Lessons from Snowfall

It snowed today.

Okay, that isn’t great news.  However, I live two hours south of I-20 an 90 min north of I-10.  This section of the country doesn’t see snow very often.  As of this writing most of the snow has melted.

I spent over 18 years in the Rocky Mountains.  I pushed snow with the front bumper of my van during a blizzard on an interstate.  I’ve lived in Kansas and know what an ice storm is.

My jobs brought me to Mississippi, and that job ended with the housing crash.  So I’ve a new job that requires an hour commute north west of where I live.  My crew was talking about the snowfall and could they make it to work?  I told them they would not have any problems coming to work if it snowed.  The highway temperatures were warm enough that the snow wouldn’t stick. A bridge might be icy, but if you are cautious and pay attention that wouldn’t be a problem.

Well, the snow came.  I called and talked to one of my managers who told me the snow was “thick, and it sticked”.  However, the roads were all clear, just like I told them they would be.  They were amazed that I could predict the roads would be fine.  How could I do that?

I lived in snow country for 20 years, I’ve driven on it for more years than I care to remember, or admit to! I’ve learned about what the temperatures need to be for the white fluffly stuff to fall from the skies.  I’ve learned what ground conditions need to be for the snow to stick, and what makes for treacherous driving conditions.  (I never would drive during the first bad snowfall because everyone had forgotten how to drive during the summer and I didn’t want to be involved in someone else’s accident.)

So what is just a weather event to me, is a very big deal for some of my southern friends because they don’t 

see snow very often.

Like the weather, life is full of things that are old hat to some, and scary and trying times for others.  Experience is often a harsh teacher, but it is our experiences that color our perspectives and our attitudes.  It is how we react to the situations that determine our character.

The other point I wish to make is we can determine how we will react to our situations.  Or should I say how we will act in the situation.  “He made me angry, or she made me do it” do not hold much water with me.  No one makes you angry.  You choose to be angry.  Your choice on how you respond.  True, sometimes it is just plain easier to get angry and lash out.  However, is that an appropriate response? 

Life is too short to just react to things.   Live things, enjoy the moments for what they are.  Seldom do things go the way we want them to.  So enjoy things when they do go right, savor the happy moment when it presents itself.  Endure to the end of the moment when it isn’t exactly what you would like it to be.

So, like my southern friends, enjoy the snow, it is only hear for a moment.  Take life’s challenges in stride.  Learn, love, and laugh.  It makes life a little better.

Are Your Resolutions Toast? There is hope

It is the 10^th of January, and most New Year’s Resolutions are now... toast.

Why?

Most resolutions are made without much thought or plans to make them successful.

The #1 New Year’s resolution: lose weight.   

How are these resolutions made?  I’ve seen them made first hand.  After a big family dinner someone inevitably says, “I’m going to lose weight.”

So January rolls around and the good intention to lose weight is at full strength.  But it is New Years Day, family around, football, and before the day is over the good intentions have been dashed and “oh, well, later then.”

The only way to make a goal work, is to make a plan.  Change has to have a resolution, an inner drive, a strong desire to achieve something.

I think I’ll lose weight does not carry a commitment, a plan.

I’ll write a book.

Same thing.  What ever the goal is, the desire, the wish must have a plan for success.

To follow the weight loss goal, a change in diet, a plan in place for exercise must be put in place.  Help from family and friends.  If someone in the family is going on a diet, then by default the whole family will have to make changes in their diets as well. 

For a writing a book there are things that need to be put in place.  Monthly, weekly and daily goals on words  written, research, and editing.

Write the goals as if they have already happened.  I have a published book.  I wear (insert size of clothes here) size clothes.

So if your resolutions are now toast, pull them out and make a plan to make them work.  

BRoP Interview with Susan Curnow

A new year and the Blog Ring of Power is continuing the interviews  This week we welcome Susan Curnow and today she is going to discuss The Writing Life.

1. What is your writing process? Do you follow a regular routine? Do you use pen and paper or computer? Work at home or at the library/Starbucks, etc.   

I don’t have a routine, it is basically when I can and it is always at home. I often write the first draft on paper but subsequent drafts are on my computer.

