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Friday, March 21, 2014

All The Books Around The World.. ..A journey In Writing...Part Two





All The Books Around The World.. ..A journey In Writing...Part Two

In writing this blog I could tell you all about the books, and I am doing that, but I want to do more than that. I have always loved to write and wanted one day to see my stories as books that I could hold in my hands. I enjoy working to create the characters and try to make them real enough the reader might feel they know them, can relate to them or even empathize with the situations and story and all of those involved.
As I begin this part of the blog I come to the hardest book I have ever written and I will also explain why I wrote it. I did not want to write it. I never intended to write it. I felt compelled to write it.
When you think of a book title, the shorter the better. The title to this book is way too much. The title was one that was what the book really is. I Will Not Give Up...Not Today...Life Is A Journey.
I may have loved to write but knew nothing about computers, internet and most of today’s technologies. I did not know how to copy and paste and at the beginning did not even know how to turn on and off the computer. If you want to stop and turn it off for the day, on the computer I had you had to go to start to stop. For an old gal like me that was a contradiction but start to turn off the computer I learned. I had to learn a lot of new things. I wanted to be traditionally published and learned how to do many things and began to attempt that route. It can be a long process and the doctors found cancer that was in a bad location and every beat of my heart brought me closer to being inoperable. I already had enough health issues we feared there would be few tomorrows with or with out the surgery. I wanted just once to hold one of my books in my hands before.......
That was Life Goes On. When I had to decide if I only had time enough for one book it was a hard choice. I love Journey Home so much too but I believed the story and the issues in Life Goes On might be something others might not only relate to but find an insight into some of the problems some families are facing in life, children, teenagers and how much of an influence others can have on them and their actions and much more. I want the things that I write to entertain but also reach deeper. I hope in some way my art, writing and what little I am able to do might make a difference even if it is only to one.

                              I Will Not Give Up....Not Today....Life Is A Journey

 
The reason I tell all of this is because what I had been writing, were stories and characters that I created. I love to write and create. I Will Not Give Up...Not Today...Life Is A Journey is not fiction that I was able to control and create. It is my own story but not written or told to tell about me. It is my story to share the idea in the title. We can not give up. We may have to be willing to work and work really hard in life. We can not look at life as one thing. Life is constantly changing and really is a Journey. It is something we have to continue onward in living. Life is over when we give up. We can be alive but never really living life.
I did not write it to show how I did not give up or an example of courage. There are so many times fear almost overwhelms me. There are times it takes a lot of work to not only look for the beauty in life but to feel it in my heart. When I wrote the book, it is sharing from my heart as I have worked with these books and the adventure of them all and hope it might reach out beyond the pages and share the idea...to never give up.
I did not plan the book, work the book, write and rewrite the book editing to make it a work worthy of being published for the reader to be able to have a finished developed book. I wish that I could, but that is not what this is. This is a book I never wanted to write and found it painful and even at times so distressing that I cried. I had to stop typing as I could no longer see through the tears.
For many years there were small parts of my life I could not remember no matter how hard I tried. I felt distressed that there were missing parts my mind could not retrieve. The doctors seemed pleased and said I would be better off if I never remembered those little bits and pieces. When my face and head hit the windshield the nightmare of a head on collision began and it was a fight for life. Much of that I could not remember. It was all bits and pieces. As I was writing this book, in the middle of typing, after all of these years it came back. It came back with a vengeance....not as a memory but as if it was happening right then. This may sound crazy and maybe it is. I am a pretty crazy old woman, but it was as if I was reliving it so much I could not breathe. The blood was choking and blocking my throat. I heard the paramedic saying he thought he had a bleed out and they were doing their best. The glass gouging and scraping my face as my body was tossed like a rag doll and smashed repeatedly into the glass. My foot pinned by the motor of the car anchored me from going out onto the pavement. I was not remembering these thing but feeling it again.
Even as I am writing this about the book I was going to go back and glance through it so that I could discuss different parts and tell more but I can not. I felt as if for what ever reason, I was supposed to write this book and I did as honestly and from the heart as I could, but I can not go back and read my own book. I can not get that close and feel those things again. The book is not a sad and recount of misery and pain. It is about many things and some very happy times and seeing my dreams of my books become a reality. Life is not always a happy every after adventure of joy and success so it is as real as I could make it with each and every word typed and told straight from the heart. It was not planned or perfected.
I would apologize for that but will not. This book if real. It is not worked and created. It is not written for me or even for me to deal with difficult issues. It is something I felt was needed for me to write. I was in the middle of the book Danny. I feel that is not only a book that will hold the readers interests but a powerful book about an abused and neglected child. I could hardly wait to get into every aspect of the book Danny but even that had to stop until I Will Not Give Up... Not Today...Life Is A Journey was done.
When it came time for the cover of the book I wanted it to be special. Every one of my books have covers that are my own art. They may not be professional and it could be a marketing mistake but what I am doing and trying to do is more than market and sell books. I am trying to create something special, it makes me happy and the responses and messages I am receiving from readers makes me smile and feel hope this adventure in writing is worth while to more than myself.
This is what I have said about the book and you can read it on the back of the book or descriptions...


