Doing Nothing? Can you?

In the busiest time of the year, how often do we set aside time to do nothing? We need to set aside time to work and time to play, but also time to just do nothing.

Those around you may not approve of or understand your short bursts of enjoyable-yet-restorative-sloth. They may mistakenly think you have time to spare and try to elbow in on this time. Hi-ya! you will say. “This is my time." After all, as time management expert Craig Jarrow writes, “Your time is your most valuable resource. You cannot get more time. Don’t let others waste or steal it.” Your precious time to do nothing is when you are refilling your cup so that you can be there for other people in just a little while. It’s not only okay but necessary to hit the pause button.  

                                         from: Spirituality and Health magazine.

Barry and Glenda Beall on top of Chimney Rock North Carolina

One of the things I most admired about my late husband, Barry, was his ability to sit on our deck, high amidst the tree tops, the wild birds and to do nothing. I often asked how he could do this. If I sat with him, I had to be talking, reading, writing or making my to-do lists.

He had no answer except he enjoyed it. My father often sat early in the morning and just stared into space. He said he was planning his day or thinking about what he needed to do. I'm not sure that was "doing nothing." He seemed to be working. I have no idea what Barry thought about while he sat on the deck, but I imagine he reflected on how happy he was and how grateful he was to be where he was and to have had the life he did.

One day, after he was diagnosed with cancer and while he was still at home, Barry asked me, "Don't you think we have had a good marriage? We have been happy, haven't we?"

I think he was asking me if I had been happy for the forty-four years we had been married. I thought he knew, but I have always been moody and had my ups and downs. I am a worrier and "borrowed trouble" as my mother used to say. I can go from being exhilarated to being low as a toad. My family has always known that about me.

Strangely enough, I am more balanced now with my emotions. Perhaps it is age, but who knows? Maybe it was other things including my environment, where I lived and who was in my circle of friends and family. I still find it hard to do nothing although I think it is very important. I find my mind going to the past, to missing those I love, and to worrying about the future. I can take a nap, read, or fish but doing nothing at all - well, time is so precious, and I have so much I want to do!

So, I try to meditate or just "do nothing" but it is not easy. How about you, my dear readers? Can you do nothing, hit the pause button, refill your cup so you can be there for others?

Meet Children's author, Carroll S. Taylor

Today I want to introduce you to an author, Carroll  S.Taylor, who writes books for children.

Carroll moved to the mountains of north Georgia from southwest Georgia, near Columbus. She and I have much in common besides the proximity of where we grew up. I relate to the title of her first book, Chinaberry Summer. The little girl in this book, Sissie, likes to climb up in a chinaberry tree as I did when I was a kid. The birds light near her and pay no attention to her.

I had that experience in my chinaberry tree which grew in my back yard. I remember so well the exhilaration of having a bird sit within reach and sing his song. I believed he sang just to me. Of course I didn't move a muscle, hardly took a breath, because I didn't want to scare the bird. I can still feel the wind blowing my hair. I can see the vast space of green pastures and pine trees in the distance. I had my spiral notebook with me and I wrote stories and poems while up there with the birds.

The second book in Carroll's series is Chinaberry Summer: The Other Side. It takes place in 1960 when the two main characters are in sixth grade. On Carroll's website you can read her About page to learn about her background. I recommend reading the Journal pages, where you will find more about her thoughts and ideas, learn about her obsession for creepy crawly things and why she cannot understand why human beings want to kill them.

Carroll says, "Sometimes my inspiration comes to me on two, four, six, or eight legs. With my mind still in the teaching world, I can't pass up a chance to blend the best of two passions -- reading and learning about nature. I want my readers to enjoy the adventures of my characters, Sissie Stevenson and Spud McKenna, in rural Georgia and appreciate their love for reptiles, amphibians, and spiders."

See her website here.
Purchase her books https://tinyurl.com/yd4r7f9g

What do you think? Nancy Simpson on punctuation in poetry

I learned to write poetry from Nancy Simpson, wonderful poet and teacher, who lived here in the town where I live. She taught writing at Tri-County Community College in Murphy, NC and because of her we have more poets than prose writers in our area.

