Blog Archives

A Story, and Some Friendly Halloween Advice

10/30/2017

It's Halloween! What a fun filled holiday, and while I like to think I'm not the superstitious type, I have to admit to believing some things are real that we'd rather not be real. Hey, when you write paranormal mystery and scifi, you learn stuff.

Actually, I started learning stuff sooner than that. My formal introduction was in my fifth grade gifted class. The teacher called it "history," but in truth we were handed a stack of ghost stories and the history of the Salem Witch Trials. So for the entire month of October, I learned about the origin of ghost stories and witchcraft. At least, the basics. Plus, some family friends stopped in Salem, Massachusetts on their way to Niagra Falls, and they brought me home a souvenir: a devil's trap. Oh, I didn't know that's what it was at the time (I don't think they did, either). They said it was a good luck charm that would ward off evil spirits. I wore that thing for years. My family thought oh, a neat gift, and a neat coincidence that you got it while learning history. My friends freaked out. But me being me, I wore it anyway and loved it. It wasn't until years later when I was watching Season 1 of Supernatural when I saw one on the show and said "um, I've had that since I was 10 years old."

I learned about the spirit world young, and here we are. So now, I'd like to offer you some friendly advice. Have fun on Halloween, but realize that this is the time when the Celtics believed the spirit world is closest to our own. You better believe that the devil and his minions are driving people like a redneck driving a rental car, so take care and be aware. And if you happen to have a Circle of Solomon to keep those evil drivers outta your soul, then wear that sucker tomorrow. If somebody starts screaming "OMG, THAT'S DEVIL WORSHIP STUFF!" and runs off screaming then just shrug and say wow, this really does work. They're gone! Seriously, anybody screaming at a sigil has problems that you don't need.

So there's a fun Halloween story and some helpful advice for you this All Hallow's Eve. Use it for good and have a fun day out there, folks.

That's all today. Take care and:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Somewhere In The Middle

10/25/2017

I can’t get happy with my hair. Recently, I decided that I regretted cutting it so short last winter. It was wild, heavy, and hard to handle, so I had it chopped off to my shoulders. Now, I can’t put it in a ponytail easy, so I’m trying to grow it out. But how long? I ran across some pictures of me a couple of years ago in Washington D.C. when it was long, and thought “that’s too much!” It seems that my optimal length is somewhere in the middle, where I can fix it up, or not. Enough weight to not fly all over the place, but not so long that it’s stuck everywhere.

It’s like that with some things in life. We talk about not settling for mediocrity and we certainly should strive for our best, but we can’t be the best at everything. We can’t fall entirely to one side or the other of a polar issue, either. That’s just not a practical or balanced way to be. We have to choose what matters, and let go of what is less of a priority to us. In life, there are going to be places where we fall somewhere in the middle, and while it isn’t popular, it’s the best path to a balanced life.

For example, politics. You don’t hear me say much about them because I’m a radical moderate. While I lean more toward the conservative end, the truth is that I’m not entirely on one side or the other. I’ve voted Republican, Democrat, and even Independent. Honestly, I think the most effective government would be a blend of all of the above, to cover all needs. But there will always be a majority, and our reality will lean toward whatever that is at the time. Perhaps that’s why a lot of people are so uncomfortable with my inability to choose one side “for once and for all.” People get quite polarized over politics and while it’s nice to be able to see both sides, it can also leave you isolated because some people see an ally of none as a threat to all. And that’s too bad, because it’s a big world out there, and there’s room for us all, from one end to the other.

Another example is my cross stitching and crafting. I told somebody last week that the friend who taught me how to cross stitch won “Best in Show” at the State Fair in 2007, but I’m not quite so ambitious. I was thrilled with my red ribbon (second place) in 2015 for the Jesus cross stitch. It would be nice to win a blue ribbon (first place) one year, but the truth is that I’d rather have my novels reach readers and become best sellers than the blue ribbon. My primary focus is on being the best writer I can be and reaching readers. The stitching and other crafting is about creative expression in a different way when I’m taking a break from writing. I don’t have to be the best to stay motivated. Sure, I occasionally get pressure to do more, bigger, or better. But I’m happy with what I can do, and that’s enough.

