Does anyone remember what chicken used to taste like before it was genetically modified to grow in to a marketable product six weeks after shelling? And let us not forget all the water that is forced into the meat subsequently to bump up the price.

I thought I would cook chicken cordon bleu today as I had some chicken breasts in the freezer. It is entirely possible that the dish would have tasted better had I used tofu as the main protein.

Book Cover Reveal.

I finished reading Space Games by Dean Lombardo and was gob-smacked by the ending. No spoilers, but my review is up on Goodreads and Amazon.com.

I am almost done with edits for a friend’s book, a wonderful thriller I am enjoying immensely.

Not much done on the writing front as this is the weekend and shopping, (yawn), has to prevail. I have thought up some inclusions to put in my new shiny out of genre comfort book.

House painting. Yes, it is progressing. I found out why WalMart don’t have their paint mixer going for the third week in a row. They have two operators of the machine and one quite, while the other is still on vacation. Really? Seriously? I got a can from elsewhere and I am just hoping it is the same color.

In other news, not long to go before my baby’s wedding. I bought some foundation today to test out. The liquid face powder leaves my skin dry, so I needed something. That being said, anything with perfume will bring my skin up in hives. I needed to test this product out well before the date. So far, it is doing good.

The flurry of weddings this twelve months has gotten me thinking back to my own big day. I had a multi-layered dress with a big train. The bodice, sleeves and hem had Belgium lace. This was a classy dress, but not expensive. I think it might have cost me about $200. How come? I made it myself and yes, I have those skills.

A dress now cost upwards of $1,000 and counting. No, I couldn’t do the same thing now as there is so much glitter and lace, etc. Getting the raw product would be impossible, as it was not way back when. This brings me to the sad realization of how many shops have closed down in the years. Seriously, a person used to be able to go shopping in the city and score everything they needed for whatever project. With the advent of WalMart, this is no longer possible. We used to have Craft Canada and many other nifty suppliers of crafts, yarn, art supplies …. you name it. All long gone. All driven out of business by the interlopers, who promptly drop the lines they used to get rid of the competition. Our local Fabricland is gone, courtesy of WalMart. If I want to buy a zipper or buttons I have to go into the city as WalMart  no longer needs to carry these, having destroyed the competitor. Sigh. I can see a time coming when I will be doing all my buying on line because I want the selection.

Snippets.

Go check out the message and the competitions.

http://www.kristell-ink.com/2013/07/09/come-celebrate-our-birthday/

This isn’t a repeat of what has happened. This is what happens next. Prepare to be shocked.

Beyond the mists of time, a dying warrior binds his soul to his sword with an oath to protect his people. His shade rides with the Wild Hunt while he waits for the call of greatest need. When it comes he doesn’t know it is a lie.

A War Maid princess is raised to be fearless, ready to sacrifice her life to defend her kin, but faced with the unthinkable; she must die or become a creature worthy of loathing.

In the undersea city of Avalon, a Seer Acolyte nears the end of his training. He wants to serve on the surface world with the air breathing Terrans, fighting their common enemy, instead of serving the Archive. Others have plans for him and the price will be his life.

On Moonbase, a predator finds a threat to the comfortable existence led by his species. How did Terrans diverge to generate an amphibious branch? They must all be killed.

An ageless man sits in a cave conjuring images in his fire. Weave a twist there; pull the weft of compulsion there and the plan is ready to set in motion.  Fortune twists in the strongest hands. 

I had a story up on Readwaves that reached Editor choice. When they asked me to release the rights so that third world people could enjoy contemporary literature in the World Read program I didn’t hesitate. Giving is a good choice. It means people get to read for free that which they could never attain without this choice. Literacy is a gift, so let’s make it more interesting. Literacy should be a right for all. Let us make it so.

My highest point was opening a picture of my soon to be grandbaby. He/she is gorgeous and seems to have a cap of blonde hair. I doubt whether he/she will go to the due dates as this child is well fleshed out and bigger than the gestational time. I don’t think my daughter will mind an early present, being as he/she is well-developed  and my daughter was an eight month baby weighing in at eight pounds.

Lots of exacting book stuff going on and I will share when I get permission. Right now, it is a work in progress.

Started working on a secret project, and no, it is not writing related. This comes about due to frustration of choices. I need to buy something and it isn’t there. All I am seeing is crud, or stuff so high-priced  and ill-conceived I am astounded anyone would consider buying it. Plan B is in operation and is working out just fine.

The VBC had to be evicted from my office again today for unclean intentions regarding a pillow. What begins as harmless paddling escalates into … something else.  I have no idea why he has come to regard anything soft and fluffy, with the exception of Ollie the Ho, as an object of sexual pleasure, but he has. Yes, he is fixed. Like Ollie the Ho, I must believe the fixing did not remove all the necessary.  Sigh.

Finally, thinking back on this year is breathtaking. By the first week of September, if not before, I will have seen all my daughters married, have my first grandbaby, my first book published, two short stories in an Anthology published and a flash fiction piece contracted to help literacy in the third world, courtesy of Read Wave and World books. And I survived. Yay!