Week in Review

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:

Week in Review

I have thousands of digital photos in my archives, most of which were taken outdoors. (Quite a few of my iPhone photos are of my cats, but that’s a different story.) Since I’ve tried to keep in the theme of mysterious and spooky this month, I wanted photos to match. However, I learned something. Most of my pics were taken on days when there was bright sunshine. Kind of hard to see anything scary in that.

A couple of weeks ago, hubs and I had gone out to dinner. On the way home, we saw a gorgeous sunset. I was driving, and I couldn’t resist pulling onto a side road to take a photo. This is the result:

Okay, the colors on the horizon are beautiful. Nothing spooky. But then I noticed the sign, “No outlet.” A dead-end road. On the left, you can see the lights of a house. My creative brain started thinking, “What if a character found himself/herself stranded in such a place…”

Who knows? Maybe I’ll come up with a story someday.

Next week I’ll forgo my usual weekly topics. For those of you who follow Story Empire, the six contributing authors are doing a book tour called Something Wicked. I’ll be hosting Mae Clair, Staci Troilo, P. H. Solomon, C. S. Boyack, and Harmony Kent. In turn, I’ll be a guest on each of their sites. I hope you’ll join us! For more information about the tour, check out this page.

And now for the weekly writing links:


On This Site or Links about my Writing:

On Story Empire:

On Other Writing Sites:

Week In Review

Hey, everyone. It’s Friday and I’m glad to be wrapping up the week with you.

A few years ago, I was in one of those, “I want to write but the words won’t come,” stages. Getting away from the house often helps, so I decided to take a Saturday morning drive and ended up at one of the numerous nearby country cemeteries.

Naturally, I snapped a few photos. Nothing particularly spooky about this one. Even with the unmarked graves that lie beneath piles of rocks. Or the old, rusting fence that surrounds another one. It was a bright, clear morning when everything in the world seemed cheerful.

But a few adjustments to the color and the shading makes the atmosphere completely different.

Same photo. Different mood. You can almost imagine being in the cemetery at night by the light of the moon. Sort of creepy, isn’t it?

And now, to round out this first Friday of October, here are this week’s links:


On this blog:

On Story Empire:

Other Writing Sites:

Just Because:

Week In Review

Hey, everyone! Welcome to Friday! Last week, fellow author and Story Empire contributor made a comment that sparked an idea. I’ve been posting links to my own site, Story Empire, and other helpful writing posts.

Thanks to Craig, I’m going to add a new section for random blog posts that caught my attention. They could be short fiction, news about a book launch or upcoming release, or something that inspired me, or just for fun. Thanks, Craig!

I took this photo a few years ago on a September morning at a nearby nature preserve. It’s another favorite place to walk with lots of walking and horseback riding trails. There’s a small fishing pond and an anbundance of wildlife – including an aligator.

No stories set in or inspired by this local as yet, but who knows?

For now, let’s get to this week’s links:


On this site:

From Story Empire:

From Other Writing Sites:

Random Posts:

  • Nicholas C. Rossis has created a reader poll. He’s passionate about helping fellow authors.
  • C S Boyack has a new release and is making appearances around the web. Check out his blog for more information.
  • Marcia Meara has a regular Friday feature, First Line Friday where readers have the opportunity to win free books. Click here to learn how to participate.
  • Michele Jones writes flash fiction on her blog. Check out her most recednt story.
  • John Howell shares views of his neighborhood each Sunday. Click to see this week’s edition.

Enjoy the weekend!

Week In Review

Hey, everyone. Wow! September is moving right along. Can you believe the autumn equinox is in three days?

I pulled this picture from my September 2008 archives. I was out for an evening walk when I snapped this photo. It’s another taken with my little Sanyo 8 megapixel camera. Not a bad shot, huh?

I how the setting sun kisses the swirling clouds. The one in the center almost looks like a funnel cloud, but there were no storms in the area. So far no stories inspired by this pic but I have considered writing a story in which there is a tornado.

I don’t have as many links this week. If you read yesterday’s post, you know I spent much of the week redesigning my website and fell behind in visiting blogs. But here we go:


On this blog or posts about my books:


On Story Empire:


On Other Writing Sites: