It's 9AM

Do you review, she asked

Every month.

One is done and another is starting and I always try to take a few hours to review, refresh, rewire and redo

Because things might not be working the way I want

Or something might have clicked and there should be more of that

I do it more often than monthly, but I’m trying to get better about the process

About my expectation of what should and shouldn’t be happening

I try to figure out the why

Why this clicked

Why this did not

How much of it is me and in my control

How much ain’t

I try to fix what’s in my control

and ignore the rest

Which is hard

Because when your hands are on the wheel, sometimes you want to pedal to the metal it and get going

Even if the situation and surroundings call for coasting

I complain about other drivers

Though not as much as I once did

Because I’m trying to practice some of the patience I preach

Even if it’s in short supply at eighty miles an hour

But I’m a good driver

I’ve done defensive driving courses

And how to drive in this situation courses

I’ve drifted on dirt tracks

and mucked through mud

I’ve driven cross country more times than most

and halfway across more times than many will in their life

I’ve seen some miles

Though unlike the man in black

I have not been everywhere, man

Those miles have taught me how to coast, how to read what’s up ahead,

how to anticipate and plan and when it’s okay to slip off a highway and slide along some country roads

Taking a short-cut that adds an hour to the trip

Just to roll down the window and let the wind wash the taint of the experience off me

Knowing what I know about driving

Should make it easy to translate to everything else

Sometimes you cruise

Sometimes you race

Sometimes there’s a jam

But it all proceeds, eventually, at pace

I try to remind me at the beginning of every month

That this journey is the process

That there is no destination, just signs of progress along the way

Books done

Audio done

And soon, video (films) done

All moving along at pace

Sometimes fast

Sometimes slow

But always learning how to be better along the way

Here’s some weekend reading for you:

DID YOU GET YOUR:

SINGLEWIDE – a southern noir thriller FREE (Jo shows up in IN THE DARK, and will be in a few futures)

PLUS

RITES OF PASSAGE – a JAKE BURBANK mystery (prequel to A Pint of Problems) FREE

AND

ILL INTENT – FREE So as the story goes, I put up the wrong version of RED TIDE RETIRED for free on Bookfunnel. FREE

I know, how on the third rock from the sun can the miracle that was me make a mistake?!? Well, what had happened was, I decided to move fast and break shit. Turns out, moving fast means making errors, some times. But don’t worry, someone brought it to my attention (thank you!) and so You can add this version of Red Tide Retired (the double checked real one) to your TBR pile AND get the next book in the series for FREE; ILL INTENT

That’s a lot of birthday giving.

PLUS, if you are so inclined, you can click a video AT THE TOP or BELOW and listen to a FREE AUDIOBOOK.

If you want to share some joy with me and BUY THAT MAN A BEER or PIECE OF PIE for his birthday, well, here you go:

VENMO - @ChristopherLowry

PAYPAL – iwritebooks17@gmail.com (shows Leslie, that’s fine)

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CASHAPP

MAY FREE BOOK FESTIVAL:

Amateur Sleuth - First In Series or Stand Alone group promo

Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Freebies ~ May Edition group promo

Multi-genre madness group promo

Now watch this: