A Beachin' Birthday

Me celebrating my birthday on Pensacola Beach.

I'm not much into birthdays. In fact, I don't care for birthdays at all. However, since birthdays come and go, there's not much I can do about having another one.

My grandson asked me not too long ago, "Nana, are you old or are you really old?" Hmm! Not much of a choice. I'm not old enough for Social Security so I said, "Just old." I suppose there are worse things than getting older. Just sayin' ...





Looking south toward the squall line.

Well, today seemed like a good beach day. Cloudy, with only bits of blue sky showing through and a temp in the low 80s. A tropical breeze was blowing in off the Gulf.

My husband and I spent only about an hour at the beach. The surf was a bit too rough for me. I prefer no surf, just flat emerald waters, so clear I can see the white sand and the tiny crabs and little fish. Today the water was dark green and churned up too much to see anything below the surface.




Even darker skies to the west.

I snapped a bunch of photos. To the south was a squall line of dark clouds and rain. To the west the clouds were even darker. To the east the sun was shining through the clouds and the surf was adorned with diamond sparkles. To the north the sky was cerulean blue with puffy white clouds.








The sun was shining through the clouds to the east.

We've been having a lot of stormy beach days lately. I love the tropical storm clouds and the fact that the beach is almost empty those days.

On non-stormy days Pensacola Beach is packed with summer tourists and the sugar-white sand is hot, hot, HOT. That's when the Gulf waters are turquoise and emerald green and feel like bath water.

Cerulean blue skies with puffy white clouds to the north.

The wind was picking up today and an extra strong gust sent our striped umbrella tumbling end over end down the beach. My husband had to sprint after the umbrella. That's when we decided it was time to pack up and head home. The squall line was coming in fast and it would be raining on the beach before too long.








Hemingway and a Corona with Lime.

Back at the house it seemed like the perfect time to sip a Corona with lime and read a little Hemingway. A Happy Beachin' Birthday to me!

Beachin' in Florida - Where are you, Travis McGee?

Coffee and John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee Novels.

Years before moving to Florida I read every one of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee Novels, twenty-one of them in all. I fell in love with Florida, sight-unseen, and knew that I had to live there. A couple years later I stepped off a plane in Daytona Beach, Florida and instantly knew I'd found my tropical paradise.

Now here I am, thirty-one years later, and still in love with Florida. Only now I live on the Florida Panhandle on the beautiful Gulf Coast. It's one of those mornings where I'm remembering the Florida from all those years ago compared to the Florida I see today.

There are definitely lots of changes. The cities and towns have all expanded until they run into each other. So much of the Florida I remember from years past is now paved over.  Millions more people have taken up residence here. Tourists flock here from around the country and around the world. Florida is still beautiful, but gone are the sleepy, slower-paced, sultry days of yore.

I'm sitting on my trellis-covered patio sipping coffee from a Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, Florida coffee mug and reading John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee Novel, A Deadly Shade of Gold. Now I ask, where are you, Travis McGee?

In the 1960s fictional Travis McGee lived on his houseboat, the Busted Flush, docked at slip F-18 at Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale. Travis McGee was a one-man, super-hero, crime-fighter, living a laid back life in paradise. He took down drug runners, thieves and thugs. On top of that, he was an environmentalist fighting to save the Everglades, the Keys and the rest of south Florida from corrupt developers.

After John D. MacDonald passed away, Travis McGee slowly disappeared. These days it's difficult to find anyone who has even heard of John D. MacDonald or Travis McGee, let alone read the books. How can that be? My local library doesn't have a single one of the books. They're difficult to find in a bookstore and only now and then does one appear in a used bookstore or garage sale.

I used to own all the Travis McGee Novels, but when I moved from southern California to Florida, those books mistakenly got left behind. Not too long ago I was able to buy three of the books at a used book sale at my local library. Someone donated a few of the novels to the library. I bought three and another lady bought three. I scanned every single book at the sale and couldn't find any others.

So I'm now the proud owner of A Deadly Shade of Gold, Pale Gray for Guilt and The Empty Copper Sea. I'll keep looking at used book sales and will eventually collect all the books once again. This morning I started rereading A Deadly Shade of Gold. Ahh, Travis McGee, I've missed you so.

The world was a simpler place back in Travis McGee's time. Maybe the bad guys were easier to spot? And maybe one guy could make a difference? But then Travis McGee was just a fictional character and the real world was more complicated than that.

Well, I've missed Travis McGee and now I've found him again. I intend to savor every minute as I reread these books. Travis McGee does exist in my mind. He's still sitting on the Busted Flush sipping a cold one and enjoying another spectacular Florida sunset. I'm sitting there with Travis McGee and we're talking about going fishing tomorrow. Or maybe we'll be fighting some bad guys? You just never know.

For those interested in reading the Travis McGee Novels, they can be ordered online from your favorite online bookstore and are also now available as eBooks. Here's the series, in order, but don't hesitate to pick up any of the books and read them in or out of order. I guarantee you too will fall in love with Florida and Travis McGee.

The Travis McGee Novels by John D. MacDonald:

The Deep Blue Good-by
Nightmare in Pink
A Purple Place for Dying
The Quick Red Fox
A Deadly Shade of Gold
Bright Orange for the Shroud
Darker than Amber
One Fearful Yellow Eye
Pale Gray for Guilt
The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper
Dress Her in Indigo
The Long Lavender Look
A Tan and Sandy Silence
The Scarlet Ruse
The Turquoise Lament
The Dreadful Lemon Sky
The Empty Copper Sea
The Green Ripper
Free Fall in Crimson
Cinnamon Skin
The Lonely Silver Rain

Hopelessly Addicted to Books

'Far in the Wilds' by Deanna Raybourn

I have to admit that I'm hopelessly addicted to books. This is an addiction that started when I was a small child and hasn't let up all these many years later. Nope, I'm not going to confess to the actual number of years. Just trust me to say that it's been a long, long time.

I have bookshelves full of books, boxes of books under my bed, stacks of books in my closet, books on end tables and dressers and any number of places.

'A Spear of Summer Grass' by Deanna Raybourn

On my Kindle Fire and Kindle Keyboard I have more books than I can count. Well, actually, I can count that high, but suffice to say that it's a heck of a lot of books. I probably have more books than I can read in several lifetimes. So I think it's fair to say this is a true addiction.

Is this a bad thing? Are you kidding? Absolutely not. Being addicted to (in love with) books is a very good thing. I'm never bored, because there's always a book (or two or three or more) at my fingertips.







'HIGH TIDE' by Maureen A. Miller

How did this happen? Well, to begin with, my mom started reading O'Henry and Terhune stories to me when I was still too young to start school. Once I could read on my own I practically lived at the library. Every birthday and Christmas all I ever wanted was books. Whenever I had a little bit of money I bought more books. Even today I'd rather shop for books instead of clothes, shoes or anything else I can name.

I read every chance I can get: when I first wake up in the morning, before I go to sleep at night, and whatever stolen moments I can find throughout the day. Books are what keep me sane, calm, hopeful, optimistic, I could go on and on.

'Stella in Stilettos' by Jan Romes

In honor of this addiction to books, I thought it fitting to list some of my latest reads. After all, I'm sure many of you also suffer from this same addiction and are probably looking for some more great books that you just must have.

I'm almost always reading more than one book. Usually I have a hardback or paperback book that I'm reading, in addition to one or more eBooks on my two Kindles. It pretty much just depends on my mood of the moment as to which book I want to read at any given time. I'm also a night owl, so I do a lot of reading well after the midnight hour. I'd much rather lose sleep and read.






'The Orchid House' by Lucinda Riley

Books I'm currently reading:

A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn
The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley
That Summer in Cornwall by Ciji Ware
Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose










'BEYOND' by Maureen A. Miller

Books I Read and Loved in May:

The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
Long Trail Home (Texas Trails #3) by Vickie McDonough
BEYOND (BEYOND #1) by Maureen A. Miller
BEYOND: Two Suns (BEYOND #2) by Maureen A. Miller
Secrets of Paris by Luanne Rice
Baby, Don't Go (Southern Roads #3) by Stephanie Bond
Baby, Drive South (Southern Roads #1) by Stephanie Bond
Stella in Stilettos by Jan Romes

'Baby, Hold On' by Stephanie Bond

Books I Read and Loved in June:

Baby, Hold On (Southern Roads #3.5) by Stephanie Bond
Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
Endless Night by Maureen A. Miller
The Diamond Smugglers by Ian Fleming









