Turned over in bed this morning and noticed the sun had not yet risen. It reminded me that the earth is rotating slowly as it prepares my part of the world for the engulfing winter months ahead. Autumn is here; the more we move out of it, the cooler it gets. The temperature in my bedroom made me aware that winter patiently stood at the door, waiting to enter, and I covered my head and snoozed for fifteen minutes before I got up.
The seasons of the year we humans cannot change, and I’m happy about that. Our man-controlled abusive interference with nature is limited to manipulating the time so that we gain an hour in summer, and the day is longer, but we get that hour back in winter, making the days long, dark, and sometimes dreary.
The environment is a mystery. Its wonders are secrets hidden in the pockets of the Heavens. This morning, I had the opportunity to snooze for fifteen minutes and then the pleasure of seeing the Heavens light up and unfold as the sun rose, and for that, I Am Thankful.
It doesn’t seem like seven years, but it is—many thanks to the administrative team at RRBC and the entire RRBC Organization for your support. It is much appreciated.
Today is Monday, and I asked myself what this week would bring. As a woman who contemplates the elusiveness of time and how difficult it is to grasp, I have long realized the wheel of time doesn’t move by weeks, months, or years but by seconds, minutes, and hours that make a night and a day into twenty-four hours. What we do with our twenty-four hours is up to us. We choose. Knowing that, I have decided to take the seconds that turn into minutes, the minutes that turn into hours, and the hours that sum up the complexity of the earth’s rotation around the sun and see time as a one-day gift to live and enjoy. Each day I awake is a new beginning, and I am thankful for that one night and day.
(7) audible codes for ENIGMA TRACER book (US or UK)
Please leave the authors a comment below for your chance to win one of these awesome prizes!
ENIGMA TRACER
Breakfield and Burkey like lively, believable banter between characters. We took an instance between Gracie and her twin brother JJ to help the reader know they gently tease now and then but genuinely care for each other in this deadly sleuthing game of digital cat and mouse. JJ and Gracie are seasoned pros who know their trade but are new in their leadership roles for CATS and R-Group. They know what they must look for and the next steps of covert detective work. They are uncertain of the end game and the risks. Mentors can’t teach their wards how to handle every threat they will encounter, but they can teach them how to think. Stumbling into new important roles teaches the young heirs how to adapt their thinking and change direction. Gracie’s role is to orchestrate digital covert operations to help people. JJ’s role is to provide operator support at ground level to the problems Gracie needs help with. They must be decisive and calculating because the criminals they are up against are cold and ruthless.Listen to how she and JJ conduct a planning session in this YouTube segment:
BOOK BLURB:The clock is ticking … can Gracie uncover the truth?Phillip Pliant is the wealthy opportunist plastics dealer and CEO of Pliant Industries. He’s also a master thief—creating a pervasive threat to the manufacturing infrastructure in the Caribbean islands markets. With the cartel as his stealth client, the naïve city leaders have been seduced, enabling the production of more than 3-dimentional building materials.
And set the stage for massive chaos and destruction.
Pliant has locked up contracts, assets, and control of any future expansion. His contacts and clients salivate over their probable financial reward—the expected profits are monstrous.
Is the R-Group, now led by Gracie and the family heirs, strong enough to win against this predator? Can JJ’s CATS (Cyber Assassin Technology Services) act on the root-cause analysis in time?
Will the R-Group and CATS sabotage Pliant’s plan before it’s too late?
Can Jeff and Keith use their covert skills to put the bad guys away for good?
Will Gracie be able to squash Pliant and the cartels?
Can the chain of islands survive the underhanded tactics and threats?
Gracie never considered that their lives would hang between winning and losing. Will the devious plot be uncovered in time? The clock is ticking. Five … four … three …
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the authors’tour pageon the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to schedule your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please clickHERE. Thanks for supporting this author and her work!
I’m going to miss this Challenge. It challenged me. Within me, it has removed reservations that I had pushed deep within the dark corners of my soul. After the first week, I thought I was going to buckle under. The possibility of facing weaknesses and being drowned in recriminations brought up good old Vincent Lombardi, who sits at my imaginary round table as one of my advisors.
He said two simple statements. “Adversity is the first path to truth. Prosperity is a great teacher: adversity is greater.” For me, the adversity was the distress of having to change.
I like quotes from people who talk from experience. Lombardi built a winning football team, and they were the very first to win the Super Bowl.
So, I moved into the second week prepared to face myself.
Joy rose as I read the blogs from the rest of the participants. With some of their postings, I laughed, and with others, I was amazed, and then there were some posts where tears flowed and others that brought me into deep contrition, contemplation, and repentance. The articles were all that good and inspiring.
If you have read my postings during the 30-Day Challenge, you know I had doubts, frustration, and regrets. Yet through all of what I felt, I am delighted to have stuck with it. Vince was right. Facing my adversity is more remarkable than never having done it at all.
Would I do it again? YES! Undoubtedly. Not this year, but whenever I see it offered again.
Does this mean I am going to blog every week to prepare myself? NO! However, I have decided to blog on my author’s website once every two months to release some new SNIPPETS. 🙂
Therefore, on this last day of the Challenge, I leave you with another quote by Vince: I do my best to walk with this quote every waking day of my life.
“When we place our dependence in God, we are unencumbered, and we have no fear. In fact, we may even be reckless insofar as our part in the production is concerned. This confidence, this sureness of action, is both contagious and an aid to the perfect action. The rest is in the hands of God–––and this is the same God who has won all His battles up to now.” (By Vincent Lombardi)
My list of new and open items for this week includes the following:
Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Finishing the last revision of my first novel.
Co-hosting the IWSG on Wednesday
Releasing my new short story. (Na-Doo is still jumping for joy, and I’m laughing. She’s a sassy woman, but I love her the way she is.)
Yes, it is evening here, and I have just ended my sabbath day. I enjoyed the rest.
I’m in my office now. Even with the change in my Sabbath day and time, I start slowly getting in gear to work. As I’ve said before,I don’t like hectic. I never have.
I kick off my work week after envisioning how I want my week to run. I don’t order what I plan to do, but I write down what I want to do in no particular order.
Today has been a pretty cool day for me. I meditated, had breakfast, and read up until dinner time. After dinner, I read again.
Reading is medicine for my soul. I am finishing up a book entitled Soulful Spirituality by David G. Benner, a Christian Canadian Psychologist. I have almost every one of his books, and they have enriched my life.
My list of new and open items for this week includes the following:
Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Finishing the last revision of my first novel.
Co-hosting the IWSG on Wednesday
Releasing my new short story. (Na-Doo has just jumped for joy, and I’m laughing. Even though she’s pretty sassy, at times, she has a big heart.)
I am ready for this Challenge to end. It has demanded more of my time than I expected. My characters are asking me if I ever will return. Especially Na-Doo, the main female character in my upcoming short story that is not yet released, keeps accusing me of forgetting her. When I told her I didn’t realize the burden the Challenge would have on her story, she advised me to think before I leap the next time, and she tapped her toes on the floor.
She is patiently waiting for the last story that will go out on Tuesday. To keep her happy, I applaud her patience every day and thank her for being so kind to me.
I am laughing. If you think that my characters are my muse, then you’re wrong. My characters are facets of me and would feel insulted if I thought of them as muses.
It’s Sunday, and my Sabbath starts at 6 pm. Typically, at this time of the morning, I am in church. However, I changed my Sabbath’s beginning and end so that I could continue participating in the Challenge and have 24 hours of rest, which I wholeheartedly admit I need.
Since I was up late last night attending a writing seminar on Using Character Emotion to Wow Reader by Becca Puglisi on Zoom, I’m dragging today. But I still have a few more things I want to accomplish before I call it quits at 5:45 pm.
Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
This morning, after my contemplation, I read Nonnie Jules’ blog posting for Day 26. After reading her poem, I went to the blog posting of Shirley Harris-Slaughter and read her Day 26 posting.
Shirley’s article is entitled How Do You Say Goodbye? Her question, along with Nonnie’s poem, threw me into contemplativeness again.
John Donne and his Meditation 17 rose within me. Especially the line that says, “any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind and therefore never send to know for whom the bell toll; it tolls for thee.”
We are all a part of humanity, whether we accept that or not. No one can guarantee they will make it through the day or wake up the next morning. Yet, we treat life as something we dictate, which is sad.
How do I say goodbye is the question that Shirley asked.
I don’t have an answer to that question. Living on another continent, far away from my family and extended family, I do everything within my power to love them in the now with phone calls, text messages, video calls, and visits when I am in the USA.
I tell and show them that I love them every chance I get. Who knows if I will have the opportunity to say or show that tomorrow?
I want to know that whenever one of them leaves this world, if they go before me, and step into eternity, I will have given them the most precious gift I possess, which is to love.
Knowing I have loved them doesn’t take away the sadness or the pain, but it comforts me.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”* (New International Version 2011, Zondevan, The Gospel According To John John 15:9-13)
(NONNIE JULES’ POSTING is linked to this posting, and Shirley’s article is linked. You are welcome to read both postings. The links will take you directly to their blog articles.)
My list of open items includes the following:
Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
Before my morning block of time could end(usually, it ends at 11:30 a.m.), but since I am optimizing my schedule, I changed it to 11:00 a.m. I got in my beetle and was on the road by 10 a.m. I am smiling because I went to one of my favorite bakeries in our village. They are all my favorites, but each bakery has delicious tarts different from the others.
As I lay in bed looking out of my bedroom window, which is a sky window, I thought having pretzels and pastry for breakfast would be a scrumptious idea. It only took me about fifteen minutes. The pastries smelled so good. I would be big as a house if I went there every day, so I have a hard limit of twice a week to visit them.
Baking is still a work of art here. Fresh bread tastes heavenly. The cakes and pastries are not sweet and are excellently made. You can’t compare buying a cake from a real baker to a store-bought cake from Kroger. There is a difference, or maybe I have just fallen in love with the European Style of life. So, my breakfast was yummy, and I am still smiling.
Since I’ve been in my office, I’ve taken care of an invoice and conducted a telephone call with the people installing new communication cables in our village that will increase internet speed.
At one p.m. my time, I have a Zoom meeting. People on the East Coast conduct the forum, so I am very thankful for their consideration of me so that they get up early for our meetings.
After my forum, I will work on my excerpt for my developmental coach and then bring wood in from where it is sheltered into the house for the fireplace.
It is Friday, and I will enjoy a hot cup of gluhwein while I read a book or look at a movie that fascinates me and engages my mind.
My list of open items includes the following:
Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
Any writer that writes to improve the human condition and bring people into relationships that respect the otherness of others will get caught on their blindside. It happens not just once but many times, and you will always be surprised or in a state of shock because it throws you outside of your perimeters. Confronted with a new situation, you must redefine your boundaries, change or not redefine them, and stunt your growth. Choosing the latter can make you sick or even become deadly.
So it was on the morning of February 24, 2022. I went downstairs with a heavy heart. After almost seventy-seven years of peace, there was war in Europe.
Disastrous news kept coming. People were fleeing. Children dying, Women and young females raped, and older people mishandled.
Caught on my blindside, I didn’t know that such barbarian behavior existed, especially in Western Culture, but it does. And I had to learn how to deal with it emotionally.
I now knew what it felt like to wake up while an airplane flew over your house and to be thankful that your home was still standing and no one was running to a bomb shelter.
I could point out other situations, but today that is not my purpose. I want to remind us that we should never take advantage of the ability to write. As writers, we are the eyes of the world regardless of whether we write poetry, fiction, or non-fiction. We are the world’s conscience, and what we say or don’t say will affect the coming generations.
So here’s my open agenda. I will write that letter as soon as I put up my post. Therefore, I have taken it off the list.
Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
Today, I am working on finishing the revision of my first novel. I am very thankful I have a publisher who is patient with me. I am a hybrid author and am grateful to have found people from both spectrums of the independent/traditional publishing world who care about me. They listen to what I say, and at the same time, I listen to what they are saying. It is a two-sided coin.
It is not always easy getting me to see the tiny fragments that make up a story that might need to be clarified or come too soon for the reader. But I move further when they leave me alone to see it myself. I am smiling right now because usually, when they get to the point of living with my decision, my eyes open, and I see what they mean. This is why my editors are crucial for my writing, and I take writing classes, attend writing conferences, and meet up with other writers wherever possible.
I have said once or twice during this Challenge that no man is an island. I believe that wholeheartedly. This phrase comes from one of my favorite readings by John Donne. Most people think it is a poem, but it is a Meditation, contemplative words (here I go again with contemplation) that Donne wrote at an appropriate time in his life that fits exceptionally well in our lifetime.
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”* (taken from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions Together with Death’s Duel by John Donne and is recorded as he originally wrote it)
I ended yesterday before my fireplace with a tasty cup of Sanddorn Tea. I wanted to show you how beautifully my fireplace burned as I daydreamed before it.
My list for this week includes the following:
Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
A letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Tuesdays are sometimes the most challenging days for me to get through. I express my thanks for waking up, and I clean myself up. By the time I get downstairs, I am looking forward to going into my office. But internally, I am contemplating. The things I cannot see have absorbed me, and I would like to sit and let my inner world have its way.
Depending on what is on my plate, I usually take the time to sit still and let the images form and the bits and pieces of word sentences have their way. I use contemplation not only to understand my purpose and place in this world but also to understand others.
Thus, I am slowly moving into my day because I have been contemplating. There are things to do. I have a Zoom meeting in an hour and a half and many other things that I need to plug into so that my February is more relaxed than my January.
My list for this week includes the following:
Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
A letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
I have a still, joyful stream running through me tonight. I’m doing some things differently, and it has been a challenge. However, I love to see what I can do, or better said, see how I can overcome the limitations I sometimes place on myself.
I’ve learned that before I blame others for what I cannot do, I should try to do it. If I fail, I need to examine why I couldn’t do it, or I will never advance the way I want.
That means I can only do the things I have been gifted to do. I can’t do everything. I know I have limits. For example, I know I can’t be a medical doctor because I don’t have that gift. There are so many other things that I can’t do, and I am okay with that. I’m not in the world to copy someone else. I’m here to discover the original Pat I was born to be.
So my day was a day of learning new things that I won’t discuss here. They are my secrets. But it was a day of reaching out to others and intensively listening. If there is anything I enjoy better than writing, it is listening. I can sit and listen and observe for hours.
My list for this week includes the following:
Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
A letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
We have just entered Day 21 of the Blogging Challenge. Each day from now on will bring us close to the finishing line.
Today, I will start my Sabbath Day at 6 p.m. I have learned that I needed to rearrange my Sabbath by competing in the Challenge. I get more out of it now, and that makes me happy. I wouldn’t have recognized that there was a better way if I hadn’t participated in the Blogging Challenge.
I am checking out all of my routines. Sometimes they can be killers of new possibilities that are better ways of doing things.
I have decided to keep my agenda planning calendar. I thought about changing to something else. But I saw that what I already have fulfills two essential functions: I write my lists in my agenda app; the days and appointments I have booked go straight to my calendar.
Finally, I will close the office at 6 p.m. and sit back to a movie and a glass (maybe two glasses) of dry Italian red wine.
Congratulations to all who are participating in the Challenge. We’ve made it to Day 21. YEAH! We Are Champions! at least, in this Blogging Challenge.
My List for the starting week:
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
I discovered some time ago that people who change history are not fearless. They are fearful, but they go ahead and move in the direction of their dreams anyway.
They give me the courage to walk the truths I have discovered and do it afraid.
That is why I admire artists like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Henri Matisse. Or writers like Charles Dickens, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Georgette Heyers, Phillis Wheatley, Sarah E, Farro, and Lorraine Hansberry, who made her mark by becoming the first African American to have a play performed on broadway.
Many of these artists have made an imprint on my life; some sit around my invisible mentor’s table. Some received very little recognition, and some died impoverished.
I am still determining where I will end up, but I will keep moving forward until time as we know it is no more.
So, that’s my takeaway for today. If you have a dream deep down inside you, a desire that you think will benefit others and yourself, and you fear what others will think, let it bother you if you want, but don’t stop being what you were destined to be. You’ll only see change once you learn to do it, afraid.
My list for the week
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Living your life fully doesn’t mean being busy. There are many busy people, but if you look at their faces, they are miserable. Their eyes aren’t glowing. Happiness has eluded them. If you get the chance, look into their eyes, that is, if they will let you.
Busyness disrupts the soul and the spirituality of any person. It breaks the contact with the heart, and we disconnect from our core selves. That’s my belief.
So as I started out with the A DAY IN MY LIFE…SUBTITLE: SNIPPETS OF ME CHALLENGE, I wanted to measure my soulful spirituality to see if I was just being busy to be busy or if I was still on my journey, seeking to evolve into all that I am supposed to be on my journey.
I’m not going to tell you what I have found out, but I will say that I like who I am and who I am becoming.
Being and Becoming are separate processes that continually grow until you are dead. When you have totally become, you are no longer here.
Life is a journey that leads you to be fully alive (I’ve used the word ‘alive’ here to better define ‘Being’); fully becoming and what holds these two concepts together is LOVE. You can’t choose to be or to become as a single element without the other. If you’re all about being, your egocentricity stands out, and you walk over people. Living only a becoming life makes you otherworldly; your head is in the clouds, and you’re ignoring people.
Only through living a fully alive, fully becoming life do we find our significance and are thereby prepared in our hearts to reach out to others.
Jan Masuhr on Guitar, Pat Garcia, Soloist
Reach out and touch Somebody’s hand Make this world a better place, if you can.
Take a little time out your busy day To give encouragement To someone who’s lost the way Or would I be talking to a stone If I asked you To share a problem that’s not your own
We can change things if we start giving Why don’t you Reach out and touch Somebody’s hand Make this world a better place If you can.
If you see an old friend on the street And he’s down Remember, his shoes could fit your feet Try a little kindness, and you’ll see It’s something that comes Very naturally.
We can change things if we start giving Why don’t you Reach out and touch Somebody’s hand Make this world a better place If you can.
*Lyrics are taken from Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson; Initially sung by Diana Ross.
Now, the way I’ve said this might not be grammatically correct, but it’s my belief, and it springs from my heart.
My List is getting smaller.
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blogs (I caught up on visiting all the blogs, Yeah, Yeah, YEAH!)
Send one of my stories to the person who will do the critique I won for winning the WEP.
RWF Board Meeting via Zoom (Completed. There’s a story behind my being on the board. I’ll tell it before the Challenge is over.)
This morning, I woke up to rain mixed with snow. However, it stopped. As I came off my first break, I looked out the window in my office; the sun was peeking through, and tiny snowflakes were coming down from the sky. I hope it doesn’t stay.
I have been catching up on my comments. I don’t like being behind, but my accounting for the writing group I belong to had to be done. I have about three or four more blogs to comment on, so if you have yet to see a comment from me, you will. I have been taking each person and commenting on their outstanding blog posts before I move on to comment on another writer’s blog.
After my zoom board meeting, I will do my best to finish the others.
So far, I have enjoyed reading all of the posts. Whenever I go to a new blog, I am reminded of how different we are.
Thanks to all of you who have visited my blog posts so far. I appreciate it greatly.
In closing, my Knitting Group at the Post Office was joyful. My ladies were very comical yesterday. I’ve not laughed so hard in a long time.
My list for this week is below.
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blog comments,
Send one of my stories to the person who will do the critique I won for winning the WEP.
I finished my yearly treasury reports for 2022 and am relieved and happy today. Our board meeting is tomorrow via Zoom. I usually have them complete and sent out by the first week of the month, but adjusting to the Challenge has caused me to slow down and readjust to the pressure, and some of my typical responsibilities are behind.
I’m not a person who has nothing to do. I have already made people I want to work with this year aware of my new plans for 2023. I take my time and succeed most of the time.
For example, in this year’s second half, I plan to go back on stage and do five or seven concerts with my band. For a woman like me, five or seven gigs are a lot.
We will start rehearsals sometime in June and then take the autumn months to be on the road on the weekends. I look forward to it. When I sing, I connect with my audience; these are the times that I am pleased that I am fluent in German.
My audiences are a mix of all cultures, and because they live here, they speak German. If I want to connect with them, I must communicate in their language. That’s one of the things I learned from the German Professor who was so strict with me. I have seen too many Americans fail to connect in Europe because they refused to learn the language of the country where they live.
I am blessed to be able to travel to Italy, France, and the french speaking parts of Belgium and communicate, even though my French and Italian could be better.
I will take a break in a few minutes and will close now.
I have an hour of knitting today with my little old ladies. One of them has already texted me on WhatsApp and asked if I would come. I quickly arranged my calendar for today, so I could be with them for an hour. I so look forward to being there.
The open items from my list for this week to include new items are below.
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blog comments,
Knitting Group at the Post Office
Send one of my stories to the person who will do the critique I won for winning the WEP.
DAY 16, JANUARY 17, 2023, Housecleaning and Writing
As a writer, I measure my writing time like sand flowing through an hourglass. The phrase, like sand flowing through an hourglass, comes from the soap opera Days Of Our Lives, which premiered on television on November 8, 1965. I watched that show religiously until…, but that’s another story.
Let’s get back to housecleaning. I used to feel guilty because my house was not spic and span, with everything in order and windows so clean that you could see into your neighbor’s living room.
Then, a few years ago, I took an intensive writing class similar to this Challenge. The instructor came into our online course the day before it started and left a suggestion report that she said was essential that we read before we got started. In that three-page report, she advised us that if we were planning on sticking with her class until the ending date, we would have to decide if we would be actual writers or live in a spic and span house and not give all our attention to writing. She went on and then told us how she managed housecleaning and writing. Her central premise was that you’re not superwoman, and you’re not supposed to be that, so figure out your budget and find someone you trust to help you keep your house clean once a week or once every two weeks. It’s up to you.
I would have never thought about hiring someone to keep my house clean because my pride demanded that I do everything. I quickly realized that I had a problem with pride, which stemmed from my overrated view of myself. Once I dealt with that hideous woman hiding behind the superwoman cloak and got help, guilt concerning my house became a thing of the past.
Since then, I’ve had someone who comes in twice a month and cleans. The only exception was during COVID. I’m now looking at an agency that can fulfill my need for help twice a month since the trustworthy lady I had, stopped working. If that agency meets my conditions, I’ll be smiling.
My list to complete this week:
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blog comments,
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA.
Drove to Aschaffenburg to pick up my prescription. (completed this morning)
Took my dirty clothes to my washroom to be washed. (completed this morning)
I let myself slip slowly into Mondays. I didn’t think I could do that by participating in this Challenge. This morning, I discovered that I’m adjusting. Falling into the week by starting slow on Mondays is still there for me and I’m smiling.
I prefer to avoid being hectic or rushing, especially on Mondays. So, I’ve meditated, had breakfast, read the preface and first chapter of a new book, and taken a forty minutes nap before I came to my office. I admit that I avoid people who start their week with hectic and a million demands they must do immediately.
I’ve learned that avoiding such people prevents me from having headaches and stomach ulcers. Was I always this way? Definitely not! It took searching within myself as I read books that gave me the strength to change. That’s why I like good non-fiction books. They cause you to do a soul check on yourself.
My list for this week will grow. There are items that I still need to add. So, I’m starting with what I have.
I’m revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blog comments,
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA.
My day has been full of joy. I like my Sabbath Sunday because it gives me time to retrospect on who I am becoming. That has nothing to do with vanity but a desire to be authentic with me. If I refuse to face my vulnerabilities, I become a falsity and would tumble at first sight of a storm. Like the man who built his house on sand, when the rain came, his house collapsed, so is it by anyone who refuses to face their true selves.
Thus, I started my Sunday off with my church family, and afterward, I had coffee in our cafe and sat and listened to the people around me. I also made it a point to greet new people attending our church for the first time.
Today was special. One of my besties had a birthday last week, and I took her out to dinner after we left the church. We are both extremely busy women. She is a city councilwoman/tax consultant, and I am a writer. To say that we enjoyed our time together is an understatement. We took the time to be authentic with each other. Here are two pictures of us at the restaurant The East.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Catch up on blog comments,
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA.
I wouldn’t say I like cold weather. Neither does the liquid sunshine that regularly falls here in my part of the country please me, and let me not wake up in the winter and see beautiful dandruff covering my windows.
Dandruff, the snowflakes relaxing on window, vex me, especially. That was until I learned how to Alpine Ski in Austria. If someone had told me that I would have fallen in love with the sport after the first week of a ski trip, I would have said, “you’re crazy.”
I looked to see if I still had my photo with me in my yellow ski suit. Unfortunately, I don’t. My office flooded twice in one year a few years ago, and some of my pictures did not outlive the flood.
I stopped skiing after my husband, and some of our friends went skiing on a very high mountain, and Hans, my husband, returned with six broken ribs. They had wanted me to come with them and give the mountain a try. But I said no because I knew my skills were not advanced enough to go down those slopes. Like I said before in one of my posts, I’ve learned to choose my battles regardless of what kind of battles they may be.
People get insulted and speak words that will hurt you when you do that, but I stick to what I’ve said. Thus, I’m thankful I always have takeaways from my past mistakes.
After his accident, Hans didn’t want to ski anymore. I found that out the following year when planning our ski trip.
Still, I’m not too fond of snow, but I have a heart for those in Europe who look forward to skiing.
It has been a long morning for me. After my routine, I have already completed two new items I have put on my list.
Therefore, my list for today is as follows:
I am revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Updated Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel on my Mac. (Completed)
Schedule a Zoom meeting for later. (Completed)
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA.
Let’s go back and examine a pivotal point in my life.
After being academically expelled from my university, I discovered that my area’s African American community had counted on me to make a difference for their boys and girls. In other words, they were pointing at me, encouraging them to do what I was supposed to be doing.
My mom and dad were greatly disappointed, and I sank into a deep hole of desolation. I found out that skipping classes to play cards and not concentrating on what I knew I could do, brought unnecessary pain to others and myself. I got a job working for Gracewood State School and Hospital for the mentally ill. There, I slowly found my way back to God by doing things God’s way and not my own.
A year later, I was back at the university. In the very first quarter, after returning, I started making the Dean’s List, which is a recognition of those students who maintain an A average throughout the quarter. You might wonder what happened.
I discovered the speeches of the former coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vincent Lombardi, a Christian that lived what he preached on the field with his team and off the field with his family.
One of his quotes kicked me hard in my gut, and I changed it so that it would fit me, and I practically learned it by memory. Here is his quote that I altered to fit myself.
In order to succeed, I will need a singleness of purpose, a dedication, and I will have to convince all of the people I encounter that can help me along the way of my willingness to sacrifice.
With that quote buried in my heart, I was always on Dean’s list during my last two years of college. And I have lived to see some kids who know me make a difference in their lives.
I am still working on my list. The two most significant projects I plan to complete between today and Monday.
My Continuing List consists of the following:
I am revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Go to the bakery (Completed this morning before I went to my office.)
Pick up fresh fruits (Completed this morning)
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA.
My morning started with bangs! I woke up to rain. While dressing, I heard the waste disposal workers picking up the yellow bags we use to dispose of our plastic trash. They come once every two weeks and usually come around eight a.m. The fact that they arrived early had a consequence for me. I packed my bag the evening before but decided to wash my dishes before taking my yellow bag out to the sidewalk to be picked up. I decided to do it when I went downstairs in the early morning. Well, surprise! the workers came early, and now I have to store my plastic trash bag away and wait for the next pick-up in two weeks.
It was still very dark when I went downstairs, but I could see a tiny bit of light breaking through clouds. One of my high points is watching the daylight peek into full daybreak. I can feel the earth turning.
An hour later, I reached into my fridge for the butter that sat on one of my favorite glass dishes I keep in the refrigerator to use whenever I need to store something. Pang!!! It went as it fell to the floor. Broken glass and splitters everywhere. I said thank you that it didn’t fall on my feet, and I got my broom to sweep up the chaos.
I got my coffee, ate breakfast, and read three chapters of an audiobook I am reading. I read non-fiction when I have breakfast. It is incredible to me how writers of non-fiction catch my mind and bring me into their world. Like being in a classroom, I absorb what they are saying and learn much.
Now I’m sitting at my Mac, and I’m chuckling. I look forward to the rest of my day. Do you remember me mentioning that my hairdresser was ill and had to postpone my appointment? It was on my to-do list from the first week of the Challenge. Yesterday, I got a WhatsApp message that I could come today. So, where will I be in the afternoon? I will be spoiling myself, YEAH!
Congratulations to all of you participating in the Challenge, A DAY IN MY LIFE! We made the ten-day mark yesterday. HURRAH!!! I’m cheering for us all to make it to the finish line. Here’s my certificate. I know you received yours.
I’m going to follow Ms. Nonnie’s leading, the woman responsible for this Challenge, and close with one of my favorite quotes on my whiteboard, right next to my desk, by one of my mentors, Vincent Lombardi, who passed away some years ago.
THE DESIRE FOR THE REWARD OVERWHELMS THE HUMAN INSTINCT TO QUIT AND COMPROMISE, TO TAKE THE SAFE ROUTE.
It was raining when I woke up this morning. The clouds were in a cluster formation but were darker than they usually are.
After going through my morning routine, I came downstairs to make coffee.
Today is my knitting day. Yes, I have been learning how to knit for four years, and I do mean learning. I discovered a knitting group in the post office right in my village that consists of little old ladies that knit like professionals. I asked if a beginner who knew nothing about knitting could join them and learn, and they welcomed me. Since then, it has taken me over four years to learn how to knit beanies and two scarves. I also started on a pair of socks four years ago, but socks are way over my head. You knit socks with four needles, and I have my problems with two needles. So one-fourth of a knitted sock is still in my knitting basket.
What I like about these women is that they know I am a writer, and sometimes I can’t attend because of things that come up; yet, I’m a welcome part of the group and feel at home.
None of them speak English, so I had to learn how to knit in German. Sure, I make mistakes, but I have learned to take the stitches out and start back over. The ladies I knit with insist that I know how to knit correctly.
I had planned to start on a sweater this month. I have the material already, and you can believe me when I say the ladies’ eyes are sparkling because they look forward to passing on what they know to me. Unfortunately, I had to postpone it this morning until February.
They’re a highly talented group of ladies who knit, crochet, and make all kinds of puppets and curiosities that you have to buy in stores for a lot of money.
