Life in progress

Author Archives: Linda G. Hill


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Curiosity – #JusJoJan 2019 Jot #22

Well, for a birthday, it’s been one unexpected thing after another. Let me tell you about it.

It started out with the school buses not running, but I knew that ahead of time. Because Alex was starting to go stir crazy yesterday, and because he had an appointment with a speech and language pathologist at lunch time at the school, I’d decided to drive him in anyway. So I began my day by shoveling my car out of the driveway. Turned out I didn’t need to do it first thing, because my best friend, John, came to my rescue and took Alex to school.

I still needed to be there for the appointment, however, so I had a shower–my birthday present to me–and drove to the school where I met the speech pathologist. Lo and behold, she’s fluent in sign language. Wonderful! What a lovely surprise that was!

After that, I came home and tried to get as caught up on my social media and all the kind birthday wishes, as well as try to promote my book sale. Then I had to drive back to the school to get Alex, because no buses.

I got home and we had pizza for dinner–no cooking!–and I got back to my laptop for some more catching up. Then my mother called to say she spent the day in bed, she was very sweaty, and the nurse had been talking about sending her to the hospital today. But my mum had no idea why. So I put in a call to the nurse at the retirement home. Apparently–wait for it–a few of the residents have had pneumonia, and my mother hasn’t been doing so well. They’ll keep an eye on her tonight, and if they have to send her by ambulance, they will. I explained I can’t get away–I have Alex to look after.

Just as I was putting Alex to bed, I got a call from his brother. His bus didn’t show up. So off I went to drive him to work for 11pm.

Meanwhile, we’re expecting freezing rain tomorrow, so probably no buses. And I doubt I’ll want to drive either. There’s about six inches of snow on my street, and if that freezes over, it’s going to be an ice rink out there.

What does all this have to do with curiosity?

I’m not the slightest bit curious about how my day tomorrow is going to go.

I’m happy and content to spend the rest of my birthday oblivious to what might await me.

Just livin’ in the moment.

Thank you so much to everyone for their wonderful birthday wishes today! They really helped me get through what was an otherwise trying day. And it’s entirely possible that they kept it from being worse! ❤

“Curiosity” is the prompt word for today, brought to us by Pamela. Thanks, Pamela! Click here to find her signature daily quip post for today. And say hi while you’re there!

 

It’s never too late to participate in Just Jot it January! Click the following link to find out how, and see all the other participants’ links in the comment section. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/22/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-22nd/


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Buy Indie Books! Part 2

It’s my birthday! My wish for this year is to give back to the writing community here on WordPress and all over social media for all the support you’ve given me over the past year.

To celebrate, I’d like to propose that if you’re a self-published, independent author, drop a link (Amazon only, please) and a sentence or two about one of your novels in the comments here, especially if it’s on sale today.

And if you’re a reader and you love to escape into the magical world of books, consider buying indie! Find the links (mine included) in the comments.

And don’t forget to please share this post!

Thank you, from the bottom of my little writer’s heart. ❤

 


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#JusJoJan 2019 Daily Prompt – Jan. 22nd

Good morning! Welcome to the twenty-second day of Just Jot it January! It’s just as cold here today, so no school buses. But if all goes as planned, I should be driving Alex to school. He’s well enough!

If you’d like a peek at the upcoming prompts, check the “Rules” post HERE. The list is at the bottom of the post.

Your prompt for JusJoJan 2019, January 22nd is brought to you by Pamela! Click here to find her last post and say hi while you’re there! Pamela’s word for our prompt today is “curiosity.” Use it anywhere in your post or make it the theme of your post. Have fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 22nd, 2019.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: Please state either in your title or very early on in your post if it’s NSFW.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!


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The Magician’s Blood is up for an award!!

I’m so excited! Not only has The Magician’s Blood been nominated for the Reviewer’s Choice Award by the Paranormal Romance Guild, my entire series is up for an award too!

The PNR Guild is arguably the place to go to find excellence in paranormal romance. I was so happy last year when The Magician’s Curse won in the category of Gothic romance. This year, they have me in Fantasy-Demons, Devils and Angels, which actually fits better with the sub-genre of the second book.

But in order to win, I need your help. All you have to do is be signed in to your Google account and then go to the following link and vote:

https://www.paranormalromanceguild.com/2018-prg-reviewers-choice-awards-ballot/

My categories are about a third of the way down the page. Make sure you vote in both categories: once for the book and once for the series. You only get one chance to vote per Google account you own, so make it count! Voting ends on January 29th.

I’m thrilled to be nominated! So much so, that to celebrate, I’m going to drop the price of The Magician’s Blood to 99 cents for one day only–tomorrow, which is my birthday!!

Your support is appreciated immensely!


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Echo-cho-ho #JusJoJan 2019 Jot #21

Before I get into my post, I want to start by saying that it’s Monday morning and I’m feeling positive! Alex is getting better, though he’s still not back to school. It was cold enough that the buses aren’t running today, so it’s likely too cold for a kid who’s getting over pneumonia to breathe out there. Tomorrow, though! Fer sher.