I am going to re-blog a post about Nancy that was published years ago on www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com . I think we can still learn from Nancy although she is no longer with us. Her words, her poetry can help us all who want to be poets.

https://netwestwriters.blogspot.com/2013/12/poets-what-do-you-think.html

Nancy Simpson, poet

Read more on what Nancy taught us at the link below.
https://netwestwriters.blogspot.com/2011/12/writing-free-verse-some-questions-and.html

Stowaway - New romantic suspense novel from Darcy Flynn (Joy Griffin Dent)

If you are a reader of romance novels, clean, fun, sweet ones, you will like the newest book from Darcy Flynn. Read more about it when you click this link: https://joygriffindent.wordpress.com/

You might remember my interview with Darcy Flynn (Joy Griffin Dent) a few months ago.

This author is prolific and readers enjoy her stories. This book, Stowaway, is going to be very popular. It is a romantic suspense novel. You can read an excerpt on her blog .

Darcy says:I’m thrilled to announce the release of my first romantic suspense, Stowaway!
It still has all the elements you’ve come to expect from a sweet, fun, Darcy Flynn Romance!

Joy Griffin Dent (Darcy Flynn)

If you read romance novels, have you read any Darcy Flynn books?

Thanks

I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving today had the day they wanted. I had a wonderful time with dear family members.

I am away from my computer tonight, but wanted to post my best wishes to my readers. As we begin our holiday season I look forward to gatherings with people I care about, who matter in my life. I will laugh, eat good food, tell stories, and listen to others who tell their stories.

I will remember those loved ones who have gone from us, my husband, my mother, brothers and dear sister, father, uncles and aunts, and a very special brother-in-law. So many others live in my memories and they find their way into my stories.

As long as I have a memory, I will cherish those loved ones, friends, and my beloved pets that made me who I am today. 

Did you have a happy Thanksgiving?

Pitfalls of Self-Publishing and How to Avoid Them

Because self-publishing is now accepted as a reputable method of getting a book out to the public, inexperienced writers must be on their guard to keep from being defrauded of their money. 

Companies like Xlibris, Author Solution and others are accused of manipulating writers into paying big bucks for the company to print the book, and then coming back with outrageous prices to market it. Law suits are ongoing against these companies. One woman was offered a book trailer and offers to send her manuscript to movie connections in Hollywood "because the book is perfect for a movie script." No one has sympathy for those who fall for these scams. Some say, "author beware." But I know it is easy to fall for something that we see online or see in an ad and before we know it, we have fallen for a fraud that costs us much money.  Read this article to learn more about scams in publishing. 

The author is asked by Xlibris to pay tens of thousands of dollars for extra services which are useless or are never given. I will never forget the woman author who came to me fifteen years ago with a poorly written book that she said she had paid a company $20,000 to publish for her. The trunk of her car was filled with boxes of the books which she had not sold. She asked for my help in selling this book.

I had to tell her straight. Her ears had been filled with enough bull manure already, and she needed some honesty. 

First, I told her to take writing lessons and learn to be the best writer she could be. 

Second, I told her to forget the first book and chalk it up to a very bad investment. I urged her to join a writing critique group. After much editing by herself and other writers, send her next book to a professional editor before submitting to anyone.

Third, I told her she should research legitimate publishers, small presses or large, and submit her work to them first.

Fourth, be open to the publishers' edits and any changes they think are needed.

Fifth, be prepared to do her own marketing and have a plan in place as to how she will find and reach her readers, no matter how the book is published.

Today I would add more to my advice for her or anyone:

Begin to build an online presence through Facebook or blogging years before your book is to be published. Grow your email list. Prepare a mailing list of everyone you know. You will send these people postcards with your book cover on the front.

If you want control over your book, how it looks, what is inside, you might want to self-publish. Just remember, self-publishing also means marketing your own book. No self-publishing company will spend thousands of dollars to market your book, not unless you pay them thousands of dollars to do so. 

My most recent book, co-authored with Estelle Rice, was not published by a traditional publishing company. We hired Old Mountain Press whose owner/publisher is Tom Davis, to format the book for printing, create the cover with my help, and then we sent the manuscript to a printing company he recommends. We signed the contract with them and in a couple of weeks several boxes of books arrived at my door. Most of them are gone now into the hands of eager readers. The cost of printing the book is paid. So, we will order more books delivered to us.

Most of our books are sold face to face and we want to reach out to as many people as we can before going to Amazon.  At the present time, City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC is the only store where our books can be found on the shelves. I would like for readers to order from them online, www.citylightsnc.com, if not ordering from us at Blue Heaven Press.

Authors should be aware that when a book is sold by a bookstore, the store gets a percentage of the retail price. Amazon takes much of the profit on a book, so authors need to sell lots and lots of books on Amazon to make anything. (Light bulb moment?) That might be why most writers don't get rich. That is why self-publishing is popular - the author actually makes a little money on her book.

The business of writing is not what we writers enjoy. We like to write, but we don't like promoting our own books or selling our books. If we don't promote our books, who will? Not the publishers and not the booksellers. Tell people where they can buy your books, tell people why they should buy your books, and tell people how much you appreciate their buying your books. 
But don't tell people: "Buy my book."
The readers of books want to know what your book is going to do for them. Why would they like your book? Why should they purchase your book? What was your purpose in writing your book? Do you know the answers to these questions?

If so, you should be able to promote your book and sell it. 

Most writers don't think about marketing a book until it is in their hands. Too late. Be careful of the predators in publishing. Don't be scammed out of thousands of dollars when it is not necessary to publish a book and sell it. Join a legitimate literary organization like NC Writers' Network and get to know writers who are happy to help you and give you good advice. Find a writing group or create your own. In Western NC we have writing groups in almost every county south of Asheville. Visit www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com or www.ncwriters-west.org to learn more. 

More on self-publishing:  http://www.ncwriters.org/whitecross/2014/11/18/self-published-the-numbers-dont-lie/

Finding a Safe Vacation House is not Easy

I am down to the last two days of a vacation - a quiet one with only my sister and brother-in-law with me. Well, I did take Lexie with me. She loves to travel in a car. 

I have to face facts -- taking a trip today is much harder than when I was younger. I had more physical strength and less need for medications and other things that help me sleep, help we walk, help me ride long distances in a car. 

On this trip, I missed Barry. He would have had me laughing more, relaxed more, and we all would have had more fun. I realize that I cannot capture what we had, the four of us, and trips long or short are never going to be the same. Now Gay and Stu help me with luggage and then handle their own. Gay is protective of me. "Don't go up and down those stairs so much," she said. "I'll take these things." The steps were wet and with my bad knee, it was difficult to manage them. 

But we still enjoyed being together. They brought their dogs along so we had lots of dog-walking time. 

The rental house had no Internet service so Stu and I had to go into town a few times to get our email. We found that McDonald's was our best bet until we found a small coffee house with free WiFi. The daily rain altered some of our plans, but we did take a walk on the road to nowhere. Gay and Stu took several walks with their dogs. 

I slept really well in the rental house even though my room was too warm. I opened almost every window in the place because housekeeping didn't honor my request to have a clean place with no sprays or chemicals that would trigger my MCS. When in the house, I felt awful, but if I went outside or stayed in a room with all windows open I felt much better.

 

. 

We were awakened each morning by wild turkeys grazing on the lawn. They were perfectly silent, but Lexie knew they were there, and she woke me with her growling. The setting for our  vacation was in the midst of farm land. Horses were pastured on one side and cows on another. It was quite pretty around us. If only the housekeeper had done what I asked, I would have really liked this farm house with three bedrooms. But, the house is toxic to me. As days passed, I grew worse until we decided we must leave and find another safer house for me. I can't live all the time with a charcoal lined mask over my face

We hope to fill the next two days having a good time even though rain is likely to try to spoil our fun. I enjoy my sister and brother-in-law so much, it doesn't bother me if it rains. I feel such contentment today, relaxed, and happy.


We are taking book orders for Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins. This book is a great Christmas gift.
Visit www.riceandbeall.blogspot.com for more information.

2019 Memoir Class

I am always pleased when former students ask when I will be teaching again.

I will be teaching in 2019, in late spring, at Writers Circle around the Studio.

I have no dates set yet, but when I do they will be posted on this site and under the page for studio classes. 

I will teach memoir writing because that is my favorite subject, and when a writer learns to write true stories, he/she can learn to write fiction as well.

The stories I hear and read in my classes are often more unique or interesting than profiles of presidents or other famous people. If you have ever thought of writing about your life, plan to do that in 2019. We usually meet once a week for two or three hours on a Tuesday afternoon. We will help those who say they don't know where to start, and we will work with those who have begun a memoir to write about the important parts of their lives, not the mundane.

If you are not on my Email list, contact me and give me your Email address. When the class is listed, I will let you know.

Students and Glenda Beall - Publishing and Marketing class