Blog Archives

Terrible Tread!

9/29/2015

Your tires aren't the only thing you need to check the tread on. Check your shoes too. I slipped on the stairs Sunday and wound out with a broken fifth metatarsal and a sprained foot. That's a heck of a way to find out the tread wore off your shoes!

Yes, I broke a bone in my foot. The good news is that the orthopedic said it's a simple break, and I don't need surgery or even a cast. I can even ditch the crutches once the swelling goes down. He cleared me to go back to work on Thursday and said to keep it elevated and stay off it as much as possible until then. And the second revisions on The Earthside Trilogy are going to be really interesting because he put me on Vicodan for the pain. Thank goodness, I have several more drafts to go before that one gets published, and a great proofreader to get it through first. I'll need it!

It's a pain to have problems with your foot. I broke the pinky toe back in 2000, and sprained my ankle on the treadmill about 5-6 years ago, so this isn't my first rodeo with this foot. I'm just glad the injury isn't bad (even though it feels bad) and will heal quickly, so that's encouraging. It's my left foot too, so I can drive once the swelling decreases. I'll be in the boot for 6 weeks, but he said I can ditch the crutches once the swelling goes down, which could be next week. I know you've seen these boots before. It looks like you could walk on Mars with it. So should I go with mimicking an astronaut, or a cyborg? I could be space Sherri, or bionic Sherri. Both make Zack cackle.

I've got to laugh about it. It makes me feel like less of an igit.

Anyway, the good news is that limited mobility means I'll be doing a lot with my writing, reading, and cross stitching. Second round revisions of Earthside are flying along. That's good.

So the moral of the story - be careful, and check the tread on your shoes.

That's all today. Take care, and have a great week.

Bye!

The Villains We Create

9/24/2015

And then there are the villains we create. How? Through our words and actions. If it’s all connected, then what we say and do affects others and if the effect is bad, then we have to deal with the consequences of it. Turning the other cheek is probably the least followed verse in The Bible. People react and when they do it in anger, it’s unpredictable and ugly. It can turn allies into enemies just as fast as outright betrayal.

Another problem is that you don’t know how far out the effect reaches. Something you say or do may change life for people you failed to consider. Case in point: you quit your job. Now you’ve made life harder for everybody that has to cover for your loss until you can be replaced and that replacement can be trained. You walk away and be-bop on with your life and while there may be adjustments, they’re adjustments you agreed to. They didn’t agree to adjustments, and have weeks or even months of their lives being complicated by your decision. And forget about the “you’ve got to understand that I have to do what’s right for me!” They don’t have to understand anything, and you can’t make them. They have a right to be angry at you, and you have no choice but to deal with that anger.

There is some good news. While they say that moral victories aren’t real victories, I’ve noticed that people will give you an “A” for effort. What’s in the heart matters, and people can always sense that. If you honestly try to do what’s right and don’t mean to hurt others, they’re typically more willing to forgive, or at least they get past their anger faster because the consequences are temporary and usually work out for their good as well. If you do it with intentions to hurt others , then it’s on like Donkey Kong, and you just sent out an express package of ugly to be returned to sender. Things done with pure intentions in love will return greater good to everybody. Things done in hate hurt you in the end, because those you hurt will be vindicated, leaving all of that ugly energy with one place to go – right back to you. Be careful what you wish for, and especially what you wish on other people. You tend to get it yourself. Read The Secret. The universe can’t distinguish what you want for yourself from what you want for others. If you think it and especially if you act on it, then it’s yours. Signed, sealed, delivered.

It brings me back to the same conclusions as my last entry. Be a decent human being and do the right thing, and things work out for the best in the end. Yes, people are jerks and will do you wrong. Yes, circumstances will seem to turn against you. Yes, bad things happen to all people and don’t distinguish the good from the bad. Yes, people will call you a goody-goody and a “Little Miss/Mr. Perfect,” but let them laugh and reap the consequences of their own. If your heart is right and pure, then you weather these storms, and the journey gives you wisdom and strength to not only come out better in the end, but to build a better life than you had before. Mosaics are made from brokenness reconstructed into beauty.

That’s all today. Take care, and have a great weekend.

Bye!

The Invisible Villain

9/22/2015

As I embark on another round of revisions to The Earthside Trilogy, I’d like for us to ponder on a recent realization on the subject of villains. We’ve talked about villains before in this blog: which are the best, what makes them fascinating, and what motivations are the most compelling. But of late, I’ve come to realize that in both fiction and real life, there’s another kind of villain that we battle. It’s far more elusive than the bad guys stirring up trouble, and more damaging than any gun, bomb, or weapon you can conceive. This villain hits fast, hits hard, and is unforgiving. What can hurt us this badly?

What you don’t know.

We think we’re invincible. We think we’re smart. We think that we have it all under control, and that our plans can go no way but our way. There’s just one problem with this innate arrogance that we as humans suffer from. We don’t know it all. We can’t compensate for reality, which can turn on a dime. Our attention is limited and no matter how we try to keep it under our thumb, there will always be people and circumstances that slip through our fingers that build the demons we don’t see coming. The nature of the universe is change, and as such it’s literally impossible to run and hide for long, because truth always prevails and things always come out from under that rug you swept them under, often far bigger and more hideous than the monster we thought we hid.

This is the stuff that really hurts, because it's an invisible villain that's impossible to anticipate or control. Because there’s always somebody smarter. There’s always somebody with more resources and conflicting goals. There’s always that dark side to people and things that you don’t see until it’s drawn out, and you don’t really know how powerful it is until the beast is out of the cage. It’s always the things and people we underestimate or even forget about that blow up the worst. And nobody can see the future. You can make your plans – and God can unmake them. Fate will not be controlled. The balance must be kept. If one things shifts, so too must another. It’s all connected, and there’s no way to know how that string will resonate once you pull it.

Villains create themselves from what they know, and are amplified by what they don’t know. The problem is, the villain isn’t ever the villain in their own eyes – and in trying to defend their virtue, they often create other villains through neglect of the things they don’t know.

In the end, it makes for good fiction and lousy reality. Karma really is a witch, and it’s ironic how much of it we create ourselves. Maybe it’s best to just be an honest, decent human being. It may sound idealistic and boring, but by golly, it sure is a simpler life.

That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.

Bye!

Writing Advice for Real People

9/16/2015

One thing I’ve learned in 15 years of writing is that advice abounds on how to do it best, but it’s not a “one size fits all” prophesy. Every person is unique, and as such that means that what works for one might be chaos for another. It can be a difficult game of trial and error to find what works for you, and what’s a waste of time (or completely impractical to who you are and what you write). Here are a few realistic tips to kick start you, and keep you going on that brilliant novel that you’re trying to get from your brain to the laptop:

Write when you can. You know your schedule, so work with it. If you need a set time and space to do it, then by all means go ahead and set up a sacred space. If you’re like me and need more flexibility, then invest in a laptop and write what you can, when you can. Don’t rush it, and don’t feel like you have to heed the “write every day” mantra if your schedule is such that it’s literally impossible to squeeze out a few words on certain days of the week. Remember that writing is about more than just writing. It’s also about having a life, absorbing that life, and drawing inspiration from the world around you – and to do that, you have to get your head out of the computer every now and then and actually live. So have a life, and fit writing into it accordingly.
Write what you’ve got, when you’ve got it. Don’t wait to start until you have the entire story planned out in your head. Write what you have, and the rest will flow. And if you skip scenes, that’s alright too. Revisions and edits are for reviewing for consistency, plugging in for plot holes, and cleaning up incongruities.
Learn the balance of timing. Take your time to write the best novel you can – but not too much time. Writing goals and schedules are fine, but remember that quality is more important than quantity. Meeting a goal of writing so many words or pages in a day is a waste if you write crap that you have to delete later. Remember that the point is to create the best story you can, and that takes time. As they say on my T25 workout videos; do the best that you can do. It’s going to take several drafts to get it right, so accept that writing a novel is going to take a long time, and get comfortable with long periods of hard work and deferred rewards. This is why it’s so important to write because you love to do it – otherwise, it will burn you out, and you’ll quit.

Likewise, you have to realize that it will never be perfect, and know when it’s time to let it go and release it into the world. You’ll always find things to fix or adjust, so eventually you have to accept that it’s ready to let go. Creating your best work is a delicate balance of knowing when to hold on, when to hold back, and when to let go. Learn that balance.
Do your research. The biggest challenge a writer faces is the “suspension of disbelief.” Yes, you can get inventive and stretch the limits, but it has to be theoretically possible, or you’ll lose the reader. Even in fantasy, where you can define your own constructs, you need to be able to put things within the reader’s ability to “grasp” and believe. Whether it’s actually possible is moot – the reader has to believe it’s possible, or you lose them. Understand the “why” behind the “what” and you can convince your readers that your world has the potential to be as real as the one they live in.

One additional tip here: you don’t have to do it all up front. We all know that our characters tend to take on a life of their own, which causes the story to go in directions we didn’t anticipate. That’s alright. If you find yourself dealing with a red herring that surprises you then go for it, and plug in the research as you go along.
Study basic psychology. If you write fiction, then the most important thing you can master is creating believable characters. I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and it’s been invaluable in this endeavor – in fact, one thing reviewers often commend me for are characters they can relate to. A basic course in personality or social psychology can help, as can speaking to pastors or people in the mental health profession. But you can teach yourself by watching people. Every human being has patterns of behavior, and understanding these is a key not only in getting along with others in the real world, but creating characters that readers love in your parallel universe worlds. Make note of how the people you know act and react to things. Watch people in groups and study their dynamics. It doesn’t take long to learn the patterns, and see what fits together. Even the inconsistencies have a place in the puzzle of human behavior.

