Tag Archives: Granny Skewers A Scoundrel

Information Overload

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breatheYesterday morning I woke up agitated, stressed and riddled with anxiety. I had just opened my eyes and hadn’t thrown back the covers yet, but I felt the anxiety overtaking my body.

My mind raced with thoughts of the election and the hateful things that were being spewed, the list of online things I had to do to promote my books, the emails I had to answer, the blog posts that needed to be written, a two-page to-do list and the thoughts of my grandson’s anxiety because of the hoopla of the clowns in the news recently. I realized I didn’t want to get out of bed and face my day.

Why was my mind playing all these things out before I even got out of bed? I was tired. I just wanted to cover my head and sleep and not talk to anyone.

The day before I had two friends tell me they were afraid to put a sign for their choice of Hilary for President in their yard because of repercussions from the opposite party, and they were worried about violence being directed at them. I can’t say I blame them. But it shouldn’t be that way. Those thoughts added to my anxiety. My stomach was churning and so I did what I felt I needed to do to recover—I pulled the blankets over my head and stayed in bed.

I could not face my social media. I could not peek at it. I could not deal with what was happening in the world. After a couple of hours of settling under the covers and snoozing in and out, I picked up a book and spent my day reading. I didn’t even answer my phone. Finally around 4:00 pm I knew I couldn’t ignore the world any longer because I had a book club I needed to attend. But I felt better.  I felt I could once again face the world.

I love Social Media but I don’t love what has been happening on my social media and I too have gotten pulled into the debate over the election. It is hard for one that writes for a living to keep her mouth shut and not voice her opinion, but I knew I didn’t want to be in this circus anymore.

I put too much time into debating the pros and cons of who should be President. It made me come away feeling vilified. I have spent too much time reading about the violence taking place in our society, especially the clown scare. The reason that concerns me is that my young grandson is scared. He is now scared of clowns and I and his parents spent the weekend reassuring him. I used to have a clown collection and I loved clowns and now that too has been spoiled for our children. My grandson will never think of clowns as funny creatures anymore. He didn’t hear this from his parents or the news but on the back of the school bus from 5th and 6th graders who heard it on the news.  He doesn’t feel safe anymore.

After my anxiety calmed I wondered what had caused my first thought of the day to be of the vile things that are happening today.  I came to the conclusion that I had been filling my life with treacherous news and it needed to stop. I can’t control the elections or what people believe no more than they can control how I feel. Our experiences are what makes us who we are and what we believe.

I can control what I put out into the world. I don’t need to debate nastiness but I can send out positive vibes. I can fill my life with positive things so I can handle the negative sources and challenges. I can only change what I do. I think that is all each of us can do. We are the only ones that can control what we contribute to others. So I want to fill the lives of my grandchildren and my friends with positive stories and positive vibes. I want to wake up with joy in my heart and not anxiety over the world.

I am going to try and do better. I am the only one that can choose that for me. Mohatma Ghandi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

What will you choose?

Granny’s Back With A New Mystery!

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Granny_Pins_A_Pilferer_jpeg (2)After many weeks of sweat and anxiety and….late nights I can finally announce the release of Granny Pins A Pilferer. This is the fifth book in the Fuchsia, Minnesota Series. Over the next week or so I will introduce you to the characters in Granny Pins A Pilferer.  But for now, here is  the back cover description:

Granny is at it again! When Granny accompanies her friend Mavis to the Next To The Last Resting Place nursing home to visit Mavis’ sister, Beulah, both women are shocked to find the new resident dead. Granny, being the amateur detective she is, suspects foul play, and soon she and her entire family concoct a plan to investigate possible shady doings at the nursing home. Granny will enter the home incognito and attempt to determine how Beulah met her suspicious demise. All this happens while Granny’s new husband Silas is entangled in his own dangerous mess. Someone has just blown up his house and Silas (a former detective) is out to discover the culprit, even as he worries about Granny’s safety in the home. As more nursing home residents fall victim to a strange and sudden “memory loss virus,” Granny engages the aid of her friends to get to the bottom of what turns out to be a very complex and complicated plot.
And this is what the early readers had to say about my book:

“Granny in the wrinkle farm? Unthinkable! Going undercover to catch a killer? Now, there’s the Granny we know and love. Hold onto your cane because this adventure is full of twists and turns before it rolls to a very satisfying conclusion. Can’t wait to see what Granny will do next!”

Linda Crowder

The Jake and Emma Mysteries

“A fun romp through the looking glass to fantastic Fuchsia, MN, where Granny proves, once again, there’s no rest for the wrinkled.”

J. B. Hawker

Award winning author of the Bunny Elder and First Ladies Club series–including the recently released A Corpse In The Chapel“

“A madcap roller coaster ride full of twists and turns and laugh-out-loud fun. All the characters you’ve come to love return plus a few new friends and critters. It’s the best Granny yet!”

Timya Owen

President, Twin Cities Sisters In Crime

This verbally witty comedic mystery is another hit for Julie Seedorf.

Diane Weiner, author of the Susan Wiles Schoolhouse Mysteries

This was a hard book for me to write. Granny has a reputation and I wanted to stay true to her character yet address a very serious subject also, the subject of Alzheimer’s. I dedicated this book to some of my family. There has been a little controversy involving Granny’s forgetfulness in my earlier books with the criticism that if I ever had anyone with Alzheimer’s then I would not make light of forgetfulness. But I do that because unless we can find the humor in small things we would cry with grief. So I dedicated this book to my mother-in-law, Dorothy Seedorf, sister-in-law Audrey Giese and brother-in-law Evan Seedorf. We loved them all very much. This book in a small way addresses the disease. And for those of you coping with a loved ones illness, it is not easy. Look for the small moments of joy.

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Mymother-in-law, Dorothy and Sister-in-law, Audrey

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My brother-in-law, Evan and our nephew Troy .

Fuchsia and Granny (Hermiony Vidalia Criony Fiddlestadt Trivia

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In honor of Granny Pins A Pilferer being released soon I am having a Granny and Fuchsia Minnesota Trivia contest on my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/julie.seedorf.author. Come on over and join in.

 
Wednesday Trivia is about Granny Skewers A Scoundrel. I will post all three questions right here. You have until tomorrow morning to answer correctly when another winner or two will be chosen depending on how many respond. Spread the word. The more entries, the more winners.
 
What was the name of the Spa Granny’s family sent her to for a day of pampering?
 
What color shirt did Franklin have on when LIttle White Poodle jumped in his lap?
 
What were the names of Franklin’s pets that became Granny’s Tank and Furball?
 
Who is Esmeralda?
 
Good luck.