I'm back!

You can read about my absence HERE.

For now, here's another picture from that vacation.

Our shadows...July 31 2017

Who Says Chick Books are Bad? by Robin Janney

Family can be harsh critics sometimes.

I have a brother, who discouraged our other brother about reading my novels.  Because it's a "chick book". Like it was something bad. And he said it in my presence.

It was embarrassing.  And honestly, I felt a little ashamed.  I've written a book that my brother feels that he can't read because it's a Romance.

The more I dwell on it, the angrier I become.

Why should I be ashamed? It's not the greatest book, but it's a good book. And while it is a Romance (which there's NOTHING wrong with that), it's also so much more.  Forgiveness is a major theme that runs through the entire series.  Forgiving oneself, forgiving those who've violated us...or not forgiving them. Mental illness is another theme.  Living in fear of it, living with it, battling it. Freedom from religion is another theme; each character is at a different place spiritually which causes some friction. There's also some Fantasy in the books.  I consider my demonic characters Fantasy characters as they are in no way 'biblical'. And many times, the Angels/Guardians take on the form of an animal of some kind...a dog, a horse, a cat. And there is the beloved Dragon Dream...ok, readers love it, the characters not so much. As the series goes on, the Dragon Dream becomes more and more real.

But even with all those layers, my brother says "Chick Book" like it's something bad.

So what if it is?

There's nothing wrong with Romance.

Boy meets girl (or whichever variation is relevant to your life), they fall in love, face adversity of some kind, overcome it and have a happy ending.

Which can be a welcome thing during those times when our lives is anything but a happy ending. It's probably fiction in general and Romance's harshest criticism...that it doesn't represent real life. Sooooo? Sometimes we need a break from the harshness of the real world.  We need a dose of hope. We need a chance to dream a little.

I'll admit that there were many years when I was single and unable to find Mr. Right that I had to put Romance novels aside. I never thought I'd find my Mr. Right and it hurt to read all those happy endings. Even sexless Christian Romances left a bad taste on my reading palate at the time.  But even in other works of fiction that I read, romance still had it's place. I mean, goodness, Rand al'Thor in the Wheel of Time series managed to woo three different women! Without trying! In the Visitation by Frank Peretti, the widower slowly falls for another character amongst the backdrop of the spiritual warfare plaguing the town. Even in this brother's favorite crime series he reads, which I've tried the first book of, there is a love interest for the main character.

So, really, I wonder what his beef with 'chick books' really is.  Romance, love, sexual tension, and ensuing conflict are all around us to varying levels. And unlike novels, we don't always get a happy ending. Hearts get broken, lives are devastated and turned around, marriages end and families are broken apart, partners turn out to be abusive jerks. Is it really so wrong to read novels in which things tend to end happier no matter what adversity hits the characters?

Yes, some people get stuck in the fantasy. Of any fiction. That's where a good therapist comes in, and I'm not completely joking when I say that, but I do mean it in a non-judgmental way. While I've never had this problem of separating fact from fiction, from reality and fantasy, I know that there are people who do have this problem, and there is really nothing I can do to help them...I'm not writing for them. I'm not writing to be theologically correct, biblically correct or historically correct...I'm not writing to be correct at all (this might be the core of my brother's issue). I'm writing a story that my head can no longer contain and if I don't get it out it's going to drive me mad. I'm exploring a world like ours, but slightly different. And if someone else happens to like it and wants to read along, that's great!

Not all my characters are going to get their happily ever after ending. Not even all platonic friendships will get a happy ending.  And some of them are really going to have to work for it.

I was just perusing Facebook and came across a meme that fits this subject. "So many men think women want money, cars and gifts. But the right woman wants: a man's time, effort, passion, honesty, loyalty, smile, and him choosing to put her as his priority." I know that this has been my main complaint from time to time in the past when Mr. Janney ignored me for his gaming. He's gotten better at that. There has to be a balance in any relationship, and that balance can change at any given moment depending on a partner's changing needs. This truth is reflected in many romance novels, at least the ones I read. It's not about what the guy can do for the girl, it's about the time and the effort.

And since 50% of the worlds population are "chicks", why shouldn't there be a genre of literature for us? I don't like the crime series my brother does. I tried, but I just don't. But that's ok, because those books aren't aimed at me. If it suits my brother's taste, then that's fine as those books are obviously geared for him and like minded readers. All genres of literature are equal. None is better than another. We just each have different tastes and preferences. I'm sure there are men out there that enjoy a good romance novel, I just don't know where they are!

Don't discourage people to read. Ever. It's not cool. It's not up to you to decide whether someone else will like a book.

End rant. Thanks for reading.

"It's Just Like Riding a Bike" - by Robin Janney

They say that once you learn how to ride a bicycle, you never forget how to.

They are not kidding!

The bike.

My husband loves me just as I am, my fat doesn't phase him one bit.  But he would like to see me weight less, to be healthier.  Himself as well since he's gained weight since we've been together, even though his fat doesn't phase me one bit either.  So he's always trying to come up with ways for us to exercise together.

For some reason, he doesn't like just going for a walk. Even though walking has always worked for me in the past.   I walked away weight to fit into a prom dress.  In my twenties I walked off almost 40+ pounds - that I ended up putting back on because I stopped walking.  Part of the problem is that I don't walk fast enough for him to break a sweat.  I've told him to walk on ahead at his own pace, but nooooooo, he wants to stay with me. So, he's been coming up with different activities - - that often end up pushing me outside my comfort zone and stressing me out.

Last summer, it was swimming.  I never learned how to swim as a child.  And because one of the first times I stepped into a pool as a teen was an unpleasant experience, I was terrified of the water.  Didn't like it over my head, didn't like it in my ears (still don't), and was just afraid of drowning. But Mr. Janney knew how to swim and did his best to teach me.  It was stressful for me, for all the reasons I already listed and because sometimes I felt like he was trying to rush me. Still, I kept at it.  Even one of the lifeguards at the pool commented on how well I was progressing.  I'm far from being an experienced swimmer, but I'm no longer afraid of drowning - or having my car end up in a lake and not knowing how to swim to the top (thank you Mythbusters!).

Of course, after the warm weather was over and I couldn't swim, I put some weight back on. I've been holding steady where I'm at though since Christmas, so there's that much at least.

So this year's project, even though I want to get back to swimming, is apparently bike riding.

Until Sunday, the last time I was on a bicycle...was over twenty years ago. Over twenty-five even.  I seriously don't even remember the last time. I remember the bike ramp incident when I was somewhere between seven and ten - the most common age mentioned as I try to figure out how old I was is eight.  My twin cousins built a bike ramp in our driveway one summer when they were visiting; they are only a few years older than I am. I think my brother Cliff and I were the only two to go over it.  I landed my jump, but I came down hard and swore up and down I'd hurt my genitals.  So I ran inside to make sure I wasn't bleeding. My brother apparently did not land his very well, because as I was coming out of the bathroom, Cliff was running inside with blood hanging out of his nose.  By the time our mother got out to investigate, the ramp was long gone!

Needless to say, I've been a little intimidated at the very thought of getting back on a bike.  But, I don't want to disappoint my husband. In the weeks leading up to this, whenever I've expressed my fears, he's told me "I have faith in you."  I mean, what is there to say to that?  He said the same thing when I was trying to learn how to swim, and I was able to do that.

The training grounds...

So while Mr. Janney and his father were working on a flag pole to put up in the yard, I was down below in the lower part of my in-laws driveway facing my fears. I was so anxious about this, I'd actually had a dream a few nights before where I just hopped on the bike and took off.  Which is honestly pretty much how it happened in real life - - I hopped on the bike pictured further above and took off.  I didn't ride far, just out into the road and down to the other driveway which you can't see in the photo.  I hopped off to turn around, hopped back on...and almost didn't make the turn and almost rode right into the woods on the other side of the road.  But I managed to get straightened out and back into the driveway.  And apparently was going too fast when I tried stopping and hopping off again, because I went face first into the driveway...I jokingly say that I kissed Mother Earth! Thankfully the only thing scraped up is the knee I landed on, and my hands a little bit.

I didn't let that stop me though.  After I finished telling my hubby that I was alright (he didn't see the fall, just me sitting in the dirt) I hopped back up and tried it again.  Much better the second time. The third time I made it down to the nearest neighbors, still not far away, and back again.  I can't even begin to describe to you the different feelings I had going through me as I soared.  Joy and fear held hands.  It was exhilarating, it was fun, it scared the crap out of me.

So I took a break to help with the flag pole.  Meaning I tried to take pictures for the most part.  But they all flubbed because my fat fingers got in the way.  The picture to the left is seriously the best picture I got.  I know Mr Janney will be happy that I didn't get his face in there.  The picture below is after they got the bell hung and the flag hoisted.

And let me tell you, when they were hanging the bell, all I could think was 'well, that doesn't look safe.' They put the bell in the bucket of the tractor you see, as well as my husband!  Then my father-in-law raised the bucket, bell and husband.  I did help during this part - I got to hold the rope attached to the bell so that it wouldn't get in Mr. Janney's way when he stood and lifted the bell into place.

I'm pretty sure we all took turns ringing the bell once it was all said and done.  I like the picture to the right; that little dot by the bell is the moon.  I wish it showed better, but my fingers weren't in the picture so that's a plus!

