Tuesday, May 26, 2009

"The 'What's-Up-Wednesday' Short Story Review!"



When I was first told the title of my friend Suzette Saxton’s short story, and that it had been published in the fantasy and science fiction magazine, Mindflights, I thought surely there must be some mistake.

The title, “The Bone Setter,” conjured in my mind, visions of a muscular man twisting, punching and pulling at the half-naked, horizontally-inclined body of a weak woman needing joint manipulation. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

From the start of this enchanting, speculative fiction tale, the relationship between the orphan girls and their sovereign drew me in. I marveled at how well Ms. Saxton had described the scenes; it was almost as if I were there myself. And the characters seemed so believable, so real. How had she done that to such perfection? I felt compelled to read further. As I did, somewhere along the way, I had forgotten that I was reading. The journey had become mine as well. I was with “The Bone Setter.”

Visit Mindflights magazine so that you, too, can be lost in the wonder that is: "The Bone Setter" by Suzette Saxton. ”When ancient bones speak to an orphan girl, she struggles to free them from their mortal bounds while Monsignor, her sovereign from birth, strives to overpower her."

My overall rating: excellent!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

"Query Tracker Turns Two--Let's Celebrate!"



Guess What! It looks like it's a proud parent moment--only I'm not the parent, and Query Tracky isn't exactly a kid anymore. But it's still the same excitement!

They're having a PARTY!

Copy and paste the link below the picture at the bottom of the page for more details. Oh, and there's also a little blog chain contest going on. The grand prize of this hulla-baloo is a FREE WEBSITE designed by the awesome Carolyn Kaufman and QT's daddy, Patrick McDonald. That's right. FREE. (They're the Purple Squirrel Web Designers. Check 'em out.)

You want that, don't you? Um, yeah..

You get one entry into the grand prize drawing for every contest you enter. (Details on the carnival page, click below.) You can also get another entry by helping us advertise!


Thanks, Elana!

Now here's how you do it: Simply make a post like this one you're reading on this blog. Make sure to use the wicked fun graphic and direct them to the carnival page for more deets. Then go here and leave a comment with your link and real name. Or email your link with your real name to any one of the members of the QT blogteam (listed on the right-hand side of the blog) on this page here. Use: Their Name(at)QueryTracker(dot)net.

They'll make sure you get in the drawing.

Be sure to tell your readers to EMAIL THEM (or comment here) your link and real name so they can put your name in the drawing. You can link to this post so everyone knows how to make sure they're entered for the FREE WEBSITE!

And hurry! You must have your blog post up by next Saturday, May 23 to get the extra entry.

Spread the word! Win a FREE WEBSITE!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Monday, May 4, 2009

"Official Teddy Bear Book Announcement!"

According to the "Official Teddy Bear Book," something of momentous importance has occurred in the world of Teddy bears and babies! Would you like to hear what it is?

It's so exciting! Are you ready?

Well, here is what happened:

At 3:15 a.m. on Saturday, 02 May 2009, our grandson, Noah Christian Hammond, was born! He weighed 7 lbs. 9 ozs.; he was 20 inches long; and he has a head full of medium-dark brown hair. He is a perfect cross between his beautiful mom and his handsome dad, plus he also looks just like his grandpa, Dion, too. He's a "Hammond," through and through! We're so blessed and happy!

Noah is one of the most beautiful babies that I have ever seen in my entire life! Here, take a look and judge for yourself:


I fell in love with him the moment I laid eyes on him! He is so precious, don't you agree?

He's such a cutie pie!

I'll be posting more photos as soon as I get them. You know how fast these little guys grow up. I just hope he doesn't grow up too fast because I'd like the chance to enjoy some time with him before he goes off to college!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please check out my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

"That's Definitely A Big Mistake!"

Nothing bothers me more than to be reading a story, and to find a misspelled word, poor grammar or improper punctuation. It has been a pet peeve of mine, since I was a youngster, to find documents that have mistakes in them. If I was the one that had made a silly mistake, then you had better stay out of my way, because I would be so angry with myself for being careless that I would be grumpy for days!

