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Romance Writers Weekly presents...

6/30/2015

Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly where each week our authors answer a question or write about something presented to us. This week Xio Axelrod wants to know if we weren’t writers what other creative career would we most want to try?

At the ripe young age of 51 I’ll have to admit I’ve tried a few different jobs in my time. I started my working careers at the tender age of 13 babysitting for my siblings and neighborhood children, moving into retail, CNA, housekeeper, babysitter, nursery worker, oh my, the list goes on and on.

I would have to say if I wasn’t writing though and I could pick one creative job it would have to be landscaping. I had a boss who is now landscaping heaven I’m sure, who taught me not only the nursery business when I lived in Florida, but also how to design, bid, and landscape businesses and homes.

The first landscape job I ever assisted with was a Post Office in Lake Como, Florida. It was a wonderful experience and I was soon learning how to walk onto a piece of property, hear the thoughts of the clients, and then going home to sit around the kitchen table to map out a design full of shrubs, flowers, and beautiful gardens of perennials.

So if I had to choose a creative job I would want to do if I wasn’t writing novels it would definitely be landscape designer J

Now let’s hop on over to Xio Axelrod and see what she would be doing if she wasn’t filling our bookshelves with amazing novels.

http://xioaxelrod.com/

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Romance Writers Weekly presents...

6/23/2015

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Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! This week this topic gets deep, A.S. Fenichel http://asfenichel.net/ wants to know which person living, dead, a relative, or a stranger has had the biggest influence on our lives/writing careers? She wants us to tell you what he/she was like or how they shaped us.

Well, I’ve pondered this all weekend trying to decide on just one person who has influenced or shaped my life.

I thought about my grandmothers, one taught me you are never too old to follow your dreams. It wasn’t in her words but her actions of going back to school, getting her GED, then graduating from nursing school to become a nurse at the very time my grandfather retired. I was in fifth grade when she graduated nursing school. It impacted me and my life. I raised my children, dabbled in writing while they were young, seeking out my career once they were grown.

The other grandmother showed me the person I wished to be in this life. A woman who no matter what time of day or night you would show up at her home, would have a spread of food to feed you, a few gallons of sweet tea in the fridge, and a cake on the bar. She worked hard, she loved fiercely, and wasn’t afraid of being who she was. She had morals and wasn’t afraid to tell you, “Sugar, don’t act like that, what will people say?”

These two women have inspired me, shaped me, and helped me become the woman I am today. However, so have so many others in my life. Baby Ali taught me that I could do the impossible, I could survive even once my heart had shattered into a million pieces. My grandchildren have taught me that love flows from a grandmother’s heart into theirs. My children have taught me how to love deeply. My husband has taught me that humor is a vital part of living every day. My parents have taught me endurance. My sisters have taught me life is full of ups and downs, we just have to go with the flow. My friends have taught me there are people out there who will lift you up when all you want to do is collapse and let the world pass you by.

I am a firm believer that everyone who enters your life has the power to be some sort of influence on who you become, good or bad. As I’ve grown older I’ve realized the importance of surrounding yourself with people who will lift you up, inspire you, and cheer you on when you fail. Life is full of mishaps and mistakes, hardships and failures. You don’t need to surround yourself with people who are ever ready to remind you of this.

It is those people in this life who surround you to bring positive into your life that will allow you the energy to go on when these mishaps and mistakes arrive. When you look in the mirror and all you see is failure, it is these people who come out of the woodwork to remind us, we are worth something and yes, it may be difficult right now, but tomorrow is another day and the sun does shine sometimes.

Well, that’s it for me this week. Let’s hop on over and see what Carrie Elks has in store for us!!!

http://carrieelks.com/blog/

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Wednesday's Weekly Check-In

6/17/2015

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Good evening, everyone!!!

