"The Day the Devil Smiled" Book Trailer

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How to Kiss

You're first kiss! What a magical thing! When you press your lips against someone elses and feel all their lip wrinkles and a little bit of spit after eating a hamburger and a dozen onion rings.
AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Hee-tee, I had to say that!
Kissing, when you boil it down, is kind of odd. Why would two people take their mouths, that they use to eat ALL SORTS of things with, and smoosh them together for a while. Oh, with eyes closed. (My fiance promptly told me when, we kissed the first time, that most people don't keep their eyes open. Well, how should I know? I don't know what I was doing?!)
With kissing, I've learned some things about it. 1) its a lot of fun! 2) you can do it wrong.
Here's some do's and don't with kissing. ;)

Do:

• KNOW THE OTHER PERSON! Don't just kiss around! You only have one first kiss, don't waist it one someone who won't aprishiate it.
• Respect the other person. My fience and I believe sex is for marriage, therefore we have boundrys we try really hard not to cross. I respect him by not overly stimulating him, and vis versa. (Please don't think we're perfect, stingy christians! This is one of the most difficult test of self-control of my life.)
• Enjoy it! Don't get wierded out like I did. I over think things sometimes and, well, squishing my mouth over my fiance's sounded strange. It's not. Just do it.
• Give to the other person. No one ever told me you can tell if you're being kissed because the other person needs a kiss, or if they're wanting to give you a kiss. When I say give, I don't mean give your body. Give your attention and heart in the kiss.

Don't:

• No fish-lips! Lips can move in different ways so don't pucker up and just live 'em like that! No one want's to kiss a fish.
• Please don't be squished into a lazyboy chair and crain the girl's head back to kiss her. That's an odd first kiss, believe me. My neck hurt!
• Be carfule of spit. It happends, alright. 
• Please, for the love of God, respect other people! Don't start making out on the couch when there's people around; that'll make them uncomfortable and aquward. 
• Don't eat before kissing: Pizza, onions, Mexican, eggs, and something that makes you burpy. ;)
• Don't kiss all the time. It's special because your special. 

That's all I can think of for now. What about you? Do you have any insight into the art of smooching? 

;)

Dreams are like Fireflies

There has been one dream that I have had almost all my life and that is to publish books. BOOM! Got that one checked off the list! Yes! But. I have more dreams and, to be honest, I’m afraid of them.

I have been learning a lot about dreams and what to do with them.

Dreams are like fireflies caught in a glass jar; they’re cool to look at but no one ever knows what to do with them. That’s how I feel anyway.

I love books. Like a lot. I enjoy sitting down and reading a story, but that’s not what I mean when I refer to books. I LOVE formatting books and designing them, I love opening a box and finding books inside, books I have created, or helped create. Which brings me to my dream:

I would love to begin a book formatting business that act as a representative for authors to my publishing company. How cool is that?! Doesn’t that sound awesome? I think it does, very much, but what do I do now? I have my firefly caught in a jar. It’s flying around, all aglow with beauty, but what do I do?

This is what I have been learning with dreams, and my mentor is so wonderful in encouraging me! If a dream doesn’t scare you, then it’s not big enough. God is a real powerful Guy, He can make things happen that we could never do on our own! But, there is one stipulation. . . .

A dream that God is willing to bless is one that He wishes to happen. Makes sense. If He don’t want it, He ain’t blessing it. I wouldn’t either (praise God I’m not god though!) If you have a dream that is outside God’s will for your life, then DON’T DO IT! But what if it’s a good thing, something you know He’ll like? So what. Don’t do it. It might not be good for right now, but it will be perfect later in life.

For example, I have dreamed of marring my boyfriend for a whole year. I wanted to marry him last summer, but God said no. I knew God brought us together and that He wanted us to marry, but He said no? What’s that about? Six months later, I know why. We weren’t ready for such an in-depth level of a relationship. We had yet to learn the heart of the other and be willing to honor it. Now, after waiting on the Lord and doing as He says, we’re engaged! (He! Ha! He asked yesterday!!! XD) Were we out of God’s will in wanting to marry? No, but we weren’t ready yet.

