THINGS I WISH I KNEW

June 18, 2013 By

There are a few things I should have known before I published my first book, little stuff that other writers didn’t tell me. I haven’t seen any articles written about this stuff nor have I taken a workshop at a writer’s conference concerning this issue either. I’m sure everything that I’m learning along the way doesn’t just apply to writers.  The same things is true of artists, singers, songwriters, , seamstresses, cooks, chefs, or any other field where you put your heart into what you’re passion about.

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I decided to keep a list of things I should have known and share it with everyone. Please feel free to add to the list and send me those tidbits you’ve found out along the way, too.  The more we know the better we can prepare.

The people you think will buy your book, won’t.

The people you think won’t buy your book, will.

The more you write the more you want to write.

There is never enough time to write as much as you’d like.

Just when you think you’re done editing, you’ll need to edit some more.

 

EDITING

 

 

Unless you’re really lucky there will be at least one error in your book.

Some people will write cruel reviews, get over it.

Some people will write glowing reviews, get over it.

Even when you think you’re going to write all day, you can’t.

Schedule some time not to write, it will help your creativity

Writers make good friends.

Not all advice is good advice.

Follow your own counsel.

Don’t obsess over the sales numbers, write the next book.

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TELLING THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

May 20, 2013 By

THE SWEET ROAD SERIES

As I work on the story of the last Conroy sister I realize how much I’ve enjoyed their lives. With each story I’ve gotten to know them better. I know their secrets and what drives them. I could be the fourth sister. It’s taken three stories to really understand how they make their decisions and why. Many of the decisions formed by Asa, Dakota and Melissa are based on bits of wisdom passed on to them from their parents and grandparents who are now deceased.  In that respect they are very much like the rest of us.

 

It’s amazing how each sister has made different choices even though they shared the same childhood. The closeness between these sisters tugs at my heart. They are open and honest with each other speak what’s on their minds but they still manage to come back together with love and caring for each other.

 

At some point in time I’m going to have to bring this series to an end, but the Conroy sisters will always have a corner of my heart. After Melissa’s story I might have one more story line for this series, but at some time I’m going to have to tuck them away. These ladies have occupied my head for so much time (years) I know I’m going to miss them.

 

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THE SWEET ROAD TO LOVE

May 7, 2013 By

 

The second book in the Sweet Road series entitled The Sweet Road To Love is set to release on Saturday, May 18, 2013.  The story of Dakota and Bishop is one that you’ll remember. He’s a playboy, she’s skeptical, will they be able to overcome their past? If you haven’t caught up on the Conroy sisters, now is the time.  The Sweet Road Home, the first book in the series is available now at all e-book sellers.

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Please stay tuned, accompanying the launch of The Sweet Road To Love will be a contest with chances to win some nice prizes and other great giveaways.

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THE EDITOR’S VOICE

April 29, 2013 By

As a writer it took me a long time to learn when the editor in me showed up, my creativity shut down. The editor voice, strong and stern would say to me that doesn’t sound right, take out that word and rework that scene. Instead of the fun part of creating that feels like skipping or eating chocolate, the editor feels more like trudging through knee-deep snow.

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Eventually, the editor always has to show up, otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to finish a book and get it out the door. The visit from the editor isn’t always bad; it’s necessary to put the finishing touches on a manuscript. The editor is akin to a great designer who can put a style on paper, but it takes a seamstress to put it on a model.

 

I’ve heard that children can learn a new language easier than adults remember because they don’t worry about sounding strange or different as they work out the foreign words and the accents. That’s because their editor hasn’t become fully developed, so children can tune out that voice that stifles the creative muscles. Imagine how carefree would be if we never censored ourselves.

 

We all have an inner voice that can stall our inspiration, our drive or our determination. The trick it to know when to listen and when to quiet that voice and run free with you inner child, the one that will allow you to do amazing things.do what you love in wood type

 

What has your editor kept you from accomplishing? Where could you be if you shut down that little voice in your head and followed your heart?

