It is true, to be a good writer you have to write everyday

You hear this from a lot of famous writers. Write every day, even if it is not your best work,  just write something, anything. For me, I find this profound and encouraging. I have written several articles over my life, and a few books. My main issue has been finding the time to sit down and write.

I have a busy life! I am a single mother to a teenager who is in High School, and in the High School band. I have a full time job I go to. I have to do the daily errands, and house keeping to the best of my abilities. It is faced and hectic in my corner of the world and finding time is hard put.

So I sacrifice some of my sleep to write. I write this blog for instance. I also write reviews for my fellow Authors given the opportunity. I am still trying to find my niche in the writing world as I am sure many others out there are as well.

If you are truly passionate about your writing and really want to make a go of it, you need to put the effort into it! A good story is right there sitting in the dusty corners of your mind, but when do you have the time to write it? Anyone can find five to ten minutes a day to string together a few sentences and stash them away for the following day. It may take a lot longer to complete your manuscript but at least you can feel confident that you completed it.

The next step is to sit that thing down and wait it out. I mean set it aside, your brain fried by the time its finished. Go back to it at a later date and read your own work. This where you will find your flaws and strengths of the book and characters and make notes on this.... Now you are editing you book! You want a strong story, with exceptional characters that grow as the story progresses. It's much like planting seedlings, at first you plant the seed, and daily you water it just the right amount, then let time do its work and before long you have a lovely flower before, but your work is not done there. It still needs to be weeded and pruned to give it that polished looked. Something that, when others look upon it will admire the hard work and beauty of your creation!!

So write, write and write some more! The more you write the better you become at the craft. It may seem tedious and frustrating at first but the end results will be well worth all that time you put into your project.


Don't forget, never got too cocky about your own work either, that would just be very cheeky of you!

Have a great weekend and thank you for reading.
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The Illinois Lottery is being sued for Unpaid winnings

Ok, I guess this is what I get for assuming..

I always assumed that when you play a lottery that the money collected from the sales of the tickets was put into an account and held there until a winner is picked. Apparently this is not the case in IL. I am posting the direct link for you to read for yourself in detail as to why there is now a lawsuit coming to the IL Lotto....

Where is this money going if it is not being set aside for winner's to claim?

IL Lotto being sued click here for full article.

Crazed Fanatics, and Rejection

Good morning EVERYONE!

I decided to write this article due to a recent incident with a ..... well I am not sure what to say here.

With out going in to detail or divulging the name of person or persons involved, I will regardless of what was said to whom and from who, keep to my professional side and not give out names. Just a short read here for you and a thought for you all to keep in mind.

When does a fan or follower cross the line? Well, one could say when they begin to over do it, like emailing you several times a day, asking for money, playing on your sympathies, all the way up to stalking and threatening you or your agents if you decide to step away from the overwhelming response you are receiving from said person or persons.

I can not fathom what would make a person go to these extremes. I will never fully understand the inner workings of the mind of people like this. I have recently, been attacked personally and I seriously do not know why. I have never given this person cause for the attack. I have very little interaction with this individual and the claim that was made to me was completely pulled out of thin air!!

This is an isolated incident, however, I have been receiving reports from others who have been experiencing similar problems. (No I will not give out names, for their protection).

Have I ever been rejected from a publisher? Sure. Have I ever wanted to lash out at them for the rejection, maybe sometimes,but have I ever crossed that line into the crazy lady that goes ballistic on them? Heck NO! It would be unprofessional, and unethical to do so. Doing such a thing would cause a person to get a bad reputation, and I have no interest in that what so ever. The same goes for any of my fans or followers. I have never told a fan to get lost, or to leave me alone,  or anything else. That is extreme to say the least. I love my fans and my followers. I have mentioned this before in numerous other posts, that I write for you, I'm not here for the money or the fame (of which I have made neither or very little of).

So please I beg of you, if you are in the public spotlight, be aware of the warning signs of the crazed fanatics around you. People who don't like the word NO, or who just don't give up if you do not reply to them. Stay safe, one or two lost fans is not worth something much more dear to you....

Looking for a new country to move to WHY?

Here in the states we are having our presidency campaigns. Here we have Mr Donald Trump. I can not express enough disgust for this man. I truly can not. This man has NO diplomacy, and talks down to women in  public, he hates it when a woman challenges him and retreats to childish behavior immediately with out haste!!
At a recent debate, he didn't like how a female report was asking the questions, so he claims she is on her menstrual cycle, but not in such a nicely named manner.

IS THIS REALLY WHAT AMERICANS WANT?
 Absolutely NOT!

I read this morning that it is popular belief that this man, who is not for the people of America, but for the big corporations instead, is ahead in the polls and gaining traction...I promise you this, If this man wins the presidency here, I will leave immediately.