After this, Mr. Janney got his bike out and we both went for a little ride.  I tried making it as far as the neighbor who has the pond we like to go swimming in, but my legs would not push me up the little hill. So I told hubby I had to stop and get off...and almost face-planted myself again.  I managed to get myself flipped in time, thankfully there was no traffic as I was laying in the middle of the road. What's even worse, my hubby got off and tried helping me up - only my legs locked and I couldn't stand.  I was so embarrassed even though it was just him there.  He gave me another minute to stretch my legs out, still in the middle of this not-country-enough road, and this time he was able to get me to my feet.  My legs were so shaky from the exertion that I walked my bike back part of the way.  But once again, I didn't let the falling stop me - I got back on and rode the rest of the way back.

I thought I was done for the day after that, but my Mr. Janney decided to make a few alterations to the bike to see if it would be easier for me.  So of course I was obligated to give it another shot after he was done making his changes.  And I don't know what all he did, but it was more comfortable after that.

It was a fun day, and even though bike riding still scares me, I know that the fear will not stop me.

Although I really do think I'll be buying some knee pads and a helmet in the near future!

Safety first!

So dear readers: What fears have you faced recently?

The Ever Present Online Presence by Robin Janney

One thing all the experts agree on, is for an Indie Author to be successful, an online presence is needed.

And it only makes sense because the world we live in is no longer limited to our physical domain.  As well as the fact that much of our self publication is in electronic format.

Which leaves me with some choices to make at the end of this month.  At least in regards to how I use Facebook.

Quite recently, someone we know impersonated my husband on Facebook trying to get me to think he was trying to cheat on me.  It caused many hours of grief before I saw through to the truth.  While I do feel bad for doubting Mr. Janney, it was a convincing piece of evidence - until I started picking it apart.  I won't go into depth, but it was a definite fake, too many errors.  There are a few times when it's not always good to look at the 'big picture', sometimes you really do need to focus on the details.  It just goes to show that while a picture may be worth a thousand words...those words aren't necessarily the truth.

Because of this, my husband has been thinking of deleting the app from his phone.  He's not much into sharing anything other than funny videos, or cars.  But it has caused me to reconsider how I use Facebook myself.  It's the easiest way for me to be social, and by easiest I mean the most comfortable.  There are no physical crowds to deal with, like at a party.  It is easier to keep in touch with long distance relatives.  I also like to take pictures, a lot, and share them.

Do I really wanna know?

However, there are many different forms of social media.  Places where I could potentially do these things just as well, if not better.  I do have an Instagram account, and a Tumblr, where I could post my pictures.  I'm also on Tsu, which is by far a much more positive experience than anything I've ever encountered on Facebook, probably because it's an "Invite Only" social media.  I have some great friends and family who are great, but if you've ever commented on a page's thread for an article or a meme, the chances of you getting bitten by a troll is way high.  I haven't run into that there yet.

I really am not sure what I am going to do, just that I've been thinking about changing how I do social Media as an individual and as an Author.  There are no easy answers, but I'll figure something out.

Living the Busy Life by Robin Janney

I had to do some  investigating when I saw that our last post was a late one from myself.  I realized late last night that I hadn't done my post last week, and was surprised to see that CP missed her week as well.  I know from her Facebook posts that she's been busy: graduations and weddings have filled her days as well as formatting her latest work Overcoming Sarah into a proper format for paperback.

I think I needed to come up with 2 sets of 3 for this hand...
didn't have the greatest start, but I've seen worse!

Trying to think back on what I did last week to lose track of time and turns.  And I'm not really sure!  Friday and Sunday night were card night at my in-laws.  A while back, my mother-in-law decided it would be a good idea for the four of us to play cards on Friday night.  Sometimes we play just one round, other times we get in two.  Last weekend we played cards on Sunday night as well since the two of us who work had Monday off.  It's always fun, even when the cards don't go my way.  One night we made homemade ice cream while we were playing cards!  Usually we don't have any snacks at all.

Monday was Memorial Day and my side of the family celebrated as usual by a having a picnic.  This year we were at the Waverly Glen park just over the NY border.  My maternal grandparents are buried in the cemetery that borders the pretty little park.  I was trying to stay out of the sunshine because a medicine I was on carried a sensitivity warning, so I didn't get any pictures of the water fall that graces the park...although I still managed to get a slight sunburn anyway!

Then of course it was back to work on Tuesday.  And really it's kind of a blur.  I know I had a doctor's appointment Thursday afternoon, after which we hit the Toyota dealers to ask about a metal piece we thought had maybe come off our truck (it wasn't ours!) and then to step into Mr. Janney's doctors so we could ask about his stitches.  No one ever told us they were the dissolving kind and so that was another relief.

One of my husband's attic finds; he placed it in my computer area :) I love the
creative ambiance it adds!!

There is a yard sale coming up next Saturday and there've been a few days our focus has been sorting and cleaning and deciding what to keep and what to sell...and there'll be more of that this week.

Mr. Janney also took the opportunity to rearrange the computer room one day while I was at work as well - he needs to take it easy still, only 3 weeks after his surgery, but he's getting antsy.  I forget which night we went up to his parents and helped go through their attic.  Mr. Janney found a few things he's been looking for, although I'm still not sure if he's keeping or selling the stand up pin ball machine in the yard sale.

