Thanks, all! The name change was my final decision. We tossed around several because I wasn’t particularly fond of the one I used on here. My publisher also thought the new title suited it better, so we went with it.
Thanks for the Amazon reviews!
MJ
Hey, all,
The novel I workshopped on here, known as "When Sorry Ain't Enough," is now on Amazon, thanks to Fisher King Publishing, but the name has been changed to "Revenge of the Brothers."
For those who offered their suggestions and comments during the writing process... thanks a million. I appreciate it more than you'll ever know. And a special thanks to Morag Higgins for getting her agent/publisher interested enough to read it and offer me a contract. YAY! It takes a village!
I do need some positive feedback on Amazon if any of you are so inclined. Here's the Amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/REVENGE-BROTHERS … amp;sr=8-1
Happy trails to all,
MJ
Thanks, George. This is my second win. Proceeds will go to Marilyn's animal sanctuary if I could only find the email address. :-)
OMG, Dirk! What a wonderful surprise! Thank you so much! I'll email you the address if you've lost it. Let me know! My 72 animals will be grateful, and Raymond, the turkey, will want to sniff you out. He's the sheriff of these enchanted woods! 
For those who don't know it, Dirk has been a big supporter of our Animal Rescue efforts for years. He's a good guy to have on your side. Now, if he'd just get two cats... just sayin'...
Ah, I knew yours would win when I read it. It is a fabulous story! Congrats to all of you! And a big thanks to Sol for the contest. They're always much fun, especially the picture ones with limited words. Loved it!
Happy trails,
MJ
Not sure exactly how much national recognition he has but he is a former Republican representative from Florida, David Jolly. He appears on MSNBC regularly and most everything he says makes sense and it is an obvious plus that he left the Republican/Trump party. He is the only person at this point in time that I would encourage to run and feel no reluctance to support in any way possible. Wonder if anyone else is familiar with him. Just my thoughts for what they're worth. Take care. Vern
I have not heard of David Jolly, or noticed him would be a better word. The biggest problem we will have with anybody is no limit on how much $$$ one person can donate to the candidates. If trump is still alive and still has a tongue in his mouth to lie with, Elon will pour it out again. Elon bought this election, which is a crying shame if you ask me. Russia bought trump the first time around, and now Elon. He needs to go back to South Africa. He has no business in our political system.
Thinking out loud...
MJ
What I wonder at this point is, who do the Democrats have with enough name recognition and track record to run against whomever the Republicans try to push through?
Alan
All of you know I am an animal lover and rescuer, but I swear, I would vote for the dog catcher before I'd ever vote for trump. (I do not capitalize his name on purpose because he doesn't deserve a proper name. And he will never be MY president.)
When you asked that question, Alan, the first name that came to me was Tim Walz. I liked him a lot; he knew how to excite the crowd. The other one was Mark Kelly. We need somebody very strong, but as Dick Van Dyke said, I probably won't be around then, either. IF there is another election. I hate like hell to die with donald trump as POTUS.
Just thoughts on steroids tonight because, after hearing the fool wants to buy Gaza, I'm hoping a cardiac event will find its way to him soon. Better him than me! Have a couple more Big Macs, donnie! 
MJ
I cannot believe this country is letting this fool put all these tariffs on all these countries. What a complete psychotic fool he is! And the members of Congress are just sitting back on their butts, letting this happen. Unreal. I am so embarrassed for America that this ignoramus is running unchecked and ruining every trade deal this country has ever had. We are about to go into the worst depression this country has ever known, but it's not like his voters weren't warned. Unbelievable!
Getting rid of elections would take an abandonment of the Constitution, because two thirds of congress will never vote for that.
dags
I wish I were confident, but anything’s possible with the group he’s working with, especially since the Supreme Court gave him unlimited power. In less than two weeks, he’s upset the world, and he’ll probably claim he can change the Constitution whenever he wants. The spineless politicians would likely back him. He’ll drive this country into the ground before we can vote in two years... if we even can.
