Mary J. McCoy-Dressel Books

Tag: #AmWriting

• #Am Week 32: Balancing Life and Writing #MFRWauthor

  Posted at 10:28 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on August 9, 2019

  

  It’s time I get back to the 52-Week Blog Challenge after a brief hiatus. I’ve been finalizing two books to come out this year, and I wrote the end to another book also coming out in 2019, but that has nothing to do with this blog hop other than I’ve been busy, busy, busy!  ❤  #WritersLife

  This week’s topic sounds like a similar topic from the last two years:

  Week 32: For an author, does life exist outside of writing?

  I can only answer for me and whether life exists outside of my writing world. This answer is twofold. Putting words to paper took the back burner for a lot of years while I grew from a child to a teen to a young adult to a wife. I raised a family and worked outside of the home. These were happy times, but the need to write was always there.

  Through the years, I always scribbled down words be it a poem or a short story, and I knew one day I’d write books. It just wasn’t the right time back then because I had a life outside of writing. What I didn’t know was how important it would become one day. Or how much time it would take to keep up with the business side.

  Moving forward many years when everything about my life changed. Kids live their own lives, but I still receive much joy from spending time with them. Retirement allowed me to write full time, so nowadays, creating stories is my life, and no, I don’t have much of a life outside of this career, but I do make sure to find a balance that works for me.

  I still have friends that I had when I was young and raising a family, plus new friends. They know of my dreams. We still go out to walk together, take little day trips, socialize, and continue to talk about my writing and books. However, I don’t do as much with them as they’d like.

  

   

  Family and most friends understand that this is how I roll these days. Still, they would prefer I had an equal balance of life and career. I do keep my heart and soul in harmony. If I won the lotto or sold hundreds of books a day, I’d be happy to give the same amount of time to work and life–maybe even more to LIFE.

  What about other authors? Participants in this blog challenge will tell you by visiting the 52-Week Blog Challenge blog for links to their blogs.

  I appreciate your visit today. Enjoy what’s left of summer. It goes by too fast.

  And now, I’m going for one of those walks.

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  The BALANCE sign is made of metal and hangs on my refrigerator by magnets on the back. While shopping with my son and daughter-in-law, I purchased this at a quaint little store in a small town nearby. As soon as I saw it, I had to have it! ❤

  Balancing rocks credit: Pixabay

  Posted in #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge | 12 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge, Balance, Balancing Life and Writing, career, Does life exist outside of writing, Harmony, life, living, Marketing for Romance Writers Blog Challenge, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, past present future life outside of writing, Week 32 Blog Hop, writing

• #AmWriting Week 28: Can I Be Found In My Stories? #MFRWauthor

  Posted at 6:08 pm by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on July 13, 2019

  

  Week 28: Putting yourself in the story

  I’m late with posting to the blog hop, but here I am now with a 52-Week Blog Challenge post. Taking part this late means I missed the Linky Sign up deadline.

  Let’s begin:

  This topic came around a year or two ago, but I can’t find the post referring to it.

  No, I don’t put me, the actual person into my stories. Nope. Not as “myself,” but events in my life and more, aspects of my personality, or the way I think about things–negatively and positively, have turned up in many of them.

  I admit, some aspects of my personality do come out in my story. How can it not? I know myself so well.

  • Moonlight is important to some of my characters. Could this be because I’m a moonchild? Regardless, to me and my characters, moonlight is romantic.
  • I’ve worked with kids all my life. My characters relate to kids like I do.
  • Family is a major part of my branding as it is important to my life. My books have strong family ties.
  • I’ve used settings from places I’ve lived, which oftentimes reveals memories that might end up in a book.
  • Without realizing it, some of my wardrobe and decorating styles have come out in my characters.
  • In my upcoming book five in the Double Dutch Ranch Series, I mention a tragic episode that I had experienced in my life.

