It’s the kind of Saturday here in New England that makes us old-timers wonder if we should knock off early to visit a bar. It’s a nice day, but there are several days’ worth of rain in the near future. Maybe we should rake a few more leaves. Pffft, nope! It’s Saturday. David and I are at the bar and we’re going to relax and try to deal with the Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt:
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘bowl.’ Use it as a noun or a verb—use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!”
If we were having a beer, you’d want some answers.
“Good afternoon, Dan. I thought you might stay home and rake those leaves today.”
“David, it’s still October. I don’t panic about leaves until after Thanksgiving.”
“That’s good Dan. When you start staying home to rake, I start to panic. You guys want your usual?”
“I do, I think I see David nodding, yep, we’re good, Cheryl.”
“Dan, I’ve been wondering about something. Your books all have scenes in a bowling alley. Do you bowl?”
“Occasionally, David, but not in a league or anything.”
“Here you go guys, a John Howell’s special, and a cold glass of Modelo.”
“Thanks Cheryl.”
“Cheers, Dan. Since you don’t bowl, outside of watching a few games each week, what do you do to relax?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, but you’re not here on Mondays, or Wednesdays. What do you do then?”
“I read.”
“OK, I’m gonna call you on this.”
“Huh?”
“People always say they read, but they’re never reading anything. What are you reading.”
“I’m reading a bunch of things.”
“Books? Or websites?”
“Books. I usually only read one book at a time, but I kinda got hooked on a few, so I’m reading several.”
“OK, like what? Did you read anything today?”
“I did. I read some of Cheryl’s book, Forever Never/Dawn of the Dream.”
“Wait, Cheryl wrote a book? Why didn’t I hear about that?”
“It hasn’t been released yet. I’m a beta reader.”
“You guys need anything?”
“I need an answer, Cheryl. I didn’t know you were writing a book. What’s it about?”
“It’s about a world where love is the driving force, but where there is an evil entity that wants to destroy it. Where people, different humble people work together to try and save it.”
“Is there anything special about these people?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Dan, be careful, no spoilers.”
“Sorry Cheryl. David, maybe you should read the excerpt Cheryl posted a week ago. If there are any spoilers there, they’re on her. But, yeah, these people have special powers.”
“OK, Dan. What will you read when you get home tonight?”
“I am close to finishing ‘The Haunting of Chatham Hollow’ by Mae Clair and Staci Troilo.”
“Two authors? How could they do that?”
“As I understand it, they each were responsible for one of the timelines.”
“Timelines? There are more than one?”
“Yes. Same setting, many of the same families represented, lots of mystery surrounding a curse and rumors of hidden treasure.”
“Hidden treasure?”
“Gold, to be precise.”
“Back and forth through time…can you follow that?”
“Easily. And, despite the two authors, it reads with one voice. I mean, it’s appropriate to the time frame, but you’d never know there were two authors. Unless, well, you know, unless you knew.”
“Hmmm, that sounds interesting. I’d like to read more about it.”
“Do you remember Gwen Plano?”
“Yes, she was here last year.”
“She was part of the book launch. You can read her post, here. It’s a great post.”
“You boys are deep in conversation, so I brought another round.”
“Thanks Cheryl.”
“OK, Dan. So, you have morning and evening covered. Am I correct in assuming you’re not reading anything else?”
“You are not. I’m also reading ‘One Big Chunk’ by Brad Lewis.”
“Brad Lewis? He visited us, too. And, if I recall, he’s a big fan of Skippy.”
“Ha ha, maybe Skippy’s biggest fan.”
“What’s his book about? What’s it like?”
“It’s hilarious. It’s bold, irreverent, and wild. It’s a parody of celebrity memoirs and a satirical look at our mental healthcare system and the world of fashion.”
“Bold and irreverent? That sounds like Brad. But why read three books at the same time?”
“I can’t stop. I’ve read Cheryl’s book before, albeit in sections while she was writing it – while she was reading my third book. I want to see the changes she made.”
“That makes sense. Why did you start reading the other two?”
“I couldn’t help myself. I was intrigued by the concept of two people writing the same book. I read a little bit of ‘The Haunting of Chatham Hollow’ and I was sucked in. I picked up Brad’s book while rearranging my bookcase, flipped through the first few pages and I laughed so hard, I wanted more.”
