Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Resolutions? Not this time


 I did those for 2020, and look what happened there. I’ll try to do everything differently so as not to jinx the whole world again, in case I did it last time.

 


I WILL make some goals, but I might (or might not) keep them private, just between me and whoever owns that voice in my head.

 

In the past, I did post about my exhortations to myself, and those years seemed to turn out better than this last dumpster fire. I keep a daily journal, Monday through Friday, so, okay, not exactly daily. But pretty close, right? I usually review what I got done the day before and set out what I want to accomplish that day, plus appointments and other stuff. Like, water the plants, get allergy shots—those recurring things that I lose track of if they’re not written somewhere. At the end of every day, I give myself a pep talk.

 


Was it Janet Evanovich who said she has a job and she works for Janet Evanovich? I think so. That’s genius and I like to tell myself I work for Kaye George. (There was that side gig for Janet Cantrell, but she didn’t keep me on after the contract was up. Oh well.) I’m an okay, so-so boss. I do prefer that my employee show up every day. That includes weekends, even though she’s not required to keep that daily journal on Saturdays and Sundays. There have been a few days this month when she didn’t show up to work and I wish there were a way to dock her pay. But I don’t pay her, so that’s out.

 


Anyway, in an effort


to be a good boss, I do like to encourage her. So I have her put a note of encouragement at the end of each page of the journal. This actually started years ago with the Nike slogan, JUST DO IT**. I think it morphed into YOU CAN DO IT the next year. I have yet to pick one for her for next year, but here are some of my favorites from the year and the past.

 

ONWARD

KEEP GOING. DO NOT STOP. DO NOT HURRY.

BREATHE

TAKE CARE OF YOURSEL

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

**historical footnote: I looked up when this slogan first started and found this startling article.***

https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-just-do-it-inspired-utah-killer-gary-gilmore-2019-7F

***personal footnote: I read the book by his brother, SHOT IN THE HEART by Mikal Gilmore onto tape for a blind friend after it came out, in 1994 or so. If you ever want to know how to create an enraged killer, this book is practically a blueprint.

https://www.amazon.com/Shot-Heart-Mikal-Gilmore/dp/0385422938/


All images from pixabay.com

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Covid nights and days

Covid nights and days

 

How are you holding up? I think I’m barely making it and I think that’s true of a lot of people. I recently complained, online, about my weird sleeping habits lately and the likelihood that they’re related to depression and anxiety. I’m thankful for all the responses, which were so encouraging and sympathetic. I now know that I’m not alone in this. (It’s good to be a complainer sometimes.) My practice, when I’m down, is to make a list of good things. So, here goes~~ 


 

GOOD THINGS

The election

 

The vaccine

 

Two potential publications (those will turn into bad things if I get rejects, but I’m used to those)

 

My family (I dare anyone in the world to say they have a better one than I do)

 

My friends (ditto above)

 

My readers (I don’t even know all of them, but do hear from some of them sometimes—those are golden spots)

 

My present occupation/career/work, writing mysteries

 

My colleagues/fellow mystery writers, many of whom are friends, all of whom, as a group, are the best co-workers anyone could hope for

 

My health, such as it is. Good for my age, is what they say, I think. This includes my mental faculties, such as they are, too. Also good for my age.

 

My overall situation, being able to afford eat, drink, shelter, some presents for my kids and grands

 

Feel free to add to this list, or, better yet, make your own!


photo from morguefile.com

 

 

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Helping in Georgia


 The romance writers thought of it first, we have to give them that. Romancing the Runoff was the campaign, and a rousing success! So we mystery writers were greatly inspired by them.

https://www.instagram.com/romancingrunoff/


And now look at this! https://www.32auctions.com/MysteryLovesGeorgia

We’ve raised 3/5 of our goal in the first couple of days! As of this writing it’s at $30,983.02. (I’m going to have to hunt down where that two cents is! That bothers me.)

 


Please poke around and see if there are items you’d like to have, so you can help out the cause.

 

Oh, what’s the cause, you say? We’re raising money to benefit “Fair Fight in support of the United States Senate runoff elections in Georgia on January 5, 2021. All proceeds will support Fair Fight’s efforts to combat voter suppression.”

