Thursday Thoughts ~ June 18, 2026

June 18, 2026June 26, 2026 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 7 Comments

Happy Juneteenth Eve! Oh, how I wish I could be at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago tomorrow to see this portrait in person!!

The Obama’s with Njideka Akunyili Crosby, portraitist.

The Husband and I celebrated our 46^th anniversary last Sunday. Being married this long creates such an enduring, varied, emotional, amazing history. You think 24 is all grown up, but really, we were such kids! Had a nice lunch at the Stonefire Grill, then saw the play, The Book of Will, at the Curtis Theatre in Brea, CA.

Us kids! Then…

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Delightful Book Mail!

June 16, 2026June 18, 2026 ~ 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 😊

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Thursday Thoughts ~ June 11, 2026

June 11, 2026June 16, 2026 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 2 Comments

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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Happy Fall, Y’All

October 22, 2025October 25, 2025 ~ 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

August 28, 2025September 25, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

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 ~ June 19, 2025

June 19, 2025June 26, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 2 Comments

Welcome to another Thursday at Casa Carter!

Saturday, the 14^th, was our 45^th wedding anniversary! I wrote about it here. I wanted to devote a separate blog to our Day.

Before our anniversary celebration, though, I attended the No Kings Day protest in Chino Hills, CA. Hundreds showed up to take advantage of their first amendment right to gather and express their outrage over our current presidential administration. Certainly because of the military presence in Los Angeles, many people were extra inspired to come out and speak out. Here are some of the folks and some great signs.

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Children and Young Adult Fiction Recommendations

June 25, 2021January 17, 2022 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ Leave a comment

In my last post, Gray Hair Does Not Equal Grandma, I mentioned reading middle grade and young adult novels. Here a few of my favorites from the last few years.

The Silent Lee books by Alex Hiam

Middle grade books with a strong female lead and lots of action. Silent lives in modern day Boston. Every morning she leaves by the side door of her Aunt Gen’s house to attend The Girl’s Academy of Latin and Alchemy in the early 20th century. Her two worlds collide in adventures that involve men in black, horse drawn carriages and giant bee girls.

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