  This happened outside of the book and in the interim between books four and five, so readers never experience the event. Readers will find glimpses of the aftermath through the eyes of the Carlson family. I’m sure this will move avid readers of the series and make them ask “why?” Because:

  • My characters experience emotion, empathy, and real-life situations. I suppose that’s another reason some of these events are brought into my books.

  These are some ways I add similarities to events I’ve experienced either first-hand or how I saw it through the eyes of someone else, but I tend to keep a lot of me hidden. To the best of my knowledge, my heroines are more themselves than me, because a girl can’t give away all her secrets.

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  As always, we can find the other participants at this Linky Link on the main Marketing for Romance Writers Blog. #MFRWauthor

  Thanks for reading!

  ---

  October 2019!

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, 52-week blog challenge | 6 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge, blog hop, mary j mccoy dressel, Week 28: Can I Be Found In My Stories?

• #AmWriting Week 27: Glitz it up! Or Not #MFRWauthor #WritersLife

  Posted at 9:23 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on July 5, 2019

  

  Week 27: Dressing Up: Chore or Pleasure?

  I have the boots in the picture above! That says it all. <wink> As much as I hate to admit it, getting dressed up is more of a chore than a pleasure. I’ve lost weight and have more to lose, so I’d have to buy a new dressy dress outfit. Don’t get me wrong, I love shopping, and yes, I should be prepared for a pop-up night out without running to the store first. Who am I fooling? I’m not good with unexpected proposals to go out.

  The dressiest affair I have ever attended was my best friend’s daughter’s summer wedding. Yes, dressier than my own small wedding. I wore a sexy little size six, short red dress and climbed up into my shiny “red” Ram pickup truck–my Lady in Red, while my husband’s mouth watered in the driveway. Haha. He chose not to accompany me. His loss. My first love was there. He noticed and complimented! True story.

  Preparing back in the day had been a pleasure. I remember my youngest son, a young man of around eighteen then, taking me aside at the wedding, saying, “Mom, men are checking you out.” He was the one shocked.

  As recent as last week, my daughter-in-law came to town for work. She wanted to take me out for my birthday. In this case, I knew it would be fun, and I was happy to see her, so getting somewhat dressed up for this occasion had been a pleasure.

  Being a stay-at-home writer, my daily dress is casual. Choosing to dress up to go out now means I have to get away from my characters to do something for myself. Remaining casual has become a habit, so it’s more normal for me to throw on a nice but casual outfit to go out with friends. It’s been ages since I’ve gone to a classy or dressy affair.

  The thought of searching for clothing for an extravagant or glitzy outing, is definitely a chore. I wish it was different, but I’ve grown accustom to this lifestyle, and it’s the norm. It’s hard to break out of the habit of dressing casual and comfortable. Loungewear comes on when the sun goes down and never sees the outside.

  The last time I went to the opera or symphony, I dressed business-casual and looked nice, but getting ready had been a chore, so I was torn between it being a chore or pleasurable. I glitzed the business aspect of it up a level with jewelry, dressy coat, and more dramatic makeup. As I “came together” that night, I felt great about how I looked.

  At the opera and symphony, you see a bit of everything from jeans to long formal dresses. I fit somewhere in between, and it was a pleasure. In my dreams, I’d dress like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman or Cher in Moonstruck and head out the door with my head held high.

  In reality, dressing up is a chore these days, but I’m happy to go through the chore of preparing for the right occasion. How about you, dear blog readers. Oh, what about men? Is it a chore or a pleasure for you to get dressed up? I’m curious to know. Guys, I have to tell you and this is my opinion, but… Seeing you in a tux never gets old. <grin>

   

  Hop on over to follow this LINK to the other blog hop participants.

   

   

  Thanks for reading!

  ---

  Happy belated Canada Day to my Canadian friends across the river from me, and a Happy Fourth of July to my fellow Americans.

  I hope none of you were in the earthquake in California.

  Be safe everyone.

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, 52-week blog challenge | 8 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #AuthorsLife, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, blog hop, casual clothes, dress clothes, glitzy affair, Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, Week 27: Glitz it up! Or Not

• #AmWriting Week 26: Getting the Call of Acceptance #MFRWauthor

  Posted at 9:44 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on June 28, 2019

  

  Sorry to have missed last Friday’s topic about planning a dream wedding. I was too busy planning a fictional wedding.  ❤  I did write the post though so maybe one day I’ll post it anyway.

  Week 26: How getting the call (or acceptance) changes lives.

  This really isn’t the topic for me though I’ve received the call of acceptance twice. Years ago, when publishing was soooo different, I turned down one call of acceptance. Yes, they actually called. Turns out, they wanted more money for editing than what they’d pay me. Yes, they made money on editing over publishing, though they called themselves a publisher.

  LISTEN TO ME if you’re just starting… Stay away from them. They should pay you not the other way around. I’m glad I had enough smarts to walk away.

  Another time, well, I can’t say I had a call of acceptance, but an editor at one of the biggest New York publishing companies had requested my complete manuscript. He suggested changes in the manuscript and then to send it back to him. That’s a big deal. It was a big deal!

  The way my luck runs, I shouldn’t have been surprised. #WritersLife Hah! I had finished with all his suggestions, and my manuscript had been ready to go, but I learned that he had moved to a different publishing company. OMG. Lickity split. He’d left me. Ha-ha. It felt like he’d left me.

  

  I still sent it to a different editor there and explained my plight, but two years later, after I had contacted them, they sent my manuscript back with a rejection. He or she, I don’t remember now, didn’t like my story as much as the first guy. Sigh.

  In the interim of searching for an agent and a publisher, I had received many rejections, requests to read more of my manuscript, and more rejections.

  Keyword here: I didn’t give up. Don’t give up.

  • I kept writing.
  • I continued submitting.

  However, I got another call some YEARS later and should have walked away then too. I didn’t, but it was my opening—my beginning, and how it changed my life. My new beginning wasn’t with them because later, I paid them to get my rights back to two books they’d published. I say it was my beginning because I left them to make my own dream come true.

  Did you pay attention? To make my OWN dream come true. Kindle Direct Publishing came around at the perfect time for me. I didn’t know anything about publishing on my own.

  • I learned.
  • I’m still learning.
  • I have a lot more to learn.

  Back then, and even now, some turn their noses up at self-published authors. Whether anyone wants to face it or not, it’s true.

  So, yes, I’ve received the call a couple times but I don’t like to talk about those times because as I said above: I made my OWN dream come true.

  Each of us has to do what works best for us. Me? I’m too old now to wait for others to make decisions about my writing career, and I’ll be even older on Saturday.  🎂

  ---

  Thanks for stopping by to read another #MFRWauthor post in the blog hop. Find links to the other authors in the hop, HERE.

  Enjoy your weekend!

  I’m excited over recent news– My November release has been edited and is with the proofreader now.

  A brand-new heartwarming Christmas Novella moments ago came back from my editor and a cover is being made for it. Yay.

  And two weeks ago, a frightening call-back to have a test redone freaked me out. It came back fine. How scary and stressful that previous week had been.

  Last but not least, my daughter-in-law has been in town this week for work, and she took me out for a birthday dinner last night. How sweet! (They live out of state.)

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge | 8 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge, blog hop, Indie publishing, Marketing for Romance Writers, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, Publishing, Week 26: Getting the Call of Acceptance

• #AmWriting Week 24: Gardening – Reaping the Rewards #MFRWauthor

  Posted at 5:09 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on June 14, 2019

  

  #WritersLife

  Week 24:

  Gardening- Pain or pleasure?

  It’s hard to believe 2019 is nearly half over. Counting by week for this 52-Week Blog Challenge makes me more aware of time slipping by. How about you?

  Right away, I wanted to write “gardening is a pain.” The older I get, the more of a chore planting becomes. Then I thought, no, it wasn’t painful because although I didn’t inherit my dad’s green thumb, I miss planting flowers and having plants. He could grow anything and took great pleasure in gardening.