 

I’m thrilled to have been invited to participate and even more thrilled that people are bidding on the two items I’m contributing.

 

The first is a story, custom written for the highest bidder. I used to do these for other charities a few years ago and they are great fun for me to do. (I used to custom write songs for birthdays and holidays, too, but I haven’t used that software in a while and don’t know if it’s still working.) https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/76843/auctions/94567/auction_items/2677092

 

 


 

 

My second item is an autographed copy of my first People of the Wind mystery. (Or e-book if you prefer). https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/76843/auctions/94567/auction_items/2677125

 


Like I said, poke around if you’re so inclined and want to help the cause. I feel good that I’m doing my part.

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

WRITERLY INTENTIONS


 Somewhere down the line, after a writer gets asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” we get the question, “What makes you do this?”

 


I sometimes ask myself the same question. “Why, oh why?” I could be dusting, keeping up with the dishes, sweeping the front sidewalk. Oh wait, maybe that’s why—to get out of all that stuff.

 

Seriously, though, the writers I know are almost all doing it for the same reason. The writers I know are mystery writers, mid-list (which means we’re not famous world-wide and we don’t make enough money to hire a staff); good, competent writers, some with agents, some self-publishing; all with some fans and avid readers waiting for the next book. We’ll never get rich doing this, and most of us will never make enough money to live on without a job or retirement income.   


 

I recently read a comment that prompted me to think about this. The person, a fairly new mystery writer, said she was going to have to change her goals. She would give up thinking she could make money doing this and would have to come up with other reasons.

 

She already has them, I’ll contend. She just has to dig down and discover them.

 

People write because they are compelled to. It’s in our makeup. We can’t not do it. And, most of the time, we love doing it. The main reward is to have written, to have gotten something published, and to know that someone read it.

 When someone can learn something, or expand their thinking through my fiction, that’s a huge bonus. 


Beyond that, there are tremendous rewards. The best is when someone reads our work and likes it. And says to. Either in a review or in a direct communication with the author. For me, this is all worthwhile because of those times when someone says one of my books got them through a tough time. Or got a relative through a tough time. And those times when I get a rave review. And those times when I get an email or direct message asking me when the next book in a series is coming out. Nothing could be better for a writer than all those things. Except being on the NY Times Bestseller List, of course. But we take what we can get, and an occasional bit of coin for our troubles.

 

 Images from Pixabay

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

My guest today, Judy Copek with Why I Write Standalones

 It brings me great pleasure to present Judy Copek today. Since it's the day before Thanksgiving, I'll give thanks for all the friends I have who are mystery writers. There couldn't be a better bunch of colleagues in the world. I'll let Judy introduce herself and get to the topic. HAPPY TURKEY DAY, ALL, even if you're missing the usual celebration. 



I was born in Montana, raised in Colorado, educated in Texas, and lived in suburban Chicago for years and now even more years in suburban Boston where I became a Red Sox fan, a Patriots fan, and a writer.

An information systems nerd for twenty-plus years, I'm a survivor of Dilbert-like re-engineering projects and other high-tech horrors. In my writing, I like to show technology’s humor and quirkiness along with its scary aspects.

Murder in the Northwoods is my fifth published novel. The research trip to the area was one of the best vacations ever, with scenery, casinos, intriguing discoveries, and tasty North Woods food. I never make up anything that I can borrow from real life like the garage apartment, the character of Reverend Josie, and the cottage by the lake. I moved the geography of Newton, Kansas to the fictional town of DuBois. Writers do strange things to create believable fiction. Y2K (remember the Millennium Bug?) pulls many of the story elements together, as I had worked on a project like the one on the book. My project, of course, had no murders and much less sex. Well, none.  Characters misbehaving are fun to write and fun to read.


 Why I write standalones.

I began with a series. My first novel, Witness, Be Wary, was bad. I didn’t understand motivation. Enough said, but I found some characters I liked. This novel was written so long ago that agents answered queries promptly with personalized letters.

 

That year my husband was invited to a conference in Singapore, and this, too, was so long ago that a business class ticket came with a free companion ticket. I explored the city and took photographs. We went on to spend a few days in Hong Kong. On the long flight home, I read the Singapore Airlines magazine, including a tiny blurb that the 5th International Computer Security Conference would meet in Singapore on a certain date.  

