Hello Reading Fans…

Mr Scruffy and Pam here to say we are trying to get back into the swing of writing, posting, and being caught up with life.

“Taking two weeks off for vacay proved to put Pam further behind than she thought she’d be. I tried to warn her. But, Nooooo. She didn’t listen to me. Her trusty Owl.”

“Mr Scruffy, I bow to you. You know me better than I know myself!”

“I do believe that KC understands that perfectly.”

“That is why she is the protagonist, and I’m the lowly wordsmith.”

“That’s why I think I should take this blog post over. Now, Pam’s reading fans take heed, Pam is busy writing Book Two – DarkShadow. She is very far behind her schedule due to a summer mixed with illness, a lot of research, gardening, and her husband retiring.

She apologized to many of you on her FB author page, but I’m not sure she realizes just how far behind she is.

What’s that you say? Why is she behind?

For one, she didn’t listen to me. For another, while working on a particularly dark section in Act One, she had some issues figuring out how dark to go.

You see, she is a scaredy-cat. Seriously! She jumps in the dark all the time. You see, there is this scene that harkened back to when her Mom was in the hospital (Read her memoir – The Letter – for insights). And, during the early part of the summer, due to some illness, she was going through the process of trying to have an MRI completed of her brain.

To add insult to injury, Pam is severely claustrophobic and couldn’t do the test. She ended up having a CT scan instead. It didn’t show everything as the neurologist would have liked, but Pam got through that test with the help of drugs.

Shhhh. I thought she was not all there without the aid of anything artificial too. As her loving husband said, “At least they found she does have a brain.” (Shades of the Wizard of Oz coming through. I don’t blame you for laughing.) She doesn’t know I’m sharing this information. Why am I sharing? Because it kinda of explains why she’s been slow writing this section of the book.

As her friend, and I hope yours, you will understand. She is about ready to get out of a dark side of the book and move into some interesting twists and turns. She is hoping she’ll be able to write with more speed.

“Mr Scruffy. Are you still talking?”

“Actually, I’m about done. I was giving your reading fans an update as several had contacted me asking where you were and what you were doing regarding Book Two – DarkShadow.

“Thank you, Mr Scruffy. It does seem like it is taking forever. I’m working on it!”

“Woot! Woot! I’m sure you are! Seriously, she really is doing just that! Stay tuned!”

The development of Book Two – DarkShadow is making progress. Click to acquire your copy of Book One – The Owl, the Sword, & the Efil Stone or sign-up for Pam’s Newsletter to get updates and consider joining the VIP SQUAD for more info on other opportunities.

Thanks for following Pam’s Blog! If you enjoy reading, please share with family and friends.

Write On!

A Quick Post — Storm’s Brewing — Oh, My! was first posted on Pam’s Blog on Thursday, September 13, 2018.

Mr. Scruffy's News, The Owl-Sword-Efil Stone

Mr Scruffy News – Love in the Air!

February 11, 2018April 28, 2019 Pam B. Newberry

Image of a book in shape of a heart by Naypong from Free Digital Photos.net — Image by Naypong from Free Digital Photos.net

Dear Reader…

Wednesday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day – a day for showing those you care about your love. I want to let you know that I love Pam. I’m one of the main characters, along with Kay “KC” Carson, in her new fantasy epic-journey series, The Chronicles of Eldershire. If you’ve not met me before, you may be surprised to learn that I am an owl. Pam has written about me and I’ve shared news here before (Mr Scruffy – The Muse or Mr Scruffy’s News – July) and she enjoys having me speak with her or sit near her writing desk. I enjoy watching her write.

The book I star in is The Owl, the Sword, & the Efil Stone and is finally being published. It won’t be long and I’ll be real in the minds of Pam’s readers. I can’t wait for you to meet me and to read the story of Eldershire.

The excitement around Hobbit’s Bend is growing as the anticipation builds for the arrival of the paperback copies (an eBook will be available on Amazon on or about February 23, too). We’ll be having a book signing the end of February. In the mean time, I am sharing what Pam told me of how the idea for the new series, The Chronicles of Eldershire came about:

“The Owl, the Sword, & the Efil Stone is Book One of The Chronicles of Eldershire and is an introduction to the land of Eldershire and its many inhabitants, like you Mr Scruffy. I’ve put information about the new book, and a concordance, Words of Eldershire, to help readers with pronunciations and meanings of terms, names, and places they will read. As the series grows, words will be added to this listing. In addition, if you’re like me, you will enjoy looking at the map of Eldershire to learn more about the setting of the series.”

