Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

Tag: #AmReading

• Day 30 Bloganuary

  Posted at 1:58 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on January 30, 2022

  

  Describe yourself as a tree.

  Huh?

  Well… I chuckled when I first read this #daily-prompt for #BloganuaryDay30. Me? A tree? After reading one of the quotes I posted below, I’d call myself a willow tree.

  Looking back at my life, I guess this prompt has a simple answer. The quotes I posted sums it up for me, but most importantly, I learned that:

  I’m a willow tree. I’ll withstand bending instead of breaking when faced with difficulties, changes, and challenges.

  One can only hope, right?

  I can relate to the following quotes for a description of me as a tree:

  Be like a tree. Stay grounded. Connect with your roots. Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break. Enjoy your unique natural beauty. Keep growing. Joanne Raptis

  ---

  Adapt yourself to change as the willow tree adapts itself to the weather. When the harsh winds of circumstance sweep across the landscape of your life, bow gracefully, bend gently, adapt graciously.
        You are wise to study well the ways of the willow. In the face of change, in the throes of adversity, in the midst of conflict and crisis, the willow willingly bends its branches, but refuses to release its roots. ~William Arthur Ward, “The Wisdom of Adapting Yourself”

  

  ---

  In the springtime, leaves unfolding,

  Growing, growing one by one,

  In the summer, always giving

  Cool, green shade to every one;

  In the autumn, tall and stately,

  Dressed in yellow, red and brown,

  In the winter, sleeping, sleeping,

  While the snow comes softly down…

  ~Charlotte Lay Dewey, “A Song of the Trees,” in Kindergarten Review (Springfield, Mass.), October 1906

  Have a great day. Stay warm and safe. ~MJ

  Featured Image: Willow Tree: Image by Dalibor Smolik from Pixabay

  Posted in #AmReading, #AmWriting, #WritersLife, Bloganuary | 2 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, #AmWriting, #AmWriting #BloganuaryDay30 #AmReading, #BloganuaryDay30, #Daily-Prompts, Mary J McCoy-Dressel

• Day 25 Bloganuary: Strength

  Posted at 4:33 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on January 25, 2022

  

  Howdy, folks. Here we go with today’s Bloganuary prompt:

  Write about something that makes you feel strong

  I could sum this up with one word, but I’ll add a few more:

  INDEPENDENCE

  That’s right.

  Independence gives me inner strength and makes me feel strong. Without the inner strength that led me to this point in my life, I wouldn’t be the person I am today, and I’m grateful to God for His part in my survival.

  I hope you don’t mind seeing two posts in your inbox today. Inspiration caused the first one.

  Thank you for reading.

  Posted in #AmReading, #AmWriting, #WritersLife, Bloganuary | 0 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, #AmWriting, Bloganuary, Mary J McCoy-Dressel

• Day 24 Bloganuary: Dreaming Dreams

  Posted at 5:47 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on January 24, 2022

  

  Our Bloganuary prompt for today is:

  Write about a dream you remember.

  This prompt can be taken a few different ways. To actually dream while you’re sleeping, a daydream, or a dream come true. Hmm. What does Merriam-Webster say?

  Some memories of dreams while sleeping escape me when I wake. If it’s a dream about a writing idea, and I wake right up, I write it down.

  Common dreams have me running away from or toward something and stumbling and falling. Or the falling off a cliff kind of falling. Fearful dreams because I’m running to get help or trying to call an emergency number. I rarely reach the phone or get the help needed for whatever my subconscious mind thinks I need. Sometimes someone is preventing me from running. You’d think I write horror with such dreams!

  

  Other dreams are with the similar fearful energies where I need help for myself or someone else, but my voice freezes. This happened again two nights ago. I can’t remember the dream, but I had to sound threatening. Other people were in the dream and near me, but I don’t know who, why, or what they were doing, but it wasn’t good…

  Over and over I tried to yell, but my words barely came out and when they did, they couldn’t be understood because of my fear. I remember trying, trying, trying to get sensible words out, and finally, I yelled, “GO! GET OUT” as loud as I could… In reality.

