Lights Out!

Hey hey, it’s time for another Lights Out episode! I’ve got a special treat for you guys this time. It’s Episode #60, so there’s something out of the ordinary in store for the next hour or so. We’re goin’ to Vegas, baby!

Lights Out #60: Spooks of Sin City. Las Vegas: Sin City. Home to glittering neon, flashing lights, spinning roulette wheels, and clattering slot machines. But Las Vegas hides many secrets underneath the glamour and glitz. From Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo Hotel to the Rat Pack to Howard Hughes, the spooks of Sin City are varied and plentiful. Let’s go on a tour of the Las Vegas strip, and discover what’s hiding in the shadows. https://youtu.be/F2_ttNrkG9Y

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This is Why I Write

I’m so very lucky, as a published author, to be able to work at a library. Sometimes I get feedback from people who read my books. I’ve been very fortunate in that the people who tell me that they like my work really, REALLY like it. (I guess the people who think it’s crap just, you know, keep their opinions to themselves. Which is nice.)

Anyway, a patron came in the other day with her daughter, who was visiting from Texas. Both women had books of mine that they wanted me to sign, which I happily did. We got to chatting, and the older woman told me how proud she was of me for doing such a grand job with the books, and that she brags about me to her friends. And then she said something that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

“You’re doing what I wish I could do,” she sighed.

That stopped me in my tracks for a bit. I’ve published a few books, yeah. People have enjoyed them, I’m happy to say. Lately, I’ve been doing research for two upcoming projects, and kinda sorta dragging my feet on starting the actual writing of the next book. (I tell myself that’s because the research isn’t finished yet, but it’s really because it’s summer and my garden and my porch swing are both calling me with the siren song of long lazy warm evenings.)

But I am so ridiculously privileged to be able to do this writing thing for a hobby, and to have other people enjoy the work that I do. I forget that sometimes. But jeez, it’s a Big Deal. Not everyone gets to do this. Not everyone CAN do this. I can, and I am forever grateful for it. So thank you, Grace, for reminding me of this.

Things That Make You Go Hmm…

Okay, so if tomb is pronounced “toom”, and womb is pronounced “woom”, why isn’t bomb pronounced “boom”?

Today I Learned …

A brick of gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.

Today I Learned …

On August 6, 1945, Tsutomo Yamaguchi was a 29- year-old engineer on the last day of a business trip in Hiroshima, Japan. He was walking through a company shipyard when an American B-29 bomber dropped the nuclear bomb on the city. The shockwave tossed Yamaguchi into the air and nearly knocked him out. He had burns all over his arms and face, and his eardrums had ruptured.

After spending the next couple of days in the midst of unspeakable destruction, Yamaguchi boarded a train for his hometown — of Nagasaki. On August 9, he was in his boss’s office, telling him about the Hiroshima bombing, when the Americans dropped the second nuclear bomb.

Not only did Yamaguchi survive both bombings, he went on to live past the age of ninety.     (from Mind=Blown: Amazing Facts About This Weird, Hilarious, Insane World, by Matthew Santoro.)

Today I Learned …

If you have a pizza with radius Z and thickness A, its volume is Pi*Z*Z*A.

Robot Nativity

I was at the thrift store the other day, and I found this setup going. Whoever put all these figures out had a good sense of humor.

Contest Still Going!

Hey hey, there’s still time to get in on this summertime contest that’s going on right now. I’ve got five free download codes to give away, for the audiobook of Double Double Love and Trouble. Just subscribe to my YouTube channel, then pop back over here and tell me that you did, and tell me the thing you like best about summer. That’s it! I’ll pick five lucky winners, and PM you if you’ve won.

Opposites attract – but sometimes it takes a while! 

Meet Selena Goode. She’s an herbalist, she runs a small museum in Salem, and she’s a practicing solitary Wiccan.

She likes her life, quiet as it is. Then Brian Gottschalk comes barreling into it with the force of an Atlantic storm. He works for a ghost-hunting TV show, and he’s in Salem to find a story. He’s witty, charming…and a total jerk.

Selena has no problem with ghosts. She does, however, have a problem with big-city Brian. It will take all his charm, plus the silent advice of a caring ghost, to make Selena realize that maybe, being big-city isn’t so bad after all.

