Eight months
ago a near-death experience plowed through my Baby Boomer delusions of
immortality (Don’t worry, Seventy is the new sixty! Eighty is the new seventy! Death
is the new ninety!)
Being kept
alive by advanced technology, a top-notch team of medical professionals and most
of all, the Grace of God, does that to a person. To paraphrase a truth I read
in the holy writings of the Baha’I Faith, ‘We
are all but one step away from eternity.’
While waiting
for life-saving open heart surgery in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic’s
winter surge, I had a number of days to think about how our choices define us. I
need to make some hard ones because my time on earth is limited.
Some choices are
needed to support my mental, physical and spiritual health. Some are needed to
nurture important relationships. Some are needed to revitalize my writing life.
Even before my
brush with death, I was wrestling with how to go forward with my writing career.
I got some wise guidance from Author, Writing Instructor and Publisher MaggieMcVey Lynch. I’ve written and Indie Pubbed a novel and had short stories included
in two anthologies. I like writing short stories because they are fast and fun.
I like writing novels because they are complex.
It’s become clear
to me I don’t want to spend much time on promotion (which I hate). And making
money is not the big goal for me (although it would be nice.) I do want to
reach an audience and uplift them with my stories.
I choose to concentrate
on writing short stories.
I plan to volunteer
to write grant proposals and press releases for a charity of my choosing.
What’s next? When
I feel overwhelmed by the choices I am facing, I say a little prayer and trust
my intuition.
So far, so good…
What do you do when faced with a difficult decision?
I
really struggled with this month’s topic because I feel incredibly ordinary. I
haven’t discovered anything, or invented anything, or written an international
best seller – yet. But then I realized my life hasn’t been ordinary compared to
many of my peers who were born in the ‘60’s, grew up in the ‘70’s, and matured
in the ‘80’s.
Midway
through college, I took a year off to be a nanny in the UK. Not only did that
cement my love of travel but it gave me a tiny glimpse of life as a mum and
homemaker (in addition to the two children, my duties included preparing supper
and some light housekeeping) and I loved it.
When
I got married a couple years later, I kept getting asked, by friends and
relatives, when would I get a job. I had no idea what I wanted to be “when I
grew up”, plus I was busy developing my love of cooking and baking, and
perfecting the folding of fitted sheets. I was inordinately proud of my
well-organized linen closet. Needless to say I was in the minority amongst my
friends, all of whom had careers outside the home. I was asked on numerous
occasions, “don’t you get bored being home all day?”. To which I’d with respond
with heck, no, I’m too busy painting walls, or tending the garden, or making
jam.
A few
years later I was busy being a mum, sewing baby clothes and playing with Legos,
followed by soccer and lacrosse practice, and flute and guitar lessons.
I’ve
never felt stuck or trapped or like I was missing out. I should have been born
a few decades earlier when women were expected to stay at home after marriage,
and indeed were looked at askance if they wanted to continue working. Instead I
was looked at askance for wanting to be a full-time homemaker – how could I
possibly feel fulfilled by reupholstering the furniture or mowing the lawn or baking
cookies? By the way, I make really good cookies. <grin>
I
daresay I’m one of the few women my age who irons pillowcases, tea towels, and
napkins. I get a thrill seeing them stacked neatly on the shelf in my
well-organized linen closet. Now I’m off to fight with my hubby (recently
retired) over who gets to use the vacuum cleaner.
Let’s travel back in time for a moment. Way back to the 80s, Kenny
Rogers and that catchy country-sounding song titled The Gambler.
Remember these lyrics?
These words rushed back to me today as I sat down to write. Representative
of so much more than gambling, they gave me a moments' pause. I’ve been
reflecting on life quite a bit lately. My own, my family’s, that of my
characters. Not a ‘what if?’ type of reflection, but more a ‘where to next?’
As I mentioned in August, life has a tendency to throw us
curveballs. That old 'doling out lemons' scenario where if we’re tossed one or
more we’re told to stick around and make lemonade.
Yes, sometimes we’re thrown those good curveballs. Moments that leave
your mind racing, your heart smiling and your imagination so full it’s fit to
burst. Moments that make you believe dreams really can come true. Moments like
one I shared with hubby just recently, when we sat down with an architect and created
the home we’d been talking about for the past twenty years. Those are the cards
you hold close to your chest and never let go. They’re the times you don’t just
make lemonade, but you make lemon tart, lemon pie and an entire assortment of
lemon-based goodies.
But what if making lemonade leaves us vulnerable or unhappy or exposed
to dangers that are best avoided?
Let’s quit with the metaphors. What if we refuse to stick around and
make the best of things? What if our living situation becomes untenable? Or in our
neighbor’s case, what happens when her landlord sells the property and she’s
informed only when the new owner knocks on her door to introduce himself and
give her notice to vacate?
We have that same landlord. As a result, what should we do if when looking
online for a house to buy we come across our rental, on the market, 100% ready to sell?
No lemonade here. We fold. Take action, and move on our terms, not his. Something
we did, just last week.
Even though we know we’ll need to move again in a year, we weren’t
willing to wait and take the chance we’d be able to stay on as tenants for the
new owner. We wanted to take control of our own destiny, not hand it to a man
who has very little regard for others.
And so, finally settled into our new ‘temporary’ home, I can relax
knowing our family has a roof over our heads for the foreseeable future.
Now, back to our metaphors . . .
What happens when our lemons hit in the form of a friend? Or should I
say ‘anti-friend’? Ever thought you knew someone as well as you knew yourself?
Always watched their back as you’d assumed they watched yours? You know those
people – the ones who smile at you and say wonderful things to your face.
What if one day you find that all those fancy compliments were a cover
for something more sinister?
