It’s Saturday, and David and I are washing down the rain water with an adult beverage as we work around Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. There’s a lot to talk about, so best we get to it:
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ‘run.’ Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!“
If we were having a beer, you would be frustrated.
“Good afternoon, Dan. I haven’t seen Cheryl yet, but maybe now that you’re here, she’ll show up.”
“Not today, David. She took the day off—said she was tired. But I’m here.”
“Hello, Skippy. It’s good to see you. I’ll have my usual.”
“The bourbon thing by John Howell?”
“Yes.”
“And Dan, Cheryl says you switched to Modelo.”
“Yes, Skippy. Ever since you guys added Modelo on tap,”
“OK, no problem. I’ll be right back.”
“I wonder why Cheryl is tired. Any idea, Dan?”
“She finished her book.”
“Finished writing it? Was she staying up late?”
“No, she finished writing it months ago. She finished editing it and getting it and all the other stuff you need up on Amazon, like setting up her author page.”
“Wait, are you saying I can buy Cheryl’s book now?”
“No. I’m saying you better buy Cheryl’s book, David.”
“Will do, Dan. Is that the announcement you promised on Thursday?”
“One of them, yes.”
“One of them, oh, right you said there were two. Where the heck is Skippy with our drinks?”
“That wasn’t the second announcement, but he’s on the run. Currently on the patio chatting up those two girls.”
“While we wait, what was the other announcement?”
“It’s about my book.”
“Is it available, too?”
“No, but it will be on Wednesday.”
“Do you always release them on a Wednesday?”
“You know, David, that’s a keen observation. I think I have released all the other books on Wednesdays. I like doing it as part of Linda G. Hill’s One Liner Wednesday.”
“Is that you being superstitious, again?”
“Again?”
“Well, I notice that you have on a West Virginia tee shirt and Pitt socks. Trying to bring them both luck?”
“Just supporting the teams. Actually, they’re playing each other today.”
“Ah, so one will lose.”
“Spoken like a true pessimist, David. I’ll go with one will win.”
“I’d say something about a glass being half full versus half empty, but we still don’t have any glasses.”
“Hey guys. Sorry about the delay. I was taking an order on the patio. As soon as I deliver that, I’ll get your drinks.”
“Skippy.”
“Yes, David.”
“You will get our drinks right now. I know we aren’t the delightful company that awaits you on the patio, but I believe we were here first.”
“You’re right. I’ll get your drinks first.”
“Thank you.”
“Here’s your glass of bourbon. Your snifter of seltzer and your ice. Dan, I’ll pour your Modelo in a second.”
“Skippy.”
“Yes, David.”
“Cherries.”
“Oh, right. I always forget those.”
“Dan, here’s your beer. David, here are your cherries. I gotta run back out there.”
“You didn’t make their drinks, Skippy.”
“I know. I forgot what they ordered.”
“What was it our parents used to say, Dan, he’d forget his head if it wasn’t attached.”
“I heard that a lot growing up. That and the fact that I couldn’t find a certain body part with both hands.”
“Do you suppose you can say things like that to your kids today?”
“Let’s not go there.”
“So, Cheryl’s book is available now, and yours will be out on Wednesday. Are you guys going to team up to visit the bar?”
“Ha ha. I asked Cheryl if she will visit the bar at some point in the near future. It’s hard for me to visit myself.”
“The way you forget things, Dan, I would think it would be easy for you to visit yourself.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you going to do a launch tour for your new book?”
“Not so much a launch tour, but if people want to help spread the word, I’d appreciate hearing from them.”
“So, are you done writing for a while?”
“No, I’m already working on one of the Rascal Todd Mysteries, but the first one to drop is a long way off. Meanwhile. I’ve loaded up my pile of books to read.”
“What’s in the pile? Anything I might like?”
“Let’s see, I just received Teagan’s book version of the first half of her serial story, Atonement in Zugzwang, and D.L. Finn’s Deep in the Forest Where Poetry Blooms. I’ve also been reading Distant Flickers.”
“That’s by a lot of people, right?”
“Yes, but all good people.”
“Sounds like you better get reading.”
“I know. In addition to the ones in the pile, I pre-ordered The Price of Atonement, by Mae Clair, which is the lead book in the Harbor Pointe Series—again, by a lot of wonderful authors.”
“Let me make this easier. What will you be reading tonight?”
“I need to finish Dreamland, by Patricia Furstenberg—that’s a book of 100-word stories and folklore.”
“Then you can move on to Cheryl, Teagan, Denise, Mae and all those other good authors.”
“Yes, and I have a few books by some of those authors. There are so many good things to read right now.”
The slideshow ahead of the gallery is for Miriam Hurdle. She asked to see some of our Rose of Sharon bushes, particularly the little ones that have grown from older ones.
This is one of the newest Rose of Sharon shoots 
Behind the trellis is a shoot we noticed in the spring. It was only about 8″ tall. We put the trellis up to keep me from mowing it down 
Some of the larger Rose of Sharon bushes, but these, too self-started several years ago 
This is one of the double rose of Sharon plants we bought in 2008 
These are all shoots from the four Rose of Sharon plants we bought in 2008 
This Rose of Sharon self-planted about four years ago 
Another freebie. This has been here for about six years 
This Rose of Sharon has been here for a very long time. I have pruned it many tmes as it’s in the corner where I run the snow blower, and it scrapes against our bedroom wall. 
These are all new shoots. I am thinking about trying to plant some in a large flowerpot until spring 
This guy started last fall or this spring 
The Rose of Sharon in this photo is one of the seedlings that propagated from older plants
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.
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