May, 2024

Don’t know if anyone noticed, but I didn’t send out a newsletter in April. That’s because everything fell apart in April. I mean, everything. Well… okay, so nobody died or anything, but my email program crashed taking all my folders with it. Lost everything I’d been saving, and it’ll never be recovered. This happened because I’m a techno-idiot, although I know I’m not the only one. If either of my grandsons lived nearby, they could have explained things to me. But Dai (older grandson) lives in North Carolina and Riki (younger grandson) is now living in Fairfax, Virginia. And my dogs don’t understand computers any better than I do.

So. There was that. Then on the fourth of April, I followed our morning usual routine. This involves me opening the back door and the side gate (big backyard. Not pretty. Weedy and ugly). Then I tell my hounds they can go outside and see the “Great Green Out-of-Doors,” and they race across the yard, barking and loving life. Until the fourth of April. On that memorable day, Jazzy Fizzle Torres-Duncan (the beautiful blue wiener and queen of all she surveys) let out a scream and went down in her back legs. Naturally, because she’s a mixed terriorist and a mighty hunter, Cookie attacked her. So I, a crippled old broad, hurried as fast as I could to the crime scene (didn’t even think about my phone), grabbed Cookie by the tail and got her off Jazzy. Then I sat on the ground with Jazzy and wondered what to do next. I mean, I’m not kidding when I say I’m crippled. I couldn’t stand and take care of Jazzy at the same time. Fortunately for Jazzy and me both, my neighbor (Barry Lasky) was in his backyard, so he came over to see what all the hollering was about.

He picked up Jazzy, holding her carefully, and I finally managed to get to my feet (Cookie had backed off by then). Called the vet. My usual vet doesn’t have X-ray facilities, so I called another vet, who suggested I bring her in. I did, along with my neighbor (Ann Lasky). Turned out Jazzy has a herniated disk. This must be genetic, because I (her mother) have really horrible back trouble, including several herniated disks. Well, and pretty much all of my joints have been replaced, and the femur I broke two years back still hurts like heck. It’s not fun being old. Trust me on this. Well, actually, I wouldn’t mind the years if the old bod didn’t hurt so much.

However, Jazzy’s only about ten! Dachshunds have long backs and short legs, and they’re prone to back problems already. I try not to let my hounds get fat, and Jazzy isn’t fat. But she’s still a wiener dog, and she now has a bad back like her mommy. The vet said he’s had luck even with dachshunds by using large doses of steroids. He also said there is a neurological vet clinic in Algodones, which is between Albuquerque and Santa Fe (not nearby, in other words). An operation to fix her would cost around $1,500. Having had multiple surgeries on my own back, I already know they don’t repair stuff forever. I’m personally in screaming pain all the freaking time (please pardon the F-word). So we went with the steroids. Also, having spent my last dime taking care of myself and buying a replacement car after my old one had been murdered, I don’t have the moola to pay for surgery on Jazzy.

I honestly wouldn’t mind if the USA went to a national healthcare system kind of like the rest of the civilized world. I doubt it would cost more than what I pay each month for Medicare, Medicare supplements, prescription coverage, etc. Approximately 1/3 of my monthly income goes for medical insurance. Snarl.

Anyhow, Jazzy seems to be getting better! She’s still hunchy, so when I took her back to the vet for a check-up, they continued the steroids. We have another Jazzy check-up on May 9 (I think), and we’ll know more then, but Jazzy is able to walk again. The idiot hound, who refused to learn English (let’s not talk about my inability to speak Dog) tries to jump up and down from things, which are two big no-nos. Bah. I think I’ve managed to thwart her in the bedroom, if nowhere else, by doing the following:

Here's Jazzy in her crate:

 Here are Bam-Bam and Jazzy on their barricaded bed:

On the far side of the bed is the ramp. You might notice a tray table at the head of the ramp. There's also another ramp going sideways bumping up next to the tray table. That's to prevent Scrappy (the antique Chihuahua) from falling off the ramp and giving himself any more owies. The barrier I fixed for Jazzy is, as you can see, my laundry basket and the bedroom chair. So she has to take the ramp down from the bed. These days the only one who still has trouble getting in and out of the stupid bed is me. Whatever.

Oh, and that silver crunchy thing underneath the blankies is supposed to keep the dogs off the bed. Clearly, it doesn't work. In fact, Jazzy used to love doing zoomies on it. Sigh. I hope her zoomie days will return eventually.

