End-of-the-Month Update

Well, obviously, my mother's situation dominated the month. We realized today that she passed away on her and my dad's wedding anniversary. They were married 66 years ago yesterday. Seems pretty appropriate to me.

Other things were going on as well. Here are the books I read in June:

BEGGARS OF LIFE, Jim Tully
JONAH HEX: GUNS OF VENGEANCE, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
THE OTHER SIDE OF ME, Sidney Sheldon
MIAMI PURITY, Vicki Hendricks
JOHN O'HARA'S HOLLYWOOD, John O'Hara
THE WOUNDED AND THE SLAIN, David Goodis
WEST TEXAS WAR, Gary Lovisi
THE CELEBRATED CASES OF DICK TRACY, Chester Gould
VALLEY OF JEWELS, Max Brand (Frederick Faust)
CIRCUS PARADE, Jim Tully
VOLUNTARY MADNESS, Vicki Hendricks

Plus I read several manuscripts for a contest I'm judging, but I can't really talk about those.

On the movie front, we watched:

BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
ISLAND IN THE SKY
JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE
THE PALE HORSE
KING SOLOMON'S MINES
HOLLYWOODLAND
GHOST RIDER
STRANGER THAN FICTION
MUSIC AND LYRICS (look for a post on this one in a day or two)

I have to say that I enjoyed every one of those movies.

As far as writing goes, this was my least productive month of the year so far, but I still got quite a bit done and think I turned out some pretty good work. The goals that I was trying to meet have gone by the wayside, but that's all right -- they were crazy to start with. I'm not trying to break any records anymore. Now all I'm worried about is getting things done in a timely manner and producing well-written books and stories. Seems simple, doesn't it?

Lastly, many thanks to everyone who's written to me about my mom, both here on the blog and directly. Your kind words are all appreciated, and they definitely do make a difference.