WOW! The world is going crazy. Toilet paper shortage. Why?

This not a flu that causes you to have the shits.

This mad rush to buy everything whether you need it or not is ridiculous.

Before being house bound last Saturday, I get a call from my oldest son.

He asks for help because his truck is stuck in a mud field that just last work was solid ground.

So, I take my truck over to pull him out of it and end up getting stuck too.

His landlord comes along and he pulls me free. Son takes my truck and goes at his in a different direction to try to pull his truck out.  Once again, my truck gets stuck.

After all that, we go to Tractor Supply and I end up buying a 9000-pound pull winch.

By the way, I am starting a pull you out business with my winch. Prices are reasonable.

Anyway, the winch pulled his truck free and then we moved it to his truck parked outside the mud field and he pulled my truck free.  Total time 9:30 to 2:00.

Not what was on my schedule for that day. But what the heck, we were working together.

This week has been staying in the house and only going out once so far to pick up a lunch meal.

We went to a place called Sporty’s at Bass Lake to get a carry out meal. Then parked in front of the old Shore Club and ate lunch while looking at the lake across the street.  There was one fishing boat out there. Too far out to see if they were catching their next meal. LOL.

Will have to go to Lowe’s one day this week to get supplies needed to wire up a new 220-volt line before they come next week to put in the new furnace.  Going to be really warm in here after that.

Maybe I will even work on the new novels if the Muse shows up and moves me to write.

How are you doing during this time of having to stay in or being very careful around people?

Leave a message down below and let us all know what is going on in your world.

No information requested during the messaging is recorded anywhere, and it generates no spam from leaving a message.

Please leave a message down below in the Comment section. Just click on the word Comments and be assured the info you put in will not be sold or used.

I look forward to reading your comments. 

Until next time,

John

Please visit my website at www. johnpoindexter.com

Here is a list of my eBooks that are only 99 cents each.

She Rises at Dawn, Dreamer's Paradise, Hollywood Dream, and All in the Family Cruise.
You can find them at Amazon http://tinyurl.com/ma8gd83
 

They are also on Nook and Kobo.

Smashwords carries them in all formats and even in PDF files.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JohnPoindexter

You don't need a special reader machine.  You can download the Kindle app or Nook app from their websites to use on your computer, tablet, or laptop and cellphone.

Looking at the new novel and I thought I would share a scene or two from it. Maybe someday I will get back to it.  

I need to find the willpower to get back to writing. 

My mind is writing new stories, but the fingers are not putting them down on paper or in a document.

The Muse has been gone since before my heart surgery. She seems to be taking an extra-long vacation. 

Does anyone know how to call her back?  I believe there has to be a way to get her to return and to inspire me to get off my ass and write.

If you have any advice, please leave a message down below in the Comment section. It will ask for some info on you, but that is not saved anywhere. At least I have never found it, so I can't use it to spam you. Feel free to leave a comment. Trust me, we have tested this and the info you leave is not used.

Hawks looked at his watch and it read eleven-thirty when Mike came out of his room and they left the motel. Hawks was hoping Juan would be at the fishing pier. He didn't want to chase him down again.

It took them ten minutes to arrive at the pier. As they pulled in the parking lot, Hawks said, “Mike, pull up here and let's wait.”

“You don't think this guy will double cross us, do you?” Mike said, looking around the nearly empty lot.

“I hope not, for his sake.”

“There's a car pulling in from the west drive,” Mike said.

“Maybe that's him. Just sit tight until we're sure he's alone.”

Juan climbed out of his car and walked toward the pier. He leaned up against the railing at the edge of the pier and just looked out toward the water. After a few quiet minutes, Hawks decided he must be alone.

“Mike, stay here with the car and watch my back,” Hawks said.

“Sure.”

As Hawks walked up to Juan, he kept his guard up. “Juan, what do you have for me?”

“Man, you sure got me in a lot of trouble.” The man's face was shiny with perspiration, and his hands shook slightly. Hawks could tell it had not been an enjoyable meeting he'd had with Carlos. “Carlos was pissed off about losing my shipment. He's not sure what his boss is going to do with me.”

“Didn't you explain that you had no choice?”

“Yes, but they couldn't find the goods where I said I dumped them. It looks like I stole them, trying to make a deal for myself.”

