Blessingsby Ronald Wallace
occur.
Some days I find myself
putting my foot in
the same stream twice;
leading a horse to water
and making him drink.
I have a clue.
I can see the forest
for the trees.
All around me people
are making silk purses
out of sows’ ears,
getting blood from turnips,
building Rome in a day.
There’s a business
like show business.
There’s something new
under the sun.
Some days misery
no longer loves company;
it puts itself out of its.
There’s rest for the weary.
There’s turning back.
There are guarantees.
I can be serious.
I can mean that.
You can quite
put your finger on it.
Some days I know
I am long for this world.
I can go home again.
And when I go
I can
take it with me.
This poem, shared a few weeks ago on The Writer's Almanac, cracks me up. Ronald Wallace turns all of these common sayings upside down and inside out, changing them from negative to positive.
It's all in how you look at the world, isn't it? Change your lens, change the world.
Now do me a favor and go back to the title and the first line. Do you know which saying he flipped? I'm thinking "occur" was originally "happens." And are you thinking what I'm thinking about the word he changed into "blessings?"
Cracks. Me. Up. Every time.
Carol V. has this week's Poetry Friday Roundup at
Beyond LiteracyLink. Join Carol in her spring garden to celebrate the vibrancy of poetry.
There are just a few slots left in the July-December Poetry Friday Roundup Host schedule.
Check it out here if you want to host the weekly poetry party!
My cyberfriend, Realm Love Joy, is a beautifully talented artist!
I'm not talking "oh yeah you draw good."
I'm talking "bad ass, effing, amazing art." The kind you stand in front of and gasp because you can find no words to describe the awesomeness.
Anyway, Realm asked me for an interview and of course I said YES! Because guess what? She draws the main characters of her interviewees! How awesome is that!
So here is Gabriella (Gabby) from On the Bright Side.
Isn't it beautiful?
Go check out Realm's work and my interview :)
Thanks Realm! You are awesome!
My New Book Trailer - On the Bright Side
I'll talk more about my rebranding in a little bit. First things first, in celebration of Finishing On the Bright Side. Here is my new book trailer - enjoy! :)
My Other Book Trailer - Grace Under FireFor those who haven't seen it - my trailer for
Grace Under Fire is still up. This is the book I am going back to know and I must say, I am excited to talk to Grace again. I've missed her!
RebrandingO.K. so as you can tell by now, I am in the process of rebranding. I tend to rebrand every few years because it's fun. Of course, once any of us become authors, you don't want to rebrand that often but It's good to keep it fresh.
So, I thought it was time to rebrand and have something fresh as I got out to market for the first time. For good luck!
First - big round of applause for Hubby at
Graphic Cat for all the great flash and design. I admit I get some great concepts, but none of them would come to life if it wasn't for him. He's like my genie - I say "I wish I could have this because of this." And POOF - he makes it happen! (Thanks hubby!)
Also - he busted his
humpster to get this done for me (late nights, sacrificed work, no sleep) so we could launch everything this weekend!
I think I'll keep him ;)
Why the design??I thought I would explain a little about why I did what I did for my branding look.
I think all of this represents me and my writing.
If you look at my web site - here is what I did. Maybe this will spark some ideas in you for your "platform".
Colors- I decided to go with peach, purples and white. I do have a some dark colors on my web site.
- I like the idea of peach being the light tone of my books representing the humor,
- The shades of purple represent my darker side. I do have some dark tones running underneath my stories.
- The white represents the pure side of my characters
Elements- The girl represents my strong female protagonist. I shadowed her because I don't want you to see any one of my characters. It could really be any of my protagonists. You also cant tell her age. She's mysterious, yet playful. She's serious, yet she's still finds time to blow a dandelion and enjoy the small things in life. She's dark, yet feminine. She's strong and dominate in her life (hence the large size). She takes charge.
- The dandelion symbolizes the "magic" in my books. There is always some type of universal magic that I try to weave into my stories.
- The plants/flowers represent my eco-themes. All of my books have some type of "environmentally friendly message. I would not say they are dominate or preachy but nature is always a character in my book.
- The daisy (in my name) is something I have always used. It is my signature. It the "110% of me" that I put into all of my books. No matter what I give all of me to every character and every edit. Every process along the way.
- My web site tagline - which is not up yet - is "planting seeds in the imaginations of children" - I think the planting metaphor relates to the dandelion seeds floating off to wherever and whoever is (will be) touched by my words.This phrase is why I write.
So what's next?
Check out my
web site teaser - my full web site will be launched this coming Monday! I know you will all mark your calendars. :)
My
twitter template (and of course my blog) has changed as well.Because if you rebrand - it all needs to sync up! (Im sure you have heard me say this before.
Obviously there are still some kinks but they'll be worked out by Monday. But I wanted you to get an idea of the things that go into branding.
I'd love to hear any feedback or if you have any questions about branding in general (or even on mine), leave me a comment and I will answer them for you :)
Marketing Muse: No Blind dates please!
Don't go into a book signing unprepared. There are a few things you need to market effectively for a book signing: BOOKS! (be sure they are ordered), A few pens that work (Sharpies are best), business cards, a takeaway about your book (borchure, postcard, flyer, bookmark), free giveaways (candy, pencils, bookmarks, etc), and a plan on what you will talk about and what you will read.
W.R.I.T.E Alone!
As some of you know,I am working on my last round (fingers crossed) of edits before my agent submits my book. My husband came up with the idea of using the Marriott points I had accumulated but had never used when I was consulting.
What a great idea! I never thought about it. And from now on, I'm going to be sure I get points at any hotel I stay at because these little points - all bunched together - come in very handy!
I spent the whole weekend at a hotel writing, editing, cutting. I don't get much time to write in long chunks of time. I usually am writing for the 3 hrs my little ones are in Mommy's day out, or the one hour my kids nap in quiet time, or the 1 hour my husband jogs at night or the 1 hour after my shows are over.
To write in a long chunk of time, holed up somewhere is AMAZING!!!! I felt so wonderful this weekend, so alive, so happy. Ordering in room service, sitting in sweats with hair pulled up, looking out my window at the blue sky was so good for my writing.
I tallied it up. I got about 20 hours of work done in 2 days. That is like 2 weeks for me! I realized in those moments how alive and truly happy I feel. At the hotel, when everything was quiet, no kids, no hubby, no responsibility, no chores, no task lists, no phone, no playdates, no doggie needs, no mess, no obligations - my mind was so free. so open. so present.
There was nothing to do but listen to the air conditioner hum while I write and write and write.
I realized over the last 6 months I had gotten away from that a little so it was a good place to go back to. In the process of finding an agent and stressing about the agent process, I forgot to love writing. I appreciated the process and loved my work but I forgot to love how I FELL when I am doing it.
This is why W.R.I.T.E....
W is for wonderment - I love to wonder. Wonder about worlds, wonder about what "ifs", and wonder about life. Where else can you be whoever you want, go wherever you like, and see places you have never seen.
R is for revenge. Revenge is not acceptable in today's society. (Stay with me :) In writing I can take out all the aggression I've built up on my characters. Come up with perfect come backs to snide remarks. Pay back those who have hurt me.
I is for Imagine - Sometimes, my characters fill my need or lack of time for more friends. Sad right? But I laugh with them, cry with them, shoot I even argue with them. (Are you all scared yet?). They are real to me. If I cant go to a party , I can just write about one.
T is for Therapy. Lets face it a psychologist charges 180$ an hour. Where else can you work all your issues out in less than 300 pages, say the things you always wanted to say but didnt', and redo your mistakes.
E is for escape writing helps me unwind. I have a huge imagination that can get wild and a little out of control. To have some way to escape and focus that energy makes me feel light and happy.
I know it is hard. Especially for you moms with kids, people who work full time, and those with financial constraints.
But I recommend taking a day to yourself (you deserve it) and go write with nothing else to do. Go to a coffee shop with free wireless, use your miles for a free stay at a hotel, beg your significant other for $, find a family member for a stay at their 2nd house, beg a friend who is going out of town to house sit. There are so many creative ways you can get the space you need - even if it is only for a day - to just reconnect to why you write in the first place. Why you are going through all this hassle and pain and rejection and work.
Some things I looked for in a room:
free parking, free wireless or internet, access to easy food to save on room service for 3 meals and snacks, refridgerator for drinks/snacks, desk, window.
Now make a plan...
Find a place...
Be alone...
Sit...
Write...
Breath...
and be happy!
You deserve it!
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Holy smokes, Shelli -- that is an awesome piece of art! Very cool! Can't wait to read the interview.
It's awesome! I've seen her stuff all over. I can't wait until I'm agented and she can do mine. *fingers crossed*
Love the artwork. I'll go check out her work and your interview.
That IS awesome!!!
Hi Shelli -
What a pretty picture! It's wonderful to put a picture with the image I have of your MC. BTW, what an awesome story you have there. Unique!
- Julie
Wow! that is amazing. Awesome!
How kewl is that? Very.
Wow! That is gorgeous!
What a great pic!
Realm is a genius!!! Love the artwork and can't wait to see what happens next with the book.