Karen, Author at Pen Projects

June 17, 2020

Masks and Gloves and Six Feet Apart

Wow! It’s been a crazy first quarter. In January I was planning for my yearly 10K race in New Orleans (the Crescent City Classic). I’ve been there over the past 10 years and often a friend or family member joined me. There were a few times that I ran the race solo but I always enjoyed it because my family lives there. I remember when I first started I would stay with my Mom. She’d drive me to the Algiers Ferry and I’d float over with a ton of other people. I’d take one of the designated buses back to the ferry and give Momma a call to pick me up. Good times.

Momma eventually had to stop driving, at least while I was paying attention. I got rides with other people that were either going or volunteered to drop me off. It quickly became a tradition where my three siblings, their families, Momma and me would be together.

Momma passed away two years ago on March 23^rd and my brother arranged for the memorial to happen on the evening of the race. I ran in that race, too, and I think it was the hardest one to get through. I had just retired and drove to New Orleans.

Last year I stayed with my younger sister in Gretna, drove again because it’s just easier. One friend joined me; it would be her third time running the race. It was fun and it was good to be with my siblings and their families.

I signed up for the 2020 race after I finished the 2019 because I was aiming, now, for 20 consecutive years. As it got closer to the race I recruited a retired friend to join me and then learned that my daughter and her husband would also come. I was beyond excited about the trip.

When the virus was mostly in other countries I began to worry about my daughter flying; airplanes can be germy. In early March, things were getting worse so my husband and I stopped going to the gym and only went to the store early, when they first opened. He’s 78 and I have asthma. Every day things changed. The race was cancelled; but they are offering a Virtual Race. My friend decided not to go. My daughter also backed out and is trying to get a flight credit or refund.

New Orleans is being slammed with the virus; I fear for my family. They are, so far, safe.

I plan to run the Virtual Crescent City Classic on the scheduled date. They’ll send my t-shirt and medal in the mail. I’ll sign up for 2021. I can’t help but wonder about how things will be this time next year.

Note: I forgot to publish this post in late March. Too much time on my hands, I guess. ?

May 2, 2020

Substitution Order by Martin Clark

My Review

Kevin Moore was once a highly regarded Virginia attorney. He was happily married to his best friend. He had everything he dreamed of. Then he got stupid. He allowed Cocaine into his life. Now, paroled, disbarred and separated from his wife, he manages a Subway knockoff sandwich shop called Substitution. The shop is in a small Virginia town where most folks don’t know him or his history. The owner of the shop, a previous client, has the staff turn the ovens on twice daily (with cooked rolls inside) to emit the smell of freshly baked bread. From respectable attorney to a paroled sandwich artist, Kevin believes he has hit rock bottom.

That is until an odd looking stranger walks into the sandwich shop with a proposal for Kevin. His name is Caleb Opportunity (right) and he is there to offer Kevin a percentage of an insurance scam. Mr. Opportunity claims that it’s an easy $5 million as long as Kevin doesn’t mind a malpractice suit regarding a former client. Insurance will pay off the lawsuit and everyone is a winner. But Kevin wants his career back and is willing to work hard and stay clean. He refuses the deal.

From that point on Kevin’s world goes into a tailspin. He’s forced to go into the city to a different Parole Officer for a drug test. No one seems to know why. This PO finds Crack and a gun in Kevin’s car and drugs in his urine. Kevin is charged with violating parole, among other things. The charges are bogus so Kevin reaches out for help but none of his old friends believe his story. He knows that Caleb Opportunity is at the root of this but he can’t prove it. Caleb, turns out, was wearing a disguise. The video recording system at the sandwich shop mysteriously went down during Caleb’s visit so there is no evidence that the conversation ever happened. His coworker, a technological genius, saw the man but didn’t hear the conversation. When Kevin thinks it can’t get any worse, he has a stroke.

During his recovery, Kevin does the only thing he can. He plots and plans a way out of this mess that will also stick it to Mr. Opportunity and his shifty backers. The plan is brilliant and even though the reader knows there will be revenge; it’s doesn’t come together until the end.

The story is fast paced, humorous and perfectly believable. The prose is a narrative from the main character and well written.

Martin Clark is a retired Virginia Circuit court judge and knows how to weave a great legal thriller. I look forward to reading his next novel.

January 25, 2020January 28, 2020

New Year, New Goals

The holidays passed like greased lightening. I was transformed into a Master Chef with an opportunity to use all my pent up cooking curiosities. The results were mostly positive but more than anything, it was fun. Cooking with children and grandchildren is a joy I can never get enough of.

In the bread baking department I have conquered my fears and produced perfect loaves, rounds and pull-apart buns. It helps to have a good sourdough starter. I have aptly named mine “The Rock Star”.

My Thanksgiving meal was mostly homemade (I bought a can of french fried onions). For the turkey, I used a garlicky, lemon, butter rub and pushed it under the breast skin and on the outside of the other parts. The result was juicy meat and a fabulous gravy (courtesy of my son, the pro chef). We had 2 whole days of chattering young adults and happy children running about. It was wonderful.

My preps for Christmas usually start after the Thanksgiving rush is over. I stay away from the malls and instead “create” gifts for my family. There have been breads, cookies, cookbooks, calendars, travel picture books and so on. This year I made baby barn quilts choosing designs that I thought would fit each person. Along with the quilt was a report of the history of barn quilts.

Our Christmas week was spent in the mountains of North Carolina with our California grandkids and their mother. We had a pizza assembly line one night, which was fun and yummy. Baked Ziti, Chicken and rice stew, chili, roasted veggies with pasta, extreme nachos and a spinach frittata – all were gobbled up. And I was, once more, in chef’s heaven. We also had a barn quilt factory going, one for each guest.

Now we’re home and the dust has settled. It’s time to get back to my 2020 resolution of getting something published. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year!

December 4, 2019

My Obsessions

Before I retired I had visions of myself sitting at my desk writing the next great novel. I do a lot of sitting at my desk but mostly researching things other than writing. Okay, I do some of that, too. Last Spring my obsession was Barn Quilts. In case you don’t know what that is and to save you from Googling it: A barn quilt is a large, hand painted wooden block displayed on the side of a barn; the painting usually depicts a quilt pattern. Standard size is 8 x 8 but mine are 1 x 1 so they can be displayed on a wooden fence, shed or indoors.

First I wanted to know how people came up with the patterns; I studied that. Then I created my own pattern. The process was fun and engaged my long, lost math skills. Since I loved it so much I decided that I should buy small cans of outdoor paint in the primary colors – red, blue, yellow, white and black. That cost a pretty penny but I could mix my own shades. And mixing colors is fun!

Painting them was the easiest part but time consuming because first the block needed 3 coats of white primer. Then the colors needed at least 3 coats as well. So, generally, while waiting for colors to dry I was prepping the next one with primer and drawing the pattern. This kept me very busy until travel season came. I put it away.

While visiting family and friends in California my second obsession was seeded into my brain but I had to wait until I got home. Sourdough Bread! Oh, how I fretted over that starter. As soon as I created it the weather changed from hot to very cold. One week passed then two. On the third week after daily feedings and tons of research my starter responded. Now it is a rock star, reacting to feedings within an hour or two. My third loaf was pretty good and we brought it over to some friends for a dinner they were preparing. It was a hit.

My sixth loaf is the best, to date. I’m still tweaking the crust; I want it to be a little softer. All my sourdough bread research boiled down to one thing – pay attention to the texture and pliability of the dough. I also needed to watch it while it cooks to get the right crust. I made some delicious pull-apart buns for Thanksgiving using my sourdough starter instead of yeast. Last night we had sourdough pizza that was very good. No more buying Publix pizza dough or their sourdough loaves; I’ve got that covered.

I need to get back to writing; I have several unfinished short stories. But first I think I’ll research homemade Calzone!

November 12, 2019

The Things You Find in Rockpools by Gregg Dunnett

My Review

Billy is an 11-year-old whiz kid, who doesn’t have much time for other people. He lives alone with his Dad who is an avid surfer and also the caretaker of vacation cottages on Lornea. Lornea is an island off the coast of Massachusetts. Billy plans to become an oceanographer and is already working on a project regarding the fiddler crabs in the rockpools near his home. The island is all abuzz regarding the 16-year-old daughter of a vacationing family who disappeared during the summer. Winter is approaching and there have been no clues or leads.

Emily, the local café waitress suggests that Billy could do a better job of finding out what happened to the girl than the local police. That was all Billy needed to inspire him and to turn his and his Dad’s life upside down.

This novel was offered as an Amazon Kindle deal and the synopsis interested me so I took a chance. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story starts out with a good grab for the reader then it calms a little for a short time. Gradually the suspense grows until it is difficult to put down.

Kudos to Gregg Dunnett, an independent author.

September 16, 2019September 18, 2019

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

My Review

Hig is a pilot who lives in a small Colorado airport hanger. He has a dog, Jasper, and a neighbor, Bangley. Jasper is old and Bangley is a heavily armed cynic. The three are the only living beings in a radius of about 10 miles. This is due to a flu epidemic followed by a blood disease. The few people that do approach the well-guarded hanger are shot to be safe because most of the humans that Hig and Bangley have encountered were not very nice. The two men depend on each other for survival even though they have very different world views. The world is changed, though, now that most people are dead.

Hig is the narrator of the story and he spends much of his time talking about the past. He is lonely and doesn’t really know how to feel about Bangley, who has saved his life many times. There is a compound of Mennonites who suffer from the blood disease about 10 miles from the hanger. Hig flies patrols to watch for any trouble over a 30 mile radius. It is on these runs that he occasionally visits the compound to bring supplies. Bangley doesn’t trust the Mennonites.

On one of Higs’ runs he received a radio transmission that inspired hope. Three years later he is motivated to investigate even if it means he won’t make it back to the hanger.

One of the things that I like about this book is that the writing is concise; there are no wasted words. That makes it move quickly. I also enjoy the viewpoint of Hig; he is more of a soft touch than Bangley.

An excerpt:

“Bangley a long time ago gave me a bulletproof, one of the vests in his arsenal. He has all kinds of shit. He said it’ll stop any handgun, an arrow, but with a rifle it depends, I better be lucky. I thought about that . We’re supposed to be the only two living souls but the families in at least hundreds of square miles, the only survivors, I better be lucky.”

But the pair are good for each other’s survival. And Hig, later, learns the value of their friendship.

The author, Peter Heller, has a long resume of adventure travel stories and contributions to Outdoor Magazine. He has written a handful of books. Constantin Films (of Resident Evil fame) has acquired the film rights. You can find a YouTube trailer here. Don’t get too excited about the all-star cast; it was using film clips from several other movies. So far, there is no info yet regarding the movie.

September 5, 2019November 12, 2019

Michigan’s Mackinac Island

To begin with, it’s pronounced “Mackinaw” for a reason that even the locals didn’t seem to know. It is just across Lake Huron from Mackinaw City (yes, same pronunciation; different spelling).

There are several restaurants and ice cream parlors. It was a great way to spend the day with some friends from our old Florida neighborhood.

August 25, 2019August 27, 2019

YouTube Learning

Just discovered Diane Callahan’s series of fiction writing videos. Just watched the “How to Write a Good First Line”. I found it inspiring and went on to watch “All About Writing in First Person”. Another good one for me since my novel is written in first person and it’s a bit tricky.

I plan to watch all of her videos and highly recommend them to my writer friends.

August 24, 2019November 12, 2019

On the Road with Marty and Charlie

We left Tallahassee on a Sunday after much packing and planning. We both probably packed too much yet I am still missing “things”. How is it that we can live with so much and with so little and not really notice the difference. Pondering.

We have worked our way up to Michigan, stopping for a night in Acworth, GA. We use an app called AllStays, which helps us locate campgrounds. Our preference are the Army Corps of Engineer campgrounds because they are generally on the water and we get 50% off with our Senior Pass. Unfortunately, those campgrounds are generally around dams and not all states have those.

Our second stop was just north of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky; another ACE campground called Dog Creek. It was a nice spot but there was no connectivity. We kept ourselves busy visiting Mammoth Cave.

Our third stop as we make our way up to Michigan was Pokagon State Park in Indiana. Did a little bit of hiking and spent one night. Now we are in Higgins Lake State Park. We had to change sites once since weekends are busy and our first site had been reserved. Another reservation had been cancelled and we got that one. More on why WE don’t reserve sites ahead of time in a later blog.

This campground is located on the grounds where a huge CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) project had been in the early 1900s. Now there is a Museum and Nursery that memorialize the project. The point was to reforest Michigan, who had overcut their, over logged and burned their forests leaving the land barren. Now the land is beautiful and there are many old growth trees. We took a hike through one such forest.

Charlie, the cat, has become a big flirt ever since we invited a couple of neighbors over to pet him. Now he can’t seem to get enough stranger affection.

For the coming week we plan to meet some Florida friends for a day or so and then head up to the UP (Upper Peninsula) for several days.

August 15, 2019August 15, 2019

Slowly But Surely

Still learning about how to create my site.