Inflation Busting #10 – How What Is Going On Geopolitically Can Be Seen on Store Shelves

Inflation Busting #10 - Establishing Local Farmer & Rancher Sources

I've done research and have streamlined that research so, hopefully, you can absorb what is going on in a five-minute scan. Many of you may be tuned out of politics and what is going on with Iran, China, Russia and the rest of the world and how this may or will affect inflation, food production, and truck deliveries going forward.

Normally, tuning out of politics would be seen as a good move and could even be interpreted as rage management. Younger adults who are establishing themselves in a career and/or working and raising a family don't have the energy or bandwidth to keep track of what is going on. I'm retired, so I have a bit more time than many of you. I wanted to end my 10th Inflation Busting Series with a suggestion of how what is going on right now may affect us as consumers and family members going forward.

I believe, and you can give this whatever weight you deem fit, that we have entered a stage where there are now signs that the standoff between the US Government and Iran regarding transporting oil and other container ships through the Strait of Hormuz is already causing problems locally.

The big box stores are filling their shelves with old merchandise or inventory that they normally keep in the back of the store because the goods are now beginning to dwindle. After shopping a few days recently, I saw every other place on the shelf empty and a bit more space between the products. Walmart had aisles filled with extra large container boxes that I know they would normally keep in their back room inventory. These are the first real signs of the problems we may face as we got forward.

We're not just facing this escalating inflation, but now I'm seeing signs of a reduction in general inventory.

The purpose of this last Inflation Busting Segment is to introduce you to the idea of buying food and meat from local farmers and ranchers. Once you establish a relationship with these local suppliers, you will have a safety valve against the chaos that may occur in the local grocery stores if the eggs stop showing up, or the milk is two weeks late.

How a Crisis in the Strait of Hormuz Affects Store Shelves in America

When news headlines talk about geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, most people assume it only affects the price of a gallon of gas at the local pump. But the reality is far more wide-reaching.

The Strait of Hormuz—a narrow waterway handling nearly a quarter of the world’s seaborne energy and almost half of its global fertilizer exports—is directly linked to the shrinking package sizes, higher prices, and patchy inventory appearing on store shelves in towns across America.

Understanding how a bottleneck thousands of miles away ripples down to local store shelves reveals why taking control of your family’s food supply is one of the most effective ways to build personal independence.

The Domino Effect: From Ocean Waterway to Local Grocery Store

The connection between a shipping narrow point and local store shelves isn't immediate, but it follows a predictable four-stage chain reaction:

1. Canceled Marine Insurance and Escort Backlogs

When conflict or military friction rises in the Strait, maritime insurance companies pull back war-risk coverage or raise premiums by astronomical margins.

The Reality on the Water: Commercial cargo fleets and container ships cannot legally or financially operate without active insurance coverage.

The Freight Stall: Ships are forced to anchor outside the choke point while waiting for costly military escorts or re-route entirely around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding 10 to 14 extra days to travel times.
The Domestic Result: These delays absorb container availability, spike ocean freight rates by 30% to 65%, and cause delayed shipments at major U.S. distribution hubs.

2. The Diesel Fuel Spike and Transportation Surcharges

Over 70% of all goods and food products transported across the United States travel in diesel-powered semi-trucks.

Fuel Costs Surge: As crude oil prices react to Middle Eastern instability, domestic diesel prices jump significantly.
Trucking Contract Rejections: Independent carriers paying significantly more at the pump are forced to pass those costs directly onto retailers and food distributors.
Delayed Store Deliveries: When delivery costs soar, shipping routes are consolidated or delayed. Instead of receiving daily or bi-weekly deliveries, stores face stock gaps while waiting for consolidated loads to arrive.

3. The Nitrogen Fertilizer Shortage and Crop Yields

The Persian Gulf is not just an oil hub; it is the source of 40% to 50% of the world's exported urea, the primary nitrogen fertilizer required for growing modern crops like corn, wheat, soybeans, and rice.