We're about to see food prices and gasoline prices go through the ceiling because of his stupid tariffs and his crybaby tantrums. Those who voted for him will get what's coming to them because they were warned, but in the meantime, he's dragging the ones like us who would've voted for the dogcatcher instead of him down with them. He thinks he can close his eyes, and suddenly, we own Greenland, Canada, and Panama. Canada is fighting back by buying oil from Russia, which they never really stopped doing, and trump is pissed about it. He will try something stupid; wait and see. Canada has threatened to turn off the electricity they supply to Michigan, New York, and other northern states... some of which were Red states... if this tariff thing continues. But the bad news is, once those trade deals we had with Canada, Mexico, and Colombia are broken, those countries don't sit around and cry about it... they find other countries to deal with, and we will never get them back again.
When he was in office the first time, he slapped tariffs on China, which killed our soybean business because our farmers sold soybeans to China, and China said, "Oh, no, we'll find another supplier." And so they did... Russia. But here's the stupidity of all that: I live in soybean country. All the big farms in my area raise soybeans or chickens, and some do both. When trump screwed up our relationship with China in 2018, my local farming community had no place for their soybeans to go. I saw them rotting in the field because they didn't waste money harvesting a crop that wouldn't sell. Then the payments came due on their huge John Deere harvesting machines and farms... but they had no money to make the payments, thanks to trump's stupidity. Next thing I knew, there were Bank Foreclosure signs at the end of almost every farm's driveway in Hart County. The banks took their farmland and their equipment. Lying trump told the farmers the government would pay for their crop losses, but it never did. At the end of every Foreclosed farm's driveway was a trump 2020 sign. I mean, how ignorant can you get? If he screws you over once, why do you want him back for another four years? I don't understand that logic!
America, it's been real... I enjoyed it for 75 years, but I guess all good things must end somewhere. I'm hoping for a shift in the midterm elections; however, Trump declared that voting for him would eliminate the need for future votes. I took him at his word, and I believe that's where we're headed.
If there's any good news to report about his term in office, I will be 75 years old this year in March. One of us... him or me... hopefully won't be around much longer, even though I don't want to die with him in office. Harry Truman was president when I was born, followed by Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, HW Bush, Clinton, W Bush, Obama, orange face, Biden, and now Convicted Felon. That's 14 different presidents. By far, the best was Clinton, and the worst is the current one. My, how things have changed since Clinton, who was impeached for having sex with Monica Lewinsky while in office. He just got caught, but his policies were the best this country has ever seen. The budget was balanced, interest rates were low, and he could get both sides to work with him. So we've gone from shunning a man (Clinton) who even thought about doing something inappropriate to electing the most corrupt man who has ever set his butt in the White House chair. It used to be a man could not be elected POTUS if he had any "dirt" in his background. Today, the dirtier, the better. What a shame.
Lauren, I don't know what it's gonna take for you to get the treatment you need. The bull in the china shop isn't interested in helping anyone except his rich cronies, so all I can suggest is calling the White House and asking to speak to the Buffoon and see who answers. Have you talked with your representative? It shouldn't be like this, but obviously, we peons will have to beg for every crumb we get.
Please keep us informed. And feel free to rant away all you want to 'cause we're All Ears.
MJ
On a more hopeful note, if the democrats take over the Senate and the House in the midterms, they can impeach Trump again. And this time they can remove him. Either that or block every policy change, judicial and departmental appointee.
Don't give up on Democracy yet.dags
We’ll be destroyed by midterms. Look how much damage he has done in 6 days. I hope we even have an election in midterm.
Thanks for letting me vent. The FB group admins are shutting down comments.
Carry on.
FB is squeezing all the private groups now because Zuckerberg, a nobody before he hit on a platform for social media, is one of the richest men in America, and he's been given more than his share of tax cuts by King trump. So we have Elon owning X and Zuckerberg with FB... what else do they need to do to silence the felon's wrongdoings? I, too, HAD a group that has chatted for the last 15 years since the orange clown rode down the golden elevator and announced his upcoming slaughter of America. So, just this morning, this group's admin said they were being monitored and censored. I mean, for that many years, we've let it fly, and now, all of a sudden, we have to watch what we say on a private page. Go figure.
I am so sorry to hear about this delay you're going through. Oh, gosh, I hope somebody grows a set and sets up a way to get rid of this ridiculous bunch of idiots taking over our country in just a week. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. One idiot is trying to change the constitution to give him a third term. I wonder how they think he can run for a third term when he's so senile as it is. I guess Junior will take over then.
