Flying High

These days, it seems like flying has become a risky venture. There is no shortage of headlines chronicling some atrocious behavior of the airlines. Every few days there is something new. Flights cancelled, passengers charged ridiculous sums for regular services, others being forcibly removed, and/or arrested, etc.

So, it is with much delight that I can report an uneventful two flights on my most recent vacation. Not one problem; there were no unexpected charges, no rude flight attendants, no disputes of any kind. They didn’t even try to kick us off the aircraft. Nothing bad at all. Of course, we weren’t flying United so...

All this is rather surprising considering my track record with most businesses. If there is only one customer they can mess things up for, it will be me. It is a rare occasion to go to a restaurant, any restaurant, and have them get my order right. Seriously, I could order just a drink and they will bring me the wrong one. Most any business is the same; they take one look at me and a backroom conspiracy begins to see how they can mess with me. At least that’s what I envision.

With all the news reports of people being dragged off planes and the like, and my usual reception by stores and restaurants, you can understand why I would be a little leery about flying anywhere—and my relief when I actually made it back home without being stranded somewhere. Not that being temporarily stranded in a warm climate paradise would be all that bad. I might even make the headlines!

For now, the only headline is that I’ll be heading back to work today—the much anticipated vacation has come to an end. ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

______________________________

RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB

Current Reads

Celebrate Good Times

At the risk of sounding ungrateful for my job, I really like vacations. Really. I don’t even have to go anywhere. Staying home is fine. I just like vacations from my job. And they are few and far between. Too few. And too far between. So, I eagerly count down the weeks and days until my next one.

And the next one is here. Yay! To make it even better, my wife is also on vacation this week. We thought we’d time off at the same time since it’s our anniversary. As of Tuesday, we will have been married thirty years.

Thirty years. Three decades. 1560 weeks. Or, 10,958 days. Any way you look at it, it is a long time. Not that I’m complaining. I like being married to her.

Thirty years. If we’d purchased a house on our wedding day, it would be paid off now. But we were a little busy—with the wedding and all—so we waited a while before buying a house. Then, we sold that one and bought another. All that means is we still have a ways to go before it is paid off. But that’s good, I suppose. More payments requires more going to work. And that means more vacations. See? Good, in a weird sort of way.

But back to my point, thirty years. A lot has changed in that amount of time. For instance, the language. Words, and a lot of them, have morphed into new meanings, thanks mostly to computers. And yes, I do have a few examples.

Thirty years ago, if we were searching for something, it meant we were physically digging through drawers, cabinets, or boxes and actually looking for said item. And speaking of searching, google was still just a part of a larger word; googolplex—the number represented by a 1 followed by 10¹⁰⁰ zeroes—the largest (named) number.

And there’s more. A browser was someone who wandered aimlessly through a store, looking but probably not buying. Memory still referred to a function of the human brain that allowed us to recall facts or events (and sometimes to the strange properties of some metals to return to their previous shape). An icon was an object or picture that represented something esteemed as virtuous. These days an icon is a tiny picture on a screen that you click on to open a program or app, many of which, though I would not describe as bad necessarily, are not all that virtuous.

A desktop was, well, the top of a desk. A flat screen was a cloth screen used for projecting slides or home videos, which were 8mm film. And clouds were still those large puffy things in the sky that blocked the sunshine and sometimes produced rain—not a term that referred to storage. And there’s another word, storage. Thirty years ago, if someone asked you how much storage you had, they probably wanted to leave something in your garage. They were certainly not talking about devices like CD’s, SD cards, or thumbdrives, and definitely not talking about a cloud.

I could go on. I made a list of over one hundred terms that have changed meanings in the last three decades; mouse, tablet, cell, surf, text, web, you get the picture I think.

Thirty years ago, we didn’t have cell phones or iPads and the like. And although computers did exist in 1987, almost no one had one. Which wasn’t really a problem. There wasn’t much to do with a computer in those days since Al Gore hadn’t invented the Internet yet. Besides, most people, like my wife and I, would have never been able to afford a computer. Not with a minimum wage of 3.35/hour, which in case anyone is wondering, produced a net income of about $120 per week. Not much, but then we didn’t need a lot of money back then. A gallon of gas was about .60, a candy bar was .25, and you could get a large pizza from Dominos for 4 bucks. I can’t imagine trying to pay for a $600 iPhone! Wouldn’t have been much time, or money, left for vacation.

Oh, there’s also a new word that’s been coined in recent years—blog. And now that I’ve posted to this one it’s time to head for the airport to fly away. Hey, I never said I ALWAYS stay home for vacation! ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

______________________________

RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB

Current Reads

Just A Few Days Off

Yay! I finally hit it right! Oh, maybe I should let you in on why I am so excited. Well, as I have mentioned in previous posts, I drive a truck for a living. A semi. And every year, I take a weeklong winter vacation. I try to predict when the bad weather will come and take my vacation that week. And almost always, I’m wrong. It will come the week before or the week after my vacation. This is my twentieth winter at this job and out of the previous nineteen years, I have been right only once—and that year I took my wife to a meeting for her job amid the ice and snow. And down the same road I drive in my truck too. Wasn’t exactly a win.

But this year... This year, I got lucky! I had last week off and nowhere to go when the winter weather hit dumping a foot of snow on us. Roads were closed (including the road I drive in the truck) schools closed, and a lot of events cancelled. And it didn’t affect me one iota! I drove around town looking at all the snow, seeing all the parked trucks, and watching people TRY to drive. It was actually kind of fun.

But now the vacation is over. Time to go back to work. Trouble is, winter isn’t over. Technically, it hasn’t even started. And looking at this week’s forecast, and that of the next week, I’m starting to wonder if I picked the right time for vacation or not. Looks like my few days off might have been a few days off—again! Most days are forecasted to have 3-5 inches of snow and/or freezing rain. That freezing rain thing is what has me concerned. 700 miles per day gets a little hard to do on ice! So, my celebrating mood might have been a little premature. Hmm, maybe next year, I’ll just take all of December and January off. But then, we’d probably get a big storm in November! ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

Back Home

Wisconsin in August! Probably not the best time to venture into America’s Dairyland.

For those of you who did not see last week’s post, the family and I, all eleven of us, took a road trip from Oregon to Wisconsin. For some in our party, it was the first visit to the state, and their first experience with humidity and bugs! Oh, and thunderstorms!

Also, for some, it was their first experience with long distance driving. At first, the grandkids seemed excited at the prospect and eager to hit the road. But I think the novelty wore off after the first 100 miles or so. After that, the “joy” of driving transitioned into the typical “Are-we-there-yet view.

For the adults, the adventure took a turn for the worse after about ten hours, in the form of car trouble. Outside Evanston, Wyoming, one of our vehicles broke down. It would run but the transmission would not engage. Sitting on the side of the freeway is not a real exciting way to spend a vacation. After a couple of hours and a few visits from the Wyoming law enforcement (who were very friendly and helpful) we had the car towed to the dealership where we learned it would need a new transmission, which incidentally, was not cheap. Eventually, we rented a car and continued our trip, leaving the problem vehicle to be fixed. We were a day late when we got to Wisconsin but better late than never, I suppose.

But wait, there’s more. The day before we needed to leave, the key for the rental car decided not to work. It was one of those new key fobs and not an actual key. The message panel on the car just said “Damaged key” when we tried to use it. And although those type of keys have a “real” key inside them for such an emergency, that wouldn’t work either. No matter what we tried, the car wouldn’t start. We couldn’t even roll up the windows. Not a good situation in a place that likes to rain buckets of water! So, after another tow to the dealership and waiting a day for them to fix it, with fingers crossed, we headed home.

There a few more minor issues with the rental, but finally, we made it back to Evanston, Wyoming. There, we picked up the repaired vehicle, returned the rental car, and hit the road again for the rest of our journey. After a day and a half on the road, we arrived home dead tired—and slightly disgruntled.

But the trip wasn’t all doom and gloom. While in Wisconsin, we visited my wife’s family, celebrating her parents’ 50 years of marriage and, I think, we all had a good time. We saw a lot of family and friends that we hadn’t seen for a long time and had a nice visit. Also, on the way to Wisconsin we stopped at Mt Rushmore, and saw a few other sites too. The stops helped break up the trip for the travel novices, know as my grandchildren!

In all, we visited nine different states. I’m pretty sure the extended freeway journey made for a fun-filled experience for, not only the grandkids, but everyone else as well. But I don’t think any of them are ready to go anywhere in a vehicle just yet. Except me. I’m headed back to work. I’ll be driving all night again. But not to Wisconsin! ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

Almost A Vacation

Vacation! Yep, again. A year ago, on my summer vacation, I spent the week painting the house, and fixing things that had been neglected far too long. This year, I’m taking an actual vacation. Well, sort of. We’re traveling to that exotic land of enchantment, known as Wisconsin. (That last part may have been typed with just a hint of sarcasm).

