Category: Week in Review

This Week at Story Empire

Published on by Joan Hall

Happy Friday, everyone. One four more left this year. Can you believe it?

After taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, it’s been a busy week as I’m wrapping up the edits of my short story collection, scheduled for release in January.

Story Empire had another full week.

  • Harmony Kent began the week with a summation of her series, How to Use Prologues. If you missed any of the posts, she has the link to each one in the post.
  • On Wednesday, D. L. Finn’s topic was What Every Writer Should Know. She gives some sage advice, so I know you won’t want to miss it.
  • Interested in bringing humor into your stories? Then make sure to check out John Howell’s post today. Click this link to read.

This fall has been one of the most beautiful ones Texas has had in years. On Sunday, my husband and I took a drive in the country. The colors of the trees were amazing. I snapped a few photos. Most were taken from inside the car, so please overlook the glare from the windows.

The photo on the right is the oak tree in my front yard. Beautiful (until we have to rake the leaves).

That’s it for now. I’ll return next week with a new Mystery Monday post.

This Week at Story Empire

Published on by Joan Hall

It’s been a busy week at the Hall household. I’ve decided all of them are busy, just in different ways. Monday, we had three windows replaced. We ran errands on Tuesday and went out for Mexican food. (I have to get my Tex-Mex fix.) And, I’m plugging away at the short story edits. Look for the cover reveal and a call for tour hosts on November 30.

We had another full week at Story Empire. I hope you had a chance to visit, but if not, here are the links. You won’t be disappointed.

And that wraps up another week. It’s been cold and we’ve had rain some days, so no new photos. I pulled this one from my archives. We had taken a weekend trip to Washington, Arkansas, and came across this pioneer cemetery. I loved to explore old graveyards, so finding this was a treat.

This Week at Story Empire

Published on by Joan Hall2 Comments

Hey, everyone. I planned to write a post this week and show some of the photos I took in Oklahoma last week. However, two days after our trip, tornadoes ripped through several towns in northeast Texas and southeastern Oklahoma.

Some of those towns, including Idabel, Oklahoma, and Powderly, Texas, suffered major damage. Hard to believe just two days prior we traveled through both places. Ironically, while driving through Paris, Texas, my husband and I talked about a major tornado that happened there in the early 80s. Powderly is a tiny community just north of Paris.

In Idabel, at least one person died, and a school and one church were destroyed. Somehow, it didn’t seem fitting to write about our adventure (which was wonderful) in the aftermath of such devastation. Never in a million years would I have dreamed that would happen so soon after we were there. It goes to show we should never take life for granted.

Now on to more cheerful things. We had another great week at Story Empire. If you missed any of the posts, here are the topics and links:

Today is Veteran’s Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom and several other countries. Both mark the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. If you see a veteran today, take a moment to thank them for their service.

Veteran’s Memorial in my hometown.

This Week at Story Empire

Published on by Joan Hall

Happy first Friday of November! Halloween is over and here in the states, our thoughts turn to the Thanksgiving holidays.

I mentioned last week that my husband and I planned a day trip to Oklahoma. We went on Wednesday, and although it was fun, I’m wiped out. I’ll try to do a post about it next week.

In the meantime, it’s time for another Friday wrap-up from Story Empire. Here are this week’s links:

  • Craig Boyack began the week with an appropriate Halloween post, Fear and Terror.
  • On Wednesday, Harmony Kent continued her series on prologues. This week’s topic is In Media Res.
  • Gwen Plano’s post today is titled The Miracle of the Written Word as she explores the question, “Why do you write?”

That’s another wrap! Next week, I have a brand new Mystery Monday post and I guarantee the topic is a mystery.

I’ll close now with a photo from our Oklahoma trip. And don’t forget to “fall back” this weekend!

Week in Review

Published on by Joan Hall29 Comments

Hey, Everyone. Happy Friday the 13th! Thirteen is a number surrounded by superstition. While I come from a long line of superstitious people, I’m not one of them. I’ll purposely do things such as walk under a ladder, open an umbrella in the house, or cross a black cat’s path.

I have a cousin who claims she isn’t superstitious but “just cautious.” Once when I visited her, I made the mistake of placing a hat on the bed. She promptly removed it, saying it was “bad luck.” Another time when she visited us, she tipped the salt shaker, spilling some on the table. Immediately she sprinkled salt in her hand and threw it over her shoulder. On the floor, mind you! Ridiculous.

However, I do enjoy hearing the stories behind the superstitions. Oh and speaking of black cats (I’ve owned several in my lifetime) I haven’t posted a photo of my Little Bit in a while. I took this one a few years back. He was less than a year old then.

Cute, isn’t he? How could anyone believe something so adorable could bring bad luck? For now, it’s time for this week’s links. Sorry the list is shorter this week, but it’s been a crazy one and I haven’t had time to read as much.

On this site:

On Story Empire:

On Other Sites: