Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you have heard me say I TRY to put out a book a year.  I try.  I work hard at writing on a regular basis, but I’m no Stephen King.  Instead, I write things, edit them, learn new ways of writing, and try to get them published.  But these things take time.

This time I tried to space them out, but that didn’t happen. In September, I have two new books coming out!  I’m so excited!  They will both be e-published and one of them is free.

September 1, 2020 will be the release of my first comic book, Stone of Thor.  This short comic is based on characters and setting from my Glome’s Valley books. Jeff Provine was fantastic in his assistance in this writing. Check out his Okie Comics by Oklahomans, for Oklahomans.  You will be able to find the comic on www.okiecomics.com. Stone of Thor is beautifully illustrated by Mike Kennedy and once again pits Glome against Loki in a battle that takes place at the Heavener Runestone Park.

September 2, 2020 Strawberry Sundae Delights releases from The Wild Rose Press and is part of the One Scoop or Two Series. It is available for pre-order on Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y2qe84qx. The novella is once again set on Sandhill Island and involves new characters who work together at the only ice cream shop on the island.  There will be ice cream on the beach with romance and a little suspense as Sienna tries to help her aunt’s dream come true. And Jake will risk his life for the woman he loves.

Check out Stone of Thor and Strawberry Sundae Delights coming out in September electronically, and leave me a review. Authors love reviews.

What are you reading this week?

  I was reminded this week how feelings and experiences can come back to bite you when you least expect it.  Things you thought were over and done – you thought you dealt at the time – suddenly are there again.

I’ve had three back surgeries – the last one eleven years ago and then another this summer.  I’ve recovered well, though my daughter says I walk funny.  I say, I’m doing the best I can.  But it occurred to me that the last surgery took place one year before I was laid off at the base and began a new career late in life.  That job also didn’t last because the company left town and I once again had to land another job.

It’s been twenty years since I lost my parents.  They were both sick at the same time and I tried my best to look after them until the bitter end.  I hope my children don’t go through that, but they might.

In the shower this week, (why there, I have no idea) old feelings came slamming back.  I felt I’d been trying to slay dragons once again and I have no idea why.  Maybe the back surgery brought it all to the forefront.  Maybe it was because my dad had open heart surgery in August. It’s been said there are anniversaries for feelings. There have been several lately when I think about it.

But with a lot of prayer, I feel like I’m going to get better.  I am keeping the dragons at bay, or maybe learning to dance with them. Dragons can be a formidable opponent or gracious ally depending upon how you look at them.

Writing about my feelings helps me get them out in the open sometimes so I can examine them. It may bore the reader but helps the writer.

But this writer has been working on two manuscripts this week in spite of the dragons.

What are you reading this week?

    I received word this week that my novella, Strawberry Sundae Delights, releases September 2! I’m so excited to continue the saga on Sandhill Island.  This novella will be e-published as part of the One Scoop or Two Series for The Wild Rose Press. Check out the other novellas in this series too.  https://www.thewildrosepress.com/series/one-scoop-or-two.

Sienna works for her aunt on the island where she grew up.  As a teacher, she’s free in the summer and needs a summer job and her aunt needs her help. Then she meets Jake.

Schoolteacher Sienna Schultz is still stinging from a bad breakup with her fiancé when she finds herself unexpectedly infatuated with a new man. While working her summer job at her aunt’s ice cream shop in the small tourist town of Sandhill Island, she meets Jake White, a college student from Corpus Christi who is working on a shrimper for the summer. Sienna is not ready for another relationship, but Jake is difficult to resist.

Sienna’s peaceful summer is shattered when a series of suspicious events unfold. Her aunt’s suppliers refuse to sell to her, putting the future of the shop in jeopardy. Then, when the store is vandalized, they wonder if someone is out to harm not only the business, but Sienna and her aunt as well.

Jake offers to help uncover who’s behind the incidents, which brings the two of them closer together. Can Sienna trust him…or is she headed for another heartbreak?

