Of Book Titles & Viruses

Several weeks ago, I asked for your help naming my 8^th book and the current WIP (work in progress) set in Red River, NM. I so appreciate you taking time to do that. Several people responded on the blog and to me directly with good possibilities. I lived with them for a while, but ultimately, I had to choose one.

Red River, New Mexico

Drum Roll Please: duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh

Helena Fairfax is the winner of the name the book contest. She suggested:

TAINTED

That word appeared in the short blub I included on the blog. And since then as I’ve gone back over what I’d already written, I found I’d used the word several times to explain the feeling the heroine and her adult children had because of her ex-husband and their father’s behavior. I’ve usually used at least a couple of words in my titles, but Helena had done some research and found that many romantic suspense novels have one word titles.

And….I’ve already written a scene with a character named Helena. The character is from Great Britain, and you pronounce the name with the accent on the first syllable.

So, thank you all for your participation. Now, all I have to do is finish TAINTED.

Which brings me to the other part of the title of this blog: Viruses. My grandson caught a cold a couple of weeks ago. He generously shared it with his sister who passed it to her mother, my daughter. And you guessed, she shared it with me.

This is not an unusual occurrence. Families share germs all the time. But I had marked my calendar for this week to work on the WIP. Because of all the other things I’m involved with, I have only specific times when I don’t have meetings to attend or agendas to plan. This was it.

How did I spend this past Monday? In the morning, I dragged myself to several errands including the mandatory weekly grocery store stop and then dragged myself home. The original idea being to spend all Monday afternoon writing.

Didn’t happen. I barely moved from my chair except to pop Vitamin Cs. I dozed and woke up, dozed and woke up. Finally, I realized I had to make my chicken veggie soup, which I swear by when I have a cold. I did and it’s wonderful.

Tuesday, I had a church women’s council meeting, which I went to but kept my distance from others (no sneezes or coughs, btw) and skipped going to lunch with everyone. Went home and managed a bowl of soup and climbed into my recliner with Charley and sacked out for the afternoon.

So, it’s Wednesday morning as I write this, and I’m thankful to be able to report I’m beginning to feel better. I will go pick up another granddaughter from school today and take her to her activity. And I will continue to rest, but of course, I had to write this post. 🙂

This has all taken place in the middle of all the scary reports about the Cornovirus. I gotta admit, that has made this experience a bit more intense. I am after all a writer, and my imagination can run away with me sometimes. All the “what ifs” have clamored to suck me in. I almost wish I wrote dystopian fiction. LOL

We’re re-assessing whether to go to Victoria in the fall. At the very least, I’ve put off reserving our housing . And I know others who are questioning whether to make their trip to Walt Disney World in May. The only saving grace about this virus is it seems to be leaving kids alone and for most adults who get it, their case is mild. Now that’s no comfort to those who’ve already lost loved ones to this virus. It’s criminal that our Federal government wasn’t ready to act as soon as word spread about the virus. Denying a reality doesn’t make it disappear.

Maybe I’ve had a giant allergy attack. It is that time of year, but proximity to the grands with a cold makes me think it’s more than that. Not the Cornovirus, but had it been, I’d have had no way to be tested. So yes, it’s a serious time, and we all need to take precautions:

Frequently washing our hands (20 seconds at least)

Not touching our faces.

Coughing or sneezing into our sleeves or tissue

Limiting touching hands with others. (We used the elbow bump in church Sunday morning for Passing the Peace.)

What’s your experience with contagious diseases? Have you done anything to change your behaviors since the Coronavirus has entered our experiences? Love to hear from you.

Thinking about and praying for the folks in Nashville and the families who lost loved ones.

When Kelly Lawson, New York TV actress returns home to Texas to choreograph and direct for her local theatre, she accuses a Glenview police officer of harassing two of their gay actors. Police Chief Josh Kincaid, the most recent man her mother has selected to be Kelly’s love interest, investigates causing upsets in town politics and falling under the actress’ spell. Incidents pile up, making it clear someone has it in, not only for the theatre, but for Kelly as well. Can Josh protect her and his heart?

Amazon http://amzn.to/2dUXHyh

Amazon Print http://amzn.to/2hs7UTk

B & N http://bit.ly/2fqMWVr

KOBO http://bit.ly/2f0Btul

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