April 18, 2007
The New Book – A Missouri Mystery
Well even though I don’t have my new computer yet I have started on the new book. When an idea takes root in a writer’s noodle something has to be done!
The reason I am blogging about it now is that I have discovered a wonderful and new asset to the Internet for writers and probably for small business markets and online marketing. Okay there are some of you wise guys that already know but others don’t and I wanted to share it with you.
If you have ever lost an important or almost finished piece of work on your computer you will really appreciate this tip. Check out http://docs.google.com I am not an affiliate of this program by the way.
It is a free word processing program that you do not have to download. What you write is kept online in a private file. There when your computer crashes or your files become corrupted. You can load files into the program for ease of inserting them into the system of a new computer. If you like Microsoft word, you will love this program.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Just a brief, first chapter synopsis:
(I welcome and would like comments. Title ideas as well.)
I live in S.E. Missouri near a community called Tallapoosa. Although the book is fictional the name of this community will be in the book and an old folklore is the basis of the plot. I would like to say again that the book is fictional.
In this sleepy little farm community on a summer’s Sunday morning a family of four, Mom, Dad, sis and brother sit down for breakfast in the kitchen of the five room home.
Several days later a neighbor comments to her husband that the family must be ill as she had not seen the 6 & 8 year old children at play or any other activity lately. The husband responds that he noticed that the family car had not seemed to move that week. Later, after night fall, the neighbors look out the window to see that the kitchen light was on and the door was ajar. Not that unussual on a warm summer night. When the gentleman gets up after midnight for a drink, looking out his own kitchen window to the neat little home behind him, he sees that nothing has changed.
Not able to sleep he awakens his wife and they decide that he will investigate while she watches ready to call the police or another neighbor if need be.
A shiver runs up his spine as the concerned neighbor enters the kitchen to find the half eaten meal. Walking through the home as he called out to the family he is aware of the eariness of normallicy. Nothing appeared to have been touched in at least a week.
Living on a gravel road, dust collects rapidly. All the furnishings of the home were covered in the dust from the chat road. It was as though the family had sat down to eat and been beamed out of the home without a trace.
December 3, 2006
Articles from a monthly community newspaper.
This article was in the November 1, 2006 issue of a local monthly newspaper I write. The paper is not quite a year old. I started it with 150 copies, free to the public, supported by local advertisement. In August I printed 300 copies of the 18 page paper and two days later had to print another 100 copies. I mailed 27 of those copies to past residents and 43 were sent via email. The community it is produced for has a population of 437.
It is also notable that after the first issue was released the newspaper has been operating well under the budget offered by the advertising. As it is sponsored by a non-profit organization it has actually made money that is used to winterize the homes of the elderly and pay utility bills for those that find themselves on hard times. I am quite proud of it.
Turkey Dinner
We just have to be different. Most periodicals that you will encounter this month will have loads of holiday recipes, decorating ideas, gift ideas and heartwarming stories that recall holidays past. Not us.
The unique thing about the ‘Neelyville Star’ is that we strive to bring community awareness to our readers. That’s fine in and of itself, however, we feel that we need to keep you informed in other areas as well.
I have done a bit of research and discovered that some enterprising group has also done some research. In a comparison of hospital records throughout the United States, this group learned that there is an average 12% increase in the occurrences of death due to natural causes on Thanksgiving and Christmas. For the days after the two holidays that figure rises to between 14 – 18%.
David Phillips, a University of California, San Diego sociologist, who was the lead researcher in this study states, “The most plausible explanation we’ve found so far is that people seem to be postponing medical care until after the holidays,” Phillips said. “Also, when people travel during the holidays,” he said, “they are less able to find medical care because they are in strange territory.”
Dr. Phillips also stated that these statistics increase by 5% with each passing decade. As the study was made in 1999 that would place the percentage for this year at around 17-21% for the days following this 2006 holiday season.
There is good news. It seems that these statistics did not apply to the years of 1973 and 1981. Why? Inflated fuel prices kept folks at home.
The high price of fuel may actually save Uncle Bubba’s (or your own) life this year. If however you do happen to travel to Grandma’s this holiday season, keep in mind that you don’t want to bother the family with a visit by the ambulance crew.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to listen to your body. It doesn’t care that you have looked forward to this gathering of family for a long time. When it hurts it hurts. When it is sick it is sick
Inspirational Word Arts 