tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60673367527342678912024-03-04T21:48:40.508-08:00Tray Ellis, WriterHere I am -- writing, reading, exercising, cooking, and sometimes cleaning my home. I try to do that last thing as little as possible.
This blog is purposefully kept up as a way to stay accessible on social media since I have big dreams of continuing to be an author. If you'd be so kind, check out my available stories!
I keep a running list of published works here, at the top post: http://trayellis.dreamwidth.org/Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.comBlogger729125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-24744383725140330472020-03-21T13:54:00.002-07:002020-03-21T13:54:16.924-07:00free readHi all -- Dreamspinner is making some books free for those who are finding it challenging in these challenging times, and I volunteered for Pyresnakes to be one of those books. So please take a hop over there and find a free read, if you're so inclined.<br />
<br />
Stay safe out there, the world has been upended and some quiet reading time can be good for the soul.<br />
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https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/pyresnakes-by-tray-ellis-8608-bTray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-84204333839458008422019-10-11T17:19:00.000-07:002019-10-11T17:19:03.284-07:00Friday night tediumFriday night and...I'm backing up files. Ah. I'm pretty sure I'm making a good run at the title of Truly Dull. (And that suddenly seems like a most excellent character name for a piece of humorous fiction.) <br />
<br />
Back to my peppermint tea (no caffeine this late at night, horrors!) and moving files around. Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-70801142791157147022019-10-07T06:32:00.001-07:002019-10-07T06:32:25.039-07:00raining, raining, rainingIt's going to be a long day of rain, making the skies gray and cloudy. I'm already on my third cup of coffee. But caffeine can only last so long against the dreary sight outside my window. A perfect day for curling up with a book. I can imagine better weather between the pages of something fantastical. I do find I reach for a lot of comfort-fic these days. Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-36240904798561433952019-09-12T18:14:00.001-07:002019-09-12T18:14:10.842-07:00keeping the windows shutIt is getting cold enough out at night that I'm no longer opening the windows for the fresh air. That air is so fresh it turns me into an icicle! Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-53602801399508759142019-08-15T19:27:00.001-07:002019-08-15T19:27:21.831-07:00mid-AugustThe nights are actually starting to stay cool and it is noticeably getting darker earlier. Seems like summer is drifting to a close. I've seen Halloween stuff for sale in the stores (and may have bought a few decorations). Even if I didn't keep an eye on the calendar, the stores would let me know what holiday was coming up. Everyone's gardens are finally coming in -- there's a lot of zucchini showing up lately! I finally figured out how to make those zucchini noodles that were so popular a few years ago. They're really good. Now is the time to enjoy the noodles. Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-65234204901743946142019-08-10T13:04:00.000-07:002019-08-10T13:04:21.309-07:00garlic!Here's my garlic crop for the summer, drying out. It's my first year trying garlic, so I'm sort of stumbling forward with this, but it seems easy enough. I'll be planting again in the late autumn, and cooking with some of it in the meantime. Garlic is delicious and quite healthy. Although perhaps not the best on your breath for romantic encounters. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5S5CeeDYwo9dxANMOnruIHO51e31hnNIHK07bY1yZ8jb_oyMiQhY9Gf7f2IbnTG9gJ27M4TRrl0jGwuz8AwD0dYImGmHfo_nLt-gmrK_B5qQhOt7zR-74dtxWXjn5y-P4yXKSQVJDAM/s1600/Garlic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5S5CeeDYwo9dxANMOnruIHO51e31hnNIHK07bY1yZ8jb_oyMiQhY9Gf7f2IbnTG9gJ27M4TRrl0jGwuz8AwD0dYImGmHfo_nLt-gmrK_B5qQhOt7zR-74dtxWXjn5y-P4yXKSQVJDAM/s320/Garlic1.jpg" width="320" height="229" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1146" /></a>Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-10764192404228378422019-08-10T11:29:00.003-07:002019-08-10T11:29:36.636-07:00bees love my orgeanoI have a little (well, maybe not so little) clump of oregano in one corner and I don't use it very often for cooking, but it is supremely popular with the local bees. This past week it was flowering and I noticed at least two types of bees -- lots of bees, it was like a bee convention with free pollen milkshakes -- one type looked like a honeybee and I think the others were probably sweat bees. <br />
