CBHD Memories and A New Book Idea

Before I write my blog post again, let me tell you what happened. I've started to use the AVG secure browser because it's lightning quick. I love it. I also use Grammarly with everything because I type so fast that I tend to leave out entire words! I've even typed words backward before. I have no clue how this happens other than my hands know the keyboard better than I do and they like to pull pranks. Moving on.

So I wasn't sure if I could install Grammarly to my extensions in the AVG browser and decided to simply go to the Grammarly website and type there. Unfortunately, I wasn't logged into my account and when I clicked the green button to check my grammar, I lost my entire post. This was an idiot move. Believe me, I know. I don't know what possessed me to do such a thing. Why didn't I simply open Word? And so, I must now do my best to remember what it was I had blogged about in the first place. Is this funny? Sort of. Am I laughing? Not yet. The wounds are still fresh. Give me a day.

A lot of what I rambled on about in my original post was book writing and finishing things. My mother said on more than one occasion that I never finish anything. But, I do now. I've finished and published a novel called Sonshine Girls: Summer Secret. That was to be book one of a ten-book series. How did that happen for someone who was deemed lazy and failed to finish things? Let me tell you a story. You see, I have two really brilliant and beautiful friends, Lori and Tiffany, who believed in me when I thought my stories were just silly...they were just stories. "You should write a book!" Lori used numerous exclamation points as she stated this. 

I brushed her off for years and I can't exactly pinpoint when or why she decided that I should write a book. Was I telling a lot of weird little stories in our daily emails that could sometimes add up to a number in the hundreds especially since Tiffany was part of our emailing trio? At any rate, I started to write. Now, initially, the book was to be about teens and it was going to be a horror novel. There's something about me that loves to read horror, but I'm not very good at writing it. As that book began to develop, the characters began to drift off to church. Oh, come on, guys! Anywhere but church. 

If you've ever read Proverbs 22:6 that says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it," then let me tell you that those words are true! I couldn't do it. No matter how hard I tried to force those four girls into a novel of horror, they wanted to plan fundraisers and head to church camp. So be it. I've been called to write but not for my glory, for God's. There it is, I've said it. I write Christian fiction. I am a writer. I am a Christian and it oozes out into my writing. And, it makes me smile.

I never had much faith in myself and decided to finish up the book after many times of sharing it back and forth between Lori and Tiffany. They really kept me going because they always wanted to read the next chapter. It's good to have friends like this. I was also in an excellent writer's group at the time called Razor's Edge Writers. Ellen Hopkins was in that group and I thought that was simply amazing. I decided to upload Sonshine Girls: Summer Secret to some online e-book place I found. I can't even remember the name of the site now. And then, something amazing happened.

I had simply slapped a weird Photo-Shopped picture of my daughter onto the cover of the book and waited to see if anyone would read it. Oddly enough, it was only up for a week or so when I got an email from a small publisher. He said that he was looking around the site for books that were like his daughter's books. He said that he read my description and a little bit more and that the would like to publish me. And so I took Sonshine Girls down from that site and began a long and tedious process of editing it. And suddenly, it was December 13, 2008, and I had a box of beautiful books sitting on my kitchen table. I had book signings lined up and found myself in a world I could only dream of. A small world, but still, it was pretty cool. 

Sadly, he moved on to other things and turned his company over to someone who refused to answer the phone. On December 13, 2018, my book was no longer available to purchase. I've done some searches and it still comes up. If you want to see it, search Sonshine Girls: Summer Secret by Rene Morris. It's kind of sad but I've moved on. I toyed with the idea of publishing it myself but have decided to leave it in the past. I've lost the other two manuscripts anyway. Thankfully, I have a copy sitting right in front of me.

So I will get back to my point as I watch the rabbit I was chasing make its way down the trail that I wasn't supposed to go but did because that's how my mind functions. I'll take a deep breath here because that was a long sentence. It reminded me of the paragraph my son wrote recently using zero punctuation. I read it out loud to him and sounded like a robot. In the end, I was gasping for air. Side note, punctuation matters, Joshua.

