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Here we go! I’m working on a “thought-piece about THE RE: i.e. Reorganize, Re-think, Re-align, etc., later on here.

starts my Fresh Start series. Three women head for Fresh Starts and new lives in a small WA state town, called Fresh Start. They are doing a lot of what what I call THE RE: They are RE-Starting New Lives��

We’re snowed in here, and it’s a perfect time for THE RE: or thinking about it. I’ve been RE-organizing my many notebooks (writers love notebooks). I’m working on a little thought-piece about THE RE. Here’s a few of my RE’s: Reclaim, Re-sort, Re-think, Recyle, Re-enlist, Resurface, Report, Re-define, Realign, Recharge, Re-establish, Reform, restart., reenergize,��and more�� I’m in the middle of a THE RE: storm right now, feeling energized and ready to go. Phooey on last year, which had a few disasters. If you read my last post, I am currently trying to organize a mass of material with Scrivener. Lots.

Actually, we may all be doing a lot of THE RE: now, just as Kenna, Jasmine, and Crystal do in my FRESH START series. In , Kenna needs a new life from her old, from a man she loved, her heart torn by their divorce. And guess who turns up in Fresh Start, her new location? You guess it!

After reading the FRESH START series, one reader commented that she’d love to live there, where was it? And it’s all about new beginnings, the re-start: #1�� #2�� #3��

I invite you to jump into and share your own THE RE: in the comments? Would so love to see them.

Mail

Hello, Liebkucken!! These are candied fruit, nuts, and ginger snaps Holiday Treats. Very good Yummies, sent to me by a daughter.

Hello, 2025! I’m in Reset Mode today, clearing out old notebooks, saving the important stuff in refreshed/refilled notebooks. BTW, most writers love notebooks of all kinds. I’ve also been updating/linking my booklist online, keywords, etc.

But to answer a comment question about Scrivener (and please, please do comment and maybe subscribe?) : I’m doing lots of organizing a ton of writing, published/unpublished/list of potential titles, lists of story ideas (My Story Toolbox) in Scrivener. I am using only handy-dandy parts of that writing software to suit my needs now, but read on��.

First, as I am an old-timer (translation: old-school taught) who has been through a long road of machines/software. I will probably change as technology comes along. Currently, I write rough draft on Pages (a Mac freebie) on my iPad. Previously, I’ve used Word and others.. But Pages stays on its Cloud, ready to switch over to the Big Mac, necessary for Vellum (formatting software), graphics (Covers) and other necessaries.

However, I’ve been writing a bit on Scrivener, on my iPad, and using Dropbox to crossover to the Mac, if needed. Admittedly, my years of writing are scattered all over that Mac, and now with Scrivener, I’m determined to organize better. We’re talking previously published/rights reverted and new works, Indie published or still brewing. I believe—but check for certain—that Scrivener software is around $60, and for me a good deal. Again, check, because prices for different versions for IOS, OS, Android, etc. may differ, and BTW, Scrivener has a big Community for questions/help at , the owners of Scrivener. Make certain you download specifically for what Apple or Android you’re using. You might be able to download a test version there? Double check that?

Scrivener comes with choices, pertinent to what you are writing, i.e. Novels, Short Stories, Screen Plays (?), and you can do a lot with it. Its really too much when you’re starting, as it’s overwhelming. But a YouTube video on Scrivener gave me the best tip: center on what you need to do with it, rather than the mountain of offered choices. To suit my current needs, I only use a little of its potential.

My current mode is to write rough draft and edit a bit on Pages as I like an open road ahead of me. But in my WIP (Work in Progress) anthology, I’m stuffing short stories into Scrivener. A handy sidebar lets me check ages, characters, notes, word length, whatever. Very handy dealie for someone who doesn’t like to switch around or find notes to check references.

