Though I’ve never cared for aviator shades and my car is not equipped with AI, it does communicate with me, mostly in a silent, passive-aggressive manner to let me know of its refusal to cooperate with my simplest demands. No, I don’t think my little buggy and I would attract many viewers with a weekly show.  I do, however, write at night.  

By nature, I am already a night owl and that helps, but I’ve had to face the issue of blue light. Eye strain is a real thing and so is the problem of not being able to shut down the little gray cells after hours staring at a huge computer monitor and living in a completely different world.

            I can hear your suggestion that I should write during the day. This is not an option. My days are filled with nothing but fun and games provided by Fruity Pebbles and Lil’ Snookie.

            Having done my research, I ordered a quality pair of glasses that has blue light blocking imbedded throughout the lenses – not merely a coating that renders them useless with the slightest scratch. I was given a delivery window of three to six business days.

            This, folks, is where things went south. To be exact, they went not only south, but every direction imaginable multiple times! This small package, which I could have slipped into any decent sized handbag, began to travel more than I have in the last decade.

            The image above (though not a map by any means and shouldn’t be used as such) gives an idea of how the United States Postal Service works to meet its efficiency and budgetary goals.

            Using the tracking link provided by the Postal Service, I saw that the little box left San Diego and came straightaway to Olathe, Kansas and then went on to Kansas City.  This made logical sense and I began to look forward to its arrival.

            I suppose, however, that the poor thing couldn’t stand the cold, because it took off for Avondale, Arizona. After this, it couldn’t resist a jaunt over to Phoenix. Finding Phoenix a bit congested, my glasses returned to Avondale. Mysteriously, they returned to Phoenix again and I began to wonder if they’d become victims of a car-jacking. When they made a bee-line back to Avondale again, I imagined them being confused by roundabouts.

            After finally having their fill of the dry desert air, they must have put in a request for transfer, giving the Postal Service some inkling that a mishap had occurred.  They stepped in and, like the heroes that they are, properly and rightly brought my package all the way back to Olathe, Kansas. Now, I thought to myself, we are getting somewhere.

            My spectacles were, indeed, getting somewhere. They took off for Abilene, probably because it was the prettiest town they’d ever seen. Those in supervisory positions with the Postal Service must have gotten wind of it at this point, declaring, “This must cease!”, because my package was then sent straight to Columbia, Missouri.

            This is where I got excited. Now they could be on a delivery truck and at my house within hours. They certainly would have been if they hadn’t zoomed right past on the interstate and gone back to Kansas City! Thankfully, they made a U-turn there, but instead of taking the appropriate exit ramp, they merely waved as they passed again.

            Once back in Columbia, some dear soul blessed with snappy, happy little neurons spotted them, and spying a truck destined for my hometown, shoved them in it.

            That’s when I went to my local post office and told them that under no circumstances should they let them out of their sight.  They merely sneered and told me I should’ve paid express mail fees.

            Yes, Dear Readers, these are your tax dollars at work!

            All’s well that ends well. Once the glasses arrived over a week late, I began putting them to good use and am busy every night getting the sequel to “Hear My Whisper” ready for you. This second book in the “Morgan’s Landing Series” is projected to release in the summer of 2026.

            I’d love your feedback on “Hear My Whisper”, so please leave a comment.  More importantly, leave a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads and at my publisher’s website, Ozark Hollow Press.