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MY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD – PART II

March 30, 2013 By

To eat healthy or eat well, that is the question. If I wait a few months what’s healthy and good for the body will change. One day I read eat more tuna, it’s high in omega-3 and it’ good for the body. A few days later I read, watch your tuna intake, it’s high in mercury. The following month doctors are talking about how good whole wheat and whole grain are for us. Then someone comes out with a book detailing how much damage wheat can wreck on the body, slowing killing anyone who consumes the luscious breads, cakes and cookies.

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What’s a person to do? I’m sticking with chocolate. I’ll never read anything that says chocolate is not good for me. That news would be devastating.

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I haven’t figured out if food is my friend or my foe. All the things I love, love my hips. Those things that are good for me (vegetables) don’t get along with my taste buds. It’s a constant battle which I’m losing.

 

How are you making out? Food – friend or foe?

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MY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD

February 11, 2013 By

I’ve only noticed it over the last few days, it was probably always there, but I was too busy doing other stuff to play much attention. I spend a great deal of my day eating, planning what to eat or thinking about what I want to eat next. It’s no wonder that every New Year I have a resolution that includes eating healthy or exercising, most of the time both.

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In the morning as soon as my feet hit the floor I’m contemplating what is the best thing to have for breakfast. (I cannot tell a lie, this process starts the night before. But for purposes of this blog I wanted to give a full 24-hour accounting.) Often as soon as I push away from my breakfast meal, I either make lunch or start thinking about the best thing to accompany what I already have in my stomach. Most of my thinking has to do with how many calories I want to consume in one day.  My dear husband is often overwhelmed when as soon as he has taken his last bit of breakfast or lunch I ask him about dinner.

 

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I’d like to think that I’m proactive. Always analyzing the future and preparing. But in my heart I know I’m just a foodie. I have snacks and treats squirreled away in every imaginable place. I’ll never get caught off guard. I have something to eat in my purse, in my desk and in the kitchen I have a drawer dedicated to snacks. At any given time I have at least two candy jars on the first floor that stay packed with delicious surprises.  My cravings for sweet runs like the seasons, I move from conversation hearts, to jelly beans to candy corn to truffles in a seamless transition. I’m probably the only person I know who packs food in the suitcase when I’m traveling, even when I’m traveling by plane. I don’t know if I can tell you the last time I was even really hungry.

 

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With this much attention to food, you’d think I love to cook. Nope. I don’t. Standing over the stove holds no appeal. I just like to eat. Maybe I need to spend a little time figuring out what my relationship with food is all about. Could I have some deep-seeded fear that one day I’m going to starve?  Am I destined to always be in a battle with my weight because I can’t stop thinking about food?

 

I’m sure this is an issue I’m not going to resolve anytime soon. This didn’t just happen. To get this wrapped up in food has taken me a lot of years. So while I’m giving my relationship with food some thought, I’ll have a snack.

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PERFECT RELATIONSHIP

January 13, 2013 By

Do you need a friend that’s by your side no matter what?  Rain.  Shine.  Happy.  Sad.  Even if your just sitting in a chair staring at a blank wall?

Do you need a friend that will listen to everything you say, agree with everything you say and never counter your opinion.  A friend that will always take your side, even when you’re dead wrong?

 

Do you need a friend that doesn’t ask for much, but gives you plenty of room to be yourself?  And even on your worse day will give you the space to frown, without making demands on you.  A friend that’s happy to see you every day, every hour and even every minute.

I found a friend like that.  He’s soft and furry and has four legs.  His name is Coco and he’s my chocolate brown cocker spaniel.  This dog captured my heart the minute I brought him home in my lap.  He never frowns with what I give him for dinner or breakfast.  He never complains about his treats.  In fact he never complains about anything.

Coco doesn’t ask for much.  A walk, some kibble, a pet on the head a few times a day.  What he gives back to me is immeasurable.  It’s wonderful to have a relationship that doesn’t subtract from my soul.  I can look into his big brown undemanding eyes and smile even when I’m having a crappy day.  Why can’t all relationships be this wonderful and simplistic?