  However, I don’t have to think pain or pleasure, anymore, because I live in an apartment without a yard.

  As a young wife and mom, I had always planted flowers around my house—petunias, pansies, and other types in the backyard. Impatiens were planted in the front because of shade, and I planted geraniums and assorted flowers in pots for my porch, steps, and deck. Each year I’d pick a color scheme and add a variety of colors to blend in with whatever color I chose for my main color. Back then, my husband took care of the vegetable garden, so we reaped those rewards too.

  Before moving last summer, I had an apartment with a small front yard, so I planted assorted flowers in two big ceramic planters for my patio. I had a single shepherd’s hook for hanging a good-sized pot in the sun and a double hook with smaller pots for the shade. Oh, I had one lone Tropicana rose bush that was there when I moved in.

  

  This year, my indoor non-garden consists of the ceramic planter in my dining room with artificial ferns. As you can see, the ceramic planter still has poinsettia’s. They give a pop of color until I can replace them. Another outside planter I brought with me now sits on my awesome window ledge which is like a window seat.

  

  I switch out seasonal artificial flowers. The expense of buying artificial plants and flowers is painful, but they last a long time.

  

  This double hook still needs small planters.

  I moved the double hook for a picture. It usually sits in my living room because it was a gift I like looking at.

  Outside, I have plenty of nature’s garden to view out my front and side windows. This hides two huge trees in the front, one ahead of the brown area on the left.

  Is it a wonder a squirrel built a nest in my car engine?

  

   

  Yes, sometimes the work of gardening had been a pain, but it wasn’t a bad enough pain to make me stop—until I had to.

  This is a blog hop. Find links to the other blogs on the Marketing for Romance Writers Blog.

  
  

  Thanks for reading.

   

  Photo credits: ©Mary J. Dressel

  Hands with small flowerpots: Pixabay rawpixel

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge | 15 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-Week Blog Challenge Blog Hop, Flowers, gardening, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, plants, Week 24: Gardening - Reaping the Rewards

• Short Snippet Saturday: Easy Feeling of Love

  Posted at 9:59 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on June 8, 2019

  

  Easy Feeling of Love is the title though I could’ve added: But for how long?

  This snippet is from the second book in the Boxed Set. I’m featuring the set this month.

  Set Up: Velia’s first season on the road with the bull rider is over. We’re between season one and the next season, if there is one. Caulder accompanied her back to Tucson where Velia rents an apartment and has her photography business set up, run now by her business partner. Caulder’s SUV had remained at a teammates mansion in the Catalina Foothills where Caulder had lived  for a few months last year before the season had started, and when he and Velia met. In this scene, they’re going to pick up his vehicle, or so she thinks… Until all hell breaks loose not long after, which you won’t see in this short snippet.

  This explanation is almost as long as the snippet! Sorry. ❤

  Steamy romance series. (Not the snippet)

  First, let’s see what the book is about. Shortened Blurb:

  

  Bull Rider Series 2

  Hey, Cowboy #2 
  A break in the bull riding season finds Velia and Caulder back in Tucson. Family, friends, and rowdy cowboys are brought together to share in joy, and sometimes pain. Happiness is within reach. They need to be strong enough to overcome enemies plotting against Velia’s family—and a possible career-ending injury for Caulder.

  ---

  In Howdy, Ma’am, Book One, Caulder hired her for a season. Now, the season is over… What will become of them?

  Beginning of Chapter Three:

  The drive back to the Catalina Foothills at night evoked a sense of smallness, living in an untamed world under an expansive star-studded sky. The sun had already set and the sky changed from deep blue to an intense violet twilight.

  Cacti and palm trees surrounded the highway, standing like guards in silhouetted form. Even being a photographer, she wouldn’t be able to capture an image this awe-inspiring if she used all the photo manipulation tools she had. She grasped Caulder’s hand and was carried away with the moment, overwhelmed with the easy feeling of love for the man beside her.

