Saturday, March 24, 2012

I Love Books!

You know you have read a good book when you turn the last page and feel like you are saying good-bye to a friend.
       Anonymous

I love reading.  I love great books.  I love writing books.   When I read the quote that author RaeAnne Thayne put on one of her bookmarks, I knew exactly what she was saying.  When an author develops a hero and heroine that I want to cheer for, then she has done her job.  

When I finish a story, I've gotten so close to the thoughts and feelings of my characters that I hate to say goodbye to them.  Each one has their story to be told, and by the time the story is complete, I almost feel sad to move on.  But that is life.  Each day is a new challenge with its own sets of problems and discoveries.  Great books are the same, and every time I pick up a new book, I'm looking forward to meeting someone new, experiencing new places, feeling new problems, but always, I want to fall in love all over again.  I guess that's why I love romance.  Each book is unique.  Each hero and heroine have their own issues to overcome, but always, there will be a happily ever after.

So, I guess bottom line of all my rambling today is I wish you the very best.  May you find characters in your life that you just can't let go off.  May you find ways to experience new, happy things every day.  And most of all, I wish you a happily ever after.

Find a good book.  Take time to experience the love, the laughter, the tension, and the happy ever after.  It will definitely be worth your time.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

You Can Do Anything

Yes, you can do anything you set your mind to.  I believe it, and you need to believe it also.

I read a small article in the March AARP bulletin and I'd like to quote it.  Great story.

Author, Author
Jim Henry conquered illiteracy in his mid-90s.  Now he's the author of a book at 98.  "Never, never give up on anything even if what you're doing feels impossible," says Henry, a retired lobsterman in Mystic, Conn.  His self-published In a Fisherman's Language recounts his life through 29 stories.  The first two printings sold out, but his website, fishermanslanguage.com, is accepting orders for a third printing.  (author unknown)

Isn't that just the best thing you've read lately?  I know sometimes I get discouraged, thinking that I started too late in life to get published.  Sometimes I spend my time envying other big name authors like James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Karen Robards, and RaeAnn Thayne.  Sometimes I feel that I just don't have the time, the energy, etc, to succeed.  But then I see something like the above article, and I kick myself back into my computer chair and start working again, because I can succeed.  So can you.

Now, I didn't say it was easy.  Hey, is anything ever easy?  Not usually.  Every dream takes some work to achieve.  Every goal requires stamina, stick-to-it desire, and work to accomplish.  Tell yourself you can do it -- and do it.  Take baby steps and soon they'll turn into giant leaps.

One of my favorite says is:

 If it is to be, it's up to me.

 I love that saying because it is so true.  Every time I think I can't, I read that and remember, I can if I want to and if I'm willing to do what it takes.

I retired after over 30 years.  All those years I dreamed of writing and seeing one of my stories in print.  I joined Romance Writers of America.  I signed up for a few classes, and I started writing. I attended some writing conferences and listened to success stories.  I fought envy and then remembered to tell my friends congratulatons.  One day I decided to submit a story.  A friend talked me into it late one night as we were working on a contest.  I bit the bullet.  Sent in the query letter.  After some rewrites, edits, and lots of work, it got published.  I jumped for joy, then sat back down and kept on writing.  I feel I'm succeeding.  So can you.

Remember:

If it is to be, it's up to me.

Repeat that over and over again.  Post it next to your computer, your easy chair, wherever you spend time and need some encouragement.  Then put a plan into action.  Take the first step.

Good luck.