#SaturdaySpotlight is on David Arp & ORB

Good Morning!

Well hard to believe this is the last Saturday Spotlight in April 2019 - where has the time gone?

Alas, my prayer is that your year has been and continues to be filled with blessings.

David is no stranger to our blog. He's shared thoughts with us twice, been in our spotlight and given us a glimpse of what he treasures. Today he's giving us a peek into his latest release, ORB so please welcome him back.... Take it away David!

Billionaire oilman Cole Blackwell hired former Marine and Iraqi war veteran, Wes Hansen, to hunt down the man who assaulted his daughter. Wes has a name, Meshach, and one witness, a dog Wes believes the man used as a prop to walk the streets of Lubbock, Texas, at night, unquestioned. Wes’s business card reads PI, not ghost buster. To put a face to Meshach, find him and put him away, Wes will have to be both. Before the week is done, Wes and his team will be lucky to survive meeting the Man from Fire.

Excerpt

Bubba took a deep breath. “OK, first, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a longer list of coincidences strung together on one case in all my life. Either you or Cole or both of you must be living right. Second, you need to bring the authorities in on this. I’m going to finish these shrimp, which won’t take another five minutes. The water is boiling. Then, I’m going to make a phone call. I’ve got an FBI agent in mind.”

“What are we looking at, Monday?”

“Oh, no, tomorrow, a meeting bright and early in the morning in New Orleans. The sooner the better because if Risa or I didn’t warn Meshach, and we didn’t, I can promise you that whoever did has access to some high level databases.” Bubba turned his attention back to the steaming pot on the stove.

Wes had made the right decision being open with Bubba. His friend was in the clear, but he felt a sense of foreboding instead of relief.

Who could monitor private web exchanges, phone calls and e-mails, find out who looked for whom, and pinpoint their location right down to the hotel they stayed in? He answered the question as quickly as it formed. Only four agencies he could think of had the ability: the Department of Homeland Security, the NSA, the CIA, and the people Bubba wanted Wes to meet with in the morning.

ORB is available from Pelican Book Group and Amazon.

David Arp was born in Arizona, raised in Texas, and lives in Colorado with his wife of 32 years. He’s 61, but has only spent half of the past 40 years at home. The other half he traveled and worked the oilfields of the world, from the deserts of the Middle East to the vast oceans offshore. He has three children and six grandchildren.

Find out more about David and his writing by visiting his website and connecting with him on FaceBook. And check out his YA novel, Me and Jake written under the pseudonym Boo Riley available now from Pelican Book Group and Amazon in Ebook and Print!

Hope you enjoyed today's spotlight and that you'll visit often to see what's happening on our blog!

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

#ThursdayThoughts with David Arp

Good Morning!

Dave is not a stranger to our blog. He visited back in 2017 with VB Tenery and their book, Against the Odds, shared thoughts and the spotlight as Boo Riley about his book Me and Jake and shared treasures again last month, so please welcome him back once again! Take it away Dave....

Pamela, again, thanks for having me.

When I was a kid, my dad would walk out of the house and I would ask him where he was going. He’d say, “Crazy. Want to go?” I always did, but to him that was a figure of speech, or a way to be humorous. I never got to go crazy with him.

Before long I had my own family, and one day, when my oldest daughter was four of five, she asked me where I was going, and I said, “Crazy. You want to go?” 

“Yep,” she said.

We lived in Montana, in the mountains, so she tagged along as I went outside and cut firewood or changed the oil in my pickup or mended fence or whatever, I forget. When I finished, I headed inside, and she stopped me and said, “Dad, I thought we were going crazy.”

“Honey, that’s just an expression.”

“Dad, I want to go crazy,” she cried.

Well, you told her you were going somewhere, but you never left the house. To her, crazy is a place. She feels like you did when you were a kid. I loaded her inside my pickup and we drove around. So happened that I had a bag of Smarties. I love them. I gave her some. She stood on the seat next to me—yes, this was back when a kid could do that in the mountains, even ride in back—and ate her candy.

