Slowly bridging a gap...

I've had one heck of a week creatively speaking.  For the past few days, I've been getting to bed around four in the morning because I've been busily typing away at "The Shepherdess Princess."  There was a couple nights I went to bed around 2 AM only to have to spend the time I wanted to be sleeping scribbling in my notebook some more until I finally forced myself to stop at 3:30 AM and seven filled notebook pages later.

My brother asked me the other day as I typing away if I was adding to my poetry book.  I, of course, said no. He instantly guessed what other book I could be working on, and asked me about a scenario that had left me blocked for months that I broke through writing a few weeks ago.  Then we spent some time talking about where I want the story to lead eventually.  He can't wait until he can read the finished product because he's helped me along the way with suggestions, and helped me find books for research purposes.

Because of distractions like the aforementioned conversation, I usually wait until the weekends to immerse myself into my writing because I am left alone while my brother goes to a friend's house.  I enjoy the solitude it brings me as well.

Last night, I tossed and turned again after going to bed at 4 AM because as soon as I closed my eyes, I had the next scene in my story playing itself out in my head.  I'm tempted to type it up now, but I don't want to spend another sleepless night tossing and turning about.  I feel like I'm having to hold myself back right now from doing something that comes naturally to me, so I can have a chance at some shut eye.  It's very frustrating!

On the plus side of it all, I feel like I'm getting very close to bridging the gap I made the last time I revised my progress.  I'm working on chapter 7 out of 11 at the moment, and am almost ready to start on chapter 8.  When I do start chapter eight, my chapter total will go to twelve because I have four pre-written chapters that don't have a place for in the book quite yet.  It's a jig I don't have a saw for at the present time.  I have a total of 75 pages so far, and feel like I'm far from over.  I'm thinking "The Shepherdess Princess" could go well over 200 pages before I'm completely finished with the book.

Dectina Refrain...

For the weekly challenge at 21st Century Poets, I had to write a poem based on the picture given in what is called Dectina Refrain format.  Dectina Refrain is a 10 line poem.  The first nine lines coincide with the number of syllables used for each line (i.e. Line one is one syllable, line two is two syllables, and so on until line nine) then the final tenth line is made up of lines 1-4 in the poem.

Here's my attempt at it:

A Soul Longing for Flight

Her

soul longs

to take flight

beneath the moon.

Her guardian crow

waits to begin flying

with her as his one pupil.

Will they both get their only wish,

or will she jump into the river?

Her soul longs to take flight beneath the moon.

This is the image used for the poem:

I also just finished typing up what I had written for "Dr. King and I."  I felt like it was more of an essay than a short story because it ended up being only one page long.  That is with an 8 1/2" x 11" page with 12 pt Times New Roman.  I gave it its own separate file on my computer because it doesn't belong anywhere in particular as of yet.  It may be put in a short story collection later on when I have other stuff I want to add to it.

I did end up adding "For Julie's Immortal Beloved" to my poetry manuscript.  Now, I'll be adding "A Soul Longing for Flight" as well.  With my newest poem added, I now have 30 pages total in "The Trifecta: A Collection of Poetry."

Weekend plans, and other stuff...

I accomplished some more writing projects today and throughout the week.  Earlier I had blogged about e-book copies of "Fateful Firsts: A Collection of Poetry," and "Second Thoughts: A Collection of Poetry" was available to purchase.  Well that was put on hold when I got emails stating my Table of Contents doesn't match my document because the downloads of the books showed pages running together that were separated before.

A few days ago, I revised "Fateful Firsts" and waited until tonight to revise "Second Thoughts" because I wanted to see if "Fateful Firsts" would take first.  The books still haven't been distributed through iBookstore or Nook yet, but they should be available on my Author's spotlight page again for the Adobe Digital Reader that Lulu offers as a free download.  The ePub copies are the same price as my paperback versions.

