Yes, I have doubts as to the
quality of my writing. Is it any good or am I just fooling myself?
Every morning, early, —always about
5 a. m.—I rise from bed and begin writing. I’m always excited to begin the day
writing, my heart pumping, and my creative juices flowing. On good days, I may
write, off-and-on, for four or five hours. If it goes well, I’m elated; if it
goes badly, I’m miserable. If I only hammered out two or three lines, I feel
that I have wasted my whole day—for nothing! I pout and I feel anger for the
rest of the day, and I wonder whatever made me ever believe that I could ever
do a thing like writing a book, to begin with. Stupid! And for an Indie writer, this is even worse—you don’t have a publisher!
Well, and even having a publisher
isn’t always a sure deal of the quality of one’s writing.
I have had many short stories and
six novels published. My first novel was published by a man who owned a small
publishing company. He kept telling me that my manuscript was one of the best
novels that he had ever read. The contract that I signed with him was a 60/40
contract, with a 30% overhead charge—meaning that before the 60/40 kicked in,
30% was taken off first: I made little money.
So, I don’t know. Yeah, I have
doubts. Even the King says—that’s Stephen King— “Don’t go into writing lightly.
There are too many disappointments.”
Yet, when all is said and done,
there are the occasional emails that I receive from people—total strangers! —thanking
me for my writing putting a smile on their faces.
Yes, I have doubts, but receiving
one of those joyful emails makes it all worth it.
After many years of being a "struggling" actor in LA, I turned to writing. I have had several novels published: "I'm No P. I."; "A Ghoulish Good Time"; "The 13th Hour"; "Being a P. I.--Again". I have had MS for serval years now; I know physical and mental pain; so I need much laughter to endure it. Hopefully, my novels do just that--give much laughter.
Choosing to ignore the reality of my publications' lack of success, I assembled another collection for public entertainment. Gorged on the sincere praises of my editor and several fans, I have once again allowed my ego to lead me by the carrot of fame it dangles before my eyes. How can you refuse to follow the advice to publish given by someone who even takes the time to come up with the perfect title?
Bittersweet Reality has become a reality thanks to the efforts of my editor, Cindy Calloway who encouraged me to share these works and named them. The artistic and technical abilities of Erika M. Szabo of Golden Box Books Publishing, are evident when you see this gorgeous cover, the beautiful interior of the book in all its forms and when you watch the video below which she created.
This collection has stories as well as poems offering my view of the world before me without my rose-colored glasses.
Cindy has written poetry, and with every experience in life, she has found inspiration. Wife, Mother, and Grandmother, she has a myriad of beautiful memories to draw from. Never having been good at playing the part of "starving artist", she has had many careers, but her current one, an over-the-road truck driver with her husband, Dave, has provided amazing opportunities for inspiration in her later years.
Last year the 30th of December I was surprised to see one of my garden plants starting to bloom. I have it there for enough time to understand that it starts to bloom between April and August. I remember having chosen it just because of its long blooming season and because the first pollinators could have soon something to eat after the long winter.
For this reason, you can imagine my surprise when I saw it blooming in the middle of the winter. I was also worried because, although we didn’t have had yet any snow, I was sure it would have come quite soon, meaning the demise of the plant.
In fact, as I feared, after a few days the Finnish landscape turned white, and the only hope I had was that at least only those early blooms would have died out, leaving the whole plant alive ready to bloom once again at the right time.
Likewise every winter, the temperatures went far below freezing this winter, reaching -25 C.
Every time I looked out of the window, I wondered about the well-being of those little flowers. Many times I have been tempted to dig them out from the snow and cover them with a cloth that could have protected them from the cold, but a little voice in my head told me that perhaps the snow cover could be just enough of a protection.
A few days ago, as the milder temperatures started to melt the snow cover, I thought I saw something worth my attention, and as I went to refill the bird feeder, I reached the place where the blooming flower was planted.
And I marveled…
Not only the plant survived the harsh and long winter, but under the snow cover, those flowers found a safe cocoon from where to find shelter from the cold weather. They patiently kept themselves alive, gathering the weak light filtering through the snow cover, feeding on the slowly melting ice, and counting the days to Spring.
