As a crazy author some days, when you're trying to figure out the missing plot point or the next move, you get lost. (I'd have to ask a "sane" author about this but I suspect it's true for them as well ;-) Much of the time you get lost inside your own head. This happens to me more often than the dreaded "writer's block". I get turned around, lost in my own thoughts and feelings, swept up in the passion of scenes, be they my own or someone else's. I'm a passionate person by nature and I tend towards an addictive personality. Are you laughing? I know, it doesn't show a lot but that's because if I'm not careful, I get caught up in it and struggle to find my way out. The frustrations mount, the thoughts won't stop until I find some kind of release. I sought refuge with my sister yesterday trying to get out of my own head. I spent an hour with her, the thoughts settled and I was able to finish the day. Almost. Then came the time for bed. My worst enemy yet favored hero as well. Trying to shut my brain down for the night had me in tears. The thoughts screamed at me until I reached for my phone, opened the notepad app and began to type. Here are the resulting words...
Lost Inside
It's hot and dark
So dark nothing shines
Not a crack or crevice
No pinprick or sliver
I feel I'm turning in circles
Arms spread, searching for the way out
I call out and nothing answers
No reply, no echo
It's simply empty and dark
I'm lost and no matter how I scream
No matter how loud the music floating in
There is no answer until the tears start to fall
When my chest seizes and clamps down
When the sobs tear from me
The pressure releases
The light shines in
And the path is lit
I'll follow it through twists and turns
Until it begins to shadow
And we'll start all over again
I'm no poet, I never have been, but this felt right...I've not altered it in the light of day though I've got ideas. I cringe about putting it out there for the world (or my 11 followers ;-) to see without doing something to it but in this form, it's pure. It's what settled my head enough for the tears to stop and allowed sleep to slowly creep in. I think words from the heart are the best, whether they're rough or polished. I'll leave this in it's rough form because it worked. How do you find your way out of your own head?
Loves and Hugs,
Lynn
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Thursday Thoughts...A long week of missing folks and a growing daughter...
This week has been a rough one for many reasons. First, I'm coming off a week
of overnights for my company. I'm not a great sleeper anyway so to have to
completely reverse my sleep habits for one week and then get them back on track
is pretty brutal. My work team has had a rough go of it for several weeks due
to being short staffed so they're tired and a bit cranky. We've almost made it
though and now we're only one person away from being full staffed. It's a good
thing.
On a personal level, it's been much more difficult. My best friend Sarah passed away four years ago on the 12th. We lost my grandmother twenty one years ago today. It hit me yesterday that despite the two events being seventeen years apart, they both still hurt as if they just happened. The capacity of feelings the heart can hold is astounding. The length if time it maintains those feelings is even longer. You may not think on those feelings all the time, but they're there, simmering in the background.
My daughter turns thirteen in just over a week and she's grown both physically and emotionally a lot in the last couple years. She's genuinely a good kid who just needs a quick kick in the butt once in a while to remind her the world exists outside her bubble...LOL. Her first day of daycare was her second day of kindergarten and she looked so lost and worried that when I said goodbye I surprised her by giving her three quick kisses on the lips, an Eskimo kiss and then one on the forehead I rubbed in so it wouldn't fall off. She thought that was funny and it became our thing much to the amusement of those around us.
This week was the first time she ever hesitated to do it at bed time. I tried to hide my surprise and hurt but didn't manage it too well. She felt bad and I had to assure her that it was okay, she was growing up and we didn't have to do that anymore. So it's a hug and a kiss on the cheek and Mommy has to get used to it. Time moves on and changes are made.
Everyone groans when they hear I have a preteen and wishes me luck, tells me not to kill her and so on. I've never appreciated those comments as I believe our children are what we teach them. Are there rough times ahead? Of course! We all rebel and feel our parents don't understand us but there can still be a solid relationship under that to see you through.
So the week is nearly done and I'm ready for the weekend. I'm picking what story I want to work next, self editing Legacy and getting ready for the Hot Mojave Knights Con the first weekend in October. It's exciting and nerve wracking as it's my first local con. I got this, and know it, but it doesn't ease the wait :0)
Have a fantastic rest of the week and a beautiful weekend!
-Lynn
On a personal level, it's been much more difficult. My best friend Sarah passed away four years ago on the 12th. We lost my grandmother twenty one years ago today. It hit me yesterday that despite the two events being seventeen years apart, they both still hurt as if they just happened. The capacity of feelings the heart can hold is astounding. The length if time it maintains those feelings is even longer. You may not think on those feelings all the time, but they're there, simmering in the background.
My daughter turns thirteen in just over a week and she's grown both physically and emotionally a lot in the last couple years. She's genuinely a good kid who just needs a quick kick in the butt once in a while to remind her the world exists outside her bubble...LOL. Her first day of daycare was her second day of kindergarten and she looked so lost and worried that when I said goodbye I surprised her by giving her three quick kisses on the lips, an Eskimo kiss and then one on the forehead I rubbed in so it wouldn't fall off. She thought that was funny and it became our thing much to the amusement of those around us.
This week was the first time she ever hesitated to do it at bed time. I tried to hide my surprise and hurt but didn't manage it too well. She felt bad and I had to assure her that it was okay, she was growing up and we didn't have to do that anymore. So it's a hug and a kiss on the cheek and Mommy has to get used to it. Time moves on and changes are made.
Everyone groans when they hear I have a preteen and wishes me luck, tells me not to kill her and so on. I've never appreciated those comments as I believe our children are what we teach them. Are there rough times ahead? Of course! We all rebel and feel our parents don't understand us but there can still be a solid relationship under that to see you through.
So the week is nearly done and I'm ready for the weekend. I'm picking what story I want to work next, self editing Legacy and getting ready for the Hot Mojave Knights Con the first weekend in October. It's exciting and nerve wracking as it's my first local con. I got this, and know it, but it doesn't ease the wait :0)
Have a fantastic rest of the week and a beautiful weekend!
-Lynn
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Mis-steps on an Unpaved Road
"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience"---John Locke
How true this is. I've been bothered lately by a series of wrong moves on the Independent Author path. We're Indie for a reason, most of us, and there's no rule book. No one behind a big desk in NY or LA or wherever, telling you what to do, how to do it and when to do it. It's a learning process with a curve. Some of our curves are larger than others. You have to pick up whatever knowledge you can, wherever you can...articles, classes, social media and interaction. I've spoken to many independent authors and they all have different things to say about how to do it. If we put it all in a book it would be never ending because Indies have to find the path made for them and often, it's one of their own making rather than one repetitively used.
I always feel better when I admit to mistakes even if they're to a large, particular audience. I'm going to give you a couple examples and maybe they'll trigger something for you or help you with something you're struggling with.
Prep work: Book's written, what's next? Editing and a cover. Gotta have a cover for the book when it's edited and ready so I reached out to someone, we hit it off and started hashing out ideas.
First mistake: asking lots of opinions on what's created.
Lesson: Only selectively ask for opinions on what your cover artist creates. Here's the thing, everyone's imagination is different therefore everyone's ideas on what things look like are different. I put my poor cover artist through the wringer before I figured that lesson out myself. I was genuinely surprised she didn't give me a "forget it, it's not gonna work". She knew I was new to this and had the patience of a saint.
Second mistake: She asks "How many pages are in the book, what indentations, etc.?"
Lesson: It's not just putting pretty pictures and letters together. There's a lot more to it than that. Things I had no idea, even after four conferences, that she'd need to know. Why didn't I look it up on the infinite online world? Simply because I didn't know I needed to know it.
YOU'RE PUBLISHED! GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE! PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE!
It's the only way to gain sales and get the career you want.
(Insert heavy sigh)
Unfortunately, there's stuff they don't tell you. Again, because everyone's curve is different. I released in November and it wasn't until I stumbled across a small article online about two weeks ago titled something along the line of "4 things not to do". If I can find the link again, I'll post it. I was at work at the time (on break, lower your eyebrows of surprise ;) The one that resonated the most was "don't always post your buy links, it annoys people". WHAT? But everyone said get it out there! Keep your name forefront! Now, in tiny defense, I didn't just post the links. I posted bits of the book with it BUT! I had it rolling several times a week and during the holidays, I set them up to post for me because it was a busy time. I noticed traffic for me slowed down on likes and posts but figured it was the holidays, right? Wrong. I thought about what I'd read and put two and two together.
I discovered today that I have a stats page that will tell me all about what's happening with people and my page. I've been un-liked maybe five times but figured that was more to do with the after release party stuff. Then I saw that a couple people have me hidden...that one stung a lot. Like, almost tears stung. Why? I was just doing what I was told...what everyone suggested. MORE learning curve. The article said people like to communicate and feel like they have a connection with the authors they read. Was I giving that to them? Not really. I was sharing my imagination but not so much me. I've changed that over the last two weeks and noticed a small rise in responses to my posts. People want to see you're human, that you have fun, that you have a serious side sometimes too.
So, hopefully some of those numbers will change and people will meander back. I hope that if you're new like me, that you'll learn from my mistakes and ask questions. You can ask me! I love to help people even if it's only to say "don't do what I did".
Much love and lot of hugs until next time
-Lynn
How true this is. I've been bothered lately by a series of wrong moves on the Independent Author path. We're Indie for a reason, most of us, and there's no rule book. No one behind a big desk in NY or LA or wherever, telling you what to do, how to do it and when to do it. It's a learning process with a curve. Some of our curves are larger than others. You have to pick up whatever knowledge you can, wherever you can...articles, classes, social media and interaction. I've spoken to many independent authors and they all have different things to say about how to do it. If we put it all in a book it would be never ending because Indies have to find the path made for them and often, it's one of their own making rather than one repetitively used.
I always feel better when I admit to mistakes even if they're to a large, particular audience. I'm going to give you a couple examples and maybe they'll trigger something for you or help you with something you're struggling with.
Prep work: Book's written, what's next? Editing and a cover. Gotta have a cover for the book when it's edited and ready so I reached out to someone, we hit it off and started hashing out ideas.
First mistake: asking lots of opinions on what's created.
Lesson: Only selectively ask for opinions on what your cover artist creates. Here's the thing, everyone's imagination is different therefore everyone's ideas on what things look like are different. I put my poor cover artist through the wringer before I figured that lesson out myself. I was genuinely surprised she didn't give me a "forget it, it's not gonna work". She knew I was new to this and had the patience of a saint.
Second mistake: She asks "How many pages are in the book, what indentations, etc.?"
Lesson: It's not just putting pretty pictures and letters together. There's a lot more to it than that. Things I had no idea, even after four conferences, that she'd need to know. Why didn't I look it up on the infinite online world? Simply because I didn't know I needed to know it.
YOU'RE PUBLISHED! GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE! PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE!
It's the only way to gain sales and get the career you want.
(Insert heavy sigh)
Unfortunately, there's stuff they don't tell you. Again, because everyone's curve is different. I released in November and it wasn't until I stumbled across a small article online about two weeks ago titled something along the line of "4 things not to do". If I can find the link again, I'll post it. I was at work at the time (on break, lower your eyebrows of surprise ;) The one that resonated the most was "don't always post your buy links, it annoys people". WHAT? But everyone said get it out there! Keep your name forefront! Now, in tiny defense, I didn't just post the links. I posted bits of the book with it BUT! I had it rolling several times a week and during the holidays, I set them up to post for me because it was a busy time. I noticed traffic for me slowed down on likes and posts but figured it was the holidays, right? Wrong. I thought about what I'd read and put two and two together.
I discovered today that I have a stats page that will tell me all about what's happening with people and my page. I've been un-liked maybe five times but figured that was more to do with the after release party stuff. Then I saw that a couple people have me hidden...that one stung a lot. Like, almost tears stung. Why? I was just doing what I was told...what everyone suggested. MORE learning curve. The article said people like to communicate and feel like they have a connection with the authors they read. Was I giving that to them? Not really. I was sharing my imagination but not so much me. I've changed that over the last two weeks and noticed a small rise in responses to my posts. People want to see you're human, that you have fun, that you have a serious side sometimes too.