It promises to be a fun-filled, or at least, interesting, trip. The whole family, my wife and I, our three adult children, our son-in-law, and the five grandchildren will be cruising down the freeway from Oregon to Wisconsin. Normally, it’s around a thirty-hour drive, but with that many people, and that many kids, it might take a wee bit longer this time. Hopefully, by the time anyone reads this, we will be there. Hopefully.

For everyone, other than me, this will be a LONG trip. By the end of our vacation, we will have driven more than 3,500 miles. I’m thinking the grandkids, and perhaps a few others, will have had enough of being car bound, listening to the hum of steelbelts on the asphalt, by the time we get back home. 3,500 miles is a lot of miles. I know. That’s what I drive every week. And now you know why I said I was “sort of” taking a vacation. ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

The Vacation Cover Up

After sixteen years, I decided it was time to paint my house. Way past time. Paint isn’t really supposed to last that long. The house didn’t actually look that bad—until you actually looked at it!

But I was sort of dreading the job. Typically, painting requires much more than simply painting. First, everything needs to be cleared away from the house. In my case, this meant cutting the twenty-two rose bushes, getting rid of the weeds, and cleaning all the junk stored in partially hidden areas. Then, all the dirt has to be cleaned, loose paint scraped off, any minor repairs taken care of, and all the cracks caulked.

Once primer has been applied to the bare wood areas, it should be time to paint. But what color, or colors? Should it be left the same? Modified slightly? Or, should the color scheme be changed entirely? If it’s changed what color should it be? What color for the trim? There are literally thousands of ready-made color sets, as a trip to any paint store will attest. And, if the colors they have aren’t enough, they’ll gladly mix any color you want.

Decisions. Decisions.

Ah, but in my case, this was the easy part, I let my wife decide; with only a couple of conditions—no pink and no green. (I didn’t really have to worry that much, I doubt she would want a pink house and she doesn’t like most greens either). I figured my strategy would give me plenty of time to prep the house and allow me to put off painting for a month or so. But no. Within a week, she had decided. The house would be Commuter Grey, which is actually a dark blue with a slight hint of purple, and the trim would be Fluffy Biscuit, a yellowish creamy color that looks just like the light golden color on the top of a biscuit. Makes me hungry just looking at it.

So, last week, on my stay-at-home vacation, I spent most of my time outside painting. Never realized how big of a house we have. It doesn’t really seem that big from the inside. Of course, that could be due to all of my stuff—or, junk as my wife calls it.

It was a great vacation project. I needed something to do anyway! And the weather was awesome; plenty of sunshine, temperatures in the hundreds, and no rain! Yes, it was a little hot but it is August! Besides, painting in the summer can be cool—if you find the right shade.

I’m happy with the way the it turned out, it looks like a new house. And although painting is a lot of work, I had fun doing it. And now I should be good for another sixteen years, right? Maybe not. But for the moment, the job is finished. Which is good because I have other things to do—like go have a biscuit, a fluffy one. ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords, or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. Amazon Profile - http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

______________________________

RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB

Current Reads

I Need A Longer Vacation

The worst part of vacation—the end. It wouldn’t be so bad but the end always comes too soon. Before I even get used to the idea of vacation, it’s time to go back to work.

Yes, as some of my gifted readers may have guessed, I was on vacation last week, one of three that I’m allotted per year. Getting a day off any other time is not likely—unless a hospital stay is involved. Since that’s not my idea of a day off, I generally just go to work!

On this occasion, my wife and I celebrated our anniversary by visiting her family in Wisconsin. (I can hear the groans now of all those who think visiting their spouses family is a horrible way to spend a vacation). But, it’s okay, I actually like my in-laws!

One thing that made this vacation memorable was we took our one and a half year old grandson along with us. The kid is quickly becoming a seasoned air traveler as this was his tenth plane ride, I think. At more than one every two months, he is well on his way to joining the frequent flyer program. (That may diminish somewhat when he actually has to start paying to fly).

It was a fun week—at least for me. I guess I can’t speak for my wife, or the grandkid, or the in-laws for that matter! I think we all had a good time, relaxing, catching up, and enjoying the summer. But ultimately, my vacation was too short. And here it is Monday already and time to return to the daily grind.