  He strummed his thumb over her fingers. “We’ll sit on the patio when we get back if you’d like.” Caulder gave a quick laugh. “Kind of like old times?”

  “Yes, I’d like to, but this time with your hand in mine.” Glancing at him, she observed his sexy profile in the dim glow of the lighted dashboard. Good-looking from any angle. What makes me so…so emotional tonight?

  Peacefulness came into her life as slowly as a feather drops through air, but now it was here. She craved it after hardening her heart for a time. They were almost like different people now. Her torment long over.

  She hoped Caulder no longer hurt so much inside, from his tremendous loss. Loving him is what she’d do until he saw it as a beautiful memory. A memory of the time he’d had…with them. Yes, love him forever is what she’d do. He appeared to be nodding off. “Are you falling asleep? Shall I drive the rest of the way?”

  “No, I’m fine,” he said. “I have a dull headache that won’t go away.”

  ---

  Thanks for reading!

  Have a nice weekend. 

  Posted in #AmWriting, Bull Rider Series, Short Snippet Saturday | 10 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, Arizona, bull rider, bull rider series, cowboy, Hey Cowboy Book 2, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, Short Snippet Saturday, western romance

• #AmWriting True Love? #MFRWauthor #WritersLife

  Posted at 8:07 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on June 7, 2019

  

  Week 23

  True Love: Do you think it really exist?

  Well now. Interesting topic for this 52-Week Blog Challenge Blog Hop. Do I think true love really exist? Darn right I do. I believe it with all my heart. How do I know? Simple answer. I’ve experienced true love. What kind of romance writer would I be if I didn’t believe true love existed? Songs are sung. Classic and modern-day novels and poems are written about true love.

  

  *This way to my son and daughter-in-laws wedding reception almost two years ago to the date.

  How could I create a hero and heroine falling in love on the page and in my head and heart if I didn’t believe it existed? (Yes, in my head and heart.) True love comes in many shapes, sizes, ages, genders, species, but no matter who you love, I don’t only think, but I know true love exists. My heart tells me so.

  To this day, my heart still experiences (and pines) for a special true love. The ache in the pit of my belly, the extra beat of my heart, tears behind my eyes, and a knot in the throat—the yearning—at the…memories. Sometimes we don’t realize how true a love is/was until it’s gone.

  I see true love when I observe how my youngest son and daughter-in-law look at, speak to each other, and laugh together.

  True love, comes in many forms. We can experience a true love with our Lord, a friend, lover, our child/children, or other relative like an aunt or an uncle, sister or brother, grandma or grandpa… Our parents. Our dogs, cats, horses, etc.

  Our partners. If the kind of emotion we feel upon experiencing love, isn’t true love, what else would you call it?

  

  Have you ever had a best friend? Did you love the person—truly love them? Mine passed away a little more than two years ago. We were best friends since I was eighteen. I wrote about her in my first Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge post. This kind of true love is a different kind of love than how you love a spouse or partner, but it’s true love, nonetheless.

  What about chocolate? Ha-ha. Thought I’d throw that one in to see if you were paying attention.

  

   

  I could go on and on about this topic. Don’t worry. I won’t. Since I’ve poured my heart out, let’s see what other authors in the Marketing for Romance Writers Group have to say on the topic. Find out HERE. #MFRWauthor

   

   

  Have a wonderful weekend.

   

  Image Credits: Pixabay

  Happily Ever After Sign: Copyright Mary J. Dressel.

  *This sign was also used recently for my #WordlessWednesday post.

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge | 12 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge, best friend, heart pounding emotion, love and romance, Marketing for Romance Writers, Mary J McCoy-Dressel, partner, Romance, spouse, True Love

• #AmWriting Week 22: Appreciating Gifts? #MFRWauthor

  Posted at 1:00 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on May 31, 2019

  

  Week 22:

  Gift Getting: What I always wanted but not very much

  The second thing I thought of for Gift Getting under this Marketing for Romance Writers week twenty-two topic was a car—a Fiat—a gift from my husband upon my high school graduation.

