Two Authors Join to Unite Indie Authors of NE PA Through "Broads of a Feather"

Birds of a feather flock together.  So do writers!

This morning I had a friend of mine message me on Facebook with an idea.  C. P. Stringham has this idea to join forces with a Facebook page named Broads of a Feather for local indie authors in northeast Pennsylvania where we live.  I liked that idea a lot, and while I was at work she got the ball rolling.

She also mentioned a blog and twitter account.  The Blog I just got done setting up, also named Broads of a Feather.  She would like us to each post to the blog once weekly, and promote it etc. and our writings and so on and so forth.  I'll probably not post on this blog on the same day that I post on that one, aside from today of course.

I still have a lot of work to do, connecting accounts, sharing links - and it's almost my bedtime and I haven't gotten a single word written in my story yet.  Which is regretful because I've had some ideas bouncing around in my head today at work.  I'll have to get to it tomorrow.

This was our temp at 2:15 when I got out of work.

On the bright side, we finally got all our water pipes thawed out.  For some reason the cold water side in the bathtub didn't want to thaw out, which put a damper on my plans to shower last night.  But tonight when I came home from work, and our heat wave of 19F didn't do the trick, I began to get a little worried.  How would we get to it?  What if a pipe had burst?

Thankfully not.

Apparently our hot water pipe runs close enough to the cold that just running the hot water while cleaning the tub for a bath was enough to loosen things up!  I feel sooooo much better now!

Off to finish a few tidbits up!



2014 ~ Full Speed Ahead

Arctic Vortex's Effect On My Day Today

Obviously, it's cold.

Really cold.  The temp here in Pennsylvania was at most -4F this morning when I got up.  It's now something like +4 now.  I saw from a friend who lives in the southern state of Georgia that they had a morning temp of 4.  I didn't pay much attention what they were talking about this arctic vortex that was supposed to bring a cold snap.  I'm still not impressed with it.  Although it does remind me of The Day After Tomorrow...which I'd really like to watch again.  Maybe once it warms up.

We haven't been able to keep the temp inside very warm in our home either.  So even in sneakers my toes are still cold.

Of course, I've been in and out today.  For the first time in the 5 years we've been living here our water pipes froze.  Maybe - there's still the possibility that it's something in the mainline that's frozen because My. Janney and I have been working on it all day.  Mostly Mr. Janney, I've just been needed for transportation and other help.  We've bought new heat tape and now have that applied and insulated.  We're hoping that does the trick.

It's been a rough day because of that.  No showers.  Can't flush the toilet.

Little things like running water and indoor plumbing we take for granted and don't notice until it's no longer available.  Like it? Tweet it!

At least we did have water in the refrigerator to drink so it hasn't been too bad where that is concerned (makes for cold hand washing).  Not sure what we'll do once nature becomes more insistent about bodily functions.

I've been able to do some editing on my story today.  And I might have some ideas for knitting the middle together.  For now, I'm going to sign off and eat my soup and try not to shiver.

Much.






2014 ~ Full Speed Ahead

Learning New Things Brings Happiness

I'm always up for learning new things.  Over the weekend, creating Mr. Janney's GTA5 crew I learned how to use their website's program to create emblems.  It's a pretty simple program, but it was still very satisfying.  It was also satisfying to be working on something with my husband, even if I don't see it as important.  His input created a pretty cool emblem for his team to use.  The first one I made didn't translate to the Xbox very well.  This one apparently has!  I guess we're even happier now!

Right now, I'm working on learning how to provide you, my readers, a tweetable quote.  If it works...awesome.  If not...you may never know as I'll have pulled my failed attempts from the internet to save you all from my embarrassment!

Of course, that means I'm going to have to start thinking harder to come up with quotes worth tweeting.  I may drop back down to posting only a few times a week; I'm not sure at the moment.

I myself don't have a big Twitter following yet, but I've been slowly increasing.  It's another one of those social tools that I thought was a waste of time, but it turns out that it's something I enjoy just as much as Pinterest.  I enjoy the short tweets that offer me inspiring quotes, or articles to read, or just snapshots into someone's crazy day.

So to see if this works, I think I said something lame like: Always be learning something new!. Tweetable

My test was successful, although I'm not sure it's any kind of brilliance!  lol!

Keeping it short tonight, as it's getting late and I have things to do yet.  Hope everyone had a pleasant enough Monday!




2014 ~ Full Speed Ahead!

Gaming's Effect On Today's Sanity

I know they say that opposites attract, but man oh man Mr. Janney and I have our poles reversed today!  Every time he has gotten too noisy for me to concentrate, I have left the room and found something else to do.  Inevitably, he quiets down.

And by the time I realize that it's quiet, and return to the room to do some work either online or on my story - one of his friends gets into his Xbox Live chat and the noise starts up all over again!  Talk about frustration!  Talk about driving me insane!!

The earplug trick wouldn't work today, as he's also been talking to me and wanting my help with his game.  Well, not with the actual game, but with making his crew for GTA 5.  And maybe with getting the Xbox to register the crew I set up online.  As well as the emblem I designed for him.  He didn't ask me to do that, I was just playing while I was waiting to see if he was done with me and the computer (which I'm still not sure about) and he happened to see what I was doing and liked it.  He had a few requests about color and the size of the objects I had picked - which just goes to show how well I know him.

One thing I did get accomplished today, was emailing back and forth with +MJ Bush about hiring her as a Fiction Coach.  I'm optimistic that she'll give me the help I need to get me out of the writing pickle I'm in.  I really enjoy the articles I've read at her Writin Geekery blog.

He's back down to a dull roar, he must be getting tired so I'm going to close with the emblem I made for him today and see if I can't get some story work done.  The pic isn't my best work, nor the colors I would choose, but then it wasn't for me!  As of right now, he's happy with it, so I'm happy.

I might not be 100% sane, but I'm happy!

#GTAV #gaming #gamingandmarriage #writing


2014 ~ Full Speed Ahead

The Wisdom of Yoda

This morning I found a neat piece of wisdom on a Google+ post that I shared under my own profile.  You can see it here, as I'm not sure I would be correct in posting it on my blog.  So since I'm not sure, I'll just share the link.  Better safe than sorry.  And I even ran across it again later on Pinterest.  If you've ever seen the movie The Empire Strikes Back, I'm sure you're familiar with the scene being quoted.

In short, the diminutive Jedi Master Yoda does something that his apprentice believed impossible.  And the Master tells Luke that there is no try, you either do something or you don't.  Luke expresses his disbelief over what he just saw, and the teacher in Yoda furthers the lesson by letting the young man know that his lack of belief is the reason why he fails.

Yoda's wisdom may be a bit flawed, because if you don't try to do something, you will definitely not do it.   But was that what he was really saying to his student?   The  first  definition of "try" at Dictionary.com is:  "to attempt to do or accomplish."  So it might depend on the attitude behind the word "try".   Luke obviously didn't expect to succeed, so if we're honest about his trying to levitate the spaceship we would say it was half-hearted.  At best.  Not only did Luke believe it was impossible for him to do, he believed it was impossible for anyone to do.  Even after he saw it with his own eyes, he was still struggling with disbelief.  How could anyone accomplish such an outrageous task???

It is that lack of faith in themselves that plagues many people.  Even when we know that something is possible, we doubt that it is possible for us to do.  Our beliefs in ourselves determines whether or not we "do" something.  Who am I to think that I will succeed at being an author?  Aren't I destined to scrape along the bottoms for the rest of my life?  How can I think that I can be more than what I've always been?

Because I'm an author.  I like to tell stories.  Well, I like to write stories and have people read them.  Because when it comes to verbally telling a story, I really kind of suck.  That's a weird quirk, I suppose, but it is all too true.

And why shouldn't I publish my story?  It's interesting and my characters are lovable (except the ones that aren't meant to be!) When I made the decision to self publish, it was in answer to my questioning of myself.  "I either believe in my story, or I don't."

I believe that I will succeed.  I smart enough to know that I will make mistakes along the way, but I know that it is a necessary step to learning what I need to do to be that success.  I know that those mistakes do not equal failure.  I believe that my career is just starting, and that it will last until long after my death.  It may seem impossible, but I know that to be a self-defeating attitude.

If you feel that no one in your life believes in you, take a good long look at yourself in the mirror.  Do you believe in yourself?  Because you are your biggest influencer, no matter who else you might have speaking into your life. Don't be afraid to attempt to do something, because even if you make mistakes that doesn't mean you've failed - you will at the least learn what you need to do differently to succeed.

The only thing that was holding me back from publishing when I became aware of how 'easy' it was through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing was myself.  I was afraid of failing.  But then I realized that the true failure would be not doing anything at all.  So I did it - I published my novel and threw myself into the deep vast ocean of it all knowing that I even though I wasn't sure how to swim, I at least knew enough to float until I got my bearings.

I'm doing it.

2014 ~ Full Speed Ahead

A Cozy Snow Day

Winter didn't just come knocking here in Northeast PA, it came right in and made itself at home!  It was snowing when I rolled out of bed this morning at 7:30 - which was a delightful 'sleeping in' for me.  And now as I write this at 4pm, it is still snowing.  I've heard reports of anywhere between 2 and 7 inches across my county, and figure I myself have something in between.  So far - it's far from over.

Needless to say, but I'm going to say it anyway, my mother decided to reschedule her doctors appointments.  One for the beginning of February and one in March.  She also has one next Thursday, when another storm is supposed to blow through.  Given how this winter is shaping up in our area, I'm not sure we'll make the one in February - or March for that matter!