You many have a dream that you are not ready to for. And that’s ok. There’s nothing wrong with that.

So what are you going to do with your firefly?

I know God is a-ok for me to begin formatting and publishing other people’s books. I can’t wait to begin! I’ve already published one man’s work, which you’ll see by clicking here. I know it is the first of many and I’m excited to turn ANY writer’s dream into a reality. So, if you have a finished book you want to be printed, put on Amazon, and or made into an e-book, let me know. Click here to message me.

I’m sure God will take my firefly and make it shine bright! He already has with my dream to publish books.

So, dream big and give your fireflies to God. He knows what to do. 

Invest emotion

Writing is all about investing.
When you write, you invest your time and knowledge of the subject you are writing about. You invest your energy to make the words flow and fit together like a song. Most importantly, when you write you must write with the emotion.
I have a theory. People usually do not remember specifics of a book they have read, they remember how the book them feel. Therefore, the readers must feel strong emotions, positive or negative depending on how you want them to feel, regarding your book. In order to do this, writers must write with emotion and vigor. Without it, a reader will have no reason to pick up your book. For your reader invests as well. They invest their time and attention.
So how does one write with emotion?
First of all, the writer must adore the topic they are writing about. That or hated it. I know that sometimes I start with a book that I love and by the end I simply hate it. It must be something that matters to you in the strong way and something you know others need to feel it the same way as you do.
You must be brave. Sometimes I read books whose authors are timid. They are scared to say something offensive or traumatic or opinionated. It is in your story, so write with strength in the face of the reader. Right about something controversial. Sure, it will make someone unhappy, but someone will always be unhappy. I did not intend my first book, "The Day the Devil Smiled", to be a topic that is debatable. And that's okay! It is my best selling book because people have the possibility to disagree with it. Be brave and write about something challenging, something that is hard to write about. I respect authors who take horrible, real life stories and make into novels that evokes such intense emotion that no one can put it down.
Invest in your character. I'll always stress this, realistic characters make realistic stories. If your characters are not believable or relatable then there will be no point to your story. Why do we listen to our friends talk about their day and past experiences? As far as stories go, they are usually not action packed, full of twists and turns, and unexpected events that catch you by surprise. Sure they have a good line here and there, but in general it is usually simple, commonplace stories that are nothing exceptionally special. So why do we listen? Because we care about our friend. Same is true with the characters. You must invest in your character to the point that they are a close friend so that when they die, you cry, when they succeed, you rejoice, and when they have hardships, you feel bad for them. For whatever you feel for your characters, your readers will feel the same.
Being a writer is not easy. There is a lot of responsibility and talent in writing. You hold several lives in your hands; your characters and your readers. The most important of all is your readers. You must be swept off your feet by the tale dancing in your head so that your reader also may be carried off into the fantasy. Dive deep into what you create and become connected with all that you write so that your reader may follow suit.  Let them feel the heartbeat of your book just as you do.

I know Where You'll Be on the 25th

Guess where you'll be on the 25th of July???

At the Pionear Square in Portland Oregon for the Book Festival! Come and see all the venders, including yours truly at booth 11, and take part in the fun! Every type of book you can think of will be there, including "The Day the Devil Smiled" and the first book in the "Hearts of Glass" series!

Don't miss out!

Click here to sign up!

Should I Cry? Should I Laugh?

