Unexpected Derailments

Dec 03, 2023 4:41 pm

aka grief is sneaky.

I made it through Thanksgiving, but I was just dragging. I couldn't convince myself to write and that Monday all I did was fritter away time. It was frustrating and I was getting mad at myself. Then I realized my mom has been gone a year as of Monday (11-27). It clicked and I gave myself a bit of grace. But it did make me think about "shoulds".

One of my mom's favorite phrases was "Stop shoulding on yourself." And I do it a lot. "I should be exercising." "I should write more/faster." "I should go outside and work." I should, I should, I should. And all it does is add to the level of guilt and failed expectations I put on myself. I think we all do it. We look at the people more successful, happier, skinnier, or better and we come up with a list of shoulds. So I'm trying to stop "shoulding" on myself. I will do my best and on the days I don't, I'll try again the next day. So to all of you out there, stop "shoulding" on yourself. You're doing great.

Laughs - now that the motivations part of the newsletter is past, let me tell you about my new experiment. I was at 20Books conference in Vegas and I went to a presentation about putting your audio books on YouTube. She'd made a decent amount of money over the last two years and it sounded like a good ideas. SOOOOooo... I would love if you would subscribe to my YouTube channel. Here is how it works. If I get 1000 subscribers (even if you never look at the channel again) I can monetize it which means ads. So that when you listen to the audiobooks that I put up, I get paid. Not a lot of money I grant you, but if it is a steady income stream it gives me capital to get more of my books made into audio. I'll be reading some of my shorts and putting them up as well.

So help an insane author out and subscribe?

I'm trying to pry a Carelian Christmas short out of my brain and I'm working on three new series. We'll see how it goes.

Book Recommendations!

Raised by gods the one thing she isn't is normal. If you want to find out just how insane one woman can be, check out Outcast.

How far will you go to protect your kingdom? Will you marry a stranger? Will you kill? What will Layla do to save her land? Check out Blood Queen. And I love that cover - wow.

Weekly Micro Story

Planetary Avatar

Five years I had spent in the desert. I'd almost died on a daily basis the first few months. Then it was weekly, then monthly. The last time I thought I was about to die was at least eight months ago.

I smiled into my scarf as I walked, the wind, sand, and sun old companions. Up ahead was my homecoming or my funeral. If I died I didn't need to worry about it, if I didn't well… then we would see.

The sand rose up above me, swirling around me as I reached my goal. The deepest point in the desert. If I went further I'd be closer to getting out than coming in. This was it, everything that I had struggled for and our path to survival.

Assuming I didn't die.

Sand was a living thing swirling around, dipping, caressing, scouring, as I stood there focusing in.

"I place myself before thee, and beg thee find me worthy of thine favor." I spoke in a loud clear voice, even as I nicked my hand with my sand knife and let twenty-one drops fall, one for each year of my life.

The drops rolled around on the sand, like my blood was being tasted, evaluated. Then it vanished, not even a trace of color left on sand that made clouds seem dingy.

~You are willing to be my envoy?~ The voice that rolled in my head had no gender and all genders, no sound and all sound, no emotion and all emotions. I locked my knees to remain standing upright.

"Yes," I said, projecting my voice, hoping I sounded confident.

~Skills?~ The same voice.

I laid out the evidence of my training: sand knife, wind scarf, wooden gloves, metal bow, and my water marble.

Each one was lifted and inspected, the elements they had been created from analyzed and weighed. I felt it and the approval as they passed the judgement of the world.~Why?~

My answer had been prepared and vetted through all my teachers, every word carefully measured and weighed to be appropriate and valued. And they all vanished in front of this voice. The only thing left was the raw truth, the need, the rage, the desperate hope.

"To stop anyone else from ever losing their family to those that come from the stars to rape you, kill us, and destroy that which makes us Selians." The raw words were torn from a heart with wounds that would never heal. I waited, forgetting to breathe as the sand took form in front of me. A warrior, a healer, a being that had never and always existed.

~Yes.~

And I was unmade then remade again, new, stronger, and the planet fueled my power.

~*~

So this story is kind of Captain Planet meets Star Wars. I'm wondering where it might go to have magic and space tech in the same universe.

Don't forget my store has books in ebook, paper, and audio you can purchase. If you're interested in the first three audiobooks of Twisted Luck, you can have them on your own device (lol and not YouTube) for $9.99!

Mel

Schedule 2024:

Chattacon - Jan 12-14 Chattanooga, TN

Superstars of Writing - Feb 7-11 Colorado Springs, CO

Jordancon - April 19-21 Atlanta, GA

ConCarolinas (I assume) - May 31-June 2 Charlotte, NC

LibertyCon - June 21-23 Chattanooga, TN

DragonCon - Aug 29 - Sept 2 Atlanta, GA

Remember find me here:

YouTube Channel!

Facebook

Twitter