2. How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life?   

With difficulty, especially if I am on a roll. The characters and their situations eat away at my mind totally immersing themselves in my psyche. I have to remember to do things like pay bills and make dinner.

3. When do you write? When the mood takes me.

4. How much time per day do you spend on your writing? Several hours if I can.

5. What has been the most surprising reaction to something you’ve written? Did you write that?

6. What is the strongest criticism you’ve ever received as an author? The best compliment? 

From my cat who wrote zzzzzzzzzzzz after one of my short stories. The nicest compliment – “You write prose which makes me pale with envy.”

7. Other than your family, what has been your greatest source of support? 

Friends I have made over the years through writing groups and the Internet.

8. How do you deal with rejection and/or negative reviews? 

Ideally I try to learn from them but I am human. I only get really angry if something is written totally out of context and is a dig at me and not the story. Even then, sometimes anger is a great driver to move onward.

Seven Wonders of the World

I received this e-mail.  I liked it and thought I'd share it here.

The Seven Wonders of the World

BRoP Year In Review James Garcia Jr.

As 2012 comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the joys and triumphs of the year. To that end, we bring you the 2012 Blog Ring of Power in Review! We’ve teamed up with this years’ BRoP interviewees to bring you eleven days worth of “year in review” guest posts and ten fabulous giveaway prizes! Each day a new guest post will be shared and you’ll have another opportunity to enter the giveaway—so get hopping! And be sure to enter the giveaway at the end of this post!

Hello, Blog Ring of Power. James Garcia Jr. here. I thank you so much for having me back. I really appreciate the opportunity to potentially reach new readers for my writing. If you recall “meeting” me before, you may remember that I have a crossover vampire series out. By crossover, I mean that there are religious implications in the series beyond the usual. In mine, the question is raised could a vampire be used by God for His purposes.

The year started off slow for me. I had one book out and I was waiting for my small publisher to get back to me with edits for book 2. Unfortunately, that never happened, and I was informed during the summer that the publisher was ceasing operations. This left me with a decision to make: continue on as an indie, something that I really didn’t think I had time or the wherewithal to do; or find another publisher. I held a pity party for myself for about a day, and then quickly decided to proceed alone.

I took this as an opportunity to take another look at my first book, taking another pass at editing before uploading it on Amazon. I then found a professional editor for my second book. Now I have two books there. Thankfully, although we call ourselves Indies, we really do not have to be alone in the endeavor. So many others have stepped up to assist me as I find my way. I hope you have found this to be the case with your work as well. The writing community really is such a constant source of support and encouragement.

As “year in reviews” go, this one hasn’t been much in terms of sales. That’s true for many of us do to the sheer competition out there in the marketplace, but especially true for me since I spent the first half of the year waiting on others, followed by spending the second half of the year getting my independent feet beneath me. What the future holds is anyone’s guess. I will begin setting my sights on producing paperback versions of both of my books next. I’m doing this because my novels take place in my hometown and I am still working on tapping into that demographic.

Beyond that, while I was waiting on my publisher early this year, I wrote a first draft of 

something new. It is a stand-alone paranormal ghost story with a strong romance vibe to it. It is the closest thing to a paranormal romance as I have ever attempted, and I think it’ll do really well. Although I write horror, I really don’t watch it. Instead, I find myself most comfortable with romantic comedies. This new book should illustrate this about me by joining the scares with the need to love and be loved. I will begin working the second draft of this one during December and expect to see this published in early 2013.

Well, that’s what’s going on with me. How about you? What have you got up your collective sleeves? Anything that you are terribly excited about, like I am with my next WIP? We’d love to hear about it, so leave a comment.

As I like to say over at my blog: We’ll talk soon. 

Be sure to stop to check out each of the stops on the Year In Review – new chances to enter the giveaway each day!

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James Garcia Jr.
Author of the vampire novels, Dance on Fire and Dance on Fire: Flash Point.
Stalk me at my blog, Facebook and Twitter.
 

Priorities

I didn't write the following.  I don't know who did.  I remember reading this in the Seven Habits, and I stumbled across this on facebook.  It says what I've been attempting to say so much better than I've been saying it, so I thought I'd share...


