And we're off....

...to the Outer Banks that is. The family is taking a two-week vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The above picture is of the girls and I walking through The Christmas Shop in Manteo. We were so disappointed one year when we went out there and The Christmas Shop was closed, and every time we drove by the empty parking lot my heart ached a bit.

What a pleasant surprise it was to see that it reopened last May, and it's even bigger and better than it was before. Along with the many Christmas items, they have artwork from local artists, antiques, a museum shop and a jewelry shop, in addition to the Outer Banks Fudge Company--which serves coffee and treats.

If you're on the Outer Banks, The Christmas Shop & Island Gallery is one place you must visit.

Starting in September, this blog will be updated more regularly. Weekly motivational quotes will be posted again, and I'll share more on my writing projects, in addition to having more guest spots from published authors.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

In Pursuit of an Idea by Kim Smith

Kim Smith is currently on a virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion to promote her new romance novel, A Will to Love. This is an article she wrote for my book blog, The Book Connection, which will host her on July 24th. I liked this article so much, that I decided to feature it here first. Would be and novice writers could gain a lot from this article.



If you would like to follow Kim on her virtual book tour, please visit http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ during the month of July to see where you stops next.

In the Pursuit of an Idea by Kim Smith

Recently, I was out of town on a business trip. No great thing but for the fact that I had horrible trouble with the airlines that was supposed to move me from point A to point B. The long wait times (two different days!) gave me plenty of opportunities to think about situations and writing and what worked and what didn’t.

For most beginning writers, the pursuit of an idea wide enough to carry an entire book is a big deal because many agents and publishers say “make the story universal, make it something that is timeless”. Most beginners (some who are not as well) take this advice seriously. They want to do everything right straight out of the gate.

I know many established, multi-published authors who take the idea that flashes through their mind and keep building on it “off the paper” for extended periods of time. Some have even developed their characters, their settings, or their plot for years in their pre-planning. But, for some of us, this simply won’t work. I happen to be one of these other writers, the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants sorts. This post is not for the writer who can create for extended periods before writing their first word, but rather the ones who cannot.

As I sat in the airport contemplating writing something (anything!) because my heart felt that I had put it off too long trying to make it into something useful not wasted, I remembered William Faulkner.

He is quoted as saying, "Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him"

So I am here to tout the news that it is okay to write out the idea on paper, not carry it around in our heads, go forward, dive right into the story by writing a few thousand words. It is okay to turn those few thousand into a few thousand more in an attempt to see if it will go anywhere, only to discover that you do not have a story. Yes, I am an advocate of broken beginnings, saggy middles, and books with no hope.

Why, you ask, would I do such a thing? Why would I encourage writers to write anything less than their best, and most well-thought out work? Waste paper, muddle a mind?

Because writers write. That’s what we do, that’s who we are!

Beginning writers (especially) need to keep poking the muse to see what she has to offer up. When we censor our writing mind, and toss out ideas before they have a chance to be developed (because someone says “that won’t work” or “that’s been done before”), we get into a mind-set that hobbles our creativity.

Let that weak idea flow! You may have a short story, not a novel. You may have a character sketch, or a mood piece, not necessarily a short story, but that is perfectly fine. You still have something to write. Something that moves your writing life forward a little bit more than yesterday. Along the way, you will know when it is right, when it is something that can be stretched, or developed, when it will go into a bigger piece of the puzzle, and who better to know such as that? It is your story to tell, your character to develop, your plot to pursue.

After returning from my business trip, I walked the grounds of Rowan Oak, Faulkner’s home in Oxford, Mississippi. I smiled when I felt the urge to write hit me. I didn’t tarry either. Maybe ole Will was standing somewhere under one of those huge, old trees in the avenue, waving at me—(laughing, probably) telling me to go, go, go at my fierce determination to wrestle something out in the name of writing. Telling me to be free in my methods, my failures. I had a small amount of success, churning out one small story. Thanks, Will.

Kim Smith is the hostess for the popular radio show, Introducing WRITERS! radio show on Blog Talk Radio. She is also the author of the zany, Shannon Wallace mystery series available now from Red Rose Publishing and also the new romance novel, A Will to Love. You can visit Kim’s website at www.mkimsmith.com.

Happy Independence Day!

As America celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have served and who are currently serving in the U.S. Military and their families.

God Bless America!!!

God Bless America
by Irving Berlin

God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above;

From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.

Here's another excellent song that celebrates America:



To see Lee Greenwood's actual video you can go here.