<br />
There are definitely some local beekeepers, so I'm not surprised about the honeybees. But I was so glad to see the sweat bees. These are smaller and native/local, so that means someone isn't actively keeping a hive of them like with honeybees. Seeing them means they're doing well in the local area. I know with all the lawns and such that there are probably a lot of pesticides and herbicides around, but I try my best not to use those unless absolutely necessary (a paper wasp nest last year did get dosed, but that was it) so that the good insects have a chance to do their thing. Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-5208896651307367442019-07-23T17:08:00.001-07:002019-07-23T17:08:36.545-07:00rec: The Poet XThe Poet X (Audiobook)<br />
by Elizabeth Acevedo (Author/Narrator)<br />
<br />
I had to wait about 4 months for this book to become available through my library, and it was worth the wait. <br />
<br />
This book was fabulous -- and listening to the audio version was intense. The whole thing is told with the energy of slam poetry and it feels so true and real, and covers a lot of topics that don't often get touched on because they might be uncomfortable or unpopular. The only thing that seemed the tiniest bit off-pitch was the ending. After the harshness experienced in the previous chapters, even getting to the point that the characters got to at the end seemed like a minor miracle. But it offered a lot of hope and healing, so I'm glad that was where it went. <br />
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I don't know about the paper version of the book, because I listened to the audio version, which is what I really recommend because it is so much about hearing the poetry spoken. <br />
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Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-79498281509500330582019-07-04T09:01:00.002-07:002019-07-04T09:01:41.863-07:00Happy 4thGot up early to water my garden (this year: garlic! Because everything else gets nibbled) and work on paying bills. Later there will be a cook-out BBQ thing. I hope everyone else is having a good holiday. Went to see the fireworks last night and was surprised to see a real brass band playing while the fireworks went off. That was really awesome. I was surprised to see so many people brought their dogs to the display because I know animals can be very sensitive to the loudness, but I didn't see any animals in distress (I watched one dog nap through the entire thing) so that was good.Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-46664543842904675982019-06-30T13:30:00.002-07:002019-06-30T13:30:44.061-07:00starting my weekend at 4:30 on a SundayThis was a weekend of cleaning. <br />
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It isn't that I need my place to be spotless before I can settle down and write, but I really need it to be in a mostly cleaned and picked-up state before i can focus. And my place had gotten pretty cluttered and disheveled, with many tasks needing to be done, and some of the underlying cleaning really needing attention. So this weekend, I tackled those projects. I finally put away my winter clothes! I had them washed and half folded, but not boxed away, and that project was just looming over me because it involves finding room to put away those boxes, which the space they were in previously always seems to vanish. <br />
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So, now, I am tired but triumphant. And I probably won't do much more than noodle about with some stories, but the weight is lifted. Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-24149389961737254982019-06-11T17:35:00.000-07:002019-06-11T17:35:47.756-07:00baking cookiesBaking some oatmeal raisin cookies tonight for a pot luck tomorrow. I go a little light on the cinnamon and heavier on the nutmeg. It's a nice excuse to indulge in some cookies, and I'm really glad that the temps outside aren't too awful. It's never fun to turn on the oven when it's warm! If it had been hot, I definitely would have chosen something like gelatin mold! Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-90269265967150370232019-06-08T06:31:00.000-07:002019-06-08T06:31:22.469-07:00NineStar Press -- 40% off codeNineStar Press has a special for Pride Month! And I have a story there that is part of an anthology:<br />
https://ninestarpress.com/p…/once-upon-a-rainbow-volume-two/<br />
<br />
Once Upon a Rainbow, Vol. II<br />
<br />
The True Love Curse by Tray Ellis – True Love would be wonderful, but the curse keeps getting in the way.<br />
