tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14184049754617833252024-03-13T00:09:09.376-04:00MeanderingsSome of the roses I pick as I meander through this world -- and some of the thorns.Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-91909967123293692062017-08-01T20:45:00.000-04:002017-08-01T20:45:49.755-04:00Finally Moving and starting a new life in Prescott, Arizona, definitely made writing the first book in my spinoff series, set in Arizona, more difficult. The almost final draft is with my editor now, so I'm hoping to get it out within a month or two.<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Never one to go
half way, Kate Christensen, Marge's daughter, trades rain rich Seattle for the dry mountains of
Arizona to escape the stress of work and personal problems. She expects to
settle into a quiet life and spend time with her aging grandmother. Before she
has a chance to start that life, a death in the motel room next to hers and an
unsympathetic police chief propel her into a murder investigation. Her
grandmother’s increasing health issues cause Kate to bounce back and forth
between her grandmother and the murder victim’s widow while trying to figure
out the complexities of her own life. Maybe her previous stress wasn’t so bad.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Watch for the release of Katie Comes to Cactus (working title, might change). I expect to be in Michigan in October. If the book is out I'll have a launch party somewhere on the weekend of the 6th. Launch in Arizona depends on when the book is available.</div>
<br />Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-72374582688620051242017-03-02T21:35:00.000-05:002017-03-02T21:35:58.155-05:00Darkness to Light
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0px;"><i>My Lenten Devotion</i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0px;">… because the
darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. 1 John 2:8b</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0px;">The
year following my husband’s death was full of activity, but shrouded in fog. I
was alone now. It was up to me to fulfill the plans we had already made. I sold
our home, bought another one close to my mother, and orchestrated my move from
Pennsylvania to Michigan. I seemed to be doing everything right as I joined and
became involved in church and jumped into community activities. Staying busy
kept the darkness at bay. I knew in my head and in my heart that God was still
with me, but I couldn’t feel His presence as I had before.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0px;">Then,
about a year later, driving up the hill toward my new home in the late
afternoon, I was struck by the panorama spread out in front of me. The sky
seemed to be exploding with fluffy, silver rimmed clouds. I pulled over to
watch as the clouds moved past, slowly revealing the bright light of the sun
that had been there all along. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0px;">Be still and know that I am God. </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0px;">I closed my eyes and felt God’s
light in my heart as warm as that sun in the sky. It had been there all along,
of course. I had let the clouds of worry and grief and busyness block it. I
needed the vision of sun and clouds to remind me that, while I had been trying
to figure out and create my new life, He was there, even when I couldn’t see
Him clearly, guiding and helping me all along the way, and ready to give me
back the joy of his presence as soon as I could quiet myself enough to accept
it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; margin: 0px;">Thank
you, Lord, for your Light that can pierce every darkness.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-62661987971633835262017-01-06T19:59:00.000-05:002017-01-06T19:59:20.066-05:00Christmas Presence, Still Good at Epiphany
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">A few Christmas memories center on presents.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The one when my father gave me a ceramic dog in a
house. When you whistled, the dog came out. But I couldn’t whistle.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The one when I recognized my mother’s handwriting on a
note from Santa to my younger sister, and got in a world of trouble for telling
her. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">There were many other times, of course, when the
crushing disappointment of childish expectations made Christmas presents a
bittersweet memory.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Then there was the Christmas when my step-father, with
whom I could never form a close relationship, convinced Santa to give me a
typewriter, which I knew we couldn’t afford, because he knew how much I wanted
to be a writer. I think I may have received my first whiff of Christmas
Presence that year.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">A highlight of my early teens was a year when I was
old enough to know how much we didn’t have. My mother wanted us to understand
that there were others with even less, and she wanted to teach us the joy of
giving. We put together two boxes of clothing and toys we no longer needed and
left them on the doorstep of a family who lived in a ramshackle house a mile or
so away. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">A few weeks later, I saw a girl from that family
wearing one of the favorite matching dresses my mother had made for my sister
and me years before. I hoped the girl didn’t know where it had come from. I was
afraid it would embarrass her. I thought at the time that the feeling I got
knowing we had added to that’s family’s joy was the true Christmas Presence. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">As the years went by, I found more incidents of
heart-warming experiences that I thought better examples of the Christmas
Presence: caroling by candlelight, Christmas Eve midnight services, Christmas
Cantatas. Music and fellowship, the spirit of Christ flowing over and around
us; the celebration of the birth of our Savior.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">But what I finally discovered was that for me the
Christmas Presence wasn’t limited to a few short weeks in December and January.
We celebrate the time of birth, and it is special, but the Presence Christ
brought to earth that day is with us all year long. It illuminates our hearts
and gives us the desire to share his love and give “presents” to everyone, not
just at Christmas time, but all the time. </span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-18061523352693671992016-12-29T15:41:00.000-05:002016-12-29T15:41:03.040-05:00A Psalm for leadershipOne of the devotionals I read this week was based on Psalm 72. It struck me as pertinent to our world and national situation today. I took the liberty of paraphrasing verses 1-4 and 12-14. Tell me what you think.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Give our president your justice, oh God, and your righteousness to the leaders of our country.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">May they lead your people with righteousness and the poor with justice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">May our leaders defend the cause of the poor people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">May they deliver the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let them take pity on the weak and the needy and save their lives.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">From oppression and violence help him redeem their lives</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">For precious is their blood in His sight.</span>Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-46990979733986931912016-12-23T21:26:00.002-05:002016-12-23T21:26:54.051-05:002016 in review
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I hope you all had a wonderful 2016 and are feeling
the blessing of the season of Advent, leading up to the birth of our Savior,
Jesus Christ.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I have enjoyed good health and an active life again
this year, thanks be to God. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I’ve managed to get a few books sold, with
presentations at book discussion groups, church, and organizations and book
festivals in Sun City, Tempe, Payson, and Prescott Valley. I still have far too
many stacked in a storage unit, but I’m trying to whittle away at them. My new
book has been a bit of a struggle and is taking a long time to get together.
