Author: P.J. MacLayne

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HO HO HO Bah Humbug #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

October 12, 2026

It’s only October, but stores are filling with Christmas merchandise. Have you started to get ready for the holidays?

I work part-time in a small corporate general store.

Local employees groaned when Christmas merchandise started to roll in the small back warehouse in August. But the mini-sale the store had that month was to sell some of the Christmas wrapping, etc.. that was leftover from last year. (And who knows that some of it might be from the year before – wrapping paper doesn’t go out of style.)

I have plenty of decorations that I’ve collected over the years, and don’t have room for more. Shoot, I don’t have room for some of the ones I already own!

Besides, it isn’t even Halloween yet. Then there’s Thanksgiving. And several birthdays scattered among the holidays. I won’t even start thinking about Christmas this soon.

So, when do I start preparing for the holidays?

I’m trying to decide about Halloween now. We don’t get enough trick-or-treaters to make it worth the effort. And with the grandkids moved away, I don’t have a built-in audience.

Thanksgiving will also be trimmed down. No need to prepare a huge meal for the three of us. It’ll still include dishes that aren’t part of our daily diet, but I won’t spend days cooking.

I’ll start thinking about Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. I still send out cards, and that’ll be the first task. Maybe some outdoor lights will get set up, depending on the weather. I’ll probably work on decorations right up until Christmas Day.

How about our other authors? Are they getting ready for the holidays yet? Check out their posts by following the links below.

And, as always, please stay safe until next time.

October 12, 2026

It’s only October, but stores are filling with Christmas merchandise. Have you started to get ready for the holidays?

 

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What Will I Wear? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

October 5, 2026

Is there a character in your books with a wardrobe you wish you had??

When I considered the question, I realized my character with the most extensive wardrobe is Jake Hennessey, my jewel thief.  It’s an occupational need, as he has to fit in with different social situations. While  I found it interesting to write, it isn’t something I need in real life.

Being retired, I no longer have the need for an extensive wardrobe. I spend most of my days in jeans and a T-shirt, although after five years, I’ve burned through most of my collection of shirts. And the few times I’ve gone shopping for new ones, I don’t find what I’m looking for.

So whose wardrobe can I borrow?

I might pick on Annie McGuire, my private investigator. Although her wardrobe is limited, she’s slowly expanding it. It contains clothing appropriate for everything from visiting dive bars to family restaurants to churches and cops shops. Lots of black to make me feel at home. So far, she hasn’t had the need for formal wear, but neither have I.a Here’s a quick snippet of Annie looking for something to wear at an unexpected stay at a motel: (taken from The Donovan File, my soon-to-be released second book in The Edwards Investigation.)

 

“What are you hoping to find?” Mike asked on the way down the block. They strolled side by side, but not touching. Close enough to appear to be a couple. He allowed his gun to glint from his waistband, so an observant and potentially dangerous watcher would avoid them.

“I’m looking for an oversized T-shirt. Maybe a rock band I’ve never heard of or a tie-dye. I can use either in my wardrobe for future jobs.” Annie sped up her steps to match Mike’s.

Image by Araxhs Official from Pixabay

Yes, she and I could have a good time shopping together.

How about our other authors? Is Richard going to show up in a spacesuit? Find out by following the links below. And if you want to tell up which character’s wardrobe you’d like to borrow, feel free to put share in the comments.

And, as always, be safe until next time!

PS: The Donovan File is complete. My cover artist is out of town, but it won’t be long until I can determine a release date.

October 5, 2026

Is there a character in your books with a wardrobe you wish you had??

 

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When Fall Blows In #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

September 28, 2026

Outside the usual autumn stuff, what else does the season hold for you annually?

I know traditionally I should be getting ready for winter.

But I’m looking around and seeing all the things I didn’t get done in the summer. Or spring.

There’s a large flowerpot I never put fresh soil in. All it grew was weeds. I need to empty it and put it away before winter settles in. (Along with the pots that treated me to multi-colored displays all summer.)

