BlogtoberFest 2017 – The Days of Halloween

Let’s face it, the holidays start earlier and earlier every year. I saw a six foot light up snowman in Costco at the end of August. Therefore, I see no reason not to begin the celebration of all things spooky, macabre, and scary in the month of October.

You faithful readers of my blog: I thank you. AND you already know what’s going to be happening. Recipes, Top 3 lists, Top 5 lists, spooky songs, movies, books….everything relating to the theme of Halloween and horror. Click over every day to see something new!

So pour yourself a Bloody Mary with bacon garnish and come on along for the ride. We’ve been expecting you.

Country Music Classics

“Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.”
– Hunter S. Thompson

All kinds of music are all right with me – I decided to take today to share with you some of my favorite country songs. Please, feel free to list yours in the comments!

Friends in Low Places – Garth Brooks

Funny story – I was never a Garth Brooks fan until I went to one of those “lookalike shows”. The fake Garth Brooks sang this song, and I had to look it up when I got home.

http://thesultryscribe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FriendsLowPlaces.wmv

Forever and Ever, Amen – Randy Travis

I discovered this song when I lived in New Orleans. It’s a simple, to the point love song.

Rough and Ready – Trace Adkins

I think the title says it all.

Redneck Woman – Gretchen Wilson

I like everything about this song.

King of the Road

I know it’s an old Roger Miller classic, but the combination of Randy Travis’ twang and Josh Turner’s buttery deep voice is to good not to share.

What are some of your country classics? Leave them in the comments!

Music Monday: Favorite Frank Sinatra Song Quotes

I’m not sure if I’ve done this before, but I was going through some old playlist and got to remembering. Yes, I love Fuel, The Police, Imagine Dragons, Hozier and some new/old stuff, but some of the time I switch to the old 1940-1960s song book of The Chairman of the Board, Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Mr. Francis Sinatra. I am from New Jersey, so, yeah, natch, right?

As a romance writer, it helps me get in the mood to write love scenes and the interaction of people becoming lovers when I listen to some of the great lyricists of the American Songbook. Those writers had a way of turning a phrase and of creating metaphors and similies that evoke the feeling of love, falling in love and being in love. I wanted to share a few of my faves with you and who better to demonstrate than Sinatra himself?

How Little We Know

Quote:

“Who cares with your lips on mine…..How ignorant bliss is…
So long as you kiss me ……and the world around us shatters….”

Video:

All the Things You Are

Quote:

“You are the angel glow that lights the star
The dearest things that I know are what you are…”

Video:

Fly Me to the Moon

Quote:

“Fill my heart with song…..
And let me sing for ever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore…”

Video

Come Fly with Me

Quote:

“Once I get you up there
I’ll be holding you so near
You may hear
Angels cheer, ’cause we’re together…”

Video

The Best is Yet to Come

Quote

“Come the day you’re mine
I’m gonna teach you to fly
We’ve only tasted the wine
We’re gonna drain the cup dry…”

Video:

So there you go, my blasts from the romantic past for Music Monday. I hope you enjoyed!

Save Everything, Everywhere

Ever get that feeling of cold fear in your heart when you’ve typed out the best chapter ever, putting the cap on 5k words, clicking save and having your computer crap out on you? Or worse, going to turn on the computer to start your morning work and seeing a black screen?

As authors, we should do things to protect ourselves and our work. If we lose wordage, that sets us back, steals our time and our creativity. Yes, we can type it over, but we’ll never get those hours nor the the unique quality of our words again. That can drape a wet blanket over the next chapters that we try to write.

I know we’ve seen the posts about the hard drive that failed, the thumb drive that failed, the CD that failed and I truly sympathize. It’s a terrible, terrible feeling.

Never fear, there are cures for your ills.

Most of us have ~~sold our souls to Google~~ a Gmail address, right? Perhaps more than one depending on what we do online. Well, this Gmail address is a goldmine of free services just there for the taking.

I’ve used Google Docs for years. You might call me an early adopter, or a geek who is so excited about the next best thing I’ll stick my hand in a bear trap to get in on a beta. Maybe not a hand, because I’ll need that to type with, but you get the idea.

Google Docs is, for lack of a better term, good. Behold, the reasons why:

It’s

available for file types such as spreadsheets, documents, drawings and web forms (such as surveys)
available to multiple users at once (authors working on a project in real time, at the same time)
in the cloud (not tied down to one computer)
FREE

I’m typing this right now in Google Docs – while it doesn’t have the full functionality of a Microsoft Word or OpenOffice, it gets the job done. Plus, there’s a lot less distractions.

So come on over to Google Docs, sit next to me on the couch. Try Google Docs for your work – you won’t be sorry. Or if you are, it’s not my fault, okay?

If you have any questions about Google Docs, leave a comment or send me an email dahliadewinters @ gmail.com.

Football Friday – The Season Begins

Broncos vs Ravens

And football season is upon us with a vengeance. Super Bowl champs the Baltimore Ravens paid a visit to the Mile-High City for a rematch. If you remember last year, the Ravens bested the Broncos in overtime to move on to the Super Bowl. Mind you, the NFL Channel never let us forget it – I have seen enough replays of the end of that game to last me a lifetime.

I would venture to say that Peyton Manning and the Broncos gave the Ravens a bit of “get-back” last night.

Yes, the first half was slow. A thirty-minute rain delay coupled with the slow saunter of the Ravens onto the field didn’t bode well for the Broncos, especially when it started to rain. When the Ravens drew first blood with a touchdown, Broncos fans may have thought that the Super Bowl champs were back stronger than ever.

However, Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning and despite the absence of Von Miller on defense, Manning more than compensated with his passing game. Wes Welker showed his total catching abilities with nine catches for a total of sixty-seven yards and two touchdowns.

In addition, Demaryius “Only winners get wings” Thomas and Julian Thomas (no relation) combined for 181 yards to push the Broncos over the Ravens.

The most exciting second half I’ve seen in a long time.

And thank goodness, football season has begun!!

49-27 ……Broncos

Note: Peyton Manning ties NFL record with seven touchdown passes.

BlogtoberFest 2017 – The Days of Halloween