William scores a point . . .

Yeah, this poor guy has been through hell and back. Lost his soul, had to sit in a library for a couple of decades. Couldn't eat, couldn't take a bath, couldn't even change his clothes. And then this Jesse kid  comes around and tries to steal his thunder. Finally, some love.

The Soul Seekers received a wonderful yesterday and it was pro-William. Now, I know many of you have said you liked Jesse, but it's good for ghosts to get a little appreciation once in a while. Here's the review from yesterday: LINK. 

Wasn't that cool? I loved it. Thank you, Shelley!

Is everyone ready for Valentine's Day?

Free book time again and cool sequel stuff!

Hey guys, today The Soul Seekers is free for Kindle. So if you haven't already, go on ahead and get yourselves a copy. You can download the kindle app if you don't have an actual e-reader device. And I'll say it again, THANK YOU so much for the love and support!!

I am currently finishing up a sequel with plans for a third, so yes, eventually this whole thing will be a trilogy. Below is the blurb for The Time Seekers. I'm so darn excited to finish so I can submit it to WiDo. 

Copyright http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/

The Time Seekers: 

The honeymoon is over for telepathic college students Emma and William Bennett. William, a former ghost from the 1950’s, is too perfect, too polite and Emma, worried he won’t fit in, pushes him to get wild and loosen up a bit. She even tosses his bottle of Brylcreem. 

When the soul-stealing cult they escaped back in Springvale threatens expansion into their college annex of Penn Valley, Colorado, the newlyweds travel to 1956 using William’s stored memories. It’s simple, prevent the cult from forming, come back and live a happy life. No more threat, no more worries. Only once there William forgets his new life, Emma, everything. She’s stuck and must help him remember—not only so they can return to present day, but because William’s soul is in danger. But the William of 1956 is wild and reckless—loose as hell. He won’t listen to any of her warnings and Emma must battle time and the inconsistency of love. 

Emma finds out a painful truth, William doesn't want to go back. Now she must make a choice: stay in a world of 1950’s values, or return to the future without the man she loves. One minor problem, Emma might be just a little bit pregnant.

A shiny new blurb for The Soul Seekers!

The folks at WiDo have updated the blurb for The Soul Seekers. And you know what? I think they did a wonderful job! The original one left Jesse out, so it's really nice to see his name finally included in a description. Btw, Jesse has turned out to be many people's favorite character—a nice surprise for me the author, and totally fun to hear about! So here ya go, the new blurb: 

When Emma Shay’s father dies, that summer– the summer of 1979– her mother moves them cross country to live with Gran in Springvale, a small isolated town in southern Indiana. Springvale is a place with bizarre rules that people are afraid to break. A place of hushed whisperings about long-ago secrets.

Emma’s own secret is her attraction to William, the dark handsome visitor at the library where she works. But she is puzzled and intrigued by his behavior. He sits day after day at the same table in the back of the library. He speaks at her but never to her. He is there and then he isn’t. He is beautiful, mysterious, tortured.

When Emma meets Jesse from the record shop down the street, Jesse offers excitement, a way out of town, and perhaps even a way to reach William and save him from his suffering.

Emma wants William, Jesse wants Emma, William wants to protect Emma. And the creepy town leaders– The Soul Seekers—want them all. But why?

The cans and cant's of writing

photo credit: Βethan via photopin cc

Just a little post about writing that I came up with while doing the dishes (isn't that where all our best ideas come from?). I hope you enjoy it.

What you can control--How often you write, and the genre and style you choose to write in.

What you can't control--That any of it will turn out to be good.

What you can control--That you will, over time, grow as a writer. There's no way a person can't learn through time and process. You may not like the speed in which your skills grow as a writer, but they will grow, and you should be proud of your hard work.

What you can't control--Success. No matter how good you are and how much time you spend, there are no guarantees.

What you can control--That eventually you will have more than one reader for your work. Sometimes all it takes is asking a friend or family member to read your manuscript or short story. With their help you might get published, which could provide a larger audience over time.

What you can't control--Who those readers will be and what their opinion of your work is. And since you can't control it, don't react to it. The worst thing is an author chastising a reviewer. Once your work is out there, it is no longer yours alone. Respect your readers, no matter who they may be.

What you can control--The enjoyment you feel when writing.

What you can't control--That an agent, publisher or editor will share a similar enthusiasm.

What you can control--How much of yourself you devote to the craft. Be it small or large, a writer should have passion for their work no matter the pay, no matter the hours spent.

What you can't control--Ever seeing a dime in reward.

So the point I'm trying to make is that if you decide to write, then do it will full knowledge of the above. There are no cheerleaders in writing, in fact most of the time you are completely alone and must find a way to self-motivate. Writing has a long internship with low to no monetary reward, so do it because you want to. If you ever do make it big, you'll still have to be grounded enough to sit in a chair and write every day all alone. But there's so much to love about writing. The world needs more books, more stories, more beautiful phrases and characters who they can root for and fall in love with. It's wonderful to think that little old you is capable of providing that! And it is possible. It is. Hang in there, and remember to have fun no matter the cans and can'ts.