Certainly, we should strive for our best, but we need priorities. If you’re true to yourself and what matters, then you’ll know where to direct your energy and focus, and that will lead you into a happy, well balanced life. You don’t always have to choose or be the best at all things. You just have to know what’s right for you. And in many things in life, that will be somewhere in the middle.

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

Bye!

I Know You're Busy, But --

10/18/2017

If you're scrolling along and see something that says "CLICK HERE FOR A FREE VACATION TO THE MOST AWESOME PLACE EVER!" what do you do? After verifying that it's legit, you click.

If you see something that says "CLICK HERE FOR A FREE MERCEDES!" what do you do? You click.

If you see something that says "CLICK HERE FOR FREE MAID SERVICE FOR LIFE!" you don't just click, but bookmark that sucker so you can enter as many times as they allow you to. Or until the keys stick.

If you see something that says "CLICK HERE TO SEND THE PERSON/THING THAT AGGRAVATES YOU THE MOST TO MARS FOREVER, NEVER TO RETURN!" you smack that button until your finger is bloody.

You get my point. You take time out of your busy day for something that you really want. And so, I'm here to boldly say:

To all of you who say "I'd love to read your books, but I'm so busy."

To all of the "I'd get your books, but I don't know how to do the ebook thing."

To all who say "I'd read your books, but money is tight now."

You're lucky day has arrived. Lucky week, actually. Resonance, my Halloween horror tale, is FREE through Friday. That's right, free! All you have to do is click here, log into Amazon, and click "Buy." I just had it delivered to Mom's Kindle. It took less than a minute. You've come this far. You can click one more time.

But Sherri, I don't have an ereader!

No problemo. The Kindle app is free for smart phones and tablets. And I know that most of you have smartphones, because Mom just upgraded a couple of months ago, and they told her it was a flip phone or nothing, unless she did the used phone thing. Go to the App Store on Apple or Google Play store on Android. You know where you get your apps, so go fetch the Kindle app.

But Sherri, horror isn't my thing!

Well, get over it because it's Horror Week! Ok, seriously. Resonance was one of my first fiction stories. The level of paranormal in it is what I learned in my 5th grade Gifted Class when I was 10 years old (yes, they taught me about the paranormal in grammar school. It was the same year a friend gave me my first sigil from Salem, Massachusetts. That's a topic for another blog.). If you're here, then you can handle a haunted painting. If it gives you nightmares - well, real life can do that. The nightmare probably came from something else your subconscious conjured up.

But Sherri, I don't have time to read a book!

Resonance is 20 pages. If you can't read 20 pages now, then read 20 pages later. I do that all the time. I read every day. Sometimes it's a little. Sometimes, it's a lot.

No more excuses! Why are you still here? Go! Click here and get it!

No, it's not The Grand Canyon, a Mercedes, a maid, or packing your problems off to Mars. But it's a free book, folks! And be honest: busy though you are, you did click on this link. You're online RIGHT NOW! And you probably will wind out at Amazon sometime, so why not now for something FREE! Come on. A couple of more clicks, and you can go back to whatever you were doing. And that's absolutely none of my business.

And when I have lunch with Mom and Dad tomorrow and she says "where did this book come from on my Kindle?" well, that is my business to explain. But don't you worry about that, because she likes to read too and will be happy over a FREE ebook.

That's all today. Take care, and have a great rest of the week. After you get my free ebook. Who knows? You might like that Halloween tale.

Bye!

Or Something Else?

