowcase of popcorn.
Everyone loved it, even the 8-year-old who is scared to death of bugs. We’ll be doing it again this summer.
Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, share some fun childhood memory of your family or an idea for some unique activity families can enjoy!
If you’ve read my blog for long, you know I collect things. My daughter calls it hoarding, but she can’t be too harsh with me because all I have to do is mention the word “Pyrex” and she shuts right up. (She is obsessed! She even bought an entire display cabinet to hold her overflowing collection of vintage bowls!)
Anyways, I have a collection of tarot/divination/meditation cards, plus bags of Norse rune stones, etc. Sometimes, at night, when I’m winding down and need to get my mind to quiet, I pull out a deck and read my cards.
Well, I have this very pretty, modern box of “Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards.” Each goddess has a sentiment written on it. This morning when I looked at the long To Do list I wrote for myself last night, I thought, I need “goddess” help, so I pulled a random card…
Nice! Sekmet is very cool! She was a lion-headed goddess, daughter of Ra, and she was the goddess Pharoah wanted with him when he went to war. She breathed fire, and the hot desert winds were her breath… I could use some of Sekmet’s fire and lion’s strength today. I’ll be ferocious like her! My To Do list doesn’t stand a chance against my fiery purpose!!!
Okay. So, anyway…
Lots to do. I’m behind on so many things, and June snuck up on me! May was COVID month, but June will be DIG MYSELF OUT OF THE CRATER month!
So, a question! Answer for a chance to win a download of your choice of a book from my vast backlist. Do you own any tarot or meditation cards? Does some other object serve the same purpose for you (Bible, bones, rosary beads, etc.)?
It’s Saturday! Everyone in the house is feeling so much better that they’re getting cranky about having to stay cooped up. I can escape the drama by being right here, sitting at my desk. Or watching a movie. Lord, I’ve watched so many the past few days. And I’ve puttered around, organizing things—not that my method of organization looks “organized.” 🙂
Puzzle-Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me a story about the person in the puzzle. Have fun with the challenge! Your story doesn’t have to be long or even good!
This month on May 26th, my mother turned 92. As I thought about an African-American woman I wanted to honor in my post this month, Catherine Louise Williams Taylor Phillips came to my mind.
Lately, I’ve been asking her questions from a book/journal called My Mother’s Life: Mom I Want To Know Everything About You. I speak to her every morning and after our check-in ritual, I ask her if she’s ready for the question of the day. She says yes, answers what she can recall then shares anecdotes that have nothing to do with the question. That’s my momma.
I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the turn of the 20th-centuryth century song “M-O-T-H- E- R (M Is For The Million Things She Gave Me).” Here’s a vintage recording if you want to give a listen. It’s a schmaltzy ditty that touches my heart because of the mother I was fortunate to have. So today, I want to celebrate a few of the million things my mother gave me.
My mom was born on May 26, 1930 and was sent to live down South with her grandmother when she was a few months old. She shared with me that she didn’t even know there was a depression and regales me with stories of being the spoiled red-haired fox her uncles chided and chastised.
When Alex Haley’s Roots was televised, she wondered what the big deal was then proceeded to tell me about the Pitt family that owned her grandparents. When I let her know I’d decided to pursue a Masters degree two years after graduating from college and having worked in the big bad world of advertising, it was only then she shared that she had been hoping I would go back to school. She even declared, “Why who knows? You may want to go on and get a PhD.” That was the first time I realized my mother wished things for me, but by her restraint showed she respected that what I wanted when and if I wanted it was what was important.
In things small and large, she made it plain—not only to me but to my sister as well—that we were to be who we wanted to be. We weren’t put on this earth to live up to anyone’s expectations. She recalled a time my sister came to her with a picture she had drawn and said, “I couldn’t do it as good as Anna.” To which my mother assured her she wasn’t supposed to do it as good as Anna. She was supposed to do it as good as Muriel. When I felt unconfident or about to settle for less than what I was worth, I recalled her telling me with great vehemence, “You can scrub toilets before you kiss anybody’s ass.” She doesn’t remember saying this but I do, and I will always be grateful for the confidence those words instilled.