Fewer Inputs, Lower Harvests: When fertilizer exports from the Gulf stall, international urea prices jump. Farmers across North and South America are forced to reduce their fertilizer application per acre due to exorbitant costs.
The Feed and Meat Connection: Lower crop yields mean less feed available for domestic livestock, pushing up feed prices for commercial cattle, poultry, and pork operations. This cost feeds directly into higher retail meat prices with a 6- to 12-month lag.

4. Petrochemical Bottlenecks: Shrinkflation and Packaging Delays

Middle Eastern refineries produce crucial chemical base ingredients—such as naphtha and ethylene—which serve as the building blocks for global packaging materials, synthetic fabrics, craft supplies, and food containers.

Packaging Delays: When raw plastic resins and packaging materials are delayed or throttled at the factory level, food manufacturers cannot bottle, box, or wrap finished products, creating manufacturing backlogs.
Shrinkflation: To absorb soaring freight bills, rising packaging costs, and expensive agricultural inputs without scaring off consumers with $10 price tags on basic items, manufacturers shrink package sizes while keeping prices the same or slightly higher.

How to Protect Your Household: Local Meat and an Ingredients Pantry

Relying entirely on long, fragile corporate supply chains leaves family budgets exposed to international trade disruptions. Building resilience does not require drastic lifestyle shifts—it simply means making a few intentional changes to how you buy and store food:

Establish Direct Relationships with Local Ranchers and Farmers:
- Buying beef, chicken, pork, and eggs directly from local agricultural producers bypasses ocean shipping delays, corporate packaging markups, and diesel surcharges.
- Purchasing fractional shares (an eighth, quarter, or half beef share) locks in a set price per pound and secures high-quality meat directly in your freezer.
- Above are two screen shots of two websites you can start with. The one on the left is called BeefMaps.com, and this website will allow you to choose your state and you can zero in on ranches and farms close to your home. This one has a nation wide directory.
- The screen shot on the right is from a website called Ranch Route, which allows you to buy direct from the farmers and they have boxes and customized orders.
Another Farm and Rancher director is called Eat Wild. They have a website, a directory and they seem to have a lively community. Many of you will find it easier to order online and many of you will like the idea of getting to know the farmers and ranchers in your area.Many local ranchers have posted several YouTube videos complaining about how the lifting of the tariffs will crush their businesses. These ranches and farms have been in their families for generations. It's important for us, as Americans, to support our ranchers and farmers.

ANOTHER STRATEGY FOR INFLATION BUSTING - The Ingredients-First Pantry

As we begin to see certain products delayed or not making it to the stores in time, it can cause stress and even fear. While we still have time, make a slow switch to becoming an ingredients first pantry. Buy flour, yeast, dry milk, baking powder, corn starch or EZ gel, & sugar in bulk and put together your own cake mixes, pancake mixes, bread mixes. This will allow you to ride the wave above the panicked and chaos-driven shopping in stores that don't seem to have enough.

While things are still stable, go see what kind of spices the Dollar Tree is offering. With about 20 spices, you can make any spice mix you need such as Taco seasoning, chili seasoning, sloppy joe mix, Asian stir fry, gravy mix, etc.

DON'T FORGET FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE & NEXTDOOR.COM

Keep your eyes peeled for mason jars, pantry organizers, baking mix recipe books, anything that will help you slowly switch to an ingredients-first pantry.

By equiping yourself to make pantry kits, you can take advantage of the BOGO sales on pasta or peanut butter. You will begin to see each product as an ingredient and how you can make 2 packages for the price of one stretch your grocery dollars!

- By pairing dry, shelf-stable pantry staples with fresh, locally sourced meats and dairy, your kitchen becomes an independent hub, protecting your family’s dinner table regardless of what happens across international waters. This is more of a return to village living.

MY NEXT NEWSLETTER SERIES - COVERTLY UNPLUGGING FROM THE CORPORATE GRID.

In next month's newsletter, I will begin to organize and offer tips on becoming self-sustaining; quietly unplugging from the government and corporate grid that is currently squeezing us in every way they can. If you haven't signed up for my newsletter, click below to join now.

