Showing posts with label memorial day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memorial day. Show all posts

Monday, May 25, 2015

Memorial Day, A Change of Mind, and Summer Discipline

I wish a blessed Memorial Day to everyone. I hope your loved ones are safe and nearby. This is a vacation day for many here in the States and usually marks the beginning of the summer season if not the official calendar start. I also hope every takes a moment to remember the reason for the day and thinks of those who have served and given their all.

"When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic." George Orwell

"One man with courage is a majority." Thomas Jefferson

I love the things summer brings. Outdoor exercise, swimming, taking care of my acreage, and sitting on the porch to read. My writing pace always slows down in the summer despite my determination not to slack off.  At the conference I recently attended, I sat in on a workshop about sprint writing. More about that in a later post but I'm hoping it is the answer to my summer slow down.

I'm pleased to feature Nick Wilford today and a blurb for his new release, A Change of Mind and Other Stories Speculative fiction published by Superstar Peanut Publishing

Blurb:

A Change of Mind and Other Stories consists of a novella, four short stories and one flash fiction piece. This collection puts the extremes of human behavior under the microscope with the help of lashings of dark humor, and includes four pieces previously published in Writer’s Muse magazine. 

In A Change of Mind, Reuben is an office worker so meek and mild he puts up with daily bullying from his boorish male colleagues as if it’s just a normal part of his day. But when a stranger points him in the direction of a surgeon offering a revolutionary new procedure, he can’t pass up the chance to turn his life around. 

But this isn’t your average surgeon. For a start, he operates alone in a small room above a mechanic’s. And he promises to alter his patients’ personality so they can be anything they want to be… 

In Marissa, a man who is determined to find evidence of his girlfriend’s infidelity ends up wondering if he should have left well alone. 

The Dog God finds a chink in the armour of a man with a megalomaniacal desire to take over the world. 

In The Insomniac, a man who leads an obsessively regimented lifestyle on one hour’s sleep a night finds a disruption to his routine doesn’t work for him. 

Hole In One sees a dedicated golfer achieving a lifelong ambition. 

The Loner ends the collection on a note of hope as two family members try to rebuild their lives after they are torn apart by jealousy.


Meet the author:



Nick Wilford is a writer and stay-at-home dad. Once a journalist, he now makes use of those rare times when the house is quiet to explore the realms of fiction, with a little freelance editing and formatting thrown in. When not working he can usually be found spending time with his family or cleaning something. He has four short stories published in Writer’s Muse magazine. Nick is also the editor of Overcoming Adversity: An Anthology for Andrew. Visit him at his blog or connect with him on Twitter or Goodreads.

Does summer slow down creep into your writing schedule? Does Memorial Day seem like the start of summer to you? Are you purchasing Nick's book today like I am?

Monday, May 26, 2014

In Our Memories Today

I know many people use this day to have cookouts, family gatherings and perhaps even take a vacation. And why not? Hardworking people deserve those relaxing times. But I always feel sad on this day.

Yesterday was my daughter's twentieth birthday. We no longer have any teenagers in our family. This year also marks 20 years since my father passed away. He was a WWII vet, one of those who went overseas to defend his country.

Like so many men of that era, he'd never traveled more than twenty miles from the house where he was born before he signed up for the army. His older brother had left before him and my dad enlisted as soon as he was old enough. He dropped out of school, leaving after the tenth grade. Though labeled a sharpshooter after arms training, my father was never tasked to be a sniper. Something I'm grateful for but he saw enough terrible things to last a lifetime.
My dad is the handsome guy on the right

That wonderful man married my mother before he left for overseas and then came home and fathered seven children. He worked 16-18 hours a day for nearly forty years, putting us through college and being a great father and example of what a man should be. Today, I always spend the day thinking of him and missing him. He died a few months before my daughter was born and never met her. I know he would be proud of her.

Each day when I read or hear of another armed services member dying in the service to their country, I think of the hole left in the lives of those they left behind. I pray they know others mourn with them. Thank you to those that serve and have served. May you be safe and always appreciated.

Is this day a celebration holiday for you or a day filled with memories? Did you attend a parade or memorial ceremony? Do you know any veterans?

Friday, May 24, 2013

So Little Time

Am I the only person who feels like I never get caught up. I look ahead and think I'm going to have a day with no demands on me but when the day arrives a dozen different things either demand or want my attention.

This long weekend for those of us in the states would appear to be a good time for some relaxing activities. But a whole lot of things are quickly filling the schedule. My daughter's nineteenth birthday is on Saturday. We're shopping for the two meager gifts she requested, going to see Star Trek together and then meeting the rest of the family for wings at our favorite casual restaurant. That will pretty much take care of Saturday.

My husband and my oldest son are working a side job all weekend, leaving me with the duties of shopping for and planning the family cookout on Monday. The usual cleaning and laundry duties will also take their share of time. And this summer-like weather is urging me to get some work done outside.

There is a stack of six books from the library I really want to read and six other books I've purchased and half a dozen on my Kindle that I really want to read. But my current WIP is demanding I fight through the middle. I'm afraid of letting the action slow down. Suddenly a three day weekend seems way to short. But that countdown meter is keeping me sane.

I want to take the time to give a shout out to James Garcia Jr. The official release date for Seeing Ghost is June 3rd but it's available now. Check out his facebook page or his blog to learn more.

Do you have plans this weekend? Are a lot of different things demanding your time? Do you know James or his books?