So, hopefully some of those numbers will change and people will meander back. I hope that if you're new like me, that you'll learn from my mistakes and ask questions. You can ask me! I love to help people even if it's only to say "don't do what I did".
Much love and lot of hugs until next time
-Lynn
Thursday, January 1, 2015
The rare Two-fer...
Two posts is a week! An amazing accomplishment for me...lol. I've decided I want to talk about the New Year and goals. I don't do resolutions. They've become a joke anymore and if I want to do something, I don't want people looking at it and saying "Another list of things that will be ignored after the first week". I have goals this year. And they are good ones for me. Here they are:
1) To get back on my exercise program. I was up to 50 pounds lost over a year before I got off my program and sadly put most of it back on. When you're overweight you feel it in every joint. It's not fun and I miss not hurting everyday. I use my fitness pal on my phone and if anyone else does, look for me (Stacey Greene) and we can be friends on their and support each other.
2) I will release the remaining two books in my trilogy, Binding Elements.
3) I will work on the anxiety I have with crowds so that I can interact better at conferences.
4) I will work on learning how to control my money, rather than it controlling me.
5) I will learn more about getting myself out there and using social media to raise the awareness of my books
6) I will help who I can achieve their dream as so many helped me over the last two years
7) I will continue raising my daughter to the best of my ability and balancing both the day job and writing with spending time with her
Seven is a magical number so I'll stop there but there's always something new to accomplish and why limit yourself with lists! Go! Do what you can! Be a better person, parent, lover, friend and love life for what you can get and not hate it for what you can't. Focus on the good and let the bad slide past. Bad will happen but don't let it bury the good.
Loves, hugs and peace for the new year,
Lynn
1) To get back on my exercise program. I was up to 50 pounds lost over a year before I got off my program and sadly put most of it back on. When you're overweight you feel it in every joint. It's not fun and I miss not hurting everyday. I use my fitness pal on my phone and if anyone else does, look for me (Stacey Greene) and we can be friends on their and support each other.
2) I will release the remaining two books in my trilogy, Binding Elements.
3) I will work on the anxiety I have with crowds so that I can interact better at conferences.
4) I will work on learning how to control my money, rather than it controlling me.
5) I will learn more about getting myself out there and using social media to raise the awareness of my books
6) I will help who I can achieve their dream as so many helped me over the last two years
7) I will continue raising my daughter to the best of my ability and balancing both the day job and writing with spending time with her
Seven is a magical number so I'll stop there but there's always something new to accomplish and why limit yourself with lists! Go! Do what you can! Be a better person, parent, lover, friend and love life for what you can get and not hate it for what you can't. Focus on the good and let the bad slide past. Bad will happen but don't let it bury the good.
Loves, hugs and peace for the new year,
Lynn
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Christmas Joys
For the first time in a long time, Christmas was fantastic. Don't get me wrong; Christmases of the past were good too but this was different.
It started Christmas Eve at my uncle's house. They were doing a white elephant gift exchange. For those who don't know what that is, and I discovered there were several of my friends that didn't, everyone brings a wrapped or bagged gift. Usually it's something that they were gifted and have no use for or a budget is set, such as nothing over $10. Everyone drew a number and whoever drew #1 started the exchange by picking a gift. You open it, everyone sees what it is and #2 goes. THEY have the choice of stealing what you have or picking a new gift. Gifts (for us) can only be stolen twice before they're "dead". I was number one and had mine for all of one minute because it was promptly stolen by #2. So I picked again and the game continued with lots of stealing and laughing and good natured teasing. Everyone cracked up when my grandmother stole the large LED flashlight a second time, there by rendering it un-stealable, for my grandpa. The joke of the night was the turtle. My mother loves turtles and last year one was put in the gift pot. She stole it from someone and her big brother stole it from her, rendering it dead. She was not happy...LOL. When she left that night, it was in the front seat of her car. Another turtle made an appearance along with a Kermit this year. My daughter stole it, intending to give her grandma the turtle and her mom (ME!) the Kermit. Fate intervened...her grandma stole it from her to laughter and boos. My uncle called house rules (it was his house) and tried to steal it back but my mom is ferocious and the turtle stayed in her possession. She gave up Kermit though. The nice thing about being number one is that, since you didn't have the chance to steal anything, you get to go last and, having seen all the gifts at that point, get to decide if you keep what you landed with or steal. I stole...lol. A mason jar of Hershey Kisses with an iTunes gift card. Sorry, Cuz for the dancing Santa.
