Showing posts with label The Reboot Files. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Reboot Files. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

THE WOOLLY WEEGIE HAS ARRIVED!!


At last IT has decided to make a grand appearance. The Family Legacy story. The one my Daddy used to tell. The Woolly Weegie. Here's the description:

"You know the trouble with Monsters? They're never what you think.
Reporter Irene Waters and her cameraman Troy Stenson are about to learn that lesson the hard way as they find themselves on the hunt for a local legend called The Woolly Weegie. Or at least that is what everyone in the community of Hammond Village has been led to believe. In truth, Bernie Youngstown has sent his team on an actual investigative story to uncover an alleged academic cheating ring at a local private high school.
But just as they believe they have escaped the weirdness that usually accompanies their stories, weirdness comes looking for them when The Woolly Weegie comes pounding on their door.
So Irene’s Eerie Adventures not only will have to deal with a “monster” who refuses to be ignored, but the diabolical Secretary of The Records Department who is making her final move."

Do that intrigue you? I hope so. Coming up with descriptions for books is hard. If you have suggestions let me know. Feedback, I am finding, is a very good thing in writing.

 So, if you have never read my books a few things you should keep in mind:
There will be no recipes, no crafting, no party tips, no tea, no crime solving dogs nor cats, cute businesses and no murders.
Not that there is anything wrong with those things in a cozy mystery book. I've read and enjoyed many of them. I just don't write them. My plots are...different.
Yeah, God's sense of humor really was in full force the day He made me.
Since I don't do recipes, crafting, etc., etc. as an added bonus this book includes the FULL Woolly Weegie story as told by my Dad, B.W. Ragsdale. Initials are big in my family.
So The Woolly Weegie is here! Run! To Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.

The Reboot Files and The Lady Midnight Series

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

The Woolly Weegie The Way My Daddy Told It...Mostly





Now that The Woolly Weegie is with the Beta Readers I decided to share with you the original tale the way my Dad told it. Mostly. Okay it's been Cindyfied a bit, okay a lot, but Dad tended to vary it himself so I'm sure he would approve.

Yes the story will be included in the book, but I thought I would share a sneak peak. Prepare to be horrified! Or just entertained, whatever. So here it is, The original Woolly Weegie as told by B.W. Ragsdale. Enjoy...

One full moon night in the deep, dark woods…
“Will you stop,” the boy just shy of his 13th birthday grouched at his sister, “Why are you such a scardey tonight?”
 His sister, who had just turned 10 bit her lip, looking around the small cabin as if she saw danger everywhere.
“I can’t help it, there are noises.”
“It’s the woods, there are always noises. Raccoons, foxes, rats, even a bear on occasion. You should be used to it.”
“It’s different when Mama and Papa are here. I wish they hadn’t gone.”
The boy snorted impatiently. Truth be told he hadn’t exactly been happy himself to be left in the middle of nowhere with only his young sister for company. Also, there was a lot noise outside in the dark, and with only one loan light source it was unnerving.
But he wasn’t going to admit he was nervous. Not to his baby sister.
So he snapped, “Daddy had to take Mama to Laura Crabtree’s place because she was ailing. He thought he would be back before dark, but didn’t want to chance it with us along. He thought it would safer if we stayed here secured in the cabin. That wheel that broke last week must have given him…what was that?’
“Don’t scare me.”
“Shh,” the boy admonished.
Immediately his sister lowered her voice and asked, “What’s wrong? I don’t hear anything.”
“That’s what I mean. It’s quiet and it shouldn’t be. It’s like everything ran away, but why?”
The boy looked at the heavy wooden door and started towards it. His sister grabbed for him and held tightly to his arm shaking her head vehemently as she knew what he planned. Her brother released himself from her grip, and as she opened her mouth to protest he put his finger to his lips to shush her.
His sister obeyed, but she didn’t like it. Not one bit.
The boy walked towards the door and looked at it as if seeking reassurance. It was made of heavy wood with iron hinges keeping it in place. It should offer maximum protection, so why was he afraid it would not be good enough?
He put his ear to the portal but still heard nothing. Finally he squatted down and looked through the keyhole. For a moment he saw only darkness. Just as he was about to pull away, IT suddenly appeared!
The one-red eye of The Woolly Weegie!
The boy sprang back but knew he was too late. He had been seen and nothing would keep the monster out now. He and his sister were doomed!
The two children clung together as the thing began pounding on the door with ever increasing force. They watched helplessly as the heavy nails holding the door hinges in place began to come away from the wall.
They should have run and hid, but in the one room log cabin there was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. The door was the only way in or out.
Inevitably, the door fell forward, and the rushing air caused the loan candle flame to blow out. From the brightness of the full moon the children could see the huge hulking form which filled the doorway blocking their only hope of escape.
In a vain attempt to protect his sister the boy thrust her behind him, but it would all be for naught. The Woolly Weegie’s one red eye glowed in the darkness, and it looked directly at the children. There would be no mercy and no escape.
The monster lumbered forward and reach out towards the children with huge clawed hands.
The little girl screamed…

 (Cliffhanger Intentional)

Don't worry, I'll tell the way my Dad ended it. Eventually. If you are interested that is...

