Thought Wheel

Ann Chiappetta

Upstate Adventures 🐻🌲

| Filed under blindness pets and people Relationships writing

 

Hello from Windham and Hunter Mountains, Green and Ulster counties, NY, home of the New York Catskills and summer wildlife. Bear and deer and black flies, oh my!

🐻  🦌  🌄

It took us almost as long to pack for the trip Like we were moving out. In a way we were moving out, at least temporarily.

 

Let me explain.  Remember hurricane Ida in the Fall of 2021? We sustained water damage to our entire apartment. In fact, all the apartments on the ground floor and the lobby area took on six inches or more of flood water.  Our lobby was completely under over four feet of it. me we all had to first wait for the insurance and FEMA funding to come through, then wait for a move out date.  Since we own cats and dogs, this meant finding a location for two weeks that was not going to mean living in one room together like in a hotel. and the most important part of it was also packing up everything to be stored in a pod while the work is being done. Oh, and to add a cherry atop this shit show of bad timing, there is also asbestos abatement along with the replacing the floors from the old glue used on the original flooring being removed.  We didn’t know about that one. Now it is a concern and rightly so. It is also bad timing.

 

A powerful wave of flood water slamming open your front door and engulfing your apartment is traumatic enough but the asbestos thing is just, like, really shitty. It will delay things a bit more for the installation of the new floors and moving back in again when we return.

 

We are fortunate to be able to make the bad timing and all the packing work to our advantage.  we deserve some respite after so much upheaval. The stress exhausted us. If Jerry and April weren’t there helping me, guiding me around all the boxes,  extra workers, and taking charge of the packing prior to the work, I’d never manage it alone. This is our family and I am proud of us.

 

View from bridge spanning Windham nountain looking out into the valley below.

The wildlife is active. The variety of animals eating the apple tree in the adjoining yard included rabbits, a wood chuck, and two black bears, we think a mother and older cub based on size and attitude.

 

 

a large black bear and a small black bear beside an apple tree in West Kill NY

 

 

Annie Shares News V2 # 7.5 Lotsa Stuf 🛒

| Filed under blindness blogging Fiction writing

Annie Shares News Volume 2 Issue 7.5 July/August 2022

anniesharesnews@groups.io

Subscribe: anniesharesnews+subscribe@groups.io

www.annchiappetta.com

 

Hello Readers and followers, a blessed and belated Independence Day to everyone.  🎆 🎇 🧨

I wanted to get this out before we break for a vacation. I’ll share our adventures upon our return. Even the cats are coming with us, so it should be interesting.

 

The ever-expanding tribe of writers and readers means so much to me and I want to share a bit about them in each newsletter moving forward.

 

I had a great time being a guest blogger for a June Word Crafter blog tour for Hope For the Tarnished. It was a fun five days of getting to know the host bloggers and exposing my novel to new readers. To find out more about Kay Lynne’s newsletter, book blog tours and her excellent blog, Writing To Be Read, go here.

Leon Stevens writes: Looking for my first review for my second poetry collection. Readers can get a review copy through Story Origin or read on KU (Kindle Unlimited).

 

Receive a free review copy through Story Origin here: Review copy link

Read with Kindle Unlimited: Amazon link

 

 

I caught this great review of my novel, Hope for the Tarnished, from mystery writer and author, Trish Hubschman. Check it out:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1134230

m

☕ 🍵

Ms. Liz and I shared some TEA on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/IsfJTH_wDEc

Please like and share it and follow Miss Liz, she’s the best and she is making a difference one cup of spiritually-infused Tea at a time!

 

Since I’ve been sharing audio clips of my writing, I thought I’d share one of my short stories, Trolley Ride from A String of Stories from the Heart to the Future © 2020 and narrated by Lilian Yves.

 

 

May the summer breeze and warm winds propel your imagination and soothe your spirits!

Dreya the book dragon floating amid books and music notes. She is smiling.

