Writer Wednesdays: Tony Steward Says, "Work As Retirement"

Photo courtesy of Ventrilock

Happy Leap Day everyone! If you haven't seen the LeapYear Project, please check out my post from last Wednesday about Victor Saad's wonderful endeavor. 


One of the Leap Year projects comes not from a professional writer, but the words were so wise that I felt like I had to share:

"Don't wait for retirement, it's nothing more then the decision you want to make 20-30 years unnecessarily delayed. Live your heart today, adjust your lifestyle to make it work." 

--Tony Steward, owner of Charley's Bicycle Lab. 

What leap will YOU take this year?

Travel Tuesdays: Craft Beer Goodness in Daytona Beach, Florida

Picture courtesy of: Idea Go 

Daytona Beach has its fair share of restaurants and bars, especially down by the Daytona 500racetrack and on busy International Speedway Boulevard. But if you want to check out a great locals' place closer to the beach and avoid the chain restaurants and bars, check out McK's Tavern and bottle shop on Beach Street, near neighboring Ormond Beach.

Read the rest of the article here: Craft Beer Goodness in Daytona Beach, Florida

Movie Mondays: Cowboys and Aliens

I had no desire to see this movie, but a friend just had to watch it the other night. What a waste of two plus hours. I don't like to bash, but honestly, the seriousness with which Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig tried to play these characters completed makes me feel okay about bashing it. You are in the old West. Fighting aliens.

Maybe crack a few smiles?

Tell a few jokes?

Acknowledge in some way the ridiculous scenario you are in and have a little fun with it?

But no, they tried to go through the entire movie like it really was life or death. What could have been an amusing movie went down the toilet because of the serious tone and take on the script. Who would look at the plot and think, wow, this is such a great movie? I have to sign up to be in this immediately?

And before you think I am too girly to appreciate macho movies, let me stop you. Two of my favorite movies of all time are The Dark Knight and Fight Club.

If you find yourself in a situation where someone tries to convince you to watch this movie, make like you just saw an alien and run. Run far, far away.

SUPER Sharing Sundays: Best 8 Links of the Week!

Photo courtesy of Surachai

Brazen Careerist always has killer advice, like this: Why Praising Others Will Help You Reach Your Own Potential

Mashable, with their finger on the pulse of Pintrest (which is my next Everest to tackle after this week actually starting and using Google+ and Goodreads).

We like to think that our magnificent books would be liked by anyone, but who is your audience REALLY? Janalyn Voigt discusses potential readers on Wordserve Water Cooler.

I LOVE analyzing opening scenes of movies (and books, and tv shows, and...). I also think of my chapters as being scenes when I outline. How would YOUR first chapter work as an opening movie scene? Read more on Go Into the Story by Scott Myers.

Ann Patchett was inspiring and awesome on Stephen Colbert this week. Check out Patchett's indie bookstore, Parnassus, and support those in your own city!

Have to give a shout-out to the new Johnny Cash project honoring this soulful poet's would-be 80th birthday.

Yay Savannah! Getting some Bizarre Food love on March 12.

And if you didn't catch my Wednesday post, check out the link and attend an event near you to celebrate Leap Year AND take your own "life leap!" If you are in Savannah, we are meeting at Isaac's on Drayton at 6pm. See you there!

Soul Saturdays: Starting Another Blog

Photo courtesy of Renjith Krishnan

So, I've been doing a lot of planning for 2012 with the goals of finding an agent and getting published at the top of my list. But I have also been doing a lot of thinking about blogging. I love this blog and have been posting almost every single day for over a year. It is a wonderful place that allows me space to praise other writers--screenwriters, tv show writers, bloggers, journalists, freelancers, novelists--and share excellent writing with you. And I enjoy connecting with others writers. I also like to have a space through Soul Saturdays to reflect on my journey and encourage you along your own journey to publication (or wherever you are headed!).

But the reality is, this blog doesn't really give me the platform to help connect with potential readers of my to-be-published women's fiction.

So, I've decided to start a second blog which will be about the topics that are in my favorite books and in my own novels. These include biggies like:

• Love
• Friendship
• Identity
• Marriage
• Family
• Career
• Happiness
• Marriage
• Anything to do with dreams, emotions, and goals

Of course, a healthy (or not-so-healthy!) amount of alcohol is also mixed in to these experiences (wine often, but I am a craft beer fanatic as well). I want to be able to talk about these topics with readers of women's fiction who also enjoy these topics.

The blog is currently in the works and will launch this week. My husband will be co-writing it as he helps me edit all my novels and gives me insight when I write from my male characters point of views. We've been married almost 8 years and together 10, so we want to share what we've learned through this (very) bumpy journey!

Mondays: We will give our individual opinions about an issue, question, or piece of marriage advice.
Wednesdays: We will discuss a date night experiment to give you ideas for the weekend.
Fridays: I will round up links related to women's fiction and relationships that I have discovered through the week.

