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You guys, this is so funny. Just this week, I finally mailed a couple of packages I’ve had in plain sight for MONTHS. Ms. Muller doesn’t know it, but we’ve just bonded, LOL! And on that note, I hope you will all find a similar connection as you get to know her and VOODOO ON BAYOU LAFONTE.

Voodoo On Bayou LaFonte Banner 450 x 169

 

Susan C. Muller: On Procrastination

Have you ever had something you needed to do but kept putting off until it was embarrassing? It doesn’t have to be something big, just a chore that stares you in the face every day.

I’ve had two packages I needed to mail for almost six months.

They were on my kitchen table for a long time, but I got tired of seeing them so I moved them to the window sill and then to the top of my dryer. I still saw them most times I went out the back door, but they were easier to ignore.

I spent more time moving them and worrying about what to do than it would have taken me just to do the job. Well, maybe not, the way things turned out.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to mail them. But the grocery stores don’t give you paper sacks anymore and I didn’t know what to wrap them in. And I wasn’t sure who each one went to so I’d have to open all the packaging and look for the name.

Then I’d have to find the address list and look that up. Besides, I didn’t have any of that good packing tape and regular tape won’t work.

One day my daughter stopped by and I asked her help. She was happy to oblige and said she had just the thing to wrap them in: a paper shopping bag. We spread everything on the table and started cutting, but the bag wasn’t quite long enough. No problem, we cut an extra piece off the end to tape over the missing area.

When I brought up the problem of the tape, she had a solution. She had a roll of packing tape. Unfortunately, the tape wasn’t in one of those dispensers. We both broke fingernails searching for the end of the tape.

This tape had been rolling around in the back of her van for a couple of years. I don’t know if it melted or rotted, but each time we tried to pull some off, it broke. Sometimes, a long, thin strip would split off one edge and other times the torn part would be in the middle of the roll.

We finally got the first box wrapped, only to discover that we had the bag with the store name facing out. We had to take it apart and start over. Each time we tried to tape something the packing tape would curl up on itself, leaving a sticky wad.

When we finished, we had what looked like something wrapped by a near-sighted two year-old. This from two grown women who, between them, had wrapped hundreds, if not thousands, of birthday and Christmas presents.

My daughter smiled at me and said, “There. All you need to do now is put your return address on them.”

I stared at the two pathetic looking packages. “Do I have to use my own name? Can I make one up?”

Avoiding something you don’t want to do doesn’t make it any easier, just harder to face. In Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte, Remy and Gabby have avoided talking about their problems for fifteen years. Think of all the time together they lost by being stubborn.

What about you. Do you procrastinate when an unpleasant chore faces you, or do you jump right in to get it over with?

Voodoo on Bayou Lafonte

  • Occult Series – Book 3
  • Susan C. Muller
  • Genre: Paranormal romantic suspense
  • Publisher:  Soul Mate Publishing
  • Date of Publication: Jan 2, 2014
  • Word Count: 80,000
  • Cover Artist: Rae Monet

Book Description:

A frantic phone call leads Detective Remy Steinberg racing through the night toward the one place he vowed never to return. With the life of his kidnapped daughter at stake, he willingly faces shotgun-wielding drug dealers, corrupt law-enforcement officials, and a raging hurricane.

Scouring the seedy back alleys of New Orleans for information, he goes undercover at a sinister voodoo ceremony, and struggles to understand the forces of black magic that hold his daughter hostage.

With time ticking down, he battles for his life against a high voodoo priest, but can he face the two things he fears most: the swamp that terrorized his childhood, and the ex-wife he’s never stopped loving?

Detective Remy Steinberg must return to Louisiana in search of his kidnapped daughter. Can he save her before the swamp swallows her up and he loses any chance at happiness?

Amazon

About the Author

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a fourth generation Texan and I attended Stephen F. Austin State University where I majored in Business Administration, but took creative writing classes on the side because that’s where my heart was.

I have always loved reading and if it’s true that God doesn’t subtract the hours you spend reading from your life span, then I should pass the century mark with flying colors. I first tried my hand at writing when I was eleven, but the sun was shining and I had a new bike so that effort was doomed to failure.

I didn’t try writing again until I was well into my sixties. People ask me why I took it up then and my answer is simple, because my husband retired. If you don’t understand, just wait, you will.

My first novel, The Secrets on Forest Bend, won several awards. After that, I was hooked.

I’ve been blessed with two great kids and four grandkids. My late husband and I loved to travel and we saw much of the world. Kenya, New Zealand, and the Galapagos Islands are a few of my favorite places. After he passed, I thought my traveling days were over, yet I’ve since been to Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela.

I live in Spring, Texas where I currently serve as president of the Northwest Houston chapter of RWA and volunteer at a local hospital. I also enjoy speaking to book clubs and writers groups.