I never got my front steps repainted. A summer job that was delayed by rain too many times. If the weather holds off for a few days, I might get that chore accomplished. There is new weatherstripping to be installed, too.

But does the season hold anything special for me?

Just the expected autumn stuff. The never-ending hills covered in glorious shades of color. Cooler days, relieving the heat of summer. Cooler nights, bringing the comfort of thicker blankets and cuddly coats. I’ve always loved the season, even if it isn’t my favorite.

Oh, and I guess it’s worth mentioning—the season holds my birthday. And the anniversary of my husband and I first meeting. Important dates for me!

How about the other authors on this hop? What does the season hold? Find out by following the links below.

As always, please stay safe until the next time.

 

September 28, 2026

Outside the usual autumn stuff, what else does the season hold for you annually?

 

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Do You Hear What I Hear? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

 

September 14, 2026

Setting music aside, describe some of your favorite sounds.

We could debate all week which genre of music is the best

But the lady who developed the prompt wisely excluded that discussion. So, what are my favorite sounds?

That’s easy. It came with retirement and my newly discovered interest in bird-watching. We are on several migratory routes, and I spot a variety of birds each spring. Not the same ones each year, but always a thrill to spot a new variety. What comes with that are bird calls.

So, bird calls are my second choice for my favorite sound. It’s fascinating to be outdoors and listen to the various calls and whistles. Have you ever heard the sound of hummingbirds? It’s more than the high-speed of the flapping of their wings. Then there are the blue jays, cardinals, wrens, even crows and ravens. I think those are my favorites. It’s challenging to figure out which is which based only on their distant calls.

Sadly, I’ve started to lose my hearing. Well, start is a inadequate description. I injured my ear in a bicycle accident back in the 1970s. Over the years, I’ve lost small portions of the upper and lower ranges of sound in that ear. As I get older, the loss is accelerated. (But the hearing in the other ear  is still hanging in there.)

But that’s not my favorite sound.

The one thing I like to hear more than anything is the words “I love you,” when spoken by my husband. After fifty-plus years, it still makes my heart flutter. Call it sappy, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

What do the other authors in this hop like to hear? Find out by following the links below.

As always, please stay safe until the next time. (Which should be soon, because I should have a cover design soon and I’m in the final edits of The Donovan files.)

September 14, 2026

Setting music aside, describe some of your favorite sounds.

 

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You Put Your Right Foot In #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

September 7, 2026

Do you ever act out your scenes to immerse yourself and test them out, to be sure they really work?

I did that.

Once. I was trying to figure out a fight scene. That was over a decade ago, and I can’t remember which book it was for. But I was worried the space I’d chosen for the scene wasn’t big enough for the fight to happen in. (There was a big wooden desk in the way.) In the end, I gave it up. Decided it wouldn’t work.

Not that I’m much of a fighter. But I’ve watched lots of YouTube videos trying to figure out martial arts moves for various characters. Especially for Harmony Duprie. She had a way of getting herself into trouble.

Because I’m afraid my days of being athletic are over. My knees aren’t in prime form anymore. I can’t move the way I envision my characters moving. Except in my mind, of course, where I will walk through each step in a major scene. I don’t know how many aches I’d end up with if I tried rolling from one aisle in a convenience store to another.

Can I be sure they work?

I can’t guarantee it. I can only do what I can do. And hope that the videos I’ve watched and not AI  and can be done in real life.

Do our other authors act out scenes from their stories? You know what to do—follow the links below to find out. 

As always, please stay safe until next time.

Goal update – remember those? My story has come back from my 2nd editor. I need to set a new goal – for getting this through formatting and to a printer.

“Annie held the Bible over her head, unwrapped and opened to show off the discs before placing it on the ground. Awkwardly, she gathered the child into her arms and stood. It was harder than she’d anticipated, and she stumbled on her way back to her end of the alley. When she heard footsteps behind her, she didn’t turn to look, assuming Shorty was retrieving his prize.”

