WHEN DREAMS BLEED release!

WHEN DREAMS BLEED

It will be several days before my book is ready to be shipped, but I cannot contain the news any longer!

This has been one heck of an exciting adventure and a huge dream come true for me.

My new website is now up and running (!!!!), so pre-orders can be placed there through PayPal. Expect books to arrive in the next couple weeks.

I have posted the first 3 chapters on my website for those who would like a ‘teaser’. Would love to hear your thoughts.

A BIG thank you to those of you who accompanied me on this journey….

Writing and getting the word ‘out there’

As a relatively new contributing writer for the Examiner, I have spent the last month and half trying to learn how to juggle my time. With a requirement of 3 – 4 articles a week, the Examiner has been both great practice and great exposure, but getting my stuff read by a large audience is a tremendous amount of work. The good news is that it has given me a huge insight into what it will really take to be a successful published author. Networking and becoming a ‘brand’ borders on a full-time job.

As some of you may know, I have a novel I have been ‘shopping’ for months and months now. Always a dream of mine to go the ‘traditional’ publishing route, my learning curve on this project has been huge. After all this time, (and more responses than I care to admit that tell me “thank you, but our agency is not taking on any more clients at this time”), I am centimeters away from finally realizing that POD/self-publishing may be the only way to see my novel in print within my lifetime. Sigh…

When I began this journey, “self-published” had the connotation of “my writing sucks, I can’t get an agent and so I have to go this route”. I have now read books from tremendously talented people who have gone this route and I have to admit, I am pleasantly surprised. With the literary world fighting harder to make a buck and more and more authors trying to get published for the first time, POD and Ebooks seem to honestly be a more viable and economically feasible alternative. Whether one goes traditional or another route, an author has to fight tooth and nail to get his name and product out there, so why not reap greater financial benefits for doing the same amount of work?

I’m convinced that the only way for this to succeed is to continually market, network and support those authors who have opted to go the ‘non-traditional’ route. My reading list now contains up-and-coming authors I find on Facebook, those who have opted for smaller publisher/distributors and those going the self-published route. I am making a conscious effort to reach out to those that have traveled my same difficult road and encountered the same ‘bumps’. I can only hope that one day, when my novel is out, others will do the same.

So many words, so little time…

It’s been a long while since I put anything on this blog, but all for good reasons.  Besides traveling, trying to finish my synopsis, edit my novel, network, research, maintain a business, and live my life, I’ve begun writing articles for an online news magazine of sorts.  You can find my stuff at https://www.examiner.com/x-16469-Scottsdale-Relationships-Examiner

What I thought would be a good way to get my name out there and get some practice at wrting on deadlines has turned into quite the little time consuming sideline. I don’t know if it’s my unending relentless need to find just the perfect words or my just not being used to writing on such a variety of subjects, but I am spending HOURS on this gig! And, needless to say, it’s akin to doing charity work.  But I digress…

I am discovering  this passion is turning into a pretty serious addiction. I’d rather spend hours in search of the perfect words than just about anything else I can think of (well, at least anything I can print here).  What is it they say – a bad day of golf is better than a good day of work? Well, for me, a bad day of writing is better than just about anything. I just hope it all pays off one day so I can look back on all this time spent and laugh at myself for ever questioning its value.

Please stop by examiner.com and let me know someone is reading my perfect words, will you?

Who Needs A Publisher?

The  question nowadays – with any author trying to get something published – is whether or not traditional publishing is truly the best method anymore.

With enough patience, information and very little money (relatively speaking), an author can literally have their work selling on Amazon in a few short months. If they choose e-publishing, their work could be ‘out there’ within days. Of course, there isn’t the exposure  or status that goes along with a big-name publisher, but there isn’t the loss of percentage either. Nor is there the inevitable wait to see something in print. Many, many options exist today between big-name publishers and e-publishing.

 So…how does today’s author make that decision?

Many authors opt to assume all the risk themselves the moment their manuscript is complete. There are others that do so only after the arduous ‘query’ journey. What separates the two groups? 

An author’s most difficult task is the promotion after a book is in print. The task of promotion exists no matter the route, so what makes an author choose one versus the other? Does it come down to ego? A balance-sheet sensibility? Or is it a case of allowing success or failure with big-name publishers to determine one’s path? 

Is the real goal of every author to publish with, say, a Simon and Schuster and only when that fails do they go another route? Or is the industry changing so much and technology making things so much easier that the other options are now the only ones that make any real sense?

This inquiring mind would love to hear your thoughts.

Read A Facebook Author!

Some time ago I decided to start buying books written exclusively by up-and-coming authors I’d met on Facebook. I thought, as a writer trying to get published, why not approach this whole social networking thing with a ‘pay it forward’ mentality?”

I am now about a month or so into this plan and I’m pleased to say that I have come across some absolutely wonderful reads. Randall Radic’s A PRIEST IN HELL, Rick Reed’s BASHED, L.J. Seller’s THE SEX CLUB and my current Kindle download, ALSO KNOWN AS HARPER by Ann Haywood Leal – all very different genres, all varied styles of writing, but each one an absolute work of art in its own right. One may be more well-known than the other, but each one is certainly worthy of any and all buzz they may be receiving. There is just an amazing amount of talent out there

As someone who writes I can read each of these authors’ words and feel each and every emotion that tugged while they struggled over just the right word, just the right phrasing. I see the author scratch her head, strain her brain, writing and re-writing as she brings her stories to life and gives her characters a voice. This sharing of the writer’s soul not only gives my reading a whole new dimension, it provides my own writing with a glorious sense of camaraderie.

Who knows? One of these up and coming Facebook authors could just be the next Grisham or Picoult and I will be proud to say that I knew them before they were rich and famous. 

 …Hell, maybe it’s going to me!

Facts Of Life 101

The idea for my latest WIP, a story about an aged African-American woman living in a nursing home, originated back in the Seventies when I was hired as a nurse’s aide for my first job in a place one-hundred-twenty-two people called home. The ages of the permanent residents ranged from a heartbreaking low of twenty-five all the way to a torturous one-hundred-five. These facts alone speak to the tremendous sadness I witnessed and experienced in the three years I worked there.

I promised myself to one day capture it all in story form – to both honor the wonderful souls that shared their last days on earth with me and to in some way provide a lasting testament to their courage, their memories and their tears.

Why now? Why after all these years? Well, it was the promise I made, but it’s also due to my now being a  student in this ‘Facts of Life” special class that we baby boomers are sooner or later faced with as our parents’ health begins to fail. We become the ones they must look to for the remaining answers in their lives.

My eighty-two-year-old widowed mother had a massive stroke a few months ago which left one side of her body completely paralyzed. She needs therapy and assistance with everything from dressing to personal hygiene on a 24/7 basis.

Facts of Life 101-  Lesson 1: If a person doesn’t die suddenly by either accident or injury, chances are they will need to be looked after in their old age. It really just comes down to the luck of the draw.

After my mother had her stroke (drawing the lowest card in the deck you could say), one of my sisters tried taking care of her at  home for a long time, but our family realized the arrangement was slowly killing both of them. We then searched for a home that met our “but she’s our mother” standards and found one that just brushed the ceiling of what she could afford.

Facts of Life 101- Lesson 2: Round-the-clock in-home caregiver service starts at $20 per hour ($14,400 a month), very basic nursing home care runs around $3500 a month and top-of-the-line assisted living care in a resort-like atmosphere can pass the $10,000 a month mark.

So now my mother  resides in a place very much like the one I worked in thirty-some-odd years ago. Oh, it’s lovely from the outside, with its grand porch and classic Adirondack chairs waiting to welcome guests. Stately old trees offer respite from the afternoon sun and the expansive green lawn provides a heart-healthy meal to all the happily romping bunnies scattered about the grounds. One might even go so far as to call it picturesque. That is until you go inside.

Rooms of people just sitting…and waiting…and waiting some more. The sick, the aged, the lonely. The ones lost in the throes of dementia. The ones that never have visitors. The poverty-level wages and lack of training that gives rise to the under staffing and neglect challenges the character and caliber of the people that manage to maintain their dignity in spite of it all.