I’m hoping to complete needed research and editing and rewriting in the next three
to <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>six months. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I didn’t get to Michigan this year, but I got to spend
some time with Ravi and Jennifer, Monneth, and Neil’s families in March. In
June I went to the American Library Association Conference in Orlando to
promote my books, since that also gave me the opportunity to spend a couple of
days with Ricki and Archana and the kids before they went to India. I fulfilled
a life-long desire to visit New Orleans in September for the Bouchercon Mystery
Conference. I stayed at one of my time-share locations there, so saw a little
more of the city than I would have staying at the Conference Hotel. I also took
a city bus tour and a paddle wheel cruise on my last day. I should have planned
a couple more days, but I enjoyed the time I did have. Guess that’s about all
the highlights, except for a couple of overnighters in Phoenix for writer
events.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I’m still loving Arizona, my new church and choir,
playing scrabble and doing Arts and Crafts fairs with Sharon, being catered to
at Alta Vista Senior Living. Of course, I haven’t stopped missing my family and
friends, and my wonderful church and choir in Traverse City. Sometimes I feel
like a split personality.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I’m hoping and planning to get to Michigan next year
around late May early June. Richard and Sally’s son Hunter and Patti and
Gunda’s daughter Hayley are both graduating from high school and I want to meet
Patti’s first grandchild (Steve and Kayla’s) who is soon to be born. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">That’s about it for me. I’m looking forward to finding
out what God has planned for me in 2017 and hope you are, too.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Love,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "AR BERKLEY"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Pat</span></div>
Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-10024476429342962642016-08-15T17:59:00.002-04:002016-08-15T17:59:46.083-04:00Water For the Future
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m going to try to get my blog started again with
things that are going on in my life right now.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One of those things is the Climate Justice event put
on by the United Methodist Women’s mission u last month. And one of the topics
that hit me hard, because I now live in water challenged Arizona, was our
overuse of water as a country.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">While we are already experiencing water shortages and
contaminated groundwater, it is estimated that between two and seven billion
people will face water shortages by 2050. Many of us will not be here by then.
Our grandchildren will have to deal with the problem. Are we willing to do a
few simple things to help them now?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Because I live in an apartment, I concentrated this
time on what we can do inside the house. Actually, I hope we are already doing
most of these, and I’m sure you can think of others, but let’s remind ourselves
of a few simple steps. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We can turn off the water while brushing our teeth. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Showers take less water than baths (unless we take
long soaks in the downpour). We can enhance our savings by getting wet, turning
off the shower, lathering up, and turning on the shower to rinse. I have the
shower running about three minutes doing this.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We can run the washing machine only when we have a
full load, and use the reduced load settings when we need to run it less than
full.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Used properly, and only run when it is full, the
dishwasher uses less water than handwashing. However, that means we don’t use
gallons of water rinsing and preparing dishes for the dishwasher. Instead, we can
soak or rinse them using the same water in a container several times. Some
dishwashers can handle dishes without rinsing at all, only scraping. If we do
hand wash, don’t run the water constantly. Use a pan or sink of soapy water and
another of rinse water or wash all the dishes before turning on the water to
rinse them.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Keep drinking water in the refrigerator rather than
running it from the tap to get cold every time we take a drink.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Get food from the freezer early enough to thaw in the
refrigerator rather than thawing it under running water.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We can run the tap water only as fast as necessary to
wash our hands and for other incidental uses. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Perhaps you can think of other things to add. If so, leave them in a comment. I plan
to start using a bucket to catch the shower water while it is warming up and
using that water to water plants and flush my toilet.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An African
proverb says: “Many little people, in many little places, taking many little
steps, can change the face of the world.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-37645586992606971652015-12-25T13:35:00.001-05:002015-12-25T13:37:15.081-05:002015 Highlights<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I see I haven't posted since March, 2014, so I'll encapsulate 2015 in this blog.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I arrived in Prescott, Arizona, on January 1 for a two month
vacation and to decide whether a move to Prescott was in my future. The next thing I knew I had signed a lease
for an apartment at Alta Vista – one with a perfect floor plan for me and a
nice view of the mountains to the east. So, I contacted a realtor in Traverse
City. He said he would send me a listing agreement but he wanted to show the
house that day <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">because the sun was
shining</i>. I called for some reason late that day and he said he couldn’t
talk to me. He was sitting at my dining room table writing up an agreement of sale.
