Weekend Coffee Share, Spring Crunch

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer . It has been a warm weekend, and my Saturday morning blog ritual is a Sunday brunch post for this week. I have a nice, cold mocha to match this warm weather. How about you?

This past week was a busy one, even though Monday was a planning day. I had to catch up on some online training in the morning on planning day, and had signed up for some training for that afternoon, so most of that day consisted of me sitting at the computer, and responding to things brought up in training. I’m glad to say I completed all of it!

Tuesday and Wednesday morning we had testing of students in their home room. This involves actively monitoring the students and maintaining a calm, quiet environment as well as filling out certain required paperwork. My habit of wearing sneakers almost daily is paying off, I must say, because to truly actively monitor, I must be moving around a lot.

Thursday afternoon, I went to the chiropractor. I like his holistic approach, which is different than the last chiropractor. This one manually adjusts my back, neck, and leg/ hip area (which he helps me stretch first). It’s such a relief after I feel that little crack in my back, and I get sooo relaxed. My back was sore the next day, though.

Testing season is stressful on a teacher as well as the students, so my extra stress may have added to that back pain, and my shoulder pain was acting up again. I haven’t been back for more acupuncture yet, but I’m glancing at my calendar now and planning to do so. Speaking of stress, one of the things that helps me de-stress is my dog, Bixby. This week, we celebrated National Puppy Day. I don’t remember what day it was, but I posted this cute throwback photo of Bixby:

Graduation from PetSmart Dog obedience training at age 7! (Still a puppy) 🙂

Friday night was time to relax and sleep after a healthy Thai dinner. I had appointments for my taxes and to get my hair done Saturday morning. I am happy with the results of both. Last night, Chris and I went out to eat with my son, who will be 27 soon. It blows my mind! We enjoyed ourselves at a seafood restaurant. My son let me try his aviator frames.

Trying to be a cool kid!

We went back home and Chris watched an old movie with us called The Game. Chris left early, having worked Saturday. I slept pretty well knowing I did not have to wake up at a certain time this morning, so I did sleep in and then watch the church service online. Easter is coming soon. Time is flying back. I’m getting along, though. I have a little bit of grading to do today, but perhaps I’ll paint a little as well. Another de-stresser!

Have a great weekend and a great week to follow. Take some time to do something just for you!

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My Top Five Sci-fi Books that were Made into Movies. #scifi

Welcome, friends and fellow bloggers!  I’ve signed up to be part of an event in May called CyCon, which features writers from all sorts of genres and has lots of fun events.  I’ve set up an author booth on the OWS CYcon site if you’d like to check it out:  https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/forums/topic/author-pamela-schloesser-canepa/

At any rate, one of the events is the sharing of our Top 5’s in our genre on a blog hop.  I was excited to do this one!  These are in order from my fifth favorite to my top favorite.  Read on for my top five:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

People from all over the world receive a shared vision and think they are going crazy, while the government is obviously hiding secrets.  What is not intriguing about this story?  I was likely a young child and very impressionable when I first saw this movie.  I can’t ascertain whether I took in the movie or the book first, though it could have been either.  I don’t recall it being very violent, but it was very shrouded in mystery and conspiracy (the coer up kind).  Later, I realized the whole collective consciousness theme running through it.  I found that very appealing. What sci-fi fan has not seen this movie?  The book was just as awesome; its details even more dense than those in the movie.

1984 by George Orwell

This movie came out when I was a young teen and probably not allowed to go see it.  However, I do recall a date in 1984 when someone had predicted the world would end.  Guess what?  It didn’t.  But I digress…  I read the actual book when I was 18, and it stuck with me.  The proletariate enslaved by the upper class, human emotions being discouraged, Big Brother always watching.  This is an excellent dystopian novel!  I don’t know very many people who have seen the movie though.  I ought to rent it someday.

The Time Traveler’s Wife

I never saw the movie.  The previews made it look like a chick-flick/soap opera romance with a slight sci-fi taste.  No thanks.   I read the book; it was earth shattering.  There was violence, a flawed hero, much time tripping, a man protective of our main character’s innocence, and the need to suspend all disbelief wrapped up in themes of coming of age and fate.  There was also an ending that was a big letdown if you were just looking for romance in the story.  It was about much more than that.  It was about how much you would do for the one you truly love.  My feminist taste hated that she was always waiting for him to show up on his own time schedule, but who makes the schedule?  The male lead had no control over where and when he would leap.  Yet, they were always drawn to each other, an element that has appeared in many other stories and movies.  What could ever compare?  How could a movie live up to that?  And I even like Eric Bana.  This one remains a tale I am glad to keep in book form without seeing someone else’s take on the screen.  It was touching in a heartbreaking way, not romantic, and I loved it.