Life is full of those stupid moments where you have a decision to make: should I laugh, or should I cry? This happens way too often for me. Sometimes I cry, but most of the time I laugh with everyone else at my own silliness. You know what I'm talking about. When you say something, but mean something else. When you walk into a conversation at the wrong time. Life just happens and silly things get blamed on you. So, for the fun of it, I've made a list of the times when one needs to decide to laugh or cry. Judge which ones you would cry for or life for.
When you walk into a room where people are talking, and all you hear is, " I'd rather do it with my pants off."
If you, as a girl, walk into the girls bathroom and a man walks out of one of the stalls. "Oh no," you exclaim! "Am I in the men's restroom?" The man just glares at you and you realize it's a very ugly, very indistinguishable woman.
Pretend your texting someone by talking to your phone. You were just asked how was work. You tell your phone, " I'm pooped. It was hard. I had to take a bath and go to bed." But! Your phone misses one letter: "m". So, the response you send is "I pooped. It was hard. I had to take a bath and go to bed."
Let's say you're at a river watching several people swim. One guy has two or so tennis balls he has thrown into the river for his dog. He doesn't notice, but one of the balls start to float down the river. To help him notice and save the ball, you shout loud enough for him to hear above the water's roar and people's play, "Sir! Did you come with two balls?"
Pretend you come across someone you don't really like who makes you nervous. You expect them to ask how you are doing. So, without thinking about it, you respond "Good, how are you?" even though all they said was, "Hi!"
A long distance friend has come to see you. You haven't talked with her for a year so it's nice to catch up. She turns to the guy next to her and says that he is her husband. You didn't even know she was dating someone! And so, as your brain is racing with shock, wondering why you're not married yet, why you weren't even told she got married, and realizing how long you haven't seen your friend, you make yourself look like an idiot by saying, "Nnnnnniiiiiiicccceeeee . . . . . . to meet you!"
And the list can go on and on with crazy situations. Just so that you are aware, I didn't make any of these scenarios up. They either happened to me or my family members. Life's full of moments where you to decide to laugh or cry. Choose to laugh. You're a silly person who make silly mistakes, we all are. Life's more fun and relaxed when you can laugh at yourself.

Locked and Mocked

So, I work at a hardware store with rowdy boys and rough and tough girls. Everyone gets along in a pick-on-everyone type of way. It definitely is not for the faint of heart. A funny thing happened the other day, and I thought I would share.
Now the store that I work at is about a hundred years old. It is a very worn, tired building with many dark, cobweb infested places. To top it all, there is an attic where all of our back stock goes. It is also piled high with several dusty outdated suppliers. Just today I found an old cash register with the old kind of buttons you have to press down hard to make work.
Anyways, to my story. I went up the attic's old creaky stairs to find lost product tucked away in a dark corner somewhere. I could hear the tine roof rattling from outside and avoided the rat traps set up here and there. After finding what I needed, and sneezing away the dust that filled the air, I made my way back downstairs. I flicked off the lights, everything falling under a bleak haze. With the product in hand, I turn the doorknob.
And it turns,
and turns,
and turns,
and turns.
The door doesn't open. I stare at the door knob, remembering a fellow coworker, a mayor of a nearby town, joking about locking people up stairs occasionally. Why would you do that to me? I didn't do anything to him! But no, the door wasn't locked. The knob simply kept turning like a deranged carousel. I realized the door knob was broken. I stare at the thick wooden door that bared my way, the dark attic's dust curling around me.
My coworkers muffled conversations could be heard through the door. There is an office on the other side of the wall, surely someone will hear me. I sat down the product, make a fist, and pound the door. It's a solid door. Not very forgiving on bare fists. I hear someone walk past. I yell out! Can't they hear me? I'm right on the other side of the wall! Apparently not. I smile and shake my head, fishing out my phone and dial in those stores number.
"Millers home center, how can I help you?"
"Ah. . . . Hay, Phil. This is Heather. Can you open the door to the upstairs? I can't get out."
"Oh. Sure."
I waited in the dark, twiddling my thumbs, knowing that I would be mocked the moment my co-workers know what had happened. I sighed and waited for the door to open. In no time at all, the doorknob opens and light floods the stairway. I step out and look at those who are in the office. They stared at me, their looks asking what happened.
"I was pounding on the door," I said! "Are you all so busy you couldn't hear me?"
"Ha! You probably broke the lock while you were up there!"
"No I didn't!"
And so the mocking began. After a lot of laughs and jabs at my own ability to open a door, the excitement died down.
For a week or so afterwards, I didn't shut the attic door behind me. I don't want to be locked up there again. I don't want to be accused of breaking locks by merely touching them!
Oh well, makes for a good story.