I think I need a job where I work three weeks out of the year and vacation the other forty-nine. The opposite of what I do now. That, I could handle. Maybe. Although, it probably wouldn’t take that long before the forty-nine weeks would just not be enough and I’d be complaining my vacation had ended too soon!

~ ~ ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords, or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. Amazon Profile - http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS. Bruce A. Borders also serves as the Vice-President of Rave Reviews Book Club.

______________________________

RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB

Current Reads

Breaking News

Enjoyed a stay-at-home vacation last week—pretended I was rich and didn’t have to go to work. Really, I had a pretty full schedule of things I wanted to get done. But, as is usually the case, things don’t always cooperate.

The very first day, the washer broke and we had loads of laundry. I took it apart, trying to find what was wrong. After several hours I couldn’t find anything, so my wife and I went shopping. We almost bought a new one too, but when the lady at the store started backtracking on the advertised deal, my aversion to salesmen kicked in and I said, “No thanks.”

We went back home, without a washer, and I started looking for a good deal on the computer. Salesmen tend to do that to me; make me want to buy everything online. During my Internet travels, I came across a question and answer site for appliances, and there on the top was a guy saying he thought his door lid switch was bad. A light bulb suddenly turned on in my head!

I don’t know why I hadn’t thought to check the switch, but for some reason I hadn’t. Instead, I’d gone right to taking the whole thing apart.

Suspending my Internet activity, I went to test the switch and sure enough that was the problem. So for once, a pesky salesman, actually saved me money!

A quick Google search told me a new switch would cost me about thirty dollars plus shipping. Well, I didn’t feel like paying that much for a simple switch, (and waiting a week or so for it to be delivered) so, I just bypassed it. Took all of five minutes. And, it was free!

I know, for all of you safety minded people, the door switch is a vital and critical part of the washing machine! If you can’t tell, that last sentence was heavily laced with sarcasm. Washers worked fine for years without the door switch. If we need to turn it off, there’s a dial within easy reach—push it in and, like magic, the washer shuts off. Besides, bypassing the switch was a lot less work than replacing it.

But then, I had to put the rest of the washer back together. Figuring we were going to need a new one, I hadn’t bothered to reassemble anything, just left it sitting there in the laundry room in pieces.

Well, if you’ve ever worked on a washer, you know they don’t go back together quite as easily as they come apart. Four hours. That’s how long it took to get it ready to use. All in all, I’d spent somewhere around six hours taking it apart and then putting it back together. Had I checked the switch first, I could have saved myself a LOT of time! Good thing I was on vacation!

All is well that ends well, as the saying goes. The washer works. The laundry is caught up. And, some of the stuff I wanted to work on, I got done. But not all. Probably because I spent too much time on a washer! And now, it’s back to work. Maybe on my next vacation, I can fix the dryer!

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords, or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. Amazon Profile - http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS. Bruce A. Borders also serves as the Vice President of Rave Reviews Book Club.

______________________________

RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB

Current Reads

A Personal Journey To The Heart Of Teaching

John Fioravanti

Through The Keyhole: True Stories Not For The Faint Of Heart

Liz Cowan

Our Lady Of Victory

Shirley Harris-Slaughter

SPOTLIGHT Author

Rochelle Carter

The 7-Step Guide to Authorpreneurship

Return From A Far-Away Land

If you read last week’s installment of this blog, you know that I was on vacation. I have returned now. The plane has landed; I’m home, and ready to go back to work! Ugh! Did I just say I was ready to go to work? Can’t imagine that! Maybe, I should say I’m resigned to the fact that I now must return to work. Yeah, that’s better.

Sorry, I get sidetracked easily. Back to my blog now. Yes, I have returned from the Land of Bugs, Humidity, and Flat Ground. This far-away land is better known as Wisconsin, America’s Dairyland. Thirty years ago, when my dad suddenly decided to move to the state, I thought we’d gone to a foreign country. Really! It was quite a culture shock for a guy who grew up in the West. Since I was only 17, I had to stay. Everyone said I’d adapt—I didn’t. And, shortly after my 18th birthday, I skedaddled. Then, promptly moved back three months later. I’d decided Wisconsin had something good to offer after all—the woman who is now my wife! And now, for better or worse, I am forever bound by unseen ties to that state. I ended up spending 12 years there and made a lot of memories, most of them good ones!