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I returned to Traverse City January 29 for a marathon
session of cleaning out, downsizing, and arranging for the movers. Thanks to
many of my nieces and nephews everything went smoothly
except the weather. It snowed most of the time and made cleaning the condo a messy process. On February 14, in the middle of a white-out blizzard, I
got to the airport (putting my rental in a snow bank there) and eventually,
after a lot of maneuvering, the airplane took off and I barely made my delayed
flight in Chicago. Everything went smoothly from then on and I made the move
into my apartment on February 26.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I flew back to Michigan for great-nephew Ryan Cooper’s
wedding in June and was able to connect with friends and family. I did another
of my road trips later in June and July: every segment was a two day drive. I drove
to Dallas, where my sister-in-law Saroj was visiting her son Monneth. Saroj and
I took a side jaunt to Austin to see our nephew Neil and Jackie and meet their
new daughter Madison. I then drove to Peoria, Illinois, for Narinder’s cousin
Raj and Kris Bedi’s wedding anniversary, where I met up again with Saroj along
with my brother-in-law Ravi and wife Madhu. After that, I drove to Houston, to
my sister Bonnie’s. After a few days there, she joined me for the trip back to
Prescott and stayed with me for a week before her daughter Darlene and family
took her back to Houston.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I joined the Desert Sleuths chapter of Sisters in Crime and
attended a conference in Phoenix. I also joined two groups called Suspicious
Characters and the Professional Writers of Prescott. I took one other little
side trip, to Silver City, NM, for a book festival. Sold a few books, but
mostly enjoyed learning a little more about the extended environment into which
I have moved. I’ve done enough presentations in Prescott to have people hounding
me for the next book (some of you may be guilty of that, also. I hope you have
found the sixth book in the series, “When Will the Secrets End?” either at
Horizon or through Amazon). I connected with two other mystery writers here to
form a group called “Triple Threat”. We did a very enjoyable presentation at
Alta Vista and have plans to do others at the Prescott Library and a local book
store. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was able to breathe fairly normally at a mile high by the
time the new choir season started in September, so joined two choirs at my new
church, Prescott United Methodist, where the atmosphere and the community
activity are remarkably similar Central UMC in TC. I also inherited leadership of
a small Bible Study group at Alta Vista, which I am finding to be a rewarding
challenge. Oh, my, my calendar is beginning to look as full as it was in
Traverse City!</span></div>
Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-894670283629112742014-03-17T20:02:00.000-04:002014-03-17T20:07:07.172-04:00The Tucson Book FestivalSpeed limits are 80 MPH across Texas and New Mexico on I-10, with gale force winds. No driveways or mailboxes, though! Many warnings about dust storms, but fortunately I didn't run into any.<br />
<br />
After a day of getting myself acclimated and finding my way around, I spent the weekend at the Tucson Book Festival. I'd heard great things about the festival: how many thousands of people attended, how many book buyers there were, how many books people sold. My results were somewhat underwhelming. After selling only two books in my alloted two hours at the Tucson Sisters in Crime booth, I noticed there was a slot still empty the next day and asked if I could have it. Yes! Three more books sold. And one more at my signing in the festival author's pavilion alloted to self-published authors.<br />
<br />
Because self published authors aren't allowed to participate on panels, where you get noticed, or in the signings for panelists.<br />
<br />
Oh, well. My book events are becoming an excuse for me to do the traveling I like to do, which is hard to do alone. In addition, I meet so many great people in this same business of writing and then trying to sell books.<br />
<br />
Besides, since I had several stops this trip, and saw so much of family, it was worth it even without the festival. Plus, I have to justify my membership in WorldMark the Club timeshares by using their wonderful resorts. Which I'll be doing for the next three days at Rancho Vistoso in Tucson before heading out to Prescott to visit with my sister before going back to Michigan. Unfortunately, I think winter will still be there to greet me when I arrive. Wish I didn't have to get back to file my taxes and take care of other business.Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-83616951373645327672014-02-28T16:25:00.000-05:002014-02-28T16:25:47.183-05:00Highway to HoustonMy latest trip takes me to Houston at the end of February, 2014. I've never been so glad to get out of the frozen Northwestern Michigan winter. <br />
<br />
The first highlight of the trip was when I took my boots off at the end of the first day of driving. No boots for at least a month! What a relief. The second highlight was no snow on the ground AT ALL and SUNNY skies the whole rest of the trip.<br />
<br />
The third highlight was driving through Missouri. I always love driving through Missouri. They don't threaten me with penalties for moving violations in Missouri. It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling to know that I should obey the laws because MoDOT CARES.<br />
<br />
The next remarkable moment was driving through or around Little Rock, Arkansas. I thought I had been transported back to Chicago! The only place with heavier traffic was Houston itself.<br />
<br />
Then came the eye opener when I entered Texas. I have never driven in Texas before. Did you know that their highways, with speeds now allowed up to 75 miles an hour, do not necessarily have on and off ramps? They have mailboxes and driveways with access to the highway! And, in at least one place, the four lanes turned into two lanes WITH THE SPEED LIMIT STILL 75 MILES AN HOUR AND WITH THE ROAD STILL LINED BY MAILBOXES AND DRIVEWAYS. That 75 mile an hour limit will sudden a drop to 55 when entering a town. I'm glad I had my GPS to check when cars started whizzing past me and I looked down to realize it was back up to 70 or 75. <br />
<br />
I must say I didn't run into a rude driver the whole trip. A few that were in more of a hurry than they should be, most of whom stopped tailgating me when they realized there was no way I could move over for them yet. But almost everyone obeyed the speed limit in contruction zones and, yes, construction is already taking place in Missouri and Arkansas.<br />
<br />
After four days in Houston with my step-sister, I'm off to San Antonio for the next leg of my trip.Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-78224897037421307012013-10-25T15:18:00.002-04:002013-10-25T15:18:43.006-04:00A Moment of Bliss
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I could not move. Sitting on the bench, I stared
over the smooth surface of the lake so recently bombarded with boats and boards
and acrobatics and the cacophony of accompanying music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now it was filled with silence, soft air,
warm sunshine. I was transported to another realm. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Come they called. We have more to do. More to see.
We must hurry on to the next destination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I could not move. Mind and body were at one with the
lake and the breeze and the fluttering leaves of the nearby trees. Holiness filled
this place, only five minutes ago a tourist attraction. It filled the space
with peace, quiet, fulfillment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hurry up, they called. What are you doing? How are
we going to get it all done?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How could I move? I closed my eyes, breathed in the
sweet scents of forest and lake. Listened to a silence that was mine alone.