“No problem,” Hawks said, shaking his head. “I'll have a news release put out that the Coast Guard found them. That should cover you. Now, when is the next shipment coming in?”

“I don't know,” he said and paused. “Carlos wouldn't tell me anything because I lost this shipment. All he said was that if I get another shipment, I wouldn't be paid for either trip.”

Hawks nodded. “That's what you told me this morning. Give me your best guess as to when it's coming.”

He shrugged and said, “Thursday or Friday night.”

“I want a call as soon as you find out,” Hawks said, pointing his finger at him.

“Yes, I remember the number. Now I must go before someone spots us. There are not many fishermen out here on this pier,” he said, looking around.

“I'll be waiting for your call.” Hawks turned to walk away.

{In this selection, the tension between Hawks and his wife over her working starts again}

“What assignments do you have for us?” Hawks turned to watch Sadie's expression.

“I have two. Sadie, your job is to work with the radio operator. I want one of you to be here at all times. Steve, I would like for you to pick up Arthur when he gets here.”

“You mean I'm going back to work?” Sadie said excitedly.

“That's what the boss said before we left home,” Mike said and then grimaced at saying it.

Hawks knew he was about to be yelled at for playing this trick on her.

“Steve Hawks,” Sadie shouted. “Why didn't you tell me? And why did you let me believe that you didn't want me to work?”

“I never said I didn't want you to work, just that I thought it was too soon. Besides, I thought over what you said and decided you were right,” he said sheepishly.

“That's not an explanation, that's an excuse,” Sadie snapped and turned to walk toward the radio.

“I told you, you were going to make her mad,” Mike said, looking back to the clipboard he was reading over.

“You didn't help by throwing in the part about before leaving,” Hawks said, frowning.

“Hey, it just slipped out.”

“Thanks, I really needed that kind of help.”

Please leave a message down below in the Comment section. Just click on the word Comments and be assured the info you put in will not be sold or used.

I look forward to reading your comments. 

Until next time,

John

Please visit my website at www. johnpoindexter.com

Here is a listing of my eBooks that are only 99 cents each.

She Rises at Dawn, Dreamer's Paradise, Hollywood Dream, and All in the Family Cruise
You can find them at Amazon http://tinyurl.com/ma8gd83
They are also on Nook and Kobo.

Smashwords carries them in all formats and even in PDF files.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JohnPoindexter

You don't need a special reader machine.  You can download the Kindle app or Nook app from their websites to use on your computer, tablet, or laptop and cellphone.

2019 started off with a busy schedule. I finally started writing again

and increased the size of the first novel in the Steve Hawks series

by 13,000 words. Then along came two biopsies.  Thank God they

turned out to be nothing serious. Now all I have left is to align the

chapter headings and re-number them so they are in order. After

that I can start rewriting book two and write more on books three

and four that I abandoned a couple of years ago to concentrate on

books one and two.

I am trying to decide if I want to market out book one to an agent

or publisher before I have them all done, or wait so the series will

be completed and more desirable to a publisher. Guess I will make

that decision soon. What are your thoughts on this?

How is the year going for you? 

Leave a message down at the bottom where it says Comments and tell us about you. We really do want to know.

Here is a short piece out of one the eBooks.

All in the Family

THE DISCOVERY

            Everyone was at breakfast except Carol.  Nobody had seen her all morning, so we guessed she skipped breakfast in order to sleep in late.

            “Ladies and Gentlemen,” the Activities Director said, “we will be having different contests throughout the day.  Please check the handouts on your tables for something that might be of interest to you.”

            “Linda,” Terri said.  “Have you seen Carol?”

            “Not since last night when her and Georgia were talking about spoons.”

            “She would love this trivia contest today.  I think I will go find her,” Terri said as she got up from the table.

            “Okay, see you later,” Linda said.

            Almost everyone had finished breakfast when Terri came back into the dining room looking like she was getting seasick.

            “Terri, are you okay?” Tony asked.  Terri nearly missed the chair she was attempting to sit down in.  Luckily, Tony had fast reflexes and caught her.

            “Terri,” Linda said. “What’s a matter?”

            “It’s Carol,” Terri said.

            “What about Carol?” Tony asked as he was walking by.

            “Is something wrong?” Linda asked.