10/16/2017

In following up on my last blog entry, I think there’s another thing rolling around in the mind of Generation X. It’s the fact that the world we grew up in isn’t the world we live in now. That world is gone, and it’s never coming back. You hear the Baby Boomers talk about it and say “oh how precious, the good old days.” But those are the same days that we were raised in. That was the world we were prepared for. And then, lo and behold, it all changed, and we aren’t sure of how to deal. Yet we must, because this is the world that it’s our responsibility to keep turning.

Case in point: I’ve lived in the same town my whole life, but it isn’t the town I grew up in. A new grammar school is being built that will replace the one I went to, which is likely to be demolished soon. The middle school moved over ten years ago, and somebody recently told me that my high school had been renovated to the point that it’s not recognizable. The University of South Carolina has been revamped in the 20 years since Rick and I graduated. A former coworker told me that everybody I used to work with has retired or moved on to other jobs or locations. Yesterday I drove by the building where I started the job I have back in 1999, and it’s up for lease. Even the toy store we used to go to every Friday night has been torn down and rebuilt as a strip mall – twice! There is literally no vestige of my childhood left. The world around me has been rebuilt.

So, what? Were we raised wrong? No, I think the massive shifts in technology, which have changed our society, have surprised everybody. Surly, future generations will be well adjusted to constant change, while we’re the unfortunate generation caught in the middle of keeping a shape-shifting world on the move. And again I ask, what is success? How do we know we’ve arrived, when the definition of success it moving right along with everything else? How do we even know where we are? It’s no wonder this article struck a chord with so many women my age. We were raised to anchor ourselves in something, but nothing stays the same and everything is shifting sand now. We can’t count on things to be the same tomorrow as they were yesterday, like our parents could.

We’re stuck between the blessing and the curse of our times. Everything is changing, and we don’t know how to ride that wave to the best life we can have. So what do we do? Our best. We’ve adapted so far, and we need to continue to believe in our ability to keep adapting. We don’t have to be tossed by these waves. We can ride them to define our own success. The future isn’t what we expected, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be something great.

We just have to find a new way. So I say, to hell with the mid life crisis. It’s time to get creative and author a new fate. We have some wisdom now, so let’s use it grab some control of this brave new world to find a new way – our own way – into an inventive future.

Who says we’re done? All things are remade. It could be that we’re just getting good and started. Late bloomers produce amazing results that last. The world wants a revolution. I say let's do it out way. As long as we live, it's not too late.

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

Bye!

Mid Life Crisis?

10/13/2017

I recently read an article on the mid-life crisis hitting Generation X women, and it struck a chord with me. One the one hand, it’s good to know I’m not the only one struggling with feelings off adequacy and wondering if my ship came in, and I miss it. Certainly, I had envisioned life being different in my 40’s than it’s turned out. I had really hoped my writing would be making a better income now. And who knows if it would, because the publishing industry has changed drastically since I embarked on this adventure in 2004. Ebooks changed everything and frankly, I don’t think any of us writers know what defines success anymore. Certainly, my writing has spread and given me recognition. I’d even venture to say it reaches more people than anything else I do in my life, day job included. But it’s not putting fat stacks in the bank. I’m part of the new way of publishing which is good, but it’s what I expected, and I don’t know what to expect now. So tell me, have I succeeded? It depends on your definition of success.

And yet, my life isn’t the same as it was in my 20’s or early 30’s. If I’m honest, I have to admit that I have met my goals to this point, or work is still happening and I see progress, even though it’s slower than I expected. So I’m definitely not a failure. That’s a false feeling that needs to be dismissed right now. I think, rather, that all things aren’t new anymore, and the excitement that used to fuel me has given way to a more routine work ethic with hope, goals, and a purpose. My emotions have leveled off, and sometimes I miss that youthful excitement that once inspired me. But then again, it seems I don’t need it anymore.

