Category: Shaun Takes Over

Tree Falls Down, Goodness Goes Up

On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.

He’s adorable. I hope you’ll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don’t always agree. 🙂

best podcast ever
The Shaun

The neighbor in the back of us has this giant Maple tree that stands very close to our fence and actually leans toward our house and over our backyard. For two years now, that neighbor and I have discussed having this tree removed before it falls down because it is obviously dying. We spoke of splitting the cost, but the quotes were just a little high for either one of us to actually commit to having it done.

Carrie and I were very worried about this tree falling down due to the fact that it was obviously going to land in our backyard and we have five three-year-old fruit trees, three of which are in what we imagined was this tree’s trajectory should it ever fall.

Last Saturday night we had a windstorm with gale force winds. Sunday morning Carrie got out of bed before I did and took the dogs downstairs to let them outside. I heard her open the sliding glass door and almost immediately heard her yelling for Gabby to come back in the house. I knew something was wrong ,but was not concerned enough to get out of bed.

Carrie: Cough.

Carrie came back upstairs and told me that the tree had come down overnight. I jumped out of bed as any good husband would do, slid on my flip-flops, pulled on a t-shirt and went downstairs.

Low and behold, Carrie was correct. Half of our backyard was full of tree! Three of our stockade fence panels had been obliterated and more than likely at least two of our baby fruit trees had been flattened.

We both ventured into the yard to look for the fruit trees.

Miraculously, all three had survived the onslaught! They were all standing straight, jutting up through the tangled mass of branches and trunk like miniature cellphone towers. We couldn’t have been more happy or more proud of our little troopers. One did lose a couple of branches but all in all it was a small, early Christmas miracle.

We didn’t talk about it on social media because when so many in our country were dealing with major tornado damage last weekend, it didn’t feel right. But here is our tree.

Yesterday, with the help of the tree-owning neighbor and our trusty chainsaws, we cut that tree up and put it all in his yard. The price of the three fence sections that we have to replace will be well below our homeowner’s insurance deductible, so I am very happy. 

What we thought was sure to be a small disaster actually turned out pretty well. We will have more sun for the garden during the summer, the fruit trees survived, the dangerous tree is gone and our neighbor was pretty darn spectacular with his chainsaw and made cutting up that huge tree a much faster and safer process than I could have done by myself.

You just have to always look for the positivity in the negativity. Often, the benefits outweigh the bad and you can make a bad situation a good one.

Live your life with a positive attitude, approach things with a less than worst-case scenario outlook and seek the good!

Also, remember to always Love Your Way Through It!

Peace,

Shaun

My little, creepy book baby is out in the world because who doesn’t want sad, quirky, horror with some romantic bits for the holiday season?

It’s a young adult novel (upper) called WHEN YOU BRING THEM BACK, please buy it!

It’s super fun.

Don’t Be Too Busy To Help

On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.

He’s adorable. I hope you’ll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don’t always agree. 🙂

best podcast ever
The Shaun

Every morning, with very few exceptions, for the last month or so, I have been going to the residence of another couple. These two nice people are friends of Carrie and myself and unfortunately, the husband has ALS. I go to their house after I take young kid to school so that I can lift him out of bed and put him in his wheelchair.

It is a sobering experience.

They have been married for fifty years and obviously care for each other greatly. The wife tries to do everything she can to help her husband, but even though he is a man of smaller stature, she still can not really move him, other than one limb at a time. Luckily, the husband still has some use of his upper body so once he is sitting upright in his motorized wheelchair, he is fairly self-sufficient.

What I often think about while I am there helping him get out of bed and into his wheelchair is how screwed I am if I have to live with a debilitating disease for any length of time before I die.

Honestly, it is not even me that will be screwed, but my poor, lovely wife. You see, I am 6’6” tall and weigh about 260 pounds on a good day. Carrie? Well, she is a little sprite of a woman who can’t even budge me when we play fight.

Should anything like this ever occur to me, I can’t begin to imagine how much it will break her heart not to be able to care for me as she wants. Carrie has a heart of pure gold and lives to help those she loves. Frequently, she gets a bit mad at me when I decline her help with something that I think I have under control. She is, of course, kind in her anger, but it still registers with me and I often remind myself to just let her help me so that she can feel happy and feel fulfilled.

She is the most amazing woman ever! This wasn’t meant to be a tribute to the awesomeness of my amazing wife (although probably everything that I do should be) but more of a plea for help. Please, please, if I am ever incapable of taking care of myself, help this incredible woman out.

Truth be told, you should help anyone you know that needs help. Spread some love and kindness around for free. Expect nothing in return, don’t seek attention or gratitude for your efforts and hope that the gods of karma send it back your way when you need it. That is the very best we can do.

Peace and remember to always Love Your Way Through It,

Shaun

My little, creepy book baby is out in the world because who doesn’t want sad, quirky, horror with some romantic bits for the holiday season?

It’s a young adult novel (upper) called WHEN YOU BRING THEM BACK, please buy it!

It’s super fun.

I Blame it On My Wife aka Carrie

On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.

He’s adorable. I hope you’ll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don’t always agree. 🙂

best podcast ever
Here’s Shaun

It is 7:25 p.m. in Bar Harbor, Maine and I still haven’t written my blog post! You know what that means? That means Carrie can’t relax until I have it written and she can then post it. I feel so bad right now, but also very lucky.

I feel lucky because I have an incredibly understanding wife! I would love to lie and tell you that she is pacing back and forth in the living room, smoking a cigar, and swearing at me like some old salty newspaper editor waiting for a reporter to turn in a story. But, I can’t. She used to actually be a newspaper editor. Did you know that?

It is partially her fault that I am running so late. I had been running plenty late on my own and told her that I would get it done right after dinner. When we sat down to dinner, an informal affair tonight in the living room, in front of the tv, we started to watch a romantic-Christmasy movie.

I feared the worst, but as it turned out, the movie was not bad at all and much better than I imagined it would be. That, my friends, is why I am so very late, instead of just late. The movie was just too good!

So, I blame it on Carrie. I blame it on Carrie that I have such a wonderful life. I blame it on Carrie that I wish that I had the ability to replicate all of the romantic words and actions in that movie so that I could make her feel loved in just the way that I do love her.

I wish I could show her how I love her in the same manner that makes people watch those silly Christmas romance movies for the entire month of December! The kind of love and romance that somehow makes her eyes leak when she is just lying on the couch watching a silly movie.

Alas, I can’t. Try as we may, in real life you don’t get to script your words, actions, and emotions. But you can keep trying and keep learning and keep apologizing.

I am lucky!

Remember to learn, apologize, keep trying and always, Love Your Way Through it!

Shaun

Don’t Bring Sticks to Bed – The Magic of Bed

On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.

He’s adorable. I hope you’ll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don’t always agree. 🙂

best podcast ever
Here’s Shaun

If I was to ask you what your favorite place in your residence is, what would be the reply? I am sure that the answers would vary greatly, but I am also sure that many of you would answer the same as I would.

Bed!

I love, I mean absolutely love, my life! Because of this love of my life, I strive to utilize every waking moment to its fullest. However, there is nothing more relaxing than lying down in bed and going to sleep in complete comfort. Especially if you have the warm body of your beloved cuddled up next to you.

Beds are special. Think about what happens in a bed; love is made; life is created; books are read; movies watched; dreams and nightmares take shape and sometimes unfold into reality; and our brains go to places not normally seen out of bed. Not all bed experiences are positive, but we can damn sure try and make them that way.

Early humans apparently slept on piles of leaves, grasses, and even ash, all designed with the idea of comfort and critter control in mind. We have evolved just a bit in our technology and design and now some of us have beds that are so comfortable that they can even self-adjust and regulate while we sleep.

That is a beautiful thing!

Take a journey with me here.

Imagine your significant other, smelling like holy hell, reaching down to grab your hand as you sit in your animal hide nightgown in front of the fire. “Would you accompany me to bed, my lovely?”

You look up with your soot smudged face. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure my darling.”

Walking into your shared shallow cave, you look down at the bed. “You haven’t changed out these leaves in weeks and the ash needs replenishing!”

“Aw, geez. Come on I will do it tomorrow at first light. Just lie down with me, baby.”

Never have you been able to stay mad at your partner, so of course, you lie down. They also lie down and snuggle up with you from behind, trying to stay warm as the fire wanes and the temperature drops.

You fall asleep but wake up shortly thereafter. Even through your animal hide nightgown you can feel something poking you in the small of your back. Angrily you swipe behind you, trying to hit the offender. “I am too tired for any shenanigans!”

You can feel your mate rustling around behind you, reaching over your shoulder and groggily replying, “Sorry, love. I was sound asleep. But this stick must have been buried in the leaves and was poking you in the back.”

Out of the corner of your eye you can see the stick flying out of the cave, making sparks fly as it lands in the embers of the smoldering fire.

“Oh, bummer,” you sadly reply as your bed partner resumes his cave shaking snoring.

So you see, even with the technologically advanced sleeping surfaces that we have now, mistakes can be made and sleep can be interrupted. That is why I never bring sticks to bed!

Hey! I know that was stupid but at least you know how good you have it.

Just remember, always extinguish your open fire before sleeping, never bring sticks to bed, a liberal sprinkling of ash will keep the bugs out and always Love Your Way Through It! 

