A Rejection at Nationals (Sort of)

The 2012 U.S. National Figure Skating Championship is history and once again, my favorite, Alissa Czisny doesn’t stand atop the podium. While a second place finish by the reigning champion is certainly not scoff-worthy, her continued battle with inconsistency boggles the mind.

Alissa has been one of my favorites since she finished in the top ten at the 2003 U.S. championships. Even then, she had enough grace, beauty and talent to become the next Michelle Kwan. So what happened? Inconsistency. And—I’m only guessing—self-doubt.

The skating world cheered when Alissa finally got everything together to finish first in the 2009 short program at Nationals. But inconsistency—or maybe demons hiding inside her skates –would strike again. She floundered, finishing only third in the long program. Fortunately, her five point lead allowed her to obtain her first National title. She is one of the world’s most elegant skaters with athleticism to match, so she should have been on her way to a Wheaties box. Not so fast. She finished only tenth at the 2010 U.S. Championships—and missed out on making the Olympic team.

According to the press, Alissa considered quitting, but a guy you might have heard of, Brian Boitano convinced her otherwise and she skated in as the 2011 U.S. Champion. On a roll? No way. She had all the tools to be the first female since Michele to win back-to-back championships, but she floundered. Not a lot, but enough to keep her from the prize.

It occurred to me that Alissa’s plight is not unlike the writer seeking publication. We work on our version of jumps and spins (craft); we strive for beautiful artistry (great plots, better characters, unrelenting tension); we practice endless hours (editing, editing, and more editing); and, we seek the very best costume (pitch, query, synopsis). Everything is as perfect as perfect can be. Yet we still get rejections. Because the timing is wrong, or we flub that perfect pitch, or the query gets lost in cyberspace.

At age 25, Alissa is considered old in a world dominated by youngsters, yet she perseveres. She can erase her flubs and silence the naysayers with a placement at the world championships—like a writer can erase the pain of a hundred rejections with one sale. Once we’ve perfected our manuscript, like Alissa, we must quit trying to force events, we must simply let it happen.

In the meantime, we can take comfort in a quotation by Robert Schimmel that is allegedly Alissa’s favorite: “Life is not about learning to survive the storm, but rather learning how to dance in the rain.”

What inconsistencies are hampering your life goals?

COPYRIGHT © 2012 by Robin Weaver

Longing for Spring

This time of the year is always the hardest for me. The holiday happenings are over, and everyone is back to their routines. I miss my grandkids. I miss warm days, even though the winter has been mild in southern Virginia. I miss the flowers and buterflies.

Mid-winter blues, I call it. I cry easier. Mope more.  My feelings are easier bruised. Tempermental? Oh, yeah. Poor Calvin has learned to dance around me during this season.  There are no valid reasons for these blues. Some medical experts refer to it as SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder. Is that what I have? I'm not sure. I just know I want to see things growing again. To feel the sun on my face. And watch the gossamer wings of butterlies float by on their way to their floral manna.

Shortly after the beginning of March, our large whilte magnolia tree at the corner of our house bursts forth in bloom--so does my mood. Until then I'll focus on all the good things in my life: Calvin, our family, my online writing buddies, our good health and my writing career. It's starting to blossom a little, too. I'll make a concerted effort to count my blessings instead of wasting my time brooding over what I don't have.

As Chaucer said, "We weep and clamor for what we do not have." Hunh...even then people were moody--and that was at the end of the 14th century.. So perhaps we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves when we become disheartened and blue. I'm thinking it's just a part of human nature. Not necessarily SAD, but the desire for something more. Take the time to list all the good things in your life: family, health, pets, home, job, friends, photos of happy times, cherished books and all the things that make us smile. In one way or another, we are all blessed.  

Social Media and Writing

Oh, there are so many places I could go with this. Writers are all over Twitter, Facebook, and the like--myself included. There are forums on some writing sites like the Verla Kay blue boards and Absolute Write. Also, query tracker and Nathan Bransford have forums on their sites haunted by many writers, including lurker me. And there's also the authonomy community started by Harper Collins and their YA-themed follow-up, Inkpop.

But where I want to concentrate my energies for this post is the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, also known as ABNA. The first year of this contest was what inspired me to take my writing seriously and stop treating it as a hobby and something I'd never be good enough at to share with the world. The first draft of my first published novel was written for this contest. I won't bore you with the details here, but if you want them, the details are on my website.

So ABNA is a contest that's been put on since 2010 by Amazon and Penguin. One of the greatest, and most fun, things about ABNA is the strength of the forums. This contest has forged a sense of community among writers. The above sites have done the same, but I think it's interesting that a contest has built such a sense of camaraderie. The forums are kept open and posted to throughout the year. Of course, the high season for that sort of thing is right now when the contest is ongoing. The first round of the contest is now open. It closes Feb. 5, and second rounders will be chosen on Feb. 25 I think. Something like that. You can check out the link above for all the dates and other details.

It's good to have someone to commiserate with when you don't make the next round. It's also nice to be able to cheer on the friends you've made through the forums when they make the next cut. The writers there are also generous with critiques of pitches, first paragraphs, and the like. It's a great place to be.

Writing is a lonely profession. It's so good to be able to connect with others who "get" this crazy thing you do called writing. That's why I love online writing communities such as ABNA, NaNoWriMo, and the others I mentioned above.

How about you? What are your favorite online writing communities?

Don't get mad, get even ~ with yourself.

It is all too easy to beat yourself up when your meditation ‘doesn’t work’.  And in doing so all that happens is for the stakes to get bigger and harder to reach.

You are human; you are allowed to make mistakes.  It is obligatory to make mistakes, because without them some lessons may never be learned.

So, as in a recent incident not too distant from the author J When you get mad about something, don’t add to the pressure by getting mad at yourself too.  Acknowledge the irritation, decide, when you calm down, whether the anger was truly justified, and then deal with it.

You always have a choice, even if that choice is to do nothing at all.

If you consider you were entitled to get mad at the situation, when you have a few moments quiet time, go inwards and ‘meditate’ on why, when and where in the problem you began to lose your cool.  Once you know the answer to that conundrum, you will usually find the answers to all the following questions dropping into place even before you have asked them.

If just reviewing the situation raises the heat again, ask yourself ‘why’.  What can you do to change things, even if those things that need changing are/is your perspective on the situation.

If you find yourself ‘firing’ up at the same circumstances or situations, then there’s a need to find what is triggering the anger.