Savored the moment, willing it to last, even as it slipped away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I moved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-88105678205442708112013-10-04T18:43:00.001-04:002013-10-04T18:43:42.741-04:00More Book FestivalI mentioned in my last blog that I was going to take part in the Women's Expo in Dayton, Ohio. An energetic group of women who will put on the Dayton Book Expo in May of 2014 arranged for a booth to introduce authors and to promote the May Expo. I enjoyed meeting another group of authors, and it was fun to announce to passersby that all the authors of the books being sold were there to sign the books and talk about them! I probably won't get to the May event, because it falls between a trip to Arizona for the Tucson Book Festival and another trip to Seattle to promote my books there. <br />
<br />
This was a two day show. Since Dayton is almost seven hours from my home, that meant three nights in a motel in addition to the booth cost. No way was I going to break even financially, but I knew that going in. What did happen is that I sold 15 books -- not gangbusters but something in a new market for me. More important, I ran out of bookmarks and other cards I had taken to publicize my books. I have never encountered at any event so many people who got excited when they learned I was published on Kindle! Now, I've only seen a possible three Kindle sales as a result so far, but those bookmarks are sturdy -- they'll be around for a while.<br />
<br />
So, so far my experiment with book festivals is a qualified success. I do as well with arts and crafts fairs, but the festivals reach out to a different market, which I hope will eventually grow my fan base. Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-55731189573937664992013-09-10T11:07:00.000-04:002013-10-04T18:44:03.211-04:00Book FestivalsCan book festivals work for me?<br />
<br />
Since I don't have wide distribution, I decided this is the year for trying to sell books at book festivals. Last weekend I participated in the Kerrytown Book Festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Five Sisters-in-Crime members (four of us with books) had a booth at the festival. I didn't sell a single book. I belive the other three participants sold between one and three books each. Slightly underwhelming.<br />
<br />
The other side of book festivals, though, is getting the author's name out there. Peg Herring, another Michigan author that participated, made little scrolls with a book cover from each of us on one side and a little bit of bio and contact information on the other. They were a big hit -- all 200 she had printed were gone by the end of the day and everyone was excited to get one little scroll instead of four more bookmarks!<br />
<br />
Will it pay off? Only time will tell.<br />
<br />
Michigan is a large state with scattered writers and SinC members. A hidden benefit of this book featival was the opportunity for four Michigan Mystery Writers (our title at the festival) who all belong to SinC but don't know each other had a chance to spend a day getting acquainted. <br />
<br />
My next attempt to sell books at a festival will be at the Woman's Fair in Dayton, Ohio on the 21st and 22nd of September. I have joined a Book Expo booth at the fair, where twelve authors will be showcasing their work. It's a lot farther from home and a lot more expensive to attend, so I hope to come home with fewer books than I take with me this time!Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-60863082316964390122013-06-11T21:47:00.002-04:002013-06-11T21:47:53.087-04:00Is There Hope After All?
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After several months (years?) of increasing
pessimism about our ability to stop the destruction of our beautiful planet, in
the last few weeks I have attended three presentations that give me renewed
hope. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first was, of all things, a tour of our trash
collection facility. American Waste is a local company in Northern Lower Michigan
which has emerged as a leading edge trash and garbage treatment center. The
scope of what we can put in the recycle bin has become so much more than I had
ever dared before, and the recovery rate of that into new resource is 99%! In
addition, 33% of what we put in our trash is also recycled. From what is left, some
is compost, and the compost (not food grade) is used to put a cap on the
landfill of what remains. Since Michigan spends about $100,000 to landfill
$400,000 worth of recoverable resource (which is better than most other
states), the success our local company is garnering international interest. By
the way, I now generate about half a (recyclable) plastic grocery bag a week of
trash. It doesn’t seem to make sense to use a garbage bin for it, so I stick it
in my neighbor’s. Okay, I live in a condo community, so it’s not cheating. See </span><a href="http://www.americanwaste.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.americanwaste.org</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for more information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Then our local Cherryland Electric Cooperative
teamed with Traverse City Light and Power in a program for members of both to
rent solar panels. The panels will provide electricity to the utilities, and
the members who rent a panel for $470 will receive credits on their electric
bills for twenty years. The demand for rental of panels in our area has been
overwhelming, and the utilities expect to erect many more of them. See </span><a href="http://www.cherrylandelectric.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.cherrylandelectric.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
for more information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, a tour of a local gem of which I was previously
unaware: Archangel Ancient Tree Archives in tiny Copemish, Michigan.</span><span style="color: #292615; font-family: "Century Schoolbook","serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With most, if not all, of our planet’s species
of trees being gradually decimated by disease to which they are not resistant,
this formerly tree farming group has set out to change things. They seek, <span style="color: #292615;">collect, develop methods to propagate, and archive the
genetics of ancient champion trees that have not succumbed to the diseases that
plague our forests. These genetically strong trees may eventually reforest the
earth, with all the benefits that provides the human population. See </span></span><a href="http://www.ancienttreearchive.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">www.ancienttreearchive.org</span></a><span style="color: #292615; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> for more information.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #292615; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">These events have been so heartening, I'd love to hear if you know of others that are of potential huge benefit to our planet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #292615; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> </div>
Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-78270268432341086012013-02-12T12:46:00.000-05:002013-02-12T12:46:19.101-05:00Mountain Musings
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m in my house in Yarnell, Arizona for the first
time in three years. The house is 4,800 feet up in</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> the mountains, so I haven’t
totally escaped the cold. The first two days I could sit on the deck with a
heavy sweatshirt, hood, and lap rug for about an hour in the afternoon. I love
sitting out there in the crisp air reading a book and looking up to see the
mountain peaks around me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Then it got cold. We had snow for two days, but it
didn’t amount to much by Michigan standards. Yesterday we had the weirdest
precipitation. It seemed a little like snow and a little like hail. One lady at
the library called it Styrofoam, and the description fit. The weather lady on
TV said it was not rain or hail, it was graupel, which she described as rain
freezing onto snowflakes. Today is sunny, but hasn’t yet reached thirty
degrees. We expect it to be between fifty and sixty in the next few days. Back
to the deck for me! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I went to the Love is Murder conference in Chicago
before driving on to Yarnell with one of my sisters. Another sister stays in
the Arizona house, so we three are having a sisters’ reunion, which means lots
of scrabble and reading. In addition to doing my own writing, I have finished
two of the books I picked up at the conference: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Merry Little Murder</i> by Mary Welk and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deadly Choices</i> by Jenny Spallone. I’m about to start <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Desperate Housedogs</i> by Sparkle Abbey.
