July 1, 2014 another camp starts. Write a novel in a month, write short stories for a collection. So who is going to camp with me?

Mid-June

Grab a cuppa and put your feet up for a bit. Tea really does make things better.

I was told that another short story book would make a few people very happy. I am thinking on it. I only have two short stories at this time, so that means I would have to get going on it. I am also gearing up for NaNo Camp in July. That will be my holiday/vacation as far as I can tell. 

I finally got a new settee and love seat. The old one was massive and just wore out so quick. I hate to pay for things that don’t last and it didn’t. Princess is pleased with it. Now to save up for an ottoman I really want.

June so far not as much done as I planned but slowly getting there. It has been so very hot here the whole month over 105F if you like 40C. It is just plain hot, like an oven. Princess is not getting walkies due to the heat and she could burn her little paws. When she does go out I have her in her pram which she likes.

I hope you are having a great summer. I am helping one person get ready for a massive move. He will be missed greatly. Cheers for now.

Grab a cuppa I know I will. I hope you are having a great week. I am still getting over these bloody shingles. I wish the pain would stop. The spots are fading slow way too slow for me. If you haven’t got a shingles jab go now, run get it.

I have started thinking about my next camp. I am torn between another novel or a bunch of short stories. The count down has started on getting ready. 

It is hot again here, I am not a huge fan of the heat and Princess isn’t either. I am working on getting us in a cooler climate. Like all things it takes time and two steps forward and three back it seems.

I haven’t finished Doctor Sleep by King yet. That is my goal to finish it by the Fourth of July. I also need to chat up a friend of my who is an artist. We have a story we need to finish.

I will chat to you soon. Go have a great day and read.

Cheers!

           Fathers day gift.

End of May How?

Grab a cuppa and relax. Well, how did May fly by so fast? It seems that the weeks fly by as of late. I sadly got the shingles, a cold and sinus infection all together. I am well on the mend but boy did it kick my bum. 

So have you made your summer plans? I am not real sure I will take a holiday. I will do NaNo Camp in July. It’s hot here so inside writing all day is a good thing.

I have been thinking about the story I wrote in April and need to get to work on it again. Somedays I wish there were three of me.

I am still trying to read Doctor Sleep. The medicine I was on for being sick just made me sleep. It also gave me fuzzy vision. 

What are you reading now? Need a suggestion try Dime Store Novels they are all kinds of fun books.

Cheers! 

Camp and Why

Grab a cuppa for a bit.

Someone asked me how I could write a book in a month. Well, you just do it. No it’s not finished and things need to be fixed but it’s done. Revising and editing take time. You just sit and write and the more you write the better you get. I get a giggle when I hear someone say “I could write a book, it’s not that hard” I answered once, then do it. It is hard work and you have to stick to it.

In July I will be at it again. NaNo Camp will start and I will sit at the keyboard and type away. I have an idea of what is going to be written. It goes with the last two I wrote.

This week I will be revising and editing. I also need to get a doctor now that I have moved. I have researched and now to see if they are taking on new patients. Moving can be fun but then again you have to find new doctors and hairdressers! My hair is a mess.

I need to get back to work. Time to write I have a short story in mind.

So have you started you summer reading list yet? May I suggest trying the Dime Store Novels. 

Princess checking my work.

                                             May the Month of Catch Up.

Take some time, sit and have a cuppa with me. I have been crazy busy this last month and half.

Well, to begin at the end of March I sold my house at long last and closed on it. Only took them a year to close on it, crazy I know.  I had to move in less than a month. I then packed up and moved to Phoenix for now. 

I rented a condo and I was wrong to rent this place. It’s Thunderdome nightly with traffic and when we moved in it wasn’t cleaned. My mistake I am told, because if I wanted it clean I should have said so before I signed the lease. Yes, you read right. I have lived all over the world and this is the first time I have ever moved in to anything that was dirty. I have lived in third world countries and they took pride on being clean. Every place I have rented they wanted the house or flat to be kept nice and clean. So Princess and I had to clean before we could unpack.  She showed teeth on that.