Another thing I've been thinking about doing is adding one of my books on Goodreads as a Giveaway, but I would have to buy a copy of my own book to send to the winner and I don't have the finances to do that.  I want to do that eventually, but I want to wait until I have a steady income again.  I was just thinking something like that might help bring me more fans for my Fan Club!  There are two members that I know of so far, and you know who you are! ;)

Last night I went to bed rather late because I got inspired to write some more in "The Shepherdess Princess" as I was winding down for the night.  I was hoping to type the new additions into my manuscript, but that didn't happen.  Oh well, it's something to look forward to doing over the weekend.  I have that and something else I'll be typing up as well in a separate document.

I've also been thinking about updating my Tumblr page as well with a new topic.  I'm not sure what I want to write about on it yet.  I mainly made a page there because I wanted to follow a friend's blog and I had to make a page in order to be a registered member.  I just couldn't have a username and password and leave it at that which is what I really wanted to do in the first place.

April 21, 2012 update-

I just went to my Tumblr page "The Written Word," and ended up rereading my last entry there.  I forgot I had planned to try to add files for my Mer-stories, and work on "Magic in Their Blood" in April if I was feeling inspired.  I have yet to do any of that.

I was thinking about "Magic in Their Blood" a little bit earlier today because I was having a Twilight marathon and I use a quote from one of the Twilight books in the beginning of "Magic In Their Blood."  It's just my inspiration has been elsewhere over the past week, and started in the beginning of April.  I really would like to stick to "The Shepherdess Princess" for now.

Who knows what the rest of April will bring.

Well, I'm off to write some more...

Inspiration....

I wanted to share the above quote because Ralph Waldo Emerson has always been one of those poets who inspire me.  I've always thought that the decisions I make, whether they were good or bad on my part, have shaped the person I am today.  Having a hard-knock life at times makes for great writing material for my future self.  It also shows me how strong a woman I am when I've overcome difficulties that life sometimes throws at me.  I may be battered and bruised a bit during those times, but I'm never completely broken.

On Another Note...


I received an email from World Poetry Movement on Tuesday inviting me to publish a poem in a book called "Great Poets Across America: Celebrating National Poetry Month."  The following is quoted from the email:

" You will appear along with a distinguished group of just 305 other amateur poets that were nominated for this historic project."

April is National Poetry Month for those who may not know that.  But wait, there's more:

"We have established over $10,000.00 in cash and prizes that will be awarded to you and the other elite poets featured in this celebration of National Poetry Month!"

I have no idea what I might end up with, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.  I had 7 days after receiving the email to submit my poem, but I jumped on it right away.  I didn't want to pass up this opportunity.  I was thinking about submitting "A Lover's Dance" again because I chose that poem for the Amateur Poetry Contest I entered through World Poetry Movement, but went with the poem "Heartbroken" instead.

I chose "Heartbroken" because of all the newer poems I've written over the past few months, it is the one I'm most proud of producing.  I've reread the blog entry I posted "Heartbroken" on several times since March 24th, and still can't believe it came out of me like that.  Anyway, the prize winners will be announced by May 31, 2012.  I've definitely marked my calendar for it!  I'm starting to feel like my talent is finally being acknowledged.  It's such a rush!

A Titanic Anniversary...

Whoever added the caption to this photo apparently doesn't know how to spell iceberg correctly.  I couldn't help thinking about this upcoming anniversary during the week, and thinking about those that survived and those that didn't.  I keep thinking of one tidbit about the Titanic accident that I heard about not too long ago: If the Titanic had stayed on it's course, and hadn't gone hard to starboard, they would've just cleared the iceberg.

A friend of mine also brought up on Facebook this week that he read in a report that many people thought "Titanic" was just a movie.  They had no idea that the movie was based on any historical event.  My reaction to that was " Makes me wonder what kind of History they are teaching kids in school today."

The history of the Titanic accident for those who may need a history lesson, or want to learn interesting facts about it.

Is Your Author's Photo Hurting Sales?

A friend of mine shared this article on her blog about Author's photos potential scaring readers away.  The article is actually titled "Does your author photo scare people away?  Here are 5 tips you need to get it right."
Anyway, it left me wondering if the pictures I chose to add to the cover of my books would scare anybody.

