Review - Ride or Die - Prime

Ride or Die, an American TV series billed as action adventure comedy, is an Amazon Prime exclusive.

This new Prime exclusive was created by Tessa Coates, writer, comedian, and one third of the sketch group Massive Dad, and has showrunner Matt Miller with his action acventure creds like the TV series Lethal Weapon and Chuck. 

Ride or Die stars well-known actors, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Ed Skrein, and Bill Nighy, along with a larger cast you'll find listed below.

PREMISE

Two friends, Octavia Spencer as Debbie and Hannah Waddingham as Judith, have to go on the run from a multitude of highly trained assassins when Judith's secret life as an assassin is exposed.

FULL CAST

Hannah Waddingham is Judith, an English woman with a secret life as an elite assassin.

Octavia Spencer, is Judith's BFF Debbie, an American wife of a member of Parliament (MP).

Ed Skrein as Billy Donovan, is a member of a crime syndicate.

Calam Lynch is Sam, Judith's handler.

Savannah Steyn is Queenie, Judith's tech and weapons specialist.

Jamie Parker is David, Debbie's husband and an MP.

Sylvia Hoeks is Ana, a fellow assassin and former friend of Judith's.

Bill Nighy is The Director, Judith's employer.

Jacky Ido is Jacques, an Interpol agent.

Cathy Tyson is Mrs. Williams, Queenie’s mother who is training her daughter to take over assassin support. Side note: Cathy Tyson is the niece of legendary actress Cicely Tyson.

Camille Chamoux is Colette, a French police officer according to Cast Notes.

MY THOUGHTS

Although this series premiered on July 15, 2026, I didn't watch it until this past weekend. I have mixed emotions about this series. So, let's start with the Pros.

Love the premise—2 women who have been best friends for many years. They think they know everything there is to know about each other, but they don't because 1 is in a dead-end marriage and the other is a paid killer.

Love the settings—from London to Monte Carlo to other European cities.

Love the acting—how can you go wrong with Waddingham, Spencer, Skrein, and Nighy? Waddingham and Skrein together are believable. So is the friendship between Waddingham and Spencer. Nighy has had a lot of experience playing amoral villains with a minute glimpse of human emotion that shows he has a human heart.

Now, the Cons.  Character actions—Too many scenes where characters simply do not behave as humans would act and react. They act and react like cardboard characters that the script says should do or say this in this scene. 

Moving the Plot Forward—Transitions between scenes are eleminated. This happens frequently in today's movie making world.

A character is in a scene doing something then boom. They're in a different location undertaking what the character must need to move the plot forward. This kind of jerks the plot along.

Scene Logic—Characters end up doing things that don't seem realistic given who the characters are as they've been established.

Humor—Billed as an action adventure comedy, this series is amusing in places, but I wouldn't call it a comedy. Action adventure comedy is a hard act to pull off. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Should you watch it or skip it? I picked it because there were no really good options. 

If you watch it for the acting chops, the action adventure with Waddingham really pulling her weight, and don't look for the comedy or the logic, you'll find it entertaining and be clicking next episode every time.

None of my books have been turned into movies. Yet. Sign up for my free NL and you'll know if that ever happens! In the meantime, you'll get exclusive content and news about book bargains and new releases. Your email will never be shared. SIGN UP TODAY. and receive your copy of I LOVE READING in your Inbox next week. 

What Defines a Hero?

What is a hero? As a romance author, I think about heroes a lot because each romance novel calls for a hero. 

In this post, I'm talking about the male hero, not the female "she-ro" who can be as heroic as any man.

Is a Hero the man in the picture to the left? He's got looks and muscles. Does that make him a hero? 

People claim rock stars, actors, singers, and other celebrities as heroes. Many adopt professional athletes as heroes as if extreme success in a manly sport plus likeable personality makes the man a hero.

MY OPINION

No. Popularity, personality, and skill in a demanding field can make a man admirable. Perhaps he is a  potential hero, but it takes more than a pretty face, good body, and charm to be a hero—in a romance novel or in real life.