Audiobooks Course – Learning to Narrate, Edit, & Launch an Audiobook

Course Curriculum: "Audiobooks Unlocked"

I recently finished recording my two audiobooks. One was a short store entitled Writer's Block, which was easy and went about as smoothly as it could have gone for a complete newbie!

Next, I took on the narration of my first full-length novel, Murder in the Sanctuary. I'm an asthmatic and the hardest part of doing the long novel was my breathing. It is exhausting for me to talk a long time, especially when I can't flub a word here or there! However, if I did not have breathing issues, it would have been just as easy as the short story.

I worked back and forth with Google Gemini, as well as watching videos on YouTube about mastering the Audacity software, and I took notes the entire time. I have organized those notes, curricularized them, and am writing this course to help those who would like to do their own narration.

PLEASANT SURPRISE: One pleasant surprise I learned was that when you need to read every word without flubbing, you catch all the mistakes. Even when my books are edited by a wonderful editor, small typos and name swaps, etc. can get through. But when you need to narrate it and listen back as you edit, those errors are all caught.

So as a writer, I envision doing the audiobook right before I publish any book so that I know I have combed the book in the best way to check for every last error.

THE GOAL OF THIS COURSE

I hope to guide all self-published authors step-by-step, through setting up, recording, editing, mastering, and publishing a professional audiobook using free software (Audacity) and home recording techniques.

There is a learning curve to learning how to use Audacity, but this course will focus specifically on everything you need to know to conquer any confusion in the process.

Module 1: Planning & ACX Technical Standards

Before pressing record, authors must understand the rules of the road for retail platforms. All of the Audiobooks will need to pass muster on ACX.com. So from the moment you set up your recording area, you are arranging things to pass ACX standards, rules and regulations.

Lesson 1.1: The Audiobook Anatomy & File Requirements
- Core ACX Specifications:
  - File format: MP3 (Constant Bitrate of 192 kbps, Sample Rate 44,100 Hz, 32-bit Float).
  - Individual file size limits: Under 120 minutes per file and under 170 MB.

When recording in Audacity, the audio will be saved as a 'project'. This will save it as a .aup3 file. This is the raw audio that is saved as a file that only Audacity recognizes. ACX requires .mp3 uploads. So the pathway is to save the project as an .aup3 file when you are working on it in audacity. When it is edited and finished, you will need to export it as an .mp3 file.

NOTES FROM MY WORKFLOW: Once I opened audacity, I recorded the chapter and saved it in a folder entitled BOOK-TITLE-Audacity-raw-files. I used the same naming standards as are required on ACX. For example: Intro, Chapter1, Chapter2, etc., Outro.

Once I edited the audio file, I tested it with a plugin to see if it would pass with ACX. Then I exported the final audio into a new folder entitled "BOOK TITLE-Final-Files. These files are exported in the .mp3 format which is a requirement on ACX.com.

- Required Track Sequencing:
  1. Opening Credits: Title, Author, Narrator.
  2. Front Matter (Optional): Introduction, Prologue, or Dedication.
  3. Body Chapters: Each chapter uploaded as a separate MP3 file.
  4. Back Matter (Optional): Epilogue or Author's Note.
  5. Closing Credits: Wrap-up and Copyright log (© for text, ℗ for sound recording).
  6. Retail Sample: A 5-minute standalone snippet for potential buyers.

Lesson 1.2: Crafting Your Audio Scripts

Opening Credits Script: Using my short story as an example, an opening credit script sounds like this: "Writer's Block, written by [Author Name], narrated by [Narrator Name]."
Closing Credits Script: "This has been Writer's Block, written by [Author Name], narrated by [Narrator Name]. Copyright [Year] by [Author], Production copyright [Year] by [Publisher/Author]. All rights reserved."
Chapters: At the beginning of each chapter, you will enumerate what chapter it is. For example: Chapter 1, leave a few seconds, and then begin to narrate the chapter. Only allow up to 3 seconds of silence before you state the chapter number. At the end of the chapter, only leave about 5 to 8 seconds of silence.
Outro Calls-to-Action: Directing listeners to your author website.

