Delightful Book Mail!

~ GrayMareWrites ~ Leave a comment

I haven’t been so delighted with a mail delivery since Amazon sent me an order in a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-themed box!

In early June, Edward Underhill, a trans author whose books I love, announced in his newsletter that he would be signing pre-orders of his newest book, The House of Now and Then, through Scribbles Bookshop, a signed copies only romance book store. I was bummed because I’d already pre-ordered it during a Barnes & Noble 25% off pre-order sale (raise your hand if you, too, keep a pre-order list in your phone…). But he went on to say that he’d also be signing all of his backlist. YAY!!! I own all of his previous books in paper, except his first book, Always the Almost, a queer YA story, which I’d gotten as an ebook, so I went from bummed to stoked in two seconds flat!

Yes, I really do get this excited over books 😊

So, now I have all of Edward’s stories in paper book form. There aren’t many authors that I “collect”… Elise Bryant (both YA and the Mavis mysteries), Mindy Quigley’s Deep Dish Pizza Mysteries, and I think I have all of Carol J. Perry’s Witch City and Haunted Haven Mysteries. Edward’s stories are so full of queer joy and angst, emotion, and some magical realism – his characters are so relatable and dear. ***** Highly recommend!

Now, who wouldn’t want to find this sweet package in their mailbox??? Wouldn’t this just brighten your day?

Happy Mail, indeed! This sweet tissue paper covered a cardboard box that delivered the book in pristine condition.

SQUEEEEEEEE! The bookmark and stickers are so adorable!

I’m sure Edward wrote that in all the books he signed, but still, don’t we all need to hear that once in a while? We ARE always enough. ❤

Here’s the Scribbles info for anyone who’s interested in romance books personally signed by fave authors. As you can see, they take great pride in going the extra sparkly mile to please their customers!

Hope your day was as good as mine and included some bookish magic!

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Thursday Thoughts ~ June 11, 2026

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To all you Knott’s Berry Farm afficionado’s, Happy Ghost Town Alive Eve! IYKYK.

Once again, I’m initiating a once a week blog. They may be a bit shorter than before… And they might not be on the same day… We’ll see. I’m retired, therefore being on a schedule is not mandatory anymore LOL! But I do miss documenting all the stories in my life ~ my own, my writing, and other peoples’ writing and entertainment. So, here we go!

Beautiful flowers on our neighborhood walk.

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Bunches of Bubbles!

~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

I would have sworn I wrote about this last year but I see no proof of this…

I love bubbles!!

After I dispense dish washing liquid onto a sponge, I squeeze the plastic container and shoot bubbles all over the kitchen. I currently have two tiny tubes of bubble juice and wands on the kitchen counter given as favors at a baby shower we attended in February. I use them when I need a lift or want to mess with the cat, LOL. Bubbles have always fascinated and delighted me.

So, why did it take me so long to buy tickets to the annual Bubblefest show at Discovery Cube in Santa Ana? For years, I would see the skyscraper-sized ads on the side of the Cube, beckoning me. You know how it is, though… you’ll get around to it someday. Well SOMEDAY was last year. And even though we were outnumbered by kids and surrounded by loudness from screaming and music, this curmudgeon loved it! And went back again for more this year.

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First Date Anniversary #48!!

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Anybody else out there celebrate the anniversaries of your first date? We’ve celebrated all except one – I don’t recall what was going on that year, but I was gutted to realize we’d missed it. I mean, it’s exactly two weeks after The Husband’s birthday… I guarantee, we’ve never missed it since!

The Husband and I met during an acting class we attended on Hollywood Boulevard. Poor, young 20-somethings, we chose the Howard Johnson’s restaurant down the street for our first date. Below, is a picture (couldn’t find a photographer to credit) that I believe to be the actual restaurant, torn down years ago, because it was right near the Capitol Records building. And that was the beginning of our Happily Ever After!

PS-I had a tuna melt and I still own the outfit I wore that night. ‘Course, it will never fit me again ~ LOL!

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*Catching Up*

~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

Holy Hearts and Shamrocks, Batman! It’s March!

Life’s been lifin’, so it’s been a while, kids. I think I’ll start with our latest museum visit and promise to catch up on reading, watching, and places we’ve been in posts I’ll get out to you soon.

I’m looking out the window right now and the trees are swaying and dancing, like fans at a Springsteen concert! It’s uber windy out there, so no walking at the park today. We did some miles on the treadmill at the gym this morning.

Yesterday morning, we managed to get out to our first writer’s meeting of the year (we were sick in January, then a downtown parade blocked our path in February ~ yes, we might have gotten there through back streets but… we didn’t 😊). So glad we got there today. Elle Jauffret, former lawyer and current mystery writer, gave an excellent talk on finding the “spine” of your book (the dramatic question that must be answered), how to keep that question top of mind throughout the story, and how to integrate different genres together organically.

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RELAX!!!

~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

Happy 2026!