Dreya the book dragon

 

Meaningful Gifts from Readers 📖

| Filed under writing

What Readers are Saying About My New Novel Hope for the Tarnished C 2022

Independent authors thrive upon reviews. I thought I’d share two of my favorites. One of the best gifts you can give an author is your feedback. 💖

“I just read Hope for the Tarnished and thought it was written well.  It kept my interest and I cared about the characters.  I liked the mixture of problems and people who supported Abbie.  It also had a good blend of drama and rest between troubles plus humor and the beloved dogs.  What more could a reader ask for?”

 

  • From Lisa B.

“This is a review of Ann Chiappetta’s novel Hope for the Tarnished (contemporary fiction).

 

It’s excellent. I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s full of action and kept pulling me along. It’s a totally realistic story about a family’s struggle in the 1970s, a divorced mom with three daughters. The story is set in Westchester county, New York, and on Long Island. I grew up in the 70s on Long Island and did some of the things her main character, Abbie, does, drank, danced, hung out with friends, listened to rock and roll music. The story was fun at times, heart breaking, heartwarming. Sometimes I had tears pouring down my face. Other times I was clapping my hands and laughing. Ann’s descriptiveness of things was incredible, from the design of Abbie’s swimsuits to the fishing boats on Long Island Sound.

I don’t remember the last time a book affected me as much as Hope for the Tarnished did. I’d give it more than a five-star rating if I could, but five stars is the top of the line, so is this book. Thank you for such an impactful story, Ann.”

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1134230

 

From Trish Hubschman

Author of the Tracy Gayle mystery series

 

Add my book to your summer reading list

Good Reads author page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/15809422.Ann_Chiappetta

https://www.amazon.com/Ann-Chiappetta/e/B06Y1H47FS%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

 

Smashwords Author page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AnnChiappetta

book cover two people  looking out over the beach watching a glorious sunset.

 

 

 

May the Bone Hoarder Chronicles

| Filed under nonfiction Relationships

It was a stressful day. I visited my dentist and underwent an extraction, one of many in preparation for implants. It wasn’t as horrible as anticipated, though I will admit I do get anxious whenever my trusted dental expert schedules to remove something I’ve grown up with and have learned to depend upon like a front tooth.   Needless to say today   some comedic relief would have been wonderful, and with this in mind, here’s the story:

 

I was going back to the kitchen to refill my drink with ice and Jerry was preparing dinner. He turned to me, then looked down and exclaimed,

“Hey, where’s the other ear of corn?” and before I could say anything, he bolted past me and found the stolen item beside another bone on the dog bed in the living room. May was not owning up to it, and) conspicuously nowhere near the crime. She is not only a bone hoarder but also a corn-on-the-cob thief. We’ve caught her before, and one time, it took her three days to finally poop out the cob.

 

I could not hold back and burst out and laughed the gut-busting kind of laugh, complete with tears and belly cramps, followed by giggles and more laughing.

 

May and my hubby gave me the best gift, stress relief!

May on dog bed with bones beside her.This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative. May the dog on her bed with her bones

 

 

 

by Ann Chiappetta | tags : | 0

Celebrate July with freedom and Free books 🎇

| Filed under blindness Fiction Guide dogs nonfiction Poem

Celebrate July with freedom and Free books

📕  📖  📘  📙  📗

The 14th Annual Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale has begun, running now through July 31. Visit my author’s page to order your free eBooks from Smashwords during the Summer sale!

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AnnChiappetta

 All my titles are free, a gift to readers everywhere.

 

Thousands of titles are discounted or free —  so why not go to Smashwords and go shopping for your summer reading collection? Visit the sale at https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos

 

Why Smashwords? Electronic choices, of course. It’s simple and get the book delivered to your inbox.  Transfer it to your favorite book reading app. It’s great, kindle isn’t the only eBook reading app in town. 😉

Words of life book cover

Tranquil photo of stacked stones beside circular pattern in the sand.