Elevate Your Book Marketing: Professional Banners & Trailers by Stephanie Danielle

As an author, I tend to default to the DIY route for almost everything—from formatting to tracking down my design elements. But recently, a talented digital designer named Stephanie Danielle reached out to me on social media, and I immediately thought of newbie authors who needed a little help right after launching their books.

To show me what she could do, she put together this stunning 3D promotional banner for my book, Forewarned But Unheeded:

She put this together with just looking at the book cover and a description. She added the 75th birthday elements, and a few other things that I think are details that I don't see too often in book marketing graphics.

The attention to detail, the cinematic lighting, and the way it brings the mystery of the story to life is absolutely incredible. After chatting with her, I suggested she package her skills into official service tiers so other authors could easily level up their marketing.

If you are looking to give your book launch or promotional push a highly professional edge without breaking the bank, I highly recommend checking out her brand-new packages below!

Package Tiers	Package Details & Features
Basic Banner Package Price: $50	• 1 Premium 3D Book Promotional Banner • High-resolution image (1080 × 1080) • Commercial use • 2 Revisions • Delivery within 24 hours
Standard Banner Package Price: $100	• 2 Premium 3D Book Promotional Banners • Social media optimized • High-resolution files • Unlimited Revisions • Delivery within 24–48 hours
Premium Banner Package Price: $150	• 4 Premium 3D Promotional Banners • Amazon & Social Media Ready • Multiple design concepts • High-resolution files • Unlimited Revisions • Priority Delivery

How to Write a First Draft of a Novel Without Losting the Magic

Writing a Suspense or Mystery Novel? How to Organize Your First Draft Without Losing the Magic

When I first started writing, I used to sit down at the keyboard and try to fix every single grammar mistake, spelling error, and clunky sentence structure as I went. Big mistake! Gigantic mistake!

I learned the long and hard way that first drafts are their own animal. A first draft isn't about being perfect; it’s about getting the story down on paper. You are "blurting out the story" in broad strokes, and you can always massage the plot or deepen the characters on your second go-round.

But if you are writing a mystery novel—or any fiction with a strong thread of suspense running through it—"just blurting it out" can sometimes lead to a tangled mess of forgotten clues and broken timelines.

To keep from getting discouraged, you need a different kind of freedom. You don't need a polished manuscript right away, but you do need to get organized and I'm sharing my Eight Layer approach to novel writing that helped me remove all the stress, confusion, and restarts from the process.

Start with the Bare Bones

The secret to drafting suspense without losing your mind is to write out the bare bones of the crime or suspenseful event first. Don't worry about anything else yet. Forget the deep backstory, the descriptive settings, or the witty dialogue. Focus purely on the mystery or crime itself, and build a strict chronology of how the clues or revelations are dropped.

Think of it as building a Story Skeleton. When you strip away the extra noise, every great mystery or suspense thread needs these core anchor points:

The Story Hook: The moment you capture the reader's attention and curiosity right out of the gate.
The Inciting Incident: This is where the mystery officially begins (a body is found, the first mysterious clue arrives, etc.).
First Clues: The immediate evidence left behind at the scene of the crime.
The Suspects: Who they are, and exactly who fingers them.
Motives & Gains: What drives each suspect, and what they stand to gain from the mystery.
The Last Clue: The ultimate piece of evidence or realization that points directly to the real culprit.
The Climax: How the mystery ends—whether it's an ironclad clue, a dramatic confession, or catching them red-handed in the act.
The Resolution: How the main story wraps up and how your subplots finally end.

Once you have this skeleton locked in place, you can let your creativity flow during the daily writing sessions without the fear of hitting a structural dead end.

Get organized before you type page one! Grab my free tip sheet to help you map out your book layer by layer so you can write a stronger first draft with absolute confidence.

Tips to Keep You Moving Forward

Even with a strong mystery skeleton, writing that first draft requires the right mindset. Here are a few timeless rules to keep you on track while you flesh out those bones:

Don't stop to edit or revise. It is a complete waste of time to polish a scene that might get tossed later. You can fix the draft after you know the whole story fits together.
Leave notes to yourself. When you finish a writing session, make a quick note of where your mind is at and what needs to happen next. It makes finding your place the next day so much easier.
Take breaks and have fun. Don't sit and stare at the screen for hours. Get up every 20–30 minutes, stretch, and clear your head. Writing should be enjoyable, and if you're relaxed, your creativity will flow naturally.

