A NEW BEGINNING 2015: OLIVIA THE LIBRARIAN

Posted on May 10, 2015 by peggylchambers

olivia    There is a new staff member at the Enid Public Library.  Well, she is new to me.   She was born last summer so she is probably the youngest staff member as well.  Lady Olivia Benson is a therapy pig.  She assists with story time and reluctant readers.

Like most everything in nature, she was adorable as a baby. http://www.enid.org/departments/library/meet-olivia

Then she grew up to be a librarian (which is still cute).

https://www.facebook.com/enidpubliclibrary

She doesn’t know she is famous, but she has her own YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/EnidPublicLibrary

I met her the other day as I was approaching the steps of the library and she had been out on her daily walk rooting around in the mud for worms.  A delicacy I supposed.  Never tried them myself.

I always loved to read as a kid and continue that love affair as an adult.  But if I didn’t like to read, I’m sure Olivia could convince me with enough grunts and belly rubs (she loves belly rubs).

If you’re in Enid, come by the library and visit Olivia.  She loves meeting new people. Bring her a carrot.

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A NEW BEGINNING: OWFI 2015

Posted on May 6, 2015 by peggylchambers

masks    One more year of Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. (OWFI) conference and I am exhausted!  I didn’t work nearly as hard as our executive board, but member delegates from outlying clubs and members at large all worked together bringing this event to fruition.

The Keynote speaker this year was Les Edgerton, mystery writer who conducts writing classes on the side.  I met him in the book store and he suggested his latest book to me.  I’m in the process of reading it so we’ll discuss it later.  (spoiler alert!)

Mel Odem and Jerry Simmons spoke on several occasions and always made you feel you could do anything!  Lee Loflan, retired cop turned writer, entertained us with stories that were both sad and funny but he was a joy to listen to.

My friend Martha Draper was the shepherd for Andrew Kaufman, thriller writer, and we picked him and Lee Loflan up at the airport and shuttled them to the hotel.  It was great spending time one-on-one with them.

Friday night was the masquerade ball and even the bumble from Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer showed up.  bumble

Our own Ruth Poovey from the Enid Writers’ Club took home honors at the awards Ruth  ruth 2banquet and we all spent a little time in the bar tasting wine with the chocolate from my goody bag.  candy

All in all it was a great conference and I can’t wait for next year!  breakfast

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A NEW BEGINNING: NEW RETIREMENT POSSIBILITIES

Posted on April 26, 2015 by peggylchambers

sprouts2    I’m still working on getting used to retirement.  Lots of writing going on and I have two writing conferences coming up: Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. next weekend and then the Ozark Writers’ League mid-May.  The OWL conference will take place in Branson and will be presenting on fantasy writing.  Can’t wait!

But for now, while I prepare for two conferences and working on my latest New Adult novel, I am gardening.  The irises are blooming and sprouts are up in my straw bale vegetable garden.  If you see me at the farmers market later in the summer, you will know it failed.  backyard

It is cool outside this morning so I plan to dig out and rearrange some perennials.  I need to move some daylilies and do you know anyone who wants some wild violets?  They are going in the trash.  They make a great ground cover if you need something “wild” looking.   Maybe you have a bigger lawn than I do, living in the city, and you can have them. But don’t yell at me later when they take over.

I have a few herbs available to use, chives, mint, lemon balm and others on the way.  I shopped at my local Atwoods and picked up some hostas for the shady area of the garden and they look great.  Another perennial that I won’t have to replant next year, if I’m lucky.  hostas

This staying busy thing is easier than I thought.  Take it from a woman who has shown up for work every day for 45 years, it is a little different not going in.  But it is worth it.

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Blue Duende

Posted on April 25, 2015 by peggylchambers

Lucie, I can’t wait for the whole book. Wonderful!

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A NEW BEGINNING: SPRING IN OKLAHOMA

Posted on April 19, 2015 by peggylchambers

iris 1    Another week has gone past and we are getting further and further into an Oklahoma spring.  I know because of the unstable atmosphere and also the amount of green in the environment.  My iris are about to pop and I’ve been able to use a few perennial herbs in cooking. And like the atmosphere, my mind seems to be wandering today as I write this blog.

It is the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.  Most anyone who has been around here for a while has a tie or two to that tragedy.  My daughter lived in Edmond while she went to school there but worked downtown at the time.  Luckily she had a test and was in her apartment when the blast shook pictures on her wall that morning – she was not at work when it happened.  Our state was changed that day as was the world when a home-grown terrorist attacked his own people.   OKC bombing

Enid also has the distinction of being the hometown of Stephen Jones, the defense attorney for Timothy McVeigh.  Whether you agree or disagree, everyone has a right to representation and Mr. Jones was appointed by the courts to defend the most hated man in America. He did his job. I was a young paralegal at the time and fascinated at the idea of what Mr. Jones would learn in dealing with this situation all the while being repelled by what he had to do.  I wanted to join his team – and yet I didn’t.