Durian Seller in Hong Kong

 

Computer security! That was the occupation of the sleuth in my failed first novel. My brain went crazy. I could write a book set at the conference in Singapore and then move it to my husband’s home town in Germany. Characters appeared, along with three from the first book. Fragments of plot flew at me like kamikazes. Finally, we travelled to Germany. I sat in the busy town square and discovered more characters. My nephew took me on a pub crawl. I did research at the library. This was so much fun. And the book didn’t sell.

 

 My problem was that my main character was, well, no better than she should be. And married. When I began writing I researched all the possible problems a sleuth might have. Drugs, family, drinking, promiscuity, ex-con, you name it. And no writer had yet glommed onto the “A” word. There was a reason for this but I was too dense to grasp it. One could not publish a series with a bad girl sleuth. No one would touch it. Still dense, I wrote three more books in the series, one set in the Baltic, the last at the Burning Man Festival and one set in the North Woods. Same sleuth. Same issues. I self-pubbed The Shadow Warriors. This was back in the day when you hung your head if you committed such an outré act.

 

Then, THE LIGHT DAWNED. I took each novel, changed the characters, the setting, the sleuths backstory, and so on. One book went to a small press, one was “licensed” by the Burning Man Festival, one sat in my computer. I gussied up the “Northwoods” novel with new backstory, and everything except the conflicted sleuth. She was still there. And finally, I had a publisher!

That’s why I write standalones.

 

Murder in the Northwoods will debut on December 1st. Level Best is the publisher

A savvy cyber-sleuth teams up with a hunky homicide cop to route corporate miscreants and to solve a murder. Murder in the North Woods is an amateur sleuth mystery. When she arrives in the town of DuBois, Wisconsin, to determine who is sabotaging an unpopular business project, Laura Goode discovers her only contact is now a corpse. Gar Morris, information officer at Great Northern Shoe Company, was a local lothario whose killer could be anyone from an enraged husband to a bitter factory worker whose job is heading overseas. Along with murder, office politics thwart Laura’s mission to find out who is sabotaging the project. Adding more complications to her life, boyfriend Jack, a cop, and husband Taylor, with more money than sensitivity, appear unannounced. Who needs these distractions when you’re swanning from boardroom to bar room, trolling for bass, hunting hackers, and rescuing your kidnapped cat? A nude biker’s club and the whitewater raft trip from hell provide a thrilling climax. You’ll have to read the novel to discover how everything works out.

 

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Guest Judy Alter asks: Should I write a sequel?

I'm delighted to have the illustrious, award-winning author, Judy Alter, as my guest today. I loved Saving Irene and know I'll vote on her dilemma. This book reads, in part, like a love story to Chicago, a place where I once lived and miss just as much as she obviously does. 


Here's part of her impressive bio:


I am a past president of Western Writers of America and have been inducted into their Literary Hall of Fame. I have had awards from the National Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame, the Texas Institute of Letters, and Western Writers of America, Inc., including their Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement, and I was inducted into the Hall of Fame in June 2015. I belong to Sisters in Crime, the Guppies subgroup of Sisters in Crime, and the Texas Institute of Letters and I am a member of Women Writing the West. The Fort Worth Public Library elected me to their Texas Literary Hall of Fame.


And now, her discussion on the sequel!




My newest mystery, Saving Irene, began as an impulse. I have no idea where the idea of a Chicago TV chef came from, but one day I saw the opening scene so clearly in my mind that I sat down and wrote. Being a pantser, I just kept on writing and some twenty thousand words later, there they were: Henny (Henrietta) James, the chef’s assistant who tells the story; Irene Foxglove, the faux French chef with pretensions; and Patrick, the gay guy next door. Fictional characters with lives of their own.

 

Long before I wrote mysteries, I had developed a career writing about women in the American West. So, when contracts for two unrelated projects, set in Texas, came along, I left Henny, Irene, and Patrick in limbo for almost two years. But when COVID-19 and quarantine hit us, the publisher of my western works went on hiatus, leaving one manuscript and one proposal stranded on her desk and me with no viable project. I pulled out Irene’s story, read it again, and thought, “Hey, this isn’t bad. I like the voice.” I began writing, and the story seemed to flow more easily than any other mystery I’ve written (this is number fifteen). Long story short, I wrote from March to June and spent the summer on publishing details—editing, proofing, formatting, etc. Saving Irene launched on September 16.