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Definitely take advantage of this! (Even if it's not my story, there's so much good stuff there, you'll find something that floats your boat!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhKtvMJKQ7ybmxeItDLTDen7B-nVkz900GW-1D3-T94WEcfeYpoSN8NLa4ehK6Amhy3e6Gz0NE-LgM3m3wmE6IM6jIwL9LdiJFfvRKitt3Vrwc4tuzHaWWAlp7GMU8BcIPRKjwIDbXyk/s1600/40percentPride.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhKtvMJKQ7ybmxeItDLTDen7B-nVkz900GW-1D3-T94WEcfeYpoSN8NLa4ehK6Amhy3e6Gz0NE-LgM3m3wmE6IM6jIwL9LdiJFfvRKitt3Vrwc4tuzHaWWAlp7GMU8BcIPRKjwIDbXyk/s400/40percentPride.jpg" width="400" height="400" data-original-width="315" data-original-height="315" /></a>Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-21823346942854304522019-06-08T05:56:00.001-07:002019-06-08T05:56:07.829-07:00new weekend, new energyLast weekend I got skunked and ended up doing everything for everyone else and did not get any writing time at all. This weekend, there are still a substantial number of things on the To Do list but I have much better odds at finding time to do some writing. Now I have only to figure out which draft will spark the most energy for me. Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-87303175012762817602019-05-12T07:55:00.001-07:002019-05-12T07:55:06.103-07:00Simmer, don't waitI definitely had a very good stretch where I had a lot of short stories accepted for anthologies, but now time has passed and the anthologies are going to be retired. This is another of those. <br />
<br />
Simmer, with Dreamspinner Press<br />
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https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/simmer-5594-b<br />
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My contribution was 'Operation Wild Thumb": <br />
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<i>Zucchini and squash have sprouted at the home Heath shares with his divorced sister, Sara, and are growing in abundance. Never one to pass up the opportunity for a prank, Heath decides to leave the vegetables on his neighbors’ doorsteps. One neighbor catches him in the act, but luckily Alex seems as into the humor as he is into Heath. When the night comes to an end, there might be more on the burner than zucchini pancakes.</i><br />
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The thing I really loved about this anthology were the recipes that came with the stories! Each was associated in some way with the story that had been told. So, for mine, I have a zucchini pancake recipe -- which was a lot of fun developing. I made the pancakes several times, trying different variations of the recipe until I had something I thought worked really well. (My first try had everything way too soggy, and it wasn't as delicious as I wanted it to be.) <br />
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So, if you were waiting to grab this particular anthology, grab soon. Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-59111543197974849112019-05-06T06:57:00.001-07:002019-05-06T06:57:42.638-07:00Purple PotatoesGot these at the local Farmer's Market this weekend and turned them into delicious homemade chips. They don't taste different from other potatoes, but they're very pretty. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtKUK7vUXRog7fk1EA58ATLIr1ukSydtCFz-2YKAzslqRT4ItjONErBSB2Hblxa9bIRH782MDU8N1-vWSYyjhCM9PjbmovazpUAqe4TN28vUquGR4fK8TvD16VibwDVXRBLuIkp03xiSc/s1600/purplePotatoes1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtKUK7vUXRog7fk1EA58ATLIr1ukSydtCFz-2YKAzslqRT4ItjONErBSB2Hblxa9bIRH782MDU8N1-vWSYyjhCM9PjbmovazpUAqe4TN28vUquGR4fK8TvD16VibwDVXRBLuIkp03xiSc/s400/purplePotatoes1.jpg" width="317" height="400" data-original-width="1237" data-original-height="1561" /></a></div>Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-45651226137628312132019-04-06T17:24:00.002-07:002019-04-06T17:24:29.446-07:00catching up on restIt was a busy winter, and I finally hit a wall. I haven't done much of anything today except nap, but I think I needed to work off some sleep debt. I've definitely been working a lot lately. I'm eyeing later spring for a return to writing more regularly, and storing up ideas of things to work on. I keep having daydreams of opening the windows to let in the soft, warm, fresh air. Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-66215272826360515882019-03-14T17:06:00.002-07:002019-03-14T17:06:35.982-07:00waiting for the weekendWorknights just seem too short to get anything done. A few rounds of laundry, trying to balance the checkbook, and dirty dishes and there's not a lot of time left afterward to much of anything else. It always seems worse in the Spring, though. The long winter has dragged on, and we're all waiting to burst into life again, like flowers finally pushing upwards. I can feel that there's energy on the horizon. But it isn't quite there yet....Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-43652334549939870482019-03-03T06:41:00.003-08:002019-03-03T06:41:58.055-08:00Love Wins, don't waitMy understanding is that the charity anthology Love Wins, won't be available for very much longer. If you were thinking of grabbing this excellent set of stories (with my humorous and romantic "Prevailing Zzz's" as part of it), then you should do so very soon, before it is no longer available!<br />
