Be Inspirational

I have been discouraged by the endless refusal emails from agents and the rock bottom sales of my first book, Taken. The only people reading my story are those I either give a free copy to or those who have been with me since the beginning. I even donated two copies to the library and they haven't left the shelf!


That being said, my very wonderful sister in law sent me this inspirational video this morning as a much needed pick me up. The truth is, everyone must fail! If you haven't failed, you will not appreciate the success, at least that's what I tell myself so I can sleep at night. Even JK Rowling was refused 12 times before a publisher picked up Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and now it is the number one most translated book in the world. Every child in the world truly does know the name Harry Potter!

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A paranormal story where teenagers don't fall in love with vampires! Those don't exist, do they?

Katrina is to be an immortal vampire hunter, backed by a family of 2000 year old hunters of the Cole Legacy. Once they pair with the leading Confederation of Vampires, will they succeed in ridding the world of the biggest threat to every living (an undead) being?

Riddled with Norse mythology, the story that unfolds is one of love and support, but don't let that fool you. This is not your daughter's vampire story! Vampires kill humans. Humans banish vampires. And above all, human instincts are still very much in tact! 

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The publishing world is a hard universe to hack into. When I first set out, my plan was to self-publish, sell millions of copies and then a publisher would have to pick me up. Theoretically, that was a great plan. Realistically, not so much. More than one agent has informed me publishers don't want a previously self-published work. One even stated that the story sounded wonderful but come back to us before you publish your next work. To quote Shark Tale, "It's a fish eat fish world."

Others have stated that in a market flooded with vampires, a new story must have an immense twist of some kind. I truly believe my twist will blow readers away. Vampire hunters endorsed by none other than Odin himself and vampires working for... Ha, you thought I'd tell you! 

I know you are asking yourself what the point of this post was. Why would you write a pity party article and actually post it online? Do you have no self respect? 

My point is that everything in life worth having is a struggle. It took me four years to write Taken. Sales are nonexistent, but that hasn't stopped me from pushing along with the sequel. If you live by a half glass full attitude, there really is nowhere to go but up!

 

Read 2015

What?! Two posts in one day? Relax I stole this from Book Attic. (Seriously, copy and paste and everything. Shh don't tell.)

I am setting a goal for myself this year to read 50 books. I will most likely increase as I go. Also, I will be trying to complete the 2015 Reading Challenge.

The goal is to read:

• A book with 500+ pages Game of Thrones
• A classic romance
• A book with antonyms in the title
• A book that became a movie
• A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
• A book published this year
• A book that came out the year you were born
• A book with a number in the title
• A book written by someone under 30
• A book with bad reviews
• A book with nonhuman characters
• A trilogy
• A funny book
• A book from your childhood  A Princess Bride by William Goldman 
• A book by a female author
• A book with a love triangle
• A mystery or thriller
• A book set in the future
• A book with a one-word title
• A book set in high school
• A book you can finish in a day

I will cross off the goal AND add a book book title in red as I go! Top that Mak!

Hey! Let's make this a challenge. Can you finish your list before I finish mine?

Take Control of Your Health

So.... It's flu season. This year I have been fortunate enough to work in the public schools. I love every minute of it. Even as a sub, I get the satisfaction of seeing the light bulb blink on when students understand things for the first time. And as a sub, I am blessed with the ability to touch more lives! However, I wish they could keep their germs to themselves.

How about a little back story. I know. Who really cares, right? Well, I'm hoping that my experiences will help others with some of the same problems. I have psoriasis. Not really health impeding at this point but truly miserable, disgusting, and embarrassing. I can't wear dark clothing because... Well, I won't be too graphic.

Last winter, I had had enough. I decided it was time to see a dermatologist seriously. Of course, I'd been before. They've suggested over the counter medications, shampoos, oils, steroid creams. You name it; I've tried it. I even asked about tanning. See, one of the causes of psoriasis is a vitamin D deficiency which your body makes with the absorption of UV rays. The doctor flew off the handle. The gist of it, I am entirely too susceptible to skin cancer to spend any time in a tanning bed.

After a lot of discussion, he prescribed Methotrexate. I figured, if I was able to step into a classroom without students asking me what's wrong with my head, the side effects were well worth the risks. For a few months, that was true. I even bough black shirts!

http://www.joyfuldrops.com/joyfulblog/

Somewhere along the line, it stopped being effective. Now, it's flu season. While I normally have a solid immune system from spending so much time with children, this year seems to be quite different. I have caught nearly every sneeze and sniffle that the students have. It appears that the side effects of the medication is catching up with me. And I don't know about you, but a cancer fighting medication should not list lymphoma as a side effect.


This is where I get to the point! I have been chosen to participate along with a group of bloggers to take what I'm dubbing The Joyful Drops Challenge. Starting early next week, I will blog through my experience. As the picture says, it's time to take control of your health and that's just what I plan to do.

Change your life.

I suffer from a truly horrid negativity more days than not. I get this feeling like the world is going to crash down around me and I'm not going to crawl from the rubble with enough vigor to save my own life. Maybe it's just a result of today's world where books like Hunger Games and Divergent take the population by storm. Maybe it's just our inability as a society to take responsibility for ourselves.

Think about it. Each day, our world comes a step closer to being one of our favorite dystopian novels. We spend more of our energy criticizing others for their choices than we do considering our own. We suppress others for being exactly who they want to be because we are too worried how others will accept us.

It's time for a change. 

The time has come for each person to reach inside and find what makes her own personal world turn. Make yourself happy and other will follow. Show the world that happiness truly is contagious. It's not your outward appearance that matters, but what's in your heart.

Only you control your happiness.

The rest of my life starts today. Today, I will make an attempt to smile more. Today, I will learn how to ask for the things I need and not yell at people for not doing them. Today, I will not yell.

What will you do?