Christmas day had me a teensy bit worried because the tree was sparse for my daughter this year. As in, there was one gift being guarded by two beanie bears and a few things in her stocking. You teach them it's not about the gifts but wonder if they take it to heart. She did and was thrilled with what I got her. Even when other kids talked about what they got, I never saw a disappointed look. We moved on to my dads where she got her yearly favorite book (The Guinness Book of World Records). She enjoyed explaining to Grandpa how the dragon game worked and then it was time to head for my moms. We were having Christmas dinner and my brother brought his girls over later in the evening after doing more of his family stuff. What. A. Blast. It's been years since I've seen my brother laugh and smile like he did this year. I was snapping pictures like crazy and I kept a lot of them on my phone so I can look at them and smile. I have a bunch of pictures of our girls laughing and smiling as well as my mom and stepdad. A good gag from my mom involving drills and bits had us eyeing each other warily for a while...lol.
The day after involved some clearance shopping and gift card spending, followed by bar food. I love me some bar food. Fingers and fries and ranch, baby...lol. So now it's days later and I'm still thinking back and remembering the laughter, for it was plentiful. And I think, gosh I'm blessed. I hope that even if your Christmas, or Hanukkah or Kwanza, or whatever you celebrate, didn't go the way you hoped it would, that you can look back and remember at least one smile. Or one laugh. Or one hug. Because that it what it is about. Love and family and friends and blessings. And I hope that the new year brings you more of those, because life is better for them. And if you find yourself without one, shoot me a message. I'm more than happy to share them, even if they're virtual.
Hugs,
Lynn
It started Christmas Eve at my uncle's house. They were doing a white elephant gift exchange. For those who don't know what that is, and I discovered there were several of my friends that didn't, everyone brings a wrapped or bagged gift. Usually it's something that they were gifted and have no use for or a budget is set, such as nothing over $10. Everyone drew a number and whoever drew #1 started the exchange by picking a gift. You open it, everyone sees what it is and #2 goes. THEY have the choice of stealing what you have or picking a new gift. Gifts (for us) can only be stolen twice before they're "dead". I was number one and had mine for all of one minute because it was promptly stolen by #2. So I picked again and the game continued with lots of stealing and laughing and good natured teasing. Everyone cracked up when my grandmother stole the large LED flashlight a second time, there by rendering it un-stealable, for my grandpa. The joke of the night was the turtle. My mother loves turtles and last year one was put in the gift pot. She stole it from someone and her big brother stole it from her, rendering it dead. She was not happy...LOL. When she left that night, it was in the front seat of her car. Another turtle made an appearance along with a Kermit this year. My daughter stole it, intending to give her grandma the turtle and her mom (ME!) the Kermit. Fate intervened...her grandma stole it from her to laughter and boos. My uncle called house rules (it was his house) and tried to steal it back but my mom is ferocious and the turtle stayed in her possession. She gave up Kermit though. The nice thing about being number one is that, since you didn't have the chance to steal anything, you get to go last and, having seen all the gifts at that point, get to decide if you keep what you landed with or steal. I stole...lol. A mason jar of Hershey Kisses with an iTunes gift card. Sorry, Cuz for the dancing Santa.
Christmas day had me a teensy bit worried because the tree was sparse for my daughter this year. As in, there was one gift being guarded by two beanie bears and a few things in her stocking. You teach them it's not about the gifts but wonder if they take it to heart. She did and was thrilled with what I got her. Even when other kids talked about what they got, I never saw a disappointed look. We moved on to my dads where she got her yearly favorite book (The Guinness Book of World Records). She enjoyed explaining to Grandpa how the dragon game worked and then it was time to head for my moms. We were having Christmas dinner and my brother brought his girls over later in the evening after doing more of his family stuff. What. A. Blast. It's been years since I've seen my brother laugh and smile like he did this year. I was snapping pictures like crazy and I kept a lot of them on my phone so I can look at them and smile. I have a bunch of pictures of our girls laughing and smiling as well as my mom and stepdad. A good gag from my mom involving drills and bits had us eyeing each other warily for a while...lol.
The day after involved some clearance shopping and gift card spending, followed by bar food. I love me some bar food. Fingers and fries and ranch, baby...lol. So now it's days later and I'm still thinking back and remembering the laughter, for it was plentiful. And I think, gosh I'm blessed. I hope that even if your Christmas, or Hanukkah or Kwanza, or whatever you celebrate, didn't go the way you hoped it would, that you can look back and remember at least one smile. Or one laugh. Or one hug. Because that it what it is about. Love and family and friends and blessings. And I hope that the new year brings you more of those, because life is better for them. And if you find yourself without one, shoot me a message. I'm more than happy to share them, even if they're virtual.
Hugs,
Lynn
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| Mom stealing the turtle and Kermit |
 |
| My uncle unsuccessfully trying for a House Rules ruling to get it back for my daughter...lol... she gave up Kermit but not the turtle |
 |
| A successful House Rules ruling between brothers :) |
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| A Starbucks Steal!! |
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| Clownin' with my Bro |
 |
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| I love seeing him laugh |
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| This we were doing to drive my mom nuts. Reading an article on my fave wrestler...lol She was ready to keep going with the gifts |
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Christmas time's a comin...how are you dealing with it?
Someone posted the other day how they were glad not to be "doing" Christmas this year as it saved on time and stress. They'd seen posts about shopping and cooking and stress and were glad to skip over it this year. It got me thinking that sometimes we let the world intrude on our wonderful times. I thought about whether or not I could choose not to "do" Christmas. I decided I couldn't. Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year. Even in rough, or lean, years, it was always a sign of "new" times coming. My childhood Christmases were filled with decorating live trees with fun ornaments and gaily wrapped gifts under the tree. I remember one year, I think I was 10, asking for a "china doll." Unbeknownst to me, what I wanted was a porcelain doll. My parents took me literally though and I got my first ever geisha doll that year. I still have it and it started a love of the orient that still influences my shopping today. I now have a fun collection of geisha dolls and look for more to add all the time. I remember getting New Kids on the Block stuff, (Yes, I still love them...don't judge), a pogo ball (who remembers those?) and as I got older, drawing things. Color pencils, sketch pads, paint by numbers. Loved it all. One most memorable year, I opened a closed box and shrieked before realizing what was in the box was not a rainbow colored snake but a tie-dyed t-shirt tied up like one. Petrified is too mild a word for my fear of snakes, but he grew on me and I had him for almost twenty years before my then young daughter unraveled him. I still have the little plastic sunglasses that were perched on his head and she still runs around in the shirt.
There were Christmases with not so fond memories. The year I miscarried two days before Christmas was particularly difficult and the first Christmas without my, now, ex was brutal. Much drama surrounds that and won't be gone in to here. There was the year my mom volunteered to work her second job on Christmas morning so her boss could be with her young daughter and we needed the money. That sucked at first but my brother and I turned it around. She hadn't had time to decorate working two jobs so we went into the shop, carefully dug through her boxes and decorated. It was corny and not the most tasteful (we were only 12 and 9) but she got home and was thrilled with the surprise. Even in the crappy years, I found that if I could immerse myself in family and food and music, it eased the painful feelings. Christmas lights never fail to make me smile, I sing Christmas carols starting in November and play with the buttons on the Christmas decorations we sell at work all season. I get laughed at sometimes when I say I've started decorating a couple weeks before Thanksgiving but I stopped apologizing for it because it makes me happy and I think, if it's not hurting anyone else, so what?
