Quote of the Day

“I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.” 

― John Burroughs

Quote of the Day

“It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.
"So it is."
"And freezing."
"Is it?"
"Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately.” 

― A.A. Milne

Book Review Time - The Book Thief

Markus Zusak writes with such poetry and figurative language that you'll find yourself reading passages several times over just to hear the music the words play in your ears. Also, unlike with The Kite Runner, this book left me with a renewed faith in mankind that even in the midst of war there can be love and kindness.  However, I'm holding back on giving it five stars (on Goodreads) for a couple of minor personal annoyances. I didn't care for the use of foreshadowing by the narrator (death). I didn't want to be told what was going to happen before it appeared in the book. Let the story flow naturally down its path. It felt at times to me as though it interrupted the rhythm of the story. Because of this extra narration, the book probably could have been shortened a bit. But even with that being said, it was a beautiful and touching read and I look forward to seeing that portrayed in the movie.  

Don't Forget to Wear Red Today!

Pull out that red sweater, strap on those red shoes, throw a red scarf around your neck, or jump into those red long johns, because Friday, February 7th is National Wear Red Day! 

In 2004 the American Heart Association created Go Red For Women to educate women about heart disease and stroke. There was a great need for this campaign since heart disease was typically viewed as an older man’s disease.  So National Wear Red Day was formed to bring awareness to this number one killer of women.  That’s right; heart disease kills more women than any other disease, including all forms of cancer, a staggering 500,000 lives of American Women are claimed to it each year.

Won’t you join me today to bring awareness to such an important topic?  If you have a mother, sister, wife, female friend or co-worker, or if you yourself are a woman, you should be concerned and informed about this silent killer.

To learn more, check out the American Heart Association website to find out anything and everything about the heart.  This site will give you information about events in your area, recipes, warning signs and ways you can help. 

Please show your red!

All Right, Alright, or Just Okay?

So when do you use the words "all right" and when do you use "alright", and what's the difference anyway?  Well, this is a very common mistake that I myself have inadvertently fallen into in the past.  Since then, I have come across numerous articles on the popular subject.  The verdict?  Quite simply, although "alright" is commonly accepted and used everywhere, it is not actually a word.  However, "all right" is the technically correct form used by dictionaries, grammar books and writing group critique partners (you know who you are and I thank you).  But if you find yourself in a quandary and in doubt, I supposed you could always fall back on the unmistakable "okay".  There you have it, your grammar lesson for the day.  All right?

"The Danger Zone" Illustrator Link-up

Good Morning,

This morning I received my illustrator link-up for my next story, "The Danger Zone", scheduled to appear on The Story Shack on March 13, 2014.  On this collaboration I will be paired with the very talented Delilah Buckle from the United States.  Click on her name to see her website and a sampling of her work.  I'm excited to see her vision of my story.

Enjoy your day!

"She Continues Onward" live on Leaves of Ink

Good Morning,

Today my poem "She Continues Onward" goes live on Leaves of Ink (http://www.leaves-of-ink.com/2014/02/she-continues-onward.html).  Please check it out when you have a few minutes.  Also, if you didn't read "Vehicle", you can find this poem on Leaves of Ink as well by entering the title or my name in the search box.

Thank you and have a great day!

Quote of the Day

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” 

― Martin Luther King Jr.

The Quiet Hours

In the quiet hours of the morning when dawn is starting its gradual ascend to nudge forth the day, is when my creative mind gets busy.  This is when story ideas peek through my dream state and present themselves to me.  This former non-morning person has learned to welcome these intrusions like a loyal friend.

I have a sneaky suspicion that I will be fully occupied this year between work, writing projects and life in general and plan to fully embrace it.  I hope I'm not wrong.

Embrace your passions everyone, make time for them, and enjoy them.  Life is short.  Live it the way you want to and make every second count.

Good Sunday to you all!

Exciting News - Regular Contributor Invitation to The Story Shack!

Friends,

I am bursting with news at this moment.  Today I was offered an invitation by The Story Shack's editor, Martin Hooijmans, to take a spot on the site as one of their regular contributors!

You see, this year, The Story Shack will be changing their format slightly offering only 2-3 stories per week, which will allow longer face time for each story and more opportunities for exposure to different social networks.  So what this means is, starting in April, I will be bringing you a new story every month. This is an exciting endeavor for me.  Even though this is a non-paying assignment, it is rich with opportunity, as it will provide me with more exposure, adherence to writing deadlines, and the potential for future growth.

I am extremely grateful and thankful to Martin and hope that I can continue to provide you with some entertaining quality stories.

Cheers!

Quote of the Day

“Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. 
Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.” 

― Pamela Vaull Starr

Quote of the Day

“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.” 

― Bernard Meltzer

"The Angel Watches" Going Live Today

Good Morning,

Today my poem, "The Angel Watches" will be going live on The Story Shack.  I will provide a direct link for it as soon as it is up.

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week!

Falling Short of My Goal . . . . Wasn't it Great!

Ah, the end of another year approaches.  I could talk about New Year's Resolutions, but I'm not big on those.  Instead, what I try to do is to set a couple of goals throughout the year, which I know may sound like making resolutions, but I don't view it the exact same way.

So, this past year my goal was to complete my novel.  Well, I fell short, because it's not done.  But I don't view this as an entire loss.  In fact, given my cross-country move, the new job and all of life's other ups and downs, the fact that I reached 61,345 words (88% of my goal), is pretty awesome.  Could I have gotten to 70,000 and finished if I had focused more?  Absolutely.  But instead of beating myself up, I'm choosing to look at this as a positive learning process.  After all, I achieved some pretty great things this year.  I attended a couple of online writing seminars giving me additional knowledge, insight and tools to help me with my craft.  I also managed to publish six new flash fiction pieces, one poem, and have three more pieces slated for 2014.  Not bad.

