UPDATE: The winner is…Tracy Roelle!
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I bought this little brainstorming tool years ago at some writers’ conference. “Story Cubes” is a brainstorming game. You roll the dice and whatever pictures appear, face-up, are the ones you use to riff off a story.

To make this fun, I’ll offer a prize—a $5 Amazon gift card—good for purchasing one or two stories…

Have fun with this! Don’t overthink! Here’s the roll…

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary Preston!
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Silver Solders: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology will release late tonight after midnight, so I thought it might be fun to play a game. I do love puzzles! And this one was so much fun coming up with one word to describe a particular story. Okay, three stories shared the same clue, but that’s okay. I didn’t want you searching forever. No, I want you to be intrigued and decide that Silver Soldiers is a book you can’t ignore.

So, solve the puzzle. Then let me know if any of the word clues I used in the puzzle made you wonder what the story could possibly be about. Comment below for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Ani Stubbs Jacob!
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My SIL had a nice long vacation from work with the PD, but today’s his first day back to work. Did he and my daughter go anywhere? Only to the local hardware and feed store. They spent his vacation doing “projects”—all those things around a small farm that have to be taken care of, and some household things as well. He was certainly busy. He built the nesting boxes for the chickens, cleaned out garden beds, and built a shelf into the wall of one of the bathrooms. It’s a very clever design btw. A leak occurred in the space behind the shower wall, which he’d previously had to fix by removing drywall. He built the shelf so it can slide out if that ever occurs again. And it’s pretty! He accomplished so many tasks it’s impossible to list them all. He and my dd were busy, busy. And surprisingly, they both enjoyed the work and the time together very much.

They’ve adapted well to rural life with our menagerie of animals that grew again when we worried that the single duck my step-grandson showed up with would be lonely when its big enough to put into the small pond. So, back to the feed store and six baby ducks later…

I’m trying to count how many animals we have: 1 ancient (35-years-old) horse, 3 goats, 8 dogs, 4 cats, 1 rabbit, 21 chickens, 7 ducks, 3 guinea hens. They’re steering clear of pigs and cows because they know they’d just get attached, and the animals would have a forever home.

Kelly wouldn’t grow a vegetable garden because she’s so busy with the animals, but she bought herbs to grow for the chickens. Yup.

Anyways, today’s puzzle picture is a shot she took of Kimi the goat. I swear it looks like a glamour shot. Solve the puzzle, then tell me what your “special projects” list might look like if you got ambitious for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

The winner is…Diane Sallans!
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With less than a month left of school for the kids, we’re already planning how to spend our summer.

It gets hot in Arkansas. I mean, fry-an-egg-on-the-driveway hot. So, finding things we can do comfortably in the heat is a challenge. When the full heat arrives, we swim in the morning and sometimes at night with the tiki torches burning. We set up an outdoor projector to shine against the pale siding of the chicken coop, bring out the lounge chairs, and watch movies under the stars. The bats come out at night to keep the mosquitoes at bay. No kidding. They’re fun to watch, too.

Things like playing soccer or hiking have to be done early in the day. Things we can do indoors, like flea marketing, are musts.

I’ve made a list of things we’re planning. Perhaps you can add some ideas of your own! Let me know if any of mine appeal!

Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle (it’s fun and good for the old brain!), and comment below!

UPDATE: The winner is…Sara D!
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I have a ridiculous number of contests still open between this website and the Collections website. Some are ending soon, so be sure to enter those while you still can. The links are below the puzzle. Pace yourself. LOL

But it is Saturday, so you know what that means…

The Saturday Puzzle-Contest

Solve the puzzle then tell me what spell she’s weaving for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Open Contests

1. A Quick Note & a Word Search: Male Stars I’ll drop everything to watch! (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Getting to Know Rhonda Lee Carver (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book AND a gift card!
3. Saturday Puzzle Contest — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Getting to Know A.J. Harris (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
5. Sometimes, Messy is Best (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
6. Getting to Know Natasha Moore (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. The Perfect Day (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
8. Getting to Know Sukie Chapin (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
9. Gabbi Grey: Why I chose to write my first Sapphic romance (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
10. Getting to Know Reina Torres (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
11. Getting to Know N.J. Walters (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
12. Getting to Know Ava Cuvay (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
13. Getting to Know Ava Cuvay-2 (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
14. Getting to Know Aurora Russell (Contest) — Win a gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Deb Brown!
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Whew! I had two editing jobs I finished this week. Both were squeakers! Meaning, I got them done just in time! I’m rejiggering my work schedule now so I can fit in some ME time for a couple of days. The dd wants to hit the flea market today, and our entourage of flea markateers (ages 9, 14, and 18) is eager to roam the stalls. It’ll be a fun time, and I’ll get a chance to stretch some muscles other than those in my fingers.

I’ll have fun today then it’s back to business on Sunday. I have a short story to write, and I want to get some major pages done on the book coming your way in May! So, no time to drag my feet, although I really feel like I need a vacation. Oh! And there’s the theme for today’s puzzle. A vacation. Anywhere you want to go. If you had the money and the time, where would that be?

Saturday Puzzle Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me where you’re going!

UPDATE: The winner is…Miki!
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A Quick Note!

Over on my Collections website, we’ll be posting “Getting to Know You” blogs about the authors who wrote stories for the Silver Soldiers anthology. We’ll post every few days, and there will be contests! The first post went up today! Be sure to check out “Getting to Know Rhonda Lee Carver.”

Contest

Solve the puzzle. These are my personal choices for movie stars I’ll drop everything to sit down and watch. It’s a subjective list. My list. Josh Duhamel isn’t anywhere near Gary Oldman so far as skill, but he’s lovely, isn’t he? So, solve the puzzle then tell me who you’d add to the list for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!