Five-Thing Thursday: July 7th.

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Ken

Welcome, everyone to another Installment of Five Thing Thursday!

Here are Five Things that I want you to know:

Thing #1: I’ve been quiet here on the Blog for a couple of weeks. Life has been particularly heavy, but now I’m back. Thanks for sticking with me.

Thing #2: I wrote for the first time in about a week (give or take) It felt good.

Thing #3: You are not a machine. Even on a day-to-day level, what you’re capable of doing will vary. That’s part of being a human

Thing #4: Playing on the mental Jukebox right now: Death Wish by Striker

Thing #5: You wouldn’t think that you’d miss having hot water during the Summer….

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What am  I reading this week?

The Bared Blade by Kelly McCullough

The Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean

How have I been relaxing and refilling the well?

I’ve been getting more reading done, though not on the kindle. I’m in a cycle where I need to feel the book in my hands or something.

I’ve also been taking deliberate time out of the day to just sit and breathe mindfully for a few minutes. Slow, deep breathing. It shoves the world off my shoulders a bit.

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Be sure to check out the Freebies Page for story Excerpts.

If you’ve read, and enjoyed any of my books, please consider leaving a review:

Weird Wild West

Trials

Predators in Petticoats

Chasing the Light

See you on Sunday!

Until then…

Be safe. Be Excellent to each other.

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What a Mess

Posted on June 26, 2022 by Ken

I can’t even remember what it was that I was originally going to post about this week. The events of the past few days have driven it from my head, and filled that space near to bursting.

I don’t have the spoons for anything more than that.

Thanks for reading. Be safe out there. Be Excellent to Each other – and yourself.

I’ll see you on Thursday.

###

Be sure to check out the Freebies Page for story Excerpts.

If you’ve read, and enjoyed any of my books, please consider leaving a review:

Weird Wild West

Trials

Predators in Petticoats

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Five-Thing Thursday: June 23rd.

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Ken

Welcome, everyone to another Installment of Five Thing Thursday!

Here are Five Things that I want you to know:

Thing #1: At the risk of shooting myself in the foot, I think I’ve managed to get back on top of my allergies. It took me over a week.

Thing #2: Sometimes the hardest thing to do is nothing. This is absolutely NOT related to me having to stay off my feet to shake this Achilles Tendinitis. Not even a little

Thing #3: Zenith by the band Seven Kingdoms was released on the 17th. This is an Amazing album. Do yourself a favor and give it a listen.

Thing #4: Playing on the mental Jukebox right now: I Hate Myself for Loving You (Joan Jett Cover) by Seven Kingdoms

Thing #5: I’m having thoughts about the ending of a certain series.

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What am  I reading this week?

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

Maplecroft by Cherie Priest

The Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean

How have I been relaxing and refilling the well?

This has been a week of two parts. First, it’s been forced relaxing – which is sometimes not relaxing at all. Additionally, it’s been really hot and humid – and my heating/cooling is being repaired – so no hot water, nor air conditioning and the nights have been rough sleep wise. I’m hoping to get back on a more even footing this next week.

###

Be sure to check out the Freebies Page for story Excerpts.

If you’ve read, and enjoyed any of my books, please consider leaving a review:

Weird Wild West

Trials

Predators in Petticoats

Chasing the Light

See you on Sunday!

Until then…

Be safe. Be Excellent to each other.

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The Pace of Life

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Ken

I have Achilles tendinitis.

This is of course my amateur opinion, but I’ve had it before and this is exactly what it feels like, so I’m backing myself on this call.

I know I’ve said this before, but one of the things that the Universe apparently needs to remind me of, on occasion, is that of the many paces at which life can move – the one that matters most is my own.

It’s a harsh reminder – especially in the morning when the tendon is tight. But it’s a good idea to revisit.

Everything I do now, I’m doing so much slower – primarily because it hurts to walk – and I’m evaluating all of the things that I used to rush around trying to get done.

Granted, I’m doing this out of necessity but it’s important to remember:

The World will try and call the tune but, ultimately, You are the Musician.

The World turns at Your Pace. Believe that.

Compared to my “usual” weekend, I’ve done nothing. As it should be, I’ve got freaking tendinitis. But, despite all of the things I haven’t managed to get done this weekend…we’re all still here.

It’s hard. I know this. Despite the physical evidence to the contrary, I still FEEL USELESS if I’m not doing all the things.

That’s conditioning.

IT’S RUBBISH!

We weren’t made for this pace, reject it.

You know what’s important, everything else is extra – and can wait until tomorrow, or the next day.

Ultimately, here’s what I want you to take away from this:

Take care of yourself.

Move at your own pace.