Well, we are almost unpacked. I am keeping some things packed for my next move which will be when this lease is up.

The month of April was a NaNoWrit camp and yes I did that. I wrote a book for it. I will also do the July camp. Then the last week of April, friends in Germany tell me they are coming to America. Said they are getting married in Vegas. I say, can I come? Sure they say. So I finished my writing my camp book, three days early, book a flight and hotel and off I went. April is my birthday so that was my gift to me. It was the wonderful to them. They are just so lovely I wish I could keep them here! When I got home family in the UK had sent me two bags of the crisps I love best.

So this week I need to get a family doctor, dentist and a vet for my beautiful Princess. Yes, I need to start on the edit of book and finish getting settled in for now.

So the slacker I am, I am sorry it took so long to do a blog. I will be better until July when I go crazy and write another book. 

What am I writing? Well it’s a series of stories which can stand on their own. They are filled with all kinds of supernatural beings and yes, a few ghosts. The characters are all over this fab world we live in and they travel among you too. 

In closing for now I hope you are all well and are reading some great stories by my friends at Coffin Hop or check out the NaNo list of writers they are fun too. So lets sit by the camp fire, make s’mores, read and tell ghost stories. Cheers for now. What are you doing?

                Phoenix

Regan's Ghosts

Hanover picked up his pipe and relit it, studying Regan’s face as he inhaled to bring the fire back to life. “Today’s not the first time, is it?”

“First time? I lost count around my second week in Amsterdam.”

“Not chasing the dragon, seeing things.”

Regan studied her drink for a long moment and then shook her head slowly.

“What have you seen?”

“Ghosts,” she said softly. “I talked to them all the time when I was younger, but then Daddy thought I was crazy and sent me to a psychiatrist. So now I only talk to them if we’re alone.”

“When did you start seeing ghosts?”

“The first time was the day I saw my mother get shot. Her spirit rose up out of her body and kissed me on the cheek. She wiped my tears and told me she wouldn’t leave me. And she hasn’t. She still kisses my forehead every night and sings me a lullaby when I’m sad. That’s another thing I saw in the mirror.”

“What?” Hanover asked.

“My mother get shot. When I ran away from the table the first time. That’s why I ran, except I thought it was a real person getting shot here tonight. I thought I could save her.”

“But when you got there, no one had been shot.” Hanover reached across the table and put his hand over hers.

Regan turned her hand over and clasped his hand. “How did you know?”

“Maybe our worlds aren’t that different after all, Regan Worth.” Hanover reached out to wipe a tear that glistened on her cheek.

High Rollers is the latest book in our Dime Store Novel series. However, it is the first book that stars Regan Worth, so you haven’t read the other books, you can start here and go back if you want.

Regan Worth is a fun character to write. She’s the daughter of a jazz pianist and bootlegger. High Rollers takes place at the height of the Jazz age when prohibition had its claws on fun, but people like Regan found ways to party. Regan likes to party. She drinks, smokes, and chases the dragon (smokes opium).  In some ways, the partying gives her an excuse for seeing things others can’t see. If she starts talking to someone others can’t see, she can always blame the drugs.

In this scene she shares her secret with Hanover Fist.  Will a romance develop between Regan and Hanover?  I’ll never tell.

In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day (Regan is half-Irish), we are offering High Rollers Kindle edition at a discount this week. 3/17 through 3/19 it is available for 99 cents. From 3/20 through 3/23, the price goes up to $1.99. On 3/24, the sale is over and you’ll have to pay $2.99. High Rollers is a KDP Select book and is only available for Kindle or in paperback.

I blog at rachelleandjohn.blogspot.com. You can also find me on Twitter as @RachelleReese and if you’d rather speak to my dog, follow @RagabashGirl. The Dime Store Novel characters blog at dimestorenovel.blogspot.com. Regan typically blogs on Fridays about spirits (typically the drinking kind), music, or anything else she happens to think is fun that week.