It gave me a sense of hope and also a good lesson, about patience. Sometimes we all need to work and wait before we can harvest the fruits of what we’ve done, as nothing happens in a one-day timeframe. So the old say ‘good things come to those who wait’ isn’t so wrong after all.
Paula J. Mann lives a double life. She is a geologist by day and a novelist by night. She's best known for writing psychological thrillers and crime fiction. She also writes historical fiction and paranormal suspense. She loves traveling and shares her experiences on her blog: http://paperpenandinkwell.blogspot.com
Abode of Woe features characters from ancient Greek Myth, and from Victorian England. Where else could such people meet? Darkly humorous and fiery fantasy in the ultimate shared world.
About the book:
Join the doomed on their vision quests in eleven stories by the damnedest writers in Perdition: Janet Morris; A.L. Butcher; Joe Bonadonna; Andrew P. Weston; Gustavo Bondoni; Seth Lindberg; Tom Barczak; Michael H. Hanson; Louis Antonelli; Christopher Crosby Morris.
Mystics in Hell is the latest volume in the notorious Heroes in Hell series of anthologies and novels created by Janet Morris.
British-born A. L. Butcher is an avid reader and creator of worlds, a poet, and a dreamer, a lover of science, natural history, history, and monkeys. Her prose has been described as ‘dark and gritty’ and her poetry as ‘evocative’. She writes with a sure and sometimes erotic sensibility of things that might have been, never were, but could be.
I was watching the Musketeers series and my mind wandered off. I imagined a painter in France in the 14th century whose painting ends up forgotten in a family's closet in America. What if this painting would be found and after lots of confusion would bring two people together?
Danielle’s life
spins out of control when the snobbish new owner of the Couture mansion brings
a seemingly worthless painting into her antique shop. The ownership of the
painting is questionable, and the town’s future is threatened by the plans of
the ruthless, rich owner. An unexpected visitor arrives, and he may possess the
much-needed solution to everyone’s problems.
But they communicate very well with sounds and body postures. If you pay attention to your feline friend's postures, you know exactly how they feel and what kind of mood they're in.
I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful. Tell me about your favorite feline friend in the comments.
I wrote this book for children who happened to inherit a chunky body type, or just happen to be a bit chubby. No matter the reason, teasing, and bullying don't help and hurts the same.
My novels, novelettes, audiobooks, and children's books
Being born on the first day of Spring, I have found the "spring cleaning bug" lives inside me year-round. Any time the sun peaks out after a few days of cold and gloom, I feel the urge to make my house sparkle. Unfortunately, I do not seem to be as efficient as Snow White. I usually find myself in the situation of Cinderella (pic 2) with more to do the longer I am at it. My grandfather used to call me Cinderella so I feel like I was destined to be like her.
When I first got my own apartment, everything had a place it belonged and I made sure it was where it should be every day. I cleaned floors on my hands and knees, dusted and wiped down everything except windows...I still can't clean them. Dishes were washed, wiped, and put away as soon as a meal was finished. My daughter was raised in this environment, and when she started to rebel by not taking care of toys, I bagged them up and threatened to give them away.
Somehow, life took over, and dishes drained overnight while I enjoyed family time. Then came moves to different states which resulted in boxes of items with no place to fit. As I waited to find their perfect location, another move took place and the pile of unemptied boxes multiplied. Becoming an over-the-road truck driver just amplified the storage issues. My daughter's passing added more boxes of treasures to deal with.
But, for the last year and a half, I have been stuck at home and no longer had the legitimate excuse of no time. So, I decided to start unpacking. I finished emptying one room and everything in it had a home...Unfortunately, another death resulted in more "boxes of treasures" that needed to be emptied, and the one room was now refilled with them.
Another day the sun came out and I began again. This time my completion was delayed by the decision to remodel two rooms. Everything got piled wherever it fit so the work could be done. Slowly I got order back to those two rooms and the one I had originally emptied. New china cabinets for Christmas gave my knickknacks a home and replacement shelves organized the rest.