REAL HEROES GIVE

A real hero gives unselfishly to help others...often, to protect those in harm's way. 

Most people don't think about the heroes in their own family, but I think you should look no farther than your own father, grandfather, brothers, etc. to find heroes. 

Does your dad work hard at a thankless job to give his children a better life? Far better to idolize a man like that than some hip hop artist or bad boy football star.

Real heroes give. They sacrifice—often for strangers. Sometimes that sacrifice is the ultimate one that claims the hero's life. Want to find real heroes? Visit a fire station or a police station. These men (women too, but I'm discussing only men in today's post) put their lives on the line every day of their lives to save others.

Doctors and nurses who volunteer for Doctors Without Borders are real heroes. Many members of the medical profession volunteer in free clinics and in countries where villagers never see a doctor.

My doctor does this. Dentists do the same, providing care for the poorest of people who have little access to quality care. My dentist also does this.

Volunteers who who work in poor villages and countries to bring people the basic necessities that we take for granted like clean water—they're heroes. 

Every year people volunteer to dig wells in places where the nearest water source might be a creek or a river miles away.

Soldiers who protect and serve that we might have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are heroes. National cemeteries are full of these heroes who have given their lives in every war and conflict.

REAL HEROES: INSPIRATION FOR FICTIONAL HEROES

If you read romance, you know how popular the military and law enforcement heroes are. 

Why are they so appealing to readers? Because they are unselfish and protective of others. In several books, I've created heroes with those backgrounds.

Is a romance novel hero vastly different from a real life hero? 

Maybe the romance hero is a little better looking and has six-pack abs rather than love handles, but the qualities of protectiveness and unselfishness exist in both the romance novel hero and the real life hero.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Romance heroes, like romance novel heroes, are not perfect, but they possess the same undeniably admirable characteristics of real life heroes—they protect and serve. That's my opinion. What do you think?

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IS IT EVER TOO LATE TO START A WRITING CAREER?

Is it ever too late to start writing with the goal of publishing?

I received that question in an email. I didn't answer right away because my inclination was to say, "It's never too late." because I firmly believe that it's never too late to do something if you really are passionate about it.

Instead, I did a little research to add to what I already knew to be true to go along with my personal opinion.

OLD AUTHORS GET PUBLISHED 

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett had an article that addresses this question. Published in The Writer's Toolbox, Writing Into Your Seventies and Beyond, answers this question beautifully.

She cites May Sarton, one of the examples I was going to give, who wrote and had published dozens of books—poetry, fiction, children’s books, and nonfiction into her early eighties. 

DeMarco-Barrett goes on to give a dozen other successful, older authors as examples and posits that the writings of many older authors grow richer with age. I agree with that assessment. As long as the brain functions well, there's no end date for an author.

ALWAYS WRITING, FINALLY PUBLISHED

In case you haven't heard of PEGGY ROWE, a New York Times bestselling author and the mother of Mike Rowe, TV star, podcaster, and proponent of blue-collar careers, read on. 

Mrs. Rowe wrote all of her life. She typed up her slice-of-life personality pieces and secured the pages on her fridge with magnets. 

She'd tried to get her work published but received only rejections. That didn't stop her from writing. Through her son Mike, she had a publishing offer which was rescinded when she turned in what she'd written. Her son had 10,000 copies of her manuscript printed, talked about it on his podcast, and the print run sold out in a few days.

That made the publisher who'd rejected her work take a second look. She was offered another contract. To make a long story short, this 80-something first-time author has hit the New York Times bestsellers' list with each book she's published. 

Have you always written? Is it your passion?

HARRY BERNSTEIN published his first book at 98. LORNA PAGE was 93. 

Read the article, It's Never Too Late To Begin Writing, that cites several examples from the distant past and from the last few years about older authors.

One thing you should know about these older authors mentioned above is that they were all published by traditional print-based publishing houses, not self-published. 

I'll be the first to admit that these 90-something authors wrote beautifully and had an enormous amount of luck in getting "discovered" by editors/agents. In today's world, it still very hard to accomplish that feat whether young or old. 

SELF-PUBLISHING

How many self-published first-time authors are over the age of 60? I have no idea. To my knowledge, no one has conducted a study of that. I'll take a guess and say a great many. I was over 40 when I received my first publishing contract. At that time, I knew dozens of authors just like me who had been rejected time and time again. Many of those never made the jump to publication. 

Then the Kindle happened, and, suddenly, all those authors who'd wanted to be published had a way to make it happen without a New York publishing house or an agent. 

I personally know of at least a dozen who jumped at the chance to get their books into print. They've done quite well because their books were excellent, well-written novels. They just didn't fit the pigeion-holes required by agents and New York editors.

BOTTOM LINE

I stand by my first impulsive answer to the question: "Is it ever too late to start a writing career?" My  answer? "No. It's not."

You can write fiction or nonfiction about almost anything and find an audience if you write well and produce a book with good production values. You just have to possess the desire to put words on paper to show others the story you have in your head and be willing to learn the publishing end of it or delegate those aspects like editing, proofreading, format, cover art, etc. to others.

 

I'm not saying New York will sign you to a contract and acclaim you as the next genius novelist.

I am saying if you produce a good book, you can find an audience.

In today's world, if traditional publishers say no, you have alternatives, or you can choose indie self-publishing from the beginning.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

You can absolutely have a successful, fulfilling writing career even if you're not young. It's never too late. You'll never know until you try.

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Review - The Old Way - Prime

If you're a fan of westerns set in the Old West, you may like THE OLD WAY, a flick starring Nicolas Cage that's streaming free for subscribers on Prime, Hulu, Disney, and Roku.

It can be rented on YouTube, Apple, Fandango, and Google Play.

QUICK BLURB

The Old Way, a 2023 American Western film directed by Brett Donowho, from a screenplay by Carl W. Lucas, is a revenge movie starring Nicolas Cage as Colton Briggs, a retired gunman intent on hunting down the outlaws who killed his wife.

Seemingly amoral and with no conscience, Briggs cared only for his wife. Beyond that, he relates to no one, but his young knows how to get him to allow her to accompany him as he tracks down the killers.

The story is as much about Briggs's odd personality as it is about his quest for revenge. As the two journey together, Briggs is as dependent on his daughter as she is on him.

The Old Way was theatrically released by Saban Films on January 6, 2023, and received mixed reviews by critics. I seem viewers will also have mixed reviews about it because it's definitely not a traditional view of a leading character in a western.

I think it was obviously aimed at the video market from the get-go because Cage, although an excellent actor, can't pull in an audience for a theatrical release. Marketing departments know this as do the producers so you won't get the production values of a top movie release. Still, it's better than many other movies circulating on the streaming platforms.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Like westerns and want to watch one? I found this one had a few surprises.

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SASSY, SNARKY, SMARTY PANTS

When I went through my Mom's papers, I found my third grad report card. Wow. Did that bring back memories. Teachers would write a comment on the back of the report card.

That year, my teacher had written: "Joan talks too much in school."

OMG. Yes, I had an unfortunate habit of saying what I thought. I looked at the world around me and always came up with a Dorothy Parker-type comment.

While this gained Ms. Parker the rep of being a biting sophisticated wit, it gained me the reputation of being a sassy little girl—a smarty pants as adults said back then.

I really wasn't trying to be funny. I was just making observations about the people around me and the things they did. To me, it was interesting and often funny.

Unfortunately, adults thought otherwise. Trust me, the often snarky words that came out of my mouth weren't considered  praiseworthy by my teachers or my parents. 

Looking back on it, I realize my observations were often more adult than childlike because of the sophisticated Golden Age comedies I watched on TV.

Most of those came from playwrights who'd written the story originally as a Broadway play.

Our local library had books filled with those Broadway play scripts. I didn't understand a lot of what I read, but it was definitely informative. LOL.

MY SNARKINESS: BACKGROUND FOR DIALOGUE

Those old movies ad the Broadway plays I read embraced dialogue. If you ever watch the classic films Bringing Up Baby or Pillow Talk, you'll notice the dialogue is out of this world!! What they say, how they say it, and when they say it is absolutlely perfect.