Peace and sweet dreams,

Shaun

NEW BOOK OUT!

It’s super fun. An adult paranormal/mystery/romance/horror blend. Think Charlaine Harris but without all the vampires. Instead there are shifters and dragon grandmothers and evil police chiefs and potential necromancers and the occasional zombie and a sexy skunk.

It’s out November 1, which means you can buy it now, and I seriously love it. So, it would be cool if you bought it so I can be all motivated to write the next book.

Oh, and it’s quirky.

This is because most of my books are quirky.

Be ready to resurrect your love of the paranormal in the first novel in the Alisa Thea series—the books that give new meaning to quirky paranormal.

Alisa Thea is barely scraping by as a landscaper in small-town Bar Harbor. She can’t touch people with her bare skin without seeing their deaths and passing out, which limits her job and friendship opportunities. It also doesn’t give much of a possibility for a love life, nor does her overbearing stepfather, the town’s sheriff. Then along comes an opportunity at a local campground where she thinks her need for a home and job are finally solved . . .

But the campground and its quirky residents have secrets of their own: the upper level is full of paranormals. And when some horrifying murders hit the campground—along with a potential boyfriend from her past who may be involved—Alisa starts to wonder if living in a campground of paranormals will end up in her own death.

Join New York Times and internationally best[selling author Carrie Jones in the first book of the Alisa Thea Series as it combines the excitement of a thriller with the first-hand immediacy and quirky heroines that Jones is known for.

It’s fun. It’s weird. It’s kind of like Charlaine Harris, but a little bit more achy and weird.

best maine paranormal carrie jones
Almost Dead Series – Meet Alissa Thea, a sexy skunk, a haunted campground and a lot of quirky

The Magic of a Green Velvet Side Hustle

On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.

He’s adorable. I hope you’ll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don’t always agree. 🙂

best podcast ever

Green velvet is an amazing thing!

I was having trouble, once again, thinking of a topic for today’s blog. Of course I enlisted Carrie’s help and she managed to jog a memory in my wee, little brain.

Nowadays, pulling forth memories is akin to filling my hand with sand and not spilling any. 

But, back to green velvet.

When I was a kid, yes, this is a tale of bygone eras, my grandparents had a set of matching living room chairs that were covered in green velvet. I don’t remember caring much for most particular chairs, as I was more of a couch sprawler, but they had value to me.

These chairs, and the couch to a lesser extent, were how I made my living between the ages of five and seven. You see, when you sat in these chairs, which also had a removable seat cushion, your pelvic structure was tilted backwards.

Back in the old days, kids, people used to actually carry cash on them. In order to spend cash and make everything equal upon payment, you usually received change in the form of metal tokens called coins.

I discovered that when people sat in these magical green velvet chairs their change seemed to flow out of their pockets and fall into the crack behind the back of the chair and the cushion. I simply had to come along behind them, lift up the cushion and bam, instant candy bar!

It was like the ancient equivalent of a side hustle.

My single mother and I lived with my grandparents at this time, as did their other three adult children, so I got to check the cushions often. Because there were so many adults in the house, there were lots of adult visitors. I called them foreign investors and they almost always made a contribution to my secret snack fund.

One day I came home from school and found my grandmother vacuuming under the cushions of my magical green velvet chairs. I was stunned. As soon as my grandmother saw me she shut off the vacuum to say hi and as she turned I noticed that her hand was clinched into a fist.

“Hello my sweet, amazing, handsome and best ever grandson,” she said with a smile on her face.

I just stood there in shock, barely able to even respond. “Hi.”

She opened up her hand as she held it out to me. “Look at all this change I found in the cushions of the chairs.”

Then she dropped it in her pocket and went back to vacuuming.

Not many days in my youth were as drastically horrible as this one. Now somebody else knew my secret. I mean, I was sure this must have been the one and only time Grandma had ever vacuumed the chairs. Maybe she would forget about it quickly and I wouldn’t have to get up at some unearthly hour to get to the chair stash before she did. I mean, she was a “housewife,” never worked and therefore probably enjoyed the spoils of the furniture as much as I did.

But fortunately, I was wrong. I continued to harvest proceeds from the chairs until Mother and I eventually moved from that house.

Later in life, when I was a teenager, I discovered why my grandmother never had a need for my change. She would, on occasion, give me money to spend so that I could have fun. You know, buy beer or whatever.

Once when she was giving me some cash, I asked her how she even had money since she didn’t work. My enterprising grandmother told me that as the runner of all errands and keeper of the house, she had her ways. She then went on to explain that her loving husband would give her a certain amount of money to purchase things, like groceries, and that she was a very experienced shopper.

