Thursday, July 30, 2015

Author Joyce Oroz: Lunch With Shakespeare.......by Joyce Oroz

Author Joyce Oroz: Lunch With Shakespeare.......by Joyce Oroz: Recently my friend and I were looking for a place to eat lunch.  “In a pickle,” (The Tempest) we were looking for a good fish  rest...

Lunch With Shakespeare.......by Joyce Oroz



Recently my friend and I were looking for a place to eat lunch. 
“In a pickle,” (The Tempest) we were looking for a good fish 
restaurant in Moss Landing. It was only eleven o’clock in the 
morning and the town was “as dead as a doornail” (Henry VI) 


Photo by Robert Scoles

We parked the car and entered a rustic looking building with 
a shingle that read, SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY OF AMERICA. 
They do not serve food, by the way. We just wanted to poke 
our noses inside to see what the place was all about. 
Forty-five minutes later we left the building, our heads 
spinning with facts and trivia on William Shakespeare. 
We saw so many antique books, paintings, statues and 
stuff relating to William.

The gift shop, however, was completely modern and full 
of great jewelry and gifts. The sales help to support 
the society. “There’s a method in their madness.” (Hamlet)
The big question is; why Moss Landing? Some things are 
simply unexplainable, “neither here nor there.” (Othello)


“In the twinkling of an eye” (The Merchant of Venice) we 
found The Whole Enchilada just two blocks away, and had 
“too much of a good thing.” (As You Like It) We were 
“a sorry sight” (Macbeth) as we waddled back to the car, stuffed full of enchiladas and knowledge about the most famous writer ever!
 
Shakespeare Society of America
New Shakespeare Sanctuary
7981 Moss Landing Road
Moss Landing, CA 95039
(831) 633-2989



Sonnet 18
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date".


Thursday, July 23, 2015

Author Joyce Oroz: Life as a Gnome......Joyce Oroz

Author Joyce Oroz: Life as a Gnome......Joyce Oroz: Just finished clearing the cobwebs out of my desk, and a  dumpster full of other stuff. I finished writing book #7,  named it Scent o...

Life as a Gnome......Joyce Oroz



Just finished clearing the cobwebs out of my desk, and a 
dumpster full of other stuff. I finished writing book #7, 
named it Scent of a Swindle, 
took the dog for a walk, arranged the 
desktop and rearranged the desktop. I asked my husband 
why I’m short of words when I finally have time to print them. 
He says I can’t be short of words, I’m a woman.
That’s when the fight began—not really. 


The best part of marriage is when you both mature and 
get to a point where you can say anything. 
Even if the thing said was the awefullest thing in the world 
we would probably just laugh or counter 
with something worse. 
My husband would call it a clever riposte.


But life is not all words. My alarm-owl says that Book 7 is 
finished and in Tomi’s capable hands, so it's time to paint 
a cover picture. I’m thinking it should be a cute little gnome 
with a bullet hole in his cute little pointy red hat.

If you are wondering what kind of message 
this picture sends, you’ll have to read the book 
to find out. 

Hopefully this September!

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Animals In Our Books.....by Joyce Oroz



It’s Monday night, almost Tuesday and here is Tuesday’s blog.
How many cozy writers can write a mystery without including a dog, cat, bird, anteater or Javalina? We love to read and write about animals. They add interest and background to our stories, not to mention plenty of “awe” moments. We write about them freely, believing we know what makes them tick.

My protagonist has a basset hound named Solow. He’s not very athletic, trips over his ears, but is quick to sniff out the bad guys and he’s a good listener when Josephine has a new clue to share.
As up-right, up-tight, thumb-toting creatures, we live in the complex world and we have gobs of electronic apps to prove it. We motorize, harmonize, polarize, synchronize and subsidize. We fuss, stress and overreact on a regular basis while our pets keep a cool head.



Ironically, it’s our pets who make us smile, bring our blood pressure down and teach us the real laws of nature—respect, thankfulness, joy and peace. They have it, we want it. Just by being around our pets, we learn how to be better people.
How can we not write about the wonderful four-legged creatures when they automatically enrich our lives and our stories? Josephine loves her basset hound, Solow, and puts up with Fluffy, the cat next door. Just talking about them, I feel all warm and fluffy.