Merry Inappropriate Christmas

Real quick, 'cause I have to go mail something, just thought I'd show you the Christmas card Julia made for her teacher, but which I would not allow her to take to school. You can imagine my horror, though I laughed all day about it. But, man. Kids.

I can only guess Julia thought her teacher needed a little lovin' under the mistletoe. Or something like that. Yikes!

Thoughts

I've been MIA, like lost in the middle of the ocean on a dingy, MIA. Sorry. I think perhaps I'd grown sick of writing about myself. I don't know. It's much more fun writing about my characters, and there's not much for me to say about them here. I remember the days when I foolishly believed I could post all my work, not knowing that a blog was considered a publication.

Also, I've also been so upset over the whole gun control issue (or lack of) that I want to go bat shit crazy. You don't want to see that. On my personal Facebook page (family, friends) I've pissed off a handful of folks. Fine. I don't hate all guns, just the kind that can kill a classroom of children in a few second's time. Not sure how anyone can't see the logic in getting rid of such a weapon, but there you go. Again, you don't want to see me go crazy on here talking about it. My views involve lots of four-letter words. Not very dignified. 

Mostly I've been writing every spare chance I get, a process that includes massive consumption of Van Morrison and Neil Young songs. 

Does anyone else wish spring were here already? I usually try not to spur nature past its normal capacity of time and planetary rotation, but geez, I'd love to put on some shorts or a skirt and a pair of sandals, and just hit the park or something. 

So, I'll leave with one of my favorite film clips. Funniest scene ever ( or at least I think so!).

Wishing you a great Saturday!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you're having the kind of day you dreamed about all year. Thank you to each and all who have helped and comforted me in 2012. I hope I was able to do the same for you, but if not, I'll try harder in the coming year. Also, thank you to my publisher WiDo! You are awesome!

Below is what I bought for myself this Christmas. It's a stockpile of retro young adult fiction, and I've already gone through a couple of them! One even has an old library card in it with names and signatures ranging from 1977 and up. I love that.

What did you buy for yourself this year?

Safe travels and Best Wishes!

Snow

I know I'm cheating and posting a lot of videos, but sometimes I just don't feel like injecting the world with my inner thoughts and views on politics. Anyway, it's Christmas. Time to sit around by the fire and watch Youtube. Right?

It's the day before the night before Christmas!

I have this song on an old 1960's record. One of my favorites! Everyone's singing the usual standards and I have these goofy little gems running through my head. Thought I'd share so you can sing along . . .

It's that time of year again . . .

Glad we're all still here! It's been rather hard concentrating on writing and editing anything this week. I've made little notes, tinkered around, but mostly I am just enjoying this time with the kids—and that includes watching a lot of movies. I'm probably eating more than usual too.

Right now I have Scrooge open in another browser, the fabulous version with Albert Finney. It's available on youtube, and you can see it too if you'd like!




Also, I found on Youtube a 1979 radio production of A Christmas Carol by a comical public radio staff who seemed to be indulging in too much Wassail. It starts off innocently enough, but the liquor starts to kick in after only a few minutes. Pretty funny stuff! Try to give an entire listening to if you can. Part one:




 And part two:





I hope you are having a wonderful Friday! We finally had some snow here in eastern Kansas and personally I'm loving it. Now . . . I just need some fruitcake.

Sadness

Well my friends, not much to say is there? What a sad and horrible day. And yet, my two kids were home sick so I technically had a very good day. I was able to hug my kids, give them kisses, make them lunch, and I'll be able to kiss them goodnight. It's so horribly sad that any parent out there should not have the same opportunity. My heart breaks. I've gone from tears, to feeling ill, to anger. Why do these things happen? What is going on in our world today?!

Like many, I keep picturing MY child in that kindergarten class. Liam is in kindergarten this year. It's unfathomable and there are no words.

Years ago on this blog I wrote about how us writers, and we're all writers if we're keeping up a blog, have such a great opportunity to use moments like this to harvest our talents for good, to heal, to give solutions, to comfort, to discuss. If you'd like, you may use the comment section to discuss what happened today and how it makes you feel. The way I feel is: sick, sad, horrified, fear, FEAR, regret, but it always comes back to being sad.

Not sure why this particular person popped into my head, but I thought of Anne Frank and found a wonderful page of her quotes. It's exceedingly relevant for today's events, so take a look if you have a moment. Also, here's a song written by Paul McCartney that I used to sing. It says much more than I ever could on a night like this:




Little angels, we're so sorry. We failed you, but we are working on a better world. We will pray for you and we will not forget what happened. God bless the families, God bless the children, God bless the community and the entire world.

Take care, everyone.