Cousin Amy's New Grill

 My cousin Amy got a new grill, and we tried it out for dinner tonight.

The New Grill

Note the full size propane tank under it.  This should keep the grill in use for the rest of this year and most of the next.

Cousin Amy

Amy's Back Yard

Dinner Is Underway

The Chef at the Ready!

My Contribution to Dinner

Dinner is Served!

My mother used to make marinated tomatoes when they were in season, and passed the recipe along to me.  Mine aren't as good as mom's were, but they'll do in a pinch.

Dinner was excellent!

Pip Squeak Goes to the Vet

 It's time for a routine checkup and standard vaccinations.  Are we both ready to go to the vet's office?

In His Cat Tree

Breakfast Was An Hour Ago

Aren't I Cute?

The minute I want out to the garage to get the cat carrier, he jumped off the cat tree and hit the ground running.  He vanished into the living room.

I called the vet's office and explained I might be late.  How late?  Well, I'm not as young as I once was, and Pip Squeak accelerates like a dragster.  So, I guess we'll see.

He eventually came back to the cat tree, and I put him into the carrier.  He didn't like it much, but he was quiet on the ride over.  I suppose the good news is that he's negative for feline leukemia and he got his distemper vaccination.  He also got wormed, which means he's getting rid of any intestinal parasites he's carrying around - which he is.

He really didn't like the vet, but he didn't bite.  I explained my background to the vet (grew up on a horse farm), and her background was cattle, both dairy and beef, and horses - and the dogs and cats every farm acquires.

So now Pip Squeak is home, and is somewhat tired out from his ordeal.  Not too tired to eat, though.

 

Writing Contest - Dictionary dot Com

I got this from Reddit, of all places.  Some misguided moderator decided to remove the post for no good reason that I could see, but Dictionary is still running the contest.  From the site:

Haunting Hooks is back, this time with a Sci-Fi theme. The challenge: Write a captivating opening to a scary sci-fi story—if you dare! Winners will be feared (and rewarded with prizes).

The contest is looking for an opening of 50 words or less, which should be fairly easy.  Also from the site:

We are accepting submissions starting at 12:00 am PT on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. The deadline to submit is at 11:59 pm PT on Friday, October 7, 2022.

So it's not like this has to be finished by Friday.  Here's a link to the contest rules, which you should read.  As for me, I'm going to enter.

Meet Pip Squeak

It seems that I've acquired a new kitten.  Meet Pip Squeak, a real survivor.

Book Promo

My thanks to Sarah A. Hoyt, a prolific novelist and author of the blog According To Hoyt, for giving my latest work some free promotion in Book Promo and Vignettes by Luke, Mary Catelli and ‘nother Mike.

Thanks!

I'm Alive!

 I should rephrase that title.  I'm alive and well, and my latest anthology is live on Amazon.  Check out Magic Employed on Amazon for the further adventures of Otheldo, the itinerant wizard with the amazing vocabulary.

Special thanks to author JL Curtis, who helped me get my manuscript formatted correctly; to artist Tina Garceau, who produced the cover; and my cousin Amy Braunschweiger, who was kind enough to write the forward.  I would also like to thank the Eastside Writing Group for their encouragement - they are, collectively, a truly great group of authors.

Now I have to get back to work.  I have a novel, maybe two, and a host of short stories to finish.  It would be nice to have everything done by noon, but I think that goal may be a bit unrealistic. 

Used Bookstore and a Rare Find

I own a Kindle and have for a number of years.  I think my Kindle may be classified as an antique by now, but it works just fine and I like it.  Still, I enjoy the dead tree version of a novel or short story, but perpetually being in a state of financial embarrassment I tend to look for used bookstores rather than be figuratively excavated by the corporate churls at Barnes and Noble, I discovered an unusually nice store today, and a symbol of excellence displayed prominently for all to see.

Karen Wickliff-Books

3527 N High St, Columbus, OH 43214

Karen Wickliff-Books

The store suffers from an excess of stock combined with a dearth of shelving and space.  Ergo, you must browse carefully, least a structural instability cause an avalanche.

Inside the Store

You'll find stacks and piles of books everywhere, but the proprietor seems to know where everything is, and I think there may be a warehouse with boxes of - what else?  More books.

Everything is Organized by Author

Walking carefully along the aisle that (I was told) led to the fiction / Sci-Fi room, I glanced down and found something truly interesting.

Organized...

Look What We Have Here!

Spellbound, by Larry Correia.  For those of you who don't read Sci-Fi or don't know about the Sad Puppies, Larry Correia is a successful author and businessman living somewhere in Utah.  I think it's somewhat odd (fatidic?) that the work of a successful, famous author should be discovered by an unknown writer in a disorganized stack of used books inside a little-known used bookstore.  If I read this in a novel, my willing suspension of disbelief would have let go with an audible snap.  Yet, here we all are.

Should you decide to visit Karen Wickliff-Books, know that the hours are as varied as the books in the store.  Call first and see if the store is actually open.

Sunday - Closed

Mon - Sat: 11:30AM – 5:30PM

Phone: (614) 263-2903