First Draft to Published

What do all successful and happy people have in common? They believe in themselves and their ability to accomplish whatever they want. Not everyone shares this belief about themselves and the world they live in. Several people actually believe the exact opposite about themselves, even though they experience success and happiness, they are unable to fully enjoy it, because they don’t believe they deserve it or that it won’t last or that they got lucky. Your beliefs can prevent you from doing the things that you want and enjoying the things you want, yet even though they are this powerful, they are completely under your control. Yes, you are in full control of what you believe about yourself and the world you live in! The problem is you don’t fully understand this or how your beliefs were developed, so you don’t challenge or replace them and live as if they were true. In order to be happy and successful in everything you do, you have to first believe it’s possible and to do that you need...

ABOUT THE BOOK: The affirmations presented in this book, “Transformations, Give Up the Struggle” can be a turning point in your life. The book helps the reader to view hardships as helpers to build a stronger and wiser person. See obstacles as ripples in a pond as you move closer to your victory. Discover that hindrances are hurdles that make you jump high above the clouds. See that valleys are mere lessons that will release you from the past and help heal the brokenness. We all have had our ups and downs in our lives, some more than others. But, how we end up in the end, determines how we actually see the storms. .In fact, these storms makes us stronger, better and a wiser person. Resisting change can make the obstacles, the hindrances and the storms become even more unbearable. However, if we choose to view them in a different light, change can moves us into a more rewarding position. Renee shows how our life should follow our words. These words/affirmations presented in this book ca...

I never set out to be a writer. Back in 1979, when I entered the Second Form in a 200 year old, all boys, military school called, The Albany Academy, I simply wanted to become a rock n’ roll star. Like Ringo or Keith Moon, I wanted to play drums in a huge rock band, make a ton of money doing it, get lots of girls, and see the world. While most of the uniformed boys sat attentively in math class, taking copious notes, I drew illustrations of huge drums sets and stared out the window. All that changed when for the first time, I was introduced to Frank Nash in my second term English lit and writing course. First thing that caught my attention was the classroom itself. The Academy was an old building even back then, having been built in the 1920s. Made of stone and strong woods, with real blackboards instead of chalk boards, the place seemed like a kind of time warp. A school caught perpetually in the 19th century instead of one that would see the 21st century in only two more decades. But...

For those just beginning their writing career, or contemplating embarking on one, please accept a few humble words of advice. First, if you want to be a writer, write. Hemingway said it best when someone asked him how they could be a writer: “Go somewhere and write.” So, go somewhere and write. Write every day. Set yourself a goal, say 1000 words, and write those 1000 words, every day. The object is to write enough, often enough, that the mechanics of building sentences and paragraphs become second nature. You write your 1000 words a day for the same reason a musician plays scales, or an artist sketches, practice. Second, write what you know. This has almost become cliché, but it is often misinterpreted. This does not mean that if you're a high school student in Peoria, you can't write about commercial fishermen in Denmark, though that might be difficult. What it means is if you're a big fan of western fiction and have read every Louis Lamour and Zane Grey novel ever writte...

My newly released book entitled The Simpering, North Dakota Literary Society , based on the stories of six female geniuses bumbling their way through the grim era of 1919. They’re trying to make sense of the practical in their time. More importantly, they’re trying to grab their share of the happiness they deserve using only the tools they’ve got. So what? How can you and I, as serious readers, buy a book like that when the characters are often cheerful, their stories improbably optimistic, and even their names are so stilted that to hear them in the physical world would be astronomically rare? Where does one get off approaching such a tough era through humor and gentle irony when there’s so much terrifying stuff going on? If I’m going to write faithfully to the condition of the world, shouldn’t l start dark and descend from there? Shouldn’t I use a degree of shock more appropriate to the gravity of the day? Wouldn’t anything else be patently dishonest? It’s a problem, because I don’t...

ABOUT THE BOOK: This is the story of my mother and father and my dashing, bachelor uncle, my father’s identical twin, and how they lived together with their courage and their stumblings, as they made their way into old age and then into death. And it’s the story of the journey from one twin’s death to the other, of what happened along the way, of what it means to lose the other who is also oneself. My story takes the reader through the journey of the end of life: selling the family home, re-location at a retirement community, doctor’s visits, ER visits, specialists, hospitalizations, ICU, nursing homes, Hospice. It takes the reader through the gauntlet of the health care system with all the attendant comedy and sorrows, joys and terrors of such things. Finally it asks: what consolation is there in growing old, in such loss? What abides beyond the telling of my own tale? Wisdom carried from the end of the journey to readers who are perhaps only beginning theirs. Still, what interest in ...

ABOUT THE BOOK: Where is God in Your Life? Three Retreats in Christian Spirituality: This reality, presented by spiritual director and clinician Susan M. Provost, in Where is God in Your Life? Three Retreats in Christian Spirituality (published by Trafford Publishing) outlines this spiritual quest as the goal Christians have committed to that encompasses their entire being. But once the decision to commit to Christ has been made, people may not know how to begin developing that relationship with Christ. Provost knows that quite often, people need to be given the tools necessary to develop a relationship with God and to understand how that relationship is celebrated in the community. Provost’s three two-day workshops are a program that will show readers and participants how to recognize God in their lives and to feel His love. The workshops help people to continue their spiritual journey to a greater connection with God and to see the importance of the Christian faith as a spiritual roa...

by Jackie M. Johnson, Guest Blogger Breakups can hurt—but they don’t have to destroy you. If you’re dealing with a relationship breakup, When Love Ends is a helpful resource for healing the pain and rebuilding your life again. Here are seven reasons to read this essential resource for single or single again readers of all ages. 1. It’s a healthy choice and a lasting solution. Whether you were in love or in like, you may be feeling hurt, anger, rejection, or betrayal. Many people don’t know what to do, so they do nothing, or they handle it in unhealthy ways. They try to soothe the sorrow with overeating, drinking, shopping, or partying, and they end up stuffed, sloshed, broke, and tired—and they still have a broken heart. When the party’s over, or when the ice cream carton is empty…then what? You may feel good for a few moments, but the feelings of sadness and darkness remain. When Love Ends offers a lasting solution. 2. It provides a way to handle things—a heart healing journey in four...

