tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14388506312822745042024-03-13T03:03:33.595-07:00Reading and Writing are FatteningThis blog is a product of the creative imagination of Marla A. Madison,author, reader,and lifelong dieter.Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-30994387170507886782020-01-25T13:21:00.000-08:002020-01-25T13:23:15.647-08:00New book in the Detective Kendall Halsrud series!<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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<i><b> Dear readers,<br /><br />This fifth book in my Malice series has been a very slow endeavor. It will be listed for sale on<br />Amazon.com any day now. Here are a couple initial chapters for you to preview:</b></i><br />
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Aisle of Malice</h2>
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<b>by Marla Madison</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc30273377">1</a></h1>
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Mikayla pulled at the warped screened door, the sharp
creak of its old hinges attacking her nerves like nails on a blackboard. Adding
to the eeriness of the scene, the light over her entry door at the back of the
old house was burned out. Beyond the backyard was a thickly wooded area, which
added to her feeling of isolation. She reminded herself how she’d immediately
fallen in love with the unique charm of her tiny apartment, which was small
compensation at the moment with her fear factor pushing her heartbeat to a
rapid pace.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Darn.</i> She should
have watched to be sure her date had driven away before she’d rushed from the
car and headed behind the large four-story home where her private, isolated
entry sat above a five-step cement porch. Their time together hadn’t gone well,
culminating in him asking, “We won’t be seeing each other after this, will we?”
Mikayla had answered with an honest “No.” So there’d been no escort to her door
when the date ended, and she’d had no desire for him to escort her. </div>
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And there was no reason to be afraid that he would follow
her uninvited. Not really.</div>
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The screen door bounced off her rear as Mikayla quickly
turned the key in the lock of the inner door and hurried inside, grateful she’d
thought to add a deadbolt when she’d moved in. </div>
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Gerald Paltrow had seemed nice enough at first. Mikayla
worked part-time at the mall in a large sporting goods store, and they’d met in
the food court as they were waiting in line for Chinese food. She hadn’t met
many people in Eau Claire and had easily acquiesced when he’d asked for her
phone number.</div>
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A few years older than Mikayla’s nineteen, Gerald had been
patronizing and annoying on their date. All he could talk about was sports and
cars. They had nothing in common, and the conversation had quickly come to a
boring halt. With an unsaid agreement not to extend the night, he’d driven her
home right after they had finished their food, skipping the movie they’d
planned to see.</div>
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The tiny kitchen Mikayla entered from the back door barely
held a few cupboards, a small sink, a table for two, and a four-burner stove.
Disappointed with how the night had turned out, she pulled a soda out of her
dorm-room-sized refrigerator. </div>
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For some reason, she still felt uneasy. She peeked out the
window over the table, which faced the backyard. In the moonless night and
without the light over her door, the darkness held no surprises. There was
nothing to see.</div>
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She left the kitchen and moved up a narrow staircase to the
nine-by-twelve-foot living room. Her bedroom, located off of it, wasn’t much
bigger. Her apartment was an odd setup but had a lot of what she liked to think
of as vintage character. A mansion in its day, the turn of the previous century,
the house had been unprofessionally divided into eight apartments. Hers, the
ninth, had been fashioned out of leftover space.</div>
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On about the fifth step from the top, Mikayla froze in place
when she heard what sounded like footsteps above her. She had a fleeting
thought that noises didn’t necessarily mean footsteps and reasoned there was no
need to panic because the old house had many unusual sounds. </div>
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She heard it again. These weren’t merely house
sounds—someone was in her apartment. Heavy footsteps were coming toward her. </div>
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Mikayla’s body remained paralyzed. Before she could force
her body to move in either direction, a dark figure bolted down the stairs and
pushed past her to the bottom of the stairway. Totally panicked, Mikayla lost
her balance when the intruder shoved her and tumbled down the stairs in his
wake.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc30273378">2</a></h1>
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Detective Kendall Halsrud gathered the silky fabric
above her head and slid it over her body. Her image in the dressing room’s
mirror no longer represented her as a police detective. Her long sandy-brown
hair graced her shoulders, and the totally feminine, ankle-length, column-like
dress fit perfectly. Today’s fitting was only to adjust the hemline.</div>
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“Keep your weight balanced,” Patty reminded her. “This is
the most important part, and it had to wait until your fit was perfect.” She
stepped back and evaluated the wedding dress. “The fit couldn’t be better. You
tall gals really show off a wedding dress.”</div>
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Kendall assumed a rigid posture and tried to focus on the
matter at hand. Her wedding was only weeks off. Adam Nashlund, the love of her
life, had expressed his desire to have a formal ceremony in the Episcopal
church in downtown Eau Claire. Ironic that he was the one to want a big church
wedding since he’d been married before with all the trimmings, unlike Kendall,
who’d never made that trip down the aisle.</div>
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Patty was the wardrobe maker for Kendall’s friend Nat’s
theater group. Nat had offered Patty’s services to make Kendall’s bridal gown
because, Kendall suspected, Nat didn’t trust her to buy one on her own. Nat had
even designed the dress. When Kendall had accepted Nat’s offer to design it,
she’d warned Nat that she would refuse anything too girly—in other words, no
lace, bows, beads, feathers, trains, sequins, or ruffles—forcing Nat to get
creative. </div>
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Kendall had forgotten to say, “No fur.” </div>
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Nat had come up with a simple floor-length, sleeveless
sheath topped by a cape of the same fabric edged with white faux fur artfully
crafted to look like fox. Nat had told her she could flip up the fur-edged hood
at the altar, as it took the place of a traditional veil. Kendall had approved
the sketch. The dress was beautiful and simple, just what she’d asked for,
although she had her doubts that she could do it justice, despite Patty’s
constant flattery that Kendall’s height pulled it off perfectly.</div>
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Before Patty had even half of the hem pinned in place,
Kendall’s phone chimed. “I’m sorry, but I do need to take this.” She really
didn’t, but dress fittings were not Kendall’s thing. Being a detective was, and
she hoped the call would get her out of her fitting, or at least put it off for
a few days. It was unlikely the call was work-related, however, since she was
on days that week and it was nearly ten p.m. She stepped down from the fitting
platform and pulled out her phone.</div>
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“Kendall, it’s Courtney. I’m sorry to bother you, but a
friend of mine is in trouble.” Courtney was a young woman who Kendall had met
when she and her partner had been searching for a killer. Since then, Kendall’s
partner, Ross Alverson, had embarked on an on-again, off-again relationship
with Courtney. Kendall wasn’t quite sure where it stood at the moment. Most
likely off, since Courtney was calling her with a problem and not Ross.</div>
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“What’s the matter?” Kendall asked.</div>
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“I don’t know if Ross told you, but I moved into a different
apartment a few months ago. I’m on the second floor, and my friend Mikayla has
a place in the back. She had an intruder tonight.”</div>
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“Didn’t she call the police?”</div>
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“She did. Right after it happened,” Courtney said. “But they
didn’t stay very long, and she wasn’t comfortable talking to them. She called
me after they left.”</div>
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“They were both men, right?” Kendall knew that many female
crime victims felt intimidated by male law enforcement.</div>
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Courtney confirmed her suspicion. “They were. But there’s
more to it. She told me she thinks she’s being stalked.”</div>
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“Didn’t she tell them that?”</div>
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“No. She was too shaken up. They kept insisting that she go
to the ER, but she refused. She felt okay physically.”</div>
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“Did the intruder hurt her?” Kendall asked.</div>
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“I don’t think so. He pushed her down the stairs, and I’m
trying to talk her into getting checked out.”</div>
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Kendall sighed. She wasn’t sure the situation met the
requirements for getting a detective involved. She did have the option of
calling the station to see who was on duty that night and ideally find the girl
a female officer to talk to. Then she pictured the girl with Courtney,
frightened and scared of what would happen to her next. Kendall’s hemming would
have to wait. “Give me the address. I’ll be right there.”</div>
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<i><b>I hope these two chapters were exciting enough for you to want to read the whole book. The ebook will be at an introductory price on Amazon for only the first few days. Grab your copy now!<br /><br />Thank you for reading,<br /><br />Marla
</b></i><!--EndFragment--></div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-63261072148323416842018-10-26T12:44:00.000-07:002018-10-26T12:44:07.171-07:00<br />
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<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
THE TEN POUNDS OF
CHRISTMAS</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBDXz-77ptwqvN-PP95jrg3cvVn490TC4yBH7kDYgBuf9kBkz06MK-i9zkNJkv5FQE3KMmm1DjbAifJfDcDzN-OEvIYcE12O0zB8NspyIyhY8w64yHXGue5WRuuXiQUDA1pEuhrKYqWp9/s1600/The+Ten+Pounds+Ebook.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="201" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBDXz-77ptwqvN-PP95jrg3cvVn490TC4yBH7kDYgBuf9kBkz06MK-i9zkNJkv5FQE3KMmm1DjbAifJfDcDzN-OEvIYcE12O0zB8NspyIyhY8w64yHXGue5WRuuXiQUDA1pEuhrKYqWp9/s400/The+Ten+Pounds+Ebook.jpeg" width="251" /></a></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Dear readers,</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>If you’ve been reading this blog from the outset, you’ll
recall that I once blogged on how to keep from gaining weight over the holiday
season. I still have to fight the urge to eat all the goodies in sight, but
writing those blogs and recalling the tips I submitted have made it easier to
resist. </i></div>
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<i>With that in mind, I made up a handy booklet to use to
assist you in maintaining your svelte shape from now until the New Year. It is
on sale on Amazon.com.</i> <span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">goo.gl/ikG3G2</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Here is an introduction to the beginning:</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 48.0pt;"><b>The
Ten Pounds of Christmas</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">How NOT to Gain Weight over
the Holidays<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> </span></div>
<div class="Heading">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Chapter One<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I gain ten pounds every year at Christmas. Some years I’ve
even gained twelve. How is that possible? It’s easier than it sounds, actually.
My weight gain starts in October with Halloween candy and escalates from there.
There’s a little devil inside me who keeps saying things like, “Go ahead. This
is the season to enjoy. Worry about it later.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s easy to be swept away in the good cheer and fantastic
food that surrounds the holidays. Every day it becomes harder not to fall into
a sedated state of overeating. The result of that state of overeating is a
struggle to take off the “Christmas fat” in January and February.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of this changed three years ago when I vowed to put
everything I’ve learned about controlling my eating into practice over the
holiday season. I refused to allow myself to fall into the habit of ‘the
holiday weight gain.’ I anticipated what the hurdles would be on every
occasion, made lists, taped reminders to my mirror, and blogged about what I
was doing. Did it work? You bet it did! Come mid-January, I’d only gained one
pound! I did the same thing last year, but added a few new tips and only gained
half of a pound. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This booklet is filled with ways to survive the holidays
without outgrowing your clothes. Not all of them will be helpful to you, so
invest in a small notebook and copy down the ones that make the most sense for
your lifestyle. Keep a journal of your efforts; note what is helpful and what
doesn’t work for you. Anything you put in writing adds more meaning to your
resolve.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One absolutely necessary step—weigh yourself every day! At
the same time, wearing the same clothing, or after your shower, nude. This way,
as soon as your weight starts going in the wrong direction, you can follow up
with a few days of sensible eating and upgrade your exercise program until it
goes back down.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You’ve taken the first positive step by investing in a copy
of this booklet. Now, with help and guidance from me, you can design your own
plan to stop the ten pounds of Christmas weight gain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>So if you’d like help in avoiding those hard-to-get-rid-of
holiday pounds, get your copy now! And please let me know if it works for you and let us know of any tips you’ve found that should be added.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Have a wonderful holiday season,</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 20pt;"><b>Marla<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-78608950519433348152018-09-03T08:26:00.000-07:002018-09-03T08:27:18.393-07:00WRITER’S CONFERENCES – Are they worth the time and expense? <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4a442a;">WRITER’S CONFERENCES </span></b></h2>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: center; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="color: #4a442a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">–<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4a442a;">Are they worth
the time and expense?<o:p></o:p></span></b></h3>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zWgckhj87KBfwANRg_6iPHjdhhn8cXxjdiX1yH_3YSjIFYRtXUrAldmhnthY4KfYDAR817_QH-imlggMH6yJYOM_QoCEbLeJRNwhxuTSftdVf7TSZTw6sllSXCKMII3JiW1Liz42gjB9/s1600/IMG_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zWgckhj87KBfwANRg_6iPHjdhhn8cXxjdiX1yH_3YSjIFYRtXUrAldmhnthY4KfYDAR817_QH-imlggMH6yJYOM_QoCEbLeJRNwhxuTSftdVf7TSZTw6sllSXCKMII3JiW1Liz42gjB9/s320/IMG_0209.JPG" width="240" /></a></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4a442a;"><o:p>JEFFREY DEAVER </o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4a442a;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span> Before
judging the value of a conference, it’s important to decide what you want to
get out of it. If you’re a writer and want to receive tips on writing, you need
to find one that offers educational workshops. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4a442a;">Many
conferences are geared to readers. The Bouchercon is probably the most popular
of that kind. I attended one in St. Louis in 2011, and I did enjoy it, but
there were no educational sessions for writers. Almost every breakout session
consisted of a panel of writers discussing a particular topic. Panels of
writers tend to be more entertaining than educational, although it’s possible
to pick up some writing tips.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4a442a;">The conferences
I enjoy the most are ones that offer learning experiences, those that teach and
inspire. I attended Killer Nashville last week and it was a wonderful experience.
The quality of the breakouts was excellent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4a442a;">For an
extra fee, I attended a 2-hour workshop with Jeffrey Deaver. What an amazing
experience! In addition to being one of the world’s best thriller writers, Mr. Deaver
is an excellent teacher of his craft. Having the opportunity to meet and learn
from Mr. Deaver made the conference the best I’ve ever attended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4a442a;">Considerations before investing in a
conference:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4a442a; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #4a442a;">Is the conference geared
to writers or readers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4a442a; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #4a442a;">Are there breakout
sessions that are educational for me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4a442a; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #4a442a;">Is the conference
specifically for writers of my genre?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4a442a; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #4a442a;">Is the conference
geared mainly for traditional writers or does it include independent writers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4a442a; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #4a442a;">What do I, as an
individual, want from a conference?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #4a442a;">Dear Readers,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #4a442a;">I must apologize for the huge gap in my blog posts. No
excuses. Just a promise to keep in touch in a timelier manner.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #4a442a;">Hope your life is moving in the direction you want,</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #4a442a; font-family: "brush script mt italic";"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Marla</span></i></span></b></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-19467061532521213682018-02-26T08:17:00.001-08:002018-02-26T08:17:36.914-08:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b>Two months into the New Year - </b></span><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b>And I'm still fat!</b></span></span><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b><br /></b></span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">By the end of February resolutions have already drifted from
our minds. We’ve joined gyms, signed up for diet programs, started the latest
fad diet, with no noticeable results. Or, just as bad, took off a fast ten or
fifteen pounds only to gain it all back in a week or two after giving up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">What happened to our fresh resolutions?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">A
resolution, from the word resolve, is defined as firm determination and sounds
way too much like restriction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">How
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to achieve, not a restriction. Positive is good. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">The
holidays, along with all the food temptations that come with them, have been
over for weeks. It’s time to resume normal eating. Normal? Normal might be
defined differently for each of us. For me, there is no “normal”. I’m either
closely watching my caloric intake, or overeating, seldom anything in between. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">It is time
to dust off those New Year’s resolutions and turn them into manageable goals. A
goal can be as simple as a mental picture of something you want to accomplish
or can be a formal outline for a goal’s accomplishment. The most important
thing is to choose goals you are excited about achieving in order to motivate
you to complete them.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Some goal guidelines:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Write
them down. Give them the added formality of typing them and printing them out.
You might want to have a separate list for your goals for the week, month, and
year. Anthony Robbins advocates a five-year plan—think about what you’d like
your life to look like in five years—it’s an eye opener!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Have your goal sheet somewhere you will see it
every day. I keep a set of weekly goals on an index card next to my computer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: .5in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Don’t try to do too many goals at once. Pick
two or three, or even only one if it is something important to you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: .5in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The more difficult the goal, the more
necessary it is to have a list of action steps you will do in order to achieve
it. Divide the steps into long and short-term solutions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: .5in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Procrastination can be overwhelming, thus
emphasizing the need to have increments toward the achievement of your goal.
Begin with that baby step—but begin! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Many
years ago, I was stuck in a job I found unfulfilling and I made a goal for the year to change my career path by taking advantage of the tuition reimbursement plan my benefit package
offered. I wanted to go back to school for my Master’s degree, a huge task
that involved a lot of work just to get started. I took an immediate first step
and contacted a university for information about the programs. It was a small
step, but the catalogue they sent made the goal real and feel more attainable.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">I
began classes that spring and graduated three years later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Make
that first step a small one and make it today. You’ll be surprised how it
inspires you to keep going.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Dear Readers,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">An
accomplished goal does not happen by throwing a coin into a fountain and making
a wish. If you tucked those resolutions you wrote on New Year’s Day into the
pile of detritus on the top of your desk, that’s most likely where they‘ll
stay—buried. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Whatever
your goal, keep it in sight and take a first step toward its completion. What
you focus on becomes more and more real to you. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">I
wish all of you a healthy and amazing new year! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<h2 style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in;">
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Handwriting"; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-size: large;">Marla</span><span style="font-size: 22pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></h2>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-32231724385942271312018-01-05T07:33:00.000-08:002018-01-05T07:33:04.746-08:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">The holidays
are over.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now what?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbECpKiwdiHA6_JzeWX3YUQkYaLTwkypGAY1bxSRZVVvfd18UqYFSTxcx4MySF0-FqIrCdkNegP6BG3vMRzCZYJ1N8mXKSjHDyDz8BbcPIhLYVqGDDUtZ3CzoWya_oE4altHDu1L7dE-Qt/s1600/Fotolia_181715718_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="455" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbECpKiwdiHA6_JzeWX3YUQkYaLTwkypGAY1bxSRZVVvfd18UqYFSTxcx4MySF0-FqIrCdkNegP6BG3vMRzCZYJ1N8mXKSjHDyDz8BbcPIhLYVqGDDUtZ3CzoWya_oE4altHDu1L7dE-Qt/s400/Fotolia_181715718_XS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">My last blogs were designed to
encourage myself and others like me get through the holidays without gaining
weight—or at least only gaining a pound or two. Since most of us have a New
Year’s resolution to lose weight in 2018, I thought talking about how to
accomplish that goal would be helpful.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>An accomplished goal
does not happen by throwing a coin into a fountain and making a wish. One of
the best ways to achieve a goal is to use creative visualization. Athletes use
the technique to get in their optimal zone by picturing a winning season. What
you focus on becomes more and more real to you. If you tuck those goals you
wrote on New Year’s Day into the pile of detritus on the top of your desk,
that’s where they‘ll stay—buried and forgotten. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">Using visualization:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 84.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -48.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Twice a day, assume a relaxed position, close
your eyes and picture what you and your life will look like when you’ve
accomplished your goal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 84.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -48.0pt;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 84.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 84.0pt; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-indent: -48.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Make sure to include a mental video of you making the steps necessary for success.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 84.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 84.0pt; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-indent: -48.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Picture yourself
overcoming the obstacles that are sure to fall into the path to achieving your
goal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 84.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 84.0pt; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-indent: -48.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 84.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 84.0pt; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-indent: -48.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Incorporate as much
sensual data into the picture as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 84.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 84.0pt; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-indent: -48.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 84.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 84.0pt; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-indent: -48.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Remember, don't forget that what you focus on becomes more and more
real to you. Rerun that picture of your goal in your mind throughout the day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 84.0pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-add-space: auto; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 84.0pt; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">Whatever your goal, keep it in
sight and take a first step toward its completion. join a support group, begin an exercise plan, start a food diary. Make a list
of the steps involved in reaching your goal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">If I’ve learned one thing about
losing weight, it’s this—no one method works for everyone. Part of your goal
is finding a plan that you can live with.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Dear readers,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for
following me through this series of weight-control blogs. I am an author of
suspense novels, and also a woman who has battled with my weight since I was a
child.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of us who
love to read and write have an even more difficult time, as our favorite
pastime does not burn calories! <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Wishing
you a happy, healthy and successful new year,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Marla</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-80872077424019030462017-12-16T10:54:00.001-08:002017-12-16T10:55:35.729-08:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">The week before Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Sugar’s Slippery Slope<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span></span></b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Last week on my annual three-day gambling and shopping getaway with
girlfriends, a friend gave me a jar of goodies that she’d baked. They were
delicious. Don’t ask me how much I consumed on my drive back home; I’m afraid I
lost count!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span> Why is it,
after being given a wonderful treat like home baked cookies, I eat them like
they’re the last ones I’ll ever enjoy? If any of you readers have a good
suggestion on how to put the brakes on grazing, please share it! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span> Last week I
was on the edge, and now I’m at the bottom of the goodie barrel, fluffy as a
marshmallow snowman. It is not a pleasant feeling. I’ve slid down the slippery
slope for three days; now it’s time to follow my own advice and return to
sensible eating until the next food “event”. With only nine days to go before the
big day, there are many more temptations ahead. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span> I’m
pondering why it’s so impossibly difficult to get back on track after three
days of free-reign eating. The mouth wants what the mouth wants, hard to
control as a cat! I must accept the inevitable truth—in order to keep from
gaining pounds this season, I have to eat less than normal on days when there
are no parties or other eating occasions luring me to overindulge. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">And meanwhile,
thank goodness for stretch jeans!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Tips for Christmas
week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Don’t let a few out-of-control days lead to a week of binging. Accept
it, forgive yourself, and eat lean whenever possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Put gift treats out of sight. (Or in the trunk!) Allow yourself one or
two each day as a reward for your resolve.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Think before you drink! Most alcoholic beverages have 90 calories or
many more. Substitute coffee, tea or water for them and save your calories for
the things you can’t live without.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Plan ahead. At the beginning of every day, take a few moments to
consider your schedule. On party days, cut back on your fat and carb intake during
the day so you can afford to splurge at the party. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Remember it’s cold and flu season. Be sure to get enough protein,
fiber, fruits and vegetables to stay healthy and ward off all the bugs that are
going around.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Dear Readers,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Hope these tips help keep you on track (or
close!) during the party season. Have a wonderful, happy and healthy Christmas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Marla</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-31366986942185851222017-12-06T10:01:00.003-08:002017-12-06T10:01:41.350-08:00Preventing Holiday Weight Gain<h2 style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="color: #5f497a; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Christmas
Treats—Yeeks!</span></span></b></h2>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Thanksgiving
is behind me. I indulged, bulged, and managed to get back on track. And then I
started my holiday baking. Making treats to give as gifts is a holiday
tradition, which once started is as difficult to get rid of as a yeast
infection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span> For more than twenty years I’ve made candy to
box up and give as gifts to friends and relatives. Everyone loves my fudge.