Marketing Books: Do it Yourself

Congratulations! You have just published your amazing book you've been working on for SO LONG! Now its time to put it into your readers hands. How? I'm still learning that every day, but here is what I know so far:

Social Media
There are a lot of things you can do without spending money. There are so many social media things that do not require a fee that work wonders!!! Places like Facebook, GoodReads, LinkedIn,
Pinterest, websites, blogs, and so much more. Check out these sights for examples. All you need is a following so that, when people share what you are promoting, others will see, then more will see your work, and so on and so on. There are ways to sign up for these sites so that you are labeled as a business, which is what you want. Always be posting, commenting, sharing things so that your sites won't go stale. Always remind people you have a marvelous story you cannot wait to show them!

Bookmarks
I love to do everything myself because I like being the boss. But! That can cause a lot of problems when I don't know what I'm doing. So always be learning and know the first time around, it will be difficult and take longer then you expected.
With that said, I, again, like to do everything myself. That is why I use UPrinting for creating my bookmarks. They have several other marketing materials, like banners, fliers, and so on, but I haven't used them. I go somewhere else for that, which I will talk about in a moment. UPrinting is AWESOME because they do exactly what you say. So, if you order junkie bookmarks, it is because you did not do it right. (I did that. Not fun.) For 250, 2x6 " bookmarks, it would cost about $45, which is cheep! They have so many options and, once you select the size and specifications of your bookmark, you can design it online. You can upload your own PDF files of the bookmark, or use UPrinting's own, free images to create one from scratch. It is all very easy and, as I said, you are the boss. Love it!

Posters/Business Cards
You have to have both posters and business cards to promote your work. I use Vistaprint, a very user-friendly, low priced, high quality promotional services. They have everything from T-shirts to stationary, banners and posters, to websites and marketing assistance. They have everything! You want your book's title on a pencil? No problem! You want a picture of your characters on key chains? They've got that too! They don't have bookmarks though, which doesn't make scene to me. I love Vistaprint and they will always get my business.

Book Trailer
I'm going to have a book trailer soon (YEAH!) for "Hearts of Glass: Shattered Lives". What I did was go to the community college in my town and ask the film prophesier if he knew of anyone interested in filming a book trailer. He directed me to a student, who happened to be one of my friends, and, after a lot of planning and hard work, we shot the film and it's being edited right now.
The first thing you need is a screenplay. Don't think you can write a screenplay? Sure you can! You just wrote an epic book! You can condense it into a short story depicted by pictures instead of words. It is a lot of fun to write screenplays, you'll like it too!
First, download Celtix, a free screenplay writing software. Screenplays are formatted in an odd way, but Celtix makes it a lot easier.
If you don't want a film crew, look up royal free videos online. I have not fully researched into this because I have not needed them yet. But, I have watched a lot of the royal free videos and found some sites to be very good quality and interesting! There's always something out there, you must look for it first.

Book Signings
These are essential for selling books. I have had close to ten signings by now and have found that when I speak about the book first, people are more apt to buy it. People want to know you, to have a connection on a personal level. They don't want to see someone stand up and talk in a factual, script kind of way about how excited they are and how much they love stories. No! Get up with a grin on your face and tell them what's on your mind! Tell them the adventures you have in store for them and show them you are a person worthy of getting to know. Worthy of buying a book from.
Leading up to the book signing, promote it over and over on your several sites. People need to be reminded about the reminder reminding them to remember the book signing. Get the picture? Have fun with the signing and don't have expectations. They always get in the way.
As you plan out your book signing, make sure you scheduled it during the best time. Have it on a weekend or a time the most amount of people will be free to come and see your book. Make sure its not a holiday, with people out of town, or that there is another event going on at the same time that will pull potential buyers away from your books. Research, know what's going on, and be smart.