Quiet meditation can often shed light on possible answers, which in turn and with more meditation will often uncover the reasons and causes for your response to situations that create your angry reactions.

It’s not easy, and I can tell you that from personal experience.  But even small gains, create a sense of satisfaction that brings that ‘bar’ down again to ‘manageable’.

This is another case of meditation becoming an integral tool in your life, rather than the sometimes considered ‘mystical element that belongs on the other side of the world.

The Raspy, Blues Singing Burmese

cats-wallpapers.com

Just like the smoky lounged blue's singers, one of the Burmese's unique traits is his or her raspy hoarse-sounding voice. They aren't as chatty as their Siamese ancestors but if they have a point to get across, they keep talking till you get the message.
Like the Mau in Egypt, legend has it that the Burmese are descendants of cats once worshiped in the temples as gods.
Burmese are people cats. This cat makes a great shop cat because it likes to interact. They are also highly intelligent. So if you're a shop owner and keep a Burmese, watch out or you might end up working for your cat.
With its high level of intelligence, this is another cat that can be taught to play fetch.
Since this cat is dependent upon human interaction, its not the best pick if you're a person who is away from home alot. He/she would miss you too much.
This feline is of average build, but carries weight. He/she has a round head and round chin. Even the ears are rounded at the tips. The eyes are lovely and large, and the color is anywhere from yellow to a brilliant gold. This looker has a glossy coat with a satin-like texture. It ranges in color from champagne, platinum, sable or blue. Since it has a short coat, it requires little grooming.
There are both American and British Burmese. The American breeds are somewhat stockier than the British breeds. The British Burmese have a more oriental look.
Possible problems:
Flat chested kitten syndrome (a compression of the chest and ribcage caused by lung collapse). A significant number of kittens survive.
Hypokalemia(low potassium)
Burmese head defect
Hereditary heart problems
Eye problems
Barring the health issues, the Burmese has a life expectancy of fifteen plus years. In fact, a Burmese named Kataleena Lady of Australia, made it in to the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living cat.
If you are interested in bringing one of these intelligent, fun loving cats into your family, why not try a Burmese rescue and save a life? They'll know you saved them and in return with give you unstinting loyalty and love.

Clear That Mind

I’ve worked in a variety of job setting over the years, and me being me, stress was a common factor in all of them.  From daycare to detention deputy, it didn’t matter.  I stressed over everything.  Now that I’m an author and am able to work from home, you’d think stress wouldn’t be as much of an issue.  After all, I set my own schedule, rules to accomplishing my goals, can work around social, church, and family obligations, right?  Did I say, me being me?  Lol.  I stress over everything, and when stress takes over, nothing get accomplished.

In my search for ways to de-stress and ground myself, I ran across some great steps to relaxation on WebMD.  They've helped me not only with pressing situations, but to clear my mind and focus when my creativity and imagination seemed blocked.  And there's nothing worse for a writer than to have that happen.  I’d like to share some of them with you.  

Meditate – Herbert Benson, MD, author of The Relaxation Response and director emeritus of Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine says that any repetitive action can be a source of meditation:  Walking, swimming, knitting—any activity that helps keep your attention calmly in the present moment.  When you catch yourself thinking about your job, relationship, or that lifelong to-do list, let the thought escape, and bring your mind back the repetition of the activity. Try it for just 5 to 10 minutes a day.

Visualize – If your mind is too talkative to meditate (and mine seems to stay that way), try creating a peaceful visualization, or "dreamscape." To start, visualize anything that keeps your thoughts away from current tensions. It could be a favorite vacation spot, a fantasy island, or something touchable, like the feel of your favorite silk robe or cozy sweater.

Take Deep Breaths – When you’re tense, your breathing becomes shallow.  Joan Borysenko, PhD, director of Harvard's Mind-Body Clinical Programs suggests, “Let out a big sigh, dropping your chest, and exhaling through gently pursed lips. Now imagine your low belly, or center, as a deep, powerful place. Feel your breath coming and going as your mind stays focused there. Inhale, feeling your entire belly, sides and lower back expand. Exhale, sighing again as you drop your chest, and feeling your belly, back and sides contract. Repeat 10 times, relaxing more fully each time.”

Focus on the Present – “Mindfulness is the here-and-now approach to living that makes daily life richer and more meaningful," says Claire Michaels Wheeler, MD, PhD, author of 10 Simple Solutions to Stress. Mindfulness means focusing on one activity at a time instead of juggling all those thoughts in your head.  No multi-tasking!  Staying in the present-tense can provide a buffer against anxiety and depression.

Practice it by focusing on your surroundings. If you're outdoors, notice the intricate shape of flowers, listen to the varying pitches in a bird's call, or the path of an ant on a tree. In the mall, examine a piece of jewelry, focus on how it's made, or check out every detail of pattern on a piece of furniture. As long as you can keep your mind focused on something in the present, stress will take a back seat.

Show Love – Psychologist Deborah Rozman, PhD, co-author of Transforming Stress recommends inducing the relaxation response by cuddling your pet, giving an unexpected hug to a friend or family member, cuddling with your spouse, or talking to a friend about the good things in your lives. When you do, you'll be reducing your stress levels.  “Experts say social interaction helps your brain think better, encouraging you to see new solutions to situations that once seemed impossible,” she says. Studies have also shown that physical contact—like petting your dog or cat—may help lower blood pressure and decrease stress hormones. 

Take a Time-Out – Brantley, MD, author of Five Good Minutes In the Evening, suggests finding a quiet place to sit or lie down and put the stressful situation on hold. Take a few deep breaths and concentrate on releasing tension and calming your heartbeat. Quiet your mind and remember: Time is always on your side, so relax. The stress can wait.

Take a Musical Detour - Music can calm the heartbeat and soothe the soul, the experts say. So, when the going gets rough, take a musical stress detour by aligning your heartbeat with the slow tempo of a relaxing song. And research shows that listening to 30 minutes of classical music may produce calming effects equivalent to taking 10 mg of Valium.  Hmm.  I have some friends that might argue that the classicals only irritate them, but there you are.  Lol.  If that’s the case, try a soft ballad. *wink*

Think Positive - Thirty seconds is enough time to shift your heart's rhythm from stressed to relaxed, Rozman says. The way to do that: Engage your heart and your mind in positive thinking. Start by envisioning anything that triggers a positive feeling—a memory of your child or spouse, the image of your pet, that great piece of jewelry you're saving up to buy, a memento from a vacation.  It will help slow breathing and tense muscles.  Rozman says that creating a positive emotional attitude can also calm and steady your heart rhythm, contributing to feelings of relaxation and peace.