The next room on the list got started...but...(I am sure you know there is a reason I could not finish) I found my bookcases had collapsed and I would need new shelves to put everything on. And what will I do with the stuff I don't want anymore but is still in good condition? It has to go someplace.
So, now I have the shelves
...just waiting on the liners and I can get started again. Will I ever finish? Unless all the woodland animals come to help me, I doubt it. To be honest, when you have too much time on your hands, it is hard to accomplish anything.
How do you all fare with the spring cleaning bug? Do you finish?
Are you persistently waking up at night at the same time?
Please note:
Although this article contains some medical facts, it’s mostly my own observation of patients and talking to patients throughout my nursing career.
Can’t sleep 6-8 hours straight without waking up?
If you’re persistently waking up at night at the same time, it might be because your body and mind are trying to tell you something. Our bodies and minds work like an amazing computer system. The body is “resetting” the physical body, and the mind is organizing the previous day’s events, thoughts, and feelings. We need a restful sleep to help our body, but sometimes our sleep is interrupted.
Waking up 10 Pm – midnight:
Waking up at this time of the night might be due to stress and anxious thoughts throughout the day that hasn’t been resolved before going to sleep. You might be feeling pressured at your job, in your family life, or you have a lot on your “to-do” list and having a hard time keeping up.
Try:
Take a warm bath before bed, watch, or read a relaxing story, or listen to calming music. Think about the positive things you’ve accomplished. Next, put the unresolved issues and to-do list in your mind to a mental file “to be solved another day”.
Waking up midnight – 1 Am:
This is when your mind is dealing with anger issues and the pent-up, unresolved anger tends to wake you up at this time of the night. Anger might manifest itself as a bad dream or nightmare.
Try:
Before bed try to stretch, do some light yoga exercises, and think about what made you angry throughout the day. Remember, some things you cannot change, follow the philosophy of a dog. If you can’t change it, don’t waste time being angry about it. Piss on it, kick some dirt on it, and move on.
Waking up 1 Am – 3 Am:
The feeling of hate is keeping you up around this time of the night that related mostly to self-hatred. You might hate your aging or sick body, weaknesses of your personality, or situations you got yourself into.
Try:
Have a good talk with yourself and point out what you like about your body and personality. Embrace the positive things and make fun of the negative ones. Yeah, my boobs have been taken over by gravity and moving to the south, but with the help of a push-up bra, they can still look perky. Remember, just because people put on a cheerful mask, every single person is dealing with problems that life throws at us, even with occasional self-doubt and self-loathing. You’re not alone. Accept yourself, the whole package, and don’t pick on little things that are only temporary.
Forgive others who hurt you. Remember, when you keep a grudge alive, you carry the much-hated person with you 24/7 in your mind. Drop them like a hot potato and move on.
The use of herbs for disease prevention and healing has a long history - dating back thousands of years and medicines extracted from botanicals include reserpine, morphine, penicillin, as well as anti-cancer drugs. Herbal supplements can be purchased over-the-counter (OTC) and may be labeled "all-natural" and are sold in many different forms - dried leaves for teas, powdered, as capsules or tablets, or in solution. But does "all-natural" mean they are always safe? Absolutely not! Although herbal supplements may be from plant or herb sources, the active ingredients are potent chemicals. Because of this, herbal supplements can have drug interactions, interactions with other herbs, or with food and alcohol. Herbal interactions with prescription medications or other chemicals can:
interfere with how the drug may be broken down in the body
FEVERFEW Feverfew is a member of the daisy family. Feverfew is often
used as an herbal remedy to prevent migraine headaches and associated nausea
and vomiting; however, the evidence is not conclusive. Alarmingly, feverfew may increase the risk of bleeding,
especially in people with blood-clotting disorders or using blood thinners to
help prevent clots, for example:
aspirin
warfarin
heparin
Plavix (clopidogrel)
Pradaxa (dabigatran)
Xarelto (rivaroxaban)
low molecular weight heparins like enoxaparin or dalteparin.