Give Away
Don't be afraid to give your books away or dock down the price lower then what you first had in mind. The best advertising is word of mouth. Because of this, when you give away books, people tell their friends they won such and such a book from you and that you are an awesome writer who is very nice. They may stay in contact with you to win other things as well.
Dock down the prices because the cheaper the book is, the more people will buy it, and the more people will tell their friends how great your book it. Word of mouth, always keep that in mind.

So there you have it! That's all I've got for right now, though in a month or so I may learn something else I need to share. There's endless resources out there, radio, TV, YouTube adds, and so on. Don't limit yourself. Go out and conquer!

Publishing: Do it Yourself

I love publishing books! It is so fulfilling and wonderful! Do it, you really should.
But! Did you know there is SO many steps that goes into publishing? Yes, there is! So, instead of you trying to figure it all out by yourself, like I did, I'll give you all the answers. Read and be enlightened:

Write a story.
If you need help in writing a story, check out my other blog posts. I'm going to assume from here on out your wonderful story is complete.

Read the book over.
Make sure everything is exactly how you want it.

Editing.
Good job! The story's all done! Now time for the real work. Writing the book itself makes up about 10% of the publishing processes. You can read more about it in my blog post called  Editing (When the Real Work Begins)
Step 1:
Here is when you need to rely on someone else to help out (I don't like this part). Find a trusted friend, preferably someone who knows the rules of grammar and spelling, who is willing to read all yous silly mistakes. Yes, you are an amazing writer who knows how to craft great stories, but do not think for a moment you can just skip this step. It is foolish to think you will see every error you write. You can't do that, your story is your baby and, just like a mother's blind love, a writer will never see all the flaws. Be humble and ask for help.
When you find a friend to edit your work, here's a tip. Instead of sending them the entire three hundred page manuscript, send them one chapter at a time. The entire book scares most people and, in the end, they don't finish editing. Give them one piece at a time until the book is done so that its not overwhelming . Besides, you can be reading over their editing suggestions as they work on the next chapter.

Read the book over.
Just to make double-y sure its wonderful (which it is).

Editing (continued)
Step 2:
Next, find a professional editor who knows what they are doing. You will have to pay them. Editors charge either by the number of hours they work or a standard charge per page, like $1.50 per page. It is wise for them to read it over more then once. Again, be humble and know that you made A LOT of mistakes, and that's OK. Try your best not to be sensitive during the editing process. Unpleasant things will be said about your book, not to hurt you, but to improve the masterpiece you have been working on for a long, long time.

Read the book over.
Before giving it to a publisher, make extra, extra, extra sure its how you want it. Mind you, there will always be a sentence to correct, a word not quite right, or a line that needs to be moved. There comes a time to just let go and know the book will never be 'perfect'.


Find a publisher.
There are several ways to publish these days, some are traditional where as others are self-publish.
I strongly suggest to not go the traditional rout. Most of the time, a publishing house takes the book's rights and doesn't give the book a chance to catch the eye of the public. Plan on your book to take years, yes I said YEARS, to become noticed by the public. Publishers don't have that time, even though that's what your book needs. I have never gone this rout, and I never plan on it.
Self-publishing is so much better because you are the boss. Everyone wants to be the boss, especially when it involves something dear to their heart. You can make it into an e-book through Amazon Publishing and Smashwords. I have not used these sights personally, but I have fellow author buddies who have who are very pleased. This is vital for publishing because everyone wants a book as an e-book. This is a MUST HAVE.
Another thing you must have is a hard copy available to your readers. There are old fashion people, like me, who need to feel a book, watch the pages turn, and don't like the idea of staring at a screen. Because of this, a successful writer must have both formats, electronic and physical. There are endless houses for self-publishers, but I will tell you about the one I use, because I like it a lot!
CreateSpace
This is THE BEST publisher! I don't plan on using anyone else because they are so awesome! Why? Because they offer to help out with everything, formatting to book's interior and exterior, is so user friendly, very ease, and there is no contract.
I don't like to rely on other people when it comes to my books. Sorry, that's just how I am. If I've been working on a project for, oh, four years or so, I want it done right! And that's what CreateSpace allows, for the author to do everything his/herself. This is good and bad at the same time.
Good, because I have total control.
Bad, because I'm a writer, not a book cover designer, or know how to take good pictures, or how to format a book. I have taught myself though, and I will teach you.

