The Black Horseman Part I

I am happy to announce The Black Horseman Part I by Pat Hardin. I had the opportunity to edit this great family saga and it was quite an eye opener. I happen to know that Ms. Hardin is working on the second part of this great American story about the Jones family of Paulding County Georgia. It is a story of laughter and tears as it relates to the years of 1856 to 1865. In reading this novel, I can see that the issues of these years have never fully been resolved in our country and the same viewpoints and misconceptions are still in play today. It is an excellently crafted book. The cost is $ 16.95 plus shipping and handling. It can be ordered at: theblackhorsemanv1@gmail.com

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Bohemian Rhapsody - reprised - original post

I like to listen to music when I am critiquing my writing, or if I am writing. No matter if I am happy or sad, it would be safe to say that music gets me centered and in a creative mindset. It keeps sane as well. I was at my favorite coffee shop last Friday, going over a manuscript. I had my headphones on and I was in the zone. I put on the Queen channel. For you young folks, Queen was an innovative group from England that came out in the 1970’s. Their first hit was “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It featured Freddie Mercury as the lead singer. He was a powerful vocalist and could play piano with a light touch that would melt your heart. He was a dynamic entertainer, a sexually attractive man with the worst teeth that you have ever seen. Somehow, that overbite seemed to contribute to his overall charm. To say that Freddie Mercury and Queen were trailblazers in alternative music and dress etc. would be rather an understatement. In fact, some of what they did and said, I did not even understand until I was well into my thirties. (We were totally naïve growing up in the mountains of WNC.) All I knew was that I liked it. Freddie Mercury died at the age of 45 from bronchial pneumonia as a complication of AIDS. He had remained silent on his condition until the day before his death to protect those close to him. However, he went public at the last to throw the disease into the light in hopes protecting others and searching for a cure. Now, when I play the videos, I feel a vacuum has been created in the entertainment atmosphere. The award list of his professional career is too long to name, but it can be summed up in one word, talent. I miss Freddie.

Bohemian Rhapsody - reprised

I recently viewed the movie Bohemian Rhapsody about Freddie Mercury and Queen. While it was a wonderfully made movie with a very talented young actor, it is the cautionary tale of insight into those who view the world differently than the average workaday person. Their reality is on a different plane and they perceive the world with an eye for some of the visionary, beautiful things that escape most understanding. It is often incredibly sad and their existence can be lonely as they live in their own dimensions. Even with a crowd of people around them, they are alone. If you look at the genius of Freddie Mercury, Robin Williams, Hand Williams Sr. and so many more, they are beyond the pale of talent, but isolated within this scope. It is as if they are speaking a language only they understand and while they are talking, the world is enjoying their show, but no one listens to them. This is why some self medicate, to dull the pain and loneliness. In this, we should all give them a little bit of extra slack for their idiosyncrasies and habits and just try to appreciate them. When stars fall from the sky, one cannot hold it in one's hands for very long for it burns when touched and cannot be contained for long.

Screw Me Twice for a Hamburger

Gather around kids, I am going to tell you a story of a frustrating Friday night in Hiawassee Georgia. Please be aware, I am almost naming names. Sorry, it is what it is, I cannot help either of these restaurants at this time. I wanted to get my husband and me a burger and fries to go. It was Friday, I was tired, he was tired and we just wanted something to eat without too much trouble. I went to D’s. I knew it was a buffet, but they have a menu. I ordered two hamburgers with everything and fries. They were busy, so I didn’t mind waiting. However, an hour later, I had nothing. I got up to ask a waitress. She immediately brought the order out. I opened the boxes. It was obvious that the order had sat for a good while. The fries were cold and congealed. The burgers were black and they were plain, just meat and bun. I handed these back to the waitress, apologized and left her with the order. I went to the S G, where I should have gone in the first place. I ordered two bacon cheeseburgers with everything and fries. About 15 minutes later, my order appeared, hot and fresh. Great, I thought, and I headed home. My husband and I sat down at the table and opened the boxes. I picked up the lettuce and tomato, assuming that the other half of the hamburger bun would be under the vegetables. No bun top. I checked the other box. No bun top. So, in the town of Hiawassee, I was screwed over twice for something as simple as a cheeseburger! It is really a sorry state in this town when it comes to dining out. Most of the restaurants want to work banker’s hours. Some only serve dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Many are closed on Sunday and some only open Thursday, Friday Saturday. I can’t count the times I have wanted to get dinner out and could think of nowhere to go, as it was past 7, or Monday or just plain poor choices for food. Like the new steakhouse in town whose menu says that the Porterhouse for $29.00 is “Porterhouse cut of filet mignon and the Kansas City Strip.” The Kansas City Strip is the tail end on the Porterhouse. It is the best part and I love it. It had been cut off and what was left was a plain T-Bone for $ 29.00. Most of the tale I have told here is why I have to cook most every night!

RIP Sue Grafton - S is now for Sadness, but V is for Victory

Friday, December 29th, 2017, one of my favorite authors passed away. Sue Grafton, author of the “Alphabet Series” of mystery novels featuring Kinsey Millhone went from A to Y to entertain her readers. Her novels were set back in the eighties. There was no easy way to the truth. Kinsey had to go to the library or beat the streets to get all of her information. Despite the times, she always nabbed the culprit in the end while taking a beating or attempt on her life as a matter of course to get the job done. She always came out the winner. It is a sad thing to know that Y is for Yesterday will be the last submission of the adventures of Kinsey as told by Sue. A writer’s voice may be silenced by the debt that all men pay, but the legacy of their works and words will live on forever. Rest in peace dear Sue. I hope you and Kinsey are one on the other side, kicking butt and stopping the bad guys in an effort to make the world a better place.

Do Writers Crave a Special Place?

LOCATION, LOCATION!!! In a stroke of good luck, I found a book to read at Dollar General. It was well priced and has been one of the better paranormal novels I have read in a while. The novel, The String Diaries by Stephen Lloyd Jones is a story of a family’s struggle with an immortal that can turn himself into anyone he chooses. The storyline so far has been great, but the thing that struck me was in the first part of the book where one of the initial main characters, Charles Meredith, is a college professor at Balliol College on a book deadline. Charles describes in detail where and why he likes to do his work in a certain portion of the college library. He describes “his table,” near the statue of St. Catherine, where surrounded by books on the shelves he could look out the windows to the front quad. He was near the portrait of George Abbot, one of the former Canterbury Archbishops, and a translator of the King James Version of the Bible. He told himself that it was the atmosphere at that particular table that made him so possessive of it, but later learned that it was a lie he had told himself. He couldn’t do any real work anywhere else. Was it a just an OCD thing? Maybe, but it is very possible that it is a writer’s thing too. I find that I have particular places where I can be more productive than at others and I am rather possessive of any certain table that I like. I prefer either of two of the larger chain bread cafes. I need a place near the drink station, and the bathrooms. (This is probably due to my addiction to unsweet iced tea and lemon.) I prefer a booth and it must have an electric hook up for my laptop. Of course, by its nature, the café has delicious sandwiches and pastries. These selections tend to help me along as I create whatever I am working on at the time, whether it is a short story, one of my two novels in progress or my literary magazine, Bohemian Renaissance. Since I have moved to an area that does not feature either of these two cafes, I am somewhat at a loss. I have a spacious office and I am trying to make it a productive area, but even with drinks and snacks, it is not the same. I suppose that in a place somewhat far from home, it is easier to imagine and live inside my head, as many writers and artists tend to do. The cafes provide a dual solution to my needs. I get away from home and escape to a world of my creation. I have a place to pass time when I am bored, giving me the feeling that I am doing something, plus I can turn out a great many words. I believe that the mentality of the creative force needs a special space that will nurture the product of any genre of literature or art. I wonder where J.R. R Tolkien did most of his writing. For if anyone ever lived splendidly in his own head, it had to be Tolkien.