• Q Audiobooks

    Q Audiobooks: Something to Talk About, by Meryl Wilsner, Narrated by Jorjeana Marie and Xe Sands

    My newest Q Audiobooks pick is a FF romance from 2020 (more, please!), written by Meryl Wilsner and narrated by Jorneana Marie and Xe Sands. Something to Talk About tells the developing love story between a photographer and her assistant as they navigate the treacherous waters – or is it treacherous red carpets? – of Hollywood. Fasten your headphones!

    About ‘Something to Talk About’

    By: Meryl Wilsner
    Narrated by: Jorjeana MarieXe Sands
    Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins|
    Unabridged Audiobook
     4.4 out of 5 stars(270 ratings)

    Hollywood powerhouse Jo is photographed making her assistant Emma laugh on the red carpet, and just like that, the tabloids declare them a couple. The so-called scandal couldn’t come at a worse time – threatening Emma’s promotion and Jo’s new movie.

  • Q Audiobooks

    Q Audiobooks: Something to Talk About, by Meryl Wilsner, Narrated by Jorjeana Marie and Xe Sands

    My newest Q Audiobooks pick is a FF romance from 2020 (more, please!), written by Meryl Wilsner and narrated by Jorneana Marie and Xe Sands. Something to Talk About tells the developing love story between a photographer and her assistant as they navigate the treacherous waters – or is it treacherous red carpets? – of Hollywood. Fasten your headphones!

    About ‘Something to Talk About’

    By: Meryl Wilsner
    Narrated by: Jorjeana MarieXe Sands
    Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins|
    Unabridged Audiobook
     4.4 out of 5 stars(270 ratings)

    Hollywood powerhouse Jo is photographed making her assistant Emma laugh on the red carpet, and just like that, the tabloids declare them a couple. The so-called scandal couldn’t come at a worse time – threatening Emma’s promotion and Jo’s new movie.

  • Columns,  Savvy Senior

    Savvy Senior: Helping Seniors Find Discounted High-Speed Internet Services

    You can listen to my podcast interview with Savvy Senior’s Jim Miller HERE.

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    Do you know where I can find cheaper high-speed internet services for my home? I’m 70-years old and live strictly on my Social Security and would like to find something faster and less expensive than I currently have.

    Surfing Susan

    Dear Susan,

    There are actually two new resources available today that can help you save money on your home internet services, but what’s available to you will depend on your income level and where you live. Here’s where to begin.

  • Podcasts,  The Twist Podcast

    The Twist Podcast #162: Peanut Butter Paradox, Manchin Thrills McConnell, and Happy Days Are Here Again

    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we consider the proper storage of peanut butter, Joe Manchin’s extraordinary impersonation of Mitch McConnell, and the return of abnormal life in the best ways. Plus we hate cicadas.

    Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.

    Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing

    Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter!

  • The Twist Podcast

    The Twist Podcast #162: Peanut Butter Paradox, Manchin Thrills McConnell, and Happy Days Are Here Again

    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we consider the proper storage of peanut butter, Joe Manchin’s extraordinary impersonation of Mitch McConnell, and the return of abnormal life in the best ways. Plus we hate cicadas.

    Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.

    Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing

    Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter!

  • Podcasts,  The Twist Podcast

    The Twist Podcast #161: Emma Thompson Slays, America Unmasks, Groceries Go Brandless, and the Great GOP Betrayal

    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we marvel at Emma Thompson in Disney’s Cruella, take a deep mask-less breath, consider disappearing brands in grocery stores, and weep at the GOP’s betrayal of America.

    Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.

    Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing

    Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter!

  • LGBTravel,  LGBTSR,  On the Map

    On the Map: Laid Back in Lancaster County (PA)

     

    This article is reprinted from LGBTSr.com

    By Mark McNease

    On the Map is a travelogue of places, restaurants and landscapes for your travel considerations. Sometimes near, sometimes far, always interesting.

    The frequent sight of horse-drawn buggies clopping and rolling along the roads is a perfect image for Lancaster’s life in the slow lane. This is Amish country, something you don’t have to verify with a Google search because the evidence is all around you: in the buggies crisscrossing the roads, in the clotheslines with daily wash fluttering in the breeze, in the houses without electricity or cars. It’s a way of life that can be appreciated without being romanticized: the lives the Amish choose to live are not easy. They may look simple, folksy and nostalgic, but they are lives of toil and prayer. That’s my caveat – to remember when you visit that beneath the calm, relaxed surface of this country life are days of work from sunup to sundown, and a chosen detachment from the lives most of us live.

    This slideshow requires JavaScript.

    My husband Frank and I recently took our third trip to the Strasburg/Lancaster area. Frank had been there before we met, but it was all new to me. Three years ago he took me there for a surprise trip and we stayed at the Red Caboose Motel, where each room is a caboose salvaged from trains that stopped running long ago. There are small cabooses, medium-size cabooses, and large ones that can accommodate big families or friends traveling in groups. There’s a restaurant on the property, Casey Jones Restaurant, set in a replica of a dining car, with an attached gift shop. (We ate there on Monday, since it was one of the few places open that night.) I loved the novelty of it all, but there are a LOT of horse flies! Each room/caboose includes a fly swatter, and you will use them. This is not just Amish country … it’s horse country, too.

