New Pantry Ghost

I swear, it's never a ghost-less week here at the Simmons household. I'm totally used to the little exchanges I have with the normal residents. When one of them moves close enough for me to feel their paranormal energy, I just instinctively give them a mental pat. Sort of like I would one of my pets, now that I think of it. They're a pretty well-behaved crew, and most of the time I don't offer them any further acknowledgement. Shoot, there are things to do, places to go. I can't spend all my time chatting with ghosts.

On the other hand, I do feel a responsibility to them. I try to keep that door in the East available to the lost souls who wander here, and I will stop whatever I'm doing long enough to remind them it's there. Now, I'm not saying that it's a constant stream of ghosts. I'm only made aware that I live in a haunted house perhaps once or twice a day. If Aunt Belle is coming, the activity escalates, but mostly it's just a part of my everyday life.

Which is a long way of saying that when the weekend approaches and I start thinking about my blog post, at times I begin wondering: Now what the heck am I going to write about this week? Nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

I did that this morning (Friday), then the caffeine kicked in. Oh, there was that new ghost I saw in the pantry. I haven't even told Aunt Belle about that one, because the couple times we've talked, we had other things on our mind. However, I did describe him to hub, partly so I would remember exactly what he looked like.

The pantry is to the left off the kitchen. Some of you may recall I do have a little lady in the kitchen, who delights in helping me bake. This was definitely not her. I don't know the little lady's name, but she's short and chubby. She's never appeared as a full apparition, just a misty figure, which I can nonetheless identify each time she shows up.

The young guy in the pantry was a full bodied apparition. The glimpse I had of him probably lasted two or three seconds, long enough for me to get a decent look. He was perhaps 5'5", had light, sandy brown hair, and he wore a yellow and brown checkered shirt over gray pants. They weren't trouser pants, and they could possibly have been gray colored jeans, since they fit him closer than a pair of trousers would. I could tell he was a young man, perhaps fifteen or sixteen.

I got the impression he wanted to make sure I saw him before he disappeared. I also felt that he was friendly, not troubled or aggressive. He seems to be a rather strong ghost, able to travel around the house, since I felt him the next day in the dining room. Although he didn't visualize. I knew whose energy I was coming in contact with.

Since I'm still keeping a close eye on hub and he has more doctor's appointments, I didn't take time to sit down and see if this ghost needed anything. I did get the impression his name is Andy, so I'll try to carve out some time for Andy and see if he needs help finding The Light. Sometimes, despite my telling the ghosts about the door, they need a little assurance to actually go through it.

So there you have an indication of how a typical week at the Simmons household goes ghost-wise. Frankly, I'm glad my ghosts are courteous and well-behaved. I don't mind the house being a portal for lost souls to come to and find The Light. I'm just too busy to handle any troublemakers, unless for some reason they're bewildered and upset over their deaths. Then I'm happy to help them cross over to where they can find happiness.

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Dead Man Ohio is moving along. I didn't have a lot of writing time this week, but another chapter is finished, along with half of the next one. Angela's working on the cover, and I'm not sure she's ready for me to give you a sneak peek at part of it. But I'm excited and want to share. So this is just a tiny part of the new cover:

I totally love Angela's work!!! Does this make you wish I was writing faster?

Hub reminded me that I'm taking on too many projects. I'm wondering if the messy house made him think of that. Oh, well, housework is always there. Seems you clean and look behind you to see it starting to mess up again.

One of my projects is a promise to be on a panel at the Writer's Conference of Tyler at the Quality Inn in Tyler, Texas, on June 28 and 29. That's the weekend after Aunt Belle's Birthday Bash. My good friend LaRee Bryant, a long-time published author and editor, is going to speak with me, and our topic is "Going Indie in Today's Market." I've got several  years of publishing my own books under my belt now, so the big problem will be passing along what I know within the short forty-five minute time limit. LaRee has just started her indie publishing journey, so she will have a different perspective and good information along that line.

The conference is for new writers, and it looks like it's going to be packed full of great information. It's a really reasonable price, too: $20.00 for one day, $30 for both days. You can find the information and speakers list at:  http://toursoftyler.com/writers_conference__workshop.  LaRee and I will be speaking on Saturday at 3 p.m., then we'll be on the panels at the end of each day, Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.

This weekend is Memorial Day, a time to honor our troops. Even being a writer, I can't think of how to say anything better than I appreciate them so very much. Our Armed Forces men and women are the heartbeat of our country. They're the ones who keep us free and allow us to have wonderful lives in our great United States of America. "Thank you for your service" seems a small way to show our appreciation, but it is heartfelt.

Stay safe if you're driving this weekend.

Boo!

T. M.