And my own little addition...

Laugh - Laughter releases feel-good energies. Yeah, I'm no expert on how to explain it and I'm sure there's a great technical term for it all, but try laughing at the situation...and yourself. Pause, look around you, realize you can't do it all at once and just laugh.  If you have to, remember the silly picture I'm sharing with you here. *wink*

I hope these tips help give you in those tense overpowering moments when it seems there are just too many things to do, too many people counting on you, too much crowding your mind.  Let me know how they work for you.  Do you have any favorite stress relievers?  Please do share!

~ * ~

Posted by Paranormal Romance author Charlene A. Wilson.

Cornerstone Deep and Cornerstone Deep Echoes

http://CharleneAWilson.com

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Winter Colors

Winter arrived late this year, matter of fact, just last week. Since the storm last Thursday, when most authorities dismissed schools and meetings because of the weather, the area has had seven inches of snow, and then, Sunday freezing rain fell all night long. Glare ice lined the back roads Monday morning, and it snowed that evening. During this type of weather, it's best to keep your eyes on the road and traffic and a tight grip on the wheel. Most glancing at the roadside in such moments only see gloomy grey skies, dark trees and white snow.

Often I dread winter, it is a season made for depression and loneliness, cabin fever, anger and feelings of desperate survival. Occasionally, however, in silent moments, I stand outside wrapped in layers of warmth, pause, and observe the landscape, breathing the frigid air, and my heart expands in awe as I am caught in winter's peace. Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but there is more to winter than just shades of grey.

These are scenes you must stop and study closely to find the unpretentious and overlooked beauty. Then you realize winter colors are more subtle than any other season, and only if you look for them do you find the gorgeous play of hues: the maroon, or sometimes saffron stems of dogwood, the crimson winterberries before the birds eat them, the bright golden twigs of willows draping off dark branches, the soft shades of evergreens, the golden stems of last season's grasses, and the stark tans, rusts, silvers and umbers of deciduous tree trunks. When highlighted against a soft grey sky and a blue shadowed blanket of snow that sparkles whenever sun catches ice crystals, the view can be breathtaking in a stark minimalist milieu. Such scenes evoke drama like no other season -- tragedy tinged with hope, and everlasting love's promise of renewal.

Winter, you see, is time to pause, think and plan for the future, and those winter colors are the gems caught in the web of creation.

Novel Length, Price and the Ebook Marketplace

Novel Length, Price and the Ebook Marketplace

The increasing discovery of ebooks has created new growing pains for the new medium. One that stands out more than others is the length of the ebooks. Length leads to price or does it?

Word count at one time established the difference between a novel and a novella or short story. A novel was anything 25,000 and over. How high over 25,000 was usually dictated by the romance genre. Historic Romance usually came at the high end 75,000 to 100,000+- and a regular contemporary romance would start at 25,000 and might go to 32,000. A novella was just shy of the novel’s count and would start close to 15,000 to 24,000. Short story were usually 5,000 to 10,000-+. All counts would be set by the publishers, but they were usually consistent between the online publishers. The works length usually followed the genre’s requirement for the word count as a guideline.

You may say, ‘so what’s the problem?’. I would say we have one, a problem that is. I may be looking at this from an author’s perspective, but when I look at the offerings online there seems to be no difference stipulated for the readers. They could be purchasing a short story or a full blown historical novel for the same price.

At first, I thought price itself might be a guide. But no, as people have pointed out you can get a full novel for 99cents or a short story for a higher price than a novel would go for. Size did, at one time, establish pricing guidelines in the market place, now I’m not sure.  In my own releases I price according to the size/volume of the work. I thought it would help my readers. I can’t say it has, not with the lack of pricing ranges being offered in the marketplace.

I have seen “Bestsellers” being touted about the net that sell for 99cents. It isn’t that I’m upset they are a bestseller, but is it the price or the work that earned the title? Is it really a novel or a short story? Hopefully, the readers found that the work would be worth any price.

The fact that so many ebooks have low prices should say to me that the demand is setting the market prices. My economic teacher would be proud I remember supply and demand, but I have a feeling that doesn’t hold for ebooks.

As a self-publishing author I set my prices and so do most of the authors on the net in the romance genres. The net has given the author the freedom to choose how to publish and with the choice comes our place in the ebook online-market. Self-published or if you are with a publisher on the net, we are the suppliers and we set the prices, for now at least. On a whole our prices remain on the low end of ebook pricing. Demand may eventually rule the ebook market but it has a long way to grow before that happens.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking we are alone in the ebook market. The big publishers are here and they do want to rule the lion’s share of online ebooks. Of course, they are the ones with the limitless pockets for advertising and that leads to control. Their books are certainly the ones showing on the main pages of the retail outlets on the net. They can be thanked for bringing ebooks to the public attention. Their supply has a much higher pricing range than the self-publishing or internet publishers’ supply/price. They are trying to control price or more to the point our input into the market. We haven’t been easy to control and I hope we never are. But, maintaining our place in the marketplace will be a continuing problem.

What this leads to may remain unanswered at this time. But when you price your next book, hold a sale or revamp your current pricing, remember that you are affecting the marketplace. A 99cent sale is great at anytime, but you might want to make it a true sale price that only runs for a select period of time. This holds for the free books too, free may not be a price but it is part of the equation. Sales are great, coupons and free books will garner a new reader, but use them as a promotion with a set time limit.

We can hold on to our place in the market, but it will take our personal strength and more than a 99cent price to remain a force in the ebook marketplace.

Jewel Adams

www.hippiechicks68.com 

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I would like to hear your perspective on this subject.

Cleaning Filters Saves Appliances

We'd been annoyed that the through-the-door icemaker in our year old fridge was freezing up and we frequently had to open the door and pound on it to break up the ice so it would dispense. We were ready to call the repair man, if it was covered by warranty.

The electronic message center had been telling us to change the water filter for quite awhile. We finally did. And guess what? The water dispenses much faster, in a thick stream. And the ice isn't freezing up anymore. Imagine that.

Our Keurig hot beverage maker started giving weird error messages and only filling cups half full, then waiting and filling them more. I figured it was time to buy a teakettle. Hubby dug out the owner's manual, and lo and behold the error message meant it needed to be delimed. Guess what? Vinegar saved the Keurig. Imagine that.

My two year old washer is giving weird error messages. One was for an unbalanced load. I don't stuff it as full as I used to, so this was unexpected. The other message doesn't match anything in the owner's manual. I'll ask hubby if there is some way to clean it's filter to.

