The door opens ~ Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 01/31/16

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior and Snippet Sunday round. Every week writers post 8-to-10 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

& check out the

Facebook Snippet Sunday group

I am sharing snippets from a new short story I wrote, Always One More Time. This story has just been released in a terrific anthology called HeartWorks ~ Eight Great Stories of Love, Passion, and Romance from Vanilla Heart Publishing Authors Charmaine Gordon, Paul Zunckel, Chelle Cordero, Neva Squires-Rodriguez, Lauren Shiro, Tamara Philip, Gwendolyn Jensen-Woodard, and Angela Kay Austin.

  

Last week Callie was very apprehensive as she climbed the steps to knock on a door - today we see who answers the door...

Creative editing alert!  Here are ten lines... 

The lock tumbled just before the door swung open.

“Can I help you?”

The man standing there was tall, much taller than she imagined, taller than Jimmy. She could tell that this man was related, they had the same build, but his shoulders were broader; he was darker and his gaze was piercing.

He repeated, “Can I help you?”

“I… I was looking for Mrs. Bernerd.”

“My mom?”

“Uh, yeah,” she realized that his wife, assuming he was married, would be too young to be the woman she was asking for, “is she home?”

He glanced back into the house and then turned back to her, “can I ask your name and what you want to see her about?”

She swallowed, “I’m Callie Sanders and I, I was… I was a friend of Jimmy’s.”

~~~~~

For more WeWriWa Snippets, go to: 

www.wewriwa.com

“Have enough courage to trust love
one more time.
And always, one more time.”
~ Maya Angelo

Buy Links

PayHip (.pdf)
Smashwords
Kindle

~~~~~

Omigosh, can you believe it's February (almost) already? Weren't we just cleaning up after New Year's Eve? LOL.

Lots of things happen in February — everyone knows about Groundhog's Day, Valentine's Day, President's Day and Washington's Birthday... here's a few more significant days: 

February 3 has been dubbed "The Day the Music Died", Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash in 1959... just in case you haven't heard someone wrote a song about it; February 7 is Wave All Your Fingers at Your Neighbor Day, I'm curious... which finger(s) did you wave before?; 

February 14 is Valentine's Day, but it is also National Organ Donor Day... my family is searching for a kidney donor for my brother-in-law Del, a living donor would be best, you can read about it here http://bit.ly/1YRDp9H; now this one is just sad and cruel, February 15 is Singles Awareness Day as if watching all those happy twosomes wasn't obvious enough; but February 16 is Do a Grouch a Favor Day so at least you can try to cheer up everyone who was made aware the day before; 

February 20 is Love Your Pet Day and I have three felines who are planning to celebrate, in honor of the day here's a You Tube video my daughter filmed of her cat Butters, she called it In The Jungle (Hey Ed, Effing Feline might enjoy this day too); then we pretty much give a bunch more days to our animal friends including Walking the Dog Day (22nd) and Polar Bear Day (27th);

February 27 is National No Brainer Day, woo-hoo, I could get behind that one!; And finally, it happens only once every four years, February 29! It's Leap Year folks... actually it happens ALMOST every four years, it does not occur in years ending '00' unless it can be divided by 400.

So, hope you have a Fabulous, Fantastic February 

and have enjoyed this bit of dated trivia  

Unconditional Love ~ #MondayBlogs

Loving someone unconditionally does NOT mean loving them blindly. You need to really know a person in order to love them, faults and all. And it’s okay to not always LIKE them and still LOVE them.

Parents and offspring have been knocking heads together since Adam and Eve had their sons. Never, ever withhold love from a child. Never make them feel that you won’t love them anymore if they struggle in school. It’s alright to let your child know when you are not happy with his actions, that there are consequences for breaking the rules, but NEVER, ever make him feel that he has lost your love. Don’t crush her spirit, destroy his self-confidence, or make her feel alone. A child should always feel the security of her parent’s love.

There are many ways to love, family love between parents and children or siblings, love between friends, love between lovers or spouses, or even love for pets. Love can fill your heart with warmth and happiness; you care deeply about another living being. Love is not dependency although you can’t imagine a world without the one you love in it. Love is not a chore, although it is worth any work you put into it. Love is not a possession even though you want to claim it for your own.

When you love a person for who he or she really is, then you understand his faults and love him anyway. If you claim to love someone but won’t see who he really is, then you merely “love” a fantasy you created and loving only what you want to see. Love without conditions — without limits is a true love, it is deep and real.

