Murder by the Mile

The second edition of Murder by the Acre is now on sale. Go here to purchase it for your very own. Tell everyone! Here's the cover.



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Wisdom

This is a speech that the High Lama of the lost city of Shangri La gives in the Frank Capra movie "Lost Horizon." I've always thought it was wise. Read it aloud for the full effect of these stirring words.

"Look at the world today.
Is there anything more pitiful?
But when has the world known any other time?
What madness there is, what blindness, what unintelligent leadership.
A furiously racing mass of bewildered humanity, strengthening not in wisdom
but in vulger passions, crashing headlong into eachother,
motivated by greed and propelled into brutality.
The time must come when evil will destroy itself.

"For when the day comes that the world begins to look for a new life,
it is our belief they will find their reservoir of hope here.
So here we shall stay with our books and our music and our meditation.
Here we shall be to guide the footsteps of a weary people.
Here we shall be with our way of life based on one simple rule BE KIND.
And it is our hope that Shangri La's brotherly love will spread throughout the world.
And when the strong have devoured each other,
then, at last,
The meek shall inherit the earth."

If it could only be so.

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What I did

Let's see. What did I do last week?
- Cleaned house. Sigh. I don't think of myself as a messy person, but somehow messes happen.
- Regular daily chores. I want a maid! To clean house. Get your minds out of the gutter. :)
- Walked four days. Knee swelled, and I had to skip one day. Arthritis is a ... female dog.
- Continued on the low carb diet. Blood sugar is doing well. Not as low as I'd like, but I think it will get there. Bought a no-sugar cookbook. Collected low carb recipes.
- Went out to eat four times with various friends. Ate low carb each time. Rather proud of that.
- Waited for the arrival of the anthology proof copies, which arrived Wednesday and Thursday. They look good. A few formatting errors, but easily fixed.
- Went to the writers group meeting Saturday morning. Gave out proof copies. Discussed contracts and what comes next.
- Went to Wal-Mart in the afternoon and was actually able to buy jeans there in my size. A side effect of my diet is that I've lost 4 inches around my waist and 36 pounds. Quite amazing. Wish I had done this six months ago. Who knows how well I'd be doing by now?
- Went out to eat Saturday night with three friends, including one from my writers group. Two of them ate low carb, too. One did not. I wore a pair of my new "slimmer" jeans.
- Church today. Watched a couple of old movies while cleaning my desk and getting my book notes organized.
- Wrote up the contract for the anthology for all the authors to sign at the next meeting.

This week:
- Walk at least four days.
- Continue on the low carb diet.
- Daily chores.
- Renew tag on car.
- Pay bills.
- Write each day -- at least one word, dang it -- on Murder by the Mile.
- Proofread my anthology entries one last time.

And if I do all that, I'll be really pleased. Talk to you later.

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Proof copies arrive

The first shipment of the proof copies of the Ada Writers anthology Creations 2012 arrived a few minutes ago. (The publisher shipped the proof copies in three shipments. The others should arrive tomorrow.) Books look good. A few minor errors still to correct, but nothing major so far. I'm very pleased.

Sometime next month, Creations 2012 should go on sale. I'll give you more details as I have them.

Talk to you later.

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Good news!

I have something important to share: for the first time in years, my blood sugar is below 100! I took it a few minutes ago, and it was 97. My first reading below 100. The low carb diet is working! I'm very excited about this. Had to share the good news with you. My first normal reading in years! So wonderful.

Otherwise, not much to tell you. It started raining this afternoon and still is. I made two cards, cleaned house, walked at the gym, went out to eat with a couple of my friends, watched Castle, folded some clothes, and watched The Tonight Show. That was my day. It was busy, but good.

Hope you had a good day. Talk to you tomorrow.

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Pout

And how are you on this bright Saturday? Except it's not bright here; it's cloudy and windy, and I am in a major pout.

Yes, yes, yes, I know. Pouting is unattractive and immature. If my mother was still alive, she would have plenty to say to me. And it would all be good advice. "Count your blessings." "Grow up." "Get busy." "Pray." "Hope." "Sing." "Work." "Do your chores." My mama was a practical person.

So I know what I should I do. Pick myself up. Get moving. Pursue my dreams.

However ...

I find myself sitting in my dark living room, mindlessly watching old and dumb TV shows. I find myself tossing and turning in bed until I get up and wander my house at night. I find myself refusing to do any of these things that I should be doing.

Not quite true.

I am doing one thing. And I suspect it's the cause of this extended pout. I'm on a low low low carb diet for my blood sugar. And I am keeping that. I'm not drinking fruit juices, I'm not devouring bread, I'm not enjoying pasta, I'm not gorging on Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Cookies, I'm not guzzling Dr Pepper, I'm not doing dozens of things I used to do. And ... I miss them.

Oh Lord how I miss them.

The diet is working. Dang it. My blood sugar is trending low. Not as low as I'd hope -- as I think it should be considering how hard I'm finding this -- but lower than ever. I've even had normal levels -- I should say normal like non-diabetics since my normal is apparently around 200, which is bad, but feels so much better than 103.

Well, there I am. And I'm so cranky. And depressed. Even Eeyore would find me a downer. And I know I'm being one. Gloomy. Bleak. Goth. I'm even wearing black clothes. (Actually, I wear a lot of black, anyway, on the mistaken assumption that it hides some of my ... ah ... flab.) If I had black eye shadow -- well, I wouldn't wear it, but you get the point.

Enough of that. Let's count my blessings and accomplishments.

1. The diet is working.
2. I got the writers group anthology submitted to the publisher. We're not through with it yet, but we're so close I can taste it. I will be grateful when it's done.
3. I've been helping a friend work on his book of devotions. I'm hoping it should be out in September.
4. I kept up with most of my chores, although the house could do with a good dusting.
5. I've walked some at the gym. Not as much as I should have. But I have.
6. I had lunch with a couple of friends this week. And kept the diet.
7. Received a lot of nice compliments from the writers group members about the cover of the anthology, which did turn out nice.

Anyway, that's what I've been doing. Next week I want to not pout and write on Murder by the Mile. Sorry for the pout.

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Cover for Creations 2012

I will have a mystery short story and several poems in Creations 2012, the forthcoming anthology from Ada Writers. Here's a proof of the cover. Oh, the short story features Lt. Ron Sims from the Measurements of Murder™ series.

The anthology should be out in May. I'll let you know more details as I have them.

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Learning

Sometimes the right moment passes you by.

Perhaps you didn't notice as it did, your life filled with all the things that make up a day. Only a touch on your soul like the breeze from a distant storm touches you, and then you know.

If you're lucky, if love is true, it will come again. But don't plan your life around it.

Go forward.

Love what you have.

Learn how to be happy with goodbye.

And swear to yourself if the chance comes again, you'll leap into the void with your arms spread wide.

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ATTENTION!

Attention! Attention! Attention! Attention!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog for this important announcement.

Murder by the Mile will be published July 30, 2012!

We will now return you to your regular blog programming.

Thank you for your attention.

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First proof MBTM cover

The first proof cover of Murder by the Mile. It will change somewhat, I think. What do you think of it?

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