Gratitude

The last month has been a tough one for me. I’m sad. I’m frightened. I’m disillusioned. It’s easy to want to just say “screw it.” Yet I know in my heart that’s not the way to handle anything. I’ve tried quitting and it felt good for about two minutes. After that, well I just felt like a quitter! So I don’t plan on quitting now. If I don’t like the way things are going I have two choices: quit or work to change it myself. I’m choosing the latter.

In the spirit of change, I decided that I need to embrace gratitude. Each month I need to publicly speak to at least one thing I’m grateful for. Today I want to talk about the unexpected blessings I’m grateful for. In July I won a Golden Crown Literary Award in the paranormal/horror category for my novel, Twisted Whispers. Yes, it was nominated and yes, it made it as a finalist. I was thrilled at that point because you see, I’m not the award-winning kind of person and thus I was thanking my lucky stars that my book made it as a finalist. It was a great moment for me. As I was heading to Canada, I was unable to attend the conference this year and be part of the awards ceremony. No big deal, I thought, because I won’t win. Imagine my shock when I got a text from my friend (and my editor’s wife) that Twisted Whispers had won! It was a moment I will always remember.

Today, I am grateful for wonderful surprises that give validation to a lifetime of writing and trying to improve my craft. I am grateful for the wonderful people who are by my side in that journey: my family, my editor, my friends. I am grateful for the readers who share my world and the stories I find myself compelled to write. I am grateful for all the people who make this journey rich and fulfilling.

Feel the Fire

Ever feel like you just needed some time away? Yeah, that’s the way I’ve felt for some time and so I opted for quiet. Lately, I don’t feel like being quiet anymore. Recent events have built a fire beneath my you-know-what and it’s time to return. Thus, here I am!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not back to complain or bemoan the state of current events. Nope, not what I want to do at all. Rather than whine, I want to reach for the stars. Life is so darned short and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, or if we’ll even have a tomorrow. What that means for me is that I want to make today the best it can be. I want to take each day and feel its power. The only way to do that is to face it with hope and energy. To give it my best and believe…really believe…that by doing so I can effect the kind of change I want to see. Not everything is always going to go my way. Little comes easy. Nothing comes at all if I don’t try.

The time of being quiet is over. I’m back and I’m in it to work for change. To work for a brighter, more positive tomorrow. To feel the heat of that fire all the way to my soul.