To this day, I am still pretty hard on myself, but I am not sure that it is altogether such a bad trait. Lack of self-editing by authors who send their work in for consideration for publication is one of the main reasons that manuscripts are rejected. If an editor prepares to read a story, only to find that the story is riddled with errors, he will reject it immediately, a good story or not; it will be an irritation to him/her to read the story in unpublishable condition.

Certainly, you can understand that to an editor, if words are misspelled, that alone would indicate sloppiness on the part of the author in the preparation of the manuscript. It might also indicate that the author is someone that has a poor work ethic, therefore making him/her undesirable to work with. My advice is: present yourself in the best light possible, and if you want your book published, you had better be willing to go that extra mile and correct any mistakes that you possibly can.

If editing is not your forte, you could always hire someone to do it for you. If I were you, I would take the time to learn at least the basics, because, in my opinion, knowing proper grammar does help you to write better.

There are several courses to choose from, but I would suggest starting with the one that I am familiar with. Rob Parnell and Robyn Opie have teamed together to offer a course entitled "How to Edit for Success." It is a well-rounded course that offers such things as:


  • Introduction to Manuscript Editing


  • The Basics - Tips and Strategies to Ensure Your Success


  • Editing for Story, Content & Rewriting


  • Editing for Impact: Clarity, Sense, Logic and Transparency


  • Editing for Submission & Publication


  • Three SECRET BONUS ITEMS


Plus, if you want to learn to the best of your ability, you can also be mentored throughout the entire course! (*Note: Mentorship includes thorough feedback on your exercises, one on one guidance and individual help with editing your MSS.) If I were you, I think I would check out the "How to Edit for Success" course right away!

By the way, did you notice my new "favicon" that's located on the tab up above, next to my blog name? It looks like a capital letter "H" in a box, which stands for the "H" in my last name, Hammond, just like the one that is here on the right:

Until next time... stay safe, stay well and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

"Sometimes Things Get A Little Hairy!"

In medieval stories, romance novels, stories about Kings and their kingdoms, horses always play an important role. They are romantic figures, due to the fact that they almost always play a major part in the rescue of the heroine of the story, or they lead the King off to battle or home from victory and sometimes even defeat.

How would you feel if your horse appeared to look a little more like one of us? What if he had a head full of long, luxurious, locks and thick bangs instead of a mane and forelock? You'd have thought I went off the deep end if you hadn't see these astounding photos, am I right?




************************************These portraits were taken by the famous Australian photographer, Julian Wolkenstein . It took an entire day to all three horses, which included four hours of "hair and makeup" for each horse, of all things. Julian said he just took his time and made sure that everyone involved had fun; it was all on his own time, so the money didn't matter and he wanted it done right while at the same time he wanted it to be a special memory for all.

It may sound like punishment for these horses, but it wasn't. I owned a show horse a few years back, and when we took her to the shows, she would have to stand in the cross-ties for hours while we braided her mane and tail, painted her hooves and all the other little grooming tricks that you do for the shows. I loved every minute of it, and believe me...so did she!

Here is a video of Julian Wolkenstein on the "Today Show" with Meredith Viera:



This is probably the new wave of the future in horse competitions somewhere. I'm sure we'll see a horse or two that looks like this in someone's book...maybe even mine!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

"Accuracy Counts!"

When writing writing non-fiction stories, or let's say, news reports for the newspaper--especially front-page, headlining news--it's extremely important to be accurate with the facts. I would say that we "story" writers seem to take that more seriously than the media have or still do.

Case in point: 14 April 1912 (97 years ago today)--The British steamship RMS Titanic, which was thought to be virtually unsinkable, struck an iceberg. More than 1,500 people, which included both passengers and crew, perished after the impact from the crash crippled the vessel and ultimately caused it to sink into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Among the famous passengers who were killed were John Jacob Astor IV and his bride; Isidor Straus; and Benjamin Guggenheim. One of the most famous survivors was Margaret Brown, later to be known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."

The Fitchburg Sentinel initially reported on April 15, 1912:
"Though hard hit and damaged at the bow, the giant steamer, on her maiden trip across the water, from Southampton for New York, stands a fair chance of reaching port safely, for the officers of the White Star line say that she can not sink because her air tight compartments will hold her afloat."

