LFH: The COUNTDOWN is On!

Can you believe it? We're almost there...almost at the finish line! Who would have thought it could take so long to write, then edit/rewrite one book! WOW! It's been a journey to say the least! A long, hard journey!

There's been times I wasn't sure it would ever see completion. The funny thing is, the book was written over three (3) years ago. But, when it came time for me to publish it, I wanted to give it a once-over; and being the perfectionist that I am, I was no longer satisfied with it. It's like...I found every flaw under the sun in it, and couldn't rest until they were corrected. But, this is the other thing, I was now on medication (for arthritis, nothing mental lol!) that tired me out and slowed me down, considerably. It's only been a couple of months ago that I realized it was the medicine slowing me down like this. I couldn't figure out for the life of me what the problem was. Here I was working 10-12 hrs. a day on this book, sometimes longer -- just editing/rewriting -- which should have been relatively quick and easy and, yet, it felt like I was trudging through mud in slow motion. Just the thought of finishing this book was becoming exhausting! Not to mention you have to market yourself the entire time to keep people interested. You have to keep up your Facebook and Twitter and Book Blog, which I began to fail miserably in. But, all that is behind me now!

In January 2013, we will be debuting Letters From Heaven, the first (1st) in a three (3) book series in a line of Mainstream Contemporary Fiction with a Hint of the Paranormal. Many of you have asked where did I get such an idea for a book; whether or not it's fact or fiction. Well, it is indeed fiction, but the idea for the book was birth from a personal, family tragedy. The clip below will tell you more:

I hope you enjoyed the video and have a better understanding of how Letters From Heaven came into being, and I do hope you help me to kickstart it off with a BANG by telling all of your friends to come here and read the Prologue and Excerpt and hopefully, buy the book when it's released in January. I'll be giving you an actual release date for January, SOON!

Thank You for your awesome support and I truly hope you thoroughly enjoy LETTERS FROM HEAVEN and all it's wonderful characters!

Oh, in the meantime, have a Wonderful THANKSGIVING, and try not to eat the whole TURKEY!

The Writing Life...Slow, Tedious, But Worth It!

It's easy for people who don't write to question what takes a writer so long to complete a writing project. The process is different for each individual; for example, one writer may be a morning person versus an evening person. One writer may be more comfortable in a coffee shop type of environment, e.g. Starbucks versus another writer being more productive in his/her bedroom. Then one must consider whether a writer is single versus surrounded by family as well as young versus elderly. All of these elements come into play in the life of a writer and may very well affect his/her productivity. 

 

Now, let's skip to me. My project (Book) was completed (all 400+ pages) over 3 yrs ago, but because I'm a perfectionist, I insisted on a once-over (complete edit/rewrite) before publication, as I should have. People want a perfect product when they're paying their money, and they deserve no less than that! So, what happened, you're probably wondering? Life happened! 

The day I completed those 400+ pages, I was so elated I thought I was floating on a cloud! I just couldn't believe it! I had had so many interruptions--thought it would never be finished--and, yet, it was done! I couldn't contain my excitement! And, yes, I thought I could finally give myself a week or two off before starting to edit/rewrite; I mean, how long does it take to edit? A week or two at the most...or so I thought! I guess that cosmic joke was definitely on me!

As soon as I decided to get back to work, my daughter (next to the youngest) decided to drop her life into my life, and the rest is history as they say! It immediately became one thing after another until I became so frustrated I put my book aside and refused to do anything else on it! I didn't touch it again for over a year. And, believe it or not, as soon as I made this decision, no one needed me for anything else. But, this is the crazy thing: As soon as I put my sights back on the book (not having touched it for over a year), here come the "I need you to do" all over again. You may think I'm making this up, but this is the gospel truth. Go on and say it (God knows I've heard it enough times), these are just excuses to keep from finishing the book; well if they are excuses, they are true-event excuses, because these are the things that actually happens every single time I decide to finish my book. I declare it seems as though the universe is against me completing and getting it published. And, just for the record, I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced these types of situations in their course of writing/editing/rewriting? Please comment and let me know. I'd really like to see if I'm the only person this is happening to or if it's somewhat universal.

