Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal/Serial -- on Sunday because . . . well because

I wasn't home when the house exploded.  I was three blocks away, taking Shameless O'Houligan to the vet for his shots and stitches.  Shameless, according to Dr. Conner, is 110 pounds of Irish Wolfhound Scottish Terrier mix.  He is also, as his name would imply, a handful.

This morning he had caught wind of Norman, the squirrel who had been tormenting him for weeks by pelting him with acorns from my old oak, in time to actually do something about it.  One bound from the front step, a mighty leap, and he had a shocked and terrified gray squirrel by the tail, fighting for its life.

Squirrels have wicked claws, sharp teeth, and an attitude problem.  This one, however, had pitched its last acorn.  Scratched and bloodied Shameless may have been, but he was prancing around the yard with Norman's severed tail.  No dog, ever, had been prouder or more satisfied.

I loaded Shameless, and his prize, into my battered old VW and to Dr. Conner.

It saved my life.

They said it was an accident--a natural gas explosion.

But it wasn't.

I was left with my dog, my car, the clothes on my back a whopping $300.00 in my checking account, and a killer on my trail.

My name is Erin Murphy.

Welcome to my life.

Bats in the Belfry and the Website

 As I type this there is (again/another/maybe the same one who the hell knows) a bat in my bedroom.  I've discovered it's getting in through the vent to the attic and the vent from my bedroom.  James and I spent a hectic two-in-the-morning the other morning trying to get it out of the house without injuring it, or us (because bats can carry all kinds of disease including rabies) or any of the pets.  By the time it was over it had turned into a fair ordeal and "ding" the bat was evicted but all hope of returning to sleep had flown out the same damned door as the bat.

So, middle of the night again, the animals start acting weird.  One of them (a fierce hunter/dominant type) was staring at a corner of the unlit ceiling, clearly enraptured.

I swore.

I turned on the light.

Sure enough, little brown bat trying (and failing) to pretend he's part of the woodwork.

(Not actually "Ding", but a photo of a brown bat from "Bing")

I shooed the pets (including heap big hunter/dominant) out of the bedroom with vigor.  Grabbed my glasses, pillow and blanket, and moved downstairs to the recliner.  I was not, NOT, going to try to deal with this at O dark thirty AGAIN.  If I was lucky, maybe he would crawl out the way he came in.  If I was not, then he could darned well wait until a decent hour when I've had a chance to buy a long-handled fishing or butterfly net so that it will HOPEFULLY be easier to deal with him safely and some sort of cover for the fripping vent so that I won't ever have to do it again.

I went downstairs and slept, dreaming about bats.  LOTS of bats.  Big bats, baby itty bitty bats.  Not restful sleep.  The stores aren't open yet.  I can't get the net.  But peering into the bedroom (while holding back the hunter/dominant pet) I saw that Ding has not, in fact, crawled back out into the currently cold wet world.

I will deal with it.  Of course I will.  But right now I'm going to blog, figure out what video I'm going to record for the website later, and write before I go get ready for the day job.  

AND YES, I said the word WEBSITE.  It is in the process of being edited by my trusty Webmistress/Guru/Bud Karenne after I went through it and explained all the things I didn't get done when life went sideways after we built it.  The chapters will (hopefully) be up.  A video will (hopefully get made and posted).  Pages on Celia will be written (it's moving fast folks.).  Wait until the afternoon and then go to www.authorCTAdams.com send an email to catadamsfans@gmail.com to let me know what you think.

I BELIEVE

 

I BELIEVE

I believe in the power of belief

to overcome limitations and obstacles;

To heal this world, not only of the

virus that stalks us all, but of the

divisions, fear and cruelty that

separate us from each other.  I believe

that if we work TOGETHER, in BELIEF we

can and we WILL overcome. 

 

Why?

Because belief has pulled countries from

the ashes and devastation of war;

Has given us “A DREAM”;

Has taken us to the moon and amongst

the stars.

 

I believe in human beings and in the

power of our belief.  If we are willing to

try, and to work past our differences

in our shared humanity.

 

Please share if you do too.

Rolling with the Changes -- and a proposed cover on the new mystery.

 Hi.

 

Thought I would drop by to let you know how things are going.

 

Latest mystery will be off to the editor at the end of the month (which is coming up ridiculously rapidly).

 

Celia Graves draft is moving along nicely.

 

I still need to edit the website (BAD author), but a family member is reaching the end of his life and that weighs heavy on my mind.

 

A friend sent me a reminiscence piece a while back about his uncle who was killed and how time rolls on and how soon he (we/everyone) is forgotten and just a part of history.  It was a beautiful piece.  And it was very, very true.

 

The generation of my parents is almost all gone now—the World War II generation a part of history that, for people two generations down i
sn’t “real” at all anymore, not any more real than the Civil War or the American Revolution.  I am a part of the older generation.

 

Things have changed, and keep changing—sometimes, like this year, at a breathless, breakneck pace that is hard to keep up with.

 

Will things ever be the same?  I don’t know.  Probably not.  And if they will be, I don’t have time to wait for it.  I will move forward in the now doing the best I can with what I know right now. 

 

We only have so long here.  I have wasted enough time.  I want to make the most of the rest of mine.

 

Best.

PROPOSED COVER FOR NEW MYSTERY

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

 

L

THE RETURN OF THE LONG-LOST AUTHOR

 Never, ever, ever give up.

Life has gotten very weird for everyone.  The pandemic is changing/has changed everything externally.  But internally people are people.  We are still strong, courageous, and inventive.

And right now inventive is a BIG THING.  

One of the few things I've always admired about myself (normally I'm pretty hard on myself, but I like this thing) is determination.  I will find a way.  Okay, the car won't start--I'll take the bus.  Bus running late?  Okay, I'll walk.  Too far?  Okay, I'll call a cab.  You get the drift.  I find a way.

This attitude annoys the hell out of a lot of people because of the sheer pig-headedness of it.  The WILL and determination that just KEEPs going.  (To quote one of the motivational videos I've watched.  "Crawling is acceptable.  Quitting is NOT acceptable.")  But the attitude has gotten me "out of the woods" that I was lost in for a long while.  I am happy again.  I have a new life, a new job, my son is improving, I'm healthier, I'm WRITING (and I actually have an OFFICE AGAIN!!!WOOOT).  And I've signed up for a 5 day challenge to learn more about branding and business.

Because I'm back.  I've made a decision.  I'm an essential worker during the day, making the contribution I can there.  But I am an author.  It's who I am and what I do.  And I am now going to figure out how to get back on that horse and make it work for me.

I sent out a newsletter.  I have no idea if anyone will respond.  I may be starting over from absolute zero.  But that's okay.  Not great--I mean, yeah, I want a fan base that loves me and will have stuck around, but okay.  Because I did this once.  I can do this again--and better.  I've learned so much more and I'm so much stronger.

So here I am again.

Welcome.