Divergent

I loved the book series and its devotion to family and where that fits with one’s identity.  The details of having a personality that is strong in many areas was very appealing, as well as a government conspiracy enacted on a large group of people who were basically one huge social experiment.  Confronting your fears and finding out who you truly are were themes woven through this story.  All of that seemed similar in the movie, except, the movie also had Theo James.  😉

Bladerunner

This all brings us to number one!  Bladerunner.  I saw this movie in 1985.  It too, had a flawed main character who is in the dark about his identity.  It was pretty violent, but very memorable.  The images were amazing.  The deeper meaning, are we bound to do right by the things we create?  Much like Dr. Frankenstein, do we treat our creation as a lesser being? At what point would a man-made human require human rights?  I am very intrigued by the possibilities implied here, and the idea was even more evolved in Bladerunner 2.  Believing I wasn’t a true sci-fi fan if I hadn’t read the book, I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep about four years ago.  It was great to see the differences between the movie and the book, but I am glad I have now devoured both.  The movie seems to give more of the androids’ perspectives, as the storyline will have you feeling empathy for the villian even as he is trying to kill the protagonist; it’s just survival.  I’d have to say this one is my favorite of all, and it certainly affected my early books in the Made for Me series as well as helping me imagine my vision of the future in the Detours in Time series.  (What does a hover car look like as it lifts off the ground?)

OWS CyCon officially runs May 17-19 with the CyCon website and Facebook events acting as the hub for all of our events. Sign up for our newsletter or RSVP to the event to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the bookish goodness we have to offer. Plus, you can read more about our participating Sci Fi authors and their Top 5 favorites in Sci-Fi before CyCon starts. Visit the blog hop page any time leading up to CyCon for the latest posts and your chance to enter our MEGA giveaway (open May 10).

 

 

Weekend Coffee Share. Dogs and R and R.

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at eclecticali.wordpress.com

Here we enjoy our favorite java, tea, or smoothie, and chat about whatever comes to mind and what is going on lately.

I’ve been blessed with a week off. Did I do any writing, you may wonder? Well, yes I did! My current WIP is around 35,000 words and is based on a side character from my book, Detours in Time. I already have the ending in mind, which means now I need to meander through it again and show a little bit more about the characters. It seems to be a more pared down manuscript when I start with the end in mind. It has been almost three years since I published my first work of fiction, and I started out as a pantser. Now, thought I write with the end in mind, I still am really pantsing it through the rest of the manuscript. I sort of leave it to stew until the muse hits me.  What do you all think? Does too much planning kill the details? Sometimes they just have to come to me at the right time. My next work break is this summer. I am making a date with my manuscript for several weeks at that time! It’s been great having a week for w-riting and relaxing!

Other than that, I grew tired of sitting at the computer for too long. I do a lot of that while I am working, plus adding in certification endorsement classes to my schedule. So, I did a little loafing this week. I saw friends for dinner one night, and I went to see Glass with the boyfriend last night. I enjoyed it. It was not as tense as Split, but it was definitely a psychological thriller with satisfying twists! The characterization is amazing, and it helps to have seen the two previous movies involving these characters. I am a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, overall, and certainly a raving fan of James McAvoy. His face goes from glee, to penitence, to murderous terrorizing in seconds, perfectly. At home, I’ve watched a little Netflix, and I even got slightly hooked on Shameless. The acting is great, but there is a lot of inappropriate material. It is drama/comedy centered around the family of a “shameless” drunk. It is actually pretty sad at times. Like a train wreck….which actually is a plot point in the movie, Glass.

I plan to take my little canine to the dog park later. We have had several walks this week and morning coffee on the front porch days. He loves it, because he is off the leash on the front porch. Why not?? It’s his property, and he is a little more well-trained now. What he hates is when I walk him on a leash and we pass by a dog watering their own lawn, off-leash. Such dogs are well-trained and don’t leave their own lawn. I am trying to get Bixby to that point, and it seems to be going well. If he needs to do any serious potty time, though, he will give the begging eyes so I will leash him and walk him a bit further. Works out for me as well!