I made a run to Oklahoma City yesterday and spent some time with the Oklahoma City Writers and attended their monthly meeting at Full Circle Books.  M.G. Miller also had a book signing in the book store and we all had lunch together.  It was a great day and a chance to hob-nob with some of the best writers in Oklahoma.  I deeply appreciate the OKC writers allowing me to spend time with them.

The phone rang this morning and a voice out of the past asks if this was Peggy.  My husband’s long lost cousin from Texas was in town and came by to visit for a while.  We had not heard from them in 30 years and we picked up like long lost friends.  It was great to see them and hope it doesn’t take another 30 years to get back together.

I had a new book come out this month and received my copies in the mail this week.  Glome’s Valley is a great little Peter Pan type fantasy set in southeast Oklahoma at the Heavener Runestone.  Pick up a copy and leave me a review if you enjoy it – or if you didn’t! (I know you will).   new cover

Pardon the ramblings today, but it has been eventful so far.  Just another Oklahoma spring.

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A NEW BEGINNING: GLOME’S VALLEY IS RELEASED

Posted on April 12, 2015 by peggylchambers

new cover      It’s here!  Glome’s Valley has been released by Lee Press, an imprint of Oghma Creative Media, and is available in paperback or electronic version at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iBooks.

The newly revised book has new characters, new scenes and a new cover.  When Ethan and his archeologist father travel to Heavener, Oklahoma to study the Heavener Runestone, Ethan knew it would be a boring summer.  And then he met Glome, a Viking ghost involved in an ancient war against the trolls.  Glome, his mighty band of fairies, and Bob the dog have been fighting for Hilda’s honor for years.  Now they have new allies with Ethan and Hilda’s grandfather, Ari.  Surely they can save her from her flowery prison before the Festival of the Full Moon. But who will save them?

Ethan’s father is desperate to find his only son who is lost in the forest of southeast Oklahoma with a companion who knows Norse mythology only too well.  Eventually Thor may be the only one who can save them all.

     The smell was the first thing Ethan was aware of, and then the yelling started.  Ethan was shoved roughly deeper into the cave.  Suddenly trolls were everywhere and swords were arcing in the tiny cave.  The backpack was roughly torn from Ethan’s shoulders as Hilda grabbed the sword and began hacking at trolls from every angle leaving him defenseless. 

      Dido yelled at his men and the tiny fairies grabbed bats as they attempted to exit the cave, climbing onto their backs and riding them out. The fairies were deserting them!

      “The cakes!” Glome shouted. “Ethan, use the cakes! Throw them over the side!”  Ethan reached for the backpack and pulled the cake out that looked like him.  He held it over his head and trolls stopped what they were doing, mesmerized.  Ethan stumbled to the entrance of the cave pushing trolls in front of him as he went.  They were backing toward the cliff and Ethan did not stop until he reached the edge.  Then he hurled the cake that resembled him as far as he could throw it.  Trolls flew after it unwittingly and then began to scream on the way down realizing what they had just done.  The screams became fainter as they fell to the bottom of the ravine. And then the screams stopped.

Pick up a copy of Glome’s Valley today.  This pre-teen book is available in paperback or electronic versions.  And as always, if you like the book please leave a review.  Authors always love reviews.  Enjoy the story!

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A NEW BEGINNING: RESURECTION

Posted on April 5, 2015 by peggylchambers

Tomatoes    Happy Easter!  The first week of retirement has been loaded with mixed emotions.  It is not that I don’t have tons to do – I do – it is more that I don’t know where to start.  I worked all week on a presentation I will be giving in Branson for the Ozark Writers’ League in May.  I worked out at the YMCA three times.  I started a new project – straw bale gardening.

It is Easter weekend and the family has no plans like a family dinner or such.  My husband has another procedure in Oklahoma City on Monday and he is not feeling well.  I tried to keep him down some but not sure I have been successful at that.