They are kind of important doctors appointments, but a delay won't hurt her too much.  She's been diagnosed with stage three kidney disease, and also has a partial blockage somewhere between a kidney and her bladder.  As of right now, I have no idea what that actually means except that she will be having some kind of surgery at some point.  Probably for a stint.  And maybe a net around her bladder as well; but that's for something else.

I would have expected to have gotten more writing done by this point of the day.  Mr. Janney came to bed about 6:30 this morning and I thought he would have slept past 11.  And he's been playing his game ever since.  Normally not a problem as I can ignore him with earplugs if I have to.  But he's interrupted me a few times asking me questions, or wanting me to do something on the computer for him (the GTA 5 cheat codes are not as easy as they were for 4!)  Not a big deal, just disruptive.  So I've been doing more social media things rather than actual writing.  Google+, Pinterest, a bit of Facebook (why did the post on my page about the #selfie I took do so well?  Seen by over 100 people?).  I ought to hit Twitter up again here soon.  I'm also trying to figure out Instagram.

Of course, it still doesn't help that I'm stuck in the same spot.  I've made progress though because I got the doctor in the room.  Then decided I better do the research I needed so my doctor doesn't sound like a hack.  And then there is Veronica Moore.  Her character is one that is tripping me up.  As a main antagonist, she can't be a caricature.  She needs to have depth and, well, for lack of a better term:  character.  Her stepson is still leery of her in the second book of my series, with good reason, and I have to overcome his hangup so I can get to know her better.  Even if he doesn't.  I'm just not sure I'm ready to face that darkness.

I just can't do "light and fluffy" romance.  Because none of my life has been "light and fluffy".  That's part of why I've added the touch of fantasy to the series.  Fantasy can be dark.  There is little of Craig and Angela's trauma that is autobiographical.  I never lost a brother as a child, and I was never sexually abused by my parents.  What I had was a sick father, a low self esteem, my own set of regular bullies at school, was overweight - which I still am.  In many ways, I've taken my 'raw deal' and did what any good author does...magnifies it and twists it until it no longer has any resemblance to the reality they know.  It's the only way I myself have been able to find any sort of healing from my childhood 'problems', not all of which I shared.  You don't need to know everything lol!

But it's the truth.  And I will overcome my own fear of Veronica Moore.  Just maybe not today.  In the mean time, I'm going to let you go for now.  I've gone on long enough.  I'll sign off with a picture I took of the rocks behind my home, and the neighbors chimney!



2014 ~ Full Speed Ahead!

#winter #writing #blogging

My 'Cheesy' Happiness Jar!

The Happiness Jar is not a new idea to me.  I've heard of it a few different times over the years.  But this year I've decided to actually do it.  I've picked out a jar - an empty cheeseball container!  It's more serviceable than pretty, but I might decorate it over the year.  I think that would be fun.  I know I've got stickers somewhere!  I'll post another pic at a later date.

You can read about the Happiness Jar here where +Peg Fitzpatrick blogged about it.  She is a constant source of inspiration and encouragement for me, even when there is no interaction between her and I on her Google+ posts.  It's just who she is, and I am glad for it.  She is always positive and upbeat, a much needed combination in today's world.  If she is ever down, it never appears on line.

As you can see from my photo, I've already added today's piece of paper.  I've decided to use up some old 'fancy' stationary, as I seldom use it for actual letter writing.  For that I tend to use ruled notebook paper because I can't write a straight line without guides or I totally cheat and write it on the computer.  For the time being I'll keep it on top of the refrigerator.  Today's happy moment was quite simple, we spent about $30 at Kmart today but between gift cards and Kmart points, we only paid about $3 out of pocket.  AND ~ I got to spend time with my husband away from his Xbox!  That's always nice.

Happiness doesn't always have to be something big and grand.  Often times, it's the smallest simple things that make a person happy.  Like blueberry muffins for tomorrow's breakfast.  Knowing that I have enough Tide for laundry.  An over abundance of bread, bought not because of the impending snow storm but because neither one of us was sure how much we had in the freezer.  With all the unknowns in life that can weigh on us, these little things are needed.

I doubt Mr. Janney will participate with me by adding anything over the year, although he has surprised me before.  But he did say that next New Years Eve he would read them off with me.  I consider that a date!  :)

Thinking it's time to get some writing done.  I've just had so much trouble concentrating the past few weeks.  I'm not sure if it's his constant chatter with his Xbox buddies, or just the holidays and the normal money pinch.  Either way, I will keep pegging away at it until my novel is done enough to rest.  It's not quite writer's block, been there done that!  But it is irritating.  I let writer's block keep me down for too many years to succumb to this minor irritation of being in a mental slump.  Even if I only write a few new words a day, I won't consider that a failure.  I will be happy for those few words.  Because I've seen how they can explode into whole chapters at any moment!

I just hope using a cheeseball container for my Happiness Jar doesn't mean that it's going to be a cheesy year!

2014 ~ Full Speed Ahead