In Which Bear Arrives, and Is Puzzled

Hello. My name is Bear. Rob-bear. I live at 13eh Blogland Lane. (That's 13A for those of you who aren't Canadyan, eh.)

I'm an itinerant story-teller, five-stringed banjo player, photographer, and would-be artist. I'm also a half decent cook. So it you want a truly decent meal, don't come my way.

My home will meet all relevant building codes, but may appear rather "rustic." There are other words people have used for my habitations in the past. I still think "rustic" is best.

(If we get a really cold winter, I may go into hibernation. I just need to find a cave.)

However, there is a mystery. (Cue theme from Twilight Zone.)

Blogland Lane seems to be deserted. Nobody else here. This is strange. I thought BL would be a very busy community. Yet, um, well. Hmmmm. (Bear casts his eyes around the place, though they stay in his head.) Closed up houses. No lights on. No stores open.

There's got to be a story in this!

{To be continued!}

Offer on Kindle

For anyone owning an amazon kindle my second (bestselling) crime thriller, ROAD CLOSED, is on a special Easter promotion on amazon.co.uk for £1.20 until 2nd May. Here's the link if you'd be kind enough to check it out
http://tinyurl.com/RoadClosedKindle

Easter Lilies Toxic to Cats!

All parts of the lily plant (leaves, petals, bulbs, even the pollen!) are considered toxic to cats and consuming even small amounts can be life threatening. Within a few hours of ingestion of the lily plant, a cat may vomit, become lethargic or develop a lack of appetite. These signs continue and worsen as kidney damage progresses. Without prompt and proper treatment by a veterinarian, the cat may develop kidney failure in 36 to 72 hours.

I continue to be surprised at the number of people who do not know that the Easter Lily is one of the most toxic plants to cats, and how the plants are not labeled with warnings! This time of year, every grocery store has huge displays of Easter candy, baskets, egg decorating kits and yes, Easter Lilies...all ready to be put in the homes of unsuspecting cat owners!

There are many nice alternatives to having lilies in the house (most lilies are toxic to cats, but not seen inside homes as often). Orchids, Easter cactus and violets are options, as are lovely artificial silk lilies.

Here is a link to more info:
CLICK HERE

"What is essential is invisible to the eye."

Questioning Success?

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Wise words of the fox in The Little Prince
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

What if all that you dreamed possible 
were within your reach? 
Would you allow life's geyser to flow?
Or would you cap the steaming pressure 
and remain, determinedly, contained? 
Would fear stop you from accepting 
everything that is coming your way? 
How can we feel worthy enough to accept 
and open up to the life we've always wanted?
How can we know that this gift is not only possible,
but here?

Interrogating reality...

A re-post from Oasis Writing Link

Books for Christmas

If anyone on Blogland Lane can't come to a book signing but would like a signed book for Christmas, feel free to email me leighrussell@live.co.uk and we can sort something out.

It's such a long time since I visited here. My debut thriller, Cut Short, has been shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association New Blood Dagger Award and is now a bestseller, as is my second, Road Closed, published this year. Yesterday I delivered the MS for the third in my series, Dead End, to my publisher. Now I have to finish working on the next book which is due with my agent mid-January. In the meantime, life has gone crazy with newspaper reporters turning up at my events, or even coming to work to interview me - three photographers wanting to snap me this week for different newspaper articles and I hate being photographed! I've been out in bookstores every weekend and as soon as school breaks up on the 17th I embark on a 5 day signing tour starting on the 18th and finishing on the 22nd December. No wonder I haven't had time to visit Blogland Lane for a while!

A Hen-pecked Poem

Point of Inspiration Chicken/Cock

Chickens Were Once Chicks

Chickens have wings but don’t fly.

Chicks are baby chickens.

Chicks are small, soft, and make a gentle peeping sound

And are found in Easter baskets wearing

baby colors; powder blue, pink, yellow and green.

Chickens are domesticated and designed for consumption,

often cultivated with large breasts and small brains.

(He’s a thigh man. I like breasts.)

Chickens cross the road, chicks follow and flatten.

Do you want to play chicken? It’s game where

we drive toward each other at high speed,

the one who wants to survive the most? What a chicken!

Chicken soup, a healing broth,

Chicken Soup for the Soul, a sweet comforting story,

A chick flick, movies made for girls with predictable plot lines,

paint-by-number characters, mostly pink.

Chick lit, not solely romantic, empowering

Jane Austin and Bridget Jones.

And Hen Lit, matrons wearing red hats

and hot flashes. We're no spring chickens!

Chicken Little?   

Walking around like a chicken with her head cut off!

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Crazy chick disease, it’s a softening of the brain.

Chick magnet/chicken coop

Many chickens but only one

Cock, a member reference, substantial,

Cock-a-doodle-do!

He’s no chicken, nor is he a chick.

Chick, an American slang term for a young girl.

Cynthia Pittmann


Audio Recording  (Does the recording play on your computer?)

Published on Oasis Writing Link as a Magpie

Autumn on Blogland Lane

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Hello neighbors,

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It's fall on Blogland Lane, in my yard, and I'm making apple cobbler and carving pumpkins. I'm also on the lookout for a miracle or two and I found a couple too good not to share.

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Anybody for poetry slams? Or open studios? Charity events? We've been too quiet lately, don't you think?
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♥