Daily Inspiration

Where do you find your inspiration? That was the question posed by Kate Gould, editor of The "I" Word: Writers on Their Inspiration, where nearly 100 writers came together to share their sources of inspiration in 100 words or less.

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What did I write, in 100 words or less? A simple question and a simple response every morning, lead to my daily dose of inspiration.

And now I'd like to pose the same question to you. Whether you are a writer, a painter or a poet. Perhaps you prefer to sketch in the margins of your notebooks, or you excel at needlepoint. Whatever your passion, be it singing, dancing or stand up comedy, where do you find your inspiration?

I find it whispered on the wind, soughing in the trees, cresting with the full moon.

I find it in my daughter's jokes and my students' seemingly random comments.

Words of inspiration are all around us.

All you have to do is be aware.

Listen with your ears and also with your heart.

Open up your mind to the endless possibilities that life provides.

I AM A SURVIVOR

I am honored to welcome Sue Julsen to my blog today. Ms. Julsen is the author of the best selling, Bitter Memories trilogy.

Starting at age three, my life was filled with sorrow, neglect and abuse—a life no child should ever experience. Hurt time and again by people who claimed to love me, I grew up in the shadow of fear, uncertainty and hate. I lived a life on the run, starving, abused and terrified.

My first book that started the trilogy, Bitter Memories: A Memoir of Heartache & Survival, took 40-plus years to complete. Each time I sat down to write, the memories became overwhelming and I couldn’t continue. For years, I tried to write my story as “fiction” because I wasn’t ready for the world to know those bad things happened to me. But, that didn’t work. I wasn’t telling the truth, and truth meant so much to me. I’d lived a life of nothing but hurt and lies, so how could I tell my story if it was all a lie? I also had to keep the strong language I heard day in and day out, and I had to keep the explicit content as I remembered it actually happened, because there is no way to "sugarcoat" child abuse.

Deep down I always knew I needed to tell what happened. I needed to admit I was a survivor of child abuse. I needed to find a path toward healing my shame. Yes, shame. I blamed myself for what happened. I felt ashamed and dirty. I felt I was a “bad” kid and that’s why Daddy, his brother and so many more did those things to me.

The things he did to me…things he allowed others to do to me, were unforgivable.

The day I decided to change my name in the story so I could write what really happened, everything began to come together. I'd given everyone else a different name to protect their identity, so why shouldn’t I have a different name too? By changing my name to Sarah I was able to pull back and look at what I was writing through Sarah’s eyes.

Although unnerving, Bitter Memories is a gripping account of the extremes a child can undergo—and survive. Written from the heart, taking on a life of its own, I relived those memories of heartache, sadness, extreme hunger, and intense fear in hopes of helping other adult survivors find a path toward healing their “hidden” scars. My story deals with explosive topics that former child victims of mental, physical, and sexual violence will understand.

NOTE: Bitter Memories is not a cozy, feel-good book. It is a true story of extreme and horrific child abuse and the will to survive.

1) Bitter Memories: A Memoir of Heartache & Survival (non-fiction) is written like a novel for easy reading as I begin the true story of my life after being kidnapped by my father.

2) Trophy Murders (creative non-fiction/crime fiction) mixes fiction with truth for an action-packed crime story as I take you further on the journey of true events after going to live with Uncle Henry (the cop) and his heavy-handed wife, Olivia. A life I wouldn’t wish on any kid.

3) Cutter's Revenge (psychological thriller/crime fiction) mixes about five percent truth with a lot of suspenseful fiction. However, anyone who has read the other two books will know truth from fiction instantly. Using many of the same characters, I introduce several new characters — many you’ll love, some you’ll love to hate:

My Newest Book:

From The Heart (non-fiction) is a collection of fifteen inspirational poems from events in my life. It also includes short stories that inspired the writing of each poem. Starting with a little background, then moving into my first poem written at age nine after the death of my mother, I expose feelings I've never shared with anyone before now.

To learn more about the bitter memories trilogy, and my book of poetry, please visit my website: Sue Julsen

Bitter Memories

Trophy Murders

Cutter's Revenge

From the Heart

A dream achiever's mind

Today, I'd like to welcome KaNeshia Michelle to Crossroads of Humanity.

A dream achiever's mind

I ask the question - the same question with no deviation or play on words - will my ambition do more harm than good?

I have always been a person who says 'I want something' and never allowed much to get in the way of that. To achieve is a wonderful feeling, the achieving part is a bit of an uphill battle. To have a dream, to want that dream and to obtain that dream is harder than what we really think it is. It's like weight loss. To the public, we find ourselves gawking at the before and after and completely miss the 'in between' parts of the journey. I am a writer - I have always been a writer. Sometimes I pour over my old written stories - my attempts at story telling for the first time and my passion for poetry. I think the old work is horrible, but they're beautiful to me because I have grown so much since those starting years. Twelve years later, and I'm still at that starting point. I'm just better suited for the leap of faith.