There are plenty of reasons to kick 2025 to the curb ~ heinous politics, health issues, book not published ~ but we also went to the first protests we’d ever participated in, made enjoyable use of our annual passes to the Discovery Cube, saw our friend, Robb Tracy, in THREE live shows, and walked thousands of steps at a nearby lake and at Knott’s Berry Farm. The Husband retired this year and that’s been an adjustment for both of us (I retired in 2022) but the freedom of not having to schedule around his job has been awesome. In short, 2025 coulda been worse so I’m grateful to make it out fairly unscathed.

Yeah, I’m a few days late to the New Year Party but it’s okay, especially since my word for this year is…

R*E*L*A*X

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What Mare Read in 2025

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This year I read 79 books/novella’s, down quite a bit from last year. I spent a lot of time during the late summer and fall editing the book I’m writing, so that obliterated a chunk of my reading time… When I decided to do another revision on the book, all those hours spent on editing seemed like a waste, but I learned a lot about my own writing foibles, so not a total squandering of my time. The revising continues…

I keep lists of books I want to read everywhere ~ one on my phone Reminders list, one on the phone Notes, plus an Excel spreadsheet ~ LOL! The Reminders list is titled B&N and comes in handy when Barnes & Noble runs their 25% off pre-order sales, which are almost as exciting to me as the Scholastic book sales at school many moons ago. I love the anticipation of getting a new book in the mail weeks or months later ~ it’s always good to have something to look forward to! 😊 The 25% preorder sale is on now until 1/1/26, for B&N Rewards members.

I ran through the two Barnes & Noble book journals (See the 2024 post) I used to record and review the books I read, so I bought a pretty notebook (below, right). The journal only allowed one page per book, with specific information to fill out and a star rating system ~ not much room to write my thoughts. Since the notebook I’m using now is just simple, lined pages, I can write as much as I want about each book without squishing my writing and sometimes adding sticky notes. Loving the freedom! YAY!

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A Christmasier Christmas Than Usual!

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Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Happy Thursday for those who don’t! And thank you for your service to anyone who has to work today!

Welcome to the last of The Five Blogs of Christmas!

The few things we’ve done for Christmas in the last bunch of years have mainly been performative – I insist on a fresh wreath inside our front door for the beautiful smell and our annual trek around the crazy Christmas light neighborhood (Click here full post). Holiday music isn’t allowed until after Thanksgiving. Our only stab at decorating is a tiny pink tree that keeps its ornaments year-round.

But this year, I started the music on November 1. And a four-foot tree, woven with white lights, charmed us at a thrift store. All it needed was Hector, my 48-year-old furry angel topper (Click here for full post), so I thought.

But I found a few ornaments in a closet, one especially dear to my heart – Santa’s list, bought when we were first married, includes both of our names!

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Holiday Movie Recommendations

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The fourth of The Five Blogs of Christmas is all about the movies.

I’ve been watching Christmas movies all through December, some new, some vintage. I’m leaving out the ones I gave less than four stars, ‘cause I sure can’t recommend duds! And remember, just like holiday books, it’s okay, even encouraged, to watch seasonal movies all year long!

Champagne Problems  2025

When Sydney is sent to Paris to secure the purchase of a prestigious family-owned champagne company, she spends an uncharacteristic night with a French book lover. Of course, he turns out to be the son of the owner of the company. But it’s not an advantage as she competes against a tough businesswoman, a German businessman (who gives a very different perspective on Die Hard, which is seen as a tragedy in Germany), and a sweetly flamboyant rich guy who loves the product and doesn’t want to see it ruined by new owners. Through a series of events meant to show the father who would be a better custodian of his legacy (the son, Henri, is not interested in taking over) and rich, emotional subplots involving the loss of his wife, Henri’s mother, this movie rose above others for me. Not only was there chemistry between the male and female leads, but every character, including the butler, the concierge, and a very cute dog, meshed in a way seldom seen in rom-coms. This movie has it all ~ good writing, great characters, and a satisfying Happily Ever After.

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The Annual Holiday Lights

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The third of The Five Blogs of Christmas is all about the lights and sparkle!

December is my least favorite month. The pressure of gift giving, which has dwindled to a precious few but can still induce anxiety. The constant bombardment of holiday sales, sales, sales/buy, buy, buy! The carb loading. The general expectation to be merry. And for the last few Decembers without The Mom, who adored Christmas, it’s painfully emotional.

But this dread of December isn’t new. Over a decade ago, I sat myself down and thought about what brought me holiday joy when I was a kid. And I remembered that touring neighborhoods of crazy Christmas decorations lit up my spirit like a cozy fireplace. Since then, nearly every year, we pick up our fave seasonal drinks (The Husband ~ Hot Vanilla, Me ~ Peppermint Hot Chocolate) and stroll around the Eagle Hills neighborhood in Brea (CA), to renew our Holiday Spirit and walk off those mini mince pies and Christmas cookies.

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