Happy New Year!!!

Well it’s about to be a brand new year.  Big things (for me) in the beginning of the new year.  I’m so anxious I can’t stand it!  Believe me, when I can let that cat out of the bag--you’ll hear all about it!
 

Right now, however, I want to spend a little time reminiscing about this past year.  So here goes.

I’ve met so many wonderful people in the past year.  Several of them I’m pleased to call friends.  Loved ones have died, but as the great circle of life spins, others have been born.  My children and grandchildren are healthy and relatively happy.  (It’s hard being a grown up.)  However, they understand me more now than they did before.  I’m so very proud to be their mother and grandmother. 

One of my sisters has moved to where I live, so I’m no longer without some extended family around.  And we have some new additions coming to the family! 

My husband is probably the best any woman could hope for.  He puts up with a lot of craziness and still continues to love me. lol  We don’t have everything ‘we’ want, but we have what we need.  And that alone is a reason to be thankful.

There’s been some rough patches this year, but sitting here and looking back I can honestly say it’s all turned out pretty well.   My favorite saying is “Everything happens for a reason.”  And today, on December 31st, 2010, I can say that I still hold to that.


An old Native American proverb from the Maricopa tribe states: “Everyone who is successful must have dreamed of something.”   So dream your dreams in the New Year.  Anything can happen.  And no matter what happens, rest assured that it will work out however its supposed to!

Things you'd like to say....

My last post was about the words you use when dealing with people you care about.  But what about people you don't care about, or that irritate you?  Just for fun, I've made a list of things I'd like to say, but never do.  I'm fairly certain they aren't politically correct--but I'm in a strange mood so for today I don't care. ; )

When dealing with stress:

Rum won't cure it, but it makes it a hell-of-a lot harder to notice.

For x's:

Consider yourself lucky that judges are less forgiving than God.

For condescending advisers:  

Lemonade?  How about I throw them at you?  At least one of us will feel better.

For skinny girls that constantly talk about how 'fat' they are:

Have you had an allergic reaction to something?  Your entire body looks swollen.

Clueless cashiers:

They're called numbers.  You can count them backwards and forwards.  

Egotistic guys in bars:

Aren't you cute!  Did you mother pick out that outfit for you?

People who enjoy talking about things they know nothing about:

Do you realize you sound smarter when you're not talking?

For various occasions:

Do you realize how embarrassing it would be to wake up in the ER and have to explain that a woman knocked you out?

If you know so much, why am I paying for summer school?

Should I say these things?  Probably not.  It doesn't hurt to think them loudly, and it does make me feel better when I'm aggravated. LOL

Life is supposed to be what????

Summer is in full swing and I'm doing my best to enjoy it.  Hope you are too!

I have so many people in and out of my house that I've been accused of having a revolving door.  Now it doesn't revolve, however, it slams frequently.  This seems to be a difficult summer for most of the people (young and not so young) I know.  Lately, I've found myself trying to answer the same question: Why is life so hard?

Now the trite answer to that is:  It's supposed to be hard.  If there were no bad times, we wouldn't appreciate the good times.   After being put in a position to say it over and over, I've had to sit back and really think about this explanation I keep repeating.  What does that mean anyhow?  And why in the heck do I keep repeating words that have never helped me much to begin with?  

It's simplistic to narrow down today's problems with words from yesterday.  A young girl who finds out she's pregnant the day before her boyfriend dumps her, won't take consolation in, "It's supposed to be."  Neither will a middle-aged woman whose father has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Which brings us to the next stage of conversation:  Shit happens.

Some things are just beyond our control.  We can't make people love us.  They do or don't of their own free will.  My psych professor was fond of saying, "If you are in a room with 100 people, 25 will like you, 25 won't, and the other 50 won't care one way or the other.  If you change your personality to fit in with the 25 that dislike you, the 25 that did--won't.  And there will still be 50 that don't care."  

We most certainly can't stop cancer from invading our own bodies, let alone someone else. 

The point I'm trying to make here isn't about how or why bad things happen.  It's about words.  Our words and the advice we give to those around us.  Find new words.  Use new explanations.  Better yet, don't be afraid to say, "I don't know."   I don't know why this is happening to you, but I know a day will come when you'll feel better can sound cliche as well.  However, you can back that up with your own personal experiences.  We've all lost people we love in one way or another.  Everyone (that I've encountered) has financial issues from time to time.  Shit really does happen.  Sometimes it's our own bad decisions that take us down.  Other times, it's just plain bad luck.

Is life supposed to be hard?  Maybe.  We each have our own lessons to learn and obstacles to overcome.  Can we make it easier for each other?  Abso-freakin-lutely!  We can't take on other peoples pain, but we can ease it.  Actions help.  A hug, a twenty slipped into the pocket of a friend who doesn't have money for groceries, and sometimes just a phone call to let them know you care and are thinking of them.   Words are a valuable tool.  You can bring someone to their knees with your words.  Or you can pick them up, dust them off and send them forward with a smile and a lighter heart.

If we take as much care and consideration with the words we say as we do the words we write, this world might just be a little easier to deal with. 

