First Word

  The issue of 2023, and probably well into 2024, has to do with illegal immigration into the United States. Under the Biden Administration, our border has literally become an open invasion of our country. If you're not concerned about it or you believe it's somehow racist to want our open border closed, then you're in for a hard reality.  As our leadership provides sanctuary cities and literally rewards illegal immigration with food, shelter and clothing, the rest of America can well, and let's be blunt, suffer. We literally are paying via our tax dollars for these people to come here, meanwhile our own veterans and countryman (including the homeless) end up kicked out of shelters and left to fend for themselves -- and let's be clear, we're talking about legal citizens who paid taxes or fought for our country.  How has this gotten so out of control? Since the beginning of 2023, 2.5 million migrants have crossed the border from Mexico into the U.S. (I think that

  Chapter 4 A Day in the Life “ I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul .” – Jean Cocteau   “The Brothers”                   Have you ever heard in cat talk something called the “zoomies”? I define the zoomies in a visual and auditory way. Watching two cats racing at full speed around the house, across and over furniture, and literally up walls, that’s the zoomies (formally known as Frenetic Random Activity Pattern or FRAP). I usually hear the zoomies when the galloping starts. I can be writing at my desk and first thing in the morning, what do I hear? Gallop, gallop, gallop, crash, slide, meow, chase, race, pounce, jump, roll, and repeat . Most zooming takes place in the morning or late afternoon after a good nap has refueled the tank. I find the zoomies hilarious to watch. My desk faces the hallway so I’ve been a silent observer of cats racing back and forth in front of the two open French doors. I watch

  Let me be clear, I adored Sex and the City . The series was groundbreaking in every sense of the word. It frankly, openly and without judgment talked about relationships and sex in ways that no other TV show had done. It delved into women's issue with moxie and style.  However, this "thing" we call And Just Like That is so degraded and diluted into this sociological/political, over-the-top statement about every sexual and racial comment about today's culture that it's hardly recognizable.  Other reviewers have already explored its tragically misguided narrative and disjointed storyteller, so I am going to stick to character destruction, especially with our beloved Carrie Bradshaw.  In Season 2, Episode 2, our heroine Carrie pointedly refuses to do a vaginal suppository commercial. She fusses and fumes over having to essentially shill for the "vag," and to that end her character flips into uptight -- uncharacteristic -- behavior. She simply won't do

  I only wish I had caught this on video … Slurpee got up on the kitchen counter and like a bandido in fine criminal style, pulled a bag of bread down to the ground. By the time we caught him mid-steal, he had trotted off to my daughter’s bedroom with the bag in his mouth. His plan, you ask? To eat his stash under the bed. Speaking of that bed, we discovered that both Slurpee and Icee had started stealing food (cans of cat food, bread, etc.) and eating it under the bed. To suggest that cats don’t know exactly what they’re doing is wrong. The little buggers knew they would be in trouble for stealing and hoarding food, so they hid it. It reminded me of the person who hides food they know they’re not supposed to eat. But, the image of Slurpee swiping that bread and heading off to the bedroom with the loaf in his mouth … well, priceless! He looked like a dog with a ball in his mouth. I used to read this book series called Bad Kitties by Nick Bruel to my daughter Cambri

  So, you’re ready to publish your book, but you’re not ready to promote it. You may not know what it takes. If you don’t want to promote yourself, you can hire an expert like myself (email me at info@3LPublishing.com ). If you don’t have a promotional budget, here are some things you can do on your own.   No. #1 – Join all applicable social media platforms well in advance of your book’s official release . You can set up your Instagram, Goodreads, Facebook or TikTok accounts long before your book releases. You can begin advanced promotion to attract readers who are ready to buy your book. You also want to ensure you’ve built your following ahead of time, too. Without a strong following, you won’t get the necessary exposure.   No. #2 – Create a blog and start using it . Blogger is free. Write related articles and content for your book’s promotion. It doesn’t have to be specifically about your book, and it probably shouldn’t be. You can highlight movies, shows a

  What are common mistakes writers make?   Mistake #1 – Self-doubt : Oh, this one can actually kill careers. Self-doubting writers lack confidence in their work. Projects get scuttled even before they can be finished. The anxiety and fear that their work will fail before it even sees the light of day holds many writers back from finishing what they start.   Mistake #2 – Not studying writing itself . Key mistakes get made out of sheer lack of education. An overall story can be really fantastic but so poorly executed that it’s unreadable. Mistakes like overwriting scenes and focusing on minutia versus pushing a story forward (and it’s all equal when it comes to fiction or nonfiction) can bog down your manuscript. You can hire a copy editor to clean up those minor mistakes, but the writing itself needs to be solid.   Mistake #3 – Writers who lack grammar skills and make their work almost impossible to read . Editing is a profession in and of itself. It’s not easy e

  I only wish I had caught this on video … Slurpee got up on the kitchen counter and like a bandido in fine criminal style, pulled a bag of bread down to the ground. By the time we caught him mid-steal, he had trotted off to my daughter’s bedroom with the bag in his mouth. His plan, you ask? To eat his stash under the bed. Speaking of that bed, we discovered that both Slurpee and Icee had started stealing food (cans of cat food, bread, etc.) and eating it under the bed. To suggest that cats don’t know exactly what they’re doing is wrong. The little buggers knew they would be in trouble for stealing and hoarding food, so they hid it. It reminded me of the person who hides food they know they’re not supposed to eat. But, the image of Slurpee swiping that bread and heading off to the bedroom with the loaf in his mouth … well, priceless! He looked like a dog with a ball in his mouth. I used to read this book series called Bad Kitties by Nick Bruel to my daughter Cambri

  As it turns out, two cats are better than one. They keep each other company. So, my son Cole’s encouragement to get two kitties paid off. I enjoy having my office kitties to pet and cuddle, but I still need to have my lap cat-free when I’m writing and typing. Slurpee, who is notably not a big lap-sitter, keeps Icee busy. It’s absolutely hilarious when they get the morning zoomies, as I mentioned in the last chapter. I sit at my desk and watch them wrestle and zoom back and forth in front of my office doors. I find myself stopping work, watching them wrestle, and laughing. I’ve made a lot of TikTok videos of them acting like crazy cats. I label the videos things like “Cat Wrestling” or “Cat Wrestlemania”. It’s all in good fun. These boys love each other. When Icee was still a kitten, Slurpee allowed him to eat out of his food bowl and even eat first. He was a sweet big brother. Later on, though, Slurpee got more protective over his food. A few choice growls sent I