'CATALINA KISS' by Tracy Ewens

Books I Read and Loved in July (to date):

Catalina Kiss by Tracy Ewens
Baby, Come Home (Southern Roads #2) by Stephanie Bond
High Tide by Maureen A. Miller
Far in the Wilds by Deanna Raybourn

If you'd like, you can check out my reviews for all the books listed above via my Goodreads page:

Teri Heyer's Goodreads Page

'ENDLESS NIGHT' by Maureen A. Miller

Note: The photos in this post are books on my Kindle Fire. For the record, I love my Kindle Fire (great for reading inside and in the dark or low-light conditions due to back lighting) and my Kindle Keyboard (which I've had for years and read outside and at the beach due to the non-glare screen). I still love hardback and paperback books too. I also frequent my local library and used bookstore.

Are you hopelessly addicted to books too?

Have a Beachin' 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July from a stormy Pensacola Beach.

Normally a 4th of July on Pensacola Beach is hot, hot, HOT. However, it seems this year is going to be a bit different with dark cloudy skies and intermittent rains. Instead of a temp in the 90s, this 4th of July is supposed to linger in the high-70s to low-80s.

Well, considering we've had weeks of extremely hot and humid weather here, this is a welcome reprieve. On the other hand, holiday beach goers might have preferred our usual hot beachy weather.

Today was stormy on Pensacola Beach (facing east).

I couldn't resist taking an assortment of beach pics today. The dark storm clouds were gorgeous. While I was snapping pics the rain started to fall. No lightning or thunder to accompany the rain, so the beach goers didn't seem to mind. The rain was light, so I didn't mind it either.

A few beach goers enjoying the rough surf.

The surf was pretty choppy, which meant a Yellow Flag Warning (rough surf and rip tides). A few hardy beach goers were playing in the surf, though most seemed to prefer sitting on the sand and just gazing at the water.







Darker storm clouds facing west on Pensacola Beach.

No, I didn't venture into the water today. I prefer those ultra-calm days with little or no waves. Way, way, way-back-when I would have enjoyed body surfing, but now I just walk along the edge of the surf on rough days.



Looking north on Pensacola Beach from the edge of the surf.

For those heading to Pensacola Beach for the long holiday weekend, well, you'll still have a great time if you don't mind a little rain. The fireworks on the sound side of Pensacola Beach should be great. Expect a crowded beach on the 4th and some pretty heavy traffic.

My favorite part of Pensacola Beach (the far west end).

As for me, I preferred today's less crowded beach. Most beach goers were sticking pretty close to the beach in front of the pavilion and in sight of the pier.

A lone bird on the far west end of Pensacola Beach.

Me? I prefer the far west end of Pensacola Beach where there was hardly a person in sight. It was pretty much just me and a few birds. Ahhh, just the way I like the beach.

I hope y'all have a wonderful, fun-filled, Happy 4th of July!

Sitting, reading, dreaming and gazing out at the world ...

Shoreline Park, a perfect place to gaze at the world.

Some days all I want to do is find the perfect place to sit, read, dream and gaze out at the world.

Lucky for me that I happen to live on the Florida Panhandle and close to the beautiful beaches of the the Gulf of Mexico. This is the land of water, water, everywhere. So almost anywhere that I can sit and look at the water is the perfect place to read, dream and gaze at the world.

Since I'm also a writer, it should be the perfect place to sit and write too. But some days it's best to leave the writing to those voices in my head. Some days it's best to just sit and maybe think about writing.

Shoreline Park is one of those places where I can sit in the shade of a gazebo and gaze out at the world. Hmm! Is that where the word "gazebo" came from? Just wondering.

Well, last night was a rip-roaring storm that brought an abundance of lightning, thunder and rain. The temp yesterday reached the mid-90s, but the much needed rain dropped it back down to the low 80s. Ahhh, a temporary reprieve from those hot, hot, HOT days of summer.

The air today is humid, thick, heavy, almost dripping. The rain could start again any minute. But then the sun breaks through the clouds for a moment or two. Then it's cloudy once again.

This is one of those days where I don't feel like doing much of anything.

Talking about the "Supermoon" and Books

A photo I took of the "Supermoon" last night, 6/22/2013.

Last night was the first I heard about the "Supermoon." It's been all over the news and the net for days, but it only just sank in when my husband pointed out to me last night that I needed to look at the moon.

