Sunday evening…

As I sit here on my patio working on my latest work in progress I can here the birds singing happily, the pool filter humming, the mosquitos buzzing around my head and then the whisper of a late evening breeze through the tres.

My weekend has been a busy one. We spent yesterday at my husbands sister’s place on a lake about an hour and a half from home. It was really nice to just sit around talking and eating. We got in the water for a while and rode in the boat. We just rested.

Then today after Church my mom picked up our son so he could spend the week at her lake house. Now it’s lonely. It’s amazing how lonely you feel when your child is not around. Normally on a summer evening he’s in the pool or riding the four wheeler back and forth, but this evening it’s just quiet.

I became inspired this afternoon as a short summer storm came through to finish the historical romance that I started last summer. It’s based in the Georgia and it’s spans the pre civil war period and beyond. I’m really excited to get into it. I love history, always have. If there’s a historical place anywhere I want to see it. My husband just laughs at me, but he still gets dragged to where ever.

I hope to start the cover tommorow. You may be saying why start the cover when you haven’t finished the book, well, I have it pictured in my mind and while it’s fresh I have to jump on it.

As for now, I hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoy the last few hours of Sunday, for tomorrow is Monday 😦

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Time… A writer’s Nemesis…

Time. We all wish for more time in the day. I don’t know how many times I’ve been working on something and wished for 25 hours in a day instead of 24. Someone told me the other day that I had too many irons in the fire, but I don’t agree.

I love to be busy. It’s a good thing since I’m a wife, mother, Accountant, Children’s Minister, Author and self publisher. Wow, what a list 🙂 Sometimes it’s overwhelming, but then again it’s rewarding.

Everything I do is because of a passion. I’m not the type of person to jump into something that I don’t like to do. Some aspects of my passions are not my favorite things to do, but that’s the nature of the beast.

As a writer you need a little time everyday to put pen to paper or fingers to keys. I love writing and don’t always have those precious minutes to write. I usually write at night when my son is watching television or playing his musical instruments. My husband is usually reading or watching television as I tap away. Some people say, how can you write when the television is blaring in the background, well it’s easy. I go into a world of my own when I write. It’s really scary sometimes how immersed I get.

So, make a plan. Sit down and work out a schedule of your passions. Make sure you give ample time to each one. That’s my goal this week to set up a schedule for writing. I’m going to set aside a little time each day to get that done. It may sound crazy, but in my busy life I need this to stay sane…

First and foremost I have to make sure to put in time for my family and especially for my faith. I have a prayer time everyday which helps me to get through my day. If you don’t you need to try it. It sets the tone for the day.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…

P.S. Continue to pray for Oklahoma.

I’ve climbed out!

Well, if any of you were wondering about my lack of blog posts, tax season took me hostage. I was snowed in and weighed down in 1040’s and paperwork stacked all around me, caging me in. I worked until midnight last night and filed too many extensions to even count.

I’m back in full force with book advertising, writing and blogging. Hope you’re ready for the onslaught of me telling it like it is in my life.

My question is this. Why do we let work take over our live? Deadlines? My son was so sweet all weekend and last night as I worked feverishly to finish. He would sit in my office playing games on his IPOD. I guess he figured if he was going to spend time with me, that was where it would be. My hubby refused to go to bed last night until I was done.

Hope everyone has been well. If you get a chance go on over to my friend Rosie Amber’s A-Z Challenge.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Do you find excitement in what you do?

It’s a simple question. Do you find excitement in what you do? Whether it’s your job, your writing or more importantly your faith. What excites you?

I try to find excitement in everything I do. If I find excitement, I find happiness and it means I’m enjoying myself. Life should be enjoyed as much as possible.

As a Christian I find so much excitement in my faith. I think that’s one of the reasons I enjoy being a children’s ministry leader so much. I enjoy teaching children about faith and our Savior. I get so excited when they get it and get saved. It’s just awesome and inspiring.