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

There's No Mystery On This One. It's War!



First off, I must warn you that I am a little cranky right now.
Why you may ask? Why Cindy? That’s what the C of C.L stands for, in case you wondered. Why are you cranky?
Well keep reading and I’ll tell you.
I’m under invasion by an army that I am convinced is doing it just to tick me off! They are relentless and what they lack in size they more than make up for in sheer numbers.
That’s right, I’m under constant threat of being overrun, by ants.

Insulting Annoying Freeloading Ant
(Molestus Contumeliae Parasitus Formicae)
Oh how I hate them...in my house
Oh don’t tell me I’m overreacting. You try waking up at 5:00 (that’s 5:00 am) and find that the local colony has sent out a scouting party to your kitchen counter top and see how cheerful you are about it.
It's not my favorite way to wake up let me tell you. Besides it’s rude! I didn’t invite the little freeloaders in, and they don’t help with the mortgage so don’t get to come in and be annoying whenever they please!
So I spend all morning getting rid of them, instead of getting ready to go to work, to which I am almost late, and then come home to see there are few stragglers came a callin'. 
I’m glad it wasn’t a full scare invasion. Yet.
That’s right they’ll be back. Me and the ants have done this dance before.
That’s another reason I’m cranky, because what have I been doing for the last hour? Sweeping and mopping my floors. Do you know how often I sweep and mop floors on a weekday unless there is major spillage involved? Not very often. That’s weekend work.
Anyway, ants aren’t supposed to like vinegar, and I clean with vinegar and water (hey, it’s not fatal to humans and it’s cheap and I’m on a budget). However, right now my house smells like a pickling factory. But the ants are gone. For now. But they’ll be back. They always come back.
Fish got to swim. Birds got to fly. Ants have got to be annoying until they die.
What really gets me is I don’t know what they’re after. I keep a clean kitchen folks. I was trained to do so by my mother, who was obsessed with her own war with dirt. I do not leave out dirty dishes or food. Ever! My mother would get special permission from God to come and haunt me if I did. Besides, the ants also invade the bathroom. Why? I don’t have any food in the bathroom!
So it’s back to my theory that they’re doing just because it drives me crazy.
Annoying freeloading ants.
As you have probably guessed by now, I’m not an ant lover. Oh yes, I know, the Lord invented them for a specific purpose. They are nature’s garbage collectors, and are very good at it. Cool. Outside, not in my house! By coming in they are insinuating that I don’t keep a clean house. You see? They’re not only annoying freeloaders, they are insulting annoying freeloaders. Not all that bright either because they totally ignore the fact that if they come into my house they will die. End of story.
Hey, it’s not my fault. If they would just stay outside, where they belong, doing the job God invented them to do we could have signed a peace treaty a long ago.
But no, they exist to annoy me. And you too I bet.
So you see it is the ants’ fault for coming into my house, insulting my housekeeping and defying God’s Will.
Excuse me now while I go check to see if the enemy has called it a night. If not, I have bug spray, and I’m not afraid to use it!


Mystery writer C.L. Ragsdale is the author of The Reboot Files a Christian Cozy Mystery Series, and a superhero story called Chasing Lady Midnight. A California native, she loves to "surf" the web to research plot details for her fun, quirky stories. She has a degree in Theatre Arts which greatly influenced her writing style. Working in various fields as a secretary has allowed her to both master her writing skills and acquire valuable technical knowledge which she uses liberally in her plots. Although that is where she got her idea for The Secretary, she is not an evil mastermind. Although some of her former employers might disagree. These days she contents herself with knitting while contemplating her next diabolical plot. Story plot that is.

