Merry Christmas!

I love the excitement the kids have for Christmas.  I love the chance to celebrate the Savior's birth.

Do you get Him a birthday cake?  What would you get Christ, if He was coming to your house for a party?

I'd consider a dirt bike (it IS dirt bike Friday).

But what can you get the Man who has everything?

A hug and a Thank You, the first two things.  I'd make Him dinner and we would ask Him to join us in a game, something not as cutthroat as Phase 10 or Monopoly.  Scrabble or charades.  Then, I'd like to think we'd read the story of His birth from Luke and tell Him, each of us, the things we are thankful for. 

You know what I just realized?  He will be at my house celebrating His birthday.  And while He won't actually be participating in the activities, there's no reason we can't invite Him to watch over and enjoy our celebration of Him.

What do you do to CELEBRATE your SAVIOR?

Merry Christmas!  I will be taking a blogging break next week as I gear up for the New Year.  Lots of authors and readers to contact for your future reading pleasure!

Oh and a little crossword for your Christmas fun!

Changes - Not in Underwear, Well, yes, but that's a given...

If you'll direct your attention to the sidebar on the right, you will notice I have added week "assignments" if you will. 

Mondays will be set aside for Mama Drama postings.  My new blog/author friend, Roxane Salonen, blogs about her Mommy stuff on Mondays.  I just had to take a page from her book and move my Mama Drama to the same day.  She's pretty inspiring, you should pop on over.

Tuesdays I have a special treat I've been working on.  Most authors, publishers, editors and agents direct their blogs to authors and other publishing people.  I'm doing something a little different.  On Tuesdays I will feature a new "reader" on the blog.  These are readers of all kinds of books and will not necessarily have read my work, but that would be a bonus, don't you think?  All different demographics are covered here.  I already have my first few lined up and ready to go and I must say we are in a for a treat!

Wednesdays are I Know, Write? days.  Hmmm, pretty self-explanatory, right?

Thursdays I will be focusing/featuring on authors of all kinds that I have met in real life or while blogging (which is my alternate real life).  I might have reviews of books up, interviews of authors or guest bloggers. 

And Fridays, my favorite!, is about Dirt Biking!  Hmmm.  Gotta love the bikes.

If you're interested in being interviewed, reviewed, or want to guest blog with me, please contact me for consideration. 

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Bonnie

Revisions and Bows

With the Christmas seaon full upon us and so many responsibilities hanging over our heads, how do we survive?

I can't say I make time to relax and enjoy the season.  Often, I have so many items on my list, I wake up hyperventilating and try to figure out a way to cut time from something more - usually sleep. 

This is the time when we should be relaxing a little more.

I have revisions on #3 in the works, #4 is getting pounded out and a pile of presents to wrap for the kids.

What do you do to cope with the constant demand for your attention? 

Please share, 'cause my tool box is exhausted and I need new techniques!

No Sick Days As A SAHM!

Yesterday I didn't do a "real" post because the kids were sick (as I posted).  I mean retching-throw-down-drowning-dog sick!  While holding one kid's hair back, I was yelling for the Hubs to help the other one throwing up in the bedroom.  It was terrible.

But whew.  I think the worst part is over.

The best part?  I know, I know, how can there be a best part in all that?

The best part is, I work from home.  I was able to be here when my babies were throwing up and crying and just needing Mommy's hand on their shoulder or a washcloth to wipe their mouths.  Even though Hubs is here on break, I'm the one they want when they're sick. 

I am so grateful I can stay home and work.  This makes it a possibility to stay with my kids and be here for them and allows me to work on my writing.  True, the sleeping aspect is absent, but sacrifice needs to be made and why should my kids suffer? 

My wish is for more moms and dads out there to have a bit more flexibility with their schedules for their children and family's sake. 

There's nothing as important as family - besides God. 

Hurl It...

Two throwing up kids, another with an ear infection and me sad for the munchkins. 

No real blog post today... I'm sorry.  Kids have to come first. 

Pick the Right Gear - And Work at A Steady Speed

It's Friday!  Woohoo!  I love dirtbike days - but I think I've said that before.

