He put the twang in Rock & Roll by Kaye Spencer #prairierosepubs #rocknroll

 

Today is Rock ‘N Roll guitarist Duane “The Titan of Twang” Eddy’s birthday!

(b. April 26, 1938 - Corning, New York)

The guitar image is Eddy’s Guild Guitar courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons (Claude Humbert) license, HERE.

Here are a few notable events in his musical life.

• Began playing guitar at 5 years old
• Formed a duo at 16 years old
• Met disc jockey Lee Hazlewood at radio station KCKY in Arizona - Hazlewood later produced and co-wrote some of Eddy’s songs

           (THAT Lee Hazlewood who partnered/performed/produced with Nancy Sinatra and who also wrote Dean Martin’s hit song “Houston”.)

• Break through song Rebel-‘Rouser, reached  No. 6 on Billboards’ Hot 100 Chart in 1958.
• Performed frequently on The Dick Clark Show
• Had short-lived acting career – appeared in two episodes of Have Gun, Will Travel and was in a the movies, A Thunder of Drums, The Wild Westerners, Kona Coast, and The Savage Seven
• Debut album in 1959: Have Twangy Guitar, Will Travel – remained on music charts for 82 weeks
• Married country western singer Jessi Colter in 1961 (1961-1968)
• Produced albums, collaborated, and performed as guest guitarist with many artists, including Phil Everly, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson
• Grammy Winner: 1986 - Best Rock Instrumental: Peter Gunn
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction 1994

Here are three music videos. The URLs are included in case the videos don’t show up on your device.

Duane Eddy - Peter Gunn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhVFK9tYu84

Duane Eddy - Ghost Riders in the Sky
https://youtu.be/UMz8XRGxZdY

Duane Eddy - Rebel-‘Rouser

https://youtu.be/gU43Vg8qg2A

Until next time,
Kaye Spencer

Writing through history one romance upon a time

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Sources:

Duane Eddy- Wikipedia 

Duane Eddy - New World Encyclopedia

 

As Time Goes By – Ruben D. Gonzales

In the great movie, Casablanca, the whole story takes place in only three or four days. There is a flashback scene that stretches the narrative, but still for being one of the great movies ever written, the short period of time is skillfully handled. There were four or five shots of Rick’s Café American, sandwiched around a market scene and the final scene at the airport (left) where Rick tells Elsa “We’ll always have Paris.”

Authors need to utilize time effectively in their writing. Time is not limited to flashbacks and prologues. In a protagonist’s typical day opportunities to enhance and clarify your story will revolve around effective use of time. These opportunities should be sized upon, “in the Rick of time”.

Over the years I’ve struggled with the time element in my writing. I’ve used elaborate calendars to map out the sequence of events and to make sure time flows in a logical fashion throughout the book. The calendar has caught many irregularities and I’ve been able to rectify those in the second and third drafts to make my story flow with the proper time sequence.

Publisher rejections are based on a variety of reason so getting the time frame and reference correct eliminates one more reason for a rejection.

As a writer you control how time passes and the resulting flow of the narrative. Some stories take place over a very short interval while others may take years. In my first book, “The Cottage on the Bay”, my main characters life was the interval and it took ninety some years to complete. In my second book, “Murder on Black Mountain”, my main character completes her case in a couple of weeks. Both required detailed time mapping to get the story right so it flows without disturbing the reader’s journey.

Many authors use the chapter heading to identify the time period (and sometimes place) the story is taking place in or transitioning to. This is a straight forward but useful tool, keeping everyone, including the author, on the same page and point in time. Other authors strategically incorporate a time reference at the beginning of a chapter or change in a point of view; “The sun rose over the horizon in a red ball.”

When revising look for opportunities to incorporate visual clues to the scene, there-by setting the time frame for what’s to follow. Be aware of the passage of time and don’t leave the reader behind. Use your character’s senses to denote the time frame. Make sure your characters are aware of the passage of time. Make time for creatively using the need for a bathroom, meal, sleep, and all the other time interruptions a normal human would need during a regular day.

