Half-Dozen Police Officers Try to Confiscate Fireworks…from Thousands?
Things get frustrating for cops trying to stop large crowds from lighting "illegal" fireworks on the 4th!!…
From The Home Office
We’ve Been Keeping a Secret… Can You Guess What It Is?
We’ve been keeping a secret for awhile now and we’re almost ready to tell you all…
Our Old House Caught on Fire!
The bad luck continued even after we moved out...…
A Screaming Cat and Flying Buckets! Whoo hoo!!
"I heard something odd, turned, and saw an orange bucket flying past the window. We all raced outside, and looked up in amazement." …
Funny Photos from Our Beach Vacation! No, REALLY!
Wild beach action - Hoy Style!!…
How I Became a Smuggler…
We have a large duffel bag that unzips on top. I pulled it out of the closet, and put it next to the kitty carrier. Would it fit?…
Lesson Learned from Capt. Ron? LIVE Life While You Still Can!
When we were RVing for months at a time several years ago, we'd talk to different folks at campgrounds, and we kept hearing the same story told over and over again. A couple would wait until retirement to take that one trip, or make that one major lifestyle change. And, after retirement, one of them would pass shortly thereafter, leaving the other to RV across our beautiful country, all alone...…
Angela’s BACK!!! Now, check out this WEIRD picture!
It took me a minute to figure out...it was flesh! Pieces of his gums! My heart jumped up in my throat. I immediately thought it was one of those underdeveloped teeth and that he was going to need a crown, a root canal, or an extraction altogether...…
Return of the Floggin’ Molly
I ran back to the cockpit to throw the engine in gear and get the bow turned off and away from the other vessel. Everything was going smoothly when I suddenly heard a loud "CLANK," and a "SPLASH," followed by a "RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE!!" ...…
Floggin’ Molly Hard Aground! – Days 21 – 24
As I headed into the no-man's land and pointed my bow at the distant markers, a well known saying in the sailing world that came to mind: "There are two kinds of sailors - those who have run aground ... and those who will.…
Brian Takes His “Home Office” on the High Seas! – Days 16 -20
In another couple of hours, it seemed that my visual landmarks were gradually shifting further and further upwind. A check of the GPS confirmed my fears. The zig-zag line that marked my boat's pendulum motion on its anchor line was starting to lengthen - looking kind of like an EKG. I was dragging my anchor!…
Water Shoots Out Side of “Home Office” Building!
One woman told us she went outside to look over her balcony after the late night announcement and she saw tons of water shooting out of the side of the building, and pouring onto the balconies below...…
Brian Takes His “Home Office” on the High Seas! – Days 12 -15
"SNAKES?? Forget the snakes! Look out for the GATORS!!"…
Brian Takes His “Home Office” on the High Seas! – Day 11
Times like this give one ample opportunity for reflection. You know - all the "ifs" and "hows" and "whys." I try to avoid "wouldas," "couldas," and "shouldas." Those rarely do any good. But, I do like to take a personal inventory, and ask myself if I'm happy and, if not, what I am going to do about it. And, honestly, I realized that, indeed, I'm the happiest I've been in a long, long time. I had a big dream of living on a boat and ...…
Brian Takes His “Home Office” on the High Seas! (Well…almost) – Days 5-10
I crawled out of my cockpit, stood out on the middle of my deck, lit a cigarette, and stared at that captain and crew with my best peed-off, backwoods Florida-boy look that said, "I'm about to SWIM over there just to slap you around a bit."…
Brian Takes His “Home Office” on the High Seas! – Days 1-4
I put it back into forward gear, and tried to shift into reverse again. Nothing. You cannot stop a boat without reverse and I was running out of deep water quickly!…
Treacherous Seas Force Us to Turn Around!
Once we hit Tampa Bay, however, it got really rough, really fast. Brian got to test out his safety harness. It worked! If he hadn't had it on, he'd have taken a dive while working on the sails...…
Please, PLEASE Yank This DEMON Out of My Mouth!!!
"But, my blood pressure was too high from fear and pain! What if they couldn't or wouldn't remove the tooth?! I'm really not the type of person to lose it in public but I was terrified, and in so much pain. I started begging and pleading, and loudly said, "If you don't pull my tooth today, I damn well will!"…
When Homeschooled Kids Get Sick…
"I'm not so sure I could shoot a gator but I could probably stab one!"…
READERS RESPOND! “When Was the EXACT Moment You KNEW You Wanted to Be a Writer?”
"I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was twelve years old. My mother wanted my Birthday gift to be a sewing machine, but I asked for a typewriter. She said NO! Pa bought me a Remington portable typewriter anyway..."…
The EXACT Moment I KNEW I Wanted to Be a Writer
Most writers remember a specific moment in their past when they realized they wanted to be…
Angela is SWAMPED!
