Flashback Friday

            **It's the last Friday of the month, which means it's time for Flashback Friday. Participants repost an old post that needed more attention, that you're very proud of, that you think is still relevant, etc. It was hosted by Michael G D'Agostino, but he has opted out, though you can still find a list of participants on his blog. Today is also a day known as Black Friday, although the last few years, many stores have moved their sales to Thursday, which is a shame. If you're like me, you've given up on shopping in stores and have already snagged some deals online throughout the week. For those who are out and about: Stay safe and I hope you can still find some deals today! This post is from November 30, 2011.**

Finding Peace in the Chaos

Psalm for the Troubled Spirit

        In times of trouble, You are there.

You, O Lord, bring me friendships when I need them the most.

You encourage me when life is at its worst.

When I feel like I'm at the end of my rope, You give me more slack.

When I pray, You give me a peace that passes all understanding.

You are always with me, even when my heart isn't fully with You.

When I'm struggling or confused, Your Word provides me with encouragement and wisdom.

Even when the answer isn't clear, You still give me endurance to keep on the straight path.

Sometimes this world is a scary place and the future looks bleak, but You are still there.

Your presence is what truly brings me hope and peace in a chaotic world.

          So, as we enter the month of the December, let's remember what is truly important. Some people get depressed this time of year, but don't let circumstances bring you down. Remember that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas and that He is always with you; during the highs and the lows of life. Focus on the blessings in life instead of the negative things. Allow God's love and the comfort of friends and family to carry you through this month full of frantic shoppers, busy schedules, and stressful deadlines. If you get a moment, slow down and savor the magic of Christmas. Look at Christmas through the eyes of a child again. The snow, the lights, the beautiful decorations, the music, and most of all the love that comes from the hearts of those around you. Taking the time to find joy in the midst of pandemonium can help you to spread that joy to others, and maybe together we can shine the light that so often gets burned out.

Change is Coming

            I started writing out a fairly long post for today until I came to my conclusion and realized I cannot share it publicly, at least not right now. To sum it up, I was thinking over the last year or so and realized that I have not been handling things very well. I've allowed changes in my job to make too much of an impact on more important areas of my life. In my conclusion, I realized what needs to be done in order to reclaim my life. But first, there are a few steps I'll have to take to reach that point. If you pray, please think of my unspoken request in your prayers and pray that if this is God's will for my life that He will work out the details involved.

            In the meantime, I am trying to push myself back into the blogging and social media world. I've been lurking around most of this year without making very many attempts to connect with people. I do get tired of being a hermit, but like in physical conversation, online networking can wear me out. I guess I've taken my introversion to a new level, but really, once I get into commenting on posts again, it's not so bad. It is certainly easier than talking to people in person. I plan on eventually getting a new profile picture up and possibly changing my blog name, if I can come up with something. Until then, I have many future post ideas that are still lingering in my head, and writing my thoughts out today has helped me feel more motivated, even though I cannot share it all just yet.

 

*I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving! I will see you next week with my Flashback Friday post. *Have you ever come to a point where you know you have to make some changes in your life?

IWSG: Why I Love Writing

 

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month. The IWSG poses a question for us to answer in our monthly posts. Here is November's question:

What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?

            I have been thoroughly reminded of why I love writing over the last few weeks. I was writing my story for the anthology contest, and once I finally got the plot working, I found the time to finish it. I have been in a slump the last few months and I kept telling myself I don’t have time to write. But, my actual problem was that I wasn’t making the time. Having a motivated purpose (i.e. contest deadline, topic I enjoy, journaling) makes the time blocks so much more apparent. Not that I don’t have something I could be writing during those times every day, but sometimes, I need an extra push.