As a child I also developed a love of Christmas vinyl. My grandma would do her Christmas baking to the shiny black vinyl of Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Perry Como and many others. After she passed, the tradition faded but when over the last ten years, I've hunted and searched and now have a spiffy little collection that, when I want to wander down memory lane, I can and remember her with much love. I also remember she put tinsel on her tree until it was almost all you could see and that out stockings from her always had apples, oranges and nuts in them. The last gift I got from her was a little green and purple dressed clown doll. She sits on my shelf to this day. I remember on the other side of the family, I always got a cute sweater or something from my grandparents and was jealous the boys got handmade shirts. I was 16 before I convinced my grandma to make me one of her famous denim shirts. She did it so well, someone stole it less than a year later. Not cool. We always got to open one gift on Christmas Eve and it was whatever we got from my grandma that lived out of state. I have several awesome handmade quilts still.
Now Christmas revolves around my daughter. She loves it as much as I do but we're careful to remember what it's really all about. We love giving gifts but know that when times are lean, it doesn't matter what's under the tree, but who's around it instead. This year has been a little rough but we're bangin' through and will enjoy it to the max. My character Aurora, you find out, avoids Christmas because of the pain it brings her heart. You learn more about that later but it makes me think...Christmas is what you make of it. If you let it, it will be stressful. If you let hurt invade the season from the past, you'll not enjoy it. Think about what it is that's making it not enjoyable and decide if it has to be that way. Does the hurt from years ago have to take away from the joy? Does not having "enough money" have to ruin it? Can you put the focus back where it belongs? Whether it be Christ, family or whatever...I hope you can. I hope that it becomes what you want it to be.
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or whatever, I hope it's a beautiful time for you. I wish you loads of love and happiness.
Merry Christmas,
Lynn
There were Christmases with not so fond memories. The year I miscarried two days before Christmas was particularly difficult and the first Christmas without my, now, ex was brutal. Much drama surrounds that and won't be gone in to here. There was the year my mom volunteered to work her second job on Christmas morning so her boss could be with her young daughter and we needed the money. That sucked at first but my brother and I turned it around. She hadn't had time to decorate working two jobs so we went into the shop, carefully dug through her boxes and decorated. It was corny and not the most tasteful (we were only 12 and 9) but she got home and was thrilled with the surprise. Even in the crappy years, I found that if I could immerse myself in family and food and music, it eased the painful feelings. Christmas lights never fail to make me smile, I sing Christmas carols starting in November and play with the buttons on the Christmas decorations we sell at work all season. I get laughed at sometimes when I say I've started decorating a couple weeks before Thanksgiving but I stopped apologizing for it because it makes me happy and I think, if it's not hurting anyone else, so what?
As a child I also developed a love of Christmas vinyl. My grandma would do her Christmas baking to the shiny black vinyl of Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Perry Como and many others. After she passed, the tradition faded but when over the last ten years, I've hunted and searched and now have a spiffy little collection that, when I want to wander down memory lane, I can and remember her with much love. I also remember she put tinsel on her tree until it was almost all you could see and that out stockings from her always had apples, oranges and nuts in them. The last gift I got from her was a little green and purple dressed clown doll. She sits on my shelf to this day. I remember on the other side of the family, I always got a cute sweater or something from my grandparents and was jealous the boys got handmade shirts. I was 16 before I convinced my grandma to make me one of her famous denim shirts. She did it so well, someone stole it less than a year later. Not cool. We always got to open one gift on Christmas Eve and it was whatever we got from my grandma that lived out of state. I have several awesome handmade quilts still.
Now Christmas revolves around my daughter. She loves it as much as I do but we're careful to remember what it's really all about. We love giving gifts but know that when times are lean, it doesn't matter what's under the tree, but who's around it instead. This year has been a little rough but we're bangin' through and will enjoy it to the max. My character Aurora, you find out, avoids Christmas because of the pain it brings her heart. You learn more about that later but it makes me think...Christmas is what you make of it. If you let it, it will be stressful. If you let hurt invade the season from the past, you'll not enjoy it. Think about what it is that's making it not enjoyable and decide if it has to be that way. Does the hurt from years ago have to take away from the joy? Does not having "enough money" have to ruin it? Can you put the focus back where it belongs? Whether it be Christ, family or whatever...I hope you can. I hope that it becomes what you want it to be.