Well, Welcome back to Wednesday’s Weekly Check-In. Let’s see, I’ve lost ounces this week but still have one pound to lose to get down to meet my 10 pound goal by July 1st. I am still optimistic about it, and I haven’t been as diligent on the walking as I was in the beginning, which I have already scolded myself for so please be kind J

Hubby picked me up a gel seat for my bike, he’s such a sweetheart J We’ve had tons and tons of rain this past week however and that has really put a damper on what I have been able to get out and do exercise wise. I’m really hoping this rains lets up soon and I’m able to get back on a regular exercise schedule. Yes, I know I know, I have an indoor walking machine and need to use it when it is like this. I promise this time next week I will be back on that five day a week schedule too J

I’m still drinking my yummy water more than tea. I’m not sure if I gave you the recipe last week so here it is:

½ cucumber

1 lemon

1 lime

A gallon of water

Let sit in fridge for at least an hour (overnight is best).

Drink liberally J

One thing I’ve learned from doing this lifestyle change and having the help of myfitnesspal is how to portion size my foods. I was very proud of myself this past weekend. Hubby took me to the buffet for dinner after my meeting. When fixing my plate I picked out healthier foods and even could eyeball the portions and know I was really close J

So all in all, even though I haven’t been as diligent with my walking machine this past week, I have still managed to keep my calorie burn more than my calorie intake. I am getting smarter on how much a portion is and what foods are larger portions and what ones are smaller portions. I’m loving my water and definitely taking in more of it than I used to which is a huge plus. I even made up a pitcher to take camping with the grandkids and I last week J

So that’s it for this week. I hope I have a better report for you next week J

Everyone have a great night!!!

Blessings to all!!!

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Romance Writers Weekly presents...

6/16/2015

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Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly, where you never know what to expect from our authors J This week Susan Scott Shelley http://www.susanscottshelley.com/#!blog/c1cod has put forth an interesting twist to our hop. She wants to know, “You’ve been gifted with a super power. Which would you choose? Why? Hmmmm, let’s see what I come up with, shall we???

A super power, would I want to fly? Maybe, that would be cool, flying overhead, seeing the world unaltered by say the inside of a plane. Nah, I don’t think I would want that super power.

The ability to become invisible. Hey, that could be interesting. You could sneak in and be that fly on the wall. But the downside, there are truly things we should not hear and with this super power I am sure one would end up hearing things about themselves that would sting a bit.

I already delve into reading the future via my tarot cards. So I wouldn’t consider this a super power seeing as it is an everyday part of life for me anyway, and I can promise no super powers are necessary there.

Strength, now that might be something that would be nice. But with my luck the powers that be would take this as a sign for inner strength, and frankly, I’m getting really tired of them testing and trusting me with so much of this aspect of life.

Then I pondered on this question some more and realized, hey, you’re an author, a wife, a mom, a grandmother, ect. You already have a super power. Balance. Let’s face it, most people do a balancing act with life, trying to fit in everything from work to play to sleep. If that in itself isn’t a super power I don’t know what a super power could be.

I often tease about putting on different hats, one day I plan to have a hat for every aspect of life I try to balance, then I can tell people when they walk in my door, “Nope, can’t you see the hat on my head? It’s not the mom hat right now, it’s the author hat. Please come back when I change hats.” Of course the grandma hat will always be close at hand for emergencies of course J

So I guess you could say, I’m good with just being me. No super powers necessary, because frankly, with my personality I would probably abuse the power LOL.

Let’s hop on over to see what Leslie Hachtel would like to have…

https://lesliehachtelwriter.wordpress.com/

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A Day of reflection...

6/11/2015

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Good afternoon, everyone!!!

This week I had the first campout of the year with my grandchildren. We planned for a time that school was out for the summer and I had two days off in a row, which just happened to be this week J

I almost canceled due to some stress that had befallen me, but then I sat myself down and rethought this. I don’t handle stress very well and I didn’t want this to reflect on our campout, so I made a decision that nothing was going to stop me from enjoying this time with my grandchildren.