"A Candlelit World" photo:

"Fateful Firsts: A Collection Of Poetry" photo:

"Second Thoughts: A Collection of Poetry" photo:

Anyway, I'm curious what people think.  Please leave your comments.  I already figured the photo for "Second Thoughts" was a no-no because the background came out darker on the printed product, and it shows a little bit of cleavage like the article warns about.  At least I learned what no to do for future reference.

The "Fateful Firsts" photo had to be scanned from the book cover because I misplaced the original photo file I used on my computer to upload the picture to Lulu when the book was being made ready for publication.

Different Projects...

I noticed a short jump in visits to this blog overnight, and thought it was about time to update again.  I don't really feel like I have much to say, but I may surprise myself.  I haven't done much writing this week because I've been sick, and sleeping a lot.  I did churn out a poem Saturday night that I've been struggling to write for a week, but I don't feel like sharing it here for now.  I think it's a piece of crap despite having good comments about it over at 21st Century Poets, but I might just feel that way because I still felt like a steaming pile of poo when I was writing it.  And some people just thought I was having trouble writing it because of writer's block.  I did get blocked temporarily, but it wasn't the entire reason as you now know.  I did type the poem into Microsoft Word, but I separated it from my poetry book file because I wasn't sure at the time if I wanted to include it also.  I'm still not 100% decided on if I'm going to include it, or not.

I've also been contemplating getting away from my poetry writing for a bit, and work some more on one of my other books.  I've been having more ideas churning in my head for "The Shepherdess Princess," and "Magic In Their Blood" at different times throughout my day.  I write them down as I think them, but I haven't sat down at my computer and actually pounded them out into anything feasible or coherent.

I also have a side project I've been working on.  I set up a new account at Ancestry.com, and have been happily compiling my family tree.  So far I've had better luck on my mom's side of the family with finding people.  I've got to my great-great grandparents on her side of the family, and up to my great grandfather on my dad's side.  I got stuck on my dad's dad for reasons only known to my family, and won't be discussed on here.  I just hope I could overcome the hurdle eventually, and have a breakthrough where my grandpa's concerned.  My grandma's mom, my dad's mom, has proven a little difficult to find as well because my family was never 100% sure what her married name was, or how it was spelled.  All I know for certain is I was named after her, and it could be the main reason why I have such a hard time finding her name in the Dawes Rolls for the Cherokee Tribe.

A Great Offer From Lulu...

They are having a mystery sale at Lulu's.  Take advantage, people!

Click here to go to my Lulu Bookstore!  Just posted in my bookstore is an E-Book format for "Fateful Firsts" and "Second Thoughts."

Click here to order "A Candlelit World" which I co-authored.  The E-Book format is compatible with Kindle.

"A Candlelit World" synopsis:

In 1899, a group of outsiders uncover a plot to raise an evil entity from the local cemetery. By bearing witness to the ritual that accomplishes this, it effectively signs their death warrant and in order to save themselves they must find out the key to return this Stranger to its grave. Though the evil is eventually banished and everyone is killed as a result, the story does not end there. One hundred years later, an unusual and powerful candle is found in an antique store by a pair of college students doing research for an assignment. Upon lighting it, the same evil is brought back along with the spirits of those who'd died to stop it before, who have much unfinished business among themselves as well. 

"Fateful Firsts: A Collection of Poetry" synopsis:

Fateful Firsts is a collection of poetry with subjects ranging from life, love, relationships, pets, animals, and places. Some of the poems included were written in the later 1990s, but I didn't begin writing poems on a regular basis until 2006. It is my honor and privilege to present to you... Fateful Firsts! 

"Second Thoughts: A Collection of Poetry" synopsis:

You hold in your hands my second collection of poetry. I found after writing Fateful Firsts: A Collection of Poetry, I was having Second Thoughts about relationships, emotions, and other life-altering events happening. What you see within these pages is the authentic me. Enjoy! 

Please order copies today, and recommend the books to your friends and family!