I think this is why I love writing dialogue—especially for heroines who are armed with an arsenal of sass and aren't afraid to use it. All my books—romantic comedies and romantic suspense—have a lot of dialogue, and I love writing it.

Readers often tell me that they laugh out loud at some of the conversations between characters.

In JUST ONE LOOK, I really got into the dialogue. My heroine Psychologist Jennifer Monroe uses words, innuendo, and sexual tension to twist her hero Gynecologist Dr. Matthew Penrose into a pretzel.

A lot of the dialogue in my books is stuff I’d love to say, but never do—maybe because I still hear the voices of my teachers and my parents telling me to think before I speak so I don't sound like a smarty pants.

That's what I do now. I think before I speak and usually come up with a good half-dozen of sarcastic, amusing retorts, but I place those words in the mouths of my characters.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

I prize being a sassy, snarky, smarty pants now because in my opinion and in my books, sass is an art form.

Need a laugh? Read JUST ONE LOOK, a book that proves, "Seduction and sex can be pretty funny—especially when both sides play dirty in this battle of the sexes!"

😎😎😎

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PROGRESS IN SPITE OF DISTRACTIONS

Hurray! I made it to Wednesday. Yesterday was challenging, but then, many days are.

I am dismayed that I haven't finished my book yet, but every time I seat myself in front of the computer, some guy knocks on the back door and says, "Can you go to Home Depot (Lowes, True Value, or Ace Hardware) and get this bolt and nut, this gauge wire, another roll of insulation, another gallon of Kilz, etc.

Seriously, guys putting up a building need a woman on the crew to whip them into shape.

But, I digress... I'm here to help you regain focus and make progress in the face of distrations. although this applies to writing, these steps can be adjusted to whatever your particular project is. Just change the text to fit your situation.

GOING FORWARD WITH SO MANY DISTRACTIONS 

When I get to the point where I can't maintain the narrative long enough to put sentences down, I take a step back. This is hard to do when I already feel the pressure to get this book out there, but it's necessary.

Even thought I wrote my first few novels with 4 kids running through the house—shouting, screaming at each other, wanting lunch, snacks, parental face time, etc.—that is no longer the norm. 

The kids are grown, and I've become accustomed to a quieter, more peaceful environment.

Yet, I remember what I did back then when distractions and interruptions were the pattern of a summer day. 

6 WAYS TO WRITE WITHOUT ACTUALLY WRITING

(1) When you write every day, it's easy to keep the scope of the book in your head. When you're not writing every day, the project can go stale, and you may lose your enthusiasm for it. 

That's not good so set aside at least 2 blocks of time—maybe 15 minutes or longer—to think about the project from beginning to end. Focus on what made you want to write the book. Experience the emotions associated with your premise, with the chracters you've created. 

No one writes a book unless there is something about the idea and the characters that touches you deep inside. Mine those emotions until you literally can't NOT write.

(2) Use your imagination to figure out how you'll market the book when you publish it. Imagine the graphics you'll use, the teaser text to hook readers. In other words, be thinking about your book and the end result—a published book. 

(3) Keep a notebook and pen near by if you can't steal an uninterrupted half hour away from whatever is going on in your life so you can make notes that may pop into your head about the book, the setting, scenes that may be needed, snippets of dialogue you hear in your head when you think about the characters. 

(4) Is there any information you need about the background, setting, or characters? Make a metal list about that until you can write it in your notebook.

(5) When you can get to your computer, warm up your engines by using the notes you made to quickly find the information. Be sure to notate the websites or resources you used.

(6) Adopt the habit of writing an affirmation 10 times in the morning and 10 times in the evening that focuses on your writing and/or the work in progress itself.

After a few days, you may find yourself thinking and saying your affirmations when you have to be away from your computer.

Here are a few examples:

• "Writing is easy and fun for me."
• "Writing makes me happy."
• "This book I'm writing is awesome." 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

You may realize that each of these tips are designed to build and maintain enthusiasm for your book in progress so you'll look forward to writing rather than losing interest and wondering why you thought it was a good idea in the first place. Hang in there! Good luck.