September 7, 2026 Do you ever act out your scenes to immerse yourself and test them out, to be sure they really work? Rules: 1. Link your blog to this hop. 2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop. 3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants' blogs. 4. Tweet/or share each person's blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting. 5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

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September 7, 2026

Do you ever act out your scenes to immerse yourself and test them out, to be sure they really work?

 

Black Hole Ads #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

August 31, 2026

From a writing perspective, how do you view advertisements for products or services (on TV, in magazines, online)?

I don’t “do” ads.

In fact, that’s the primary reason I don’t watch TV anymore. I can’t stand ads. I can’t help but tear them apart and find the flaws. Makes the experience irritating for my husband. And ads online? Truth is, I don’t “see” them. My eyes and brain ignore them. Even the ads that Facebook pushes as posts from people you might know do nothing but irritate me. They don’t make to want their product, quite the opposte. The ones in the margins don’t exist as far as I’m concerned. I can’t be anonymous online, but I can be as boring as possible to advertisers. A black hole.

Word of mouth is different. That’s what I pay attention to. When a fellow author sings the praises of a program, or an editor, or a particular service, I’m listening.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/firmbee-663163/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=793034">Firmbee</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=793034">Pixabay</a>

 

What does that mean for my writing?

Well, especially as I am retired, I miss out on a lot of current cultural references. I can’t tell you the names of the newest TV shows or the hottest movies. They aren’t important to my stories, so they don’t get included.

How about the other authors on this hop?  How do they view advertisements? Find out by following the links below.

As always, please stay safe until the next time.

August 31, 2026

From a writing perspective, how do you view advertisements for products or services (on TV, in magazines, online)?

 

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None Of It Is Trash … Well, Almost #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

 

August 24, 2026

Name one thing that a writer should never do.

I’m going to skip the obvious.

You’ve heard it before. Never stop writing. There’s a lot of truth in the statement, but you’ve heard it before. I won’t bore you with repeating it.

Here’s a close second. Never throw away your discarded drafts. You never know when some part of them may come in useful. I’ve repeated the story about how The Rimer Files was derived from a story I wrote over a decade ago. And—hurrah!—the second book in the series, The Donovan File, went to the editor this past week. Now, I’m not suggesting that every word that spills from your pen onto a piece of paper is a New York Times bestseller. I can’t count how many times I’ve started and stopped trying to write another book in the Free Wolves series. Four? Five? Well, I’m trying again, and finding the scattering of other starts is making me crazy. (It’s been since 2018 that I wrote a book in that series.)

Shoot, tucked away in an envelope in a cardboard box, I have a draft of a story I wrote back in 1975. It’ll stay there, likely for the rest of my life, but I get a measure of joy from the reminder of what I accomplished.

I also have binders and files of poems that have never been published.

And won’t be. Some exist only as files on old computer flash drives. I’m okay with that.

The point is, I won’t know if I want to reference some small phrase of past writing until I actually need it. And I don’t have to wonder if it ended up in the trash somewhere, sometime. Oh, there are things that ended in a garbage can. I’m not totally delusional, and capable of writing trash.

Here’s an example of keeping discarded writing: I wrote a scene about a kidnapped girl as the opening scene for The Donovan’s File. When it was finished, I loved it, but I knew it wasn’t right. I set it aside and kept trying to figure out how to include it. I was halfway thru the story before I found a spot.

So, here’s my advice: hold on to those scraps of writing. If they are kept as computer files, no one will know you have them and can’t accuse you of hoarding.

What do the other authors advise? Find out by following the links below.

And, as always, please stay safe until the next time.

August 24, 2026

Name one thing that a writer should never do.

 

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To Change My World #OpenBook Bog Hop

  By Open Book

August 17, 2026

What’s one thing about your writing that you would change if you could do it easily?

What would I change?