Would you believe, I haven’t gotten up before 8:30 a.m. at all this week! I was fighting a sinus/allergy issue, so that may be part of it. I went to yoga yesterday for the first time in two weeks, and my shoulders are sore. I have to get back into it. Things happen: work meetings, sickness, etc., but I did use a stretching app at home. No, it’s not the same, but it’s something. Back to the grind this coming Monday.

I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for stopping by to share a cup with me!

Best of the Year, December 2018 Blog Challenge. #2018BOTY

Online graphic is from Beaton’s blog, Becoming the Muse.

Thank you to Beaton at becomingthemuse.wordpress.com for making me aware of this blog challenge! Since I have arrived late to this party, I will have to do this my own way. I am no good at posting daily these days. I have missed the first days, and some of these require me to really ponder my answer. So, I will try to present a few of my entries 2 to 3 times a week. I hope this does not disturb the universe. Yes, I totally stole that one from T.S. Eliot’s poetry, and I have a few others I like to say at random times. 🙂 At any rate, here are my Best from numbers 1 to 5:

1. Movie- Rental: Arrival. This one ‘arrived” on the scene in 2016 and came to me via Netflix DVD, because I have a really hard time getting out to see new movies, what with writing and the like. It is sci-fi, but it is a thinking movie. There is a mystery to solve; you have to pay attention. It also can be quite touching and powerful. Amy Adams’ performance was moving and emotional. Loved it!                                    Movie seen in the theater: BlackkKlansman. The acting was awesome, the plot intense, and the subject matter, heavy. I saw it with my young adult son, and we both loved it and appreciated the message it gave. It was wrought with irony, and sometimes we laughed. At times, I cried. We walked out of that theater, the two of us and everyone else, in silence. The ending was so disturbing in drawing a comparison between 70s/80s Klan activity and racial attitudes to what has gone on this year. Kudos to the director for his raw honesty.

1. TV Show season- Season 2 of “Travellers,” available on Netflix. Superb acting and great writing, despite just a few plotholes. This was a total time travel indulgence for me that had me binge-watching for days. It got me through a sinus infection, and I probably laid around more than necessary, but hey, I was entertained and definitely hooked!

3. Fiction book- The Watchmage of New York, by C.A. Sanders.

It’s magical and has a little of a Neil Gaiman feel to it. It’s the turn of the century, there’s a detective solving crimes, and not every character you encounter is human. Absolutely loved it and highly recommend it!

4. Nonfiction book- Untamed, the Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island by Will Harlan

I found this woman to be quite an inspiration. She was totally unlike me, but thank God there are people like her. She fought hunters and poachers on the island to protect birds, sea turtles, etc. She would raise a gun to them and defend the island to the death. She was no quitter, and I found that really admirable, as well as finding her strange habits interesting, if not to my taste. (Roadkill just doesn’t appeal to me) 🙂 There were also many chapters that included far out scientific facts about sea turtles and other secrets of nature.

5. Song- Man on Fire, by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. I love this band and have for a few years. They are so natural, free, and loving. In the videos, they look like a bunch of hippies who have gathered in a park to have fun and sing some tunes. Love seems to flow through the smiles of the lead singers. What’s not to like? That, and Man on Fire is downright inspiring. It gets me going when I feel tired in the morning, making me want to go out and use what talent I have to inspire and to love others. I just discovered it this past year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08WeoqWilRQ

Thanks for reading! My plan is, in a few days, to post my Dec. 6-11 Best of the Year.  How about yours?

#Weekend Coffee Share. Of Introverting, Business, and Balance

Weclome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Ali WordPress. I have so much going on in my head I can’t type prose right now!  Nor can I churn out an emotional poem. Perhaps I am using the other side of my brain more this week?  Grades are due in the next week, and I have been pulling my hair coming up with personalized plans for my students to make strides in the reading standards for English Language Arts.  Yes, it’s a little analytical for me.  But I’ll get it done!  Add to that the online course I am taking.  Ugh…

There is good news, though:  a Book signing is scheduled for my first full-length novel, Detours in Time, and I will also have some of the sequel, Undercurrents in Time at the book signing on Sat., Nov. 3rd, 10 am to 2 pm at San Marco Bookstore in Jacksonville, FL, in case any of you are in town!  I’m excited, and I’m planning, thinking about marketable tactics, planning a good night’s sleep the night before. (Hope it works)!