One evening we were called up to help my mother do a quick cleaning job to make room for a new couch in her living room. I think it was the same day as the doctor's appointment because I remember coming home and my smartphone connected to wifi and I had all these messages from people and a bunch were from my mother!  It was a quick job, but still managed to take up a large portion of the evening due to the conversation that took place!

You'd never know a storm had went
through  minutes before this pic.
Stephen Foster Lake at Mt Pisgah State Park

This weekend my husband and I tried to go swimming at an area pool, but the weather wouldn't cooperate.  I'd barely gotten changed into my bikini when it thundered and the pool closed...we had to wait until 20 minutes after the last thunder before it would reopen.  We hung around for a while, and had been in the pool for maybe five minutes before the next storm made itself known.  This time we took off to find a spot to picnic at while it rained.

Our only visitors; they made a little noise but not much.

We found an empty pavilion and hoped the ones who had reserved it for the day had either already come and gone or were coming later...we got lucky, no one showed up and told us to leave.  We ate in peaceful nature, with a gorgeous view and a few animal visitors.  But the threat of more thunderstorm shut the pool down for the rest of the afternoon so our swimming was over.  Which was frustrating because none of my doctors want me walking for exercise and instead would rather I swim.  Which will be hard to do with this being the only free swimming pool that I know of in our area.  The fact that I can't actually swim aside.  At the least, I can 'walk' in the pool without creating stress on my torn foot tendon.

Today we are just relaxing.  My Janney is playing his GTA 5 and Clash of Clans.  I'm catching up on laundry and computer stuff.  What have you all been up to in these past few summer-like weekends?

20 years and Then Some by Robin Janney

Time flies when you're living life.  It also flies when you're on RuneScape trying to catch your levels up to your husband's, but that's a different post.

And as we all know, life doesn't even have to be all fun and games for time to slip away from you like sand through your fingers.  Life in general will steal away the years faster than you think. You graduate from high school and either head off to college or jump feet first into the working world.  Bills start coming in, no matter your choice.  Expenses for either college or job start piling up.  Some of us get married and have a family, others don't.  Friendships change, growing deeper or ending.  Some of us die.

All this musing because this summer my graduating class celebrated 20 years out of high school.

Did I just say - 20 years?

No, no, no!  How did that many years pass so quickly?

Some things never change!
L-R: Teresa Herman Allen, Ryan Allen, Mike Zaffrey, and myself

I'm going to be honest.  I don't have a lot of happy memories of school.  I was often teased and bullied.  A subject that came up much to my surprise with one of my classmates that night.  Speaking of me and my siblings about the bus rides to and from school, he said, "You all went through hell every single day."  Yes, we did.  It was a bit of a shock to hear one of my peers acknowledge this, especially since he was one of the ones on the other end of it.  I started too many school days off in tears, and many ended the same.  Even to this day, a little piece of me starts seizing up when I think back to those days.  Which explains why my side of the conversation probably was a bit on the terse side.  I didn't know what to say really.  A lot of the memories have blurred over, but it doesn't take all the sting away.  But that's all it is anymore, a bit of a sting.  A tiny thing in the great scheme of life.

But as I looked around at my classmates, I felt a level of acceptance I'd never felt before. Maybe because I've finally accepted myself, or maybe just the passage of time.  The reason why doesn't really matter.  I had warm fuzzies and I wasn't even drinking alcohol! (I had to drive.)  It was so much fun seeing faces that hadn't changed all that much, while trying to figure out the ones who looked nothing like they did all those years ago.  There was laughter and dancing (curse my aching foot!!)

But I do have some good memories.

How is this the best pic I got of Jennifer Turner Kelly?
She's the one right behind the centerpiece.

In eleventh grade, the main dance was the Prom.  It was the only one we would get as we did something different in our senior year.  I'm not sure whose idea this was, but as far as I know it is still the same in our old alma mater.  Now I came from a financially challenged family.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to go because I lacked funds for a dress.  One day, it must have been late winter or early spring one of my classmates told me that she had an extra dress for prom and I could borrow it for the night if I wanted to.

So one night I rode the bus out to Jen's home and tried it on.  Being a large girl, trying things on was a must.  It was a little tight, but I decided that if I lost a few pounds between then and Prom, then it would work.  I don't remember the details of the food dieting I must have done, but I do remember walking.  Faithfully, every day.  I'd walk 30 minutes in one direction then turn around and walk back to my departure point.  Needless to say, I achieved my goal and wore my borrowed dress to the Prom and had a good night.  Although I miraculously needed to go to the bathroom when they started playing the chicken  dance.  I've always been grateful for her willingness to share.

Johndee Perry and Mike Zaffrey

And then there was the time in middle school - oh my God now we're talking about lots more than 20 years.  Anyway, in gym class we always had to do certain exercises and have them timed or counted or both.  I forget what they were called, probably the Physical Fitness Test.

