It’s been a while, but I have been known to use the phrase, “When hell freezes over.….” One can use this in a location such as Houston, because it so seldom freezes over. Not that I am comparing my favorite city to hell, mind you, but there are a few similarities during the summer when the temperatures jump up to three digits. Anyway, 2025 started off with snow. It was enough to stick to the ground with enough padding of the white stuff so people could slide down any and every hill in the city. Not that anyone had any type of sleds, but they did have pool toys and cardboard boxes that served the purpose. Since I am a full-time writer and don’t have to go anywhere for work, I thoroughly enjoyed it. You would think that I would feel so inspired by the beautiful scenery that the words would flow out of me and onto the page, or computer screen, or whatever. That did not happen. Is this the dreaded writer’s block that I hear other writers talk about? I would love to say that I have never suffered from this before, but I would be lying. Has anyone ever attempted to write an entire book about how it feels and how to cope with the dreaded writers block? I’ll research that the next time I am stuck for words and content.
The world has been crazy lately. In addition to the winter wonderland that has set in around many parts of the country, California has been on fire. I was mesmerized by watching the size and enormity of the blazes. Since I am many miles away and know nothing about fighting wild fires, my best contribution seemed to be watching CNN and picking the appropriate organization for my donations.
Okay, so now we have one part of the country freezing and the opposite end is burning up. And, my most pressing assignment is to write a blog about what it is like to be a writer and what my methods are to accomplish this. I think. Then I sits and thinks. Then I thinks some more. Crickets. Nada. Nothing. I am too distracted by my own thoughts about all of the crazy stuff that is going on right now. Whatever happened to normal? Maybe, I’ll go for another walk in the snow and think some more later on.
What to do? I start calling on all of the Creatives I can find or think of. I talk to them via zoom, talk to them over dinner, talk to them on the phone. I read poetry and look at works from my favorite visual artists. Because of this search, I found a new author! Yes, I have yet one more book to read while I am not writing. But this is a good book full of medical mysteries, strong characters, and suspense.
The Panacea Project by Catherine Devore Johnson is my new discovery. I heard the author give a talk about her writing and writing process. She even read the first chapter of her novel for her entranced audience. I am always impressed by what writers (and Creatives in general) are willing to put up with to work on their latest project. Catherine Johnson has a full-time job, a husband, and children. How does she find time to write? She just does it and she finishes her work. I am always impressed to learn that other writers submit their creations to so many journals and agents and publishers. Finally Catherine found the correct fit and the rest is history. Since this novel revolves around a medical mystery with much intrigue, of course, it should become a movie that is filmed in the heart of the Texas Medical Center.
I snapped a quick picture of Catherine while she was presenting at this author’s talk. I learned a lot listening to her. She is a local author here in the Houston area, so hopefully I will be there when her next novel is completed. I felt humbled that she can juggle family, work, and life in general. My biggest responsibility is my cat. And, I might add, my cat is very supportive of my writing endeavors. So, I am writing once again and it’s not all journal entries. Some if it involves actual story telling! Many thanks to Catherine Johnson for the inspiration. You can check out The Panacea Project on both Amazon and GoodReads. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have.
Until next time.……
Once upon a time, I started writing a novel. I had the basic story line, the location, most of the characters, the beginning and three possible endings. It’s a real fun story about a historic art deco building located somewhere in the downtown area of some-city, 
Being a patient in a hospital is an alternate reality. It doesn’t matter how long you are there, time and space play by their own rules. Anything that exists outside the walls of the building becomes irrelevant. I am sure there are some very good and logical reasons for waking patients up at the oddest hours to check vitals and draw blood. Antibiotics attached via an 
One time when I was getting some coffee at the nurses station, I noticed a pumpkin made to look like a heart. Apparently, for fun and frolic, the staff have a pumpkin carving/decorating contest for Halloween. At first I thought this was a pace maker, but I was wrong. It is actually a Left Ventricle Assist Device otherwise known as an 
My absolute favorite night of the year has come and gone once again. Haunted Holidays took place on November 9th at the Brazos Bookstore. Literary artists gather together on this night to share their own scary spooky stories about any of the fall and winter holidays. To me the scary season begins with Halloween and doesn’t end until New Years. This year there were several poems and essays about the election. Yep, many consider that to be one of the scariest nights of the year! I had the honor to host the event and dressed up in my scariest finest formal clothing for the evening.
The following people participated in this event: Jere Pfister, Denise Bossarte, Katherine McDaniel, Jean King, Margo Toombs (who also read a selection by Rebecca Chirak), Dedra Murchison, Laura Pena, Sandi Stromberg and yours truly. One of the scariest stories was written by Katherine McDaniel. She told us a tale of living in a haunted house and everything was based on actual events! 
Are you ready to see some beautiful art work and hear some good literature? It’s all happening this Friday night, September 20th, at the opening Reception highlighting some of the best collaborative works from the wonderful women of Women In The Visual and Literary Arts (WiVLA). This event will take place at the Sabine Street Studios located at 1907 Sabine Street, Houston, 
It’s the end of August. Yes, I know that summer doesn’t officially end until the autumnal equinox on September 22nd. However, now I am having to pay attention to road signs like this. I have to go around the long line of cars filled with parents waiting to pick up their bundles of joy from school and I have to be careful not to run over any of the bundles of joy that might be crossing the same street that I am driving down. Even when I was one of those bundles of joy going to school back in my hometown, I always felt that the beginning of school was the “real” end of summer.
Of course, I went to schools without any air conditioning. Beginning in Kindergarten through my senior year in high school, I sweated through the beginning and ending of every year. And that was before global warming! Egad! This is what everyone is dealing with now. Even riding around in a car that has air conditioning, I am reminded that I will melt quicker than the Wicked Witch of the West if I step outside. You may notice that the outside temperature in my car reads 102 degrees. That was after parking in the shade for a couple of hours. Soon we all run the risk of turning into lizard people where we sun ourselves on rocks and lick our eyeballs. Why yes, I do read a good bit of science fiction these days. Why do you ask?
Now is the time to begin talking about my favorite holiday. I’ve been waiting since the 4th of July to start talking about it. With the arrival of fall, I start planning for, dreaming of, and pining away for Halloween! Actually, I have been planning and dreaming and pining about October 31st ever since November 1st But now it is close to the time when my skeleton friends can sit outside on the balcony and walkways of my home. They can watch all of the neighbors and interact with all of the other Halloween decorations. Here is a picture of some of my friends as they sit at home deciding what the theme should be this year. Skeleton Barbie joined us last year. I’m wondering if she is too passe’ for this year. There are many decisions to be made and finalized very soon. It would be nice if the temperature dropped below 100 degrees before we start decorating.
If I wanted to use my new found word in a sentence I could say that “The Paris Olympics are so brat.” Since, as of this writing, the 
The other brat fact that I found out about Paris is that the opening ceremonies will take place along the Seine (that river that flows through Paris). This route is lined on both sides by Bouquinistes. These are literally book stores and stalls. The French are very proud of their books and literacy. I wish we had a river like that where I live. I wonder if all the booksellers have as many books on Halloween and ghost stories as I have? Maybe I need to go over to Paris one day and check that out. But I will wait until after the Olympic crowds have all gone home.
I am about to say something I have never said before. It’s really not like me, here goes: I miss June! I typically spend every summer just waiting and waiting for the fall season to return. I like fall. That time of year is nice. It means that eventually cooler weather will return. Lots of stores sell Halloween decorations (Oh, by the way there is a rumor on Facebook that Joann’s has started putting out some already! )
As soon as the calendar flips to July, there is another “friend” to worry about. Hurricane Beryl. This is a big storm that does not appear to play well with others. He also does not stick with his own rules. He all but promised that he would not enter Texas. Now, hurricane warnings are popping up all along the Gulf Coast. I suppose Beryl is proud of himself, because he is breaking all kinds of records like earliest major storm in the Gulf, the biggest storm ever (or so it seems, Category 5 is big). This morning I learned that it is now headed for South Texas and Houston is included in the cone of uncertainty. Egad!