So, this weekend is that of an introvert’s lifestyle.  Analyzing data, working on personalized plans, and grading while sitting in the living room with my son watching “Logan,” a tale of the aging Wolverine.  I love to nerd out.  Luckily, I’d seen it before, or I’d have to put the work down!  I suppose this counts as quality family time with my twenty-two year old son?  After he went to bed, I chilled out with Netflix’s “Maniac,” a truly weird, yet engaging tale.  Last weekend, my boyfriend and I discovered “Unbreakable” from 2000, and now I want to watch all the others in the series!

In all this, I have been feeling the aches of arthritis pain this week, and I skipped yoga again!  Big mistake.  A little walk this morning made me feel better though.  Yeah, it’s truly an introverting weekend, but don’t read me wrong.  I am planning a lot of socializing in November and will have my conversation face on for the book signing!  I love talking about my books!  Overall, I am still going.  I can’t stop.  My big break may be just around the corner, or, I may be working on the side hustle until retirement allows me to write full-time.  Either way, I can do this!

Thank you for the visit.  My coffee really energized me this morning, and I am well-rested after last night!  I hope you feel fueled this morning as well.  Have a great week!

Weekend Coffee Share. It’s not the ’80s Anymore…

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at EclecticAli. Almost every day but one has been a full-cup-of-coffee day this week, what with all of the celebrating and the book release. I think the event for my Undercurrents in Time release went well and was a whole lot of fun. I did a few live videos to save myself from all the typing, trying to share background and info in my FB event. Here is one of the live videos I did, discussing why I chose to be an indie author and why I choose to write sci-fi books: Facebook Live Author’s video Please go and check it out! Disclaimer: No, I am not 23 years old; it is a joke!

I was also celebrating my boyfriend’s birthday with himthis week. We went to the Pixies’ concert Sunday night and then to the beach on Monday, not too early, of course. The Pixies were playing at The Florida Theatre, a very nice venue, however, it was steaming hot even inside as we waited in line for a drink. I think it’s because there were so many people there. They haven’t played in Jacksonville, Florida since the 1990s, so I’ve been told. People were all very friendly and looked to be about our age. So I didn’t feel old for being there…haha. I kept asking my boyfriend, Kenny, “Where are all the mohawks?” To be fair, the band is more of a surfer-punk type band, but you would have seen mohawks back in the day, I’m sure. I have a curiosity for counter-culture. Sadly, we didn’t see any.

Pixabay photo.  Where have all the mohawks gone? 

Here was Kenny’s answer, by the way: “Honey, everyone’s got a job now. We’re all at least in our fifties now.” Hmmm.

I laughed. “Yeah, no one could get these tickets if they didn’t have a job!” I guess all the artists with mohawks hang out somewhere else? I’m telling you, it is a really nice venue. I had never seen them in concert before, and this was a real treat. So, yeah, it’s not the 1980’s anymore, but the band sounded awesome! They played “Here Comes Your Man,” a sort of rock-a-billy, danceworthy song and most of the tracks from my favorite album. “Wave of Mutilation” seemed slowed down to me but still sounded killer! Sorry, my eighties’ lingo is creeping in. I heard from a friend who got a really good seat so he could see, because he can’t stand for long, and he had people standing in front of him who would not move. The ushers acted like they had very little power to help, but then they had to hurry to the lower area where, I am told, a fight had ensued. Ah, some people never grow up…

So we enjoyed the concert immensely. Monday morning I caved in and got a Starbuck’s espresso drink, salted caramel to be exact. It sure hit the spot. I think I did have one half -cup- of- coffee day this week; it certainly wasn’t on book release day! I have made it to yoga twice this week, so I am on the way to balancing my health with summer fun, which is the goal. I am not writing much, but that can be expected since I just dropped a new book on the world! Actually, I’m writing copy for Facebook ads and creating Canva quote and image teasers to market my book. It seems to never end. I also created a Facebook page for Detours in Time series; I think you can find it just by typing that name. Wake up-Hug dog-Hustle is the motto on my new favorite t-shirt, and it certainly applies to me! After all, my son is up and out the door for work around 7:30 almost every day except for his day off. I’m left with my dog, my books, and my social media, until I schedule a lunch with a friend.  I had one of those this last week.  My son and I have taken in some movies, Jurassic World being the most recent. I really enjoyed it; lots of thrills and chills and the never-ending debate of “Just because science allows us to do so doesn’t mean we should…” Jeff Goldblum looked very appealing as he made this argument….