“Is this going crazy?” she asked.

“This is going crazy,” I said.

She nodded and smiled and held out her hand for another little roll of candies. We drove around aimlessly for 20 minutes or so and returned home. She told her mom that she went crazy.

We went crazy a lot in the coming years. Whether driving or walking or horseback riding or camping, and we always had Smarties to hold us over while we were gone. Sooner than I expected, this young lady was in high school in Switzerland. She graduated and joined the Marine Corps, married a Marine and had two little girls of her own. When they got out of the Corps, she and her husband bought a house nearby.

One thing she and I really looked forward to was hunting season. We go horseback. I took her the first year she was old enough, and we couldn’t wait to go again now that they lived closer.

Opening morning dawned cold and windy. Horses were fed and saddled. We checked our gear, placed our rifles into their scabbards and mounted. I had a packhorse in tow and led the way out of camp, into a large meadow. Wind makes the horses flighty. They were fresh, ready to go. My packhorse was being a knucklehead. We finally lined out and my daughter rode up next to me. I looked at her. She looked at me, grinned, and handed me a Smartie.

I love to go crazy.

How funny, David and what a precious memory. Thanks for sharing.

David Arp was born in Arizona, raised in Texas, and lives in Colorado with his wife of 32 years. He’s 61, but has only spent half of the past 40 years at home. The other half he traveled and worked the oilfields of the world, from the deserts of the Middle East to the vast oceans offshore. He has three children and six grandchildren. 

His new release, ORB is available from Pelican Book Group and Amazon.

Find out more by visiting his website and connecting with him on Facebook. 

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll drop by regularly to see who's doing what on our blog!

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#TuesdayTreasures with David Arp!

Good Morning!

Still in SC today but we're heading to south FL tomorrow. Never fear though, this (blog) show will go on LOL!

Last year I introduced you to David Arp when he shared some thoughts and our spotlight. Today David returns to share treasures with us and info on his new book, ORB.

Welcome back Dave!

Thanks for having me, Pamela. This is the second time you’ve been so gracious.

My dad used to ask me what I was up to. I would answer with whatever it was at the time. If it

involved money, he asked if I spent wisely. Well, of course, in my mind it was wisely. My teachers used to tell me to spend my time in class wisely. That advice went in one ear and out the other and the truth be told, one glance at my grades would have told that story about my study habits quickly enough. I thought more about how I spent my money than how I spent my time. Time goes whether it’s spent wisely or not. Money can be saved, but like time, once spent it’s gone forever.

I mentioned on my personal blog not long ago that I was going to start looking forward to my 90^th birthday celebration. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here anymore than the next person does, but at least time will slow down. Looking back does nothing to the perception of time. We tend to do that as we age. Look back I mean. I don’t think I’m alone in that respect.

Time spent with God and family and friends is time well spent. My kids. My grandkids. My brothers. My cousins. My friends.

Treasures are in memories, yours and theirs.

Many a man has passed from this life leaving millions of dollars he would have gladly spent on more time.

PS: the young lady on the horse is my 10-year-old granddaughter who did a free-style reining pattern to the song Footloose. For the encore, she had her horse perform and 20’ slide then a flat spin in the middle of the arena. When she jumped up in the saddle and danced the crowd went nuts and her mother nearly passed out.

Wow, I think I would pass out too but BRAVO for her! Thanks for sharing your treasures with us Dave.

David Arp was born in Arizona, raised in Texas, and lives in Colorado with his wife of 32 years. He’s 61, but has only spent half of the past 40 years at home. The other half he traveled and worked the oilfields of the world, from the deserts of the Middle East to the vast oceans offshore. He has three children and six grandchildren. 

His new release, ORB is available from Pelican Book Group and Amazon.

Find out more by visiting his website and connecting with him on Facebook. 