Both laugh-out-loud funny and edge-of-your-seat suspenseful, Double Double Love and Trouble is a sexy, humorous romp from an author at the top of her game. Let it cast its spell over you.

The audiobook has several five-star reviews at Amazon, with comments like “Very entertaining!”, “This story is full of fun — a job well done!”, and “I absolutely LOVED this book!” I would love to give away five free download codes to five people, so get out there and subscribe to my YouTube channel, and tell me all about it!

Today I Learned …

You can swim as fast in syrup as you can in water.

Happy Summer, Part Eleventeen

Last night I decided to put my firepit to even better use than just staring at the dancing flames.

One peach, one nectarine, and one apricot, cut into chunks

Twelve cherries, pitted

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I used chocolate flavor)

Stir it all together, then put it in a double thickness of foil and wrap it up. Toss it on the grill for, eh, ten to fifteen minutes or so, or until piping hot. Serve over homemade vanilla ice cream (which I also happened to have).

Happy Summer!

It’s summertime, and you know what that means — lemonade, porch swings, and beach reads! (Or reading on the porch swing, if you don’t happen to have a beach handy.) And I have the perfect beach read for you guys … and you can have someone else read it to you!

David Wilson at Crossroad Press has arranged for one of my romance novels, Double Double Love and Trouble, to be produced as an audiobook. And he has graciously given me FIVE free download codes, which is awesome of him, because he’s an awesome guy.

So here’s where you come in. To celebrate summer, and my first ever audiobook release, I’m going to pick five readers to give these codes to. All you have to do is pop over to YouTube and subscribe to my channel. Then comment on this post, and tell me what your favorite summer activity is. (And if you’re already subscribed, you get a gold star for the day.)

I’ll pick five readers at random, and I’ll message you privately to let you know if you’ve won. Let’s go … until the end of this month. July 31. That leaves us plenty of summertime for beach reading. So get out there, subscribe to my YouTube channel (please and thank you), and tell me what you love about summer! Aaaaand — GO!

 

Today I Learned …

An adult robin eats the equivalent of one fourteen foot long earthworm a day.

Lights Out!

It’s time for another episode of Lights Out, your virtual campfire. In this episode, we revisit tranquil Sugar Tree Grove Cemetery.

Lights Out #59: Return to Sugar Tree Grove. Sugar Tree Grove Cemetery, nestled in the farmland outside Monmouth, Illinois, is the final resting place of two players in a drama that took place over 180 years ago. William Martin was killed by a Native American brave, who was in turn killed by whites in retribution for Martin’s death. The two men are buried directly across from each other, in opposite corners of the cemetery. What happens when a ghost hunting team comes to the cemetery to help the two work towards reconciliation? https://youtu.be/bN2JV11sAZM

I’m Famous! (Sort of)

While on vacation, I decided to do some long-overdue promotion for Spirits of Christmas. I called local libraries that already own my books, and pitched the new book for their collection. (I’m not very good at talking on the phone, so this was a Big Deal for me.) I have to have a script, which is this: I introduce myself as a fellow librarian, to get some common ground established, then I ask to chat with whoever orders their books. It’s a nice easy way to slide into the conversation.

When I called Washington Library, the conversation went like this:

Desk Assistant Who Answered the Phone: Good afternoon, Washington Library, can I help you?

Me: Hello, this is Sylvia; I work at Fondulac Library. I’d like to speak with whoever orders your books.

DAWATP: Oh, is this Sylvia SHULTS?

Me: …. Yes! Yes it is.

DAWATP: Well, when you say “Sylvia”, and then you say “new book”, I just figured it was you!

That just made my day.

Today I Learned …

When Titanic sank in 1912, the most valuable and highly insured cargo in her hold was forty crates of feathers. The demand for feathers to decorate women’s hats was so great that in 1900, an ounce of snowy egret plumes sold for $32. (An ounce of gold, for comparison, was a paltry $20.)

Joys of Summer, Part 8

I took my dog to the dog park, and on the way home, she wanted to stop for ice cream.

So we did.

Girl does love her some ice cream.

