#CatchingUp

A Belated Happy New Year to ALL!

/ Marcia Meara / 41 Comments

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sorry to have been absent for so long, but between Christmas, a few annoying health issues, some great company visiting, and the start of the New Year, I’ve fallen way behind around TWS! I’m hoping to correct that over the weeks ahead and get back into blogging again. (I’ve missed you all!)

Hope everyone is looking forward to seeing what 2025 brings our way, and fingers crossed that it’s mostly all Good Stuff!!!

Granny says:
“Let’s make it a great one! One for the record books, maybe!”

Happy New Year & a Quick Update

/ Marcia Meara / 80 Comments

Hope you have all had a great start to 2024, and are enjoying the year so far. I’m sorry to have been absent so long, but we had a house full of company over the holidays, and immediately upon the  departure of our last guests, I came down with a lung infection. Urk. It was NOT on my planned agenda, believe me. But the good news is, the two antibiotics I was on finally kicked it out the door, and I’m feeling much better. Still moving a bit slow, but I’m sure that will soon be a thing of the past, too.  (Okay, I’ll be 80 in about 6 weeks or so, so “Slow” might be here to stay, but … slow is better than not moving at all , so I’ll take it! 😁)

Mark & I With My Daughter & Two of Our Grandkids

It might take me a while to catch up a bit, but I’m SOON going to put out a call for guest posters and we will get things back on track. I’m looking forward to a year of wonderful guests, lots of book promotions, and loads of fun all around. Let’s make 2024 SHINE with wit and humor and a ton of good books to read! 

What the heck. Let’s go ahead and get started. If you have a book or two you’d like to promote, email me, and I’ll save some dates for you, starting in February. 

In the  meantime, have a super day, everyone, and a wonderful year ahead!

Granny Says Happy New Year, Everybody!

 

#ThisAndThat – #AndThatOtherThing

/ Marcia Meara / 63 Comments

Hi, Folks! Hope you’re all having a great Wodin’s Day, and things are going along at least fairly smoothly for most of you. Just wanted to take a moment to catch you up a bit on a few things.

THIS: First things first. After well over 20 years of blogging (since before they were called blogs, and were usually referred to as Bulletin Boards), I’ve finally been forced to admit that I’m having a lot of trouble juggling all the things I’m trying to do these days. Once you’ve fallen behind, catching up is next to impossible, as I’m sure many of you have experienced from time to time. So, with that in mind–and after having read several articles and blog posts on the subject–I’ve decided I need to take blog breaks now and then.

This is to let you know that I’m aiming for one day a week, and while I’ll be flexible according to what I have going on, I’ll probably take them on Thursdays or Fridays, depending on what I’ve got scheduled that week. For instance, this week I have ThorsDaySmile scheduled tomorrow, so I’ll take my day off this Friday. Next week, I have #GrannySays scheduled for Friday, so I’ll take it on that Thursday. Alternating between Thursdays and Fridays should work, because I do like to be on hand to respond to comments on days when I have something posted.

I’m hoping I can get myself dug out of this crater I’m in, and maybe even get back to work on my novella, Cole, Cole, & Dupree. (I miss Rabbit!) Wish me luck! 😊

AND THAT: Next, I want to remind you that I still have some fall openings for the #TenThingsList series, so if you’d like to take part, just drop me an email and we’ll find a date to hold for you. (I won’t need your actual post until a week before it’s due to go live.)

I’d also like to let you know that I’m ready to start scheduling #GuestDayTuesday posts again (like the one Amy Reade shared yesterday.) I’m pretty flexible with those, as they are meant to help you in all sorts of ways. If you have a new release, if you want to generate some interest in an older book, if you have a cover reveal, or an event coming up you want to promote–#GuestDayTuesday is perfect for that. Just email me so we can choose a date that will work for both our schedules, and I’ll happily share your good news with the Immediate World.

