Prickle Forrest Chronicles February 2021

PRICKLE FORREST CHRONICLES

By Chrissy Hartmann

February 2021

February, the shortest month of the year. Sometimes wonder if it’s because it may also be one of the coldest months of the year. At least here, it seems like the temperatures rival those of the past two — December and January. But it’s perfect for lots of things — skiing, ice fishing, sled riding. Brrr! And best of all in particular… Writing romance.

Yes, it’s cold out and Frosty still entertains in the backyard. But with some fleece jammies and a mug of coffee, the push of the laptop’s power button, anyone would be ready to get back to work. Right?

And what a better time to work on a romance, but the month of love?

Chocolate covered strawberries, love songs, a bit of the bubbly, red roses, and Valentine’s Day cards bombard your senses.

Who wouldn’t think about love?

Inspiration! Inspiration! Inspiration!

Happy Valentine’s Day.

SWAK! 💋💋💋

THE TOP FIVE

1. Kisses… lots of ‘em!💋 💋

2. Dark chocolate. Preferably drizzled over strawberries. 🍓🍫

3. Valentine’s Day cards. The mushier the better. ❤️4. RomComs. Watched or read. Does it really matter? 📺📚

5. Red! Red! Red! Love-love the color! ❤️

WIP IT… WIP IT GOOD…

Okay to be honest, spent the first week of the month finishing up a short story for a contest here in town sponsored by Wooster Main Street, Inc. should know by March if it made it to the anthology they want to publish of all the stories. The $50 to $300 prize for 3rd to 1st place wouldn’t be rejected either.

Also helped a fellow friend/writer out with her short story and with some edits on her premiere book. It’s a fantastic YA, Urban Fantasy. Can’t give out the title yet, but check her out on Twitter or Facebook, Cyndi Brec. Now that all those are squared away can get back to working on RWS II. Looking forward to doing that.

QUERYING…

Well got some bad news to break. Sort of. Decided to self-publish. Will hopefully have a website up in the next couple of months. Going to put RESCUING WHISKEY’S SALVATION on e-com if the last bit of querying comes in with the lack-luster response that have found their way to the in box. Setting this up with a few other authors. Soon as we get a name together, it will be posted to the PFC. More details to come soon. Have to finish developing the website, establish a publishing company, and find a book cover designer. If you got any suggestions, leave your comments below, please. Thanks!

THE CRAFT

This month’s writing tip…

Study up on your character’s personality. But be careful, you might travel down the rabbit hole. It’s not hard to get lost in all the character types. Best yet to figure out what type your characters are before you start writing. Can be helpful and a huge hinderance if you do it afterwards. Cause sometimes, what you want might not fit with what you need. Check out the book below for a good place to start.

THE HOLIDAYS:

Valentine’s day managed to stay in the top spot this year, although President’s day came in at a close second. Love the Presidents — especially #1, #3, #16, #39, and #45.

Cupid managed to pop into the house for a bit. Found the chocolate covered strawberries quite good. Fat juicy little things covered in dark chocolate really hit the spot for a late night snack. Next year, going to try some rum with them… Appleton Rum.

It’s a short month this year, no leap year. Maybe, though, someone could submit “polar vortex” in to whoever posts the holidays to the calendars. This cold front is affecting the whole country, and not in a good way either. Come on spring! ☔️🌷🌷🌷☔️

MY BOOKSHELF:

1. The Duke Who Didn’t: Wedgeford Trials Book 1 by Courtney Milan

2. The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself And The Others In Your Life by Helen Palmer

3. Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

SEASONAL FAVORITES:

SEASON: Winter

SPORTS TEAM: Is it spring season yet? Waiting on my Cleveland Indians. Go Tribe!

COLOR: Dark Brown with some hints of caramel and white mixed in.

CAUSE: The Seeing Eye 🦮

SONG: Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden

FOOD: Dark chocolate covered strawberries… Yummy!

HOT DRINK: Coffee. The good old-fashioned way. Straight up and hot! ☕️

FLOWER: Daisies and roses…better yet…both!

DID YOU KNOW…

Dexcom G6 is a fabulous continuous glucose monitor. No more finger pricks. This is almost like having the pancreas working on its own again. Provides a lot of freedom. One quick look at the phone app to see the blood sugar and you’re good to go. And if you want to dress your CGM up why not try an overlay patch from Expression Med?

Lots of 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.

PRICKLERS OF THE MONTH…

• Pelosi payoff bill 2021. AKA the newest stimulus package for 1.9 trillion.

• The G5. Murderers. Prison would be too good for them.

• Double masks. Really? Why? Numbers are down. Way down. Herd immunity, ever hear of it?

• Censorship. Now hitting close to home. Shame. Shame. Shame.

• The equality act. Ha! What a joke!

THEY SAID…

This month’s quote is by

– Albert Einstein –
❤️ Love is a better teacher than duty.

HOMETOWN UPDATE:

• Wooster Main Street, Inc. hosting their first short story contest about downtown Wooster. Deadline the 8th of February. Hopefully the winners will be notified soon.

• Wooster City Schools will be going back to school fulltime in mid-March. Woohoo!

INQUISITIVE MINDS…

The Muses want to know…

Do you prefer dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

GOOSING OFF

…Goosie & Gander

The lovebirds had fun dressing up for the Valentine holiday. Well in all honesty, more Goosie than Gander, but he’s crazy about his girl so he’ll do a lot for her. He’s totally lost his heart on all her wonder. And let’s not forget about #NationalStrawberryDay too. Just thankful they can’t reach the chocolate sauce at the moment. Definitely curious to figure out the next couple of months with Spring in season. These two love to get out and show off… but before spring comes St. Patrick’s Day. So stay tuned….