An Announcement

Greetings!
I have news!
My short story, The Strange Case of Willoughby Spalding, has been made into an ebook, and it is now available for pre-order on Amazon!
The release date is February 14th. (I chose Valentine's Day, since it is a bit of a romance.)
And here....








is....













the...














....















...cover!

Hand-painted by me

What do you think?
I decided to post this today, and save my planned "recommendation" post for next week.
So that's all for now.
Have a lovely week!

God bless!

Megan

Of Mysteries and Mayhem

Good evening.
I am here to talk about one of my favorite genres; Mystery.
To assist with my recommendations, I will introduce you to some of my favorite movies this week.

Movies:

Now, a bit of a disclaimer, there is quite a lot of "strong drink" consumed in the Thin Man movies.

If you want a good mystery, with just the right amount of comedy, let me introduce you to my favorite TV couple, Nick and Nora Charles! (and their loyal pooch; Asta!)

There are six movies all together starring the detective and his sidekick wife.
I enjoy these movies. The relationship between Nicky and Nora is just darling; they tease and joke, all while solving baffling murders.

Miss Marple! There are four movies starring the endearing Margaret Rutherford.

These are intriguing mysteries, but with a dash of fun and comedy.
When a seemingly innocent "little-old-lady" starts investegating the mysterious murders, nobody pays her any mind. But she is sharper than any tack, and quick witted to boot!

These movies aren't exactly perfectly true to the original books by the famed authoress Agatha Christie, but they are still quite enjoyable.

Because who says that a murder mystery can't be a hilarious comedy at the same time?

Abbot and Costello are a duo I grew up watching. 

"Who Done It?" is a story about two friends who dream of becoming radio stars. When somebody from the radio station is mysteriously killed, these two take it upon themselves to become detectives and track down the killer! Much to the dismay of the police...

Next week, I'll share some of my favorite TV shows for good mysteries.

~ Have you ever seen any of these I've mentioned? ~

~ If so, which is your favorite? ~
~ How is your January coming along so far? ~


God bless!

Megan

On the 12th Day of Christmas...

Good morning, and Happy Epiphany!
Hope you've enjoyed the last 11 days of short stories, traditions, and recipes!
I enjoyed writing reading my character's posts. It was fun.
To finish off my series of Christmas posts, I'd like to share my writing plans for this year.
Resolutions aren't really something I do, but I am resolved to get quite a bit of writing under my literary belt this year!

The Time Travelers
I'm about 3/4 of the way finished with the first draft of my 2nd book in the TT series, and I'm excited to begin the editing stage!
(Yes, I'm a strange one, I actually enjoy editing. Sometimes more than the writing itself...)
But I'm guessing I have about 10,000 words left to the story, give or take. But I honestly have no idea...I'm no good at guessing word amounts... xD

Willoughby Spalding
So...I hoped to have this one published by December, but with my job, and so many things going on, I got no chance to accomplish this goal...
But my short detective story has been finished for a while now, all I'm missing is a good cover photo.

In Times of Trial
This is the current title of my story that has Colm O'Reilly in it.
I am really hoping to finish it this year. It's gonna take a long time to edit before it's even slightly presentable though. It's nearly 100,000 words long, and there's a lot left to be written. Even more, I daresay, to be fixed. (whether they're typos, plot holes, or just unesscessary scenes and dialogue.)
I love this story and the characters though, so I'll admit I'm in no hurry to finish. Because, once I'm done...well, it's kinda like finishing reading a great book, I suppose.
The characters are no longer so close, nor am I right there experiencing the story with them.
Y'know what I mean?

Mystery Collection
I hope to write a small handful of short mystery stories too, and publish them in a volume along with my story featuring Captian Windsor. Perhaps all of them with him as the main character.
But...we shall see.


That's it for now!
Again, I hope you enjoyed the last 11 days of posts!

~Which was your favorite post?~
~Were any of the traditions mentioned ones you are familiar with, or do yourself?~

Thanks for reading!

God bless!

Megan

On the 11th Day of Christmas...