This schedule and the topics aren't set in stone, so if you have suggestions on what you would like to read on the new blog, please let me know in the comments below.

I hope you will join us when the new site is ready at shawndrarussell.com!

Fiction Fridays: Review of Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell

Photo courtesy of Salvatore Vuono

I am sad to admit that I have never read a Candace Bushnell novel. Since I write women's fiction, I went to the library yesterday and made it my mission to pick up a few of the best writers from this genre, and when I browsed the highest-ranking titles on Goodreads in "chick lit" (they don't have a women's fiction category--boo!), I saw Candace Bushnell and Meg Cabot, and thought, "well, yeah! Duh!" How have I NOT read these essential women's fiction writers yet?

Anyway, Lipstick Jungle did not disappoint. The glamorous New York City lives of three women mixed with their personal dramas and devastation make a strong story that I can't help but compare to Sex and the City's cast and stories, but who cares if there are similarities? Careers, love, and friendship are the fabrics of any woman's life, and Bushnell weaves the three characters' lives together expertly. These characters have different professions, personalities, and circumstances, but they are still dealing with the same issues that plague all of us.

I'll be honest; at times, this novel was tough to relate to because these women are all just so darn successful. Perhaps because I am still sort of a newbie in my career, and I can envision the what it would be like to be at the top of my career (writing 2-4 novels per year and having a steady column in a national magazine would be perfection in my opinion), and I just so badly want to get to that point when I can write more and pitch less.

But these three characters that Bushnell created all have different challenges in their personal lives which makes their uber-success more digestible. Makes me sound green with envy, but if everything was perfect for all of them, it would be a fairytale instead of women's fiction.

An entertaining read that challenges you to evaluate what your priorities are and to live a life that is in line with your values. This will definitely not be my last Bushnell title; in fact, I will be reading Trading Up in the coming weeks.

Tune Thursdays: The Suex Effect

The Georgia boys of The Suex Effect trace their roots to Augusta, where Jon Daniels (drums/vocals) and Rick Barrett (guitar/vocals) grew up. While at the University of Georgia, Jon met Miles Karp (bass/vocals) and the two began to play as a bass and drum duo until the three joined forces in their current format, described as “power-funk.”

Read the rest of the interview on SavannahNow: http://savannahnow.com/do/2012-02-23/music-matters-athens-invaders-suex-effect-hit-savannah-two-nights#.T0Z-hPEgf34

Writer Wednesdays: The LeapYear Project by Victor Saad

Photo courtesy of digitalart 

Have you heard of this yet? The LeapYear Project is the brainchild of 26-year-old Victor Saad who has been a risk-taker his whole life and his inspirational website and mission screams, "What leap will YOU take this year?"

You can't go on this site without being inspired. Seriously. Victor refused to wait around for a dream job to be offered to him; instead, he figured out what he wanted to do, and started making it happen. He is an example of why entrepreneurship is such a beautiful thing:

By going after YOUR dreams, "You will inspire someone else to go after THEIR dreams, and that, my friend, is how you change the world!"--Bradley Trevor Greive's The Meaning of Life


Take some time to visit the website, read the blog, and then commit to take a leap and share it with the Leapyear community using the tag #lyproject.

No more excuses, no more sitting on your heels. Make 2012 your best year yet!

What leap will YOU take? Share in the comments so we can support and encourage each other!

My leap will be to get published, hopefully traditionally, and I also have several books in the works ideal for self-publishing. I hope my books are emotionally touching and inspire others to make their dream lives a reality.

Travel Tuesdays: Ice Skating in Rockefeller Center

Ice skating in the heart of New York City feels special, like something everyone should do once. As you loop around the rink, you see 30 Rockefeller Center where the television show 30 Rock derives its name and the huge gold statue of Prometheus that caused a stir among some groups. You can feel the energy radiating from the NBC Studios and Radio City Music Hall, imagining all the amazing, creative musicians and actors that have been inside those buildings as you glide around the ice.

To read the rest of the article, click here: Ice Skating in Rockefeller Center

Movie Mondays: Review of The Descendents

Maui, Hawaii by M-Pics 
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2285   

The Descendents focuses on the classic midlife crisis question: Why have I spent my whole life work instead of living? When you wake up and are 50, 60, 70 years old, you won't regret the fun you've had; you'll regret the hours you toiled away at work, neglecting family, friends, and life for the almighty dollar.

Workaholic George Clooney barely knows how to interact with his own children, one in college and the other in middle school. When his thrill-seeking wife gets thrown from a boat and falls into a coma, Clooney is forced to become a full-time Dad and come to terms with his failing marriage which he may never get the chance to fix. Clooney's performance has been raved about, mostly because it is a departure from the suave guy he usually plays. And he was great.

