How to Choose a Favourite Chair

Rain skitters across the windowpanes. A promise of a good day. Good for me because I enjoy the rain. The cloud-deluged sky necessitates a lamp’s glow beside my favourite chair. Mornings as perfect as these are usually the opening lines of a damn good mystery. Speaking of which, there’s certainly time for a chapter or four from my current within-reach read before I move on to morning tasks. In a comfy curl, I fan open the pages to the bookmark, thankful for a good story, agreeable weather, and the coziness of this – my chair.

What constitutes an ideal chair, you might ask. To begin, it must be firm but comfortable. Nothing so plush that you could sink deeper and deeper into its cushion as you get further and further absorbed in your thriller. You are unaware of this sorry predicament until book’s end when someone must pull you to your feet. And beware of a cushion so lumpy that the relentless shifting of your bottom is required to maintain blood flow.

Narrow, firmly padded armrests that are covered with an attractive durable fabric are preferable to wide wooden armrests.

So much time is lost looking for a coaster so that your hot teacup doesn’t mar the surface. And of course, there’s no chance of that with the aforementioned padded armrests as they’re too narrow to hold your cup in the first place. It’s common sense.

Have I mentioned a footrest? I should have started with this mandatory requirement. You simply cannot sit for any length of time with your feet on the floor. Unbeknownst to you, they could possibly be replaced by balloons, or those prickly pins and needles, making it difficult to navigate the kitchen for another cup of tea.

Also, a soft-to-the-touch throw adds to the favourite-chair experience. It’s essential to have something lightweight but cozy. You might also consider a small cushion. A versatile item you could use for your back, or your lap to rest those epic novels that play hell with your wrists.

Though mentioned last, of most importance – if that chair is to become a favourite – is that it must be positioned with a view to the outdoors. Otherwise, how could you see the skittering of rain and looming black clouds. The moods of nature inspire us.

Still unsure if you’ll recognize the perfect chair for you and your needs. Just sit. There. Did you experience a spontaneous ‘ahhh’ moment? You have found Your Chair.

Love a Rainy Day

It’s a dreary rainy morning. I LOVE this weather! I can hear the water trickling along the downspouts. There’s a soft glow of light from the lamps in the front room. The smell of coffee leads me to the kitchen for a refill. Only to be pulled back to my den where my black gooseneck spotlights the fresh white screen dotted with…what is that…whatever. I’m ready to spend a few hours tapping the keyboard.

These overcast days have always proved my most productive. Not just for writing – although I need to write a new short story soon – but it’s my favourite time to slice and dice and simmer, clean out closets, curl up with a book... I just love the rain.

There’s another reason I’m giggly happy today. I received word from Devil’s Party Press in Delaware USA that I placed second in a crime anthology contest. Yes! I love winning contests. But not as much as I love writing crime stories.

There’s something about writing crime that makes my heart beat a little faster, and sets that devious part of my brain racing. I’ve been told more than once that humour is more my genre. That’s a laugh. Pardon the … you know.

To be honest, I enjoy writing all genres. The contest winner was what the Devil’s Party Press considered ‘hard-boiled detective’. I like that. It was fun researching the era and developing the voice. And making up stories is always a hoot. I probably wrote it on a rainy day.

I’ll let you know when the anthology, Suspicious Activity,  is released. In the meantime, grab your umbrella and those shiny red boots and make a splash.