            “What is it?” Monica asked.

            “She was found dead in her cabin this morning,” Terri said as she started crying.

Until next time,

John

Please visit my website at www.johnpoindexter.com

Here is a listing of my eBooks that are only 99 cents each.

She Rises at Dawn, Dreamer's Paradise, Hollywood Dream, and All in the Family Cruise
You can find them at Amazon http://tinyurl.com/ma8gd83
They are also on Nook and Kobo.

Smashwords carries them in all formats and even in PDF files.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JohnPoindexter

You don't need a special reader machine.  You can download the Kindle app or Nook app from their websites to use on your computer, tablet, or laptop and cellphone.

When one hears that they have taken a sabbatical,

they think of a college professor.

Can a writer take one?

Or does it just get called writer’s block?

You write what you think is the perfect story,

Even though you know there is nothing that is ever perfect.

But the story comes to a point where you scream that is

the best ending, I have ever written.

Then you are told it is too short.

You scream again, but the neighbors didn’t appreciate that one.

In reference to the above, the perfect story ends just at the right place

 where the characters and the story line are complete.

 But, now you must/nay are forced to increase the story size.

Where to start… where to start.

This is what you have been thinking on for over a year.

After a too long of time, you think maybe I should give in and

increase the number of pages of a completed work, after all.

Your mind is cloudy with the thoughts of, How am I going to increase the size of this perfect story?

You look at the second-best story you have written and find it has over 65,000 words.

How did you go so short in the first one to have only just over 40,000?

Who is this mystical God that says a novel has to be more than 50,000 words?

Finally, I have become convinced that I must go back to work either with my mind creating or my fingers typing some more words.

Will I?

Back in the Nineties when the Internet had started here via dial-up, we played an on-line game with a chat room. In this chat room, I stated writing a story, so much a night over a period of time. When finished it was suggested that I should publish that story, but I knew I would have to not use their on-line names, but make up new ones. That story is called All in the Family Cruise. After that I wrote three more short stories and published all of them as eBooks. Below is part of the opening of Dreamer's Paradise.

She walked out into the night air knowing it could be the last time.  She was going to put an end to it and move as far away as she could.  It was over, she knew it, but would he let her go. The air was bitter against her cheeks for a June night, but she couldn’t stop now, “not now” was all she thought. 

Now it would stop. She waited for a car to pass and then crossed over to Second Street.  Feeling in her pocket, the gun was ready.  He was there, leaning on the lamp post as usual talking to his low-life friends.  He didn’t even turn around when she walked up.

      “What you want?” Jimmy asked.

      “Nothing.  I just have this for you,” she said and handed him the divorce papers.

As usual he drew back his hand and was ready to hit her when she pulled the 22 caliber out of her pocket. He laughed and swung at her. She ducked and hit him in the leg with the first bullet.

She arrived at home a little after midnight and knew he wouldn’t be there yet.  She made sure all the doors were locked and then climbed into the cab that was waiting for her.  She told the driver, “Drive by Second and Main, please.”  She was curious to see if he was still standing there bleeding. As they drove through the intersection, she smiled and leaned back…

Below where it says Comments is the place to click and leave your questions, comments or even suggestions. Please leave a comment about what is on your mind.

Until next time,

John

Please visit my website at www.johnpoindexter.com

Here is a listing of my eBooks that are only 99 cents each.

She Rises at Dawn, Dreamer's Paradise, Hollywood Dream, and All in the Family Cruise
You can find them at Amazon http://tinyurl.com/ma8gd83
They are also on Nook and Kobo.

Smashwords carries them in all formats and even in PDF files.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JohnPoindexter

You don't need a special reader machine.  You can download the Kindle app or Nook app from their websites to use on your computer, tablet, or laptop and cellphone.

In this Bog there are two articles from Beth Ann Erickson, who owns Filbert Publishing. Visit their website at https://filbertpublishing.com/

Sprinter vs Marathoner… Which are You?
Beth Ann Erickson

Today I’m going to reveal a writing hack that’ll transform your writing session into a power guzzling, word crunching, mind zapping, something or another… some crazy brouhaha… er… eh, just forget it.

What’s up with all the hacks?

