Dance to the Music

Yesterday I saw (and shared) a cartoon on Facebook, which gave me the idea for this post. It read “If you want to eliminate stress, turn off the news and turn on the music.” Great advice!

Many years ago, I made a commitment to myself to be happy and I’m determined to do everything I can to honor that commitment. No matter what! So, if that means missing out on the latest plane crash, mass murder or other tragedy, so be it! Terrible things have always happened and, unfortunately, they probably always will. My knowing about them won’t change that but it could put a damper on my day and my spirit.

 I don’t want any unnecessary stress in my life. Like most people, I have enough challenges in my personal life, things that could and would steal my joy - if I let them. I don't need to take on any more.  None of us knows how long we’ll have on this earth and I want to make each day the best I can make it. Here are five things I do every day.

1.      I start each day with a prayer, thanking God for all my many blessings. I look out my window and thank Him for the beautiful world He created.

2.      Then, I turn on the radio to my favorite station. Some days I dance and other days I don't but the music definitely lifts my spirits.  

3.      Throughout the day, I do my best to see the good things and the good people around me ( I am blessed with a supportive family and good friends who are always there for me) because I’ve learned that, if we focus on the positive, we’ll attract good things and good people but, if we focus on the negative, well, you get my point. Some days are easier than others.

4.      When a negative thought comes to me, I do my best to replace it with a positive thought because I know that what I think will dictate how I feel. That includes finding humor, smiling and laughing, wherever and whenever I can and taking things one day at a time. 

5.      I read! I love a good mystery and, when I immerse myself in the world of the fictional characters, my problems and the world’s problems disappear, at least temporarily.

If we want to be happy, each of us has to do whatever it takes to be (and stay) positive and we each have our own way of doing that.  What works best for you?

Keeping it clean

I learned some valuable lessons about reading and writing when I was growing up. From the time I learned to read, I constantly had my nose in a book. Judy Bolton and Nancy Drew mysteries were my favorites. Good, clean stories with intriguing plots and characters I came to know and to love. More than anything I wanted to write mysteries like Margaret Sutton and Carolyn Keene when I grew up.

My father nourished my love of reading by bringing books home to me from time to time. Dad wasn’t much of a fiction reader but he knew how much I enjoyed a good mystery so, for a change of pace, one day when I was ten or eleven years old, he brought me a copy of “I, the Jury,” a Mickey Spillane novel. I picked it up and started to read, amazed and secretly pleased that Dad had given me such an “adult” book. A day or so later, I had left my book on the coffee table, book marker in place, and Dad happened to pick it up and read a page. His eyes got wide and he immediately confiscated the book. No more Mickey Spillane for me! 

Back then, I was disappointed when Dad took my book away but, as an adult, I’ve come to realize that what intrigued me as a child (probably because it was “forbidden”) bores me now. When I read a mystery/suspense novel with several paragraphs or pages of descriptive sexual acts, I find myself skimming over those parts to get back to the story. 

I’m not a prude and I have no problem with a sex scene and/or “colorful” language if it’s necessary to the plot and, of course, it's perfectly acceptable and even expected in certain types of novels. A steamy romance wouldn't be very steamy without, well, some steam. By the same token, in a book about a street gang, I can't imagine one of the members saying, "Gosh, darn it!" when he's angry. That’s unrealistic and I think fiction should be realistic, believable. But, in my own mystery novels, I chose not to use certain words and to leave what happens behind bedroom doors (or anywhere else, for that matter) to the reader’s imagination. Because, it’s my belief that you can have a good story and still keep it clean.

Anywhere you want to go

Whenever I travel to a new (to me) place, I search for a local bookstore where I scan the shelves, looking for mystery novels by local authors. I do this for two reasons. First, I think it's important to support writers everywhere and second, because when I come home and return to my daily life, I can open the pages and escape to the place I've just visited. It's a way to hang on to the "vacation" mode.

One year, I visited Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, my favorite of the three. I found a bookstore there and purchased Murder on Martha's Vineyard by David Osborn, a local writer. Back at home, I read the book and enjoyed it so much that I looked up the author on Amazon and was pleasantly surprised to see that he'd written more books in the series. I read all of his books and was able to "stay" on Martha's Vineyard a lot longer than my vacation time allowed.