Lastly, though I'm sure you know it, here are the lyrics to America's National Anthem:



The Star Spangled Banner
By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Motivational Quote #28

"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins - not by strength but by perseverance." - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

After a long, unplanned hiatus, we're back. While usually motivational quotes are posted on Saturdays, that might change now that my schedule has changed.

As writers, we hear a lot about perserverance, and in this classic quote from H. Jackson Brown Jr., author of Life's Little Instruction Book, we are reminded of the importance of perserverance.

It isn't always the strong who succeed nor the ones who are the best. It is the ones who don't give up. As a young girl I had a dream of becoming a writer. I wrote stories and poems, many of which I still have tucked away in a manila envelope in my hope chest. These stories and poems display my interests of the time and also helped me deal with the death of my mother when I was only 14.

Even though life threw me many curveballs, I never gave up on that dream. I began writing my first novel when I was a single parent working three jobs just to make ends meet. I poured hours into that manuscript when I remarried and had the chance to be a stay-at-home mom. The first draft was completed in 2006. Unfortunately, the co-author moved out of state and has been too busy to edit that draft, so the project lingers on.

I was disappointed, as I had high hopes for that novel. I still do! So, I began concentrating on my own projects. While contributing articles to Writer2Writer, I attended conferences, kept writing and getting critiques of my work, and spent as much time as I could honing my craft.

Now, the mother of a full grown son and two young daughters, my writing time is more limited than ever; but still I perservere. And, yes, it has paid off. My first Christian children's picture book will be released by Guardian Angel Publishing in the fall of 2010.

It has been a long road for that little girl who dreamed of becoming a writer. And even though it seemed like my dreams were unobtainable, I did it! I am going to be not only a writer, but a published author. It's amazing and scary all at once.

I encourage you to perservere as you journey along your road to publication. My own story shows that it can happen, even though I doubted it at times. Don't give up! You have the power to make your dreams comes true. Use it!

Catching the Waves by Tristi Pinkston

I recently reviewed Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston. In case you missed that review, you can find it here.

Tristi is currently touring the blogosphere to let people know all about her contemporary romantic suspense novel Agent of Old Lace, and I agreed to host her. Actually, if she hadn't asked I would have offered because I loved her last book, Season of Sacrifice so much, I knew I wanted to read Agent in Old Lace the minute it was available.

Though Tristi told me it might be dangerous, I allowed her to take the reins and discuss whatever she wanted to today. So, I'm taking a nap for a few moments and Tristi is moving in.

Catching the Waves
By Tristi Pinkston

When a surfer wants to catch a wave, he goes out into the water and gets ready, holding his board poised just right. When the wave comes, he takes full advantage, placing the board and hopping on, holding his arms just so in order to keep his balance, and he rides that wave as far as it will take him. As he’s standing in the water, waiting, he doesn’t feel guilty if the wave doesn’t come right when he thought it would. He just waits a minute, remaining ready, and then enjoys the ride when it comes.

Spurts of creativity are very much like waves. They come and they go, sometimes pounding into the beach and sometimes gently lapping, often with gaps in between. Writers ride those waves of creativity, tapping out pages upon pages as the wave takes them into shore. Yet, for some reason, the analogy stops here. Whereas the surfer patiently waits for the wave, knowing one is coming, the writer frets and stresses. “Where’s my next wave?” he moans. “I’m a fraud. A failure. I’ll never get published. I’ll never finish this book. I’m stuck and I don’t know how to fix it. I’m a loser.”

What the writer needs to realize is what the surfer knows instinctively. The wave will come. It might not come right now, or thirty seconds from now, but it will come. No amount of stressing or whining will bring it any sooner. The question is, are you poised in the water, gripping your board, ready to leap on when the time is right?

1. Are you getting enough rest? Sleep is one of the major factors in creativity. If you just can’t come up with a decent idea to save your life, it’s time for a nap, or two or three … whatever you need to recharge.

2. Are you feeding your mind? If you’re writing a romance, are you reading romances, watching romantic movies, and snuggling up with your sweetie? You’ve got to feed the fire. If you’re writing a historical fiction, read them. If you’re writing a nonfiction text, read them. Keep your brain firing on those topics so that when your idea flares to life, it won’t be like trying to start a rusty chainsaw.

3. Are you taking enough time away from the computer? That might seem counterproductive, but it’s not. Sitting in the same place day after day, staring at the screen, isn’t the most awe-inspiring place you could be. If the screen is mocking you, take a break. Go for a walk. Get some oxygen flowing. Go shopping. Sometimes changing your atmosphere is the best thing you can do to get those ideas coming again.

You are not a failure if your ideas seem slow in coming. You just need some time to recharge yourself and possibly even remind yourself why you love to write in the first place. It should never feel like a chore. If that’s where you are right now, take a break. Then get back in the water and wait for the wave. It will come.


I'm back! I popped in at Tristi's blog and noticed this post from the day she kicked off her virtual book tour. It's not often I read of an author interviewing herself, so please check it out.

You can also find Tristi online at her website.

Stop Juggling: Why Multi-tasking isn’t Productive

This article originally appeared in the May issue of Writer2Writer under the title, Multi-tasking - Tips and Tricks to Make it Work!. The above title is closer to capturing my feelings about multi-tasking.

When I was younger, I thought multi-tasking was great. Even though I made some mistakes here or there, I felt like I was accomplishing a lot more. Consider it wisdom or more experience, but now that I'm older, I've learned to appreciate focusing on one thing at a time and doing it well.

The article below will give you some tips on how to stop multi-tasking so that you can truly be more productive!

Stop Juggling: Why Multi-tasking isn’t Productive

Copyright Cheryl C. Malandrinos - All Rights Reserved.


If you’ve spent any time in the corporate world, then you’re familiar with the term multi-tasking. Employers mention it in their job posts and applicants proudly put “ability to multi-task” on their resumes.

Multi-tasking is a good thing, right?

Well, maybe not.

A University of Michigan study found that participants took longer to complete math problems if they tried to switch back and forth among tasks. In addition, Russell Poldrack, a UCLA associate professor of psychology and co-author of a study on multi-tasking says that, “Multi-tasking adversely affects how you learn," because “…that learning is less flexible and more specialized, so you cannot retrieve the information as easily.”

Author and management expert Dave Crenshaw even wrote a book to help business leaders and employees recognize why multi-tasking is counterproductive.

How can you stop multi-tasking in a world where cell phones, PDA’s and laptops keep you connected 24/7?

Here are some tips to get you started.

Write a to-do list

As a writer, you probably have three projects you’re working on and several more you want to work on. Problem is, when your mind is focusing on everything all at once instead of only on the task at hand, you’re more apt to make mistakes. Write a to-do list, prioritize it, and stick to it. Just make sure you leave a little bit of wiggle room in case something urgent comes up.

Keep a Pad Close By

Oftentimes when you’re working, an idea will pop into your head and you’re afraid to forget it, so you wander off to focus on that idea or perform a task you’ve forgotten.

Don’t do it! Write it down and get back to what you were doing. Not only will you keep your focus on the task at hand, think of how great it will feel when you check something off your to-do list.

Stop Distractions

Email, cell phones, and the Internet have made life easier in many ways. But technology has its downside. It’s so tempting to just take a minute to click over and check the daily news or your email. But it never takes only a minute, and before you know it, all your writing time has been spent on anything but writing.

When I work on deadline I don’t answer my phone. I keep it by my desk in case of emergencies, but unless it is one of the girls’ schools, I let the answering machine pick it up.

Set a time each day to check email and return phone messages and browse the Internet on a scheduled break.

Don’t Allow Interruptions

Family and friends need to be reminded that you’re working and not available. Constantly reinforce your work schedule with them and don’t allow them to interrupt you for anything that isn’t an emergency.

Make Time for Others

The flip side of not allowing interruptions is to train yourself not to work during family time. This is something I especially struggle with. Sometimes that means packing up a picnic lunch and taking my girls to the park so that I’m not tempted to do any work.

Keep family time sacred. Don’t return phone messages. Don’t check your email. Don’t hibernate in your office for an hour. Let your family know how important they are to you and they’ll be more respectful of your writing time.

Make Time for Yourself

The world might be going 24/7, but you can’t. You need down time and you need to get enough sleep so that you can stay healthy and productive.

Even if it’s just fifteen minutes a day, allot some time in your schedule to do whatever it is you want to do. Take a walk. Take a bath. Take a power nap. Whatever it is, do it.

Try to get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night. While it might seem like you’re doing yourself a favor if you stay up late to complete what you’re working on, people who do not get enough sleep are more prone to making mistakes and forgetting things, not to mention the adverse health affects caused by sleep deprivation.

Don’t confuse being busy with being productive. Multi-tasking is not the way to balance your family life and your career. It could result in costly mistakes. Creating to-do lists, writing things down instead of trying to focus on multiple things at a time, stopping distractions and interruptions, and making time for others and for yourself will give you a better balance between your personal life and your career.

