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A New Year of Goals

One of my goals this year is to live more in the moment. For me that means

staying focused on what I am working on and not thinking ahead to the next project. I know I have a problem with this because when I do stay in the moment, I feel like I have a more productive day and get so much more accomplished than I do on other days when I'm not as present.

And just like that, we are through the winter months! And because it feels like such a surprise to me to have the time fly by as it has, I suppose I will have to work on staying in the moment. Just like my other projects, it takes time, like developing a habit, to make it part of your daily routine.

Speaking of goals, I always have far more than I can possibly accomplish in a year. I think that is a good thing, in a way, because I have a variety of projects to work on so I will never have to wonder what I'm doing next - when one project is done there are another 2 or 3 waiting.

And as usual, I never seem to get as much written in the winter months as I hope to. This February I was ill with a cold that had a lingering cough which made it uncomfortable to do anything. I do feel like I got a lot 'organized' to prepare my computer area for all the writing I plan to accomplish moving forward. And I decided to purchase Scrivener, a writer's program, to better organize some of the novels I'm working on. And that, along with getting more involved in social media platforms have taken up quite a bit of time.

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Writings & Musings

Putting Your Own Life in Your Story...Continued

In my last newsletter I talked about putting pieces of your own life in your fiction. I also think that you can write your own story, or a lot of it, and call it fiction.

I’ve read articles where police are asking people who were at the scene of a crime what happened; they will get so many different descriptions of what the perpetrator was wearing, what kind of car they drove, who was at fault, etc. They have to take a part of what each person gives them and try to put it all together.

Therefore, I think taking stories from your own life, embellishing it where it fits, and calling it fiction is just fine. I was recently inspired to write a few paragraphs about my dad when I was a child. I read it out loud to my husband and he walked away, holding back tears. I was surprised and asked why he was so emotional. He said, because he knew it was true. I was no longer attached to that part of my life and only thought what a great story it might make. He was sad for the life I sometimes had to tolerate as a child.

But if it makes a good story, why not use it in your fiction? My dad is long since gone and I’m not mentioning any names so no one in my family is getting hurt or offended. As far as I'm concerned, this is fiction. And hopefully, if these paragraphs develop into a story or a novel, there will be many parts that are pure fiction. The fact that people often think your story is autobiographical when it isn’t should give you the right to add your own life into your stories.

Link to DJ Geribo's Blog

As I've mentioned in previous newsletters, because it is so chilly in my studio in the winter, I mostly keep the heat at a temp that will keep my plants alive but is too cool for me to stay up there very long. But I have a painting buddy who came home from her place up north and now I am back to painting at her home! I have a few things on my list that I want to paint - my little Felix and our first Pom, Sammy, are first and will be added to my dog family portrait wall. See the paintings below - and now my wall will be complete!

This is my portrait of Felix for my 'dog family portrait' wall. This is painted on a 5"x7" canvas board and I charge $59 to paint a portrait of your animal.

This is a 5"x7" portrait of Sammy, our first Pomeranian, who will also go on my 'dog family portrait' wall.

My Books

Since I'm still having problems with focus, I'm writing when I take the time and really working towards setting up a writing schedule for myself. I always think I will write more in the winter but that just doesn't seem to happen. But I'm feeling the itch to finish a couple of books and move on to others.

I know part of my issue was when I thought I would be completing a book that was a fable with a friend illustrating the book. Since the contract her lawyer wrote up was unacceptable to me on pretty much every level, I had to move on to what I was going to work on next. And there lies my problem; which book did I want to work on next? I thought the fable would be finished in 2018 but now I'm looking at the possibility of doing the illustrations for the book myself.

To order your copy of my latest book "Seven Storied Houses" go to www.BBDPublishing.com.

My books are also now on Amazon!

Of course, I started another story but that has only a few thousand words. I most likely will put my focus on a book that I have been putting into outline mode, something that is foreign to me. I tried using one outline but the author wrote mostly comic type books that had quests to complete. I'm trying to relate but also looking at other writers' suggestions for putting my book into an outline format.

And then of course there is the marketing of my books, which is also something I am supposed to put time into. Besides having them on Amazon, I need to let people know my books are on Amazon and also do what I can to get them into the public. I've sent a copy here and there to a variety of book stores or places that review books.

Sure, I can pay $$$ to have Kirkus Reviews do a review of my book. Authors always have Kirkus reviews on the back covers of their books, but don't be fooled, these are paid for reviews. Kirkus doesn't choose your book, they actually solicit you to pay them to review your book.And since you are paying them, do you really think they will say something negative about your book? I believe the general public doesn't know about this but every author who uses Kirkus Reviews knows how it works.

In the meantime, I'll keep writing.

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.”

— Virginia Woolf

Story in 6

"Right Back at Ya"

A little dog sits on the front porch looking out at the street. A boy rides his bike past the house, again and again, each time sticking his tongue out at the little dog. The dog seems to be watching the boy and follows the bike back and forth without making a peep. Finally, the boy stops, gets off his bike, and calls the dog to him. The little dog turns away from the boy, then looks directly at him, and very slowly pushes his tongue out of his mouth until it is visible to the boy. The boy gets back on his bike and rides away.

Authistpreneur

author/artist/entrepreneur

Someone who is an author, an artist, and an entrepreneur. Any person who writes or has a published novel, who paints fine art/illustrations, and also has established businesses using the combination of artistic talents.
- DJ Geribo

What I'm Reading

I decided it was time to update this photo and thought it should be replaced with a photo of me reading my Kindle, which I have been doing a lot lately. Although I had signed up to receive notices of free and low priced Kindle books through BookGorilla, I really haven't taken advantage of the great prices, until recently. I have downloaded so many wonderful books, a lot of them for FREE, which is my favorite price! So, here is a list of the Kindle books I have read lately.

Craft of Writing - Whenever I'm not writing as much as I feel I should be, I hit the books, meaning, the writing books. I am always learning, imagine I will be until the end, and there is always someone out there teaching me if I will just listen. This was one of the free books on Kindle that has been a treasure. If only for this book alone, I'm so glad I decided to give BookGorilla.com a chance.

The Secret of Life - Although over the years I've read more than my share of self-help books, I can't pass up a free one that I just might learn something from. This book, written by a PhD with a thesis on Artificial Intelligence with graduate degrees in mathematics, etc., the book consisted mostly of his memoir. And although it was interesting to read about his accomplishments, since he and I are the same age, I really didn't learn much that I didn't already know about 'getting younger', which was his subtitle.

Evil Eye: Four Novellas of Love Gone Wrong - J.C, Oates has always been one of my favorite authors and I read a novel or two of hers while in college, plus several of her short stories. The stories in this book were full of violence and emotions ran high. I highly recommend her work (she has written over 70 novels/collections of short stories!) and would suggest you proceed with caution and keep an open mind because you will definitely learn something.

The Boy Who Painted the World - This was a free book I got from BookGorilla and since I haven't read a tween book for a while, decided to read this one. And because it was a tween book about a boy who painted this was right up my alley. It was a wonderful story about a homeless boy who encounters so many obstacles but lets nothing stop him from doing what he is meant to do; paint his world.

Go to My Blog to See What I'm Reading

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