Lots of fun to read books by people I have met.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now it’s time to go to the library. We don’t have
internet at the house, so I spend a bit of time there every day. More later, I
hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-58927780878596207732013-01-03T18:45:00.001-05:002013-01-03T18:46:09.535-05:00Full Speed AheadI said in my last blog, in October, that I'd talk about my latest book in the next one. That's not going to happen, so I guess you'll have to go to my web site or to Amazon to learn about Where Did You Die?, the fourth book in the Marge Christensen Mystery Series.<br />
<br />
The reason that's not going to happen, and the reason I haven't blogged since October, is that I decided to try something different - my version of NANOWRIMO - the National Novel Writing Month - which was in November. So every moment that I could devote to writing was put into the next book, but I still didn't make my goal of 50,000 words (even though I started 9,000 words ahead). So, I continued through December. Well, you know what December is like. I made great headway, but still hadn't completed a first draft of the novel.<br />
<br />
Today, January 3, I finally finished that first draft. This is monumental. I wrote from about the fourth chapter on without once going back and editing before I could continue. This is the way I want to write, if I can keep doing it in the future.<br />
<br />
Of course, the novel, which doesn't yet have a name, is far from complete. Since I normally edit each chapter several times before going on, I have a lot of editing and rewriting to do. But that is the fun part. I already know where the novel ends up, and I can spend my time making my sentences as energetic and fun as I can, and I can figure out where to plant clues and innuendo.<br />
<br />
One reason the novel doesn't have a name is that I finally got Marge to Michigan -- but only for a visit. So....is this a continuation of the Marge Christensen Mystery Series, so far set in or around Bellevue, Washington, or is this the beginning of a new series, set in Traverse City, Michigan? Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-33733058253596279542012-10-12T17:27:00.000-04:002012-10-12T17:28:46.357-04:00First BoucherconBefore I talk about my new book, I have to talk about Bouchercon. I've been wanting to go for about twelve years, but it never worked out for me. This year it did. Then I hesitated. Bouchercon is a huge convention of mystery fans and writers. I didn't know anyone there. I'm not good in huge groups. Was this really what I wanted to do?<br />
<br />
I decided I'd never know until I tried, so I hopped in my Honda and took off for Cleveland, a 7-8 hour trip with the stops I need to make to stretch my creaky joints. Unfortunately, I couldn't get there in time for the Sisters in Crime meeting on October 3, so I didn't have a chance to make connections with people whose names I know from the e-mail listserve. Nor am I able to get up and ready for the day in time for a 7:30 in the morning Sisters in Crime breakfast. So I was totally on my own.<br />
<br />
Now there are days when I can't seem to make my thick tongue move when confronted with strangers, since I'm sure I'm not interesting enough for them to talk to me. There are other times when I perk right up and start talking, and discover they're happy to meet me and want to talk some more. Fortunately, all four days at Bouchercon were the latter. I discovered that this wasn't a huge group - this was one person or three people at a time, and I could start making the connections that will carry over to future Bouchercons so I won't be totally on my own again..<br />
<br />
Most of the panels, geared for readers who want to know more about mystery writers and how they ply their craft, were fun and interesting. I met several young librarians who were attending their first Bouchercon. Their faces were all aglow with excitement at being so close to so many well known authors, and hearing them talk about writing and about their books. The caliber of the authors on the panels even made them instructional for other writers. Several of them could make a second career of being comedians if they decide to stop writing.<br />
<br />
If I go to Bouchercon in Albany, New York, next year, I'll plunk down the cost of the extra night at the hotel so I can attend the Sisters in Crime pre-convention meeting. I'll get up for a 7:30 in the morning breakfast (maybe) even if I have to go back to my room afterwords to finish getting ready for the day. I hope I can get on a panel. If I do, I promise to convince myself it isn't a day when my tongue is thick with doubt that anyone wants to hear what I have to say!Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-67327673407659398212012-09-07T20:39:00.002-04:002012-09-07T20:41:22.262-04:00A Summer To Remember<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Okay, so I haven’t written in my blog since May. Want to
know how that happened? Are you ready for a roller coaster ride?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It has been a summer to challenge the energy level of any 70-year-old, but I have enjoyed every minute of it. Starting with a wedding in
Washington D.C. at the end of May, that I drove to. Meaning two days on the
road each way and three days in hotels there. In the middle of June I went with
my sister, her son and family, to Branson, Missouri, for a week. Of course we
drove (in one long day from my sister’s house, since we had four drivers) and
endeavored to get every last ounce of pleasure out of our week. Since I enjoy everything,
I joined whoever wanted to do whatever, except the zip line. I couldn’t quite
manage that. A few days after I got home, my niece and her family came to visit
and we did the Traverse City tourist stuff, especially what the kids wanted to
do. I rediscovered that it is more difficult to swim in moving water on Grand
Traverse Bay than in a swimming pool in Branson. We were front row center for
the fireworks on the Fourth of July – I’ve never seen better ones. My niece put
me on an airplane the next morning for another wedding, this one in Dallas for
my late husband’s nephew with most of his family in attendance. What fun to get
my first ever pedicure with all the females in the family! And a lovely time
was had by all. I flew back home and, after another week, went with friends
from my community here to a cottage owned by the son of one of them on Lake
Michigan. Four days filled with sun and beach and shopping and wine and food
and companionship! Oh, my, if you think swimming in Grand Traverse Bay is hard,
try Lake Michigan! Home for a little bit before flying off to Calgary, Canada,
for another of my husband’s nephew’s weddings, in Banff. Met some great people,
had some good food and wine, and took in the spectacular scenery with a looong
walk that almost did me in. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back to work the day after I got home, to a two day Arts and
Crafts Fair an hour and a half from home – so, of course, I drove both days. Sold
enough books to make it worth it and won a free booth for next year! What a
great topper for my summer.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, not the topper, exactly. That happened when the fourth
book in the Marge Christensen Mystery Series, <em>Where did you die?,</em> was finally
published and I got my copies later in August. My next blog will tell a little