  I woke myself up!

  I know others have dreams of running or falling, too. Please tell me I’m not the only one who screams out in the night. I have heard one of my boys yell out in his sleep before.

  So, there’s my Day 24 response to a dream or dreams I “sort of” remember. Have a good one, folks!

  Pleasant dreams.

  Posted in #AmReading, #AmWriting, Bloganuary | 5 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, #AmWriting, #WritersLife, Bloganuary, dreams, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, memory

• Day 22 Bloganuary: Sharing a Quote

  Posted at 1:31 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on January 22, 2022

  

  Prompt of the day for Bloganuary: What is your favorite quote and why?

  Day 22. Today’s quote is one of my favorites by Robert Brault. Why did I use this quote? Sometimes we have to appear strong even when we aren’t. What about the times we’re vulnerable? Don’t we all need a safe place to fall when we need others to be strong for us, even if it’s with nothing more than a hug? I love hugs. I think Robert explains it perfectly in his quote.

  Robert Brault hasn’t written a quote I haven’t liked. Not that I’ve seen every quote he’s written. A visit to his blog today left me with bittersweet feelings. He’s calling it quits. See below the quote.

  

  He says:

  After 13 years of blogging and tweeting (and as I push into my mid-80’s), I’ve decided it’s time (and probably past time) to call it a day.

  Robert Brault

  I’ll miss his posts and news. As well as quotes on his blog, he also has books available on Amazon in multiple countries.

  Wow, I’ve dropped two posts in your inboxes today. It’s not a record. Haha. Thanks for reading!

  Featured Image credit: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

  Posted in #AmReading, #AmWriting, Bloganuary | 0 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, #AmWriting, #daily-prompt, #WritersLife, amazon, Bloganuary, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, Robert Brault, Robert Brault Quote

• Day 20 Bloganary

  Posted at 9:01 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on January 20, 2022

  

  It’s the twentieth post for those who started Bloganuary on January 1st. I started on January 16th.

  Today’s prompt is to post a favorite photo I’ve taken.

  Hobby

  Oh, photography is a favorite subject, but it’s impossible to choose one favorite capture. Photographs of memories with my family are at the top of my “favorites” list. I love taking pictures of landscapes and nature. Nature photography takes patience. Many of my printed photos live out of sight in boxes. Luckily, I have a lot on my phone, but they’re nothing like family photos from long ago.

  

  Memories

  Today I’m posting this photo because: 1) the image evokes a heartwarming memory and 2) it’s one of my favorites. This image of the mountain is from the California side. A while back, my boy took a photo of this from the Oregon side and had it made into three large canvas panels for a Christmas gift one year. I cherish the thought and the wall hanging. I took this on a day trip my oldest son and I took on Thanksgiving weekend a few years ago when I visited him.

  We’re getting close to the end of the week, so you all have a peaceful and healthy downhill slide to the weekend. It looks like Bloganuary doesn’t take the weekend off. 😊 Thanks for visiting! ~MJ

  #bloganuary, #daily-prompt

  Note to new followers: I don’t usually write a blog post daily. Please, if you will, bear with the notifications in your inbox throughout the rest of the month. Soon, you’ll wonder why I’m not writing posts often enough.

  Camera Featured Image: Image by Jürgen Polle from Pixabay

  Posted in #AmReading, #AmWriting, Bloganuary | 0 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, #AmWriting, #Bloganuary, #daily-prompt, Bloganuary, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, photography

• Day 18: #AmReading What’s Next On My Reading List?

  Posted at 4:02 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on January 18, 2022

  

  Hi. Welcome. It’s my third day of Bloganuary.

  Most of the time, I don’t know what is next on my reading list until I scroll through my Kindle TBR pile. I’m reading “The Lakeside Inn” by Leeanna Morgan, Book 1 in the Sapphire Bay series. I need a break and have soooo many books waiting on my Kindle. “The Lakeside Inn” is new, like many others I purchased in December and January. This book sounded like the perfect relaxing read to sink into after the stress of publishing two books in December.

  However, a while ago, I began reading a series by D. Wallace Peach called Unraveling the Veil, a three book fantasy series and outside of the genre I usually read, too, but I love this series. Book two, “Allies and Spies” in this series is my next book TO FINISH on my reading list since I left it unfinished months ago.

  

  I’ll have to backtrack a bit to get reacquainted with the characters. After reading excerpts and posts about this series on Diana’s website, I became interested in these books and discovered I like the fantasy genre, too. I’m ashamed to let the author know I let this second book sit so long before getting back to it. Sorry, Diana.

  Now you and I both know what is next on my reading list.

  Thank you all for visiting. ~MJ

  What’s next on your TBR pile?

  Posted in #AmReading, #AmWriting, #WritersLife | 0 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, #WritersLife, Allies and Spies, Bloganuary, D. Wallace Peach, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, Reading List, TBR Pile, The Lakeside Inn, Unraveling the Veil

• Saturday Morning: Running on an (UN)Even Keel

  Posted at 10:19 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on May 30, 2020

  
  Waving. Good morning to all.

  Update:

  Some of you know I’ve been taking a break to let my eyes rest. I’m happy to say they are showing a bit of improvement. Giving them time away from hours of looking at the computer has helped, but my time at the screen is still limited. I’ve been able to spend a small amount of time each day working on one book while gearing up to format my upcoming book. In a nutshell, I have dry-eyes and macular degeneration, so I won’t take a chance with my eyesight.

  As much as I wanted Judy’s book, the fifth book in the Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight to be released in May, it isn’t going to happen. Book five takes place three years after book four ends.

  By the way, Cowboy Boss and his Destiny, book one in the Double Dutch Ranch Series is $0.99 cents. This is the new and revised edition–shortened A LOT yet combined with what used to be book 1.5. Not a bad deal for a book that begins a series where you’ll get to know the whole family including Judy, the ranch matriarch, who binds them all together. Welcome to the Double Dutch Ranch where no one is a stranger at their table.

  I’m grateful for any change for the better to my eyes and for time I can spend working on my books. However, I won’t push it.

  Thankfully, my Kindle reads to me, so I’m able to enjoy books written by other authors without having to stare at the screen. It’s a pleasant distraction, indeed.

  Thanks for your patience.

  ---

  Safe Space:

  On top of dealing with my eyesight and the pressure and stress on myself for NOT publishing a book, I was forced to enter a grocery store because of items I NEEDED and couldn’t get with my pick up order. That isn’t all. I HAD TO OPEN UP MY SAFE SPACE to maintenance when I developed a leak in my bathtub. I figured it would be a one-time thing, but after four visits, he still couldn’t fix the problem. This also means he had to go into my bedroom closet to access the pipes.

  I told my manager I would be wearing a mask and I hoped he would. Her reply did not make my day when she said it was up to him. Well, thanks, lady! Is that even legal? Prayers worked. He wore a mask and gloves. I thanked him. BUT, the problem isn’t fixed. Next week a plumber has to invade my space. God sure is teaching me patience while encouraging me to trust. I’m tempted to tell them all to forget it and let it drip, but if it gets worse or something breaks, then what?

  As my mom would say, “Things don’t run on an even keel all the time.” Something like that. Well, Mom, you were right!

  We’re all in this together.

  Enjoy your weekend, my friends.

  P.S. I didn’t even mention the fact WordPress is changing its editor on June 1st, so now it’s one more thing I don’t have the time or patience to learn. Even though some of you said the new Block Editor was simple, I don’t agree. I looked at it for five minutes and said screw it. Now, it seems I have no choice. On a positive note, the old editor will still be available, but I rarely use it, instead choosing to go into the dashboard and use the old, old editor. What do I do? Use my limited time on the computer to publish a book or learn something I don’t want to learn? The answer is simple.