Mr Scruffy here: “At some point, Pam said she plans to add more information and background of various characters.”

Mr Scruffy winking at you: “I bet, if you leave a comment and ask, you can get Pam to tell you other things about the series, too. Back to Pam’s story.”

Mr Scruffy watching Pam write — Here I am watching Pam create her map of Eldershire.

“The story of KC and Eldershire has been over forty-five years in the making. I put it away right after I graduated from high school, and then worked on it again about the time I found out I was pregnant with our daughter, Julie, which was fall of 1979. Then, around 2005 or so, I became friends with someone who became a special writing colleague. In 2009, Rosa and I attended a writing conference where I shared the early chapters of this story. It failed drastically. My writing and creativity came to a halt. Rosa encouraged me to trudge forward. After writing four books (a memoir and a thriller trilogy), I decided I’d think about writing Kay’s story once more.

One day, on my way to an audio recording of The Fire Within, I saw on the side of the road a lone bowler hat. It had a daisy hanging out of its brim. I thought how strange and considered turning around to take pictures of it, but I was running late for my studio appointment.  Driving on down the interstate, to my left I saw a tall, black witch’s hat lying in the median. It was flapping in the wind. It looked like it was waving at me. Nukpana Fraener came into my mind’s eye. The witch’s hat was in a bad location to get a picture, but I thought I might be able to get a picture of the bowler hat. I called Julie and asked her to try to get a picture; I went to my recording session.

Six hours later, I started for home. Checking with Julie, she said she couldn’t find the hat. There was no picture.  The interstate traffic was not crowded driving home, so I was able to look as I drove by where I saw the witch’s hat; I thought I would see it. It was gone. My hopes were dashed that I’d find the bowler hat. Driving closer to where I had seen the bowler hat, I was hesitant to look. There it was lying exactly where it had been earlier that morning.

I pulled over, parked, and got several pictures.”

Here is a picture of the bowler hat Pam saw that day:

“The truism, ‘If I knew then what I know now,’ came to mind as the shutter clicked. Kay’s story began to form in my mind coupled with the magic of a hat and the evil of a witch.”

The rest came to life in Pam’s first book of this series and more will be told in the remaining books to come. If you are interested in Eldershire and KC’s future, follow Pam, sign up her V. I. P. Reader newsletter, or join her Facebook Author page to learn about Pam’s writing journey and future publications.

Thank you, readers, for your support, for reading my words, and, if you enjoyed it, share this story with others.

Read on!
Mr Scruffy

Like this post — Join others who have subscribed through the RSS feed (to subscribe see sign-up in the right column) or joined the V. I. P. Reader newsletter. Do so now, you’ll be glad you did, and you won’t forget to do it later, it will be done! Thank you!

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Mr. Scruffy's News

Mr. Scruffy’s News – July

July 27, 2017April 28, 2019 Pam B. Newberry

NEWS for you…

Where has the summer time gone. It is the end of July already! Pam is working away on her new series harder than the hardest working Dobby. Well, actually, she’s only been writing Book One, but she has plotted out lots of scenes for the next two books in the series. Book One – The Owl, the Sword, and the Efil Stone is the book that she’s talked to me about, well, it seems, F O R E V E R! It is the first book in the new series The Chronicles of Eldershire. You can offer Pam some pity. But, let it be known that she is a slower reader then she is a writer; I can tell you that.

So, as for news, well. She has a book signing coming up real soon – Saturday, August 5 to be exact. If you haven’t heard about it, check out her Appearances page for details. Pam told me that she will have additional book signing opportunities later this fall, but she wants to get Book One done first. (I’m whispering here — don’t tell Pam I said this, but I want her to get it done, too. Ha!).

The cover designer of her books, Julie Newberry, is working away on designing a nifty cover. I can tell you that what I’ve seen of it I like. Pam plans to show the printed cover in her newsletter and at the Big Walker Book Signing. You might want to make plans to visit Big Walker Lookout and Country Store for awesome ice cream, visit with Pam, and hear Leigh Beamer sing. Make sure you sign up for your V. I. P. Reader newsletter, as Pam will be making more announcements about her books — special prices and special items for sale.

