Mini Mind Splat #2: Snow

MINI MIND SPLAT WARNING: Nothing I comment on is meant to offend. It's simply my opinion and how I feel about certain things (mostly inconsequential things). I'd love to see thoughts from others in the comments. Just remember, have fun with it. This isn't meant to be super serious.

Snow! Who likes it? Who hates it?

I'm kind of in between, but mostly leaning toward the hate it camp.

We're just finishing up a snowstorm here, and I'm quite thankful I don't have to go out in the mess until tomorrow. And I don't have to go out in it because the kids have a snow day, so I don't have to get Preschooler to and from school. This, of course, is a double-edged sword. Both kids are home to drive me crazy and make it impossible to get any work done.

Preschooler did an awesome job thwarting my plans by goofing around while she was putting her milk in the fridge. Spilled... milk everywhere! In the fridge, outside the fridge, under the fridge, and all over her. Ugh.

Wait, this post isn't about kid roadblocks. It's about snow!

It's kind of interesting, the development of liking or disliking snow. As a kid, I loved it. Making forts in the snow was awesome (forts were more fun than snowmen). It's like the cold and wet didn't phase me in the least.

Then as I grew older, I liked it less and less. I don't want it near me! It's cold and wet and inconvenient. Hell, I'd move down south if I could, but I'm pretty much stuck where the winters are long and cold unless we have a sudden, unexpected windfall (yeah, right).

Unfortunately, my Grade Schooler (almost Middle Schooler!) is already at the point where she's not a fan of the snow. She hates dragging her snow pants to school and dealing with boots. Do kids grow up faster these days or what? Or maybe my perception is just skewed and I don't remember when I actually transitioned from loving to disliking snow. With my memory, it's highly likely.

At least when I send Grade Schooler outside with her younger sister to play in the snow, she does seem to end up having a good time (even though I get grumbles before she gets outside -- heh).

Now, I don't completely hate the snow. I just hate going out in it. You know how many people don't shovel their sidewalks making it super difficult to walk? A lot.

But I'm happy to enjoy its beauty when I'm nice and toasty inside. Especially watching the snow fall at night, it's kind of hypnotizing. And the blanket of unmarred white (before people tromp through it) is definitely pretty. Again, as long as I can enjoy it all from a cozy house, I don't care. I'm also super happy (and super lucky) that Hubbie is the one who snow-blows and shovels.

So, how do you feel about snow? And if you haven't experienced much (or any) snow, what are your thoughts on it? It's hard for me to imagine a winter without snow, so I'm fascinated how those who don't get snow often or at all perceive it.

Hell On Wheels Excerpt

Hell On Wheels, the second title in the Devil Made Me series, is already up on Amazon for pre-order! And I'm guessing some of you might like a taste of what you'll find. Without fail, I have an excerpt below.

I would like to mention my plans for this title quickly, if you'll bear with me (or you can just skip my blather and read the excerpt). As I said above, it's on Amazon right now. If you pre-order, you can nab it for only $0.99. Release day is September 26, 2017, at which time the price will go up to $2.99. It will be available only on Amazon, including in Kindle Unlimited, for three months! On January 2, 2018, Hell On Wheels will be available from the other major online retailers, after a short pre-order period.

The first title in the series, Hell Hath No Fury, will also drop down to $0.99 for a short time starting some time next week! This special price will be available at all the major online retailers. You can find the links on my Devil Made Me series page. If you haven't read it yet, the beginning of October will be the best time to get it at the lower price.

Also keep in mind, you shouldn't be lost in Hell On Wheels if you haven't read the first title. Though I'm sure if you read the second, you'll want to go back and read the first. Moira is a hoot!

OK, OK, here it is, the excerpt from Hell On Wheels...

❦

A man in an impeccable gray suit perched on the edge of my desk, legs crossed and a car-salesman smile plastered to his face.

This was my office, damn it. No one allowed unless I said so. "Who the hell are you?"

He chuckled, a controlled and forced sound. "Nice one. I'm Richard, but you can call me Dick." When he extended his hand, it looked too perfect, too practiced.

Dick, huh? This would be fun. I crossed my arms instead of shaking. "We just met -- you should keep the juicy information about your disposition for later."

He dropped his hand. "I assure you, my name is telling, but not in the way you're thinking." The corner of his mouth twitched.

Crap. Someone ready to sling shit back at me. "Well, Dick, I think you took a wrong turn. This is my office."

"No wrong turn, Moira. I'm exactly where I intend to be."

He knew my name, but I'd never seen him before. True, there were many residents even on the second floor, but someone who exuded this much charisma and sleaziness wouldn't have stayed hidden. "When did you arrive here?"

"Oh, I'm not from this floor." The extended word "this" slid over me like an oil slick.

It reminded me of Douglas -- a resident who'd been mistakenly sent to the second floor and had almost killed me... again. Well, maybe his intent hadn't been to kill me, but he sure hadn't wanted to snuggle. Pandora had sent Douglas to his proper floor before Jared or I could rip his creepy throat out. A man I intended to keep in my rear-view for the rest of my unlife.

"You're not from the seventh floor, are you?" I now knew that was where people like murderers and rapists went. That had been my topic of study yesterday. Well, I think it was yesterday...

Dick laughed again, so close to someone saying "ha ha ha." "No, no, of course not. Would you believe the fourth?"

Greed. Seemed to fit. "You weren't by chance a car salesman before you died, were you?"

That fake smile fell off his face for a moment, and then he rallied, grinning bigger than he had before. "Smart."

Smartass -- he'd learn that if he stuck around.

Wait. How'd he get here, anyway? There was supposed to be no floor-to-floor travel. Unless Pandora had deposited him here. Or there was a way that she had yet to tell me.

Sneaky bitch. Jared was right -- Pandora hid things. But I wasn't about to admit it to him, at least not until I uncovered the secrets and confronted the lying wench. If I told him, he'd try to be all chivalrous again, like with Douglas.

I could take care of myself.

First step, don't react to Dick's floor-hopping. He couldn't know Pandora had remained mum on the topic with me. "What brings you from the fourth to the second?"

If possible, his smile grew bigger. How'd he talk like that? "You have something I want."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"Your job."

I giggled, holding back the gut-buster I yearned to unleash. "You want to be a Welcomer? Be my guest." I tossed the sequined horns at him, and he caught them cleanly without looking down.

"Not that job." He quickly tilted his head then righted it.

Nervous tick or display of superiority? I reconsidered the whole fourth-floor declaration. Like Douglas's original assignment to this floor, it didn't seem right. Sure, people were greedy for power. But the desire to become the devil was on a whole 'nother level.

Not to mention, unless Pandora had told him of my impending promotion, he shouldn't have known. The other residents of this floor had poked around my office and asked questions, but I'd brushed them off with that whole wish thing. Told them it made me feel more normal to putter around an office.

"Get the hell out."

Dick stood and smoothed his suit, even though there weren't any wrinkles in it. He straightened his tie, which shifted from a classic black-striped number to tiny flames on a dark gray backdrop, and placed the horns on my desk. "I look forward to the challenge, Moira." Then he strode out as if he already had the position in the bag.

❦

Boyfriend hate your job? Well, he can go to Hell.

Yup, Moira's still dead. And her ex from life, not so much an ex anymore, isn't happy that Moira agreed to take the devil's place once she retires. Makes it kind of hard to while away their unlives on the second floor of Hell.

But Moira's not willing to back out of the deal, stubborn as, well, hell. Even when a sleazy three-piece, supposedly from the fourth floor, demands the job for himself, she refuses to withdraw.

Once Moira uncovers some of Hell's secrets, though, she starts to question her commitment.

Kitten Intermission

Remember this post: Kitten, Kitten, Kitten? Well, I figured we're about due for more kitten pictures. Though, nowadays, you'd think they were full grown cats! Our little stinkers are going to be huge!

The kitty pile picture above is from January, almost 2 months ago. So, they're about 6 months old. Big, no? And now they're even bigger at 8 months old! I mean, what happened to our cute little runts that could barely jump onto the bed? I think I fed them too much.

We have learned that Nightshade is the naughtiest of the bunch. He is still dubbed Shade and Boo Kitty, but he's also added Billy Goat Cat to his aliases. he jumps up on everything. Nope, not an understatement. This is the kitten who decides being on top of the cabinets is a great place to be. Counter to fridge top to corner shelf to cabinet top. Little snot. And of course he goes after anything that looks dangly or small and plastic. The worst thing, though? He is not graceful. So when he jumps on top of stuff, things get knocked over. I was tempted to buy him a bell so we know when he's being naughty, but honestly, he's an oaf -- we already hear when he's being naughty. My eldest daughter is his favorite human. He loves licking her chin as if he was a dog (clearly he never got the memo that he's a cat, not a billy goat or dog).

Rikku is my chest cat. Yes, chest cat -- a lap isn't good enough for her. She's my buddy. Now I know why I was drawn to her when I first saw her. I also call her Fluffers and Alto Kitty. She has the lowest meow I've ever heard from a cat! She is also Rikkuku Cuckoo Cat when she gets in her squirrely, crazy moods. Annoyingly, she still suckles, and wakes me up at night when she's doing it! She also thinks it's great fun to lay on top of the toddler when she's sleeping. As if we don't have enough problems keeping the toddler asleep. Right now, she's the smallest of the three. I hope she stays smaller. I want one small kitty, like my Roland used to be. I love my little blonde tabby, but I think it will get rather cumbersome if a fifteen pound tabby tries to curl up on my chest.

And finally Sylph. Remember this little runt? A runt no more! She is already becoming the resident fat cat. She has a huge belly on her. I also call her Sylphster and Fiddledeedee. Mostly she's the Tortie, sometimes Tubbie Tortie. She loves stealing my spot in bed, and she is a scavenger. If you are preparing any type of food in the kitchen, she is under your feet waiting for you to drop something, anything. Also, if you don't feed her ASAP, she will start chewing on the strangest things. Like the metal stove, the corner of a wood stair, plastic. We've been trying to find the right food for them and when they were only on canned food throughout the day, she was all about chewing on stuff she shouldn't!

All in all, even though they can be naughty rascals, they're all still sweet kitties. And I think we finally got that stinky poop issue under control. Well, it's still stinky, but it doesn't make you want to run out of the house anymore at least. I hope you enjoy all of the pictures!

Hell Hath No Fury Snippet

Hell Hath No Fury releases in two days! It's currently available for pre-order from Amazon, if you happen to like what you read below and need to make sure it's there for you to read ASAP on Saturday! ;) It will be available through Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners' Lending Library as well.

This one is a novelette, so a little longer than most of the short stories I've been publishing. It has humor, snark, and romance. What are you waiting for? Just read the snippet already and see what you think!

❦

Now Jared stared at me.

"What?" I asked. "Do I have a third eye on my forehead or a zit the size of a tomato on my nose?"

He shook his head.

Then the knowing feeling settled in my chest. He had prodded me in here. Jared might be dead, but there had been only one thing he wanted whenever he tried to get me alone.

"Don't even think about it," I said.

He stepped up to me. "You think that's what I want? Please. If dying the way I did wasn't enough, being dead does nothing for one's libido. I just wanted to get you out of there. It's good to see you, Moira." He touched my cheek.

A thrill shot through me at the feel of his skin on mine -- so warm. It felt alive. A knot tightened in my belly.

I didn't want this. I hadn't even felt this kind of passion well up for him when we were dating. Yes, the sex had been great, but this was a yearning that was hard to ignore.

I swallowed. "What do you mean?"

"That it's good to see a familiar face."

"No, no. About death and--"

He laughed, pulling back. The desire dropped without him so close.

"Oh, that. We're dead, Moira. We don't have needs like we did when we were alive. Are you hungry?"

I had to concentrate before I answered. No biting in my stomach, although I had been starving before the collision. "No."

"Thirsty?"

"No."

"Do you have to pee?"

That I'd think would be a yes. I mean, I was in a bathroom. It was stupid to have a bathroom if no one needed it, but I didn't feel any urge along that line. I shook my head.

He slipped up to me again, this time wrapping his arm around my waist. "Horny?"

His body pressed against mine flooded my lower regions with heat. From the questions he had already asked, I assumed the answer to the latest was supposed to be no also. My body spoke to the contrary, tingling at the feel of his fingers digging into my hip.

❦

Stuck in Hell with an ex-boyfriend. What's a girl to do?

Moira died. Of course, she never expected to appear in Hell once she did. But Hell isn't the fire and brimstone place so many people fear. More like a cross between an office building and a dormitory. And the devil, a sexy, disembodied voice in an endless expanse of darkness, sticks Moira with the job of Welcomer for the second floor of Hell. A job which comes with a skimpy little demon costume.

If that isn't enough to drive a strong-willed woman into fits, Moira finds out she's on the same floor with Jared, an ex she'd rather forget exists, only now she feels a strange attraction whenever he's around. Fun times.

