Good Intentions

For those of you who suffer,
I keep you in my prayers
For those of you who celebrate,
Good fortune I will share
For those of you who wait in vain,
I will complete that task,
Unless I owe you money
In which case once more ask
I read your tales of joy and woe
As often as I can
I wish I had more time to write
It always is my plan!
But life soon overwhelms me and
I’m easily distracted
By work and home and other chores
That always are protracted
So know I often think of you
And YOU is everyone
That I have ever cared about
And hope that –

Sorry, gotta go.

Fantasy is Dangerous

I came across this really cool take on fantasy and had to share...

I learned things look different by the light of a dragon’s fire. Ordinary things become extraordinary; common problems change shape and become either unusually interesting or utterly insignificant. You really see things, sometimes for the first time. And you don’t forget them when you close the book. That, of course, is what makes fantasy dangerous. – Patricia C. Wrede, author.

Writers Retreats Are Good For The Soul

I just returned from Deborah LeBlanc's Pen To Press Retreat in New Orleans. Wowza. My master class was with author CJ Lyons, not only a wonderful author, but also an amazing teacher, joyful foodie and just a great, down-to-earth person. While I learned a lot from her, the most important thing to me was: the black moment is not the end. It's always followed by resolution. Then a new story.

That little nugget can be applied to any given WIP, finished manuscript, a writing career and life itself. Personally, it helped me know myself as a writer and what I want. It helped reignite my passion for storytelling, for the first book and beyond. And that understanding is priceless.

Earlier this year, I also went to TWRP retreat in the Texas Hill Country. That was amazing too because it drove home the message: writers write. Don't get me wrong: we went dancing, fossil hunting, attended craft-related talks, but also for hours people (including me) would just pull out their lap tops and start typing. Imagine a roomful of people, just typing. Uninterrupted soft clicks of keys and creativity. Amazing.

Yes both retreats cost money and time, meant work while others played, but the best part was connecting with other creative souls and getting re-energized. Writing is a tough business, and it can wear you out. This year I have treated myself to two wonderful gatherings and my soul needed it.

The end result: butt in chair, writing. And enjoying every minute.

NOW Officially Unemployed

I'm no longer employed as of 11:30 pm last night when I walked back into the store to turn in my office key and lottery box key. Gulp! I spent fifteen years working at Athens Shell Foodmart and while there were times I hated it basically it was a great place to work and learn as I worked there. My shift ended at 11:00 I had received parting gifts of a digital key chain, the movie AVATAR, and little Reese's peanut butter cups in the bottom of the bag under the tissue. My boss, Ida, paid for the pizza I had planned to order for dinner my coworker had a coupon for low price. All my coworkers had signed the card and a sweet customer brought me cake from a bakery in Tyler. It is an Italian Cream Cake and good. So on my way out I made two trips to the car first I carried the pizza left overs and the cake. Then last I carried my purse, my always there giant mug of Diet Coke, and my gift bag. I had to hug my friend and coworker that I trained six years ago. We had fun people would walk out shaking their heads going you two are having entirely too much fun. So we joked that was why the boss separated us. But the truth was Denise took the overnight shift and I was on evenings with one early morning. I always joked if you ever put two on nights Denise and I work well together. Our boss, Ida, would laugh and say I can't do that you two are my best employees and have to put someone else with you. I'd go I know but would be fun to work together again. We closed at midnight when she hired Denise. Denise made the comment one time when another girl who had only been there a week left her a note demanding she do something. Denise said it wasn't like Ida or Kathy had told her to do it, after all they'd been there 100 years they could boss her around. No this was a new person. She promptly wadded up the note and threw it over her shoulder. The 100 years stuck. Denise told Ida with me leaving only person could boss her around now. And Ida said oh no you didn't as Denise said, "Now it's you 'cause you've been here a 100 years." Gotta love your coworkers that make you old in a sweet way.

Repeat after me - I CAN!

I have a sticky note on my monitor at work. “Attitude is everything.” I strive to make mine good and not bad. With a high-stress job and long hours it’s not always easy, but I’m determined to smile. My good humor is not always appreciated but misery spreads like wildfire.

Why are we so more receptive to negative thoughts and comments? Talent and creativity should not be wasted. Any author, aspiring or published, needs a network of supportive friends for days of self-doubt, rejection, and humiliation. Everyone should make a list of their accomplishments and put it on their bathroom mirror. At the top note: “I am a goddess and I can do ANYTHING.”

Inspiration --Tiger Eye

Books are what inspired me to write. Books that transported me, and made me feel a whole gamut of emotions from fear to tears and more. One such book was Marjorie M. Liu's "Tiger Eye." By the time I'd finished reading that book I'd traveled to a Chinese dirt market, fallen in love with Hari, cried over deaths and guilts. And I knew, I wanted to write stories, stories that touched others.

Tiger Eye is on my keeper shelf. From time to time, I'll take it down and read through it again. Even though I know the ending, I enjoy it every single time. When I get a rejection, I read it. When I'm stuck in my writing, I read it. And I always come away energized and inspired.

So, when I heard Passionfruit games is turning Tiger Eye into a game...well, of course I did the Snoopy dance, whooped and hollered. How cool will it be go active into my inspiration?

For more info on the game check out Passionfruit

Blessings

My mother says there are different sorts of blessings. A person can say the words to you. Or do some action that translates into a blessing for you. Or, according to her this is the best, bestow a subconscious blessing.

A subconscious blessing is in response to some action of yours. It can be a lightning smile that illuminates the face for a brief second or a sigh of happiness. It is a blessing from the heart, requiring no conscious thought or formal acknowledgement.

On Valentine's weekend I was involved with a group of volunteers to host the fifth annual Valentine's Lunch at the Soup Kitchen (a Peace Ambassadors of West Texas project). We decorated, cooked, served, washed dishes, cleaned. We also visited, danced and sang. Both the guests -- the homeless and working poor --and the volunteers (a diverse group in terms of age, race, religion, socio-economic status) had a blast. Yes, I was tired by the end of it all, but smiling. Smiling from the inside all the way to the outside.

The breaking of a dream, a rejection, unanswered queries are all minor when compared to hunger and poverty. Life continues at its own pace, all we can do is live as best as we can. So, I haven't published yet, but I've done some things I can be happy about. And I've been blessed.