Any good ideas on a new country????

Yes, I will vote and no I will NOT vote for him..

Look up some info on this man and tell me why in the world he would make a good president, you can't find one. He just has the money to throw around and I suspect he is already out there buying his votes.

You are Invited......

Today I am inviting all of you my readers to post YOUR  favorite author, or your very own book you have written in the comment sections below. Include your links or theirs which ever you prefer.

Also if you would be kind enough to include a small rating for that book, if it is a different author than yourself.

This is sort of a round table discussion topic today!! Have fun and post away!!!


****NOTE*** Please keep it clean and well, just keep it clean please. Thank you!

Books, Reviews, Ratings, Sharing, and Social Media

Promoting yourself can be a very daunting task as an unrepresented Author. I personally use social media for my promoting. I am on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and a few other sites that help promote my works. What I am finding, is this......

It is very important as an Indie Author to promote your work daily all day everyday. It takes a lot of time and effort to make any kind of profit. I admit I don't do this very much anymore. Why? Here is my answer.

I go out of my way and give out hundreds of free copies of my books. This is a great way to get your book read and your name out there. BUT, it is also a steep pitfall.

People love something for nothing. They also will not give in return. Is it so hard to give a rating? No not really it is just a simple push of a button that may only take you a minute of your time, where as a writer it took months, or years to put out that book that they just got for free. What is one minute compared to years.....nothing.

In turn, how hard is it for someone that got that free book to pass it on to another person who loves to read? We are social creatures ( well most of us are, I admit I am not the in person type of social person ), by nature we talk about things that we enjoy or don't enjoy. I find it hard to believe that between book lovers, there is no conversation going on about a book you just got for free and whether or not you liked, loved, or hated it.

I know Authors who share and support their fellow Indies, religiously. This to is a pitfall. Only a small percentage will do the favor and give you a "share" on their own page. Here is the thing about writer's, we are NOT in competition with each other!! We all started out unrepresented, and we all scratch our way to the top with hard work. We all have wonderful stories to tell and we all love to write. It is born of passion for story telling and delighting other people with our work.

How in the world do you imagine to get ahead, if people refuse to give a rating, or review or use their social media to help promote you. It can not be done. This is why I no longer give out free books and I have stopped promoting the majority, of those I used to support. I did a lot of work to promote them and I got nothing in return I know I am not alone in this matter.

If you are going to take that leap of faith and write that first book, be prepared and do not be disappointed when you see that after you give props to fellow authors, and free books to reader's you get nothing in return...

This should NOT be happening! We need to stick together and support each other, if I give you the decency to promote you or give you a free book , I (or we) should get a minute of your time to at least give a rating or a share. It really does make all the difference..

Family Matters

Hello to all of my readers!! I hope I find you all well and in good shape today.

Today I am writing about Family. I have mentioned before that I have daughter who is now in High School. I am truly having a difficult time adjusting to her new schedule.

I work evenings and the hubby figure works days. We have always done this so that one parent is always in the house for our daughter. I suppose that I do miss out on some of the concerts and recitals due to this, however I need to work and we need the money so that we can afford to give our children the necessary things in life.

My daughter is in band at her school, this year is proving to be very busy for her. Her new band instructor has her scheduled to do extra practices twice a week in the evenings ( actually the entire band has this not just my daughter). Soon they will start their band competitions as well as playing at the home games during football season. She also has to keep up with her homework as well. High School is no play ground, they have a lot more work to do to keep up with their studies, as she is finding out.

I have also mentioned before that she has made numerous new friends. This is great! She is out of her shell and instead of relying on just one best friend she has many now. You really want your kids to have friend's so you sit back and let them go off and socialize. This is great for her, but now that cuts out another piece of time for mom and dad.

In an earlier post I showed how a very nice young man asked my daughter to the Homecoming dance. It was very sweet to say the least. However now, they are "dating". I call it more like boyfriend and girlfriend, and not dating as they are both too young to go on a date unsupervised, but you got to keep up with the times, and this is what the kids call it these days. I am lucky that she landed a boy who has a lot of respect for her. But there it is, another very large chunk of time gone from mom and dad.

I am trying to help my daughter understand the importance of family, and that she needs to still spend time with her family, but where does one draw the line? It truly is difficult for a parent to draw the line when everything is going great for their kids. I want her to keep her friends and her boyfriend, and her passion for music and keep up with her good grades, but I do not want to sacrifice my time with her.

SO I suppose what I am trying to say is Family does Matter, and as a parent there really does come a time when we realize that we do sacrifice a lot of our time for our children's happiness. We wait in the background for the day they realize just how much you gave up and come back and say thank you for all that you have done for me. I will wait, and I will continue to sacrifice my precious time I have with her, so that she will be a happy girl.

I will not get cocky over this!!