 

The other question that comes up from none writers is, Why did it take you so long to write your book in the first place? Again, different writers have, not only their own pace of writing, but the length of time it takes to complete a writing project also has to do with the type of writing project they're working on and how detailed and complex the information in it might me. Some authors have an enormous amount of research to do in order to complete their writing project; to include, traveling out of the country. Fortunately for me, my books (so far) doesn't require anything more than my fertile imagination.

I tend to say I can write a book with my eyes closed (not meaning to being cocky)--it's a gift God gave me, but He also gave me many other gifts as well, and when people discover you have gifts or talents of any kind, it makes them somewhat...let me say, dependent on you! You become their "go-to" person for everything, and if you dare say, "I can't, I'm busy," you become the bad person! People think since you're a writer and you work from home, you've got ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD to do their bidding! So, while I'm trying to write my book (before it was finished), I'm also being bombarded with, "I need my taxes done," "Look, I need you to do my bankruptcy," or "Can you please do my divorce for me? I can't afford an attorney." And, the list goes on!

Now, that I'm finally in the editing/rewriting stage of my book, it's "I need help with my term-paper, I need a Resume, Can you look over these legal papers?...I need, I need, I NEED!" And, if I mention that I'm extremely busy trying to finish my editing, then I get attitude and will hear, "It's not like you're ever going to finish it, anyway!" But, if I point this out to the very people who keep asking what's taking me so long to edit/rewrite, they say I'm just making excuses! I simply can't win for losing! What they don't realize is I don't have "A" BOOK to finish, I have MANY BOOKS TO FINISH! But, I have to get the FIRST ONE OUT FIRST! 

 

Then, you have those who think they know the publishing "system" better than the writer do, so they throw hints of how it should be done! Bless their hearts!

So much time has now passed and not only am I not as young and strong and energetic as I used to be, but due to my disabilities (and the medications that I take for them), if I'm not in incredible pain, I'm tired and totally exhausted; yet, I press on because writing is what I LOVE doing!

Here's the real deal: Writers are people just like you. They have families, some of them have other jobs, they have joys, troubles, pains...just like everyone else. My favorite author, the now deceased V.C. Andrews, had crippling arthritis and was wheelchair bound, but between her pain and limitations, she wrote the most profound books... you couldn't put them down! And then there's Danielle Steele who is a phenomenal writer, but you have to wonder when does she have the time to write, between all of the children she's birthing and tending to! My point is, we're writer's, but we also have lives outside of writing, and when people are waiting for you to finish a project (especially family), they don't feel as if you should be doing anything outside of writing. But, if people would just step back and allow us to do what we do best--at our own pace--I promise, we would come through for you, and you wouldn't be disappointed. 

 

Put yourself in our place for just one moment...and you might understand what it's like to be a writer in any given day. I promise you, it's a job like no other...but, a worthy job. It takes us places we've never been, introduces us to people we've never met, and opens the world up to us in ways we could never have imagined...had we not created it.

We are CREATORS of PEOPLE, WORLDS, and UNIVERSES. We are the AUTHORS of LIFE, JOY, PAIN, and so many COMPLEXITIES. We are ARTISTS who PAINTS THE WORLD WITH WORDS and changes your perception of the world around you! We are YOUR EYES, EARS, and VOICE. And, we LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

The next time you pick up a book to read, think of what it took for the author to get those words on those pages--his/her life, pains, passions, joy, and life's interruptions--and just sit back and relax. Revel in every nuance of every word and just know...this book was written just for YOU!

A Learning Curve...

Like I said before, there was a time if you were a writer you wrote your book and assisted in promoting it and prayed the sells hit the roof! Now, it's media and multimedia and blogging and youtube and book trailers (I've only known about them for a few months, believe it or not)...it's all so overwhelming! Writing...I can do that in my sleep! The greatest compliment I ever received (did I tell you this already?) is when I was accused (via my son's 4th grade teacher) of plagiarizing something I had helped him to write for a school project. Even when I gave in and told teacher that I helped him, she still insisted I had to have gotten it out of a book, and she was going to find the copy of the book I got it from to prove it! Needless to say, she never found that book! On one hand she was insulting my intelligence in insisting that I couldn't have written that well in the first place; on the other hand, it was a compliment because it was my very first hand at fiction. She had given the children a scenario whereas a young girl dressed in red (or was it white) was sitting at a bus stop (supposedly waiting for the bus) and the children (including my son) had to take it from there. This, of course, was a class assignment. It only had to be 2 to 3 pages long. Well, my son and I did it together: I asked him where was the girl going? Did she miss the bus? Was there a seat on the bus for her to sit down? Was the bus late? Did it come at all? The kind of questions that would get him thinking. And, the next thing you knew, we had a story! She gave him a B because she insisted he (even with my help) couldn't have made the story up! My point is, telling stories comes easy for me, but I didn't know it until that assignment. Until then, I had only written non-fiction; although, I loved reading fiction books.
       Finally, I've stepped out and am ready to do something with this fiction and the world has changed on me! I've been trying to edit for 3 months! Normally, that would have taken me 2 to 3 weeks, but having to stop and blog and stop and tweet and stop and add to Facebook and stop and respond to people writing me...by the time I finish all that, I'm exhausted and the editing gets an hour in and I'm calling it a day! My kids (who don't write and don't understand how it works now, either) are saying, Leave Twitter alone until you finish, but then you lose your following and have to start all over again. You ignore Facebook and in a few days they want to know...who are you?
       An assistant would solve that problem but who can afford one? Amanda Hocking, for sure. But, I'm not there, yet. Because I will hire one as soon as I am. I have 2 hands and 10 fingers...and I sure haven't learned how to type with my toes, yet!
       The thing is (truth time) people are hungry for interaction...any kind, any way they can get it. Parents ignore children, children are bored out of their minds...everyone is looking for that new wave of interaction, even if it's behind a keyboard. Words of encouragement. Words of kindness. A sort of media holding of the hands! We're human and we yearn for the human touch...even if it's behind the glare of a computer or smart phone screen!
       That's why I've named my Publishing Company, A Soft Place To Fall. I know it's a mouth full and not at all, a typical name, but it's what people need and it's what my books will offer when one reads them. Comfort, Hope, Care...Possibilities! And, no...it won't be all fun and games between the pages, but there will always be light at the end of the tunnel: There will always be a Soft Place To Fall.
       Yep, this great grandma has had to face and achieve a learning curving and I'm still going around that bend (sometimes a bit slow), but I've met a community of wonderful people that will help me to get where I'm going, just like I'll help the next person to get where they're going. If we all keep that shoulder strong and firm, we'll always BE that soft place to fall ON...or at least, to LEAN on. That's been my learning curve..realizing that in all this, I'm NOT alone! And, neither are you! So, come on...take my hand...Let's go around this next curve together!

I'm Back...And I'm Proud!

Ok…giving up the blog didn’t work: It didn’t work for me and it didn’t work for you! I saw you looking every other day for some new information up here; only, to find the same old thing!  So, I apologize!  The truth is…I’m too old for all this stuff! Plain and simple! There was a time you wrote a book, advertised it, marketed it, toured with it, and if things went well, you sold a few!  Now, you have to Twitter…I mean, Tweet—See how old I am? My grandson laughs at me because I keep saying I’m “Twittering”—make a Facebook page for your family to take over…it’s a nightmare! When all I ever wanted to do in this life was write my books and hope you enjoyed them, and maybe meet you in the library or bookstore and talk with you about them over a cup of Ginger Tea or Capaccino…oh, those were the good old days! At any rate, I’m back and I’m not going anywhere: I Promise! I’ve got to find a way to make this work! So, here’s the plan. I’ll start putting more pics up here and stuff like that!  Maybe, write shorter posts more often…that should be doable!  And, so in catching up, I can assure you much has been going on here in Virginia, the most important being I just became a Great Grandmother! Yep...you heard me right! On Friday, July 27, 2012 (Yes, a lot of time has passed), we welcomed into our family JaCorey Pierre Parks, weighing in at 7lbs. 10oz. at 9:15 am. We were exhausted (I assisted in the all night labor), but he was worth it. So, here he is......