Current E-Books
THE REBOOT FILES:  The Mystery of Hurtleberry House, The Island of Living Trees, The Harbinger of Retribution, and The Wrong Ghost.
Chasing Lady Midnight  (A Cozy Christian Mystery With Superheroes)
www.shortmysteriesandtalltales.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CL-Ragsdale219184744858421 



Thursday, November 21, 2013

Christmas, Sisters and Buttermilk Fudge



There is something I need to explain about my short story for A Cup of Cozy, which I entitled The Christmas Candy Mystery. The story is about three sisters playing detective in effort to find out how to make their mother’s Buttermilk Fudge three days before Christmas. (Recipe included).
Now I think it’s a fun story, and just to be clear I do have two older sisters. I also have an older brother and a younger sister, but they’re not in this story.  The reason I used my two older sisters is because we are very close in age, so when we were younger we tended to do everything together. As far as everyone else concerned, we didn’t have first names, we were The Ragsdale Girls.
However, in spite of any similarities this story is totally fiction.
Sort of.
I do want to be clear there is no hidden agenda to get back at them. All in all they were pretty nice to me when we were growing up. I needed a story for A Cup of Cozy. Three sisters fit the bill as funny sleuths. My sisters were in good mood when I asked them if it would be okay to base characters on them. So you see it’s really their fault.
Still, I should explain a small detail.
Writers tend to exaggerate a little. Okay a lot.
To protect my sisters’ identities (and my life and limb), I’ll use the names I made up for them in the story.
Ellie is not that bossy. Not that she’ll admit to.
Missy is not that intimidating. She made me say that (not really).
Finally, Lucy (aka me) is really not that creative or zany. Okay not that zany anyway.
Also, I was not always getting us into trouble. We all took our turns at it.
And yes, I’m exaggerating again. What I can say? It’s a sickness.
However, some of it is true. Like when we sit together. Ellie was always to the left of me. Missy was to the right. I was always in the middle. In the back seat of the car, when we sat on the couch, were on the floor, kitchen table, at a restaurant. That was the order. The funny thing is that we still do that, and not on purpose. I have pictures.
You just don’t unlearn some things. I guess.
Anyway, they were really good sports and I love them both a lot.
Enjoy the book.

Mystery writer C.L. Ragsdale is the author of The Reboot Files a Christian Cozy Mystery Series, and a superhero story called Chasing Lady Midnight. A California native, she loves to "surf" the web to research plot details for her fun, quirky stories. She has a degree in Theatre Arts which greatly influenced her writing style. Working in various fields as a secretary has allowed her to both master her writing skills and acquire valuable technical knowledge which she uses liberally in her plots. Although that is where she got her idea for The Secretary, she is not an evil mastermind. Although some of her former employers might disagree. These days she contents herself with knitting while contemplating her next diabolical plot. Story plot that is.

Current E-Books
THE REBOOT FILES:  The Mystery of Hurtleberry House, The Island of Living Trees, The Harbinger of Retribution, and The Wrong Ghost.
www.shortmysteriesandtalltales.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CL-Ragsdale219184744858421

Thursday, November 14, 2013

I Can See the End in Sight!




Hi Everyone
This is going to be a quick post, because I’m trying to get Chasing Lady Midnight done! That’s right just a few more tweaks and she’ll be released. Can’t believe it? Neither can I. I know I said early November, but I also said Fall and until November is done I’m still on schedule. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Seriously I should be ready in another week. I’ll announce when it’s uploaded with the publishers and done!
 Although the book came together fairly easily I did have a slight bump in the road where my graphic designer (the diabolical Jessie Ruiz) made me take a large deviation from what I originally planned. But he has redeemed himself by making the story better.
Also Jessie is on board for my final book in The Reboot Files Series about The Woolly Weegie and the fate of The Secretary’s diabolical plan revealed in The Great Scarecrow Invasion. Originally I was going to entitle it “What is a Woolly Weegie?” but Jessie gave me another idea and now I’m rethinking.
The man is a menace!
Hope you all enjoy “A Cup of Cozy”.
Anyway, it’s back to the computer to get these superheroes Up, Up and Away!




Mystery writer C.L. Ragsdale is the author of The Reboot Files a Christian Cozy Mystery Series, and a superhero story called Chasing Lady Midnight. A California native, she loves to "surf" the web to research plot details for her fun, quirky stories. She has a degree in Theatre Arts which greatly influenced her writing style. Working in various fields as a secretary has allowed her to both master her writing skills and acquire valuable technical knowledge which she uses liberally in her plots. Although that is where she got her idea for The Secretary, she is not an evil mastermind. Although some of her former employers might disagree. These days she contents herself with knitting while contemplating her next diabolical plot. Story plot that is.

Current E-Books
THE REBOOT FILES:  The Mystery of Hurtleberry House, The Island of Living Trees, The Harbinger of Retribution, and The Wrong Ghost.