I have completed some items on my list, and removed them, and included my knitting group.
Revise the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to revise 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA,
Visit each blog in the Days 8 and 9 Challenge of A DAY IN MY LIFE.
I do my best not to get involved in other peoples’ affairs. If I do, I find myself going down a dark rabbit hole that is mostly not good. That doesn’t mean that I close my eyes to the world, but I choose very carefully the battles I want to fight, even though I may feel justified to say something, especially when someone treats me unjustly. I have learned and am still learning how to talk it out with the Silent Guide that walks beside me.
Thus, by not saying anything, I have saved myself lots of energy that I can invest into people that give me much joy. I confess this was a hard lesson to learn.
Yesterday, I listed the things I want to accomplish this week. My list is ongoing. It isn’t written in stone because new things come up each day when I wake up and open myself to the still inner voice within me, like two of my besties’ birthdays and a lovely Sanddorn tea and a Holunder tea that I picked up before going to my office. Drinking a hot cup of one of those teas makes my day when I take a break. So my list has grown.
This week, I will do the following:
Revise the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to revise 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Answering emails and text messages, Daily
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Go to the bakery,
Pick up fresh fruits,
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA,
Visit each blog in the Day 8 Challenge of A DAY IN MY LIFE.
I woke up this morning to baby birds chirping outside my skylight window, and I sat on the side of my bed and listened to them. Smiling, I thanked God for the ability to hear such sounds early in the morning.
The first week of the year has never ended. Although, in my mind, I know it has. I’m missing my Sunday off.
My week is full, and I have already started making decisions that will determine my outcome at the end of the week. I learned this when I read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First by Stephen Covey, an author who wrote many planning books. I have read both books several times, and based on what I have read, I developed the organization of my life according to what I consider essential.
So I will look in my journal, assess what I didn’t do, and make a note, not about a new time to do it but a note about why I didn’t do it. That’s important for me. It could be that it was not the right time to do it or to say something because it would have come across as heartless. I make mistakes when I react to situations too quickly. I am not infallible. I thank God that I am not perfect or even semi-perfect. I am VULNERABLE because I want to relate to people and not be found self-righteous.
This week, I will do the following:
Revise the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to revise 10K. I like to send her what I call my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
I have a letter to write. I had decided to wait until after the Challenge, but my gut is telling me to do it now, which is what I will do.
Get in touch with the person who donated the prize I won for my WEP win.
Answering emails and text messages,
Attend my writing classes and do my homework,
Go to the bakery,
Pick up fresh fruits,
Do the accounting books for the Romantic Women Fiction Chapter of the RWA,
Today is the Sabbath. However, I have learned from the Spirit that lives within me that I am the Lord of the Sabbath.
That the Sabbath doesn’t keep me from keeping my word or prohibit me from doing good is something I processed some time ago. But processes won at one point in life come back to be modified and strengthened at another level.
Thus, I am sitting at my computer typing out an article. The fact that I’d rather be in my home instead of downstairs in my office was quite evident by how I entered it. It was a struggle, a challenge to a rule I had established that had to be re-examined.
I searched for rigidity. Sure, I have routines that are precious to me, but (and here is the crux of the matter) I don’t want these routines to rule me. I am the Lord over them and not them over me.
My list for today is short:
To read the blog posts from Day 6. I read the posts the day after. I am in Europe, and there is a time difference between us, depending on where you live in the USA and Canada. For some, it could be eight or nine hours. So far, I have commented on every blog where I can post. If I could not post, I have started leaving the comment in the Members’ Chat. If you see that I have tweeted your post and you don’t see a comment from me, something needs to be fixed because I only tweet your post if I have read it and left a comment. So, please let me know if you need one in the members’ chat box.
When I have completed task number one, I will go into my much loved Sabbath and enjoy it.
It is 1:17 in the afternoon, and I’m satisfied with my morning. Groceries are in the house, water too, wood is in the wood carrier, and I even managed to get by the two pharmacies and pick up my vitamins.
This year I’m on a new level and must reestablish my routine. Some things and people may have to go. Not because I don’t like them but because I’ve taken a turn in the bend, and we are no longer walking on the same path.
Everything must change; nothing remains the same. That’s a song by Nina Simone, and it is one of my favorites.
When I finished my three-year contract with the United States Army, I took a European out and decided to stay in Europe, specifically Germany. I realized I learned only about the PX and the commissaries in the different locations in Germany where the Americans lived. I wanted to know more, so I decided to get a job here. I had a Bachelor’s degree with a major and a double minor and was completing my Master’s degree and thought I could get a job with the Americans. But that was not so. My status had changed; according to NATO (North American Treaty Organization), I was a tourist traveling in the country. After four months of hearing, “Yes, we would love to hire you, but…” I knew I had to decide: either learn German and get a job in the German economy or go back to America. I made the decision and decided to stay, and that is when doors started opening. German is a complex language, but I learned it thoroughly because of a German Professor that hung over my shoulders.
I used to think the man hated me. I had all kinds of excuses for him treating me as he did; the first one was that I was Black. We had to read two weekly newspapers, in German, of course. And each week, he would single me first. He always spoke to the class in German, and we had to answer him in German. He was also an ex-soldier in the German army, and I hated that man. I had five German courses, and he was my instructor in each class. It was him against me and me against him. I tried to drop out of my fifth German course because I saw him sitting at the instructor’s desk when I walked into the class on the first evening.
I told myself, “I’m not going through this a fifth time.” I waited until our evening class ended and told him I would be dropping his course. He said, “No, you’re not. I won’t approve it.” I remember shaking my head as I asked him why. He looked at me as if he were looking through me and told me, “Pat, you are a black American woman living in a country that will be hostile toward you. I have seen this happen to other females from other countries, and they are lost. That’s why they don’t go anywhere alone. They move around in groups. I am hard on you because I want to see you go anywhere you want to go and read everything, whether it’s government policies or whatever, so that you comprehend the system and move forward. I have nothing against you being a black woman. I’m proud to be able to help you. I want you to excel; to excel means comprehending the language of the country where you live.”
This man, whom I hated, I learned to love because of his strictness. He took me under his arms, and I learned to write, speak, and read German fluently, and I am thankful.
The rest of my day:
Two Zoom meetings – one at three pm and one at six pm
I will eat something between those two meetings.
The grocery store I went to had alcohol-free champagne. I love to pour it over frozen fruit and sit back and watch the fire.
I ended my day well yesterday. I’m always happy when I can break a mold of rigidity that has secretly formed in my life and is unknowingly keeping me from who I am. Vulnerability is a trait I desire. It is not something you acquire only once because it consists of different processes. Once you open yourself to vulnerability, you have committed to change whenever you feel stagnation in your routine.
I smiled as I looked at my list of things to do this morning. I have two more important things to do, and I put them at the top of my list.
Get in touch with the person who donated the prize I won for my WEP win.
Do my grocery shopping and go to the bakery.
I’ve changed my journal back to DAY One, and I want to transfer my journal notes from Evernote to DAY One.
Bring in enough wood that will last me until Tuesday for my fireplace.
I’ve already communicated with my developmental coach and will send her the first 10K for the second novel in my series. She is a godsend because I get wild in my writing. I first met her in a class. She was instructing a writing class on Deep Point of View. My first assignment was one I’ll always remember. Oh, did I come away with hurt feelings and pained feet. She had stepped on my toes, but I forced myself to stay in the class. Little did I know that this woman would become a dear friend. Nor did I know then that she was responding to me from a bank as I stood in the middle of a river trying to find my true self in my writing. I see it now, but I didn’t see it then. She was standing there saying let me help you get to where you want to go with your writing. She’s a tough person but has a big heart, and as I look back, I’m thankful I stayed in her class. Thus, today, I’m going to pop two or three bowls of popcorn and continue writing the first draft of my second novel.
Close my day out with some gooseberries and a glass (maybe even two glasses) of dry, red wine from Southern Italy, and look at my fire as my mind roam freely, putting this past week in containers so I can close up shop Saturday evening.
One or two people (possibly more) have asked me questions. I noticed them on my blog but have yet to respond, but I will. I started the week running down the soccer field like a soccer player. It has been a long hard week because the first Wednesday of every month is my blogging cycle for my support group. We have about 140 bloggers that participate, and each member posts a blog article about how they’re doing in the writing world, and we encourage and help where we can. I have been in this group for over ten years. I started at number 179 or 180 on the list. Yesterday, I found out I’d moved up to number 49. The rules are simple. You have to post. If you miss two months of publishing an article, you’re deleted from the group, and the writers move up a step. I have only missed one month of posting in the group, and that was when my husband died. The group leader and the group itself overwhelmed me with love.
Thus, I am juggling a ball between the Challenge and maintaining my commitment to my support group. They depend on me to be there.
I awoke this morning, lay a few minutes longer enjoying my warm bed, and daydreamed. I love my bed. When I crawl between the downy feathered comforter, it doesn’t take me long to fall asleep.
While lying, my list floated across my mind, and I remembered that my grocery shopping and bakery still needed to be done, and I had only one egg in the house. That’s typical of me. If I am working, I don’t usually stop to go grocery shopping. Eating is the last thing on my mind. So it is common for me to have nothing in the house to eat. I cook enough three times a week to eat leftovers the next day after each day of cooking. On Sundays, my best friend and I usually go out to eat. So, I got up, washed up, went to REWE, and bought enough food for breakfast until I cross those two items off my list Saturday.
I’m going to end the article now. I need the time for other things. I visited about 12 or 15 support blogs yesterday, but I usually visit at least 25 blogs, and these people are expecting me.
And I want to visit the blogs of the writers from yesterday who participated in the Challenge.
My list of things to do today includes the following:
Taking the time to daydream and take a nap,
Answering emails and text messages, and,
Sitting before my fireplace.
Maybe, I’ll play my piano, but I’m not sure. I’m working on some blues songs, and I like the discord that I’ve put in the songs, and I need to let this dissonance settle in my gut.
My life flows like a river; that, I believe. I had the privilege of reading a book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi entitled Flow when I attended university. This book has influenced my life ever since. He talks about discovering your flow and how time flies when you move in flow. I began using myself as a trial specimen to determine if his observations were accurate. I am happy to say that they are. I watch the river within me every day, searching for my flow.
I don’t make a year’s plan because I don’t follow them. A month’s plan takes me out of my flow, and believe me when I say there are a lot of events, people, groups, and things that try to distract me. I usually write down a series of things I plan to do during the week, where I can add stuff as I will and put a line through things I have accomplished.
What does this have to do with today?
Well, I had an appointment today with the hairdresser. My hair has been screaming that it needed a hair treatment. My hairdresser is a German woman whom I met four years ago. She was going through a difficult time when I met her. We were in a group in the church study we attended. I felt her desperation and couldn’t ignore it, so I reached out to her. A year later, I chose her to be my hairdresser because I want her to discover the same peace I have and how to protect it by being true to herself.
This morning, after I entered my office, I received a text that she had to postpone the appointment because she had the flu and didn’t want to pass it on to me. I wrote back immediately, letting her know it was no problem. I didn’t mention my hair, but I wrote a prayer for her in the text message and wrote that she should drink thyme tea and peppermint tea and eat tomato soup or chicken noodle soup.
Afterward, I didn’t regret not being able to go to her. Not because she was sick but because I saw clearly that my schedule had been arranged differently than what I had planned, and as I started moving in the way that had opened, I began moving in my flow, and time began to fly.
So today, one of the two groups I have been with for ten years or more has our blogging day. I enjoy this group because they are so different from me, and almost ninety-five percent of the participants are not Romance Novelists. I learned so much by visiting their blogs and leaving comments.
I plan to visit the blogs for the Challenge, leave comments wherever I can, and send out tweets too.
This morning, I awoke. Around 6:30 a.m. I looked at the sky and noticed it was getting brighter. It was no longer the same dark tone hanging over my village, and I said thank you. The days are getting longer second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour.
As it was getting closer to me moving more into my day, my telephone rang at 11:00. I hadn’t reached my cut-off time of 11:30 a.m. so I didn’t answer my phone. I suspected twenty minutes after my phone had rung that it was someone who knew my habits and knew that I would return her call.
I did. This person lost her best friend two weeks before Christmas and needed to talk. Over a year, she has lost her two besties. The first died in 2021; now, her second best friend has left her. I listened. It’s hard to cut someone off when they need something I can give. Even though I am protective of my time, I willingly give it when someone needs help.
This morning has been stressful. Since I have been in my office, I have lost my internet connection four times on my computer and three times upstairs while listening to my ebook during breakfast. In other words, interference is taking place. Most of the time, we get a note written on our screen that the internet connections are unstable. That our Communication Networks have not been stable since May of 2021 bothers me. It used to upset me so much more until I learned how to flow with it.
I’m learning to be more appreciative of all those computer and internet specialists that are walking on this earth.
By the way, the sun is shining here, and I mean brightly shining. It is soooo good to see the sun. We have had some freezing days in Germany. If someone had told me that I would learn to shower and get dressed in a cold bathroom, I would have said no way. But I’ve learned, and it has made me wiser about myself.
I have a lot to do today.
a. Prepare for two writing classes I am taking,
b. Begin a new short story that will complete one I have already written but have yet to be published,
c. Finish up my novel,
d. Answer emails and text messages,
e. Go to the bakery and
f. Write in my diary.
It will probably be 11 p.m. when I have finished, and then I will be ready to crawl into my bed and sleep. So, until tomorrow, I say thank you and good morning or good night in whatever part of the world you’re in.
A DAY IN MY LIFE…
SNIPPETS OF ME By Pat Garcia,
2023 #RRBC 30-Day blogging Challenge
JANUARY 2, 2023
I don’t usually blog about my life. It’s too personal, so I’ve added a subtitle, Snippets of Me, to give you some idea of who I am. As I said on the first page of this website, I’m still discovering myself, and therefore find it presumptuous to talk about who I am when I am unsure.
My day usually starts at 5:30 in the morning. Normally, I’m awake at 5 a.m. and sometimes earlier when I receive parts of a story and start writing at 1 or 2 a.m.
However, sometimes I struggle with unexpected circumstances like crises in the world, and my mind gets bogged. Like a roadblock, these situations hinder me. I start getting up later and have to fight my way back to my routine.
I write and read every single day except Sundays. I have belonged to two organizations since 2012 and 2014, respectively, and I blog with one group once a month and with the other once every two months. That’s enough blogging for me.
For me, it is crucial to start my day off in quietness. I don’t run to WhatsApp, Messenger, or my emails. I answer my phone at 11:30 a.m. Out of respect, I look at my WordPress app to see if a visitor has left a comment on one of my blogs and approve it. But I draw the line after doing that.
JANIE B WINS FIRST EVER MICRO READ CONTEST HELD BY RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB
Hello, Everyone,
This has been a tough year for me. Writers are often affected by what is going on around them. As a writer and an Expatriate living in Europe, the war in Ukraine affected me greatly. Then, the floods came in Ahrtal, and I was devastated by what happened to many Germans. It was heartbreaking. Along with COVID, which had become a household word since 2020, I watched crisis after crisis, sometimes lamed my ability to get words on paper. Yet the creative spirit within me wanted to write, and I kept writing, regardless of the hour. So, I thank you for buying my books and reading what I write. Some of you have left reviews on Amazon and, since November 10th, on other online bookstores where JANIE B is profiled. Your support is much appreciated. Most of all, I praise God, who shows his faithfulness to me as a person He has called to be a writer/author. Without His Spirit, the things that have been accomplished in 2022 would not have happened
So, take care, and I wish all of you a safe crossover into 2023. I personally hope to see you there.