When will you know about the hold being lifted? This is horrible news. Is there anything anyone can do?
Though I have done everything possible to unplug from politics, everywhere I turn it’s all about the stupidity that runs rampant. I caught this news and thought it was hilarious! Go, Mexico! And go, Costa Rica! I love it:?! https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ … 025-01-25/
I'm not sure I can contribute to this thread without swearing.
I let my sister deal with the news and ask her what's happening when I'm up to hearing about it, or when I inadvertently see a distressing headline. Like Dirk, the only news I want to hear is of leopards eating faces so I can peacefully bask in the glory of FAFO.
Otherwise, I just want to outlive the motherf*cker so I can hear the words, "He's dead," and experience the happiest moment of my life. By far.
I have honestly unplugged, but there's something about Felon and his sidekick Elon everywhere I turn. I even got a flyer in my mailbox today that asked me to contribute to his reelection in 2028. But the good news is they didn't ask what I thought about a new American flag with his face on it. I promptly wrote "Return to Sender" on it, and underneath, I wrote, "Quit filling my mailbox with this trash." I hope I don't die while he's in office. I don't want that as part of my sordid legacy.
Another headline in my local news feed said, "California farmers report 75% of workers did not show up today, and crops are rotting in the fields. This MAY affect grocery prices in your area." Duh, really? Who would've thought that? Eggs that were $2.99 a dozen two weeks ago were $6.99 a dozen today. But let's suck it up so we can get that $1.99/gallon gasoline he promised!! Ugh! With all I know, without plugging in, I'd go bananas if I watched the mainstream news every day.
I've tried as hard as possible to disconnect from US news, but you-know-who has played the starring role in every newscast since 2015 when he came down that golden escalator. I've unplugged from every news center I used to watch. I refuse to allow him on my TV or in my head anymore. But we still play a key role in Ukraine... or we did.
Biden's decision last week to shift air defense operations in Poland to NATO was a significant move for Ukraine. Biden's transfer of command and control from the U.S. to NATO strengthened the alliance's role in the region. Poland is crucial to Ukraine’s defense efforts, especially since it is a key logistics hub for weapons and supplies going into Ukraine.
With NATO now in charge, it ensures more stability and continuity in the mission, regardless of any political shifts. Even with changes in U.S. leadership, the support flow to Ukraine, particularly through NATO's involvement, seems secure. It’s a big step in ensuring that the momentum to support Ukraine stays strong, no matter what. And you-know-who will have a heckuva time trying to stop that, though he wants to because he loves Putin.
Like you, I don't understand people killing each other. For what? It's revolting to me. I want to live a peaceful life and enjoy it as much as possible in the time I have left. You have a three-year-old granddaughter, and I have a three-year-old GREAT grandson and a two-year-old GREAT granddaughter, and their futures are at stake. They will never know the goodness of people because that goodness has gone by the wayside. The kinder, gentler world you and I grew up in will never be again.
I definitely understand your disconnect from US news. I wish I could shut out every source of it, and I disconnected from as many as possible on November 6th. But I still get flyers in my mailbox and pop-ups in my searches, and when those come up, it's hard to unsee what I just saw. But I understand your rant about Ukraine. I'm with you 100% on that—a war that never should have been.
Happy trails at Angry Mountain! I may never get there, but you're taking me there with your chapters. Keep 'em coming! At least I can dream!
MJ
I wanted to know what you did yesterday at noon in the Eastern Standard Time Zone of the USA, the moment democracy died. Most of us remember what we were doing on certain days. For example, I remember when I found out Elvis had died. My neighbor and I walked around the neighborhood every afternoon after dinner, and she ran out of the house, met me in the road, and said, “Did you hear Elvis died?” I can still recall that moment as if it were yesterday.
I was sitting in math class when I learned Camelot had ended and President Kennedy had been assassinated. After they dismissed class early, I stood in the school bus line to go home, and several of my friends were crying. It was an extremely cold day, but one I’ll never forget.
I was sitting at the drive-thru window of Burger King when I heard that Ricky Nelson had died. He was my childhood idol, so his death hit me hard.