I get very excited being a parent. Every new thing my son does I get smile of pure pleasure. It’s exciting watching him grow up which is happening way too fast… Sometimes I just sit back and smile. I’m so proud of him.

With my job as an accountant I get excited when things go well, when I get that account balanced or when I get a new client.

With my writing it’s a up and down excitement. There’s the new sale, the new book, the new blog friend or just the new idea that takes over your day.

So get excited today. It makes your day go better when you’re excited about something. If you can’t think of anything to be excited about, then just be excited to be alive.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Today’s a special day…

For me today has several meanings. Of course it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, today we celebrate our Risen Savior. It’s an awesome day for a Christian.

It’s also a special day for me as a mother. Today my handsome son turned 14. It’s so hard to believe he’s 14. I’m so proud of him. He’s a good young man and makes me smile everyday. When I look at him I see a miracle. He was a twin, but I lost his twin during the pregnancy and the doctor wasn’t sure he’d make it. It was a miracle that he did. I call him my miracle baby. He withstood all the obstacles and survived. Some ask if he’s spoiled and I proudly say “You bet he is”.

Hope everyone spent time with their families today and enjoyed this beautiful Easter Day.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

“I Love You” How do you say it?

As a romance author I’ve studied a lot about romance. I’ve read different view points from very different types of people and cultures. It’s amazing how people say three simple words.

Do you just throw “I Love You” out there constantly?

Do you tell your loved ones when you see them coming or going or both?

Do you say ‘Ditto’ when they say they love you?

Do you put conditions on your love?

Do you feel like you have to buy love?

Does love feel your heart or just roll off your tongue without your heart being involved?

Does you love show in your actions or your eyes?

These are just a few questions to ponder on this day of love, which in my opinion should not be designated for one day but everyday. Love is such a wonderful feeling. Maybe you don’t have someone special in your life, but you still have the capacity to love.

True Love can be found in what Jesus did when He died on the cross for us. Some of you may not get into religion, but for those of us that have faith and believe it’s a love that fills your whole being. It gets you through the hard stuff and gives you pause when things are going great.

When you love, love with your whole heart, your mind and your soul. Give it your all and be ready to apologize when you let it slip. Let people know you love them. Sometimes simple actions mean more than three simple words. Show your love today and everyday.

As always good writing and May God Bless you…

Happy Valentine’s Day…

Taking time for ourselves…

Some might say, what does it mean to take time for myself. It’s funny when my accounting clients come into the office and see my books on the table beside my desk. At first they glance at them and then they do a double take. The look that comes over their face is priceless. What’s unsettling is they look at me seriously and say when do you have time for this? Will this affect what you do for me?

I actually laugh when they say that. I look at them and say ‘I don’t live in this office 24/7. I do have a family, a home and need time for myself. I shake my head and think don’t you take time for yourself. Why is it that people expect you to live for them? Just because I take care of your accounting does not mean that I live to do only that.

I realized last year during tax season that I was spending too much time catering to everyone but myself. I would spend 12 to 15 hours in my office working. What hit home was when one night I was pulling a late night and my hubby and son came to the office to visit me. That’s what they called it. I felt horrible. Then my doctor (A good friend) told me I needed to start taking more time for myself. He reminded me I was middle aged. I do not consider 44 middle aged, but evidently he does.

So I started right then and there staying in the office less, taking on less responsibilities and living life. God gave me this wonderful life and He didn’t promise me tomorrow. So why was I spending my life behind a desk. The next night I was in the house and cooking dinner when my family got home from work and school. My husband walked back out the door and came back in. He said he thought he went to the wrong house. My son was excited to have me home for a change. It took five years off my life.

