Prelude...To The Beginning?

Yow-ZA!

I was perusing my dashboard yesterday when I surprisingly discovered that I wrote a grand total of 3 posts for the month of December. A scary thought indeed, since it means that I'm having way more fun not blogging and trying to get my act together than I should be.

Or should I?

For those of you who might be wondering just where in the world of Carmen Sandiego I've been. Well, like the opening paragraph states, I've been having fun not blogging and trying to get my act together. And for you-know-what and giggles, I've been mostly absent from Facebook as well.

Work has basically become the wet skidmarks on the underwear of life (gross I know), and because of that, for the past two months I haven't had the urge to do any cyber-socializing. I mostly lurk on your blogs, comment once in a full moon and show up long enough on Facebook to cook a three minute egg. Beyond that. my down time has been spent either unwinding in front of the doofus tube frying what little common sense I have to a golden brown or chipping away at my novel re-write.

Annnnnd, a small large percentage of my downtime has been spent thinking about blogging in general and this blog in particular. An ungodly percentage. A percentage that boggles the mind. A percentage, that if truth be told, comes to the forefront whenever I sit down in front of this computer and hook-me-up to the Internet.

So.

Blogging is and always shall be, an integral part of who I am and what I've become. But, has it become something that has finally decided to ride off into the sunset to whistle Happy Trails?

That, my friends, is the question that inquiring minds want to know. And in the coming days, is what we'll try to supply a definitive answer to. In the meantime, check out this song that I heard on college radio the other day: Girl In A Country Song.

(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Strange Presents, Strange Responses

One of my favorite memories involves my late father.

He did a lot of strange things during the Christmas holiday that to this day still brings a smile to my face. For example, every Christmas morning, we couldn't open our presents until he came down fully dressed, usually in some kind of solid color turtleneck and world's most hideous pair of plaid pants. Almost every conceivable color known to man were woven into these pants.

Another example would be his Christmas grab bag gift.

When I was growing up, my family often hosted the Math/Computer Sciences Dept. Christmas party. Lots of people, lots of food, lots of Christmas carols. The highlight of the festivities was the Christmas grab bag. Everyone, save the new staff member, chose a number and got a gift.

The new staff member, though, got my father's gift, which was the highlight of the grab bag.

Why, may you ask, was this the highlight? Because my father basically gave the present from the world down below. Almost to a capital T, the new employee was never clued in about my dad's gift, so when he/she received it, they initially wondered what all the hub-bub was.

Until they tried to open it.

Ya see, my dad used everything under the sun to wrap this (usually) small gift: multiple layers of wrapping paper, newspaper, scotch tape, string, and newspaper bundle straps (those plastic bands that keep newspaper bundles together). So quite often it would take the poor newbie about fifteen to twenty minutes to unwrap his gift.

Two And Done

Hiyas!

Somehow, what was supposed to be a short hiatus slowly turned into something a bit longer, and truth be told, showed no signs of abating. However, as most things go, so does this. Yesterday, I came up with an idea for a blog post. An idea that actually stuck around longer than the morning drive that it was created on. So, here it is, a nifty post on the fickleness of network t.v., circa the 1990's.

Back when I was Ms. Kitty's age, I used to watch network t.v. I know, it's hard to believe, but unlike today, in which the amount of current network {ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW (?), UPN (?)}t.v. shows that I've watched in the past several years you can count on one hand, I was a devotee of prime time. I always enjoyed discovering new t.v. shows to watch, especially niche shows.

What I mean by "niche" shows, are the ones that have a small cult following. Back then, network execs were more of a breed called "ratings obsessed numbnuts". Which means that if a t.v. show didn't get boffo ratings by the end of the 1st season, they would either cancel the show or tweak the crap out of it to fit a certain formula. Problem was, when they did that, the show ultimately jumped the shark, and was never to be heard from again.

For example, there were two t.v. shows that I'd discovered that absolutely rocked their first season. Problem was, they were a little on the dark side, and unlike today, in which most networks love shows that are a bit dark and realistic, back then the network dweebs didn't take kindly to that kind of drama. So they tweaked and forced them to jump the shark in the 2nd season.

Example #1: The John Larroquette Show. The show was about a recovering alcoholic who manages a big city bus station. Originally, the show was a bit dark, sort of like an unbalanced dramedy. But by the second season, it became more of an unbalanced comedy, and for me, ultimately lost me as a viewer. Somehow, this show lasted about 4 seasons, which with the amount of episodes it had (84), in today's world, would equal about 9.

Example #2: Gabriel's Fire. This show featured James Earl Jones as the lead. He played a cop who was released from prison and was hired by the lawyer who got him out to be a p.l. Again, this show was a very gritty drama from the get go, but like the first one, the ratings weren't there, so the network retooled it for the second season and turned into something more lighthearted. End result was that it become two and done, and done the hard way, as the 2nd season lasted only 12 episodes.

So, do you have any favorite niche t.v. shows, past or present, that jumped the shark due to the inability of network execs to leave well enough alone?

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

I'll Be Back Soon

Hiyas!

Life, both personal and professional, along with the writing bug mentioned in last week's post, has sadly made blogging not a priority this week. I hope to be back here by the end of the week, although I will still stop by your blogs (need something to keep myself occupied in the morning before work and in the evening after work) to visit, lurk and/or comment.

Comments are off for this particular post, which is a rarity for this blog (can't remember the last time I did that). Have a good safe week everyone, and if I don't catch you on the flipside of your blog, I'll probably catch you on the flipside of Facebook (if you're a friend or follower of my author's page) or this Saturday here.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

The Bug Done Bit Me, Dagnabit!

We cue up another episode of G.B.'s Adventures, Now?, the occasional series where G.B. discusses his thoughts and his Muse's thoughts about writing with the outside world. Today's post will feature the leaking of G.B.'s brain cells all over this blog, which is to say that those looking for some light BDSM will not find it here today (at least that's what my Muse would like everyone to know).

For the 1st quarter of 2015, my writing has been somewhere in the general vicinity of "let's procrastinate" and "I'll get to it soon, but first I need to goof on my computer for an hour and a half". Which is to say, not much of consequence was produced. However, by the 2nd quarter, I finally found something to work on, which was a total rewrite of this chapbook/novella. But as the 2nd quarter drifted into the 3rd, I found that I was spending more time forcing myself to write, than actually wanting to writing.