more about that. In the meantime, I’m ready to go to bed.</span></div>
Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-72622843830651425132012-05-30T16:55:00.000-04:002012-05-30T16:55:26.449-04:00Recalculating<br />In the not so ancient days I learned to navigate for my husband quite accurately using a map. Sometimes, though, the map didn’t make things quite clear enough and we found ourselves going in the wrong direction. It was always a hassle to discover we had done that, turn around, and go back to the error point unless I could find a shortcut on the map that would correct our mistake.<br /><br />When I lost my husband, I had to learn to navigate for myself. Fortunately, about that time I discovered MapQuest. While that was a great improvement over pulling over to the side of the road to look at the map, I still had to keep close track of how many miles I had gone and how to identify the next turn. If I did make a wrong turn, it couldn’t tell me how to correct my mistake. It didn’t even tell me I had made one, and I could go quite far before realizing I was off track.<br /><br />Enter the voice of Lucy, my GPS genie. What a modern miracle! I don’t even have to think about navigation. I plug in the address where I want to go and follow Lucy’s directions. She warns me ahead of time when I need to adjust my course in order to reach my destination. If I do happen to make a wrong turn, Lucy says “Recalculating” and tells me how to get back on track.<br /><br />As I was taking a trip downstate the other day, it occurred to me that the story of my life is similar. If I follow the signs given to me, I will find my way and stay on the path of goodness. Although, I have to admit, Lucy is more of a nag than God. Even though she never gets frustrated or angry, she continues to give me new instructions from wherever I am at that moment. It can get quite irritating if I’ve decided to take a different direction. God also doesn’t seem to get angry or frustrated, but when I go off course He lets me go and waits patiently until I ask for directions. Wherever I am when I do that, He meets me there and shows me His better way. <br /><br />In either case, if I rely on Lucy or God to show me the way, I am free of hassle and worry about how to reach my destination.Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-66222517158674558012012-05-18T11:30:00.000-04:002012-05-30T16:36:31.777-04:00Another Road Trip<br /><br />The highways between Michigan and Pennsylvania are familiar to me. I lived in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, for ten years before moving to the state of Washington and returned to Pennsylvania for five years before resettling in my home state of Michigan. During those Pennsylvania years, trips to Michigan occurred at least twice a year: May for my mother’s birthday and either October for the fall colors or November for Thanksgiving. Now that my mother is gone and I live in Michigan I make the trip in reverse for my other family’s events.<br /> <br />Recently, I crossed the mountains heading east. I consciously looked around so I wouldn’t miss the multiple shades of green that covered the mountains like a tapestry. This was unlike my experience last year, driving from Michigan to Seattle, when the effort I had to make was to pay attention to the road instead of the rapidly changing scenery. On both trips, green tapestry covered many mountains. On both trips, also, I looked down into valleys of patchwork quilts, with fresh green crops, brown fields ready for planting, darker green of older crops, and occasional blues of irrigation ponds.<br /><br />Trying to pinpoint the difference, I realized that to me the Appalachian Mountains are beautiful, and sensuous, like a grand dame of the south. Is it because they are so like a genteel, refined lady that they are confident of their grandeur, with no need to flaunt it? The Rockies, on the other hand, are in your face flamboyant with Yellowstone’s geysers, the Black Hills, the Painted Canyons, and numerous other spectacular formations. Even the Cascades threaten to overcome the senses with awe, while the Appalachians allow you to savor their beauty, like sipping a glass of fine sherry.<br /><br />What do you think?Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-44798437886414127552012-04-30T14:05:00.001-04:002012-05-30T16:30:34.346-04:00The Magical Mystical TripWhen I lost my mother in May, 2011, I had already planned to fly to the west coast to promote my third book, <em>Who More Than Wished You Were Dead?,</em> in Ocean Shores and Bellevue, Washington, where it is set. Having moved to Michigan to be close when my mother needed me, I found myself now feeling rootless. I decided that what I needed was a road trip.<br />
<br />
After a book presentation that I had scheduled earlier, I had only three days before the check in date at my time share in Ocean Shores. No problem. At worst, I might lose a day or so at the time share. I started out in beautiful weather at 1:30 p.m., taking the northern route up over the Macinac Bridge and through the upper peninsula. This was only the second time I drove across the bridge and it was spectacular, which turned out to be a foretaste of the whole trip. <br />
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Not being a spring chicken, I have a bit of trouble with my knees, so I when I drive I stop every hour and a half to two hours. Sitting in a restaurant would not help my knees, so I take a fifteen to twenty minute break, snack on the food I have stashed in the car, and stretch my legs. I got in over 400 miles before calling it a day. A swim in the motel pool, a soak in the hot tub, a glass of wine, and an instant food dinner in my room while reading a book, a perfect ending for a glorious day.<br />
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Having done so well the first day, I decided to aim for 700 miles a day the next three, which would get me to Mariner Village, my time share, late on check in day or early the next morning. Seven hundred miles is not nearly as bad as it sounds when you take breaks and get fresh air so often, and when you are zipping through country that makes you look around and say "Oh, my goooodness," every time you blink. So, I did my 700 miles and stopped in Bismark, North Dakota. No rooms. No rooms in the whole town. I had stopped at a Best Western, and was told the next Best Western was 90 minutes away and probably didn't have any rooms, either. I kept driving, stopping at every small town that advertised a motel on the roadside signs. It seems all that wonderful scenery around the painted canyons and Yellowstone and the Black Hills and the rest of that glorious landscape drew a lot of people; I had plenty of company in my search. After completing a thousand miles I found a room in a small, old, downtown hotel.<br />
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A thousand miles.<br />
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Who knew that I could do that?<br />
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I am woman!<br />
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I was pumped for the rest of the trip and forgot to feel tired. My only peeve was that my car was covered with bugs and dirt, meaning I would have to hit a car wash before I ever got to the time share. Lo and behold, as I was nearing the Montana/Idaho border, the car wash hit me. Two ferocious downpours a few miles apart cleaned my car better than any car wash could do. Then it was back to perfect weather and more awsome grandeur through the Cascades. I wondered how much more I could take.<br />