This is when time starts to kick your butt a little. The older you get, the more life kinda gets in the way and starts to get complicated. We all seem to want to reflect back on the growing up years and think about how resilient we were. As children, we tend to take our dreams much too lightly - we know we can do it, and there isn't much that can be said to make us believe different. Anyone who goes out for a dream, whether it's a successful business, sports career or finding that perfect mate, there a strong sense of doubt that laces that dream like a silver lining to a cloud.

Can this happen?
Is this in the cards?
When is the stopping point?

With age, the line of doubt only grows.

I know nothing of the future. I do not know if my dreams will come true in the way I want them to, but that's okay. I have enough love and respect for my dream to never stop trying. Dreams do come with a mother-in-law called: Pain. You want it, you have to be willing to hurt for it. Writers are not skaters. We don't suffer broken bones when we've messed up or had our setback. Our broken bones come in a way of no sales, no reviews and not many fans coming your way - or simply someone saying that they like your work and would stop what they are doing to read you. This part is the pain of the operation of being a beginning author. It's all in fun, love and passion. Every bit of the journey is apart of that deeper part of you that has to be protected. If you love what you do, you work for it. You will respect your dream if you work for it. You will make sure your dream will never be taken away if you truly know what it felt like to grind - or plenty - a little for it.

This is my starting point. It's hard but it's worth it. If my novels never make it to a best selling list, I think I can be okay with that, and that's my safety net: I know that I tried.

My name is KaNeshia Michelle. I am a Indie Author.

My starting point is my collection called: So Thrilled.

So Thrilled has three titles: Ruck's Nightmare, The Chase and The Playmate.

These are my stories and I'm very proud of them.

Each piece of work tells me one thing - I'm trying.

KaNeshia is the author of:

Ruck's Nightmare

The Chase

The Playmate

Visit KaNeshia's blog: The Mind of a Story Teller

Indie Writing Tips

In light of the New Year, I've created a list. After all, today is all about lists, isn't it?  Lists, goals and resolutions help us stay focused throughout the year. Since I'm an Indie writer, here are 10 writing tips for Indies. If you think of yourself as something other than a writer, please substitute where necessary, as many of these tips apply well across fields.

Tip #1: Enjoy what you do. If you don't enjoy every aspect of being a writer, then focus on the parts you do enjoy.

Tip #2: Write often. Write quickly. Get your thoughts down on paper.

Tip #3: Take some time away from a piece before editing it. Prepare yourself to read it with fresh eyes.

Tip #4: Slow down when editing or reviewing your own work. Read it aloud. If you stumble, STOP. Be prepared to read portions line by line and rework it until it reads smoothly.

Tip #5: Be willing to cut, a lot! You've heard the saying, "Less is more." When we write, we write quickly and put all our ideas out there, but all our ideas actually bog down a story. Try to figure out the most succinct way of getting your idea across. Then snip, snip, snip. If that's just too painful, keep the cut parts in a separate document.

Tip #6: Learn your own most common mistakes. These are not the same for everyone. Figure out what you most often do wrong. Pay attention to others; they're the ones who are most likely to notice your most common mistakes. Use the find and search functions to correct your most common mistakes.

Tip #7: Know your strengths. Are you a creative storyteller? Are you a clean writer (editing-wise)? Is formatting your forte? Maybe you're stronger with the visual arts; are you good at creating book trailers and cover art? Find out what you do well.

Tip #8: Use your strengths to help other Indies. We're stronger when we rely on others. The Big Publishing Houses offer help in the way of editing, formatting, distribution, etc. Indies have enough talent to do the same, if we're willing to work together.

Tip #9: Rely on others to strengthen your weaknesses. Don't be afraid to ask for help. You don't have to be an expert in every area to produce a top quality book, but you do have to ask for help and accept advice.

Tip #10: The famous, "Show, don't tell." This is a hard concept to discuss because as writers and storytellers, that's what we do. We tell stories. So here are a few tips I keep in mind when I'm writing. These work for me. Please use them if you think they'll work for you.

• A. Use the "find" feature to search for every single use of the words "is" and "was" in your document. A few are all right, and sometimes they're necessary, but often I can think of more descriptive words or simply rearrange the sentences to make them sound more interesting. I won't lie, this is time consuming.

• B. Instead of telling your reader how a character is speaking, show it.

         INSTEAD OF: "You are," I said, angrily.
                             "What?"

         TRY THIS:      "You are," I said.
                              "What?" Keira took a step back as if I'd slapped her, and in                               a way, maybe I had.

Well, that's it! My list of 10, brought to you just in time for the New Year.

Indie and Proud of It

Sometimes it feels like I've wandered onto a battlefield when all I want to do is write, create, and polish my stories. To date, I've published two novels, and my third is literally days away from completion. Of course, I also like knowing that my stories are being enjoyed by readers everywhere. And some things I've come to love about Indie publishing, are the support networks I've stumbled upon and the friends I've made. What I like least is talk of Indies vs. the Big Six and readers vs. writers. As far as I can see, we're all in this together.