Onward now. So I mentioned in my blog title a new book idea. It happened like it always does...when I least expect it. I was driving Joshua (#6) to his little summer job of feeding a friend's dog. We passed a house that didn't look as nice as the others around it. Of course, this is when my mind takes over and says things like, "That could be a cool story!" Yes, a cool story that teaches the value of understanding and loving others even when their outside might not match their inside. And, of course, I had to blurt out, "I just got a new book idea!" Joshua seemed mildly interested.

But in my mind, I could already see my main character sitting on his (or her) bike, leaning like you have to do when you're sitting still. Just staring at that old house. And then, the door opens and the adventure begins and hopefully, after about 100,000 words, it will end in a way that no one ever saw coming. Book number seven, people. Book number Seven. The title that jumped in my head was Who Lives In That House? I don't like it but, it gives the manuscript a name and that is good enough for me. Sonshine Girls didn't have a title until the last page or so. And then, they named themselves.

I've learned that my writing process follows that of a discovery writer. I wouldn't have it any other way and love to tell people that I write by the seat of my pants, dragged down the path that adventures into the world that my characters create and allow me to visit. I would like to thank all of those voices in my head. I love you. Ahem...

So I also mentioned CBHD. Those letters stand for Cheaper By the Half Dozen and I've mentioned it in a previous blog post. But, in case you've missed it and you're not like me and won't start from the beginning of someone's blog and move to the most recent post because you're a nerd like that and don't want to miss anything, it was my blog back when my kids were much younger. Why did I ever delete it? Why? Why are creative people so quick to act? We can be impulsive and blundering fools. And since I deleted it so many years ago and can't recover it, I've dug out a notebook given to me by Collin (#1) and I'm jotting down ideas for blogging as I think of them. And one idea was about Brandon (#2). 

When Brandon was just five years old, he became quite angry with me and I don't even remember why. He is 27 now so it's been a minute or more. He packed his little suitcase and stood boldly by the front door. "I'm moving to Wendy's!" Now Wendy was a good friend who lived just a couple streets over. These were college days and we lived in a little mobile home community. If all mobile home communities could be like that one, it would be nice. But I digress. Rabbits tempt me too often as I've mentioned before. 

You see, Collin (#1) was a happy-go-lucky kid who only got in trouble when his whimsical ways led to some sort of injury. Let me put a pin right here and visit this later. Pardon me while I jot this down in my notebook. Brandon, however, was the opposite and those two clashed on more than one occasion. And as Collin sat happily on the couch waiting to watch Gumby and Pokey, Brandon was seething. And I knew that if I over-reacted, this situation could get ugly. I took a deep breath and looked at him just as defiantly as he looked at me. "I'll let her know you're on your way."

And just like that, his little feet were out the door and headed down the driveway. I did as I promised and called Wendy. "I'm just letting you know that Brandon has packed and is moving out to live with you." Silence for about half a second on the other end left me wondering what Wendy would say.

"Well, okay. I'll make sure he has plenty to do!" After a few more seconds on the phone, Wendy lets me know that Brandon has arrived, blue and red little suitcase in hand. I must also mention that his suitcase was loaded with toys and not clothing. And at five years of age, I refrained from the "You'll leave with just the clothes on your back" speech. 

Brandon didn't live long with Wendy and soon she was calling to let me know that he was headed home. All of this happened in about fifteen minutes. "He didn't like my idea of the chores list I made for him." At the time, Wendy was still in school at Sam Houston State University learning all about tiny people and how to teach them. I am quite sure she is still one of the best teachers out there to this day. Thank you, Wendy.

And as I watched the knob turn on the front door and Brandon shuffle inside, I knew that there would most likely be many more of these moments. Even at five years old, Brandon was simply a determined soul that would never be a follower. He questioned way too much.

"So you want to move back in?" I waited for him to respond. Brandon didn't stand as most kids would with his eyes to the floor. Brandon still felt that he had been jilted somehow. But he had made a choice between two evils. Evil Mom or Evil Miss Wendy. He chose the house with the fewest chores. That's all. And it was at this moment that knew I needed to take a stand. "I'll think about it. Take your suitcase to your old room because I just cleaned out here."

