Meet Bentley

Bentley is a fluffy canine character in my latest novel, Penniless Souls. Usually a playful pup wanting to fetch a ball, until he bares his teeth and acts wild, as if he wants to kill the bad guys. In other words, he's a great little dog. The following snippet is when I introduce him in Chapter Four, which is written from Lani's point of view. Lani is Penny's daughter and she has allergies.   

So cute, huh?
My model's actual name is Bambi.
 He's exactly like Bentley.

From Chapter Four of Penniless Souls

“What?” Aunt Bess shrieked over Bentley’s continuous barking, accompanied by Lani’s sneezes. “Bentley,” be quiet she shouted in a kind-hearted way. Aunt Bess didn’t scold her dog. She treated the dusty mop looking dog like a member of the family.

     “We’ll see you on Tuesday,” Penny repeated, reaching towards Bess and giving her a hug.

     The dog ran around and around the dining room table like Secretariat at the Kentucky Derby. A tiny pink tongue hung from his lips and drool flew in the breezes he created. Aunt Bess gave Lani a quick hug and went back to clapping and yelling at her dog. On Tuesday, Lani would begin a new chapter in her life--a life that included a very rambunctious dog and two cats that might kill her. Her boat capsized on a deserted island. She felt like a hostage, held against her will, a caged captive, in a strange place filled with unusual wildlife.

Hope this short piece about Bentley makes you want to read more! Have a great day! 

Eve Sightings! Opportunities to Meet

October 10^th-Anniversary dinner at Tresino’s Restaurant—26 years!!Whoops, sorry that was yesterday, but you might have seen us walking along busy Catt Road on our way to deliciousness. I wore navy blue lace and he had on a Quicksilver Hawaiian shirt and golf shorts. You'd think we were married in Hawaii! 😂

October 20^th I’ll be at the Diamond Valley Arts Council Festival of the Arts from 10 until 4pm on Harvard Street in Hemet. As far as I know, I'm handing out brochures at the Diamond Valley Author’s table. Stop by and say hello!

October 27^th Is our regularly scheduled Diamond Valley Writer’s Guild Meeting from 9 am to 12 noon. It's held at the Hemet Library on Latham. It’s our last meeting of the year!

November 6th at the Vail Ranch Farmer's Market in Temecula

I'll be there from 1 to 4pm 

That’s all for now. I’ll keep you updated. Will I be lucky enough to meet you?  

The Impossible Dream of Julian Pie

This week, we took a short day-trip over to San Diego County to visit the town of Julian. We haven’t been there in ages and wanted to see if anything had changed. The last time we came, over ten years ago, we stayed to watch a wonderful theater production of The Man of La Mancha.

Other than a few price increases, the California historical landmark has stayed the same. It’s an old west town known for picking apples. They also sell apple juice, hard cider and the secret reason for our trip—yes—delicious pies.

Downtown Julian

 There are antique shops, crafts and specialty foods for sale on Main street and plenty of hiking opportunities for the entire family.

I think that's the fire-station

 We passed a few campsites on the way, noticed some wineries and after we parked the car, we took a stroll in the old Pioneer cemetery. 

Resting under a lovely oak

From what I understand, there used to be a gold mine around there, and it’s still open to visitors.

This place had some unusual antiques.

I knew if I went in there it would take hours to get me out.

 We were lucky to be able to go during the week, as I imagine it gets busy on the weekends.

My chivalrous knight in front of the pie place.

 All in all, we had a wonderful day and recommend it as a short getaway from the noise, stress and general hullabaloo of the city.

Have you been to Julian?

Bakery Rebellion

Are you on the Ketogenic diet?

The gluten free diet?

Going Vegan?

Vegetarian not Vegan. (Learn the difference or you will be embarrassed.)

Low Carb?

Mediterranean?

Low fat?

High Protein?

Atkins?

Raw Food?

South Beach?

Paleo?

Grapefruit diet?

Cabbage Soup?

Sirtfood?

Carnivore diet?

Eggs and wine diet?

Apple Cider Vinegar diet?

Cake cleanse?

Smoothie detox?

No.

No, and no.

Eating is harder to figure out then gender identity. But my new trans-

ition lenses help me see things clearer.

With over one hundred newly recognized genders this year, there will be people celebrating.

Hooray! They will probably have cake!

 

I made this delicious walnut cake last week.
Walnuts are very good for you. 😋
 Maybe I'll post a recipe soon.

Anyway, dieting is something I’m supposed to be doing. (Seriously, I replaced white bread with croissants.)😍

The more I read about the dangerous, long term consequences of dieting, the more I rebel.  

"Let me eat cake," is up there with Russian Roulette and cliff diving in Mazatlan. These are perilous times folks. I'm saying folks to be inclusive to everyone.

Husband can cut out one soda and lose twenty pounds! Just like that! Poof! He misses one meal and looks like a haggard, homeless man. 

Men. Yeah, it’s a gender thing and I’m not too keen on the way they can brag about having great metabolisms.  

Meanwhile, I’m swimming my heart out and walking our lazy pooches all over the place. Apparently, I'd have to walk to the moon and back to burn all my calories.

They should have the Exhausted but I Can't Give Up Cake Diet. It could consist of three hundred calories of anything delicious three times a day. Maybe three generous slices of chocolate cake and a few carrot sticks to equal things out? Hmm.

I didn't think so. 

Butterfly Shadows

I stopped under a moving shadow of a Monarch butterfly.

She fluttered around a tree and flit above a house.

My eyes darted left and right hoping to catch a glimpse of orange.

Her fire

a smudged blur in my memory.

Take a Gamble on My New Romantic Adventure!

It’s finally here!! My second book about Penny, and though it’s a standalone sequel, Penniless Souls is the second half of a two-part journey called the Lost Compass Love Series. Follow Penny and John through the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas, Nevada where old dreams and dark nightmares intertwine, colliding with the bitter truth. Is Penny up to the challenge? Is she willing to bet her last cent? 

Here’s a snippet from Chapter One:

 “Can you trust me?”

Quietly, she nodded and placed her head back on his shoulder.  “I

have so far,” she mumbled without conviction.

It felt like a white flag of surrender.  The type of submission that reminded her of submissive

women in advertising campaigns of the fifties.  Without a job or money,

she had only one thing left.  Fortunately, it was something valuable, some-

thing called love. 

 Buy it by clicking here and don't forget to write a short review! 

http://mybook.to/PennilessSouls

A Plethora of Roosters or a Peep of Chickens?

Not a flight of swallows or a murder of crows--not a siege of herons or a gaggle of geese....

Nor an exaltation of larks or a dole of doves but perhaps a plethora of roosters....

A month ago, we had a few roosters decorating our kitchen. I have this idea that the rooster is an image of forgiveness. So much so, that I wrote a short book about it, called The Fifth Commandment. In my short novella, rooster symbolism abounds. If you haven’t read it, then please click here.

Originally, we had one big rooster on the top shelf that my husband painted, and two old ones on the second shelf.  Both of the smaller ones were gifts. Then, at the end of July, my artistic friend Melodie gave me a gray, wooden hen. She painted it with, what now I believe, are alluring red flowers. Guess these roosters saw her coming, because a few days later my kitchen underwent a transformation.

See that gray hen on the right?

Within a couple of days--as if they spent every night awake--they reproduced! (Another friend brought us a box teeming with feathered fowl.) Now, I have an entire farm of roosters and every time I glance up at that shelf, I wonder.
What just happened? 
Does this mean I'm forgiven?