(Aaron, Amy, Ivy & Josh) "Hello!"
(Ivy) "Hi guys, the four of us have decided to team up--"
(Josh) "And share our short time travel adventure with you!"
(Ivy) "...It wasn't short, Josh."
(Josh) "Well, it sure wasn't long enough."
(Amy) "Guys, don't argue...Don't mind them, readers."
(Aaron) "Yeah. Ok readers, so as they mentioned, we have a short story to share."
(Ivy) "It's short, but I will let you know right now, it's not the full thing. Only a teaser, if you will, of what will be a much longer story. The share is short, the story won't be...once it's finished being written."
(Josh) "Leave comments! We love comments. If you leave a comment before two hours are up, I'll..."
(Amy) "How did you make this sound like a lame commercial?"
(Aaron) "Ha! Don't mind Josh. I think he had coffee this morning."
(Josh) "...how did you know?"

Ok guys, let me handle this...
Here is a snippet of the beginning of a special holiday Time Travelers story.
I hope you enjoy!

It was Epiphany Eve...
In the city of New York, New York, a certain wristwatch was slowly pulsing a florescent green.
In excitement, the red headed 16-year-old Joshua Peterson excitedly ran to his Great Aunt's telephone and dialed his friend Amy Hyde's number.
When the phone was picked up, Josh spat out, "Amy! The watch is doing it again!"
A gasp sounded from the telephone speaker, and the young teen's voice whispered, "I'll be right over. Don't press any button without me."

In Canada, a similar exchange was going on...
"Ivy, Ivy!"
The 18 year old's fingers paused above the typewriter's keys, looking at her telecommunicating digital wristwatch. Intrigued by the urgency, she pressed the callback button. "What's up, Aaron? Over."
"I'm in the library. The watch. It's flashing. Over."
Ivy felt her heartbeat quicken at the prospect of another time traveling adventure, and leapt up from her desk chair, leaving it swiveling in place as she exited the bedroom in haste.

Old town New York:
"Amy! Just in time."
The blonde teen pulled her scarf closer around her face. 
"Why did we have to meet in the alley? It's freezing out here!"
Josh pulled his wool coat collar up higher around his cheeks. "We can't just go zapping through time in the middle of the house. We were in the attic last time, remember?"
Amy hugged herself. "But...Couldn't we have gone to your attic?"
He shook his head matter-of-factly. "Nope. Wayyyy too many spiders."
"Okay...Press the button already before I freeze to death."
Josh lifted his index finger above the button, but didn't press it.
Amy scowled at his hesitation. "What's wrong?"
"Do you think the Rochesters will come too?"
"...I hope so."
"What if they don't?"
Amy pulled her knitted cap further down. "Let's just hope they do."
Josh bit his lip, and looked down at the watch. "Is there a time limit to when you can press the button?"
"There might be. Better press it now, Josh."
He nodded slowly. "Ok. Here, hold my arm, Aim. Even if the others don't, I want to make sure you come!"

The outskirts of Toronto:
Ivy threw the door open. "Should we press the button, Aaron?"
The tall, dirty-dishwater blond 18-year-old looked up from the couch and nodded. "Definitely!"
Ivy closed their home library's door, and hurried over to sit next to her twin.
"Do you think Josh saw his watch blinking?"
Aaron cocked his head to the side. "I hope so! It would be weird if they didn't come too..."
Ivy frowned as her eyes ran over the face of the transportation devise. "Will it work if only one watch is pressed?"
Aaron let his finger hover over the button momentarily. "That's a good question...I suppose there's only one way to find out...eh?"
Ivy nodded, and hooked her arm in her brother's. "Ok, go ahead. Let's see what our mission is this time."
With a hesitant pause, Aaron pressed his finger down on the button.
A red light blinked, instead of the bright flash.
Ivy opened her eyes, which she had squeezed shut. "Nothing happened."
Aaron looked at the screen. "Whoa, look. It says, "Error. Press in"...It's giving a five second count down."
Ivy's eyes widened. "That means both you and Josh will press at the same time!"
"Looks like it...here we go then!"

When the timer had clicked down to zero, both Time Traveler's pressed their respective buttons, and a bright flash erupted from the screens before everything went black.