AND THAT OTHER THING: Last, I’m leaving you with some words of advice I hope you’ll take to heart. If you live in the southeastern part of the country, you’ll understand exactly what I mean when I caution you to WATCH YOUR STEP when outside. While planting a new hedge this weekend, I stepped into a fire ant nest hidden below the mulch and got swarmed. I’m sure the neighbors were thrilled with my shrieking  and hollering as I danced around the yard, trying to get those Minions from the Dark Side off my feet. I did succeed, but not before I had 29 bites on one foot and 20 on the other. Now if you live in a part of the country where these miserable invasive ants have moved in, you’ll know how painful a fire ant bite is. The rest of you will have to take my word for it. See?

Fire ants attach themselves to you with their jaws, which hurts enough as it is, and then bend double and sting the HE** outta you.

Their venom is nasty enough to make awful sores, and many people are hospitalized if they are victims of too many bites or have an allergic reaction to them. They can kill small animals, and make children very, very sick. So, in spite of how bad these hurt and how long they’ll take to go away, I was actually lucky. (And I’ll keep telling myself that over and over until I stop shrieking “Yeah, RIGHT!” 

And there you have my very first This and That and That Other Thing post.
There will no doubt be more of these now and then.
Be afraid. Be very afraid!

Happy Tewe’s Day!

/ Marcia Meara / 48 Comments

Just touching base to let you know I’m still here, and still improving slowly. Far too slowly to suit me, but it beats the heck outta getting worse, that’s for sure! 😁 

I’m kinda at a standstill on my Riverbend WIP and haven’t been quite “sharp” enough to make much progress on my Wake-Robin Ridge spinoff novella, either. Not quite sure what’s going on here, as I’ve never had this happen before, but this came to me yesterday. Maybe you guys can identify with it?

Writer’s block,
Tick-tock.
Mind in a cage,
Click-lock.
Hours go by,
What a crock!
My brain stays stuck,
Under a rock.
Writer’s block.
Tick-tock
……..tick-tock
…………….tick-tock.

And on that note of silliness, I shall get back to … something. Who knows? Today, that something might even be WRITING! 

#ThankYou and #Update Redux

/ Marcia Meara / 43 Comments

I just want to thank everyone who responded to my Tuesday “Checking In” post. Your support and encouragement have done wonders for my mood, and my mood improvement has done wonders for my health. As we all know, attitude is everything, even when dealing with physical issues. And the good news is, yesterday, I felt like I finally turned a corner with this cold I’ve been coping with for almost three weeks now.

Notice I called it a “cold?” I refuse to even entertain the possibility it’s been another case of that other word that starts with “C!” I am not going there, regardless of the extreme fatigue that accompanied my sneezing, coughing, and general discomfort. Nope. Been there, done that, and refuse to ever acknowledge it again, though I will always be cautious about being around others when I’m under the weather with anything that might be contagious.

And all that being said, the important take-away is the phrase “turned the corner.” I actually had a lot of energy yesterday, and an unexpected decrease in other symptoms, too. Got stuff done, and felt good about the day. But not to worry. I’m easing back into things carefully, and it will take some time for me to get back to my writing and my normal blog visits and comments. I am trying to read posts I’ve fallen behind on, though for now, will probably be limiting myself to a Like and a Tweet here and there. I know you’ll all understand, and I appreciate that enormously.

Thanks again, and PLEASE stay safe and well, you guys! (I will, if YOU will.)

(Me, being healthy and energetic!)

Checking In & Catching Up

/ Marcia Meara / 22 Comments

Just a quick update for you guys. I know I said I would be getting all my regular blog series back up and running at the start of the new year, and I’m happy to say that I’ve gotten some underway, and have a few more coming up. But the bad news is, I’m moving slower than I’d thought I would. I caught a bit of a bug somewhere around January 3 or 4, and it has hampered some of my plans. (Had to cancel both of my wildlife talks for January, for one thing, since I didn’t want to be around others until I was sure I was well.)

The good news is I’m slowly improving a bit more each day, and almost all my cold-like symptoms are now gone. I’m still not real peppy, but I think that will change for the better very soon.

In the meantime, I do have a Ten Things guest scheduled for tomorrow, and a couple of scheduled guests for February already lined up. So I WILL keep my promise to get it all up and going again, but I hope you’ll be patient with me if it’s at a slower pace than I anticipated.  It’s STILL on the way, honest!

Moving like a turtle, perhaps, but STILL making progress, and that’s what counts! Now you guys stay well and let’s make this a great year!

 

This, That, and A Few Computer Woes!

/ Marcia Meara / 18 Comments

So sorry I haven’t been able to comment much the last two days. I’ve fallen way behind on putting together a new wildlife presentation for Saturday, and combined with several appointments, a few minor health issues, and just too much to do, I had to back away a bit. I tried to pop in when I could and leave a quick “Like,” but that was all I managed, I’m afraid. And THEN, my computer suddenly went wonky.

It started crashing and locking up over and over for several hours while I was TRYING to finish my PowerPoint presentation, and now I’m really not sure I can have it done in time for Saturday’s talk. I’m going to have to spend all day tomorrow on it, too, and that’s IF I can access it again. I haven’t worked up the nerve to check on that yet, since I got a tad upset when I had to reboot several times, and then had to find a way to turn off an alert message that kept popping up again and again trying to convince me my entire computer was in lockdown, and I’d have to call “this” number to sort it out for a “reasonable” sum. 

Since I was still able to get online, I decided that was NOT something I believed, at all. Now, I’m going to go check to see if I lost the whole program or not, because there’s no way I can sleep tonight wondering if that happened. Anyway, that’s my sad tale for the week so far, especially today, but at least I’m able to access my blog and post again, so I have a suspicion that I’m not really “locked out” as that annoying, freeze-causing pop-up kept telling me. 

Here’s hoping the HORROR of being computerless has gone away for now, and that tomorrow is a much smoother day. 

And to Mae Clair and Yvette Calliero, please forgive me for not being able to respond to all the wonderful comments you each received. It was lovely to have you here, even if I was MIA for much of it, and I hope you both get some new readers coming your way, too!

Thanks for your patience, everyone. As you were!

 

UPDATE: Still Here, and Still Crazy After All These Years!

/ Marcia Meara / 41 Comments

Yep, in spite of the fact that I’ve not left my house in over 8 weeks, nor seen the face of a single friend, nor been able to do much writing thanks to COVID-Brain, I am definitely feeling lucky. I’m still HERE! As of today, at least, I still get another chance to do it all better! And that, my friends, is a daily miracle we often forget, and honestly, one I’m surprised to find myself enjoying: the miracle of life in all its guises. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. WOOOO and also HOOOO!! 

To bring you up to date, I am no longer having any symptoms of this dreaded, miserably wretched, murderous virus we’re all sick of hearing about. I do have a greatly reduced energy level, but I’ve even seen some improvement in that area, too. I know the fatigue-related stuff can go on for an extended period, but I’ve learned how to go on, myself, right alongside it. In other words, it might slow me down, but it’s not going to stop me. 

I do plan to return to blogging (and visiting the blogs of my friends) by October 1. I’m giving myself the rest of this month without any firm commitments as to the blog or my current WIP, just keeping the posting and writing flexible and simple for now. But come October 1, I want to get back to my regularly scheduled programming, as they say.

I will be putting out a call for those who’d like to take part in #GuestDayTuesdays to share promotions, new releases, and various other topics. I’ll be continuing with my new #GrannySays series, and will start back sharing weekly roundup posts from Story Empire and Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord. I’m not going to continue with #FirstLineFriday for now, though that might return in the future. But I do want to run some special “events” now and then, such as #ExcerptWeek, and a few new things I’m going to fit in here and there.

I’m very much looking forward to resuming these features and adding some new ones, and to finishing my current WIP, Riverbend #4, Working title A Need to Burn, and just may share some excerpts from that, along the way.

And finally, I’d like to thank all of you for your support and encouragement over the last weeks. Our blogging and writing community is the absolute BEST, and I appreciate each and every one of you! 