Basically, my grandmother was embezzling funds from her own husband and just not balancing the books appropriately. Good for her!

There is no real point to this blogpost other than the telling of a fond childhood memory. But sometimes, those are the best kind of memories. The memories long forgotten and still cherished upon remembrance. Maybe soon I will tell you the tale of how I used to try and get my grandmother to quit smoking. It never worked, cost her a substantial amount of embezzled cash and was probably the one thing that regularly made her mad at me.

Thank you for helping me remember the “good old days” and as always, remember to always Love Your Way Through It!

Shaun

ALSO CARRIE HAS A NEW BOOK COMING OUT!

It’s super fun. An adult paranormal/mystery/romance/horror blend. Think Charlaine Harris but without all the vampires. Instead there are shifters and dragon grandmothers and evil police chiefs and potential necromancers and the occasional zombie.

It’s out November 1, which means the pre-orders are up now, and I seriously love it. So, it would be cool if you bought it so I can be all motivated to write the next book.

Oh, and it’s quirky.

This is because most of my books are quirky.

Be ready to resurrect your love of the paranormal in the first novel in the Alisa Thea series—the books that give new meaning to quirky paranormal.

Alisa Thea is barely scraping by as a landscaper in small-town Bar Harbor. She can’t touch people with her bare skin without seeing their deaths and passing out, which limits her job and friendship opportunities. It also doesn’t give much of a possibility for a love life, nor does her overbearing stepfather, the town’s sheriff. Then along comes an opportunity at a local campground where she thinks her need for a home and job are finally solved . . .

But the campground and its quirky residents have secrets of their own: the upper level is full of paranormals. And when some horrifying murders hit the campground—along with a potential boyfriend from her past who may be involved—Alisa starts to wonder if living in a campground of paranormals will end up in her own death.

Join New York Times and internationally best[selling author Carrie Jones in the first book of the Alisa Thea Series as it combines the excitement of a thriller with the first-hand immediacy and quirky heroines that Jones is known for.

It’s fun. It’s weird. It’s kind of like Charlaine Harris, but a little bit more achy and weird.

It’s okay to sully a good reputation sometimes.

On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.

He’s adorable. I hope you’ll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don’t always agree. 🙂 And lots of times his jokes get me all embarrassed.

best podcast ever

I am having a really hard time with this blog today. I feel badly because Carrie can’t post it until I have written it and I hate being the last thing she does at night.

Unless it’s in the bedroom!

Hopefully you laughed at that, because right now, as you read this, even if it’s three days later, I am still getting berated for sullying her good reputation. And deservedly so!

Sometimes I can’t help myself. I say things that are funny! Okay, they are funny to me. I tend to think, in comedic terms, as if I am a very popular (and wealthy) stand-up comedian. Yet, after all of these years, I still forget that most successful stand-up comics who make jokes about loved ones probably run these jokes by said loved ones.

That will be my new excuse when I get in trouble for making a joke that involves Carrie. “I was just trying out a new joke for my stand-up routine, baby.”

I will give you a perfect example. The other night, we were talking about how we both still wanted to go on an extended backpacking trip. Part of the Appalachian Trail or five nights out in the woods anywhere, for example.

I looked at Carrie with longing in my eyes and she said, “Of course you will have to carry most of the weight for our supplies.”

And this is a true statement. I am bigger and stronger than Carrie by nature and sheer physical size. However, Carrie also has chronically pained shoulders and bad knees. As in, both knees. As in she has to wear knee braces when running or hiking.

So, I know that if we ever go on a hiking trip where we spend the night or multiple nights in the woods, camping, I will indeed be carrying most of the weight. This does not bother me one iota! In fact, it makes me feel good and proud. All of those manly things that make us macho, caretaking, personality types feel good about ourselves.

And I looked Carrie in the eye, very lovingly, and I said, “If you were a pack mule, we would have to put you down.”

She laughed! She laughed so hard that she was holding her stomach and rolling on the couch. Then she got a gleam in her eye, an evil gleam!

She looked at me. “I am going to post that.”

“Okay, just make sure you give some back story.”

No, response from Carrie who was busy typing away on her phone.

We had a good rest of the night and I got up the next morning and I go on Facebook so I can share Carrie’s posts and I see this:

Shaun just told me that if I was a donkey I would be put down. I honestly don’t know how we are still married. Edited to add: Oh! I know how! Because I am patient and forgiving like a good pack animal. Lol

I am a lucky man! I love my wife more than anything! I do and I just want to say that love is about forgiveness and understanding!

I don’t know who had more forgiveness and understanding in my story, but it doesn’t matter, without, nothing works well!

Remember that and remember to always LOVE YOUR WAY THROUGH IT!