Strawberry Sundae Delights is available for pre-order on Amazon digitally (https://www.amazon.com/Strawberry-Sundae-Delights-One-Scoop-ebook/dp/B08DZC5X6D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=24T8F6YN6MRB5&dchild=1&keywords=peggy+chambers+books&qid=1596381611&sprefix=peggy+chambers+%2Caps%2C547&sr=8-1. Check it out and leave me a review.  Authors live for reviews!

What are you reading this week?

    Many years ago, I fell in love with the lore surrounding the Heavener Runestone and the YA novel Glome’s Valley was born. Since that time, I’ve written a sequel, Return to Glome’s Valley.  I loved the characters and the setting, and the saga of Glome and the Heavener Runestone lived on.

Then at an author fest I met Jeff Provine of Okie Comics. He publishes (and writes most of the stories) for Okie comics – comics by Oklahomans about Oklahoma.  I talked to him about writing a comic about the Glome’s Valley story.  He liked the idea, but the books were too long to make into a comic book.  After that I wrote a short story for him, Stone of Thor, based on the books and characters.  I had so much fun!

I entered the short story, Stone of Thor, in the OWFI annual contest and won second place in YA short story category. But the fun was just beginning.

When I wrote the short story, Jeff helped me hone it into something that would work for comics.  We went back and forth several times by email and he made it better each time with suggestions and taught me along the way the art of comic book writing.  It is a whole new ball game from novel writing. Getting that short story into those tiny panels and making it not only concise but exciting is an art.

Then came Mike Kennedy.  He illustrated the story and brought it to life with his art.  It was so exciting to see how someone else imagined your story, your characters, and the setting.  I am amazed.  Mike is no light weight.  He recently illustrated a comic book cover for Marvel comics and teaches art. I’d hit the jackpot.

This week I saw the pages for the comic book that will come out online in September and will hopefully be printed as well.

Check out Mike’s art in the above picture and be sure to look at www.okiecomics.com online.  Jeff and several artists/writers have put together comic books you can order or see online.  Stone of Thor is coming out this fall.

What are you reading this week?

    Many of my books are published by The Wild Rose Press (TWRP).  I also write for other publishers, but one of the things that The Wild Rose Press does is offer out stories to be written.  For instance, the Deerbourne Inn Series that I wrote a novella for last year took place in a quaint Vermont Inn and many of their authors wrote stories surrounding the inn.  I jumped on that band wagon and wrote Witches’ Cliff.  The way this is set up, the publisher creates a setting and then invites their authors to write a story (any genre) around that setting with a word count limit.

I also wrote a beach-read for TWRP coming out this summer.  That manuscript needed to be set on a beach and involve ice cream. It is titled the One Scoop or Two Series.  I wrote Strawberry Sundae Delights and it is soon to be released.  I’ll be sure to let you know when that happens!

I’m always working on a novel or two and sometimes get bogged down getting it finished.  The series that TWRP comes up with seem to get my creative juices flowing.  You work with other authors, and their ideas spark yours.

Their latest creation is the Wylder West Series.  I’ve only written one western short story and it was about the Cherokee Strip here in Oklahoma. The Wylder West Series takes place in 1878 in Wyoming Territory in the town of Wylder near Cheyenne.  So, my brain began to go to places it had never been.  What if we mixed time travel with the wild west? (I thought of the old movie, recently remade, Wild Wild West. I loved the mixture of genres.  When the giant  mechanical spider came across the desert near the railroad chasing cowboys, I was in love.)

It will be a while before my story is ready.  So far it is one chapter and a nugget in my mind.  But I’m excited about the research and collaboration with other authors.  I’m creating new characters with exotic backgrounds.  At the moment I’m struggling with the antagonist and the role he plays. All stories need conflict.

The great thing about the series and the creative juices is it normally flows over into my other writing.  It will help me get the novel finished I’m currently working on.

So, wish me luck and keep an eye out for the Wylder West Series coming soon.

What are you reading this week?