            Anyway, back to the question at hand. What I love about writing is that it is a form of release and of expressing myself. As a socially-awkward introvert, I tend to hold up a lot of thoughts and feelings inside my head throughout the day. I have had many moments where I just have to unleash the anger, frustration, anxiety, sadness, excitement, joy, etc., or I might just burst. That is why I find journal entries, story ideas and starts, and prayers written or typed out everywhere. I use whatever paper or note-taking app is near me when the urge comes. I also love it when something comes together to a point that it’s worth sharing. I have a lot of ideas that seem interesting, but sometimes it’s hard to take them from my mind palace to the page in front of me; everything gets jumbled into nonsense. So, when those pent-up feelings actually produce something worthwhile, I do like to share the experience with others.

 

            Good luck to all those participating in NaNoWriMo! I’m not participating, but I will aim to write more often this month. I need to keep the flow going now that my short story is finished and submitted. Here are about 400 words written on November 1, so I’m off to a good start :)



Story of my life last month



Flashback Friday

 

            **Is it really time for Flashback Friday already? I have spent most of the past week in my personal bubble of solitude trying to simultaneously finish, edit, and revise my story for the IWSG anthology contest. I will try to come back up for air when this thing is submitted! Back to Flashback Friday, participants use the last Friday of each month to repost an old post that needed more attention, that you're very proud of, that you think is still relevant, etc. It is hosted by Michael G D'Agostino at A Life Examined. This is my post about my insecurities from last year's anthology contest. The only difference this year is that I have no mixed feelings about my entry, I just got to get it ready for submission!**

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October IWSG  (October 7, 2015)

  



            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writers Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another.  IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month.  The co-hosts for October are:

TB Markinson, Tamara Narayan, Shannon Lawrence, Stephanie Faris, and Eva E. Solar.

            In September, IWSG announced that they would be having an anthology contest for group members.  We have until November 1 to submit a short story about a parallel universe or alternative history.  This is my insecurity this month.  As soon as I saw the contest, I was so excited about it, but now I’m having mixed feelings/second thoughts.  I really want to submit a story, I have an idea, I have the characters lined up, and I even started writing.  I am just not sure if I can pull this all together in a sensible way by November!  During this process, I realized that I have not written any fiction since high school, beyond a list of ideas and a couple opening paragraphs to stories that may never come to be.  I don’t even know if my fiction will be likeable, but I guess this is an opportunity to find out.  I have to start somewhere.  I hope I can get it done. 

If I Were a Mobster Blogfest

Today, I’m participating in Chrys Fey’s If I Were a Mobster Blogfest. She decided to do a blogfest to celebrate the release of her latest novella, 30 Seconds Before. I thought this sounded like fun and it was also a great opportunity to practice character creation. Here is my mobster:

Mobster Name: Joanie Fiotta

Rank: The hacker/undercover agent

Crime Zone: Orlando, Florida

Look/Disguise: Operating from the shadows and a master of disguise, Joanie can create any identity she wants for herself and her partners.

Weapon of Choice: Computer

Mobster Vehicle: The most technologically-advanced vehicle available, like the Batmobile, except less obvious.

What She’s Known For: She is able to hack into complex systems and create new identities. She can supply passports and get her cohorts wherever they need to go, including overseas locations. She also excels at undercover field work because of her keen observation skills.

Catch Phrase: “Don’t worry boys, I can hack this!”

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            I read Chrys Fey's 30 Seconds and I liked it. It was action-packed and had some interesting twists and turns. And, guess what? She has it on sale for 99 cents until Nov. 4! Now, I'm turning this post over to Chrys:

30 SECONDS BEFORE BLURB:

Blake Herro is a cop in the Cleveland Police Force. Ever since he was a child he wanted to do right by the city he loved by cleaning up the streets and protecting its citizens. Red, a notorious mobster, has other plans.

On a bitter December night, ten police officers are drawn into a trap and killed by Red’s followers. Blake wants to bring down the Mob to avenge his fallen brothers and to prevent other cops from being murdered. Except the only way he can do that is by infiltrating the Mob.

Every minute he’s with these mobsters he’s in danger. Around every corner lies the threat of coming face to face with a gun. Will he make it out of the Mob alive or will he be their next victim?
 

