Climbing and Frank Peretti - two things to be excited about!

My reader numbers have been climbing.  Not just a little.  They've climbed a lot!  And, I have no idea why.  I only know .... woohooo!!!!  I'm THRILLED about it!

I also noticed an increase on the Hub as well, and I'm just as puzzled about it happening there too.

At best guess, it's a God thing.  That really is the best guess I have.  I don't have any other ideas to account for it.

To my knowledge, I haven't suddenly morphed into a super-writer-extraordinaire.  I'm still simply laying it out the way I feel "how" to, and hoping for the best.  But, whatever it is, something has changed, and in a good way.

Frank Peretti, Novelist

I finished and published a review earlier this evening, on my very favorite Christian fact and fiction author, Mr. Frank Peretti.  Peretti writes from one zone to the other, in reference to the age of his readers, and he always writes fearlessly and out of the box. 

I've read nearly every bit of work Mr. Peretti has ever had published, and I've never been disappointed with any of it.  Not once.  Each book is written by a master word smith, who's been affectionatly nicknamed, "the sanctified Stephen King."

I'm a Stephen King fan too, but my admiration for Peretti's work rates right up there with my love for the U.S. Marines.  (It just doesn't get much higher than that.)  His work doesn't take a back seat to anyone's, other than perhaps the biblical scribes, lol.

Every generation has those extraordinary contributors.  Peretti is one of ours.

If you can manage a bit of time to stop by the Hub and read my review, I'll be most appreciative.  I love to shout it out when there's excalibur work about, and Heaven forbid you miss out on  Mr. Peretti.

Available at
frankperetti.com

While I was finishing up his latest novel, Illusion, during my down-time on the night shift, S.Elf brought my attention to something regarding St. Patrick's Day, that I never remember learning.  She said the reason behind a clover leaf representing the holiday was because St. Patrick, during his ministry, used a clover to represent the Holy Trinity.  One leaf with three distinct parts.  I also noticed they seem to make three hearts that join at the center of the leaf.  I wish I could be so brilliant. Smart guy, that St. Pat. 

S.Elf - St. Patrick's Day 2012

And, true to form, S.Elf was in her holiday-trappings element making us smile with her deco and holiday-wear.  S.Elf is of Irish descent, so she was really doing it up big in her honoring of St. Pat. 

Green is my favorite color, and I was amazed when I got to work, saw S.Elf dressed accordingly, and realized I'd worn NOTHING green.

Therefore, I did what I do ... I whined about it.  S.Elf was totally prepared.  She started digging in her bag, produced a smaller bag, and pulled out a necklace for me, and said, "There ya go.  Now you've got green."  I ended up with an "Ooooooo - SPARKLY!!" clover leaf necklace that nearly matches my eyes.  You know it.  I was beaming! 

My St. Pat's necklace, compliments of S.Elf!

Monster Zero and a green-leafed necklace with sprinkles on top does a happy femme make!

I'm so impressed with peeps that seem to think of everything.  S.Elf's one of those sorts of people.  She's got this special gift in looking after folks, and somehow she anticipates what they might be needing before they realize they need it, or want it.  I think, when I grow up, I wanna be a whole lot like her. (Grin!)  Joking aside, she's got some wonderful qualities that all of us would do good to adopt if we don't have them ourselves.


I love to walk in and see her parked at a station near mine.  And, I have an equal amount of separation anxiety when she leaves in the morning before my shift finishes out.

Dr. Darla and S.Elf
I get a really big smile every time I see this pic. :)

With all the photo-taking I do of the girls, I've been proud of myself for maintaining S.Elf's anonymity.

We have to get a little creative, but we manage to pull it off.

Of course, if I keep putting her pic up in my blogs and she may end up with a brand new stalker.

However, I have so much fun getting shots of them, that I can't seem to help myself.  So, they'll just keep on getting included until they make me stop. 

Lethal Leprechaun,
this one's for you. :)

I'm getting much better with my camera ops, however, I'm still no match for my sister.  And, that's ok.  I'm not in competition with her, just having some fun and adding a little color to my writing.

Time is flying by.  My birthday will be here soon, and I STILL don't have even ONE of my book projects completed.  However, I've at least made progress and they're not stuck on a shelf getting dusty and covered with mold. 

