Day #565 Sandee Somebody

How frustrating! I know that many people put in spam filters that allow messages only from specific eddresses, but I don’t give out my personal eddress to the whole world. Instead I use an eddress that is related to my website -- my first name at my website name dot com.

Yesterday a fan I’ve never met before, Sandee no-last-name, sent me an ecstatic email about how much she enjoyed my Biscuit McKee series, particularly the cat Marmalade. I wrote her an extensive reply, sent it from my personal email, since that’s the only way my computer will send anything, only to have it bounce back. I’m sure she probably put fran at you-know-what into her safe list. There was, unfortunately, no form where I could say -- hey! please recognize me, I’m your new author friend.

So, I’m going to share her email to me and my reply to her (obviously, I’ll block out her eddress and my own). If you think you know her, please send her a link to this blogpost, would you?

Here’s her email to me:

On Apr 27, 2012, at 8:22 PM, _____ wrote:

Subject: Marmy's Series!

  I know, I know it's not Marmalade's series but I like her better! My question is, when are you coming out with more books in the series? 

 I need for you to write faster if you don't mind!  I dearly love this series and have managed,since discovering it  just a few short weeks ago,  to devour it at a rate of speed I haven't reached since my teens. So now I am suffering from Marmy withdrawals.

Seriously...when are the next books coming out?

I thank you for writing a series that is very enduring and entertaining with enough mystery to keep your interest without sex,graphic violence and vulgarity. Thank you!

NOW WRITE FASTER! LOL

Blessings from one of your oldest (in years) fans,

Sandee

And here was my reply to her:

Date: April 28, 2012 7:55:07 AM EDT

To: _______

Sandee, you just brightened my day. Thank you so much for having taken the time to contact me. It's such a delight to hear from people who love Marmy as much as I do. And--I must agree--she's the glue that holds the series together.

As to when Brown as Fudge will be available? I don't have a clue. It will most likely be next year. And there's a good reason for this. The crime in BROWN involves arson. I don't know enough about fire to be able to write knowledgeably about it, so I joined the Gwinnett County Citizens Fire Academy, a twelve-week course that teaches citizens about fire, firefighters, the firefighting process, swift-water rescue, ladder and hose work, and arson investigation.

Unfortunately, after only five classes, I had to drop out (last week) because I'm dealing with a rectal prolapse (which may be more information than you want to have -- sorry!). Because of some commitments over the next month and a half, both mine and my daughter's (she's agreed to care for me the first week after the operation), it will be after the 19th of June before I can get this repaired. In the meantime, there's no way I can climb those fire ladders next week or crawl through the "burning" building (fake smoke, naturally) the week after that.

Once I'm done healing, I'm be able to take the NEXT class, which begins in August.

So, BROWN is on hold for the moment. I'm writing the non-fire scenes, but the story hasn't taken much shape yet.

You might be interested to know that I was contacted by a New York agent last month and asked if I'd be interested in writing a three-book series "with a Scottish flavor." I've put a proposal together, and the agent will be presenting it to a publisher this coming week. The series won't have a cat in it, but I hope you'll consider reading it when it finally does get published. Of course, the publishing industry has its own routine, so the first Peggy Winn ScotShop mystery may not show up for another year or so (and it may not even be called that by the time their editor gets finished with me).

If you're interested in reading about my experiences at the Fire Academy, I blogged about the Thursday evening classes each Friday for the past five weeks. Here are the links to those blog posts:

week 1: http://beeskneesbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2012/03/day-522-how-i-surprised-fire-chief.html

week 2: http://beeskneesbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2012/03/day-528-citizen-fire-academy-class-2.html

week 3: http://beeskneesbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2012/03/day-535-citizen-fire-academy-class-3.html

week 4: http://beeskneesbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2012/04/day-549-citizen-fire-academy-class-4.html

week 5: http://beeskneesbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2012/04/day-556-fire-academy-class-5-hose-work.html

As a special thank you to you - here's the very first scene of BROWN AS FUDGE. It could change completely before publication, but I'd like to give you the flavor of it:

Scene 1 Biscuit

I saw the smoke even before I stepped outside. A dark gray wash, almost black, swirled across the yard, pushed by a stronger-than-usual early morning breeze. It wasn’t leaf-burning season yet. I headed back inside for the phone.

“Thank you for calling,” the 911 Operator told me, “but we’ve already received several reports, and the Martinsville fire department is on the scene.”

She wouldn’t tell me where the scene was, though. “Stay where you are, ma’am. They don’t need unnecessary bystanders getting in the way.”

Unnecessary bystanders? What made her think I was unnecessary? I picked the receiver back up. Bob was at the station. He’d know what was going on.

Softfoot is near the fire. I can feel him inside my head.

Marmalade purred her loud rumble and rubbed against my ankle. She’s so soft.

Thank you.

Reebok answered on the first ring. “Martinsville Police. Deputy Garner speaking.”

“What’s going on Reebok? I called 911, but they wouldn’t tell me anything.”

“There was a fire.”

“Where?”

“On Willow Street.” 

“It wasn’t Margaret’s house, was it?”

“No.” Bob’s normally garrulous deputy was singularly taciturn this morning. I waited for him to go on, but there was an ominous silence.

“Monica’s?” I asked.

“No.”

I was in no mood to keep guessing all the people who lived on Willow. “Whose house?”

“Nobody’s house.”

“Reebok,” I said, my voice lower than usual, “would you please give me some details?”

“The shed behind Connie’s house caught fire.”

“Is Connie okay?”

Silence. 

“Reebok? Answer me.”

“Don’t worry ma’am, I’m sure it will be all right.”

“Reebok? What on earth is wrong?”

“They can’t find her.”

Have a lovely day,

     --Fran

I really don’t want her to think I’m too stuck up to respond to a fan letter. Any idea (other than the miracle of someone who reads this blog knowing her) how I can reach her?

BEEattitude for Day #565:

       Blessed are those who use no pesticides, for they shall create a haven for us bees.

_______________________________ 

The teeny details:

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart 

Day #563 Polly and the Honeybee

It was hard, turning in all my Citizen Fire Academy turn-out gear last night. I gave everyone in the class a copy of one of my mass-market paperbacks -- I had some promotional copies left over from the ones sent to me by World Wide Mystery. I’m not allowed to sell them, so I figured giving them to the class and the instructors would be a good idea.

A few days ago, Miss Polly settled in my lap and put her head under my hand. For sixteen years, e's know how to get a good scratch from a good scratcher when she sees one! My phone was sitting beside me so, one-handed, I managed this picture.

She spotted a honeybee on the outside of the picture window yesterday and spent several minutes watching it crawl around. The belly-side view is fascinating. I watched it with her. Wish I’d taken a picture, but this one from a previous blogpost will have to suffice.

I'm gonna miss her when she's gone. 

BEEattitude for Day #563:

       Blessed are those who take the time to SEE what they’re looking at, for they shall have wonders unfold before them.

_______________________________ 

The teeny details:

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart 

Day #422 Bees Don't Lose Things

 Bees don’t lose things, the way people do. When the Gwinnett Choral Guild had that fund raiser recently, putting together home shows for Premier Jewelry and reaping the benefits because the Jewelry Lady, Judy Parsons, gave a large percentage of her profits to the GCG, I booked two shows, as you well know because I’ve mentioned them before here in this blog.

The way it works is that Premier ships the items to the show hostess (that’s Frannie in this case), and the show hostess distributes the goodies to the women who were her guests.

Right.

I had great fun piling the bags in stacks and handing them over to my friends.

Today I was headed out to have lunch with my dear friend Darlene Carter when the phone rang. “Bring my jewelry along when you come,” she said.

“Jewelry? Didn’t I already give it to you?”

Oh dear. Bees don’t have this sort of problem. All they carry around is nectar and pollen. Plus, they clean out cells and dump the garbage outside the hive. That’s about it in terms of carrying.

Now, the question is, where did I carry Darlene’s bracelet and such? I don’t have a beautifully-organized hive to search. I’ve looked in every room in my house, the garage, the car. I’ve looked under things and in things and on top of things. I’m pretty sure those silver-colored Premier boxes are … somewhere … I think …

Fortunately, Darlene is quite forgiving. She was nice enough to say, “Maybe you did deliver them, and I just misplaced them.”

Ha!

She may be forgiving, but I still have to find those blinkin’ things. Either that or order another set for her. Wish me luck, will you?

And here’s the picture of Indigo’s cover, as I promised. If you haven't read this one yet, don't read the next one (VIOLET) until after you've finished INDIGO. I leave some loose threads at the end of INDIGO that don't get answered for a while. And, anyway, if you read VIOLET first, you'll find out who gets killed in INDIGO. It would be a shame to spoil the suspense.

 

BEEattitude for Day # 422:

       Blessed are those who know where they're flying, for they shall find their way out and back again. 

Day #421 Potato Wonder

A couple of months ago I harvested my potatoes – the ones I’d grown in the garbage can on my back deck. Remember? I wrote about the experience . It started because of a library book.

Well, once I'd dug out all the potatoes, I dumped out the dirt from the can, piled it on top of the compost pile, and forgot about it. I kept adding things to the pile, but didn’t really turn it all over.

Thank goodness I didn’t disturb anything. Went out a couple of weeks ago and found that I must have missed one lonely spud. The darn thing has been growing and is peeking up heartily from the covering of dead leaves. I checked yesterday afternoon and found it's still thriving, despite the iffy weather we've been having.

I’m going to wait until the foliage dies back and then, hopefully, harvest ANOTHER crop of taters. Even if I get only one potato out of it, it'll still be an adventure.

I'll let you know what happens...

And now, here's thecover of the 3rd book in the series:

Tomorrow -- Indigo

BEEattitude for Day # 421:

       Blessed are those who give Mama Nature a chance, for they shall receive happy surprises.

_______________________________ 

The teeny details:

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

my eBooks on Smashwords (for all other formats):  http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Fran+Stewart

Day #420 Cooperation

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I sing with the Gwinnett Choral Guild. If you check out our picture on the home page, I’m the 6^th one from the right (the one who looks like a ghost).

Over the past few weeks we’ve given three different concerts. The first one was (sort of) a Thanksgiving theme. The second one was all about Christmas. And the one we sang Monday night at Delmar Gardens, a local retirement home, was a combination of the two.

In all three concerts we presented a number of different genres, from classical and baroque to jazz to blues to pop to pure schmaltz – and it was wonderful. I so enjoy singing with a dedicated group of people. We’re none of us professionals, but we work together to create some incredible music under the direction of G. Phillip Shoultz III, an amazingly talented director.

As I was singing my heart out last night, I wondered if bees ever feel the same sort of satisfaction for a job well done. I’d like to think so. Their music certainly resounds as beautifully as ours did.

And here's book #3. Have you noticed yet that the stripe at the top of the book gives the color of the next book in the series?

BEEattitude for Day # 420:

       Blessed are those who buzz beautifully, for they shall spread joy and receive it right back, multiplied.

_______________________________ 

The teeny details:

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

my eBooks on Smashwords (for all other formats):  http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Fran+Stewart

Day #418 Total Lunar Eclipse

Here I go again, letting you know about interesting goodies from Science.NASA.gov.

If I lived in the western part of the USA, I’d be out at 6:45 a.m. on December 10^th to watch a total lunar eclipse. Unfortunately, I live in the Atlanta area, so no eclipse for me. But, I did get to watch a simulation of it that explained why the moon looks bright red during a total lunar eclipse. You wanted to know that, too, didn’t you?

Here’s the answer:
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/02dec_lunareclipse/

Be sure to click on the triangle to play the video so you can see the simulation.

BEEattitude for Day # 418:

       Blessed are those who step outside and look up, for they shall see wonders untold.

 _______________________________

The teeny details:

BOOK SIGNINGS

Today! Come on by if you’re in the area.

Dec. 4   1-3 p.m.   Humpus Bumpus Bookstore, Cumming GA

Dec. 10   2-4 p.m.   Peerless Bookstore, Alpharetta GA

my print books:  http://www.franstewart.com

Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006AA0I4M

Day #417 Telling it again and again

It’s funny how often I run into people who haven’t heard yet that I had to get rid of my bees. These are folks I don’t see often, or people I do see regularly but don’t have frequent conversations with (like the whole soprano section of the Gwinnett Choral Guild). Every once in a while after rehearsal, one of them will ask, “So, how are your bees getting along, Fran?” And I have to explain the whole rigamarole all over again.