Still, looking for an engaging book for a friend or family member? Please drop into the 2022 RRBC BOOKS &BUDZ HOLIDAY POP-UP BOOKSHOP and check out some of the books for their authors.
Check out FIGS, VINES, and ROSES by Joy M. Lilley, or start reading the Carl Prescott series by Karl J. Morgan.
Or you would like a meaningful story that will teach young people to be careful with the people they trust. In that case, check out Yvette Calleiro and her book, Hype.
What about a book that lifts you or gives you a swift kick to keep going? Check out UNTITLED BY NONNIE JULES.
I hear someone saying they would like to read a good Memoir. Then you’re in the right place, Shirley Harris Slaughter’s new release JOYCE WINIFRED HARRIS BURKES: HOW I REMEMBER MY MAMA or Marian Beamen’s MENNONITE DAUGHTER.
And there are more, Lisa Kirazian, Maura Beth Brennen, Karen Black, John Podlaski, Linnea Tanner, Wanda Fisher, Bette A Stevens, Susanne Leist, Phil Stephens, Patty Perrin, Harriet Hodgson, Gregory Doering, Pamela Schloesser Canepa, and Pat Garcia.
There is a book at this excellent Holiday Pop-UP Bookshop for everyone, and the only thing you have to do is pull up your internet and drop in at 5th ANNUAL HOLIDAY POP-UP.
When you buy a book, remember to mention that you found out about this beautiful Holiday Pop-Up Bookshop on Pat Garcia’s blog posting. Even I might win a prize.
GIVEAWAYS: (3) $10 Amazon gift cardsPlease leave Linda a comment below or anywhere along the tour, for your chance to win one of her awesome giveaways!
BOOK BLURB
What would you do if you were the daughter of a cult hero who boasted a past life full of exciting, colorful exploits? Suppose the thing that made your mother a cult hero was also inside you. Now, imagine spending your whole life trying to hide it—until you shared the heart stopping death of someone close to you. Supposed that death brought you face to face with the gift of the neon houses.
New Chicago and its neighboring town, The Southland, are vastly different worlds in circa 2087, but Dr. Noel Kennedy is an expert at navigating both worlds. As the Deputy Chief of Schools in The Southland, Noel has perfected being a solid, middle-class citizen. Not even her husband, Fredrick Kennedy, truly understands what she is.
When Zarah Fisher, Noel’s young protégé, is murdered on a deserted street in The Southland, Noel knows the exact moment Zarah takes her last breath. Though miles away, Noel feels the girl’s terror, and hears her anguished screams inside her own head because of an inheritance that has left her with extraordinary gifts.
Can Noel find justice for Zarah without risking it all? Murder, mayhem, and suspense abound in this action-packed page-turner. More than a mystery, The Neon Houses thrills the reader with scenes of a futuristic 2087. Autoplanes, body planes, and flying buses are the norm. Robots and androids cook, clean, and serve the affluent, while dystopia lurks just around the corner.
How My Bad Guy Stole the Show
Beta-readers wanted more of my bad guy. These crazy people even suggested that my heroine fall for him in a sick triangle where he’d take her away from her husband. I had to explain romance formula rules. The heroine always, always remains faithful.
I couldn’t have him be more popular than my heroine’s beloved. So, I purposely made the bad guy unattractive. I gave him a large forehead that protruded well over his cosmetically changed, blue eyes—eyes that appeared almost neon against his dark skin color. Even his muscled physique was medically enhanced by body sculpting and not actually working out. Despite that, they loved him.
How did I make him so popular
Before the readers even met him, I had other characters talk about him, setting the stage with ominous anticipation of what he’d be. Characters described him as obnoxious, but not forthright. They neither sympathized nor admired him. He was a heartless, manipulative guy who always acted in his best interest.
I gave him conflicting character traits. He wasn’t honest, but he wasn’t dishonest. He wasn’t murderous, yet he’d kill when he had to or was provoked. He had reasons for who he was, which I buried in a scene that allowed the readers to glimpse his troubled childhood and reveal that childhood to the heroine.
I Had to Become a Bad Guy
Though I patterned my bad guy after actual criminals I’d read about or seen on television, that wasn’t enough. I really got inside his head. I wrote as if I had not been raised by decent parents who’d taught me better.
I asked myself, if I were a criminal, how would I do it? I let my mind go there and the process was interesting. It helped me create a bad guy who was multi-faceted, and I put him right out front because I understood what drove him.
When creating your own bad guy, make sure:
He’s a worthy adversary and smart enough to make your protagonist work
He’s worthy of every scene he’s in. In fact, make him a scene-stealer.
Readers empathize with him, even if they can’t sympathize or condone.
There’s a motivating factor for his bad actions? Revenge and restitution are powerful reasons for taking the law into your own hands.
Excerpt: It was too late for Noel to do anything except fight, and the two men coming toward her were about to get stunned to hell. She knew from practice to wait until she saw the whites of their eyes, but as they approached, she recognized one of them. It was Warren Simpson, and he was smiling.
“Hey, Boss Lady,” he shouted and waved. “I just saved your tail. Now I need you to return the favor.”
Things were getting weird. Noel wanted to aim her stunner at Warren Simpson, but her cousin Charlize was in her head saying, It’s okay, Auntie Joy. He’s safe.
Okay, Charlize, she thought, use your new superpowers, because I’m a little worried.
Noel wasn’t getting out of her car, and she was also keeping her stunner right where it was—inside her pocket, with her finger on the trigger.
“You gonna make me stand out here in this stiff wind?” Warren asked.
He walked around to the passenger side and motioned for Noel to unlock the door. “You’re not scared I’m gonna hurt you, are you?” Warren said as he climbed in beside her.
“I’ve lived a pretty full life,” she said.
Warren laughed. “That’s why I like you, Boss Lady.”
Despite her fear, Noel rolled her eyes at him.
“Noel, Noel, Noel,” Warren said with a shake of his head. “We”—he pointed between the two of them—“are in some serious trouble.”
“What do you mean we?” Noel asked.
“Somebody wants to pin Earl Gibbs’s murder on me, and you put yourself in it when you brought him to my home.”
She could see why he thought she had a part in this, but he did too. “For all I know, you sent your nephew to me. Maybe you had him provoke Earl into declaring his candidacy too soon so you could find out his intentions and kill him,” she said.
They sat in silence for a minute.
Finally, he asked, “Why are you riding around like this is well-to-do Sheridan Road? Gang Territory is dangerous after hours. This isn’t your Reading Night at the Park with all your New Chicago cops to protect you.”
“My kids know me,” she said.
“In the daytime, but not at night. Go home, Noel. You don’t belong here. I’ll leave my guys on you until you’re safe. If anybody trails you tomorrow, I’ll take care of ’em and you won’t even know it.” He flashed a row of gleaming, square white teeth and rolled his genetically modified blue eyes. “Now relax and take your hand off your stunner.”
Noel smiled because she couldn’t think of anything to say.
Simpson chuckled as he opened the car door and climbed from her transpo. His coat flapped in the wind as he saluted her and sauntered away.
AUTHOR BIO
Linda Mims is a writer, a dreamer, and an educator, who hails from a quiet village just south of Chicago. Her stories are mainly about urban characters who are engaged in mystery and mysticism. Her hope is that while entertaining and informing, she’s also sending the message that humans aren’t that different and all each of us want is a better world.
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the AUTHOR’S TOUR PAGE on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. Thanks for supporting this author and her work!
I have taken the WEP Blog Post from their blog that announced my winning the August WEP and posted it here on my blog because I desire to spread the word about this excellent platform for unpublished or published authors.
Below is not only my winner’s post but also the announcement for the upcoming October Challenge.
I sincerely hope I will see you there.
#WEP August 2022 Challenge Moonlight Sonata #Winner Pat Garcia writes her #guestpost – Writing With WEP.
Hi everyone, Denise here!
Pat Garcia won our August Challenge Moonlight Sonata with her stunning #flashfiction, Power of Touch. Those of you who read this amazing story will agree that it was unbeatable.
Badge courtesy of Olga Godim
Our judge Nick Wilford said, Nick said – “Achingly romantic and a testament to the healing power of music. As important to the soul as to the ears.”
Here is an excerpt from the ending:
Abruptly, she slowed the tempo, intentionally allowing herself to hold specific notes sustained, and closed her eyes to enjoy the timbre herself, and she felt Gianluca’s fingers walk across her waistline in beat with the piece as if he were playing the piano himself. She was happy he heard what she heard, albeit with his soul. Thankful that she’d taught him to treasure the power of hearing, not by listening but by perceiving it through touch, she smiled.
~~***~~
WRITING with the WEP
Writing with the WEP is one of my classic writing tools for strengthening my voice, helping me to profile my characters and define my settings. When I started writing with the WEP, I was a passable writer and far from being an author. Although my voice was feeble, I had vision, emotions, and voice. I read craft books, but craft books neglect to tell you that writing is a process, and you won’t get it overnight. Writing is a journey.
It took me walking into a multi-colored diverse world of writers who are excellent at what they write to discover that, and the WEP has become one of the most essential tools I need to grow in my writing. This is one of the reasons I do my best to get around to every story submitted. I learn from the excellence of the author’s Flash. They have already achieved something that I benefit from, whether it is a strong voice, magnificent settings, or outstanding characters. I study how they give their characters life, sink into their locations, and let their stories move me from a surface reading to an in-depth reading of their Flash. When I look back at some of the flashes I submitted in the beginning, I say, O ye… Pat, you have come a long way from your first Flash.
The WEP is competitive. The competition is stiff. However, if you never put yourself out there and compare yourself with some of the best authors/writers around the globe, you will never hone the techniques you have read in the craft books you have, and you’ll never become intimate with the depth of the voice that makes you stand out.
I believe I am one of a tiny minority of Romance writers who participate in the WEP. I don’t know. But what I do know is that my participation in this event has helped me develop characters and settings and strengthen my voice on my writer’s journey, and for that, I am thankful to be a part of this group.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
Thank you, Pat Garcia. We are thankful to have you, too.
And a shout-out for Pat. You can buy Pat’s delightful award-winning short story, Turn the Light On HERE.
THE BLURB:
Meet Della Cartwright. A superstar at what she does professionally, but when the tall, mysterious, Italian stranger, Alessio Terracina, enters her world, she begins to question her judgment and everything about her.
A writer, singer, and musician, Pat Garcia, lives as an Expatriate on the European Continent. She is a voracious reader of literature from all genres and loves knitting, playing chess, playing her piano, and watching Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes films.
A multicultural writer, she writes stories that encapsulate Romance with a mainstream touch, a sense of suspense, and fantasy.
~~***~~
Thank you so much, Pat, for your heartfelt post, and congratulations once again for your winning flash!
Please tweet this post or share it to Facebook or your favorite social media site.
Our next challenge will be here before we know it! We hope many of you will consider joining us for our OCTOBER Halloween Challenge: Thriller.
We remind you: This is the Fear fest Challenge in which we ramp up the spook factor, welcoming your creepiest compositions, your most haunting and haunted tales running the gamut of paranormal, speculative, crime, and horror genres. However, as always, there are no rigid rules. Feel free to write to any genre if those mentioned are not your thing.
And, STOP PRESS! In October, there will be Amazon Gift Cards for the winners.
Here is an early TWEET! Help us promote Creepy October!
Write…Edit…Publish — Online Writing Community: #WEP #October2022 #Thriller challenge. #Prizes for #three #winners. Get your creepy on! #1,000words or less! #flashfiction, #nonfiction #poetry #poetrycommunity Get #feedback from professionals and peers.(Include Thriller badge!)
Marina Antonovna, a Soviet spy, and Mateo Arcusa, an American homicide lieutenant first meet in Cambodia during the Vietnam War as enemies. Fearful that the most powerful man in the Soviet Union, KGB Chairman Vladimir Kurenkov, has ordered her death, Marina risks everything to defect to the United States.
She promises Mateo that her days as an assassin are over. Vladimir is determined to do whatever it takes to bring her back and, by threatening Mateo’s life, forces Marina to break her promise.
Meet the Author: Joylene Nowell Butler
Joylene Butler lives with her husband in the tiny village of Cluculz Lake in central B.C… She is the author of three suspense novels and a contributor to one anthology.
Joy M Lilley is a faithful member of RRBC. She is also an engaging writer who doesn’t mind sharing what is on her heart. It is a pleasure to have her on my blog today.
Drop in and say hello.
Shalom aleichem
Chapter 4 Snippet:
Rose was a married woman who had given birth to eight children, of whom only six had survived; the other two had died soon after they were born. She tried to wear the trousers in the family, which was unusual, as the men were the ones to be obeyed. Hard as she tried, she was not successful in that endeavour, even though her husband stayed out of her way most of the time.
Rose would not be bullied. One day at work, a man came along to give her a hand, and made the mistake of insulting her size. ‘You’re built more like a man than a woman and that is the only reason you got this job in the first place,’ he taunted. She rose to her full height of five feet seven inches and knocked him clean off his feet. As he fell, his head hit the ground and he ended up with a six-inch gash across the back of it.
News of what had happened travelled fast through the factory, and no man ever crossed her again. Most of them were afraid of her after the events of that day and treated her with much respect.When Ralph heard of the incident, he called her into his office, asking what had gotten into her.
JOY M. LILLEY
My pen name is Joy M. Lilley (aka Joy Gerken). I am a writer and have been writing seriously since 2011 with seven books published to date. My previous career was as a trained nurse [R.G.N.] which I loved but it offered little time for me to write until my retirement.
I joined Rave Reviews Book Club(RRBC) almost 6 years ago and have been amazed by the friendship and support offered by all.
FIGS, VINES & ROSES was the first novel produced by me. I paid a considerable sum to have it edited at the time. This proved not to be adequate for a number of reasons. Several folks in RRBC commented about the need for further editing, and when that number reached three people, I felt it necessary to do something about it.
It was recently re-edited by 4WillsPublishing. Nonnie kindly offered to help me with the extra work at zero cost. It’s been re-released on Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats. If you took a stab at the first version, I would appreciate it if you would reach out to Amazon for the updated version and give it another go.
I promote my work via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I also pay for promotion. I am ever grateful for the amazing support given by the members of RRBC. I enjoy audio recording short stories on my advanced home equipment, and I now offer voice-over work through Fiverr.
I first met Jan Sikes when she was a member of the RRBC. To say that she is a fantastic writer is an understatement. What I like about her stories is the intrigue which she breaks down into tiny pieces and feeds to her readers, bit by bit, as if they were pieces of chocolate.
So, welcome, Jan. It is a pleasure to have you here.
Shalom aleichem
Thank you, Pat, for inviting me to your blog site today to talk about my new book, JAGGED FEATHERS! I appreciate your support.
I love playing word games. I have played Words With Friends on my phone since 2014. Creating words out of random letters is fun and exciting to me. But there is another type of word game that’s often used by therapists as a way of getting to know their patients better and by people who simply want to know more about each other while keeping it fun and light.
