Waiting is Hard

I don't care how old I get but it will never stop. Waiting is the hardest part for me. My soul is saying to be patient and things will work out for the best. It might not be according to my plan but to remember, I'm not the only one in the universe!

To all my followers, I thank you very much for reading my books. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. If you liked the first one, I think you'll like the others! I feel my writing has improved since the first one due to the wonderful editors who have helped me along the way!

Now to the rain! Can you believe it? We've had fifteen inches of rain in the spring, then fell into another drought. All of were thinking, 'here we go again', and bam! We here only got around eight to nine inches but our poor neighbors to the south of Dallas were inundated with up to twenty plus inches. Now they're forecasting another round for next weekend.

Sending prayers to my friend, Barbara Huffert. Beau, her beautiful cat of five years, is under the weather and needs all the help he can get! Cutest little guy!

Learning Lessons in Life (Whether you want to or not!)

It has been a hectic week! I've had ups and downs and still have to work hard. I want to thank the RWA staff in guiding me out of an uncomfortable situation and making suggestions to further my writing career. Kudos!

The good news is my books are selling but sales have been disappointing with Not Just an Act and For the Love of  Par. I need to find a way to boost them and am exploring options.

I always try to see the good in people and that's my downfall. I don't want to be cynical but I can't help it at times. What is with people?

Example: Here in Texas, we have a chain of super gas stations such as Loves and Buckee's. I've never been to Buckee's and my husband decided to stop for gas.

Being curious, I decided to scope it out while he filled up. I left my cell phone in the car not thinking I would need it. This place is like a super WalMart for Truckers! Goodness! I used the bathroom and went outside to the gas pumps, thinking my husband was still there. He wasn't. I couldn't find him or the car anywhere. I waited outside the front for about fifteen minutes and yes, I started to panic. There was a woman, a mom, dressed in Baylor jersey with about five teenage girls, snapping their photos in front of the Buckee's Beaver statue. They were taking their time, giggling over the pictures. I wanted to ask if I could use her cell phone to call my husband. I explained the situation to her and she just walked away and said she was too busy. I almost cried and cursed her, but I kept the Sicilian in me quiet.

I'm only five foot tall and was dressed nicely. I wasn't going to rob her; I needed help. If the roles were reversed, I would've helped.

Fortunately, I spotted our car out of about eight hundred vehicles and ran to get my phone out. Sure enough, there was a text from him saying he was looking for me inside the store. When we hooked up, he told me never to go anywhere with out my phone and not to trust people. Be resourceful, he told me. Sad, isn't it?

Dilemma

Football season! Monica, my website designer, has a daughter on the drill team of our local high school. They are hosting a craft fair today and I promised I would drop on by to see what they had. Goodness! They had almost everything. The big thing down here is home made wreaths for your front door. Most of them were sports themes with the local high school and Texas college teams. Yes, football is really big down here! They were so pretty, I'd be afraid that somebody would steal them. They were not cheap either!

Back to being an author/writing experiences. I'm in the early stages of my career as an author. Yes, I did get a late start but writing soothes me. It's like playing the piano. Learning a new story and getting all the parts correct, so when it is read, it will be beautiful.

Just like music, your work is not liked by all. I get that and the only time it bothers me is when the criticism is negative just to say something mean. The more I read, I can tell by other authors they feel the same way. They have characters who are authors and you can tell they are speaking from their own experiences.

What really hurts is when you publisher seems to have given up on you. How do you fix that?

Keeping It All In Perspective

This is the first time in my life, that I'm writing two books at a time. It is really hard to keep your characters straight. I mean, one day, I want to focus on the drag racing heroine but the cruise ship heroine keeps popping up.  And vice versa.

So, I lock myself into a room, only to be interrupted by life. Cars not working, phone calls from long lost friends, dishwasher disconnecting from the housing unit, house plants who decide to uproot over night spilling all over the beige carpet. (No, don't have any pets, darn it.) Loved ones going through difficult times who need to talk.

Waiting to see if my next manuscript has passed the test, waiting for overdue royalty statements. Feeling pretty stressed out. But then I hear about my dear friend who is going through something ten times worse then me. It keeps me humble.