What’s your most perfect relationship?

(pictures by FIDO Photography)

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2013 Quotes

January 1, 2013 By

December 5, 2013
A cynical young person is almost the saddest sight to see, because it means that he or she has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.
Maya Angelou

 

November 16, 2013
I’ve found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often.
Brian Tracy 

 

November 5, 2013
The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the  determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves  to the task at hand.
Vince Lombardi

 

September 10, 2013
I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.
Leonardo da Vinci

 

August 8, 2013
For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked  myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am  about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a  row, I know I need to change something.
Steve Jobs

 

July 23, 2013
A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
Colin Powell

 

June 18, 2013
We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face…we must do that which we think we cannot.
Eleanor Roosevelt

 

June 6. 2013
He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.
Harold Wilson

 

May 27, 2013
We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends and living our lives.
Maya Angelou

 

May 15, 2013
Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.  Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.
Golda Meir

 

April 21, 2013
Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there’s love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.
Ella Jane Fitzgerald  

 

April 10, 2013
As long as we  continue to think we will be happy in the future, we will never be happy in  the moment, and that is the same as saying that we will never be happy. If we  think that our lives will be better when we get that better job or retire,  stay or go, gain or lose weight, or when our children grow and leave or come  back, we are putting off the happiness that there is in today.”
Aminu Kano

 

March 30, 2013
The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled.  For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.
Unknown

 

March 22, 2013
Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for  those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time  is eternity.
Henry Van Dyke

 

March 7, 2013
Take up the idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.
Swami Vivekananda

 

February 25, 2013
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to bring you joy.
Unknown

 

February 9, 2013
Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.  It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.
Margaret Thatcher

 

January 26, 2013
Either write something worth reading or do something worth  writing.
Benjamin Franklin

 

January 6, 2013
You’ve got to follow your passion.  You’ve got to figure out what it is you love–who you really are. And have the courage to do that.  I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dream.
Oprah Winfrey

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MAKING WISHES FOR 12-12-12

December 12, 2012 By

The New Year is right around the corner and I’m not finished with this one yet. Between now and December 31st I can think of about one thousand things I’d like to do. Of course that’s impossible since I’m on a deadline to finish my next manuscript by the end of this month. The only thing I have time to do now is write.

But since today is 12-12-12, and it’s supposed to be both magical and mystical, I decided to give a little thought to the rest of this year and the future. It can’t hurt.  I hope my creative juices continue to grow stronger, my characters continue to trust me to tell their stories, some editors love every word and readers can’t get enough of my inventions.

Oh yeah, and I’m not totally selfish.  I pray joy, happiness and peace to anyone seeking it. What are you wishing for?

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GEARING UP FOR 2013

December 7, 2012 By

This year I made some promises to myself that I kept and some that I did not. I wish I could say that those that I didn’t keep weren’t all that important, but it wouldn’t be true. I won’t spend time trying to figure out why some commitments rose to the top and others did not. I already know the answers to that question.

While I won’t list those promises I didn’t keep to myself, I do know my lack of focus and determination to those goals doomed them for failure, nothing more. In the course of a day, month, or year there are only so many activities my mind can focus on. When the chatter gets too loud something gets pushed aside. It’s called survival.

So in 2013, I’ll draw up another list of opportunities to make me a better and happier person. But it will be smaller. I’ll spend more time defining and refining the things that are truly important me, accomplishments that I feel most passionate about. I’ll choose goals that I can envision in extraordinary details. Because when I can get down to that level of focus, then I’m much more successful. No pie-in-the-sky stuff like write more. What would that even mean? Does the grocery list count?

I won’t muddle the view with a lot of objectives where I’m not really invested in their outcome.  For 2013 my goal is to stay focused, be driven and get more stuff done. Oh yeah, and to enjoy every minute of the doing.

What’s your goal for 2013?

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