Have I ever told you how much I love Arizona? This state is beautiful. You can drive from Mexico at the southern end, to Utah at the northern end. The time would take about eight hours. In the south, the deserts reign, wild from the border up to around Prescott or Payson. The mountains climb out of the barren wasteland (not really, if you know this place) up into the sky near Flagstaff. There the mountain reaches over 14,000 feet. There are mountains in the south near Tucson. I’ve only looked at them from a distance, though. Then, there’s the Mogollon Rim, high above the Tonto Basin. That’s were my heart lies. You can see for a hundred miles from the rim. We have the amazing Grand Canyon, as well.
But we live in the desert, in the Valley of the Sun. Phoenix. Today, December 7, 2024, the temperature is 75 degrees. Fahrenheit. No wonder ASU’s logo is the Sun Devil. Where’s winter, I ask? Winter does not answer. Apparently, winter decided not to visit us, yet. The average temperature runs about 68 degrees during December. But remember, a year or so ago? The weather was true. Apparently during La Niña, we remain warm in the southwest. I wait six months for actual cool temperatures. We only have two weeks before Christmas. Hopefully, we will get cold by then. Maybe we’ll get rain. Things don’t look good right now, though.
TJ and I are considering a move north. Up to the rim country, towards the east. Summers don’t sizzle. Winters have snow. What a concept. I always wanted to live in Sedona, but the hoity-toities (I made that word up) took the place over. You can’t touch property there without millions of dollars in your portfolio, I imagine. They also over-developed. We don’t have millions… So, we only want some land with trees, cooler summers, that sort of thing. This photo is by me, off the Mogollon Rim.
Enough of that! Last evening, one of the cats, Omar by name, scared TJ by rushing up suddenly. TJ started violently (using an expletive), surprising Ruby Sue, who rushed over to protect him from… Omar. Now Omar is the mildest of our cats. He is/was a feral we had neutered. Due to that, he believes he is an indoor cat along with Mike, Max, and Joey. Actually, except for Joey, out smallest boy cat, no one minds him being inside. Oh yeah, and Ruby, who wants to chase and play with all the animals who are smaller than she is. Now at the time, Ruby is standing next to TJ wanting to eat Omar, who has left the room. She looks at him (TJ) like, I will protect you from that mountain lion, Dad. I’m laughing. I tell her, no Ruby. No kitties. That’s my mantra, by to way… No, Ruby. Don’t bark. No, Ruby. Don’t chase the kitties. No, Ruby. Please don’t start a fight with Cortana! Now, TJ is laughing. Ruby’s confused. Omar is under something in the laundry room. This is Omar.
Such is our life when we aren’t writing. Except for the No, Ruby! That goes on all day. You see, the door is open to the front yard because of the nice weather. Everything out there shouldn’t be there according to Ruby, though. No cars should drive down the street, the neighbors shouldn’t open their gates, the poor mailman (postal worker) Chris should never, ever deliver mail, ever again. God forbid a visitor comes to the door.
While we are working on our current manuscripts, Ruby lays at our feet. After wadding up the area rug that is. TJ is working on his book, that he calls the Dream. I dislike that title. The story is a fantastical fiction about elves, and dragons, and dwarves, oh my. I am working on our second murder mystery. I’ve told you that this is a follow-on to the Murders at Hells Canyon Quarry. I am pretty excited about this story. Becky Tsosie, my female protagonist, has almost completed her bachelor’s degree in Criminology at NAU. She wants to leave Ash Fork, to work for the FBI. Detective Allen Anderson is assisting the Prescott Police Department to solve another serial murder. He’s completely stymied by this case, but the young men who are murdered in Prescott, all attended Ash Fork High School. So did Becky. Allen is interviewing families about their loved ones regarding their deaths. Eek! I actually think this story will surpass the Hells Canyon book! The idea is exciting to me and to TJ. Or, maybe readers will hate it, but I’m having fun writing it. So, there’s that.
TJ has a bunch of police dramas, mobster dramas, and sci-fi fantasy over on his tab. I have historical fiction, romance, and a gritty current culture Prodigal Son story on my tab. Go check them out!
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Mirror Gate Chronicles 