Now, go make somebody laugh,

Shaun

The Places We Hide by Carrie Jones
The Places We Hide by Carrie Jones (That’s me. If you click the image, it will bring you to the Amazon page!)

The third book in Rosie and Seamus’s story of adventure, mystery, and death is here!

I hope you’ll support me, have a good read, and check it out!

great new mystery
romantic suspense set in Bar Harbor Maine

Sometimes the treasure is not worth the hunt . . . .

When a little boy goes missing on a large Maine island, the community is horrified especially almost-lovers Rosie Jones and Sergeant Seamus Kelley. The duo’s dealt with two gruesome serial killers during their short time together and are finally ready to focus on their romance despite their past history of murders and torment.

Things seem like they’ve gone terribly wrong. Again. Rosie wakes up in the middle of the woods. Is she sleepwalking or is something more sinister going on?

What at first seems like a fun treasure hunt soon turns into something much more terrifying . . . and they learn that things are not yet safe on their island or in their world. If they want to keep more people from going missing, Rosie and Seamus have to crack the puzzle before it’s too late.

To buy it, click here, and let me know! I might send you something!

Shaun Saved a Dog Hit By a Car and Talks about How Sometimes Going Out of Your Way is Just the Right Thing to Do

On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.

He’s adorable. I hope you’ll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don’t always agree. 🙂 But this time we definitely do.

best podcast ever
Shaun Farrar

Yesterday did not start off great for me. It was a stressful morning in a routine sort of way, nothing especially bad, but enough to put me in a bad mood for the majority of the morning.

Of course, I am a firm believer in setting your own mood and allowing yourself to not be negative if you have that choice. Yesterday was just one of those days where it was a bit harder to shake off the gloom of negativity.

And it only got worse.

While I was at a customer’s house working, I heard a noise that was obviously a dog in distress. There are no dogs near this house, routinely, so it struck me as odd. I was on the second floor and looked out of a window that overlooks the road.

I could see a dog lying on the edge of the road directly in front of the house where I was working.

I said, “Oh, shit!” and ran downstairs.

By the time I got downstairs, the poor pooch was gone, but I quickly located it at the house next door. It was a medium-sized mixed breed that was standing on its own and being held by the neighbor’s landscaper. I asked her if the dog belonged there and she responded that it did not.

The dog had no apparent broken bones and was very calm and friendly but was obviously injured because it was sneezing a lot and every time it sneezed, it sprayed blood everywhere. I was pretty sure that the landscaper was pretty much tapped out just holding onto the dog, so I asked her if she would be okay holding onto the dog long enough for me to go back to my truck and get something to use as a leash. She said she was fine.

After securing the pup and bringing it back to my truck, I took a picture of it and asked Carrie if she could post it on Facebook and try to find out who owns it. There are not a lot of houses in the immediate vicinity of where I was and not living there, I was not familiar with the residents and their pets.

Long story short, the owner was not identified in a timely manner and as soon as I was able to secure what I had been doing at the house, I loaded the dog up in my truck and headed for the vet. Carrie called ahead to our local vet and was told that they didn’t have an actual vet on duty that day. So, I had to drive the 45 minutes to the vet a couple towns over.

It was a fine ride and the dog and I enjoyed each other’s company. Or, at least I did!

We only had to wait a few minutes until the vet could exam her and it turned out that she had a significant facial injury that is very common in cases where dogs come into contact with a moving motor vehicle.

After saying my goodbyes, I left my new friend in the very capable hands of the vet, who just so happens to be our vet as well. Okay, we have two vets because we’re overachievers, but he is one of them and he is the type of vet you can trust when it comes to trauma.

Later in the afternoon, I received a call from the owner, and he was very frazzled and understandably it was not the best conversation in the history of conversations.

I didn’t care. Not everyone can maintain a normal level of courtesy under times of stress. It’s human nature.

Then he called me back this morning and it was a totally different experience! He was very apologetic, very thankful, and even offered to call me back and give me an update after his dog had undergone the necessary surgery.

And that my friends is why I took the time to disregard my plans for the remainder of yesterday and bring that beautiful animal to the vet. I wasn’t trying to be a hero. I don’t need any praise from anyone. But I do need people to feel good and I know that if you, yes you, the reader, everyone, doesn’t take the time to be compassionate and kind, even when it is putting you out, the world as we know it will literally implode!

They say that everyone is someone’s daughter, son, wife, or husband. The same can be said for animals. In fact, sometimes I think that there are people who love animals more than humans and that is okay. Wouldn’t you want a stranger to aid your loved one, be it human or animal, if they needed assistance?

Yes, you would!

So, next time you get the opportunity to do the same for someone else, friend, foe or stranger, you should jump on that opportunity to keep the world on its axis and keep the love flowing.

Remember to always Love Your Way Through It!

Peace,

Shaun

This is Carrie again. Shaun never thinks he’s a hero. He’ll save a drowning child in the hotel pool and never tell anyone about it. Where other people will trumpet saving a turtle in the middle of the road, Shaun will just do it.

Shaun’s pretty awesome. We need more Shauns.

BE A PART OF OUR MISSION!

Hey! We’re all about inspiring each other to be weird, to be ourselves and to be brave and we’re starting to collect stories about each other’s bravery. Those brave moments can be HUGE or small, but we want you to share them with us so we can share them with the world. You can be anonymous if you aren’t brave enough to use your name. It’s totally chill.

Want to be part of the team? Send us a quick (or long) email and we’ll read it here and on our YouTube channel.

LET’S HANG OUT!

HEY! DO YOU WANT TO SPEND MORE TIME TOGETHER?

MAYBE TAKE A COURSE, CHILL ON SOCIAL MEDIA, BUY ART OR A BOOK, OR LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST?

Email us at carriejonesbooks@gmail.com

HELP US AND DO AN AWESOME GOOD DEED

Thanks to all of you who keep listening to our weirdness on the DOGS ARE SMARTER THAN PEOPLE podcast and our new LOVING THE STRANGE podcast.

We’re sorry we laugh so much… sort of. 

Please share it and subscribe if you can. Please rate and like us if you are feeling kind, because it matters somehow. There’s a new episode every Tuesday!

Thanks so much for being one of the 263,000 downloads if you’ve given us a listen!

One of our newest LOVING THE STRANGE podcasts is about the strange and adorably weird things people say?

And one of our newest DOGS ARE SMARTER THAN PEOPLE episode is about fear setting and how being swallowed by a whale is bad ass.

And Carrie has new books out! Yay!

You can order now! It’s an adult mystery/thriller that takes place in Bar Harbor, Maine. Read an excerpt here!

best thrillers The People Who Kill
The people who kill

It’s my book! It came out June 1! Boo-yah! Another one comes out July 1.

And that one is called  THOSE WHO SURVIVED, which is the first book in the the DUDE GOODFEATHER series.  I hope you’ll read it, like it, and buy it!

The Dude Goodfeather Series - YA mystery by NYT bestseller Carrie Jones
The Dude Goodfeather Series – YA mystery by NYT bestseller Carrie Jones

TO TELL US YOUR BRAVE STORY JUST EMAIL BELOW.

How one ex-cop has mellowed out

On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.

He’s adorable. I hope you’ll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don’t always agree. 🙂

Shaun squinting.

I recently read a Facebook post by someone who lives in my community about not letting love and kindness die in today’s confrontational world. This post struck me as important and also something that I have recently adopted. Actually, reinvigorated may be a better word for how I am approaching the “random acts of kindness” way of thinking.

Let me just say that I am not writing this as any type of ego-boosting or self-congratulatory dribble!

Every decent thought or act that passes through my brain and body is solely due to other people who have influenced my life. Most recently, and perhaps most greatly, that person would be my amazing wife, Carrie Jones. Before her there were others, my mother, my grandmother, and especially my grandfather, but all of the credit belongs to them, not really me.

So, here is the thing.

All of us, or at least most of us, seem to always be in a rush. Rushing here, rushing there, thinking only of ourselves and our own perceived priorities. I am almost always that person. I am the human who hates waiting in traffic or getting stuck talking to someone who wasn’t a previously planned contact.

These kind of events make get me perturbed, angry even, and it happens quickly, or at least it used to.

You can ask Carrie and she will tell you how I act when I am driving and other drivers, pedestrians or bicyclists don’t act or react in the way that I think is most efficient. It isn’t pretty!

We must take a quick commercial break for some backstory.

When I was in my early twenties, somebody once said that I was the most calm person they ever met. I was.

I was like a stoner who didn’t smoke weed. I rarely showed anger. I rarely cussed. I rarely ever let anyone see an emotional reaction that wasn’t calm.

Then I became a cop. Then I had a dysfunctional marriage (not with Carrie!). Then I became a high context person who didn’t even try to contain any negative emotion or reaction. If I was not in a good mood, everyone in the room would know it when I walked in without me even saying a word.

What a waste of a lot years that was!

Now we return you to our regularly scheduled programming.

It has taken me five years to shed that shell. But, I am super glad that I have.

Now Carrie may argue this point a bit … but there is a difference between public persona and intimate knowledge of a person . I will readily admit that I am still high context at home but hopefully, as I like to believe, it is not such a negative high context.