Stay tuned, my friends, and remember, “Life Finds a Way.” (Recognize that? Hmmm. Maybe a new series for this blog: “Who Said It?” That could be fun!)

Now go forth and live YOUR life! And be sure to stay Safe and Well! (It’s much more enjoyable that way.)

#CatchingUp and Taking Some Time Off – #AlertTheMedia

/ Marcia Meara / 55 Comments

Yes, it’s true! I’m taking some time off. For the very first time in nearly 20 years of blogging, I’ve decided I’m never, EVER going to get caught up, or even find time to finish my current WIP, if I don’t take some time off from my blog. I need a few uninterrupted days to sit down and WRITE for a change. Plus, we’ve been working very hard on some deferred maintenance issues with our house and yard, and I need a few days to focus on that before the temps get even higher than the 92 degrees that are already upon us here in Florida. 

With this in mind, I’m not going to be available on The Write Stuff for the next two weeks, so my usual bi-weekly features (#MondayMeme, #GuestDayTuesday, #ThorsDaySmile, and #FirstlineFriday) will be on hiatus, too. And I probably won’t be able to do much in the way of sharing while I’m officially gone, though if I can squeeze a reblog or two in, I will. 

This is NOT an easy thing for me to do, being addicted to blogging as I am. I mean, I don’t even take weekends off!  Ever! I will miss ALL of you while I’m working on other things, but I think I’ll return feeling much better for the break and the chance to dig out from under the heap of things I’m behind on. 

I know you’ll all understand and will forgive me for missing some posts on your blogs, but just know that if I didn’t feel it was necessary, I wouldn’t do it. Thanks, and you guys behave yourselves while I’m away. (No talking about me behind my back! 😀 )

(NOTE: I will still be checking my email daily, so if you need me for anything, you can always reach me that way. )

See you in two weeks! 

 

Catching Up – #amwriting #MondayBlogs

/ Marcia Meara / 42 Comments

 

HELP! Where Did All My Writing Time Go?

Happy Moon’s Day, Folks! I hope this Monday morning finds you in good health and good spirits. Just wanted to take a moment to let you know that my blog posts may be spotty for a bit. I have finally come to the conclusion that I am never going to get caught up again in this lifetime, but I can’t keep floundering in a sea of To Do Items and ignoring my writing. Sad but true, the time comes in life when we no longer have quite the energy or stamina we once did, and we have to slow the pace a bit. 

As a result of the above-mentioned (and truly annoying) energy decrease, I haven’t written a word in months, and it’s making me very unhappy. Therefore, I’ve decided I’m  going to take some time to write each day (at least until I get my 4th Riverbend novel completed) even if it has an impact on my blog posts and my blog visits. I’ll do the very best I can to keep up with both, but if I miss some of my regular features or a stop or two at my favorite blogs, please forgive me. And don’t be alarmed. It just means I’m working on my book.

 I know most of you will understand how frustrating it is to want to write but not have time to do so. (And the pandemic isolation, oddly enough, was not at all conducive to the process for many of us, either.) The good news is, I started said book Friday and managed to get the short prologue and the first two scenes of Chapter 1 written. Words cannot express what a difference even that little bit has made in my overall mood. Stress levels are definitely lower, and I’m actually smiling again. 

I have #GuestDayTuesday posts scheduled for several more weeks, and will definitely be reblogging Bad Moon Rising posts through the month’s end, and Story Empire posts always, so it won’t be completely empty here. I plan to touch base at least weekly, and I’ll try to find time for other goodies here and there, too, though I’m not going to promise when or how often. Once I’ve made substantial progress on this story, I’m sure things will starting heading back to normal, but until then, I hope you’ll all understand if you see less of me online for a few weeks. 

Thanks so much, and now, the Painter Brothers are demanding my attention. They have some interesting things happening in their lives, and some new characters coming into play. Must. Go. Write. 


Yes I know these three guys are really actors, but in MY world,
they are Hunter, Forrest, and Jackson Painter, and I’ve 
truly missed them! 🙂 ❤