Everybody is winding down for the year.  Some are exhausted from burning the candle at both ends.  And some don't feel like they've been productive this year as they have stopped and started throughout the months.  They hit a trial or a mountain and because of their speed and/or gear are unable to accomplish what they need to. 

Let's jump on the bike for this one!  (I love this!)

The day is fresh and new.  You want to try out that new trail you saw last week on your ride.  Fresh rain fell the night before and your early start will begin before the dirt dries or the fog lifts.  A hard kick turns the engine over and it thrums under you.  Just a couple adjustments to your gloves and helmet and you shift into first gear.  

First gear is where everyone starts.  Your engine will give you problems if you try to start higher than that. 

The breeze is sweet and you enjoy the feel of it through your silky nylon riding jersey (mines' a Fox).  Sharp right turn and you can open it up.  You pop into second.  The road is flat.  Jacked into third.  There aren't any curves or turns.  No bumps for a ways.  Open that pig up and jam it into fourth.  The air whips through your helmet and the engine's high hum is cathartic.  

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, you're at the trail which climbs the side of a mountain directly in front of you.  It's new.  You've never ridden it before, you should slow down, but fourth feels so dang good!  

Shrugging, you twist the throttle.  You can always downshift later. 

But can you?  When you're going full speed ahead can you downshift at a later point?  Will you be able to?  What if you're going fast and you don't see the lip of the trail.  You catch air and crash.  It happens. 

The same thing can occur in everyday application.  You're trucking along, working full time, maybe even working two jobs, you have a volunteer responsibility, children, spouse, familial obligations, etc. and you get sick.  Or someone else gets sick.  Or there's a death, or there's a divorce, or a birth, or - Do you get the picture?

Can you downshift at a time like that?  Will your circumstances allow it?

I admit I open up the throttle when I ride - a LOT.  But it's never for very long.  My favorite gear is three.  There seems to be a little more flexibility in the torque.  You can take a hill a little slower but have the power or cruise along at a quick pace (or slow pace) on more conventional planes.  I take the steeper hills in second.  When I'm in three though, I have room to move up or down.  I have a "freedom" if you will.

In life, I wish I applied this principal a little more.  I tend to run at four for long stretches of time, forcing myself to crash into first or neutral (taking naps and getting flattened by sickness usually pops the clutch at this point).  Sometimes, I find a balance and can creep along in third, but I feel like I'm missing out on something. 

But what am I missing?  In fourth, everything whizzes past you in a blur and you miss so much 'cause you're so busy.  In second, heck, even third, you can breathe, coast, lean your head back and delight in the feel of just being alive while still accomplishing things. 

I think if the tortoise and the hare had been on bikes - the hare would have rigged up a gear higher than fourth or fifth and the tortoise would have puttered in first.

Maybe if I could find a third gear - to hold constant throughout the year - I'd be less apt to crash and more open to opportunities. 

My goal is to hit the next year in third, carry out the gear for as long as I can, slowing to just above second for little breaks but keep the momentum going.  I've only got this one life that Heavenly Father has given me and I'd hate to return to Him and say "Can I have a do-over?  I've only sat around in first for 80 years.  I need to plow up to second." 

What gear do you ride in and what goals do you have for this next year?  Have you noticed this trend in your life and do you think it works for you?

What if...

This is a post for all the authors out there.

What if you couldn't write? 

Seriously, you had a ton of stories that needed to be told.  What would you do to get the stories told, if you had no way to write them?  I mean no paper, computer, or pen/pencil?  What would you do?

This is a scary thought for me. 

And We Have...

A Winner!

The contest is over!  And using Random.org, I have a winner for an e-book copy of Dictating Desire.  Will Sherry S. please email me and I will send it over straight away!

Alone has One in it.

Up earlier than usual this morning, I rocked the baby to sleep.  We all have a bad cold (not unexpected at this time of year) and he has been hit particularly hard - with four teeth coming in at once, his first ones to boot.

Well, I rocked him in the quasi-dark (quasi 'cause I have night lights EVERYWHERE!) and I was thinking about how alone it feels at 2 in the morning even in a house with 6 people in it, even with a baby cuddled in my arms.  Which led to my next thought - how many things do we do where we feel absolutely alone in the moment?  After I give some examples of my own, you'll see what I mean. 

Child birth - no matter how many coaches/support team members you have, doctors or nurses, it's still you and how you do. 

Writing - again, it's between you and the story.  Everything else is help build it and make it better, but in the beginning it's just you. 

Prayer - While you're never completely alone (of course, right? even in the above examples) when you pray, this is a completely solitary act.  Just you talking to your Maker.  Nobody else can dictate what you say or influence the honesty in your heart. 

Death - nobody passes with you.  This is your solitary journey to the next step.  You can't take the money, the taxes or the dirt bikes.  No kids, hubs or other loved ones.  It's just you.

Dreams - the terror and happiness are yours alone.  I think this is why the nightmares are so terrible, you're all alone. 

Most of my examples are internal events.  This is because we are all individual people. 

While these are situations where we are alone, the thought needn't be depressing or scary.  The moments can be short or drawn out, but there is a network set up to catch you, to support you, guide you and cradle you. 

In labor - you're alone until that baby comes out and you hold it in your arms.  In that instant, you can feel God's grace, your partners joy and excitement with you and look into the eyes of the being who - SURPRISE - journeyed with you but on a different scale.

Writing - You have beta readers, writing groups, etc. (at least you should!) to help encourage you along the way.  The book does not need to be your only link to writing world, nor should it be. 

Prayer - Rejoice in the moment of having one-on-one time with Heavenly Father.  It's your time to grow closer to him.  Sometimes, being alone is a good thing.

Death - whatever you believe, I take comfort in my belief that loved ones will be waiting on the other side to help me usher me home and I will leave behind those that will mourn me.  So while, the act itself is lonely, there is support to comfort us waiting.

Dreams - people, we always wake up - bad or good, they disappear with our waking moments - sometimes the feelings linger, but that too shall pass.

What is an instance where you feel totally alone?  Is it a negative experience or positive?  How do you react to it? 

Have a great Wednesday!

What Constitutes Genre For You?

Let's hit the basics of which I am sure you're aware.

Young Adult (YA)

Romance

Thriller/Suspense

Mystery

Horror ***

Science-Fiction

Fantasy

Non-fiction

Christian

Women's Fiction

I can't thing of any more off the top of my head, people, but if you can please include in comments.

Okay, so these base genres are what I like to call the umbrella genres - meaning each has subgenres which is where it gets confusing. 

YA covers everything in the age category - romance, mystery, paranormal, etc.  If you write YA you write one of the other genres but it's a subgenre now under the YA umbrella.

Romance - my favorite, not only because I write it, but because you can find romance everywhere! In nearly everything!  The subgenres in this category can be anything with romance as the main or parallel to the main storyline.  Romance is two people who are falling for each other and what is keeping them apart.  For instance Contemporary romance is about everyday circumstances set in this time period.  Romantic suspense has varying levels of romance corresponding to the suspenseful plot.  And on it goes.  This includes paranormal romance, historical romance, blah blah blah.  Where there is romance as the central or paracentral theme it would fit under this umbrella.

No here is where it gets tricky.  I've never read (myself) a horror novel that could fit under romance.  That's not to say there aren't any.  I just haven't read them. 

What about Christian fiction?  A fellow author, Dr. Richard Mabry, addresses what can happen with the Christian fiction genre here.  A romance with a Christian theme would be categorized under this umbrella, as would a suspense or a mystery.  But why not a fantasy or a YA?  Chronicles of Narnia had distinctly Christian views and would never conceivably be thrust into this genre but some others would be.  (More on this in a later post).

Then there are those authors who have a novel that should be categorized as an Urban Fantasy/Paranormal with cozy mystery mixed with Women's Fiction a chapter or two of YA with strong sci-fi undercurrents and a taste of romance near the end.  Yeah, this isn't a genre people. 

What is the importance of all the basic umbrellas and sticking with one or the other for your work?  Pick a lane, so to speak?

Recently, I had asked my agent. Rachelle Gardner, about this and she'd replied with a jewel I did not know but can appreciate. She said (paraphrasing here) your audience expects one thing after reading your first book.  If you can carry the reader on to read the next one, why would you change that?  Also, how marketable would you be, if every time you wrote a book you left the expectations of the readers behind. 