Oh man, this is a tough one. I don’t know what I would change. The only thing I came up with is writing faster.

I’ve never been a book-a-month writer. Yes, I finished a first draft for NaNoWriMo several times, but they were never “good.” Back then, most of my books took around nine months to get ready for outside eyes.

But I’ve slowed down. It take longer to complete a story than it used to. It’s hard for me to give a good estimate, because I interrupted working on my last two books to write short stories for charitable anthologies. I’m getting ready to send my latest version of The Donovan Files to my editor after over a year of work. I checked my records, but I’m not sure exactly when I started the first draft.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

I could make up a myriad of excuses for why that happened. Truth is, I’m just finding it harder to concentrate. So, what would I change? Easy answer, I’d regain my powers of ignoring the world around me and write faster. I have several stories bouncing around in my brain. I want to write a third book in the Edwards Investigations series and a fourth one in the Free Wolves books. (That’s a story I’ve started three times and never made it past the first chapter. Over the weekend, in between customers at the local community festival, I started a fourth version. We’ll wait and see what happens.)

First, I need to write the blurb for my WIP. I’ve been putting it off too long. Now to story is finished, I have no excuse.

What would other authors change? Find out by following the links below.

As always, please stay safe until the next time.

 

August 17, 2026

What’s one thing about your writing that you would change if you could do it easily?

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Is It Clutter Or Pleasure? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

 

August 10, 2026

Do you collect anything in particular?

I’m going to assume that books don’t count here.

Sadly, I don’t have as many as I used to because I needed to pare down when we moved after I retired. But I’ve been adding new books to be bookshelf.

At heart, I am a minimalist. Unlike my husband, who would buy many collectibles if we had an unlimited amount of spare money. We’ve learned to compromise.

I have allowed myself to gather fake flowers and put them all over the house. No fancy arrangements, just flowers stuck in a variety of containers. They make me happy even in the dreary days of winter.

I do have a weakness.

I admit to harboring far too much outdated computer equipment during my years working in IT. And technology changed rapidly. I ended up with outdated RAM, old motherboards, graphics cards that no longer meet current standards. That’s not mentioning peripherals – old mice, cables of all sorts, even used battery backups. I also ended up with old but updated computers. But my pride is a Windows 3.1 laptop that still worked the last time I checked.

My stash proved useful more than once at work. When maintaining legacy equipment, it’s handy to have old equipment around. But when I retired and moved, I had most of the equipment recycled rather than hauling it across country.

There is one thing more I kept. (Besides the old laptop.) I have an almost complete collection of Windows installation media. Yep, even Windows 3.1 on computer discs. Windows 11 is on a USB stick. The rest are on CD. The one I don’t remember collecting is Windows ME.

 

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

That’s my collection. It may be weird, but it brings me joy.

What do the others on this hop collect? Join me in exploring their answers by following the links below.

As always, please stay safe until the next time.

 

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August 10, 2026

Do you collect anything in particular?

Writing My Life Story #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

August 3, 2026

Have you included any of your major life events in your stories?

The easy answer is no.

I consider my life to be fairly boring, but other people are amazed by the variety of places I’ve lived and the number of jobs I held. Still, I don’t write about them. Not in my fiction, anyway. My poetry from twenty years ago is different. Even then, I fictionalized the moments being memorialized.

Still, there are hints of my life in my stories. There’s truth to the advice “write what you know.” That’s how I ended up with wolf shifters who were computer programmers and technicians. It’s your guess which of those I’ve known.

Then there’s Harmony, my librarian turned internet researcher. I’d considered being a librarian as my career, but life sent me a different direction. I don’t have any experience to explain Jake Hennessey’s experience in stealth. Not that I’d admit to, but the internet is a fine tool for research. 

 

So, although my books don’t portray any major event from my life, bits and pieces of the stories reflect moments of real life.

How about our other authors? Find out by following the links below.

As always, I hope y’all remain safe until the next time.

 

Have you included any of your major life events into your stories?

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