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And lest you think it is only in the truly awe inspiring that I find joy, as I coming out of the mountains and approaching North Bend, Washington, I remembered there was a Corning store at the outlet mall there, and I needed to replace some lids for my Corningware that I had ruined in the microwave. Icing on the cake!<br />
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My stay at Ocean Shores and Bellevue continued to feel miraculous, but that's for another posting.<br />
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<br />Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-85847660022369502462012-04-19T10:27:00.001-04:002012-04-19T10:27:18.431-04:00Where Does the Time Go?I thought it had been a year since I had posted on my blog. Imagine my surprise when I finally took a look and discovered it's been a year and a half! Do I feel guilty? Yes. Can I make excuses? Probably. But first, I want to apologize to my few followers who have (I hope) been waiting to hear from me again.<br />
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I actually do have a few excuses. 2011 was a full year, including, on the sad side, the death of both my mother in May and my mother-in-law in August. I have found that emotional hits like that put a real damper on my ability to concentrate. <br />
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On a happier note, in addition to three weddings to cheer me up, I spent about six weeks on the west coast to introduce my third book, <em>Who More Than Wished You Were Dead?,</em> to the area where it is set. I'll save details of the trip (I drove from Michigan) for my next blog. An upside to being alone is that I have the time to attend writer's conferences, and took in the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference in Bellevue, Washington, a great place for me to do research on my newest book, <em>Where Did You Go to Die?</em> That one is now with the editor and should be out sometime this summer. I also went to Crime Bake in Boston, and was happy to spread my wings in a different direction. Then, this February I attended Love is Murder in Chicago, deciding I should probably spend my energy (and money) in my local area. <br />
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So 2011 turned out to be a year of travel. I expect to do more of that until I'm ready to settle down again, but right now I plan to get back down to writing and blogging and updating my web site and wallowing in good books. Next, I'll write a bit about my trip out west before putting the past behind and concentrating on what is going on right now.<br />
<br />Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-20848342826664428312010-08-14T09:20:00.000-04:002010-08-14T09:20:03.168-04:00Can I change one more thing?When the book is finally finished and off to the printer, two problems arise. <br />
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First, I convince myself it isn’t good enough. I don’t know if this is as much of a problem for authors who have publishers deciding when a book is ready, but as a self-published novelist, even one with a top notch editor and proofreader, people and things occur almost daily to erode my confidence. No one is shy about telling me what I should have, could have, and, if I had, would have done. So I bite my nails (well, I don’t do that actually, but you know what I mean) and wait for the sigh of disappointment from my fans. Will this be the book that disappoints them?<br />
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The second problem is that for the last year or so my subconscious has been kicking up these ideas, sometimes in the middle of the night, for improving the plot, or characters, or tension, or flow, or whatever. They don’t stop when the book is finished. So now, when I get a good idea, it pains me that it’s too late to incorporate it in the book. The only cure for this problem is to start the next book and plug away until my subconscious is diverted from the one I already put to bed.<br />
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So, <em>Who more than Wished You Were Dead? </em>is a done deal. On with <em>Where Did You Meet Your Killer?</em>Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-82850181513072173542010-06-01T12:22:00.000-04:002010-06-01T12:22:45.501-04:00Living and LearningTraverse City, Michigan, is fortunate to be the home of Northwestern Michigan College (NMC). NMC hosts something called Life Academy providing education for members of the community not seeking degrees. Twice a year it holds a “Campus Day” with three sessions of classes for the senior community. <br />
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Now, I grew up in the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, within 25 miles of Traverse City. After getting an Associate’s Degree from NMC, I left in 1961, at age nineteen, never expecting to return. Return I did, at age 63, in 2004 after losing my husband, because my mother was still here and needed someone to look after her. I soon decided that I needed to start a new series of mystery books where I now lived.<br />
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Always interested in widening my scope of knowledge, I have attended Life Academy classes and Campus Day regularly. This year, however, I decided to do something different for Campus Day. Instead of following my normal interests, I would take whatever sessions would increase my knowledge about this beautiful area, giving me fabric for my new series of books.<br />
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All I can say is WOW. The first session was “The North Country Trail – Your Adventure Starts Here”. The North Country Trail runs from New York to North Dakota, cutting right through my section of Michigan. Trail heads and accesses along the route allow for hikes of varying distances and varying degrees of difficulty. Now, I am way out of shape for hiking, but this is going to make me get back into it. Who knew that one of the few stands of old growth timber was located right here in Michigan, protected by its marshy location from both clear cutters and forest fires? This summer I am determined to see it for myself. <br />
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The second session was “Watershed Wisdom.” In addition to Schoolship educational endeavors, which include teaching excursions for fifth and sixth graders, high school students, and adults on the Grand Traverse Bay, we discussed invasive species like Groupies, Zebra Mussels, and Asian Carp in the Great Lakes and what we could do to protect our water from pollution. Oh, my, can I see heightened emotions around these issues in such an environmentally aware city leading to violence!<br />
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The third session, “Community Development in TC – What Does it Mean?” embarked on a subject many aspects of which are already causing angst and anger in our community. All the research in the world would not have given me the insights into the why and how of what the city is trying to do as this one class.<br />
