Category: MJ Monday

MJ Monday-Music: SIRIUS

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I recently purchased a new vehicle. A really new vehicle, that come with three months free Sirius radio. How cool is that?

Except I rarely listen to music in the car. My commute is short (less than 2 miles one way). And between the dreadful radio my husband has to listen to in the morning–he works in radio sales and has to monitor competing stations–and the radio and other noise at Day Job, I relish those few moments of silence I have alone in my vehicle.

The *idea* of Sirius radio is cool. And I’ve played around with a couple of stations. But I’ve spent more time moving the continuous stream of related emails into a folder than I have listening.  That’s right. The emails DO. NOT. STOP,

That ought to say something.

MJ Monday-Movies: Knives Out

I actually went to a theater and saw Knives Out with my husband when it was first released. I loved it. Great cast. I really hated Daniel Craig’s southern accent, but that was part of the absurdity that made the movie so enjoyable.

The cast was wonderful (despite the aforementioned dreadful accent used by Craig). In addition to Craig, we saw Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Chris Evans, Christopher Plummer, and a face I knew, but I didn’t know from where: the actress who played Great Nana Wanetta. It wasn’t until the end credits that I realized who she was: K Callan, who played Clark Kent’s mother in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

The film was funny, intriguing, twisty, Agatha Christy. Part Clue, part Murder, She Wrote.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

MJ Monday-Meals: Cilantro Lime Quinoa

I had some leftover ingredients hanging out in my fridge and decided to combine them to see what I could come up with as a side dish for quesadilla night.

That’s about a cup of cooked quinoa, half a jalapeno, a lime and what I could salvage from a bunch of decaying cilantro.

First, I diced the jalapeno into tiny pieces.

Then I squeezed the room-temperature lime into the bowl. (I use a small tea strainer to keep out the pulp and seeds.)

After I’d wrung all the juice I could from the lime, I grated a little zest into the bowl.

And chopped the cilantro.

Voila! A simple side dish using ingredients about to rot in the refrigerator.

We ate it the next night with chicken quesadillas and it was surprisingly good.

MJ Monday-Manuscript: Character Backstory

A member of my local RWA chapter has started virtual write-ins several nights a week and on weekends. For some reason, this has jump started work on the manuscript.

I wrote a flash-back scene a couple of months ago. I love the scene. I think I did a great job on it. However, one of my critique partners doesn’t think I need it, that I can thread the outcome of the scene through the story. This scene shows the motivation behind the decisions one of the characters makes.

But did I write it because I as the author need it or because the story needed the info in a chunk?

If I do end up cutting the scene, I’ll send it to my newsletter subscribers as extra content.

There’s always an upside.

MJ Monday-Music: Protest Music

I came of age in a time of civil unrest: Women’s Rights, Civil Rights, an anti-war movement. The music from that era formed the soundtrack of my life. Haunting melodies, biting lyrics–they were songs that stuck.

For the past several years, I’ve been waiting for a new batch of music. The current generation needs fresh songs from fresh voices. Music is a common chronicle of the era, which means the time is right for a new batch of protest music.

I’m still waiting.

While we wait, here are a few examples of what I mean:

We need new anthems for the new world.