Since I’m trying to step back from social media, I’ll be posting my #happythings lists on the blog. Here’s July!

#happythings

1. Getting beerious about bar mix in the shade of the pecan tree. 🍻
2. Celebrating with the family. <3
3. Indulging my need for the nugget…ice, that is. 🧊
4. Talking out loud with a librarian named Marian. #TheMusicMan
5. Walking the Home Depot because I’m working up to being a mall walker. 🚶‍♀️
6. Office hours with Team Megibow.
7. Watching Loot with Jewels. 💻
8. Toy shopping for Sawyer’s birthday!
9. Movie and dinner date. So full!
10. Slooshing at Lake Catherine and dappled, drowsy happy hour under the pecan tree.
11. Big Monday hugs.
12. Virtual cocktails with Tom the Bomb. ❤️
13. Massage day!!! 💤
14. Wrestling with the beasties.
15. Persuasion with my puppy friends.
16. Sorta-fishing with Sawyer. 🎣
17. Lake day with Bill and Kelli. Kreme Kastle burgers! 🏖
18. So grateful for air conditioning.
19. I’m a normal as a girl from Bloomington-Normal can be. ✅
20. Team Megibow and McNuggets.
21. An Ozark rendezvous with my Lu, Pop, and Lobster.
22. Floozies, fine leather goods, flaming margaritas, and Mexican train dominoes.
23. Moonshine Beach⛱, Dick’s five & ten 🪙, 2nd thought shopping👜, and enormous food. 🥞
24. Home.
25. Plowing through a pile of Monday.
26. Executive dinner decisions.
27. Another annual wellness visit done ✅
28. Sam’s club cookies. 🍪
29. A bookish 70th birthday for my Eddie. 📚
30. Write Now! with Tracy & Jewels, then Fodder & I celebrated National Cheesecake Day accordingly.
31. Rainy days and Sundays always make me sleep. 💤

Today is my eldest brother’s birthday. It’s a big birthday. One that ends in a zero. Unfortunately, he’s dealing with some stuff and can’t celebrate properly.

Being 530 miles away from home base, there isn’t much I can do to make his day better… except tap into the power of Prime.

I am from a family of readers. It took a while for us to hit on a few titles he hadn’t blown through yet, but he came up with one and I added a couple more that I thought he might enjoy.

Books. They are my family’s love language. What’s yours?

These are the days, aren’t they? We’re a month in on 100* days with little more than a sprinkle of rain. I’m finding it hard to get motivated to do anything.

How about you? How are you beating the heat these days?

I’m doing okay with stepping back from social media. I think. The urge to check my feeds is still strong, but for the most part I am jumping on to respond to notifications then ducking out.

Sort of like doing a 21st century hokey-pokey.

The few times I have given in and clicked, I felt a strong urge to shake it all about, so yeah… I think I can learn to live without the dopamine hit.

How about you? How’s your Monday going? Timber says, “‘Hey.”

Frosted sugar cookies.

A good audiobook for a long drive.

A great weekend with friends.

Coming home to my guy after a great weekend with friends.

Puppy snuggles.

What’s making you happy these days?

Had a Zoom call tonight with a bunch of talented authors. Just talking with other authors gets my creative juices flowing. As writers, we are engaged in a largely solitary pursuit, but we are not alone.

Social media feeds you nothing but a steady stream of highlights, but every author-no matter how successful-has moments of doubt. We all have days when we hate our WIPs. Some of us sass the screen when doing edits. Most of us feel tired or demoralized at least once a week.

I repeat: You are not alone.

I just saw a lovely Facebook post written by a person I know to be a writer of the LitFic variety.

When I got to the end of the post I saw that they signed it with a copyright symbol and their full name.

I decided then and there I will be taking myself far more seriously from here on out.

 ©MonkeyButt Mary

I have a real loathe/hate relationship with Twitter. You would think that would make it easy for me to quit it, would you? Not so much.

My urges to check my feed are the product of FOMO. But let’s face it, I’m really not missing much other than anger-inducing moments on a forum filled with discontent. This morning I clicked the link and the first post that popped up made me angry.

So, I’ve given myself a deadline. I have until the end of July to wean myself and find other ways to connect with the tweeple I want to keep in my life.

I’m trying to cut back on social media. I like keeping up with friends and family, but sometimes it’s overwhelming to me. But it’s such a hard habit to break. So, as I’m stepping away, I plan to use my blog as a crutch.

Whenever I have a random thought, silly meme, or a picture I HAVE to share with the world, I will try to do it here. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find whatever it is interesting and we can chat a bit about it.

Did you see any headlines about the vicious shark attack in Arkansas?

How are you? Are you ready for summer? It’s been gray and rainy here, so I am ready for some sunshine.

It’s been a busy start to the year. I’ve written two books for my 2023 Harlequin Intrigue series – Arkansas Special Agents – and I’m working on book #3 now. It’s been such a whirlwind, I completely forgot to post about my current release, FOOTHILLS FIELD SEARCH.

Sheesh.

Anyhow, in case you haven’t seen me posting elsewhere, Brady and Cassie (and Winne’s!) story is available now! Here’s the scoop!

Foothills Field Search is available now!

An officer and his K-9
Stand between a mother and her worst nightmare…

When two kids are kidnapped from plain sight, Officer Brady Nichols and his intrepid canine, Winnie, spring into action. Single mother Cassie Whitaker thought she’d left big-city peril behind—until it followed her to Jasper. Brady and his K-9 are on the case, but can they protect Cassie from a stalker who won’t take no for an answer?

I’ve seen it at my local Barnes & Noble as well as Walmart. Let me know if you spot it in the wild. If you’re looking for links on where to buy, go here: books2read.com/K9FFS

I hope all is well with you. Enjoy the sunshine!!