To make matters worse, one of the new arrivals, Douglas, is a creepy old guy who stalks her and clearly doesn't belong. After a stomach churning confrontation with him, she decides she doesn't want to find out if she can die a second time. So Moira's got to find a way to shake Douglas, all while trying to come to terms with her conflicting feelings for Jared.

Who knew death would be as complicated as life?

Love Fades Snippet

It's another release day! Today Love Fades, the second story in the Fortunes of Fate series is available on Amazon. For those of you who like romance in your fantasy, this is definitely the story for you. Again, you can get it via Kindle Unlimited or the Kindle Owners' Lending Library as well.

I'm sure you'd love to get a taste of the story, though. Right? Well, here it is. Happy reading!

❦

Caradeci stared at her hand – it was happening again. The flesh and bone faded, her fingers paling to dim outlines. She raised her hand, now translucent; the water of the pond she knelt next to shimmered through it in the sunlight.

Relief flooded Cara when her hand returned to normal, but her hope was brief since it flickered back to transparency. This cycle Cara was trapped in sent shudders to her soul.

The breeze tousled her hair, but she felt nothing on her faded hand – no wind, no warmth – like a black hole sucking at her being. It left her stranded and alone. If this was what death felt like, she wanted none of it.

Cara's hand flashed in and out, the rhythm akin to a stoplight in the wee hours of the morning. Fear snagged in her throat. Only one reason why this could be happening – she didn't belong here, shouldn't be here. Ten years ago she had tripped over a stump, landed in a pond, and somehow slipped from her world of purple hues into this Earth of green. Instead of hitting bottom, she'd emerged here – an accident, some dimensional goof, but one that meant she could no longer find her way home to Fate.

Caradeci didn't want to go home.

❦

Loves Fades

A woman who's fading away.

Years ago, a portal in the world of Fate sucked Caradeci up and deposited her on Earth. She struggled to fit in and adjust to the differences. And then she met Alex. She fell in love, confessing her true origins, and he believed her.

Now her body flickers in and out of existence, threatening to pull her away from the life she's made. She fears Fate beckons to her, that she must return home to save herself, leaving her love behind.

Alex, refusing to lose her, drags her to a fortune teller. Their only hope is that this strange woman can tell them what to do before Caradeci vanishes from existence.

Fortunes of Fate Series

For every card, there's a story.

The three cat sisters, Joslyn, Mia, and Amber, are world-hoppers. They're in search of a world to call home, and they finally find it in Fate.

However, they've grown fond of Earth as well, and they stick their noses into the lives of people from both worlds. From Fools to Magicians, the three cats are witnesses to the stories that unravel.

Magic Is Reality, Reality Is Magic: Midsummer

Magic is Reality, Reality is Magic is a series that highlights aspects of religions, particularly Paganism. We pull things from everyday life to use in our fiction. Magic is one of the key attributes of fantasy. Why not explore the realm of magic that many people already have in their lives?

Picture By Douglas P. Perkins Midsummer, also called Litha or the Summer Solstice, is another one of those sabbats that can land on a different date each year. This is because it's the longest day and shortest night of the year, and this year it lands on June 21 (same day as Father's Day - wow, busy day this year!). Once Midsummer passes, days will start to get shorter and nights longer again. It's hard to think of that because at this point in the year most of us want the days to last longer--especially those of us who live through far too many months of winter each year.

Clearly, with Midsummer being the longest day of the year, the sun is at its height of power. It's a time to continue the celebrations started at Beltane. And it's a time for love. It's interesting how many weddings take place during June. Could this possibly be something that we brought along with us from the past without realizing it? Aside from love, though, celebrating the coming of new life is important as well.

And what would a holiday be without its symbols? Again, there's a balefire at Midsummer, along with amulets like the God's Eye, which represents the sun. Fire is powerful during many sabbats, but it's strongest during Midsummer--the sun rules. Those weddings I mentioned? Flowers, tossing rice, and even cutting a wedding cake have origins in Pagan fertility magic. The ring represents a magic circle. Those are only a handful of wedding items that originate from Paganism.

There's a lot of things going on during Midsummer, so I highly recommend you read further about it if you're interested. Here's a few websites: Litha, All About Litha, and Midsummer/Summer Solstice.

Further Reading Suggestions:

Franklin, Anna. Midsummer. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 2002.

I hope you found this tidbit interesting! If you would like me to touch on a particular topic that fits in this series, please don't hesitate to contact me with suggestions.

NEXT UP: Guest post from Jennifer Loring