  Signing off for now…

  Image credit: Pixabay – habunman
  Posted in #AmWriting, #WritersLife | 12 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, #AmWriting, #WritersLife, book publishing, Cowboy Boss and his Destiny, Double Dutch Ranch Series Love at First Sight, even keel, eyesight, Gentlemen Cowboys, mary j mccoy dressel, Saturday Morning: Updates - Running on an Even Keel, western romance

• #MFRWauthor 52-Week Blog Challenge Week 8: What Are You Reading?!!

  Posted at 12:05 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on February 21, 2020

  

  Welcome to Week 8 in Friday’s Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge.

  Reading outside your comfort zone—what is it and why?

  As a rule, I stay within a handful of genres—my comfort zone. Reading rules are meant to be broken, though, and I have broken them because I like to believe I’m not small or close-minded or prudish. I believe in “never say never.”

  However, there are areas outside of my reading comfort zone. Like fiction with Injustice and cruelty to humankind or animals, or aliens, or dragons. Oh, I wanted to see if you were paying attention. Sorry! I get enough of it in the news.

  And SOME, I repeat, SOME taboos that publishers say we can’t submit if we want to publish with them–some are out of my comfort zone. Look it up if you don’t know what isn’t allowed in some or many publisher guidelines.

  What you write and like to read is your choice. I admire people who fight for what they want. Thank God, we still have a choice.

  Let’s turn this around. “Why” should we read out of our comfort zone? Can we stay in one little box and never experience what other authors have to offer, or experience different and new to us, stories and genres we might love? To experience emotions that words give us whether uncomfortable or not?

  Can we read and still be a “little” uncomfortable? I think some of us can.

  With so many genres to choose from, we have a choice.

  ---

  We’re blog hopping so that means other authors are responding to this topic too. I’m curious to see if I replied to the topic the way it was intended, or did I get it all wrong. So, I’ll be hopping over. You can find participants with a click of the mouse to this LINK.

   

   

  I’m glad you stopped by today.

  I’m still making my rounds visiting this and Book Hooks blog hop.

  ---

   

  Credit image: Pixabay – Pexels

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, 52-week blog challenge | 8 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, 52-week blog challenge, mary j mccoy dressel

• Tuesday Inspiration for the Muse: Reading Challenge

  Posted at 3:23 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on February 18, 2020

  

  Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve written a Tuesday Inspiration for the Muse post.

  Well, I titled this edition Reading Challenge. Yep, this year I signed up for the Goodreads Reading Challenge after fellow bloggers Jacquie Biggar and D. Wallace Peach inspired me with the amount of books they read in 2019.

  I’m proud to say, I’m on a roll now too.

  What else has inspired me enough to write this post? The Virginian. Plain and simple. A book and the man. You’ll find various versions, but this is the digital edition I purchased.

  

  This isn’t a review. It’s more like I’m bragging about how good it is and how this western of old, inspired me as a western romance author. Not only as an author. As a reader, I got a lot of pleasure from this book in the cold month of January. I read some parts over and over because I loved the way Owen Wister wrote them in 1902.

  This is the the first book I read in 2020 and I’ve added more old westerns to my Kindle. Why old? It’s obvious I love westerns and cowboys. When I read what I’m writing, it makes me think I have to be working on my own, so I stop reading to write. The old ones might have a touch of romance tossed in here and there, or a pretty girl that catches a cowboy’s eye, but it isn’t contemporary western romance, and it allows me to read with full enjoyment. However, I do still read contemporary western and enjoy what I read. I have to–it calls to me. However, I read it slower, and then have to go back to catch up where I was when I return.

  The Virginian:

  I Loved the author. Loved, LOVED the book and will read it again. Lordy, I fell in love with the man who was the “Virginian.”

  From Wikipedia:

  Owen Wister (July 14,1860 – July 21,1938) was an American writer and historian, considered the “father” of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing The Virginian and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant.

  From Encyclopedia Britannica: The Virginian, in full “The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains,” Western novel by Owen Wister, published in 1902. Its great popularity contributed to the enshrinement of the American cowboy as an icon of American popular culture and a folk ideal.