I got from this that if I can build a fan base, I will be able to eventually branch out to other genres.  Thanks so much, Rachelle, for the great information! 

I have to be honest.  I can't see myself leaving the Romance genre.  I have too much fun thinking about the happy endings. 

But think about this.  What genre do you write in?  Narrow it down to the umbrella, then subgenre.  Pick one or two but try to keep it simple.  Whether you're pub'd or not, what is your genre of choice to write and what is your genre of choice to read? 

I'm romance all around (in YA and Christian too).

***(which when said out loud can sound like whore and throws me off EVERY time - Me: Oh what do you write?  Author:  Horror.  Me:  I'm sorry, how can you write whore?  Is it a pamphlet?  A how-to guide?)

 

Blog Tour Over, Did I survive it?

Whew!  That was a crazy weekend. 

I participated in a fun Holiday Blog Tour  over the last couple of days.  Over 200 people toured a bunch of our blogs.  The stats rising over 48 hours on my blog was CRAZY fun! 

When I had checked the tenth time on Saturday morning by 8 am, I knew I was obsessing.  No, I mean, obsessing! 

So, I checked myself.  Made myself stop checking the stats 10 times every hour.  Made it go to once an hour.  Then abandoned it in the evening. 

When I submit a MS to an agent or a publisher, I do this obsessive checking with my email.  I'll check it about every five or ten minutes for days and weeks on end.  I get so distracted, I forget what I'm supposed to be doing - writing. 

What deters you from writing?  What motivates you to pop out the next few pages or 5k words?  Does anything you read out there in the blog world push you to a more positive production process? 

Baker's Dozen Christmas!

.

Yay!  If you are doing the Blog Hop and if not, Welcome!  If you leave the tour and need to get back on or you want to join and do the tour, click here!  Have fun and be safe!  (I did the tour and it's awesome!)


On the first day of Christmas,
A dressed up Patrick Dempsey.
 

On the second day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey


On the third day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Three  Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey


On the fourth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Four singing cards,
Three Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey



On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Five pure gold rings - (NOTHING WRONG WITH GOLD!)
Four singing cards,
Three Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey
 

On the sixth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Six bikes a'revving!
Five pure gold rings - (NOTHING WRONG WITH GOLD!)
Four singing cards,
Three Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey


On the seventh day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Seven nannies helping,
Six bikes a'revving!
Five pure gold rings - (NOTHING WRONG WITH GOLD!)
Four singingcards,
Three Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey
 

On the eighth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Eight e-books reading,
Seven nannies helping,
Six bikes a'revving!
Five pure gold rings - (NOTHING WRONG WITH GOLD!)
Four singing cards,
Three Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey
 

On the ninth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Nine pairs of socks,
Eight e-books reading,
Seven nannies helping,
Six bikes a'revving!
Five pure gold rings - (NOTHING WRONG WITH GOLD!)
Four singing cards,
Three Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey


On the tenth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Ten percent of Meyers last check!,
Nine pairs of socks,
Eight e-books reading,
Seven nannies helping,
Six bikes a'revving!
Five pure gold rings - (NOTHING WRONG WITH GOLD!)
Four singing cards,
Three Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey
 

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Eleven contracts calling,
Ten percent of Meyer's last check!,
Nine pairs of socks,
Eight e-books reading,
Seven nannies helping,
Six bikes a'revving!
Five pure gold rings - (NOTHING WRONG WITH GOLD!)
Four singing cards,
Three Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey


On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Twelve apostles praying,
Eleven contracts calling,
Ten percent of Meyer's last check!,
Nine pairs of socks,
Eight e-books reading,
Seven nannies helping,
Six bikes a'revving!
Five pure gold rings - (NOTHING WRONG WITH GOLD!)
Four singing cards,
Three Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey
 

On the thirteenth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me
Thirteen minutes to myself!
Twelve apostles praying,
Eleven contracts calling,
Ten percent of Meyer's last check!,
Nine pairs of socks,
Eight e-books reading,
Seven nannies helping,
Six bikes a'revving!
Five pure gold rings - (NOTHING WRONG WITH GOLD!)
Four singing cards,
Three Fried Twinkies,
Two purple scarves,
And a dressed up Patrick Dempsey
 

What would you like for Christmas?