I am proud to say I was able to not only help them have a good time but I also had a wonderful time. This is part of the new lifestyle I’m taking on, categorizing stress J

I wanted to do something a bit different for dinner seeing as most of the time it is roasting hot dogs for a campout dinner. So instead I put my head together with my oldest son and we came up with a kid-friendly kabob. Then hubby added his two cents and we can up with a success. We took homestyle meatballs and little smokies along with a fresh pineapple, weaving these on the kabobs, then I put them on my new flash grill and ***poof*** we had a kid-friendly kabob. Of course we topped this off with chips and push-ups for desert J

After dinner we grabbed up bags and went on a nature walk, watched about 15 minutes of a ball game, and went to the park.

We had gogurts for our midnight snack and watched movies in the camper before bed.

Yesterday they spent the day playing games and hanging out and we just enjoyed general chit-chat and a day of being outdoors.

I remember my grandparents at times like this. How close I was to them when I was little and how happy they made my childhood. Then someone posted a video online that was my grandfather’s favorite song. I instantly could see him walking down the isles at his church, singing with his voice lifted heavenward. That was just how my grandfather was. I strained my memory to hear his voice in song once more. But I took the song as a sign my grandfather was thinking of me and how much I would love to hear his voice and talk to him again. Ask his advice on a few things in this life, and hear his words of wisdom. Some days it would be so nice to just talk to him and grandma again, sitting out under the pine trees, shelling butterbeans and enjoying a hot summer afternoon.

My hope is that one day my grandchildren will look back on our time as I do with my own grandparents. I hope they remember the love that went into each of the days we’ve shared.

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!

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Wednesday Weekly Check-In

6/10/2015

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Good evening, everyone!!!

Welcome back to Wednesday Weekly Check-in. It has been an interesting week. I knew at some point things would level off and I would slow down on losing, it happens to all of us. Well, I reached this point. I still lost, but it was ounces not pounds, but I inched my way down another two pounds after all was said and done J So I’m good with this. One more pound to go and I’ll be down by ten J

I’m getting better at going up to my office to use the walking machine, which is a plus J We’ve had some rainy days as of late, but hubby and I did manage to get in a bike ride and a friend and neighbor and I also rode one day last week with the promise we need to do this more often. Hubby and I also took both male furbies for a walk, our female furbie is a bit older and doesn’t take long distance walks anymore.

I think the key to all of this is to get up and get moving more often. I’ve always been a firm believer in, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”

I’m sad to say though I am trying to bounce back from a bit of stress that started this week off. I was way down on my calorie counts for a few days and hopefully I’m getting back on track. I will let you know how that works out at next week’s check in. I will say though, at least I didn’t head straight for the junk food so I guess that’s a plus.

I will say this lifestyle change is really helping me to open my eyes to a good many aspects of my life in general. It is helping me to redirect my focus on what is important in my life. I realize I need to worry less, stress way less, and focus where I need to without allowing outside distractions. I’ve asked a couple of people to ‘check me’ when I go to trying to fix problems I don’t create, because the truth of the matter is ‘fixing things’ is my nature and I need to go against this nature from here on out. Why, because I am allowing it to be my procrastination crutch and this is bad for me.

So, I guess all in all it has been a good week. I’m still friends with myfitnesspal, which is a good thing J I’m getting up and around more instead of always sitting behind the computer, which is another good thing. My goal for this next week is to not only set exercise goals and keep them, or eating goals and keep those too, but also set strong writing goals and focus focus focus on those. I am seeking a new balance over the course of this next week, something long overdue. So wish me luck!!!

Everyone have a lovely evening!!!

Blessings to all!!!

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Romance Writers Weekly presents...

6/9/2015

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Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! This week Ronnie Allen http://ronnieallennovel.com/blog/ would like to know the them in our novels, recurring or in one, that sends a message about an issue in society to help people. Was it developed by us intentionally or did it evolve through characters and plot?

I would have to say unintentionally (at first) I’ve written heroines who have to overcome something in each of my stories.

When I was a young girl I formed my own ideas on prejudice, then when I began writing one things I knew for certain that I wanted in my historical romance series was making the reader fall in love with both sides of a very highly prejudice time, Whites and Indians. By the final book I want take my readers into a very well-known battle but by that time my readers will be in love with both sides of the coin.