That second one is going to be hard. I struggle with it even now, as I’m typing this. My heel is ACHING and I’m about to go strap something Ice-Cold to it for a while (again) AND I’m still feeling a bit guilty about not helping out around the house/with chores.

What I am failing to realize is that moving at my own pace – whatever that may happen to be at any give time – is a critical part of my overall health and well-being.

Maybe, if I keep reminding myself, it’ll stick…

Thanks for reading. Be safe out there. Be Excellent to Each other – and yourself.

I’ll see you on Thursday.

###

Be sure to check out the Freebies Page for story Excerpts.

If you’ve read, and enjoyed any of my books, please consider leaving a review:

Weird Wild West

Trials

Predators in Petticoats

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Five-Thing Thursday: June 16th.

Posted on June 16, 2022 by Ken

Welcome, everyone to another Installment of Five Thing Thursday!

Here are Five Things that I want you to know:

Thing #1: Allergies are really bad this year. I mean, I have a hard time with allergies every year but, even taking that into account, this is a bad year for allergies.

Thing #2: I was Last Monday years old when I learned that the band Quiet Riot – who featured pretty heavily in the soundtrack of my life through high school, had released two previous albums prior to the one I am most familiar with. They were released exclusively in Japan.

Thing #3: There are times when only a pretzel will do.

Thing #4: Playing on the mental Jukebox right now: Sampson and Delilah by Accept

Thing #5: I don’t care who you are, if you introduce an entire new race in the last book of your series, and they turn out to be a significant factor in said book, you’ve just burned A LOT of credit with me. Maybe not enough to stop me from reading – Maybe – but you take a huge risk. Not cool. Don’t do it.

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What am  I reading this week?

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

Maplecroft by Cherie Priest

The Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean

How have I been relaxing and refilling the well?

It’s been a bit of a stressful week. Storms, Power problems, loss of equipment. I’ve been running at minimum – or trying to, what with dayjob and wrangling the repair/restoration efforts. I haven’t written every day this week. Simply haven’t had the space to do it.

And I’m giving myself a pass.

Too much disruption to plow through as normal, so I’m not. Sleep and mental care is at the fore and I am constantly reminding myself to not kill myself trying to keep up at dayjob.

Things are easing back to baseline, though there are still some things that need doing. At the minute, the plan is to keep on keeping on. Do what I must and let the rest fall as it will this week.

Notice that I managed to get a post up for you all 🙂

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Be sure to check out the Freebies Page for story Excerpts.

If you’ve read, and enjoyed any of my books, please consider leaving a review:

Weird Wild West

Trials

Predators in Petticoats

Chasing the Light

See you on Sunday!

Until then…

Be safe. Be Excellent to each other.

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What am I Doing with My Time?

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Ken

As is so often the case, a single thought will kick off an entire blog post.

I asked myself the above question some few days ago just before shutting down Twitter. Not quite in disgust, but distaste. I was just scrolling, doing nothing and generally feeling more and more “Eww” as I went along.

That got me to thinking – not at first, but eventually – about how I was spending my limited down time.

Was I doing anything new? Anything interesting, or was I just, as the saying goes, killing time?

The problem with that, as the saying also goes, is that time’ll kill you right back.

Now, before I get any further, let me be clear on one thing:

Sometimes you need the comfort of the familiar. A few days ago, I was running on empty and I needed a bit of fun, so I watched a movie. it was one I’d seen several times before and it did exactly what I needed it to do.

Nothing wrong with that at all.

Until it becomes a habit.

It’s when you find yourself doing the same things over and over again is when you start to run into trouble.

Confession time:

I’ve got Twitter both on my laptop AND on my phone. I have switched from one platform to the other without even getting up and moving from the room.

It’s a habit, that I’m breaking.

It’s almost the same thing with Instagram – which is my feel good platform. I’ll sit there and watch other people having a good time – which does make me happy, but I’m not getting out there myself.

And I don’t want to send the wrong message here. I’m not comparing myself to those folk. I can’t actually be in all of those places all at once, doing all of those things. I’ve just come to the realization that I’m watching, when I could be doing.

There’s times and places for that. Standing in line, for example. Now it could be argued that lines are also a good place to get a bit of spot-reading done, and this is true, but sometimes you don’t have the headspace for that and just want a quick bit of happy.

So I’m actively taking a couple of weeks to look at how I’m spending my idle time. Then I’ll have some choices to make.

What could I be doing right now?

Thanks for reading. Be safe out there. Be Excellent to Each other – and yourself.

I’ll see you on Thursday.

###

Be sure to check out the Freebies Page for story Excerpts.

If you’ve read, and enjoyed any of my books, please consider leaving a review:

Weird Wild West

Trials

Predators in Petticoats

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Five-Thing Thursday: June 9th.

Posted on June 9, 2022 by Ken

Welcome, everyone to another Installment of Five Thing Thursday!

Here are Five Things that I want you to know:

Thing #1: Do your best. Keep in mind that your “Best” is a moving target because you’re human. You’re also wonderful, so cut yourself some slack.

Thing #2: Let me say that again: You’re Wonderful.

Thing #3: I have finally started the final book of The Wheel of Time.

Thing #4: Playing on the mental Jukebox right now: And Then There Was Silence by Blind Guardian

Thing #5: Sometimes, distance from an old favorite may blunt the sharp edge that was there before. Sometimes, it doesn’t – and that’s a good thing to discover.

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What am  I reading this week?

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

The Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough

The Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean

How have I been relaxing and refilling the well?

Primarily, I am focusing on sleep. Also, I’m taking a look at how I’m spending the limited down time I do have and asking if I’m really making the most out of it.

###

Be sure to check out the Freebies Page for story Excerpts.

If you’ve read, and enjoyed any of my books, please consider leaving a review:

Weird Wild West

Trials

Predators in Petticoats

Chasing the Light

See you on Sunday!

Until then…

Be safe. Be Excellent to each other.

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That’s the Beauty of It

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Ken

I confess to feeling a little bit burned out lately and when this reminder came out of the blue, it really struck home, so I decided to share it here.

Each day is an empty page. Just for you.

How does that with burnout, you might ask? The realization that you don’t have to keep doing the same thing over and over is huge. The past doesn’t dictate the future. Not even from one day to the next.

That’s the beauty of it. The beginning of every day – whenever that may happen to be for you – is an invitation to go anywhere.

That includes not going anywhere, if that’s what you need. Self care is important – as is the necessity of rest. You don’t need to be doing all the things all the time.

Take today – and every day this week to stop and ask yourself: Where do I want to go from here? Right this moment. What will this empty page look like at the end of the day?

It can be anything.

Thanks for reading. Be safe out there. Be Excellent to Each other – and yourself.

I’ll see you on Thursday.

###

Be sure to check out the Freebies Page for story Excerpts.

If you’ve read, and enjoyed any of my books, please consider leaving a review:

Weird Wild West

Trials

Predators in Petticoats

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Five-Thing Thursday: June 2nd.

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Ken

Welcome, everyone to another Installment of Five Thing Thursday!

Here are Five Things that I want you to know:

Thing #1: While I enjoy Holidays that give me the day off work, I often find myself “Missing” a day. Particularly when that holiday falls on a Monday. Typically, this means that I’m pleasantly surprised to find that I’m closer to Friday than I thought. It also means that I’m closer to Thursday than I thought.

Thing #2: One more thing about During-The-Week Holidays. You DO NOT have to try and squeeze 5 days into 4.

Thing #3: Over the past couple of weekends, I’ve watched the entire Resident Evil Franchise. Some were better than others, but none of them I’d call “Bad” as long as you could suspend disbelief.

Thing #4: Playing on the mental Jukebox right now: Place That We Call Home by Battle Beast

Thing #5: I wear a mask everywhere – except when I decide to mow both front and back lawns on a high allergen day.

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What am  I reading this week?

Over the past couple of weekends, I’ve watched the entire Resident Evil Franchise. Some were better than others, but none of them I’d call “Bad”

The Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough

The Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean

How have I been relaxing and refilling the well?

###

Be sure to check out the Freebies Page for story Excerpts.

If you’ve read, and enjoyed any of my books, please consider leaving a review:

Weird Wild West

Trials

Predators in Petticoats

Chasing the Light

See you on Sunday!

Until then…

Be safe. Be Excellent to each other.

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Short and Sweet

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Ken

Happy Sunday (or whenever you’re reading this) Friends.

This week’s post needs to be a short one. Not because I’m under any kind of Time constraint, though.

It’s just that there’s a beautiful day outside my window and I need to step away from the world for a while and, go out into it.

So that’s my day: Get outside and listen to the world out there–and to the world inside my head.

It’s been a while since the last time I’ve hung out with myself – no music, no audiobooks or podcasts.

I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with those things, mind…

But it’s time.

Oh, and don’t forget the sunscreen if you’re headed out there.

Thanks for reading. Be safe out there. Be Excellent to Each other – and yourself.

I’ll see you on Thursday.

###

Be sure to check out the Freebies Page for story Excerpts.

If you’ve read, and enjoyed any of my books, please consider leaving a review:

Weird Wild West

Trials

Predators in Petticoats

Posted in Balance, LIfe, Mental Health | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Short and Sweet