So in my book, I set a scene where Vann and Nakina played this kind of word game to pass the time but also to learn more about each other.
EXCERPT:
Vann sipped the coffee he’d brought with him from the restaurant, and Nakina stared out the window lost in her thoughts, all the what-ifs, and whys.
She glanced at Vann and wondered if he was doing the same.
“How much longer do you think it will be?”
“No way to know. Once the wreckers get here, they’ll clear the roadway pretty quick.”
“I’m anxious to get there.”
“That makes two of us.” He faced her. “When I was a kid and took road trips with my parents, we’d play games to pass the time. Wanna play?”
She grinned. “Sure. What game?”
“I say a word, and you say whatever comes in your mind first, without thinking. Then you do the same.”
“Okay.”
“Loyal.”
“Champion.”
He laughed. “Your turn.”
“Peace.”
“Nature.”
“Very good,” she said.
They continued tossing words back and forth, and before long a police officer motioned for them and the long line of cars behind them to move into one narrow open lane.
Nakina breathed a sigh of relief. Now maybe there wouldn’t be any more delays. But the word game had served to give her a more intimate look into the man behind Vann Noble.
The unknown lay ahead. But one thing she knew with certainty. Vann would face it with her. She was not alone. That thought brought a blanket of comfort. Somehow, everything had to turn out okay. It just had to.
***Now, it’s your turn. Do you like to play word games? Have you ever played any of the games with your friends such as Cards Against Humanity? They can certainly give you insight into a person’s head. Do you play Words with Friends? Find me. Let’s play!
BOOK TRAILER
BLURB:
Vann Noble did his duty. He served his country and returned a shell of a man, wounded inside and out. With a missing limb and battling PTSD, he seeks healing in an isolated cabin outside a small Texas town with a stray dog that sees beyond his master’s scars. If only the white rune’s magic can bring a happily ever after to a man as broken as Vann.
On the run from hired killers and struggling to make sense of her unexplained deadly mission, Nakina Bird seeks refuge in Vann’s cabin. She has secrets. Secrets that can get them all killed.
A ticking clock and long odds of living or dying, create jarring risks.
Will these two not only survive, but find an unexpected love along the way? Or, will evil forces win and destroy them both?
The Grandma Force is an informal, global, multi-cultural network of grandmothers working singly and together to better the lives of grandchildren.Are you a member of The Grandma Force?
GIVEAWAY: (2) $5 Amazon gift cards
Harriet Hodgson
Author Bio:
Harriet Hodgson has been making books since she was eight years old. In her 43-year career as a freelancer, she has written 44 books and thousands of print/internet articles. Major publishers, such as Warner Books, John Wiley & Sons, and Hazelden, have published her work. Harriet loves writing so much she writes in her sleep.
Becoming the grandmother of twins changed Harriet Hodgson and altered her life course. According to Hodgson, we live in a fast-paced, complex time, a time when too many grandchildren are victims of bullying, Internet scams, and sexual abuse. Hodgson believes that grandmothers are needed today more than any other time in history.
“Grandmas can’t be passive,” she declares. “Every grandma has the power to protect and guide her grandchildren and needs to tap this power.”
This narrative weaves Hodgson’s personal story with research findings. It’s packed with ideas for helping grandchildren. Hodgson’s age, child development degree, life experience, teaching experience, witness to history, and extensive research converge to make this an inspiring read. Working individually and together, grandmas are changing the world.“The Grandma Force is about the power of love and the power of one,” Hodgson says. “One-by-one, grandmas are standing up for grandchildren and creating a hopeful future for them.”
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. Thanks for supporting this author and her work!
I am privileged to be a part of the RAVE WRITERS INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF AUTHORS. I say privilege because that is exactly how I perceive this opportunity.
Some of the best Indie writers I know are a part of RWISA, and we have joined together to contribute to this anthology. What make us so different from others?
Our desire to create stories that touch hearts and challenge the perceptions of people who read what we have to say through the written word.
Watch RWISA Write has some magnificent stories within it. I thank you in advance for your purchase.
If you have ever heard of RWISA, then you know that they are exceptional writers; writers who care deeply about the quality of the work they share with the world, and writers who polish before they publish. That’s RWISA!RWISA writers have the artistic ability to convey information in a flowing and compelling manner that keeps readers engaged and wanting more and more.
In this anthology, you will find a variety of writings from poetry to flash fiction, authored by some of the best writers in the industry. You will bear witness to their talent and also their courage, as they open their hearts and share their most intimate thoughts via the written word.
There is something for everyone in this short collection, and we hope that each piece resonates with that part of your soul receptive to being blindly transported to a private island, where excellence in writing is the law of the sand.
Started out in two thousand and twenty-one with the same dream hovering over me,
A dream that has been gliding above me since I was three years of age.
The dream keeps me…
changing
reflecting
bending
walking
running
and sometimes
stopping,
as I wait at a red light that screams STOP!
Until it turns green again,
So that I may sail or fly to my next destination.
The dream digs out the uneven dark edges of
envy
hatred
jealousy
and pride,
Clothed in
disappointments
setbacks
misunderstandings
failures
defeats
and obstacles.
It removes poisonous arrows, I pointed at others, so that they don’t pivot and bounce back at me.
The dream replaces those poisonous arrows with
humility
kindness
grace
mercy
and love.
It reminds me that nothing grows overnight,
That life is a process,
That maturity comes only through being pressed,
And feeling the pains of growth, not denying them.
Didn’t know in the beginning that dreams deferred don’t die.
They hover in an irresolute state, fluttering over burners waiting to spring into life.
Had no idea that they rose according to my maturity in HIM.
Like beautiful yellow corn, covered in green husks on stalks,
dreams bloom one at a time – at the appointed time.
Never knew that taking one step would lead to another… and another… and another…
As I let the dream wrap me in the swaddling light of its presence.
Never knew that answers lay within my grasp,
That a person’s greatness is determined by their heart attitude,
That self-acceptance brings peace,
That recognition of who you are lies within the faith of knowing who HE is.
Therefore, as we move toward Christmas and afterward toward laying down the mantel of 2021 to put on the coat of 2022, I, Patricia Anne Pierce-garcia Schaack, say thank you. You have followed me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and my blogs, and sent me much encouragement, and I am eternally grateful for your support.
And to my family, which is colorful and multi-international with different languages, and spread-out all-over Europe, the UK, Canada, South Africa, and the United States of America, thanks for hanging in there and being patient with me. It’s meant a lot to me.
Merry Christmas to you all and have a safe crossover into 2022.
Take care, be safe, and I hope to see you next year.
Love y’all.
Shalom aleichem
Pat Garcia
Translation: Wahrlich, ich bin dankbar – Ein Psalm der Dankbarkeit von Pat Garcia
Ich begann das Jahr 2021 mit demselben Traum, der über mir schwebte,
Einem Traum, der über mir schwebte, seit ich drei Jahre alt war.
Der Traum …
… verändert mich
… lässt mich nachdenken
… fordert mich heraus
… lässt mich gehen
… lässt mich laufen
und manchmal hält er mich auf,
während ich auf eine rote Ampel warte, die STOP schreit!
Bis sie wieder grün wird,
Damit ich zu meinem nächsten Ziel fliegen kann.
Der Traum bringt die unebenen dunklen Seiten von
Neid
Hass
Eifersucht
und Stolz hervor.
Eingekleidet in
Enttäuschungen
Rückschlägen
Missverständnissen
Misserfolgen
Niederlagen
und Hindernissen.
Der Traum entfernt giftige Pfeile, die ich auf andere gerichtet habe, bevor sie sich drehen und auf mich zurückprallen.
Der Traum ersetzt diese giftigen Pfeile durch
Demut
Freundlichkeit
Gnade
Barmherzigkeit
und Liebe.
Er erinnert mich daran, dass nichts über Nacht wächst,
dass das Leben ein Prozess ist,
dass man nur reift, wenn man unter Druck geformt wird
und die Schmerzen des Wachstums spürt, anstatt sie zu verleugnen.
Ich wusste anfangs nicht, dass aufgeschobene Träume nicht sterben.
Sie schweben im Ungewissen, sie köcheln auf kleiner Flamme und warten darauf, lebendig zu werden.
Ich hatte keine Ahnung, dass sie umso lebendiger werden, je reifer ich in IHM werde.
Wie schöner gelber Mais, bedeckt mit grünen Spelzen an den Stängeln,
blühen die Träume einer nach dem anderen – zur bestimmten Zeit.
Ich wusste nicht, dass ein Schritt zum nächsten führen würde… und zum nächsten… und zum nächsten…
Während ich zuließ, dass der Traum mich in das Licht Seiner Gegenwart einhüllte.
Ich hätte nie gedacht, dass Antworten in greifbarer Nähe liegen,
Dass die Größe eines Menschen von seiner Herzenshaltung bestimmt wird,
Dass Selbstakzeptanz Frieden bringt,
Dass man erkennt, wer man ist, wenn man weiß, wer ER ist.
Während wir uns also auf Weihnachten zubewegen und danach den Mantel des Jahres 2021 ablegen, um den Mantel des Jahres 2022 anzuziehen, sage ich, Patricia Anne Pierce-Garcia Schaack, danke. Ihr seid mir auf Facebook, Instagram, Twitter und in meinen Blogs gefolgt, habt mir viel Zuspruch gegeben und ich bin euch unendlich dankbar für eure Unterstützung.
Und meiner bunten multinationalen Familie, die viele Sprachen spricht und über ganz Europa, Großbritannien, Kanada, Südafrika und die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika verstreut ist, danke ich dafür, dass ihr durchgehalten habt und geduldig mit mir wart. Das hat mir sehr viel bedeutet.
Ich wünsche euch allen frohe Weihnachten und einen sicheren Jahreswechsel.
Passt auf euch auf, seid vorsichtig, und ich hoffe, wir sehen uns nächstes Jahr wieder.
When TURN THE LIGHT ON first came out, I had no idea it would cause a stir in the literary world. I had worked on that short story for several years, seven to be exact, and I sent it off to be edited.
After the edited manuscript returned to me, I went about self-publishing it. This brings me to my second short story, A SHARED DREAM. I didn’t heed to one of my own principles. I didn’t send it off to be edited. If I had, I would have saved myself the heartache and not have had to backtrack by having the book edited and collaborating over what kind of book cover I desired.
It took one review from a reader, who I am very thankful to, to open my eyes to the fact that the cover did not coincide with the content. I am grateful for her honesty, and after I compared the book cover with the content and stepped outside of the realm of my little world, I saw exactly what she meant. It was then my desire to bring A SHARED DREAM, which has now been renamed to LET HIS BANNER OVER ME BE LOVE, up on the same level as TURN THE LIGHT ON.
If I can’t read my own work without flinching, there is a problem. I want to give the people who read my books a quality read with moments of enjoyment, although they might not always agree with the topics I’ve woven into a story.
Therefore, I announce today that LET HIS BANNER OVER ME BE LOVE, which was previously, A SHARED DREAM, is now newly edited and has a new book cover on AMAZON. It is a book I highly recommend reading.
The story is offered world-wide on all Amazon Outlets. I have supplied the USA link below.
I am a proud member of the RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB and for the next 48 hours (11/15 through 11/17) there is a $25 discount on any membership tier when you join the club!
We aren’t just an organization where you add your name to our roster, and then you disappear. We are the club that supports our members in numerous ways! Here are just a few…
-We purchase, read, and review our fellow member books that are listed in the catalog.
-We promote our fellow members and their books on social media, just as hard as we promote ourselves.
-We promote our members with interviews via our RAVE WAVES Talk Radio Shows for RRBCmembers only. Books are always being purchased during those interviews!
-We keep our fellow members lifted and promoted even when they can’t promote themselves (in the event of personal emergencies, illness, etc.)
-We have a hard-working Tweet Support Team, promoting our members and their books daily.
-At RRBC, we believe that “each one should teach one,” therefore, we don’t compete against each other. We lift as we climb.
There are so many more awesome ways that being a member of RRBC has benefitted me and I would love to share them all with you. Have questions? Just ask me!
RRBC is fun place to belong! We’re not just about books. We’re also about making beneficial connections and lifelong friendships!
Today, Monday, 11/15 through Wednesday, 11/17 are our Recruitment Days and when you join, please list my name on your membership application as the person who referred you, as I’ll get a special prize! You can join here > RaveReviewsBookClub.wordpress.com/rrbc-join-renew
If you have specific questions regarding membership, please reach out to Paula, our Club Personal Asst! She’s awesome!
I hope to see you on the other side of membership soon and your books in the catalog!
Thank you for sharing this page to your social media platforms for me!
GIVEAWAY: $25 Amazon Gift Card & 1 e-book or paperback copy of one book in the Haunted Shores series (Winner’s choice). Simply leave a comment below for your chance to win!
WORDS STILL MATTER
Words still matter. Perhaps, now more than ever.
What we say and what we write carries weight, makes a difference. A few words from a president can set off alarm bells. A phrase from the fed chairman can make the stock market soar or ignite a selling spree. And it’s not just the words of major players. Dangerous misinformation shared on social media platforms actually cost lives.
Our words can wound or heal, can obscure or reveal. We’ve learned long ago the saying, sticks and stones can break out bones, but words can never hurt us, is clearly not true.
Words matter, still.
So when I set off to write my novels, I pay special attention to my words…and what I choose to write about. I’m not naïve. I realize readers pick up my Haunted Shores Mysteries looking for puzzling whodunits or perhaps hoping to get away to one of my incredible locations or even to experience a little “who-hoo.”
But my novels are about more than cold case murders, a ghost or two, a thread of romance or even breathtakingly beautiful resorts. I’m also careful to structure my narrative to tell a larger truth. A truth about us, about our society, about how we treat each other. In the first two entries, my plots entwined with the issues of racial injustice (BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE) and human trafficking (CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY).
In the third installment, SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER, I have my sights set on an equally compelling social issue, one not very well understood by most Americans. As Darrell tries to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of two young Latino children, he is thrust in the middle of our “immigrant problem,” as they might say on the news. As I completed my research for this novel, which takes place more than twenty years earlier, I was amazed how little has changed on this issue. As a nation we’re still struggling today much the same way we were in 2000 with how we deal with “the hungry, the poor, yearning to be free” as is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.
My words are not intended to persuade anyone. Rather, like my efforts in CRIMSON about human trafficking, I’m hoping my writing may cause readers to pause and want to learn more, this time about the plight of migrant workers—and not simply accept the soundbites about the issues on TV or social media.
I hope my words matter.
“One thing that is particularly special about Overbeck’s books is that they unabashedly tackle social issues within their plots. Already having discussed racism and human trafficking in his first two books, “Scarlet at Crystal River” once again forces readers to confront a particularly pervasive and dangerous social issue. This book, in particular, touches upon the dangers of racism and xenophobia, as well as emphasize the often-ignored plights of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who are the reason we are able to have such a variety of fruits, vegetables and other resources in our daily lives.”—ReaderViews
Bio
Dr. Randy Overbeck is an award-winning educator, author and speaker. As an educator, he served children for four decades in a range of roles captured in his novels, from teacher and coach to principal and superintendent. His thriller, Leave No Child Behind (2012) and his recent mysteries, the Amazon No. 1 Best Seller, Blood on the Chesapeake,Crimson at Cape May and Scarlet at Crystal River have earned five star reviews and garnered national awards including “Thriller of the Year–ReadersFavorite.com, “Gold Award”—Literary Titan, “Mystery of the Year”—ReadersView.com and “Crowned Heart of Excellence”—InD’Tale Magazine. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop. When he’s not writing or researching his next exciting novel or sharing his presentation, “Things Still Go Bump in the Night,” he’s spending time with his incredible family of wife, three children (and their spouses) and seven wonderful grandchildren.
