I'm my momma's little girl !!

   How many of us are blessed to have someone we know and love that has reached the age of 100? Well this blogger has a mother that will be 100 years old in September of this year. Yes, she has a difficult time hearing but somehow when you whisper, she has a way of hearing what you said. That must the mother in her. I think my mother is still as beautiful as she always was, her hair is white but I'm always impressed at how thick it is, no bunny pink scalp for her. My mother tells me I haven't changed a bit, I'm still her little girl. I guess all of us mothers feel like our children are still our babies, doesn't matter how old we are or how old our babies are. Mom is Mom and you had better listen to her.
   I dedicated my first book to my mother. I think she liked it a lot and she reminds me of it everytime I come to visit. My mother instilled a good work ethic in me and so at 72 years old, well next month I will be, I'm determined to write my 3rd novel.  I know they are not great literary works and will never be on the N.Y. Times Best Sellers List, but I get great satisfaction in writing and my family and frends seem to enjoy reading and knowing this very un-famous author.
   I'm working on the 3rd book in my Hat series. Right now I'm calling it,  A Hat to Die For. I have a feeling that title will not stick but it sounds good for now. Some of the same characters and a few new ones show up in Sommer, Washington again.
    Nora McGill and her daughter Ali are shocked when Ali's father, Sean, shows up after a twelve year absense. Where has he been? Why hasn't Ali heard from him in all those years? Why is he back now? Author, Chancy Goodnight is being threatened by some unknown stalker who thinks the main character in her book is based on him. Chancy insists all her characters come from her imagination.  Milo and Lisa are planning their wedding, or not. Of course it has to be a murder mystery! Someone has to get murdered! Who should it be? After the first one I swore I'd never kill off another Red Hat lady. I always have a hard time trying to decide who to kill, and even a harder time trying to decide who does the killing. Any suggestions? I need to get busy and write the story so you will find all the details when the next book comes out. In the mean time, I'm having a nice visit with my dear mother.
Hugs to you all. Spring is here and murder is in the air. haha.

Spring is on it's way!

   I'm watching the Gonzaga Bull Dogs play basketball. Oh, these guys are good! And I really like Harris's new hair-doo. But lately their games have really been boring because they just win by so many points I have to start rooting for the other team. ( Well not really).
   Looking outside I see the snow has melted away and there is nothing but ugly brown grass. Which means the weeds will start sprouting and of course they will be bright green. My dog, Jake, is so happy the snow is gone and the temp is up, he doesn't want to come inside.
   I am definitely missing my grandchildren. They are all so busy with their studies.  Families just seem to scatter these days. But I'm proud of all of them and know they will have wonderful productive lives. Of course, since everyone is so independent I am free to pursue dreams of my own.  I don't suggest that being widowed is a dream of mine but I'm not feeling sorry for myself. My husband George and I had a great life together for almost 44 years. He loved to hear about the exploits of the characters in my books, he encouraged me and gave me valuable information about cars, namely the 1966 Mustang in my first book and a few other man things.
   I'm working on book # 3, so far I'm calling it, A Hat To Die For, but who knows that may change before it's over. My mind is going in a number of different direction on this one. After all it is fiction and the characters seem to want to take it and run away with it.
   Praise God, spring is on it's way!

IT IS A VERY COLD WINTER

IT IS A VERY COLD WINTER.  Yes, it is a very cold winter here in Cheney, WA. The snow is still knee deep and the crazy fishermen are out on the lake with their ice saws and fishing poles. brrr....

 I just had a very nice lunch with my Red Hat friends at LindaBee's Diner in Medical Lake. They always treat us very well and even put out the purple table cloths in the back room.  Their cheezy broccoli soup is to die for and they always have huckleberry ice cream. It's never too cold for ice cream.

 Now about my 2nd book, THE HAT BOX MYSTERY.  Since I self published the book, things are a little different then with the first one, THE HAT PIN MURDERS. I'm so thankful to Russ Davis at Gray Dog Press, even though I self published this one he is doing all the work for me.  The book is on Amazon as an e-book and he is jumping through all the hoops trying to get it on their site so you can purchase a paper book from them soon. Any of you wanting the paper book can get it from me and I will autograph it and the shipping is free.  Just go to my web-site, joycecaudelmysteries.com, or see me on FaceBook.