Alright, so that's the intro for ya!
I hope you enjoyed it.
Now after editing, who knows how much of this original beginning will be left over, but...
Tomorrow will be the final post in this Christmas series!
I hope you have enjoyed reading the snippets and stories.

God bless!

Megan

On the 10th Day of Christmas...

Hiya! Josh here again.
I wanted to share my own short snippet of a story, since everyone else has.
Did you get to try any of my recipes?
Well, here's my story. It was just last night that all this happened...


It was late in the evening, and my shift at the local pizzeria was just about to end.
The last customer was standing before me, waiting for me to hand over the order.
“Would you like fries with that?”
The lady stared at me in confusion. “Beg your pardon?”
I laughed, and handed her the box of pizza. “Oh, sorry. I’ve just always wanted to say that.”
She nodded slowly, and took the box. “I see...well, thank you.”
I waved my hand. “Enjoy your pizza! Merry Christmas, ma’am!”
As the last customer in the pizzeria left, I dusted my hands together. “And so ends another day of toil, labor, and—”
My soliloquy ended abruptly when somebody walked out of the kitchen behind me. “Joshua, who are you talking to?”
I grinned, and started untying my apron. “The audience. You know, that’s how any soliloquy works.”
My coworker glanced around the room, and pursed his lips. “Right...Anyhow, is the door locked? We’re closing for the evening in just a minute.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t locked the door yet, no.”
“Ok, you wanna do that? I’ve got one last pizza to pull from the oven.”
I hurried over to lock the door, then followed Jake back into the kitchen. “Another? For who?”
He sighed and adjusted his white hat. “That person you talked to on the phone earlier, who ordered a pizza? They wanted it delivered, remember?”
I smacked my forehead. “Duh! I knew that. The girl I accidentally confessed my undying love for...”
Jake stared at me as he paused in his reaching for the pizza. “Say what?”
I chuckled. “Well, a bit of a long story there...”
He pulled the pizza out, and carefully set it in the awaiting box. “I’m all ears.”
“Ok, well...The phone rang, and so I answered it, as usual...

“This is the place to get fresh pizza and ice cream! What can I do for you today?”
“Uh, hi. Can I order a cheese pizza to be delivered?”
“Sure! What size?” “Large, please.”
“Sounds good! What’s the address of delivery?”
“442 south bard street.”
“Great, we’ll have that pizza to you in forty five minutes. Thanks for calling!” “Ok, love you, bye.”
“Love you too—”
We both paused.
I heard a giggle on the other end, which sounded like somebody nearby who had heard the slip of the tongue.
I cleared my throat. “Uh...I hope you’re not expecting a discount because we’ve confessed our undying love to each other...”
A laugh sounded from the opposite end of the call.
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. I totally didn’t mean to say that.”
I grinned. “No problem! I’m always almost saying that accidentally...”

Jake replaced his white cook’s hat with his baseball cap. “That...is hilarious.”
I tossed my apron on the hanger, and nodded as I followed him out of the pizzeria; locking the door and turning off the lights behind us.
“Sure was. She was real nice though, it was fun.”
Jake grinned down a the pizza box in his hands. “You wanna deliver this to her, since you’re practically engaged?”
I threw my head back in a laugh. “Ha! No thanks. I’m going home. You’re delivery boy tonight.”
Jake shrugged, and waved his hand to me as he opened his car door. “Fine, suit yourself. Have a good weekend, Josh. See ya Monday!”
“Yep, you too. Merry Christmas!”
He slid the box in the back door, and closed it before shaking his head at me. “Josh, Christmas was almost two weeks ago.”
I shrugged. “True, but today is only 9 days away. It’s still the 9th day of Christmas! I will continue to wish everyone a Merry Christmas until the 12th day. Merry Christmas!"


There ya go, a peek into my work life.
Better go, I'm going to practice some Christmas polkas on my accordion!

Thanks Josh, fun having you again.
Hope you all enjoyed this snippet!
Have a lovely Friday!

God bless!

Megan

On the 9th Day of Christmas...