Needless to say, I struggled with every test.  I always gave it my best, but my best was never good enough.  I was too heavy and apparently I didn't play outside enough and just didn't have the stamina.

Well, this one year in middle school, I ended up with my own personal cheerleader.  Mike got to sit out of the tests for some reason, but when it got down to the end and I was way behind and the last one running, Mike followed me around the parking lot cheering me on.  "Come on Robin, you can do it!  Keep running Robin."  He stayed with me by my side until I crossed the finish line.

I doubt Mike and I ever shared more than a few words throughout our entire schooling, before or after this event.  But I have never forgotten this act of encouragement.  We all need people in our lives who will stay with us and cheer us on when we're flagging.

Senior Class Trip 1994

Liz Teribury Watson

If you looked closely at the group picture above, in the front row you'll see the same girl on each end. The photo was taken with an old fashioned camera, which required the photographer to slowly sweep the camera from left to right.  He had this tradition for each picture he took for class trips like ours.  He liked to include one person twice.  When he gave the "GO", the person on the left end of the line was to dart behind the rest of the row to the other end.  Well, Liz must have zigged when she should have zagged because the first time we did it there was a shadow from her somewhere in the lineup.  She nailed it the second time.

Jeff Hurley and Matt Weaver

This picture to the right is quite possible my second favorite one from the night.  I had already snapped one of Jeff and Matt, but Jeff caught me and posed so I snapped again.  At one point in the evening Jeff encouraged me to switch side of the tables so I could take part in the conversation better because to him it felt like I was off sitting in my own little world.  I told him that was normal, and not much of a change from high school.  I do tend to live in my own little world...makes for some great creative writing, but can cause other interpersonal issues sometimes.  But I followed Jeff's advice and enjoyed myself even more.

Lynette Sterling, myself, Tonya Austin

Now this picture to the left is my favorite from the night, even though the lightning turned us into fuzzies.  Our smiles still shine right through!  I have no words for these two.  They make me smile, and I hope I return that favor.

It was a great night to remember.

Though we are separated by miles and sometimes death, we are still close at heart.  Greater memories are yet to come, Troy Class of 1994.

Okay, that's it for the mushy stuff.

Confessions of this Married Writer by Robin Janney

My first confession is that I've been a slacker this week.  I haven't posted on my own blog, and have put off working on this post until today.

The three day weekend last weekend had a lot to do with it, because my husband had all three days off.  And let me tell you, there is no getting any writing when he is home.  Not because he bothers me, just because I set it to the side so I can spend time with him.

Clare Dunn opening for Parmalee

Saturday, we decided to go to the Kiwanis Wyoming County Fair even though we knew it meant sacrificing our grocery money for the week.  Thankfully, it didn't matter because we had enough already so that it wasn't an issue (although I did have to end up using my change to buy a loaf of bread). My husband has such a good heart; one of his co-workers has been down in the dumps so my husband decided to invite him to go with us.  I walked waaaaay too much on my foot that won't heal, even sitting down on benches here and there.  But I got to eat Triton pizza and later had homemade ice cream.  We ran short on time after the concert, so we missed out on funnel cake this year.

One thing I like about this fair is that their concert area is in this little bowl in the land.  They fill the bottom part with chairs, but they let people bring in their own chairs and sit on the side of the banks for a cheaper price.  It used to be $5, but this year it was raised to $10.  Still a good deal.  Three years ago they had the Roots and Boots Tour: Aaron Tippin, Sammy Kershaw and Joe Diffie.  Unfortunately, there was a bad thunderstorm that blew up and rained us out an hour into the show. :/ That didn't happen this year with Clare Dunn and Parmalee. While it sounded to hubby and me that their sound was off (screechy) we still enjoyed the songs.

Parmalee

The second coming?

Oh, there they are!

Sadly, sitting on the bank means that the pictures my phone will take are less than stellar.  But that didn't stop me from taking them.  :)

Which leads me into another confession I guess.  I love taking pictures.  Which is something my husband finds amusing, unless I'm trying to take a picture of him.  The handsome lad doesn't like his picture taken because he thinks he's ugly!  It's far from true, but sometimes how we view ourselves isn't anything close to how others view us.  Neither view is 100% accurate, is it?

But as long as I'm not aiming at him, he doesn't care.  In fact when we were in the fair's southern field, about five minutes too late for the Big Cats show, he laughed when I pulled my phone out to capture what pics I could of the gorgeous animals.  "I knew that was coming out!" he said.  Even though we missed the 'show' we still got to see animals we'd never seen before. It was quite exciting.

Meow Meow

Meow

Meow Meow Meooooow!

What can I say?  The majesty of these big cats speak for themselves. Though caged, they still have this regal bearing that says: "I'm only tolerating this because you're shoving chunks of meat through the cage to me."  I can only hope that when they're not on the road being shown, that they have a bigger home than the cages we saw.  Part of me hates that they're caged, but another part of me recognizes that without the cages, I would never have been able to see them.