Then I started publishing my books. That made me start looking at my future. I know I can’t do taxes and accounting forever. I love my job don’t get me wrong, but tax preparation can be down right frustrating with the changing laws and constant issue drama. So I decided to start making little changes like turning over more stuff to my assistant. Some work days we spend the whole day just searching ideas for new book covers or research of the next book. That’s something I would never have done this time last year. It has helped my health, my home life, my work life, and especially my sanity. Well, maybe not my sanity, I’m not a sane person, but who is if you really get down to it 🙂

So start today, this minute thinking of yourself. Give yourself some time. Start spending some time each week just for yourself. Take a bubble bath, read a good book, take a leisurely walk, play a game with your family, watch a sappy movie or just sit and watch the clouds go by. But live like today is it. Live like you have no tomorrow. Love more intensely, take romance to another level and hug your child more than just when they are leaving for school. (Hint, if you have a teenager it might be met with a ‘really mom’ but do it anyway.)

As always, good writing and May God Bless You!!!

Choices!

We start making choices the moment we wake until the moment we go to sleep. Do we get up with the clock or hit the snooze? What do we eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? What do we wear? Do we go to work today or stay out and be lazy?

Choices, have you ever sat down and thought about how many choices you make in a day? Do you make good choices? Do you think about your choices or just fly by the seat of your pants?

Sometimes we make choices that haunt us for the rest of our lives. The choice has been made so live with it or do something about it. Immortalize it in fiction is my recommendation. Usually makes for a good book…

As you start you day or for those of my friends that are ending your day, think about your choices you make. Think about those that are affected by your choices. Those people could be family, spouses, friends, coworkers and the list goes on.

As always good writing and May God bless you and your choices 🙂

Looking back, going forward…

I started a rather large project this weekend. I have a cabinet where I keep all of my photos. I have some in photo albums, but 100’s are not in albums yet. I decided Friday night to organize them and put in the remaining albums.

It’s been a long while since I’ve actually looked at the photos. Usually I only open the cabinet to put more in. Well, being the sentimental person I am, I have laughed, cried and become thankful for all I’ve seen and done. I sat with my son and we looked through his lifetime of pictures. When he was small I took pictures of everything he did. He actually looked at me a couple of times like ‘really mom’.

It’s funny what you take pictures of. I saw pictures of my dad, he’s been gone since June 2006. That brought tears to my eyes. It was nice to see him though. My son was quiet looking at his granddaddy. He was really close to him. I told him it is nice to have these memories printed for us to share. He only nodded and held the pictures closely.

Going through the emotional side of the pictures made me think about things for the future. We take so much for granted in out lives. There are so many from those photos not with us anymore. With my faith I know I will see them again some day, but at least I have their pictures to remind me of the love and happiness we shared.

As we go forward, let’s try to remember to live as though there is no tomorrow and love as though today is our last.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you.

Friday Morning Giggle:)

Good morning my wonderful friends. It’s so awesome to have so many people to share with. Between my family and friends I’ve been wonderfully blessed. Well, I guess you’re wondering what the giggle is all about.

Well, I was checking my sales stats this morning and I had to take a second look. My sales took a nice turn in December on major sales engines like Barnes & Nobles, Kobo, Apple and Sony. I did a little happy dance and did a lot of giggling. Thank goodness I was alone or my husband may have had me hospitalized. Nah! He’s used to me and my quirky ways. Good thing 🙂 He was the first one I called and he was ecstatic. The first comment was “Baby that’s awesome. You’ve done well.” I reminded him that we’ve done well. You can’t do this without a good support group. Especially from your family and family

The second was my assistant/editor. She was excited. “Finally people are noticing the books.” Then she reminded me that the manuscript I’m working on is not completed.

Well, I’m no where near ready to quit my day job… Just excited to get over that invisible mark I’d drawn in the sand where my writing was concerned. I just wanted to share with you guys my happiness. This has inspired me to try and push through the cobwebs in my brain. Yeah good luck with that one. LOL

Well, good thing I don’t write to get rich. (Although it would be nice to make enough to make writing my primary career and accounting a hobby.) Dreams are fun. Especially when you see them edge a little closer to reality. God has blessed me throughout this conquest. I owe Him the credit for my writers brain and heart.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you!