I chose to self publish, and all that really means is that I've chosen to self publish. Others choose to submit their work to contests, small publishing houses, or one of the Big Six. Thankfully, I've been told that readers don't really care how a book is published. I hope that's true. I like to think that people are smart enough to know their own tastes and to use features like free previews to check out merchandise before purchase.

I've chosen self publishing because I'm against big business. My work is mine, and I'm not about to give away my rights to some big corporation. Here is my written response to a publisher who wanted to know what I was looking for.

You asked me to let you know what I need from a publishing house. 

Since I am a teacher and the mother of a very young child, I would first need to know that I would be allowed to work at my own pace because my day job and my child must come first. My husband and I have worked out a schedule that allows me to focus on writing, editing, publishing, etc. an average of eight hours per week.

Second, I would need to earn a decent percentage of the profits. When I publish myself, I earn 70% of the royalties. I know a publisher can't offer me the same because when we share the work, we share the profits. Please let me know what your publishing house offers.

Third, I would require retaining the rights to my work: no changes without my consent and no changes to the cover art.

Finally, what I need the most help with is marketing and distribution, and I don't mean, "tell me what to do, and I'll do it."  I mean, I really need someone else running the show when it comes to marketing and distribution.

That publisher had a favorable response. They offered everything I'd asked for except marketing. Sadly, what good is all the rest if marketing isn't behind it?

No matter what my personal beliefs are, I don't harbor any negative feelings toward authors who choose to submit their work to a publishing house, even to one of the Big Six. That must be made perfectly clear. We're all in this together, all hoping for the same outcome, for our work to fall into the hands of readers, many readers. Overall, I believe what works best for one person isn't what's best for another. If you are a writer, you need to decide the best route for you.

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Kate P, winner of the ebook/gift card package of the Holiday Blog Hop. Kate won a $10 Amazon gift card and ebook copies of: If Only by Robin Nadler, The Temple by Heather Marie Adkins, Letters from a Bipolar Mother by Alyssa Reyans, Wicked Sense by Fabio Bueno, Big Dragons Don't Cry by C.M. Barrett, Chosen by Jolea M. Harrison, and Canvas Skies by S.L. Wallace.

Kyra Dune - Author Extraordinaire

Please welcome Kyra Dune.

My name is Kyra Dune and I write fantasy fiction for adults and YA. The first thing I want to do is thank Sarah for letting me guest post on her blog. Now I'll tell you a little bit about my books.

Shadow Born (Time of Shadows Series #1) is High Fantasy. This series is going to be five books that will take you from the birth of four very special children to a war that will decide the fate of the world. There are a lot of characters and the storyline is very complex. It's set in a medieval type setting.

Flight of Dragons is a standalone fantasy/adventure. It's a story about a man who ran away from home when he was a teenager because of shame over something he did. But he can't escape his past.

Elfblood (Elfblood Trilogy #1) is YA Urban Fantasy. This trilogy is about a fourteen year old boy who must find a lost elven magic in order to prevent a mad king from starting a world war.

Shadow of the Dragon is a standalone YA Epic Fantasy. It's about a young woman whose world is gripped in an endless winter, the cause of which no one knows. When her home is destroyed she and her younger brother must make a dangerous trek across the snow covered land in search of civilization.

My next book, The Silver Catacombs (Elfblood Trilogy #2), comes out in February 2013 and the final book in the trilogy, City Of Magic, comes out in August 2013. I also expect to see Shadow Prince (Time of Shadows Series #2) and Firebrand (Firebrand Trilogy #1) coming out sometime in 2013.

Here's a brief excerpt from Shadow of the Dragon.

The shelf had collapsed, but there on the ground were two loaves of bread that looked edible if you didn't think about it too much. A shadow shifted in the corner and Micayta jumped, heart pumping. Clutching the bread to her chest, she held perfectly still and strained to see what might be there. Nothing moved. It must have been a trick of the light or a product of her imagination. What else could it be?

She laughed; an echoing sound that only heightened her sense of unease. There was a feeling coming over her. A feeling of being watched. As if the crumbling walls themselves had eyes. She shook her head, wondering where such silly thoughts were coming from, and exited the bakery.

Micayta was glad enough to step back into the street, where at least the horror was plain to see and not lurking in the darker corners of her mind. That feeling of relief only lasted a moment before the sense of being watched returned.

Nothing moved but what was stirred by the ceaseless wind. No sounds reached her ears save for that same wind moaning as it passed through decimated buildings. Micayta tucked the loaves of bread up under her arm and reached for her dagger.

Something fluttered at the corner of her vision. She whirled, dropping the bread as she drew her dagger. But what she saw was so incredible, so impossible, that she froze with her hand poised in mid-throw, unable to do anything but stare.



Connect with Ms. Dune!
Blog:  http://theshadowportal.blogspot.com/
Website:  Kyra Dune | Wix.com
Facebook: Kyra Dune
Twitter: Kyra Dune (KyraDune) on Twitter