And you’ll be more productive too!

About the Author: Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelancer who specializes in helping writers increase productivity through time management and organization. She has also written articles on everyday life in the 1800’s, gardening, parenting, and women’s health issues. Cheryl is also a book reviewer, blogger, and a virtual book tour coordinator for Pump Up Your Book Promotion. You can find out more about Cheryl by visiting her website at http://ccmalandrinos.tripod.com/

Dr. Ronald J. Frederick on Living Like You Mean It

I'm very excited to tell you about Dr. Ronald J. Frederick and his book, Living Like You Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want shares with you his proven four-step approach to overcoming fear and connecting more deeply with yourself and others.

Writers deal with self-doubt and fear often. Not only do we doubt our abilities, but we can be afraid of failing, afraid of succeeding, and afraid that no matter what we do it can't possibly be good enough.

With Living Like You Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want you'll learn to:

* Break through old patterns and get unstuck,

* Open up to the energy and resources inside you and feel motivated,

* Get in touch with your personal truth and put an end to confusion and indecisiveness,

* Experience a profound sense of meaning, purpose, and belonging,

* Deepen and enrich your relationships and feel closer to those you love,

* Realize your true potential and experience greater fulfillment and happiness,

* ….and live your life like you mean it!

Today Dr. Frederick will discuss the power of fear and how it keeps us from achieving what we want.

The ability to live like you mean it hinges on being able to be emotionally present in our lives—really being there for the happy times and coming through the difficult times a much better person. It’s our feelings that make us feel alive and vital, energize us to meet and deal with life’s challenges, and point us in the best direction to get what we really want. Our feelings are what bridge the gap between ourselves and others, enliven our relationships, and help us feel close. Our personal identity—the core of who we are—is largely formed by what we feel and how we react. Our likes and dislikes, what makes us happy, what makes us sad, what excites us, what brings us pleasure, what annoys or frustrates us—all say so much about who we are. It’s in our feelings that we find our true authentic self.

Unfortunately, many of us are uncomfortable with our feelings. We have what I call a “feelings phobia.” We get close to our feelings, start to feel anxious, and avoid them. We do all these things to steer clear of our feelings—behaviours we’re not even aware we’re doing. When we avoid or deny our feelings, when we suppress them, we are in a way denying who we are, squelching our creativity and individuality, and sacrificing our true potential and power. It’s impossible to go the distance, to really live like you mean it, unless we can be fully present with our feelings.

But, as I discuss in my new book Living Like You Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want, change is possible. We can loosen the grip of fear on our experience and unleash our inner wisdom and power. It all begins with opening our eyes and waking up to what’s going on inside of us. We need to find a way to put the brakes on, slow down, and tune in to our internal experience. In short, we need to develop what I call emotional mindfulness. Emotional mindfulness is about purposely paying attention to our physically felt emotional experience as it happens with the aim of helping us be more consciously aware of our feelings and, ultimately, more fully present with them.

How do you do this? You start by slowing down, going inward and just noticing. At any time you want to, stop and ask yourself, What am I feeling? and then tune in to what’s happening inside you right in that moment. Not what you think should be happening, not what you wish were happening, but what is happening. Consciously direct your attention to your felt experience. Watch and observe.

Each time you repeat this behaviour, each time you bring your focus back to your body sensations, you’re developing a new habit. You’re training your mind to be aware of and pay attention to your emotional experience. You’re opening up to a richer experience of yourself. You’re making room for your creative juices to flow. And, you’re beginning to transform your life.

To find out more about living like you mean it, please visit: www.livinglikeyoumeanit.com.

Ron Frederick is a licensed psychologist and life coach and author of the bestselling book Living Like You Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want (Jossey-Bass, 2009). A long-time proponent of the power of therapy to transform lives, he co-founded the Center for Courageous Living which offers innovative therapy, coaching, and consulting.

Noted for his warmth, humor, and engaging presentation style, Dr. Ron travels throughout North America as a speaker and trainer, receiving consistent acclaim for his expertise and inviting teaching style. His work has been featured in the APA Monitor on Psychology, Clinical Psychiatry News: The Leading Independent Newspaper for the Psychiatrist, and Lavender Magazine. An invited contributor to several professional books, he has also been quoted on CNN.com.

Dr. Ron is a Senior Faculty Member of the Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) Institute as well as the supervising psychologist of Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s Park House Day Treatment Program.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Dr. Ron now lives in Minneapolis, MN.