Love is a wonder.

Always One More Time, 1st snippet ~ Weekend Writing Warriors / 8sunday / 01/24/16

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior and Snippet Sunday round. Every week writers post 8-to-10 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

& check out the

Facebook Snippet Sunday group

I am sharing snippets from a new short story I wrote, Always One More Time. This story has been submitted, and I am pleased to say accepted, however has not yet been published. Hopefully it will be available in the next month or so ~ I will let you know where it is available as soon as that happens.
  

This is a contemporary story. We open with Callie Sanders having just arrived at a address she's been given, she's very hesitant. This is in Callie's POV.

Creative editing alert!  Here are nine lines... 

Callie took the slip of paper from her pocket and checked the address; she knew this was the place, the cab driver verified it before he drove off. Standing here was just a stalling tactic and she knew it.

There were five steps up to the porch, she noted how immaculately the snow had been cleared from the steps and the sidewalk she was standing on. The neighborhood seemed quiet; most of the people were probably at work or staying inside shielded from the cold wind.

“Now or never,” Callie spoke to herself, “if you stand here any longer, your feet will be frozen in place, literally.” She stuffed the paper back into her pocket and forced herself onto the first step… and the next, all the way up until she was staring at the door.

She knocked lightly; Callie could hear people inside, there was conversation and music playing. It would have surprised her if someone had answered the door considering how quietly she knocked. Steeling herself, she knocked again, like a normal human being this time.

~~~~~

For more WeWriWa Snippets, go to: 

www.wewriwa.com

“Have enough courage to trust love
one more time.
And always, one more time.”
~ Maya Angelo

~~~~~

Read my novels on your computer in convenient .PDF files
from Payhip

Bartlett’s Rule

His Lucky Charm

Within the Law

Courage of the Heart

Final Sin

Hostage Heart

A Chaunce of Riches

Common Bond, Tangled Hearts

Hyphema

Karma Visited

Freelancing Ups and Downs ~ #MondayBlogs

I love the idea of working for myself, but it’s not all sunshine and carefree work days. Aside from the obvious pressure of maintaining enough paying clients and paying for one’s own health insurance, the biggest things I miss from working for someone else are NO sick days and NO snow days.

Okay, sick days… I actually had Chicken Pox at the ripe old age of 40 and I worked during the entire illness… thank goodness I didn’t have to use any videoconferencing; I was very self-conscious about those terrible red marks. That was a couple of decades ago.

And snow days, wow. It is hard to complain about commuting over snow covered roads when all you have to do is walk down the hallway from your bedroom. I even begin most of my workdays in my robe and jammies. The only thing that really puts me out of work is a power failure and/or internet interruption; with the convenience of a fully charged laptop, fully charged tablet or fully charged smart phone I can at least manage a few of my tasks (I just have to remember to plug everything in to keep them charged).

The most important thing is that I am doing what I want to do, I love to write, I love to know that people read my words and maybe, just maybe I can make a difference for someone.

My favorite kind of writing is my fiction; I love to tell stories combining passion and suspense. Let’s face facts though, few fiction authors exist on their writing alone. I am doubly lucky, I enjoy my “back-up” job as a journalist — yes, still writing. I write how-to articles, blog on medical issues, author a monthly column in an Emergency Medical Services trade paper, and publish a Kindle blog filled with writing lessons. I love the research and getting information out to people who need it.

"If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." I heard that adage many years ago and I wind up living my work life by it. There are days I get frustrated, clients are paying on time, I could use more money (who can’t?), a subject I am interviewing isn’t very cooperative, and that’s just the non-fiction part. For my novels and short stories, I wish I had more readers, more reviews, more sales and better Amazon rankings.

I am extraordinarily lucky, I work with several absolutely wonderful editors; of course I try very hard to meet all of my deadlines and get the job done to their satisfaction, I hope they feel as warmly about me. My novel publisher is beyond words terrific, goes out of her way for her authors and always encourages each one of us; she has also become a very good friend, although I have never met her face to face we’ve shared many great phone calls and emails. And the best thing of all is the support I get from my husband, emotionally and, yes, financially.

So it’s off to work I go, despite my occasional sniffles, with a smile on my face.

It's a date ~ Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 01/17/16

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior and Snippet Sunday round. Every week writers post 8-to-10 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

& check out the

Facebook Snippet Sunday group

I'm sharing snippets from Stormy Weather, one of the short stories in The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero collection. 

Last week Bruce implored on Debbie's good nature to allow him to ride the hurricane out with her in the hotel lobby where she was staying. This week, despite her wariness, she concedes. This is the last snippet from Stormy Weather, one of the short stories in my anthology. I hope you've enjoyed.

Creative editing alert!  Here are eight more lines... 

She chuckled, “I meant don’t you have to take care of your own place in this weather?”

“I live in one of the older hotels down the beach, people are just going to be hanging out in the lobby there.” He pretended to pout, “so can I come to your hotel lounge and ride out the hurricane?”

Sighing heavily, she surrendered, “yeah.”

“So I’ll pick you up and escort you downstairs tonight?”

“No, I’ll meet you downstairs in the lounge,” Debbie wasn’t sure what to make of this guy; she definitely didn’t want him thinking that he might be invited into her room.

“Okay,” his eyes met and held hers for a few seconds, “I will see you tonight.”

She didn’t understand why the warmth of his gaze felt like he had just stroked her.

~~~~~

For more WeWriWa Snippets, go to: 

www.wewriwa.com

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.

Stormy Weather
The ominous skies and howling winds of a hurricane lead to an unexpected and warmhearted friendship.

BUY LINKS

AUDIO –   http://www.amazon.com/The-Many-Faces-Chelle-Cordero/dp/B00HK1HCIA

 PRINT – http://www.amazon.com/Many-Faces-Chelle-Cordero-Collection/dp/0615839231

Kindle – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D8NL6U4   (just $1.99)

AllRomance Ebooks – https://www.omnilit.com/product-themanyfacesofchellecordero-1222674-237.html

iBooks – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/many-faces-chelle-cordero/id661486812

Smashwords for All Ereaders – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/323744 for Sony, Nook, Kindle, Apple, Kobo and more formats

~~~~~

Just one step closer ~ #MondayBlogs

My mom was raised down south in Charleston, S.C. in a three family house; the doors between residences were never locked as all the occupants were related. Cousins were raised like siblings and the adults all shared in caring for the children. Mommy carried those attitudes throughout her adult life when she herself eventually became a parent. My dad was the product of a broken home, the separation was far from amicable, and it was a loving step-mother who gave him his first real taste of family; it wasn’t surprising that Daddy followed Mommy’s lead in raising their two daughters. Although proud and loving of two daughters, my father was the kind of man that wanted sons. Daddy told my sister and me that eventually we would marry and bring him his sons, and indeed he referred to both my brother (in-law) and my husband as his sons.

My sister and I have shared many conversations about family relationships, for years we both dropped the term “in-law” when introducing the other’s husband as our brothers — amusingly this once caused quite a bit of confusion when I referred to my “brother” in a group setting just before my sister entered the room! We each have two birth children and each is married so we always talk of ALL the kids. I consider my son-in-law and daughter-in-law’s families as MY relatives, my cousins’ cousins are my cousins, and there are a few close friends who seem to have simply been absorbed into the family. My parents taught me that love and caring transcends legal definitions of family relationships.

I imagine that sometimes others feel that we (my sister and I) too readily absorb others into our family life, but we got that from our parents. Growing up I used to tell people that if the paperboy was collecting at dinner time, there would be a plate set for him – and there were many times, as a teenager, I would come home from visiting other friends to find that another friend or two had stopped over to see me and wound up having dinner with my folks and would be sitting and watching TV with them when I got home. There was always a feeling of inclusiveness and a belief that the front door to our apartment would be better served by a revolving door. Family pictures adorn my living room walls just as my mom displayed a “Rogues Gallery” in the long entry foyer of our Bronx apartment. I like to be surrounded by family no matter the distance between us, or even if these dear members are no longer with me.

I once heard someone say they felt they had too many relatives – WHAT?! How is it that some people actually crave less family and others need more?

What kind of family did you grow up with? Was it large and filled with holiday dinners and parties? And how did your upbringing affect your present family life? According to Statista.com “The average American family in 2014 consisted of 3.13 persons.”, how does yours compare?

I’d love to hear your views…

Looking for a safe haven ~ Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 01/10/16

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior and Snippet Sunday round. Every week writers post 8-to-10 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

& check out the

Facebook Snippet Sunday group

I'm sharing snippets from Stormy Weather, one of the short stories in The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero collection. 

