Focused on Story: action

Yee-haw! Today we have the delightful author, Lorrie Struiff, sharing her hobby. Or should I say hobbies? How many hobbies have you, Dear Reader, jumped into and out of in your lifetime? I wonder if you can beat Lorrie's count. Take a peek.

Then leave a comment, question, or high 5 because Lorrie has offered two copies of her e-book to two commenters chosen in a random drawing.

Am I a Hobby Kind of Person, or What? by Lorrie Struiff

I’m sure most of you have heard about needle punching. One of my yesteryear hobbies was just that. Lol. I say yesteryear because I’ve gone through hobbies like normal people go through books. I’ve embroidered, did ceramics, learned to play an electric musical keyboard to entertain at nursing homes. Hmm, what else? I’ve done rug hooking, needlepoint, cross stitch, redoing old furniture, and probably a couple more thrown in. Not all at once, mind you.

Lorrie's tulips and expensive frame

My last hobby before I began writing was the good old needle punch. I started with a very tiny punch brand needle that held only one strand of embroidery thread. I ironed a tulip pattern on a piece of old cloth. I used different colors of that one hair-like strand and used the weirdly threaded instrument and an embroidery hoop to make these little loops of thread closely together to create that pattern on the other side of the cloth. It took me forever but I was so pleased with the results, I basically took the cost nothing leftover cloth and had it framed with wood and with glass. Yep, forty-five dollars at the time. Silly me.

Well then, I met a friend who did this same hobby with a much larger needle and wow, it used thin yarn. What a thrill. And to boot, different sized needles for thin and thicker yarn that the company that made these products sold. I was in yarn and punch heaven.

My grandchildren weren’t so lucky. Poor kids. I punched tons of sweatshirts for them. Squirrels with bushy tails, bunnies with cotton tails, their name on the front, girls with pigtails hanging down the sides. You name it I did it. It got to the point where they would plead with their mothers, “Tell Gram not to make me anymore sweatshirts, I’m getting too old to wear these to school. I have so many now.” Or, “Jeez, I bet we get a bunch of sweatshirts AGAIN on Christmas from Gram.”

So, I turned to the next best thing my friend and I figured out to punch. Canvasses. Yes, artists canvasses. We’d paint the canvas in a soft color, iron the decal on the back, and punch away. On the oval ones, we’d stiffen lace and glue it to make a frame around the finished picture.

Punched canvas of the Spanish Galleon

You guessed it. My grandkids got many a picture to hang on their bedroom walls. Not a one is left today and that makes me a little sad. And if I do have to say so myself, they were done with love, great skill and took much time. Oh well. *sob* I guess I’m just sentimental.

Still hanging in my spare bedroom is my punched canvas of a huge Spanish Galleon riding the waves of yore. It has a beautiful wood frame and non-glare glass. It was a fun hobby, at least for me, while it lasted.

By the way, my two-dollars to-make tulips with the expensive frame job is still hanging above my bed.

I did mention I am an author now, right? I love writing as much as I did needle punching.

Let me show you at least one of my books that is with the MuseItUpPublishing House.

Western/romance/action/humor

4 STARS for Lorrie Unites-Struiff from Lin Holmes reviews.

Everybody in town respects and likes Sheriff Cole Walker. He does a good job keeping the peace in the little Kansas town. Things are going along pretty easy until three things happen: Mattie Wells moves to town, rustlers start snagging JJ's cattle, and a ringtail monkey decides Cole is his BFF. After all that, well, Cole's in for a heap of trouble. This is a funny tale of a mixed up lawman. He's fallen for Mattie, can't get rid of the monkey, and the rustlers elude his every attempt to track them down. Throughout this tale, you're laughing at the monkey's antics. But you're also wondering, along with Cole, why Matty says she likes him, then blows him off. And just who is stealing the cattle? Lorrie Unites-Struiff has a knack for putting together humor, romance, and danger into a solid tale of the west. Don't think you like westerns? Think again. You'll definitely enjoy this book. I did.

This book is out in both print and E-book. The print cover is different, but it is the same book.

Excerpt from A Heap of Trouble:

Cole eased her back on the blanket, his mouth locked on hers. Lying half-on top of her, pinning her to the ground, he nibbled on the delicate skin of her neck, her cheeks, and with her softness beneath him, his need grew. He ran his fingers through her hair and he reveled in its texture. The pulse in the hollow of her throat fluttered rapidly against his lips. The earth, the dampness, and her rose scent mingled into one head-spinning aroma driving all thoughts from his mind except one. He wanted her so bad, he ached all over, and it was killing him.

Then common sense struck along with the lightning outside that sent an echo of thunder booming through the cave. He shifted his weight and sat up reluctantly, breathing as if he had run a mile. He gazed down at her and swallowed deeply at the vision before him. Her hair spread out like spun gold, cheeks flushed and eyes narrowed with desire, stared back at him.

She closed her eyes tight and shook her head. “Oh, Cole, we have to stop this. We can’t let our feelings for each other keep growing.”

He pulled in a deep bracing breath and laughed, the sound hollow. “I reckon it’s too late for that on my part.” He poked the fire with a stick sending little sparks into the air. “You want to explain what you meant the other night ‘bout not seeing someone you like a lot? Not being in my company anymore?”

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Visit my blog on my published works page to see my short stories and other books.

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