All Darrell Henshaw wanted was to enjoy his honeymoon with his beautiful wife, Erin, in the charming town of Crystal River on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida. Only a pair of ghosts decide to intrude on their celebration. And not just any ghosts, the spirits of two young Latino children. Unwilling at first to derail the honeymoon for yet another ghost hunt, Darrell finally concedes when a painting of the kids comes alive, weeping and pleading for his help.
When he and Erin track down the artist, they discover the children’s family were migrant workers the next county over. But when they travel there, their questions about the kids gets their car shot up and Erin hospitalized. Torn between fear and rage, Darrell must decide how far he will go to get justice for two young children he never even knew.
Tagline
Darrell and Erin thought they were heading to Florida for a carefree honeymoon, but the ghosts of two immigrants children haunt them, pleading for help.
Trailer
Review Blurbs
“Scarlet at Crystal River is an eerie paranormal mystery I couldn’t stop reading. Randy Overbeck is a masterful writer of the paranormal, drawing the reader in before instilling shivers down the spine. 5+ stars.” –N. N. Light’s Book Heaven
“A rollercoaster of a mystery, hurtling up and down hills and sharp corners until the very end, when the reader is left slightly breathless, waiting for their hearts to beat back to a normal rhythm.★★★★★—ReadersView
“Scarlet at Crystal River is a suspenseful paranormal novel with compelling characters and an enigmatic mystery that drives the story to a riveting conclusion. Overbeck is a master at building tension–-this is easily a one-sitting read.”★★★★★—Literary Titan
“This is another masterpiece from Randy Overbeck. His excellent writing style has left me speechless for one more time. He writes in a way that makes you feel what the characters feel and you have no choice but to partake in the journey with them.” ★★★★★—Ioanna’s Reviews, Greece
My main intention with A Gost and His Gold was to describe the events and circumstances of the Second Anglo Boer War which resulted in the anger and resentment that remained among the different cultures and populations after the war and set the stage for the future of South Africa.
Gold, and people’s desire for wealth, is a repeated theme of this book and is included in the title, together with ghost as this book is historical but has a strong supernatural thread.
I had the general themes for A Ghost and His Gold in place prior to starting the writing of this book and I expanded them as it progressed. The main themes are as follows:
The impact of greed and corruption on countries and people;
Bad decision making and their effect on soldiers and civilians;
Evil perpetuating the development of hatred and evil;
The effect of war on the political and social development of a country;
The individual mindset versus the group mentality including pro-war propaganda;
Death; and
The reality of war
This is an extract from one of the war scenes during the siege of Mafeking which illustrates some of these themes:
“The stench of sweat and tension hung in the air as the camp waited silently and watchfully in the cold. My taut nerves made me certain that vengeful eyes were watching us from the cover of the surrounding vegetation. I twisted my head this way and that, looking for any signs of movement in the heavy darkness. I saw nothing. The only sounds were the heavy breathing of my comrades and the crunch of hard ground as they shuffled their feet.
At 4.30 a.m. the bark of the first gun rent the cold early morning air. It was still dark, and the flash shone brightly, momentarily dazzling us. Shells from the 7-pounders followed, soaring through the air and exploding around the target in brilliant flaming balls.
“The railway line’s been pulled up about half a mile from here.”
The news travelled along the lines of men, just as C Squadron prepared to charge forward.
“The armoured train isn’t coming.”
I watched C Squadron surge forward as a mass, each man focusing on his own steps, knowing that if he fell, he would be trampled by those coming afterwards.
This is it, I thought as my men readied themselves to follow. There is no flight option left. Now we must fight to win or be slaughtered like pigs.
I ran, legs pumping and bayonet held at the ready, to the discordant notes of the supporting artillery guns and the Maxim which intensified the din and swirled around me like an insane orchestra. I was conscious of the men of my squadron around me, as well as those of C Squadron about three hundred yards ahead of me.
A great surge of comradery surged through me as these men, my brotherhood, charged forward through the smoke, directly into a hail of bullets from the Boer musketry. Death seemed certain, but, at this precise moment, this did not matter to me; a cloud of red anger and lust for blood having descended over my mind.
The anger prevented fear and grew in its intensity as the occasional figure, including that of Captain Fitzclarence, dropped around me in small explosions of red.
C Squadron reached the fort, which was hidden by bushes, and the guns roared; the sound of the discordant orchestra growing and swelling. My men and I slowed our forward momentum as we watched more ghostly forms falling, to lie in ghastly bleeding piles on the ground.
The few men still standing started to fall back, shouting at my squadron to follow suit.
“The walls are too high … Impossible to mount without scaling ladders.”
Their shouts filled the air, mingling with the gunfire and moans, groans and cries of the wounded.
One of my men, William, and I picked up Captain Fitzclarence as we slowly and deliberately retraced our steps. The blood lust had faded from the men’s eyes and their moods had turned sullen. Expressions of dejection had settled on some faces.
The Boers stopped their fire as soon as the retreat commenced, and the resultant silence felt heavy on me, like a shroud. This behaviour by the Boers reinforced my belief that they are decent men. They could have picked a lot more of us off during this retreat if they’d kept shooting.
Moving backwards, lugging the heavy body, was immeasurably hard. My overtaxed leg and back muscles trembled, and my sweat slicked hands slipped and slid under the captain’s arms. I expelled a huge sigh of relief when William and I were finally able to lay our burden down at a designated spot near to the stranded armoured train. My legs refused to hold me up any longer and I sank to my knees.
That was when I noticed the blood. A bullet had grazed my chest and I hadn’t even noticed. Blood had stained my shirt and was running down into my trousers. It was strange how the moment I saw the blood immense pain seared the right hand side of my chest. It was like being slammed with a club.”
GIVEAWAYS: (4) e-book copies of A GHOST AND HIS GOLD
BOOK BLURB:
After Tom and Michelle Cleveland move into their recently built, modern townhouse, their housewarming party is disrupted when a drunken game with an Ouija board goes wrong and summons a sinister poltergeist, Estelle, who died in 1904.
Estelle makes her presence known in a series of terrifying events, culminating in her attacking Tom in his sleep with a knife. But, Estelle isn’t alone. Who are the shadows lurking in the background – one in an old-fashioned slouch hat and the other, a soldier, carrying a rifle?After discovering their house has been built on the site of one of the original farms in Irene, Michelle becomes convinced that the answer to her horrifying visions lie in the past. She must unravel the stories of the three phantoms’ lives, and the circumstances surrounding their untimely deaths during the Second Anglo Boer War, in order to understand how they are tied together and why they are trapped in the world of ghosts between life and death. As the reasons behind Estelle’s malevolent behaviour towards Tom unfold, Michelle’s marriage comes under severe pressure and both their lives are threatened.
AUTHOR BIO:
Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Roberta Eaton Cheadle is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has short stories and poems in several anthologies and has 2 published novels, Through the Nethergate, a historical supernatural fantasy, and A Ghost and His Gold, a historical paranormal novel set in South Africa.
Roberta has 9 children’s books published under the name Robbie Cheadle.
Roberta was educated at the University of South Africa where she achieved a Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1996 and a Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1997. She was admitted as a member of The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2000.
Roberta has worked in corporate finance from 2001 until the present date and has written 7 publications relating to investing in Africa. She has won several awards over her 20-year career in the category of Transactional Support Services.
“Overbeck enchants readers with his picturesque details about a remarkable old town and keeps them on the edge of their seats with unpredictable plot twists.”–ReadersView
My series is called the Haunted Shores Mysteries for good reason. For my stories, the setting ranks up there in importance with interesting characters and a twisty whodunit puzzle. In some ways the setting comes first and defines each tale. I work hard to craft a narrative and choose a social issue that exudes organically from this specific setting of my books.
BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE, the first entry in the series, takes place on the beautiful, scenic Eastern Shore, home to memorizing sunsets and some of the best sailing around.
Amidst this natural grandeur, the area and the people struggle with a dual personality, part New England culture and part still stuck in a southern (as in Confederate) past. This dichotomy is one of the aspects that makes the Eastern Shore so interesting and made it the perfect location for my mystery about a young man who is murdered as a result of bigotry and prejudice.
The setting for my second novel in the series, CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY, was chosen with just as great a care. I found Cape May to be the perfect locale for my tale of a bride slain on her wedding night, her murder tied to an even more heinous crime, human trafficking. With its prime location near the New Jersey and Pennsylvania turnpikes, Cape May has easy access to major shipping routes in the Northeast for all kinds of commerce—including the illicit varieties. And it is one incredible resort. On the Shore side, the town boasts one of the most beautiful beaches on the East Coast, the most impressive collection of Victorian architecture this side of the country and a storied, one-hundred-fifty-year old history as a go-to resort.
And for the pièce de résistance, that is, the Haunted part, Cape May is recognized as the most haunted seaport on the East Coast.
All in all, I believe, a perfect setting for my ghost story/mystery. But readers are the best judge.
Here are a few of their comments.
“Sooo atmospheric. Cape May, with its history and Victorian mansions, has no end of ghostly stories. And the Haunted Bride is a doozy.”—V. Williams, an Amazon reader
“I enjoyed Mr. Overbeck writing style, and I could easily visualize the scenes through his detailed descriptions. I definitely recommend this book. Five stars!”—another Amazon reader
“The hauntings were very descriptive, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading these scenes. There’s immense research involved here which I appreciate. Randy Overbeck’s writing style is stark yet descriptive.”—N.N. Light, an Amazon reader and reviewer
“Henshaw’s character is immediately interesting, and his surroundings are so well described that the story is for me, completely believable.”—Goodreads reader and reviewer
INCREDIBLE SALE!
There is an unbelievable but true sale on the entire Haunted Shores Mysteries series! BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE-$.99, CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY–$1.99, SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER (pre-publication price)—$2.99.
For all of you who don’t know him, here is a lovely bio of Author Randy Overbeck, along with a excellent Blurb over his book, CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY
Dr. Randy Overbeck is an award-winning educator, author and speaker. As an educator, he served children for more than three decades in a range of roles captured in his novels, from teacher and coach to principal and superintendent. His thriller, Leave No Child Behind (2012) and his recent mysteries, the Amazon and B & N No. 1 Best Seller, Blood on the Chesapeake and Crimson at Cape May have earned five star reviews and garnered national awards including “Thriller of the Year–ReadersFavorite.com, “Gold Award”—Literary Titan, “Mystery of the Year”—ReadersView.com and “Crowned Heart of Excellence”—InD’Tale Magazine. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop. When he’s not writing or researching his next exciting novel or sharing his presentation “Things Still Go Bump in the Night,” he’s spending time with his incredible family of wife, three children (and their spouses) and seven wonderful grandchildren.
BLURB—CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY
No matter how far you run, you can never really escape a haunted past.
Darrell Henshaw—teacher, coach, and paranormal sensitive—learned this lesson the hard way. With his job gone and few options, he heads for Cape May to coach a summer football camp. The resort town, with gorgeous beaches, rich history and famous Victorian mansions, might just be the getaway he needs. Only, no one told him Cape May is the most haunted seaport on the East Coast. One resident ghost, the Haunted Bride, stalks Darrell, begging for his help.
He can’t refuse. Joining forces with Cassie, a street-wise teen and another sensitive, he investigates the bride’s death and discovers her murder is connected to a far greater horror. But can Darrell and Cassie expose those behind the crimes before they end up being the killer’s next victims?
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit theauthors’ tour pageon the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please clickHERE. Thanks for supporting this author and hiswork!
Hello Everyone, I am attending the RRBC’s 6th Annual Writers’ Conference and Book Expo. I am having a blast. Drop-in or come-in and join in on the fun. I hope to see you there. Shalom aleichem,
There are so many benefits to attending Writers’ conferences. They offer writers the opportunity to get to know and relate to others, and the RRBC’s 6th Annual Writers’ Conference & Book Expo, is no exception. Here you will meet new people, greet old friends, and get acquainted with the latest works by authors you know and love to read.
There will be games, prizes, surprises, and other goodies, so be sure to visit each Author Booth, take a look around, then leave a comment for your chance to win each Author Booth’s door prize!
There is a Scavenger Hunt Game to play, a 2 Truths & a Lie Game to play, and more! In each Author Booth, you will find a clue, and if you find the correct answer to all the clues and are the first to submit your answers, you could be the winner of an awesome prize!
Of course, we’ll have our READING ROOM open, and one of our members is going to blow you away showcasing their talent!
If you’re into BINGO, purchase your BINGO cards and join us for a game or two!
And what we all wait for every year – our RAFFLE! Yes, each year, we raffle off (7) $100 Amazon gift cards, and this is open to the public, so go on and snag your tickets today! Raffle tickets are only $5! How awesome would that prize be? Some of them also include additional goodies like other gift certificates, ebooks, and more! Enter for your chance to win one or more of these $100 Amazon gift card gift baskets. The more tickets you buy, the greater your chances of winning. (Please do not purchase more than 7 tickets).
This year for the first time ever, we’ve added our BEST BOOK COVER CONTEST! This contest is open to the general public, so go ahead and enter your book cover(s) now! Share your comments with us, and let us know which one you think is best!
Don’t forget the venue opens at 5 PM(CST) TODAY. We hope to see you there! In the event of minor time delays, please check the sidebar of the RRBC website for updates.
As they say in the Deep South, I’ll see y’all there!
Sir Chocolate Books – Sir Chocolate and the baby cookie monster story and cookbook
(7) Paperback copies / 1 of ea book in the series(2) 15 Amazon gift cards Please leave Robbie a comment anywhere along the tour for your chance to win one of these awesome prizes.
This is my favourite of the Sir Chocolate books to date because I think it is the most imaginative. I love the idea of a runaway toddler who needs help finding his mother. The baby cookie monster has a body made from a wedge of shortbread and long nose with a serrated edge that he uses to cut chunks out of the houses in Chocolateville.
“His body was shaped like a shortbread wedge, He had a long nose with a jagged edge, For cutting food into bite sized squares, He looked like something out of nightmares.”
Of course, the villages are devastated to wake up one morning and find their grass flattened and their houses and walls damaged by the baby cookie monster, but Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet know his is just a baby who needs his mother. With the help of the vanilla fudge bird, Mother Cookie Monster is found, and to her great joy, her baby is returned to her.
How to make a fondant and Easter egg panda bear
You will find the step-by-step instructions on Youtube here:
OR
You can download a PDF of the step-by-step instructions here:
Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet find a lost baby cookie monster. Join them on an adventure to return the baby to its mother and learn how to make some of their delicious recipes at the same time.
AUTHOR BIO:
Robbie Cheadle is a children’s author and poet.
The Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie has also published books for older children which incorporate recipes that are relevant to the storylines.