I am enjoying summer, as I slept in until 9 a.m. today. My son and I spend time together on his Thursdays off, beside me taking him to appointments. So far it has been movies, but we may hit the beach early one day. I do need to work on waking up early again….It also feels like to have the book published! You may preview and or download Undercurrents in Time, which is the sequel to Detours in Time here: Undercurrents in Time

I hope you all have had a great week and certainly have a great weekend!

Stream of Consciousness…Nov. 2017

11-10-17

One idea after the other has flooded into my head today and I am not able to act upon a single one in completion.  Yet, that’s okay.  My brain is working, and I’m thankful.  I wrote an added chapter to my work in progress which

has opened doors and avenues for more ideas….

 

I met with friends who inspire me and nurture my brain, as we talk on one topic and then another which leads to even another.  Then, we decide on a general time frame for our next meet, all of which enriches my soul.

It is comforting to know there are many more ideas waiting to come to life when this current goal comes to its fruition.

To my delight, my doctor’s visit today included discussion about Quentin Tarantino movies.  Dark and disturbing, but nothing I’d walk out on.  Darkness lives among us.  We cannot run from it, but we can try to shine our light into its corners.  I also tend to take a muscle relaxer when it creeps up on me like some of those Tarantino scenes…They creep up on you and blow up immediately.  Case in point:  The Hateful Eight.

There is awe-inspiring literature still to be discovered, and though I am in between books, I am once again teaching the wonderful novel by Walter Dean Myers, titled Bad Boy.  At the heart of it is his struggle for identity, his longing to be a writer like Shelly or Byron, existing right beside his love for ‘playing ball’ and his increasing awareness that race and his place in society (back in his time) may not fit with his desire to write like Yeats.  His struggle for identity touches me.  Portions of this novel are very dark, but I can say that I have been there.  I went through that.  It had nothing to do with race, but more with my place in society, living in a mobile home park with a divorced mother who worked very hard to make ends meet.  Living with the memories of my dad as an angry alcoholic and later, talking with him on the phone, a converted stranger trying to get to know me as a sober dad, long-distance.  I never felt college was really within reach until my dad made it clear to me in 12th grade that I really needed to try it, and that he would help.  There were dark days where I trusted no one, lots of awkward social experiences,  days I had lunch alone (before I remembered to take a book everywhere), and bright days when I earned an A in College Algebra because I studied three hours the night before.  When I read of Myers’ dark days, I feel it.  There were times, as a teen, when I was cutting, thinking of suicide, or partying with other lost teens.  It is such a soul-searching venture to dig deeply into this novel.  It also makes me relive some of my son’s teen angst years, all of which is fodder for an entirely separate entry or story.

And then it is time to come back above water.  I know how it ends.  Myers finds his identity and place as a writer.  I am, as an adult, of the mindset that believes there is always hope.  I’ve found my place in society, and I’ve used the dark moments of my life to fuel my writing.  I am still emerging as a writer.  Maybe I’m a fledgling.  I don’t think I’ll ever rest on my laurels.  This makes me feel young, and I pray, pray, pray with all my might that my mental capacities will allow me to spin tales for years to come.

This is what’s on my mind lately.  What’s on yours?

 

#WeekendCoffeeShare: Ice, Please.

Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Diana at partimemonsterblog.com.  If we were having coffee today, on July 23rd, I’d tell you that I have iced mocha or regular coffee, with creamer and two ice cubes in mine, how about you?  I’d also tell you–

My son has been working his job regularly, and this is a good thing.  It gives him a sense of purpose, even though it may not seem like a “career” job, but he is getting a good number of hours, despite coming home early when it storms.  It is an outdoor job, and he loves that sort of thing.  I worry about him less when he works, since his mind is occupied and he loves physical work.  Wednesday he was off, and we took a nice little walk at the beach, stopping at a quaint coffee shop afterward.  I posted a few photos of things seen on our walk Thursday in a post titled, “Echoes of My Neighborhood.”