By the way, please make sure you clean your dryer lint trap after every use. Dryer fires are the second cause of residential house fires. Food forgotten cooking on the stove is the first. And we can't forget about falling asleep smoking.

Anyone else have filters in need of cleaning?

Wrong Side of Life

This isn't the post I was going to do today, but something changed my mind...

Some people get up on the wrong side of bed. Others seem to get up on the wrong side of life. Did you ever know someone who can't seem to catch a single positive break? Ever? I have. You want to hug them and tell them everything is going to be all right, but all right never happens for them.

They're the ones with the car that breaks down on the way to the job interview. They're the ones who don't just have Lyme disease, but mono with it. They're the ones who aren't just coping with broken pipes, but also the electricity has gone out.

What do you do? How do you help them? Sometimes...you might not be able to.

That sounds mighty harsh. I've been one of those never-catch-a-break people. Lived that down-to-the-bone life. We know more people now living that barely subsistence life than ever before.

On the one hand, I know how fast life can go from an abundance to freefalling famine. The closer you are to the edge, the less it takes to push you over. A lot of folks who thought they were safe behind their wall of income and savings have discovered that's just not so.

On the other hand...that subsistence living is isolating. Instead of moving out, we tend to huddle inwards, ashamed because we aren't doing well. We don't want anyone to know we need a helping hand. We don't want anyone to know we need food or the electric bill paid or gas in the car. Because if our neighbors and friends know that, they might think we're a failure. And goodness knows, we're not allowed to fail.

It's the same reasoning people use for hiding illness. Or non-existent royalties. Or dozens of other things the world uses to gauge success or failure. No one wants to admit things might not be quite as rosy as they've been portraying. No one.

That very attitude sometimes bars us from assistance. And I'm not talking about welfare or public assistance or a handout from a church. I'm talking about the folks around us who might want to pitch in a helping hand here or there. That neighbor who would gladly fix the pipes. That friend who would take us to that job interview. The ladies group at church who would be pleased to buy some groceries.

There's a rarely perceived opposite side of the coin in the get vs. giving dynamic. People need to participate on both sides during their lives. Giving isn't better than receiving. That old cliché is wrong. But giving does allow for a balance as long as people can do both. That's what that paying it forward business is about.

At sometime during our lives we will need. Perhaps we will need more than we can possibly imagine. Consider those who lost homes, families, every possession they owned in tornadoes or tsunamis. Can you envision the total loss? Yet, even in those circumstances there were people who hesitated to ask for help. We have to get past this shame factor and reach out. Why?

Because at sometime during our lives we will be exactly where we need to be to help someone. That old saw about what goes around, comes around is true. The problem is we think we always have to compare apples to apples or oranges to oranges, when we really should just toss all the fruit and veggies in one pot. Just because someone fixed our pipes doesn't mean we have to fix someone else's pipes to "pay them back". Nope. What the next fellow might really be desperate for is a job reference or a new pair of shoes.

Do you know someone really wallowing in the slough of depression and despair? Have you asked what you can do? Remember, no one gets up on the wrong side of life on purpose. No one.

anny

Happy New Year. . .Again. . .and on to the Chinese Year of the Dragon

I first became fascinated with the ancient system of Chinese Astrology when I saw the paper place mats at Chinese restaurants as a teen. You know the ones. So I did a little reading over the years and now know enough to be dangerous, or to pique your interest in the topic.

Chinese astrology features one sign per year, rather than one every thirty days or so. The chief differences between Chinese and Western astrology are the symbols used. Animals, rather than star-based signs, bestow their characteristics on those born in their designated year. There's a wonderful legend of how the animals were chosen by the Jade Emperor - look it up on the Web if you like - it's intriguing.

This Year of the Dragon begins January 23, 2012 and runs to February 9, 2013. Dragons are believed to possess supernatural powers and bring good luck, life giving rain, fertility, dignity and wisdom. They are the intimates of royalty. In Dragon years, money is easier to come by for everyone and it’s a great time to initiate a new project. Don’t go overboard, though – Dragon years do come to an end, and you’ll have to pay all those bills!

Chinese astrology features five Dragons – Fire, Earth, Wood, Water and Metal – that rotate through the years when it is Dragon’s turn to rule. Each dragon has different characteristics, but all are considered the luckiest sign. Not at all the fearsome creatures portrayed in Western literature!

This coming year is dedicated to the Water Dragon, who is a bit more laid back than the others, but owning strength of purpose. Water Dragon is involved in growth and expansion, interested in the good of all.

Doesn't that sound fabulous? Well, there is a bit of a catch.

At Chinese New Year, you welcome wealth, prosperity and longevity by eliminating negative chi (energy) from the past. This doesn't mean you have to do the Dragon Dance (a highly skilled and demanding exercise) to invite abundance into your life. Although, if done right you'd certainly be on the fast track.

Simply take time to be grateful for what you have and forgive the past – your actions and those of others toward you. That will help you open to more fully absorb Dragon energy in all its glory during 2012. I hope your Dragon year is a successful one for you and yours!

Night Writers: Interesting Fact Unearthed About Medieval Scotland...

Night Writers: Interesting Fact Unearthed About Medieval Scotland...: Somewhere My Lass is a unique suspenseful Scottish time travel romance that opens in a Victorian home in historic Staunton, Virginia bef...

Interesting Fact Unearthed About Medieval Scotland

Somewhere My Lass is a unique suspenseful Scottish time travel romance that opens in a Victorian home in historic Staunton, Virginia before taking the leap back to the Highlands. While doing research for the story I uncovered a wealth of information about various time periods and the many facets that go along with a particular setting.  One fascinating archeological discovery I came across is the ancient hospital run by monks at Soutra, high in the Lammermuir Hills, near Edinburgh. This Medieval hospital was dedicated to looking after the poor, travelers, and pilgrims as well as the sick and infirm. Ancient Scotland did a lot more with medicines than I realized.  At least, the Medieval monks did.  I assume they shared this knowledge with other healers.

To quote from the above site: “Evidence…suggests the medieval Augustine monks also knew how to amputate limbs, fashion surgical instruments, induce birth, stop scurvy and even create hangover cures. The excavations at Soutra have also unearthed fragments of pottery vessels that were once used for storing medicines such as an analgesic salve made from opium and grease and treatment for parasitic and intestinal worms. Dressings have also been found, some still with salves or human tissues attached and the scientists have discovered a mixture of Quicklime (calcium oxide) which scientists believe was used as a disinfectant and a deodorant.”

“Dr Brian Moffat archeo-ethno-pharmocologist and director of investigations for the Soutra Project, studies clumps of seeds from the site. He said the scientists trawl literature of the period to try and identify remedies the herbs could have been used to create. They then search the site to find medical waste evidence to support their theories…”

I thought all of this was fascinating.

*The pic is all that’s left of Soutra now.  

Losing Your Past

I was very surprised at Jinny’s topic as it was closely related to mine, but opposite views. So thanks, Jinny, for the lead in.

January is my organization month, sort of like how retailers have specific months for certain sales. I tackle one big task each January. This year I’m digging into endless loose photographs and ancient photo scrapbooks that are falling apart. Photos I've taken, but also my Mom’s photos and her mother’s photos, my Dad’s family photos, and Bill’s family photos. All of which landed in my storage when our parents' homes were closed down. Most are piled in cardboard boxes, six maybe seven generations of photos. Sometime in the (hopefully near) future I plan to make family history scrapbooks for my children. This was Christmas project two years ago, and I’m only sorting photos now, but what’s January without setting some type of goal, right?

Here is the sad part. Many of the photos from Bill’s side of the family have no name, let alone date, attached to them. I have one 6" thick, velvet covered scrapbook from pre- or post 1900 with no names other than ‘my cousin,’ ‘my dad,’ and no indication of who owned the photos. This came from Bill's Dad. He's gone and the book wasn't found until we clean out his house. Look at the children in the photos, some nameless family members. The lower one was taken in Sweden, the upper one in New York. This problem is common even in my photos. I know who the people are plus when and where the photo was taken so why bother labeling it? My son and daughter might not know, though. Needless to say, I now have many charming period photos that are only that, nameless photos. How long do I hang on to them? Can I discover who they are? Lost generations, lost history.

Finding your past

First, let me say thank you for the kind words when I posted about my little accident. I took my six year old great grandson to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens and tripped on a curb and kissed the sidewalk, rather passionately. I broke my nose, several bones in my sinuses, dislocated my jaw, broke several front teeth, and my left wrist. Needless to say, I am still recovering and will be for a while, however, I really seem to be healing pretty quickly. God is good! And would you believe, all that and I didn't break my glasses or even one fingernail! Amazing!
While I have been restricted in my normal activities, my granddaughter, Amanda, the mother of the six year old who was with me that night, has spent a lot of time with me. She has firmly captured me with her latest passion, genealogy. Our family ancestry. She has always been fascinated with my background, mainly because I didn't have one. I was raised in foster homes and only knew that my biological father was born in Ireland and my biological mother was born in North Dakota and their names. One night while browsing on her computer, she came upon ancestry.com and the rest is (yes, pun intended) history.
She has been sending me text at all hours or bursting in the back door breathless with new bits of information. So far, she has traced us back as far as 800 ad and found that we are direct descendants of King John. Imagine that! Diluted as it may be, I seem to have a bit of royal blood! Of course, given that the royalty of by gone eras planted their seeds far and wide, I can't help but wonder what side of the blanket we may have come from, but still, a King! Dang! Maybe I'm supposed to be a Duchess or something! And no wonder I am so partial to Historical romances.
Okay, maybe not, but its fun to contemplate. I love history so much and its absolutely exhilarating to find little connections to a past I have studied at various times in my life, or even walked on. I live in the historical triangle of Virginia, Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg and we had an ancestor who fought at Yorktown and helped defeat Cornwallis and the British, helped secure our freedom and the building of the greatest nation on earth.
Another relative was given 3000 acres of land in Connecticut by one of the English Kings. Now, I think we should pack up and go see just what happened to that land! Surely he didn't squander it away! Could there possibly be any left UN-entailed? Of course not, but let me remind you that I am taking pain killers and my mind is wandering uninhibited.
I have sat with Amanda to help her with her search and found so many things on the Internet, right there at your fingertips, that give you a thousand directions to look for ancestors. Besides "ancestry.com" there are hundreds of similar sites, not as well advertised, but still the result of someones hard work and available for your use. www.stategensites.org is a list by states of vital records, births, deaths, adoptions, Historical Societies, cemeteries, and census records. www.usgenweb./org is a free site manned by volunteers who stand ready to assist one with searches. www.familychronical.com/webpicks.htm will guide you to sites that pertain to your particular interest.
The lists go on and on and provide endless hours of fascinating research. But there is more. I had no idea that my granddaughter had always felt a little cheated by not having ancestors from me, the relative she loves most in all the world. I think she started this looking for her own past, and on the way found mine. It has been an incredible bonding experience for us and given me a place in the world I never knew I had. I'm no longer just a woman with no past, standing alone. I am one generation in a long line of real people with names and lives, triumphs and tragedies, some famous and rich, some infamous and poor, but most just regular people getting along with life and filling in the gaps in my history.
Many of you may have already made this journey, but if you haven't, I urge you to do so! It gives you such a wonderful feeling of belonging somewhere. As writers, it can't help but stir your creative juices!
See you in February! Hope the weather holds out, at least here in Virginia. Its been very mild so far, and for my part, it can stay that way!

Packers Lambeau Field Popular Year Round

Players Tunnel at Lambeau Field     MM Sikes

Even in the midst of summer, cheers ring out at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Although the throng that rushes through the tunnel and onto the football field wears no helmets, excitement fills the air. Long before autumn leaves begin to fall and the first snows dust the stands, fans follow tour guides in a parade through the long cement tunnel where, at the end, they are greeted by the cheers of those who filled the stadium at a long-ago game.

Along the walls of the entrance lobby, photos of Brett Fauve and his famous number 4 appear. More photos highlight the play of current quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wearing number 12. Many pictures depict the past of a storied franchise and its dedicated, enamored fans who pass down the right to purchase season tickets from generation to generation.

 Vince Lombardi and "Curly" Lambeau statues  MMSikes

According to a tour guide, the stadium has been sold out since 1960, and there is a waiting list of 88,000. A club room for 48 people on the 5th floor of the stadium rented for $30,000 a game two years ago. The broad wall of windows there provides a perfect, sheltered view of the game. The impressive football stadium is owned by the City of Green Bay, and the streets that lead to it feature the names of greats from the past. Even a nearby Denny's has an unusual ambiance that can only be found in Green Bay.

For the divisional NFC championship today, excitement will abound. Visitors from the summer can only imagine the major traffic jams that must surround a real game--especially a hugely competitive playoff game.