I also moved my Story Tool Box into Scrivener, with chapter like-or notecards with Scrivener, containing ideas for new works. The notecard feature is something I actually used years ago with actual notecards so far as plotting. But digitally, you can move the cards, likewise the linear line of characters/notes/chapters on the handy sidebar.

Since I already use Vellum, I have not used the Compile feature offered on Scrivener. This is where you’d add front/back matter and mash the whole thing together. Maybe it works that way, as again, I have not used that feature.

Scrivener is very maneuverable, and there are lots of free Scrivener templates, and if techie enough, you can create your own. Here are a few places to look for the free versions (though you need to purchase the Scrivener Mother/Base software first): , Scrivenerville.com, .com, and more.

I am unfamiliar with ProWritingAid and others, which may do the same thing. But the Scrivener templates are amazing either free or enclosed in the original software, like plot points, Fantasy theme, thesis, non-fiction, Blogs (I may look into that as I need to organize years of blogging). Again, underlining this: The Major Caution is to get the version suitable for whatever you have, Mac or Android, etc.

That’s it for now, but coming up: More Reset, Life/Mind/Work/Health. I hope you’ll join me in the journey?

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And here comes 2025! This is the time of year that I think/prepare for the next year—this amid finishing the present year. I’m full of plans, but dealing with a must-do list, surrounded by paperwork. It’s time for a Reset.

I’ve got a big Tip of the Day deeper into this post, and I’m hoping you’ll share your tips, too. I’ve been writing a bit on a new anthology that has waited, poor thing. I like to write really early in the a.m., before the day’s life demands begin. 2024 was hard for me, mishaps amid ongoing resettling to a new location, so I intend to get back to the rhythm I need. And to paint and to write. I intend to reset, incorporate the old with the new. And a severe look at my time and energy constraints is a primary step. Next is that review of my booklist: covers/keywords/updating basically.

One primary and ongoing job is organizing a ton of work into Scrivener, either potential titles, or brief ideas, or parts of what I’ve written. Years of writing is spread all over my desktop’s innards. I plan to, and have already started itemizing already published blogs into base how-tos, for potential series. And then, I have unpublished children’s books and other works that need finishing/editing and publication. Getting a large mass of work and accompanying data into a coherent base point is not easy, people.

!!!!My Big Tip of the Day: Use Scrivener, or any other software that can help organize your various creations. They can be lost amid tons of your hard work.

I hope you’ll share your tips, either for time or organizing whatever in the comments below. Please do?

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Thank you so much for coming back to visit! I’m looking forward to 2025 and planning and also cherishing my family and friends, aren’t you? To celebrate the season, is a 2 in 1, all about romance and the alpha males who meet their matches. I hope you’ll subscribe, and/or return here for more in the New Year. Enjoy your blessings, too?

What’s it all about? :

��THE PENDRAGON VIRUS:��Sam’s outdated view of man-woman relationships strolled along just fine, until The Pendragon Virus, one female efficiency expert invaded his life and company management. Dallas Pendragon tosses a challenge he can’t refuse—that he can’t manage a household and budget. Then he’s living in her house during Christmas season. Burned by love, Dallas didn’t expect Sam to be a super dad, or a tender lover��.��MIRACLES AND MISTLETOE: Life dealt Jonah Fargo, Montana rancher-hermit, low blows and he isn’t in the Christmas mood for Harmony’s cheery psychic self. If he’s riding the Nuts Highway, he doesn’t need this curvy lady splashing imaginary cupids all over him and his ranch. He grumbles, gripes and disbelieves her psychic malarkey until IT happens��

I hope you enjoy both stories in, loaded with humor and romance, chocked full of surprises�� Right now, I’m preparing a new book and designing covers for re-releases, i.e. one of the TALLCHIEFS, so watch for more news��

That’s it for now! Here’s wishing you peace and warmth and happiness as we look forward to 2025! And don’t forget to subscribe for more, please? I have a super post coming up that will interest writers�� Again, Best Wishes from me to you and yours��

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I’m a long-time artist, since about 10 years old. And then story writing called to me. And since then, and now again more strongly, both painting and writing spar for my creative time.