Also, remember that everybody has good and bad in them, and we’re all weird in some way. Don’t make the classic mistake of making your protagonist perfect, or your antagonist so flawed that they’re ridiculous. Use the quirks and flaws of humanity to make all of your characters unique, yet realistic. A hero battling a bad temper going against an antagonist suffering from anxiety disorder can have a powerful impact not only to your story, but on your readers as well.
Own your experiences. Life is a series of mountaintop experiences and valleys, and the best stories come from mining the valleys. If the reader isn’t riding shotgun to your issues, then you’re doing it wrong. Don’t fear your demons, the ugly in life, or what you know. Face it square on and create a world where you work it out, at least symbolically. Your experiences are yours so own them, and give them back to the world so they benefit from them. Take the “what if’s” of your own life, and turn them to a tale that can entertain and inspire others.
Keep a blog or journal of your personal experiences. Emotions are fickle, fleeting, not reliable, and quickly forgotten. That’s why it’s a good idea to document your experiences and how you feel about them, especially on a day to day basis. Memory usually only retains the “big” things that hit us hard (for better or worse), but fiction mirrors reality in the significance of the details. For example, how you deal with the “deflated” feeling after a major loss or letdown is as significant as the impact of the event itself, because it speaks to your ability to learn from experiences, rebound, and heal. The blog/journal doesn’t have to be anything fancy, or even an everyday thing. A simple “gratitude journal” or “mood tracking” a few times a week is enough to note your thought and emotion patterns, and kick start your memory when you’re trying to capture the elusive emotions of mundane and dynamic moments.
Use symbolism wisely. I’m Lutheran, so I’m all about symbolism. Nothing in my writing is random. I even research the names of major characters I use for meanings. Symbolism is a great way to speak to your readers subconsciously and to solve part of the “show, don’t tell” problem by letting them see (or hear) what has more significant meaning in the story. You don’t want to overdo it, but symbolism used in opportune times and places can launch your story to a new level.
CYA. It’s an inevitable fact that everybody that personally knows you is going to see you in every protagonist, and the person being the biggest burr in your butt as the antagonist in everything you write. It doesn’t matter whether it’s true – they’re just too close to you to see outside of what they know. Still, it behooves you to be mindful of an extremely important point that you have to cover you’re a** to protect yourself from those who might scream about being unfairly depicted in your work or worse yet, suing you for liable or slander. Change names, change details, change situations, change the setting – do what you must to protect the integrity of yourself and everybody you know, for better or for worse. There’s nothing wrong with putting the painful people in your novel and killing them off, as long as it isn’t overtly obvious to them that you’ve done it.
Love it or leave it. Once the book is published, you have to live with it forever. If you want it to enrich the lives of others, then you have to get behind it to promote and push it into the world. That means that you need to love it first. If you aren’t enthusiastic about your novel while you’re writing it, then let it go and write something that you are excited about. After all, why should readers love it if you don’t?

I realize these are general, but usually the stuff that applies broadly is general. I would suggest doing research into the genre you write for more advice on how to do it and publish it best, but these tips should at least get you started on the right path. I hope it’s helpful.

That’s all today. Take care, and have a great rest of the week.

Bye!

8 Time Saving Tips

9/13/2015

In my last entry, I gave you several money saving tips. In this entry, I’d like to give you 8 time saving tips. As with the money saving tips, you may love or hate these, but I ask you to try them, because they’re effective.

Get up earlier. How you start your day sets the tone for the entire day. Too often, we get up at the last possible minute, scurrying around to rush out of the door so we can gain a few extra minutes of sleep. Why not go to bed a little earlier, and get up earlier instead? That way, you have more time and can start your day relaxed and in a better mindset. I started doing this three years ago when Rick and I changed our work schedules, and I feel so much better in the mornings! I can use the time to do my Bible reading and make my lunch before work, or I have some extra time if I need it to allow for traffic, or to run an errand before work like getting gas, going by the ATM, or stopping by the pharmacy. Believe me, more time helps you feel better about the rest of your day.
Utilize your lunch hour. It might not seem like much time, but you’d be amazed at what you can accomplish in an hour. I’ve used my lunch hour for: writing (I take my laptop to work with me for this), cross stitching, running errands, taking a walk, going to my favorite secondhand bookstore, shopping, and I even go home for lunch once a week. Your location and transportation may change your options, but there are ways you can use your lunch hour to get things done. You don’t have to do something every day, but taking advantage of it two or three days a week can save you significant time after work.
Schedule “down time.” I mentioned this a few entries ago, but it bears repeating: it’s vitally important that you have at least 20-30 minutes a day for something you enjoy in order to stay in balance. It really is good for your mental health to take a time out, and you’ll be more effective if you have something to look forward to, or if you’ve had an opportunity to do something relaxing for yourself. Use that extra time in the morning or use your lunch break to read, take a walk, watch a short TV show, listen to some music, or just sit and do nothing. It doesn’t matter how you utilize this time, as long as you do.
Plan meals ahead. Whether you love or hate to cook, there’s no denying that it takes time to put a decent meal on the table. Check your schedule and plan your meals according to how much time and energy you’ll have at that point in the day to prepare them. Can you cook extra on a weekend, so you can have enough for a quick meal of leftovers on Monday? How about crock pot meals, that you put in before work, and are done and ready to eat when you get home? One favorite thing that Rick and Dad both like to do is grill a number of meats when they grill out, and refrigerate them for meal later in the week – for example, they may grill steaks, chicken, pork chops, burgers, and hot dogs. That way, we can have steaks that night, burgers and hot dogs the next, etc. All you need to do is serve side dishes, which are quicker and easier to prepare than meat.
Don’t multitask. I truly believe that “multi-tasking” is the curse word of the twenty-first century. Studies have proved that people are significantly more effective when they concentrate on one task at a time, but for some reason we reject this and continue to run around like chickens with our heads cut off. Much as a Jack-of-all-trades is a master at none, neither do we do our best at multiple tasks at one time. Peak performance comes with focus. Just try it for a day, and see how effective you are. If you don’t accomplish more in a day of focus, feel free to scramble again. But I’ll bet you’ll be surprised. I know I was when I tested this theory, and I’ve never gone back!
Group “like tasks” together. Substitute multi-tasking with this. Group tasks that are similar, require similar resources, or are located in a similar area together. For example, if you’re on the computer paying bills, can you go ahead and update some other things while you’re online? Can you water the plants while you’re outside cutting grass, or washing the car? What other stores are near where you need to go – can you get anything else done while you’re in that area?
But split up bigger tasks. It’s rare that I clean the entire house in a single day. Usually, I’ll group like chores together and split them across two or three days. For example, I’ll clean the kitchen and bathrooms and clean floors one day, and dust and vacuum another day. Or when cleaning bird cages, I’ll wash the food and water dishes and change their toys one day, and wipe down the cages, change newspaper, and empty trash the next day. Use grouping like tasks to break down bigger jobs into manageable chunks that leave you with more free time every day, instead of taking up one day trying to do it all.
Buy time when you need it. Mom told me when we built our house that I’d learn shortcuts to cleaning and housekeeping fast, and she was right. You could spend every waking moment running things down, and I believe you could fill the sleeping ones too, if necessary! Everybody in this day and time has too much expected of them. It’s the mixed blessing of our technological age – we can do things faster, so we’re expected to do more. Get off the treadmill and give yourself a break. Look for ways to take shortcuts on things that aren’t as high a priority in life, and give yourself permission to live by your priorities. Spending time with your family is more important than whipping up a gourmet meal and cleaning the house, so learn to be ok with a crock pot supper and wiping the kitchen counters with a Clorox wipe and walking away from it instead of three hours cooking, and an hour long scrubbing session with the rubber gloves, brush, and Soft Scrub every night. You’ll never find the bottom of your “To Do” list, so utilize shortcuts wisely and stop trying. Find the fastest and most effective way to get it done, do your best, and move on. Everybody knows that everybody is busy. And for goodness sake, don’t be afraid to delegate tasks to others, either, or to ask for help. You help them, so they should be willing to help you.

I hope these entries have inspired you to find ways to save your two most valuable resources. Maybe the money you save from my tips in the last entry can be invested in a way to enjoy the time you save from the tips in this entry!

That’s all today. Take care and have a great week.

Bye!

12 Money Saving Tips

9/10/2015

It’s that time of year again when life cranks up to full activity level, placing demands on our time and money. Advice abounds on how to save on both, but often they miss the little, sneaky ways that our dollars and seconds are wasted. Today, I’d like to give you 12 money saving tips that can keep more bucks in your bank account. WARNING: You aren’t going to like some of these tips but trust me; they’re effective.

Don’t pay service and late fees. Why pay more on your bills than necessary? Go through all of your bills to make a list of what’s due when, and make sure you’re paying your bills on time and by a payment method that doesn’t charge fees. One thing to watch out for is auto-deductions – they’re amazingly convenient, but do you realize that many places charge a service fee for it, but you can pay online without a fee? Don’t give them a dollar more than you have to! Set reminders on your phone on when to pay each bill, and keep up with it.
Check your phone, TV, and Internet bills, and see if they can offer you a better deal than you have. That awesome promotion they offer you when you sign up usually expires after a year or two, leaving you with a bill that creeps up unless you’re proactive about chasing the better deals. People laugh at how often Rick and I change TV service providers, but we do it because those offers run out, and changing frequently is the best way to keep our bills down. We actually found that the best deal is to cut the cord and watch our shows through online streaming, and watch local channels on a digital antenna. Sports fans note: You can do this, and still watch your college football, basketball, baseball, etc, too. SlingTV is $25 a month for their basic package and ESPN Networks added on (which includes the SEC Network). We also significantly lowered our cell phone bill by calling Verizon and asking them to review our actual phone usage and recommend a package that better suited it. It’s worth the time and trouble to check for promotions and to ask for them.
Redeem your rewards. A lot of credit cards and stores never have to make good on their cash back, rewards, or redemption offers because people usually forget about them. Don’t make that mistake! We’ve cashed in hundreds of dollars on these rewards programs in both cash and gift cards, I’ve gotten up to $0.50 off per gallon on gas with Bi-Lo fuel perks, and once I won $100 off my grocery bill at Food Lion for using my discount card. Every little bit helps, so redeem those rewards and mail in those receipts for rebates.
Cut the land line. Providers will tell you that bundling your services is a money saver, but it’s never a good idea to pay for something that you don’t use. Invest in a decent cell phone with the most reliable service in your area instead, and you don’t need a land line. Which leads me to my next suggestion –
Invest in tech wisely. It’s so easy to get caught in the the glitz of the newest tech, but you need to consider what you actually need and what you plan to use it for. For example, there’s no need to invest in a Kindle or Nook if you have a smartphone or tablet, because you can get the apps for free and read on those devices. (Unless you’re like my mother, who doesn’t use the Internet and just uses the device to read ebooks – in her case, a Kindle was a wise investment.) Think about how you actually use what you have, do your research on what’s available, and make an informed decision. It’s a waste of money if you buy it just to use it for a few weeks, and then relegate it to a drawer once the “newness” wears off. Besides, something newer is always coming out, so you’ll never be “caught up” on the latest tech for long.
Travel less and take a “stay-cation.” I know, travel is fun, but it’s also expensive. Most of us have set up our homes for maximum comfort, but when we have a chance to actually enjoy it, we pack our bags and take off instead. Why not take advantage of what home has to offer? Order a pizza and have a Netflix night. Go out to local community events. Eat at a place you don’t usually go, or haven’t been to in a while. Watch the big game on TV or listen to it on the radio with snacks instead of going to the stadium, buying tickets, paying for parking, and getting caught in pre and post game traffic (invite friends over to join you for a good, cheap party). So often, we fall into habitual ruts, and don’t realize how much more our homes and hometowns have to offer unless we intentionally open our eyes and get inventive about enjoying it. Plus, it saves a lot of money in gas and accommodations.
Make the most of business travel. If you must travel for business, see if there’s a way to tack a vacation on to it. Rick and I went to Arizona and Washington D.C. a few days early to enjoy a few days of tourism and visiting before my conference started. It was great, because I was relaxed and ready to dive in once the conference started, and he got a vacation that was halfway paid for. Many hotels will extend special conference room rates for a few days before and after the event (and give you a bigger room so family can come with you) in case you want to take advantage of the local events outside of work, so enjoy it! Yes, you’ll have to pay some out of pocket, but if the company is paying for you to get there and back, then why not turn it into a vacation for half of what it would have cost to go on your own time? You’re going anyway, so make the most of it. Research the area where you’re being sent well in advance, plan ahead on what you want to see and do, and give yourself a few extra days before or after work to relax and enjoy the benefits of being there.
Take care of yourself, and your stuff. It’s commonly known that maintenance is cheaper and more effective than repair, but rarely practiced. Take you medication. Exercise and eat right. Take your car in for oil changes and routine maintenance. Get proper service done on things you have warranties on. Pay attention to how things are operating, and act quickly if appliances start acting wonky. Preventative maintenance is best, and quick action is wise because repairs are always cheaper and easier than replacements. And taking the stupid pills every day is always preferable to being knocked out with an illness and a doctor’s visit that could have been prevented.
Make gift lists wisely. Most people can’t afford to give us big ticket items for birthdays or holidays, but they can contribute toward a goal if there’s a large purchase you want or need to make. Ask for gift cards to the retailer where the item is available, and save money you are given or make from side projects to apply toward these purchases.
Eat out less, and wisely. The cost of food has gone up exponentially in the past few years, and you really have to keep your eyes open to deals. Why not “brown bag” your lunch during the week, go out to lunch on Saturday, and plan to cook a nice meal on Saturday night? Or if you want to go out to dinner, do it on a weeknight at a restaurant that offers special deals on Tuesdays or Wednesdays? This can save you more money that you imagine.
Mine your talents. I had a realization while surfing social media last night. I saw a picture of a bracelet somebody made and thought – I love jewelry, and I love crafting. Why am I not making jewelry? I could make unique pieces for much cheaper than buying them in a store or at a craft show! Once I clear my current crafting docket, I plan to learn jewelry making , and to add this to my crafting hobby. I could make myself and others some great gifts!

Yes, hobbies are for our personal enjoyment, but is there a way you can share them with others for cost effective, unique, and thoughtful gifts? I often make cross stitches or small crafting projects for Christmas gifts, and they’re typically cheaper than store bought gifts. Mine your talents for potential gifts, and you might be surprised at how you can create thoughtful gifts that are budget friendly. If you need some ideas, check the Crafts/Hobby board on Pinterest.
Take advantage of give-aways or trade things. Both of the recliners in our upstairs sitting room that have become tried and true favorites came from our parents when they decided to buy new chairs, and we asked them if we could have them instead of hauling them off. Likewise, we’ve returned the favor by giving them items that we’ve replaced or updated. Furniture, electronics, and technology are tough to get rid of and don’t always get trade-in deals, so check with family and friends making upgrades it still works. Just be prepared to reciprocate in the future, because this kind of generosity should always be paid forward. And if your family and friends don’t have anything available, check secondhand stores or stores that allow trade-in’s to see if they have good deals available.

Like it or hate it, these are simple tips to saving more money. Give them a try. You might be surprised at how your budget looks after a month of two of testing these tips.

That’s all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a great weekend.

Bye!

Indie Author Summer - Second Round Picks

9/8/2015

Today, I’d like to follow up my Indie Author Summer with a suggestion list of other ebooks that didn’t get a major write-up. Before I do, however, I’d like to extend my personal congratulations to Andrea Christensen, author of The Exodus Trilogy (I opened Indie Author Summer with this, and it’s excellent). He recently announced that he’s achieved every writer’s dream of quitting the day job and will be a full time writer soon. That’s excellent news, and I wish him the best in this achievement of a new chapter in life, and in his future endeavors! It also gives the rest of us writers hope, because we see that it’s possible to achieve the dream. Congratulations, Mr. Christensen, and thanks for inspiring the rest of us to keep working hard toward our own success! We need great news like this to inspire us.

Moving on – here are a few other titles that I read over the summer that didn’t get full reviews. The first two were due to time constraints. The rest were ok – they didn’t knock me over, but I found merit in them, and believe they’re worth a read.

How to Sell Fiction on Kindle, by Michael Alvear. The only reason this book wasn’t included is because it’s non-fiction, and I focused Indie Author Summer on Fiction (I also recently finished reading this short book). This book has tips on how to promote ebooks that I haven’t seen anywhere else. Writers, this is a mandatory addition to your bookshelf!

Mindspeak, by Heather Sunseri. Lexi has a secret, and it’s bigger than even she realizes. Genetic engineering at it’s finest. This is an excellent young adult, mystery read along the lines of works like Christopher Pike that I enjoyed as a teen, mixed with the science fiction that I also love. I just finished reading the book last week, so I didn’t have time to do a full write-up by Labor Day. It’s a great, fast paced read, and I enjoyed it.

Apocalypse – Book 1 of The Wasteland Chronicles, by Kyle West. An asteroid renders the Earth desolate, forcing many people to live in bunkers while others scavenge the ruined Earth for survival. The two groups live apart, until an alien virus kills off the bunkers, forcing the few survivors to join the scavenger lifestyle to stay alive. It’s an excellent plot but it progresses slowly, and is written more for young adults.

His Robot Girlfriend, by Wesley Allen. Widow hates his life. Widow orders service robot. Widow falls for robot and wants to marry it. It’s a cliché story with a simplistic plot that could use more character development, but it is an interesting story. I actually felt a little cheated because it hinted at more going on with Patience (the robot), but it looks like that doesn’t pan out until Book 2.

Over You, by Christine Kersey. I’m not much of a romance fan, but I give it a chance every now and then, especially when mixed with mystery, like this book. Poor Jessica dumps her boyfriend and goes to visit her aunt, just to find her ex-boyfriend doing contract work on the home. She tries to occupy herself by digging into her work and some old love letters she finds in her aunt’s attic, which turns into an intriguing historical mystery. Unfortunately, I think the book focused more on the romance and less on the mystery, and the letters had potential to lead to much more. I realize my disappointment over this book is due to my personal preferences and no problem with the book or how it was written, so I didn’t include it on my indie author summer. Overall, I believe people who enjoy romance would like this book and recommend it to them.

He Loves Me Not, by Christine Kersey. This book received dismal reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads that perhaps aren’t entirely deserved. Yes, the writer’s style could use some evolution, and the protagonist, a young woman that falls in love with an abuser, is annoying and dim-witted – but then again, she’s been through life experiences at twenty that most of us don’t experience until our forties or even later in life, so it’s understandable that her maturity would be affected by having to grow up too fast. I believe this book has an extremely important theme about relationships that every young woman needs to know. Sadly, it’s realistic in too many ways. It’s not the best thing you’ll ever read, but its worth reading.

Indie author summer reviews are over, but I’ll definitely keep reading indie authors in the future, and will continue to post reviews of titles that impress me.

That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.

Bye!

Indie Author Summer - Wool

9/5/2015

Indie author summer concludes with a review of Wool, by Hugh Howey. Life in the underground silo is strictly regulated by the #1 rule – you don’t want to go outside. It’s a toxic wasteland of death, only viewed through screens that show the brown, ominous landscape of poison. You don’t ponder it; you don’t discuss it; you don’t even think about it. Mentioning the outside world gets you banished to the very place you desire – or should fear.

Wool is a short novella that packs a punch. It’s fortunate that it’s a short work, because it seizes your mind and your attention. It’s fascinating, disturbing, intriguing, and will stay with you long after you swipe off your app. Like Stephen King’s The Stand, it leaves you to wonder how you would survive in such a world. The symbolism sticks. The theme sticks. It all sticks in your head.

Wool is disturbing, but it’s on a psychological level with the insinuations and insights you take from it. It’s not graphic or gory. In fact, it’s extremely well written and presented. The hype over this short piece is well deserved. I give it a 5 star review.

And The Final Ingredient to Happiness Is ...

9/3/2015

I know I promised you a book review this entry, but I had an insight after my last entry on how to pursue happiness. There is one more thing you can do to be happy, and it escapes most of us because it’s the hardest thing in the world to do, and we often don’t have good role models to demonstrate it to us.

Your happiness is directly related to your decision to forgive.

I know, that’s an entire can of worms that nobody likes to hear, but it’s absolutely true. In my quest for a happier, more balanced life, there are two things that keep coming up over and over that simply can’t be ignored: gratitude is one, and forgiveness is the other. I’ve discussed gratitude in the past, so there’s no need to rehash it. Forgiveness, however, is always a timely topic. Disappointment and betrayal are part of life, and if we don’t learn how to glean wisdom from them without being held back by anger, then we’re seriously stunted in our spiritual development.

I think forgiveness is a tough beast to tackle because hurt isn’t an easy thing to work through. Dealing with the imperfections of life is hard enough when they rear their head on a day to day basis, but when the hurt comes from people we know and trust, it’s different. The truth is that people tend to get tunnel vision and do what works best for them, and they often don’t consider how their words and/or actions affect others. Self centeredness is something that affects us all, and as a result, people get hurt. What’s best for us may not be best for others. It may hurt them like hell, tear their world apart, and cause them grief and pain that they don’t deserve. Likewise, you may or may not get an apology. Maybe they didn’t mean to hurt you, and they’re sorry. Maybe they’re only sorry to get caught, and would do it again in a minute, but take steps to shield themselves from you if they had a do-over. Maybe they don’t think they didn’t do anything wrong, and they believe you need to get over it. The truth is that we live in a world full of varying morals and ideals. Some people hold to them, some only give them lip talk but don’t really walk the walk, and some hold to nothing at all. Everybody doesn’t want to walk with Jesus. That’s the thing about our gift of free will. You can be a self-centered jerk by accident and repent, or you can do it on purpose and say “oh well.” While you do reap what you sow in this world in ways you may or may not realize for what they are, the ultimate judgement of all things comes after we die – and nobody knows how that goes, at least on this side of life.

The Lord’s Prayer is that we are forgiven as we forgive. That’s scary, because we all know that we need grace, but we struggle to extend it to others because we don’t want to get hurt. I think this is what got me to thinking that I needed to do something about shaving the chip off my own shoulder. I didn’t want to be angry or bitter over things that had passed. I had my lessons, and I wanted to move forward. It took me many years to realize that I couldn’t move into my future until I let go of my past.

I saw something on social media once that said “sometimes you have to forgive people for being an idiot.” Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, but at it’s core, it’s true. Apologies don’t always come, so there’s no use staying in bondage with the offender has moved on. And if they did apologize, then it’s on you to grant the grace of truly extending the forgiveness. Sometimes, we have to accept that people don’t know any better. That they don’t realize what they’ve done, and don’t have the capacity to see it the way you do.

We also have to be honest about our own bias, and realize that we like some people better than others, and therefore are more willing to forgive them more than people who aren’t in our “inner circle” or, more likely, are prone to aggravate you on a regular basis anyway. We tend to bend things to justify our beliefs. This is a point I keep coming across while writing The Earthside Trilogy – human beings are extremely adept at perceiving reality in a way that conforms with our beliefs, until something shocking happens that can’t be denied anymore. Reality always catches up with us, but boy can we run! It’s like chasing a chicken. It’s not easy to catch a running chicken, but once you do, they’re done. So it is with running from reality. You can run, but you can’t hide, and when it catches you – ouch.

If you want to be truly happy, you must be willing to forgive, and it starts with an active decision to do it, followed by action to change your thoughts from protection and anger to wisdom and courage. It’s the ultimate form of grace and love, and it frees you to the abundant blessings. Yes, some things are easier to forgive than others. Yes, there are some offenses that seem impossible to forgive because they require a long, painful process. Yes, sometimes we have to forgive ourselves for our own failings. It’s a complex issue, but once you admit where you stand with forgiveness and decide to embrace it, then you open yourself to receive the blessings and prayers that have eluded you for so long.