Ruben D. Gonzales
www.rubendgonzales.com

HOW A WRITER IS LIKE A CAT, by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer

 

Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

I just adopted a cat—another one—and as I watched this new boy do his cat thing, it suddenly occurred to me why my writer’s lifestyle fits so fluidly with that of the clowder*.  There are exceptions of course, like when Tyler thinks breakfast should be at five in the morning. I’m not an early riser and I don’t do anything before coffee. But in many ways, we are very much alike. 

Crazy in the wee hours.

Writers are known to get some of their best story ideas in the middle of the night. My cat Tyler seems to think that’s a pretty good time to dash around the house like a mad thing—not so different from me typing feverishly on my laptop at 3:00 a.m. 

Solitary among others.

Cats are aloof, no matter where they are. There may be ten other cats in the room, yet each of them rests in their own little bubble. Though some writers are gregarious, many are introverts whose way of adapting to life with people is to create a personal space for themselves alone. 

Tight focus.

Have you ever watched a cat go after a moth? They are fixated on their prey to such an extent that their skin twitches and their pupils dilate. It’s as if there is nothing else in the world. When I’m writing, I become so focused in my work that time ceases to exist. A gun could go off and I might not notice. 

Photo by Bill Stephan on Unsplash

Routine.

Anyone who knows cats has learned, one way or another, that cats thrive on routine. They have an established schedule and are unhappy when that schedule is interrupted or changed. Writers often share that respect for routine and can get very nasty when someone intrudes on their designated writing period. 

Some people won’t like us.

Just as some humans suffer from ailurophobia, there are those who don’t like writers either. “Dislike” may be too strong a word. Perhaps “misunderstand” would be more accurate. There is a misconception that a writers’ life is easy, merely jotting down stories on paper and picking up million dollar checks. If that were truly the case, I’d be jealous too, but unfortunately it’s not. 

Naps.

All creative endeavors require rest. Napping with cats restores energy to both cat and human.

Photo by Tucker Good on Unsplash

 

There are other ways writers are like cats, at least I enjoy thinking it’s so.

That’s all for meow.

 

*Clowder: a group of cats.

Cat Writer Mollie Hunt is the author of the Crazy Cat Lady Cozy Mysteries featuring Lynley Cannon, a sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat in catnip, and the Cat Seasons Sci-Fantasy Tetralogy where cats save the world. She also pens a bit of cat poetry. 

You can find Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer on her blogsite: www.lecatts.wordpress.com

Amazon Page: www.amazon.com/author/molliehunt

Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/MollieHuntCatWriter/

@MollieHuntCats

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End-of-Writing Rituals

It’s so satisfying to type those two short words, “The End,” after pouring your heart into a short story or novel for weeks, months, or perhaps even years.  I’m reminded of the opening scene from one of my favorite movies, Romancing the Stone.  Romance author, Joan Wilder, celebrates the completion of her latest novel with a glass of wine, then tosses her glass into the fireplace, followed by her cat’s plate when he finishes his special tuna dinner.  Here is a (low quality) YouTube video of the scene if you’ve forgotten it. 

There are many feelings you might experience at the end of a project, like happiness, satisfaction, relief, or even worry about what comes next - should you take a break, immediately get started with editing, or move on to your next project?  I’ve heard several writers advise that you should allow yourself a treat, like some frivolous shopping or a nice dinner out, and then take a short break from the project to give yourself some perspective.  

I, myself, feel relieved, happy, and a sense of accomplishment when I complete a writing project.  I haven’t developed a specific ceremony to acknowledge the occasion, so need to work on that.  I like rituals and believe they’re an important part of commemorating an accomplishment (or even a Sunday afternoon).  The glass in the fireplace routine would likely not go over well for me, however, with my gas fireplace and its ceramic glass cover, so I’ll have to think of something else.  Including my cat in the observance sounds appealing. 

 

We all know typing, “The End,” is not really the end, as the work will likely require re-reading, editing, writer group critiques, etc.  But just getting the first draft done is cause enough for celebration.

Do you have an end-of-writing ritual?  What do you do to celebrate finishing a writing project, or any other big project, for that matter?