Do You Have What It Takes? To be a READER?

 

It's Friday!  I love these days, because I have assigned myself Fridays to discuss a favorite topic of mine - you know it! - dirt biking!  Yay. 

Normally on these blogs, mine and the ones I follow on the right, we talk about writing, publishing, agenting, editing, craft, kids, families, work, plot, character arcs, contests (I won!  At Wendy Paine Miller's site!  Yay! WOOHOO!), other writers, interviews, releases, the difficult task of writing, blah blah blah.  A fellow writer, Deborah Vogts, includes recipes on her blog, YAY! 

We have our niche subjects, I talk about writing, dirtbiking and when I feel like it, food and mommying (it's a word because I say it is). 

If you saw my post earlier this week, you heard, in a hilarious way a portion of the difficult road a writer takes.  And it is hard, people!  HARD!  Emotionally and spiritually draining.  It is hard!

And dirt biking (or any other sport) isn't much easier.  Physically and mentally you get your butt handed to you on a platter of blood and dust heated with the chaos of exhaust. 

It's all very dramatic - or is it traumatic?

That being said, let's get to the topic. 

What does it take to be a reader?  Let's give these peeps some props! 

It isn't the easiest thing, sometimes, to get through a huge (or even short) novel written by someone I've never met and might not want to meet.  In other cases, I can't wait to email the author or follow their blog.  What makes the difference?  We'll get there in a sec. 

I'm a huge reader and sometimes wish I could get a pat on the back.  It's hard, people!  Here are some of the problems readers have.

1)  Writers - great job! - but sometimes I want to slap the person who wrote the book I picked up.  I know the process of publishing now, I get a small portion of it anyway, so I tend to look at books a little more critically.  But the reader who only reads has a huge list of obstacles to get through to get to the heart of the book

     a) Cover Art - this can make or break a book by readers' standards - and the writer usually didn't create it!  sometimes even the author doesn't particularly like it, but it isn't their call.  The cover doesn't always catch the essence of the novel or what it's supposed to convey.

    b)  Title - same thing.  Titles aren't always chosen by the author.  But reader's choose by the catchiness of the title if they want to look at the blurb on the back.

    c)  Blurb on the back/inside flap - again, not always written by the writer.  It may or may not capture the voice of the writing, or focus on the things the story should really have pointed out.

What?  I just listed three pretty important organs of a book and the writer most likely had little to now part in them?  Really?  How is the reader to really know if the writing is what they want?  To know if they should spend that money that, at least right now, is a BIG DEAL?

2)  Reviews - who do you trust?  Where do you search?  So many!

   Go here for the top 8 review sites for help.

3)  Cost - book prices are going up, but then again, what isn't?  Oh, except wages, right?

   Some alternatives?  Ebooks are priced lower, usually.  Used book stores.  Book clubs - usually can get discounted prices.  Book contests - you might win something!  Woohoo! 

These all combine to make the work cut out for the reader.  I emphasize.  It's hard to appeal to you guys!  I feel like I want you to read my books, but I'm nervous at the same time. 

It takes a lot of searching.  It really does.  Unless you have loads of time to sift through the drivel offered by some of the larger chains - you know what I mean here, people! I don't.  I'm nervous to go on my Kindle account and search for books to read, because they have over 750,000 options.  Holy crap.  That's all I gotta say.

It makes a big difference to me that the writer writes the guts and doesn't create the entire package with a traditional publisher.  Rebecca Zanetti had a great conversation wtih a reader and it pointed out a lot of the things readers are ignorant about and probably should know to be an informed and efficient reader.

I know.  Reading is usually for fun.  I agree.  For me, when I allow it, it is.  But if you live in the 21st century and you have time restrictions, over-the-top expectations, lists upon lists of things you'll most likely never get done, time is more valuable then gold (even in today's economy).  Wasting it on a book that you throw at the wall when you close it, doesn't make for a good investment.

Open up a book and read the first page or even flip to any page and read a little to see if you're interested - that's if you've been baited and caught by the packaging or have read a good review about it.  Amazon (and most other ebook retailers) offer the first chapter as a free download to "test drive it" if you will.  Find out what's under the mud!