To cap of an already stinky month, my washing machine stopped working on April 25. It’s better now, but nobody’s sure if it will last.

The only good thing to happen in April is the manuscript of Celluloid Angels being sent to my publisher! Didn’t think I’d ever finish that book. And it wasn’t for any good reason except that I had no idea what was going on. I may have explained all this before, but what the heck. I don’t have anything else to write about, so I’ll pen (or compute) a recap.

Harvey Nash is a bigwig producer in Hollywoodland. His lavish new production of Helen of Troy has been hit with a series of “accidents” on the set. I’d started out using John Gilbert as Paris and Anita Page as Helen. Then I decided John was too old and moustache-y for Paris. And Anita was too darned young. So I switched to Ramon Novarro and Blanche Sweet. I had originally intended to give both silent-screen stars large roles in the book as well as the flicker. But Ramon never turned up at all, and Blanche had (I think) maybe one line. Anyhow, Harvey (Mercy’s brother-in-law) hires Ernie Templeton, Mercy and Lulu LaBelle to figure out what’s going on and stop the sabotage.

I had to stop writing and do research every time I turned around. First of all, Helen’s story isn’t in the Odyssey or the Iliad, except for a mention in the latter (unless it’s the former). It’s in The Aeneid, by Virgil. Big whoop. Then I had to research ancient Greek costumes, horseback riding (they didn’t use saddles or reins as we know them, and they generally rode w/o undies. Ow). And of course, I had to figure out what kind of poison would work with the plot, how to administer it, how to get people onto a closed and guarded set, and why anyone would want to wreck Harvey’s movie. Along the way poor Mercy gets a terrible allergic reaction to something in her makeup. So bless Iris Evans (co-founder of the Daisy Daze Facebook Page), She not only gave me recipes for, but also sent some, homemade cold cream, powder and other skin-care products and use them on Mercy in the book.

Have I mentioned before that Mercy’s sister, Chloe, finally had her and Harvey’s baby? As one member of Daisy Daze pointed out: it’s about time, since she’s been pregnant for five years.

At any rate, I finished the blankety-blank book and sent it in. I’m not proud of it, but you never know. Some of my favorite books (of those I’ve written) aren’t much liked by other people, and vice-versa.

But now I get to write Spirits Adopted, and I love writing this one! The plot for Spirits Adopted came from the folks on Daisy Daze. No kidding. My mind was, as is increasingly true, a total blank. So I asked for hints, and the Daisy Dazers came through like champions. I hope they don’t get bored when I ask for input for the next Mercy book. If you’re interested in pre-ordering Celluloid Angels and/or Spirits Adopted, here are a couple of links. Don’t have the cover art yet, but will show it as soon as possible. Just click on the cover, and you'll be directed to the Kindle link.

Also, Library Spirits and Hollywood Angels are still available, so grab ‘em if you want ‘em:

I neglected to post a give-away in March (which turned out to be a good thing, as April turned sour on the first day).So what the heck. If you’re interested in getting one of my ebooks, Bam-Bam (who I hope will last for another few months) will select wieners out of his special doggie dish at the end of May. Just choose a book and tell me which one you want. PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO GIVE ME THE NAME OF YOUR E-READER. I can send ebooks for any and all of them, but I need to know which one you have because Kindle books don’t play on Nooks (at least I don’t think they do). 

If you’re on Facebook, join Daisy Daze! Anyone who has an interest in the 1920s will probably find Daisy Daze interesting, at least sometimes. As mentioned earlier, Daisy Dazers even give me plotting advice sometimes. Often even. Daisy Daze was founded by Iris Evans and Leon Fundenberger, both of whom like Daisy and Mercy. Daisy Daze is a great place for Daisy Gumm Majesty Rotondo and Mercedes Louise Allcutt fans to hang out, as well as anyone who is interested in the “Roaring Twenties.” We concentrate pretty closely on the Pasadena and Los Angeles areas, because the books are set there. We also cover a lot of stuff relating to early motion-pictures, because both Daisy and Mercy have friends in the biz. Daisy Daze is fun, it’s educational and if you’d like to be a member, check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/905100189878318/

If you’d like to visit my web page, here’s the link (thanks to Lyndele von Schill): Home | Alice Duncan . If you’d like to be Facebook friends, please go here: (20+) Alice Duncan | Facebook .

Here’s a link to my author page at ePublishingWorks: Alice Duncan Author Page (ebookdiscovery.com)

Thank you!

Alice