To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site. If you’d like to schedule your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE. Thanks for supporting this author and her work!
Thank you for dropping by. Robbie appreciates it, and so do I.
Hello Everyone, I am being featured at the Writer’s Treasure Chest by Aurora J Alexander.
A.J. and I got to know one another when she was living in Switzerland. We had many opportunities to get together and discuss the craft of writing. She lives on the Pacific Coast now, and I, for one, miss her. A.J., thank you for inviting me. Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
P.S. I have closed the comments on this post and have put the link to the blog post on Writers Treasure Chest below. Thank you for dropping by her blog.
At the age of eight, I wrote and established my first newspaper in our dinky little neighborhood. Staff members-one person. Me.
Being without a typewriter, I wrote it by hand. Personal computers were a thing of the future. I didn’t tell my parents about it. I desired to spotlight the positive changes in my community and give what I used to call the other people a different light on how they perceived black people. It was a fact that when we made the news, that meant we had done something wrong and was going to jail.
To get writing materials, I went door to door selling the paper to my neighbors. I charged twenty-five cents a piece for each edition.
When my parents finally found out about it through a neighbor who was bragging to them about my inquisitiveness and my ideas, needless to say, they were furious, and I received a spanking that I haven’t forgotten until this day. But, on the other hand, my parents were concerned and worried about what would happen to me if I kept thinking about things that I wasn’t supposed to think about.
Let us fast forward to two thousand and twenty-one. The dream deferred at eight has awoken. It has taken some years. I’ve had to slow my pace when I didn’t want to and quicken the pace when I had found something I like and had no desire to move on. But, the dream was still there. It was deferred but incubating.
Today, I am happy to say I have the privilege to work with THE PIPELINE Magazine and with the woman who has made this magazine what it is today, Nonnie Jules. Beside her is her very talented Editor, Karen Black, and a lady we all admire whom we call Lady Harriet, Harriet Hodgson, with her own personal column. To work with these three has opened doors that fascinate me and extend my writing ability.
I thank God that my deferred dream of writing for a magazine has exploded into something beautiful years later. THE PIPELINE is an RRBC Monthly Publication and can be read by all. The link for the June issue is posted below.
I seem to have disappeared after my book release, but I haven’t. I have been taking classes, writing feverishly on five submissions for writing contests, and preparing my marketing plan for Turn The Light On so that I could get it into motion. There were many things that I had to learn also about YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook that I hadn’t known before the book was published, and I have had fun learning these things most of the time.
Today, I am revealing the book trailer for Turn The Light On. Many thanks to 4WillsPublishing. They have been marvelous in setting my desires into the type of book trailer I wanted to have.
I am smiling because I know how customer desires can frustrate a creative department. My wishes were on a very long list of what I wanted to happen, and each one was taken very seriously by 4WillsPublishing. They jumped right in the boat with me. It reminded me of the concerts I give here. My musicians jump in the boat with me, which is one reason my stage appearances are successful. And so it was with 4WillsPublishing. They stepped in the boat with me. For that, I am grateful.
I hope you have enjoyed the above Book Trailer Clip. It is my first one, and it is very special to me.
Nicole Souza has released her new book, Sins of Our Mothers and I have the privilege of interviewing her. Join me as Nicole talks about how she approaches her writing.
Welcome Nicole. It is indeed an honour to have you on my blog. First, tell us,
Why did you select to write about babies that were disabled, handicapped or had some kind of debilitating disease?
In the novel, the notion that the children at the Defect Research Center are defective, which in this world suggests they didn’t develop correctly or fully in the pod (artificial womb), is actually a coverup for the truth that the children being researched are male. In the world of Sins of Our Mothers, only women exist. They know nothing of any other sex or type of human within their species. They’re taught in school that Mother Earth (the deity in the story) creates the “seeds of life” that bequeath posterity to all living things, including humans/women.
Between now and fifteen hundred years in the future when the story takes place, women seized control of the government, all scientific research, and education. In order to establish world peace, they had to erase the existence of men who ruled unjustly from the beginning of time. They accomplished this by removing them from society, keeping them contained in remote settlements around the globe, and harvesting their sperm for IVF-style pod impregnation. They created a fictional story around this to convince future women the seeds that fertilized their eggs simply came from special plants in the earth.
Of course, to maintain this façade, they still needed women’s pods to bear male children for sperm production. Part of the lie they created is that any child born with a male body simply didn’t develop correctly in the pod and needs to be sent into research where they can be raised and controlled by the government. Instead of being labeled male, those children are labeled defective.
How long did it take you to create a world around your protagonist and antagonist?
From the first draft to publication was around eight years. It was especially tricky to get the antagonist just right. In this particular story, the antagonist is not only the mighty military general, Sarah Love, and other women in power, it’s also a concept, a theory, a political philosophy.
The protagonist, Lyratelle Faith, is a hyper-observant woman with a particular appreciation for, and devotion to, truth and agency. Her enemies are anyone forcing onto her and those she loves beliefs contrary to those she most cherishes, as well as any philosophy that preaches something other than truth and agency as the primary pillars of excellence.
In past drafts, Lyratelle faced a variety of antagonists. Those portrayed in the final version of the book are the ones I felt best balanced the need for both human and theoretical antagonists. But, man, did it take time for me to get it right!
3. Does any of the book relate to your own life experiences?
In college, I made an astounding observation: nearly all my straight, married girlfriends, and those with a live-in boyfriend, were the sole providers in their relationships. This alone wasn’t all that strange. What was strange was that every single friend in this situation told me their husband or boyfriend was profoundly unhappy and had developed at least one addiction that was affecting their relationship. Though all relatively close to my age, these weren’t just friends here in the states. These were women of multiple ethnicities and cultures.
Some spoke English, some didn’t. Some had children, some didn’t. Some were students, some had mortgages, some were renting. Some lived with parents or in-laws. The one thing they all had in common was an unemployed adult man depending on their salary. The most bizarre detail was that not one of the women with children depended on her partner for childcare, even though he was home all day. They either relied on relatives or paid for professional childcare. They all blamed their partner’s addictions.
The men’s addictions ranged from simple things like alternate realities to more intense things like pornography and even detrimental things like alcohol and destructive drugs. Some of the men were students. Some were college graduates, some high school graduates. All had essentially disappeared from their families, their communities, and society—a trend I began to notice extended far outside my circle of contacts.
While several of these couples split or divorced, many pulled through and have progressed together. The fact that so many people precious to me—wonderful, intelligent people—intersected in this weird place all at once felt significant. I remember thinking, “These women literally do everything. They could just remove the men and their lives would remain the same, but without the stress of supporting a grown man and his addictions. All women really need from men is their sperm, right? Aside from that, are men even necessary?”
Settlement 1163 in the novel represents the struggles of these men and others I’ve met since. Lilac City, where the women live, represents those and all women who bear and raise their children, as well as support their families, alone. While the burden of supporting men in their homes is gone, they still, unknowingly, support the men in the settlements through taxes. But the emotional burden of feeling like they do everything alone doesn’t exist in the book because the only world the characters know is a completely female one.
The first draft of Sins of Our Mothers sent me on an arduous journey where I discovered for myself that, not only are men necessary, but masculinity is infinitely more valuable than those currently in power would have us believe. There’s a lot of talk nowadays about toxic masculinity. What’s not being talked about is how essential masculinity is to a free, successful, harmonious society. If we’re to live truly free, achieve our potential as the twenty-first century generation of the human family, and ensure future generations can liberally pursue happiness, we need good men.The final draft of the book is, I hope, a depiction of what I learned along that journey
Nicole, you have mentioned so many things that has created within me a desire to read your book. It sounds very engaging. I thank you also for the excerpt that I will post at the end of our discussion. Let’s take a few minutes to talk about your writing habits.
Book Cover
Some writers write in the morning, others at night, and then others in the afternoon. When do you take the time to write?
I wish I could say I get up early, go for a jog, and get my writing done in the morning. Alas, I’m a sluggish, lifelong insomniac, so I write most productively in the evening or at night. I typically collect my thoughts throughout the day, making a mental outline of what I’ll work on. Finally, when my body and mind are fully awake several hours in, I sit and focus on getting those thoughts written down. This usually lasts well into the night. In fact, the only times I do write in the morning are when I notice the sunrise lighting my window and tell myself it’s time to stop and go to bed.
Is it important for you to write every day? And if it is, why is it important?
Writing every day is a lofty goal. While I do try to dedicate time each day to honing the craft, resetting my mind and eyes is essential to completing any project. Sometimes, after distancing myself from a project for a few days, I’m able to see much better where it’s lacking. If I’m truly dedicated to telling a story, a day or two of rest doesn’t set me back. I’ve found rest actually propels me forward.
I strive to always have a side project to work on. That way, I can write a little without the pressure of getting it just right and simply enjoy the practice. I’ve written a few one-draft short stories with a specific reader in mind. When finished, I send the story to the muse knowing they’ll get some enjoyment out of it. Et voila! I’ve met my goal for the day.
I never beat myself up for missing a day. Writing can’t become a chore. If it starts to weigh me down, I step back, and reevaluate where I’ve got it wrong. Often, the answer is to give it a few days, work on myself for a bit, and dive back in when the time is right.
Let’s talk about your writer’s voice. How did you develop it? Did it matter to you to find your own voice?
Having my own writer’s voice is important to me. I don’t want to sound like another author. Though being able to imitate the greats would be an accomplishment of sorts, it wouldn’t be my accomplishment. Writing, for me, isn’t like being a classical concert pianist. I don’t want my recitals to be the same songs, played with the same techniques, audiences have been listening to for centuries. Yes, they can still enjoy and be moved by those songs, but the performer has to produce the joy the audience feels. And I find more joy in creating something completely new than trying to redo what others have done.
That’s not to say I’m not often tripped up by clichés and lazy writing. I do occasionally find myself using expressions past writers popularized. It’s challenging to freshly express a common feeling or reaction. It’s also not to say I don’t recognize and appreciate those who blazed the trail for stories to be told so easily nowadays. All writers today stand on the shoulders of giants.
I’m still developing my writer’s voice. As I engage in projects of varying genres and points of view, I typically struggle to hear myself at the start. As I get going, I discover ways to showcase the unique qualities of my writing. It’s such an awesome moment when you see both story and storytelling becoming completely yours.
I’ve learned to patiently allow myself as many failures as it takes to get it right, and inch along. There’s a critic around every corner, ready and anxious to tell us where we got it wrong. It’s up to us, individually, to track how far we’ve come, to remind ourselves how far back we started, and how much we can still improve. Maximum potential is never reached without growing pains.
How do you get to know your own characters? Do you write out a character profile or do you just start writing?
For me, character development is the most fun, yet daunting, aspect of storytelling. In the beginning, I just started writing. As the first draft of the novel developed, I learned I needed a system to help me get to know the characters better. I often didn’t know how one would react in a scene, what they would say, or what they even believed. To assist my chaotic brain, I developed a system I call SPEMPARFS, an acronym for: spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, psychological, artistic, romantic, financial, and social.
This is in order of importance as I like to get to know my characters in a certain way. That doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes know a character’s physical traits or financial status first, it just means when fleshing out a character, this works great for me.
I begin with a character’s spirituality because it will tell me more about them than anything else and inform other attributes. I end with their social life because that’s when I’m ready to have them interact with other characters. Knowing their social status and personality helps a ton with dialogue! Most importantly, I can establish how that character is viewed by other characters, and how she views them.
Here are a few questions I ask myself in each category when developing a character:
Spiritual: What are the character’s fundamental beliefs? Is she steady in them or figuring them out? Is her spirituality relevant to the story? What aspects of her belief system need to be included? How do her beliefs inform her behavior? What’s her inner drive? Does that change throughout the story? What deities exist in her world? What’s her relationship to them?
Physical: What does she look like? How tall is she? What is she physically capable of? Does she struggle with her health? What scenes will showcase her physical abilities or lack thereof? Does she have a healthy relationship to food? Does her physical health inform any talents? What are her physical goals? What color are her eyes and hair? Does she have any scars? How did she get them? What’s her lineage and ethnicity? Do her reproductive organs function well? How does her menstrual cycle affect her?
Emotional: Establish a default emotional state. What sets her off? What excites her? What makes her cry? Does she cry often? Does she struggle to express emotion? Does emotion drive most of her choices? Does she have control of herself? Is she balanced? Temperate? Which are her most common emotions? What’s her typical daily mood and what most often changes it?
Mental: Is she formally educated? What did she study? Is she street smart? Does she speak more than one language? Is she a good teacher? Does she thirst for knowledge? Does she care how the world works? Is technology important to her? If the story is fantasy, and school as we know it doesn’t exist, what programs helped her gain knowledge and experience? Is she a master in those? Did she fall below average?
Psychological: Is this character straightforward? Manipulative? What mental illnesses run in her family? What about her past informs her psyche? Is she stable in relationships? Confident? What comforts her when scared or alone? Can she be trusted with the tasks required to reach the story’s end goal? Could her psychological struggles become strengths used to achieve her goals? What terrifies her?
Artistic: Everyone is an artist. Everyone creates something, even if just a concept. How is this character artistic? Is she an architect? Painter? Songwriter? Does she play an instrument? Does she express herself through dance? Does she want to change the world somehow? Which of her talents could help? What are her dreams? What keeps her up at night?
Romantic: What is her romantic status? What characteristics does she look for in a mate? Is she in a stable marriage? Does marriage as we know it exist in her world? What bothers her about her current romantic situation? Is she afraid of romance? How does her body react to attractive potential partners? Is she driven by sexual desire? Is she a virgin? Is sex sacred to her?
Financial: How does she make a living? What’s her home like? Her neighborhood? Does she rent? Are there new forms of currency in the story? What’s her status in her society? Is she comfortable where she’s at? Is she ashamed of her poverty? Prideful about her wealth? Embarrassed of how she’s made money in the past? Is she honest in her financial dealings?
Social: Who’s in her inner circle? Is she outgoing? Shy? Where does she meet up with friends? Does she trust them? Does she hang around shady people? How do her friends influence her decisions? Does peer pressure sway her? Does she get along with her coworkers? Boss? Neighbors? Family? Is she important in society? Is she respected? Is she a nobody? How does this change throughout the story?
Even after completing the SPEMPARFS, I refer to them often throughout the revision process.
5. I’ve heard some writers say that reading is not important to them or they don’t have the time to read. Is reading important to you and do you read other authors or only authors in your genre?
I love to read. It definitely makes me a better writer. When I see how other authors set up heartbreaking moments or compile little details into a mind-blowing reveal, I’m inspired to discover ways to give my readers similar experiences.
I love dystopian novels, the genre Sins of Our Mothers fits into. The Giver by Lois Lowry was one of the first full novels I read, and it captivated me in ways nothing else ever has. The idea that I could make an argument by illustrating through storytelling what the world would look like if the opposite of my argument came true was inexplicably beautiful to my young mind.
I do, however, venture out of this genre often. I enjoy romance, horror, mystery, psychological twists that move me in unexpected ways, really anything that keeps my attention until the end. I’ve even been profoundly inspired by manga, which is about as different of a storytelling artform as you can get from Sins of Our Mothers. To me, the ultimate success as a writer would be to create a character as impactful as Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama, my favorite fictional character of all time. From his backstory in the underground to his later encounters with the beast titan, his entire character arc is just phenomenal.