Well, that covers day one of the three day weekend, you say.  What about Sunday and Monday? you ask.

Sunday, I still wasn't feeling well from a stomach bug that had been bothering me for over a week and from overdoing it at the fair (I didn't even mention the Tough Truck Competition because I didn't get pictures).  So I pretty much bummed it.  All I really remember doing is a lot of reading.

Which leads me into confession number three.  This should be no surprise to any of you readers out there.  I have more books than what I know what to do with, but that doesn't stop me from buying more.  From the library last week, I picked up two paperbacks for fifty cents a piece (and am eyeing more): The Stand by Stephen King and The King of Torts by John Grisham.  I've never read any of Grisham's books, and while I've read some of his short stories, I've never read a King novel either.  I'm usually hesitant about trying out authors I'm not familiar with, but I've been feeling the need to expand my horizons recently.  For fifty cents, you really can't lose.  AND, while at the fair, I picked up two more!  The Green Mile, another Stephen King, and Vision In Death by J.D. Robb.  I love love love the book stall at the fair! :)

And that's not all.  I recently bought Breathe of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann.  I don't read Christian fiction much anymore unless I want something light to read because much of it lacks a certain energy.  What I've read of Kristen's has that missing energy other works seem to lack. I've been trying to read that at the same time as reading The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, but Shadow has been demanding my full attention.  Sucks me right in, every time.

Mage Ciera without her armor

Monday...well, uhm, see this is a hard confession.  I'm not the level of gamer that my hubby is.  Not much for Xbox, although I can play a decent game of Halo Wars (better if he's on too giving me 'orders') and I like Hexic (think Bejewled Blitz).  But I love the online role playing game RuneScape.  Monday, hubby was on his account and well, I can't exactly let him get too far ahead of me now can I?

Sitting in the same room, on separate computers, it's not uncommon for us to ask each other "Where are you?"  We had our characters in different places in the beginning, but ended up in the same dungeon room killing zombies and crawlers. And picking up whatever loot the other players let go.  I leveled up my Herblore almost ten levels by cleaning the herbs left behind by other players' kills.  They snooze, they lose.

Just like in real life, somehow I ended up making sure hubby, or rather his character, had enough to eat.  Those critters fight back, and if you're not paying attention you can kick the bucket.  And then he needed bowstring for a bow he wanted to make and he was going to buy it from the games "Grand Exchange" and I'm like, "No, no, no!!  I have some I can give you!  Don't buy any!"  Apparently he's forgotten where the flax fields are and how to make bowstrings.  Just a silly game, but it's fun and relaxing (except when others don't play nice).  As I was reading the Wikipedia article I linked above, I was amused to discover that there has been three fantasy novels written based on the game.  Why not?

Tuesday is a bit of a blur.  I didn't do much of anything fun.  Dishes.  Which is five minutes on my feet, and ten off, which can make doing dishes quite the ordeal if I've let them pile up like I did over the weekend.  I'm so bad.

Today, my mother and I went on a road trip of sorts.  My foot doctor has ordered Orthodic inserts for my shoes and the place he sent me to is in Johnson City, New York.  It's roughly an hour from my home, traffic and road work permitting.  Road work did not permit today and I was about fifteen minutes late.  :|  For an appointment that maybe lasted fifteen minutes.  If that.  All he really did was take down my info, look at both my naked feet and them make impressions of both in blue foam.  I get to go back in three weeks.  Praying that my insurance covers it, because otherwise that'll be a nice bill of $420!!  Yikes!

After that, I decided to splurge a little and take my mom out to eat.  I found a Friendly's to stop at.  Which the booth mom and I sat at had mirrors behind my mom, so out came the phone again to take pics.

Trying not to laugh too hard at me

My mom...I <3 her...

Food was good, the sundaes even better!  They give you these huge plates to make you think you're getting a lot, but you're not really.  You're just getting a normal portion.  I can't say the same about the five scoop sundaes we had.  Those were niiiice...

Those are the best confessions I can come up with.  Not exactly earth-shattering, or entirely shocking in same cases.  But enough to let you know what this crazy writer has been up to recently.  I'll be getting back on the ball tomorrow and back to proofing book number two.  I'm getting so itchy about wanting to release it!  But I can't yet, not until I weed out as many typos as I can find!  And touch up a few weak spots.  Once I've finished my present going through, and have made all the corrections, I'm going to upload the file and get my proof copy and then read through that one to make sure I've gotten as much as I can...again!  I'll never be 100% satisfied, but I'll reach the "confident enough" level after I've done that much.

But I'll leave you with a teaser of the cover as I ask you, "What did you do for Labor Day?"

Coming soon, I promise!!

Real Life Romance vs. Fiction

A replica of our cake from a year ago the 3rd...