Writing articles and blogs is a fast process for me.  Writing fiction is a whole 'nother story.  As I said to Alastar Packer, I actually have to work at it, because I have to think through a great deal of it, rather than the words simply flying from my head to my hands and onto the keyboard.

When I finish a chapter, I'm so exhuberant I feel like I should throw a party, even though I have loads more chapters to go.  Word by word, graph by graph and chapter by chapter will eventually get me there.  That and a whole lot of folks who love me enough to pray for God to help me with the effort. 

It pays to have friends who care enough to pray for you consistently. :)

Up a tree ....

The last photo I've included is simply to show you what it probably looks like through the eyes of a Texas squirrell in my backyard, heading up a Texas Oak.

I must say, I'm glad I'm not a squirrell.  I'd be the only squirrell in the yard wearing a parchute.

This tree is really tall.  In fact, there's over five feet of it that you're not seeing because I was standing when I took the picture.  I get a bit dizzy just looking at it.

Hope your weeks off to a great start.  And, hope you'll take a little time to check out my article, and then dive into some of Mr. Peretti's work, if you haven't already.  And, if you have, but haven't snagged his latest addition, Illusion is a phenominal read that I highly recommend.  Also, in the comments section at the bottom of the article please take a moment to have a look at author Sunnie Day's comment.  I laughed out loud when I read it.  And, I'll bet after reading it yourself, you'll never get another shot without thinking of Sunnie Day! 

His books are available for purchase through links in his website and are available in both printed version as well as e-reader.  When it comes to e-readers, I'm going to recommend a Nook over the Kindle.  In event you haven't used one, Nook lets you turn the pages.

Of course, my best recommendation would be to get the printed version.  I'm alwayssss going to recommend you get the printed version, lol.

Now then, there's rain, thunder and lightening going off outside.  And, as much as storms make me anxious, I've gotta call it a night.  Things have calmed down enough outside that I believe it's safe to snooze for a while, and I'm whipped.

So, God bless you, thank you for reading, and don't forget to thank a Vet at your next opportunity!

femmeflashpoint

The Honors Page & The Bishop is Back!

The good news is, my Android was recovered.  The bad news is, there are more pits and scratches on the screen than there were before.

I'm not complaining.  I'm just happy that this time it only fell on the ground, and not in a toilet.

The other good news is, the Honors page for veterans on my weblog is coming along nicely.  I've sent out loads of email requests, and have been receiving photos from here and there of veterans to post on the page.  It's one of the best projects I've ever gotten to work on, and I'm thrilled that it's getting a good response.

If you've got a photo of a military veteran special to you, you're welcome to send it to me and I'll be happy to add them to the page.  You can reach me at keepitzipped@hotmail.com.  I prefer the photos to be of those in uniform, however, it's not an absolute.  You can send what you wish, and it will get posted.

I've also been building a new photo-blog site for Alicia (Nee), which is looking really good as well.  At least, it does to me, but I've shown it to a few others who like it too.  (See?  I actually DO get other peoples' opinions on things when I need to, lol.)  Nee's site has taken up several weeks worth of time at the keyboard, but it's been worth it.  She really does have some stunning photography, and I'm truthfully not saying that because she's my sister.  I'm saying it because her work is beautiful, moving and unique.  When grown men have gotten teary-eyed and emotional while perusing her portfolio, she's doing something right.  Once her blogsite with the online gallery is up and running, her work will be available for the first time for online purchase via associated websites.

Working on her project, as well as a couple of my own, and one other editing project I'm in the middle of, has kept me away from the Hub, other than one article I wrote last week.  And, until I get situated with a hotspot for my laptop, I can't keep up with the other writers' works on the Hub very well either. Guessing I'll have to resolve that ASAP, but I haven't had the time to attend to it yet.  It used to be easier when I could access it during the night shift, when things were slow, and BMW owners were mostly asleep and not riding around needing help.  However, they've done an update with our programs, even from my own laptop, and now I'm unable to access the Hub, or my blog during my down time on the shift.

I've also decided to move forward with literary reviews, whether I can post purchase links for Barnes & Noble or not.  Hopefully, the decline remains temporary, and my monthly read numbers will come up high enough for me to allow me to be an affiliate for them.  In the meantime, I'll simply post the authors' websites, and readers can navigate from there to purchase their work.

I'm not a sales-person,  however, I can't NOT promote good stuff when I come across it.  I usually feel privileged that I found it in the first place, and I'm inclined to share and spread the word.

