End of the Road

 

I don't know if there's a IWSG question. And quite frankly, I don't care. Bubba is dead. My son, Gregory Ellis, was killed in a motorcycle accident on February 2, 2025 in Hampton, Virginia. Twenty years old.

Even as I write this, it doesn't seem real. 

But it is. I won't go on any more adventures with him. No more walks and talks we used to enjoy. I won't hear his laugh. I won't feel his arms wrapped around me. I won't chuckle at his antics and amazing sense of humor. At least not here in this space, in this time.  

The sense of loss is devastating. No mother or parent should ever have to go through this.

The thing that is getting me through it is faith. Faith that he is in God's loving care. He has peace. No more of life's problems. No more pain. No more suffering. His journey is over and he's safely home. And the belief that when my journey is over, I will be with him again.

I know life is short. I am grateful that I had the experience of being his mom. We had a lot of wonderful times together, and I will hold those dear in my heart. 

Be at peace, Greg. I love you and I'll miss you.

A Jimmy Carter Story

 

Happy New Year! Would you believe I'm a couple days early for the IWSG post? Unbelievable! Today's question is:  Is there a person you admired as a child and now do not admire as an adult. Hmmm. The person who comes to mind is J.D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye.  I thought the book was well written and admired him as an author. Still do. But, I don't admire him as a person. He wasn't a great father and wasn't always nice to his fans. In his defense, I think he was affected by his time in World War 2. That's when he wrote Catcher in the Rye. I've heard that spending the amount of time in the conditions he experienced normally drives people insane. Maybe this happened to him. What about you? Anyone you used to admire and now don't?

Now for my Jimmy Carter Story.

As you may know, I live in Atlanta, Georgia. My husband is from Valdosta, Georgia. He's had several encounters with Jimmy and his family. Here's one of my favorite stories:  The year was 1974. Jimmy was visiting one of his best friends from college who happened to live across the street from my husband, who was just a kid at the time. I don't know how it happened, but my husband ended up playing soccer with Jimmy. It was the neighborhood kids versus the adults. At one point, Jimmy kicked the ball right into my husband's behind. They both got a good laugh about it. My husband still finds it amusing. It isn't every day that you get kicked in the butt by a future president of the United States!

If you'd like to read about Jimmy, here are some books I'd recommend:

An Hour Before Daylight by Jimmy Carter    

  The Outlier by Kai Bird

In other news, I had a very restful New Years Day! 2024 was a crazy year, so I figured I needed some R & R! Here are some photos from Amelia Island and Savannah, Georgia.

Wishing you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2025!

Cliffhangers

 

Today's ISWG question is, do you leave readers with a cliffhanger at the end of of book? If I'm writing a trilogy series, I leave some unfinished business. I don't think I've had a major cliffhanger right at the end of any of my books. I like cliffhangers at the end of chapters. It makes you want to read more.

The next part of the question is, do you find cliffhangers annoying?  It depends. If I'm invested in the characters and story, having a cliffhanger makes me want to read the next book, which is hopefully available or coming soon. I don't like to wait long to find out what's going to happen. If I'm not invested in the characters, then I find it annoying. Maybe I want to know what's next, but I don't feel inclined to spend more time on the story. Then I'll be left hanging.

What about you? Do you use cliffhangers?  How do you feel about them?

My book, Bubba and Squirt's Shield of Athena is in the All Author Cover of the month contest. If you feel inspired, please vote for it! (You can do it anonymously.) Here's the link:   https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/18775/

In other news, I've performed Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody yet again with the Georgia Philharmonic. It was a blast! Here's a video.  

I'll play it again with another orchestra in 2026.

Hope you all have a fantastic Holiday Season!  See you next year! 

   

Creative Outlets

 

Happy Fall Ya'll! I hope you're enjoying the beautiful change of seasons wherever you are...if you have that sort of thing.

This month's IWSG question is, "What creative outlets do you have after writing?"

This is my creative outlet BEFORE writing:  music. I am a professional musician. I perform a lot! It seems like every week I have a concert, which means I practice tons of music! I've also done some composing, but admittedly, I don't have much time for that these days. What about you? 

Here's a recent photo of my performance with the Georgia Philharmonic.

  

 

Scary Story

 

Well, I'm finally here. Sorry about the late arrival. My computer broke down on September 30—the day before my book's release. Perfect timing! Starting off the scary month in a scary way! Anyway, the hard drive has been replaced, and I'm up and running again. Still playing catch-up, but I wanted to come on and do this post. 

This month's question is, "What is your favorite scary story?" I could go with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow because it's Halloweeny. But I'm going with The Polar Express. Yep. Christmas. Do you know how creepy that movie is? Ghosts riding the train. Near-death experiences. Not to mention how creepy the characters look and how dark the setting is. I watched it with my kids when they were little. It scared the heck out of them! But I still like the idea of believing in the Christmas spirit—the magic of the little bell.

What's your favorite scary story or movie?

And finally, here it is. The last book of the Bubba and Squirt series—Bubba and Squirt's The Legend of the Lost Pearls! 

Book links: Amazon / iTunes / B&N / Kobo / Goodreads
     

I haven't been able to stop by and see everyone, but I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who are part of my tour and are blogging about this book. You guys saved the day. Without you, this release probably would have been a bust. LOL!  And a huge thank you to all of you who stop by and comment every month. I appreciate all of you!

Dragon Con Fun!

 

Before I tell you about Dragon Con, I have to answer this IWSG question of the month:  What English grammar rule do you break as a writer. That's easy. Incomplete sentences. :)  I write them all the time.

What about you? 

This past weekend, I was at Dragon Con. A huge Sci-fi convention.  (See, another incomplete sentence!) This is a huge yearly event in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. I've played with Georgia Philharmonic for the crowds, but never as a soloist. This year, I got to perform Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody arranged for viola and orchestra. Let me tell you, I felt like a rock star! Three thousand people in the audience were waving their cell phones, so I was looking out at a bunch of twinkle lights as I was playing. So cool!  Here are some pictures of the event. If you'd like to see and hear me play, check out this video my husband took: 

  

Have you ever heard of Dragon Con?  Ever been there?

Summer Travels

 

Yes, I know. Late again. I simply lost track of time because I've been having too much fun. More about that later. 

The question of the month is "Do you use AI in your writing?" My question of the month is, "Did we have this question not too long ago?" 😎 I've attempted to use AI in my efforts to write a blurb for my book. But I didn't like what it produced, so I ended up writing my own. My opinion is that AI is good for giving you ideas for what to write, but the human brain is better at writing something more appropriate. I will say AI is good for flowery writing. Some of the adjectives it spews out are impressive. LOL!  Do you use AI?  If so, what do you think about it?

Summer vacation is over now, but I'd have to say, I did a lot of cool things this summer. Here are a few of the places I've been:

    On top of Brasstown Bald—the highest point in Georgia.  Beautiful views of 3 states:  Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina!

Hanging at the Georgia Aquarium on my birthday. They have a very large whale shark. It's the only whale shark in an aquarium in the USA. Very cool to see it!

Here's Pothole Falls in Highlands, North Carolina. I'm actually standing on the stone that is at the corner of three states! 

Did you do anything fun this summer?