A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—-your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—-and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else—-the small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first—-the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

BRoP Year in Review: A Decade of Mostly Harmless Insanity

As 2012 comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the joys and triumphs of the year. To that end, we bring you the 2012 Blog Ring of Power in Review! We’ve teamed up with this years’ BRoP interviewees to bring you eleven days worth of “year in review” guest posts and ten fabulous giveaway prizes! Each day a new guest post will be shared and you’ll have another opportunity to enter the giveaway—so get hopping! And be sure to enter the giveaway at the end of this post!

Today Danielle has returned with a few more words.

A Decade of Mostly Harmless Insanity

By Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Wow…hard to believe I have in fact been doing this for a decade. Conventions, book releases, editing anthologies…There is a lot to look back on. And to think it all started with one book. Just one. Yesterday's Dreams, a tale of music, myth, magic and ultimately, self-discovery, for both myself and my poor, beleaguered heroine, Kara O'Keefe.

Now I'm sure you are asking yourself right now…what the heck does this have to do with a final look at 2012? Well, let me tell you! Thanks to the wonderful people at Dark Quest Books (Neal Levin, Jess Novesteras, Elektra Hammond, Keith R.A. DeCandido, and Wrenn Simms) and my wonderful beta readers (David Goldstein, Halla Fleischer, L. Jagi Lamplighter, and Jeffrey Lyman) not only has Yesterday's Dreams grown up into a beauty of a book I am more than proud of, but the trilogy it began is now complete. In 2012 all three books in the Eternal Cycle trilogy--Yesterday's Dreams, Tomorrow's Memories, and Today's Promise--were released by Dark Quest Books. To celebrate the release paranormal folk musician Jonah Knight (www.jonahofthesea.com) composed and performed three songs based on each book in the series. That was at the Dark Quest Books Launch party at Balticon (www.balticon.org) which I consider my home convention.

To tell you something about the books, think immortal elven warriors fighting evil demigods…in New York City. Kara O'Keefe is a first-generation Irish-American. She is also a prodigy on the violin and a dutiful daughter. To safeguard her family's home she pawns her heirloom--and enchanted--violin and in the process becomes the prize in a battle between ancient enemies, the forces of good against the forces of evil. In the course of learning she is magical and not altogether human, Kara must save the world. Can she do it? You bet! After all, she is a New Yorker, but the journey is in finding out how.

 If that wasn't excitement enough for the first half of my year, I look back and I am grateful for a number of releases including my work, such as Spells and Swashbucklers (Dragon Moon Press), Mermaid 13 (Padwolf Publishing), and Telling Tales of Terror (Damnation Books), not to mention my first ever solo collection, A Legacy of Stars (Dark Quest Books) where my science fiction fans can find all of my sf short stories all in one place. The collection includes introduction to each story by such authors as Jack Campbell, Jody Lynn Nye, David Sherman, Jack McDevitt, Michael Z. Williamson, Steve White, Bud Sparhawk and many more.

(You know, for someone who started off the year recovering from major surgery, I seem to have managed to get an awful lot done!)

And finally, an announcement that is both gratifying and frustrating all at once…Our steampunk anthology, In an Iron Cage (Dark Quest Books), edited by myself, Elektra Hammond, and Neal Levin, was selected as a finalist for the 2013 EPIC Award for Best Anthology. That is the gratifying part. The frustration? We don't find out who won until March!

As I wrap up my post and my year, I wanted to thank The Blog Ring of Power and its readers s for letting me share my news so many times over this year. Writers write, but the readers make the magic each time they pick up our books and allow our worlds to come alive for them. To give a little something back, myself and Dark Quest Books are offering up a collection of PDF ebooks of each Dark Quest title mentioned in this blog post to two lucky winners. Just post your comments here for a chance to win.

Entering is easy – just use the Rafflecopter below. Winners will be chosen from among eligible Rafflecopter entries (chosen by Rafflecopter) and receive a prize of our choice. We’ll do our best to give the print books to those that don’t have an e-reader, but we can’t make any guarantees, so please be aware when entering that you are most likely going to win an e-book.



Be sure to stop to check out each of the stops on the Year In Review – new chances to enter the giveaway each day!

Linky List of Stops
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