Formatting.
Interior:
A book's insides are difficult to format. It took me forever to figure it out! Actually, I didn't figure it out, I found a program that will do it for me. Book Design Wizard saved my butt big time. It is only $40, instead of paying CreateSpace $200 something to do it for you. You plug in the information needed, what's the title, what font is it, how big, do you want page numbers on the bottom of sides, and so one, then hit 'create book'. In what used to take me 4-5 months now takes me 4-5 days! (You see why I love it?)
Once the book if formatting, you can copy and paste your book under the correct chapters, and please be careful to put the right chapters in the right spots. I didn't last time and got really confused. The book looks great now, but there were some issues. Also, be sure to scroll through every page, yes, EVERY, so that it all looks great. Sometimes, and I don't know why, the book wizard messes a few things up. Its probably operator error, but we can blame it on the software for now. Once that's done, save it as a PDF, because that's all CreateSpace accepts.
Exterior:
The cover! Ah, I love making a cover! The face of a story, the thing that draws readers in! Therefore, make is count and attractive so that people will want to read the story. Give some clues about the book, but not all, and leave a potential reader wondering. CreateSpace has the option to make a book cover for you, but you can supply your own. .
After you come up with a design, get the photos/graphic art you need. I use Dollar Photo Club because, well, its good pictures for cheep. There is no extra fees for using a photo for commercial purposes, but its always good to read the Terms before signing up. There is a monthly fee of $10, but you can create an account, get a pic, then cancel the account right afterwords. Be careful though, I tried to do that, almost a year ago, and they kept withdrawing $10/month. Now its stopped, but that means I have like 100 free photos to pick out, so that's good.
I used this site for my book Hearts of Glass: Shattered Lives, as well as an awesome friend's photography expertise. So, if there's a local photographer who wants to try something new, or a friend who knows what they're doing behind a camera, ask them for help. 
Once you have the photos you need, its time to design the cover. I use Gimp. It is a free photo editing software. Its not classy or full of whistles and bells, but it gets the job done. One thing to keep in mind is to figure out how big your book cover needs to be. If its a standard 6x9, you can't make the cover that size. The spine needs to be factored in as well. A spine's width is calculated by how many pages you have, if its a black and white book or a book with pictures, and if it is going to have white pages or cream pages. CreateSpace has the calculation for that on its submission requirements page.
Gimp cannot save a photo as a PDF, which is what CreateSpace needs. So, go to Open Office and save it through that software. Go to The World of Ryallon to read how to format your finished book cover in Open Office so that it will turn out.
Once that's all done, submit it to CreateSpace. There's not membership fees, no fee every time you submit a book. The only charge is when you buy the books themselves. That's it!
CreateSpace takes 24 hours to go through someone's book and see if it meets the requirements or not. Make sure to read over EVERYTHING so that you understand the requirements. Once that's all done, you can buy a copy to make sure you love how it looks. If the book is to your liking, tell CreateSpace to put it onto Amazon.
ISBN:
There's one thing you have to buy before publishing your book through CreateSpace. An ISBN is a book's ID number, it tells who the author is, when it was published (I think), and who published it. A book cannot be published without it. CreateSpace offers to give one to you, but don't do it! If you use their ISBN, the book instantly belongs to them! Instead, check out their channels and buy your own ISBN for the outrageous amount of $10. Just thought you should know this part.

Congratulations! Your wonderful story is for the entire world to see! But how will people read it if they don't know about it?

The next blog post will be about marketing.