Visiting the place last week brought back a lot of those memories. The places my wife I dated, where we were married, the house we lived in, and where two of our kids were born, all are meaningful. And as you can probably tell, I no longer view the far-away land as a foreign country—just America with a twist. Maybe folks were right thirty years ago when they said I’d adapt. Maybe. Can’t really bring myself to laud the state with actual praise! And while I still maintain that it’s something akin to cruel and unusual punishment to suddenly be transplanted there, I will admit it’s not that bad of a place—to visit. Still don’t want to live there! I think the state is better enjoyed from a distance, like all far-away lands!

__________________________

RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB

Current Read
Heaven's Waiting Room
Clare Wilson

SPOTLIGHT Author

John Priest
The Curse Of Sea Shell Cave

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords, or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. Amazon Profile - http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS Bruce A. Borders also serves as the Vice President of Rave Reviews Book Club http://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com

On Vacation

Bruce A. Borders (that's me) is on vacation this week. But dont worry, I have found a substitute blogger to carry on in my absence. You may have heard of him, his name is Bruce A. Borders! Yep, me. Since Im the only one here, I am my own substitute. Sorry, youll just have to suffer.

Here's the deal; A couple of weeks ago I was hosted as a guest blogger on author Danica Cornell's blog: http://danica-cornell.com/2014/06/12/not-a-famous-writer/
I have re-blogged that post here.

I promise I will return next week!


First, I would like to thank Danica for inviting me as a guest on her blog. I appreciate the opportunity!

Odds are, you have never heard of me. I'm not a famous writer - yet! I'm still one of those authors who write simply for the love of writing. Good thing too, or I probably would have quit years ago!

Part of the joy of writing, and usually my goal, is to make people think, or laugh, or elicit some sort of emotion, such as anger or frustration - not directed toward me, hopefully. Then, through reviews, email, and comments on social media or blogs, readers provide valuable feedback that lets me know how I'm doing in that regard. No matter their opinion, I like hearing from readers; their thoughts, and questions. And, sometimes there are lots of questions. I thought I'd answer a few of the more common ones I've received about my book, Over My Dead Body.

The question I get the most is if it's a true story. The short answer is no. But like many tales of fiction, it does have a basis in reality. I used several news stories I'd heard for the setting and the plot, then added my own details to finish out the story. As I moved forward with the rewrites and editing, the book took on a life of its own and the original stories gave way to a single narrative. This may not be the so-called correct way to write but it worked well for me.

A lot of readers also want to know if the book is based on what I would do in a similar situation. The answer to that is a definite yes! Not only is the story based on what I would do, it is exactly what I would do. That's what provided the impetus and motivation to write it.

If you haven't read the book, and are now squinting at the screen, wondering what in the world I'm talking about, here is a short description.

How far will a man go to protect his family? When the director of Child Protective Services uses his position to exact a personal vendetta in removing three-year-old Ashley from the Blakes home, Jeff Blake, a financial advisor, responds to the threats in the only way he feels he can  violently. By the end of the short encounter, three people are dead and Ashley, the daughter, is still taken and placed in temporary foster care, so the tragic fiasco gained Jeff nothing. Or, so it seems. Matters are further complicated when Amy, the wife and mother, winds up for a brief stay in a mental ward due to the trauma she witnessed in her home. It seems as though everything is against the Blakes. Understandably, the police, as well as the Courts, are not too concerned with the needs of the family. Complete with many twists of fate, the story looks at the common problems of a typical family caught between love and the law.

I tried to write the book, especially the opening chapter, as if I were Jeff Blake. The news stories I'd heard spanned a few years so, I'd had plenty of time to consider what my response would be. That part of the book was very easy to write. Admittedly, it's probably not the wisest response and I'm under no illusion that things would not bode well for me in such an event, or anyone, for that matter, who reacted in a similar manner.

From the comments I've received, I think most readers would agree, the book describes a typical father's reaction, and initially, I marketed the book to fathers. However, thanks to feedback from readers, as well as comments from friends and family, I discovered that women, particularly mothers, connected and reacted to the book much more passionately than fathers. Not that fathers didn't like the book, or that they disagreed, but their response was more matter-of-fact. Yeah, that's what I would do too, I heard more than once - seemingly without much emotion.

Mothers, on the other hand...

