I'm Deformed

Just returned from my regular dental check-up.  Guess what?  The dentist discovered that my saliva duct is misplaced.  It's not located in the center of my mouth where most saliva ducts are located; it's off-center to the left!  My dentist tells me that this is not a serious problem and my saliva duct is working just fine. It must be as no other dentist in all my years of regularly visiting dentists has ever mentioned said misplaced saliva duct.  He did ask me about my political leanings, however.  I told him I was quite middle of the road. 

Here's a photo of the bottom of my mouth.  Isn't it attractive?  You can see (or maybe, like me, you can't see) my left of center saliva duct.  Oh, well, we can't all be symmetrical.  Can we?

Ninety!

My sweet little Mom is ninety years old today!  We threw her a party at her assisted living facility Independence Village in Naperville, Illinois.  We brought cake for all the residents, plus flowers, balloons, and (don't tell anyone) some Bailey's Irish Cream for her coffee!

Here are some photographs I took of the wonderfully happy event.

Some Holiday Giveaways

Check out these holiday giveaways and contests.  You might win something!

1.  Helen Smith Blog

2.  Sapphic Scribe

3.  Claudia LeFeve

4.  bluebell's trilogy

Let me know if you win anything!

(graphic from http://www.waconia.org/)

Sample Sunday: My Next Novel

Authors around the blogosphere are giving you samples of their work today in hopes that you will read these tidbits and want to read more.  You might think that I'd be providing you with a sample from my already published cozy mystery Sounds of Murder, but I have decided to fool you and give you a little taste of my forth-coming (next year) cozy mystery FM For Murder.  Here is the prologue:

FM For Murder

by Patricia Rockwell

Prologue

Saturday,  shortly before Midnight, December 15

“Okay, folks out there in radio land, that was Calliope’s Doom with their new song, ‘Cursed Bones.’ Their newest tune, following closely on the heels of their first big, success—"Entrails of Love".  This is Black Vulture with the best of death and dying, torture and blood.  The most alternative of alternative rock for those of you who have nothing better to do on a Saturday night.  Make that Sunday morning now here at KRDN, 933 on your FM radio dial.   Just a few minutes after midnight.   And for those of you, crazy enough to stick with me until 4 a.m. (or should I say, those of you, without anything more interesting to do), I’ll be playing a host of your favorite songs from some of the best alternative bands in the country.  

 For example, there’s a new CD I just got in from one of my favorite new bands—Ochre Fugue.    As you know, Ochre Fugue recently played locally to a packed crowd at the Blue Poppy in downtown Reardon.  That was a gig, wasn’t it?  Obviously, they have lots of fans here in our little berg.  I was lucky enough to get to interview Jake Millet with the band.  I know, I know; you’re all jealous. Well, eat my liver. Getting to interview bands is one of the perks—one of the very few—of my job here at KRDN.  Believe me, I don’t work here for the pay (hope the station manager isn’t listening). 

Ah, shoot! Gotta do a commercial now.  This one is for—hmm, let’s see—Avery’s Auto Repair on South Jackson.  Let me try to read this with some energy:  “Hey, guys (and ladies), Avery’s will fix your wheels for a fair price”—and let’s face it—most of us don’t have new cars so we probably need a fix-up more often than not, right?  But, “the Avery brothers have been in Reardon for—ever.  Simple, honest, repair work.  They don’t have a fancy location or building, but they do good work.  So, check ‘em out.”  And I’d add to that--especially you students.  I mean, Christmas break’s coming up in a week or two and if you’re planning on driving home to visit Mommy and Poppy—you’d better be sure your wheels will make the trip. And you’d better be sure you arrive wearing clean clothes too—parents like that that sort of thing.  So I hear.

Okay, now, as I said before, I’m going to be playing a track from Ochre Fugue’s new CD.  In just a minute. What you’re waiting for, right?  I first heard this group in the Big Easy, several years ago.  I was makin’ the rounds of the clubs and ran across this band at a vampire underground party.  What a sound they have.  Dark, scary.  Like blood, you know, from the coffin.  Makes you cringe all over.  The bass player has a great get-up.  I’d describe ‘em in more appropriate language if it weren’t for the FCC breathin’ down my neck.  You know what I’d like to say, though, don’t you?  All two of you.  Don’t expect there’s too many fans listening in after midnight on a Saturday—unless you’re a real loser.  Like me.  Still working on your graduate degree after six years.  Right? 

Anyway, I got the Ochre Fugue disk prepped for you.  Let’s see, which track should I play?  Oh, wait. Just heard a car pull up outside the studio.  Looks like I’ve got a visitor. Well, what do you know! That hardly ever happens this far out in the boonies—especially this late.  Well, that’ll be fine.  I get bored all alone out here at the studio all night long—deejaying and doing all my own tech work.  If any of you guys ever want to drop in and visit—great. Just come on by—if you can find it.  Okay, here he comes in the door now.  Hey, maybe it’s a she—better yet!  My lucky night! 

Oh, hi!  Come on in!  I’m Theodore Ballard—Black Vulture to my fans.  You a fan of alternative rock?  What the? That’s a gun!  What do you need a gun for?  Why are you pointing it at me? Wha--?  No! No!”

That's it.  Let me know what you think. 

(photo from www.djreviews.com)

My Holiday Gift to You!

Just for the holidays, I'm reducing the price of the e-book version of my cozy mystery Sounds of Murder at both Amazon.com and Smashwords.com to only 99 cents!  Hop over right now and pick up your copy!  And please, let me know if you like my book about amateur sleuth Pamela Barnes who solves murders using only sound clues.

Be Part of An Experiment--Buy "The Cutting Edge"

On December 20, independent authors around the globe will be banding together in a noble experiment. We'll be trying to get a book of independent author Darcia Helle entitled "The Cutting Edge" to make it into the Top Ten Kindle eBooks at Amazon. This effort is not just some wild and crazy stunt. When independent authors can compete against the big guys (John Grisham, Stephen King, etc.), the world of books becomes better for all--especially for readers because it means a lot more quality books are likely to be produced.

Here's how you can participate. Wait until December 20 (not before because we want to have the power of mass purchasing and also because the price of Darcia's book will plummet to only 99 cents on that day). Just drop by Amazon's Kindle store and buy Darcia's book "The Cutting Edge" in Kindle format for 99 cents any time on December 20.

I know I'm going to do just that. That's not all. I'm going to be paying close attention to the sales' rank for Darcia's book throughout the day and see how high (actually low because the ultimate ranking is #1) it gets with so many people buying her book all at the same time. Come join me!

I'm Mrs. Broccoli Head

If you don't spend any time in grocery stores I guess you miss out on a lot of important life knowledge. As some of my readers may know, my husband Milt is the shopper in our family, which works out great because he loves grocery stores and I hate them. He treks out twice a week on a shopping foray to three (count 'em--three!) grocery stores. He is a superb shopper and always returns home with exactly what I put on the list (and sometimes I put some rather obscure items there).

It appears that all of his grocery shopping makes him incredibly knowledgeable about produce. Yesterday, I asked him to buy me a head (or stalk?) of fresh broccoli. He did just that. This morning, he came paddling into our bedroom calling me by my full first name, which I always know is a sign that I'm in trouble.

"Patricia," he scolded, "you left the broccoli out over night!"

"So what?" I countered. "It's broccoli! It's like potatoes--or onions or carrots or cabbage! Any of those things that grow in the ground. You can let them sit out and they're fine!"

"That is not true," he argued. "If you were ever in a grocery store you would notice that broccoli is kept in a refrigerated section--unlike potatoes and onions. But, exactly like carrots and cabbage, I might add! You obviously don't know anything about the proper care of vegetables!"

"I thought if it grew in the ground it could sit unrefrigerated indefinitely!"

"Not so!" he pontificated. "Broccoli, as you may have noticed, has been cut from a stem. At that point, it begins to deteriorate. It can't sit out overnight. That broccoli I bought you yesterday is probably bad and I'm going to have to go back to the grocery store and buy you some more!"

"Oh no!" I declared. "Not a return trip to the grocery! And so soon on the heels of your most recent visit! How will you ever survive?"

"Harumph," he said, or something equally old and fuddy-duddy-sounding.

Really, what is this world coming to when a big clump of broccoli can't sit quietly on my kitchen counter overnight without turning a little brown? Why do vegetables always seem to cause me so much trouble? In the mysteries I write, my heroine's husband is a gourmet cook. She doesn't have to worry about bad broccoli because she never makes a meal.

What about you? Do you leave your fresh broccoli out or do you refrigerate it? Just leave me a comment and tell me what a despicable wife I am for not knowing the proper care and treatment of tubers and root vegetables.

(photo from www.fatt.org)

Holiday Giveaway

The Indie Book Holiday Giveaway starts today. Zip over to this site and enter to win any number of great books (I hope you'll select my cozy mystery Sounds of Murder or my writing partner Diane Morlan's Too Dead to Dance). There will be many winners for each of the books listed (and there are a lot of books listed!).