Mics Uncut Show

Ghosts of the Illinois River, like every good revenant, keeps coming back for more!

In addition to being turned into an ebook (a steal at $2.99!) , it’s also popping up in other places. I recently filmed an episode of Mics Uncut with Ahavah Maure. We took a nighttime stroll along the river bank, and I had loads of fun scaring my host with creepy tales of the spirits that linger in the towns along the river. You can find the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5QqeVxV-OA . Enjoy!

And I am so excited to be part of the Mics Uncut Red Carpet premiere on July 12 at 6 pm at Landmark Theatre in Peoria. You won’t want to miss this — you’ll get to see me in a slinky dress. 😉 I’ll be chatting about the life of a paranormal investigator. Join us!

More Summer Fun

My library has a small art gallery (okay, an expanse of wall where we hang cool stuff), and as this year’s Summer Reading program theme is “Reading Takes You Everywhere”, we’ve collected vacation pictures from patrons and staff, and put them on display. And mine was one of the pictures chosen!

It’s the hand (my hand) holding the pebble up to the Atlantic horizon. I took that picture last June at White Horse Beach in Massachusetts. It took me three tries, if I remember right, lining up the line on the pebble with the horizon, and hoping desperately that I wouldn’t drop my phone in the water. But it worked! I’m not the world’s best photographer, but I’m pretty darn proud of that picture.

(And the best part about having this picture chosen for the display? I get to keep the framed photo when the display comes down. Cool!)

Today I Learned …

The word “bald”, as in “bald eagle”, has nothing to do with hair or lack of it. The name of the bald eagle was derived from the word “piebald”, because of the difference in color between the white feathers on their heads and tails and the darker feathers on their bodies.

Bonus fact (because it’s a holiday): Most bald eagles snore.

Happy Fourth of July, everybody!

This Is My Life. Seriously.

So I had just gotten the dog out of the car and was standing there waiting for her to pee, when I looked down at the patch of clover at my feet.

I’m the luckiest person ever.

Do you see the FOUR four-leaf clovers in the picture?

My life rocks.

Give It A Second…

Hope you’re all having fun this summer!

Lights Out: Dole Mansion

Hey there! It’s time for another episode of Lights Out, your virtual campfire. Grab the s’mores!

Historic homes can be homes to spirits as well as paying visitors. Dole Mansion, in Crystal Lake, Illinois, is a gracious showplace that also boasts a few ghosts lurking in the odd corner. Join our guide, Joe Diamond, for a flashlight tour of this beautiful home. https://youtu.be/iGssu1IrsGE

Amazing Act of Kindness

I saw something wonderful on the way to work, and I just had to share it.

I was on Route 29 headed north, between Pekin and East Peoria. There’s a turnoff halfway down Auto Row outside of town, with a left turn lane to head to Marquette Heights. Traffic was stopped momentarily at the red light there, and when we started to move again, I realized there was a sheriff’s patrol car in front of me. The sheriff pulled out (the wrong way) into the oncoming left turn lane, and turned his lights on. I figured, okay, he got a call from Pekin and was headed back that way and had to turn around.

But he didn’t turn around. Instead, he pulled out of the left turn lane and parked across the two south-bound lanes. The oncoming cars slowed, then stopped. I knew that whatever he was up to, it was nothing to do with me, so I drove on.

Then I happened to look down, to my left.

There, headed across the road, was a mama duck, herding half a dozen fuzzy little ducklings. THAT’S why the sheriff had pulled out to stop traffic: to help the helpless get across the road safely.

I couldn’t get a picture, because I was driving (duh). But I sent up a quick prayer to St. Francis, and silently said “thank you” to the sheriff.

Today I Learned …

A nurse in a hospital in 1977 was reading Agatha Christie’s murder mystery A Pale Horse when she realized that the hospital’s mystery patient had the same symptoms of thallium poisoning as did a victim in the book. The perceptive nurse, and Agatha Christie, saved the young girl’s life. (Source: They Did What!?: The Funny, Weird, Wonderful, Outrageous, & Stupid Things Famous People Have Done, by Bob Fenster)

Today I Learned …

The toe pads on some dogs’ feet smell like corn chips. Researchers call this scent “Frito feet”.