NOTE: By April 16, reports confirmed that the Titanic had been lost, and of the more than 2,220 passengers, only around 700 survived

Some of the many irresponsible, inaccurate headlines can be found here, here, and here, with such titles as "Titanic's Passengers All Rescued and "Not One Is Lost."

My father always told me that it was always best "to err on the side of caution," so I would do that if you're not absolutely sure about a fact. If you don't have something to back it up with, then leave it out of your story/article. You certainly don't want someone coming back later to question the rest of your work, all because of one shaky bit of information; it's just not worth it!

Remember: They said the Titanic would never sink...

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please check out my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Friday, April 10, 2009

"Do You Like Horses AND Mystery?"



If you love horses and a good mystery as much as I do, then you're going to like the new blog site, Sasscer Hill Mystery & Suspense Stories.

Every posting that the blog owner, Lynda Hill, has made so far has been a short story that she has written about race horses, some of which were fiction and one was a rivoting non-fiction story called "THE TONGUELESS WONDER, A True Story."

Her most recent entry entitled, "Just As Well," was about a horse with the same name that she had her eye on for quite a while and that is actually scheduled to run the Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland Thoroughbred Racing & Sales on 10 April 2009, which is today.





The story includes a jockey named Julien Leparoux, who happens to be featured in the video clip of the "$150,000 (G2) Beaumont Race" run at Keeneland on 08 April 2009, which I have for you here:



Trust me: you're going to love Lynda Hill's stories as she brings the world of the racetrack and betting to life for you. You will feel as if you are experiencing the excitement yourself while you read the stories and you become part of them. They are truly electrifying.



Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

"

i I have so many ideas floating around in my head. I always have. I guess that if I could put those ideas to good use, then I could be considered a writer of sorts. First I would have to learn how to put the words in some kind of order, right?

One of the blogs that I follow called Nick's Writing Blog, is written by a man named Nick Daws and for his biography, he writes,

"I am a professional freelance writer and editor living in Burntwood, Staffordshire, England. I am the author of over 80 non-fiction books, mainly published in the UK. I have also written many articles, short stories, training materials, distance learning courses, and so on."


Nick is one of the smartest, friendliest, most helpful people I have ever had the pleasure to "meet" (though we have only met online and via email), and I have purchased a few things from him, but I'm ashamed to say that I haven't really been able to use them yet. I've thoroughly looked over these things and I refused to send them back for a refund because I know that they are going to work. The items are: Write Any Book in 28 Days and Earn Quick Cash Writing. They are both fabulous writing aids, and I suggest that you purchase both of them! Now, since I already have them, what's my excuse? I better get off my bum, as Nick might say, and get busy, because that's just what I've been doing--using excuses! Starting tomorrow: NO MORE EXCUSES!! There you have it, ladies and gentlemen!






Before I close today, I have a story that I think is worth your while to read. It circulated on the internet quite some time ago, but I kept it because it touched my heart so deeply. I thought I'd share it with you today, and if you like it as much as I do, then please, pass it on. It's entitled "The Cab Ride. Here it is:

"THE CAB RIDE



So I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute,' answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing,' I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy,' she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said.. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.'

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now.'

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said.

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said.

'Thank you'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, BUT..... THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.







Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Friday, April 3, 2009

"The Dreaded Writer's Block!"

Let's say you're a writer that likes the basics, and you either have a sheet all ready in your typewriter, or a notebook full of paper, and it's blank and pristine; plus you have your sharpened pencils lined up; your favorite pen with two refills is by your side; and you have plenty of delete-o or white-out at the ready. You must have brought in five different beverages so you wouldn't have to get up and fix yourself something once you started writing; and you have snacks and a sandwich ready; yet still...that big, blank page is staring right back at you. Your forehead is starting to get moist, your heartbeat is accelerating, and you've noticed now that you've even started wringing your hands. This couldn't be happening to you, could it? Yes, it could. It happens to the best of us. What you have is a problem that is commonly referred to as the dreaded "writer's block!"