Living things and motion call more to my artistic side, i.e. animals/people/oceans. Characters and suspense, psychological stuff call more to my writer’s mind. While I’ve never done typical puzzles of any kind, stories may be my puzzles, putting/blending characters together to make a cohesive story-piece. People, with their various backgrounds and needs, are puzzles, aren’t they? asks the observer.

I am grateful for whatever, whomever has been given to me, the riches of imagination, stepping out of the What-Is.

Currently, after this very difficult year, (a house freeze and redo) I am returning to Me, the inner creative, and deciding the big What’s Next question. I invite you along for today’s thoughts: For 2025, I am hoping to update my booklist, and that includes UPCOMING SALES, starting very soon. On the immediate to-do list is finishing a portrait and a large landscape. Art and Writing are already battling in my mind, paintings and stories circling me. With two unfinished books underway, and my list of story ideas growing, I am looking at a stack of blank canvases, imagining the colors etc. Perhaps with a storyteller father, and loads of traveling experiences and scenic views, it’s all a mix in me. Is it for you?

I am not alone in this battle; other writers and artists are brewing new works. Yet I am so grateful for everything, including the stirring of whatever I can or will create. Good friends and/or interesting strangers add to the mix.

I’m planning upcoming sales, and I look forward to your comments, if you have time. Thank you so much!

Where you can find me: �� �� �� -Threads-BlueSky

Do we ever stop growing and learning? How many times do we change directions in our lifetimes? I am so torn now, between writing and painting. Two unfinished paintings wait for me now, haunting me. Life demands haven’t made that possible in the past few months, but I’m really aching to finish the paintings and my writing projects, too.

Juggling Want-to-do and Life Demands takes energy. Right now, in addition to settling my new home, I’m checking out Mediterranean cooking�� I have a long way to go. Do you want to cook big meals in the heat of summer? I don’t. But a cold grab ‘n go meal, like this one, waiting in the frig, is dinner. It’s basically pasta and More.

Where you can find me:����–����–����–��

What’s in the bowl above? I love me basil and chives, pots now growing on my porch. I’m still perfecting—for me—this dish, but ingredients are spiral pasta (next time maybe chickpea pasta?), garbanzo beans, chopped red onion and sweet peppers, pumpkin seeds and tomatoes. I had to use Parmesan cheese, but Feta is better. (If you can recommend a good sharp cheese—thank you.) I used extra virgin olive oil, some olives, smoked paprika, and lemon juice when a fresh lemon would have been better.

Other things are on my summer list, too, like making crop pants out of certain long linen pants. This is not as easy as once, because I’m not sewing all the time, and my old faithful Singer hasn’t hummed since I moved.

What am I going to be when I grow up? We’re all changing, and you are, too. I’m also amid a lot of other updating, tech work, and writing. I put a lot of me into my stories, the things I do/have done—like struggling into a new life, and making a new me, which takes a lot of thought and energy. My women’s fiction stories like The Basket Series and Fresh Start series in particular hold parts of me and/or my experiences.

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Here’s best wishes on your own projects. I’m working on new ones right now, in fact a variety of new projects. I’d love to hear what you would like to see more of here, what topics? I am still working on this website and yes, I do it myself. Please do comment below, or I’d love to hear from you: Where you can find me:����–����–����–��

Until next time�� Meanwhile, relax, off load, play music and chat with friends, go CALM, my friends��

This was my sister’s favorite flower. In my new home, I am planting flowers that remind me of certain people. My mother loved roses, treating them with “manure tea��, and they were huge. My mother-in-law loved African violets and I do, too, reminded of how we’d stand together, admiring them, as she carefully picked the dead blooms. I’ve always loved daffodils and though mine weren’t superb this year (just planted) I hope they will do better next spring. And I love, love lavender, lily of the valley, and bleeding hearts, too.

Planting special flowers and herbs are for me, a way of getting back to it. To the life I had, the one I want. It takes effort, though my problems are so minor in comparison to others, to the world. For the first time since my January 18 pipes froze and the ensuing reconstruction, reflooring mess, (insurance claim is still ongoing) I felt like getting back to writing. With two unfinished paintings sitting in front of me now, I chose writing. Rain and thunderstorms are predicted all day tomorrow—probably by the time you read this—and I hope to write more on my iPad throughout the day.

My characters come easily to my iPad now, settling in as cozy as I am in my recliner, feet up and typing away. I had quite the time getting a fix on one character and she kept me awake into the night, her background, emotions, speech patterns. I hope she settles into this last short story of three easily. Mm. I need to give her a favorite flower, to remember someone she loved. See how that works in the writer’s mind? Our life experiences funnel straight into our books.

Because there are previous characters, settings, etc. in the anthology, it’s necessary to keep them for reference. I’ve done this many ways, many times, throughout my long publishing career. Currently, I am using Scrivener, which can cross from my iPad to my Mac desktop, via Dropbox. Because I expect to write more rough draft on my iPad, I am transferring WIPs (works in progress) to it. Writers often keep a “Toy box�� of possible story ideas, titles, etc. and mine is large. NOTE: my iPad does not have the full version of Scrivener as does the desktop.

video presents an interesting AI software (ProWritingAid) and JoAnna Penn’s use/process of it. (Most of our software now contains optional AI.) In the video, JoAnna also uses Scrivener, and then more software, and finally a human editor to go over the completed work. I thought the last process was outstanding—we still need/use human editors.

I highly recommend listening to the Novel Marketing Podcast: AI for Authors 2024, The Good, Bad, and Ugly Episode 412 by AuthorMedia.com This podcast/article is excellent and revealing.

>>Bear Claws and Coffee @CaitLondonBooks

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#Cozy #mystery #humor #ebook #iBooks #Nook #Kobo

Thank you for dropping in, and if you have time, I’d love to hear from you!

Where you can find me: �� �� ��

Aren’t these gorgeous? And so tasty and fresh, in pots on my front porch. After a long repair phase of my frozen/broken pipes and extensive flooring damage January 18, I’m enjoying my herbs.

Today’s comment: Tornadoes are raging through our country now. Stay Safe!

Back to my disaster: So many phases and exhausting repair, estimates, workmen, and lots of reporting to insurance have passed, the hardest phase is slowing down. Am so grateful to two daughters who pitched in overtime. I shudder to think of facing this mess by myself, staying in my bedroom throughout, no kitchen etc., water removal machines blasting away at one point. I had to step back from life to manage this stress��

I am grateful in so many ways—because at this time, there are so many families facing worse natural disasters and horrible world turmoil.

For me, things are definitely looking up—I’m getting closer to returning to some kind of schedule/writing/promotion/painting. My gosh, two paintings, a landscape and a dog’s head, have waited through these months, and are haunting me to finish. This since January 18. Yes, that’s a repeat for emphasis.

These herbs are a relief from the months of extreme stress. I’m not done potting yet, and need just a perfect little table for these babies. I love fresh basil, cilantro etc. Chop a bit of that over your pasta and you’re set. My chives (seeds saved from last year) are starting, growing quickly. Chop and add those to your baked potato and soups, and the taste is fantastic. And love lavender, (image below) hoping to bundle and hang these inside later��

To me, these herbs represent a Fresh Start, which everyone needs sometime, just as in the title of my trilogy of the same name.

1.) Just You:�� 2.) Just Love:����3.) Just Us:���� @caitlondonbooks #romance #emotionalcontemporary #womensfriendship #kindle #bookbub #womensfiction #smallruraltown #emotionalread

Best wishes to you out there, living such varied lives, hardships, etc. If you have time to comment, I would so appreciate it.