I am definitely enjoying being more mellow about life and all of the things that make us humans feel rushed all of the time. I don’t get mind-blowing, swear-word-inducing mad when traffic isn’t flowing at a constant ten miles per hour over the speed limit. I  am happy to stop and let someone pull out in front of me or cross the road in front of me. Even if they didn’t bother to walk the extra ten feet to actually get into the crosswalk!

I am trying not to mumble under my breath or dance in place with anger because the person at the self-checkout kiosk doesn’t have their crap together.

I am holding the door open for people again, even though we are still basically in a COVID crisis and half of the people I hold doors from have apparently not heard of masking.

And most importantly I am enjoying the reactions that I get from people who I stop for or hold a door for or even just say hello to in a nice voice. I like to believe that a “thank you” or a smile means that I have made someone’s life a little bit better. I don’t care if it makes them more happy for the rest of the day or for two minutes until they have to face their next crisis.

I did my part.

Just think what would happen, what a better place the world would be if we ALL did our part! Amazing!

So, give it a try. Mellow out and throw out some kindness and love, randomly! See how you feel after and pretend that the recipient feels one miniscule amount better because of it.

Remember to always Love Your Way Through It!

Peace,

Shaun

The Places We Hide by Carrie Jones
The Places We Hide by Carrie Jones (That’s me. If you click the image, it will bring you to the Amazon page!)

The third book in Rosie and Seamus’s story of adventure, mystery, and death is here!

I hope you’ll support me, have a good read, and check it out!

great new mystery
romantic suspense set in Bar Harbor Maine

Sometimes the treasure is not worth the hunt . . . .

When a little boy goes missing on a large Maine island, the community is horrified especially almost-lovers Rosie Jones and Sergeant Seamus Kelley. The duo’s dealt with two gruesome serial killers during their short time together and are finally ready to focus on their romance despite their past history of murders and torment.

Things seem like they’ve gone terribly wrong. Again. Rosie wakes up in the middle of the woods. Is she sleepwalking or is something more sinister going on?

What at first seems like a fun treasure hunt soon turns into something much more terrifying . . . and they learn that things are not yet safe on their island or in their world. If they want to keep more people from going missing, Rosie and Seamus have to crack the puzzle before it’s too late.

To buy it, click here, and let me know! I might send you something!

The Game of WTF

On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.

He’s adorable. I hope you’ll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don’t always agree. 🙂

Today is one of those days where I can’t really think of anything to write! I was however, thinking of a game that would involve me thinking of a substantial number of thoughts that fit a certain rough description.

This rough description is WTF? It’s a game, only I have to think of all of the statements and/or questions. But, that’s alright, I am up to the challenge! Maybe. Where the “game” part come sin, I have no idea. Maybe I will figure it out, maybe I won’t.

Here we go.

You have a sore throat, a cough, maybe a fever and definitely a runny nose. You go to get a COVID test. You swab one nostril and pull it out. You make the huge mistake of looking at said swab and you are like, “You expect me to put that in my other nostril? WTF?”

You are doing a load of laundry. Something that you have been doing since you were thirteen when your mother told you that if you didn’t do your own laundry from now on you would not have clean clothes and after the seventh, and consecutive, item of clothing that you have had to turn right side out, you are like, “WTF?”

You look at your significant other when they don’t know you are looking at them so that you can really stare and study and you think to yourself, “How did I even get to this place? How on earth could I ever get so lucky? WTF?”

You are hanging with your just barely a teenager and they tell you that they have secretly known about the mechanics of sex for a few years now and you turn your head and silently mouth, “Holy crap, they are normal! WTF?”

Just so you know, I was strongly shut down on the birds and the bees talk a couple years ago. Now I know why.

I don’t know really. I find so many things about life, both huge and miniscule,  amazing. It’s even amazingly confusing!

Sometimes the bad seems good and sometimes the good seems bad. Sometimes the bad seems amazingly bad and sometimes the good seems amazingly good.

Sometimes it is good to realize that you are very lucky just to be here, living life, and able to tell the good from the bad!

Able to turn bad to good and able to make good better!

Able to make the best of the bad and the very bestest out of the good!

Cause I will tell you one thing people, you can’t help the hand that you were dealt, but you sure as hell can take a chance to make that hand better!

Remember to ALWAYS – LOVE YOUR WAY THROUGH IT!

Peace,

Shaun

The Places We Hide by Carrie Jones
The Places We Hide by Carrie Jones (That’s me. If you click the image, it will bring you to the Amazon page!)

The third book in Rosie and Seamus’s story of adventure, mystery, and death is here!

I hope you’ll support me, have a good read, and check it out!

great new mystery
romantic suspense set in Bar Harbor Maine

Sometimes the treasure is not worth the hunt . . . .