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The lesson I learned is that to step outside my normal interest areas creates a life enriching environment in which to broaden my knowledge and excite brand new interest areas, whether I use the new knowledge in a book or not. I can hardly wait for the next Campus Day.Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-86605899867230526032010-05-24T15:09:00.000-04:002010-05-24T15:09:01.175-04:00Where Did Marge Christensen's Talent Come From?Marge Christensen is a water color pencil artist. Why? I know next to nothing about water color pencil art. <br />
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When I first started the Marge Christensen Mystery Series, I was looking for something a little bit different. Cats and crafts and catering were well represented in the cozy mystery genre, and anyway, I wasn’t proficient enough in any of them to make it the “hook” for my series. As it turned out, having Marge be an artist was just right for the way the series developed. I have a feeling it was one of those areas where the characters told me what was true for them rather than the other way around.<br />
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In What Did You Do Before Dying?, Marge’s art started as a symbol of what she had given up when she married and had children. After the death of her husband, she began to reclaim her talent and to hope it might be a way to a new beginning. In the end, it was a unique aspect of her talent that helped bring some bad guys to justice. In Why Did You Die In the Park?, that talent led her to questions that would never otherwise have arisen. And by the time Who More Than Wanted You Dead? came about, she was beginning to depend on it to help discover who did the deed. Because, even if she couldn’t otherwise recall something she had seen, her fingers never forgot.<br />
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I only knew about water color pencil art as a serious art form because a sister-in-law, Phyllis, who unfortunately died young as a result of an auto accident, practiced it. She painted a picture as an anniversary gift for my husband and me which made me a believer in the medium at first glance. When I adopted that as Marge’s chosen art form (or she chose it for me) I figured it would be a sideline to the plot, a way to honor Phyllis. I wouldn’t have to know anything more about the art. When it became a central element in the series, I knew I was doomed to educate myself.<br />
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I purchased a kit for learning water color pencil art. Fine, as long as I was using its templates and following its instructions to the letter. Otherwise, my attempts looked more like something a first grader might do. Then I discovered some artists combined water color pencils with water color paints. That helped, but it wouldn’t make an artist out of me. I took a drawing class (all the painting classes were at bad times for me) from my local community college. The instructor convinced me that my college art teacher who, many years ago, had left me with the impression I couldn’t draw was all wet. But it didn’t make an artist out of me.<br />
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So I struggle along, trusting that Marge or Phyllis or whoever put this idea in my head will lead me when I have to deal with it. At a recent book presentation, someone asked if a person’s fingers could really draw something the person couldn’t otherwise remember. I had to tell the truth. I have no idea. But it seems to work for Marge.Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418404975461783325.post-22962183119676354672010-05-17T18:25:00.000-04:002010-05-17T18:25:41.805-04:00My Writing StyleI don’t outline. I try to outline, but it doesn’t seem to work. If I struggle to put together some kind of framework for the book, because that is what you’re supposed to do, it is either destroyed before I finish the first chapter or I am bogged down in fitting the action into the outline and the story doesn’t flow. <br />
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Sometimes I wonder if I write the first draft of the books at all or if someone else is channeling through me. The characters often go where they want to go, do what they want to do, and have conversations that seem to come out my fingertips without going through my brain. When they decide to take a break, I might as well put the book aside for a while. It’s time to blog or promote or do the dishes or something until they come back.<br />
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Some planning has to be done, however. For instance, it took so long to write the first two books in the Marge Christensen series that I need to fast forward in time between each subsequent one or continually write about the past. That involves knowing what has happened to the characters since the last book before starting the next one, while not skimming over anything the reader will want to be in on. And I normally have to decide who is going to get killed, and usually where, and sometimes how, though I often don’t know any of that or, especially, who did the deed until I’m well into the book. <br />
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The first draft of my books are always at least ten thousand words shorter than the shortest books in the mystery genre are supposed to be. That’s because my characters don’t always look around them. They miss clues, which I have to spell out for them. They don’t observe their surroundings, so I, not a visual person myself, have to try to make them clear for the reader. It’s up to me to polish words and sentences, make sure the plot hangs together, and to plug any loopholes. I usually go through three or four drafts before I feel the book works. But it is still too short.<br />
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After all of that, I do some word searches. Do you know how many times a person can use the word “then” or “and then” in telling a story? Too many! I find every one of them. Getting rid of them always leads to more active, vibrant language, which means telling what happened in the “then” space always adds good words to the book. Not like the word “just”, which mostly just (oops) gets deleted.<br />
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I’ve learned not to worry if the book is still somewhat short before going to the editor. Editors, because they come from a different perspective, have this way of spotting what you have missed. That’s why I have my books edited by two different people. Two different perspectives. The third book in the Marge Christensen series reached the desired length when I revised it after the first editing. That’s good, because one never knows if the second editor will want to take some stuff out!<br />
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I’m now trying to get a start on my fourth book in the Marge Christensen Mystery Series. I’m only doing this, you understand, because Marge let me know there was still more going on in her life. Because at the same time I’m trying to start a new series set in Michigan, where I now live. I might have given up on this idea, since Marge is so insistent that I pay attention to her, except that the characters have already taken over. They have let me know they have a story to tell, and I just (oops) have to get started and let them tell it.Pat Battahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14849549642679778901noreply@blogger.com0