Happy 2025!

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe! Happy 2025! 

        It’s early Sunday morning (real early, like 4:30am) as I write this. The house is quiet…well, except for Pepper, sleeping on the futon behind me, chasing whatever in her dreams. Lacey is on the futon as well, but she’s just snoring (and it's adorable, such a little tiny sound from this massive fur-ball). And actually, I can hear my DH talking in his sleep, even though he’s in another room. Must be a good dream, because he’s laughing! 

        Hmmmm, I guess it's not so quiet after all! But I digress. 

        Being that this is a new year with so many possibilities for new beginnings, I spent some time yesterday cleaning my computer room/office/repository of so many things. When I’m knee-deep in a story, this room tends to get a little messy and since I live in Arizona, dusty (hahahahaha, dust is just something you get used to here because no matter how often or how well one dusts, there’s always more dust. And yes, it is the bane of my existence). 

        Anyway, I tackled my filing cabinets as well and you know what I discovered (beside dust)? Now, I know I am a hoarder of Tupperware (hahahaha, can’t have enough Tupperware) and I know I’m a dedicated pen freak (need a pen? I have plenty! No, really! Can’t tell you how many I have!) but yesterday, cleaning out my file cabinets, I also discovered that I have a thing for writing tablets. Yes, you heard that right. Writing tablets and steno books and those tiny little composition books and spiral notepads, all shapes and sizes and colors (I also have a notebook or two in my purse, but what writer doesn’t?). 

        This surprised me but shouldn’t have. Every time I start a new story, I buy a package of three 8 ½ x 11 writing tablets, usually in pink or purple or green (the green is harder and harder to find) for jotting down important things I need to remember (you never know when a thought will come to you but you’re doing something else and can’t get to your computer fast enough so you just need to jot it down before it goes away). 

        For The Maverick & Miss Miller as well as The Marshal & Mrs. Morgan, I tried something different (because this is a trilogy—for now—might be able to get three more stories out of it). I tried the 8 ½ x 11 spiral notebooks as opposed to the writing tablets where you must flip the page up and over and it’s working out well.

        Am I obsessed? Quite possibly. But in my defense, is there anything more glorious than a brand new, fresh out of the cellophane pad of paper or clean, never been written in spiral notebook!?!?!??! I think not.

        Anyway, stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie