It’s Saturday, time for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’m going straight to the prompt because it’s a doozy.
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ‘the first 3 words of the first full sentence.’ Okay, follow me here. This is what I want you to do: 1. Grab the closest book to you when you sit down to write your post. 2. Open it to a random page. 3. Locate the first complete sentence on that page. 4. Use the first three words of that sentence to start your post, then take it from there–write whatever comes to mind. That’s it! Have fun!”
If we were having a beer, you’d be waiting for me.
“My guess is, two Saturdays in a row on the road made Dan forget when he’s supposed to be here, Cheryl.”
“He’ll be here, David. In fact, here he comes now.”
“Welcome back, Dan.”
“Hi David. It’s good to be back.”
“I don’t know, Dan, the pictures you’ve been sharing make me glad I’m not competing with some of those bars.”
“None of them has a bartender as good as you, Cheryl. We long ago established that you’re the best.”
“Awww, that’s going to get your first beer on the house.”
“Um, what about…”
“Your bourbon is on you, David. Or Dan. Whichever of you is paying today.”
“I’ll pay. Dan has some explaining to do.”
“I do? What’s to explain?”
“Why the world saw your new book cover beaming in from Willow in the UK before we saw it here in this bar.”
“Here’s your bourbon, your snifter of seltzer, your glass of ice and your cherries, David. Dan, here’s a Modelo. And David, I had already seen the book cover.”
“You saw it, Cheryl? When? Where was I?”
“I saw it back in May, and then again in July when Dan changed it.”
“Changed it? What was it before? Why didn’t I get to vote?”
“Relax, David. The cover didn’t change much. I swapped pictures of the bridge, and I added a better picture of the police car.”
“You added? I thought you called up one of those chatGBT generator things and asked for a police car and a van on bridge.”
“ChatG-P-T, and no, everything in the cover is, or is from a photo of mine.”
“So, what, you took a picture of a sideways police cruiser the last time you were in Pittsburgh and some how stuck it on that bridge?”
“No. Actually, the police car is from Ames, Iowa. When I was there in June, my brother drove around the block and popped out of some little alley across from the police station.”
“So, you asked that chatgb, sorry, Pt thing to change the Ames car into a Pittsburgh car.”
“No, I did that. I changed it from Ames to Pittsburgh and added the lights—those are from cars in our local Firemen’s parade—That’s why it wasn’t finished until July.”
“What about the van?”
“That van was stuck in traffic ahead of me on Rt-128 in Waltham, Massachusetts. I just added the lettering.”
“That’s another question I have. Who’s Rascal Todd?”
“She’s a new character in this book. In fact, Introducing Rascal Todd was supposed to be the title of this book.”
“Back when it wasn’t going to include Zach and Billy?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I for one was happy to see the old gang back for one more story. You boys having anything to eat.”
“Wait, wait, you’ve read this book, Cheryl?”
“Again, yes, an early copy. I like it. Food? You guys want any food?”
“I’m afraid, I already ate, Cheryl.”
“Did you stop at Scooter’s Dan?”
“No. I had an errand to run up in West Springfield, so…”
“You stopped at the White Hut. That’s OK. I would have stopped there, too. We almost lost that place during Covid.”
“The White Hut? Is that the place that’s famous for their fried onions?”
“Yes, and their hand cut fries and onion rings.”
“Which did you have, Dan, fries or rings?”
“They have the best idea, ever, David. You can get a mixed order—fries and rings—for an extra twenty-five cents.”
“That is a great idea. It’s always so hard to choose when you know both are good.”
“I’d suggest that here, if the owner would consent to adding onion rings. You boys want another round?”
“We do, Cheryl. This John Howell’s Bourbon goes down easy.”
“OK, David. And since I saw the cover and read the book, I’ll slide you that bourbon on the house.”
“Thanks Cheryl. So, Dan, when do I get to read Introducing Rascal Todd?”
“Secrets Held Against Evil, David. I changed the title when the book became part of the Dreamer’s Alliance Series.”
“Potato, potahto, Dan. When do I get to read it?”
“September. It will be out by mid-September.”
“And Billy is back? I like Billy. And Cynthia Leman, I like her too.”
“Cynthia Leman is back, David, stronger than ever. And Billy is the narrator.”
“I like that. He did a good job with your last book. And Abbie, is Abbie in this book, Dan?”
“She is.”
“Abbie, Cynthia, and Rascal Todd. That’s a lot of women.”
“Here’s your free bourbon, David. Do you have a problem with a lot of women in a book?”
“No, Cheryl, no. Of course not. No, I like women fine.”
“That’s good!”
If you want to follow part of the process of getting that car on the bridge, watch the slideshow below.
This was the photo I decided to work with. That’s the Ames, Iowa police station 
The Ames police car has been extracted from the background 
“City of Ames” has been removed 
Now a Pittsburgh police car 
The red light bar was taken from a local police car during the parade 
The blue light bar shines 
The grill lights were added one-by-one, but you get the idea
All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.
No Facilities 
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