The Hardware Way

What do you think when you walk into a hardware store? Things like "gotta get this honey due done so my wife can be nice!" or "now, where go I go to find that hammer I've always wanted?" or "ah! Why did he send me here? I don't even know what I'm looking for!"
You know what I think? "Time for work!"
I've been learning a lot now that I work at a local hardware store, some good, some bad. I have been seeing how men view women, why, in my opinion, men are easier to work with, and how people react when they don't have a clue what their talking about!
Saturdays have the more unhappy costumers.Why? Because its their weekend after a long, hard week of work and the last thing they want to hear is "James, go fix the sink! It keeps making odd noises!" Go and help him then, guys get energized when they're women's working along side them.
Now, when a guy sends a girl to pick something up, say a screw, please give her over and above information about what she's looking for. Girls generally don't know a thing about hardware, so please help her along. So many ladies come in and say, "I need a screw!" Great! We have lots. What kind? A wood screw, deck, sheet metal screw, self trapping screw, Phillips, star head, pan head, and on and on. Guys, help your lady out so she knows what she's supposed to get.
When people, men and women, don't know what it is they are looking for, they do one of three things: get defensive, laugh and say they don't know anything in an acquired way, or admit they don't know what they need and are willing to learn.
Defense: most people who automatically attack and demand my coworkers and I to fetch whatever they need are the elderly, no offense. Everyone does it, but these people do it the most. It is very frustrating and difficult to try and help someone who is in my face about what they want and they want it now! I'm trying to help, not tell you that you're stupid.
The awkward people: they have low self esteem and assume they, and everyone else around them, think they're stupid. They're not, but they act like it.Very apologetic, shy, and not really wanting help (God forbid if anyone saw they didn't know something!) I get it though, I used to be like that. Not any now. (whoopwhoop!!!)
Confidant: my favorite customers are the ones that instantly say they don't know what they're looking for and they are ok with that. They are willing to learn and are enjoyable to be with. I respect them a lot more and am more willing to help.
(So hidden message: be confidant!)
Lastly, if you see a girl working at a hardware store, and you think she's cute, please don't give her the googly-eyed look. There's nothing more unnerving then for a man old enough to be my dad/grandpa, to undress me with his eyes. Thank you for finding me pretty, but please don't do that.
So they're you have it! The ways of a hardware store through the eyes of a young woman. Its a really good job, to be honest. I like my crazy coworkers and boys are always fun to work with. They always come up with the oddest things to do, like have a war with wrung up rags or throw pens at each other. Fun stuff. All the time. Go to a hardware store and see for yourself.

Find Your Weirdness

I'm going to be open and be venerable right now and share a little bit about myself. Why? Because I want to encourage you to be yourself.

"Ah, really? Everyone talks about that. Its stupid! I know myself! I'm fine with me! Can't we talk about something else?"

No, because most of the time, right when we think we know who we are, we learn something new about ourselves. First, I will tell you how I used to be. When I was a kid, mostly in middle school (which is everyone’s favorite time in life. Not!) I did not know who I was. Most people don't because that's when everything in life is turn on its head and we think we're going crazy as our bodies change. I didn't know who I was because I was afraid to find out the real me. What if I didn't like me? What if I disappointed me? Worst of all! What if everyone else doesn't like the real me? What will they think? Things you've never thought of before I'm sure. (I hope you can hear my sarcasm.)

I was always afraid of what other people thought of me, especially peers, and I hated myself aid the whole world because of it. I barley knew me, and the few aspects I did, I didn't like.

So what changed? What forced me out of my scaredy cat self? Well, I'll tell you.

I got sick of it. You heard me, I got sick of it. A determined, tenacious sickness that wasn't going to give up! I was sick of being afraid of what others think! Sick of being afraid of my real self, the self-deep down inside that never came out! Sick of what others would think of me! So I was done with it, done with being afraid, and done with feeling like a fake. I started to stand firm in what I liked and believed in. I would no let others' negative comments and judgmental glances change my mind.

I realized I am special and unique. I accepted my weirdness and knew I was free to be myself. I'm stuck with me all my life, I might as well enjoy me.

Now I like me because I got acquainted with myself. I kept in my mind God loves me no matter what and made me just the way he wanted me. I'm awesome because God made me that way, just like how he made you.

There's a time in everyone's life where we have a decision to make: will we let other opinions effect us, or will we be true to ourselves and be real?