Unfortunately, so does the cook. Over the years I’ve at least cut down to
making two varieties. But two or twenty, the dilemma is the same. How do I keep
from stuffing gift goodies into my greedy mouth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span> When Terry and I each had our own house, I
shipped it to his garage in sealed containers until I was ready to box it up
and give it as gifts. Keeping the candy in our attached garage now, makes it just too
darn accessible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span> And everywhere I go, Christmas goodies are out, even
at the library and the bank. A few bites here and there, and I’ve upped my
daily calorie allotment to code red. I’ve had to wrack my sugar-drenched brain
to come up with a few useful suggestions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Here
goes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Pass
up public goody trays by forming a mental picture of the unsanitary conditions
surrounding them. Think about people sneezing on them, children handling each
one before deciding, and how long they sit out exposed to who knows how many dastardly
germs and menacing viruses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">During
the holiday season, few of us has the time or the inclination to write out a
food plan every day, but develop a mental plan and stick to it. Plan to
allow yourself two or three of your own homemade treats after supper, and keep
that in mind when you walk past the cookie trays on display wherever you go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">If
you are making treats, box them for gift giving as quickly as possible. This
includes a gift tag with the receiver’s name. I find that if I do this, it keeps
my fingers out of them. Then store them with a neighbor!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">When
baking cookies, make everyone else’s favorites and avoid your own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that’s impossible, again, allot
yourself a few after dinner. I find that allowing myself that small indulgence
keeps me from pilfering the gift boxes every time I walk into the garage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">And
one handy tip I’ve turned to lately—chewing gum. Hard to snarf up those random treats with
gum in your mouth!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Dear
Readers,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #5f497a; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Every
holiday season is a challenge for anyone watching their weight. The best way to
keep from gaining is to stay aware of what you’re eating. Even the small things
can help. Enjoy the parties, the lights, and celebrate the season!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #5f497a; font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Marla<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-34614446241583029852017-11-10T10:53:00.000-08:002017-11-10T10:53:44.926-08:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">HOLIDAY
WEIGHT GAIN<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Preparing
for Thanksgiving</span><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTcxo2sl4qHwPgHCFvbMdU0mHX_AbhLhJF2r3Oue0FSyshx6pteqzD5CKV0p8n6fH7A8p2GJxeuHGRHdMKYKudKPOC5bIB_hHdH-9RpTDTRwHMuoce8HubiIFM2MHE-MH4TCfAjXfoafG/s1600/Fotolia_177794727_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="424" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTcxo2sl4qHwPgHCFvbMdU0mHX_AbhLhJF2r3Oue0FSyshx6pteqzD5CKV0p8n6fH7A8p2GJxeuHGRHdMKYKudKPOC5bIB_hHdH-9RpTDTRwHMuoce8HubiIFM2MHE-MH4TCfAjXfoafG/s640/Fotolia_177794727_XS.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span style="color: #4c1130;">Unless
you’re stranded on a desert island, being held prisoner in Myanmar, or are accidentally locked in your storage locker, you’ll be stuffing yourself on the
big day. The trick is to give yourself permission to do that without eating
more and more every day leading up to Thanksgiving as if you were training for an Olympic
event. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"> That isn’t as simple as that sounds. Anticipation makes moderation
difficult. Your devious brain will be telling you, “Go ahead. You’ll be overeating
on Thanksgiving anyway, you may as well eat whatever you want until then.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Sound
familiar? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Use
your brain to help you, not sabotage you. Remain <i>aware </i>of your eating
habits. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Don’t
starve yourself. Eat sensibly. And get enough sleep! Sound strange? Then you’ve
never noticed how much more susceptible you are to food urges on days that
you’re exhausted. Getting enough sleep is the best way to be good to yourself
and prevent eating binges.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">My tips for this week are for those of you—and myself—who are going to
be doing the cooking on Thanksgiving. Cooking is a
task requiring more that one tip!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your family and
friends are used to having appetizers set out, prepare some that you can pass up. For
me, that means herring, a shrimp plate, and stuffed mushroom. I
know, it’s really weird not to like those things, but I’m a picky eater except
when it comes to junk food. So for me, no chips, cheese, or mixed nuts on my
coffee table.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the big meal, indulge only in your
favorites and pass up the other dozen side dishes. I’ve practiced this one for
a while now, and believe me, I’ve never been reprimanded by the hostess since I
so obviously enjoy what I <i>am</i> eating.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make sure to have a
supply of disposable plastic containers for leftovers. Send the tempting,
high-calorie items home with your guests and don’t take no for an answer. This
will require extreme assertiveness on your part when they protest—and they
will. Be firm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Dear readers,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Remember, Thanksgiving is one day out of three hundred sixty-five. The
free <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">pass you
give yourself to eat the things you love on that day is for one day only. Go
ahead and indulge, then move on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Marla</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-38581042307376035832017-10-29T07:51:00.000-07:002017-10-29T14:59:00.839-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><br /></span></b></div>
<h2 style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></b></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<h2 style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Holiday weight gain starts in October!</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZXqzEoGvZLuEAZkZbwbVKeSqMlN2YOAiCN3zhhQveU_CJ9-2_l73PkUIvmnk4qkbBTPikDb2127JWi9aNS5zlMFKJYQWH_djg_XJ2vdhb274vFGygHSON1HdhiCVn1HKF2ohXi4068ST/s1600/Fotolia_92884569_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="442" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZXqzEoGvZLuEAZkZbwbVKeSqMlN2YOAiCN3zhhQveU_CJ9-2_l73PkUIvmnk4qkbBTPikDb2127JWi9aNS5zlMFKJYQWH_djg_XJ2vdhb274vFGygHSON1HdhiCVn1HKF2ohXi4068ST/s640/Fotolia_92884569_XS.jpg" width="640" /></a></h2>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> <span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><span style="color: #4c1130;">I
used to gain ten pounds every year during the holiday season. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">How was
that much weight-gain possible? It was easy—I started in October. Then I
struggled to take off my “Christmas fat” in January and February.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That
shameful acquisition of holiday bulge began in October with Halloween candy.
(And I don’t have children to blame its presence on.) Any candy that comes into
this house during October is for yours truly. Terry, my significant other, may
snatch a piece or two, but he’s not haunted by the same carb addiction as I am.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">October
is candy month. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then
there’s the snacking during football games—an annual ritual—the home team
couldn’t win if I weren’t encouraging them with the cheers of my crunching.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Everyone
knows what happens in November. In November I vow that I will NOT gain weight
over the holidays this year. But, having made that vow, the terror of holiday
goodie deprivation niggles at me. The only cure for this tweak of conscience
is—guess what?—you’ve got it—a bowl of buttered popcorn and the last of the
Halloween candy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then
comes the mother of all eating events, Thanksgiving. It would be a sin to diet
on Thanksgiving, wouldn’t it? How else would I show my thankfulness except by
indulging in everything the buffet has to offer? Someone went to a lot of
trouble to cook all that goodness; it would be rude to pass it up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
hardly need to remind you what December brings. But I will: parties, Christmas
cookies on display everywhere you go, gifts of home made treats, boxes of fudge
and chocolates . . . the list goes on. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I’m
not sure January would be the same without digging out my “fat” clothes,
bemoaning my food transgressions of the previous ten weeks, and joining a diet
group for the umpteenth time. It’s all part of the post-holiday depression
syndrome, that and the drifts of snow that nearly cover our west-facing
windows.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">How have I
managed to control my holiday weight gain?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">I joined
TOPS, weigh in every week, and have been doing so for more than four years now.
Has it gotten easier? Not really, but now I face the holidays prepared and with support.
Follow this blog through the holidays for tips on how to avoid taking on the snowman shape.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Till next
time,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Marla<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Tip #1<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Halloween Candy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">If you can
possibly avoid it, don’t give out candy. Give it to your neighbor to pass out
for you or leave the house during trick-or-treat time. If you must have treats
to give out, be sure to buy something you don’t care for. Or pass out apples.
Or small toys.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<b><u><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Tip #2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dealing with
leftover Halloween candy<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">I turn all candy over to Terry, he locks it up in the garage, and only
gives me two pieces a day, no matter how many I ask for. If you don’t have
someone to hold your candy for you in a home-style Fort Knox, throw it out or
give it away. But if you throw it out, make sure it’s in the garbage with
something disgusting enough to prevent retrieving it in a moment’s mad craving!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><u><b>Tip #3 Football snacking</b></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">Have sensible snacks on hand. Unbuttered popcorn, veggies with yogurt dip. Or, and this one is my favorite, schedule your lunch or your dinner during half time depending on the time of the game, that way you won't be starving as you watch and will have food to look forward to.</span></div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-11901496967661576432017-09-24T11:18:00.000-07:002017-09-24T11:33:00.412-07:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></b></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></b></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;">Manuscript Organization and the Independent Writer</span></b></h2>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3bdS-ZCsfxDhfnmSYQFQbMxYs0GzcOXkUuk5JRMhbCeJOYZl1aMTHyJ97pLOB6pdhCqm-PbR6nIonQu0ogqLhL38c2GYglh8i7UvAsuMQp-fFpoMjISvKIRVqI3vCefUvQ7f5XwqOq7y/s1600/Fotolia_135453855_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="389" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW3bdS-ZCsfxDhfnmSYQFQbMxYs0GzcOXkUuk5JRMhbCeJOYZl1aMTHyJ97pLOB6pdhCqm-PbR6nIonQu0ogqLhL38c2GYglh8i7UvAsuMQp-fFpoMjISvKIRVqI3vCefUvQ7f5XwqOq7y/s640/Fotolia_135453855_XS.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">I wish I could tell you that I have
some amazing and simple organization skills that I can pass on to you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">I don’t.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">What I can tell you is what NOT to
do.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">I’ve learned everything the hard
way, even making some mistakes more than once. The problem is I write long
books, therefore only using things like editing, proofing, Mail Chimp, uploads
to Amazon, and Author Central, as infrequently as once a year. It is difficult
to establish a learning curve for those things that doesn’t dip into
nothingness in between uses.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">Here are a few hints on how to
avoid costly errors.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .8in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Slow
down.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know, I know, everyone
tells you to crank out your books as fast as possible and get them uploaded
immediately. But having once uploaded the wrong manuscript, one with errors
still in place, I can assure you that taking time to double check your
manuscript every time you get one back, and before you upload it, will pay off.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .8in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Delete
early versions.</b> Develop a system that works for you. Date or number every
version of your work, and get rid of the old ones as soon as possible. Again,
number and/or date them to avoid confusion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .8in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Keep a
writing journal. </b>Devote a notebook just to keep track of your promotions,
your proofing, editing, formatting, reminders, etc. Date entries and list tips
on using things that come up only once in a while. A large planner works great
for this and is worth the investment to keep everything in one place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .8in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Post a
weekly goal list in front of your computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>I use a small index card every week and list about five
things that I’d like to get done that week, then post it in front of my
computer. One of the items is always the number of pages I want to get done
that week in the latest book. Change the list weekly and check off what you’ve
accomplished.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Dear readers,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">We are having a very warm weekend here in northwest
Wisconsin as I write this. I’m one of those weird people who love fall and
winter, and I’m eagerly waiting for some cool, crisp days!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">I’ve just added my latest book to Amazon, and as usual, made
some serious errors in the process, which inspired this blog. Hopefully, you
will find it helpful.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">Have a happy autumn,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 20.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Marla</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-40088811851563600672017-08-18T10:15:00.000-07:002017-08-18T10:15:37.133-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Discouragement and the Older Writer<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaz4alsU4rQfJohAstsu5Q8fdRahWebc5V6wlp1zD9WM5ZIuuHSck_2EKGZpT8wlWH3IgUnO_RTtLyeCmOlELGHPqoltWgHCoT-qk_63kviQ3vM3ZZwuQxBXZKk4U_5mAmrnW3D72XZ4E/s1600/Fotolia_84847580_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="426" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaz4alsU4rQfJohAstsu5Q8fdRahWebc5V6wlp1zD9WM5ZIuuHSck_2EKGZpT8wlWH3IgUnO_RTtLyeCmOlELGHPqoltWgHCoT-qk_63kviQ3vM3ZZwuQxBXZKk4U_5mAmrnW3D72XZ4E/s640/Fotolia_84847580_XS.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #632423;">Is
discouragement with writing any different for the older writer? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #632423;">The
older writer has the same pitfalls as any author, in addition to a whole other
field of sinkholes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #632423;">A lot
has been written by and for writers about not giving up. Advice pours forth
like rain in April and nervous writers drink it up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #632423;">For the
older writer, many of our distractions, problems, setbacks, have their own
unique characteristics. A different group of life events causes us to have
serious setbacks. Some of the most troublesome for our writing careers are not
things like school starting, getting married, a new career, or a demanding job.
