Tag: Abbi Waxman

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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Happy Fall, Y’All

~ GrayMareWrites ~ 2 Comments

Thought I’d do a little catching up on the ole blog.

Here we are at the No Kings Rally last Saturday, October 18. Yup, we were part of the 7,000,000 patriots marching for the rights and dignity of this country.

On the writing front, I got a batch of beta reader feedback and now I’m pausing work on the book to complete the reader magnet, which details my main character’s spiritual origin in regards to seeing ghosts. I need to clarify in my own mind what her reasons are for finally engaging with a spirit before I can deepen her story at the beginning of the full-length book. So now, I’m looking at a 2026 publishing date… But it’s all good. I really want to bring you the best book possible!

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Thursday Thoughts ~ August 28, 2025

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Happy Last Friday in August Eve!

Can you believe summer as I knew it as a child of the 60’s is almost over? Nowadays, school starts in mid-August in a lot of places, including SoCal, where I live. What kind of summer vacation is that?? To be fair, they don’t generally have “snow days” or the desert equivalent here, so they get out earlier in June. But going to school while it’s still August?? Ugh…

The weather’s hot and we’re mostly hiding indoors, trying to keep the cats cool. But we did venture to Knott’s, where we had lunch after The Husband’s nearby Tuesday morning class. Took a few pics in the Mine Ride:

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Thursday Thoughts ~ July 31, 2025

~ GrayMareWrites ~ 3 Comments

Happy August Eve! Can you believe July is just about over? Knock wood, the summer temps have been mild so far, but it looks like heat is on the way according to my phones’ weather app. But Mother Nature doesn’t watch the Weather Channel, so, really, anything can happen! Who could have predicted an 8.8 Russian quake that resulted in volcanic activity and a tsunami??

I had a lovely birthday last Friday. We started at The Hilbert Museum in Orange (CA). The last time we’d been there, it was housed on the campus of Chapman University. It’s since moved across the street to two connected buildings of their own and it is a beautiful space, wide open in some areas and intimate in others. And it’s free, with advance reservations. Here are some of the highlights.

This painting brought to mind The Grapes of Wrath. Turned out the artist, Emil Kosa, worked for the 20th Century Fox studios in the 30’s, when The Grapes of Wrath was filmed.

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Thursday Thoughts ~ June 12, 2025

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It’s Thursday again! Time flies, whether you’re having fun or not.

On Saturday, The Husband and I went to our monthly California Writers Club meeting at the picturesque Anaheim Packing House. It reminds me of my years with The Bead Society of Orange County – meeting in a beautiful place, with socializing, a few minutes of club business, then a speaker of interest. This month’s guest was Daniel Weizmann, author of the Pacific Coast Highway Mystery series, talking about his W.H.O.C.A.R.E.S writing method. I took a lot of good notes and also got his excellent PDF to work from.

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Thursday Thoughts ~ June 5, 2025

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Oh boy, this wasn’t the week I’d anticipated…

Friday, I was sitting in the car, waiting for The Husband, who was dropping off something to a friend at the Knott’s Berry Farm employee entrance. Naturally, I was reading 😊 When my nose starting running, I wiped it to find bright red blood! I don’t think I’ve had a nose bleed since I was a kid and this one was a doozy. I put my head back but I didn’t realize I should be pinching to create a clot, so by the time The Husband got back, I was in a panic. He took me back to the guard station, where they called their Knott’s EMT’s, who came out and helped stem the flow. Everyone was so nice and helped calm me down.

I have continual congestion because in California, there’s always something in bloom. I’d woken up extra congested that morning, so we’re thinking it was just a combination of allergies and what seemed to be a sinus infection. By Friday evening, I had a temperature of 101. We were supposed to participate in the Moving Day Parkinson’s Disease fundraiser walk and activities but I was like a dishrag on Saturday – no energy, off and on fever, and another nose bleed – no way I could have gone. So disappointing. But we did raise money for the cause, so thanks to all who contributed!!

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