Don't have a Kindle?  Sweetheart!  That's okay.  'Cause if you're reading this, you have a computer and Kindle (as a program) is free for your PC or just about any other hardware out there (I can't find one for my sock, but I'm working on it). 

So, what do I suggest?  Download the Kindle app.  The next time you are interested in a book, search it out on Kindle and download the free first chapter.  Like it?  Great! Buy it either on Kindle, Amazon or your local book store.  Hate it?  That's okay.  You're not out any money.  You don't have the book you HAVE to finish.  There is no real time investment lost. 

Whew!  And guess what?  There are so many books out there on the e-book plane you're missing out on.  Have a go. 

But be careful.  I've been known to come out of a book with my heart broken and my spirits crushed, my soul uplifted or the faint twinge in my elbow where I swear only the hero had hit on the wall.  

Readers!  I commend you!  Good luck out there!  

Also, a terrific post for nonwriters and writers alike on an author's pet peeves!  I loved this one!  It is so funny!  Maggie Fechner makes me laugh!  LOL!

What do you do to make your reading journey easier?  Inquiring minds are dying to know!

Oh, and the difference?  The story.  It's all about the story for me.  I don't care about anything else and will not stop reading if the story is there.  I love the story and I write for the story.  Support the story!

Hmmm... I'm thinking up a contest... I think

Drat!  Another post!  Lol.

Okay, as of this moment, I have 17 followers.  Let's see if we can up that number.

Refer my blog to your friends and for any new followers I get in the next week - have them comment, tell me they're following and who they found me through - you!

Once the week is up, I will use Random.org and the new follower as well as the person referring them will be put in.  The more you refer the more you're in the contest. 

And if you follow anonymously - well, I won't know!  Follow publicly! yay!

Also, all current followers will get an automatic entry because ya'll were here first!  lol.  Hmmm.  If I follow myself, do I get to play?  No and hubs cannot either!

Oh, oops.  What are we playing for?  Digital copy of Dictating Desire!  Woohoo! 

Showcasing!

Well, hello, my friends... You are my friends, even if you don't want to be!

I would like to point you in the direction of some of my fellow authors blogs this morning.  When I go to my dashboard, I like to see what they're all writing about before hitting up my own post.  This morning, I think we have a few worth mentioning, so I'd like to just link them, if you don' t mind.

Visit them and leave a commnent!  - You can feel free to mention that bon sent you!

Rebecca Zanetti shows us (doesn't tell us *grin) a conversation with a non-writer. 

On Surviving Grief during the Holidays, Dr. Mabry offers an article from his own recent experience. 

Amy Sorrells has a beautiful poem about faith.

Tawna Fenske writes on regrets (quite funnily too I might add!)

I will add to this throughout the day as more posts are updated - We all blog at different times!

Second Post Unusual - But WORTH IT!

I don't usually post twice in a day.  But this crushed me, humbled me and my soul rejoiced.

Busyness - A State Of Mind

What do you do with your free time?

I was thinking about this last night after I returned home from a church meeting I needed to attend. 

People work, have kids, have to eat, have to keep up some semblance of order in their house - unless they are trying to get on Hoarders (the reality show) - exercise, socialize, meetings, volunteer, family obligations, doctor appointments, blah blah blah.  Egad, people.  That's not even throwing in hobbies, reading time, date night, shopping, writing - or as importantly as writing - DIRTBIKING!  Hubs would say Dirtbiking and hunting, but he's not writing this post. 

I'm a planner, of sorts, a prayer for help to get things done and a person who doesn't tolerate complaining.  I'm a very compassionate person.  I get when life hits us hard.  But when someone tells me they've always wanted to be ******* (whatever), but they can't because they don't have time, I am extremely apathetic.

I usually suggest they shuffle things around, make it work.  But then they hem and haw.  Okay.  Done.  That's where you've lost me. 

Don't complain about something you aren't willing to at least TRY to change. 

Wow, I sound cranky... I've most likely posted on this before and it's a tangent I promise to avoid. 

It all comes down to attitude and how we percieve all the things we want to accomplish in this life.