Life is a journey. There are times that the path is smooth and well traveled and others it seems steep and difficult…but if we do not give up, there is so much more that awaits us. I love to paint paths that lead to ?... I hope they will lead to where we need to go in life. I hope there is love, hope, happiness, and wonderful new things that await us at the end.

I want to look for and find the beauty in life and find love and hope. This book is not just the wonderful moments to show only the smiling, happy, marvelous and inspirational times…I am trying to make it real and share a piece of my heart, life, thoughts, feelings and so much of who and what I am.

This may be my story, but I hope in sharing it you will find meaning, hope and knowledge that we will not give up…Not today. This book is shared from the heart.








When I painted the watercolor painting I used for the cover I began to feel it was the right thing for this book. I mixed in florescence into the pigment of the paint allowing the to do the sunset so that with a black light it softly lights up and glows as the evening sky would just before the darkness of night descends.
I had to use a template for the paperback so you will see two different versions of the book and the original painting .
I also love to use my art combined with thoughts and words shared. One day I want to make a picture book of words and art.  I used this painting for one of those too.



A Tale To Tell




I love this small book as not only stories but fun in the telling and sharing. There may be a ghostly presence in each but there is more if you look closely. More Than Just A Story In
A Book may be the name of this blog but it is something I want to do in my writing too. One of the stories The Legend Lives On is one if find fun. When I wrote it I wanted the reader to be a part of the story as much as the characters that a fiction in the story its self. I would love to talk about it and tell about it but it would be more fun for you to be able to read it as it is written.
The Midnight Hour may be a ghostly tale of what a young man finds in the cemetery at the midnight hour but it is more than that. Pier pressure can have a great impact on young people and the urge to be accepted can influence any of us at any age. What would you do to be accepted? What could be the consequences especially in that place at that time?
More Than The Eye Can See is one that makes me sad as I wrote it. What if a little old lady could feel and see from the past and what she finds brings sadness to her very heart. Things can seem so perfect for others in life and we may never really know their pain, insecurities or how devastating depression can be even on young people who have their who lives ahead of them. Finding a way to reach out to one another and share love and understanding is not always an easy thing to accomplish. What did this little old woman see? Was it real?
Watch What You Wish For is a completely fictional story, but they say a writer should draw on their own life experiences and things they know in their writing. What would it feel like to die? What if all the body had stopped its functions and yet the person could still hear every word said in the room? What if they could quote conversations held as the doctors desperately worked to bring the patient back? What if you could use such an experience in a story helping to make it feel more real? Many years ago I had a severe reaction during a surgery and ended up, after they were able to bring me back when I no longer had a respiratory response and machines were keeping me alive, on life support. I could remember and do to this day what a comfort and peaceful feeling I had of what was just ahead. There are many times I think to die would be easy, it is living that is hard …. but it is in life we find the most beauty and things that warm the heart and make me smile at times too. It is in life I can strive to do what is required....I never understood what was required. Maybe it is just trying to do the best that we can each day in the life that we lead.


I Watch You All The Time is a short story that I think is very powerful. I do not want to ruin the read by telling too much but I will say that this story inspired a novel that I am working on now. I can hardly wait to see it as a book but I have to take things slowly and want to take my time and make it the very best that I can make it . It is coming and if you read this short story you may have some idea of the feel for the novel even though the stories are different the inspiration for the novel came from this story.


This is what it tells about that book.......


It is fun to gather around a bonfire or sitting in camp and tell stories. These are several that I have shared and will share that are more than a tale to tell.

Some of these stories tell more than a story. It may be a story to share in camp or when the hour is a little spooky but it also can bring many things to mind. Being young is so wonderful. Everything usually works with our bodies not yet worn and old, arthritic or broken and sick. We can be filled with the enthusiasm of youth.

There are also so many pressures to learn from, grow with, understand and overcome or be influenced for good or bad and often pushed to do things we know we should not do. Peer pressure can be brutal and some with cruel intents can do more harm than we dream. Youth can be a bright and shining adventure but it can also become overcast and even deadly oppressed.

If we are unable to find ways to understand and deal with life we can suffer so many consequences. There are times a little help from a friend can go a long way or what we thought was a friend can hurt us to the core giving a lesson learned the hard way.

