Prickle Forrest Chronicles May 2020 Newsletter

PRICKLE FORREST CHRONICLES

May 2020 (Posted 05/17/2020

By Chrissy Hartmann

Spring’s arrived! Easter’s passed. Normally a celebration of rebirth. But not this year. Sure blooming flowers fill the landscapes, Blue Skye’s hang overhead, but life itself casts a shadow over the splendors of Mother Nature.

Death invades the land. Liberal instability longs for conquest. Concepts of destruction feed our fears.

But always remember, Good trumps evil. The Darkness fades from light. Strength, resilience, and patience create survivors. Learn from it. Keep faith. The good shall win. And once again, the colors of happiness will bloom and this evil will fade into a distant memory. Stay strong. Stay Safe. Never give up. This is a time of rebirth. A time to show the doubters we will endure. Step out of the darkness and do what’s right. Celebrate! Live! Love! Never give up!

And for goodness sake, KEEP WASHING THOSE HANDS!

THE TOP 5

Happy Mother’s Day!
Unlock America begins. Greatness here we come again!
Major League Baseball returns July 1st!
Hydroxychloroquine, the destroyer of COVID-19.
Faithful Little Cupcake… local bakery. Latest 2 flavors Peach and Elvis Presley… YUMMY!

WIP (Work In Progress):

Book 2 for the Whiskey series plods along. Now that edits are finished will have the time to write more. Hoping to get it finished by the end of the year. Love writing this one, so it won’t take forever…especially since will be following an actual outline this time. Woohoo! Woohoo!

QUERYING:

Starting June 1st. Sending the requested changes to EP first. Will give them a week’s advance, then submitting the manuscript to a list of 10 literary agents/publishers. Plan to continue its query until one sticks or book 2 of the series is completed. Already have 5 chapters written out of the 30 proposed. Woohoo!

THE CRAFT

This month’s writing tip…

Check out the following posts for help with cutting out the distance in your writing…

Narrative Distance by Jennifer Ellis

https://www.jenniferellis.ca/narrative-distance/

How to eliminate distance using Deep POV by Lisa Hall-Wilson

How To Eliminate Distance In Deep Point of View

THE HOLIDAYS:

Celebrated Mother’s Day…started the day out with a call from Mom, AKA RedPen. She’s reading over the edits to the novel. So far, she likes the changes. That’s good news. She can be brutal sometimes.

In college, she returned letters corrected. No reply. Just corrected. Yes, corrected. Yikes!

Slept until 2 pm, but did wake for breakfast in bed with mimosas. Yummy! Then spent a couple of hours out in the sunshine watching two of the three kiddos play in the yard. Punkin discovered she could slip under the fence and explore the neighbor’s flower garden. Obviously, she’s not noticed their new puppy, Rudy, an 11-year-old retired greyhound. He’s very gentle. Just hope she realizes this. Actually, not sure if Winnie’s seen him yet either. He’s a very mild guy who appreciates his naptime.

A storm blew in, so the deck emptied for the safety of the house…and Coccia House pizza and anti-pasta salad. Unfortunately no more mimosas.

Received a beautiful handmade card and a bouquet of red-red roses from #1 kiddo and hubby. No baby’s breath in them, thank goodness, because otherwise you’d find Punkin’s picture plastered all over this page with her climbing into the vase attacking them. What is it with kittens and baby’s breath? Sheesh!

Finished the holiday with some social media perusing and the search for new reading material. Will check the LOC BARD first then Kindle. Hopefully something will inspire its selection. Recommendations welcomed for entertaining literature. Please Post title suggestions below in the comment section.

As for Memorial Day…Wondering if Ohio plans to cancel this next? Hmm? I doubt any parades will take place…not with these ridiculous rules of social distancing. Obviously, our governor and his team of health experts need to be educated on the concept of “Herd Immunity.”

MY BOOKSHELF:

Unfreedom of the Press by Mark R. Levin
The Writer Magazine
George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spies Who Saved America by Brian Kilmeade
Writing Deep Scenes; Plotting Your Story through Action, Emotion, and Theme by Martha Alderson

SPRINGTIME SEASONAL FAVORITES:

SPORTS TEAM: The Cleveland Indians. MLB starting up July 1st… Woohoo! Go Tribe!

COLOR: Dark Brown, white, and pink.

CHARITY: The Seeing Eye

SONG: Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden

FOOD: Homemade Buffalo cauliflower wings. Yummy!

HOT DRINK: French vanilla cappuccino.

FLOWER: Tulips, daisies, and roses…better yet…all of them!

DID YOU KNOW…

Dexcom G6 is a fabulous continuous glucose monitor. No more finger pricks. This is almost like having my pancreas working on its own again. Gives me a lot of freedom. One quick look at my iPhone app to see my blood sugars and I’m good to go.

And if you want to dress your CGM up why not try an overlay patch from Expression Med? Many great designs. Puppy paws, flowers, flags, shamrocks, etc. Check them out with the link below and get $5 off your firsts order. Hopefully you’ll love them too!

PRICKLES OF THE MONTH…

Coronavirus, COVID, COVID-19 — whatever you call it, it sucks!
Obama Administration — Liars! Liars! Liars!
Face masks — Really? You think that’s going to work? How about “herd immunity?”
Social distancing — 4th of July fireworks cancelled. What? It’s only May!

THEY SAID…

“I conceive a knowledge of books is the basis upon which other knowledge is to be built.”

By George Washington

HOMETOWN UPDATE:

Wooster’s Walmart started their online shopping and curbside pickup. Started May 15th. Already had the app downloaded and the shopping cart is full. Pickup scheduled for Tuesday May 19th at 6 pm. No shopper fees or tipping. No extra charges like Instacart. Hoping to do most grocery shopping via Walmart but plan to use Instacart on rare occasions for deliveries, but if they decide to ever do the pickup service in my town, then will definitely shop with them on a regular basis. Too bad Aldiss and other stores don’t do what Walmart’s doing.
Wooster City Schools still trying to figure out what they plan to do for our graduating class. Why they can’t have it outside in the stadium with a limited group of spectators is puzzling. Do half the class one day then the other half the next day. Makes one wonder what they plan for next school year if they can’t even figure this out. Hmm?
Pretty much all social entertainment whether it be music, sports, or any community based activity canceled for the summer. Wayne County Fair still on the calendar so keep the fingers crossed it survives.

INQUISITIVE MINDS WANT TO KNOW….

The Muses wonder…Should masks be required or should it be the individual’s choice?

GOOSING OFF>…

Goosie & Gander

The Geese have celebrated a birthday, played in the rain, jumped around like frogs, and are patiently waiting to honor our Vets for memorial day. They do plan to show off a couple of new outfits they purchased with their share of the stimulus check. And if you’re looking for that fabulous modiste to make your own geese fashionable check out one of their favorite designers, Terri Fredericks. Contact info below. Check her out!

But until the new haute couture arrives, enjoy their current spring collection…