They are painful interferences, like the death of a friend or loved one, being
diagnosed with a serious illness, caring for a sick parent or loved one, or
even taking the grandkids in for a week. These things can cause an author to
set their writing aside and even give up on it entirely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">How
to keep writing no matter what<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423;">Find ways to
stay positive.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<span style="color: #632423;">Life is too precious
to waste days being anxious or depressed. Find a good book on how to stay
positive. If you’re pressed for time, keep it in the bathroom and never sit
down without reading a page.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="color: #632423;">Being
happy and being positive are decisions we make. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="color: #632423;">Choose
to be happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423;">Keep in touch
with friends.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span style="color: #632423;">Relatives are
wonderful, but it’s friends who listen to you vent and cheer you up when all is
grim. Take time out for lunch with a friend, see a movie, or just chat over tea
and coffee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423;">Establish ties
with other authors.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span style="color: #632423;">This one not
only got me to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">be </i>a writer, but my
author friends have kept me writing over and over again every time I was ready
to give up. Find other authors in your area; your local library is a good place
to do this. If that doesn’t work, they are easy to find online.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423;">Keep writing
every day despite what life throws at you.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<span style="color: #632423;">Joe Konrath, (if
you aren’t familiar with him, check out his blog) one of the most successful
eBook authors, writes 3.000 words a day, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">every</i>
day, and he will stay up into the wee hours to maintain that word rate on days
that he is busy with other activities. His favorite advice? BIC – butt in
chair!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span style="color: #632423;">You don’t have
to write 3,000 words a day like Joe, but try to dedicate even 30 minutes a day
for writing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span style="color: #632423;">Every week I
write a list of about five, to-dos for my writing. The first one on the list is
the number of pages I will write that week. Rather than a daily amount, I keep
it weekly, to about 14 or more pages a week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<span style="color: #632423;">Find a method
that works for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423;">Explore helpful
tools.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="color: #632423;">Try a
mini recorder, carry a small laptop, an iPad, even a small notebook to take
advantage of any downtime when you’re away from home. I have a friend (much
more technically advanced than myself!) who uses a voice activation tool to
record her writing directly to her computer. Don’t let an opportunity to write
pass you by. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #632423;">Dear Readers,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #632423;">The months after the holidays
can be a good time to write, and this year I had a three-month recovery period
after hip surgery in late January. I was wheelchair bound and had figured on
getting a lot of writing done—I didn’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #632423;">I did read a lot of books,
though, and made some progress on my newest novel, but nothing like I’d hoped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #632423;">Criticizing myself for that
indulgence got me nowhere. It took time, but I finally got back on track. The
best way not to get into that state is to stay on track in the first place.
That thought inspired me to repeat this blog. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #632423;">Hope you find it helpful,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Marla<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #632423;">Some suggested reading:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #632423;">Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life</span></i><span style="color: #632423;">, by Martin E.P. Seligman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #632423;">Happy for No Reason</span></i><span style="color: #632423;">,
by Marci Shimoff<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-59876134799455147002017-04-28T14:26:00.000-07:002017-04-28T14:26:01.133-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">How Many
Characters Are Too Many?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span></o:p></span></b><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkNFpW_IBbo10jZWnHRCcpwOkGbgen0aX-s2tOhyphenhyphenI8ATh7X1F3XCnPSUvJXYLwO4eIW7y_7Ptc0lx2cpy8y7MNzx14JYX8-rHx8OFOA9gfikiwjZsaJYnbTBPXRuTjhTMR27N6Yu7JtVE/s1600/Fotolia_13725126_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkNFpW_IBbo10jZWnHRCcpwOkGbgen0aX-s2tOhyphenhyphenI8ATh7X1F3XCnPSUvJXYLwO4eIW7y_7Ptc0lx2cpy8y7MNzx14JYX8-rHx8OFOA9gfikiwjZsaJYnbTBPXRuTjhTMR27N6Yu7JtVE/s640/Fotolia_13725126_XS.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span></o:p></span></b><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Will using too many make
readers lose interest?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">Some critics complained
that my first novel had too many characters. Even a good friend, who loved the
story, told me she had to take character notes as she was reading to keep all
of them straight. So when I wrote my next book, I used a lot fewer
characters to make sure that particular complaint wouldn’t happen again. Guess
what? There were reviewers who said even that book had too many. Every reader has his own tolerance level.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">How important is
it for authors to worry about having too many characters? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">I write and read
suspense. As a reader, I have to agree that sometimes the use of large numbers of characters
gets confusing. But it’s hard to write good suspense or a good thriller
with just a few characters. Remember The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy?
Yikes! If there were ever books requiring the reader to take notes, those were
the ones. A few of the names were even spelled very similarly. And that series
was on the NYT bestseller list for years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
what makes a tolerable character list for readers? And why will readers accept dozens
from some authors yet complain about too many from authors with 10 or twelve?
Readers—we want to hear from you!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Here
are some ways to keep your reader abreast of your characters:</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Do keep characters’ names different. Avoid names
that sound alike, look alike or even begin with the same letter.</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->If possible, introduce characters one at a time,
with scenes in between the introductions. There’s nothing harder to follow than
getting hit with an entire team of law personnel, for example, at the same
time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Try not to switch points-of-view within a scene.
This is a basic “rule” of writing style, however, I’ve seen some famous writers
breaking it when doing dialogue between two main characters. Unless you’re in
their league, stay away from it. It’s difficult to do it effectively
without confusing the reader.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Find creative ways to remind the reader of who a
character is and how he fits into the story when he hasn’t been mentioned for a
while. Keep in mind every reader won’t be reading the book straight through and
will need to have his or her memory refreshed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Always be sure each character is necessary to
your story. Characters, like words, need to be cut if not relevant to the
plot line.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Dear Readers,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">I hope you are
enjoying our early spring. The ice went out early here in NW Wisconsin and the
temperature has been above normal. The boats are out on the lake, the trees are
budding, and the eagles are circling. Summer will be here soon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;">For the last three
months I’ve been recovering from hip surgery and have been doing a lot of
reading, which has inspired me to repeat this blog on numbers of characters in
a book, so my apologies to anyone who remembers it. But, of course, most
valuable advice bears repeating.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Have a wonderful
week,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Marla<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-28525143820455460842017-03-01T13:50:00.001-08:002017-03-01T13:50:24.020-08:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">WHAT’S LUCK GOT TO DO WITH IT?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">FIVE TRAITS OF LUCKY PEOPLE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhIgSEaf06fB_AYWkMjnQnITKMo95gZoMvDTr6UEoL8kSu2wMfU2bx-ZDdcaUwBQYOAEApjSHgztnyPxv-g9IUxrWpdvw5wlu15-ZpMsDvhTF3HauICMVgCrxmyG-Q094VynMI_BrJRtI/s1600/Fotolia_79592562_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhIgSEaf06fB_AYWkMjnQnITKMo95gZoMvDTr6UEoL8kSu2wMfU2bx-ZDdcaUwBQYOAEApjSHgztnyPxv-g9IUxrWpdvw5wlu15-ZpMsDvhTF3HauICMVgCrxmyG-Q094VynMI_BrJRtI/s400/Fotolia_79592562_XS.jpg" width="352" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">March is the
month of four-leaf clovers, little green leprechauns, green beer, and the pot
of gold at the end of the rainbow. We are all Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and
we all hope to be showered with that famous luck of the Irish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
word luck, beaten and bastardized, gets tossed around like a day-old doughnut
whenever Indie authors discuss success (or lack thereof) of their book sales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
first time I ran a KDP free book promotion, and placed my suspense eBook, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She’s Not There,</i> free on Amazon.com, I
only had 8,202 downloads at the end of my two days. This result was
disappointing compared to those of an friend, who had 26,000 for her book using
the same promotion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When I asked her about it, she said that her success was a matter of
luck, due the fact that a popular eBook site noticed her promotion and
highlighted it for their readers. I know firsthand that her success is not all
due to luck. She is a devoted marketer and spends every available moment
working to maintain her books’ sales momentum. Me, I’m addicted to things like
playing bridge, reading, and watching soap operas; my marketing ethic is not
nearly as fierce!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Here
is a universal truth: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Luck is more likely to happen to
those who go after it. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">No one wants to hear that. We would all prefer to cling to magical
thinking: I’ll get rich when I win the lottery, the perfect man will come
knocking at my door, a stroke of fate will send my book sales through the roof.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
ain’t gonna happen!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Secrets of Lucky People<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">They believe they will be
successful.</span></b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Research shows that if you believer
you’ll succeed, your odds of hitting a lucky streak go up. There is no magic
involved—expectancy is a real driver of results. Expecting something as opposed
to wanting or hoping for it, will affect your decision–making and you’ll put in
more of an effort than you normally would have. Find ways to stay positive and
expect success—it works!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">They Notice What Others Miss. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lucky people are more open to random opportunities. They <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">notice </i>chance situations and act on
them. They are flexible in their thinking, and it’s that relaxed, open attitude
that allows them to see what others don’t. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Keep your eyes open for
opportunities—they’re out there!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">They Say “Yes” <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lucky people do not remain passive. Instead, they seize opportunities
as they come without endless second-guessing. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When chance encounters occur,
don’t over-think them, act on them!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">They Switch Things Up </span></b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lucky people increase their chances
of getting opportunities by meeting new people and trying new things. Luck
won’t come looking for you or call you on your Smartphone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The more you put yourself out
there, and try new things, the more likely it is you will find luck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">They Practice Bouncing Back<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lucky people don’t let one
failure sidetrack their road to success. When you let a bad break get you down,
you close the door on new situations that could lead to a lucky break. Closely
linked to the first trait, expecting the best, bouncing back means you will
have a greater chance of success with each failure, because you’ll be trying
more often. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Regard every bad break as an
opportunity to find the right course for you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Dear Readers,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
many of us, myself included, wait for that magical break that will mean success
for our writing. But magical thinking delays success. Practice these habits of
lucky people and reap the rewards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Happy St. Patrick’s Day,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Marla<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Note: I seldom repeat a blog, but this one on luck