Monsters we love

Have you ever wanted a Jacob or Edward in your life? What is it that fascinates us? Is it the bad guy persona? Is it the thrill of the chase? Wanting what we know we can't have?

I think it's more than that. I think most women have a need for a Jacob, Edward, Lucian, Sirius, or even a Blade in their lives. Why?

Because they love with intensity.   How often do you get that?  They will kill or die for you. (Or that.)  Even better, they are nearly perfect. Who wouldn't love a nearly perfect man? Sure they have their faults. Some drink blood, others have anger management issues--but who do you know that doesn't have some type of issue? We love to love the 'good' monsters because it's enticing. It's above and beyond the usual. We're used to picking up socks and underwear. Doing laundry--been there done that a thousand times. However, when was that last time you got to be someones lifeline? See that's it right there! In books and movies we can indulge in the concept of being saviors. Only the love of a truly good woman will save these so-called monsters. And aren't we all dying to prove our worth?

 

Which monsters do you love?  What is it about them that trips your trigger? 

Who am I writing for?

I’ve spent the last several months wishing and hoping time would somehow miraculously arrive in large quantities. What with the kids, and the house (and life in general) my daily writing schedule has been completely flushed. However, it seems that things have sorted themselves out and (knock on wood) I’m on the cusp of retrieving said schedule. There’s only one little problem with that. The words won’t come. I’m not getting any story ideas for my current WIP. Zip, zilch, nada. It’s driving me crazy!

Yesterday I spent the day trying to come up with something. I did my usual—throwing myself into my main character’s mood. Trying to figure out where we’d go from here and what we’d do. Still nothing. Several of my writer friends outline their stories from beginning to end. They tell me that’s how they keep on track. I really don’t like the idea of being constricted to a storyline. I enjoy the way my novels unfold in their own way. Each time it is unique. Each day I enjoy new surprises as plots twist and unexpected things happen. I LOVE that about writing.

Yesterday was a doubt-filled day for me. That old saying about everyone having a book or two in them, kept coming to mind. What if I only had three books in me? What if the story isn’t progressing because there really is no story there? What if I’m washed up already????!!!!

Today however, is a little different. I think I’ve discovered the trouble. It’s not the story, it’s me. The new book has nothing to do with vampires, werewolves, witches, or ghosts. Why? Because I keep hearing the term ‘market saturation.’ It’s an ugly term. Seems there’s just too many of those kinds of stories out there right now. My problem is—that’s what I love to write. Those are the stories that turn me on and motivate me. I don’t mean to sound like a genre-ist, but that’s what I like reading too. If you check out my movie or book collections, you’ll see that they mostly consist of things that go bump in the night.

So today I have a huge decision to make. I have to decide who exactly I’m writing for, and what my motivations are. Do I write for me and enjoy every minute of it, or do I write with the intention of actually selling something? My vampire/werewolf series has at least two (if not three) more books before it is complete. I’m itching to get at it. I love those characters. They feel like family. What am I going to do? I have no clue, but I am making the decision today and I’ll let you know.

Happy Easter!!!!

So I'm thinking about Easter Sunday. I'm Thinking about God and all his infinate wisdom. Here are my thoughts (for what they are worth.) God is. He always has been, and always will be. Nothing we've been taught is original thinking. It's all training. Your heart, soul, or consciousness tells you what's right and what's wrong. You feel it. When you do something that goes against 'the right', you feel it. So don't look to man for answers. Look to God. He's the only one that knows the truth. Your favorite Sunday morning evangilist isn't going to be able to tell you what's right for you. His generalizations will cover some, but not all. Trust your heart. He is here. He is with you. In all things know that the glory of the lord will shine through. (No it's not an exact bible verse, however, He is always faithful. Trust and believe upon that.) Life is tough people, but that's why we're here. To learn. To grow. Everything else is just icing. Eat your cake and be glad. There are always others out there that have it worse than you!!!! Happy Easter, and God bless!!!!!!!

Update on pub contract

Has anyone noticed that I sort of suck at updating my blog? As usual, life took over and time for writing, reading, and even breathing is almost nonexistent. I am inundated with grandchildren and household chores. Not that I’m complaining. Here’s a quick rundown on how things are going.

I turned down the publishing contract. I know it sounds insane, but there are some issues I just won’t budge on. Taking a deal, just for the sake of being able to say I’ve published a book just seemed like a cop out to me. In the end I’d be making next to nothing and there was no advance whatsoever. I can self publish an eBook and make 40% in royalties. No free author copies. (I’d have to buy those.) If I’m going to buy my own books, I might as well self publish at least then I’d still own the rights to my work. (See how this is working out? Lol) So in the interest of not screwing myself over, I turned them down. For now, I have no plans to self publish, but I am seriously thinking it over.

In the mean time, I am still querying the first and second books, and working on two others. Now I say working in the loosest sense of the word. I’ve started two more would be more appropriate I suppose. Both are at a standstill right now due to the inconvenient interruptions of my ‘real’ life. However, I’m itching to get back at it and get moving. Both books have taken over my dreams. It’s crazy how that happens. Today and tomorrow are mapped out for writing. If the chaos gods aren’t against me, maybe the words I’m dreaming will make it to paper. Maybe….. I hope you all are well! Thanks for hanging in there with me!