Scary thought indeed.

But, as they say, sometimes a good thing can pop up when you least expect it. While I was taking an unneeded break from my forced writing (working on the prequel to this), I decided to re-read one of my published short stories. Imagine my surprise when I found that the link was de-linked. With a little judicious research, which manly consisted of using Google and Facebook, I was able to find out what exactly happened. A few questions to clarify a couple of points, and I was back in business with my short story, Red Stripe.

And that, my friends, is when the writing bug bit me.

While I was trying to figure what to do with the story, an idea quickly popped into my head. a Kindle only short story release. In rapid succession, I had three stories picked out, two that were previously published and one fresh one. The fresh one turned out to be only partially written (belatedly discovered that several pages were missing from the version I was working on, but fortunately found them stashed elsewhere on the computer), so thus, I actually spent time AFTER WORK writing and polishing up the 2nd draft. I also spent a small percentage of that time planning/outlining the overall interior content.

And there was one other very tangible benefit to this bug bite: I no longer found that I was forcing myself to write. Instead of fear and loathing whenever I sat down in front of my XP to write, I had acceptance. Accepting the fact that self-imposed deadlines can be a crippler and that there is no wrong way to write (i.e., one book a year as opposed to multiple books a year), allowed me to rediscover the fact that writing has always been my oasis of calm from the crap-that-rolls-downhill-and-lands-squarely-on-my-head-every-day-life.

And that, at the very least, is the one life preserver that I can always latch onto whenever I need to.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Make The Randomness Stop!

Some time ago (like in another lifetime it seems), I wrote a blog post at my other blog about word association as it applies to music. Unfortunately, being the balding weird guy that I is, I was unable to find it (you try finding an old blog post with no clue on the tag you threw it on and tell me you don't get aggravated).

Anyhow, the gist of the post was listening to a song on the radio, and having a completely different topic drop into your brain because of it. Well, I thought I would revisit that particular thought today and turn it upside down by asking if you've ever thought of/worked on something mundane, and have that particular task suddenly cue up your internal radio? Yes? No? Maybe?

Well, for the past couple of weeks, I've been working at the drudgery that is work and because of that drudgery, I've had my internal radio kick in for the weirdest things.

For example, the other day I was talking to a supervisor about a subordinate's timesheet, and how what he wrote down I interpeted as "fun" and not "fam" (very long and very dull story). Next thing I know, both Rock & Roll High School and Rock & Roll Radio started cranking in the background, all generated from the word fun. Another example would be that I was sitting at my desk performing a very tedious task, when before I knew it, I was playing the song Popcorn on my desk.

Another example would be when I'm sitting at my desk, with all my work completed and completely bored out my skull (H.R. has come to the erroneous determination that I don't play well with others), working on crossword puzzles. In the annals of stuff that you can do w/o getting into trouble, number one with a bullet are crossword puzzles, followed by writing something on a small memo pad/notepad. Everything else (i.e., reading) is verboten.

So the other day, I was sitting at my desk doing crossword puzzles, when one of the clues triggered two songs. The clue was, "In one...". Instantly, two songs by Cage the Elephant popped up: In One Ear and Ain't No Rest For The Wicked (fantastic c.d. that you should go out and buy).

A few minutes later, while working on the same puzzle (not very challenging, trust me), another clue created another song. The clue: "werewolves, for one". The song: Werewolves of London.

At home, the most obvious weirdness is when I have Spam for dinner (yes, I like most flavors of Spam), which usually gets me talking like Graham Chapman and singing the song.

Thus ends today's post. Thought I had even more to write about the topic of choice, but ya know, sometimes all we have to play with is our B-game, which for me, is still purty darn close to the incredibly high standards that I set for myself. Tune in later this week for the further adventures of something, taking place at the corner of Qwerty and Yuiop.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Let Go Now, You'll Spoil Your Dinner!

So, here's the next batterbattterbatterbatternohitnohitnohitnohitnohit post for your Friday enjoyment. And yes, the topic isn't about baseball (how is it that the MVP for the National League came from a team that imploded and was the only other team to finish above .500 in its division?), but about writing.

Fortunately, it's short, sweet, and you knew it complete, when you wore a younger man's clothes....'cuse me. Could I have a little mood lighting here? Just right here. Here. Not there. Here. Not over yonder down by the van next to the river, but here.

That's right (what, you thought I was going to bother you with three video links that touch upon that last paragraph?)

Anywho.

As I stated at the close of the last record...ummm...a post last week, I was working on a short story trilogy. I had the pic all picked out, but no title to be had, 'cause you know that's what I like. What's that? Pick you up at eight? And don't be late? Oooooooooooh man, you know what I like...heheheheh...

Anywho.

A short trilogy working on story Amazon for am I, and the issue I'm having is converting one of the three stories from the usual 3rd point of view (like 2/3 of the books out there), to a present tense of view (like 2/3 of this blog post for example). I'm very fortunate that this is the only story that needs editing, since the other two, Cedar Mountain and Red Stripe, were previously published at Beat To A Pulp and The Cynic Online Magazine, respectively, thus they need really no editing or tweaking to speak of.

The one curious thing about this story is that while I'm busy tightening/tweaking/converting, the word count is dropping in dribs and drabs. Previously at 7,905, it now sits about one hundred words less. Bad grammar is bad grammar, which equals poor sentence structure.

Anywho.

The plot of this story is a very weird day in the live of a wanna-be writer. Intertwined in the overall story is three snippets and three complete stories, so in essence, you're getting four stories for the price of one.

The plots of the other two are a bit more straightforward than that one. Cedar Mountain tells the story of the four stages of life in comparison the four seasons on the mountain. To be honest, it gained a lot of positive comments when it was published back in '09. Red Stripe tells the story of a punk-rock singer/classical guitar player called Krystal who plays with her band The Methadones (yes, blatant drug reference here).

So, that's the latest for my writing. The other project has been put to the side momentarily, as I try to get this anthology polished for Spring 2016. In the meantime, I would like to kick off a winter long contest. I need a title for my anthology, and I would like to use this pic for it.