What came from this idea is making each heroine in my stories have to overcome something. In The Cheyenne Bride, my heroine, Nichole (White Deer to the Cheyenne) longs for acceptance of just being herself, a half white/half Cheyenne woman who longs to be loved for just that, not one half of who she is or hated for her other half.

In Destiny’s Price, Destiny comes from long term abuse and even though the story is novel length, the message to readers is overcoming and learning to live beyond the abuse, something in reality that takes a lot longer to overcome.

In Into the Darkness my readers are taken on a story of inner growth through the eyes of my characters the reader will find my heroine, Raven, come into herself. Even though the rape scene of this story is behind closed doors, it is a vital part of Raven learning that even as an immortal (a very powerful one at that) bad things still happen and it is through rising up from your own ashes you can shine again and become a stronger person.

As a victim of childhood abuse it is highly important for me to show others of abuse that regardless you are not your abuse, you are who you rise above it to become. It took me a good many years to rise above all that happened to me, but today I’m in a better place and if I can help someone else rise above their abuse, then it is a day well spent.

Now let’s hop over and see what Fiona Riplee has in store for us…

http://fionariplee.com/blog

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Wednesday's Weekly Check-In

6/3/2015

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Good afternoon, everyone!!!

Welcome back to Wednesday’s Weekly Check-In J All in all this has been a week of insanity, pouting, pushing, firm ‘get down to business, woman’ talks, and in the end it was worth it.

I forced myself up those stairs every day (minus Saturday and Sunday this week) to walk the treadmill each day to burn off at least 185 calories a day. Hey, I get calorie points for going up and down those stairs every day too J Monday night I began getting those calories bumped off at 188 calories per walk each night J So yes, I’m improving.

I’m down a total of seven pounds since May 22nd J So that in my book is a huge plus for all of this.

How am I liking myfitnesspal? I’m actually loving it. I’ve learned to be a bit more cautious about what calories look like in food. Meaning, I am more aware that everything that I pick up to eat has a calorie intake J

I’ve also learned to use my resources. I’m not just talking about computer and phone resources, but those people who are on similar journey’s as my own. People who are willing to help me talk it out when I’m in a slump or offer helpful advice, or even smack that donut out of my hand if I need it LOL.

I’ve added more fruit to my diet along with measuring everything I eat to help me learn proper portion sizes. Something I added to my daily intake was some amazing water. I took regular tap water, added lemon slices, lime slices, and cucumber slices to it, put it all in a gallon jug and stuck it in the fridge. Oh my word!!! Now don’t faint those who know me well enough to know sweet tea is something I will never give up as long as I live, but this water I even like better than sweet tea. In fact, it has me drinking more water each and every day. The warmer the day the more water I take in. I even had one day last week where I only drank my mug of sweet tea at work, didn’t even have my morning coffee, and drank this water the rest of the day.

I’m averaging about a half a gallon a day with the hopes of increasing this to a gallon a day before summer is in full force.

I’m also pushing the mark on days off trying to get a few of the exercise equipment things I own in, such as my exercise bike and weights along with the treadmill. I’m also trying to work in either walking one of the dogs, a walk, or a bike ride each day that I don’t work until late at night or work long hours for that day.

Now the downside to all of this. Because I am not treating it like a diet but a lifestyle change, the thought that this is for life has occurred to me numerous times over the course of the last week. So, yes, there are days I ask myself, “Is this worth it?” “Do you want to still be doing this a year from now?” “What about five years from now?”

When I weigh the options I would have to say yes it’s worth it, yes, I will still be working on this a year from now. Maybe in a different manner because at that point I will have hopefully reached my ultimate goal by then, made this eating correct portions a routine, and the rest won’t be so ‘make myself do it.’