What do you want to be known for?  The TV show you watched religiously?  Or the fun you had with your children?

Jesus said we serve Him when we serve even the least of mankind.  (Complete paraphrase).  Do we have time for service? 

A man with so much money because he has worked psychotically all his life, with no time for a family, will die one day with nothing to show for his life but the green that will either go to the state or his favorite charity. 

I'm not sure what legacy I leave behind. Certainly, I hope it is one that is founded on Christ and the Father and that has been instilled in my children.  Hopefully, I've served someone and they have felt my love.  I'd love to be able to tell the people in my life that they've impacted me.

How do you attack your day?  What do you do with the "free time" your responsibilities leave you?  If you have any?

What is the busiest time of year for you?

Are You A Teamplayer?

What do you consider being a teamplayer?

What do you consider a team?

Let's start basic.  At work, if you work, do you help out your co-worker?  Do you back up someone who gets sick or who's kid gets sick?  When the boss asks you to go the extra mile, do you?

With your family, extended or immediate, do you offer to help out and follow through?  Do you, say, take a meal when they have an illness, a birth or a death?  Do you offer to clean the house or watch the kids if there is a sign of someone being overwhelmed? 

Let's go another step.  Do you help promote your friends?  In whatever they do?  Not talk bad about them, but rather, talk them up, express pride in their accomplishments and say "I don't know how they do it."  Just because you can?

In your neighborhood, do you clear the snow?  Help weed?  Let someone know they left the lights on of their vehicle?

As a writer, or in the writing profession, do you back your "team"?  Let's consider the team can be a critique group, a local/online writing chapter you belong to, authors under the same house, authors under the same agent, authors writing the same genre.  Do you have them linked on your site?  Have you given any of them a try? 

Is it possible that by encouraging others, you may succeed at furthering yourself? 

I follow the authors under my agent, Rachelle Gardner, and hope to learn a thing or two from them as well as keep my eye out for the opportunity to help them further their success. 

For instance. Richard L.Mabry, M.D. posted on his blog today that Kindle is giving away a free ebook version of Code Blue.  I cannot wait to read this sucker!  And have to admit that I was holding off until I had a little more money coming in to buy the books he has out.  But now (and I know this will happen), I will start reading this one and not wait.  Thanks for the post, Dr. Mabry! 

Think about it today.  What team to you belong to?  Is there something you could do this week that would positively reinforce their experience on this earth? 

You could always link me on your site or blog and I'd count that! 

Have a great day and support someone!

Laughing SO Hard!

No Seriously!  Run to this, I couldn't stop laughing! 

Thanks Rebecca!

Online Class - Titles!

Do more than name that MS!  We all can do that! 

Take my course and get on a more intimate level with your work.  Fun and interactive!  Sponsored through IECRWA!

Class and sign up.

Identifying Failure

Is Failure a negative aspect or a positive opportunity?

I have set aside Fridays for posts pertaining to or referencing dirtbiking in some form. 

Today is Friday.  Um, duh, right?

Okay, but here's the thing, who has watched Motocross racing, been trail riding, helped a friend pack a bike or even just passed by a ride in the back of someone's rig on the road?  Just about everyone, right?

A question that pertains to writing along the same lines:  Who has written something, read something, knows someone who writes, someone who reads or someone illiterate?  Just about everyone, right?

Well, let's tie them together. 

Whether you dirtbike or not or even watch it at all, this has to impress you.

Photo courtesy of FMX School.

This is a picture of a combined Superman jump.  One is hanging of rear and one is jutting forward.  This is UNREAL!   I love this pic.  This could be considered true success - especially if they landed it with minimal pain. 

Everyone on the face of the planet has to recognize the famous title of this book.  The sheer success of the work has to be impressive to anyone whether they read or not.

Photo coutesy of WikiPedia.

Now, we can easily recognize the success that both of these images represent.  One is of physical prowess and the other is of a more creative bend.

Do you, however, know what it took to get there?  Can you appreciate the learning and accidents and pain that went into the first and most likely the second? 

