Like most authors reading a 'bad review' of a book that I've invested hundreds (or thousands) of hours writing can be...well painful, a little like having one's fingernails pulled out one by one. Sure, there are those who say that any review is a 'good review,' and at some level I agree with this...especially when they're not about one of my babies. However, I must admit to roaring with laughter when I read a 1-star review [...]
I read a post this morning by my good friend and fellow writer, Joseph D'Agnese as he shared about the books of a children’s book author named Clifford B. Hicks. As Joe wrote: "He [Clifford B. Hicks] wrote a series of books about a kid named Alvin Fernald, who was sort of the MacGyver of the kid world. With a toothpick, a piece of string and leftover jelly sandwich, Alvin could build a contraption to save [...]
I find the concept of serendipity to be fascinating though often not well understood. According to Richard Eyre in his stellar book, Spiritual Serendipity: Cultivating and Celebrating the Art of the Unexpected, serendipity is "that quality of mind which, through awareness, sagacity, and good fortune, allows one to frequently discover something good while seeking something else." You could even say that serendipity is the counter-balance to discipline that I wrote about here. As writers, being in [...]
"Write four pages per day to finish four novels per year and get to twenty books in five years. As I said before, indie publishers must write more." Dean Wesley Smith Even though I've been a professional writer for over twenty-five years (professional meaning earning money selling my words), I view myself on a pretty steep learning curve as an indie author especially when it come to my fiction creative writing. So, besides writing a lot, I [...]
This past Tuesday, Oct. 17, 49 exotic animals were killed in Ohio. They were: 9 male lions, 8 lionesses, 6 black bears, 3 mountain lions, 2 grizzlies, 2 wolves, 1 baboon . . . and 18 Bengal tigers (By the way, Bengal tigers are on the endangered species list) One report (Pat Summers of www.AnimalBeat.blogspot.com writing for NewJerseynewsroom.com ) sited the cause of this horrendous tragedy to be due to "lack of tight regulations." [...]
As I was recently looking for a day that I could launch my Manifesto Bloginar for Visionary Writers, I stumbled upon a day that almost had me move the start of the Bloginar to a Saturday. It's Make a Difference Day. Here's a little bit about it from the holidayinsights.com: Make a Difference Day When: The fourth Saturday in October Initiated in 1990, this is a national day is for devoted to helping others by doing [...]
If you've been following me through Life On Purpose Institute for very long you know that one of my most purposeful, pleasurable and prolific ways I've chosen to express my life purpose is through the written word (as I have been doing with Purposeful Pondering Ezine since it's launch in 1997). For 25 years I've written hundreds of magazine articles for regional, national and international magazines, published hundreds of ezine articles, written numerous Purposeful [...]
I start out almost every day, rain or shine, with my purpose practice of walking, most often around the retreat center that is across from my home. I make it a point to include a spin around Bonclarken Lake. This past early spring, I noticed a beaver had toppled about eight beautiful crepe myrtle trees that nestled themselves in the corner of one of the home's properties overlooking the lake. At the time I thought, boy, [...]