Now mind you this has not been an easy week by any means. Yes, I still want those yummy donuts people bring up to the register each day. Every day when I think of going up those stairs to get on that treadmill I try to find a way NOT to do it. The whole first lap I’m bitching. The second lap, well, I’m still bitching. By the third lap I’m telling myself, “You could quit after this lap.” By the fourth I’m telling myself, “You got this, keep going.” By the fifth, it’s all about the finish line, the calorie goal and the fat calorie goal J

Yes, I still want a big bowl of ice cream covered in peanuts and chocolate syrup. Yes, I would love to down a soda instead of water, or go grab a sandwich at the local Arby’s instead of cooking the evening meal or measuring my portions for my breakfast or lunch. But that defeats the purpose of getting healthy and staying healthy, so I change things up a bit and tell myself no.

What I’ve learned about myself through this past week is that I can do this. I may not want to. I may complain, bitch, and moan, but all in all it is something I want not something I feel I have to do. I have revisited the ‘why’ of why I’m doing this and realize that I cannot live with being so depressed and down on myself. I like the feeling of accomplishment that comes from hard work. If it was easy it wouldn’t be so memorable and there would not be any sense of accomplishment.

One thing I am famous for is never taking the easy way out of things. I knew when I kicked the healthy way of life to the curb it would cause issues in the long run. At that time my mind frame was not in a good place and that ‘I don’t care’ attitude had taken control of my life. The real fact is I do care about being that person who can get out and play with the grandchildren, not just sit and watch them. I do care about being active and when I am carrying more weight than I should be, active is not in my vocabulary.

I know my chosen career of being an author keeps me idle in a chair more often than another career choice. I know that growing older slows down the process of the metabolism. I know that if I am going to stay within my healthy range of things I need to be more proactive. I need to get up and get moving and be mindful of what I take into my body, giving myself more brain food. I also need to be more mindful of my spiritual health. Walking every day helps keep me in tune with that aspect of life. It gives me time to reflect.

So this is it for my first week and a half. I’ll check in next week and let you know where we stand J

Everyone have a lovely day!!!

Blessings to all!!!

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Romance Writers Weekly presents...

6/2/2015

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Welcome back to Romance Writers Weekly!!! This week it is all about Flash Fiction and let me just say as a personal friend of Fiona Riplee http://fionariplee.com/blog , this week’s words really had my brain going in a million different directions J So join the authors of Romance Writers Weekly as we explore Flash Fiction stories containing the words, hammer, chisel, and coping saw. So here’s mine and no I didn’t take it in the direction of an ID tv direction as my youngest son suggested J

“Why?” Carrie asked under her breath. Of all the places in this town he could walk in, why did he have to show up in her shop?

“How can I help you?” she asked, busying herself putting away her coping saw before wiping the sawdust from the work counter.

“It’s been a long time.” His voice hadn’t changed in twenty years. It was still deeply seductive and unnerving.

“Yes, it has.” Hold yourself together, she thought, reaching for the hammer and chisel, wiping each tool before placing them back in the drawer. “Is there something special you’re looking for? I have plenty of pieces ready for sale over on the sales floor.” She pointed to the area of her little woodworking business set up with ready to go items.

Justin looked briefly in the direction she pointed, then brought those electric blue eyes back to hers. “I always knew you’d make something of your artistic side.”

Carrie swallowed the lump in her throat. Why did he have to show up now? When her life was a wreck, her business on the verge of collapse, and nothing seemed to be going right. Why couldn’t he have showed back up when things had been going great? When she could have shoved her success into his smug face.

“What brings you back to this part of the world?” Carrie asked.

He’d thought nothing of walking out on her twenty years ago when she was head-over-ass in love with him, ready to give up her whole life if he had just said the word. Instead, he just up and left, in the middle of the night like some thief.

“You,” the deep baritone of his voice vibrated in her soul.

Well that’s it for me, let’s hop on over and see what Carrie Elks has in store for us!!!

http://carrieelks.com/blog/

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Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Wednesday's Weekly Check-In

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

A Day of reflection...

Wednesday Weekly Check-In

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Wednesday's Weekly Check-In

Romance Writers Weekly presents...

Ramblings of a Writer

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