Your mission, should you deem to undertake it, is to come up with a title based on both the pic and the three very short story descriptions. The winner gets an acknowledgement plus a pimping of your website (if you have one) in the book as well. Enter as many times as you like, 'cause this contest ends in mid-January. And don't worry, I'll mention it as often as I can.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Hold It Now

Hi.

I had a post all set to go, but after thinking about, it didn't even reach the minimum standards of a lazy high school student (party, party) let alone mine, so instead, I sent it to draft post purgatory, where it will stay for the next several days/weeks/months/etc.

At the plate, we have a pinch hitter. In the on deck circle will be our brand spanking new post sometime later this afternoon after I get home from work (half day today. be jealous, be envious, but most importantly, get a job with a flex schedule like mine).

So, this mornings pinch hitter will feature what I'm doing on my public Facebook page these days: random photo.

#1

#2

#3

Talk amongst yourself and if you so desire, leave a thought about the pictures, especially if you don't like winter or perhaps, politics.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

No Sleep 'Til...Graduation?

G.B.

We interrupt our new blogging (old?) journey with a late breaking blog post that does not, repeat, does not feature anything about writing. I know, I know, it's hard to believe that G.B. can actually write a post about something other than writing.

Well, my friends, he can, and more importantly he will. So without further ado, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's G.B.!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Not too long ago, I posted a fun-filled completely silly picture of my wonderful daughter Jenelle. For those of you who missed it the first time around, here it the second time around:


Pretty silly isn't it? Yes, teenagers can possess a very strange sense of humor.

Fast forward to this past Friday, 13 November. On that Friday, the local high school had its annual homecoming dance, in which the entire student body gots dressed to the nines twice and spent the evening not really dancing with the opposite sex (at least as freshmen)

My wonderful 14 1/2 year old daughter Jenelle was no exception, as she got dressed to the nines twice. Now, what you're about to see doesn't really do her justice, as she can notoriously gun-shy when it comes to having her picture taken in certain situations, but what she had on for a dress, makeup, hair and shoes (gots to be the shoes!) made her daddy say out load, "Woah!" and under his breath, "Holy F'n Sh....I am doomed!" (seriously).

So, not only does dear old dad (picture Little Augie Doggy speaking) now not get a lot of sleep for the next four years, he'll also be channeling his inner Al Bundy.

God help us all.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Believe It...Or Not.

After giving it a lot of thought (helps to be preoccupied with other things), I decided to keep this wonderfully insecure blog going for a little while longer. Not sure what topics I'll touch upon, but I've been thinking about getting back to the basic tenets of what I originally created for this blog in 2008 (yeah, 8 1/2 years is 8 1/2 years): writing, work, and the world around me.

So, to continue on a theme, let's begin at the beginning with writing.

As I mentioned at the close of my last post, I got one of my previously published short stories back, so to speak. Its original home was on a nifty e-zine called The Cynic, which is kind of permanent hiatus these days. For the past week or so, I was at a loss as what to do with it. After all, what do you do with a short story that has no permanent home?

Then, in a scenario that only Captain Obvious would appreciate, I remember some time ago that I wanted to do a short story anthology, and in fact, had a few stories written for it. So I said to myself, "Hey! Why not?" (I'm man of few words when it comes to dealing with myself). Off I went to my trusty XP computer to find one particular short story, specifically, the other short story that I had published at another fine outstanding e-zine, which is still going strong to this day.

I found the short story in question, and after transferring it to my new computer, figured I was all set to create a short story anthology exclusive for Amazon, much like I did with Smashwords. Sadly, I discovered that I did not have six stories, I had three. The other three were incorporated into another story, so once again I had a trilogy on my hands.

This one should be easy to do, as it clocks in at just a hair over 14K/26 pages. All I have to do is a little judicious editing, creating a good copyright page (gotta make sure to tell people that all of these stories were previously published) and few teasers to my other books. Oh yeah, a good cover pic and a good title.

There lies the rub. I suck at creating titles for my stories (Line 21, anyone?) and trying to come up with a title for short story trilogy will suck major Democrat testicles (as opposed to Republicans, which in this state need to be seen with an electronic microscope). At least for the Smashwords trilogy the pic I had came with the saying "Broken Promises".

I do have a pic that I bought some time ago from IStock when my credits were getting ready to expire, so I may try to work something in with it. The photo is thus, and let me know what you think of it.

Perhaps I can come up with a title based on the content of the stories and this picture.

Thus ends part 1,001 of G.B.'s Writing Adventures? Now! Tune in to this same Bat Channel next week for part 2,002 of G.B.'s Writing Adventures? Now! where you'll get another writing update, but you will not here warble this song.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Wallowing In The MIrth Of Today

Yowza.

I's still here, wallowing in the mirth that is my day-to-day existence that we call life. Still trying to figure what I want to do here, 'cause you know, clarity is overrated.

Anywho, a writing/book related update of sorts for everyone.

I spent this weekend chipping away at the unknown story (that is, story sans title) that I originally wrote some years ago, back when I was still a semi-newbie writer. Yes, the odd thing about this story is that has no title. Imagine, writing a six chapter novel/novella with no working title connected to it, beyond calling it "My WiP!"

So, "My WiP!" it is. I've been chipping away at it and I have just a tad over 10K words written for it. As soon as I can figure out what this story is actually about (yah, very bad to write a story sans title and recognizable plot), beyond being a prequel (?) for this book, I'll let you all know.

In other news, the e-zine that had published my short story Red Stripe, has sadly gone belly-up. However, the good news is that I have all the other rights associated with that story, so now I just gotta figure out what to do with it. I am thinking of pairing it up with two others to offer a short story trilogy thingy for Amazon, like I have with Smashwords, but like everything else I plan, it requires time and money to complete.

And finally, in book news (hence the tag Books), I decided to actually BUY a book. Online. At Amazon. While this seems like a blinding case of the obvious, it really isn't. On the rare occasions that I buy books, I cut out the middle man and buy directly from the author (hence, I own almost two dozen indie/non-indie books wonderfully autographed by their talented creators). The amount of books I have bought directly from a retailer, including e-books, you can count on one hand.