I don't understand mankind sometimes, why we all want to be like everyone else. To be normal and not stand out. That doesn't make any sense! No one is 'normal', what does that even mean? Everyone has their odd desires, their unique quirks that are the foundation of their dreams and abilities. I don't want to be normal anymore because that just isn't me. I'm not normal, and I'm okay with that. 

You're not normal, is that okay with you?

Be yourself, God made you special and loves you how you are. If he wanted you to be better at sports, he would have allowed you to be so. If he wanted you to be prettier, he would have made your appearance different. But he didn't do that, he made you, you because he loves you just the way you are. 

So love yourself. No, its not prideful or wrong. There's a balance, a healthy love.

Because your awesome and, when those annoying people come along who think otherwise, just ignore them and hold onto who you are. 

You are special.

You are created in the image of God.

You have a mighty destiny God has planned for you.

You are unique.

And that's just the way you're supposed to be. 

Friendship Flows

The heart of a friend is pure
A close friend, as a leaf on a tree
The conversation mends the soul and links hearts
With cords that, though streached by time and distance, bind and hold true
A shoulder to cry on
A hand to hold
A life to take part in
Like two streams flowing together to form a river
Strong
Flowing
Cutting through rocks in their path
And another steam joins, the river roars like a lion on a mission
Together they carry on
Over mountains and hills
Through peaceful meadows and over cliff sides
Together
Firmly together
On their way to the ocean
Their way to home
To join all the other rivers, the other lives, the other hearts joined by cords of their own
To flow together as one life
One kingdom
And one body

The Poet in You

The soul of a poet is the peace in a storm.

Yes, the heartbeat of my life is writing novels, but poetry gives a blank page life in a way a story cannot. I do not classify myself as a poet. I do not have to write poetry to function, as I do with writing novels. When I am inspired, a story comes to mind instead of a poem. However! Poetry is a way to express the writer's soul, their life, and how they feel about it, in a way story writing cannot. In this post, I want to encourage you to write poetry!

As I said above, I do not classify myself as a poet. I used to think that poetry was an unnecessary writing theme and, honesty, unpopular. I was wrong. I have a writing buddy who is a poet. That is what he does and I love to see the sparkle in his eyes when we talk about poetry. (He also writes everything on an old fashion typewriter! Now, there's no way I can do that, but he can. Impressive, I'd say.) After discussing with him the meaning of poetry, and reading his really good work, I found poetry needs to be part of every creative writer's life. Click here to check out his website and here to see my interview he posted.

Poetry is a chance to dive deep into your inner soul and find the words that flow like a song, from one word to another. I usually write poems to get out negative emotions and process the world around me. He writes because it shows a clearer expression of the world. Whatever the case may be, write poems! 

When I started to listen to other people's poems, they didn't make that much sense. Now, some poems do, but then there are some where one line does not relate with the other or there is so much imagery and metaphors the reader/listener forgets what the writer is trying to say. And that is okay. Poetry is abstract and, just like a painting on the wall, it is subject to interpretation. Yes, a poem might not make sense. Is that wrong? No, not at all. Poems are more about the feeling behind the words then the words themselves anyways. Don't let this hinder you.

Poems also teach you how to stop thinking critically and with your logical brain and how to let your emotions naturally flow from your pen. As a story writer, my words must make sense and the readers much understand or the plot will be ruined. But! What if my soul focus was telling a story and not the emotion, the heart, behind it? Then it would be empty. It would be meaningless. A book must have a soul, and you are responsible for giving it just that. How? By emotion. By passion. By poetry. By letting your soul connect with the story. And how do you teach your inner self to come close to your stories? By practicing with poetry. 

Poems show life in a new way with flowery words that tickle the ears and provoke ideas. Go on, be a poet, if only for a little bit. Let your mind be still and quiet and allow your poet side, the side the feels and creates and wants so desperately to live, to take the helm. Write nonsense if you have to, but write a poem. Your words will be like a stream that builds with ideas and inspiration until it is a river that will find the ocean! Go find the ocean. It's waiting for you.