But now, what to do about that novel . . . . . well, guess what this year's goal is?  Yep, finish that book!  Once again, I will gladly accept all the encouragement I can get to help propel me towards this goal and keep me accountable during this undertaking.  I'm actually quite excited to climb back on that horse in 2014 and explore the new paths this adventure is going to travel upon.  Will one of my characters surprise me by going in a different direction, fall short of my expectations and make me rewrite several scenes, or develop into a fuller, richer character and steal the show?  I can't wait to find out!

So what goals will you be setting this year or what great things did you learn from your mistakes and procrastination this year?  Try looking at it in a positive way to see those little achievements.  After all, life is one big learning experience, and when you gain knowledge from those experiences, you gain invaluable success!

Cheers everyone!  Wishing you all the very best in 2014!

"Vehicle" went live!

Good morning friends,

Please take a moment to check out my poem, "Vehicle" on Leaves of Ink.  This poem was written several years ago at a time when I noticed person after person, celebrity and otherwise going down the wrong path in life.

Have a great week and as always, feedback is welcomed!

http://www.leaves-of-ink.com/2013/12/vehicle.html

New Story to be Published -- Danger Zone

Friends,

I'm happy to announce that a new story is to be published entitled, "Danger Zone".  For this one, I took a trip back to the darker side of human nature.  Look for it on The Story Shack on March 13th, or through my story links section on the upper right side of my blog, www.myfiddlefaddlesabbatical.blogspot.com.

Also, a reminder that my poem, "Vehicle" will go live on December 23rd on Leaves of Ink.

Have a great week!

Christina

Quote of the Day

“Humor is the spiciest condiment in the feast of existence. Laugh at your mistakes but learn from them, joke over your troubles but gather strength from them, make a jest of your difficulties but overcome them.”

― L.M. Montgomery

Quote of the Day

“Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace.” 

― Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart

Illustration Received for "The Angel Watches"

Just a quick note to mention that I received the illustration today for my upcoming poem, "The Angel Watches" (publish date January 6, 2014).  I think Terri Kelleher did a beautiful job.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Illustrator Link-up for "The Angel Watches"

I received the link-up today for my poem, "The Angel Watches" (publish date January 6, 2014), and I'm excited to be paired with the very talented Terri Kelleher.  Can't wait to see what she has in store on this corroboration!

New Poem to be Published! "She Continues Onward"

Great news, I'm excited to announce that another poem has just been accepted by Leaves of Ink!  This one, She Continues Onward will be published on February 4, 2014.

Remember, you can find all of my upcoming publishing dates on the upper right-hand side of my blog.

Thanks for reading!

Quote of the Day

“A ship is always safe at the shore - but that is NOT what it is built for.” 

― Albert Einstein

Quote of the Day

“I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself.” 

― Rita Mae Brown

What's in a Name?

Well, frankly a lot.  Especially when you're trying to figure out what to title your book.  No, no, hang on, I'm not finished it yet (actually, disappointingly far behind my projection of a 2013 completion), but as with most books, the title is worked into the story and therefore holds a special significance.   So, here I sit trying to come up with the perfect variation of my working title.  Ugh.  You see, my first thought was a title that is already in use.  It also is two words that by themselves are, well, admittedly kind of lackluster.  So, wanting to keep those two words in my title because of their significance to the story, I am trying to come up with a more intriguing variation.  Yes, I admit, I'm spending a lot of time on a just handful of words.  But as you know, marketing is an important piece of the puzzle.  Think of all the commercials you laugh at, the jingles you sing to yourself and the book titles that either grab you or make you feel something special.  So, instead of the 20,000 more words that I need to write, this morning I'm focusing on five very significant words that are about to steer me toward a bottle of aspirin.  Calgon take me away!  (See, some of you instantly knew what those four words meant, and smiled . . . . . )

Quote of the Day

Or perhaps I should say "quotes".  I couldn't decide, so here are two:

“A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.” 
― Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967

“You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. 
What mood is that? Last-minute panic.” 
― Bill Watterson

Link for "Jack"

So after a little website glitch, here is "Jack".  Happy Halloween!

"Jack" Going Live Today!

Hi Everyone,

My next story "Jack" is going live today on The Story Shack.  There will be two stories posted today, so if don't see it in the morning, then it will be on in the afternoon.  Be sure to check it out if you have a moment. And thank you again to Alankrita Jain for the wonderful illustration!  

Book Review Time - The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls

I thoroughly enjoy Jeannette Walls' books and this one was no exception.  The Silver Star is a work of fiction unlike her memoir, The Glass Castle (an excellent read).  Walls' book Halfbroke Horses is also listed as fiction although it is based on the life of her grandmother (another very good read).  

With this story, Walls takes you on a journey with two young sisters who are put in the position to make some scary grownup decisions. Some of these decisions lead them in a positive direction while other decisions have dire consequences.  

I loved the characters in this book and their quirks, and continuously felt compelled to turn the pages to find out what was going to happen next with these two girls.   This is a story of survival, perseverance, growth and change.  It is a quick enjoyable read.

Gave this 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, and a big thumbs up.

Illustration for Jack

Adorable little illustration from Alankrita Jain for my story, "Jack" coming out on October 31st.  There will be two stories posted that day on The Story Shack, so be sure to take a moment to check it out.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Quote of the Day

“The Lorax: Which way does a tree fall? 
The Once-ler: Uh, down? 
The Lorax: A tree falls the way it leans. Be careful which way you lean.” 

― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax