Monday, March 16, 2015

Back from vacation


We're home!

After a week of vacation, we returned, and I must say, our house was a welcome site.

We left Houston in a blinding rain, and the stuff stayed with us  all the way to Fort Worth.  I helped hubby watch the road and both of us were amazed when a truck ahead of us seemed to disappear. Impossible to see it clearly, but one minute we saw the thing, and then we didn’t. We still don’t know what happened to it. This picture doesn't do the rain justice.
 
Lots of wrecks, but after about five hours, we arrived safely.

We checked into the Riley Center at the Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth.  The Riley Center is a conference complex with multiple meeting rooms, a gigantic, two block long lobby with beautiful furniture, and fifty-five hotel rooms. When it originally opened, only former students or current church staff people could register to stay at the hotel, but the rooms are now available to the public. We always qualified…hubby graduated from Southwestern with a Masters in Divinity.  Seven other family members received post grad degrees from Southwestern.  I don’t know if it’s a good thing, but our family is never at a loss for a preacher. LOL.
 

Picture of the Riley Center
While in Fort Worth, we planned to visit friends and family. Two people joined us for a meal that we hadn’t seen in thirty years. Wow! I wonder if they thought we’d changed as much as they had. Don’t you know they discovered we had too? Time does that to all of us.

My sister provided a delicious meal…similar to one of our mom’s. She picked up the culinary skill, and so far, I haven’t. My sweetie never complains.
 
Donna and Gay

I met Nancy when I was six, and we’ve been friends ever since. Even though she lives in the DFW area, I see her frequently. She  attended me at our wedding as my matron-of-honor. We hadn’t seen Jack, hubby’s best man, in years. A feather could have knocked us over when he arrived sporting a Duck Dynasty beard. Nothing about him looked familiar. Bill was a staff member years ago. He’s still a tall, thin guy. Hubby is short…almost a foot difference in their height. When these two served together, they both had black hair. Bill still has a crop of gray, but hubby has little left.
 
Gay and Nancy
 
 
                                        Jack and Paul                          Bill and Paul

We had fun visiting with these dear people and hope to see more of them in the future.
After leaving Fort Worth, we drove to Tyler, Texas to visit another long-time family.  I wish I'd taken their picture. Oh well, next time. They treated us to a delicious Mexican meal.



My editor lives near Tyler, and I hoped we could meet for a coke along the highway but alas! Her schedule prevented it. We hope to see each other in June when we go to east Texas for the Lewis Family Reunion. We visited over our cells. I told her I was pleased she’d already sent back the first edits of Sarah and the Midnight Cruise to Catalina Island. Talk about fast and good! Is she ever! When we arrived home last night, I dove into making the suggested changes and sent the manuscript back to her.
Enjoy your day. Did any of you travel during spring break? If you did, I hope you enjoyed your trip as much as we did. A

Another Sarah is coming! Start your collection!


 

Friday, March 6, 2015

Gay's Days March 6, 2015

Greetings from Fulshear, TX.

My address continues as Fulshear, TX, but in truth, my area incorporated into a city a few years ago. We actually live in Weston Lakes, but I kept the Fulshear address. Who wants to make friends and relatives change their address books? Not me. I say keep life simple.  Fulshear is an ancient family name (not mine...my family never acquired wealth) and it is pronounced Full Sure.

We have a mild wind today in this little city west of Houston. Yesterday the gusts punched the face with force and almost blew my makeup off.

We woke to sunshine and freezing temps this morning. This is the day I must renew my walking as a means of exercise. I've been neglecting it. Too cold. Too rainy. Too busy.  Once I get out of the habit....well....you know how it goes.

I'm thrilled Sarah and the Midnight Cruise to Catalina Island is now at the publisher. I'm eager to see how the designer will portray the cover. The title is long. Perhaps too long. Prism Book Group uses an excellent artist, and I'm sure the cover will be eye catching. That's one design chore I don't want.

Sarah, the dyslexic angel from The Heavenlies, is afraid of water and petitions the Superiors for another assignment. She has no desire to travel on a ship. Her request goes like this.

     “Help. Couldn’t you send another angel for this mission? One who acted more like the human Noah? He stayed on the arc while the whole earth flooded. How about someone comparable to Jonah? Waves tossing about didn’t bother him—he slept during a raging storm.” Sarah drew her brows together. “That is until the sailors on the ship threw him overboard.” Sarah grimaced. “Then that huge fish swallowed him.”

And of course, Sarah experiences her fair share of blunders. The poor thing. She's always in the wrong place at the right time. Here's an excerpt with a man in a department store. After entering the men's dressing room by mistake, she hears a male voice.
 
Oh, sorry, didn’t know anyone occupied this space. Isn’t this the men’s dressing room? No matter.” He flapped his hand. “I’ll step into the one next door. I guess these days even the department stores have gone unisex with their restrooms and clothing areas. My son lives in a co-ed dorm. Men and women can share just about everything. After I get my trousers on, can you give me your opinion on how they fit?”

“Uh…oh… ah…sure. Just let me know when you are fully dressed.” Sarah glanced at her face in the mirror—it appeared a lovely shade of red. Now why hadn’t she remembered about the men’s department when she sashayed into this dressing area? She slapped her forehead. Talk about a dunce.

“Thanks.” The man disappeared and she could hear him talking in the next compartment. “I’m about ready. Do you want to come in here, or should I come over there?”

My stars! Tell a fellow if his slacks were tailored adequately? She doubted that would ever appear in her job description. Why-oh-why did she get into the wrong place and have a man ask such a question anyway? How many times should she expect this blunder at review?

Sarah vanished from sight, but not before she heard the gentleman call out. “Miss? Miss? Are you there? I’ve got my pants on.”
Can you tell I had fun writing these scenes? Humor keeps us sane. At least that's what I tell myself.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Gay's Days Book Club!

Les Coalson speaks to Weston Lakes Book Club
 

 
Les Coalson, one of my neighbors, spoke at our book club and gave an amazing presentation. I was happy I left Sarah aside and attended. The latest Sarah book was due at the publisher, but Les is a friend and a very good writer, so I made it a priority to go.

Besides that, I like these ladies who attend. They are a hoot. I don't know how many are on the membership rolls, but we usually have about forty each month.  Les introduced us to his latest book.

RANSOMED EARTH
 
Ransomed Earth: An Eco-Thriller
 
 
Verify price before purchase.
 
This book thrills and informs the reader at the same time. We read about the unfairness of American politicians to bow to the pressures of special interests and big business... all at the expense of the environment.

Before devoting his life to writing mysteries, Coalson worked in environment issues. A native Texan, he earned a master's degree in natural resources development from Texas A&M and later an MBS from UT in San Antonio.
 
Les and Me
 
 

 
We had a marvelous discussion about environment.
 



One of the fun things about our club is the good food. Our hostess worked her magic this day. I had the meeting once at my house, but food presentation is not my specialty. These ladies put me to shame.  I wish you could be with us at our meetings. Fun!
 


When I returned home, I winged the book,  Sarah and the Midnight Cruise to Catalina Island off to the publisher, and she is now ready to go to the editors. I think you'll like this book. I'm eager for you to have it, and then tell me what you think!

PBG Insider: Gay N. Lewis Introduces her "Sarah" series

Sarah at Christmas