Hats Off To Penn Jillette for Being a Friend of Opportunity Village

Magic hats that is.  Last night on the finale of Celebrity Apprentice it was down to Penn Jillette and Trace Adkins.  I knew Trace’s charity was The Red Cross and living in a hurricane zone, I am always thankful for their help in my community, but I was tickled pink when it was revealed that Penn Gillette’s charity was Opportunity Village in Las Vegas.  This is a place of employment for many intellectually disabled adults  and the kind of place I dream of my son being a part of one day.  People with disabilities want to work, take pride in their work and some of them even live for their work.  When Penn showed the scarf that they made for him and then started tearing up, I have to admit I was crying right along with him.  Okay, Trace won Celebrity Apprentice, but Penn you won my admiration and thanks for including people with disabilities in your world.  Maybe I need to write a magician with a heart of gold into my next mystery….

Speaking of my next mystery, here’s the news you’ve been waiting for…my fourth book will be out this summer.  Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @ttrent_cozymys or follow this blog to see the cover reveal and find out when it will be available for purchase.

Hints about the book?

Bees, Bridezillas and Bratwurst.

Creative Writing Prompt: Putting More into Each Setting

In this writing prompt we are going to be using this old foot bridge.  First, look at the picture for ten seconds and then shut your eyes.  Write down the first thing that you remember.

Now, answer these questions about this bridge.

1.  Where is this bridge?  State, country, town?

2. Notice the overgrown grass.  Draw a diagram on your paper of the bridge and the property around it.  Is it deep in a forest or just an unkempt piece of land?

3.  Imagine putting your feet in the water while sitting on the bridge.  Is the water clean or dirty?  What kind of creatures do you see swimming around? What does the air smell like?

4.  What is the temperature?  Is it a balmy summer day or a day in fall with the first hint of crispness in the air?

5.  Look down into the water.  There is something under the water sparkling as the suns rays hit it.  Reach in and grab the item and describe it in full detail.

6.  Create the character who lost that item.

7.  What kind of mystery can you create from all of these elements?

Creative Writing Prompt: Writing Your Character’s History

In this writing prompt we are going to use this gentleman I found over at Morguefile.

As you create your characters, take time to write their personal histories.  The more you  create about your characters, the easier it will be for you to write how they will respond to the situations you write for them.

Baby Boomer in Denial  

So, going back to our old man let’s answer some questions about him.

1.  What is the name his mother gave him?

2.  What name does he go by these days?  What does it have to do with his personality or his history?

3.  Why is this man living on the streets?  Does he have an addiction?  Is he mentally ill?  Is he just down and out?

4.  Take 20 seconds and look into his eyes.  Write the first thing that comes to your mind.

5.  Look at his hands.  Describe his fingers, fingernails, knuckles, etc.  What occupation do you think he might have had?

6.  Look at his cuffs.  They don’t match.  Even though you can’t see everything he has on use your imagination and fill in the missing pieces.  Tell  some of the history of the outfit.  How long has it been since it was clean?  Does he have socks and properly fitting shoes on his feet?

7.  If his life could be different what would he wish it to be?

Once you finish writing about this man, take it a step further and write an interaction with another character.

Choose from this list.

1.  A social worker

2.  One of his children

3.  A business person

4.  Another street person

5.  Something supernatural

 

Photo found at Morguefile

Two Short Stories For Free Download

I love to write Christmas stories and I know it isn’t Christmas.  (It isn’t even September when  Christmas stuff  starts showing up on the shelves!)  These stories are not mysteries as much as stories that encourage and inspire in the tradition of Faith Baldwin and Debbie Macomber.

Two of my stories are now up at Smashwords and can be downloaded for free.   The Smashwords links are listed above each book cover and eventually the stories will be available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Sony and Kobo.  You will find different formats for several ereaders on the Smashwords page.

Click Here for Smashwords Link for Secret Santa

Enjoy this heartwarming short Christmas story of a Christmas store owner who finds herself in a Christmas gift exchange. How can the “Santa” ever surprise a person who for Christmas, it’s just business?

 

Click Here for Smashwords Link for The Christmas Find

In this short story full of the Christmas spirit, a woman digging through a flea market table finds a treasure that reminds her of a Christmas long ago. Can the past be recaptured by looking into a snow globe?

 

Overdue for Murder Free on Kindle April 10 & 11

Overdue for Murder is free on Kindle today and tomorrow.  This is the last time this book will be free on Kindle so if you don’t have a copy, grab yours now!  Writers of vampires, aliens, chick lit and romance gather in a library. Which one will be murdered?

Free on Kindle April 11-12

 

Book Giveaway Winner

We have a winner for a free paperback copy of Doggone Dead in my Goodreads Giveaway!  Julie from Minnesota, you will need to dig your way through the snow to your mailbox in the next week because your signed book is on the way!  Okay, maybe I shouldn’t make the assumption that it is always snowing in Minnesota, the same way everyone in Texas doesn’t wear a cowboy hat.   Also, thank you to the 259 people who entered.

I am busy working away on my fourth cozy mystery.  Here are some hints, or should I say “clues” about the book:

It continues with the life of Betsy, our helpful hints writer and the ever-growing cast of characters in Pecan Bayou, Texas.  I really wanted to explore what would happen if she were to give bad advice in one of her columns.  I originally wrote this book during NaNoWriMo and since writing it, have taken out a major plot element and reversed a character.  Doing this greatly slows down my writing process, but hopefully it improves it as well.    I can’t disclose too much, but I have been researching plenty about bees and looking at book cover designs with bees on them.  My oldest son is terrified of bees because the two of us were caught in a swarm many years ago when he was a small child. So, he has made it pretty clear he doesn’t want to talk to me about this book even if he is a high-felootin literature major.

April 2 is Autism Awareness Day!  Take a minute to reflect on people you know with autism and their families.  We’re an autism/Down Syndrome family and always appreciate the people who go out of their way to show acceptance, patience and kindness.

World Down Syndrome Day and a Book Review

Happy World Down Syndrome and much love goes out to all my friends with Down Syndrome and the people who love and care for them.  For today I have a review of a very special book about a man named David.   Here is the review I posted on Goodreads.

How David Met Sarah by Anne Kelleher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. How David met Sarah is a story about David, an adult with Down Syndrome. After reading just a little of it, I realized I wanted to read it to my son who also has Down Syndrome. It shows what the world is like for a person with developmental delays. We see David’s fears, his joys, the discrimination he endures and his understanding of life. I applaud Anne Kelleher for so beautifully telling David’s story.

If you know an adult with Down Syndrome, please share this book with them and then check out the sequel, When David Was Surprised.  It is wonderful to find fiction like this for the people we love.