“Are you on a schedule?”
“Oh yeah. Morning for Cheryl, Evening for Staci and Mae and Brad is now my weekend read.”
“Will you ever finish them?”
“I have to. Teagan Geneviene’s new book, ‘A Peril in Ectoplasm’ just arrived. I’ve flipped through and I think it’s going to be another masterful creation by Teagan. You can read more about this book here.”
I offer this post in lieu (temporarily) of reviews for these wonderful books. I will get around to publishing those.
If you like magical realism with suspense, action and a bit of family sarcasm, you will enjoy these books:
Knuckleheads
The Evil You Choose
When Evil Chooses You
My profile page (and books) on Lulu
All available on Kindle Unlimited!
No Facilities 
I send my sympathies to the CT community for the senseless loss of those two police officers. We use to have differences of opinion which led to some interesting discussions. Now, those differences seem to lead to deadly situations. I send my prayers for the officers and their families. Enjoy your rake-free weekend. Those leaves will still be there next week.
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Thanks Judy. It’s so hard to believe how a situation starting in a bar can lead to this.
I will do some raking, just not worried about every leaf. I hope you have a good weekend.
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Hi Dan, I popped into the bar just now and thought wow! I’m in the library…
All these interesting books I am in heaven!
The Haunting of Chatham Hollow’ by Mae Clair and Staci Troilo sounds really good and I do know that joint authorship work and work well.
Plus Cheryl’s book to , that’s right up my street, tell Cheryl if she’d like a visit here before or after publication she’d be most welcome we could pop down to the Wheelright’sArms. And that last book by Brad Lewis One big Chunk sound hilarious then Teagans book too.
It all makes you sound very erudite Dan!
So a very bookish week!
Those photos too are just beautiful I love the squirrel peeping out of his house and all the ones of late sun streaming through the leaves…plus the glorious colours.
Love to you guys 💜💜
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Thanks Willow. Late September and October were busy for new releases. These are just the ones I’m reading, I added a couple others to the TBR pile. I don’t normally have more than two books going, and those are usually quite different. I’m close enough to the end of two of these that I might just finish one, move on and finish the other. I’ll mention your offer to Cheryl – thanks!
I hope you have a great weekend.
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Thank you Dan have a good weekend too 🙂
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Thanks Willow. I’d love that that! Happy weekend.
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Well then as soon as you are ready drop me an email and we can put our heads together 💜💜
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I will! 😀Thanks.
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Excellent 👍
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Liked your story, Dan. I tried to comment on Cheryl’s site, but it wouldn’t take for some reason.
So sad about the PD officers. I feel for the families!
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Thanks GP, and thanks for trying at Cheryl’s. I have been having an awful time this week with comments. On some of the Thursday Doors participants, it took 2 & 3 tries to get a comment to post.
The funerals for the officers were held yesterday. They had to hold them in the UConn football stadium. People and police officers came from everywhere to pay their respects. We still don’t know how this all played out, but we know it was senseless. I feel so bad for the families. One officer had two children, and his wife is pregnant.
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Oh God! What goes through people’s minds to think that is a good to do?
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🙁
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I’m sorry GP. Sometimes Blogger is kitchy. Feel free to comment on the WP site. Thanks for trying!
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Cheryl, we enjoy hearing about you on Dan’s site and when I can, I try going over to yours. If you have a wordpress site, I would gladly follow it.
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You can find it here https://tropicalaffair.me/
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Cheryl, I tried to log into your blog site and it didn’t take. I’ve never had luck before either. So, my comment is here on your book excerpt. I loved the two characters and wanted to read more. Getting the backstory straight beforehand was easier for me to understand the setting. It’s another culture, and an interesting one. Looking forward to knowing more about the book. Good luck with the process. My first historical fiction book was published in May and I’m working on the sequel. 📚🎶 Christine
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Terrific promo post, Dan. I think you’ve got it. Congratulations to these authors.
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Thanks John. I wanted to let them know I haven’t forgotten them.
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😊
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So many books to read! I usually have at least two going at a time, one fiction and one nonfiction. Your second book is on my list and now Cheryl’s. I love her storyline. Thanks for the excerpt link. I love all the trees in your gallery! You should enter that adorable squirrel peeping out of the hole in some kind of show. I can imagine all kinds of memes with it, too.
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Thanks JoAnna. Cheryl’s book is amazing. I read it a chapter or two at a time while she was writing it, and I liked it a lot. Having the whole thing to read in one good go is very nice. I can’t wait for it to be live.
That little squirrel is adorable. He/she pops her head out and I just want to hug her.
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I read some of Chery’s excerpt and look forward to getting back to it. Her description/imagery skills are excellent! I know I’m going to love her book.
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To paraphrase someone else: Leaves we have always with us; good friends at bars, not so much. It makes good sense to ignore the leaves and sit at a bar, especially when talking about books. One should always know life’s priorities! I love seeing the trestle emerge gradually through the autumn trees. I think you’re on to something with the Share size; maybe you should suggest the candy people make an All-Mine-Keep-Your-Hands-Off size.
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I’m laughing at the thought of that label, Maureen. It would save me so many dirty looks. And you’re right, the leaves I don’t rake today will be here tomorrow. For that matter, the portions of my yard I raked yesterday are covered with leaves today, so I might as well go talk about books. I think next week, we will have a good view of the trestle. I hope you have a nice weekend.
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Hi guys! Glad you put that rake down for some you time, Dan. Thanks for the book mention. I’m two thirds done with my final edits. 🤞🏻The other books you mentioned sound intriguing. Enjoy!
Growing up in the South means we have basically two leaf colors. Green and brown, with the exception of a few orange here and there. I am always awed by the changing colors up in the midwest and northern areas. Just when I pick a favorite, another photos impresses me. I think red is my very favorite but the yellow always takes my breath away. That bunny is fattening up for the ‘white menace’ that’s coming. 😉
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I am enjoying your book, Cheryl. I know you will make edits, but I like it very much. I’ve seen it evolve over quite some time, and I think you have it pretty well nailed down. I like the red leaves best, but there aren’t many and they don’t last. The yellow ones seem to just scream at us for attention. They stand out so well against all the other colors. The bunnies will keep munching throughout the winter. I have to remember not to prune any low branches. IF the yard gets covered in snow, they will do that pruning for me. Of course, I’ll clear some paths for firewood, and they eat the grass there.
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Good to know you have the bunny situation in hand. I appreciate your reading my words so much Dan. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the development of the story. 🙂
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Your colours are beautiful! My favourite picture is the leaf trapped in the fence. I look forward to your pictures.
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You have a soft spot for those poor trapped leaves, Pam. Just remember, they might be trapped, but they are escaping the guy who wants to vacuum them up and haul them to the compost pit.
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Evil man! I have a leaf on my balcony from last year. I wonder how long it will last.
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🙂
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Dan there can never be too many books. Great post. I had to look up the shooting. It was a staged ambush. The shooter called 911 and shot them from behind firing more than 80 shots. There are too many crazy hateful people with guns. Prayers to the families involved.
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That’s the prevailing theory, John. Another suggests that the brother (wounded in the attack) may have called to try and stop his brother (the shooter) from going back to a bar he had been thrown out of. Either way, it was senseless and has left two families devastated. I hope they can figure out what really happened. I would not want to be a police officer today.
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I think this must be the most questions David has ever had in one post.
Share size of M&M’s? Who ever thought that would be a good idea?!
The two slain officers…why?? Thankfully, the third officer was able to take down the shooter, but it still does not answer why this even happened.
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David was in a curious mood. Share size needs to be a lot bigger, or bundled in a 2-pack.
I hope they can figure out why this happened. Those poor families. Todays paper is full of pictures from the funeral. It’s just so sad.
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I don’t know how you can keep so many stories straight, but that’s awesome. And I’m delighted to have made the list. Thanks, Dan. (BTW, I love this chat format.)
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Thanks Staci. I’m glad you like it. I don’t usually read these near each other, and sometimes I reread the last chapter or few pages to get oriented. I do that when I’m writing, too. Your story is so easy to fall back into. I feel like I know the characters (in each period) so we’ll. I am truly amazed at how seamless the transitions feel. I would have expected to be jolted into each scene but it just feels like two people telling me a great story.