Even as the years pass we can find situations in life that are difficult or impossible to fully explain to another. There by compassion and love may we find others less judgmental and more inclined to reach out with understanding and lend a helping hand. We can hope to find such a thing but need to be prepared to find our own path if we need to go forth. Abuse or situations so oppressive we find we can loose our way.

The last story is one that may be disturbing. It is fiction as are all of these stories but deals with emotions and problems that do not have a happy ending. Life does not always end “Happily Ever After”. In this story there are many things happening and some that may never end. It may be more haunting than haunted.

We will see. This short story inspired a novel that will soon be released. It gave me an idea for the first novel but it finds heart and takes off for the novel I Watch You All The Time.


I hope these stories will entertain, I hope they will find meaning and new thoughts. I hope you enjoy and find a Tale To Tell……

This is my water color painting I used for the cover of A Tale To Tell
In that painting I also have combined the paint pigment so that the sky will light up with a black light and glow the colors of a setting sun.

I did another version of it for the art and words





DANNY
If you love a story with a paranormal twist this is the book. This is a fictional story that could bring more than just a story of a young abused and neglected boy but also of the realities involved and consequences such things in life can have. It is more than just a tale about abuse. It is a story I think will live long in memory but I do not want to spoil the read.


This is what it tells about the book......
A young child trapped in a nightmare life had a special friend. His friend said, “You can call me Danny.” Danny was his only friend. Feeling alone, abused, isolated and lost, a young child needed someone. No one but Steven could see or hear Danny. Was Danny imagination, a friendly ghost there protecting, or was there more to this entity than anyone might suspect? Steven began to think Danny might be a Guardian Angel but angel or evil…only time would tell….. because Steven would tell no one and betray his friend and that friend was there to stay.
Tragedy and chaos, murder and an end to life as Steven had known, erupted in his household in the dark of night.
Three young boys fled and that night would change their lives forever. It was filled with death and disaster. If it was a new beginning or a new nightmare of a different kind, only time would tell….and we can not forget Danny.
This is a story you will not soon forget.
Danny is a story of a young child living a nightmare life of abuse and neglect. The pain of abuse at any age, is one that has consequences. There are those who are stronger and live lives determined to never repeat the horrors they endured but there are others who survive in other ways. Feeling alone and vulnerable allows a person to be victimized even more in many instances.
Danny is a story of all that and more. There may come a day we suspect a person is being abused and want to help, finding it is more difficult that we dreamed. If we dare to care and not give up, one by one we might make a difference. If we make a difference for even one person, it may mean the world to that one soul.
The idea that there might be more things in this world than meet the eye or that we might be able to see and understand, can give insight to a story that will take you beyond the abuse into the world lived by this child. This is more than a story of abuse and survival. This is a story that may haunt you in memory but remind us of what there can be in this world. I hope it reminds us to find heart, hope and tolerance to those who suffer or need help. I hope we have the courage to look and see, trying to make a difference. This is a story you will know this child and feel from the depths of his inner-being instead of hearing his story.
There may be a cold chill travel your spine as you begin to understand even more of this tale. We can call him Danny, but can we say who he really is?


I can hardly wait to tell you about my most recent two books that are actually with my grandson. Down The Path is his own story he created and worked for over a year and a half developing. It was so much fun as he began not only writing the story but learning and working to make the characters as real as possible. I would ask such things as.... Well that all will be in the next blog. The things we did to enable an 8 year old child to write a book I think adults would find things in as well as children would enjoy I documented in a book similar to a journal and it is our other book called An Adventure In Writing. Those two will be the next of this 3 part blog. I guess my own story will be the first part of a series too since I am not dead yet and not giving up.... not today.


I close to day and am getting ready to lie down and take a rest but wish each and every one of you a happy day, happy reading and wonderful things in the years to come. Thank you for taking the time to share this adventure I am undertaking in life and writing and taking the time to visit a bit with me here..... I almost said visit a spell, but that is a local thing you would have to hear the Arkansas accent to appreciate. Y'all have a wonderful day.



This is a list of the countries I will provide links for through Amazon.....

US United States            UK United Kingdom            IN India
DE Germany                  FR France                         ES Spain
IT Italy                           JP Japan                           BR Brazil
CA Canada                    CN China                          MX Mexico
AU Austrailia


 
There are many other place I often go and have sites such a linkedin, goodreads, twitter and many others. For today would share the links to each country for each book but the truth is I am getting tired and even this has taken such a long time I am ready to rest a bit.  If you go to your country page and look for the book title and author name I hope you find me and if you do not please let me know and I will try to help.



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