So what should you do? There are several tips to choose from, but let me list just three, and see if they appreal to you:

1.) Whip the paper out from your typewriter or the notebook, and just use a new piece.
2.) Scream at the top of your lungs, and pray that someone comes to your rescue.
3.) Simply give up! Your family and friends told you that you'd never make it as a writer anyway, so obviously they were correct.

Hmmm...actually, number one has some merit, especially if you change the color of the paper, but the others are ridiculous--unless you're looking for an excuse to get out writing anyway.

Let me tell you a secret: writer's block is not fatal. There are so many simple tips and tricks that writers keep coming up with, and they think of more all the time. There has to be at least one that will help you out of this predicament. Let's list a few and see what your favorites are:

  • Take a walk - Change your scenery, get some fresh air, and stop thinking about writing. Take 10 minutes and hunt for squirrels or something silly!

  • Take a shower; change clothes - Get a fresh, clean start.

  • Stop blaming yourself - Getting writer's block is nothing unusual, and once you have conquered it, it won't be so scary the next time around, if there is a next time. It's no one's fault; it could come as a result of stress because you feel you don't have enough time to complete an assignment, you don't understand your task, or the topic may just bore you to tears!

  • Give up and give in - Resign yourself to the fact that you have to write this assignment, maybe because it could mean the difference of whether you get promoted or not, but it's an important assignment nonetheless. Consult your boss, teacher or whomever has given you the task and find out exactly what is expected of you, then commit to doing the best job you can, with a good attitude.

  • Talk to an animal (stuffed or otherwise) - You'd be surprised how receptive a stuffed friend is to your ideas. Furthermore, real dogs and cats are usually pretty good listeners, too. I've shared many a problem with my furry friends throughout the years, so why not work out this problem with one of yours? To the right is my cat, Momma Kitty, and she's the mother of all the feral cats that hang out around our home. Someone dropped her off out here about eleven years ago, and it took a long time to gain her trust enough so we could at least feed her and her little ones. We even find homes for the "tinies." (that's another story that I'll share with you some day--it's really good!), and now we are very close to Momma. Dion (my husband) and I are about the only ones that can get near her, but that's ok for now. I love her more than you can imagine, and she even rescued me from a snake, but that's another story, too. She's the one that I "talk" to about my stories, work out my plot twists with, get ideas from (hahaha), and generally confide in. She's my best (animal) friend, and I adore her! Back to the article...

  • Listen to new music - Try some new music that is instrumental, so that your mind doesn't have to compete with the lyrics, then set it on repeat and start writing. The music will help you to relax so that your creativity can flow.

  • Stretch - You are probably so tensed up that you aren't able to relax. Start by stretching as many muscle groups as you can, while you are still sitting. Then try relaxing each group afterwards. Take a deep, cleansing breath and fill your lungs to capacity and beyond, then hold it until you aren't able to any longer, and exhale until you think you have exhaled everything inside of you. After that, fill your lungs with fresh, clean air again, and you'll be amazed at how revitalized and refreshed you feel.

  • Write a bunch of junk - Write a funny story about you and your husband "for your eyes only" or a spoof on something that you've always been wanting to write, but be sure to finish it.

  • Find a new spot to work - Remember when you've stayed at the lake or you slept upside down on your bed, and you've always slept better than you've slept in months? Relocating and finding a new spot to write works the same way. It will make you feel like you've gone to a writer's retreat, plus it's guaranteed to spark something inside you, and you'll feel like you've been given a fresh start.

  • Try word association - Write out five completely random words. Then write five more words. Study the words and see if any of them associate with each other or you can make a sentence out of them. If that starts you going, then you're writer's block has ended. How cool is that?!

  • Write a different section of your story - If you developed writer's block while working on the beginning of your story, try working on the middle. If you were at the middle when you got stuck, why don't you try working on the end? If the end of the story made you draw a blank, then do some editing or work on your title or a cover email--anything other than the part that you would have been working on.

  • Do a single chore - Try doing a household chore (nothing overly physical--just something that gets you in touch with your physical side), such as sweeping the floor or cleaning out the refrigerator.

  • Make yourself adhere to a senseless rule - Making a pointless rule that you have to think about and stick to within your writing, such as: no eight letter words in the last sentence of the paragraph or you can't end sentences with words that begin with vowels, makes you focus and changes your perspective.

  • Try freewriting - Sit down and write whatever comes to mind, even if it's gibberish, for about 10 minutes to start, and don't stop for anything! Don't go back to correct misspellings, incorrect grammar, the wrong word or anything. Just keep on writing! As long as your hand is moving, your brain will think it is writing...and it is!


I hope that these tips have helped in some way. I do have a few more up my sleeve if you ever need one for a rainy day. Just visit me again and ask me if you ever need one, but you know what? I don't think you will!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed

Thursday, March 26, 2009

"Mistaken Identity"

By Cynde L. Hammond



















MY "TOP 5" POEM

He saw me from afar
Then he yelled, "Hey, wait for me!"
He hoped that when I turned
My sister's face he'd see.

When he had seen my face
He had thought she looked too thin.
He took a second look
And saw I was her twin!

He certainly was shocked,
Had he known my sister well?
Not well enough, it seems-
It upset him, I could tell!

He said, "You're so alike
I'd like to sneak some kisses,
If word EVER got back,
I'd catch 'it' from the Mrs.!"






I did something that was very scary, as far as I was concerned: I entered my very first poetry writing contest! It was a contest at the Helium website and the category was entitled “Mistaken Identity.” Guess what! I WAS IN THE TOP 5! I ranked #5 out of 83! Not bad, huh? My husband was so proud of me, and that made me feel great!


The first thing I thought of when I saw that title was my life-long problem of having people mistake me for Sande, simply because we’re twins. It’s a natural mistake. It still happens, in fact. However, sometimes it is so annoying because people think you’re lying! There are those that don’t know that one or the other of us have a twin; then there are those that think we’re fooling with them; and nine times out of ten, when they don’t believe it, it’s when one of us is in a colossal hurry and we don’t have time to explain, so we’re left with being accused of being terribly rude! It’s so unfair.

Once, I had the clever idea of trying to head one lady off at the pass, but it failed miserably! I recognized “the look,” so I just agreed with everything she said, then to my horror, she burst into tears.

“You’re trying to get rid of me, aren’t you, Sande?” she said, choking back her tears. “Well, it’s fine by me!” Then she stormed off down the street before I could even determine who she might be.

When I moved back home to New York State, after living in Texas and Virginia collectively for a little over ten years, I ran into a friend that I used to work with at the Seneca Army Depot in Romulus, New York.

“Hello, Carlos!” I said, extending my hand to shake his. “How nice to see you. How have you been?”

“Huh, so now you decide you want to talk,” he snarled. “Well, maybe I just don’t have the time for you.” He turned, and then briskly started walking away.

I was totally blindsided. Not quite sure how I should react, I went with my instincts and ran after him. He had been a very good friend to me once, after all, and I felt I owed it to him to at least make an effort to see what had happened to make him act that way.

“Carlos, wait!” I yelled. Thankfully, he stopped and waited for me until I could catch up to him. “What’s going on?” I asked, innocently. “What have I done?”

“I used to think we were friends. Good friends,” he said, the strong emotion clearly audible in his deep voice. “Not any more, though. Not after what you did to me a couple years ago.”

I had been away from home for over ten years, with only one or two short trips home per year, and I knew I hadn’t run in to him, so the picture was beginning to become a little bit clearer.

“When was this?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know!” he answered angrily. “It was two years ago, at the Train Show in Syracuse.”

“Do you happen to remember who I was with?”

“What does it matter?” he asked, annoyed.

“Please, Carlos,” I said. “You’ll understand why in a minute.”

“It was some guy with dark hair and a mustache.” he answered. “And he had a long ponytail.”

I had to laugh. While I felt so terrible that Carlos’ feelings had been hurt, I couldn’t believe that this had happened to me again! I didn’t understand why Sande couldn’t take that extra minute and explain to people that she had a twin that moved out of town, but she didn’t—she just let think that I was rude!

“What’s so darn funny?” he growled.