When I first released my novel last summer, one question that I was kind of expecting was: Is it autobiographical at all?  I got this a lot from local acquaintances.  To which I always reply, "No."

My novel is pure fiction.  Sort of.  The only thing that I pulled from my real life was the large family the main character came from, and while I didn't realize it at the time, struggles with mental illness and my own religious/spiritual issues.  For starters, I am one of ten children; born of the same father but different mothers.  I didn't give either of my characters this many siblings, but both the Carman's and the Moore's have large extended families.  It's the kind of chaos I am familiar with.

And when it comes to the romance of the novel, while there are a few similarities it was written long before I ever met Mr. Janney.  There are far more differences than anything else.

Since I was also recently asked how I met my husband, by a Facebook friend who's an "imaginary friend" I've never met because she lives on the other side of the world, I thought I would share that story for those of you who don't know me and relate some of the similarities and differences.  Largely because it is 2am as I'm working on this first draft and I can't sleep because my mind keeps working on it and technically at this hour it is our anniversary already!

#1 - Like Craig and Angela in my novel (Farmer's Daughter) there is a ten year age difference between Mr. Janney and I.  However, in the novel, Craig is the older one and in real life...I'm the older one!  It caused far more drama in the beginning of our relationship in real life than it ever did in the novel, probably because it is still more socially acceptable for the male to be the older in the relationship.  Craig was worried about the age difference because of his past abuse; Mr. Janney's family had issues with it because what could an older woman want with a younger man other than sex?  Oh well.  We all got over it!

#2 - Craig and Angela met at work, just like Mr. Janney and I did!  However, neither of us were lucky enough to be the owner of a store or anything fancy like that.  We are just two hardworking American peeps who developed a friendship that turned into something more.  I had been working at the press facility of a local newspaper for almost 2 years when Mr. Janney was hired, and he had been there about 6 months when sparks flew.  Truthfully, we owe a lot of our relationship to our one supervisor who gave us a good push towards each other.  Our supervisor was privy to the fact that I had a crush on him, and when she was feeling him out to see if it might be returned, she told me how his face got this big dopey grin on it.  "Age is just a number," she said.

#3 - Quick trip to the altar.  Sort of.

• Craig and Angela were married roughly 6 months after they met, Mr. Janney dumped me roughly 7 months after we started dating.  That lasted little over a week, because he did it for all the wrong reasons.  Later, after we got back together, I left for work early to surprise him by picking him up for work only to meet him on the road...riding his bicycle and trying to call me, not realizing all he had to do was look up!  He later told me how he had been asking God for a sign, at which point I reminded him of this incident and asked him how bigger of a sign he needed!  Unplanned and unaware of each other's intention, we were both trying to get a hold of each other just because we wanted to spend time with each other.
  
  
• Once Craig asked Angela to marry him, not that long after admitting that they were indeed a "couple", they were married before 24 hours had passed.  I had him whisk her out to Vegas for that.  Mr. Janney never really asked me to marry him.  We had been discussing it with his parents after his great-grandmother's funeral, and two days later (Monday) he let me know that he had purchased wedding rings.  Oh, ok!!  Two days after that (Wednesday) after my birthday dinner, we had enough money for either the marriage license or a birthday cake.  He left it up to me and I chose the piece of paper.  Here in PA, we have a 72 hour waiting period before we can use it and then we have a month after that to tie the knot.  Well, at this point we had been a couple for five years, close enough, so I didn't see any reason to piddlefart around and we were married at a Justice of the Peace the first day the paper could be acted upon (Saturday).
  
  
• Small wedding  Craig and Angela had only their closest friends stand with them.  We had our parents; both of his, and my mother.
  
  
• Neither of us had a true honeymoon; Craig and Angela had a short stay in Vegas before coming home to Angela's kidnapping and coma; Mr Janney and I both had to be back to work on Monday.  I got a bit of ribbing for coming back from my vacation a married woman when I had been single when I left, but I had no idea what was coming when my week long vacation started!  Surprise!
  

Me posting by the new/pre-owned truck
that was a gift to my husband and I
from his parents.

So sometimes art imitates life, and sometimes life imitates art.  In my case, life often feels like abstract art.  But then I can take something simple and straight forward and twist my perspective just right and come up with something...well, abstract!

Granted, a writer draws from their life experiences, which is probably why there is a lot of naivety to the characters in my first novel.  In a lot of ways, I was writing about experiences I hadn't had yet. Okay, some I've never had - like being kidnapped or in a coma.  (knock on wood)  But that's where imagination comes in (and a passing knowledge of some basic psychology).  Google makes research so much easier than it used to be, so long as you find the right sights.

There will never be a perfect lineup of similarities between real life and fiction.  And that's the way it should be.  Just enough to let us know that the story isn't all that far-fetched.  After a story, we should be left thinking, "That could happen to me."

Because you know, it sometimes does.  (See pic of truck -- speechless!)