I think reading for a writer is a lot like eating for a chef; you improve the more you experiment. Just because someone specializes in Italian cuisine doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy, and be inspired by, excellent Thai food. There’s no way every possible combination of seasonings will ever be achieved, which just means there’s no limit to a person’s capacity for creation.
Beautiful! Thank you for taking the time to be specific about your writing habits. By the way, I too believe that writers must read. We can learn so much from another author.
Thanks for dropping by, Nicole and for my readers, an excerpt of Sins of Our Mothers is posted below.
Shalom aleiche,
Pat Garcia
Excerpt
Chapter 2 Juley 17, 1513 P.C.
6:00 a.m.
“Oh, glorious Mother Earth.”
Grace’s mother, Faye Angels, who diligently served as Prophetess to the northeast region of Lilac City, fell to her knees with a theatrical sigh. “How generous You are to Your creatures. We’re unworthy to touch Your soil.” She dug her fingertips in the dirt. “Yet we do so that we may be filled with Your goodness.”
Lyratelle grimaced across the circle at Grace, who responded with a shrewd grin. The most dedicated worshipers in the circle, the true believers, wore ceremonial sackcloth dresses wrapped twice around their bodies, secured by a half-inch rope, homemade from twelve lines of twine. They decorated their untamed hair with wildflowers every morning before service and formed a circle around Faye, who led them in a verse of “How Great You Are” before regular citizens arrived to recite the ceremonial prayer.
Lyratelle attended worship once a month—the minimum requirement before being fined for shirking her duties as an inhabitant of Mother Earth. She couldn’t stomach more than that.
Faye looked to the pale sky, raised fistfuls of dirt over her head, and hummed as it rained down upon her. “I bathe in Your magnificent soil that yields the seeds of life. Let it cleanse me.” The dirt and wildflowers clinging to her hair created the illusion that a garden grew from her head. The remaining dirt on her hands she rubbed over her shoulders and arms.
The women surrounding her, including Lyratelle and Grace, fell to their knees. The dirt was soft and cool on Lyratelle’s ankles and the tops of her feet. They gathered handfuls of dirt and sprinkled them over their heads while repeating in unison, “I bathe in Your magnificent soil that yields the seeds of life. Let it cleanse me.” Lyratelle, of course, only mouthed the words, refusing to participate in the ways she could control.
She did, however, appreciate the beauty of the Chapel Garden, the “holiest” room in the church. It was essentially an enclosed sandbox filled with soft, fresh dirt. Flowers in decorative pots were placed along the walls. Smaller pots hung in every corner. The ceiling was convertible. When closed, it was a tented tarp guiding rain or snow to the gutter. When open, it revealed the morning sky. Lyratelle loved the orange and purple stripes remaining from sunrise.
“We thank You,” Faye trembled with passion, “on behalf of all Your creatures, for the seeds Your miraculous being produces, graciously given, which bequeath posterity.”
“We thank You,” the women sang, rubbing the excess dirt on their shoulders and arms.
“We thank You on behalf of plants and insects.”
The women echoed, “We thank You on behalf of plants and insects.”
“On behalf of fishes and fouls.”
“On behalf of fishes and fouls.”
“On behalf of beasts and women.”
“On behalf of beasts and women.”
“We ask that You continue producing the seeds of life. Help our brave sisters, the Harvesters, to find and gather them safely. Oh, Mother Earth, lead them to healthy seeds, that they may avoid defectives.” She cupped both hands around her face and inhaled the scent of the soil. “Today, we include a special prayer for the Harvesters injured in the explosion yesterday. Heal them. Bless them. Ease their pain.”
The women repeated, “Heal them. Bless them. Ease their pain.”
“This is our prayer,” Faye concluded. “Amen.”
While the others chorused “Amen,” Lyratelle breathed a sigh of relief.
Author, Shirley Harris Slaughter is a guest on my blog today. She is one of many authors who made the ’20 Writers Conference & Book Expo a huge success in 2020. Thanks, Shirley, for your contribution! Below are some interesting tidbits about Shirley.
CRAZY! HOT! AND LIVING ON THE EDGE By Shirley Harris-Slaughter
Book Blurb:
Crazy! Hot! And Living On The Edge!! Kindle Edition
Imagine experiencing emotions that have you questioning your sanity. Your body gets overheated at the least bit of excitement and you scramble to find a fan or some air. Or you find yourself in the throes of a panic attack and can’t understand how to shut it off, so you are filled with anxiety wondering when the next one is coming. What if every time you take a drug you experience side-affects that you are warned about on the label? The title was conceived in my mind after I thought over all the situations, I had found myself in, how I got out of them, and the affect all of this had on my overall physical and mental well-being. Crazy! Hot! And Living On The Edge!! Is the True Story of My Upside Down Life!
Author Bio:
Shirley Harris-Slaughter is the author of Our Lady of Victory, the Saga of an African-American Catholic Community which was written to address a need to preserve Catholic history in her local community. She mentored four freshman girls at the local middle school. She is active in her church and https://ravereviewsbookclub.wordpress.com/virtual book club community where she has added another biography and fiction to her repertoire. She is married to Langston and is a Michigan Native.
A BIT MORE ABOUT ME:
During my graduate studies I prepared an Applied Research Project to address the deplorable condition of our train station, in downtown Detroit, MI. It was certified and accepted by the faculty of Cleary University in August 1993. I was able to galvanize the entire community around this issue which was videotaped and featured on broadcast news. I utilized college interns and the city of Detroit to find some answers in order to provide a template for saving this historic station. Here is the Title…
“THE IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH TO RESTORING THE MICHIGAN CENTRAL DEPOT”
They ran through the streets, shouting, Hosanna, Hosanna! Sounds reverberated like an echo.
Hilarious, crazed laughter over what they thought was coming. And why not? Their king was riding on a donkey, Ready to free them from slavery and oppression And the yoke that had drugged them down, Since they had been subjugated into serfdom
Hosanna, they cried out! Hosanna! Too caught up in the delirium to care about the soldiers. Free at last!
They were ready to kill To regain their rightful status. Their bloodthirst knew no bounds. Free, free, free at last!
By noon, Friday The song had changed. No more Hosanna, Hosanna. One by one, each had sneaked away to his own home. Candles snuffed out quickly. Although it was the Passover Association quickly became disassociation.
Doors locked, Darkness blackened the day like midnight. They hadn’t wanted a cross. No whipping, No nails, Not for him. He was supposed to lead them to war. But not a crucifixion!
Streets emptied. People cowered in their homes with their heads bowed. Fearing to be known as His follower.
On the third day, The sun rose. Something inexplicable had happened. Baffled by the news, two men talked about it on the way to their village. Downcast, they didn’t know what to think. A stranger joined them and listened in. They paid no attention to Him as they wallowed in their sorrow. “What are you discussing?” He asked. They shook their heads in disbelief that the Stranger hadn’t heard. So dreary seemed their days ahead, but they informed him.
Reaching their village, they offered the Stranger their hospitality. The Stranger accepted and took over as host. As the Stranger broke the bread, they recognized him. The greatest miracle of all stood right before them. And they rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others, “He that was dead is now alive.”
“Yes,” said Cleopas. “That what went into the ground has risen.” .
“Hallelujah,” said the other, “He’s triumphant over all!”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
JESUS IS RISEN!
GERMAN TRANSLATION BY JULIANE EPPENDAHL
DIE AUFERSTEHUNG VON Pat Garcia
Sie liefen durch die Straßen und riefen “Hosianna, Hosianna!” Die Rufe hallten wie ein Echo wider.
Ausgelassen lachten sie über das, was da zu kommen schien. Und warum auch nicht? Ihr König ritt auf einem Esel, bereit, sie von Sklaverei und Unterdrückung zu befreien und von dem Joch, das sie niedergedrückt hatte. seit sie in die Knechtschaft gezwungen worden waren.
“Hosianna”, riefen sie, “Hosianna!” Zu sehr im Rausch gefangen, um sich noch um die Soldaten zu scheren. Endlich frei!
Sie waren bereit zu töten, um ihren rechtmäßigen Stand wiederzuerlangen. Ihr Blutdurst kannte keine Grenzen. Frei, frei, endlich frei!
Am Freitagmittag hatte sich das Lied geändert. Kein “Hosianna, Hosianna” mehr. Einer nach dem anderen hatte sich nach Hause geschlichen. Die Kerzen waren schnell erloschen. Obwohl es das Passahfest war, wurde aus der Assoziation schnell eine Dissoziation.
Türen wurden verschlossen, Dunkelheit verdüsterte den Tag wie Mitternacht. Ein Kreuz hatten sie nicht gewollt. Keine Auspeitschung, keine Nägel, nicht für ihn. Er sollte sie in den Krieg führen. Aber nicht in eine Kreuzigung!
Die Straßen leerten sich. Die Menschen kauerten mit gesenktem Kopf in ihren Häusern. Sie fürchteten, als seine Anhänger erkannt zu werden.
Am dritten Tag, ging die Sonne auf. Etwas Unerklärliches war geschehen. Verblüfft von der Nachricht unterhielten sich zwei Männer auf dem Weg in ihr Dorf darüber. In ihrer Bedrückung wussten sie nicht, was sie denken sollten. Ein Fremder gesellte sich zu ihnen und hörte zu. Versunken in ihrer Trauer, schenkten sie ihm keine Beachtung. “Wovon redet ihr?” fragte er. Sie schüttelten ungläubig den Kopf, dass der Fremde es nicht gehört hatte. Ihre kommenden Tage versprachen trostlos zu werden, aber dennoch erzählten sie es ihm.
Als sie ihr Dorf erreichten, boten sie dem Fremden ihre Gastfreundschaft an. Er willigte ein und übernahm die Rolle des Gastgebers. Als der Fremde das Brot brach, erkannten sie ihn. Das größte Wunder von allen stand direkt vor ihnen. Und sie eilten zurück nach Jerusalem, um es den anderen zu erzählen. Er, der tot war, ist jetzt lebendig.
“Ja”, sagte Kleopas. Das, was in die Erde einging, ist auferstanden. .
“Halleluja”, sagten die anderen, “Er hat über alles gesiegt!”
“Tod, wo ist dein Sieg? Tod, wo ist dein Stachel?”
JESUS IST AUFERSTANDEN!
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
*Bible Verse taken from the New International Version of 1984, First Corinthians 15:55
*Bibelverse wurden zitiert aus der Lutherbibel 2017, 1. Korinther 15,55).
The Silver Lining, A poem by Robbie Cheadle – YouTubeAbout Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators …
It is a pleasure to have you here. You are currently on a Virtual Tour with MC Book Tour, so let’s dig deep and talk about your writing journey.
How did it start?
I have always loved writing and I suppose it may be something that comes somewhat naturally to me. I was an English major so I certainly had a fair amount of writing in undergraduate school, although it was more from a standpoint of analyzing literature that had come before me, and not so much about finding my own creative voice. It wasn’t until my son was about to turn ten, and my youngest had started kindergarten, and I thought I would somehow have more time on my hands but in actuality it didn’t really seem to be the case, it was just delegated a bit differently. Anyway, I had the realization that time was moving fast and I wanted to remember things and thought, it was time to make time, and so I started to write.
2. When did you develop your writer’s voice?
Being mostly a memoir, my writer’s voice was my own. In fact, many of my friends that have read my book have told me they could almost picture me telling the story, it was just so me. So, for the memoir piece it was quite easy to find my writer’s voice. For the transcendental fiction piece, I just imagined myself in the various scenarios I was trying to explain, being sure to include all of the details that I was experiencing in that moment of time, and tried to explain it as best I could from my point of view. When I was capturing Lark’s voice, it was a bit more complicated, as he was just ten, albeit a rather advanced and wise ten year old. His voice was not your typical ten year old but I did not want it to be. He is based on my son, who was ten at the time I started writing it, and I would say he was not your typical ten year old either. In some ways he was, and is, wise beyond his years. In other ways, he still maintains the innocence of a child and that perspective was essential to the heart of the story. I wanted the memoir piece to be completely fact based, even if there is a visit to a fantastical journey sprinkled throughout. I think that is life, really, right? We experience truths but we still escape in our imagination to process them and make sense of it all and then ultimately come back to the facts with a little perspective under our belts. We live and we learn and we love and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.
What about Research?
Being mostly a memoir, I must admit there was very limited research involved in writing Lark and the Loon. It was just written based on my experiences and perspectives and pre-existing knowledge, so the research was simply through experience!
Pantser or Plotter– which one are you?
100% pantser. I completely flew by the seat of my pants on the writing of the book. I had a few key points I wanted to touch on, such as my memories from the time of my daughter’s illness and some of my experiences from my time in Africa. I had a group of vignettes of random moments in time that had struck me in some way and shifted my perspective. Some moments were big, some small, but all had an impact. I was unsure how to string them together in any coherent way which is when I got the idea to blend genres. The memoir characters are based on my family so,that was already established, but my characters in the fictional piece evolved chapter to chapter, surprising me as I wrote about them as much as they will probably surprise the reader. Through Lark traveling amongst my memories in the memoir piece, in a Dicken’s-like Scroogey (but not grumpy) fashion, reliving moments from the past but being privy to my inner thoughts and feelings, Lark was able to then return to the fictional piece and process it and make some sense of it all. The fictional piece finds him within a symbolic tree, in which he must ascend in order to find his way out and hopefully home. As he ascends physically, his inner self ascends on many other levels. The tree itself incorporates subtle notions of the chakras and Lark climbs through each level gaining insight into the various elements attached to each. So, I had the rough plot of traveling through them, with various experiences tied into that. Again, this piece is subtle but if one is familiar with them at all, they would be noted. So, each time Lark returns to the tree, he is experiencing a different level, represented by different colors, and the book travels back and forth between the two in a personal ascension. If Lark can find his way out of the tree, he can find his way home, and ultimately himself
Do you write every day and when do you write morning or evening?
I have to be honest. Right now I do not write every day. Covid has thrown me for a loop but I do hope to get back to it. I was writing morning and evening when the kids were asleep or sometimes while they were in school. With the children at home so much over the past year, I have put it on the back burner for a bit. My kids are also staying up later now that they are a bit older (ages 8-14), so I am finding that we often are all going to bed at the same time on most nights, with no extra time for writing in the evening. I do plan on scheduling in set times for writing during the day, when they are in school, as they are all now back at school, at least on a hybrid schedule. I am not a very big scheduled person but Gosh I love making a ‘to do list,’ even if I usually only tackle the first thing on that list. So, I think what I need to do is schedule a set time to write each day and stick to it. In addition, I think a set start and stop time would be good, because when I get going with something creative, it can be hard to stop. That is one skill parenthood has taught me, although still tough at times, I have learned to stop things mid-stride and focus on what is most important. Attention to those you love is the most impactful time spent so balancing it all in an efficient manner is a dance I am still perfecting. So, long story short, on the top of my next to-do-list will be to make more time for writing! Thanks for asking that question and making me think about it. As I said earlier, time has a habit of slipping by quickly if we don’t take the time to make time!
Thank you, Rhiannon for dropping by and revealing pertinent information that may help some writers on their journey.
I wish you all the best.
This is a two part tour and there is a grand prize at the end.