Need a little vacation? Read DECEPTIVELY YOURS, a book that will sweep you away to the beach, and it's now on sale for 99¢!

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Author Advice - Why Write Every Day

Writing success is built one day at a time.

A universal truth is: "If you want to be a writer, then write."

To be a "professional" writer, one must write. Not once in a while, but every day. If not every day, then on some kind of consistent basis.

 Why?

Two reasons.

(1) It builds the habit of producing words on a consistent basis. If you write 2,000 words each day, Monday through Friday, it's easy to sit down on Monday and do that.

It's not so easy if there are many days since the last time you wrote. You end up wasting time trying to motivate yourself to write. 

(2) A novel is a massive cluster of ideas. If you write every day, you have the universe of the story in your head. You don't waste time looking at notes to refresh your memory.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Here's another universal truth about writing. Writers write. Those who want to write, but don't, make excuses.

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Difference Between Art and Craft of Writing

What is the difference between the Art of Writing and the Craft of Writing?

THE ART OF WRITING

What is this? It's the creative process of translating emotions, abstract thoughts, and ideas into words that convey meaning to the reader and helps the reader connect with the written text. 

I think this could conceivably be viewed in part as the author's voice. How one author conveys an idea is different from other authors. Maybe that certain something some authors seem born with that enables them to easily master the art of writing is akin to being born with artistic talent.

THE CRAFT OF WRITING

This is much easier to define. It's the grammar rules of punctuation, spelling, choosing the correct word, sentence structure, plotting, scene development, dialogue, characterization, and mastering the narrative elements of writing, just to name a few, in order to properly create text that connects with your readers.

Good writing requires both Art and Craft. Learn your Craft and then use what you learned to write 1000s upon 1000s of words. Why? Because Craft can be learned from outside oneself, but Art can only be learned within by writing.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Want to be a great writer? Learn everything you can and then write, write, write.

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Review - Voicemails For Isabellle - Netflix

What can I say about VOICEMAILS FOR ISABELLE, now streaming on Netflix? Well, grab a box of Kleenex before you sit down to watch the film.

(I apologize for the typo in the Post Title.)

This 2026 American movie, billed as a romantic comedy drama, is sweet and heartwarming with a touch of heat, but there are scenes that will make you weep.

Written and directed by Leah McKendrick, the movie stars Zoey Deutch, Nick Robinson, Harry Shum Jr., Lukas Gage, and Nick Offerman.

BLURBING THE FLICK

Jill copes with the tragic death of her sister Isabelle by leaving voicemails on Isabelle's phone number. The only problem is that  Isabelle's phone number was reassigned to Wes, an upwardly mobile young man who finds Jill's voicemails hilarious. As time passes, Wes begins to fall in love with Jill.

Truly, the movie is delightful. It was funny and poignant and romantic. What more can you ask for in a contemporary romantic comedy, or dramedy, if you prefer?

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

The ending of the movie is exactly what the viewer wants. Definitely watch this film if you're a Netflix subscriber.

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Patches of Red - New Book by Liz Flaherty

Today, I'm pleased to welcome one of my favorite authors to SlingWords—LIZ FLAHERTY.

Liz is one of the Romance Gems Authors on a popular Facebook Group, Romance Gems...Where Authors and Readers Meet.

 She posts to the Romance Gems page at least once a month so drop and say hello some time.

MORE ABOUT LIZ

Grab your favorite morning beverage and say hello to Liz who thinks one of the things that keeps you young when you quite obviously aren’t anymore is the constant opportunity you have to reinvent yourself.

Liz's latest professional incarnation is as a women’s fiction author and she is enjoying every minute that she’s not scared to death.  

Liz invites you to visit her online at her Website or at her Facebook Page.

To find out more about her published books, click to visit her Amazon Author Page. If you'd like to email her, she can be reached at lizkflaherty@gmail.com.

If you read my post about the first book, Pieces of Blue, you'll be familiar with her series. I asked Liz to tell me about her new book, PATCHES OF RED. It's Book 2 in her series, Colors, the Harper Loch Trilogy.

