Category Archives: Writing

by | April 3, 2015 · 9:34 am

Counting Blessings (& getting sidetracked)


Today is a day of Thanksgiving. No, we haven’t suddenly fast-forwarded to November. I just feel like celebrating all the ways in which I’m blessed. Perhaps my thanksgiving-fest will inspire others to do the same and give me even more reasons to be thankful.

Thankful that school is almost over Stay strong! (only 9 weeks to go!!!) – think I’m beginning to dislike (public) school almost as much as my 8th Grader (his school, or the school district, is at least partially to blame as it’s taken half the school year of beating my head against the brick wall of teachers to get that brick wall to start MOVING!)…we’re going to try private school next year…if I can afford it…maybe I’ll try GoFundMe.com – Help Me Send My ADHD/Asperger Teenager to Private School Where They’ll Hopefully Focus on Social & Behavioral Skills as Much as Academia…it could work…..;

Thankful to be a part (hopefully an integral part) of an awesome team of people who put their hearts and minds daily into making Booktrope a contender in the publishing world. I’m so grateful for all the editing and proofreading (since I’m a Grammar Nazi at heart 😉 ) projects that have (almost literally) come knocking at my door (well, virtual door, anyway). I’ve met and become friends with so many kindred spirits of the written word, and am honored to be numbered among them;

Through Booktrope, Brain on ADHD I’ve come to know and work with many of the talented, beautiful people who are part of Stigma Fighters. In the short time I’ve worked (and continue to work) with them, I’ve learned so much about my son’s and my own mental health issues and that we’re not alone. There are people out there rooting for us, and I’m rooting for them #StigmaFightersUnite;

I’m so thankful for my family – especially my parents – who supports me, through thick and thin, even when they disagree with my choices, who are present as much as they can be in mine and my son’s lives. I love them so much and can never hope to thank them enough for all they’ve done, and continue to do, for us;

I’m thankful for a strong, supportive church family who continually prays for my son and me, who show their love in so many big and little ways, and thankful that God hasn’t given up on me (or my kiddo), that He’s still workin’ on us;

I’m thankful for both my bestie ADHD serenity prayer who knows wayyyy too much about me, but loves and hangs with me anyway, and my therapist, who provides a comfy couch and a safe place for me to vent, cry, and share the dark side of me.  My bestie GETS both me and my kiddo (she has a bit of ADHD herself 😉 ), and I can always depend upon her when I need a laugh. And even though my therapist (she’s also my son’s therapist) gets paid to talk and listen to both me and my kiddo, her personality and manner are such that visits with her are more like spending time with a long-time, sympathetic friend.

And last but not least, I’m thankful for my (sometimes wacky) sense of humor. Oh, yes, there is many a time my ability to see the humor in most situations (and find or create memes for them) helps me stay sane. I love to laugh and to make other people laugh. If I can make someone almost pee with laughter (or giggle or chuckle – I’m not picky), then my day is made and the anxiety and depression that constantly sit on the back burner of my psyche, waiting for the perfect moment to make themselves felt, are once again put in their place…on the back burner.

These are all things I’m thankful for today, this week, this month, this year – there are many other things for which I’m thankful, but don’t have anymore attention to spare to writing this post, especially after all the revisions I made because I needed to add JUST. ONE. MORE. THING. (!!!) Yes, there are things that I feel are missing in my life, but at this moment, I choose to dwell on the blessings. Count your blessings and….squirrel!! 🙂

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Filed under ADHD, Anxiety, Blogging, Booktrope, Depression, Family, Life, Mental Health, Musings, Random, Stuff, Writing

by | March 10, 2015 · 10:07 am

Guest Post – Author February Grace


touruponatime

I’m pleased to host the very talented February Grace on my blog today, for the tour of her new book,

Upon a Time.

First, about the book:

 

hi-res-cover-UPON-A-TIME-Greg-Simanson-MEDIUM-SIZE
Genre: Fantasy / Fairytale / Romance
A blacksmith’s apprentice who would be a knight. The heir to the throne, at death’s door. One woman who would save them both, if she could…

Charlotte was number sixty-four in the second group of young, hopeful maidens intended to meet the Prince at a grand ball in his honor. That introduction was not to be. She returned home to her tiny village—and her visions of a future limited by it—without any warning of the drastic turn her life was about to take. Soon she would be fighting against the odds to help keep a gravely wounded stranger alive; and waging war with her own heart, as he stirred feelings in her she’d never known.

When the stranger’s royal identity is revealed, Charlotte is faced with an entirely different battle: one to keep her family, village, and the injured Prince in her care all safe from a madman set on taking the throne by any means necessary.

 

Now, please welcome February Grace! 🙂

 

The Story Behind The Story

When I sat down and started writing UPON A TIME last year, I had no idea it would turn out just as it did, but I am so happy that it did.