“I pulled out my wallet, and flipped it open to Sande’s and my senior high school portrait where the two of us were sitting on a special platform, flanking each other, and I was above her. We were dressed in identical navy blue dresses with white leather collars and cuffs. Then I flipped the page to Sande’s wedding photo where she was standing with a guy with dark hair and a mustache, and then once more to a more recent photo of Sande, where she was still with the same guy, but he had added a ponytail.

Carlos was stunned. He grabbed my wallet and looked at each photo closer, then he looked at me and smiled. He returned my wallet and reached for me with both arms and we hugged each other for a long time. “Friends?” he asked.

“You know it!” I replied.







Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

My First Follower!




















Imagine my surprise when I signed on this morning, and discovered that I actually had my very first follower for this blog. I was delighted! Especially when I found out that it was Carma Dutra of the wonderful blog, Carma's Window.

What I meant by a "follower" is someone who has signed up to "follow" my blog, which just means that they like my blog enough to want to come back every once in a while and see what's going on. This way, if you "follow" it, you never have to worry about losing track of me, because it will always be listing on the back of your own blog, on the dashboard--it's like filing it for you. Hey--look to the right of this column and you will see a block entitled, "Followers." Beneath that it says 'Followers' again, with little squares that look like tiny portraits of people under it. Those are the people that "follow" this blog. All you have to do is sign in or click on "Follow" and follow the simple instructions...it's as easy as that...and I sure would appreciate it! Now back to what I was saying...

Carma's Window is a wonderful blog filled with loads of information about writing for children and young adults, which is a subject that is near and dear to my heart.

Carma blog has book reviews; offers a newsletter and a free ebook; contains links to other helpful sites; has book excerpts; and contains many useful tips that will help you hone your craft of story writing. It's a wonderful blog and you really should check it out!

Another blogger that you shouldn't miss is: Debbie of Ms Sparky's Mishaps & Misadventures . This is an extremely important blog site because it deals with things that are going on in Iraq that you might not otherwise hear about. Debbie has the inside track on subjects such as: Burning Toxic Waste Makes US Soldiers Sick, But The Pentagon Refuses To Admit It ~and~ KBR And Their Third Country National Slaves (i.e. slave labor of unqualified workers from countries other than the U.S. whose poor and unsupervised work is responsible for the unnecessary electrocutions and other deaths of U. S. military); plus other stories of this magnitude. You owe it to yourself not to miss this one. It is actually riveting and electrifying (pardon the pun) at times. I promise you that you'll never be bored if you check in with this blog; it's great!

Before I go, I feel that I must draw attention to at least one more of the bloggers that I'm following and this one has a blog that's a real "mouth full." It's Morgan Mandel's Double M's take on books, blogs, dogs, networking & life. Like the title proclaims, this blog has a little of everything in it, and it is so much fun! It's filled with the unexpected, as she interviews authors, visits Pet Expos, and fills our heads with lots of information on how to improve our writing skills. In addition, the other blog of hers that I follow is called: BLOGS THAT RULE - BEST OF BLOGS . This blog contains exactly what it says and more: hot blogs that you don't want to miss. It's an alphabetical listing of blogs that are updated frequently. It's almost like a glorified "Blog List," but even better. I think you'll really enjoy it!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Great Friends, Great Advice!

As a writer, one of the best assets that you have in your writing arsenal is your group of writing friends. I can't begin to explain to you the comfort that it gives me to know that there are people out there that understand and sympathize with what I am going through. Your family members may love you, but they don't really know what you're talking about (with the exception of my husband, of course!) when you try to explain about plot twists, writer's block, prologues, query letters, and all the myriad phrases that mean something to us in the writing world, but are nothing but words and meaningless phrases to them.

Throughout my cyber-travels, I have met several friends that I have come to know quite well through emails, reading their blogs, and a choice few I have even written snail mail to and called on the telephone. The friends that I have made, I believe, will be lifelong friends.

Some of those friends' blogs I have favorited and their blogs are listed in "My Blog List," which is to the right of this column. One such friend is Jean Henry Mead. She has several incredible blogs that I follow, such as: The Logan & Cafferty Mystery/Suspense Series; A Western Historical Happening; Make Mine Mystery; Mysterious People; and finally, a Monday through Saturday blog that she co-hosts, (she's responsible for Fridays) called: Murderous Musings.