GINGER A commonly used flavoring agent, food product, and herbal
supplement. Ginger has been used in the treatment and prevention of
motion sickness, vertigo, to increase appetite, to reduce stomach acidity, and
to reduce severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Drug interactions with ginger are not well documented; however, it is known to:
Inhibit thromboxane synthetase, which can prolong bleeding
time and may cause interactions with anticoagulants like warfarin, aspirin, or
other blood thinners.
GINSENG Ginseng has been used in Asian countries for its therapeutic
effects for centuries. Today, ginseng use is reported to improve the body's
resistance to stress and increase vitality, among other uses. There are many different origins of ginseng, and many types
of drug interactions.
Long-term use of American ginseng may decrease the
effectiveness of warfarin, a blood thinner, and increase the risk for a blood
clot. In general, ginseng or ginseng-containing herbal tea should not be used
with anticoagulants. Ask your doctor about this interaction.
Ginseng may also affect blood pressure treatments and
diabetic medications like insulin or oral hypoglycemics.
GREEN TEA Green tea is a popular drink that originated in China and
has been promoted for stomach disorders, to lower cholesterol, as an
anti-cancer antioxidant, as a stimulant, and to lessen belly fat, among other
uses.
Dried green tea leaves contain vitamin K, which can increase
blood clotting. Large amounts of vitamin K may interfere with the activity of
some blood thinners.
GARLIC A commonly used flavoring agent, food product, and herbal
supplement. There are many conditions garlic has been promoted for - to reduce
cholesterol and triglycerides, to prevent cancer, to lower blood sugar levels,
and to reduce menstrual pain, among other uses. There are over 180 drug
interactions with garlic, but most are reported as minor.
Garlic has been reported to moderately affect blood clotting
and blood sugar levels and may affect people who take blood-thinning agents
like aspirin, warfarin, or clopidogrel (Plavix).
Use of garlic supplements with HIV protease inhibitors (PI)
may decrease the PI blood levels.
There are other possible garlic interactions, so be sure to
review all possible drug interactions with garlic and speak with your
healthcare provider.
GOLDENSEAL A flowering herb that grows in the northeast United States.
Common uses for goldenseal include skin infections, cold and flu symptoms,
and to treat diarrhea, but the evidence is weak for these uses.
Serious interactions may occur with certain antipsychotic
drugs - using pimozide or thioridazine with goldenseal is not recommended, as
antipsychotic blood levels may rise leading to an irregular heart rhythm.
Goldenseal may affect liver enzymes that can alter blood
levels of certain drugs; always have your pharmacist run a drug interaction
screen on all of your medicines, OTC drugs, or herbs.
GINKGO BILOBA The use of ginkgo extract dates back centuries in
traditional Chinese medicine. Ginkgo interacts with over 260 drugs; have a pharmacist
check for interactions before use. Ginkgo has been used for treating anxiety, dementia,
circulation problems in the legs, premenstrual syndrome, certain vision
problems, dizziness), or some movement disorders. Research has shown that Ginkgo
Biloba is not likely to be effective in treating heart disease.
Ginkgo may decrease the antiviral effects of drugs used in HIV,
such as efavirenz.
Avoid ginkgo in patients who take seizure medications and
blood thinners.
Next time you need a password no one else will check you could try one of these:
1) Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
It’s a ‘contrived’ word – for an unpleasant lung disease usually known as silicosis. (The Oxford Dictionaries define it as "an artificial long word said to mean a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
2) Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
The fear of long words…. Yes, really. (Also known as Sesquipedalophobia – which is hardly a short word.) Healthline
3) Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
The longest uncontrived word (It’s an inherited thyroid disorder.) Wikipedia
Science and medicine have more than their fair share of weighty words.
4) Floccinaucinihilipilification
The longest unchallenged nontechnical word that not all directories recognize, that including Merriam-Webster. According to alternative sources, floccinaucinihilipilification is the act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant, of having no value or being worthless. Oftentimes, it is used in a humorous way or on quiz shows.