I will most definitely find a way to incorporate him into one of my next books; maybe, even one in this series...I'll see. I don't like to "stuff" them in, I like to put my grandchildren in where their fit feels natural. In case I haven't told you this before, I always put one or two of my grandchildren in each of my books (or rather, I use their names). I actually got this idea quite some years ago from a reknown author, Danielle Steele (who just happened to have been on The View just a few days ago). At any rate, he's here and I'm back! Thanks for being so patient and understanding. Now, back to editing for me! I've got a book to get ready for publishing! Wish me luck!

Letters From Heaven...little update...

It’s been a long weekend; the fun is over, and it’s time to buckle down and get back to work. Being the workaholic that I am, I hardly enjoyed my forced weekend off. You’re probably wondering how was it forced? First, there was a 70’s party on Saturday that I had to attend (my son-in-law’s BD); then, my oldest daughter decides she’s going to have a cookout the very next day (Sunday): No rest for the weary! Two days off that I desperately didn’t need, and couldn’t afford! So, here I am now playing catch-up; hope I actually get caught up!

On top of all that, I’m out the door this weekend; going out of town to my granddaughter’s H.S. Graduation (more time to be lost from editing)! Now, you see why it took me so many years to write this book in the first place? These life interruptions are constant and often.  And, I won’t even mention the phone! 

I hope everyone had a great holiday.  I will be keeping you update on what I’m doing and from where.  You can always follow my movements on Facebook and keep up with me on Twitter.  Until next time, Peace, Joy and Happiness!

What Would YOU Do?...

Somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 2 minutes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.  It’s not just little girls being snatched on their way to school anymore, or little boys being sweet-talked into an alley by an older boy; it’s far bigger, far more insidious than that! Our society is being raped on an inter-continental scale, far greater than our finite minds could even have imagined 15 or 20 years ago. We tend to speak of our ancestors turning over in their graves for some of the things we’ve imagined to do (and, indeed, DO), but we don’t have to go nearly that far back anymore. I can assure you, the turning over in the grave is now of massive proportion! What am I talking about? I’m talking about Human Trafficking across borders…from one country to another to another. Women, Men and CHILDREN who are stolen from their homes—their cities, their states, their COUNTRIES—to make a profit via sex (and in other cases, drugs) for men and women without hearts or souls! And, what really blows my mind (besides the sheer sickness and tragedy of it all), is that the people who do this sees themselves as normal family men and women trying to make a living. That’s what they call make money off of the backs of little girls and little boys! (Ok…I’ve got to move on to my point because I’m getting angry just writing this!). 

Letters From Heaven is a story born of tragedy, but steeped in love and triumph. The story is based around a little girl conceived by rape (and of another race), born into an aristocratic family, to a young mother who refused to give her up. Unfortunately, the mother will die a few years after giving birth; thus, leaving her daughter with an eclectic group of people that will do anything from showering her with love, treating her like she's invisible, to torturing her almost to death! 

This is the 1^st in a series of 3 books with many colorful characters fighting their own demons their own way, but they all learn—ok, not all, there’s always one who just refuses to learn and will, eventually, pay the cost for not learning (oh, well)—and are better for it in the end. 

Oh, and the secrets! Everybody has a secret!  Good, juicy secrets! I mean…if Wendy Williams (How you duwin?) was reviewing and gossiping about “characters” instead of real people, these characters would be first in line…just saying.

Anyway, I did promise you the Prologue to my book a while back, so here it is.  Also, as we all know, rape is a very serious issue (and, not at all to be taken lightly), and because the main character in my book was conceived by raped, I will be donating a percentage (%) of my earnings via Letters From Heaven to The Polaris Project (www.polarisproject.org). Let’s do our part to help stop human trafficking: Lets do it NOW!

PROLOGUE

It was not my face that my mother saw on that unnaturally cold September day, but the face of a cruel and savage stranger.  It was the day that she gave birth to me, the day that she chose to keep me and see that face for the rest of her life. 

I will never know why she chose to make such an incredible sacrifice under the most deplorable of circumstances, but I would come to know that she lived with no regrets of it.  She would defend my very existence—time and again, declaring that I was but a delicate flower born from the twisted root of a poisonous plant, and would further argue that even some poisons are used in healing.  But her family would hear none of it and I was not to be accepted.  To them I was everything but a healing balm—my innocence lending them no comfort to my presence.  I was an abomination, plain and simple—a child born out of the malice of rape and rage; a mockery of decent, civilized folk.  And as my grandmother would so callously put it, “…not to mention, a horse of a different color!”

 But to my mother, I was beautiful.  I was the absolute sunshine of her life and she loved me more than anything.  She saw nothing different or lacking in me; all she saw was her precious baby girl who happened to have creamy caramel-colored skin,  and crinkly hair the color of gold.  As far as my mother was concerned, there was nothing more to see…and nothing more to be said of it. I was hers and she was mine, and the two of us would endure and conquer any and everything together…even until the day that death would come and do us part.

 Little did we know on that unnaturally cold September day that her death would soon eclipse my birth, and—little did we know—that from my unseemly beginnings to her fragile ending, a bond of love would be forged so powerful and so strong as to transcend the boundaries of life and death, to reach far into the distance of time and space…to live forever in the heart of a little girl.

This is my mother’s story, and these are my Letters from Heaven.

  

Now that you have read the the Prologue to my book, I want you to consider and write back to me your thoughts on this issue:  What would YOU do in a similar situation? 

I've been asked if the book is based on me or my life: No, it isn't.  But, as a writer we're taught to write what you know about.  Having worked in the fields of Social Work, Mental Health, Corrections, and as a Pastor, I've come across all type of people in all type of situations. I don't just write about what I know, I write about what touches me...what pulls at my heart strings.

Thanks for dropping by: Feel free to leave a comment, and don't forget to check out the Polaris Project @ www.polarisproject.org. A worthy project for a worthy cause!  And, in the meantime...Live...Laugh...Love!  

I'm Back...Working Harder Than Ever!

Ok, so there's no excuse: I've absolutely been missing in action, and I humbly ask your forgiveness. All I can do is promise that this won't happen again unless, 1. I'm dead, 2. I'm in a coma, 3. I'm in a hospital without computer and no one will bring it to me...so, there you have it!

An awful lot has happened since November (the last time I posted).  My ex-pastor (whom I gave my life to Christ under in 1971) passed: Right in his pulpit after preaching his Sunday sermon. Being a retired pastor myself, I knew he wouldn't have wanted to go any other way! That's how a soldier for Christ does it! Then, my 38 year old daughter visited death...was right at his door! I won't get into the hows and whys right now, but it was more than a bit much. The doctors gave her 24 to 48 hours to live when her husband got her to the ER.  But, I wasn't haven't it. With all of us Christian in that ER--her aunts, uncle, everybody--surely we could call down heaven to save my daughter...right? Her aunt turn to me, let out a sigh and say to me, "All we can hope for is that she goes peacefully." Wait...is that funeral music I hear playing in the ER?! Are you serious! I mean, really...did she really say that to me?! I had to get up and get out of there as fast as I could! And, I'm mad because I can't even move very fast...I have to hobble out! I didn't want my daughter to DIE IN PEACE!!! I DIDN'T WANT HER TO DIE AT ALL!!!!!!!!!! I hobbled to my car and started talking to God on behalf of my daughter: Just little ole me and her husband...who I asked to come with me! I had to get away from those religious people and have a serious one on one with my Father! When I went back into my daughter's room--this is the honest to God truth--she acted like someone had just given her a life transfusion! She was a little perky, when she had been totally lifeless at first! Needless to say, she's alive and getting better by the day, but she was left blind; however, even her sight is trying to come back slowly.

Then, I became ill with a virus I got from the hospital from going to see her everyday: The Norovirus.  It was supposed to last about a week and it took me out for 6 weeks! So, a lot was going on; and during this time, I started editing (seriously) Letters From Heaven.  But, I also learned something with all of this going on: I HATE BLOGGING! There...I've said it, and the world didn't come to and end!

I love writing...poetry, fiction, non-fiction, even term-papers!...but I hate blogging! It's like...what do I talk about? But, then it came to me...I write about social issues (in fiction, yes), but still social issues; so I've decided, that's what I'll blog about! Whatever is going on at the time I'm blogging, that's what I'll talk about. Hey, that should be interesting! So, let's see how that works out. In the meantime, back to Letters From Heaven. I will be needing reviews and all the help I can get for a first time publishing venture, so don't hesitate to offer advice. Until the next time...Live...Laugh...Love! Oh, and thank you for your patience!