has been so popular that I repeat it every March when everyone's thinking bout the luck of the Irish.</span>Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-80538502131100896722017-01-22T17:24:00.000-08:002017-01-22T17:24:58.003-08:00Don't Turn Out the Lights - A review<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>When I was working on my first novel, one of my earliest bits of writing advice was never kill off or injure a pet because most people were pet lovers and doing so would put them off. <br /><br />This advice came back to me in the very opening pages of Don’t Turn Out the Lights.<br /><br />The prologue, which the author termed an Overture, was such an extreme example of this, that the scene haunted me for days. A man out in a severe snowstorm, aided by his devoted dog, comes across a cabin where (an extremely gory scene) he finds a mutilated woman’s body, still warm. He decides he has to take her corpse to his car and leaves the cabin with her body. Back in the storm he discovers that a pack of wolves are waiting to devour him. He believes that the only way to make it to the car with the body, is to sacrifice his dog to the wolves and he commands the dog to attack the wolf pack. If that isn’t bad enough, the author describes the sounds.<br /><br />I would have stopped reading right then, but the author quickly covered up the scene by telling the reader it was a dream. Too late. The disgust was already stuck in my mind.<br /><br />After that opening, the book became quite interesting, so I kept reading, foolishly, as it turned out. In a later scene, an intruder injures a woman’s dog so badly that his leg has a bone sticking out. Rather than take him to a vet, Christine calls her boyfriend, who she no longer trusts, and asks him to call his friend who is a vet. When he refuses and hangs up on her, she forgets all about the injured dog and goes to work the next day without pursuing the poor thing’s injuries. Hard to believe, since she lives in a big city, that there wouldn’t have been an emergency vet service available.<br /><br />I rarely do reviews on books I don’t finish, but these two scenes took me so far out of the story—which could have been good without them—that I put the book aside for something better that didn’t describe cruelty to animals. Unfortunate, because otherwise the book had an interesting plot.<br /><br /> My advice to other readers is to avoid this book unless you don’t care for animals or can tolerate reading about their abuse</b></span><style>
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</style>Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-28795889746284415192016-11-12T07:54:00.000-08:002016-11-12T09:25:11.209-08:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">THE KEPT WOMAN<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">BY</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">KARiN SLAUGHTER</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Much as I enjoy Slaughter’s Will Trent, a detective with a
complex past and an even more complex relationship with a woman from that past,
I found this latest episode of Trent’s life frustrating to read. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Trent’s
new involvement with Sara Linton is crippled by Trent’s inability to let go of
Angie, the woman from his childhood whom he both grew up with and married. A
lot of series do this, keep the main character from moving on from an old
relationship that forever pops up when he or she has a new person in their
life. I think most of us readers get weary of ongoing triangles and would
appreciate new obstacles for the main character.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Not
only does Slaughter bring Angie back in this novel, but also, despite several
attempts on her life, she manages to survive to come back in the next one!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
a whole, the book was rather long. It might have been easier to read if it had
been tighter, especially a long episode of Angie’s life and an endless survival
scene near the end.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Despite
those criticisms, The Kept Woman is an enjoyable suspense read, worthy of a
weekend spent on the couch.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><i>Dear Readers,</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><i>I am sure that many, if not most of Slaughter's fans will not mind Angie's perpetual returns to Will's life. I do love her writing, but found the above mentioned criticisms rather slowed down my enthusiasm as I read The Kept Woman. It could be just a personal like, but at some point in a series, I want the main character to move on and learn from past experience.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><i>Have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving,</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><i>Marla</i></span></div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-22181586608026288692016-10-15T10:39:00.001-07:002016-10-15T10:39:53.463-07:00A Review of ISIDIOUS, by Catherine Coulter<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: x-large;">INSIDIOUS</span></h2>
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By</h4>
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Catherine Coulter</h4>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Insidious</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> runs two parallel plots. One is about a serial killer
in LA who targets starlets. The other takes place in D. C. when a wealthy woman
who is a family friend of Savich is poisoned, and every member of her immediate
family becomes a suspect. The plot of the latter is so clichéd that we've all
read something similar over and over again, beginning with Agatha Christie. I
found myself skipping through those sections to get to the other plot, which
was more interesting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Overall, the book was disappointing. Coulter’s books should be described as romantic suspense since nearly
everyone in the story ends up connected with someone else or is already in an
idyllic relationship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Coulter’s fans are loyal, and she definitely
has a huge market following, based on how frequently her books hit the top ten
on the NYT bestseller list. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Insidious</i>,
however, drew a lot of unhappy reviews from her fans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">What authors can learn from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Insidious</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Be true to
your genre. Don’t describe your book as something it is not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">A dash of
romance is enjoyable to most readers. If your book is not advertised as
romance/thriller or romantic suspense, then keep it to a minimum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">If you’re
going to use a plot that’s been used a LOT, be sure you have a creative twist
to it. You may not be accused of plagiarism but you will bore your readers to
death with a hackneyed plot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><i>Dear Readers,<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><i>I hope you are enjoying a lovely autumn. Here in the
upper Midwest we are having warmer-than-normal weather and mostly sunny days.
Make time for reading, and remember to leave a review for every book that you
read, even if you didn’t enjoy it. Authors appreciate each review!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><i>Till next time,<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Marla<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-30560027475151604432016-09-16T13:54:00.001-07:002016-09-16T13:57:34.998-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I LET YOU GO<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Clare
Mackintosh<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">I Let You Go, was for me, a 5 Star
read. Psychological suspense at its best, the story kept me eagerly reading
until the end. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 150%;">The book is divided into Part one and
Part two. Part one, especially at the beginning, moved rather slow, but picked
up quickly as the story moved on. The character of Jenna was extremely well
developed and I found myself living through the story with her.</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">It is difficult to review the book
without giving away the plot, but I’ll do my best:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; color: #4c1130; line-height: 150%;">Jacob, a 5 year old boy who lets go of
his mother's hand for a brief moment is killed in a hit and run accident when
he rushes across a dark street in the rain. His mother’s life is forever
changed and she flees town immediately following the accident. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; color: #4c1130; line-height: 150%;">Two police officers are assigned to find the hit and run driver. After months of frustration with no new
leads they are forced to move on to other crimes. On the anniversary of the
accident, a surprising new lead brings it back to the forefront with an
exciting twist.<br />
I think my only real complaint was the final scene, which for me, went on too
long. The ending, however, was excellent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; color: #4c1130; line-height: 150%;">Three things Mackintosh did well that other
authors can learn from:</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; line-height: 150%;">Make your main characters
sympathetic.</span></b><span style="background: white; line-height: 150%;"> Show them in their best light often
(especially in the beginning) to keep the reader interested in what happens to
them. This doesn’t mean they don’t have flaws!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The beginning</span></b><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> is the most important part of your novel. Keep the reader
engaged by making it exciting. Don’t overload it with back-story or over
describe scenes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background: white; color: #4c1130; line-height: 150%;">
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The final action scene.</span></b><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> This may be a personal taste thing, but I really hate
one that goes on too long, with a protagonist who seemingly keeps rising from
the dead to attack over and over again like a cat with nine lives. Keep it
believable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Dear Readers,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">I love reading. So much so, that at
times my own writing slows down as a result. That said, I will never give up my
favorite pastime! Hope your reading stack is close by, even if you are an author
like me, or maybe, especially if you are an author like me. Stephen King’s
number one point of advice to other authors is, “Read.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">So keep reading and don’t forget to add
your reviews on Amazon. Authors love them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #4c1130; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Have a wonderful fall season,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Marla</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-59121139484707493042016-08-04T17:03:00.000-07:002016-08-04T17:03:19.586-07:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<br /></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">EXTREME PREY </span></h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /> By John Sandford </span></h3>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUdTNzOPw6jlJuJBqpIaVuiSLYSmq30IXBmHvQM1jbpOPhyNXitrNnj1Q0hPlAEnrgNYx-72-DUkro_08WlVyV7yvghPiJ_x2Mli7xOQuaRDbWPQ0tAnU-xxeCbzsbZ2DPcIaYkfcsEgxL/s1600/url.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUdTNzOPw6jlJuJBqpIaVuiSLYSmq30IXBmHvQM1jbpOPhyNXitrNnj1Q0hPlAEnrgNYx-72-DUkro_08WlVyV7yvghPiJ_x2Mli7xOQuaRDbWPQ0tAnU-xxeCbzsbZ2DPcIaYkfcsEgxL/s320/url.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Having recently been critical of Sandford's novels—his early ones were my favorites—I was thrilled to find <i>Extreme Prey </i>to be a real page-turner!<br />
Lucas Davenport takes a job investigating a threat to a presidential candidate who is making her political rounds in Iowa before the caucuses begin. Davenport no longer beds every woman he meets, a fact I found refreshing, although, oddly enough, I saw a review that mentioned this fact made the book boring.<br />
Having spent a lot of years living in Iowa, I particularly enjoyed following the trail with Davenport as he visited so many small Iowa towns trying to find the culprits. The suspense carries the reader quickly through the book to a nail-biting final scene at the state fair.
A great read, one I highly recommend to lovers of suspense.<br />
<br />
<b>Things authors can learn from Extreme Prey:</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li> There is always a fresh approach to a long-term series. </li>
<li> Always have a few characters that are sympathetic. </li>
<li> Have interesting characters! The Purdy family was excellent, and even had one member who was a sympathetic drunk. </li>
<li> Have the main character visit lots of different places searching for clues, and interview many kinds of people. </li>
<li> Keep the suspense and conflict at a steady pace, don’t slow it down with lengthy back-story or family drama. In Extreme Prey, the reader sees just enough about Davenports own family to understand where he’s coming from. </li>
</ol>
<br />
Dear Readers,<br />
As a long-time Sandford reader, I was happy to be able to share a glowing review for one of his Prey series’ books. Glad I hung in there.
Hope you will enjoy reading <i>Extreme Prey</i>. If you’ve discovered another suspense book we should know about, please comment.
<br />
<br />
Hope, you’re enjoying the summer,<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Marla
</span></h3>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-81791705648388880212016-07-01T11:11:00.001-07:002016-07-01T11:11:32.095-07:00The 15th Affair by James Patterson<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 28.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">15<sup>th</sup>
Affair<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIAPDawYVFgeC9ENJSVbdAjUlldIk4EjCObwspy53srpR7NNYrr2iC8eUUGzDRP0K4pMGyWzpk7NA1SyfNsTYKR0IuFbwegAz1bQMwZ9QWyNkdIzlcM-QbHOjYaIt2mILb5s0PN_QqaKg/s1600/url.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIAPDawYVFgeC9ENJSVbdAjUlldIk4EjCObwspy53srpR7NNYrr2iC8eUUGzDRP0K4pMGyWzpk7NA1SyfNsTYKR0IuFbwegAz1bQMwZ9QWyNkdIzlcM-QbHOjYaIt2mILb5s0PN_QqaKg/s320/url.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">by</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">James Patterson</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 22.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
The first half of this Women’s
Murder Club story drew me in from page one and I had a hard time putting it
down. When a disturbing double murder takes place in an exclusive San Francisco
hotel, Lindsey Boxer is drawn into a case with far-reaching, even global
implications. While investigating the murders on a surveillance tape from the
hotel, Lindsey sees a man who looks remarkably like her husband and becomes
personally drawn into the case.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Before I was halfway through the
book, I lost interest in hearing about Lindsey’s devotion to her infant
daughter: the detailed descriptions of the child’s every expression, diaper
change, and mood, became extremely tiresome. Patterson claims to write this
series for women. But as a woman and a mother, I don’t need a reminder of
maternal love and the cuteness and demands of babies on every-other page.