 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US / Amazon UK /  Amazon CA

NOOK / KOBO / The Wild Rose Press

To celebrate, 30 Seconds, the follow up story, is on sale for 99 cents!

Sale Oct. 21^st – Nov. 4th

SALE LINKS:

Amazon / The Wild Rose Press / NOOK / KOBO

BIO:

Chrys Fey is the author of the Disaster Crimes Series (Hurricane Crimes and Seismic Crimes), as well as these releases from The Wild Rose Press: 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter


 

Now please hop around to the other participants:

IWSG: Is It Ready?

            Time for another posting with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, where writers can share their insecurities and encourage one another. IWSG was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh and we share our posts the first Wednesday of the month. The IWSG poses a question for us to answer in our monthly posts. Here is the question for October:

When do you know your story is ready?

            Honestly, I have not completed enough stories to know how to answer this question. Most of my stories remain incomplete swimming around in my head. I think I have a chronic start-a-project-and-never-complete-it problem. Is there a word for that? There should be. I have so many blog posts and stories that I’ve started and never finished. And this problem is not exclusive to writing, I also have incomplete craft and sewing projects, organizational projects, and other substantial projects on my to do list. That being said, I will know when my current IWSG anthology entry is ready when I figure out which way it’s going to end. Of course, with the story I entered in last year’s contest I knew the ending before I had a plot, and since I decided that I want to try to fix that story, it has gone back to not ready mode. I think it depends on the story.

 

            On a side note: My brother used up most of our monthly 4G data the last week of September (yes, I still share a cell phone plan with my family, it's more economical this way) and our data does not reset until the 10th. So, I am stuck with the Wi-Fi that only works part-time :(   I have also been feeling slightly under the weather due to allergy and sinus problems this week and have been going to sleep a little earlier. The late night is my usual blog visiting time. I have visited and read some posts that managed to load in the past couple weeks, but I did not leave any comments. I'm hoping to visit/revisit and comment tomorrow on my day off, if the Wi-Fi agrees with me. In the meantime, congrats to all those who have released new books recently, I noticed quite a few blog tours going on.

Question of the Month: Looking Back

 

The Question of the Month is a bloghop that occurs the first Monday of each month and this is the last one that will be hosted by Michael G D'Agostino from A Life Examined. I’ll miss having Michael as our host, but I wish him well in all his future endeavors. Here is the last question he posed for us:

“What’s a decision you’ve made in the past that you know, logically, was the right decision to make, but which you still feel guilty or regretful about?”

            Looking back on the decision I’m writing about today, I also have to go back to my thought process at that time. Now, I can see many other paths I could have chosen, but at that time my choice seemed perfectly logical. It was choosing to major in education at college. First of all, for most of high school, there was this constant pressure to get ready for college. We were bombarded with questions: “Where are you going to go?” “What are you going to major in?” “How are you going to pay for it?” By my junior year, at the ripe old age of 17, I had already made my final decisions. "I’m going to OBU and I’m majoring in Elementary Education." At first, I thought it might be nice to take a year off, but then I had a case of FOMO (fear of missing out) and I didn’t want to be “behind” my peers. I don’t regret my choice of school. I enjoyed OBU’s small class sizes, variety of curriculum within my major, and integration of Christian faith. I chose to teach because people told me I was good with kids, and I liked kids, and the only job I could think of that involved working with kids was teaching. I realized the summer before my final year of college that I did not really want to teach and there were other directions I could have gone. At that point, it was too late to change majors and still finish in a year. My parents and I could not afford to keep me in college longer. Yes, I probably was too quick to give up and give in to my circumstances, but I stuck to my initial plan and even taught kindergarten for a year before calling it quits. After that, I somehow ended up stuck in a pharmacy, and I often look back and wonder what else I could have done. The positive of this path I’m still on is that I have a job with no homework (unless regaining energy counts). So, over time, I have been able to reanalyze my life, I have grown closer to God, and I have renewed my interest, and gained a passion, in writing, all of which can help me pursue a new path in life.