  A chivalrous and courageous but mysterious cowboy known only as the Virginian works as foreman of a cattle ranch in the Wyoming territory during the late 1870s and ’80s. The gunplay and violence that are inherent in his frontier code of behaviour threaten the Virginian’s relationship with a pretty schoolteacher from the East. The novel’s climactic gun duel is the first “showdown” in fiction. It also introduced the now-classic phrase that the Virginian utters when pushed to the limit by an adversary: “When you call me that, smile!”

  Oh, I love that last line as much here as I did in the book.

  Inside the digital copy, “To the Reader: The Cowpunchers ungoverned hours did not unman him. If he gave his word, he kept it.” Wister, Owen. The Virginian. Kindle Edition.

  I’ll say it again. I LOVED this book and the hero.

  Some of my favorite lines. I highlighted many:

  “Then she ain’t lacked suitors any?”

  “Lacked! Are you acquainted with cow-boys?”

   

  This was the door of Molly’s own room. And there she sat, in floods of tears. For she could not bear to hurt a man who loved her with all the power of love that was in him.

   

  “Oh, pshaw! When yu’ can’t have what you choose, yu’ just choose what you have.”

   

  “How long’s this train been started” he demanded.

  “This hyeh train?” The Virginian consulted his watch. “Why, it’s been fanning it a right smart little while,” he said laying no stress upon his indolent syllables. “

   

  You’ll find a variety of editions available, but my digital version is from the original storyline. Check out this cover (and price).

   

  ---

  
  In addition:

  Before I finished the book, I searched for the movie, since The Virginian isn’t showing on TV at this time of year. Oh, I didn’t search to watch before reading the end. Uh-uh! Wikipedia says about the TV show: “While truer to the book, the timeline was advanced as the series developed for production.”

  On one of the free apps on my TV, I found multiple movie versions of The Virginian. One version and the most current, featured Trace Adkins–a country singer/ actor in real life who makes a great cowboy. I love Trace Adkins (and his long hair). The man himself did a great job of acting in the movie, but the storyline didn’t follow the book and made the Virginian out to be a different man than what Owen Wister created.

  That particular movie left me disappointed. This is why I’ll read the book again. So, folks, even though this isn’t a review, I think I gave Owen Wister the credit he deserves for his western novel and the hero he created. Enjoy your day.
  Posted in #AmWriting, Tuesday Inspiration for the Muse | 0 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, Goodreads Reading Challenge, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, Owen Wister, The Virginian, Tuesday Inspiration for the Muse: Reading Challenge, western novels

• #AmReading A Chance to Win at the Kindle Book Review #WritersLife

  Posted at 9:45 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on December 11, 2018

  

  Hey there. It’s that time of year again. Who couldn’t use an extra $500 bucks? I could, so…

  I’m one of the authors sponsoring a $500 Amazon #Giveaway. Of course, I’d be included and so is Hooked by Sundown!!   🤠  No purchase necessary to enter. 

  Enter the $500 Amazon Giveaway now for a chance to win! @Kindlbookreview #reading #Amazon #books. Enter here:  https://wp.me/P2H01p-9o8

  
  

  Here’s the details taken from the contest page at The Kindle Book Review with a little bit of my own input added:

  Enter today and everyday through December 23rd. Remember, no purchase necessary to enter. You never know; you might be our next winner, and walk away with our $500 Amazon Giveaway!

  WHAT: $500 Amazon Giveaway ( 1 winner—$500 Amazon eGift card) See that, folks–ONE winner-$500!

  WHEN: Dec. 3-23, 2018 (Plenty of time.)
  HOW:

  1. Scroll through the book covers on the page and find the titles that look interesting.

  2. Enter our Rafflecopter form.

  3. Support our authors via their Amazon book pages by Following and sharing.

  Supporting our authors is the ONLY way these giveaways are possible. There is no purchase necessary to enter or win, but when you support our authors we can continue these awesome giveaways. And YES, you can buy their our books.

  Good luck, everyone!

  

  Posted in #AmWriting, #WritersLife | 3 Comments | Tagged #AmReading, Amazon #Giveway, Hooked by Sundown, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, The Kindle Book Review, western romance

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