Enough is enough. I read suspense for the plot, not to read a detailed account
of Lindsey's motherly devotion in every paragraph.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
The reader need not be a rocket
scientist to figure out that despite the many clues to the contrary, Lindsey’s
husband would turn out to be on the side of the good guys. (How could he
possibly be a villain when he had fathered such an adorable baby?)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
We don’t see much of the Murder
Club in this book. It was mainly all about Lindsey and her frustration with her
husband’s (possible) betrayal and her dedication to a case that put her child
constantly in the hands of an always-available sitter.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Yes, the second half of the 15<sup>th</sup>
Affair was a letdown and the ending predictable. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Hard to recommend this one. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
What other authors can learn from the 15<sup>th</sup>
Affair:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Readers do enjoy subplots that tell them about
the main character’s family life, but it’s important to find a balance. Every
chapter does not have to include family drama.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Keep things unpredictable. The sitter shouldn’t
always be available, the husband always perfect, and the plot does not have to
always end up being part of a global conspiracy; unless, of course, your book
falls into the thriller genre instead of suspense.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->If you’re writing a series that includes more
than one main character as the Women’s Murder Club does, try to keep a balance
of the characters in every book. Readers do complain when one is missing from
the action.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Dear Readers,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
I am definitely a Patterson fan,
but not necessarily a fan of every one of his series. I don’t care for suspense
books that go into too much detail about the personal lives of the characters
unless their families are somehow involved in the plot. That is why I don’t
read Patterson’s series about the New York detective who is a single parent with
about 10 children. I quit reading them after one of the books had scenes in
every chapter describing the children’s stomach flu and how much they threw up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
That is not to say that every
reader feels the way I do. I’m sure there are many who enjoy a lot more family
drama included in a mystery/suspense book than myself. But as authors, we would
like to satisfy both group of readers, wouldn’t we?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Finding the right balance can be
tricky, but worth the effort. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Have a wonderful summer and Fourth
of July,</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Marla<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-28740020045714305742016-06-03T11:43:00.002-07:002016-06-03T15:32:03.312-07:00MOST WANTED by Lisa Scottoline, A review<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">MOST WANTED<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">BY LISA SCOTTOLINE<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #660000;">A review<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqNK7k2AJuqzPOC_uWqnGz-iynjygUNM8eoDmi06ulkUe_YdwJPU36_WDYn0k6D7Q8XYpH2D5WtCi29qtPZVFXshW_VZFWhcWP-ozUmGJBc8OkMqztjdm9-KOdALx14xOx-ngRIp40UC3/s1600/unspecified.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqNK7k2AJuqzPOC_uWqnGz-iynjygUNM8eoDmi06ulkUe_YdwJPU36_WDYn0k6D7Q8XYpH2D5WtCi29qtPZVFXshW_VZFWhcWP-ozUmGJBc8OkMqztjdm9-KOdALx14xOx-ngRIp40UC3/s400/unspecified.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">I haven’t enjoyed all of
Scottoline’s recent books. Many have leaned away from mystery, with at least
half of the book going heavily into family drama. For me, a good suspense story
does have<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> some</i> amount of personal-interest
story lines for the protagonist, but I’m quickly bored by things like lengthy
dialogue with their children and endless pages with extensively <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>detailed family background.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">But in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Most Wanted</i>, Scottoline finds a perfect
balance. I started reading this book on Memorial weekend and finished it in
twenty-four hours. It’s that good.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">In an
absorbing and creative plot, Scottoline’s protagonist, Christine Nilsson, and
her husband Marcus have just become pregnant using donor sperm. Then Christine
sees a photo of a newly captured serial killer on the news and realizes he
looks just like her donor. After the agency they used refuses to confirm or
deny he is the same man, she takes it upon herself to discover if she’s made
the right connection. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">As she
delves deep into uncovering the truth, Christine is forced to face her worst
fears and make a painful decision.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">The end of
the book has a surprising twist, culminating in what most will find a
satisfying ending, although I was somewhat disappointed at the progression of Christine’s
husband’s personality.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #660000;">Overall,
Most Wanted is an amazing, five-star suspense read. Be sure to start reading it
when you time to finish!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<h4>
</h4>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Dear
Readers,</b></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b><br /></b></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>I
hope you are enjoying these late spring days. Here in Wisconsin we are facing some
warm-weather storms, and fortunately, most of the damage done by them has
missed us and no one in our area has been injured.</b></span></span><span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>Stay
safe wherever you live and enjoy the season.</b></span></span></h2>
<h2>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #660000;">Marla</span></span></b></h2>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #660000;">PS - I hope the photo Isn't confusing. I was unable to duplicate the cover of Most Wanted.</span></span></b></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-15005199868464941302016-05-07T08:50:00.000-07:002016-05-07T08:50:09.115-07:00Jeffrey Deaver's THE STEEL KISS<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
REVIEW OF</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">THE STEEL KISS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
By Jeffrey Deaver</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGIbCd0O8UAKQdnzkTmK8KWiaH7Fl3Dg0CUwOeQ4qwBgxI-EdhZs8ZrHrXO1UvTIK1zqqZRV92aNSkttE0Za-auq5QuGyxAm3e3f8pULRY1E2kDa85pw3OiXwc6n5KIlpb5up7IBjrTAX/s1600/51aA26yZUHL._SL500_SY150_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGIbCd0O8UAKQdnzkTmK8KWiaH7Fl3Dg0CUwOeQ4qwBgxI-EdhZs8ZrHrXO1UvTIK1zqqZRV92aNSkttE0Za-auq5QuGyxAm3e3f8pULRY1E2kDa85pw3OiXwc6n5KIlpb5up7IBjrTAX/s320/51aA26yZUHL._SL500_SY150_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Jeffrey Deaver is my most admired
author. His stories are immediately captivating, and he writes suspense that is
loaded with detail, managing to do it in such an interesting way that the
reader enjoys every word, a truly unique trait.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
The Steel Kiss is
right up there with Deaver’s best, pulling the reader into the plot with a
horrific and never-before-heard-of death: an escalator trap door opens at the
top of the stairs, pulling a man on the stairs into the mechanism below. Amelia
Sachs, who happens to be in the shopping mall at the time following a suspect, witnesses
the accident. She drops what she’s doing and crawls into the innards of the
escalator in an attempt to save him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Lincoln Rhyme is
as interesting as ever, even working independently of the police. He gets involved
in the escalator death when he forms an alliance with an attorney attempting to help
out the man’s widow by recouping a death benefit for her from whoever is
responsible for the accident that killed her husband.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
The plot moves on
from there at a rapid and detailed pace, introducing a new character, Juliette Archer, in a way
that makes her immediately interesting and enjoyable to the reader.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
The author concludes with a superb
and memorable ending.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Kudos to Deaver on this super
suspense read.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Dear Readers,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
As I write this, I’m working on the
finishing stages of my own suspense novel, Promise of Malice, the third in my
Detective Kendall Halsrud series. I feel so inferior as I absorb Deaver’s words
that I nearly want to stop writing! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
But then I remember how many different
writing styles I read and enjoy, reminding me that there is room for everyone’s
writing style, even mine. <span style="line-height: 150%;">Deaver has a style totally
different from James Patterson, for example, and yet both have wide,
appreciative audiences, leaving plenty of room in between for the rest of us
striving authors.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Till next time, take care and have
a wonderful May, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Marla<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-61191181138947986492016-04-04T08:25:00.002-07:002016-04-04T08:25:57.823-07:00Are you an AMAZON & KDP basher?<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Are you an AMAZON & KDP basher?</h2>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSICpPJz-g7vaAFqhtDyWaOD9nzkh2xL0HbMaeCmnSLge1rE2GkuXLdgoBY_tthtsCYkCezkhLfm0DPBgiuJ4OF9WkdbNW6qLw6TT-f0-Wru9p9WzWm8QEtZt9Xghs2bxeS-vMMy7KpF6W/s1600/question-25527_640.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSICpPJz-g7vaAFqhtDyWaOD9nzkh2xL0HbMaeCmnSLge1rE2GkuXLdgoBY_tthtsCYkCezkhLfm0DPBgiuJ4OF9WkdbNW6qLw6TT-f0-Wru9p9WzWm8QEtZt9Xghs2bxeS-vMMy7KpF6W/s320/question-25527_640.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></b><b><o:p> </o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
Every day I receive dozens of
emails from sites for authors, and every day, somewhere on the list is a
recurring theme—complaints about Amazon. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one that had
something good to say about any of Amazon’s practices regarding things for
writers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
Are you among the many authors who
constantly criticize KDP and take your books out every time Amazon does
something that you don’t approve of?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
It’s important to take a step back
and examine the big picture here—Amazon’s KDP does authors a huge service. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
Don’t think so? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
Then take an even further step back
and think about what life would be like without Amazon's assistance. Realistically, chances of getting your work published the traditional way, through an
agent and then a publishing house, are similar to your odds of winning
your state lottery. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
And even if you do manage to get a
publisher to pick up your work, then guess what? The publisher expects authors
to do their own marketing. Now, you’re making considerably smaller royalties,
while doing the same amount of endless marketing chores.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
Maybe this phenomenon of complaining is a natural
thing; Amazon is, after all, our employer, and everyone loves to complain about
their employer. Unlike a traditional employer though, there are no touch-bases,
no monthly or even annual dialogue to discuss how the employer/employee
relationship is going. Admittedly, our Amazon employer is not easy to
communicate with.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> KDP does answer
email questions, although it takes one to two days to get an answer. Their
answers are canned, and are usually not specific enough for your problem unless
you happen to ask just the right question. If it were up to me—and I know many
of you will violently disagree—I’d be in favor of Amazon charging authors a
minimal fee for publishing in order for them to pay for an easy-to-access
support system.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Most of us have a
love & hate attitude toward Mother Amazon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Where is the love?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<b>Ten things to
love about Amazon and KDP</b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Any writer can publish his/her eBook on
Amazon in only 2 days.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->There are now millions of Kindle owners all over the world buying
eBooks.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Amazon has made it easy now for people with
other digital readers to download AZ products.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->An author can get as much as a 70% <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>royalty from his/her book sales.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->KDP pays authors for eBooks lent to Prime
members by paying for pages read.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Profits are deposited directly into an author’s
bank account.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Amazon sells eBooks to a worldwide market and
shares the profit.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->KDP’s Select program offers authors free days to
help promote their books and many other options for promotion. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Amazon is continually adding new ways for
authors to market their writing.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Author
profile pages give writers a platform for all their books, their trailers, their blogs, and other information they want to supply to their readers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in;">
My personal experiences
with publishing on AZ have been over a period of five years. I’ve seen their promotion choices go from offering free days to many different
options. Formatting instructions for uploading books are improved
regularly, making the publishing process simpler.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For an indie
author Amazon and KDP remain—the best game in town.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in;">
<i style="line-height: 200%;"><b>Dear Readers,</b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in;">
<i><b>You’re probably
wondering if I ever add my complaints about Amazon to the long list that others
whine about daily. Like any employee, yes, I have my criticisms. </b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in;">
<i><b>Right now, I
love the profits I’m receiving from their pages-read system of rewarding those
who put their books into Amazon Prime. I write long books and people tend to
read the entire thing, so pages-read has been a bonanza for me. I know that system most
likely is not something that Amazon will use forever and when it’s changed, I'll probably complain. But I believe that Amazon wants to keep their authors happy and
when it is changed, I trust that it will be to something equally profitable.</b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in;">
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in;">
<i><b>Wishing everyone
a happy, healthy, and successful spring,</b></i></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Monotype Corsiva"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Marla<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-71813322412345080672016-03-05T14:28:00.001-08:002016-03-05T14:28:41.910-08:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<h2>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 150%;">WHAT’S LUCK GOT TO DO
WITH IT?</span></b></h2>
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">FIVE WAYS TO GET
LUCKY</span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></b>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9NuDeyw85b14fNo5-CYdnlUsUrOGbezFhHZjLsmaNtNPWl9JyVYoEnoNK1t3F5N-RuE-gJ6OhuFIZ0w8DoLDPiLyaDeCzSCKTB6A2J3Ud1IcyK0x7x80t1U2ALVKlBsmHdRxXZIHuSvF/s1600/Fotolia_79592562_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9NuDeyw85b14fNo5-CYdnlUsUrOGbezFhHZjLsmaNtNPWl9JyVYoEnoNK1t3F5N-RuE-gJ6OhuFIZ0w8DoLDPiLyaDeCzSCKTB6A2J3Ud1IcyK0x7x80t1U2ALVKlBsmHdRxXZIHuSvF/s640/Fotolia_79592562_XS.jpg" width="564" /></a><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></b>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">March, the
month of four-leaf clovers and little green leprechauns, is right around the
corner, and along with it come visions of green beer and the famous pot of gold
at the end of the rainbow. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and all of
us want to be showered with that famous luck of the Irish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
word luck, beaten and bastardized, gets tossed around like a day-old doughnut
whenever Indie authors discuss success (or lack thereof) of their book sales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
first time I ran a KDP free book promotion, and placed my suspense eBook, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She’s Not There,</i> free on Amazon.com, I
only had 8,202 downloads at the end of the first two days. This result was
disappointing compared to those of an author friend, who had 26, 000 downloads
for her book when she used the same promotion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When I asked her about it, she said that her huge number of her
downloads were a matter of luck, due the fact that a popular eBook site noticed
her promotion and highlighted it for their readers. I know firsthand that her
success is not all due to luck. She is a devoted marketer and spends every
available moment working to maintain her book’s sales momentum. Me, I’m
addicted to things like playing bridge, reading, and watching soap operas; my
marketing ethic is not nearly as fierce!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I’m going to let you in on a secret about luck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><u><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This is a universal truth: <o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Luck is more likely to happen to those who go after it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">None of us want to hear that luck takes effort. We would all prefer
to cling to magical thinking: I’ll get rich when I win the lottery, the perfect
man will come knocking at my door, a stroke of fate will send my book sales
through the roof. And with rare exceptions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green;">It ain’t gonna
happen!<o:p></o:p></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green;"><br /></span></b></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 150%;">HOW TO GET LUCKY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Secrets of Lucky People<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Believe </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">you will be successful.</span></b><span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Research shows
that if you believe you’ll succeed, your odds of hitting a lucky streak go up.