I wanted, at first, just to put a spin on the traditional Cinderella story. Something different, swapping out the centuries-old heroine for another girl who would take the spotlight, without ever setting out, at first, to do it.

Then, the characters made themselves known to me, and I had the thought that the ‘retelling’ could be so much more than just that if I listened to them closely and wrote what was in my heart.

We live in a world that is so judgmental of people based upon their bodies: their outward appearance, and their physical strength and abilities. We glorify athletes and actors and models and worship them as the epitome of all that is desirable. We are taught from a young age that beauty equates to good in a person. Think about it; how often do you see a truly beautiful, truly evil villain? Usually if they are beautiful, in the end they are redeemable; and so not truly evil at all.

On the other side of the coin, those who are less than perfectly beautiful in these stories are often cast aside or worse, cast as weak and to be pitied, despised, or abused.

In this life there is so much more to people than just their outsides, and there is, or should be in my view, more to ‘fairy tales’ than just magic.

So I set about writing a story and when I was done I had something that was different: a Cinderella tale without a hint of supernatural magic (and this from a writer who previously wrote two novels all about the lives of modern fairy godparents!)

The “magic” in UPON A TIME exists in the hearts of its heroes, in the way that they selflessly come together to save a man’s life, not knowing at first the importance he had to all of theirs. The magic is there again when you see how that man takes to the new challenges that he must face, and rises above them.

I hope that this story will shine a new light on the people we imagine to be heroes, in stories and in everyday life.

If UPON A TIME makes just one person feel less self-conscious about their physical challenges or their appearance, then it will have been worth writing and going through the process of getting it out into the world. If it makes one person think about how they view others, it is worth it.

The true measure of a man—or woman—lies within their heart, not in the condition of their exterior shell; and the truest love and noblest souls can dwell within bodies that come in all shapes, sizes, and levels of physical ability.

 

February Grace - picFebruary Grace is a writer, poet, and artist from Southeastern Michigan. She has created characters with clockwork hearts, told the romantic tale of modern fairy godparents, and has now put her own spin on a classic tale in UPON A TIME, her fourth novel published by Booktrope. She sings on key, plays by ear, and is more than mildly obsessed with colors, music, and meteor showers.

Links

Website: http://februarywriter.blogspot.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24902564-upon-a-time?from_search=true

Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Upon-Time-February-Grace/dp/1620156938/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425320017&sr=8-1&keywords=upon+a+time+february

Amazon (eBook): http://www.amazon.com/Upon-Time-February-Grace-ebook/dp/B00TD6IF86/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1425320017

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/upon-a-time-february-grace/1121187296?ean=9781620156933

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Filed under Blog Tour, Booktrope, Fantasy, Guest Post, Writing

by | February 3, 2015 · 1:04 pm

Twilight Zone Tuesday


I think I entered The Twilight Zone when I woke up this morning. It’s been a day of VERY unusual occurrences. Here’s my evidence:

 

  • None of my usual programs worked this morning when I first logged into my work computer. I had to shut it down twice before it would work. Guess it needed virtual caffeine…
  • Publisher’s Clearinghouse (or is it “Clearing House?” … whatev’s) called me mid-morning (on my cell phone, from a local number) to tell me that I’m one of 5 finalists for the $2 million cash prize! (Yay, me!!) And that I’d be getting FREE $500 to spend at ANY of my local stores (Wal-Mart, Target, etc. – how about Barnes & Noble!!), AND I get 6 magazines OF MY CHOICE!! The ONLY thing they need from me, is S&H. When I started to ask why I have to PAY for something FREE, the guy hung up on me. (Was it something I said???)
  • About an hour later (is this a conspiracy??) I get a call from ANOTHER local number (cell phone again, male caller) asking to speak with “Hayden, please.” Well, Hayden is my son, but he has his own phone number, so….what??? The conversation went something like this:
    • Me: This is his mother. Why do you need to speak with him?
    • Caller: Oh. How old is he?
    • Me: (!!!!! Why is an unknown male calling me asking for my son’s age????) He’s a minor.
    • Caller: Well I need to know his age, so I can cancel this loan.
    • Me: What loan???
    • Caller: He applied for a loan using this phone number…
    • Me: He’s a minor. You can cancel the loan.
    • Caller: So how old is he? 16?
    • Me: Why does his age matter? I already told you he’s a MINOR; he’s UNDER 18. WHICH age under 18 shouldn’t matter.
    • Caller: But what’s his age?
    • Me: His AGE doesn’t matter, he’s UNDER 18. Cancel the loan.
    • Caller: But…
    • Me: Seriously? *CLICK*

See what I mean? 😮 :/

 

I think the next call I get to my cell phone from an unknown local number will start with me answering: “Hello. You should know I work in Law Enforcement, I have a brain, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

 

 

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