That’s the problem with defining a “crisis,” and where I hit the conflict with this article. Yes, I struggle with doubts and feelings of inadequacy, but is it accurate or justified? Or is it an entitlement struggle over not meeting worldly standards of success on worldly timelines, when we know they’re crap in the first place. When you hold yourself up to that, then of course you’ll fail because they’re set up to make failures of us all. Who can meet standards of perfection in an imperfect world? Life isn’t fair, all things aren’t equal, and circumstances beyond our control happen. And those feelings of doubt and inadequacy aren’t age specific – they can hit at any time. Just have a relationship fall apart, have somebody close to you pass away, or get passed up for a new job or promotion, and you’ll know what I mean. It doesn’t matter if you’re 25 or 45. It hurts, and it makes you question yourself and your worth.

I think it’s natural to get more introspective at certain times, like hitting a milestone birthday or going through a big life event. But then again, those become less rare in your 40’s. Nobody tells you in high school or college that the excitement of becoming an adult, of graduating school, going out on your own, getting jobs, getting married, having babies, etc. all fade into the humdrum of everyday by the time you hit your mid 30’s. All that stuff that was exciting when you framed you degree are “just life” now, and all that’s left is trying to get ahead and save for retirement until you’re ready to actually do it. Keep it moving, but even then, you can only go so far. The promotions stop. The doors close and opportunities become more rare, or different from what you expect. People get happy with the box you’re in, and breaking out is tougher. Do you invest in making a change, knowing that you’re halfway through your career, and doing such could force you into working longer than you hoped? Do you keep pushing ahead and tough it out for the second half? You know now that making a change isn’t easy, and usually requires more work than you anticipate. The question of “going for it” often begs other questions of whether you have it in you to do it one more time. Is it worth it? Who knows?

Only you do. And I think that key to overcoming these crises is to know yourself and be true to it. Yes, there are a lot of things you can’t control, but there are significant things you can control. You can control your attitude, your goals, and your work ethic, and if you take dominion over these things, then you’ll be amazed at how much better the other stuff can work out. I still want to be a writer. Fine, so I stay the course. I keep learning, keep writing, keep promotion, and keep looking for ways to reach readers. Progress takes time, and not knowing how this road goes means I’ll have to be patient, keep working, and have faith that this “new way” is leading to better things than I anticipated. They usually do, and it’ not over yet. If it were, then why are we still here? No, we aren’t stuck forever; we’re just in the middle sag. And nobody says that has to be no man’s land. We just need to get real, get right, and find new ways to be encouraged by enjoying the day of small things. That youthful zeal that once inspired us has given way to a stable contentment and joy and, while it’s lower in energy, it’s what we need to keep moving forward without burning out. Because face it, we couldn’t keep up that pace anymore. It’s exhausting. Eventually, we have to grow up and build life with a steady confidence in our self, faith for today, and hope for tomorrow.

Life is a journey. Your attitude, perseverance, and faith determine whether it’s a good one, or a wreck.

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

Bye!

Why You're Miserable (and How to Fix It)

10/5/2017

There’s a lot of complaining happening on social media, and this week I’ve seen that venom seep into day to day life. The problem is that the Internet and social media have made us feel too entitled to let everything that flies through our head fly out of our fingers, and now it’s progressed to flying our of our mouths. People are offended and pissed off everywhere. The final straw was this morning when Rick told me that a friend quit social media, because she couldn’t take the political lambasting anymore. She expressed one opinion, and people turned on her like a pack of wolves.

Do you know why you’re so miserable? Because you talk all the time, but you don’t think or do anything about it! I read a post Tuesday that said “if you’re a member of the NRA, then you’re the problem.” No dear, you are. We’ve put our money, opinion, and voice into action on our convictions. Better yet, we went a step further and voted in the last election. What have you done? Besides talk, complain, and jabber on to offend those with opinions different from yours? I don’t need to talk about my opinions. Actions speak louder than words, and I make sure my actions match my convictions so I have time to do other things with my daily life instead of talking all the time. Like minding my own business. Going to work. Taking care of myself and my home, and spending time with family and friends. Paying my bills. You know, all that stuff that you say is most important in life, but you sit behind a screen seething with indignant fury over strangers who have the nerve to see the world differently than you do?