Pam’s calling me to finish up. We must get the newsletter out to her V. I. P. folks. Hope to see you upon Big Walker on Saturday, August 5.

Write on!
Mr. Scruffy

The Mr. Scruffy’s News – July post first appeared on Pam’s Blog on Thursday, July 27, 2017.

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Mr. Scruffy's News

Mr Scruffy’s News – May

May 3, 2017April 28, 2019 Pam B. Newberry

Mr Scruffy here. How have you been? It has been a couple of months since I last visited Pam’s Blog. She’s been fighting a horrible cold, cough, and laryngitis for three weeks now. Ugh! This past weekend, she was finally able to get back into writing her latest novel, The Owl, The Sword, & The Efil Stone — Book One of The Chronicles of Eldershire. She’s making progress; she’s at about 40,000 words. Send her happy writing vibes so she can get more words written and catch up on reaching her goal of finishing the book before the end of the month! And, now…

On with the news

1. Find ways to help you write — Are you a writer? How do you find ways to help you stay on task when you have a writing goal? Let me recommend – Pursue your writing by writing in a journal. You know all “creatives” need a jolt to get them back on track, stay on track, or just walk the track. Here are a couple of writing support groups, people, and other links you may find useful:

Visit Sara Frandina – at her website: https://sarafrandina.com or on her FB page. Either way, check out her #justwrite offering! Amazing! It will help you to do as the name says — just write!
Find things that are good for you to learn and learn about them. What do you enjoy learning? Share in the comments section. I’ve fallen in love with TED Talks. Recently, I watched a very interesting one by Lisa Genova on things you can do now to help reduce the effects of developing Alzheimer’s. It is worth your time to have a listen!
Find foods you enjoy eating, and if new, give them a try. Pam loves to cook. She explores making different kinds of bread, making unique meals, and finding quick meals when her writing life is under deadline. Cooking from scratch takes gobs of time. Finding a good meal that is quick and healthy is the name of the game. Recently, she tried Eating Well frozen micro dinners. Generally, Pam is not a fan of eating frozen meals, but will use them when time is tight. Eating Well may have made her a convert. Her favorite one is the Chicken Pesto. As she said to me, “I couldn’t make this as good if I had cooked it myself from scratch, froze it, and then reheated it! Delish!”

2. Watching Bosch! It doesn’t matter if you like murder-mystery-crime-cop stories, you will love this series. I promise. Harry Bosch is the fictional character created by Michael Connelly and brought to life by Titus Welliver in the Amazon Prime series. Seasons 1 and 2 were exceptional, but I must say, Season 3 was outstanding! Pam said that she sure would love to develop a character as Mr. Connelly has done–keeping over 21 novels alive. She said she would definitely love to have an actor, such as Mr. Welliver play the fictional character she created. Powerful!

3. Make a wish. It is a fact that any author dreaming of hitting the big time has dreams and wishes. Pam’s wish is that an author, famous or not, finds her work and decides it is good enough to contact her, and strike up a conversation. How cool would that be? Who would she like to connect with? Oh, Michael Connelly, J. K. Rowling, David Hewson, and Ursula Le Guin to name just a few.

4. News from Hobbit’s Bend: Pam spent the last three weeks fighting a horrible cold/cough/laryngitis. Here’s her latest report—

“Since I began work on the first book of my speculative trilogy The Chronicles of Eldershire, I’ve re-read several fantasy novels I loved as a child. Books by Tolkien, Lewis, and L. Frank Baum. I’ve also read or am reading Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet, Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series, and Ransom Riggs latest series Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children. Reading these books helps me see the creative juices of some great authors. My first book The Owl, The Sword, & The Efil Stone is set in the land of Eldershire. A parallel universe ruled by trees and plants. A wicked witch, Nukpana Fraener, is the antagonist. And, Kay “KC” Carson is the leading lady. I’m in the midst of the action of the novel now. I’m finding it exciting and scary at the same time. I can’t wait for my reading friends – beta readers – have a chance to give me their reaction!”

Pam went on to say she plans to have the first draft completed by the end of May. She will then be sending it out to her beta readers after it has been edited and revised. Stay tuned! Book One is getting closer!

Thanks for reading…see ya soon!

Mr. Scruffy

This post Mr. Scruffy News - May 03, 2017 first appeared on Pam's Blog.

Hey! If you like what I’m sharing, leave a comment. Share what news you can use in the comment section below. Thanks and come back soon! Woot! Woot!