2014 Plans

Before I tell you my plans, I wanted to wish you all a Happy New New. May God be good to us all and grant us our dreams within reason.

Also, thank you all who follow, visit, and comment. Your words of encouragement mean a lot to me. I'm believing that 2014 will be obstacle free for all of us.

Now for my plans. I've been thinking about the goals I set every year. Sometimes I set them too high to reach. So this year I'm keeping them within reach.

Keeping my house clean: I've been cleaning one to two rooms a day. This has been doable and fits right into my writing and working schedule. Not to mention, I always hated cleaning the whole house in one day. Overwhelming and boring.

Exercise: I'll keep speed and interval walking thirty to forty minutes a day. And I'll keep at the light weight training, too. No more over doing it for me. The lesson learned: too much of good thing can be very, very bad.

Writing: Stick with my morning routine of two to three hours. My brain works better at this time versus night. 

Publishing:  Killer Stilettos is next to be out. It's the next book in the Lila's Journey series. And I have a short story already for publishing except for a cover. Samah Ronit. 

Last but not least, I have another project. A novella series to be published sometime this year. White Trash and Pill Heads.

What are your plans for this new year?

Hugs and chocolate!

Shelly

Enjoying the Holidays

It's really all about God's son coming in human form, and family, and good will toward others. Not all the stuff.

Hope everyone is having a grand time!

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

Lady Lumps

"Look at you," Sweetman said, grabbing me by the arm, turning me to face the mirror. "You're losing body mass. Your Lady Lumps are shrinking."

I study myself, and shrug. "Guess I'm the opposite of most menopausal women." Within a month I dropped 10 pounds...and not water weight. Sweetman's right about losing body mass. But I figure after the crazy year we've had with his cancer, the grandbaby, and the daughter...well...it just has to be stress.

"Why aren't you taking this seriously? This is your health we're talking about!"

Okay. So I went to see the doctor. She ran all kinds of blood tests per the Sweetman. This included tomber markers, which came back negative. 

But when the doctor felt around my neck and thyroid, she said, "You've got a lump."

Wednesday, I go for an ultrasound of the thyroid. It's probably a goiter. Something common for peeps with Hashaimoto's Disease. It's nothing serious, but will end up being surgically removed.

Anyone else out there coping with a thyroid disease?

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

Would You Sell Your Soul For Fame?

"Are you willing to do anything to be famous?" a potential agent asked me. This was years ago when I was seeking a career in acting and modeling.

"Um," was my first reaction.

The guy waggled his brows at me, and then said, "I've got this one young gal who's making millions. We jump started her career by having her pose for Playboy."

My face went hot. "Oh." All I really wanted to do was act and entertain people, not pose naked for a wack mag. Not to mention, thoughts of my dad or step dad catching wind of this or accidentally picking one up ... well... that would have been humiliating.

That day my acting and modeling career went into the toilet. I just couldn't sell myself out. Morals and ethics mean something to me. And quite frankly, when I see someone on television like the Kardashion girls flash around their nonsense or Miley Cyrus twerking Alan Thicke ... I cringe. What are they thinking? Does money and being noticed mean that much?

I pretty much feel the same about the stories and novels I write. Which brings me to the topic of writing in sex scenes. I struggle. 

In White Trash and Pill Heads, I've got two characters. They're a couple with some major issues and sex seems to be one of their outlets besides drugs and booze. Currently, there are some sex scenes written in. But I'm considering taking them out. You know, write it with an implication  of sex.

Why? It's that moral and ethics thing I go through. I know my dad will be reading it. So will his friends. So will my daughters. And so will the Big Guy in the Sky. And He sees everything.

How about any of you? Would you do anything to be famous or sell your books?

Ding-Dong My Computer Died

Today, I wanted to talk about my book covers and their creators and whatnot. But I'm working on a Blogger App via my iPhone. So I'm somewhat limited as to what I can do.

Ding-Dong! My computer is dead. The internal drive slowly died and my battery pack can't revive it.

However, I've been writing on my Notepad App and utilizing pen and paper to keep Killer Stilettos going. Been critiquing and beta -reading for fellow authors this way, too. But I can't comment directly onto whatever format they send me. So I jot down notes and email them.

At first Sweetman said, "Cyber Monday is coming. We'll get you a new one." Well, it came and went. No computer was purchased.

Now he says, "After the New Year!" I have a face for this comment.

Oh well...I'll be patient. Besides, the Sweetman has been scheduled for another surgery. The doctors found polyps in his voice box. Patience is a good thing.

Anyone dealing with similar challenges?

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

Stove Top Stuffing

“Next year, I’m taking everyone out for Thanksgiving. Your dinner was terrible again!” Yep. That’s what the Sweetman said about last year’s Thanksgiving dinner.

You see, I make everything from scratch. From the pies to the stuffing. Why? Well, because I love to cook for one. And two, I’m one of those foodies who refuses to eat anything processed. This includes the turkey. While I want an antibiotic, cruelty, and hormone free one, Sweetman wants a Butterball.

I should know better since he loves to eat cold Progresso soup right from the can. Not to mention, he delights  in Tortino Pizza Rolls and fixes himself bowls of Cocoa Crispies for a late night snack after he’s indulged in several handfuls of Twizzlers, Snickers, pretzels, and chips. And the later mind you is before and after dinner.

“I just can’t understand why I’m gaining weight,”he says.

Hmmf! Gee, I wonder.

This year Sweetman handed me a hundred dollars to buy what I needed to make Thanksgiving dinner. Guess he forgot what he said after the last one. Anyway, he gave me these instructions, “I want corn on the cob. Get a Butterball turkey. Some couscous. And get Stove Top Stuffing.”

“Why Stove Top?” I ask.

He says, “I don’t like your stuffing.”

“But its from scratch. What’s wrong with it? Not enough chemicals for you?”

Obviously, he has no clue that there are over fifteen ingredients in this crap. Among them is fructose corn syrup, BHA, BHT (doesn’t this cause cancer?), and propyl gallate-another name anti-freeze. The stuff sounds like its meant for a deadly weapon of mass destruction. Not to mention, there’s three hundred ninety milligrams of sodium in it. After reading what I just wrote, this stuff may explode his already expanding tummy.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. And no matter how you prepare your dinner. Prepare it with lots of love.

Hugs and chocolate,

Shelly

Saturated

Hello, dears. Gram here today. My poor creator has been extremely busy today with the cleaning, grocery shopping, and errands. She doesn’t always listen to me about not cramming in too much on her off days from The Salon. I do hope I get her notes down right that she left me.

Strange. Don’t you think? You know, that she would have me fill in as a secretary while she attends to such things. I’m no writer whatsoever. But here goes…

Are any of you Indie writer’s out there feeling the market is SATURATED with books? Every cyber corner my creator seems to turn, is birthing a new one. She's beginning to believe there are polygons on fertility drugs out there multiplying times three.

The Information Age in which we live is characterized by saturation. We are inundated from all sides, every moment of everyday by more information than we can now process. Author Phil Elmore. You can find his full article at: http://mobile.wnd.com/2009/04/96515/

Of course, she’s read several books on marketing and whatnot. I can’t tell you how many articles she’s scoured through on the web. Like, 10 Winning Marketing Strategies For Your Self-Published Book, by Author Bidnotto. You can find his article at: http://www.bidinotto.com/2013/03/10-winning-marketing-strategies-for-your-self-published-book/

The both of us are wondering if there is more to it than determination and luck. Secondhand Shoes seems to drift in an ocean out there. Every now and then someone throws it a lifesaver.

Go here to check it out. It's 99 cents for your Kindle.

It’s also available for all countries on Amazon. She has also written two short stories, The Partners’ Progeny and Time On Her Side.

Personally, I’ve been prodding her to write more. It clears the poo out of anyone’s head and gets you to focus. She does listen to me about that. Good thing, too. Wish my grand daughter, Lila, would listen. But if anyone has an eighteen year old at home,you know how that goes.

As for my creator’s titles, here they are:

Killer Stilettos, Book II in the Lila's Journey Series – Paranormal (we’re working on those rewrites together)

Combat Boots-3rd book Lila's Journey Series (all we have are some ideas jotted down)

White Trash and Pill Heads- Family drama/suspense (she’s on her fifth draft with this one)

Amuck in Time- cozy sci-fi (ideas jotted down)

The House on Mendocino Street-paranormal (first draft almost completed)

The Day It Happened-apocalyptic/thriller/suspense (two chapters drafted)

Well, dears. That’s all she wrote. I do hope you have a lovely, day, evening, and week.

Gram