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or whatever, I hope it's a beautiful time for you. I wish you loads of love and happiness.
Merry Christmas,
Lynn
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Holidays and Writing Plans
Thanksgiving has come and gone and now it's time to prep for Christmas. The Holidays have always been my favorite time of year. Halloween, while not my favorite holiday, has always been a signal that a grand season was coming. My mini-me decided that she had one more trick or treating in her this year and that next year she will help her grandma pass out candy. Thanksgiving was spent with my mom and step-dad. My step-brother and his family drove in and we had a great time. My SIL generously volunteered to brave the gas station with me to retrieve an ad paper and ice as my mom had forgotten about it. We made it home in good time and there was no insanity. Yes, even on Thanksgiving morning I was concerned about nutty people and the last minute things they forgot...lol
Now for Christmas, my favorite time of the year. I used to be one of those people that decorated starting the first of October but I've tamed it a bit now and don't start until the first of November. Mini-me and I started putting the tree up on Thanksgiving when we lived out of state since we had no family and even now that we're home again, we still maintain that. It's up now with lights on it but it will probably be next weekend before we get to the ornaments.
I released my first book last Tuesday with an online FB celebration. It was exhilarating and exhausting. My mom bought me a cake and an adorable little snowman that was wearing a blue ribbon. She was rather proud I had finally done it. It's not storming the charts but that's okay. Word of mouth will spread and in the meantime, people will enjoy it. I'm working on the rewrite of book two in the trilogy and hoping for an early spring release. The third I want out no later than fall but it will all depend on schedules and unexpected occurrences. You know what they say about best laid plans.
Now it's time to focus on more of what I didn't know I needed. Like a media kit, for instance. I had to google that to figure out what they were talking about. It seems a monumental task and one I wish I could hide from but I can't so I'd better get on it...lol. A bio, and questions and media links and awards and, and, and...maybe someone will take pity on me and help me figure it out. There's also decisions to be made such as whether or not to expand into other sales areas such as Nook and Kobo or to stay with amazon and ride it out. There is a lot more decision making and option weighing than I thought there would be but I'll figure it out.
Binding Elements: Discoveries will be on sale through Cyber Monday for only 99 cents. On Tuesday it goes back to it's regular price of $2.99. I hope you'll get to take advantage of it. It was a fun and challenging story to write and I can't wait to share the rest of it with you. In case I miss you before then holidays are over, Merry Christmas!
-Lynn
Now for Christmas, my favorite time of the year. I used to be one of those people that decorated starting the first of October but I've tamed it a bit now and don't start until the first of November. Mini-me and I started putting the tree up on Thanksgiving when we lived out of state since we had no family and even now that we're home again, we still maintain that. It's up now with lights on it but it will probably be next weekend before we get to the ornaments.
I released my first book last Tuesday with an online FB celebration. It was exhilarating and exhausting. My mom bought me a cake and an adorable little snowman that was wearing a blue ribbon. She was rather proud I had finally done it. It's not storming the charts but that's okay. Word of mouth will spread and in the meantime, people will enjoy it. I'm working on the rewrite of book two in the trilogy and hoping for an early spring release. The third I want out no later than fall but it will all depend on schedules and unexpected occurrences. You know what they say about best laid plans.
Now it's time to focus on more of what I didn't know I needed. Like a media kit, for instance. I had to google that to figure out what they were talking about. It seems a monumental task and one I wish I could hide from but I can't so I'd better get on it...lol. A bio, and questions and media links and awards and, and, and...maybe someone will take pity on me and help me figure it out. There's also decisions to be made such as whether or not to expand into other sales areas such as Nook and Kobo or to stay with amazon and ride it out. There is a lot more decision making and option weighing than I thought there would be but I'll figure it out.
Binding Elements: Discoveries will be on sale through Cyber Monday for only 99 cents. On Tuesday it goes back to it's regular price of $2.99. I hope you'll get to take advantage of it. It was a fun and challenging story to write and I can't wait to share the rest of it with you. In case I miss you before then holidays are over, Merry Christmas!
-Lynn
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