One thing we learn for sure as we age is the value of ......us. I mean personally. We are unique, strong, fantastic beings, all on our own, and we each have things we can offer to the world.
But we have to be willing to step up for ourselves. We often have no problem doing it for others, especially those in our lives that we cherish and love. When it comes to US, though, that love often doesn't ooze over to our own needs.
I'm a pretty good writer. Oh, heck....I'm a really good writer! My strength, I've discovered in the past five years or so, is when I write about life, the true stuff that happens to me that also sounds familiar to you. Oh, the details may be a bit different, but the big screen of each of our lives shows the same movie in many cases. I've often told people that there is no need to write fiction; my life is weird enough. No one could make up some of the things that have happened to me. But when I share my life, or even a small slice of it, I can see the recognition in the eyes of others who hear that sharing. And suddenly, the world doesn't seem quite so cold and lonely any more.
I'm stepping up here for myself. I've written two books: one on divorced parenting and one on living a more positive life. The first, Broken Strings, is based on my life raising a child alone. The second, Nothing to Complain About, is the result of a challenge I took to go 21 consecutive days without complaining. (Yeah, YOU try it. It took me 125 days to accomplish it and I'm a positive person to begin with.) I tried to get both books published the "conventional" way, by contacting publishers, sending query letters, waiting, and then waiting some more. I even had a publisher lie to me until the very last minute, when she revealed (after 5 months) that I had to pay to publish the book myself after all. And this was a publisher that I had found in the most well-respected source of publishers and agents that exists.
Finally, I caved and published my books myself. At least I could hold the book in my hand and read my name on the front cover. I know I can write. The fact that no one else in the business is willing to read my work, even just a page or two, doesn't negate that fact. The second book is an eBook only, primarily because I had no more money to create a printed version.
I'm here to promote me. My books are available on Amazon, Books a Million, Barnes and Noble, and all major online book stores. My favorite is Kobo Books, mainly because it offers the buyer multiple platforms from which to purchase and read my work. And they are affordable for anyone: Nothing to Complain About is only $4.99 and Broken Strings is $3.49. (Broken Strings is also available in book form if you'd prefer that: $10.00.) Surely you know someone who is facing the task of single parenting, even if it is the result of separation due to military service. And who wouldn't enjoy laughing at me as I struggled to refrain from complaining, even under some really adverse conditions? There are lessons to be learned from both.
Writing is my love. The actual process of crafting my thoughts into tangible objects is exhilarating, maddening, frustrating. But I love it anyway.
The only thing better is when people share that process and read those words. So, I'm here to step up for myself: Please buy my books! I would be very appreciative.
But we have to be willing to step up for ourselves. We often have no problem doing it for others, especially those in our lives that we cherish and love. When it comes to US, though, that love often doesn't ooze over to our own needs.
I'm a pretty good writer. Oh, heck....I'm a really good writer! My strength, I've discovered in the past five years or so, is when I write about life, the true stuff that happens to me that also sounds familiar to you. Oh, the details may be a bit different, but the big screen of each of our lives shows the same movie in many cases. I've often told people that there is no need to write fiction; my life is weird enough. No one could make up some of the things that have happened to me. But when I share my life, or even a small slice of it, I can see the recognition in the eyes of others who hear that sharing. And suddenly, the world doesn't seem quite so cold and lonely any more.
I'm stepping up here for myself. I've written two books: one on divorced parenting and one on living a more positive life. The first, Broken Strings, is based on my life raising a child alone. The second, Nothing to Complain About, is the result of a challenge I took to go 21 consecutive days without complaining. (Yeah, YOU try it. It took me 125 days to accomplish it and I'm a positive person to begin with.) I tried to get both books published the "conventional" way, by contacting publishers, sending query letters, waiting, and then waiting some more. I even had a publisher lie to me until the very last minute, when she revealed (after 5 months) that I had to pay to publish the book myself after all. And this was a publisher that I had found in the most well-respected source of publishers and agents that exists.
Finally, I caved and published my books myself. At least I could hold the book in my hand and read my name on the front cover. I know I can write. The fact that no one else in the business is willing to read my work, even just a page or two, doesn't negate that fact. The second book is an eBook only, primarily because I had no more money to create a printed version.
 |
| Broken Strings |
I'm here to promote me. My books are available on Amazon, Books a Million, Barnes and Noble, and all major online book stores. My favorite is Kobo Books, mainly because it offers the buyer multiple platforms from which to purchase and read my work. And they are affordable for anyone: Nothing to Complain About is only $4.99 and Broken Strings is $3.49. (Broken Strings is also available in book form if you'd prefer that: $10.00.) Surely you know someone who is facing the task of single parenting, even if it is the result of separation due to military service. And who wouldn't enjoy laughing at me as I struggled to refrain from complaining, even under some really adverse conditions? There are lessons to be learned from both.
 |
| Nothing to Complain About |
Writing is my love. The actual process of crafting my thoughts into tangible objects is exhilarating, maddening, frustrating. But I love it anyway.
The only thing better is when people share that process and read those words. So, I'm here to step up for myself: Please buy my books! I would be very appreciative.
“The saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care
deeply about anything at all. Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand,
and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there's
nothing to make it last.”
― Nicholas Sparks, Dear John
― Nicholas Sparks, Dear John