There is no magic involved—expectancy is a true driver of results. Expecting
something, as opposed to wanting or hoping for it, will enhance your
decision–making and you’ll put in more of an effort than you normally would. Expect
success and find ways to stay positive—it works!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Pay Attention!</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Notice What Others Miss. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Lucky people are open to random opportunities. They <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">notice </i>chance situations and act on
them. Curiosity, courage, and diligence are traits that prepare you to
recognize opportunities and act on them. Put down your cell phone and turn off
the computer games. Look around and keep your eyes open for opportunities—they’re
out there!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Be Willing to <span style="color: green;">Take a Chance</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">If you try more things, more good things will happen. Serendipity is
more likely to occur if you take risks and move outside of your comfort zone.
Be willing to accept occasional failures. If you only try things that guarantee
success, you will miss out on many opportunities to succeed. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When chance encounters occur, don’t over-think them, act on them!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Switch Things Up </span></b><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Lucky people increase their
chances of positive opportunities by meeting new people, experiencing new
places, activities, and information. They are constantly trying new things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Luck won’t come looking for you or call you on your Smartphone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The more you put yourself out there, and experience new things, the
more likely it is you will find luck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Practice Bouncing
Back<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: green; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Lucky people don’t let failure sidetrack their road to success. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Unlucky people tend to be data collectors for bad experiences,
constantly dwelling on every detail of negative events. When you let a bad
break get you down, you close the door on new situations that could lead to a
lucky break. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Learn to let it go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Closely linked to the first trait, expecting the best, bouncing back
means you will have a greater chance of success with each failure, because
you’ll be trying new experiences more often. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Regard every bad break as an opportunity to find the right course for
you.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dear Readers,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
many of us, myself included, wait for that magical break that will mean success
for our writing, or success in love, life and career. But magical thinking <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">delays</b> success. Practice these habits
of lucky people and reap the rewards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Happy St. Patrick’s Day,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: green; font-family: "monotype corsiva"; font-size: 28.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Marla<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Note: I seldom repeat a blog, but this one on luck has been so
popular that I repeat it every March when the luck of the Irish is on our minds
and in the air!</span><span style="font-family: "garamond"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-77924842953343139462016-02-07T10:29:00.001-08:002016-02-07T10:29:16.679-08:00A Valentine's Day Story<h2 style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Heart Full of Chocolates</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">A short story</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4fRtYVJgIjgCYJWbPPUoOuSAgRiTbAMGbvc1RS0r6W4S5HHaFIMe1s-TzLUMwF4OpS-qn-yXm2zWJ_7eOuUUFpMsCE17a1JkCrkysnaOz1cGeR33Ci7dC6URJK8rtKLa_tp7-3Jq1Uqe/s1600/Fotolia_5974631_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4fRtYVJgIjgCYJWbPPUoOuSAgRiTbAMGbvc1RS0r6W4S5HHaFIMe1s-TzLUMwF4OpS-qn-yXm2zWJ_7eOuUUFpMsCE17a1JkCrkysnaOz1cGeR33Ci7dC6URJK8rtKLa_tp7-3Jq1Uqe/s640/Fotolia_5974631_XS.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
The only
thing more depressing than Valentine’s Day itself was having it fall on a
Saturday night. It didn’t matter that Jorie spent most Saturday evenings at
home in front of her computer. What got stuck in her craw was the principal of
the thing—Valentine’s Day honored three kinds of women: mothers, grandmothers,
and the very slender. Thirty-three-year-old women with size eighteen bodies did
not receive roses or red satin
heart-boxes filled with chocolates.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Hey Jorie,” she heard when she opened
her phone after hearing the opening notes of Adam Lambert’s <i>Mad World</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What are you doing tonight?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Crap. It
was Heather, her least-favorite friend. “I’m just hanging out here—no big
deal.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “On
Valentine’s Day? Don’t you have a date?” </span>The little
bitch knew Jorie didn’t have a date. If Jorie didn’t get rid of her fast, she’d
have to listen to Heather brag about her latest Mr. Wonderful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “Heather,
my front door buzzer just went off. Gotta go.” Jorie closed the phone and hit
the off button. Then turned the phone back on. You never knew who might call.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Chocolate
hearts. Roses. Gushy cards. Jorie hated them all. The sleazy satin hearts
filled with chocolates were the worst of the phony love stuff and were
advertised everywhere you looked, even on the side of busses splattered with
street slime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> In need of
a distraction, she went to her computer and opened her favorite site for
writers. The site allowed fiction writers to display their work, get feedback from
other writers and even publish poetry or topic rants. </span>Jorie was ready to fight
back. No hearts and flowers or melodramatic poems from this writer; she’d
write a Valentine’s Day rant!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> The
thousand-word rant turned out sarcastic, sharply witty, and brilliantly
hilarious. Hah! She placed her razor-sharp words on a pink background and
added a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>picture of a lovely
woman—a size-two woman—holding a bouquet of roses and a box of candy. Perfect.
Jorie hit the button, posting her rant for all to see. Well, anyone who was
sitting in front of his or her computer on Valentine’s Day. Pandora, was Jorie’s
username on the site. No one would know who was the pathetic writer, home alone
on Valentine’s Day writing rants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> The phone
again. Now what? Her mother? She should have left the thing off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “Hey,
Jorie, it’s me.” Damn. It was Joe, a loser boyfriend from her recent past. </span>The creep
had only dated her because he was always broke, their dates usually paid for by
<i>guess-who</i>. Until <i>guess-who</i> got sick of supporting their dates and
dumped him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “What
brings you out from under your rock?’ She was in no mood for games.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “Is that
any way to talk? I thought maybe we could get together tonight, you know, do
something for Valentine's Day.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> What a
total ass. Do something—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sure</i>—something
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she </i>would be willing to pay for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">“I don’t
think so, Joe. I have to stay in and wash my hair. See ya!” Jorie closed the
phone and hit the off button. She’d heard from enough annoying people tonight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
Maybe it
was time to toss the pepperoni pizza she'd bought into the oven as a consolation gift to herself. But just
as she was about to get up from in front of her computer, she noticed a review
for her rant had already popped up on the writer’s site. She wondered which other
dateless loser was home alone tonight. A five-star review. Could have been
worse. At least <i>someone</i> understood. Jorie opened the review. Nothing but praise for
her writing. She noticed she’d also gotten a message from the reviewer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">From
Edukator;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">A
Valentine’s Day rant! Original, Pandora. What can I say? Well-written rant?