We’ll have to see about “bringing you to the bar” at some point.
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It was so important to us to make those transitions seamless. It means a lot that you mentioned that you find they were smooth and not jolting. Thank you.
And I’m always up for a visit to a bar!
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Dan, you are so kind to mention “A Peril in Ectoplasm” here. Wow, I’m in terrific company.
You really have your rainy day reading filled. I like to have several books going at once too. Although lately my eyes can’t handle much reading. Thank goodness for audio books.
Your autumn photos are absolutely splendid. Thanks for this delightful visit. Hugs on the wing.
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I peeked at your book, Teagan. I hope to read it before Halloween. We have several rainy days on the horizon. My real (living, breathing) friend at the bar did ask me last week what I was reading, so it seemed like a good thing to go with.
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Ah – autumn on the East Coast can’t be beat. I know what you mean about keeping up with reviews – I am way behind! But I just helped a friend publish his book so perhaps I’ll have more time.
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I think authors appreciate them whenever they come (I know I do). I hope they don’t mind me playing catch-up. We have rain coming for a few days. I’m to sure how many leaves will survive. But we had some great color this year which was a surprise given the hot dry summer we had. IT was nice of you to help your friend publish his book. I thought writing a book was the hard part, until I went to publish it.
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Super excited to get some new titles in my TBR queue. Also the gallery is fantastic today! Thanks for sharing 😊
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I’m glad you liked this, Jill. These are worth adding to the TBR pile.
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You covered a plethora of books here, Dan, and I loved the fall leaf colors. Hoping there will be some in Illinois next week when I get there!! It’s sad and frightening how many people are willing to kill someone else for no reason worth killing over.
As for books with two authors, several series that I enjoy are or were written by two people. The Monkeewrench books by P.J. Tracy were written by a mother and daughter until the mother passed away. Charles Todd was a mother-son duo until the mom passed away last year. They wrote (and he still writes) The Inspector Ian Rutledge series and also the Bess Crawford series.
Hope your weekend is going well.
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I hope you have some nice color next week. I don’t understand crimes like this. So senseless. I’m impressed when two people can collaborate like this.
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A fun Saturday post, Dan. You are dropping a lot of names here. :) I loved The Haunting of Chatham Hollow. I thought the ladies outdid themselves. I haven’t gotten Teagan’s newest yet, but she never fails to entertain. Great photos, too!
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Thanks Jan. I don’t usually have this many books open at the same time, but it’s how this fall has been going. Lots of new books out there.
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I’ve got your latest book I’m still reading …slowly, and a sci-fi book in progress as well. I hope to finish your book first so I’m ready for the last book in the series when it comes out.
The reds and oranges you get there are so beautiful! The little squirrel in the tree knot hole was adorable!
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Thank you so much. I’m glad you like it. The last one will be out on November 30.
We’ve had beautiful colors this year. I was surprised because we had a long hot dry summer. That little squirrel makes me smile whenever he/she pops out.
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I wonder if stress from the drought makes the trees produce great colors in the Fall? Over the years shooting Fall Color here in the West I’ve learned too much rain doesn’t lend itself to good color. It’s a tricky balancing act.
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I don’t understand the science. I know rain and temperature change is involved, but I’m grateful when it works out like it did this year.
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My head is spinning! So many good books, so little time (for an un-retired teacher.) Great post Dan. That big red maple is glorious.
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Sept/Oct was a big period for new books.
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I can only read one book at a time. I think my mother could read several books at a time. I am reading a space dragon book series. I’m hoping it will get better soon.
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Hi Dan, this is a fun, chatty post with lots of author shout outs. I have just finished Teagan’s new book and will write my review tomorrow. I have Mae and Staci’s new book on my TBR for straight after I finish Craig’s new book – haha! October is a busy month.
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October has been a busy month for new releases, Robbie. I’m making progress on my pile.
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Me too!
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Oh, how I love those autumn leaves! We had a couple days of heavy rain, so most of our leaves are gone.
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We lost a lot in the rain here, but now we have a second wave.
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