Another year, I went to Wilmington, North Carolina and I loved exploring the city. So much history! The old Cotton Exchange, which now houses several delightful shops, including a bookstore, intrigued me as did the horse drawn carriages and the theater where John Wilkes Booth once performed. I bought two mystery novels by Wanda Canada, Island Murders and Cape Fear Murders. When I got home, I read both books and felt as if I were still sitting on a pier, gazing out at the Cape Fear River, watching the boats go by. And, trying to solve a murder.

But I haven't always been able to find a book by a local author while on vacation. When that happens, I try to find one by someone who isn't local but who is very familiar with the area. For example, I purchased Folly by Bill Noel, a resident of Louisville, Kentucky, a couple of months after I got back from Folly Beach, South Carolina and, because the author had spent many summers in the area, it felt like a "local" had written the book.

I could give you many more examples but, in the interest of keeping this post shorter than one of my novels, I won't. Anyway, you get the idea.

Even if you don't travel or can't get away this year, you can still take a vacation in your mind. Although I've never been to Peru, I went on an archaeological expedition there when I read William Doonan's American Caliphate. I explored an old ghost town in Arizona with Old Murders Never Die by Marja McGraw. And, I journeyed to the New England coast with J.R. Lindermuth's The Limping Dog.

I've also visited Bariloche, Argentina with author Evelyn Cullet, seen the heather-covered moors of the Scottish Highlands thanks to Amy Reade and traveled Route 66 through the Mojave Desert with M.M. Gornell's novels. I could list hundreds more.

Books can take you anywhere you want to go at any time of the year and you don't even have to go through airport security or fill your gas tank.

Don't argue with a woman who reads

Here's an email my aunt recently forwarded to me. I hope it puts a smile on your face.

One morning a husband returns to the cabin after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out, since it is such a beautiful day.

She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.

Along comes a Game Warden in his boat.

He pulls up alongside the woman and says, "Good morning, Ma'am, what are you doing?"

"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?") 

"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.

"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing, I'm reading."

"Yes, but you have all the equipment. I'll have to write you up a ticket. "

"For reading a book," she replies.

"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her again.

"But officer, I'm not fishing, I'm reading."

"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to write you up a ticket and you'll have to pay a fine."

"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.

"But I haven't even touched you," says the Game Warden.

"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."

"Have a nice day ma'am," and he immediately departed.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think.

Taking Time to Read

A few weeks ago, I participated in a craft fair at the high school I graduated from – a long time ago. I had a table set up where I displayed my four Malone mysteries, signing and selling them. I very much appreciate those readers who bought them. But, I got the following responses from several people. Words I, and probably every other author in the world, has heard many times.

“I used to love to read but I don’t have time now.”

“I’m in school and all of my reading is text books.”

“I have three young children and no time to read.”

“My job is so demanding. I don’t have time to read.”

Which presented me with the topic for this week’s post: Taking Time to Read.

Here’s a plain and simple fact: We can’t “make” more time. We all have the same twenty-four hours in each of our days and, I will grant you, how we spend those hours is largely dictated by our responsibilities. Life is complicated and demanding for most of us. We need to take care of business first but we also need to take time to do the things we enjoy. All work and no play. . . .  For me and many others, that includes reading in the genre of our choosing.

So, I’ve presented the problem: we’re all busy. Since I believe in focusing on solutions, rather than problems, here are a few suggestions for those of you who want to read but believe you don’t have the time.

1.    Waiting time can be reading time. All of us occasionally go to the doctor and the dentist, places where we usually have to wait. Instead of idly thumbing through a magazine or sitting there tapping your foot, why not bring a book with you?

2.    Schedule time to read into your day. Most of us have a schedule to keep and we somehow manage to do that. What if we included reading time in our schedules?

3.    Soaking in the tub is relaxing and therapeutic. Why not read while you soak?

4.    Turn off the TV at a designated time every evening – and use that time to read.

5.    Another TV option is turning it off when you find yourself flipping through the channels with nothing good to watch. Instead of spending your time that way, you could be reading.

Until next week, Happy Reading!