Monday Musing's...

OR GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER...
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The other day I was sitting in my chair in the family room visiting with my husband. As we talked I noticed that there were no birds outside at the bird feeders or anywhere in the yard. This is totally unusual, we always have dozens of two to three kind of Dove and then dozens of Sparrow and Finch all teaming around scratching for food or wandering around our property.
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I mentioned this phenomena to Don and he said there weren't any birds when he came in the house either. STRANGE.
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So of course I kept looking out the window trying to figure out if Daisy or Spidie, our dogs, were out there and had scared the birds... or if George our cat was hunting; he likes to sit under the Sage bush where the bird feeder is and pounce when he gets a chance (which isn't very often because he's mostly white and can easily be seen). But there was no sight of either of the dogs or the cat. Humm?????
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Then I saw it! It hopped out from the Sage bush with the feeder - a Hawk! Beautiful bird. Amazing bird, he tried to fly into the bush but he was so heavy the branches didn't hold him very well. But when he flew up there and then hopped to another branch all kinds of Sparrow flew out of the bush 90 miles an hour! :O)  They had been trying to hide from the Hawk!  LOL
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Next the Hawk flew into the yard to a more wimpy bush. I said, "You crazy bird, that bush isn't strong enough to hold you either!" He didn't care. Then he flew out of the bush onto the grass. He looked like he might have something in his talons, but it had to be awfully small I decided. Then the amazing thing happened, Don and I watched him meticulously pluck each feather out of the little bird he had caught in the bush. He plucked every feather and then proceeded to eat his dinner. There
wasn't anything on the grass but feathers after he flew away. Nothing, Nada, Zero, Zip!
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Here are some of the pictures I was able to sneak from inside the house:
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Monday's Musing - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner...

Here are the pictures taken from my window.

Luckily I was able to zoom in on him & not scare

him too bad. Isn't he awesome?

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Monday Musings...

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted, but I've been busy.

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I thought you might like to see the camper we bought and our maiden voyage camping in it. Its not brand new, but new to me. We had a great time at a scout outing with Don's troop. Don had me drive and park to make sure I could actually do so.  :O)  I did good!  :O)  Okay I've tried for days to get these pictures to line up right but for some reason they are still determined to have big spaces between them so bear with that please.

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MY PARKING JOB:

 

 

 

 

 

I did good didn't I?















 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

OUR MAIDEN VOYAGE CAMPING TRIP:

  North Mountain Park, Casa Grande, AZ

Notice my license plate in window.  :O)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Carving Golf Ball

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 









 

















 I hope you've enjoyed my trip.  :O)



~Joyce



Friday's Fractured Features- The Next Big Thing Blog Chain...

The Next Big Thing Blog Chain

Heidi L Kleinman Murphy has chained me to this The Next Big Thing Blog Chain. Heidi L Kleinman Murphy is the author of  Small Deceptions

To see her link go to: http://www.murph4slaw.blogspot.com/
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By joining this blog chain I get to answer a few questions about my WIP (work in progress) and generate a little excitement for my work before it's out.  :O)  So here we go to my answered questions:
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*My work In Progress is titled: Just Another Player
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*Where did you get the idea for your book?
Strange that is... I was sitting at my kitchen window staring off into space when this idea came to me. It kept niggling my brain until I finally decided that I should write it down. It has since developed into a two part Suspense/Thriller novel that's quite different from the original romance it started out to be.
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*What's the genre of your book?
Just Another Player is a Suspense/Thriller with a touch of Romance weaving through the pages.
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*Which actors would you choose to play your characters in the movie?