SYNOPSIS Healing With Words: A Writer’s Cancer Journey is written by a nurse, and author of eight books who at the age of forty-seven found her life shattered by a diagnosis with DCIS. Five years later she was diagnosed with another, seemingly unrelated and incurable blood cancer—multiple myeloma. The book is a mélange of reflections, poetry, memoir, journal entries and writing exercises for readers to express their own personal story. In lieu of allowing cancer to destroy her life, Diana Raab embraced the experience and turned a negative into a positive by creating a memoir and self-help book to help others with a cancer diagnosis. While coping with her loss, Raab found her lifeline to survival was writing about her experience. Since early childhood, Raab has drawn strength from the practice of journaling. Her journal provided a safe haven and platform to validate her feelings and she teaches others to do the same. Teaser Tuesday – Seven Reasons to Read Healing With Words, A Writer...

Have you ever dreamed of being immortalized in print? Well, here’s your chance! Award-winning author Marilyn Meredith is running a contest during her Lingering Spirit Virtual Book Tour , which runs from July 6th through July 30th. Marilyn will name a character in her next Rocky Bluff P.D. book after one reader who leaves the most comments at any of the blog stops during her virtual book tour. This book is currently scheduled to be released in 2012. Leave more than one comment and get your name in Marilyn’s next Rocky Bluff P.D. book! Follow along on Marilyn’s tour at Pump Up Your Book ! Buy a copy of Lingering Spirit at Amazon.com ABOUT THE BOOK: Nicole Ainsworth’s husband, Steve, has a premonition of his death and moves his family to a mountain community where he serves as a deputy sheriff. He is killed in the line of duty and his wife, Nicole, is left behind to struggle with the changes forced upon her life. While trying to cope with her grief, raise her two little girls, her husba...

Liberation, Book One of the Andrusian Chronicles is completely tied into the current times and events. It connects our current draw to the paranormal with our love of the deep and mystical spaces of fantasy. You can find Maria at www.andrusianchronicles.com 1. The story was conceived here in Washington D.C. and contains within its pages historical events. 2. It ties in the world of spirit with the physical world. 3. It unveils a dark supernatural syndicate that has been affecting our events in the nation and the world. 4. Amora Madre is a metaphysical teacher and has her life pretty well together until her soul mate Gabriel arrives. She has two secret invisible friends Casey and Nia who are Onaweyans. 5. She has abilities that she doesn’t fully understand. 6. She comes from far away and has a powerful soul mission that she must remember. She must remember the bigger story to her existence. 7. It has been hidden from her from the anesthetic process of the birthing chambers. 8. Amora is...

A writer is all about words and inspiration. On Wednesdays we ask our visiting authors what their favorite quote is and why? Lisa Heidke had this to say about contemporary author Marian Keyes. "Chick Lit uses humor to reflect life back to us. It's a very comforting genre, and it's the first time our generation has had a voice. It's a very important genre for all of those reasons.” Marian Keyes I choose Marian Keye’s quote because she is a contemporary author whom I admire for many reasons. Keyes unashamedly writes chick lit and says she uses humor to reflect life back on us – and she does it so well. Her books such as Watermelon, Anybody Out There? and The Other Side of the Story, are entertaining. I relate to them because Keye’s heroines although flawed, have hope and humor and are engaging, despite their troubles. She has the ability to tackle serious subject matter – addiction, depression, death, etc and write about them with passion, integrity and warmth but at the...

Yesterday, I asked what Independence Day means to my readers and I received one of those comments that is just too good to be buried in the comments forever. The comment was left by author J. W. Nicklaus, author of The Light, The Dark and Ember Between, a collection of fifteen short stories. From the wispy fog of a love lost at sea, to an orphaned child who delivers a present of her own during a war-torn Christmas. These stories are gentle reminders to each of us of what it is to be human, and certainly of our affinity for the slightest glint of hope. You can find J.W. here at his Pump UP tour page Here is the comment J. W. Nicklaus left in response to the Question; What does Independence Day mean to you? To be American mean to be free--but with a gift as precious as freedom comes responsibility. Freedom, for many of us, means the ability to come and go as we please, to speak our minds, to travel, to exist within a certain framework of openness. For others it implies opportunity, per...

Every year Americans celebrate this great nations Independence Day with spectacular firework displays, family barbeques and great sales at all the department stores. My family has a long history of being in this country and my ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War having come from France among other countries. Mine is an ancestory of immigrants. But, that was a long time ago and today we wait in anticipation for the sun to set and the fireworks to begin. This is a day to celebrate with family, friends and neighbors, but it’s also a day to remember what Independence means to each one of us. This great country has come far since the first settlement at Jamestown and the Mayflower. These people had a dream to be free of the tryanny they suffered in England and wanted to start a new life in the yet to be United States of America. Today, 200 plus years after the Revolutionary War where we won our freedom from England we are free to worship as we want, free to realize the American dream...