Mothers were extremely emotional and far more vitriolic with their fiery reaction. They were out for blood! And calling for the head of anyone who would dare think they could use a position of so-called authority to go after a child. Remind me to never make a woman angry!

Another question that often comes up is if I plan to write a sequel. Well, originally I hadn't. I think the story definitely ended in the book. But after the response from all the female readers, I have begun to consider writing a similar book with the mother being the one who exacts the vengeance. I think there is a strong potential for quite a compelling story in that.

Problem is, I'm not a woman. Or, a mother. I'm not sure I could write through a mother's eyes. Not convincingly anyway. And I'm not sure how readers would respond. They might not be interested in a guy's portrayal of a vindictive woman. Sure, a well-known author might get away with it, but me? I'm not so certain. After all, I'm not a famous writer - yet!

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords, or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. Amazon Profile - http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS Bruce A. Borders also serves as the Vice President of Rave Reviews Book Club http://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com

Breakdown

There are many kinds of breakdowns; nervous breakdowns, fiddle breakdowns, mathematical breakdowns, and of course, mechanical breakdowns. As a truck driver, it’s the last category that affects me. Recently, I’ve been plagued with a rash of them. Not on my personal vehicle, thankfully, but on my truck. In one respect, that’s good, I don’t have to pay for the repairs. On the other hand, it does cost me an awful lot of time. And, breakdowns produce more than a little aggravation.

Among the difficulties my truck has suffered are; coolant leaks, brake problems, power steering issues, lights that won’t work, blowouts, a transmission that didn’t want to change gears, airbags that wouldn’t inflate, and a bunch of other stuff. Since I drive at night, when I break down, it means even more down time than normally would be the case. I have to wake someone up, wait for them to get dressed, drive to the shop, get the parts I need, and then drive to where I’m stranded—usually quite a few miles.

In the last month, I’ve gotten home late more often than not. Hours late sometimes. This throws my schedule off but more importantly; it cuts into my personal time! I do have better things to do than work twenty-four hours a day!

So, I’m really looking forward to my upcoming vacation. Just a few more trips to make and it’ll be here. Approximately, 3575 miles. Should be a breeze—if I don’t break down!

__________________________________

RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB

Current Read

Heaven’s Waiting Room

Clare Wilson

SPOTLIGHT Author

Kenneth J. Kerr

The First Madam President

______________________________________

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords, or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. Amazon Profile - http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS Bruce A. Borders also serves as the Vice President of Rave Reviews Book Club http://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com

Temporary Bachelor

Home alone. My wife is off gallivanting around the country on vacation. (Actually, she is visiting her family). But, I stayed behind. And since my kids have all moved away, it’s just me - and the dogs.

Living alone isn’t really a problem. I can manage to take care of myself, and the dogs. In fact, I seem to function quite well on my own. But I do tend to become a little irritable without my wife around. The dogs are not impressed.

When my wife and I first got married and she would leave for a week or two, I dealt with my frustration by firing people at my job. (Only if they deserved it, of course)! I don’t have a lot of patience to begin with - add to that the annoyance of my wife being away and it doesn’t bode well for employees who do not listen or who won’t do their job. As the manager of a fast food restaurant, with several employees, I usually had an abundance of opportunities to exercise my self-designed “therapy.”

These days, I’m not the boss - probably a good thing - so; I have to deal with my frustration in a different manner. The method of choice is to stay busy working. Again, the dogs are not impressed. In the week I’ve been home alone, I’ve worked on a broken light fixture in the kitchen, replaced two leaking faucets, repaired the fence, fixed the shed door, did some maintenance on my pickup, and cleaned up the house (a little). And, I still have more to do.

This new approach to dealing with the absence of my wife seems to be rather productive! Much more so than firing my crew - and then having to run the store by myself! I’m hoping when my wife returns she’ll be happy with everything I’ve accomplished. The thing that worries me is that she’ll be so pleased she’ll decide to leave more often. That wouldn’t be good - for me, or the dogs.

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books. Over My Dead Body, The Journey, and Miscarriage Of Justice, and other titles, are available as ebooks on Apple I-Pad®, Amazon Kindle®, Barnes & Noble Nook® and Sony Reader®, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords. His books are also available in print at most online retailers or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. The popular Wynn Garrett Series Books are now available on Barnes And Noble® at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?series_id=867526 See Bruce’s Smashwords Profile at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BruceABorders #MiscarriageOfJustice #BruceABorders