Sorry you are so unhappy tonight. It was amusing to read, though, and well
written; your writing is always entertaining.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Rick<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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So, username,
Edukator. He’d given his real name. Or, <i>maybe</i> he had. He and Jorie never failed
to review each other’s work on the website. One of the good ones, Jorie always
took his words to heart. Grateful for his message, she typed in a response and
added her name.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Thanks for
the nice review, Rick. And for the kind words. This night will pass.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Jorie<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Jorie put
the pizza in the oven and opened a can of soda. Funny, but the message from
Edukator had tweaked her attitude a little. Maybe she hadn’t said enough in her
answer. She returned to her computer to expand her response and, back on the
website, she found another personal message waiting for her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Jorie, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">I was
thinking about you and noticed on your profile that you also live in the
Chicago area. Not sure where you are, but maybe we should meet tonight. No
pressure, of course, we would simply meet as kindred writers no longer alone on
Valentine’s Day.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Rick<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Wow! She didn’t think people from the site ever got together. Not
that there was anything wrong with it. She hated blind dates about as much as
she hated satin hearts, but he said this wouldn’t be a date. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Rick,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Your note
surprised me. As long as we’d be meeting just as friends, maybe I’ll consider
it. FYI, I’m thirty-three and I’m full-figured. But you’re right; we could meet
as fellow writers. I’m in Waukegan, IL, just south of Chicago.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Jorie<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> The
delicious odor of baking pizza had lost some of it’s enticement. She told herself she was stupid to get
excited about meeting a stranger. Many of the writers on the site were retired
people; this guy could be in his seventies. Jorie pulled the pizza out of the
oven and set it on a breadboard. Maybe she’d have a piece or two. The cheese
was bubbly and the crust lightly browned. She could decide what to do while she
munched. After adding a few pieces to a plate and grabbing a Diet Coke, she
returned to the computer and found another message waiting for her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Jorie,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Staying in
the full-disclosure mode, I’m forty-eight and have never been attractive to
younger women. So like I said, no pressure. Let’s meet. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">I have to
go out tonight anyway. I’m in Schaumburg. That big bookstore in Gurnee, which
is close for you, is having a poetry reading for Valentine’s Day. I planned on
stopping in to listen to some of the poets, and I also have some shopping to do
while I’m there. If that interests you, I’ll be there by about eight. I’ll be
wearing a dark blue jacket with khaki pants. I’m about six feet tall and wear
wire-rimmed glasses. (I’m a teacher and I look like one.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you know, I love mysteries, so you’ll
probably find me browsing the mystery aisle.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Hope you to
see you there,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Rick<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">An hour
later, Jorie walked into the bookstore wearing her favorite outfit—black jeans
with a fuzzy black cardigan sweater over a white turtleneck, topped by her
favorite black wool jacket. The outfit was slenderizing and complemented her
long, golden blonde hair, definitely her best feature, if you could call
hair a feature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> As
promised, she spotted him in the mystery aisle, a youngish, forty-eight-year
old, with thinning, light brown hair. Just as she was about to walk his way she
saw a woman approach him. Older than Jorie by at least ten years, she was all glammed
up like she was going somewhere fancy. Hair styled to perfection, an outfit that
probably cost more than Jorie’s weekly salary, and fingernails, blood-red
daggers. Rick—if the guy was Rick—looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight from
foot to foot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Jorie,
remembering he didn’t know what she looked like, moved close enough to
eavesdrop. And close enough to smell the woman’s cloying, floral perfume.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “Rick,"
the woman gushed. "I’m so glad we ran into each other! Maybe we could have
coffee or something.” She batted eyelids heavy with mascara and smoky eyeshadow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “Yes, it’s nice
to see you, Madeleine.” His body language revealed his discomfort as he backed
up into the shelves, holding a book in front of him like a shield. His eyes
were everywhere but on the woman in front of him. </span>He looked
around the aisle, and met Jorie’s gaze. “Uh, I’d really like to but I’m meeting
someone here.”</div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Madeleine’s
brown eyes narrowed, clearly doubting the truthfulness of his excuse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Impulsively,
Jorie walked up to him, and slid an arm through his. “Hi, sorry I’m late!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> His
eyebrows raised, startled, then he recovered and said, “No problem, I haven’t
been here very long.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> She held
out her other hand to the stylish woman, hoping to avoid the dangerous nails.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jorie.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Rick
cleared his throat. “Jorie, this is Madeleine. I’ve probably mentioned her,
she’s our assistant principal.” He returned his book to the shelf, and casually
placed an arm on Jorie’s shoulder. Madeleine sniffed, mumbling something
unintelligible while she turned on an impossibly narrow heel, and flounced out
of the aisle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “Aren’t you
a surprise.” Rick said, his blue eyes twinkling. “You certainly
undersell yourself, don’t you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Jorie had
been thinking the same thing about him. He didn’t look his age at all, and the
shy smile below the blue eyes made her heart flutter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She shrugged, flattered. “You said no pressure—you’re too
old for me—I’m too…” Unsure how to end the sentence gracefully, she said,
“young for you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> He
chuckled. “Yes, no pressure. We’re here as fellow writers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> They spent
the next two hours browsing, listening to the poets, and talking over a cup of
coffee in the coffee bar. Jorie could have sworn she saw Madeleine circling in
the distance like a bird of prey. Was the woman a stalker? Jorie was starting
to wonder if she’d misread Rick's signals. Maybe he would have preferred the other
woman’s company and had only been uneasy because he had promised to meet Jorie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “I think
your friend Madeline is still here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> He sighed.
“When you’re my age and get divorced, everyone tries to fix you up. Some
well-meaning friends invited her over for dinner one night, trying to get us
together. Well, you know how that is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> A single
woman her age wasn’t very marketable. Things like that never happened to her.
“Sure. Happens all the time,” Jorie lied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “I went to
a school function with her after that dinner and now she thinks we’re dating.”
He smiled, but only the corners of his mouth moved. “Thanks for helping me out.
I think she got the message.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “Maybe.”
Jorie wondered why it even mattered to her since she wasn’t interested in him
as a man, just as a friend to share Valentine’s Day with. He was kind of cute, but
not her type. She preferred the tall, dark and jerky type, unfortunately. Maybe
it was time for a change. But even forty-eight-year-old men didn’t like
overweight women. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Jorie took
the last sip of her coffee. “I’d like to find out who wins the poetry contest.
Do you want to go back?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “You know,
I have an errand next door. If you don’t mind, I’ll run over there and meet you
back here. I’ll only be a minute.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">“Sure.” For
a moment, Jorie wondered if Rick would come back. But he didn't seem like that kind of
person—not like the men she dated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He met her a short twenty minutes later
at the area where the poets were now doing book signings. </span>“Mom gets a
dreaded heart of chocolates,” he laughed, and held up a shopping bag bearing the logo of a local candy store.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> When they
left the bookstore, they walked into a winter wonderland. Large, heavy flakes
were drifting onto the pavement, covering it just enough to make it slippery.
“Let me carry your packages,” he offered, taking her bags. As usual, Jorie hadn’t
been able to leave the store without buying a stack of books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> At her car,
he asked for her snow brush, and cleaned the car off for her as she warmed it
up. Damn. She liked him. But their meeting was strictly no-strings, probably a
pity thing on his part. Although this <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">had
been</span> one of her better Valentine’s Days, thanks to him. They’d still be
friends on the website, anyway, that wouldn’t change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> When he
finished clearing the snow from her car, she opened the window to thank him.
Before she could say the words, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. </span>“Happy
Valentine’s Day, Pandora,” he said, grinning.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Jorie smiled back at him and drove slowly out of
the parking lot, glancing in the rearview mirror as he walked to his car.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> When she got home, Jorie
changed into her pajama’s and robe, her mind and imagination still on Rick. A
kiss on the cheek meant nothing, she told herself. Friends did that all the
time. And he hadn’t said a work about seeing her again. Well, she had her new
books. Reading always made her happy. She’d go through the books, pick one to
start on, and be asleep in no time. She plopped the bag of books on her bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> When she
looked inside the large bag she found a smaller package that wasn’t one of her own purchases. Rick must have mistakenly added one of his packages to hers when he was carrying their purchases. She
looked inside and saw a bright, red satin heart box. And a card. Could he have left
the gift for his mother in her bag by mistake? But on the front of the envelope—in heavy, masculine handwriting, was written—Pandora. Her heart raced as she
opened the card. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Jorie,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Your rant
was not accurate. Valentine hearts filled with chocolates are for </span></i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">all<i> lovely
ladies.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Will you
have dinner with me one night this week? But, no pressure!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">Rick<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Jorie
picked up the heart box, running her fingers over its smooth satin exterior. A
velvety, red rose, its petals tipped in white, was centered on a red bow on the heart's surface, the red-satin box rimmed with a red-ribbon-and-white-lace ruffle. She grinned. As she
lifted the lid, the rich, mouth-watering scent of chocolate wafted up to her
nose. Inhaling the heady scent, her eyes scanned the assortment. All milk
chocolates. How had he known?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> Picking up
what looked like a chocolate-covered cherry, Jorie popped the smooth globe of
chocolate into her mouth. When she bit into it, the sweet syrup that cuddled the
cherry oozed over her tongue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
chewed, savoring the luscious blend of flavors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> After she’d
enjoyed every bit of the rich piece of candy, a laugh broke out from deep
in the center of her being, the kind of laugh she hadn’t experienced in a long
time. Jorie laughed until her eyes watered, then hugged herself as she pictured
Rick’s smiling blue eyes and relived the kiss he’d planted on her cheek.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> This was
the best Valentine’s Day ever!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: red;">Dear Readers,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: red;">I've stepped out of my suspense-writer mode to entertain you with this brief, feel-good Valentine's Day Story. Hope you enjoyed it. Have a happy, loving day, and don't forget to do something nice for the person most important in your life . . . yourself!</span></span></div>
<h3 style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Marla</span></span></h3>
Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1438850631282274504.post-20868693070792074532016-01-16T09:18:00.003-08:002016-01-16T09:18:51.692-08:00GOAL MANAGEMENT FOR WRITERS<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvvm4RQI1mDiT7TYRcXUCav7YqK7tV7BclKSQKkSo0zBe2nyB9Rlve5FLv20Q6UfzszWoq5_ZtgD4iCgtNYEpCRufbZhKBGg4cI6M2N6fh2akQQVdwF2ydy32TB7WncSp36dkM3-qU83n/s1600/Fotolia_98108704_XS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvvm4RQI1mDiT7TYRcXUCav7YqK7tV7BclKSQKkSo0zBe2nyB9Rlve5FLv20Q6UfzszWoq5_ZtgD4iCgtNYEpCRufbZhKBGg4cI6M2N6fh2akQQVdwF2ydy32TB7WncSp36dkM3-qU83n/s400/Fotolia_98108704_XS.jpg" width="385" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<h3>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Are your New Year's Resolutions already forgotten?<br />
Are you wishing you hadn't made a list of everything in </span></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">your</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> life
you'd like to change?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A resolution is defined as a firm
determination. Like “self-control,” a resolution sounds like something we’d
only do with a whip held over our heads. That is why they fall aside so
quickly.<br /> Goals? Not so much. A goal represents something positive a person wants to
achieve. Positive is good. Resolution bad.<br />
A goal
can be as simple as a mental picture of something you want to accomplish or can
be a formal outline for how you plan to accomplish the goal. The most important
thing about setting goals is to choose goals you are excited about achieving,
excited enough that you will stay motivated to complete them.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<b>Goal guidelines:<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Write the goal down</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">. Give goals the added formality of typing them and
printing them out. If you’re a writer, or an entrepreneur, you might want to
have a separate list for your those goals for the week, month, and year. Anthony
Robbins even advocates having a five-year plan! Think about what you’d like
your life to look like in five years—it’s an eye opener!</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-outline-level: 3; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: .5in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Display your goals</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> for the week somewhere you will see them every day.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Be sure each goal is something you are excited about</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> accomplishing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Don’t try to do too many at once.</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> Pick two or three, or only one if
it is something important to you.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Make a list of action steps</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> you will do in order to achieve your goal. Divide
the steps into long and short-term solutions.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">The action steps must be specific</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">. Add dates for their
accomplishment too if you find that helpful<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%;">Procrastination can feel overwhelming, thus
emphasizing the need to have increments toward the achievement of your goal.
Begin with a tiny, baby step—but begin! Many years ago, I was stuck in a job I
found unfulfilling and my goal for the year was to take advantage of the
tuition reimbursement plan it offered and go back to school for my Master’s
degree. It felt like an impossible task that involved a lot of work just to get
started. I took very simple first step and contacted a local university for
information about the programs. I began classes that spring and graduated three
years later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt; mso-outline-level: 3; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0in; mso-para-margin-right: 0in; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; text-indent: .3in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Make that first step a small one and make it
today—it is the most important one. You’ll be surprised how it will inspire you
to keep going.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Dear Readers,<br />
I wish all of you a healthy and amazing
2016! If you have any great tips for goal achievement, please share it with us
in the comment section. I find my weekly goals most helpful and tape them (on
an index card) to the bottom of my computer so I have to face them every day.
What works for you?<br />
Till next time,<br />
</b></span><b><span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 150%;">Marla</span></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<!--EndFragment--></h3>
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<!--EndFragment-->Marla Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04004295584548524776noreply@blogger.com0