On the author front, I am trying out Hootsuite for my social media.  There was one day I couldn’t post because it had a glitch.  But I have set up some posts to start this Weds.  We’ll see how it runs!  I won’t use it for WordPress, though, because I believe that my voice is more authentic if I write, edit when I can, and post when I am ready.  Yes, sometimes that means posting in the moment.  I also have been running a Kindle Countdown offer for my latest sci-fi book, Detours in Time, which will be just $1.99 in Kindle format until 7/25, with a comparable savings in the UK.  So far, I can say I’ve sold more books than I would have otherwise.  That’s the goal!  Feel free to check out the preview of my book or to get your own copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711ZW6XF   I will not reduce this book any lower or put it on free promo. for a while, because I have spent a good amount of money on editing, promo., cover, and marketing materials.  A fellow author, Carol James Marshall, wrote a blog post on that, titled “Art is Not Free.”  She’s right.  Seriously.  Imagine if pro- athletes spent the first year of their career earning less money than they spent to get into the game.  In fact, a Time.com article states rookies get a “league minimum base salary of $450,000.” * Unreal, right?  Our priorities are messed up, when you also consider beginning teachers’ or police officers’ salaries.  Ugh.  Okay, rant over.  Reviews for my book are coming in at an overall average of 4 stars for my first 8 reviews.  That’s even good for a batting average, right?

  Detours in Time, a sci-fi, time-travel tale.

On that subject of art not being free, I thought of my own reading and buying habits.  If something is advertised for free, yes, I’m likely to load it on my Kindle.  Heck, I may see two different free books and load them.  Will I hurry to read them? No, not unless someone else has recommended.  Does anyone value something that is being given away?  I’m also less likely to give a review on a free book.  I also might likely speed through it.  So, I am trying to spread the news and make it seen, so that buyers are more likely to purchase it and value it.  This also means I need to learn to use AMS Amazon ads, which is a whole other blog post.  🙂

I had a great weekend with some work buddies at a cookout that was relaxing and led to much over-eating.  I am not doing much cardio this summer, just yoga.  It’s so hot for cardio!  (I live in Florida).I’m also spending a lot of time learning about my avocation as an author, jotting down ideas, spreading news of my book, and honing my writing skill.  I love the Flash fiction challenges here on WordPress!   This week, I joined in on a Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers Challenge and wrote my own, titled “Stairway to Heaven.”  You may find it here at https://pamelascanepa.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/stairway-to-heaven-flash-fiction-for-aspiring-writers-fffaw/  for a short escape!

Last night, my boyfriend and I watched the movie, Memento, with Guy Pearce.  It came out about fifteen years ago.  I recently read a blog post about Christopher Nolan movies, and it was mentioned.  I remember that this movie struck me and had an impression on me.  It was highly acclaimed in this blog post.  I regard it highly as well.  While watching, it didn’t seem like my boyfriend liked it.  He found it confusing.  Well, yes it is.  A lot of it goes in reverse order.  Not only that, you get glimpses of an event, but not all of the event, so you really can’t figure it out until the end.  This movie will disorient you, and I think that is the goal.  The main character had a brain injury and has a short-term memory disorder.  He can’t make new memories.  So, as he’s trying to find out who his wife’s killer is, he is putting together clues that he will forget about moments later unless he takes snapshots, makes notes, or tattoos them on his body.  And these brief glimpses we get are probably much like those that a person with such a memory disorder would have.  I felt sad for him, because for such a person, it is almost impossible to put the big picture together, much like any viewer of the movie will have trouble predicting where it’s going or even knowing for sure who villains are.  Again, the movie does make a point, a very sharp, cutting point.  I’m sure that’s the intent.

Thanks for tuning in to my Weekend Coffee Share. It turned out longer than intended, but it does sum up my week.  I couldn’t help but get on a tangent with the “Art is not Free” statement.  I truly respect the arts and would like to see them elevated in status in our society once again, to include Literature, Art, Poetry, Oral Storytelling ( where people would pay $20 without batting an eye to hear a really good storyteller, just like they pay $50-100 or more for famous musicians and far beyond that for sports games).  Ah, maybe I’m just a dreamer.  🙂

If we were having coffee, I’d also ask you about your week.  Feel free to share with me, or visit Diana’s blog and add your link to your written coffee share by clicking on the blue button at http://parttimemonsterblog.com/2017/07/22/weekendcoffeeshare-in-which-i-am-a-wee-lazy/   Have a great week!

• The referenced Time article can be found at http://time.com/money/4626448/heres-the-salary-of-every-quarterback-in-the-nfl-playoffs/

 

 

 

 

#WeekendCoffeeShare, I’ll Keep Dancing ‘cuz I Love Dancing!