But in the spirit of resurrection, I started a small garden.  I have five hay bales in the back yard and I planted two of them today with peppers and tomatoes.  The other three will hold lettuce, spinach, etc.  Just a salad garden nothing big. I know I’m a little late on the seeds.  I have a friend who grows purple hull peas up the trellis with her roses.  They are beautiful mingling with pink roses and the purple color of the peas.  I am not quite that artsy.  There is no reason gardening can’t be fun and attractive. But anyone who can make a pea look good and then eat it is alright in my book.Peppers

Speaking of books, the re-release of Glome’s Valley will be mid-month.  Another resurection.  This Peter Pan type children’s fantasy is set in southeast Oklahoma at the Heavener Runestone and is a fun romp with magic swords, a fairy princess, a runestone, and cellphones.  Modern day meets ancient Viking.  I think you will enjoy it.  It is being re-released under a new cover with new scenes and is published by Lee Press, an imprint of Oghma Creative Media.  Check it out!  I’ll be talking more about it in weeks to come, but be sure to look for it for your favorite kid, or the kid in you!        new cover

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A NEW BEGINNING: THE RETIREMENT FINALLY HAPPENED

Posted on April 1, 2015 by peggylchambers

office  I did it!  I retired today.  It was a great run with many opportunities and experiences and even more co-workers and friends.  When I arrived at my office this morning there was food everywhere!  A crock pot of BBQ wieners simmered on my desk.  My fantastic co-workers/friends brought food, a present, a retirement sash to make sure you knew who the party was for, and a card signed by everyone.    sashEven my son showed up unexpectedly after I texted that a surprise party was on.  It was the beginning of a great day. present

But you know how these things go.  You end up eating all day long.  I did my best to do some work.  I accomplished a few things that were on the back burner and needed to be finalized and I cleaned out my office one last time.  Then I went home and my wonderful husband took me to dinner and brought home champagne.   champagne

Tomorrow I may not get out of my PJs.  But I can’t wait to work on those five unfinished manuscripts and do some gardening.

To quote Alicia Keys: “This Girl is on Fire!”

 

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A NEW BEGINNING: RETIREMENT

Posted on March 22, 2015 by peggylchambers

Bulbs   Spring has sprung and with it come many changes in my life.  The first of which is that I gave my office notice last week that I am retiring the end of the month.  I was hesitant about that.  They didn’t scream “No, don’t go!” or “The door is that way!” instead they were gracious, shook my hand, smiled, and wished me luck.  They said they were jealous and after all that is what everyone is working toward.

I don’t think when I began working I was thinking about retirement.  But my husband and I have worked for many years while we raised kids, paid the mortgage, collapsed on the couch many nights (bringing work home with us), all for the sake of the almighty dollar.  Okay, not everything I have done for the last 45 years was chasing money.  If so, I lost that race. But the job was first and foremost in our minds.  Now that it is happening, I have mixed feelings.

I plan to write more and garden in good weather.  I want to travel a little; at least as far as the retirement money will let me, and not set an alarm clock.  I plan to go to the gym more and cook good food instead of running in the door, skidding to a stop, and throwing something on the table so I can rush back out the door to some activity or other.

My husband’s birthday is today.  For his birthday I gave him money and a pamphlet for a pottery course.  If you know my husband, you are thinking, “pottery?”  Funny but he has always had an interest but never the time, so now he will have the time.  His first response was these are daytime classes.  Yes, dear, you will have your daytime free now.  It is a hard concept to swallow.

Wish us luck.  We have worked – like so many people – for a long time and now we have to try to learn how to relax.  Retirement – what an unusual concept. It is a new beginning.

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A NEW BEGINNING: TV INTERVIEW ABOUT SANDHILL ISLAND

Posted on March 15, 2015 by peggylchambers

Good Morning Enid    I received a phone call last week from Steve Kime, Director of Public Relations, for the City of Enid. He asked to interview me during the Good Morning Enid TV program about my newest book Secrets of Sandhill Island.  It would be live at 7:30 on Thursday morning.  Be there at 7:15. Yawn!  He promised there would be coffee.

Well, that was unexpected, but sounded exciting so of course I said yes.  Laura Sheldon, producer of the show, is originally from Corpus Christi and the book caught her attention because of the setting.  Krista Beasley graciously conducted the interview and made me feel at ease.  She kindly sent me a list of questions the day before so there would be no surprises early the next morning.  http://www.enid.org/Home/Components/News/News/1747/25?backlist=%2f.  This was my first TV interview and they’re right, the camera does put ten pounds on you (or more).

I tried not to show that I was nervous. Don’t fiddle with your hair or scratch your nose and sit up straight!  I just tried to pretend I was talking to someone at a book signing and telling them about Sandhill Island.   It turned out it wasn’t as hard as I thought.  In fact it was a lot of fun.  I was followed by a dog from the SPCA and had to give up my chair to her handler.  The dog was named Dolly and she seemed nervous too.

I hope the interview went as well as I thought and someone will see it and enjoy the book.  Maybe I’ll be called back for another book someday.

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