Month: October 2019

What’s the best productivity hack out there?  This article reminds me of something I’ve said to my writing friends – BICFOK (Butt In Chair, Fingers On Keyboard).

Jessica Lange is a gift.  I can’t wait to see her book of photography.

Minnesota schools and students celebrated MEA Break on Oct. 17-18.  The Minnesota Educator Academy (MEA) conference is held on the third Thursday of October each year, so school kids are left to their own devices.  I had a couple friends go to Florida, some acquaintances head to places like Hawaii, Iceland, and London.  I took my kids to Iowa. It may not be the most exotic location, but it’s where my family lives and my boys got to spend some extended time with my parents. (Mostly my dad, which – I think I’m going to owe him a large bottle of something at the holidays.)  On Friday, we went to Effigy Mounds National Monument near Marquette, Iowa.  Funny fact and a fun bit of symmetry for my dad and I – neither of us had been to Effigy Mounds since we were kids.  So, some 25+ years for me; some 45+ years for my old man.  And yes, I think Dad and I had more fun than the hellions we had in tow:

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Watching: My husband and I had a rare child-free night recently.  (Thank you to my parents for wrangling my hellions!)  We thought about watching a Marvel movie, then I was making my play to have us start the Indiana Jones trilogy (and it IS a trilogy, this movie doesn’t exist).  But then we saw that Jim Henson’s classic “The Dark Crystal” was on Netflix and we turned that on (while eating cheap pizza.  We are nothing if not romantic and decadent.)  It’s always funny to watch movies from your childhood through the lens of adulthood.  This one is still creepy AF, but such a good watch.  (And it assured us that no, our children are not ready to watch this movie.)

Bonus Watch – We had a family movie night over the weekend and watched the 1971 “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”  Gosh, that movie is so good.  And (some) shade towards Johnny Depp, but to think that he could replace Gene Wilder?  Fuggedaboutit.

Reading:  Finished Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir.  Ooof – I can’t believe that I have to wait until June 2020 to read the second book in the trilogy!

Writing Life: Getting ready for Bouchercon and trying to balance work deadlines with personal ones!
– Shelley

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What is Friday Fare? As a recap, on Fridays I post link love to the various bits of arcane shiz I discover on the Interwebs.  I liken it to a glimpse into my mind, but without the 80s song lyrics or mental cobwebs.

Huge congrats to my friends Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence for the release of their book The Science of Monsters.  I am so freaking proud of both of them.  And seriously, this past week was a deluge of amazing books from authors that I know or am acquainted with:

• Catch Me When I’m Falling by Cheryl A. Head – I had the extreme pleasure of getting to know Ms. Head earlier this spring when she presented to MWA-U on the topic of “Characters, Not Caricatures” – writing diverse characters in fiction.
• The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas.  I love Ms. Thomas’s take on the Sherlock Holmes canon, reimagining the character as Charlotte Holmes.
• Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha.  OK – so I don’t know Ms. Cha at all, but all of my mystery peeps are abuzz on Cha’s novel.

Is it any wonder that I think I’ll never catch up on all of the awesome books that are out there in this world?

This article made me chuckle – a look at a Midwest chain’s take on pizza.  And guess where you can get it?  At a gas station.

Another book that I should read, but haven’t put on any of my hold lists is Ronan Farrow’s in-depth look in the reporting that took down Harvey Weinstein.  One of the producers who worked with Farrow on NBC News’s original investigation wrote this piece for Vanity Fair. 

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Listening: Spotify has been really good to me lately. It reminded me of this gem from the late Leonard Cohen:

Reading:  Finished Rob Hart’s The Warehouse.  And I absolutely understand every accolade it has received.  Such a good book and one that feels all to prescient in our Amazon-driven world. Also, upon the recommendation of … well, it seems like nearly everyone on social media, I’m reading Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir and wow …  So.  Good.  And what a voice.

Writing Life: T-minus only a week+ before I’m heading down to Dallas for Bouchercon 2019. I am so excited, but it’s also hitting me that ~10 days is not a lot of time to get everything done.  Like … you know.  Figure out what clothes to pack.  Research what panels I should attend, figure out who will be in attendance, update my business cards, etc. And since my wonderful in-laws are coming up to help my husband wrangle the hellions, I need to make my mother’s meatloaf and leave it in the fridge as a thank you to my father-in-law. 🙂 The man doesn’t ask for much, but he likes my meatloaf.

– Shelley

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What is Friday Fare? As a recap, on Fridays I post link love to the various bits of arcane shiz I discover on the Interwebs.  I liken it to a glimpse into my mind, but without the 80s song lyrics or mental cobwebs.

Fall has settled in my corner of the Midwest with a (very rainy) vengeance.  Seriously, the end of September had STICKY HOT weather and as soon as the calendar turned to October, it got cold and it started to rain.  But I love sweater weather, so this kind of weather sings to my soul.

First and foremost – huge congrats to my dear friend and mentor Jerry Johnson.  His latest collection of essays and work is gathered into A View from the North Country and is available for purchase.  I cannot wait to read it and feel blessed that I will get a copy hand-delivered to me (and that said delivery will be accompanied by lunch and beer with the author.)

What was the best children’s book from the year that you were born?

This was a fascinating deep dive into a murder investigation in Texas from the 1980s.  It’s a long read, but a good one.

Sheryl Crow is one of the big voices from my childhood and it was cool to see an article about her and to hear that she has a new album out.

The Washington Post ran an article a few weeks back about a small town in western Minnesota called Worthington.  One of the main characters in the piece was a bus driver named Don Brink and what he had to say about the immigrant children on his bus route was heartbreaking and infuriating.  One woman in the Twin Cities has decided to combat hate with action and has set up a GoFundMe to help unaccompanied children in Worthington.  In a world where there’s a lot of hate, it’s inspiring to see someone combat ignorance with love.

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Watching: I re-started watching Vikings this week. And while I was about to write, I’m not entirely sure why, I do know why … there’s a Skarsgard in the series and I do love those Swedes.

Reading:  Still working through King by David S. Faldet.  I’m also reading Gretchen Rubin’s Better Than Before. Aaannnndd Rob Hart’s smash The Warehouse showed up in my library holds.  So … yeah.  There are a lot of things I’m trying to get through right now.

Writing Life:  Steady as she goes …

One thing that’s happening right now that I’m involved with and super psyched to be part of is that submissions for MWA-Midwest’s Hugh Holton Award is open now through October 15th.  I won the Hugh Holton in 2015 and as part of my “pay it back” as a MWA-Midwest board member is helping coordinate this program.  If you’re an unpublished mystery writer, click on the link and get your submission in!

I don’t know if you all are pumpkin spice kind of people, but drink whatever hot beverage makes your soul happy and remember to be kind to the people that you meet.  Happy October, friends!

– Shelley

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What is Friday Fare? As a recap, on Fridays I post link love to the various bits of arcane shiz I discover on the Interwebs.  I liken it to a glimpse into my mind, but without the 80s song lyrics or mental cobwebs.