That they were talking behind the back they should have been watching,
spreading rumors that when scrutinized would fall, but that didn’t matter,
because the people they told hadn’t met you and had no way of discovering the
truth.
No lemonade here.
Time
to walk away.
I’ve never been a believer in keeping
your enemies close. Better to keep them as far away as possible.
And then there’s Jasmine, the character
in my new in-the-process-of-being-created series. Jasmine’s best friend from
her teens, Drew, the boy who arrived one day, stole her heart, then left
without a trace, has returned, only to be kidnapped before her eyes.
What should she do?
Run?
And if so, in which direction? Toward danger or away?
Jasmine wants answers. Much as she thrives on order and
predictability, she needs to find Drew and find closure over his desertion all
those years ago. So yes, at first she acts tentatively, seeking clues on his captors, but when the going gets
tougher, and the danger more imminent, she runs. Runs to save him.
And in running, not only does she discover some – not all – of the answers
she seeks, but she also discovers an inner strength and courage she never knew
she had.
It’s these times we discover our true
worth. It’s all about choices.
When fate deals those cards, it's important to pick them
up and assess your options. All four of these moments take a particular type of
strength – whether we hold those cards, fold them, walk away or run – we learn
so much about ourselves, and discover hidden power and abilities deep within
ourselves.
We do whatever must be done that is true and right and safe for us and
the ones we love.
So, when life next hands you lemons, remember you always have choices. You
don’t always have to make lemonade.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
What are your experiences where you’ve
had to decide whether to hold, fold, walk or run? Or when life handed you lemons. What did you decide? And how did it all turn out?
I’d love to hear your stories or your
‘take’ on this topic.
As always, have a fabulous month, and
I look forward to seeing you all again in November. Wow, where has the year
gone!
Michelle Somers is a
bookworm from way back. An ex-Kiwi who now calls Australia home, she's a
professional killer and matchmaker, a storyteller and a romantic. Words are her
power and her passion. Her heroes and heroines always get their happy ever
after, but she'll put them through one hell of a journey to get there.
Michelle lives in
Melbourne, Australia, with her real life hero and three little heroes in the
making. And Emmie, a furry black feline who thinks she’s a dog. Her debut
novel, Lethal in Love won the Romance Writers of Australia's 2016
Romantic Book of the Year (RuBY) and the 2013 Valerie Parv Award.
You can find out
all about Michelle, her adventures and her books at www.michelle-somers.com
Please pop by and say 'hi' 😊
And in case you have a hankering to hear
that song, here it is:
I've had the privilege and opportunity of participating in one box set, four anthologies (collection of multiple authors' novellas), and two multi-author series. Who knew there was a difference?
Box Set: Full-length novels, previously published, bundled together (single author or multiple authors).
Anthology: Novella-length titles, connected by theme, bundled together (single author or multiple authors).
Multi-Author Series: Series of related titles by multiple authors, released individually.
All three kinds of collaborations proved exciting, energizing, motivating (someone else's deadline has a way of lighting a fire under this independent author), and frankly--stressful. Each project had benefits (some significant) and each project had drawbacks. Once or twice, I found myself in the early communication stages of a project and relieved I'd not yet signed a contract--the project wasn't a good fit for me and my publishing schedule (and the personality dynamics of the group grated)--and I needed to withdraw.
In today's publishing environment, where so many of us enjoy the freedoms (and frustrations) inherent to Indie Publishing, we might be less accepting of such considerations (individual preferences, personality dynamics, publishing schedules and deadlines)... And as we're highly attuned to being our own advocates and the many opportunities available to us, we might be far more involved and publish far more titles in a calendar year than previously "allowed".
In two previous posts by Paty Jager (Anthology: A Collection of Stories) and Michelle Somers (Stretching My Creative Comfort Zone), these talented and knowledgeable ladies listed pros and cons for authors. I Googled the pros and cons today, as well as years ago when first invited to participate in a group project, and any given writer will express different benefits and challenges. After all, we're as uniquely individual as are our fingerprints.
I'll add one big personal "pro": without the invitation to participate in an anthology published by Mirror Press, Mail-Order Bride: A Timeless Romance Anthology, I wouldn't be a USA Today Bestselling Author (yet). This title made that prestigious bestseller list, and gave me those bragging rights. Big pro. The cons paled in comparison.
One big "con" most authors will express is the time limitation. We simply can't write everything we want to--and if we contribute to a group project, we probably can't (also) get to our own. It's a rare project that can do double-duty--but that did work to my advantage with Pleasance's First Love (book #2 in Six Brides for Six Gideons--my own series, and book #6 in Grandma's Wedding Quilts--a multi-author series).
Low financial risk to try authors you're unfamiliar with
High R.O.I. (Return on Investment--many reading hours of pleasure for a comparatively low cost)
Can you name additional Pros for readers?
Given the Pros, I can't think of any Cons. Can you?
My newest anthology is Gunsmoke& Gingham, a collection of five sweet western historical romance novellas by five authors, and only 99-cents! This set came out on February 15th, and has been well-loved by readers. (36 reviews on Amazon, and a rating of 5.0 stars.) Learn much more about this anthology here.
My newest mutli-author series is Grandma's Wedding Quilts, with my title Pleasance's First Love. This series has a wide range of story ideas--and the connecting thread is the family connection (all descendants of Grandma Mary, who made wedding quilts for each of her grandchildren.) This series (and my own book) have been highly rated too. Learn much more about this series and my title here.
Hi! I'm Kristin Holt, USA Today Bestselling Author.
I write frequent articles(or view recent posts easily on my Home Page,scroll down) about the nineteenth century American West–every subject of possible interest to readers, amateur historians, authors…as all of these tidbits surfaced while researching for my books. I also blog monthly at Sweet Romance Reads, Sweet Americana Sweethearts, and Romancing the Genres.