If you want to stop being so miserable, then stop focusing on what you think is wrong. Consider what’s right, and do something constructive about it. Protests do nothing but breed more negative energy that expands the problem. With all of the rhetoric out there, then logic would dictate that there should be a lot of people joining volunteer organizations in alignment with their beliefs. A lot of people should be registering to vote in the next election – or better yet, volunteering on campaigns for candidates whose views match their own. A lot of people should be applying for jobs in the government where their day to day work contributes to the peace and betterment of society. Colleges and universities should be bursting at the seams with people in majors for business, administration, law, medicine, and government affairs. Put this talk into action, and we should have a Utopian society within the next 10-15 years. We’re poised to really make a difference if we’ll shift our focus from wrong to right. All it takes is a shift from negative talk to positive action. It's that simple.

But how often does logic actually dictate? And so, the coming years will tell the tale on whether we’re people of action or conviction. Because actions do speak louder than words, and right now, they’re saying absolutely nothing.

I was going to do a fun blog today about October and Halloween, but if everybody else is going to scream about their opinion then by golly, you need a glimpse at how this looks from the outside. If you’ve read this far, then now you know. And I pray that next week I can write the blog I wanted to write today. But today, somebody needed to taser you with truth from a different perspective, and that’s my specialty. I’m a writer. I don’t see the world the same way everybody else does – thank goodness! Right now, I see a bunch of people with the maturity of a 12 year old and think, as Ron White says, “the next time you have a thought – don’t.” At least, not unless you’re ready to turn it to positive action.

That’s all today. I’d say have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend, but I don’t dare tread on your choice of what kind of Friday and weekend to have. If you’re determined to be miserable, far be it from me to stand in your way with well wishes.

Bye!

Internal Motivation

10/1/2017

Today's sermon on internal motivation really spoke to me, probably because of a Goodreads discussion I had yesterday on how much encouragement we get as writers. The person who started thread wanted to know how friends and family encourage our writing. I noticed there weren't many comments on the thread, so in my typical fashion, I jumped in and told the dirty truth:

They don't.

Obviously, a new writer started this discussion thread; somebody who's just starting out and everybody is excited for them. I felt it was important to point out that, once the newness wears off, so will that encouragement. Heck, I've even gotten to the point where people who personally know me won't read my books anymore. It's been a long time since Blurry published in 2011, and even longer since Battleground Earth published in 2004. At one to two releases a year through self publishing, it's too much for most people to keep up with. I get the occasional question and fake smile accompanied by an "oh, that's nice." The encouragement and sales now come from strangers who read and review my books and Twitter, which is where you really need it, because outreach is critical to a writer (Facebook completely ignores anything writing related out of me). The fact that the fan base veers outward from your inner circle can be shocking when it actually happens. And the truth is that the excessive flattery will only come from within again if you have a major breakthrough, or they're buttering you up because they need something from you.

It's like this with all things, and we're all guilty. This is the nature of life: people move on, and keeping up with yourself is a full time job. Just today on the drive home form church, Rick lamented that it seems there's always something we need to be doing. I also ran into two people who said they thought about me over the past week, and it's funny we ran across each other today. Life is strange, and I'll admit that we often wonder if people are really busy, don't care, or just lost track of things. Or how often we've done it ourselves.

This is why internal motivation is so important. You aren't going to get far in life or be happy if you always need a cheering section to keep you moving. You have to find that power within you. And that's what I told that writer on Goodreads yesterday: that the excitement has worn off, leaving me running off of Holy Spirit inspiration and internal motivation. When the newness wears off and everybody drifts back to life as usual, you have to do it on your own. And in truth, that's the way it's always been. It doesn't make others good or bad - it just makes us human.

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

Bye!