Seriously.

So after reading a nice comment from Alex J. Cavanaugh about the availability of his work in print, I took the plunge and bought a copy of his first book (not the one listed for $1500) in his space opera series, CassaStar. As I've always said, I'm always interested in exploring new genres, so this will be a cool adventure indeed. I also bought a c.d. from Duran Duran that replaces a cassette I own, called "White Lines", which is a c.d. full of cool cover tunes from diverse artists like Lou Reed, Melle Mel, and Public Enemy. Funny side note, I found the 12" of White Lines at a Salvation Army thrift store sometime after I had bought the cassette.

Happy Moanday!

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

No IWSG Post Today

Greetings and salutations to all who have stopped by with the intent of reading my latest monthly contribution to the Insecure Writer's Support Group, only to find nothing of substance or import to read beyond this post.

The past few weeks have been a serious struggle for me on the home front, mainly with work related issues (unfortunately) taking up the bulk of my down time and not family related issues (fortunately). Because of those struggles, it's been a real you-know-what (pick your own select adjective to insert) just to get any kind of blog post written.

Therefore, no monthly post for IWSG today, and perhaps none for December, which in turn will have me go on a short hiatus from this very cool blog hop. Nothing is etched in stone for December though, but life sometimes has a way of making you prioritize the various issues in your day-to-day existence.

Thanks for stopping by to read my various monthly IWSG ramblings, and if you like what you've read here, either monthly or weekly, please check out my Amazon and Smashwords pages for some quality self-published goodies, or my book blog if you dig the personal touch.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Back To The Beginning II

If you're wondering about part 1, it's currently tucked away in draft mode, and has been for the past two weeks or so. I work on it, give up after a paragraph or two, then a few days later, reopen and insert a brand new post date, then repeat the vicious circle all over again (currently working on my 5th date for that blasted post). I tell ya, it ain't easy writing a blog post these days, but we're gonna give it the old college try yet again.

Collectively, I'm sitting at 1,600+ published blog posts, spread out over 8 blogs that covers roughly 8 1/2 years, and to tell you the honest truth, I'm running on empty here. I am simply at a complete and utter standstill with my blogging. I've covered almost every single topic known to me in some particular way at least seven times over, and to be perfectly frank, I don't know what to do anymore.

I mean, I've given some thought to retooling this blog yet again by concentrating my posts on the various aspects of my writing, but I think that would turn people off quite a bit. And if I decide to concentrate on my Tumblr blog, that might alienate readers here because Tumblr sucks up an incredible amount of bandwidth.

I don't think I'm going to go on hiatus just yet, but I really need to think/outline my future with my blogging. And if it means surrendering to the inevitable, so be it. But, before I do, I will be very thorough with my thought process and if there's a way for me to keep it going and keep myself motivated at the same time, I'll find it.

Peaches, Liquor and Tommyknockers.


(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

To Think With A Clear Mind Is To Have A Cluttered Reality

A hand taps the shoulder of an incredibly gorgeous looking woman resting in a lounge chair. She raises the brim of her floppy hat and lowers her sunglasses to see what's what. The hand thumgs over its shoulder. The gorgeous lady peers over the shoulder and nods slightly. She then dowsn the last of her drink, stands up and puts on an oversized shirt. She give the hand a gentle squeeze and walks of view.....

Hiya folks! It is I, G.B.'s wonderfully talented and incredibly hot muse, who'll be spending this fine October day chewing the fat and passing the time talking about nothing of import or consequence, at least to me that is. But then again, one never really knows.

G.B. asked me early yesterday morning if I would do a guest spot on the blog today, 'cause he had something of actual import that did not revolve around work. I told him, "Why yes, I would just LUV to talk on your blog today. Problem is, I have nothing of import to talk about. Got suggestions?"

Roughly one minute minute later, I had an idea, courtesy of the oneness that we have that I sometimes forget about. So, without further ado, here goes nothing.

Fundamental Reading Is

I have been for the better part of 40 years, a voracious reader. Didn't matter what the material was, newspaper, book, magazine, periodical, I read it. And for the most part, enjoyed it. Lately though, it seems that my interest in reading has waned quite a bit, and sadly, a lot of it has to do more with what I choose to read than anything else.

For better or worse (mostly worse it seems) my selections from the library has left an extremely sour taste in my mouth. It seems like for the past several books that I'd checked out of the library I have found to be wanting.

For example, out of the last four non-fiction books that I've checked out, I've only read one to completion. To whit:

John Lydon's latest memoir is just a rehash of his previous memoir, except a few extra years have been added on.
Ringo Starr's bio. This one, I got to the very end of a six page intro to find out that it was more of an unauthorized bio than anything else. Nothing worse that reading a bio about someone only to find out at the very end that it was written w/o the cooperation of the subject matter (Robert DeNiro's bio is also written sans Robert DeNiro's input).
John Prine's bio. Ditto.
Charles Dodson's (aka Lewis Carroll) bio. This one simply didn't grab me. Read through about one dozen pages of a prologue that concentrated on Alice Liddell before I cried Uncle Albert.

I've also encountered this problem with my choice of fiction as well. To whit, the last two books I've read by W. Bruce Cameron (he of 8 Simple Rules) were just phenomenal pieces of fiction (A Dog's Journey and A Dog's Purpose) that stayed with me long after I had returned them. But one that I checked out a week or so ago called The Midnight Plan Of The Repo Man, simply doesn't do it for me. I got as far as the beginning of chapter 2 before I gave up the ghost.

So from this brief sample, you can probably deduce that I've hit a serious dry spell. And for those of you who don't know my reading habits very well and think I'm being a little whiny, all of these books met my minimum criteria for selection: good title, good jacket blurb and a good random page read.

So now this leaves me in a bind for reading material. As of late, I don't bring books into work to read. Too many issues have arisen from me sitting at my desk with my nose buried in a book, so I do crossword puzzles at work. Thus, the books I pick up from the library are for when I need a temporary break from reality.

Are I Back?

Sort of.

