He was Daddy

This is about a man I knew. He left us this week, and I know I miss him. Just as I know it pales in comparison to those closest to him.

When I was young, still in high school, I dated his youngest daughter. She was his baby girl. He adored her absolutely, and even to a naive teenage boy, it was really clear he loved his daughter.

He was a man's man. His trade then was car repair and he was dang good at it. He loved racing, and went to the dirt track to enjoy the races often. He even got an old beat up car, fixed it up, and got out on that track once or twice himself. He had an absolutely gorgeous (and babied) classic car.

He treated me great, like a second dad. Helped me work on my car. Helped me get a better car (one that could be worked on), and helped me get it in better shape (as much as my budget allowed).

He had dirt bikes and go carts (one of which said girlfriend drove into a dumpster as I was following on a mini bike).

There was one moment though, that made him daddy then and forever. It was the time that he wanted to kill me. I didn't treat his baby girl right, and he was ready to make me pay for that infraction. It's pretty clear he didn't, but still. He was truly daddy. I didn't understand it then. That came years later.

My poor words seem so little to do justice for the heart this man had. But they are all I have now. Angels welcome him.

Special Post on Special Delivery.

I pre-ordered 100 copies of Island Of Regrets and 30 more copies of Jeremy's Kiss for the launch party and more sales starting June 5 (I won't be selling copies before then, but you can pre-order now and I will sign and get your copy in the mail so that it can arrive June 5th or slightly later).

Due to the weight, Island of regrets was divided into two boxes, and Jeremy's Kiss got a box all of it's own.  I am tracking the three tracking numbers on UPS.  They all three left the same city at the same time.  But somehow Island got ahead of Kiss.   So now the two books are no longer traveling together.

My guess is that the Vampires weren't too crazy about the Island and managed to get themselves separated from it.  In the end, they should all arrive here at my home on the same day.  We'll see how that really works out.

Monday Music - Hello (Evanescence)

This song is deep, moving, and fits the mood of today in which i remember a personal experience.

Getting onto a schedule

Sure, it could happen even in a this mess I call my chaotic life.

Actually this is my intent to try. To do my best to come to this blog and to post something on a regular schedule.

Here is the tentative schedule I have worked out in my mind and please understand that my ability to maintain this schedule will not be easy. Did I mention chaotic life?

Monday - Music Monday.
Tuesday - Off night (Actually this is for me to write or promote my published works).
Wednesday - Thoughts or musings about writing.
Thursday - Open for suggestions.
Friday - Social Items, News, Sports, Politics, or who knows what. Basically a chance for me to share my personal thoughts on things that are happening in the world around us.
Weekends - Free for all or not at all. Who knows? I will probably do a combination of both especially since summer is coming on and I do enjoy camping.

This is a good spot for me to ask for some help with the writing though. When people visit this blog and leave me comments, it lets me know I am not alone and then I feel compelled to keep writing and sharing and engaging. I know I could help myself by visiting other blogs and talking with the bloggers out there. Did I mention chaotic life yet? I'll try and give it my best as I work toward my goal of not having to work for someone else.

So there is a tentative schedule and lets see how well I do with it. (please leave a comment wishing me luck).

Monday Music - Radioactive (2 parts)

I've decided to try and be a better blogger.  To do that, I need to write more posts, but I really can't write about writing all the time.  So I'm going to dedicate Monday's to music.  I use music to set my mood before I start writing, and I have a very extensive musical collection (numerous genres).

Tonight I am featuring Radioactive by Imagine Dragons and a cover for Radioactive by Lindsey Sterling and Pentatonix.  Sure, it's the same song, but I enjoyed both videos and I'm sharing them here.





 

In the Numbers

I am aware that I have not been writing very many blog posts.  Sure I can give the excuses about busy schedules, or things that come up, and you probably know such stories.  I don't need to repeat them.  So I am going to make an effort to be more a part of this blog, and share thoughts on my mind, even if they are not writing thoughts.  Or share about things I like (such as music videos).

This post is about numbers though.  Here are some numbers.  My author page on FB (http://www.facebook.com/fleethompson) now has 198 likes.  My twitter account (https://twitter.com/Author_Lee) has 5060 followers.   These are the two main ways that I am marketing my book (soon to be books).

These may simply seem like numbers.  But they aren't numbers.  These are people.  Every single one.  These are people I can interact with.  Talk with.  Learn things from.  Share bits and pieces of life with.

I said to someone I met earlier today that the best experience is when someone I know tells me they really enjoyed my book.  It really is amazing to hear this from someone I don't know also, but for some reason, hearing it from someone I know adds a little something to how special it is.

The people following me on twitter and facebook are people and every time one of them talks to me to tell me they enjoyed something I did, then it makes my day bright and shiny, and I want so much to keep working for just that reason.

My wife met Brandon Sanderson

For those of you who do not know who Brandon Sanderson is, here is his official web site.  http://www.brandonsanderson.com/

He is the author who was chosen to complete The Wheel Of Time series after the original author (Robert Jordan) passed away before completing the series (14 books total).  The series is an amazing story and well worth reading for fans of multitudes of genres.

The last book of the series was released in January, and Brandon Sanderson is touring the country to do book signings and do presentations.

Due to a nasty cold, I couldn't go to the bookstore where he was visiting in my area (Portland, OR).  My wife went in my place.  She got the latest book, got in line, listened to the presentation, and waited patiently (and hungrily if I heard right) for her turn.  She got the book signed by Brandon Sanderson and also got it signed by the late Robert Jordan's wife Harriet.

Great story about that.  Years ago when I lived near Memphis, TN, around the time the 9th book of the series came out, I learned that Robert Jordan would be in town.  I went to a bookstore, got 2 copies of that book, got to where he was doing an interview and book signing.  Sat down for the interview, 2 nice women (they smiled and seemed friendly - though we didn't talk) sat at the same table I sat at.  After the interview I got in line to get my books signed.  When I got to my turn I noticed that the woman who was sitting beside me was now sitting beside Robert Jordan.  The woman was Harriet and Robert Jordan dedicated every single one of the books to her.  To this day I am fully aware that I missed my chance to have a conversation with her.

Now I have her autograph in one of the books and maybe one day I'll get the rest of them autographed.

The other big news is that my wife gave a copy of my book (Jeremy's Kiss - signed by me) to Brandon Sanderson.  It may end up never getting read, but I will certainly hope that either he or someone he knows reads it and enjoys it.  If nothing else ever happens with that book, I do hope that someone reads it and enjoys it.

Out in The Woods

 

That is a quick pick of my Truck after it went out hunting with me.  As you can see, it is not on a road, but is out in the woods.  It would have been a good time to do some writing, except that the location I was hunting in gets tons of rain.   I wasn't about to risk my computer and precious files just to get in one or two chapters.

So I am back home, and I am in good spirits and ready for some writing.

My Happy Truck

I have a happy pickup truck.

It is a 4X4 truck with a big V8 engine.  One look at it and you can tell it is a truck that is made for getting off road and playing in the great outdoors.

Well I like getting into the great outdoors, so it's a good relationship.

I just got back from a hunting trip.  The truck got to show off it's muscles and tow an RV trailer (along with 3 adults and 2 grown teens), plus all the camping and hunting gear.

We went out on muddy back roads.  We went off the road (only a little bit), and got to climb over some big bumps covered with mud.

The hunting part was not successful.  The camping part, well, there was no one anywhere around us and that was absolutely amazing for me, I like it when I go camping and I really get away from it all.

And of course, my truck is really happy because it got a full weekend of being a real truck and getting to do the things it was made to do.