I remember the first time I heard my voice echo. I don’t remember where I was, but I do remember the frustration of not being able to hear the beginning of the word I uttered because it was always muffled by the end of the last echo. I recall trying to hear it by using shorter and shorter words, but even “Hi” came out “Hi-i-i.”

But the word “echo” got me thinking about other things. Because there’s really nothing truly unique in the world, everything is an echo of what came before it. Never exactly the same, just like a real echo. History repeats itself, stories are retold in different ways, yet nothing is original.

Makes you wonder how it all started, doesn’t it? I blame the chicken. Or was it the egg?

“Echo” is the prompt word for today, brought to us by Lady Lee. Thanks, Lady Lee! Click here to find her JusJoJan post for today. And say hi while you’re there!

 

It’s never too late to participate in Just Jot it January! Click the following link to find out how, and see all the other participants’ links in the comment section. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/21/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-21st/


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#JusJoJan 2019 Daily Prompt – Jan. 21st

Monday’s here. Was your weekend long enough? Mine was, and then some.

Anyway, it’s time for your daily Just Jot it January prompt! If you’d like a peek at the upcoming prompts, check the “Rules” post HERE. The list is at the bottom of the post.

Your prompt for JusJoJan 2019, January 21st is brought to you by Lady Lee! Click here to find her last Just Jot it January post and say hi while you’re there! Lady Lee’s word for our prompt today is “echo.” Use it anywhere in your post or make it the theme of your post. Have fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 21st, 2019.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: Please state either in your title or very early on in your post if it’s NSFW.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!


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Serendipity – #JusJoJan 2019 Jot #20

I’ve written about serendipity a couple of times on this blog already. The last two times I wrote about phenomenal events. We all have those serendipitous moments occasionally. Once in a while they’re life-changing, but mostly they’re the little things that come to us. Unexpected good things.

Sometimes, it seems, the universe gives us things we don’t even know that we need. Like the money I received from the government a week before I dropped my laptop. It turned out to be the exact amount my new laptop cost. Yes, I could have used that money to pay for the things I’d already spent it on, but the situation also could have been worse.

And sometimes the motes of serendipity appear as things seemingly sent just to put a smile on our faces. A song that comes on the radio that lifts us when we’re down, or items we give significance to as a sign of hope.

Serendipity can be mind-blowing.

Or it can just help us get through the day.

 

The prompt word, “serendipity,” for today’s post is brought to you by Jill! Thanks, Jill! To find her “serendipity” post, click here. And say hi while you’re there!

It’s never too late to participate in Just Jot it January! Click the following link to find out how, and see all the other participants’ links in the comment section. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/20/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-20th/


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#JusJoJan 2019 Daily Prompt – Jan. 20th

It’s Sunday, and time for your daily Just Jot it January prompt! Is Sunday the first day of the week or the last? Depends on whether you’re looking at a calendar, I think.

If you’d like a peek at the upcoming prompts, check the “Rules” post HERE. The list is at the bottom of the post.

Your prompt for JusJoJan 2019, January 20th is brought to you by Jill! Click here to find her last post and say hi while you’re there! Jill’s word for our prompt today is “serendipity.” Use it anywhere in your post or make it the theme of your post. Have fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Please be sure to link back to THIS POST for January 20th, 2019.

2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: Please state either in your title or very early on in your post if it’s NSFW.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!


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TV memories – #SoCS & #JusJoJan Jot #19

Let me start by saying I rarely watch TV anymore. I remember the first black and white we had–probably not my parents’ first one, but the first one I remember. It was a floor model, on four legs, and there was a circular plastic hard film through which you could see what station the TV was on. I couldn’t leave it alone. It was just so much fun to poke, until I broke it and my mum got mad at me.

We got our first colour TV in the 70s. It was amazeballs. You couldn’t tear me away from it.

But one of the things most etched into my mind from back then was cuddling up to my dad on the chesterfield while we watched either “Bewitched” or “M*A*S*H.” We both loved “M*A*S*H”–never missed an episode. All I can really remember about “Bewitched” as it relates to my dad is saying “Soool Saks!” every time we saw the screenwriter’s name in the credits. No idea why we did it. I’ve never been able to forget good ol’ Sol Saks. Even though I had no idea what he looked like until I Googled him five minutes ago.

I cuddled up with my dad on the couch right up until the week he died. Ah, but we laughed a lot. That’s the most important memory of all.

This post is part of Just Jot it January and Stream of Consciousness Saturday! If you’d like to take part or read the posts by the other participants, click the following link: https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/18/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-19th/

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/


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Companionship – #JusJoJan Jot #18

It’s been a long day. My companion for the day was Alex–he didn’t go to school. His cough was bad enough this morning that I decided to wait and see if sitting up would help. It did, but then he slept most of the morning.

He lazed around for most of the rest of the day, only really getting up to build some Lego with my best friend, John.

He’s sleeping again now–the worry isn’t over.

I look forward to going back to this not being the only thing on my mind.

“Companionship” is the prompt word for today, brought to us by Di. Thanks, Di! Click here to find her JusJoJan post for today. And say hi while you’re there!

 

It’s never too late to participate in Just Jot it January! Click the following link to find out how, and see all the other participants’ links in the comment section. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/18/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-18th/