Real world issues needed to be addressed last week, and while they haven't been 100% resolved, they have been upgraded from a resume stain to a stained resume. And while stupid is as stupid does (and yes, my job did something completely asinine, much to my unpleasant surprise) and while we won't go Forrest Gump on ya (please no!!!!!!), we will attempt a little whimsy to brighten up your Friday Wile E. Coyote-Super Genius does his very best lighten my load in my head (don't wanna play no head games).

I have a window in my den. And while it isn't a window to my rainbow bright soul, it is a window to the outside world. Being that it's attached to a cellar located  just above ground but below my feet, I don't see that much looking out 'cause someone is sneaking through after playing in the playground in my mind......

Anywho, I don't see much through the window. What I do see is basically a tree.

Specifically, the tree on the left is the one that I see. It was cut down about year ago or so as it was very much dead and very much a safety hazard. Surprisingly, it has given rebirth to fresh new branches and leaves. The wonders of Father Nature, eh?

However, I do get a lot of sound while slipping through the garden gate that prevents me from wandering around and getting lost. 'Cause getting lost isn't really fun, but to say that you're no fun is to pinch a phrase, and to pinch a phrase is to be a writer and to be a writer is to pinch a phrase.

Or a quote.

But, to say that a tangent is irrelevant in a blog is to say that frying an egg in a hot frying pan is not the ultimate analogy in the annals of PSA's, whether radio or video, is simply dead wrong.

And that, my friends, is why having a window without a view, as opposed to a room with a view (so long at isn't a brick wall), can be a very good thing.

Peaches, lust and tequila sunrises for all.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Where's G.B.?

Rest assured, I are here. Just not in cyber space. I wish I could say it was due to being super busy with my writing, but alas, it has more to do with serious issues at work, of which I really don't feel like elaborating or bloviating about. For the moment, I'm really not in a comfortable frame of mind for blogging, but I felt that I owed an explanation to my friends and readers as to why I've been (mostly) silent in the blog world (and on Facebook as well).

Until next week (hopefully), I leave you with this nifty going into your weekend video, inspired by the t.v. show Unsung.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Reality Is Concept #Whatever

So yeah, another holiday weekend has come and gone, and with it, 62 more pictures uploaded to my computer, 'cause you know, they gotta go somewhere.

Randomness is a good thing, especially with photos on a blog. Enjoy!

Teenagers will often buy the strangest things (c'mon, 'fess up, you had the same brain waves too when you was a teen) for apparel, and sometimes they'll get their grandmamma to buy it for them.

This is one of those times. A funky giraffe sleeper thingy.

Um.....yah.

I went for a walk Saturday afternoon with my camera and took the bulk of my 62 photos that day. These are some kind purply flowers growing on the side of the road. I actually took about three pics and this is the best of them.

My journey took me through the dead zone...umm, the tunnel...umm, the closed off section of Mountain road. This is looking south towards the end. It was quite peaceful and pleasantly mild walking down the road. And fortunately, no bugs or trash to speak of either.

 And this is looking back up the road from the concrete barrier. You can see that there really isn't much of anything in the way of debris. And yes, it was an exceptionally sunny road.

Additionally, the scenery in both this photograph and the one above is predominately featured in one of my slushie novels A Lascivious Limbo.

When I finished up my walk, I decided to take about a dozen photos of both Oreo The Sausage Dog and Tina Airplane Ears, our family Chihuahuas. I was dog sitting yet again (it's my basic weekend job during the summer camping season), so wanted to something different for a change.

Yes, I call Oreo a sausage dog since he's a bit larger than your average Chihuahua. Term of Bill's Endearment, you might say. As for Tina, I call her Airplane Ears because her ears are always  horizontal at rest.

And this, my friends, is as close as you're gonna get to seeing what my face looks like, sans hair and beard. Actually, I had Jenelle shoot about half dozen pics for my FB page, since I really don't want people to know what I look like. And yes, I was very hot in that hoody that day. Temps were in the mid 70's for Columbus day.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

But I Don't Wanna Participate!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's a rare Saturday post. Why? 'Cause I had a bald moment and clean forget that when it's IWSG week, I usually post thrice in a week. So, here is my belated thrice post, and unlike my personal pet peeve about title disconnect, this time the title actually connects for a 5,000 watt hit of electricity, which of course will make you smell what the G.B, is personally cooking.

Anywho.

I'm pretty anti-social when it comes to elevator travel. I get in, punch out the panel (seriously, the buttons gotta be 30 years old and work about as well as a Democrat with an empty wallet), go to my corner, close my eyes and wait to arrive at my destination.

And, if you can't get my meaning from me giving you the silent treatment on the elevator, you'll pretty much get it from the hostile body language being thrown in your direction.

In spite of all this fun, people still try to make me participate in casual conversations. Now, I'm not much of a conversationalist in elevators fro two simple reasons: my co-workers are 75% female, and my co-workers are 75% female. If you're a guy, put your mind in the gutter and you'll get that statement. If you're a gal, don't put your mind in the gutter, because you'll still get that statement with no further prodding from yours truly.

Now, I'm one of those people who mastered the fine art of hearing w/o listening. Which, in a nutshell, is like having lunchroom blather in your immediate area and not tuning into any part of the blather. Conversations go on in the elevator and I simply let it go in and out w/o stopping. Every once in a while, something wickedly stupid will be said, which in turn will make me tune in just to see what's the hub-bub.

Yesterday was a classic case in point. Traveling with several other women where the topic of choice was shoes: 

IWSG #14: It's A Boxcar Plus Snake Eyes!

IWSG

Yes, I know the post title really doesn't make sense, but it's been a losing battle for most of this year to have my titles actually connect with the content. I'm a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaad putty tat.

Or tweety bird, you decide.

In any event, here's the ever poplar tree opening for our monthly support group that doesn't feature either Dr. Bob Hartley or Lucy Van Pelt as the moderator (five cents please).

The first Wednesday of the month is set aside for insecure writers across the blog-o-sphere to share all of our individual experiences, the gud, the baaaaaad and the plug ugly.  

The other day, or was it last month? No, I'm pretty sure it was the other day. The other day, I mentioned my insecurities about publishing my books on Kindle, in that I didn't want to inadvertently get sucked into exclusivity.