Salutations, my name is Captain James Windsor.
I have been asked to share a bit of writing that I heard was called a "post". Rather like a newspaper article, I suppose?
That aside, I should probably introduce myself.
I am a retired Army Captain, now a dectective under our Queen Victoria with the police force in London.
You may or may not remember me from a post written a few months ago...
Well now, I suppose I will share a small bit of writing, giving you a glimpse of one of my mornings off work this past December.
Now bear in mind, I myself did not write this scene, as you can tell, because it is written from an author's perspective.
I shan't lie and say that I am particularly satisfied with the way I am portrayed here...I seem rather cross. I would like you to know I'm not like this usually. I blame my mood entirely on the weather.
It was absolutely freezing this past December. I am none-too fond of winter...

Happy Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas!”
“A very merry Christmas!”
Captain Windsor scowled darkly from under his pulled-low-hat at the folks who cheerily called out their greetings to each other as he walked down the icy streets of London. “How can folks be so jolly on a morning as cold as this...”
He pulled his coat a bit tighter around his neck as he waited for a horse and buggy to clip-clop by.
A cold breeze stabbed the detective despite his multiple layers of clothing, causing him to shiver violently. “I’m not suited for the cold anymore...”
He carefully but quickly crossed the sleet glazed cobblestone street, and spotted his comrade Henry Cobbs shuffling towards him.
“Cobbs!”
The stout man peeped up at him from behind the thick scarf wrapped around his face. “Oh, good morning sir!”
Windsor clapped his gloved hands together in attempt to warm them. “I’m having my doubts on the goodness of this morning...”
“It is rather cold.”
The detective laughed scornfully. “Cold is too kind of a word!”
Mr. Cobbs’ eyes glittered in amusement. “Where are you off to this frigid morning, detective?”
The Captain huffed. “Oh, I have to go to some gathering of some sort. Ridiculous thing to be doing in the frosty mornings. Why don’t folks host parties in the evenings like they usually do?”
“Well then, I’m happy to say my business isn’t quite so tiresome. I’ve been sent to fetch a ham for supper.” Cobbs patted a brown paper package he held in the crook of his arm. “Mrs. Cobbs was particular that we have ham tonight.”
Windsor cocked his head. “And she sent you to fetch it? What’s wrong with your cook?”
“I have a feeling my wife is doing her Christmas gift wrapping while I’m gone.”
“Why doesn’t she buy her gifts and have them wrapped at the shop?”
Mr. Cobbs chuckled. “She enjoys wrapping her own Christmas presents.”
The detective shook his head incredulously. “Folks and their strange traditions...”
The stocky man smiled, and tipped his hat. “Yes, I’ve never figured out the way to wrap gifts myself, but it brings her pleasure, so I don’t question. I’d best be off. If I don’t see you before then, I wish you a merry Christmas.”
Captain Windsor nodded. “And I to you, Henry.”


Well, now that you probably have a rather sour idea of my character and mood...
I will bid you adieu.
A merry 9th day of Christmas to you.


Thanks, Captain!
Ok! Don't get him wrong; Detective Windsor is a loveable grouch. Dispite his cross and sometimes unpleasent demeanor, he's really a sweet fellow.
Mr. Cobbs and he were pals in the Army together, have remained good friends since, and now work together in the police force.

I hope you enjoyed this tiny snippet.
Until tomorrow!

God bless!

Megan

On the 8th Day of Christmas...

Hello! Ivy Rochester here.
It is now my turn to write something for the blog!
I wasn't sure what to write, so I decided to share a snippet of what my day has looked like so far.
Our parents had left for a trip to town this morning, leaving me and my brothers home.
The following is what happened earlier this afternoon:


"In the bleak mid winter, frosty wind did moan...”
I shivered, and continued to stare out the frosty windowpane. “Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.”
“Bemoaning the cold, sister dear?”
I turned around and saw my big brother leaning in the entryway of our living room; steaming coffee mug in hand.
“Oh, hi Caleb. No, just singing to myself. The song perfectly fits the weather today.”
He straightened and wandered across the room to look over my head out the window. “Minus the snow falling upon snow part.”
I nodded slowly and sighed. “True. I wish it would snow. Everything is so much prettier when there’s snow.”
He grunted in agreement, and took a sip of his coffee. “It’s -7 degrees outside.”
I groaned. “It should be illegal for the temperature to run this low.”
“That’s 18 degrees, if we were in America.”
I furrowed my brow in thought. “It doesn’t sound so bad when it’s in Fahrenheit—”
Right then, my twin entered the room and our conversation simultaneously. “Santa called! He wants the North Pole’s weather back.”
I turned and stood up from my seat on the window seat. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he did.”
“It would me,” Caleb mumbled, sipping his coffee again. “if “Santa” called...”
I threw him a disgusted look. “It’s a joke, big bro. Of course we don’t think—”
Aaron plopped onto the couch and leaned forward to steal a cookie from the abundance of the platter on the coffee table. “Gosh, didn’t mean to start a Santa debate...”
I grinned. “Don’t worry about it. Besides—” I wandered over and grabbed my own cookie. “We don’t have snow. I doubt it would go over well at the North Pole if there wasn’t any snow.”
Caleb set his mug on the fireplace mantle, and studied the barometer that hung next to our family portrait. “Hmm...It’s forecasting a change in barometric pressure. The humidity level is rising, so we may well have snow by tomorrow evening.”
Aaron leaned back on the couch pillows and grinned. “Who needs weather men when we’ve got a magic weather guesser, and the sage announcer, Caleb Rochester?”
Caleb shook his head. A grin was not on his face, but it sparkled in his eyes nonetheless. “Magic nothing. It notes the level of pressure—”
I laughed. “I would hope he knew how it worked, Caye…” I winked at my twin. “He built it.”
Aaron shrugged nonchalantly. “Sure, but it was really easy.”
Caleb grinned. “Easy, he says!”
“Aye, easy says I.”
I laughed. “Ok you two, enough of this; who’s up for a game of Risk?”
They both perked up at the mention of one of their favorite strategic board games.
I nodded in satisfaction. “I thought so. I’ll get it. Aaron, please clear the cookies?”
He eyed the scrumptious delicacies, and slowly nodded his head. “I can do that.”
Caleb hurried over and scooped the plate up before Aaron had the chance to grab it. “Ohh no you don’t. She meant; clear the platter from the table—” He waved his index finger in front of Aaron’s nose. “Not the cookies from the platter.”


It's not exactly a complete scene, but I hope you enjoyed reading!
I think I just heard the truck pull up, so I'd better go see if I can help my parents with the groceries...
Laters!


Thanks Ivy.
Only four days to go now, until Epiphany!
That means four more posts until the 12 Days of Christmas come to an end.
I hope you are enjoying these posts so far!

God bless,

Megan


In the Bleak Mid Winter - written by Christina Rossetti - Written by memory.

On the 7th Day of Christmas...Happy New Year!

A very happy new year to you!
This is me, Megan, this time.
Since it is New Years day, I decided to make this a short post, and give my Characters a break from writing for me... ;)

So before I bid you a lovely day, here is a short poem I have written:

Another year has come and gone,
both joy and sadness mark the way.
A tapestry that we call life,
is woven day by day.

The golden strands of happiness,
are lovely to behold
but sorrow's dark threads add a beauty,
of ancient truths of old.

For sadness, sorrows, trials and pain,
are used by God above,
to bring us closer to His side.
He comforts us in love.

For dark and light do both bring out,
the beauty of a life,
and joy can fill our hearts despite
all sorrow, hurt, and strife.

For in God's Word are promises,
that only if we pray,
and draw ere closer to our God,
His joy; will hearts convey!

For in His love, He died for man,
to save the human race.
Redeeming love, and peace for all,
provided by His grace.

He only asks that you believe,
and call upon His name,
Ask Jesus Christ to save your soul,
The angels will acclaim.

So as this new year's threads are woven,
dark and light combined,
May gold outweigh the dark sad threads.
May God's great love you find!


I'm not very well versed in poetry, but I hope you found my feeble attempt at a poem at least a little inspiring. :)

Happy New Year!

God Bless!

Megan