If you want a deeper look at the general habits that will save your sanity during this phase, check out my older post, 10 Best Tips on Writing a Good First Draft, for more advice on setting up your writing space and pushing past the urge to edit too early.

Downloadable Bookmarks – Inspirational Bird and Cat Bookmarks

Coloring Page – Father’s Day Gorillas

Iron-On Design – Memorial Day – Remember the Fallen

Coloring Page – Mandala Design 1

Romantic Suspense Bookmarks – Free Download

Tips for New Authors: Why You Need to Track Three Timelines

Tracking the Threads: Why Your Mystery Draft Needs Three Timelines

Writing a mystery is like building a clock. While the reader only sees the hands moving steadily forward, the internal gears—the secrets, the motives, and the hidden history—must mesh perfectly for the story to "tell time" accurately.

When you are in the thick of a first draft, it is easy to get lost in the prose. However, the secret to a bulletproof mystery isn't just a clever detective; it’s a rigorous organization of time. To keep your manuscript from collapsing under the weight of its own secrets, you need to manage three distinct timelines.

1. The Crime Timeline (The Hidden Reality)

This is the "Backstory" or "True History" of the event. It begins long before the first chapter and usually ends the moment the detective arrives on the scene.

What it tracks: Every move the killer made before, during, and immediately after the crime.
Why it matters: If the killer was at the hardware store buying rope at 4:00 PM, they cannot have been seen at the gala at 4:15 PM across town.
The Draft Benefit: By mapping this out, you ensure that the "truth" remains fixed. Even if your detective is confused, you never are. This prevents the dreaded "plot hole" where a culprit’s alibi is physically impossible.

2. The Novel Timeline (The Reader’s Journey)

This is the linear progression of the book, starting from page one. It follows your protagonist as they navigate the investigation.

What it tracks: When clues are discovered, when witnesses are interviewed, and the passage of days or hours within the narrative.
Why it matters: Mystery readers are notoriously observant. If your protagonist spends three days investigating but it’s still Monday in Chapter 10, the immersion breaks.
The Draft Benefit: Keeping a log of the Novel Timeline helps you control the pacing. If you notice five chapters have passed in a single afternoon, you might need to pick up the tempo or introduce a "timer" (like a ticking clock element) to raise the stakes.

3. The Subplot Timeline (The Human Element)

A mystery novel isn't just a logic puzzle; it’s a story about people. This timeline tracks everything that isn’t the murder—romance, personal growth, professional conflict, or side-mysteries.

What it tracks: The evolution of relationships and personal stakes.
Why it matters: Subplots provide the emotional "breather" between intense interrogation scenes. However, they can’t just vanish. If a detective has a blow-up fight with their partner in Chapter 4, they shouldn't be acting perfectly happy in Chapter 5 without a resolution.
The Draft Benefit: Tracking subplots ensures they are woven into the main mystery rather than feeling like "filler." It helps you time the emotional beats so they hit right when the main plot needs a shift in energy.

Pro-Tips for Managing the Chaos

The "X-Ray" Spreadsheet: Many authors use a simple table or spreadsheet. Column A is the Date/Time, Column B is the "Crime Fact," Column C is the "Novel Action," and Column D is the "Subplot Status."

Color Code Your Notes: Use red for the crime, blue for the investigation, and green for subplots.
Sync the Weather: It sounds small, but if it's raining in your crime timeline, it must be raining (or the ground must be wet) when your detective arrives in the novel timeline.
The Reveal Check: Use your timelines to see exactly when the reader "knows" something versus when the detective knows it.

Final Thoughts

Writing the first draft is about getting the story down and not much else. So this timeline tracking doesn't start until you have finished the first draft. The first draft is merely blurting out the story. You don't even have your writer's hat on yet. You are only the story engineer and location scout at this point.

But once the story now exists, it's time to begin to track the three significant timelines!

Happy sleuthing!