Monday Morning Musings

First I want to announce a Fabulous Fall Giveaway

I’ve teamed up with 40 other authors of thriller and suspense novels to sponsor this Halloween Contest, giving readers a chance to win a $200, $100, or one of four $25 Amazon gift cards. It’s easy and FREE to enter the Fabulous Fall Giveaway. Just click on the LINK and enter at the #1 site for reader giveaways–The Kindle Book Review. Enter now; giveaway runs Oct. 10 – 24.

One Small Victory, is my featured book in the contest, and I have temporarily lowered the price to only 99 cents. Grab your copy now at the super low price.

And don’t forget to enter the contest.

And check out the other titles being offered at discount prices. There are lots of good deals to be had.

IN THE NEWS

I wasn’t going to do it anymore, honest. I was going to back off on posting things about the Trumpster, but what was revealed late Friday changed my mind. An audio tape was recently released that has a conversation in which Trump was talking in very lewd terms about women. The conversation took place in 2005  between Trump and Billy Bush, then of “Access Hollywood,” on a bus, and apparently neither man was aware that there was an open mic nearby. Using extremely vulgar language, Trump bragged about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women.

Trump says it was just “locker room banter.”

Okay, maybe it was, and maybe he’s not the only political candidate who has talked in such vile terms, but it is his attitude, more than even the words, that distresses me. He was making light of sexual assault.

The following is just a segment of that conversation between Trump and Bush:

“And when you’re a star, they let you do it,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”

“Whatever you want,” says another voice, apparently Bush’s.

“Grab them by the p—y,” Trump says. “You can do anything.”

You can read more at The Washington Post, if you care to.

This has created a flurry of responses from both sides of the political line, and Trump was criticized by members of his own party. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who said he is “sickened” by Trump’s comments, said the Republican presidential candidate will no longer appear with him at a campaign event in Wisconsin on Saturday.

More responses have varied between some men who have said they have never heard such talk in locker rooms – which I doubt – and others who say it is common. I suspect it is common in high school and college locker rooms at a time when hormones are particularly charged for young men, but as maturity sets in, most men realize how demeaning that kind of talk is and find nicer things to say about women.

At least that is what the idealist in me believes. And the men in my family, and those I call friends, would never talk that way.

WRITING  WISDOM

Since I know I am not the only one who has had a number of significant losses in recent years and struggle to write despite the emotional stress, I thought this recent post by Barbara Claypole White at Writer Unboxed would be helpful for all of us. In Ten Tips for Writing Through Family Stress Barbara offers great advice.

While her family stress is different from what I have experienced, the ways to deal with it are the same across the board, and the first tip really resonated with me:

Laugh like you mean it

I was having a good rant the other day when I overhead my husband ask our son, “Is she talking to us?” The Delinquent replied, “Nah, Dad. She’s just venting.” “How can you tell the difference?” my husband said, at which point I cracked up. Real laughter, the kind that snorts out through your nose, annihilates stress.

We used humor in our family to deal with many a crisis, and I agree that a good belly laugh makes you feel so much better. It also diffuses conflict.

I remember one particular incident with my oldest son, who at age 15 thought he could intimidate Mom with a steely glare. I burst out laughing, and he didn’t quite know what to do.

Should I keep trying to intimidate Mom?

Should I stomp off in anger?

In the end, he just smiled. “I meant to make you laugh,” he said.

finalcover-optimizedOkay folks, that’s it for me today. Lots of work to do. I am getting ready to release One Perfect Love, the sequel to One Small Victory, so I have edits to deal with and a cover to approve. Jenny won’t be so angry in the new cover. 🙂

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