So yesterday, at noon, while the soon-to-be oligarch of the US was being sworn in and refused to place his hand on the Bible, I was cleaning out my cats’ litter boxes. I thought it fitting to mark the day they drove Lady Liberty down.
What were you doing?
The one silver lining I hang on to is that as soon as any of the orange Jesus worshipers start to complain about the high prices, losing benefits, or the injustice of it all, I will LMAO at them and not feel one iota of guilt. BTW, if you make it to Costa Rico, send me an invite to visit, lol. Take care. Vern
They are already beginning to complain, but the bad part is they took us down the rabbit hole with them. Now the diehards are not complaining yet, but they won't until their last dime goes to buy a tomato because the female president of Mexico is nobody's fool, and trump can't stand to be outdone by a woman. She has already said Mexico will stand by Panama if trump and his little boy Elon try to take it.
And the idiot Marjorie Taylor Greene, the female trump wannabe, opened her dumb mouth and tried to introduce a bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Somebody, please take her away from Georgia!
Since Canada is a member of NATO, we will have to stand back and see what the other members of NATO do if trump tries to take Canada. There will be bloodshed, but whether or not it will be on our home turf remains to be seen. We'll see how scared the other countries are of America's firepower, but if they band together, they will be a force to be reckoned with.
Yes, Vern, the invitation is open if I ever get to Costa Rica. Come on down, and we'll open up a karaoke bar!
Happy trails,
MJ
Well, I am seventy now, tried of lighting my hair on fire and shouting into a void. So, unless they come after my gay grandchildren, or my Mexican American son-in-law (who was born in Texas), I am sitting back and watching them burn it all down. About a third of the nation feels the same way.
It's more than a third, but when the Supreme Court justices all were chosen by orange face, and he's been given a ticket to commit murder, he and the richest man in the world will do their best to run roughshod over anyone who stands in the way of what they want, which is POWER. If those who voted for him think he cares about them, they will be in for a rude awakening come January 21st. We tried to tell them, but buying votes is not illegal in this country, nor is being an insurrectionist, as far as I can see. And the January 6th insurrectionists/terrorists will be pardoned in just a few days, and it will all be washed under the rug as long as Clarence Thomas and his gang of injustices are in power.
Canada is not far enough away for me. If I was younger and didn't have so many animals, I would sell the farm and do just what Mitch (whatta) and Mike Davis did… I would move to Costa Rica. The American empire is collapsing and I hate it for my grandchildren. My own daughter voted for the convicted felon, so we can't even have a conversation about anything political. I have tried to unplug from all things political, but every news outlet fills my email full of the headlines, and I can't NOT see it.
Maybe Musk will buy Greenland and Canada himself. He'll straighten these things out, eh.
He bought himself a president, so why not??
Just sayin'...
Hey, friend! I had no idea you were under the weather—Covid is such a pain! I hope you're back to your fabulous self soon! Remember to stay hydrated—preferably with something more exciting than soup. And don’t worry about the reviews. I owe so many I’ve lost count. At this rate, I need a calendar to track the ones I’ve forgotten, but then I'd forget where I put the calendar. The older I get, the harder it is to write AND review—my brain’s on a permanent vacation! But here’s hoping you’ll be up and at ‘em soon, spotting nits like a ninja. Guess that Christmas tree had a few hidden germs, huh? (By the way, I triple-checked this for nits before posting—did I miss any?)
Happy trails,
MJ
Wow, Randy! That is a fabulous way to start the new year! Congratulations, and let us know more! I'm proud to know you. And Happy New Year to you, too.
MJ
Wait! I think that was the book I just donated to Goodwill after I cleaned the dust off. Hmm... thinking now maybe I should've read it!
Well, I tend to agree with Vern. Whenever I'm finished saying what I want to say, I close out the chapter. Makes me no never mind how long it is. (How's that for a good Southern expression??) I never count the words unless it's a contest. So write until you're happy with it, and then go to the next chapter and let it roll!
MJ
The hammer is a nice touch
ROFL! That's too funny!
Joseph walked around the back of his mother’s desk and stood behind her. Alexander walked over and placed himself next to her, both shielding their son. He looked over their shoulders, ready for… what? A surprise homework assignment? A wild email from Aunt Linda? Either way, it’s nice to see a family so prepared for absolutely nothing.