  As a wife with two kids, I went back to high school as an adult to get my diploma, and I received it with honors.

  Afterward, I went on to graduate from college. It’s a long story why I did this, but it’s for another time and place.

  Back to Gift Getting.

  The day I came home after the graduation ceremony from high school, a little blue car sat in my front yard. A real shock! If you knew my (ex) husband, you’d know how shocking. He didn’t do things like buy a new (used) car, but this time, he did.

  

   

  Now for the “not very much” part of the topic.

  Needless to say, I’d been grateful and happy for the gift. If I had chosen the car, it would not have had a four-on-the-floor manual transmission. I knew how to drive a stick-shift and had a couple cars with a standard transmission in my youth, and I had learned in drivers training. One time in our marriage, my husband and I had a four-on-the-floor Camaro. Fun!

  On the day I got behind the wheel of my graduation gift and observed a clutch, I kept quiet. Oh, yes, I appreciated this gift because it came as a heartfelt gesture. I never said anything to my husband about the standard trans. So it turned out to be a day I received a gift I always wanted, but not very much.

  For this topic, I almost mentioned a publisher I once had and how thrilled I had been to sign a contract–a gift to myself. Until it wasn’t, but I learned this too late. So, again, signing a publishing contract turned out to be a gift I always wanted but not very much, in this case, anyway.

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  Click the LINK to be taken to Marketing For Romance Writers Blog and URLs to others who are participating.  #MFRWauthor

   

   

   

  Thanks for reading.

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  Happy Dancin’ News: My full-length novel due out in November went to the editor last week! I’m looking forward to cover design next, but I’m holding up on the cover for now.

  

   

   

  Image Credits:

  Top: Pixabay ErikaWittlieb

  Dancer: Pixabay OpenClipart-Vectors

  Car interior Pixabay viganhajdari (Modified by yours truly.)

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge | 8 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, college, Gift Giving, graduation gift, High School Graduation, Week 22: Appreciating Gifts?

• Week 21: UGH, Allergies! #MFRWauthor #WritersLife

  Posted at 1:00 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on May 24, 2019

  

  #MFRWauthor Week 21: Allergies:

  How to endure them without suffering overmuch?

  Here we are with week twenty-one of the 52-Week Blog Challenge Blog Hop, and the perfect time to talk about allergies, er, well, if you have seasonal allergies. I wrote about allergies in a previous post similar to this one. Sorry, blog followers and friends for the similar topic, but this one asks us how we endure without suffering overmuch.

  With tons of food or products to be allergic to, everyone on this earth must be allergic to something. Me? Seasonal allergies among a few others like *Kapok, a filler in comforters, pillows, and some furniture, for example. Trees, and duck feathers too.

  I can control the filler and duck feather allergies by reading labels. Oh, and by staying away from ducks. bada bing

  Spring and fall is an awful time for me and out of my control other than to take medication. The other day my maintenance man had to come into my apartment. He sniffled and coughed a lot. I asked if he had pneumonia again because he had it this winter. He said, “No, seasonal allergies.” We both said UGH.  I told him I used a prescription allergy nasal spray, and it worked wonders.

  Years ago after allergy tests, I’d get allergy shots, but I didn’t keep them up. For the past three or four years, I’ve endured seasonal allergies by using prescription medication. I see no reason to suffer needlessly when there are medications. This, after suffering most of my life with non-prescription remedies.

  However, I have a life-threatening allergy too. It’s an allergy to a contrast dye used for heart tests. Sometimes we don’t know we are allergic until a product is given to us. I thought I had died seconds after the contrast entered my body. I broke out in a rash almost immediately, beginning with intense itching all over my body. Even my tongue and inside my mouth! Try scratching the inside of your mouth with an itchy tongue.

  

  I remember asking if itching was a side effect. The tech who administered the contrast, said, “No. Why?” I showed her my hands which had become one big red rash. They gave me Benadryl. Then I had an anaphylactic reaction and remember nothing from that point on. I came to, hearing the tech say ‘her blood pressure is up to 40/20.’ UP TO? The good thing is, I didn’t have a heart problem.

