Hunted on FB on April 5th...

Jack: Who are you?
Benjamin: James' youngest brother.
Jack: James! Your brother's here!
Eric: Where is James? I haven't seen him in days.
Richard: Our lady's doing.
Benjamin: What is she doing?
Jack: James' re-write. I peeked. Must say I'm grateful I'm not him.
Benjamin: Difficult?
Richard: More like breakneck speed.
Eric: Sounds dangerous.
Jack: It is, but no matter.
Benjamin: A bit cold-hearted.
Richard: Mind your tongue, Benjamin. You don't know to whom you speak.
Benjamin: He's a Laurel Hawkes hero, like the rest of us.
Richard: Yes and no.
Eric: Didn't know she wrote about Elves.
Benjamin: Elves? There are Elves?
Jack: No! No Elves.
Benjamin: Why claim she wrote about Elves, then?
Eric: Because Tolkien wrote "Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no."
Richard: It is nothing to do with Elves.
Jack: Pity.
Richard: Ehem. I was not giving contradictory answers but answer each point respectively.
Benjamin: Very confusing.
Jack: You'll grow accustomed to it.
Benjamin: I'm uncertain if I want to--
Eric: Too late.
Jack: Far too late.
Richard: Cheer up, Benjamin, it could be worse.
Benjamin: How?
Jack: She could have left you in the void, never thinking of you at all.
Benjamin: A dismal sounding prospect.
Richard: Don't mind Jack. He's a flare for the dramatic.
Jack: Bah!

My list of I AM...

I love Adventures of Kat. She makes me think and evaluate myself. Where am I headed? Am I being honest with myself? She recently shared something she read on FB:

http://www.adventuresofkat.com/i-am/

This is my list:

I AM a writer.
I AM a blessing.
I AM loyal.
I AM persistent.
I AM creative.

Another one that came to mind was friendly. I'm a little surprised that loyal came to mind before so many other possibilities.

Heroes on the loose...a bit of fun...

Jack: So, Luck, a bit of a relief to see you're no longer rocking in the corner.
Luck: Praying, Jack. I was praying in the corner.
Jack: As you say.
Luck: I do.
Jack: So, everything is better?
Luck: Definitely. The re-write is done, and she's sent us off to her BFF.
Jack: BFF?
Luck: Before your time, Jack. BFF is a best friend forever.
Jack: Ah.
Luck: You know, you don't need to worry about any of this.
Jack: Mayhap.
Matthew: What sort of answer is that, Jack?
Jack: Perhaps she has something special in store for me.
James: Come now, Jack. What use would you have for such useless information?
Matthew: Jack, what are you thinking?
James: I don't know, but the look on his face is disconcerting.
Jack: Look? What look?
Luck: Leave her be, Jack. She's still working on my story.
Jack: You said she'd sent it to her BFF.
Luck: She did, for a quick check in continuity after the rewrite, but she needs to format and stuff.
Jack: Format?
Luck: Prep it for e-publishing.
Jack: Epublishing?
Luck: Books published on computers.
Jack: Computers?
Mark: Stop! Luck, you're telling him too much. He doesn't need to know.
Luck: I have an odd feeling he does.
Jack: Thank you, Luck.
Mark: I've got a bad feeling about this.
Luck: Don't go quoting Star Wars. Jack'll only ask more questions.
Jack: Star wars?
Luck: What did I tell you?
Jack: What is this war of stars?
Matthew: Cease this nonsense.
Jack: Why?
Matthew: You don't need to know.
Jack: In truth, I do. I had a delightful chat with our dear Miss Laurel Hawkes.
James: Indeed?
Jack: Oh, indeed, and I'm quite looking forward to what is coming.
Matthew: Pray tell, what is coming?
Jack: It's our secret.
James: Widgeon.

Tribute to Penny Jordan...

Penny Jordan was a romance writer for Harlequin. She past away recently, from cancer. She was only 65 years old. This is the article at The Washington Post.

Why do I mention her, now?

As I was sorting through papers, I unearthed my magazine "Simply Books," put out by Harlequin. This was the most recent issue, Oct 2011-Jan 2012 issue.

A regular feature, which is always printed at the end, is a one-page question and answer article that spotlights a different author in every issue. It's appropriately called, "The Last Word." Poignantly, this one was "The Last Word with Penny Jordan."

When I saw it, my first thought was that it was incredible timing. Perhaps they knew, and planned accordingly. I don't know. It doesn't really matter. What was important to me was that this interview took place before Oct, in order to be ready for print in the magazine. It was fun to learn her favorite flower was lavender, since I love it, too. I especially like it's healing and calming properties. But that still wasn't what made me catch my breath.

"How many books have you written? I think it's about 185--I can't wait to reach number 200." If you read the article, you saw she reached her goal. Amazing.

I don't think I'll ever write that many. Writing 200 books isn't my goal.

What is my goal?

Once I re-evaluated my life, my goal was to throw myself into my writing. I did.

Then my goal was to submit my completed manuscript for publication. I did.

Now, I want to keep writing, with all it entails.

What do I want for the future? I have several ideas, and writing will be a part of all of them. I have my writing schedule for the next year taped to the wall, where I'm able to see it a glance, reminding me where I'm headed. Right now, I'm learning a routine. Once the routine is established, I'll re-evaluate.

What a priceless gift to inspire another to reach higher. Thank you, Penny Jordan.

Trying a different perspecitve...

I worry about income, a lot, for a variety of reasons. The problem is that sometimes my fretting paralyzes me. It fills me with dread, throwing doubt on my hopes and dreams.

Starting today, I'm going to try and live as if I'm going to die soon, so that money doesn't matter. This does not mean it doesn't matter if I go hogwild on a spending spree. I will continue to endeavor to be a wise steward with my sparse funds.

I know what I want to do most: I want to hunt my writing, as God has hunted me. Daily, without ceasing, without hesitation. He has sent me enough breadcrumbs to fill a bakery full of bread loaves that this is the path He wishes for me to follow. In truth, I have been pursuing my writing with everything in me, but I'm tired of the gloom that shadows the joy I find it.

May God bless you in finding your heart's desire and hunting it as He hunts you.