  • Podcasts,  The Twist Podcast

    The Twist Podcast #161: Emma Thompson Slays, America Unmasks, Groceries Go Brandless, and the Great GOP Betrayal

    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we marvel at Emma Thompson in Disney’s Cruella, take a deep mask-less breath, consider disappearing brands in grocery stores, and weep at the GOP’s betrayal of America.

    Enjoy The Twist on Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, and TheTwistPodcast.com.

    Copyright 2021 MadeMark Publishing

    Join Mark’s email list for updates, podcasts, giveaways, and his monthly newsletter!

  • Columns,  Savvy Senior

    Savvy Senior: How to Downsize Your Home for a Move

    Listen to my interview with Savvy Senior’s Jim Miller on the One Thing or Another Podcast.

    By Jim Miller

    Dear Savvy Senior,

    What tips can you offer for downsizing? My husband and I would like to relocate from our house into a retirement community condo near our daughter but need to get rid of a lot of personal possessions before we can move.

    Overwhelmed Willa

    Dear Willa,

    The process of weeding through a house full of stuff and parting with old possessions is difficult and overwhelming for most people. A good place to start is to see if your kids, grandkids or other family members would like any of your unused possessions. Whatever they don’t want, here are a few tips and services that may help you downsize.

  • Columns,  Dave Hughes

    Dave Hughes of Retire Fabulously: Why Pay More? Stretch Your Dollars with Senior Discounts!

    This article first appeared at RetireFabulously.com. Reprinted with permission.

    By Dave Hughes

    There are many advantages to being retired. One of the biggest perks, and certainly one that will keep more money in your pocket, is… Senior Discounts!

    You probably already know that some restaurants offer them, and you know that if you belong to AARP (the American Association of Retired Persons), that card can bring you numerous discounts and benefits.

    There are several websites that offer extensive lists of senior discounts. Here are a few of the larger ones.

  • Columns,  Dave Hughes

    Dave Hughes of Retire Fabulously: Why Pay More? Stretch Your Dollars with Senior Discounts!

    This article first appeared at RetireFabulously.com. Reprinted with permission.

    By Dave Hughes

    There are many advantages to being retired. One of the biggest perks, and certainly one that will keep more money in your pocket, is… Senior Discounts!

    You probably already know that some restaurants offer them, and you know that if you belong to AARP (the American Association of Retired Persons), that card can bring you numerous discounts and benefits.

    There are several websites that offer extensive lists of senior discounts. Here are a few of the larger ones.

  • On the Map,  Travel

    On the Map: Laid Back in Lancaster County (PA)

    By Mark McNease

    On the Map is a travelogue of places, restaurants and landscapes for your travel considerations. Sometimes near, sometimes far, always interesting.

    The frequent sight of horse-drawn buggies clopping and rolling along the roads is a perfect image for Lancaster’s life in the slow lane. This is Amish country, something you don’t have to verify with a Google search because the evidence is all around you: in the buggies crisscrossing the roads, in the clotheslines with daily wash fluttering in the breeze, in the houses without electricity or cars. It’s a way of life that can be appreciated without being romanticized: the lives the Amish choose to live are not easy. They may look simple, folksy and nostalgic, but they are lives of toil and prayer. That’s my caveat – to remember when you visit that beneath the calm, relaxed surface of this country life are days of work from sunup to sundown, and a chosen detachment from the lives most of us live.

    This slideshow requires JavaScript.

    My husband Frank and I recently took our third trip to the Strasburg/Lancaster area. Frank had been there before we met, but it was all new to me. Three years ago he took me there for a surprise trip and we stayed at the Red Caboose Motel, where each room is a caboose salvaged from trains that stopped running long ago. There are small cabooses, medium-size cabooses, and large ones that can accommodate big families or friends traveling in groups. There’s a restaurant on the property, Casey Jones Restaurant, set in a replica of a dining car, with an attached gift shop. (We ate there on Monday, since it was one of the few places open that night.) I loved the novelty of it all, but there are a LOT of horse flies! Each room/caboose includes a fly swatter, and you will use them. This is not just Amish country … it’s horse country, too.

  • Dreamshaping,  New

    On Dreamshaping: Exit Signs

    Mark McNease

     

    There was something different about that morning. It could have been just another morning when I woke up feeling stagnant, overweight and overwhelmed. But when I opened my eyes, and my mind worked its way sluggishly back to the ‘real’ dream, the one I call my life, I had an unusually clear sense that the time had come: the time to change things, the time to rearrange the interior of my personal world, the time to shape what I experience as reality and my place in it.

    I’d been on the same figurative road for years. I’d allowed myself to settle into a sort of perpetual frustration, and to think that if only I did some thing, or some things, differently, I would find the elusive happiness I’d always wanted but had cynically dismissed as a marketing tool for the self-empowerment crowd. I’d told myself contentment was much more important that happiness – and what is happiness, anyway? A puppy? An ideal job? Or, most probably, an illusion.