Back at the OWFI conference, last year one of the contest judges was so hard on my work I came very close to quitting writing. However a very dear friend started turning me back to it, then my mom made me promise just before she died to never stop writing and never give up. So I am back at the OWFI conference, and getting back into the frame of mind to write and be the success I know I can. There are so many more options out there now than there use to be, there are e-publishing, which I am considering, I think I will give my book one more year of plugs before go this route. I had a class with Desseree Holt, learning what is smut and what is Erotica and what is Erotica Romance, I am really thinking one of my stories could go this way. However if I go this avenue then it will have to be with a pen name, because my doing YA Books the more adult content needs to be clearly kept separate.
Terror Is it us or them???
Being from Oklahoma I am not one to look at this latest bomb as something coming from outside. Even though I am not one to jump to conclusions I do want Answers and I want them quickly. The sad thing is I finally broke down and purchased myself a gun, which is something I never thought I would do. I do not feel safe. I am scared of the people running around blowing things up. I am worried about the people that kick in doors and break into homes, or steal cars. There are not enough cops on the street, as they start stripping our right to bear arms, it will eventually be that the only people that have guns are the criminals. Life as our parents and grandparents knew it no longer exists. It seems that more and more people think the world owes them something and they don’t have to work for it. People it is time to pray and to start standing up for ourselves. The more we allow to be removed from us the more they will take. It is time we start paying attention to what is going on around us and ask questions. It is time to watch the president and the government and question what they are doing. We are not sheep and we need to stop letting the “government” lead us to slaughter.
What has the world come to?
The news around the United States is not good. It is sad to say but I fear the future of our country. Every promise that the current president made he has broken, the ones in Congress and the Senate are no better. It is time we fire the United States Government and start over. I have watched as the government slowly have raped Lady Liberty, how many more rights are they going to take away from us, and once gone, does not matter who gets into office they will not return. How long are we going to remain Lambs awaiting slaughter?
With the shootings around Christmas they want more gun control. No the time of allowing only the bad to have the guns is over. I say we allow teachers to have conceal and carry licenses or what ever the state has in effect. It is time we quit allowing our children to be the victims of stupidity. They people going in and shooting up schools, shopping malls, movie theaters, are targeting places where people are least likely armed, they are insane but they are also cowards. They want to do as much damage as possible before anyone can stop them, so they will not target a school that the staff and faculty could be armed, they well seek out other places “safe” for them to target.
Look at the trend, think about it, pray about it. You might come to the same conclusion.
I have been gone awhile.
After the death of my Mother I backed off of writing for a while, I lost the lust for writing. However life must go on, and we buried my grandfather yesterday. It is with a heavy heart that I know that life is to short to waste it, so I am back to my writing full time as of today. We trudge ahead because Mother nor Grandfather would appreciate it if life quit because they were gone.
Someone dear sent me an email that kinda says it all.
When God takes something from your grasp, he’s not punishing you, but
merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on
this sentence. “The will of God will never take you where the Grace of
God will not protect you.” Something good will happen to you today,
something that you have been waiting to hear. Please do not break.
Just 27 Words, ‘God our Father, walk through my house and take away
all my worries and illnesses and please watch over and heal my family
in your name, Amen.’
Mother
Mother
When I was a child you were there,
The skinned up knees you did repair.
Through our childhood, you drove the car,
To Ball games, and dance classes near and far.
Into my youth I tended to stray,
All you could do was sit and pray.
My teen years were a tangle, with many ups and downs
In your frustrations I know you would sit and frown.
Into my adult years, we began to drift apart,
But I knew I held a special place in your heart.
Then that fateful day came when I called you kind of frantic
You came to my call and hid away your panic.
I had a heart attack they said it was mild,
You sat to comfort me your oldest child.
But God was not done another test he did lay
My world went dark, the alarms did bray.
My heart did stop on that fateful day.
With your panic you fell to pray
The chances are not good the doctor did say
You shook your head and continued to pray.
Now it is my turn dear Mother,
Your battle with Cancer is like no other.
Like you did for me on that fateful day,
It is now my turn to sit and pray.
The battle has been lost,
Your last breath has been taken
Our tears come at a cost
But even now we feel your Love and are not forsaken.
Thirteen Pillars
I had started trying to rework the first few chapters of the book to make it more catching at the beginning, it does not seem to we working very well, so I think instead I am going to start from scratch and rewrite the first few chapters and see if it works out better. Right now I am writing while my son is in Soccer camp in the mornings.
Additions
I have started adding additions to Thirteen Pillars Awakenings, which is my young adult book. If you click on the link you can find the WordPress Blog where I am adding my character Sketches.
Have not stopped to blog in a while
I went to the OWFI Writing Conference the first weekend in May. My entries in the competitions bombed, I was greatly discouraged and decided to take a small break from writing for a bit. I have been looking on line for Free lance writing jobs, I have found a couple that look promising, and another that turned out to be a major scam. I discovered this when Guru removed their account. Well you win some and you lose some. I have decided to use the free service for job searches for the time being, if I find one that actually starts paying then I will start paying for services. I have had many hits in the last week, welcome to the new people that are now reading my blog, and I will start posting more regularly now that I have completed my short stint in self pity.
Write everyday, and if someone don’t like what you have to say submit it elsewhere, because the first person is most likely wrong. Gather friends and critique buddies, and never lie to a buddy that is how you know if what you have is good.
The Missouri Writer’s Guild Conference
I am currently at the Missouri Writer’s Guild Conference, so far it has been very informative, yesterday they had an Early arrival Seminar given by Claire Cook, she was a very entertaining and informative speaker as well as a wonderful writer, after Dinner we got to sit through what Editors and Agents look at when reading through the Slush Pile, that was also very informative and it has made it so that I am evaluating my current manuscript, to see what I can do to insure its chances of getting through the slush pile.
This morning we had our introductions and welcome, and basically kicking off the the whole conference. The first class I chose to attend was Given by Hess, the Non Fiction editor of Highlights Magazine. I came away from this wonderful class thinking that I can do this writing for this Magazine. It was very informative, even found out some of the stuff they are needing in their magazine.
This next session the two options I was trying to choose between for the classes were both full, and I was not up to standing up for the full hour so I chose to come back to my room and prepare for my pitch session with Ann Behar, she is an agent that works young adult stories and I am pitching Pillar’s to her. I am hopeful that she likes what she hears. Well the meeting with Ann did not go so well, I am not sure if the problem is the story or the presenter, I am back to working on the book to see if I can make the plot stronger and hopefully get it out there, I might try traditional queries instead of these speed pitches, I don’t work well under pressure any longer.
The class this afternoon is: “you want me to do what?” It is about the goals and stuff for each player in the book, and thinking about it, I don’t have that many of them laid out, so I am going back and making the people more substantial.
Blogging
I have had had sever questions regarding blogs. I have had several blog sites, and I have found word press to be the easiest for me to use, and there are Utube post on how to work it even more. If you have several subject you write on it does not hurt to have a couple of different blog you post to.