When a little boy goes missing on a large Maine island, the community is horrified especially almost-lovers Rosie Jones and Sergeant Seamus Kelley. The duo’s dealt with two gruesome serial killers during their short time together and are finally ready to focus on their romance despite their past history of murders and torment.

Things seem like they’ve gone terribly wrong. Again. Rosie wakes up in the middle of the woods. Is she sleepwalking or is something more sinister going on?

What at first seems like a fun treasure hunt soon turns into something much more terrifying . . . and they learn that things are not yet safe on their island or in their world. If they want to keep more people from going missing, Rosie and Seamus have to crack the puzzle before it’s too late.

To buy it, click here, and let me know! I might send you something!

I Wish I Could Explain To My Kid . . .

On Thursday, my co-podcaster, Shaun, and husband guy, takes over the blog.

He’s adorable. I hope you’ll read what he says even if he does occasionally sound like a surfer dude from the 1990s or Captain Pontification. And no, we don’t always agree. 🙂

Do you remember being in middle school?

I do. I remember many variations of middle school because I went to at least three of them in different cities in Florida. The demographics of each one were vastly different and I am quite positive that my middle school experiences played a large role shaping me into the person I am today.

But, overall, all twelve years of my public school experience were not a huge deal for me. I would rather have been doing something other than attending school of course, but wouldn’t most of us?

Carrie: Cough. No. Learning is fun!

So, with that tiny bit of backstory in hand, I pose to you this question.

Which did (or do) you hate more?

Having to get up for school when you were actually the one attending or having to get up for school because you are a responsible parent and you have to get your child prepared for the day and then to school?

I know that question makes me sound like a horrible, selfish and unloving parent, but that is just not true.

It is really the fact that now that I am an adult, some things are so much harder!

I mean, it sucks having to get up and attend school when you are a kid.

It sucks having to get up and attend class when you are a young adult and going to college.

And it really sucks to have to get up and go get an education when you are well into adulthood, already have a college degree (probably a job and possibly kids) and just want a better degree because you actually care enough to try and make your life better.

Why then do we do it?

We do it because we want to live the best life possible and we want our kids to have an even better life than us in the end.

I wish I could explain all of this to my kid. I wish they would accept the fact that while adults don’t necessarily know everything, we damn sure know more about most things in life!

I wish I could explain to my kid that yes, in fact, you are growing up in a totally different world than I did, but that damn sure doesn’t make your fairly cushy life any harder than mine when I was your age!

I wish I could explain to my kid that yes, I do love you and care about you and I damn sure know what’s better for you than the people online!

Some day people! Some day they will appreciate us and most of what we have done for them. That is what we can hope at least. But if they don’t? Well, if they don’t, we were successful because they are better people or have better lives because we did our jobs as loving parents then so be it. We are all still winners!

So, take this convoluted blogpost to be nothing more than a reminder that you are doing a good job. You, parent, are doing what is right and all of your sacrifices, hard work, and lack of sleep is the job you took on when you decided to procreate and you are doing one hell of a good job!

Pat yourself on the back and have some “me” time when that little hellion is sleeping. You deserve it!

Remember, it is easier when You Love Your Way Through It!

Peace,

Shaun

NEW BOOK ALERT!

I just want to let everyone know that INCHWORMS (The Dude Series Book 2) is out and having a good time as Dude competes for a full scholarship at a prestigious Southern college and getting into a bit of trouble.

Here’s what it’s about:

A fascinating must-read suspense from New York Times bestseller Carrie Jones.

A new chance visiting a small Southern college.
A potential love interest for a broken girl obsessed with psychology.
A damaged group of co-eds.
A drowning that’s no accident.
A threat that seems to have no end.

And just like that Jessica Goodfeather aka Dude’s trip away from her claustrophobic life in Maine to try to get an amazing scholarship to her dream school has suddenly turned deadly. Again.

What would you do to make a difference?

After his best friend Norah was almost abducted, Cole Nicholaus has spent most of his childhood homeschooled, lonely and pining for Norah to move from best friend to girl friend status. When birds follow him around or he levitates the dishes, he thinks nothing of it—until a reporter appears and pushes him into making a choice: stay safe at home or help save a kidnapped kid.

Cole and Norah quickly end up trying to not just save a kid, but an entire town from a curse that has devastating roots and implications for how exactly Cole came to be the saint that he is.

Can Cole stop evil from hurting him and Norah again? And maybe even get together? Only the saints know.

From the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the NEED series, Saint is a book about dealing with the consequences that make us who we are and being brave enough to admit who we love and what we need.

BUY NOW! 🙂 I made a smiley face there so you don’t feel like I’m too desperate.

The cover. Creepy, right?

You can read an excerpt right here.

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