As a minister, I’ve helped families in which the relationship between mothers, daughters and sons was strained and far from loving. They can’t sing without reservation as I can the last line of the song I shared above but thanks to the love I have from my mom, I’ve found ways to help honor their struggles and woes.
The last line of M-O-T-H-E-R goes, “Put them all together they spell MOTHER. A word that means the world to me.” I will forever be grateful to my mother who means the world to me. For a chance at a $10 Amazon gift card, share in the comments about someone who was a mother to you or perhaps you have mothered.
Haunted Serenade – by Anna M. Taylor
All the women in Anora Madison’s family have lived haunted by the curse of Poor Butterfly: women still longing for but deserted by the men they loved. Determined to be the first to escape a life of abandonment, Anora fled Harlem for Brooklyn, not only severing her ties with her mother Angela, but also ending her relationship with Winston Emerson, her lover and the father of her child.
Six years later, Anora comes home to make peace, but an unseen evil manifests itself during the homecoming and targets not only Anora, but her little girl Cammie.
With nowhere to run, Anora must confront the evil now trying to destroy her life. She vows to protect her daughter at all costs, but if that protection can only be found with Winston back in her life, how will Anora protect her heart?
Excerpt from Haunted Serenade…
In September 15, 1963, the one year anniversary of my aunt Diana’s death, four young girls in Birmingham, Alabama died when their church was bombed for its involvement in the Civil Rights movement.
My mother called that evening and inquired after my health and the health of my daughter Cammie – the granddaughter she vowed never to acknowledge.
Fear, anger and sorrow sounded in her voice. Mine too. We mourned those girls, their families and the sister/aunt we both loved. In that spoken grief, I silently mourned what had died between my mother and me.
The following month she called again, this time inviting me to bring Cammie to dinner. Like some sulky child, I felt tempted to ask what took her so long. Instead, I swallowed my hurt and came home.
Okay, so it hasn’t been horrible. So far, anyway. We’ve had our shots, which I’m sure is why we’re doing so well.
My dd and I were feeling very superior yesterday A.M. Everyone in the house has had their symptoms to varying degrees. The 8-year-old had congestion and was tired (lazy, in my eyes—I mean, everyone else was being waited on hand and foot, so why not her?). The 13-year-old had congestion, fever, headaches, and didn’t want to get out of bed (not lazy, in my eyes—she was genuinely miserable). The 18-year-old was on the mend after extreme fatigue and a terrible cough. He actually took his yoga mat out to the driveway with some hand weights to work out yesterday afternoon. Now, he’s just staying in bed, I’m sure, because he was texting with some girl into the wee hours. His mom has a list of chores to stick him with today—it’s character-building. My SIL had a terrible cough and fatigue but is on the mend. The 17-year-old had congestion, ran a fever until yesterday, but is feeling much better today. She’s working on completing her finals online because she can’t go back to school just yet.
Today, my daughter’s not feeling so superior. She ran a fever last night and had a splitting headache until this morning. But now, she’s lost her sense of taste and smell. She says it’s weird. Coffee tasted like cardboard (how she knows what it tastes like, I don’t know!).
So, I’m the only one left feeling superior. I had a bit of a cough for a couple of days. I took naps. That was it. So, unless I get that 5-day dip where everything goes to shit, I’m doing great. I’m even puttering around doing the dishes and trading out drinks on the TV trays we have set outside everyone’s bedrooms. I’m the only one still wearing a mask because, if I’m feeling good because my viral load was tiny, then I definitely don’t want another dose!
I’m a bit bored. Too much time in front of the screen makes my eyes teary, so I do have to get up and putter. Reading a book after editing a book—not something I want to do either. I’ve re-watched old movies I love—The Proposal and This Means War. I’ve sorted and cleaned out the junk in a couple of desk drawers. I varnished all my acrylic paintings I’ve done lately. See how bored I am?
I can’t go anywhere, and everyone in the house wants to sleep.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, come up with some creative things for me to do—that don’t require crispy-clear brain cells or much effort. You can have fun and make up silly things, too.
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