 

Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Emily at nerdinthebrain.com and soon to be hosted again by parttimemonsterblog.com.  As you can see in the photo, there are many days lately where my coffee of choice is ICED!  The heat here in Florida is amazing lately.  This coffee drink was iced mocha.  Yum!  I actually met with some friends and fellow writers Thursday for a fellow writers’ chat.  Hence, the above photo, which is perfect for summer!  If we were having coffee today, on the 9th of July, I would tell you:

*Book News:  Most days this week, I have sold one or two of the Detours in Time books at Amazon.  Some days, I think it’s because of the book postcard I gave to the cashier or customer service manager at the grocery store or the coffee shop.  This is one way I’m getting the word out.  I got a graphic designer to make this design, and then I ordered the postcards to be printed.  I hand them out in many places, and Wow!  They look very professional, and they make me look legitimate, so they make me talk to people about my writing!  Imagine that!  People don’t know I’m an author.  I need to tell them!  I should be proud!  I worked hard on this book.  I paid for editing, cover design, graphics, postcard, formatting, and there’s something I missed, but you get the drift.  I should be proud.  Plus, I really enjoyed the writing of this book.  I do this because I enjoy it, so I should be proud.  I’m working on this poem in my mind about it.  It’s like, I’m displaying my talent and hard work, so I don’t want people to ignore or to look away, even if I am only earning a few dollars on it.  Well, there are some days it seems no one sees my Facebook posts, and sometimes you’ll have some days without a sale.  Come on, you indie authors know what I’m talking about! Anyway, I’ll likely order more postcards.  It has been fun talking about my writing with strangers.  (It’s helping me develop my elevator pitch). 🙂  This is what it looks like, designed by Kat Mellon:

Also in book news, a big thanks to Jackie O. who, starting Monday, gave me a book/author feature on her blog this week!  See it at https://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/2017/07/03/bring-your-books-5-author-zone/

Another round of thanks to Katrina Robinson, who hosted my “Interview with a Character” from Detours in Time this Weds., 7/05.  Please visit and give it a read at https://calliopewriting.com/2017/07/05/guest-blog-post-interview-with-a-character-from-pamela-schloesser-canepas-detours-in-time/   It is a different sort of post on the blog tour for my new sci-fi novel, Detours in Time.

This week I have also have a book spotlight at princessofthelight.wordpress.com.  They are pleasant to work with, and have a lot of Twitter followers who have retweeted my book spotlight!

*A big topic of discussion with my fellow writers at coffee was recent movies.  I had been bad about attending movies, but I have finally seen The Guardians of the Galaxy 2, (and then rented part 1 on Netflix) and more recently, Wonder Woman.  I loved both!  There has been a lot of talk about theology in Wonder Woman, and then, I saw another article that cited Buddhists principles in Wonder Woman!  The point is, people are seeing a moral or spiritual element in the movie, and I noticed a similarity of the god Ares’ fall to that of Lucifer.  I did not love it for the fight scenes, but for many of the other elements present.  Many people are seeing different things.  Go see it!  GOTG: it’s just awesome, full of action, great music, and characters you can easily fall for.  Enough said.  See them both, especially if you love sci-fi and superheroes.  Next up, War for the Planet of the Apes.  I am there!  I’ve seen people guffaw at it as racist.  Huh?  You can see it in many different ways.  What I see is that the apes are closer to nature than mankind, and therefore they would save it (and fight for it) as opposed to our destruction of the planet.  I know the original condemns mankind for blowing up the planet, and it made quite an impression on the young me.  I am curious and will certainly see this one too.  My next on Netflix is The Man From UNCLE.  Yes, I’ve seen it before, but it’s worth a revisit!  Spy intrigue, handsome lead, 60’s fashion, 60’s classic cars, exciting love story, and HENRY CAVILL.  I am a fan.  🙂  Worth revisiting!

*Writing?  Yes, I wrote a story this week!  Well, two, but one of them is still secret.  The other is a flash fiction that I wrote here on WordPress for the Flash fiction for Aspiring Writers Challenge.  It is in reaction to a photo prompt.  I love these and will likely try them with my English Language Arts students.  Someone should love writing like I do!  Here is my response:                                                        https://pamelascanepa.wordpress.com/2017/07/04/flashfictionforaspiringwriters-i-took-the-fall/

*So, beyond that, I got the dog groomed, spent some time with my son, went to Artwalk with my significant other, and read at least one book this week, and there were two yoga classes.  I also went to a fundraiser yoga class this morning that was different than my usual practice.  It was great, even though I modified a lot.  Yes, it is a common thread in my posts.  Yoga-dogs-books.  If I spend my time doing those things, it means I am loving my life!

