Monday, April 13, 2009

Spring Cleaning, Sales, and Free Stuff

What I'm reading: Exposed, by Julie Elizabeth Leto

Hubby has been on half-time for a week now, and I don't know if that was the trigger, but all of a sudden he's moving forward with the plans to get the house on the market. Curb appeal. Repair. De-clutter. And after 20 years in this house, there's a lot of clutter, especially in his office.

What stays? What moves? Garage sale, recycling, trash, or donate? Anyone need a fish shaped squirt gun?


Or a trophy from a 1986 cricket racing championship?


What about a door—son's summer project when he was in high school?


And if you pay by the pound to move it, is it worth schlepping stuff you haven't touched in 10 years 'just in case it might come in handy?' I don't think so. But I love fresh starts. I think hubby prefers everything stay the same.

How do you deal with moving your life across the country?

Other news, none of which should add to any clutter at your house:

Keep Reading...
Wild Rose Press has put all its "Rosettes" (short-short) stories on sale for Spring. Two of mine, Second Chance Rose and Out of Sight are now available for 99 cents. That's less than a cup of coffee. I hope you'll take advantage of the pricing.

And Cerridwen Press has started a "Free Reads" program for short stories. What could be better than free? I've got a free read released this week, "Coping Mechanisms." It's another peek into the lives of Randy and Sarah.

Randy may have his cop partner, but Sarah is his new life partner, and she's aware that any new relationship has its little hiccups. Randy builds walls around his emotions. It's what makes him a good cop. But what works with a fellow cop isn't going to cut it with Sarah. Determined to dismantle his fortress, brick by brick if she has to, she confronts him after a difficult case has him retreating.

Here's a tidbit to get you started:

Sarah smiled at the sound of the front door opening. She placed the last slice of cheese on a water cracker, wiped her hands on a dish towel, and gave a quick finger-comb to her new hairdo before rushing out of the kitchen to greet her husband. Would he notice the gold highlights scattered though the otherwise dull brown? After all, he was a detective.

His night shifts had ended, and they could finally share a dinner followed by… Her grin widened as she thought of the night ahead. It had been awhile since both were awake enough to enjoy each other’s company. Kind of tough on newlyweds, but the special meal she’d planned should start making up for lost time.

Her smile faded as she saw Randy’s expression. “My God, what’s wrong?”

He pushed past her to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a Jameson. He downed half in one gulp and stared at some distant point. His lips were clenched, his brow furrowed like a freshly plowed field. Being a cop was a high-stress job, but it wasn’t like Randy to turn to whiskey. Her disapproval must have shown on her face. He glowered, and she felt the heat of rising tears behind her eyes.

“Not yet,” he growled. He pivoted and stalked to the spare room. Sarah heard the door close behind him.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to download and read it. You do have to go through the normal bookstore at the website, but since there's no payment involved, it's not that complicated. (My personal disclaimer—all these free stories share a single cover, so this is definitely a 'don't judge a book by its cover' situation.)

Tomorrow, join Mary Louise Wells here at Terry's Place. She's going to talk about having what it takes to make it in the world of writing—after you've written the book.

9 comments:

Mary Ricksen said...

Well you never know you just might find someone who wants that squirt gun. Put it all on ebay and see what happens.

Terry Odell said...

I think eBay would be more trouble than a gargage sale. All that packing and shipping. Ugh. Can you tell I'm lazy?

DanO said...

And I wonder who the guest blogger will be in a couple of weeks and I wonder what he will have to say about the squirt gun?????

Terry Odell said...

DanO: You will notice that the squirt gun is still on the shelf, although it could easily have been 'lost' in the AmVets pile. Along with the gun that shoots smoke rings.

Caffey said...

Hi Terry!
I will NEVER move, I never want to go through it again, LOL. I donate to Goodwill or too with coats and the like, to the homeless shelter. I send my daughter there when she does the dinners now and then. It is alot of work to do a garage sale. I only suggest it if you get alot of friends that want to do one big one or on the block because otherwise many don't stop if its not big one.

Its great to visit here! I love Vicki's books too!

Terry Odell said...

Hi, Caffey! Welcome to my place. Good to see you here.
I know what you mean about moving. We avoid it unless it's absolutely necessary, which is why we're still in this house after 20 years. Our next move should be our last. My neighbor does a lot of garage sales--I'll see if she's got another one coming up.

Unknown said...

but the gun that shoots smoke rings is wicked cool!

and don't forget the stuff in the attic. i think there's StarWars toys up there!

mimi said...

And just where do you think you're going, young lady?

Terry Odell said...

Away from Florida. Far, far away. 35 years was enough. I'm ready for a change.