I'm glad we had the chance to visit Lambeau Field at a calmer time. For today, "Go Packers!"

Monti
http://marymontaguesikes.blogspot.com

The Redheaded Stepchild

I am the redheaded stepchild of my writers' group. Truly. Never mind that I hold a degree in English or that I've been published twice with two more projects under contract.  What taints my credibility, you see, is my genre: Romance. In fact, one "person" had the audacity to say romance hardly qualifies as a genre. She's lucky I didn't let the air out of her bouffant hairdo.

One man repeatedly chants his anti-romance mantra, "Boy finds girl. Boy looses girl. Boy gets girl." He writes for newspapers. Yeah, we all know what direction the future of those rags are going.

I shared a chapter of my current WIP once a month. Last Tuesday I read. One lady, known for her "Oh, I don't like this word," scrunched her nose and asked, "Why would you say 'his breath fluttered her hair and caressed her cheek'? What's that all about? I wouldn't find that romantic at all. Who wants a man breathing all over your face?" The muse on my shoulder hissed, "Ask her if she's frigid." 

We had three new people in our group that night. One of our regulars asked if any of them wrote romance. When they all shook their heads, the woman. who has yet to write word one, breathed, "Thank God."

Listen to me. I sound bitter, don't I? I'm not. Just concerned about my growing dislike for the group. I don't think anyone should remain where he or she is belittled. I don't know how much longer I can remain. Yet, the thought of leaving the group saddens me since I was one of the three organizing members.

Still, I'm not sure how emotionally healthy staying is for me...romance writer of the thin skin. I suppose I have a choice to make. Either stay and stop sharing parts of my current project or leave. Because I think I've endured my last night of four or five people trying to out shout the other to point out what they perceive to be worthless writing.

I wouldn't want you to remain in such a situation. I'd encourage you to go where you're more appreciated. Shake their dust off your feet and keep on truckin'--and, yes, that WAS a cliche.

Having vented about my hurt feelings, I wish for all of you a 2012 of feeling valued, growing in your craft and helping others achieve their dreams. Writers need to encourage each other, no matter what genre we write.

Living Social

Because I don't know much about Living Social, I'm curious about it, and it's social media-related, I thought I'd do a post on it for those who, like me, don't know much about this Living Social thing.

The Basics:

Living Social appears to be a lot like Groupon. Amazon has started something similar to this as well. I get emails all the time from Amazon about deals from local merchants. Of course, this seems to mean that Amazon is using my personal information in ways I didn't anticipate them using it, but what's new? Facebook, Google, etc. all those guys seem to be doing that these days. What ya gonna do? Junk mail and those annoying call center calls I used to get before the do not call list (thank goodness for that list) have gone cyber. Just get a good spam filter and/or "unplug" from cyber life. Me, I prefer the spam filter. The good outweighs the bad for me when it comes to online life.

They tell us not to spam others with pleas for them to read our books. And for good reason. That's annoying. I wish merchants would follow a similar principle. I'm not going to be persuaded into buying your product by constant badgering. I might be annoyed out of buying it, though. Okay. End of rant. Enough blabbing about privacy. Back to Living Social.

So here's how it works- You sign up, give them an email address (I've dedicated an entire email address to emails like this--Living Social, Groupon, ideeli, etc. so they don't clog up my "real" inbox), give them your zip code, and they send you deal emails. When you see one you like, you click on it, "buy" the deal (discount rate on a service/meal/etc.), and then you get a voucher to use the service. It's a pretty neat thing if you find a deal for something you'll actually use.

Here's the problem with these type things--I get overwhelmed easily by them. I get tons of emails, and the first instinct is to delete them without reading them. Time is precious, and it speeds by. I might be getting some cool deals, but due to overload, I don't look at any of them. The subject lines of the emails rarely grab my attention. If they try to tailor the deals to my interests (which I doubt), then they're doing a rather poor job of it.

The few times I've found something really awesome, the deal has sold out before I can even click on it! At least that's been my experience with groupon. I haven't tried Living Social yet as I said earlier in this post. Maybe that'd be different. Maybe.

You know what I'd love, though? One of these specifically for writers. And/or maybe readers. Deals on buying editing services (yes!), discounts to conferences, deals from Apple (please please, though I know it's very unlikely, let me get a discount on an iPad. Btw, did you hear they stopped selling the iPhone 4s in China temporarily b/c of all-out fights were breaking out to get it? Crazy), deals on book purchases. And the like! I'd be all over those coupons. Goodreads or Writer's Digest or somebody should get on something like that.

So far, my take on social media coupons is: meh. Just more crap to delete from my inbox for the most part. I feel the same way about Expedia/Orbitz low fare deals (which seem to be a trick to get you to visit their website mostly), various retail stores that I give my email address to because I get tired of them pestering me for it, and the like. I very rarely use any of these coupons. If I'm in the market for something, I'll search out a deal for it. Otherwise: meh.

Maybe I should give this stuff more of a chance. If only there could be a few extra hours in the day. What do you think? Social media coupons--waste of time or no?

This weekend is the weekend for my switch over to a smart phone. Finally! Maybe there'll be a Living Social app that will change my life. Anything could happen. Who knows?

Happy Friday the 13th! I haven't checked Twitter today yet, but I'll be there's at least one trending topic about it...

New Beginnings

So the New Year is long gone and almost forgotten, but before we let go and dismiss it completely, let’s take a moment to look forward.

The final meditation blog included a reminder to reassess and be ready to go forward with the insight of hindsight beside us.

Today it is a case not of ‘setting goals, but of ‘letting go’. 

Meditating with your eyes open is not a new concept, which has been touched on previously. This meditation is done with full and deliberate intent.

Using the knowledge you gained by reassessing your progress since we began the series of meditation blogs, you may have a clearer idea of what has annoyed, disrupted your progress, and has had a generally negative impact on your personal progress last year.

Letting go of the negativity, in the same way you’d throw away an old pair of slippers when they start to trip you up they are so decrepit, is a must to move on.

Are there people in your life who hinder, block or generally hold you back?  Take a look at how you can change that and whether you have to go to the ultimate length and drop them from your life.

Do you have old habits and beliefs that are detrimental to where you want to go this year? This one may sound innocuous but in reality is a whopper to deal with.  It is so easy to beat ourselves up for what we perceive as ‘failings’ which, with a slight tweaking of perspective, could be called ‘learning curves.’

