Lake Time; Two Views

Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer - in most places. Right now in Lake Country, Minnesota, it's 60 degrees, cloudy, with an 20% chance rain, 80% humidity, and 20 mph wind. The clouds have been dribbling wet stuff all day, and I don my parka and gloves to walk the dog. It's pretty much Desert, Arizona's winter - minus the rain and humidity. Summer is imminent.

Ahhh, lake country in the summer. Time for boats, swimming, floating, paddle boarding, water skiing, and relaxing - for some people. Husband and I have a home in lake country; we have a boat, and enjoy being close to some 50 lakes, but we have differing views of enjoying the water.



My view is cruising on a 30 foot pontoon, a glass of wine in hand, admiring the lake homes of the 1% - where the white canopies are set up, music crooning to the latest light rock, and party goers dressed in white linen. For snacks we savor bruschetta, drizzled with olive oil on smoked salmon and capers; goat cheese stuffed with bacon and basil; and wood-fried spinach dip. Pair that with a Russian Valley red Cabernet Sauvignon and cozy down on the leather seats to enjoy the sunset.

My husband's view is getting up at 5:30, packing peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and hooking up the 17 foot outdoor /indoor motor boat to the long-bed pickup. We putt putt through the bulrushes to the best walleye hole and cast our lines. The sky is cloudy, the wind is brisk, and the peanuts and bottled water satisfy my breakfast hunger. We brought home a basket of 3 sunfish and 1 bass.

Ahhh, summer in lake country. Choose your view.

Google Won't Like That

I'm a guest blogger on the Phoenix Publishing and Book Marketing Facebook page, and contribute my blog the 22nd of every month. I had been posting the same blog on A-View-From-My-Window; however, a marketing guru mentioned to me that blogs should only be posted on one site because Google doesn't like it. What?? Google used to be a mere noun (Check Google for more information.), then it became a verb (I'll Google that for you.), but now it has become an emotional entity (Google doesn't like that.).

When I think of Google and Facebook I envision a room the size of an empty Costco warehouse filled with millennials sitting on their beanbags holding Apple laptops and listening buds hanging from their ears. They are each assigned a segment of society that they make dance like puppets on their computer screens while they compute algorithms to control their behavior.

And, Google probably won't like the image I'm using so will be shut down, handcuffed, and hauled off to Google jail. (Hmmm, now it's an adjective.)

Anyway, instead of posting my same blog in two different places, I will just supply a link on my Window blog. I'm kind of lazy that way.

Happy Googling.

Zip Lining

Zip lining over the Costa Rica canopy is by far the bravest thing I've ever done. At age 66, I didn't really have any extreme sports under my belt. No sky diving, no bungie cord jumping, no scuba diving, no climbing Mt. McKinley.

However, I have slalom water skied, but, hey, everybody does that, right? I did it at age 60 and am fairly proud of that! And the closest I've ever come to scuba diving is snorkeling in the Caribbean, which gave me motion sickness. I guess there's time to sky dive in the new indoor facility that opened in Scottsdale, but I've heard weird bodily functions occur while doing that - like snot flying out of your nose and getting stuck in your eyelashes.

To prove my zip lining experience, here is a video someone took of the Arizona chicks coming in for a landing. I'm the slow one in the blue shirt:

You can read more about my visit to Costa Rica here.

My Author Friends

        

As you may or may not know, I write children's picture books and have published 6 books, four about Lonnie the Loon and two about Quincy the Quail:

Lonnie the Loon Finds His Home
Lonnie the Loon Learns to Fly
Lonnie the Loon Learns to Call
Lonnie the Loon Flies South for the Winter
Quincy the Quail Leads His Family on an Adventure
Quincy the Quail Saves a Life

You can read more about these books and even purchase them on my website: RennerWrites.com. I'm writing another one about Quincy the Quail and am working on a series of books about the Trumpeter Swans. All my books are entertaining as well as educational.

The purpose of this blog, however, is to show my support of other authors. The above picture was taken in Tucson, Arizona at a book signing and sale. The ladies in the photo are my friends, members of my critique group, and picture book authors. We get along fabulously. From left to right, Rita Goldner, Joanne Grady, and me. We enjoy each other's company, give each other writing advice, share marketing tips, and support each other's work. There is no competition. In fact, Rita is illustrating my books about the Trumpeter Swans.

I believe authors should stick together and not consider each other as competitors. What I write and what other authors write usually are completely different. Our books give the readers a choice when they want to make a purchase.

Another author friend, Kathy Peach, and I shared a table at an arts and crafts fair (yes, in the desert). We both sold lots of books and gave discounts if both our books were purchased together. It was great! Kathy's book is called The Tiniest Tumbleweed. It is directed toward the same age group as mine, ages 3-7, but has a different message.

My author friends and I learn from each other, and I will support their book selling efforts.

I wrote a blog entitled "Honoring Women" for a Facebook group. It held this spot in my blog, but since I shouldn't post the same blog in two different places, I replaced it with this one about My Author Friends.

One Author's World

           

This is a view of my world. I crawl into my computer and try to sort out fact from fiction. I research for my books; I socialize with friends; and I write uninteresting missives about nothing.

My world - where I escape from reality for awhile.

The real blog that held this spot is now located on the Phoenix Publishing and Book Marketing Facebook page where it was first published as Longhand or Computer?

Thank You Neil Diamond

            
I'm moving this blog to the Phoenix Publishing and Book Marketing Facebook page where it was first published.

Just so you know, however, Neil Diamond has been my heartthrob for 50 years. My heart is sad to hear he has retired from touring because of his Parkinson's disease. You will always be my heartlight.

Thank you, Neil Diamond, for singing to me from my vinyl records, 8 tracks, cassette tapes, CD's, and iPhones.

So good, so good, so good...