Get this “hack/product” and you can forget writing, just talk into your computer and words will magically appear, presumably with perfect punctuation, incredible flow, and due to sheer enthusiasm, you’ll magically create a best seller!

Get this other hack and you’ll spend hours maintaining perfect multiverses (for a monthly fee), instead of allowing them to grow organically in your own mind.

Hey! Thisother hack will help you write millions of words every year! (Just don’t spend any time with your family.)

Seriously? Have we gone mad? I remember when using hacks was a bad thing (and being one was worse).

Here’s my secret: Writers create at various speeds. They use methods that work for them. It’s just the way it is. Not too glamorous, eh?

Right now, Amazon is getting flooded with “ebooks” created using hacks. And yes, they generally suck (I purposely selected that word because it best describes those books. Sorry if you’re offended.). You know why?

Great writing is thoughtful. It doesn’t follow formulas. It breaks rules. Great writers know their audience and speak directly to them, using their language. No shortcuts for that.

I can’t help but think hacks are like sprinters who fly through their event, win the crown, then are finished. Will they go on to win again? Who knows.

Marathoners, on the other hand, understand the race is long. They can’t really hack their training, they must stick to tried and true, lifetime routines.

So yea. If you want to hack, have at it. But if you want a long term career, while it’s not very glamorous, stick to what works: Write. Market. Experiment. Write some more. Strengthen your writing like a marathoner strengthens her muscles.

Make your heart pound. Write through pain. Write when you feel great. Write when you’re scared. Write when you’re uncertain tomorrow will come.

Guard your writing time. Then write.

To me, writing is a privilege. It’s honor. It’s hope.

Writing is sanity when life becomes insane.

Good writers understand that a writing career is more like a marathon than a sprint.

Great writers realize that in the end, they only raced against themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This article is courtesy of Filbert Publishing. Make your writing sparkle, write killer queries, get published. Subscribe to Writing Etc., the free e-mag for freelancers and receive the e-book “Power Queries.” http://filbertpublishing.com

Want to sell your writing? Make sure you complete these five basic tasks…

Beth Ann Erickson
http://FilbertPublishing.com

If you want to sell your writing, you need to understand a few fundamental truths. These include:

1. Every writer needs to learn the basics of copywriting

You need to identify your writing’s primary benefits, zero in on them with a laser focus, and absolutely nail those benefits using active language.

2. Keep the reader on the page

Readers drop boring writing fast. In fact, in the Internet age, you have less than a couple seconds to snag a reader’s attention and draw them into your message.

3. Pique interest

The reader is concerned with one thing: WIIFM. That stands for “What’s In It For Me.” While it’s impossible to address every person’s self interests, a competent writer will take the time to get to know their audience, poke around enough to know their primary concerns, and will address these… and how you can solve them… using concrete, active language.

4. Communicate using the language of the reader

This is exceedingly important.

Many times, the natural inclination is to describe their product in a logical manner, teaching their reader why they should hire them/buy from them. That’s a mistake.

You have to turn the conversation 180 degrees and focus on your reader’s concerns.

5. Copywriting is salesmanship in print

A good writer will adjust language, communication style, even the visual representation of their words (font, images, and such) to conform to customer expectations. For just a few moments, they turn into the potential customer, address their concerns, explain how your product/service will solve those concerns, and will help your customer become excited to make the purchase.

Final thought: Solid copy not only describes your product/service, it sells it in an effective, lively way. Each word carries weight and propels your reader towards the next word, phrase, paragraph. It speaks the language of your reader and closes strong.

If your sales materials fail to do this, it may be time to study the art of copywriting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This article is courtesy of Filbert Publishing. Make your writing sparkle, write killer queries, get published. Subscribe to Writing Etc., the free e-mag for freelancers and receive the e-book “Power Queries.” http://filbertpublishing.com

Until next time,

John

Please visit my website at www.johnpoindexter.com

Here is a listing of my eBooks that are only 99 cents each.

She Rises at Dawn, Dreamer's Paradise, Hollywood Dream, and All in the Family Cruise
You can find them at Amazon http://tinyurl.com/ma8gd83
They are also on Nook and Kobo.

Smashwords carries them in all formats and even in PDF files.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JohnPoindexter

You don't need a special reader machine.  You can download the Kindle app or Nook app from their websites to use on your computer, tablet, or laptop and cellphone.