LIZ SAID...

When I started writing Patches of Red, Book 2 in Colors, the Harper Loch Trilogy, the Lovin’ Spoonful song, Darling Be Home Soon came into my mind for the first time in … oh, a really long time, and made itself right at home. Every day for I’m not sure how long, the tune slipped into my consciousness. 

This isn’t a complete surprise. The Lovin’ Spoonful’s music was an important and much loved part of my late teenage years and lead singer John Sebastion is still one of the greater unrequited crushes of my life.  

What is a complete surprise is how much music affects my writing, how the melody and the lyrics will tumble between lines and make suggestions not of their use, but of the emotions they share. The way they soften sharp edges, and ease the tension in the back of my neck when I find myself deleting more words than I’ve added. What makes it surprising is that I can’t write at all while music’s playing or the TV’s on. I lost that ability when the last kid left for college and the nest grew empty and quiet.

But, oh, the songs. The Spoonful’s breakout hit was Do You Believe in Magic? I don’t think I did—believe in it, I mean—when the song came out, but I learned to as I grew older. When sharp, shattered pieces of life somehow came together to create smooth mosaics of knowledge gained and achievement earned and love winning. The things romance novels are made of. 

I seldom write straight romance anymore, but my women’s fiction titles contain love stories that bring their couples home, finding magic along the way, and creating their own mosaics and melodies. I am thankful for the stories and for the songs. And, maybe a little, for that unrequited crush on John Sebastian.

ABOUT PATCHES OF RED

He’s handsome but couldn’t even remember her name.

She’s pretty, but her finickiness drives him crazy. And yet … 

After twenty years as a nurse practitioner in the same practice, Ellie Wentz gives notice. When office politics interferes with her job, it’s time to get a new one. When her son and daughter-in-law buy her house and she has sold and given away everything else that’s not attached to her heartstrings, she packs up what remains and goes to Harper Loch to spend time with her best friend. She’ll decide what to do and where to go from there. No matter how much the handsome friend of her friends annoys her.

Jesse Grant comes to Harper Loch to help out his niece for a few weeks. He’s retired from the navy, his boys are grown, and he’s at loose ends. But he really likes the little lake community in Michigan—he thinks he might stay. Long widowed, he has no interest in getting married again, and neither does the redhead he can’t seem to avoid. And yet … again.

In case you already know you want this book, you can find it at Amazon. 

To find it at several other online booksellers, visit Draft2Digital.

BONUS: EXCERPT FROM PATCHES OF RED

He drew in a deep breath, absorbing the combination of smells she was noticing. “I like this time of year.”

He was surprised that he still did. There were rough days, like this one, times when Grace’s suffering in memory came close to breaking him as certainly as it had in real time. 

“Oh, me, too. I even like winter, although I’m not so sure I’ll be crazy about it when it snows. How will I get to the shop?”

“Sam says the Crossleys plow snow in the driveways and on Enoch Trace around the lake. I’m not sure about getting to the highway on Harper Loch Road, though. That could be iffy.” He couldn’t find it in himself to worry about something that hadn’t happened yet—he was having enough trouble not worrying about what already had. “You’ve got a while to think about it, I think.” He could hear the edge in his own voice. 

“I’m not really concerned.” She was silent, but not for long. “I just talk sometimes without thinking it might be annoying. I believe that’s where we are tonight, isn’t it?”

He didn’t know how to answer that. She was right. Although he liked her being there with him, he didn’t want to talk. He didn’t want her to talk. But how did he explain that without sounding like a total horse’s behind?

“Maybe,” he said, without looking at her, and they rode on in silence. 

When they’d started the ride, he’d intended to go back and check on the progress of the pumpkin patch, look at the Christmas trees, and make scary jokes about things hiding in the cornfield, but he didn’t do any of those things. He just turned the Mule around at the wide spot created by the other lane crossing the one beside the ditch. 

“It’s a bad day,” he said finally, when they were on Enoch Trace heading toward her cottage. “Grace passed sixteen years ago today, after the longest, hardest week I’ve ever known. I didn’t want to be alone, but it would have been better if I was. I’m not good to be around.” He couldn’t make himself apologize—it would be like saying he was sorry he’d loved someone so much that remembering her death was like an open wound. 

Ellie nodded, not breaking her silence. She laid her hand on his on the steering wheel, and when she went to withdraw her fingers, he caught and held them for a minute, until he pulled up in front of her house. 

He got out of the cart to walk her to her door, because that’s how Lessie had taught him to treat a woman, and when he walked around, Ellie reached and put her arms around him. She still didn’t talk, just held him there in the sweet smell and clear moonlight of September. 

For just a moment, long enough he thought she surely noticed it, he stood stiff in her embrace, and then he returned it, wrapping his arms around her and resting his face against her soft hair. 

Nothing would ever have been enough to get him easily through this long hard day, but she offered what comfort she could, and he accepted it and was grateful. 

When he went to bed after texting with Zack and Luke, for the first time on this day in those sixteen years he’d mentioned, he remembered—instead of Grace’s death—her life.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

This book sounds amazing. Let me give those buy links again. Click to buy from Amazon. 

Click to buy from other booksellers via Draft2Digital. 

Life in Shades of Blue - Just Ask Liz Flaherty

Life is what the bestselling author Liz Flaherty writes about in one emotional, compelling novel after another.

Liz is my guest this morning so grab a cup of coffee or other essential morning drink and let me tell you about Pieces of Blue, a book you'll want to read.

FIRST, A LITTLE BACKSTORY

This book was originally published in 2024, then it went out of print because sometimes that’s how things go in publishing, but Liz decided she wasn't ready to move on from this book. She said: "Pieces of Blue is one of the stories I hold closest in my heart."

Smart lady. Bringing this book out again is a good thing. Even better, Liz is offering the ebook on sale for only 99¢. For you print readers, you can also get Pieces of Blue in print at Amazon.

LIZ'S JOURNEY IN WRITING PIECES OF BLUE

My intent, once I got rolling on this book a few years ago, was to write Maggie’s story. Just that. She’s a natural-born loner, so maybe just this once, I could keep the character count in a book at a manageable level. Lots of others writers do it; surely I could, too.

But everyone—at least everyone who makes herself at home in my keyboard—needs a best friend, so we met Ellie Wentz, a nurse practitioner whose been Maggie’s “ride or die” since they were in second grade. 

Then, when Maggie was walking around the lake, she stopped to look at the pristine little church and, before she kept walking, she met its pastor. Young Cari Newland went to culinary school, worked in stained glass, and ended up in the pulpit—go figure.

Then there’s Sam, who’s Maggie’s lawyer and friend for over half their lives. Who suddenly gives her frissons. She’s a writer; she really likes the word frisson. When he appeared to me, he looked like Mark Harmon in his 50s, but to Maggie, he just looks like Sam. And he gives her frissons. Who knew that would happen?

I hope you love Maggie’s story as much as I do, and…hey…if you get a frisson or two along the way, all the better.

WHAT'S THIS BOOK ABOUT?

Life comes in shades of blue...

Self-imposed loner, Maggie North, has worked for bestselling author Trilby Winterroad her entire adult life, starting as simply his assistant and ending up as his ghost writer. 

Through ups and downs--including a divorce from an abusive husband--he has been the one person on whom she could always rely. So when Trilby dies suddenly, Maggie finds herself adrift, not sure what she’ll do or where she belongs in the world any longer. And the confusion continues when she discovers he’s not only left her his beloved dachshund, Chloe, but a house she knew nothing about, on a lake she’s never heard of.

It only takes one visit for Maggie to fall in love with both the house and the small lakeside community. The longer she’s there, the safer she feels and the more her life begins to expand...as do her feelings toward her friend and Trilby’s attorney, Sam Eldridge.
But is she really safe? Or are the glistening pieces of her new life about to shatter as an old danger returns?

HOW ABOUT AN EXCERPT?

  
There were ten of us that night, all women. A few drove together from Placer to join us. Several of them had been at coffee that morning. We entertained each other by explaining why we were or were not wearing the same clothes we’d worn then.