Angela Crider Neary is an attorney by day and writer by night. She is an avid mystery reader and especially enjoys reading novels set in interesting locales. She was inspired to write her first mystery novella, Li'l Tom and the Pussyfoot Detective Bureau: The Case of the Parrots Desaparecidos, by one of her favorite areas in San Francisco, Telegraph Hill.  Her second book, Li'l Tom and the Case of the New Year Dragon is now available.  To learn more, visit her on Facebook and Amazon.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

 

February was a tough month for me. True, February always has the potential for sadness since it marks the anniversary of the deaths of both of my parents. However, this year was probably the easiest grief-wise for me since their deaths. My biggest problem was being blind-sided by COVID fatigue. I'm an introvert, so needing to stay home doesn't bother me. Or, it didn't. It seems that, for me, not being bothered by the need to stay home ends at around eleven months. Who knew? (I was in such a funk that I didn't even realize until mid-March that I had forgotten my March blog post. *facepalm*)

Somehow, it seemed to make it worse knowing that there was a vaccine that could make things better but also knowing that it was out of reach. In February, my home state was still in phase 1A of vaccine distribution with no plans to expand to other phases. At the rate things were going, it was looking like the earliest I would be able to get a vaccine would be this Autumn. I honestly didn't know how I was going to make it that many more months with next to no human interaction.

My husband and I have been trying to go camping once a month. Camping helps in that it gets us out of the house and outside. It doesn't help in that, thanks to COVID, we don't get to eat out so camping doesn't give me a break from endless meal planning and cooking. At the time of this writing, I haven't eaten at a restaurant in over a year.

Image from Facebook

During the month of February we heard from more than one person about health clinics, etc. that had waiting lists of people interested in getting the vaccine; these lists were used when cancellations or no-shows left them with vaccines that needed to be used. My husband made it his goal to find such a waiting list in our area; his first several calls were fruitless. He finally hit pay dirt with a call to our local small town pharmacy. We actually got a call back from the pharmacy later that afternoon asking if we could come in for vaccinations. It turns out that they had had a cancellation and had been on the phone for two and a half hours trying to find someone who wanted/need the vaccine; everyone they contacted had either already had it or didn't want it. We gladly accepted. The pharmacist thanked us over and over for coming in. I was on the verge of crying tears of joy. I had never been so happy to get a shot. Fortunately, getting the first shot automatically put us on the schedule to get the second one which we did on March 29th.

My hubby keeps me laughing.

The 2nd vaccine is the one that most people have some sort of reaction to which makes sense to me; it's proof that your immune system is doing what it's supposed to do. Even though your mileage may vary, here's my experience:

* My arm was achy for about 36 hours after the first injection but it was nothing that a little Advil couldn't handle. (The second pneumonia vaccine was far more painful.)

* The pharmacy requires that vaccine recipients wait 15 minutes after their shot to make sure there are no reactions. (The 15 minute wait should be a requirement no matter where you get your shot.) It turns out, that was a good thing. I had no problems after the first shot but, about 5 minutes after the second shot I suddenly got extremely dizzy/light-headed and thought I was going to faint. I fought my way through it but it left me feeling shaky. I reported the near-fainting spell to the pharmacist when he came to check on us; he admitted later that I gave him a scare, LOL.

* The shakiness never completely went away and fatigue kicked in about 5 hours after the 2nd injection. In spite of being exhausted, I didn't sleep well that night, in part because of the extreme pain at the injection site every time I moved my arm. (The pharmacist warned us that the injection site would probably be more painful with the second injection. He was right.) When I got up the next morning, I just didn't feel good in general; the fatigue had been joined by general achiness and a low-grade fever. My husband felt much the same way. By mid-afternoon, my husband was fine; I was not. I took Tylenol every few hours which helped relieve my symptoms. By the time supper rolled around, nausea and a slight upset stomach had joined in.

* Fortunately, when I got up the next morning, I was pretty much back to normal. A little residual achiness and nausea showed up mid-day but Tylenol and Tums got everything under control.

I would have gladly dealt with worse symptoms for the knowledge that should I now contract COVID, odds are, it won't be life threatening. My anxieties should now be willing to let me leave the house without threatening to overwhelm me. 

How are you doing? How are you dealing with COVID fatigue?

 

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