Poetry Anthologies

I love this set of poetry books, a gift from Mom, and one to cherish. My stepfather wrote poetry and back then, as a teen who had to type his work, thus preventing my teen social life, I didn’t really appreciate poetry. (Incidentally, my real father was a storyteller, so creative stuff was wrapped around me through my young life.)

These volumes contain the best of the best, and now that my big disaster of frozen pipes bursting this winter is gradually being repaired, I intend to revisit these volumes. And the works of William Shakespeare, whose works covered all basic themes.

In addition, I’ve always been deep into ancient myths, as well as the history of the Roman Empire, and Upper and Lower Egypt. As a beginning writer, my very first query/interview with a well-known agent concerned his question of my reading material. Romance came first and then the rest. Then we began, he intrigued with my reading preferences.

With plans to restart life as it was before the disaster, I also intend to read more from . What a wonderful offering, and so many people working hard to bring treasured works back to life, back to new readers.

I’m not certain where my need to paint/create came from, but I’m also anxious to return to it. A dog in snow and a Portugal ocean scene haunt me from across the room even now. Many writers are also painters, btw.

Of course, I hiked in WA state mountains, grew up there, along the mighty Columbia river, so that beauty is locked into me forever. And a re-release of A Lady’s Choice contains much of that.

In this stress period, beginning January 18, I give thanks to people who have helped so much, including one fine job/care performed by one daughter, making things run smoothly. And as a special note, writing/painting/the arts is one of the best de-stressors possible. We all need to work on whatever helps us most, yoga/meditation, the arts/friends to achieve the best of life offerings.

That’s it, dear friends. Thank you for letting me share a little of Me. We are all a composite of our experiences, added by droplets of whatever is given to us naturally. I invite you to comment below and to share this post. May the wind be at your back and all that�� Smiling here��

Here we go�� Spring is on its way, and in my new home/yard I only have 2 daffodils blooming so far. So hoping for more as they are my favorites.

A household disaster��frozen and burst water pipes, thanks to minus zero weather has me behind��

Still Spring Comeths and I’ve been writing a bit when I can, not easy while repairs are ongoing. I generate a lot of story ideas, some of which will never be completed, yet my “story toy box�� is handy, at the ready. My dad was a verbal storyteller, but I am a writing storyteller. Many writers are fortunate to be a mix of both.

I am also a painter, with projects that were interrupted with the great disaster/frozen water pipes. This was painted from a photo of a relative’s mountain property—note the split pine, due to lightning. Hopefully, I can get back to my in-progress paintings. (And stories.)

Right now, I’m wondering if the lavender I love so much is suitable for planting in country where the summers are hot and fierce. I’m going to try some pots of it later in the spring. So things are picking up a little as they were, but I will be so glad to get back to painting and writing. Most writer friends have interests like weaving, painting etc. that feeds their creativity. Or traveling, enjoying the cultures, colors, textures, etc.

LAUGH TIME: The Cowboy (Rancher alias The Love Bandit) from OK does anything for his twins, even appear on a dating show. Then he’s in trouble with city-girl Chastity. ��#humor #romance

REVIEW: Loved, loved, loved this adorable romance! All Cait London’s books are wonderful feel good romances. The whole storyline is great escape and what you look for to put a smile on your face!

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Meanwhile, here is a family recipes that I’ve been asked to share many times, an easy-peasy pot/skillet meal. First: Cut smoked or not sausage like kielbasa into chunks, place in pot. THEN��

Chunk cabbage, AddAdd chopped onion, minced garlic, pinch of red pepper flakesCover with lid. Simmer.Add red potatoes (I use more reds than other kinds)Cook until potatoes are tender.Serve with sour cream, maybe topped with chopped chives

That’s it for now. Thank you for visiting, and come back soon? If you have time, please comment here, or maybe just write to me?