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Here's the link:<br />
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https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/love-wins-7898-bTray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-59139230204363372022019-02-19T18:16:00.000-08:002019-02-19T18:16:11.627-08:00loosing steam, watching tvIt's a busy week, so I've lost some steam with writing. But I have caught some of Patriot Act on Netflix. Funny, sharp, and smart. Anyone else watch it?<br />
(I should clarify -- by 'some', I mean I have now watched all of the episodes.) Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-35938180354828000582019-02-10T04:31:00.000-08:002019-02-10T04:31:13.820-08:00review: Hello, UniverseHello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly <br />
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This book was captivating. Usually I listen to audiobooks while I'm doing something else. So, I finished the something else I was doing and didn't want to move on to the next thing where I'd have to stop listening, so I stayed put and found something to do with my fingers--untangling knots in the fringe of a blanket, for goodness sake--and kept right on listening. The characters in this book are interesting and varied, and even though you know the author is really the 'universe', the way everything resolves is satisfying. It is a story about friendship, and of children feeling isolated because of their own personal attributes, and still finding that friendship. <br />
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2709922707?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-51279662708944742022019-01-26T06:25:00.004-08:002019-01-26T06:25:44.416-08:00Dreamspinner sale, 40%Dreamspinner is doing another sale -- 40% off all e-books published prior to July 2018 -- this includes my work! <br />
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It's running through Jan 27th. Go to their main page to see the announcement: <br />
https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-24330231445268831112019-01-21T13:51:00.001-08:002019-01-21T13:51:52.350-08:00current projectI got 2k words down today, which was fabulous. I'm now up to about 7k words. I am not worrying about anything making sense yet, that's what editing is for!Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-90637569442873573322019-01-18T16:28:00.001-08:002019-01-18T16:28:36.271-08:00doing it for myselfJust very glad it is Friday night. I'm making a casserole. This way, when I come home from work tomorrow, I'll have leftovers that I know will be ready to go. (I need some kind of doing it for myself hashtag that isn't crazy long. Is there one out there already?)Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-27604737293128418542019-01-17T18:07:00.001-08:002019-01-17T18:07:14.763-08:00review: Love In Every StitchDefinitely a book out of my normal comfort zone. Not my usual style of non-fiction. <br />
<br />
Love in Every Stitch by Lee Gant<br />
<br />
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2678443337<br />
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The downside of the audiobook is that there was apparently a pattern with the book for a knit hat. I'd have liked to have at least looked at the photo/pattern, and dreamed for a moment that I could do such a thing. Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6067336752734267891.post-37390708912502406822019-01-17T17:25:00.001-08:002019-01-17T17:25:25.639-08:00review: Lucky Broken Girl I have a new resolve to get more reading done in 2019, and a lot of my reading will be audiobooks because that fits into my time management. Here's my most recent listening: <br />
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Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar<br />
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2674055221Tray Ellishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05612596067720518439noreply@blogger.com0