 And how about that cover, I loved the first one with the bright red hat. Yes, it is my very own hat, one of my favorites. The hat box cover is also my very own hat box and the purple hat inside is the hat I wear on my birthday.  So if you have read my books you will already know about the wearing of a red or purple hat. A girl just can't have too many hats, and yes I have too many.

I had two book signings over the weekend and I think all the Christmas gifts are wrapped. Now to get ready to go watch my granddaughter dance in the Nutcracker, I'm told she will be a snowflake.  The last two Sundays I've watched the Nutcracker ballet on T.V.  There is supposed to be seven different productions before Christmas Eve, I hope to watch them all.  I love the story with the beautiful young Clara in the staring roll. I'm so looking forward to watching my granddaughter dance and I remember a FEW years ago when my daughter danced in a production of that beautiful Christmas ballet. Isn't it great watching our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up, the Christmas holiday is such a magical time and I am so blessed to have my loved ones close enough to spend some time with all of them. Well it is late and I wanted to write more but it's bedtime. Good night all, hope you have sugar plum dreams and all those wonderful dreams come true.

THE HAT BOX MYSTERY IS AT THE PUBLISHER

THE HAT BOX MYSTERY is getting the finishing touches at the publishers now and I'm so excited.  All afternoon I've been making arrangements for book signings and I'm hoping to get the book out there before Christmas.  Yes, I said CHRISTMAS! I didn't say before the winter holiday, I said Christmas!!
    I think when you see the cover you will really like it too. I wanted to keep it as much like the first one as possible, it's been changed from red to purple. I hope you'll let me know what you think.
    The Hat Box Mystery will soon be on Amazon.com so you can order the book there and get it on your Kindle or other e-reader. 
    I feel so blessed that I have been able to get my books published. I hope you will enjoy this one as much as you enjoyed the the first one, The Hat Pin Murders. Here is my schedule for signings.

Friday, November 30th.  4-7 p.m. Shadle Hastings Book Store, Spokane, WA
Saturday, December 8th.  2-4 p.m. Dessert Pals, 1831 - 1st street, Cheney, WA
Sunday, December 9th.  1-3p.m. Aunties Book Store 402 W. Main, Spokane, WA

I hope to see you on one of these dates.  The book will make a great Christmas gift.

My son set up a link from my web site to my Blog so I guess I'd better post something on it.  The election is over and Pres. Obama will continue for the next four years.  I'm glad all the T.V. ads are over and maybe now I can answer my phone without hearing one of those recorded messages telling me to get out there and vote.  I like to make up my mind early in the campaign and get my ballet to the box at the library, then I don't have to worry about it.  Here in Washington we no longer go to the polls to vote.  We receive our ballets in the mail and we can either mail it in or take it to the county library, which is what I do.  I am such a conservative that I am disapointed with the outcome of the election. So, yes, Laura I'll be listening to Johnny Cash for the next 4 years. Life goes on and I'm excited about the future.  My grandson, Matthew is in a high school play and I'm thrilled to be able to see him in it.  I'm told he has a big part.  I'll report on that soon. Then Natalie, my granddaughter will be in the Nut Cracker Ballet in December and I'm thrilled to be able to see that and I'm praying the weather will hold through Christmas.  This will be my first Thanksgiving and Christmas without my dear husband, George, so the holidays will be bitter sweet.  God bless you all and let us continue to pray for our country. 

 Yesterday evening I attended the Inland Northwest Christian Writers Group. I believe a writing group is a real must for any of us who are interested in doing some serious writing. There are many groups  out there and if you are just beginning your writing or if you've been published many times, I hope you will find a writing group that suits you. Beginners need the help that experienced writers can offer and experienced writers can find a great deal of satisfaction from helping those of us that haven't been around very long.
  I'm working on my second novel and I need all the help I can get. I try to give what little advise I can to those that are even less experienced than I.  Many thanks to all of you that have offered your knowledge and experience to me. The Spokane area is rich with many talented authors. I'd love to add a little more to this Blog but I've got to paint my nails so they will dry before bed time. So good night all you bloggers. Sweet dreams.