Take your time with this meditation, as it can have an enormous impact on you and your environment.  Come back to it when and as often as you feel you need to throughout the year; this way you prevent new negative habits from taking route.

One of the best and easiest ways of doing this is to physically write a list of the negativity you wish to remove from your life. Read it through carefully, with intent, and when you are ready, take it to a sink and set fire to it. 

Watch all that negativity burning away, knowing too, that fire is one of Nature’s cleansers.

Acknowledge the release of your list of negatives, and have fun in 2012.

Murphy In the Paw Paw Patch

Normally the Night Writers do magazine-style blogs and don't plug books. But for the cat lovers out there I think this is a book you're going to want to read to your children and grandchildren.Friend and fellow-author Ruth Hartman has just published her first children's book. It sounds like a winner to me. Here's where you can purchase it:

http://www.amazon.com/Murphy-Paw-Paw-Patch-Ruth-Hartman/dp/1935817205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322682840&sr=1-1

http://www.turquoisemorningpressbookstore.com/collections/childrens/products/murphy-in-the-paw-paw-patch

And here's what the story's about:

Murphy the cat is different. And he doesn’t like it! All the other cats have paw pads. But he was born without them. Will Murphy’s journey to find some at the Paw-Paw Patch fulfill his dream?

~*~

I love cats. They’ve always been a huge part of my life. There’s one sitting on my lap as I type this, in fact. And the way he’s curled in a perfect ball with his paw covering his face, he’s not going anywhere for a while. So that means, neither am I.

Way back when, I took a course on writing children’s books from the Institute of Children’s Literature. “Murphy in the Paw-Paw Patch”, in an earlier form, was what I wrote for one of my assignments. It’s gone through lots of changes over the years and was submitted to countless publishers. No takers.

But Turquoise Morning Press, a publisher of several of my romances, had started a children’s book section. Murphy found a home with them earlier this year. From the time I took that course, I always wanted to write a children’s book. And it had to be about a cat. It had to! There’s never been a time in my life when I haven’t had at least one of the little furballs hanging around, and I hope there never will be.

I’d always heard the term paw-paw patch, although I’ve never seen one. One day, though, I decided it would be funny if the paw-paw patch had something to do with paws. Animals paws. Cat paws. Yep. My story was born.

Murphy the cat was born without pads on his paws. He sees all of the other cats running, skipping and doing cartwheels. But he can’t do those things. It hurts his feet since he’s padless. He takes a journey to a place called the paw-paw patch. His adventure leads him not only to his dream, but he makes a friend, Oliver the owl along the way.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading this story to your children, as much as I enjoyed writing and illustrating it.

What is a Quad?

When I moved to the Carolinas from Massachusetts, I realized the term “Quad” means four-wheeler (or ATV for the off-road enthusiasts) to most locals. Even in the Boston area, where ice rinks abound, people think quads have something to do with muscles. In the skating world however, a quadruple jump, commonly called a quad, is the most difficult element in figure skating.

Why so hard? Because the skater must jump into the air, make four full revolutions (4 ½ for an Axel—and no, an Axel isn’t part of the ATV), and land cleanly on a blade of metal only one-tenth of an inch wide.

To complicate matters, there are six different types of quad jumps possible, although no skater has yet landed a quadruple Axel in competition. So how do you tell the jumps apart? It’s tough. Those announcers who sound so savvy on television have cheat sheets—and they’ve watched the skaters do the same routines in practice.

To simplify things, let’s think of jumps in three different categories. While you may not be able to always distinguish the specific jump, with a little practice you can easily recognize the type of jump. The first category includes the toe jumps. The skater vaults off the toe pick, or the "teeth" on the front of the skate blade. This category includes toe loops (the easiest of the easy jumps) the flip, and the Lutz (the second most difficult jump), named for its originator Alois Lutz. The primary difference between the toe jumps is the edge (the way the skater is leaning) used for take-off and landing. Even skating enthusiasts (me included) often can’t tell the difference between the two, especially when watching skaters on television. Why? The jump happens too fast and the camera typically doesn’t focus on the skater’s foot.

The next set of jumps are the edge jumps and the skater does not use the toe pick. The three edge jumps include the loop, the flip, the Salchow, and the Axel.

The most difficult jump is the Axel, named after the jump’s originator Axel Paulsen. This jump is easily recognizable because it’s the only jump where the skater is facing forward when the jump starts. Facing forward also means adding a ½ revolution to the air time so a single axel actually has 1.5 rotations.

Canadian Kurt Browning attempted the first quad in 1979 but it took him nine more years to land one in competition. The jump has to be landed cleanly (on one foot, facing the correct direction, and on the correct edge) to count. Kurt was also the first (and so far, only) person to land the quadruple Axel (the hardest quad jump) although I don’t think it was in a competition. Timothy Goebel was the first American to land a quad, the first to land a quad Salchow, and the first to land three quads in one program. Last September, Brandon Mroz (the 2009 US Men's Silver Medalist) executed the first quad lutz (the most difficult jump landed in a sanctioned competition).

Women are attempting quads too. Bonaly of France landed numerous under-rotated quads in the 1990s. Under-rotation means the rotation in the air is incomplete and the foot is not in the correct position when the skater lands. Under-rotated jumps are not considered quads in the record books. However, Miki Ando of Japan landed a sanctioned quadruple jump seven years ago.

Next time: More on the quad and why the jump is so controversial.

CONSOLIDATING YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS

CONSOLIDATING YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS

I think over the last 15 plus years on the net that I have tried about all the marketing strategies out there. Radio show to ads in RT, to contests and blog tours, there are many more over the years. But, the one thing that is always difficult to determine once the event is over—is how successful it may have been.

You can read stats to see what kind of traffic you scored or how many people comment on your blog post, there are all kinds of way to see how it went. Yet, no matter what method you use, the big question is did you sell any books? That one question hounds authors whether their writing is a hobby or professional—Book Sales is the gauge to success or is it.

That answer is very difficult to pin point to one specific marketing event. The main reason is the author does not have the sales results to do a comparison. Even if the publisher shares sales figure for the time of the event it doesn’t cover any of the retailer sales. Retail sales are notoriously months off the mark. The retailers do not report the sales until they close that financial period and that can vary from a few weeks to months. Amazon Kindle is the exception as they do have very timely reports. Smashwords also has daily sales figures, but again these are not the major retailer sales.

The problem with having a part of the picture is the obvious—it is incomplete. So no matter how well planned the marketing effort by an author, it honestly is unknown if it equated to sales.