..Suzanna Delrio - Natalie Portman (although she's taller than my character. Humm, I might have to fix that.)
..Dielan Delrio - Well of course this has to be Matthew McConaughey
..Tony Delrio - Daniel Craig
..Kabe Hampton - Pierce Brosnan

..The Great One - Joe Manganiello

..Lexis Bennett - (Suzanna's sister) - Scarlett Johansson
..Marnie Hyatt - (Suzanna's bff) - Jennifer Aniston
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*My elevator pitch:
Thirty-one year old Suzanna Delrio witnessed the burning and subsequent death of her husband. She now fears her children will be left orphans when a stalker begins terrorizing her.
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*Will your book be represented by a publisher or self-published?
I'm going to pitch it to publishers.
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*How long did it take you to write the first draft?
You really don't want to ask that question. It's been on the drawing board it seems like FOREVER! Yes, years.
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*What other books compare to yours in your genre?
Authors/Books that come to mind are:
.Clair M. Poulson - all his works
.Traci Hunter Abramson - all her works
.Lisa Jackson - although my language/scene is not so graphic.
.Stephanie Black
.John Grisham
My novel is a mixture of them.
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*Who or what inspired your book?
The first real book I remember reading was Kidnapped - The Lindbergh Case - that was an on the edge of your seat story! I read it for English class in school many thousands of years ago.
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*What else about this book might pique a reader's interest?
I wanted to write a story about a woman's struggles in life and an addiction that seems to consume her after the death of her husband. The human element of her life with family and friends and what her addiction leads to and how she deals with it; all at the same time she's being stalked and harassed by some unknown evil person. But it also has a touch of humor and love interests, along with the bond of an unfailing friend. This is a down to earth thriller with no dirty/foul scenes or bad language in it - which I hope will be well received and liked.
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*Now to fling the link out to someone else. How about:
Chas Hathaway?Tina Scott?Jennifer Brown Bennett?
Heather Horrocks Author?

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Come on Down and join the Next Big Thing Blog Chain... .
If you want to join us, just and then you find 3 or so other writers who want to chain in and add their links to your blog. The questions that you answer on your blog about your WIP are on my blog.

Monday's Musings...

So today I spent the whole morning trying to get signed up for the ANWA Conference coming up in February... I was ready to throw my computer out the window because I thought it was the user (me) that was the problem. Luckily I found that's not so...
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Problem was fixed and after literally hours I have finally gotten myself signed up; motel room reserved; AND the amazing thing is that I have gotten brave and signed up for a pitch session as well. Whew!
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Now I say whew because I've never had the courage to sign up to do a pitch of my work before and its a scary thought. In the process of the whole thing I hope I don't do something stupid while trying to pitch my book. Yikes, I'm going to have to go around stopping everyone I know and everyone I don't know and pitching my book to them so I get a little practice and don't make an idiot of myself when it really matters... Well at least I have a few months to syke myself into it...  :O)
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Wish me luck everyone!

Wacky Wednesday...

A Book Review...
Wacky Wednesday by Theo. LeSieg
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Ha today is Wacky Wednesday for sure
And I want to share with you my lure.
So what started this silly post,
For me to Wacky Wednesday host?
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I had a granddaughter who liked me to read
For learning n knowing she had a great need.
So children's books we bought by the score
And reading them to her wasn't a chore.
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One of our favorite books to read over again-
One that brought giggles and a great big grin;
It's Wacky Wednesday by Theo. LeSieg
Where wackiness reigns throughout the gig.
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This book written in nineteen-seventy-four
Of it, all of my grand-kids truly adore.
Now it starts with a shoe on the wall,
A shoe that shouldn't be there at all.
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And sends you on a fun hunt for the age
For the wacky things hidden in the page.
Then you look for six things that are wrong
Out the school door ten things more join the throng.
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It's a fun way for children to learn
As they count the hidden things by turn
Now if you have never read this book
I highly recommend you go get hooked!
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I say Wacky Wednesday is as fun for parent as it is for child!
It gets five stars from me!  *****
~Joyce P. Smith

Monday's Musings - on Tuesday...

Here are a few pictures I took a few weeks ago that I think go along with this month's theme.  :O)
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Eerie looking things -

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Papago Park, AZ - March 17, 2012

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Witch's Hair tree. Cottonwood, AZ - Sept 15, 2012

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Goblin tree - at Montezuma Castle National Park, AZ- Sept. 16, 2012

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Witch's best friend. Cottonwood, AZ - Sept 15, 2012

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Witch's Moon! - Maricopa, AZ - Sept 27, 2012
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Hope you enjoyed the pics. Have a great goblin Month!  :O}

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~Joyce