5) If you can’t decide what to eat in a restaurant, you could always ask for Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon
(English translation of λοπαδο¬τεμαχο¬σελαχο¬γαλεο¬κρανιο¬λειψανο¬δριμ¬υπο¬τριμματο¬σιλφιο-καραβο¬μελιτο¬κατακεχυ¬μενο¬κιχλ¬επι¬κοσσυφο¬φαττο¬περιστερ¬αλεκτρυον¬οπτο¬κεφαλλιο¬κιγκλο-πελειο¬λαγῳο¬σιραιο¬βαφη¬τραγανο¬πτερύγων)
It's a fictional recipe used by Aristophanes, comprising 16 ingredients including several fish (including rotting shark’s head, meat from various birds and wine. Wikipedia
And finally, if you have 3 hours or so to spare – check out the pronunciation of the chemical name of titin, the largest know protein…it’s 189819 characters.
Next
time you go to the pub quiz/online quiz or word game think of the words below.
A
word with three lots of double letters
Bookkeeper
–
has three sets of double letters – O, then K, then E. Also bookkeeping
Unusual
words - try to sneak these into
conversation.
Expergefactor
– is
anything that wakes you up. An alarm clock, a cockerel crowing, the neighbours
returning from a night out at 4am…
Zwodder
– a
drowsy and stupid state of body and mind. If you come back from that late
night/early morning after a night of ale-passion (used in the old way to mean
suffering not the modern way of lustful) you may suffer zerostomia (dry
mouth) and possibly even obdormition (having fallen asleep on your arm). You
may feel lucifugous too (‘fleeing the light’), after all the jactating
you did in bed. No – it doesn’t mean something rude….
Sesquipedalianism – the tendency to use long words…. I have this.
Words
without vowels:
By
Crypt
Fly
Flyby
Glycyl
Gypsy
Hymns
Hmm
Lynx
Myrrh
Myth
My
Nymphs
Nymphly
(another usage of nymph-like)
Psst
(contained in OED)
Pygmy
Rhythms
Shh
Shy
Shyly
Scry
Shy
Sky
Sync
Try
Trysts
Wry/Wryly
Xyst
(a long and open portico in a gymnasium (Greek)
Without
y as a substitute vowel-
(These
are of Welsh Origin – so don’t count as strictly English words). Welsh uses ‘w’
as a vowel sound
As the officers handcuffed Gerard, the janitor, Detective
Chance scanned the anxious women sitting on the floral-printed sofa. They nervously
glanced at the detective who paced in front of them. Flora, a middle-aged,
plump caregiver, Mrs. Banks, the manager of the apartment complex, a tall, bony
woman with a pointy nose and dark hair combed into a tight bun, and Tricia O’ Brian, the old lady’s drug addict niece.
“Today I hit two birds with one stone,” the detective scratched
his chin, towering over Flora.
The caregiver turned pasty white. “Not me! She did it!” she
screamed pointing at Mrs. Banks. “She goes into the apartments when nobody is
home.” Flora accused.
“Her alibi checks out,” the detective said. “She was seen on
the security cameras at the casino’s parking lot at eight, beating up her
husband, and they were arrested shortly after. They were not released until 3
AM.”
“Then it was the niece!” Flora accused. “Those damned drug
addicts would do anything for money.”
“I wouldn’t, I couldn’t!” Tricia protested. “I loved my
aunt.”
The detective looked into Flora’s eyes. “Flora Sweet, I’m arresting
you for murdering Mrs. O’Brian. You have the right to remain silent. Anything
you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right
to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any
questioning.”
“But how?” Mrs. Banks asked. “We entered the apartment
together.”
“It was the second time,” the detective turned to Mrs. Banks.
“She visited Mrs. O’Brian the night before, shortly after the old lady called
her. She ransacked the apartment looking for the lottery ticket, and when she
couldn’t find it, she panicked. I didn’t have any proof until I heard what Flora
told you a few minutes ago when she leaned closer to you and whispered, ‘Oh,
my! Who could be so cruel to smother a sweet old lady to death?’. I never told
anyone that Mrs. O’Brian was smothered. Only the killer knew that.”
We hope you've enjoyed our WhoDunIt mystery. The winners of the audiobooks will be notified via email.
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