This wasn't easy to do, to be the mean mom. Brandon was cute. I mean, really cute. I don't care how big and bad he thought he was, he was a tiny five-year-old with almond-shaped brown eyes and dusty blond hair. He was way too cute for his disposition. But, our children's dispositions are what make them who they are and we as parents have to learn our way around them. I wanted Brandon to always be Brandon. Determined, head-strong Brandon. 

I gave him a few minutes and then went to talk to him. His suitcase was empty having been discarded at the foot of his bed and his previously packed toys were all over the floor. "I want you to stay and I'm glad you came home." His little feet dangled from his toddler bed as he shifted to face me. If I wanted to hug him, I'd have to take the hug. Take it...they were never given freely. And never given to a mean mom. Unfortunately for Brandon, Miss Wendy had turned out to be equally mean and I was his only choice. I think Brandon is this way because of me. I think he thought I wouldn't love him anymore. He had messed up too bad. I'm like this. I always think that I've burned a bridge and there is no crossing it again. 

And so I did what I know I would have needed when I was five. I scooped him up and kissed his whole face. He protested but his giggles betrayed him. I'm glad he decided to move back in and I didn't have to actually go to Wendy's house and drag him home. And that matters because if Wendy would have coddled him he would have stayed. But she did what she hoped someone would do for her, she became the greater of two evils. She sacrificed herself for a friend and for that, I've forever grateful.

And Brandon learned that day that Mom is in control. But, Mom loves him no matter what. And from that day forward, he could be testy and he would question and he would see how far he could go. But, for the most part, all I ever had to do was give him that look. The one that said, "Boy, you're pushing it too far." And, he's given me a lot of blog material over the years. At the end of the day, I wouldn't change one thing about anything in his growing up years because those are the years that made one over-used saying very true. You'll laugh about this one day. And we have.

Forced Blogging

I'm forcing myself to sit down and sit still and write. I should be blogging daily and since no one actually reads my blog, I shouldn't worry about the content. And yes, I do. As I've mentioned before, I use WW (used to be Weight Watchers) to watch my weight. I like to watch it go DOWN. Each plan gives so many daily points and so many weekly points. If you go over your dailies, you can borrow from your pool of weeklies. Well, I usually have roll-overs. That means that I don't always eat all of my points and they roll over to the next day. But only four. Last night I ended up not eating 11 points. But, only four will roll over.

I also watch my weight daily and have found that on the weekends where I've dug into my weeklies and even gone over (I'm talking a -97 weekly balance here!) I've still lost 1.3 pounds. Well, it's Thursday now and this past weekend I stuck to my daily points and borrowed maybe four weeklies. And guess what...my scale is showing no loss. My plan is to eat those weeklies and throw caution to the wind this upcoming weekend. My body seems to respond well to a couple meals that aren't WW SmartPoints friendly. 

I must also mention that I intermittent fast. I won't eat before noon or after 8 pm. This weekend, I'll probably log my points just to see if my theory works. If it does, from now on I'm counting points M-F and Saturday and Sunday I won't. With my intermittent fasting, I typically have one large meal a day anyway. Well, that's been a lot of rambling about my diet.

As for the writing, I'm finding it difficult to open my manuscript. When I wrote before, I had two friends who couldn't wait to read each chapter as I finished. Now, I don't have that luxury. I love the feedback and excitement of someone reading. It keeps me going. I like to have someone to write for. 

At this rate, Christmas Ginger will sit on my computer for another year or probably more. I'm not sure if or when Dead Butterflies will ever make it out. 

There, I blogged. It's done. I wrote something. Yay. 

Writing and Dave Ramsey

Well, it's happened. After a really good writing streak, I'm losing interest in my Christmas book. I don't actually have time to do this if I want it published by December. I admit that I've been preoccupied with Dave Ramsey's program and WW recipes and losing weight. I'm hoping and praying that I get my writing mojo back.

Juan came home yesterday with a Dogwood tree and hopefully, the thing likes our front yard and will grow up nice and strong. My grandmother had one in her front yard and would always send pictures of it when it bloomed. I'm talking about film pictures here. I'll post the little tree's progress as we go along.

But, back to Dave Ramsey...oh and homesteading. I can't forget that part. In 2017 we purchased a used single-wide mobile home with plans to make it over. This process has been slow going because the husband is a little difficult to get motivated. But finally, he has begun to trim out the windows. I hate the storm windows that come with mobile homes so the plan was to take them all off, throw them out and trim up the windows with wood. So far, half of the work is done on ONE window. Okay, two windows if you consider that they are in the living room side by side. But, still.

Our other plan is to add on to the home and create a spare bedroom/sewing room, mudroom, and new living room allowing the existing living room to become part of the kitchen. We (or I) want to gut both bathrooms and redo them as well. Oh, and the mudroom would sport a half-bath. We also need a half-bath out by the pool and the decking finished in the back yard.

Next spring we want to begin to plant vegetables and use a lot of our property for gardening. And also, we need a place to gather for all of our nine children and their families. And, we need Covid to go away. Please and thank you.

So we've been watching a lot of YouTube except for the break we took last night to watch the "new" Maleficent movie thanks to my husband's begging. That is behind us now. We can get back to Dave and homesteading. And I guess I need to figure out a way to make a new batch of soap this week as well. If Christmas Ginger makes it, it will be a miracle for sure.

Something Hidden

As I wrote yesterday, I'm working on Christmas Ginger in the hopes that I can release it on December 12, 2020. What I forgot to mention is that when one of the characters meets a man in the bookstore, he has a tween book picked out for his nieces that perfectly describes my first published book, The Sonshine Girls. I thought it would be fun to describe the cover.

“As I told you before, my nieces read a lot.” Jeff peeked in his bag and pulled out a book with four girls on the cover looking at an old photo album. “I hope they like this one.” He handed it to Annie.

I was able to write chapter two this morning and will move on to chapter three tomorrow. It's moving along nicely. I've decided to wait on my other books until this one is published. Then, maybe I'll spin the bottle and see which one I work on next!

Christmas Ginger

Back in 2012, I began a book that should have been finished by now. It's called Christmas Ginger and it's about two women who became good friends. Ginger is younger than Annie because Annie had been her lifeline in high school. They met at their apartment complex and Annie encouraged Ginger through her high school years and helped her through rough times when she had been bullied. The main story takes place five years later when Ginger has graduated from nursing school. She and her mother have moved from the complex but Annie is still there, still stuck.

I should take a moment to point out that I'm a discovery writer. I never know what will happen as I write. Characters show up and step into the story at any moment they choose. Paths change, memories happen and their worlds become more and more real to me. It's fun being a writer.

I think one thing that I hear often from other writers is the word PROCRASTINATION. And I understand this completely. I can find 9,412 other things to do before I open Word. I've had to create a morning habit in order to get through the procrastination stage. Every morning I open up Word and open my current WIP (Work in Progress). I make sure I write at least once chapter a day. I try to make my chapters at least 4,000 words long.

Another problem that I have is that I'm excited when I go to bed at night. I can't wait to get up in the morning and write! And then, the morning comes and the procrastinating starts. I've found that by opening Word first and starting to type that I am pulled into the story before I know it. And because of this habit I've created, I now am able to write a chapter a day in addition to making sure that previous chapters line up! Hey, it's working!

So back to Christmas Ginger. As you can tell, it's a Christmas story and I've set a goal to have this one published in time for Christmas this year. Let me tell you, I've never published my own books! I'm going to have to learn the typesetting and cover design. I've done covers and know how to do the layout but the design just seems better to me when done by someone else. So, I'm putting my trust in God that this will all get done at the perfect time. I also need someone that wants to read my books from beginning to end that won't quit on me. And, of course, the most important of all, an editor.

So, I'll take any and all prayers you've got to offer! I would like to see Christmas Ginger released by December 12, 2020.

Yet Another Hot Weekend

Another weekend looms before me. I don't know why I still get excited on Friday mornings. We really don't do very much. The husband and I love to spend time at the lake. I, however, have issues with sweating properly which causes me to react badly to heat. Because of this, I spend a lot of time in the air conditioning. I would rather be at home to do this than cooped up in our RV though it is quite spacious. If I'm at the campground, I want to be outside! So, I'm not sure what this weekend will look like. I'm definitely looking forward to the cooler fall weather that will happen for me sometime in mid-October.

Also, because today is Friday, that means that I had to climb on the scale at exactly 10:30 am for a weigh-in. Another pound down. I'm following WW on the blue plan and loving it. I could honestly do this for the rest of my life. It's that easy. I want to finally get to a healthy weight and stay there. I did Keto for about a year, gained my weight back, and then tried again. I just can't even handle the thought of almond flour ever again. No, please.

I feel that I'm being lazy today. I've been reading about odd deaths and haunting suicides. The people behind the stories fascinate me. And yet, I write Christian fiction. Go figure. I've also been talking to my daughter about WW and how it can be used for a lifetime. I really need to go start the dishwasher but I don't want to. But I have to. Our office/craft room is a building outside of our home. So I have to walk all the way inside to start the dishwasher and fold the laundry. Okay, no more procrastinating. I'm headed inside. BRB

Okay, so that took longer than expected though I'm sure you didn't notice. I must also confess that I took the day off from writing. Am I the only one that gets numerous ideas at night when I'm supposed to be sleeping? "Oh! I'll do that in the morning!" But then when the morning comes, I find myself doing anything but opening Word in order to work on one of my six already-started books. Yes, six...wait, there might be more.

Let me explain. Dead Butterflies is complete but in desperate need of a few people to read through it and then editing. I've also been working on a teen adventure called Five Strange Things. In addition to those, I'm also working on a stand-alone called For Molly. And then there's my new Garrett Family series that could be or should be at least ten books. The first is called Unbroken. And then there is Uncertain which is half complete. And I can't forget my Christmas story called Christmas Ginger.

So, as you can see, I have quite a bit I could be working on. I tend to write a chapter a day in addition to editing other chapters from various books. Each chapter is about 4,000 words. That is what I'm supposed to be doing. As I type, my husband is on the phone rambling about this and that. Another problem I have is if I'm distracted, all writing for the day goes out the window. I'm hoping to use this blog as an exercise to stay on track. I hope to have at least one of my books published by the end of this year. Dead Butterflies is my plan.

I'll also be self-publishing all of my books and my publishing "company" name will be Miracle Cove. If anyone is out there, prayers are gladly accepted!

Here's hoping to have a fun weekend. Grammarly is telling me that my blog sounds gloomy. I don't mean for it to be gloomy. Anyway, I hope that if anyone is reading this blog that you'll have a fantastic weekend! Stay safe!

Welcome to my new blog...

Years ago I had a blog called Cheaper By the Half Dozen. I blogged about family and kids...mainly kids. I don't know why I ever took it down. You see, having six kids gave me plenty to blog about. And now? It's all gone. All of the silly and clever things they did on a daily basis is at the mercy of the memories of those involved.

For several years now, I've tried to start a new blog. But the magic just wasn't there. I could never duplicate my successful blog. And, I will never get back the readers that followed me. What is one to do? Well, I can either lament the blog forever or, start a new one. Since the days of my Cheaper By the Half Dozen blog, I've published a book and written many more. The published book could be bought for ten years but my publisher fizzled out on me and quit.

So I've decided that I will just keep writing. I love my books and stories, but I also want a blog. My blog allows me to quickly jot down memories as they are happening in real life. This blog, God willing, will be here until Blogger rots away. Let's hope that never happens.

Since my old blogging days, I have acquired five grandkids that I lovingly call "taters." We have a pool and so I always picture them in their various floats bobbing up and down in the pool like little potatoes in a pretty pot of stew. And you should also know that they call me Pooka. Well, it's supposed to be Pooka but it varies from Pocka to Kooka. Maybe Kooka is a better name for me.

Anyway, this is supposed to be an intro post. So, my name is Rene' and I have a husband and nine kids. Six of my own and three of his. I write Christian fiction and will tell you a bit more about that here and there as I post. I hope to get to know you, my readers (or reader) in the coming years.

So, welcome to my blog!