For dirtbking, this is one of my favorite pictures... It encapsulates what I mean about failing: 

But does it really?  He/she is up in the air.  He/she obviously has the guts and know-how to get that far in the dirtbiking journey.  I'd say there are even some people who wish they could get that far (abeit minus the hospital bills).

How about in writing?  Do you think there are levels of success that might look like this?  Like failure?

Can you, in dirtbiking or writing, see the overall picture?  The where?  The what?  The who?  The why? 

Is there more behind your dream than just the success?  Do you do it for the love of it?  Even with the possibility of spilled blood?  No, I'm serious, I've cut myself writing, it wasn't pretty.

Here are the main questions for you, please answer, if you don't mind.

At what point is failure all you see - in whatever drives you?  What is considered success?

I, in the interim, am going to see about procuring myself a bike.  I need the thrum of the four-stroke to carry me through the woods!



Be Fair... It's Only, well, Fair

On a visit to another author's blog, I can't remember whose - and anyway it's not important - I read their statement that yes, they admitt they are a fan of the Twilight Saga. 

The phrasing threw me a bit.  I'm a HUGE fan of Twilight.  I'm not "admitting" anything.  Admitting something suggests there might be some amount of shame in the confession. 

I proclaim it.  I've bought her books and seen the movies - heck, I've bought those too.  

And, I know for a fact I'm not alone.  How many copies of her novels have sold world wide?  More than 100 million according to WikiPedia bestsellers list.  

Are you kidding me?  That many people have bought her books?  And all we seem to hear lately are negative things about her. 

Well, an echo of my protective side is coming out in me people!  Here are my refutes to a few of negativities this poor author has undergone.

Critics have said/there are websites about:

Mrs. Meyer is fat - COME ON!  She's had kids and she has to sit in front of a computer to write more books.  That's just stupid to worry about.  She's not a movie star and isn't trying to fit a role for the screen.  She's trying to fit into the publishing world and raise her family. Ugh. And how many of those people commenting have a BMI of 2?  Yeah, I'm thinking not many.

Mrs. Meyer isn't a good writer.  When Stephen King made his remark comparing Rowling to Meyer, all I can ask is why?  Why would he do that?  They aren't the same realm.  One's wizards the other is vampire.  One is seriously YA-boy the other is YA-girl. 

And, I know Stephen King is huge, but we're all authors (I don't care how big or famous we are) and we should respect the fact that each of is trying to make it in this horribly difficult industry with sacrifices of our own creative souls.  I can tell you, when a great story comes across my desk and I have time to read (The Hunger Games, Twilight, Ashes In The Wind), I could care less about the writing.  I read too fast to take time to look at it.  Give me the story and an Oreo to go with it! is what my heart screams.  I also will reread books if I love them (the above are ones I have reread OVER and OVER and OVER) 

And on another front, those freaking books were HUGE.  HUGE people!  and she had to pump them out fast to meet the demand of her fans.  I'm not going to judge her for that or say she's a bad writer.  I read Host and found it moving and original, the writing was exquisite and well thought out for a difficult piece. 

Other people "admitting" they like her.  Peer pressure to not be a fan is most likely coming from someone who is a) jealous of her fame and success; b) jealous of her fame and success; c) someone who is a closet-TwiHard and is a little embarrassed - most likely a boy and d) jealous of her fame and success.

I wish I had her fame and success.  That many people reading your work?  Wow.  Getting to make a cameo in your movie!  I'd take it and run screaming around my house in a t-shirt with my book cover on it and not much else!  

At what cost you ask? 

My agent, Rachelle Gardner, wroter a compelling blog concerning this exact question.  Torn covers what kind of an author do you want to be?  Making money but slammed for poor wrting quality or highly reviewed but not a lot in the wallet? 

I've been thinking about this post for quite a while.  It makes me sad we have to choose.  It makes me sad that as a whole we can't celebrate the success of others like Mrs. Meyer or all have equally exciting success stories.  Either way, the story must come out and mine are flowing like the Columbia!

Am I jealous?

Heck yeah, I'm jealous, but not enough to slam her or say she didn't deserve it.  She had the story.  The rest are just technicalities.

And I am SO TEAM EDWARD (for the books)  TEAM JACOB (for the movies). 

TEAM MEYER for the idea and sticking it out!  woohoo!