The night was warm, the air soft. I looked at them as we walked and talked. I listened to their stories—Trilby taught me a lot about listening and its importance.

We’ve all known struggles and heartbreak; several of us have known physical abuse. Sadie had lived in her car for a while. Rose had left Colby in Detroit and come to the lake, saying he could come or go; it was up to him. Adrian told the story of her Uncle Henry’s father beating his wife half to death because their son “wasn’t right.”

Maxine said her husband had raised his hand to her exactly one time and she told him he’d better not let it fall or he’d never, ever be able to go to sleep again. We laughed at that, but she didn’t. “I was scared to death and so was he. Not that I’d kill him, but that he’d gotten so angry over something minor. He got himself to an anger management therapist and I went along with him. But I’m aware every day that we’re the lucky ones. Our lives could have gone a whole different way from that day forward than what it did.”

We’ve laughed together at the images people have of others’ lives. While Harper Loch doesn’t look anything like a resort or even a high point on rural Michigan’s social scale, it does look like a place where bad things can’t happen. Where marriages are all good, no one uses illegal substances, and everyone is safe.

But we know better—and it’s not lost on me how often I use the word we when I talk about the lake. We’ve absorbed each other’s pain. I didn’t know how Cari could bear the weight of the secrets she kept.

“How many women around here have been abused? Not just on the lake, but in the area.”

“More than we know,” Rose acknowledged. “Just like anywhere. Some talk about it, but more than a few don’t.”

“Many,” Haley agreed. “Because they think it’s their fault or it’s never going to happen again or they don’t have any alternatives.”

I thought of those women. Of their children. I thought of the people who’d circled the proverbial wagons around me to keep me safe. I thought of Cari and Ellie and the confidences they kept and carried with them. I thought of Aunt Lin and Claire and Annabelle and how strong they’d been when their lives turned on them.

I thought of the ashes. And of the sapphires.

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ABOUT LIZ FLAHERTY, THE AUTHOR 

Liz Flaherty has spent the past several years enjoying not working a day job, making terrible crafts, and writing stories in which the people aren’t young, brilliant, or even beautiful. She’s decided (and has to re-decide most every day) that the definition of success is having a good time. Along with her husband of lo, these many years, kids, grands, friends, and the occasional cat, she’s doing just that.

You can reach her at lizkflaherty @ gmail.com or anywhere on https://linktr.ee/LizFlaherty. She’d love to hear from you!

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

If you're looking for a book for the weekend, you won't go wrong in picking Pieces of Blue.

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Review - Wake Up Dead Man - Netflix

Wake Up Dead Man Poster - Amazon

Wake Up Dead Man is streaming on Netflix, and it's everything the second movie in the Knives Out franchise wasn't.

If you too were disappointed with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, you'll be delighted to know that the new movie is immensely better than that.

Whatever you find yourself thinking as you watch Wake Up Dead Man, you'll probably be wrong about what who the good guys are. who the murderer is, and what's is really going on.

THE STORY

Daniel Craig reprises his role as the super sleuth Benoit Blanc when he's asked to solve the mystery of a baffling death inside a quiet country church.

Everyone lies, everyone has secrets, and the young priest new to the parish who has slowly been losing his faith seems to be the prime suspect.

Like all good mysteries, nothing is at it seems. No one is truly innocent, and it's up to Benoit Blanc to find the killer and close the case.

STELLAR CAST

Wow. Great cast. Accompanying Craig on this adventure are Josh O'Connor as the young priest, Glenn Close as the woman who really runs the church, and Josh Brolin as the senior priest. Members of the community are played by Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.

PRODUCTION DETAILS

Wake Up Dead Man was written and directed by Rian Johnson. On Sept. 6, 2025, the film had its world premier at the Toronto International Film Festival. Then it was released in select theaters the day before Thanksgiving. Streaming on Netflix began December 12, 2025.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Yes, watch this! It's quite a story—well-plotted, well-acted, and an excellent film noir. It reminded me of a dark and brooding film of the sort Alfred Hitchcock was known for.

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