There are probably more comparisons I could make between my story and my real life relationship, because every relationship has different sides to it.  Differents shades of grey, different chapters.  Real or imaginary.  Just like no two books are alike, even on the same subject, so it is with relationships.

Never stop believing in the fairy tale moments of real life.

Family, Babies and Painting

I had a busy weekend.  Correction, Sunday and Monday were busy.  Saturday was busy in the catch up on laundry kind of way.  Nothing exciting there, although I did get to meet some of the new neighbors as I gave them a ride into town.  Not having a vehicle is a pain, and it is something I remember well so I'm more than willing to help people out.

An older pic of Oneida Lake, NY.  At sunrise no less.

Sunday I joined my mother and my youngest brother for a road trip to Syracuse, New York.  I'm not sure why we say that, because we actually go above that city to a little country area just outside the village of West Monroe.  I used to really enjoy driving or riding through that city, this country girl who secretly loves cities was always so impressed.  Now, after seeing New York City, Syracuse kind of pales in comparison.  My brother and I had good conversation on the way up, including a run down on the Hunger Games as he knows nothing about them and hasn't seen the movies.

Because of the side trip into Cicero for the church service we were attending, I missed my favorite bit of scenery anyway and that was going across the bridge over Oneida Lake.  It scared me as a child, but that changed the older I became and the vast body of water fascinates me.  I had been planning on video taping it this time as we crossed it, but I failed to let the driver know and by the time I realized we were taking a different route there was no point in speaking up.

This was the first time I've attended a church service in I don't know how many years.  Well, there was my sister's baptism last summer but that wasn't a "normal" service so I don't know that it counts.  There was music that time, but no sermon as they had people give testimonies instead.  It was ok. This past Sunday was ok as well, although it was different.  I'm not precisely sure how the Vineyard churches operate, but instead of having a different pastor for each church and a different message each Sunday, they stream the head pastor in from where ever he's at.  I'd never experienced something like that and I'm still undecided as to how I feel about it.  Not that it matters, it's not my church.

We were there to support my cousin Lawrence as he dedicated his youngest two children to the Lord.  An act that maybe took two minutes.  I wasn't timing it, honest, as I was too busy fighting with my iPhone so that I could snap a picture!  It kept telling me that I didn't have enough room in memory!  What?  I just deleted pictures not that long ago!  I've had problems with my phone ever since I upgraded to IOS 7; I really need a new phone to go along with the software upgrade!

From left to right: Tim holding his son Gabriel; 
Serena and her nephew Alex; Leland;
Rebecca holding niece Paige - being dedicated; 
Lawrence holding daughter Hailey - also being dedicated .

Standing up with my cousin Lawrence as godparents for the little girls his wife left behind was his twin brother and sister-in-law, Leland and Becky and their oldest sister Serena and her husband Tim.  I have to be honest, the entire custody issue with Lawrence and the little girls confuse me somewhat, but I'll save that until my joint post with my cohort next week.  CP has it started already, and I'm supposed to provide the logical perspective since I don't have children of my own.  Trust me, I heard all about how I need to catch the baby germ while visiting my family!  That post should be up some time mid-week of next week.

We spent the day with my New York relatives, eating up popcorn and looking at the Tim and Serena's pictures from their mission trip to Haiti.  They went in January while their home state of Indiana was getting a blizzard.  Of course, they had stories to go with most of the pictures.  Even pictures that had been lost were mentioned - like the little boy who wouldn't let them take his picture until he had bathed and put on his good clothes, even though bathing meant he had to draw the water from the village well and heat it as well.  The things we take for granted here in the US!

It was late when I arrived back home, after 11pm and I was ever so glad that Monday was another "dark day" and I didn't have to be up at 4:15 the next morning.  As tired as I was, I stayed up until midnight watching WatchMojo.com videos on YouTube while waiting for Mr. Janney to come to bed.

Painting black on black...

Since I didn't have to work on Monday, I decided to help Mr. Janney with his latest project with the welder.  Painting a twenty foot trailer.  Black.  On black.  He had already done the undercoat and was ready for the first layer of regular paint.  There was no way to tell where we left off painting when we renewed the paint on our rollers except to remember where we had stopped.  It was a fun challenge, to be sure.

I enjoy working with my husband.  It's something I miss from when we used to work at the Daily Review together (where we met).  Part of me regrets that we changed employers, but we have to do what pays the bills the best.  And where I'm at now does pay better, even working four days a week.  They're hoping the market is changing so that we'll start working five days again.  As long as our daily hours go down so that we're not working 9 or 9 and half hours I'll be okay with that; we've worked 9 and a half so far this week and my body is telling me all about!  That extra half hour may not seem like much, but it does have an affect.

I'm going to eave you with a short short video of my cousin Serena blowing bubbles for her son Gabriel and her niece Hailey.

What about you readers?  Do you like to travel?  What's the farthest you've ever traveled to spend time with family?