I do wonder when telling that story will cease to feel like such a loss.

The good news is that I’ll get to usher Bob (the husband of my main character, Biscuit McKee) through the process of getting bees and learning to deal with them through the next few books in the series.

You can be sure I’m not going to write him with an allergy to them.

That shouldn’t happen to more than one of us.

BEEattitude for Day # 417:

       Blessed are those who eat what is best for them, for they shall glow with good health.

_______________________________

The teeny details:

BOOK SIGNINGS

Dec.   3   1-3 p.m.  Books for Less, Buford GA

That’s Today!

Come on by if you’re in the area.

Dec.   4  1-3 p.m.  Humpus Bumpus Bookstore, Cumming GA

Dec. 10  2-4 p.m. Peerless Bookstore, Alpharetta GA 

my print books:  http://www.franstewart.com

Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006AA0I4M

Day #408 Happy Thanksgiving

It was so tempting to skip a few days of this blog. After all, this is a holiday, right?

Right.

But then, there’s the discipline of a commitment. On October 12, 2010, I stated publicly that I would blog every single day for 600 days. And so far (SO FAR, indeed) I’ve done it.  A little thing like a holiday shouldn’t get in the way.

I just looked back through my blog posts for November of 2010, and I seem to have completely ignored Thanksgiving last year. I don’t want to do that this year because this appears to be a year when we need all the thanks-giving we can come up with. And, after all, my personal mission statement is

“Healing the world through teaching the power of gratitude.”

But for today, I'm not going to do any teaching. I'm just going to tell you that this year I’m particularly thankful for you.

 

BEEattitude for Day # 408:

       Blessed are those who live in the moment—the way we bees do—for they shall find much to be thankful for.

_______________________________ 

The teeny details:
BOOK SIGNINGS for VIOLET AS AN AMETHYST
     Nov. 26      1-4 p.m.          Wellspring Treasures, Kennesaw GA    
     Dec.   3       1-3 p.m.         Books for Less, Buford GA
     Dec.   4       1-3 p.m.         Humpus Bumpus Bookstore, Cumming GA
     Dec. 10       2-4 p.m.         Peerless Bookstore, Alpharetta GA     
 
my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.
my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006AA0I4M

Day #406 When Bees Go Robbing

Yes, bees can be larcenous at times. If they find a weak hive, undefended by many guard bees, the stronger bees are quite likely to head inside and rob the stores of honey.

I can understand it in bees. It’s called survival instinct.

I have less tolerance for humans who do that sort of thing. If you’ve tried to buy my e-books on Smashwords any time in the last two days, you’ll notice that they’re not there.  What does this have to do with bees?

I’m glad you asked.

As I said, I can understand why bees would try to get away without paying for the honey they rob. But Smashwords.com has a policy of allowing anyone to download e-books with the understanding that they will be honorable and will pay for the books they download.

I was looking over my royalty statement from Smashwords and found that for every book someone bought (and they were only $3.99), between 50 and 80 people downloaded that same book without paying.

Now, I’m really happy that folks want to read my books, but why on earth would I want to put my books out there just for the few honest people who understand that writing is a job, one that supposedly supports the writer?

If you want to get my books for your non-Kindle, maybe there’s a way you’ll be able to find them, but until I can figure out a way to prevent the piracy, I’m going to leave my e-books off of Smashwords.

I’ll let you know if I solve this quandary.

BEEattitude for Day # 406:

       Blessed are those who act in accordance with the highest thought, for they shall contribute to a better life for all.
 

_______________________________ 

The teeny details:
BOOK SIGNINGS
     Nov. 26      Wellspring Treasures, Kennesaw GA     1-4 p.m.
     Dec.   3       Books for Less, Buford GA      1-3 p.m.
     Dec. 10       Peerless Bookstore, Alpharetta GA      2-4 p.m.

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy print books from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

Day #403 What Kind of Bug?

Does anyone know what kind of bug this is?

These guys really enjoyed camping out on my Aesclepias (Butterfly Weed) all summer. Once the flowers went to seed, they decided my mailbox was the perfect meeting place. Nobody else on my street has them. Of course, nobody else on my street has as many flowers as I do, particularly not the Aesclepias.