Another good bit of news is, the Bishop is back!  Bishop Spencer K. McCool Sr., had some of us concerned with his recent absence from facebook following a death in his family.  His absence was much longer than expected and he was missed  by many.  I even had people who read his posts via my page, (I always share what he writes), emailing me, worried, asking where he was, if he was coming back, and if there was anything they could do to help.

You see, Bishop?  You making an impact. :)

All of us who read his posts are relieved and happy to have him back at his keyboard with the sunrise, doing one of those things he does so well, and that so many readers appreciate that he takes the time to do.

That's all for this one.  I've got to get back to Mr. Peretti's latest, and get a workout in before my shift starts tonight.  I hope to finish it up in time to have a review posted on the Hub for it tomorrow.

God bless, take care, and don't forget to thank a vet while you're out and about!

femmeflashpoint

The Hiatus

After about a month's hiatus, I'm back at my desk and ready to return to the literary side of work.

I was fired up and ready to start reading, writing and catching up on much missed content, when I was pounced by a migraine in the middle of last night, leaving me off to a late start.  But, late is better than  not at all.

2012 took a turn that I wasn't expecting, in the loss of two of my best buddies in Texas.  Jack, a border collie, and my constant shadow during my hours at home, and Checkmate, my sugar glider, that I've had since he was just weaned.  Jack was 11-years-old.  Checkmate would have been 10 this Spring.

Jack, with his favorite toy.

For some of us, loosing a pet is no small thing to endure.  And, that being said, I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to McGuyver (Jonathan Hall) and Jared and Luke Hall (of the Muscle Next Door) when it came time to bury my two friends.  When Jack died, I'd come down with the flu, and if it weren't for the guys, I might still be trying to dig a burial spot in the back yard for him.  I still wasn't quite recovered when Checkmate died two weeks later, and I'm thankful Lukas came to lend a hand in digging a grave for him as well. 

Jade, my love bird, is doing fine and as happy as always, singing and playing all day long.  He's a funny little fella, and it's been good medicine to watch him dance and have him chirping twittering during the hours I'm at home.

Jack and Andrew Hall (of the Muscle Next Door),
taking a break from the fence project.

A few days before the flu hit, which was the worst upper respiratory infection I've had in five years, and lasted two weeks, I did manage to make my annual trek to the Fort Worth Stock Show.  I wasn't disappointed with it this year, but my appreciation for some of it had changed.  In particular, I discovered I disliked some of the rodeo competition.  Most of the rodeo events, I will probably continue to be a fan of, but this year, when watching the calf-roping competition, it came across as cruel and completely turned me off. 

A guy on a horse, chasing around a scared little calf until they throw a rope around it, run at it, tie it's legs together, and then throw it roughly on it's side .... yup, it was a turn off.

Checkmate, my sugar glider, peeking out of his teepee.

I can hear a red-neck voice with a defensive tone in my head saying, "Awww, it don't hurt 'em none!" 

Physically, that'd be correct, if the challenge comes out with no accidents.  But, terrorizing an animal just leaves a bad taste in my soul, whether physical injury occurs or not, and those participating in it just dropped out of my admiration zone.

The rest of the stock show was mostly as expected.  The displays were great and the animals were awesome.  But, for whatever reason, this year's attendance was lacking in activity.  Much of the stock competition hadn't arrived yet, and the carnival was set up, but not in operation, nor were many of the outside vendors' booths.

Regardless, the place was packed, and I visited on a week day.

Checkmate, hanging from the top of his cage.

I'll post an article regarding the event on Hubpages as soon as I recover from the migraine hangover.  I got to see some new stuff at the show this year, and met some interesting people.

My month's absence wasn't spent in an entirely vegetative state.  I managed to get a good amount of work done on one of my books.  I also read about ten from other authors.  Two were old friends, by Frank Peretti, and three more were newer works of his that I'd not read yet.  All of them are phenominal, and that's an understatement.  A more recent work of his is out now, titled, Illusion, and I plan to read it within the next two weeks.

Jade, my love bird, nipping my finger.
He's little, but he's a giant in his own mind. :)

That's it for the update.  Hope your new year is off to a good start, and that you're expecting good things to be coming your way.


My thanks to the Lethal Leprechaun for checking on me and the frequent prodding to get back to work.



God bless you, thank you for reading, and please don't forget to thank a Veteran today!

femme