Visit   Emily at http://www.nerdinthebrain.com/weekendcoffeeshare-the-one-where-i-pass-the-reigns-back/  for her week’s insights and for the coffee shares of some fellow bloggers.  You may add yours by clicking on the InLinks button.

Thank you for reading this far, especially if you haven’t tired of me “spitting out the butt-ends of my days and ways,” (From a T.S. Eliot poem) which amounts to:  Yoga, books, dogs.  Add Family.  Friends.  Coffee!  I shall have to add food next time.  🙂 Have a great week!

 

10 Reasons the 1990’s Were Not so Bad…

In honor of my new sci-fi novel that was just released last week, Detours in Time, I’d like to talk about the 1990s.  My main characters live in 1997, and they travel fifity years to the future.  I loved thinking about all the technology I lived without in the 90s, and used that as I imagined what my characters would run into in 2047.  It was easy to set them in the 90s, as it was so pivotal for me.  I sort of grew up and stepped into my own shoes in that decade (see #7).  So, this post is in honor of the 1990s, and everything that was great about it:

1.  This song by Chumbawamba!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5uWRjFsGc&list=RD2H5uWRjFsGc
2. Seinfeld was on the air for most of the decade!  Photo: Bing Creative Commons
3. Jeans were very forgiving on the days we happened to be bloated; they hid our muffin top…On the other hand, they did use a LOT of material, not so great for those of us living in Florida. 
4. Everything was relaxed, or short, short hair was back in, or long, but if it was long, it was casual.  It was almost a re-birth of 60’s fashion, and that was great.  Of course, Grunge took it and ran, but that’s their perogative. 
5. On the subject of music, we had Karma Police, Creep, …. Again, it felt a lot like a revivial of the sixties, except for Nirvana.  They were unlike most of the others.  Then, we also had the “gourd” bands.  Smashing Pumpkins, Blind Melon, did I miss any?  It didn’t matter.  They were fresh, and unique.  Headbangers still had their fun, too.  See the aforementioned Nirvana, and there were a few others that were still kicking in the 90s, though the headbanger bands are not my expertise.  Then, there was Beck.  That man was, is, a dynamo.  Come to think of it, 90s music rocked!
6. Most of us did NOT have cell phones.  We called each other or went over to a friend’s house, sometimes unannounced.  When we got together, we looked at each other while conversing.  I kind of miss that…
7. There was Titanic, there was Val Kilmer looking great in several movies, there was Nicholas Cage in a movie every time you turned around, and the Lion King warmed our hearts.  Movies were a big hobby for me, as I wasn’t going to concerts or getting out much as the 90s moved on, so thank goodness we had cable.  In that decade, I: graduated from college, met a man who I married, bought a house with him, had a son, potty-trained that son of mine, worked full-time, got divorced, continued raising my son.  The 1990s were such an important time, and I was seriously busy.  I’d unwind at night watching the NASA channel with a slushy margarita.  Really! 
8. If you were in college, you went to the book store to buy your books.  Well, even if you weren’t in college, you went to buy books at the store.  In the library, you used a physical “card” catalog.  By the way, did Amazon even exist back then?
9. Most of us did NOT have a home computer, and no one had ever heard of tablets.   This was great, because you know, Y2K was just around the corner.  I’ll address that in the sequel to Detours in Time.  🙂
10.   We had Bill Clinton for a president.  I don’t know if that was economically bad for us, though some would say it was good, and his brother could play a mean saxophone!  Through it all, SNL was there to poke fun at him.  Well, they do that every decade, for every president in office, and I still appreciate it!

**Photos courtesy of Pixabay.com unless otherwise stated.

Please look for my sci-fi book, Detours in Time, on Amazon for purchase or preview.  It is available in Kindle format, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711ZW6XF

Blurb:

On a whim, feisty Tabatha takes a trip to the future with Milt, an awkward science professor. The fun trip turns intense when they make discoveries about their future selves and learn that while their actions may save one life, they could destroy another. Amid the turmoil, the two must decide if their actions have drastically altered the lives of the people they have met.  Can Milt and Tabatha agree on a course of action?