I'm happy to say that didn't happen, for my two books:

are now available for your Kindle. That's right, for those of you who relish the thought of buying everything on one wholesome (ha!) website, you can now pick up Kindle editions of my latest latest literary creations. Clicking on my Amazon page will take you right to them. Or, if you enjoy doing things the less easier way, you can plug the titles into the search bar.

So that, my friends, really isn't an insecurity for the month of October, now is it?

Hmmmmm.....what to do, what to do, what to do (yeah, way too much poppyseed culture floating in my head these days)? I got it! Wait, no I don't. I guess I don't have any insecurities for the month of October. Very strange indeed. But I will try my very best to make up for it next month! I promise!

Wait! There's more (more?)! Yes, for your amusement, here are the poppyseed culture references that were used as source material today.

1} The game of craps;
2} Mel Blanc;
3} The Bob Newhart Show;
4} Peanuts;
5} Robin Hood: Men In Tights;
6} This very strange song.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

I Are Agressive

There are two kinds of phone calls that one receives throughout one's busy day: calls from people you like (i.e. family & friends) and calls from people you don't like (everybody else). More often than not, I have a tendency to get the latter, be it on my personal phone or work phone.

Today's post is about a call featuring both phones.

When it comes to answering phone calls from people I don't like, my default phone manner is super aggressiveness, specifically, sugary-sweet to the point of making anyone with earshot desperately chew it back.

This past Thursday (10/1), I received a phone call from Ally, the super smart folks who handle my my perpetually late car payments. Now, I'm very used to getting phone calls and letters from them about my perpetually late car payments, and frankly, it doesn't bother me. I always abuse the grace period given because when you're functioning with one paycheck, you learn quickly to prioritize your bills.

Anyways, back to the phone call.

Back Am I And Presents To Be Had By None I Not Bring!

Yeah, I know. My post titles are getting stranger and stranger. You know, after writing some 1500+ posts in 8 1/2 years, the first thing to really go is coherent post titles. Digging down into the dry well-water depths of originality, fervently hoping for something good, but ultimately pulling out seriously obscure poppyseed culture references is never a good thing.

Anywho.

I have returned to the blog world none the worst for wear and I do bring some tidings of good news. While I was away from the blog world, my MOBI files came through, and after some annoying fiddling around (having to add yet a 3rd financial account for my writings), I was able to upload this to the Kindle world of fun:

The good thing? Why, it's available for pre-order as we speak from Amazon. Get yours now before it goes on sale to the general public on October 7th.

The other good thing? It ain't enrolled in any of the KDP select programs that require me to yank it from Smashwords, so I does feel good about this. I was able to bypass that particular section none-the-worse for wear.

The bad thing? I belatedly realized about two hours after I had uploaded, that the wrong price was attached to it. So I had to wait for the first version to be approved before I could change the price, then had to re-submit for re-approval.

In other super-exciting news, I discovered what I can comfortably add to my story w/o suffering hand fatigue: roughly 475 words, give or take, per sitting. Which comes out to roughly a page and a half of typed text. In other really super-exciting news, I discovered how much I had really grown as a writer. I originally wrote this thing about seven years ago or so, and the scene that finishes chapter one (making out in the shower), went on for almost 4 pages.

Yes, four very long and tedious pages that read like a very bad porn script (I should save this and see I can rewrite for a submission to an adult movie company). So, this past Tuesday, I managed to take those four tedious pages and cut it down to exactly one and a half pages of readable text. So, as it was said in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, "Three cheers and a tiger for me, I have won!"

And finally, in really ultra super-exciting news, the eye surgery went remarkably well, in that the entire appointment lasted about 1 1/2 hours. The wife managed to walk me back to the car w/o a hitch, because I really didn't want open my eye any longer than necessary. And I spent a lovely Monday sitting in the backyard snoozing, which was momentarily marred when the wife scared the daylights out me by waking me up. If you recall previously, I discussed about residing in that between land while sleeping, when you become completely confused the moment you involuntarily wake up. Other than that, a good time was guaranteed for all.

And now, I'm back in the saddle again, so if I was you, I would do what the band in the video says:

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

I Are Not Here Too

Time now for the medical portion of Father Nature's Corner. For those of you who can't stand the thought of descriptive medical fun, you can skip the next few paragraphs, but be sure come back for the last, because just like Kermit The Frog, we have a late breaking news story.

Two weeks ago, I had willingly participated in part one of laser surgery for my one and only eye. Two hours of fun that surrounded 15 minutes with of pain and aggravation, which was soon followed by a day off with more pain that you could possibly shake a stick at. We followed that up by going back to work like a dolt the next day, only to suffer from a pain that could be described as, "stupid you, for going back to work early, now you're gonna pay for it."

Fast forward to now.

Now is pre-op, as in we scheduled a vacation day right after the surgery day, so I can spend the day wallowing in the beautiful Indian Summer and most importantly, not turn into a big baby pain in the ass for my wife.

Which brings us to the point of this post: I will once again go on a short cyber hiatus. My scheduled return date to the blog world is Wednesday night, although I will spend those off days making brief appearances on Facebook to post a few more travelouge pics from Brazil (got a few already, but you know me, I'm a stickler for actually identifying the people in the pic so as to give a proper credit), so as to pump up sales or at the very least get me some hits on my Amazon page. And like before, the comments will be hanging ten until Wednesday night.

In the meantime, enjoy this musical interlude by the ska/rock band The Hippos with the song "Paulina" (if you can find the c.d., by all means, please check it out, 'cause it really rocks).

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Life: It's A Box Car!

Sometimes, when you got nuttin' to blog about, you simply fall back on the tried and true, and hope for the best.

Poppy Culture and The Written Word.

Poppy Culture:

I listen to some truly strange music, especially artists who I consider to be my secret musical crush. You know, those artists that you love to listen to yet if anyone knew you actually listened to them, you be hoisted up a flag pole with a turban wedgie.

One of my secret musical crushes:

The Written Word:

Let's see, let's see, let's see. Ah yes, the written word. Well sir (or ma'am), it's like this. Haven't done any new writing this week 'cause work has been a major female of the canine species. Yes, I know, an unclean choice of words, but ya know, I do respect all my readers of both sexes, and while using THAT WORD in a story could be appropriate from time to time, using THAT WORD in a blog post that's located on a high end PG-13 blog would be inappropriate. So, we used an euphemism instead. I'm hoping to do some writing this weekend or early next week while I'm recovering from session #2 of eye surgery.