It’s a journey I’m starting, and it’s an odd one. In some ways, it’s hard. It isn’t easy to face anger in yourself. In others, it’s a tremendous relief to realize that people and offenses from your past have no authority over your present or future. I’ve been much happier since embarking on it, though, and it’s a journey worth taking.

If forgiveness is something on your heart to deal with, I encourage you to check out two excellent books on it and what it truly means. They are How to Forgive When You Don’t Feel Like It, by June Hunt, and Let It Go - Forgive So You Can Be Forgiven By T.D. Jakes. Both helped me tremendously in understanding forgiveness, getting to the root of the anger it causes, and moving on.

I will post that review of Wool this weekend, so stay tuned for that. I just had one more thing on happiness on my heart that I felt prompted to share with you today.

That’s all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend.

Bye!

Tips to Choose Happiness

9/1/2015

I have a sign posted in my office that reads: HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE. I’m a firm believer in the truth of that statement, because I’ve seen the power of positive thinking, both in my life and in the lives of others. Too often, we believe the lie that we can’t help what we think. This isn’t true. While you can’t control every thought that pops in your head, you can control what you allow to stay in there – and the thoughts we permit to retain are as much a habit as answering a ringing telephone. Can we help that the phone rings? No. Can we choose whether or not to answer it? Yes, and most of us have developed a habit of what calls we answer, what goes to voicemail, and what meets the almighty "ignore" button. So it is with our thoughts and moods. You can’t help what comes in and causes an emotional reaction, but you can control what you do with it once it’s in there. Do you deal with your thoughts and moods, or let them deal with you?

Of course, you can’t monitor every thought and emotion you experience. I once read that we have an average of over sixty thousand thoughts a day, which would be impossible to consistently monitor. What you can do, however, is to develop better mental habits that guide you on a sunnier path instead of allowing yourself to fall into storms. Here are three simple steps you can take to start the process of guiding your thoughts and emotions on a path that chooses happiness rather than frustration or despair. One thing they all have in common is that across the board, from pastors to licensed therapists to people with good, old fashioned common sense, they all agree that the key to happiness is to:

1.       Mind your own business. We take on so much stress that isn’t ours to begin with, which is an absolute waste. Do the best you can with what you have control over, and let it go. Stop worrying about things beyond your control if you’ve done your part to plan and prepare, and definitely stop worrying about what other people are thinking, saying, doing, or worrying about. The biggest key to being happy is to narrow the parameters of your concern to what is relevant to the well being of your home and family, and getting through day to day life.

2.       Reign in negative emotions as soon as they start. Emotional reactions are a habit response based on prior experiences, so the key to this is to take immediate notice of when your frustration levels rise or your mood dips, take steps to identify why the shift in your mood occurred, and take different steps to deal with it in a more positive manner. The key is to focus on where you want to be; not where you are, because fighting your emotions only perpetuates what’s happening right now. For example, I was struggling with running late one morning. When I spilled my water, I stopped, said out loud “we aren’t going to do this frustration thing today!” and took stock of what needed to happen to get me out of the door. Sure enough, when I proclaimed that I wasn’t going to let the harried pace continue, it stopped, and my mood improved. I was less than 5 minutes late arriving at work but nobody noticed because others were running late. And I wasn’t late for anything else that day, because I refused to accept my day as being bad or a hopeless case right from the start of the problems.

Here’s a good key to live by: this too shall pass. Remember that nothing is permanent in life, and over time all things change, whether it’s the work day, getting away from a difficult person (they’ll move on, or you will), or a difficult season in life. Mountains may move slowly, but in the end, they do because nothing last forever. Focus on the blessings where you’re at right now, and you’ll find that they multiply.

3.       Schedule some “down time” every day. A therapist once told me that every human being needs at least twenty minutes a day where they do nothing but what they want to do. Whether you engage in a hobby, recreational pursuit, or just stare at the wall, it’s important to break free of the confines of schedules and expectations for at least twenty minutes every day. As humans, we tend to swing to extremes: we either don’t take our downtime seriously and keep pushing until we crash, or we take it too much to heart and procrastinate until lack of activity and/or indecision force us down paths that are chosen for us by circumstance or other people. This is an area where you can’t afford to get out of balance, because rest is the key to keeping the rest of life in the proper balance and perspective. Take a time out every day for “mental health.” It doesn’t even have to be the same thing every day: I may write, read, watch TV, catch up on social media, blog, cross stitch, or do other small crafting projects in my “down time.” The important thing is to “turn off” and to take a “time out” each day so you’ll feel better for tackling all of your other responsibilities and business in your day.

Happiness is a choice, and it’s one that you have to make every day until it becomes a habit. It is possible, though, and the peace of mind you experience with a sunnier outlook on life is well worth the effort.

That’s all today. In my next entry, I’ll wrap up my “Indie Author Summer” with a review of Hugh Howey’s “Wool.” Take care, and have a great week.

Bye!