Now this is uncharacteristic of me. I've always been fascinated with the moon ever since my dad bought my brother a telescope and we gazed at the moon, up-close, and saw all those mysterious shadows and craters. Simply awesome!

As the "Supermoon" rose over the treetops last night I snapped several photos. The best of the bunch is the one in this post. My camera is a Sony Cybershot DSC-HX20V. It's a great little camera (purse size and fits in the palm of my hand), but it isn't particularly designed to take moon photos. So I was pleased to get such a clear photo of the "Supermoon."

Now what's so great about this month's full moon? The moon is closer to the earth for this cycle, so the moon appears 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual. Well, after gazing at the moon last night I have to agree that it looked bigger and brighter and awesome.

Some links to check out:

Supermoon Sunday - NASA.com

Don't fear the Supermoon - Space.com

VIDEO: "It's a 'Supermoon'! - The Weather Channel

My dogs went out into the darkened front yard with me last night while I took photos of the moon. They gave me that funny look of "Why are you taking photos at night?" They didn't even bother to look at the moon. 

Now my dog, Dude, who knows how to howl, didn't even bother to howl at last night's "Supermoon." However, the actual full moon is tonight, so maybe he'll give it at least a little howl as the moon rises over the treetops?

Now all this talk about full moons brings to mind werewolves. Yeah, I have a fascination with werewolves too. In the wee hours last night, just before it started to rain, my dogs and I went out front again to look at the "Supermoon" one more time. The clouds were drifting around the moon, creating an eerie effect. I couldn't help but check over my shoulder for possible werewolves. Any rustle in the bushes caught my immediate attention. But my dogs, Dude and Shani, weren't the least bit alarmed. So I guess we didn't have any werewolves lurking around our house last night? Oh, but the full moon is actually tonight. Oh, my!

My very fav werewolf movie is the 1981 classic, "An American Werewolf in London." I've watched that movie so many times. Absolutely love it!

An American Werewolf in London - Blu-ray Edition

'Moon Over Madness' on my Kindle Fire.

Now it seems to me this is the perfect time to talk about MOON books and particularly those that pertain to werewolves. So in case y'all didn't know, I wrote a paranormal, romantic comedy about, yep, you guessed it, the moon and werewolves. I included witches, vampires, ghosts, dragons and a dog named Jake too.

My mom insists this is her favorite one of my books and thinks it should be made into a movie with actress Shirley MacLaine as one of the witches. What can I say? Thanks, Mom. I loved writing MOON OVER MADNESS and hope y'all will love reading it too.

MOON OVER MADNESS - Amazon/Kindle


MOON OVER MADNESS - Barnes&Noble/Nook


MOON OVER MADNESS - iTunes/iPad



Connie Flynn's 'Shadow on the Moon' on my Kindle.

I thought this would be the perfect time to list some of the MOON fiction reads on my Kindle. Note, some of these reads include werewolves too.

MOON Reads on my Kindle (in no particular order):

Shadow on the Moon (Werewolf Series #1) by Connie Flynn
Dark Moon by Rebecca York
Indian Moon by Carolyn McCray
Mocha, Moonlight and Murder by MaryAnn Kempher
Song of the Orange Moons by Lori Ann Stephens

Marsha Canham's 'Pale Moon Rider' on my Kindle.

Pale Moon Rider by Marsha Canham
Across a Moonlit Sea by Marsha Canham
Moonlight on the Nantahala by Michael Rivers
Irish Moon by Amber Scott
The Light of the Lovers Moon by Marcia Lynn McClure
Sailing Down the Moonbeam by Mary Gottschalk
Three Moons Over Sedona by Sherry Hartzler
Moonlight and Oranges by Elise Stephens

Anne Stuart's 'Moonrise' on my Kindle

Moonrise by Anne Stuart
Under the Desert Moon by Mary Tate Engels
Orchids in Moonlight by Patricia Hagan
Songbird Under a German Moon by Tricia Goyer
Moon in Leo by Kathleen Herbert
Sarah of the Moon by Randy Mixter
Fever Moon by Carolyn Haines
Rustler's Moon by Jim Jones
The Valley of the Moon by Jack London


I hope y'all find some great reads in the list above. Thanks again for stopping by. And don't forget to take a look at the "Supermoon" tonight. Oh, and don't forget to watch out for werewolves too.