In other exciting news, I'm Kindlizing these:

I'm hoping to get them back later this week, so I can get them primed for an October 1st release. In the meantime, if print is your bag, please check out my Amazon page or my book blog for details.

In related news, a good friend from high school, who I reconnected with on Facebook (see, it's good for sumthin'), bought a couple of copies of the aforementioned books to take with him on his trip to Brazil. He also offered to do a travelogue with them, like the Travelocity gnome, and post the pictures on my FB page. So here is the first pic of A Taste Of Pain hanging ten at the Orlando airport.

Pretty cool, eh?

More pics featuring my books hanging ten with cool people at cool places in Brazil coming soon to Facebook, and quite possibly the blog world as well.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Life: It's A Little Joe!

Got too much crappola happening these days to properly triangulate a good post, but it's a Moanday (yes, yes, yes, OMG, yes!), so I needs to come up with something mildly entertaining.

First, a seriously short update on things:

1} Sent my books to be Kindled, so look for an announcement in October about it.
2} Added another 550 words to my latest epic non-fail.
3} Son turned 23 (23!) yesterday. Is finally realizing that as a guy, you will only win the battles with the girlfriend that she lets you win.
4} Work is work. To read an extended rant about it, please check my Tumblr blog.

Now, onto bigger and better things.

Once again, we uploaded yet another wickedly short and positively sleep inducing or mind settling video for your enjoyment. This one, like this one here, is of the same group of feathered friends that we shot over the July 4th holiday. And like the other, is about a minute long. Enjoy!

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

I Are Back

Like the title says, I are back (running gag at my house) and I bring tidings of Emerson, Lake & Palmer to serenade you for the few minutes that it takes you to read this fun-filled no action packed (like a John Mellencamp film) post.

I'm recovering somewhat slowly from session #1 of laser surgery. Not to gross anyone out too much, but I'm having some unwanted blood vessels (diabetes related) removed so as to keep my vision where it's at now for as long as possible. I won't bore you with the details but suffice to say, it's not something I would highly recommend to anyone to have done, either voluntarily or involuntarily,

Now, on to other things. Over the past weekend, I did a little writing (ummm, yah.) and some reading. I also got two books from the library, one fiction and one non-fiction.

First the fiction.

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron (ye of 8 Simple Rules, one of my fav network shows). This one I picked up because my public library has one of his latest, and since I'm naturally hardwired weirdly, I decided that I needed to read the first dog oriented book that he wrote. If you like stories about dogs and if you're deeply interested in the concept of reincarnation, then this book is for you. Simply put, this is like the canine equivalent of the Robin Williams movie The Bicentennial Man. I'm normally not a fan of light fluffy fiction, but this book really struck home with me. I laughed, teared up and ultimately walked away a very satisfied reader. Get this book, because it'll do you good.

Second, the non-fiction.

Anger Is An Energy by John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten). I like John Lydon and some of his music (Sex Pistols and PiL), and even read his autobiography years ago. However, I did not know that his latest was an updated autobio until I got about one chapter in. I'm not a big fan of well known people who write more than one autobio, since to me it only means that they're looking for a couple of extra bucks. I did not finish reading this book and in fact, stopped about halfway through chapter 2.

My opinion of John Lydon's autobio's is this: If you didn't read the first that came out in '08, then by all means read this one. It covers a bit more ground than the first and seems like it would be a very enjoyable read (publisher has a weird warning in the beginning that basically says minimal editing was done). If you read the first, don't bother reading the second, because the only new stuff in the book covers the years of '08 thru '14.

Thirdly, the writing.

I spent my hiatus: tail end of Monday once my eyes started going back to normal late in the evening and Tuesday, chipping away at my latest project. I decided that it would be much, much easier to peck away on the keyboard, as opposed to writing it out by hand, simply because once again, I have a 99% completed manuscript to play with. Chopped one head-scratching scene and properly loosened multiple paragraphs so that the story actually flows and makes sense. At the moment, I have a shade over 4K words written (about 6 1/2 pages) so far, and the plan is to keep chipping away on this in the late evenings when I have some free time to play with.

And that, my friends, is my new plan of attack, which of course is subject to change whenever the mood strikes me. Tune in next week when you'll hear G.B. say, "Oh my God! Not her!"

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

I Are Not Here

That's right folks, I are not here today. In fact, I will be taking a very short hiatus, which is directly due to having the first of two non-cosmetic laser surgeries performed on my eye. I will be more or less, blind as a activist that believes that only one certain type of life matters and everyone else is cannon fodder.

With that cheery thought leaving a bitter taste on the tongue (much like Jenner getting blowback because Jenner doesn't believe in gay marriage on the tongues of Hollywood gay rights activists), I leave you with one of my favorite bluegrass songs from one of my favorite bluegrass shows, which can be found on WWUH.

I shall see (hopefully) everyone on Thursday. Also, comments won't be processed until Wednesday night, so don't be alarmed if you don't see anything for verbiage.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Continuing On A Theme

Labor Day.

A time to reflect on what it means to be a worker bee in the screwed up world of 2015.

Take two.

Got bored on Labor Day 'cause you know, I gets bored on a holiday. Went for a bike ride around town. With video camera. Took photos like this:

Then rode around a little more and took photos like this:

Rode around a little more, one handed yet, and took photos like this:

Then rode around a tiny bit more, and took bad videos like this:

The Dullest Video Ever Filmed! 

My very first publicly posted YouTube video. This is what happens when you're bored and have no idea on what topic to write about. I have 3 other excruciatingly dull videos that I will upload for you-know-what and giggles that I had shot during my Labor Day bike ride.

Happiness is creativity in action!

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Eye Gots My Eyes On Yous!

Yes, there comes a time when the world seems so self-centered that you want to simply yell at the top of your lungs, "THIS SUCKS MAJOR MOOSE TESTICLES." However, that feeling soon goes away, and you're left with this:

 What? I've got my eyes on you? I'm not petrified, I'm just stoked on 15 cups of double shot espressos!

 Look seriously deep into the eyes that have eyes on you. You're getting sleepy, sleepy, sleepy...oh, nevermind, my eyes are much better than yours.



 My eyes are on you, my loyal peasants! I am queen of all you survey, so you better pay attention!

What? Oh yeah, sure, my eyes are on you. And they're not on this mouth watering, lipsmacking 110% pure beef weenie! No sir. Ummmm...pass the mustard please.

Go away! Just go! I mean it! Leave me alone! Now!

I'm all seeing, all knowing, and now you know what I look like eight and a half years later. I also got my eyes on you, and hey, you stop drinking that kegger, it's way too early in the day to get sloshed. I don't care if you need to tie one on to make it through your day as a driving instructor. And by the way, Happy Monday!

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

But Wait! Intolerance Is Alive And Well On FB

As most of you know, I rarely let real world issues bleed into my blog. I like my blog to be a little escapism from the trials and tribulations of the day. Sometimes though, I'll come across something that, to quote Frank Burns, "Tightens my colon.", and rather vent about it on FB, where rational thought often goes MIA while bullying marches on, I'll vent about it here.

For those of you who have may been out of the country, whether on vacation or living, there has been a big brew-ha-ha in Kentucky involving a county clerk, marriage licenses and the Federal court system. As you read this post, the county clerk in question has been whiling her hours behind bars for contempt of court.

I won't bore you with the gruesome details, but rest assured that the S.O.P. has been applied here:

1) lawsuits;
2) death threats;
3) judicial threats; and
4) the proverbial chaos that follows due to the involuntary forcing down the collective throat of the American public of something that, believe it or not, not everyone fully supports.

My beef, as always when it comes to gay marriage, is the distinct lack of tolerance by those who profess tolerance and/or equality for all shown to those who have differing opinions than of what the militant left has (I won't go Curt Schilling on anyone just yet)

Whether you agree or disagree about gay marriage isn't really the issue. The issue here is the simply lack of tolerance for civil disobedience. Unlike in the judicial world or the militant world of the left, there are no absolutes in life. If a person feels strongly about a law that they consider unjust, they practice disobedience. Some who practice civil disobedience that the militant left approves of (offshore drilling, fracking, letting the EPA run amuck), gets applauded and slapped on the back.

Those who practice civil disobedience should be respected for standing up for a principle, not mocked and denigrated. Does it really matter what she did in the past or what she is now? Should it matter?

The more people on the militant left hyperventilate and rage about it not being about religious beliefs, the more people are going to dig in their heels and the more volatile the issue is going to become. Civil disobedience is not going to go away, in spite of what the militant left, their co-horts in the legislature and their co-horts on the bench may say.

And that, my friends, is my five cents on this issue.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

IWSG #13: A Baker's Dozen Worth Of Fun!

IWSG

Insecure are ya?
Need a shoulder to cry on, do ya?
Lookin' for like minded peoples to share your misery with, do ya?
Well my friends, ya come to the write place, 'cause I's is one of yous!

I's have two big shoulders to cry on! I's a like minded peoples that you can shares your miseries with! Most importantly, I's just as insecure as yous!

It's funny how writing, or in my case rewriting, a story that you're gung-ho about can actually make you feel seriously insecure, not to mention putting you in the proverbial blow-your-brain-out-of-the-cerebral-fluid-bath phrase of "write, or edit?"

Up until very recently, I've been chipping away at re-writing this nifty self-pubbed novlla. I've actually been quite gung-ho about re-writing this, 'cause just like Hollywood's long string of bad remakes, I too have the original to play with. But something suddenly popped up to make things go slug nutty. For a seriously long yet somewhat informative post, please click here. Please note, this goes directly to my adult blog, so you'll have to answer the proverbial yes I do, no I don't question. I posted it there partly because I didn't want to do it on Tumblr and partly because the monthly IWSG post should be short and to the point. Trust me, I will not become offended if you don't want to go there.

So to give everyone a two-fer, here is my other insecurity: Doing Kindle with my e-books.

I saw a nifty article a couple of weeks ago in a blog called The Passive Voice about maximizing your exposure. It suggests, somewhat persuasively, to use at least two platforms for your e-books, Smashwords & Kindle. Now I did look into this and did some basic research with the two websites that I do business with, and the additional outlay to do my last two books for Kindle is $50.

I've been giving this a lot of thought, and while I'm leaning very strong towards doing this, I'm also very leery in getting sucked into any of the other Kindle programs that require exclusivity by mistake. I actually like being on Smashwords with my e-books and I'm very intrigued about doing Kindle, but I'm worried about making a mistake that would take me forever to dig out from.

So that is my two-fer for insecurities for the month of September. How 'bout you? Gone through something similar with either the first insecurity or with the second?

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.

Holy Cow! I's Done Wrote CCL Of M!

Celebration time c'mon! It's a celebration!

Oh yeah!

Yeah baby, it's Bossa Nova Time!

Oh to be able to actually dance like that! Who am I foolin'? I can't even dance to anything faster than a slow waltz. Sort of.

Anywho, back to the grindhouse.

While I was trying to figure out what to write for today, it suddenly dawned on me, well, not suddenly, since I was perusing my published post list, that this is post #250 for this here blog and post #1554 for all six Blogger blogs. While I don't do much in the way of blog anniversaries anymore (seriously, after 8 1/2 years of blogging), I figure this should count for something special, since writing that many freakin' posts for a blog that came into being only 2 years ago is quite an accomplishment for me.

I won't bore you with the gruesome details, so if you wants them, click on the link in the preceding paragraph, but suffice to say I am pretty gosh darn proud of what I've been able to do with my blogging. But enough about that, 'cause repetitiveness is not really a good thing to for a blog post, unless your brain has gone to mush.

So now, for something completely different.

Feel free to hate me now, 'cause Father Nature is pimping a nasty winter for 2015, and what better way to get everyone annoyed than to post a pic from a previous winter. Besides, if retail stores can pimp back to school sales two weeks after school ends, Halloween in August as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas, then this blog can go directly to winter w/o stopping at Autumn or saying bub-bye to Summer.

(c) 2015 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.