A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

 “You Can’t Get There From Here” Mike and I decided to take a different route from our home in Inverness, Florida to our house in Ohio. We wanted to see if we could find a suitable route that would get us to the west part of Kentucky and avoid Atlanta.  I’m not “dissing” Georgia. I know many people who live in that southern state. Good people. But the traffic on the interstate through Atlanta is not always “user friendly.” Bowling Green is west of our normal route and one of our plans involves a trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky. Why Bowling Green? Because the Corvette manufacturing plant and museum is located in that part of Kentucky. We headed out on a Saturday in the truck. We didn’t need to pack much, but since our ultimate destination was Southwestern Ohio, Mike wanted to take some lawn care stuff like weed eaters and such for the house there.  Every Trip is Better with Buc-ees I had maybe …maybe, driven through the Florida Panhandle once that I can vaguely remember. I...

  Several years ago, while I still lived in Ohio, I received a Triple A (AAA) magazine. In it was an article by the Ohioana Library Association featuring     “Ohio’s Literary Trail.” Our writing group was intrigued. We researched the sixty-one sites. Some of them turned out to be a mere marker on the side of the road signifying “so-and-so was here.” Others were true sights to explore and gain insight into the experiences of authors familiar with Ohio.   Ohio Trail Mix: Available on Amazon We were intrigued. Five of us took it on ourselves to write short stories connected to each site. We had fun  getting together, exploring the area, and brainstorming ideas for stories. The result was an anthology we published n 2022. It was fun.  If you follow me, you know my formative years were spent in Florida. After living in Ohio for many years, I returned to Florida when I married Mike. I joined a group of writers called “Citrus Writers of Florida.” They are an eclec...

  On Growing Old…er …Or…  A Visit to the Vampire It happens every day. Every. Single. Day. One breath at a time, everyone…you included…. everyone grows older. One minute. One hour. One day at a time. It’s just that some days you feel it more. At least I do.  Basically, I don’t feel all that old. Certainly not the number of candles on my cake…which will boast one more come May. No, I generally feel pretty good. Strong. Active. Enjoying these retirement years with Mike. Generally.  A week or so ago, I made an appointment with my doctor because of a rash. An irritation on my neck and arms. She sent me to a lab for an allergy test. She wanted them to draw blood to test for nuts, seafood, and trees. It sounded a bit silly to me. Especially the tree part. I haven’t had seafood in a while and I eat nuts a lot, but I’ve always enjoyed them without incident. Still, as I had a few days before the lab tests, I decided to cut out nuts and seafood. I hadn’t consumed much seafood,...

  Living Through a Drought Our neck of the woods has been going through a drought. June first marks the first day of Florida’s rainy season, but of course, there is still no guarantee of rain. The little girl on the Morton’s salt is a reminder that “When It Rains, It Pours.” I hope she’s right. No big hurricane. Just the rain from one. Not to sound like a poet or something but our daily lament around here has been,  “The lake is down. Our grass is brown.” Yep, we need rain. You may see some green in the photo, but what you see is usually underwater...And the dock is high and dry! My writing went through a drought for a while, too.  There was a season of life when I struggled to gather my thoughts or sustain my steam if I did have an idea. It was a rough time as a writer. That’s why I have a file full of writing I call “Fits and Starts.”  It may be the ebb and flow of every writer’s life. I don’t know, but I’ve heard other authors speak of “slumps” or “dry spells” in ...