  Since I went through this experience, I’m afraid to take a new medication. What if I’m home alone and have the same thing happen? Am I going to die from anaphylactic shock? To endure this, I try to have someone with me if I take a new drug, but it’s frightening, and I can’t always have someone with me.

  The way I endure the allergy to contrast dye is by NOT using it again. This allergy is in my medical records now and in the Emergency section of my phone.

  Does your phone have an Emergency Info section to list medical issues? Mine is under Contacts. My family all know, but can they help when they live thousands of miles away? (Hey, crime writers, there’s an idea for your next plot.)

  Will a cop or Emergency Medical Technician look at my phone? Chances are, the first thing they’d want to do in the ER is run heart tests. My best bet is to keep my heart healthy. I don’t know what else they use this contrast for. It isn’t the same as the contrast they use for a CAT Scan because I’ve had them before.

  What about you guys and gals? How do you endure allergies without suffering too much?

  Blog readers, you can find out how others endure their allergies at this LINK. We might find a new cure, but always check with your doctor before trying anything new.

   

   

  Thanks for your visit today. Enjoy your weekend!

   

  It’s Memorial Day Weekend in the US. Please be safe.

  Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering and honoring people who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The holiday, which is currently observed every year on the last Monday of May. ~Wikipedia

  

   

  *Kapok– A mass of silky fibers that surrounds the seeds of the kapok tree and are used especially as a filling for mattresses, pillows, life preservers, and sleeping bags and as insulation. Merriam Webster.

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, 52-week blog challenge | 6 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge, blog hop, enduring allergies, Marketing for Romance Writers org, mary j mccoy dressel, Seasonal Allergies, ugh allergies, Western Romance Author

• #AmWriting Week 20: Forming a Habit with Journaling #MFRWauthor #WritersLife

  Posted at 9:26 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on May 17, 2019

  

  Week 20: Does journal keeping help with the writing process?

  Doggone. Before we know it, we’ll be typing week fifty-two. Eek. Slap me now for thinking so far ahead but my point is: the year is moving too fast.

  This week, I’m not sure how to answer the question since I haven’t journaled in years. What I do remember about journaling is how writing everyday became a habit and a need to write in it daily. We can’t call writing everyday a bad thing. Can we? Not me.

  It doesn’t take long to fall into a habit… What do I know other than how I fall into a habit? After writing the last couple sentences, I became curious to find out how long it takes to form a habit. There are many links, but I jumped on the first one in Bing Search by James Clear at the site James Clear who explains research others have done in an article called “How Long it Really Takes to Build a Habit.” I don’t know James Clear nor do I know of his work, but kudos to him for popping up first in search. I want to investigate further.

  Sorry, I let the habit thing get off track.

  I’ll go back to say journaling, for me became a habit, encouraging me to write daily. I write daily now. It might not always be novel writing, but I’m writing something.

  Do you think journal writing is only done in freehand and not on a computer? We can’t speak for everyone, but I always wrote my journal freehand and had fun with my notebook and pens since I collect both. I’ve explained more about my journaling in a previous post for our 52-Week Blog Challenge titled “Lighthouses to Love Notes: Journaling.” One thing I mentioned in the previous post was how I did then and still do now keep a journal for book related “stuff.” The quote is from the post and explains another way journal writing helps me as a writer:

  Now I keep a photo-journal for images of people, clothes, animals, places, etc., links, and a future title and character name journal for my books.

  Without journaling for so long, I don’t have the right to say much more on this topic.

  Other authors do though. Hop on over to Marketing for Romance Writers Blog to find their links.

  Thanks for reading! You guys and gals have a great weekend. Yeehaa.

  Spring finally came to my area.

   

  Posted in #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge | 7 Comments | Tagged #AmWriting, #MFRWauthor, #WritersLife, 52-week blog challenge, Forming a Habit with Journaling, Marketing for Romance Authors

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