Each of these blogs is a jewel in it's own right, and you really ought to take the time to visit them. I visit them for several different reasons. First, and in no particular order, there's the fun factor. I enjoy the stories, the guests and most of all, Jean's writing. Next, I glean a lot of valuable, useful information from her blogs. There is a wealth of information in them, and I bet you will find the same in your friend's blogs, too, if you start following them. Last, but not least, I do it because she's my friend and I want to support her. She is a wonderful writer and an amazing friend--everyone should have a friend like Jean. She's one in a million!

I have favorited some other authors whose blogs I thought were exceptional, so I have started following them as well. One in particular in Rob Parnell. His blog, The Easy Way To Write, is full of great information, useful links, you can sign up for his newsletter and...I have even signed up for some of his free writing courses that I can take at my own pace. I'll have to let you know how that goes, since I still have to finish my course at The Institute Of Children's Literature (ICL).

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde
Please visit my other blogs. They are:
Cynde's Daybook ~and~ Usurper Exposed

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I'm Not Sure Which Way I Should Go!

I can not begin to tell you how many times I have heard people say that they don't know which way to turn or they're not sure which way to go.

When I'm at that point in my story-writing, and I'm quite not sure which way I should go, I usually just go both ways, and then I pick the best of the two when I am finished.

Quite often, by doing so, it changes the entire course of your story. Sometimes it can even give you an idea for a brand new story besides the one that you were currently working on. The most important thing to remember is that you need to keep your mind open to new ideas and new ways of doing things at all times. Keep your avenues wide open!

"A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood."Chinese Proverb

While I've been working on my very first book, my mind has been open and overflowing with fresh, new ideas. In fact, I have so many ideas swirling around in my head, I can't seem to keep my mind quiet enough so that I can concentrate on my book!

There was a time when I would have killed for a decent story idea, and now I have plenty of them. I have had to work on a couple of short story ideas that have been nagging at me--the kind of ideas that won't let you rest until you put them on paper. I do love it, though. My mind is smiling!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

What Is Your Reason For Wanting To Write?


I have been asked many times why I wanted to write, and my answer to that question was always the same:

"Because I love to!"

Ever since I was a little girl, I have written stories, skits, and plays, and sometimes I just kept them to myself. The joy was in the writing, not the sharing. I watched my brother, John, who was eight years older than myself, doing much these same things, but he was actually writing and illustrating real stories, and he would show his stories to the family and his friends at school, to rave review. I looked up to him and decided that I wanted to become what he was going to become: a writer. Neither of our plans worked out quite the way we had planned.

All the sudden, my life was put on hold. My sister, Carol, then age 16, had to have major back surgery for scoliosis. Back in those days, that kind of surgery was very much cutting-edge and experimental. She would later have to have her back re-broken and corrective surgery would have to be done to fix an error in procedure that they had not anticipated when they initially performed the first surgery. Poor Carol--and I truly mean that! Sande, my twin sister, and I were recruited as her nurses for the duration and we helped Mom while Carol attended school via intercom, as she lie in a special hospital bed, in a full-body cast for almost an entire year. That's when I stopped writing. At age 12, I didn't have the time or the energy to write. Don't get me wrong: we may have been cooped up, helping out, but we loved it!

Our Dad had called a family meeting before the surgery and talked to all of us (John was in the Army by then). He explained that we needed to pull together as a family, and work together, plus he said that he needed us! Those magic words: "he needed us!" We jumped at the chance to show him we could be good helpers--and we were!

I'm ashamed to say that I let that detour take me pretty much off the path of my "dream to write" for over forty years! I kept trying to get back to it, but "life" kept getting in the way. Don't let that happen to you! I have regretted it for years. It's like wasting years of your life, when you could have been about the business of working on your "dream!"

If you are serious about writing, then stick to your guns! Faithfully set aside time every day for your writing; read what you can to help you learn more about your craft; find a quiet place in your home to call your own, where you can write without distraction; and make a commitment to you dream. It won't be easy and it's not going to be all fortune and fame--it's going to be hard work, but it will be worth it!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.