All along I intended it as a stand-alone. I was going to get back to those unfinished western projects. But the editor, though back at work, hasn’t gotten to my part of the backlog on her desk, and I began to get nice comments about Irene’s story from readers. One wrote: “This reads like a stand-alone novel, but there's certainly room for a sequel (hint, hint) should the author be so inclined. Meanwhile, I'll be checking out [Alter’s] earlier titles.” Another, “I hope there will be more books about Henny and Patrick as her career and love life move on.” Still more: “This book is Judy Alter at her best: a fast-moving pace; fascinating new characters in what one could only hope will become a series.” And, finally, “I have read all of Judy's … mysteries and this is the best one by far! I love Henny and Patrick! I hope there is a sequel to it!”


So there’s my dilemma. In a way, it boils down to Texas vs. Chicago. I have written about Texas all my long career, and I am deeply invested in the state’s history. But I grew up in Chicago’s historic Hyde Park neighborhood and writing about it was like visiting with an old friend, a nostalgia trip. Perhaps age calls us all back to the scenes of our childhood, but I loved sending Henny to the church I grew up in or on a picnic to Promontory Point where I spent so many happy weekends.


In truth, I’ll probably try to do it all. Yes, I have ideas for Irene in Danger rattling around in my head, but I put a lot of time and work into the other manuscript, which is under contract, so sooner or later I’ll have to deal with it. And the proposal I submitted combines food and history in a nonfiction but very Texan approach.


Hint: I am really proud of the cover of Saving Irene. I found free images of a chef and the background of Chicago-style buildings and gave them to a designer with the request that she age the chef, which she did. Strangely enough, one interviewer thought the chef looks like me (we’ve never met, so she’s only seen pictures) and a reader who knew my mom thought that was who was the model. Neither is true. But I can already envision the cover of Irene in Danger, a sign to me that the sequel was meant to be. I’m just having trouble with that opening scene.

I’m curious how other authors handle this. Do you deliberately write the a book as the first of a series or do you decide later it could be? Is it a flexible decision?

Thursday, November 5, 2020

The Job of a Writer

I’ve wanted to write this in the weeks leading up to this election, and now is the time, I believe. Fellow mystery writers who never venture into politics for fear of alienating readers are angry enough to venture out of that place and express themselves.



 

If you follow me on social media, or anywhere, you know that I’m not reticent about politics nowadays. That’s because the issue isn’t really political, not one of party or affiliation. It’s one of humanity, social justice, and basic decency. All of which are being stomped upon by the occupier of my White House. Our White House.

 

Most writers do, at some level, believe in giving voice to the voiceless. In advocating for equality and justice for every single person in the USA. That’s just the basis for being a human. We’re all in this together and our main job, as I’ve always seen it, is to help each other out in any way we can. What kind of person you are has no bearing on whether you deserve to be treated fairly and decently, and no differently than anyone else.

 

Fellow mystery writer Eve Fisher expressed this eloquently last week and I’d love to link you to her thoughts. They were prompted by the truly horrifying encouragement of a white hate terrorist group by the occupant of my White House. Even more terrifying, I realized when I read her thoughts and research, are the number of hateful people in this country who belong to groups that exist solely to exclude and do harm to others. I just never knew there were so many.

 

https://www.sleuthsayers.org/2020/10/stand-back-and-stand-by.html

 

Let’s hope that we can move forward. First, that we can rid our country of the cancer of hatred that has festered for four years unchecked by the other branches of government: The Senate, because they are either afraid or beholden to the occupant of my White House; the House of Representatives because their efforts have been systemically blocked, to the detriment of those the Senate is supposed to represent.

 

Let’s also hope that there’s a return to the ideals and ways of thinking that make it clear that publically elected officials are public servants, first and foremost.

 

Peace.

White House photos from Wikipedia 

 

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Saving the Day

No, not like Superman, saving the day. Or was that Mighty Mouse? “Here I come to save the day!” I found a clip in case you’re nostalgic for Mighty Mouse.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJvM8eYcpL0

 

No, not like in a Save the Day evite, either.


 

 

Oops, that should be Save the Date, shouldn’t it?

 

So, the one I want to talk about is kind of both. Save the Day and Save the Date. I have an idea that’s helping me get through the isolation and loneliness of the pandemic. I’m not completely isolated. I see doctors and people taking my money at the grocery store and drug store. I even see some of my family, with masks on and distancing. But I don’t see the ones who would have to travel to get here. And I don’t see my writing friends at our writers’ groups, because we’re not meeting. Another big blow is not going to conferences and relaxing at the bar with my seldom-seen colleagues.

 

Colleagues like these fine people, my fellow Sprint Club members. That’s a group organized by Ramona DeFelice Long (on the right) to touch base once a day and post how our writing is going. The photo was taken at Malice Domestic in 2018.




 

Or these fine people I did a short story panel with at Killer Nashville in 2014. See? It’s not all play, we work too!

 


 

I don’t know any other group I could tour a forensic anthropology lab with. This was at Mystery in the Midlands, 2019, in Columbia SC.




 

I even miss those hot, sweaty tents on the parking lots, selling our books with the local Authors’ Guild of TN.

 


What I really, really miss, is traveling! I want to see my people in Sweden and Italy again. I want to see my brother Don and his wife Donna. I NEED to see my kids in Virginia and Austin.

 


I’ll finish with a picture of me and Karen Maslowski closing up the bar after the banquet at Magna Cum Murder in Indianapolis in 2018.

 


So I’m saving up those dates. I’m listing people I will see and places I will go, things I will do, when it’s feasible again.


What do you want to do, when you can? 2021, 2022, whenever that day comes. 

 

 

Save the Date and luggage photos by pixabay.com

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

One More Time #giveaway


 


 

Due to the generosity of my publisher, Lyrical Press, I have more free audiobooks of my second Vintage Sweets mystery, DEADLY SWEET TOOTH. You can get one without signing up for the Audible program if I pick you as a winner!

 

If you’d like to hear a sample of this book, I have that, too!

http://tinyurl.com/y3mhojl6

 


The blurb for this book online goes like this:

 

Vintage sweets, a deadly surprise, and a mischievous Maine Coon cat—Deadly Sweet Tooth is the delightful cozy mystery you’ve been waiting for!

 

In a darling tourist town like Fredericksburg, Texas, a vintage sweet shop offering delicious old-fashioned favorites is a perfect fit—until someone decides to debut a recipe that’s lusciously lethal…

 

With Tally’s Old Tyme Sweets finally—well, almost—turning a profit, Tally Holt is taking one busy Saturday off to host a grand party for her parents, traveling performers who spend most of their time on the road. Tally’s counting on the publicity and free treats to attract new customers. And the event is a sweet success—at least until Fran Abraham, the town’s foul-tempered theater director, drops dead after a bitter confrontation with Tally’s mother.

 

Murder was definitely not on Tally’s menu, but it’s clear that Fran’s death wasn’t natural. The list of possible culprits includes not just Tally’s mom, but her protective dad too. Relying on Yolanda Bella, her best friend and the proprietor of Bella’s Baskets next door, for help, Tally will need to unwrap the sticky pasts and unsavory presents of everyone from her own parents to her new hires before Fran’s death sours everybody on her fledgling shop….

 

Recipe included! And this one promises not to kill…


JUST COMMENT, BELOW, FOR A CHANCE TO WIN THIS!

OR, VISIT COZY TOWN SLEUTHS AND ENTER THERE!

https://www.facebook.com/shares/view/?av=1317370777



 

PS If you’re a member of Audible already, here’s a link to pick this one up:

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Sweet-Tooth-Vintage-Mystery/dp/B08FCXGV7B/

 

 

photos by pixabay.com

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Audio #giveaway this week!



My second Vintage Sweets mystery, DEADLY SWEET TOOTH, is now out as an audio book! (Also paperback and e-book, of course.) It sounds great, if I do say so myself.


I know a lot of people listen to audio books around the house, as well as when we used to go on the road. Remember those days? I always took a few in the car for road trips.


My publisher is letting me give some away, and I’d LOVE to give one away here. I’ll leave this open until  the end of week, then pick a winner from the comment section.


Let me know if you’d like to be entered!


PS If you’re a member of the online audio deal where you get free audio books, here’s a link to pick this one up: https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Sweet-Tooth-Vintage-Mystery/dp/B08FCXGV7B/


PPS Here’s a sample!

http://tinyurl.com/y3mhojl6

 

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Stuff to Get You Through

My last post here, at the end of August, was about coping with these times. Writers cope, of course, by writing. And we hope that everyone else copes by reading what we write.


How was that as an introduction to telling you what I have for you to read?

 

Three new things!

 

First, the third book in my Vintage Sweets cozy mystery series doesn’t come out until March 9th, 2021, and doesn’t even have a cover. BUT, you can pre-order it! How’s that for getting there early?


 

 

It’s available only as an e-book for this. There are ordering links on

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Hereafter-Vintage-Sweets-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B08B475PJV/

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/into-the-sweet-hereafter

B&N Nook

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/into-the-sweet-hereafter-kaye-george/1137171727?

And Google Play, of all places

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kaye_George_Into_the_Sweet_Hereafter?id=NVLrDwAAQBAJ

I admit, I’m not quite sure what Google Play is, but I think I pay for it.

 

 

Next, I need to tell you that I sold a short story to Living Springs Publishers, which puts out an annual anthology.

https://livingspringspublishers.com/index.php/stories-through-the-ages-baby-boomers-plus-2020/

 


 

I love the editorial description of my story so much!

 

Fins Fatal Flop: Kaye George’s characters are so well crafted you can feel the tension in crisis and share the emotion in tragedy. This story takes place in a strip-tease bar but there is nothing shabby about the people who care for each other and do whatever it takes to protect themselves from the bad guys. Great entertainment, good reading.

 

 

This is my third story with these characters. I hope to gather all three together in a volume in the future. Meanwhile, I can’t wait for my copy to get here so I can read all of these stories!

 

 

 

Lastly, there is a new audio book of the second in my series, DEADLY SWEET TOOTH, from Lyrical Press. Don’t you love the cover?

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Sweet-Tooth-Vintage-Mystery/dp/B08FCXGV7B/

 


Wednesday, August 26, 2020

My Mantras


A few years ago, when the phrase “YOU CAN DO IT” was used by Nike and repeated by lots of others, I decided to adopt it for my own. I know, a mantra is supposed to be “OHM” and to be chanted in the Lotus position. I cannot achieve that asana, haven’t been able to since my knee surgery several years ago. I still do it, but a modified version. However, my own personal Yoga session just involves deep breathing and an attempt at mind-clearing, no mantra.

A jade Buddha my husband brought home from Korea


So where did I use YOU CAN DO IT? At the end of each journal entry. I call them my Daily Pages, which I got from…somewhere. I do them M-F so I don’t feel like I have to write them every day. It’s my log book, part diary, part what I’ve accomplished in the last day (or weekend), and what I hope to get done that day. It’s the first thing I do in my work day, so the exhortation at the end of my writing serves to propel me into and through the day.

Laughing Buddha also from Korea (he squeaks when you push his belly)


This mantra served me well when I went through a period where I thought I might not be able to do it. During my husband’s decline and after his death, it helped to tell myself that every day.

Prayer stick my son and daughter-in-law left for my husband in Thailand










The temple in Thailand


Before that, I used things like PERSIST and ONWARD. I started YCDI in 2010, actually, and kept it for a long time. Intermittently I used DON’T QUIT NOW, YOU'RE ON THE WAY, GOING GOOD, LET'S GO! In 2014, I used OFF TO THE RACES, since that was the Year of the Horse. I used some others for the Chinese years, coming back to YCDI.

In 2019 I used these two:
KEEP GOING. DO NOT STOP. DO NOT HURRY.
BREATHE. REST, RECOVER, REFLECT

Full moon in May


This year I’m using:
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

And this one from, which my friend Daryl Wood Gerber tells me a lot:
BREATHE

My tea in a cup from a trip to see my cousin in Seattle


I know, that’s not really what a mantra is, but it’s mine and I call it that.

What do you do to encourage yourself? To get you through the day?

All photos are mine.