I was outside a couple of days ago before the rain started, and was lectured by my mail carrier about those “creepy bugs.”

They’re kinda cute. They don’t bite. They don’t seem to eat anything that I don’t want eaten. And they keep each other company. What’s creepy about that?

I just wish I could identify them. Can you help?

BEEattitude for Day # 403:
       Blessed are those who laugh hard every day, for their hearts shall beat joyously.

BY THE WAY -- If you're in the area, come to the 1st United Methodist Church in Buford GA at 7:00 tonight for a glorious concert by the Gwinnett Choral Guild.

_______________________________ 

The teeny details:

BOOK SIGNINGS

     Nov. 26      Wellspring Treasures, Kennesaw GA     1-3 p.m.

     Dec.   3       Books for Less, Buford GA      1-3 p.m.

     Dec. 10       Peerless Bookstore, Alpharetta GA      2-4 p.m.  OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH for VIOLET AS AN AMETHYST

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart
my eBooks on Smashwords (for all other formats):  http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Fran+Stewart

Day #402 Lincoln Logs and Honey Combs

One of my favorite toys when I was a kid was on old set of Lincoln Logs. I could spend hours creating towers and paddocks, houses and barns, fences and factories. Even to this day, I’m happy when I’m swinging a hammer, putting together a set of honey supers.

Is the propensity to build an innate yearning? My grandson Aiden was here the other day. He pulled out the set of Dominos I keep in an old oatmeal box. With quiet intensity he built and built.

First it was a fenced in corral for the domino horses. Then it was a hotel.  Finally a tower with a microwave doohickey on top and a crowded parking lot below.

Bees build honeycomb. Kids build towers and parking lots. Grannies build (sometimes lopsided) trellises and planters.

I’ve never heard of bees taking down what they built. I’ll have to do some research. What happens if a honeycomb isn’t well-anchored? Do they just wait for it to collapse under its own weight, the way my grandson’s third tower keeled over when it was 27 dominoes high? Or do they somehow or other reverse the building process, chew up the wax, spit it out, and start over again?

I don’t know. Do you?

BEEattitude for Day # 402:

       Blessed are those who ask questions and try to find the answers, for they shall remain interested in life all their days.

_______________________________ 

The teeny details:
BOOK SIGNINGS

     Nov. 26      Wellspring Treasures, Kennesaw GA     1-3 p.m.

     Dec.   3       Books for Less, Buford GA      1-3 p.m.

     Dec. 10       Peerless Bookstore, Alpharetta GA      2-4 p.m.  OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH for VIOLET AS AN AMETHYST

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.
my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart
my eBooks on Smashwords (for all other formats):  http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Fran+Stewart

Day #400 Immune Systems and Weeds in the Front Yard

People have internal immune systems.

If we ingest something that’s bad for us, or if a germ gets inside us, we have all sorts of little processes that go to work to protect us.

If we’re relatively healthy and relatively free of the toxins that seem to pervade our culture, we have a pretty good chance of staving off whatever it is that aims to take us down.

Bees do not have internal immune systems. All their protection is external.

Think about that next time you’re tempted to spray some toxic chemical on your lawn to get rid of unsightly weeds.

Why don’t we change our definition of “unsightly?” After all, our lawns would probably be healthier and last longer if they were made up of those thriving local plants that lawn maintenance companies (and homeowner associations) like to call weeds.

I admit, this would take some major reeducation.

But think of all the bees it would save…

BEEattitude for Day # 400:

       Blessed are those who avoid poisons, for they shall pass a healthier world on to their children.

_______________________________ 

The teeny details:

BOOK SIGNINGS

     Nov. 26      Wellspring Treasures, Kennesaw GA     1-3 p.m.

     Dec.   3       Books for Less, Buford GA                       1-3 p.m.

     Dec. 10       Peerless Bookstore, Alpharetta GA        2-4 p.m.  OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH for VIOLET AS AN AMETHYST

my books:  http://www.franstewart.com Please buy them from an independent bookstore or directly from my website.

my eBooks for Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Fran+Stewart

my eBooks on Smashwords (for all other formats):  http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Fran+Stewart