An even bigger problem than the sales figures is the time and effort put into marketing. Authors are comfortable with writing, even putting their finished product out there, but marketing—not so much. My own personal experience was being overwhelmed with the whole process of marketing. As I said I tried it all and most of my marketing was more to put the concept of ebooks out there. Ebooks have come a very long way in a short amount of time, but then it is an excellent medium.

Marketing is like this whole other world for an author. It takes time away from writing and forces authors to step out in the public. The fact we don’t know what is working makes it all the more difficult. I have learned one very important lesson and this one just in the last year or so, you have to focus your effort. When I say focus you can also throw in consolidate. We need to stop going in all these different directions: blog tours, ads, reviews, release parties, contest, websites, groups, and more.

Pull back, slow yourself down and take a very hard look at where you have been. Did any of your marketing really get your book out there to the reader? Can you see the readers’ reaction to your book? Are you spread so thin it is affecting your writing?

I think that last question says it all for an author. Are you still finding time to write? More to point, are you forcing the words and finding it more and more difficult to focus on the story. Marketing can and does kill off a lot of authors because it can steal away the spark, the muse, whatever you want to call the gift. All the time management in the world can’t create a story.

When you think about it, even if you are still writing and finishing books, try to weed through all the things you do on the net. Do you have a website, a blog, both? Pick one, let the other go. It isn’t easy, but you would be surprised how much time you will free up just by consolidating your efforts to get out there on the net. Don’t think I forgot Facebook and Twitter, these two are great but they are time hogs. Slow it down, make yourself turn off the net after your make a couple posts. This goes for yahoo groups as well, chat or get off of them. The groups, even at retailers, can be an emotional drain because they take so much time.

If you need to eliminate the groups, you are off to a good start. Consolidate your blogs and websites, get one and have fun with it, yes fun, when you aren’t out straight it can be fun. Try to see where the readers are, not other authors but readers. You aren’t going to sell your books to other authors so why are you marketing to them? Pick the sites/groups/blogs/ that has a great reader base. Find your way to reach the readers without destroying the reason for being there.

It takes time to focus your efforts but the results will show in your writing and well-being.

Jewel Adams

www.hippiechicks68.com

Lavender, Pink and Green Organization

You know me and my lists and schedules and ta-da's. I love to plan. I love to accomplish tasks. I love to have a clean house. I love to write. I even kinda sorta love to exercise. You've patiently read all of my house cleaning tips and no doubt grumbled under your breath. Me too.

This year, I got a brilliant new idea. Instead of scheduling minutia, knowing life (and laziness) so often gets in the way and I won't always be able to accomplish my tasks, I decided to plan in general. And in living color. I don't live well when I don't have some sort of structure. So this is what I came up with: On Lavender days, I will clean my house. I chose lavender in fond memory of my mother, who always managed to keep a clean house and nutritious home cooked meals on the table despite working six days a week. No list of tasks. I will do whatever needs to be done, most likely vaccuum, dust and clean the bathrooms.

I have a husband with a rotating travel schedule and two young adult children who are still at home while persuing their higher educations. I am not working outside the home. So keeping their schedules in mind, I have decided to make every fifth day Lavender. No, I don't just clean every five days. I do the dishes, laundry, bathrooms and sweep as needed. but on the Lavender days, I'll pull out the heavy duty tools. And since there is no list, there is no guilt if I don't do this or that.

On Pink days, I will exercise. I chose pink because it's feminine and pretty and that's what I strive to improve on. Most of the time I'll do the treadmill for 30 minutes, 200 ab reps between my ab roller and ab wheel and every other day I'll do weights. More or less. No rules. As long as I do something, get moving, I can feel I've done my Pink day proud.

On Green days, I will do something related to the writing business. Blog, tweet, query, or write. Green because I hope to generate some money from it. Some day. No big deadlines. Just whatever I decide at the time. I haven't promoted my work in years. I hate doing it. So, to entice myself into wanting to promote again, I bought myself a new work wardrobe. On my Green days, I am wearing velour lounge wear. Warm, comfy and super-modelish. Not the old lady kind. I hope.

This has been my first week and so far, I love my new Lavender, Pink and Green year.

Seeds of Skill

My children all have some form of learning disability. In my oldest son, this is compounded by terrible fine motor skills. In fact--his handwriting sucks. He should have been a doctor.

A few years back, in an effort to help him seize some control, I started him on some very basic calligraphy strokes. Now you may scratch your head and wonder what I could be thinking, but his motor control did improve. Not drastically, I admit, but sufficiently that an improvement in his handwriting was evident. I suspect if he had continued on with the practice, there would have been even more improvement.

Handwriting--cursive strokes--are after all, a matter of fine motor skills. And calligraphy strokes are the most basic of movements. Practicing the various strokes builds up a degree of control that translates to other areas--such as cursive writing.

Of course, many school districts no longer teach cursive writing. One wonders what will happen when there is no longer anyone who writes cursive. For if you never learn to write it, then who will be left to read it? Will the libraries and historical repositories then end up with piles and piles of manuscripts that only specialists can read?

That is a sad vision of the future. In the meantime, if you wish to hone your fine motor skills...check out a book on calligraphy and try practicing the basic strokes.

anny

Metaphysical Mix - A Look Into the Unknown

Happy New Year and welcome to Metaphysical Mix. My name is Ashantay Peters and I’m the newest Night Writer. I hope you join me on the fourth and nineteenth when I delve into a mishmash of metaphysical topics.

First, I’m curious – what does the term metaphysical mean to you? Is it checking out your daily astrological prediction in the newspaper? Maybe getting your palm read or calling a phone psychic for your lottery numbers? Perhaps crop circles hold your fascination, or maybe you think none of the above is for you. It’s just so much woo-woo or superstition. Well, all of that and more will be fodder for me!

Before we delve too deeply into any subjects that fall under a metaphysical umbrella – and there are many – I’d like to qualify the term for joint understanding. “Meta” is a prefix that can define “after,” “beyond,” “behind” or “change.” The meaning hinges upon the word you link meta with. Meta plus physics takes on the meaning “after physics.”

I believe the metaphysical is beyond what we can see, hear, touch, feel or smell; it is an essential mystery. And what curious human can ignore a bona fide puzzle? Not me, and I hope not you, either. My resolution is to write postings that lead writers to new characters or plot devices, readers to a new understanding of previously unknown topics and give all of us insights in our continuing search for life’s meaning.

Please join me for a journey beyond the physical to find what lies after physics.

No time machines necessary.