We’ve been so busy helping former Tate Publishing authors into our lifeboat, there’s been little time for…
This Week’s Hate Mail!
I received one email that was sent at around 5:00 a.m. (our time) by an obviously VERY drunk or high individual. The email, which was FULL of misspelled words and other nonsensical jargon, said...…
A Single, Beautiful, Mysterious Bead Arrives by Mail…But, Why???
I posted a note about this mystery on my Facebook Page the other day so I apologize…
From The Home Office – 01/18/2017
News from the Home Office…
It’s Bleepin’ COLD Here in Florida!
MASON - "I wouldn't be in the mood for sex if I wasn't in love anyway."…
More Sneaky Drone Shenanigans!
"A drone! Look at the drone!" …
Please! Don’t Feed Me ANY More Party Food!!
On Christmas Eve, we had our traditional family fondue dinner. It was relaxing, until we pulled…
Only 3 Weeks Until the Winter 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
SATURDAY, January 14, 2017, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Central Time, we’ll be posting the topic for…
It’s That Blinding Froggy Time of Year Again!
Each year on the gulf coast of Florida, around Christmas, we don't get snow but we do get tremendous, creepy, blinding fog. It's really cool! The other morning, we woke up to our first foggy day of the season. …
I’m Buried – In Books!!!
We thought the pre-Christmas publishing rush had come to an end last week when we had two slow days - the slowest days we'd had since early August. So, we let our guard down...…
Holiday Trip…to the E.R. :(
Mason was, literally, completely full of sh**.…
For the FIRST Time in 17 Years!! Whoop!!!
For the past 18 years, we have hosted the big family Thanksgiving dinner at our house,…
Yes, it DOES get “cold” in Florida!
The rainy season is finally over so the weather is absolutely perfect! We're no longer sheltered indoors, constantly checking the air conditioner to see why it's not keeping up with the heat and humidity.…
I’m SO Glad the Election is OVER!
After the most contentious presidential contest in my memory, I am SO relieved it’s over. I…
Pictures of Truly Disgusting Halloween Treats from The Party! Yum!
Each year, our daughter and her husband throw a huge, crazy, extreme Halloween party. It's truly a family effort, with everyone pitching in to decorate their house, inside and out, with every imaginable orange twinkly light, blood on the windows, ghouls, ghosties, and much more.…
We Need to Go Back Home…So We Can REST After Vacation!
We've fallen into bed exhausted each night. It'll be nice to get back home so we can rest!…
Leaf Peeping, Hiking, Eating, Hot-tubbing, and more!
We left for our annual trek to Tennessee on Saturday. We usually break the drive into…
We’re OUTTA Here! Trekking To Tennessee In Search Of Fall!
Each year, we grow weary of the Florida heat, and get homesick for a real fall.…
Really?? ANOTHER Hurricane?!
We’ve already had a tropical storm and a hurricane here this year. Now, Hurricane Matthew is…
Homeschooled Kids Don’t Get Sick Often, Unless…
Max and Mason, who are homeschooled, joined a new homeschooling co-op. Over the past few years, they've only attended museum classes every other Wednesday, and only during the afternoon on those days. This new co-op meets all day long every Wednesday, and includes five different classes and a lunch. I warned the boys and Richard that they'd be exposed to lots more kiddos with cold and flu symptoms and that we'd all catch more germies this year.…
We’re Knee Deep Here!
This is always our busiest time of the year. Everybody wants their book published before the Christmas shopping season so we always get a glut of new manuscript submissions in September and October. We're working 12-16 hours per day right now and we're all exhausted. I haven't been to the gym in three weeks but I did manage a short swim one afternoon last week. We also took a therapeutic evening sail one night last weekend. I miss my afternoon "sun breaks."…
LAST CHANCE! THIS SATURDAY!! What will the Fall, 2016 24-Hour Short Story Contest topic be?!?!
THIS SATURDAY, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Central Time, is start-time for the WritersWeekly.com Fall, 2016 24-Hour…
Here’s How We Fared in the Hurricane Last Week!
We had a super fun time riding out Hurricane Hermine! The morning before it rolled in was overcast, windy, and quite cool. So, we all walked to breakfast, and ate outside. It was heavenly! Later, the sky slowly darkened, the wind increased, and big, fat raindrops began to fall. Then, those big, fat raindrops started flying sideways. It was quite a ride and it was beautiful!…
Should I Make the Boys Take a Ballroom Dancing Class?? Heh…
For the past four years, Max (age 14) and Mason (age 10) have been attending a…