This is my work in progress.

Seeking Agent Representation

I have never needed the services of a surrogate mother, yet I now feel like I may have insight as to what that process feels like. Trying to find an agent to sell my manuscript is like asking another person to carry my child and give birth.

I am contacting strangers (yes, strangers for all intents and purposes) to read my completed manuscript, take this “baby of mine” in and give it a life.  Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’ve done my research. I’ve chosen the best people I could find – ones who  like my sort of stuff, ones who’ve sold my sort of stuff – and I’ve followed their guidelines for submission, dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s as required. In fact, because I don’t want to place my baby with just anyone, I have spent hours and hours on research, but now I’m beginning to wonder how anyone survives this process.

“Thank you, but your project doesn’t seem quite right for me at this time.” “Thank you, but I’m not accepting any new clients.” “Thank you, but I’m sending you a form letter because I’m too busy to write you personally.”

I realize this is the nature of the publishing beast, but some days it seems a bit harsh. There are several agents who have asked to see more of my work and, for those, I am eternally grateful. They keep me believing there is just the right someone out there to carry my ‘baby’ and love it as I do.

To all my comrades in battle – the other “yet-to-be-published” writers who refuse to let go of their dreams – keep the faith as I do. There is a home for our writing. We just haven’t found it yet.

Excellent cause: DonorsChoose.org

I am approaching a BIG birthday this year – a number that is so foreign and scary to me that I cannot even put it in print (no issues here!). I received this email today from DonorsChoose.org – an organization I found last year through an article in USA TODAY. It is a charity that benefits public schools (you know, the ones that have ZERO operating budget) and as a donor, you get to actually select the school projects you want to see benefit as a result of your donation.

I donated to several projects last year and a few weeks later I received the most wonderful and precious thank-you’s from the students in the classrooms I helped. It was an amazing feeling!

There are projects ranging from English to Math to Science and they range in cost from a few dollars to several hundred. It’s all about what YOU want to sponsor and what YOU can afford. 

I’ve cut and pasted their email below to give you a suggestion for this year (this is my brilliant segue ).  Whether you contribute or not, I encourage you to at least visit their website and mention it to a friend. You could make the difference!

And the good news? Now I won’t age this year! Woo-hoo!

 

EMAIL FROM DonorsChoose.org below:

Join the party. Light some candles. Give back your birthday!

This month, supporters are asked to donate their birthdays to help raise funds for public school kids. Over 100 signed up, including Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert .

To join The “Give-Back” Birthday Party:
• Create your very own Giving Page, filled with classroom projects you love.
• Share your page with friends and family, so they can support your classroom causes.

Added bonus? According to Colbert, “if you give back your birthday, you don’t age that year. Look it up.”

Create your Giving Page (whether your day is next month or next year) by going to www.donorschoose.org

DonorsChoose.org
347 W 36th St., Ste 503 New York, NY 10018-6406 USA

DonorsChoose.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit incorporated in the State of New York.

If Today Was Your Last Day

Just heard that Nickleback song and it got me to thinking about all the people I know, including myself, who often seem to be stuck in a holding pattern of procrastination. I’ll do it later. I’ll go see her next time. I can’t afford it. It’s too much trouble. I don’t have time for that now. I’ll start next week.

What if each of us only had today? Would we do anything different? Would we take chances we never before dreamed of taking? If we knew this was our last opportunity, would we say and do certain things we normally wouldn’t?

Your life could end today or fifty years from now. Either way, it’ll happen in an instant. So ask yourself – what would you have liked to accomplish in this moment? In this lifetime? More importantly, ask yourself what’s stopping you from doing it? Fear of the unknown? Lack of confidence? Lack of time?

If today was your last day, would any of those reasons matter anymore? Would you somehow find a way to do all that you want?

Ask yourself, but just don’t think about it too long. Time’s a wasting!

I’ve been published in an e-zine!

Check this out ~

http://www.angelsezine.com/2009/04/18/a-daily-declaration/