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll join us again for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on David Arp (aka Boo Riley) and Jake!

Good Morning!

Back in August I introduced you to David Arp (aka Boo Riley) when he shared some thoughts with us. Today David gives us a sneak peek into his book, Me and Jake.

Ty told his twin brother, Cameron, that he felt like something was going to happen to change their lives. Little did he know how prophetic that statement would be, or how soon it would come to pass. What seems like a series of coincidences are anything but, and what’s more amazing, Ty’s coon dog, Jake, might not be a dog at all.

Excerpt: The pond wasn’t big. About fifty paces across. Cameron and I had visited the little water hole many times for a drink when we could escape the hayfield without Dad catching us. Sometimes the water was clear, most times not. The smell of mud, rotten plants, and frogs and such made me wonder how I’d put my lips in it for a long drink so many times before.

The woods opened up and the pond came into view. Jake swam around in the middle, like he couldn’t make up his mind which way to go. A big coon scurried out of the water and disappeared into the bushes on the opposite bank. To Jake’s left, another critter thrashed in the water. A red and white…what? Coon? I stopped and stared, stuck in the mud like a dead tree stump. Moron.

Cameron wore a red ball cap and a white shirt, but he couldn’t swim.

My scream propelled me into the water.

Oh my, I'm intrigued already, David!

David Arp (AKA Boo Riley) was born in Arizona, raised in Texas, and lives in Colorado. He’s 60, but has only spent half of the past 40 years at home. The other half he traveled and worked the oilfields of the world, from the deserts of the Middle East to the vast oceans offshore. When he’s not busy on a drilling rig, he spends his time writing, floating a river in his raft fly fishing, horseback, or hunting. Find out more about David by visiting his Website and connecting with him on Facebook. David's book, Me and Jake is available now at Pelican Book Group and Amazon in Ebook and Print!

I'm not sure about the rest of you but the moment I saw the title of David's book, I remembered the song Feed Jake recorded by The Pirates of the Mississippi back in the early 90's, anyway, hope you enjoyed today's spotlight and that you'll check back regularly for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

#ThursdayThoughts with David Arp (AKA Boo Riley)

Good Morning!

Well, you're in for another treat as I, once again bring you a new-to-me author to share some thoughts with us.....

When I see a family—parents and children—in passing, I watch the children. Are they clinging to each other? Are they walking apart from Mom and Dad? Do they make eye contact with strangers or, more importantly, with their parents? I didn’t used to look at kids in this manner, not until I began writing “Me and Jake”, and looked back some events in my life.

Siblings fight because they are comfortable in their relationship and they know that the love is unconditional. They’ll never leave each other. Call your brother names. Tell your mom you hate her. They’ll forgive you. The love of/from family is the closest to God’s unconditional love as you can experience in this lifetime.

On the other side of that coin: “Never treat a friend like family. They don’t have to put up with you.”

It’s not always true, but siblings who cling to each other and never fight are uncomfortable in a relationship with someone, somewhere. Whether divorce, parents fighting, abuse, or any number of questionable circumstances that causes them to guard and cherish the only relationship they know they can count on for comfort and stability.

 It’s been said that a man’s home is his castle and so it is. To some it might be a prison too.

David Arp (AKA Boo Riley) was born in Arizona, raised in Texas, and lives in Colorado. He’s 60, but has only spent half of the past 40 years at home. The other half he traveled and worked the oilfields of the world, from the deserts of the Middle East to the vast oceans offshore. When he’s not busy on a drilling rig, he spends his time writing, floating a river in his raft fly fishing, horseback, or hunting. Find out more about David by visiting his Website and connecting with him on Facebook. David's book, Me and Jake is available now at Pelican Book Group and Amazon in Ebook and Print!

Thank you so much David for sharing with us. We wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your new book.

Hope you enjoyed today's post as much as I did and that you'll stop by regularly for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.
PamT