Last week the handsome stranger introduced himself, his name is Bruce. He seems interested, she seems irritated. He's persistent, she tries to keep a distance. Debbie wants to discourage his company...

Creative editing alert!  Here are ten more lines... 

After only a brief hesitation, she gave him the name of her hotel on Collins in South Beach.

“Do they have anything going on in the lounge tonight?”

Debbie shook her head and wondered how she had let him get past her defenses, “Bruce, right?”

He nodded.

“Do these places really keep things as usual in a hurricane?”

“Well everyone down here is pretty used to it so long as they didn’t order any evacuations – and of course so long as it’s indoors – then yeah, it’s safer to keep all the guests on the lower floors.”

“So it would make sense if I stayed in the lounge?”

“Yeah., he smiled at her, “so it’s a date?”

She laughed at him, “don’t you have some place of your own to be?”

He stopped and looked at her emotionlessly, “I’m wounded, would you deny the safety of your hotel lounge to a man who saved your life by plucking you from that wave?”

~~~~~

For more WeWriWa Snippets, go to: 

www.wewriwa.com

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.

Stormy Weather
The ominous skies and howling winds of a hurricane lead to an unexpected and warmhearted friendship.

BUY LINKS

AUDIO –   http://www.amazon.com/The-Many-Faces-Chelle-Cordero/dp/B00HK1HCIA

 PRINT – http://www.amazon.com/Many-Faces-Chelle-Cordero-Collection/dp/0615839231

Kindle – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D8NL6U4   (just $1.99)

AllRomance Ebooks – https://www.omnilit.com/product-themanyfacesofchellecordero-1222674-237.html

iBooks – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/many-faces-chelle-cordero/id661486812

Smashwords for All Ereaders – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/323744 for Sony, Nook, Kindle, Apple, Kobo and more formats

~~~~~

Most authors are part of a generous community, they support their fellow authors in many ways: constructive critique, re-tweets, emotional bolstering, encouragement, and providing a welcoming ear when necessary. Of course there are a FEW who are not so nice, but I won't get into that here.

As a full time freelance writer for a few decades, and a published author of fiction as well for the last decade, I have enjoyed this camaraderie. When I hear my friends and family who work in more traditional jobs talk about hanging out around the office water cooler, I often think about the co-workers I've become friends with over the years.

Whether we converse on FaceBook, on the phone, through emails or, sometimes even face-to-face, the friendships are real and very valuable. I belong to a publishing group of wonderfully compassionate people, a few who I have been fortunate to be in the company with, others I've chatted with by phone, and still others that share marketing ideas and experiences in some online form. And without a doubt we certainly provide the cheering section our frail egos thrive on.

As a freelance journalist I often deal with editors across the country and have established relationships with some that are longer than many married people I know. It's safe to say that one or two have also become good friends in real life.

I had a recent conversation with a relative about friendships and she did question whether real friends could be made of people you've never "really" met, I think YES you can. Writers can be solitary people and while this probably makes it easier to accept the various ways we interact, the internet and phones, and even visual applications, gives the term "Getting to know you" a much broader scope.

...or maybe it's just the inherent quality of the writing community to "reach out" to others ~ real or fictional, LOL.

A Time for Resolutions — #MondayBlogs

The first week of a new year and of course everyone is doing it, making their resolutions OR declaring that they aren’t making resolutions. Some people are discouraged that they dropped last year’s resolutions long before any made a difference in their lives; sometimes that’s a repeated pattern year-after-year until the person simply decides to give up and doesn’t even try.

Alleged experts say that “independent surveys” have shown that only about 40-percent of resolutions are still being “kept” after three months. So why is this failure (for lack of a better word) rate so high? I would imagine that most people want some kind of improvement in their lives and making a decision that could positively affect them sounds like a good idea.

I’m making a few resolutions, but I am not stopping there. Make your list of resolutions; these should be things that YOU would like to see come to be in your life, if you don’t care you won’t make the effort. Now let’s say you have five to ten items on your list, do it like an outline with each resolution being numbered. Under each resolution list the things you have to do in order for that resolution to happen. Under each “project” set a timeline and/or a date it should be done by. Steps and timelines make up your goals and are tangible things you can actually achieve. Remember to keep these resolutions and dates realistic.

For instance, one of my resolutions this year (as in previous years) is to make more money, so that would be number one. What steps am I going to take to make this resolution happen? If I put (under sub-topic A) win the lottery, that is an unrealistic step because while it COULD happen (hey, I have hopes), it is not something I have control over. Yes, I can say play the lottery regularly to perhaps increase my chances, you have to be in it to win it after all, but again that is NOT a step to take to fulfill making more money. Something I do have control over is seeking out more paying clients and writing more. Realistically I can set “dates” by knowing my capabilities as a writer (aka word count) and the time I can devote to writing to know how much work I can take on in any given time period.

What are some of my other resolutions? I want to get more organized. I want to learn new things and keep my mind active. My next resolution is a common for lots of people, I want to improve my health. I plan to see family and friends more often and if distance makes that difficult, stay in touch with them. I want to read more. And I want to find time to simply “meditate”. For each of these resolutions (desires/wants) I will list achievable steps towards that result. It’s like drawing a roadmap to your destination instead of floundering around knowing what you want to happen but having no idea how to make it happen. Making the same resolutions you made and didn’t keep last year will probably fail again without a gameplan.

If you stray from your self-assigned tasks, you can go back to it, don’t just give up. Sometimes even when you think you have full control over a situation, things can happen unexpectedly so just adjust and stay on track. You may have estimated your time based on current performance and abilities, but emergencies and illnesses can change that in an instant. Or you might find that you underestimated yourself. Every (not less than) two to (not more than) six months reevaluate your resolution list with tasks and timelines and fine-tune wherever you see the need. If you make a plan you will have a better chance of satisfying yourself and look forward to making new resolutions next year. Keep making plans until you find one that works.

Happy 2016!

Plan your way there

Her name is Deborah ~ Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 01/03/16

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior and Snippet Sunday round. Every week writers post 8-to-10 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

& check out the

Facebook Snippet Sunday group

I'm sharing snippets from Stormy Weather, one of the short stories in The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero collection. 

Last week the handsome stranger introduced himself, his name is Bruce. He seems interested, she seems irritated. He's persistent, she tries to keep a distance. Debbie wants to discourage his company...

Creative editing alert!  Here are nine more lines... 

“So why are you in Miami Beach?”

“I’m on vacation,” Debbie turned to look at him, she stood with a hand on a hip. “Thank you for your help in the water, but I’m not the kind of woman that picks up a vacation fling in case that’s why you’re following me.”

“Don’t worry I’m not interested in being a tourist attraction,” he managed to smile as he spoke. “Now that we’ve got that understood, are you going to tell me what I can call you?”

She chewed the inside of her lip for a moment, “my name is Deborah.”

“Hi Deborah, do your friends call you Debbie?”

“My friends do.”

He chuckled, “okay Debbie, what hotel are you staying at?”

~~~~~

For more WeWriWa Snippets, go to: 

www.wewriwa.com

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.

Stormy Weather
The ominous skies and howling winds of a hurricane lead to an unexpected and warmhearted friendship.

BUY LINKS

AUDIO –   http://www.amazon.com/The-Many-Faces-Chelle-Cordero/dp/B00HK1HCIA

 PRINT – http://www.amazon.com/Many-Faces-Chelle-Cordero-Collection/dp/0615839231

Kindle – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D8NL6U4   (just $1.99)

AllRomance Ebooks – https://www.omnilit.com/product-themanyfacesofchellecordero-1222674-237.html

iBooks – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/many-faces-chelle-cordero/id661486812

Smashwords for All Ereaders – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/323744 for Sony, Nook, Kindle, Apple, Kobo and more formats

~~~~~

Goodness, it feels like we just met with our accountant to have our taxes done! How did a whole year manage to slip by so very fast? I mentioned to my husband that I had to start getting my records ready for taxes again and I felt like my head was going to spin.

I've been posting #WeWriWa snippets since September 2013, that also doesn't feel like that long ago. What I find marvelous about this community is the ability to sharpen skills and have a better understanding of my own writing. Even though most of what I've posted has been already published material, when I read the comments and the impressions from the rest of you, I can see if the point that I want made is actually clear. Your comments have also helped me see some of my characters through other eyes. The writer (me) knows what she means to say, now is what she means actually being said? 

Another "I can't believe it's been that long!" was my husband and my 40th anniversary; that is certainly the longest I've ever gone steady with one guy, lol. I wrote a humorous fairy tale (I hope humorous)on this blog-site earlier this week about our whirlwind courtship, The FairyTale of Love.

Well I am just rambling. I hope everyone has had a FANTABULOUS start to 2016. Thanks for stopping by and I am grateful for any comments you'd like to make.