How Many Computers Do You Have?

I'm trying to remember how many computers we have in our house.

For laptops I come up with one Compaq, 2 IBMs, 2 Dells. Of these, I'm actually using one Dell and have convinced the DH to use my latest hand-me-down Dell. It's a little heavier and slower than my laptop Dell of choice, but suits him well at home, especially for listening to streaming music from WJJQ FM, the Tomahawk music station we listen to on vacation. The Compaq and 2 IBMs run off very old programs and have little memory. In other words, they're obsolete.

For desktops, there's my old Pentium One upstairs which the DH had wanted to use for playing the game programs, which he never does. There's also a Windows 98 computer the DH insists on keeping, mainly for his Outlook Express messages, but I'm slowly weaning him off of it. For one thing, it's tediously slow.

Then there's my old Dell XP desktop, which I replaced about six months ago with my super high speed Dell XP Vostro with the 19" monitor, which I absolutely love. I intended to give the old Dell to the DH, once I got all his Outlook Express messages loaded onto it, but he seems drawn to my Vostro with the high speed. Maybe it's the convenient location, right in the dining room, which is a misnomer for the room, since we only eat breakfast there.

That's okay, since we're TV tray people and don't usually entertain guests, except for Christmas.

As usual, I'm digressing. Anyway, the question is How Many Computers Do You Have? Do you keep your old computers? Do you use them occasionally? Are we the only computer savers? Please share.

Eating Habits

Just wondered what everyone does about eating. I know I should eat healthier, and I try some, but could do better. Here's a sampling of my daily meals:

On weekdays, I eat cold breakfast cereal, usually Rice Chex, with white toast and butter spread.

For lunch, I usually have a large, warm meal at the bank cafeteria not far from the office - something with pasta and chicken, if that's available, along with a roll with real butter and skim milk.

For dinner, I eat piecemeal with whatever is around the house that I can fix in our microwave. That often means hamburger or chicken thighs, along with either a microwaved baked potato or microwaved french fries, with an English muffin and butter spread. Then it's on to desert, which I only indulge in at dinner. It's usually a small bag of those tiny Entenmann muffins, like blueberry or banana chocolate chip, followed sometimes by taco chips. Cafeine Free Pepsi Free at dinner is a must.

Friday nights are often carryout nights for gyros or Italian beef and fries, or maybe pizza. Once in a while, we splurge for Chinese takeout on nights other than Fridays, but not too often.

Once in a blue moon I cook something special over the weekend, like a roast or an entire chicken. Otherwise, it's my usual staples, pasta with tomato sauce, hamburger and mushrooms, or chicken thighs.

That's a sample of what I usually eat, barring special occasions when we go out to dinner, which we don't do often.

I don't pay much attention to my characters' eating habits in my books, which I should. Next time around, I'll include them.

Time to eat now. What about you? What are your eating habits? What about the characters in your books? Do they have eating foibles? Please share.

When I'm really busy over the weekend I eat peanut butter on white bread to hold me down until I can eat.

Please Welcome my Guest, Shelia M. Goss

The author of the national best-seller, My Invisible Husband, is back with her fifth novel - His Invisible Wife.

To celebrate her upcoming release, she's made a stop here on the"Invisible Love" Virtual tour.

Here's What Shelia Has To Say:

The Relationship
By Guest Blogger, Shelia M. Goss

The relationship between a writer and a reader can equate to a love affair. First it’s the courting period. Before the first date, you, the writer must introduce yourself and your book title. The title should be catchy; something easy for readers to remember. Don't be shy. Tease them with a short synopsis about your book.

If you're feeling risque, now would be the time to flirt a little by allowing readers a sneak peek of the book by offering a chapter excerpt on your website.

Once you get your readers’ attention, put your best foot forward and make sure on one of your dates you show an eye-appealing book cover for your new book. If you don't have a book cover yet; don't fret; readers are not going to turn you down just because you don't have the cover. In fact, with a catchy title and unique premise, readers will be salivating at the mouth to see you unveil your cover.

While building up a solid relationship with readers, make sure you keep communication open. Communicate your release dates and where your books will be sold.

Readers, just like lovers, like gifts. Don't hesitate to offer prizes for purchasing your book. Don't forget about your faithful mailing list subscribers either. I know it may be hard when you have so many potential lovers, but you must treat them all as if they are special.

Also remember just like you, readers love others; so there’s no need to hate. There’s enough love to go around. Cross-promote with other writers and reach more book lovers.

When the “release” date finally arrives, don't be shy.

After courting the readers, they'll decide if they will take you up on an exclusive relationship for X amount of hours by purchasing and reading your book. When readers picks up your book, they are expecting to be taken on a journey. Let the journey be enticing and enthralling so that your book lovers won't hesitate to tell friends about the great love they've found in your book. In the book love fest, the more the merrier and the pleasure you'll get from hearing about a book club selecting your book is immeasurable.

If you build a solid relationship with your readers, they will look forward to your next release. Continue to learn ways to improve your techniques and hopefully with each book release, you will gain more lovers.

I hope readers fall in love with my two new characters Jake and Brianna.


More about Jake & Brianna from His Invisible Wife:

How far would you go for a million dollars?

Texas businessman Jacob "Jake" Banks is about to lose his business and everything else he's worked for until his uncle dies and leaves him as the executor of his estate--only catch is, he has to marry and marry a specific woman in order to cash in on the inheritance. Big problem, since Jake has vowed to be a bachelor for life.

Brianna Mayfield is at her last rope. Her father lost his business due to Jake's uncle turning down a loan. She's convinced this caused her father to fall into a deep depression. She blames the Banks and vows to pay them back one day. When she sees an ad in the paper for a job at her self-proclaimed enemy's company, she feels her luck is turning around. She applies and is later approached by Jake with a proposition she can't turn down.

His Invisible Wife can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com. It will be in stores in July.

Shelia M. Goss is the Essence Magazine Best-Selling author of My Invisible Husband, Roses are thorns, Paige’s Web, Double Platinum and the new teen series, The Lip Gloss Chronicles. His Invisible Wife is her fifth women's fiction novel.

For more information, visit Shelia's website www.sheliagoss.com.

Please leave a comment to welcome Shelia here at Double M.

Good Samaritans

Most everyone has done something absentminded at one time or another. Last Sunday, I left church and started walking across the street with my husband, when a man yelled from behind us, asking, "Is this yours?"

I had been so busy zipping up my coat, getting my scarf, hat and gloves on, I forgot my purse! Fortunately, I got it back before any damage was done. I could have gone all day not realizing it was missing until I needed something in it. Someone could have walked out of church with it and enjoyed my Iphone, credit cards, money, keys and other items inside, but thanks to the man who had been sitting in back of me in church, that didn't happen, thank goodness.

About a week before, my husband decided to use cash instead of his charge card at the grocery store. He put his card down and forgot to pick it up. He didn't realize it until hours later at home. He called the store. Fortunately someone had noticed it and turned it in to the service manager, so he was able to retrieve it. He called the credit card company just in case, but no charges had been made in the interim.

Thanks to goodhearted people, we were extremely lucky. What about you? Do you have any incident where a Good Samaritan came to your rescue? Or, maybe you've included one in a book you've written or seen one in another book. Please share.