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"It's hot, Don!" and Other Southern Indiana Weather Sentiments

 Here in Utah, triple digit temperatures are not uncommon in the sizzling summertime. We had family visiting for the first time from Evansville, Indiana, on the Ohio River in the southwest corner of the state. They expressed some concerns about how hot it was predicted to be here during their stay. "Don't worry!" I declared. "Remember--it's dry heat." And, it is dry heat. For example, today it may reach 101 degrees by 4 p.m., but the humidity will be only 11%. With those conditions, you can feel the perspiration evaporating off your body. Cool. We lived in Evansville for over a decade. In a summer months local car dealership TV ad, a fellow shouted, "It's hot, Don!" Don was the owner of the dealership, and, of course, his deals were hot. The weather was hot, too, and unbearably humid. Not uncommonly it could be 95 degrees with 98% humidity. (Here's evidence: Today in Evansville, Indiana, the temperature at 4 p.m. will be only 88 compared to...
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Writing, and Reading

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While I feel compelled to write, write, write, at the same time I want to read, read, read everything I can. I suspect this is something like buyer's remorse--that agony you feel any time you spend money on something and then try to second guess yourself about whether it was a good purchase. If you buy a Hyundai Santa Fe, the minute you drive off the lot you are looking at all the other cars on the road wondering, "How many other people thought a Hyundai Santa Fe was the right car to buy? How popular is MY car?" My writer's remorse is a nagging feeling that maybe my book isn't as good as all the other books out there. Maybe I could have used better descriptors. Maybe my characters are too one-dimensional, too predictable, too "stock." The only way I can find out is to read, read, read. The good thing is, every writer's skills will be enhanced by reading others' work. And, speaking of reading, here are a couple of examples of the reading of The Id...
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Welcome to my blog! As of January 21, 2021, I can count myself among the published. Finishing my first novel, The Idaho Plate, was one of the milestones of my life, not quite as profound as getting married or giving birth, but up there among the top 100 events for certain. I'm sure Miss Barbara Nehemiah had no idea when she assigned a quiet little fifth grader the task of writing a play to go along with our class project on the Civil War that one day, she would be a bonafide author.  When I say I love to write, I am serious. I was enthralled with diaries as a young girl, and as an adult I've faithfully kept a journal. One of my jobs with the federal government entailed working cases, meeting with people, educating them, giving them direction, and documenting, documenting, documenting. While coworkers groaned about all the "paperwork," I reveled in recording on paper (and later via PC) what I had done on a case. Yes, I was the weirdo in the office. I love writing perso...
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