But the eldest daughter, played by Shailene Woodley steals the show in my opinion. She is sassy, smart, fun, and can be a total bitch with no patience for bullshit. She struggles between wanting to be the fun-loving replica of her mother yet has a pull to be like her hard-working, more steady and stable father, and the two parts don't mix.

Her struggle ties to the title and the concepts of family obligation. We don't think much about our ancestors, yet  fail to learn from that reality. If we are forgotten in a generation or two, then why don't we cherish the little time we do have more? Why don't we align our lives with what really matters? And instead of fighting who we are and trying not to be like our parents, why don't we just come to terms with the parts we inherited and try to use this mess of strengths and weaknesses to find our personal version of happiness?

This movie is a thinker, and I left wanting to enjoy my life more each day and reconnect with the people and things that really matter.--always a good lesson to re-learn.

SUPER Sharing Sundays: Best 8 Links of the Week!

Link Love: Photo courtesy Luigi Diamanti

Jen Gresham over at Everday Bright says our careers should be a love affair: A Girlfriend's Career Advice: Love It or Leave It

Better late than never: Have you completed your year-long walkabout for 2012? Define your goals and focus, month by month, to ensure 2012 ROCKS. More information provided by the wonderful women of Manifestival 2012: Year-Long Walkabout. If you need a little inspiration, here's a link to my 2012 map.

Holy book promotion, Batman! 40 Book Promoting Sites

Just think about all the brilliance that swirled around during Social Media Week (#SMW12) last week. If you weren't there, you can still read some of the juicy tidbits from the link above.

Signed up to take Jeff Goins FREE Intentional Blogging course this week. I actually feel guilty NOT paying for this--he already gives away so much great, free advice on his blog!

Chuck Wendig straddles the line between entertaining, informative, and make all us writers feel connected (Three of three musts for a blog as identified by Roni Loren this week), like with this post: 25 Reasons That Writers are Bug-F@*! Nuts.

7 Inexcusable Mistakes of Entrepreneurship--because as much as we fight it, writers ARE entrepreneurs.

And great advice about breaking your goal of getting your book published into small, manageable chunks via Kimberly Kinrade over at Novel Publicity & Co. What are you waiting for? Taking ONE STEP today to getting your book published. Mine? Working on a new blog geared to my future women's fiction audience :)

What are some of the best links you found this week?

Soul Saturdays: Manifestival Year-Long Walkabout

Prompt via Manifestival2012: "Have you considered your year-long Walkabout Map? It's one of my favorite parts of beginning the process of change and evolution. You take a year-long calendar (or you look through your organizer at each full month of days). Give each month a theme, knowing that you can change and revise as you go through the year. For me, the theme of February is Health. I'm making appointments, I'm plugging in exercise, and I'm researching alternative therapies. I have goals connected to this theme--so I'm beginning them now, and then I'm plugging in "check in" dates throughout the year--so that I can monitor the long-term goal associated with this area of my life. I'm doing the same for each month--listing the theme, and then plugging in check-in dates for the rest of the year."


I really like how this prompt connects to a previous prompt asking us to reflect on what each month of 2011 represented or focused on. Honestly, 2011 was a completely wild ride for me, and I was just trying to hang on. 


This year, I can be more mindful of what I want to accomplish and focus on each month, and check-in with myself to make sure I am on track. I am so excited about 2012--more excited than I have ever been about a year, professionally. I finally feel like I am on the right path as a freelance writer and aspiring novelist. 


January: Invest (in myself and our future). 


Even though January has passed, I wanted to reflect on what I accomplished and pick out its "theme/topic." I went to the Writer's Digest conference (#wdc12) and perfected my pitch/query and as a result have three agents considering my book. Also while there, I bought the book 102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1,500 Words or Less (click title to read review from yesterday). The entire experience really motivated me to make 2012 a wonderful, successful year. I also sat down and did an honest budget and we set up a plan to get ourselves out of the debt we have incurred since we both quit our 9-to-5s in order to be freelancers. 


February: Organize 


I am continually tweaking my writing routine and trying to be as efficient and productive as I possibly can be. The saying "time is money" definitely defines a freelance career. I'm also trying to do a better job of not working 12 hour days and taking more breaks. Having a to-do list with estimated times of how long each task will take me has helped. I also started a Hootsuite marketing strategy where before I was just going on daily and browsing my streams, commenting on peoples' posts, retweeting interesting/useful things, etc. Now, I will continue to do that each day because I love it, feel connected to others, and it's fun. BUT I am also adding another "layer" to my Twitter management by making sure that every week, I tweet about things that matter to me instead of just what happens to be going on in Twitterverse on any given day by scheduling tweets via Hootsuite with these key topics.


I also identified a list of topics that I want to write about and am focusing on pitching articles that revolve around my natural interests like travel, craft beer, arts and entertainment, small businesses, lifestyle, profiles, love, and relationships of all types. 


March: Create (ebooks and products)


I am blessed to have five steady income streams from regular writing and client marketing gigs. But, the fact is, any of these opportunities could disappear due to circumstances beyond my control (for example, one stream is writing travel descriptions, and the company in charge of these may lose their contract with the publisher). So, I'm going to take the plunge and commit to creating and selling ebook(s) in March. I need to create some income on my own, that just relies on me and my writing instead of companies and clients that have hired me (and could therefore fire me). I am going to research Kickstarter as a potential way to make this dream a reality. The two immediate items I want to create: 


1. How to Become a Burst Writer and Avoid Writer's Block, a book for writers about how to write a novel in 17 days or less and insert huge word count days of 10K and 12K (my personal best) into their writing routine. 


2. Lies of the American Dream, the book I've been working on for several months. It's about halfway finished, so I am going to commit the rest of February and most of March to finishing it, then put it out into the world!


April: Novel #3 (#2 of 2012, & education) 


I have set up a schedule for myself that I will write four books of fiction each year. I have over 50 (not exaggerating) book ideas scrawled on notecards in my "dream box," and math tells me that it will take me at least 13 years to get all of these books written (not to mention all the novel-length ideas that will hit me along the way!). And I'm happiest when I am working on a big project in conjunction with all my shorter articles. Oh, and the "education" part of this month is that my novel will be about my former life as a high school English teacher, and yes, I WILL be criticizing our education system :)


May: Expand (my reach and expertise)

So, this blog focuses on praising other writers and learning from their wisdom to provide inspiration to myself and you. I enjoy collecting useful resources and links, and I love writing about books, movies, blogs, articles, magazines--anything written really. It also allows me to share my writing with all of you. Plus, these Saturday posts force me to self-reflect each week to make sure I am on the right path and accomplishing what I need and want to be. 


But, for my fiction, I focus on relationships--friendship, sibling, parent, boss/employee--any human interaction that we encounter really that may involve love, hate, anger, sadness, and the mess of other emotions we put each other through. But I don't get to focus on all that much on this blog. SO, I want to create a blog that does. And, my husband will be co-writing some of the posts. It's going to be challenging but wonderful and help me connect with potential readers of my fiction even more. Also, this means focusing more on Goodreads and Google+ and maybe Pintrest, which I have been a slacker about so far. I plan to start all of this sooner, but May will be a great time to really focus on these other networking outlets.


June: Gratitude


June marks the year anniversary of me deciding to quit my job as a high school English teacher and make a go of being a full-time writer. The journey has been amazing, and I want to spend this month being grateful for my decision and my career. I'd also like to spend this month thanking people that have helped me make it this far. 


July: Travel


July is our wedding anniversary month (happy #8 honey!), and ideally we will go on a fun trip somewhere (San Francisco is high on my list). However, I would also love to go to a travel writing workshop or take an online course because one of my 2012 goals is to do more travel writing. This month also marks me starting my next book, SOOO....I'd like to incorporate travel into it somehow. And although it's supposed to be a novel, I might just go with co-writing the travel+marriage book that my husband and I have been talking about for about a year--we even have the book proposal already finished!


August: Get Published in a New Format


One of my dreams is to write movie and/or book reviews. I consume these regularly and frequently, and one of my favorite things to do is have an epic conversation analyzing what the writer meant, the lessons we should learn, what it all means, etc. etc. Book talks were my favorite part of teaching. Anyway, I would like to get a review published this month (anytime this year would be nice!) and in 102 Ways to Make Money...Schecter talks about literary journals as being a potential review market. I'd also love to take a stab at writing greeting cards, board games, menus--anything that I haven't yet tackled. 


September: Craft beer


I feel like I'm cheating a bit because I would like to put this topic much earlier in my walkabout, but it got squeezed out until now. However, it's sort of perfect because the wonderful Savannah Craft Brew Fest is this month. Basically, I want to find more ways to write about craft beer and talk with more women that are doing cool things in the craft beer industry (guys too, but it IS a male-dominated industry already). I also want to attempt brewing my own beer this month, even if it is just from a silly little kit and will probably taste terrible :)


October: Savannah 


When 2012 started, I realized that it was practically too late to pitch national magazines about the wonderful things going on in Savannah in the spring, like St. Patrick's Day, Savannah Stopover, Savannah Tour of Homes, Savannah Music Festival. It's also a very romantic city perfect for a Valentine's Day getaway. So, October is going to be dedicated to pitching as much as I can about Savannah. I also want to refocus on a book idea I have about beautiful Savannah--originally a nonfiction concept, I am thinking about making it into a fiction effort instead. I'd also like to beef up my involvement with the community through volunteering and participating in more social groups. 


November: Plan


I am a planner by nature; I like having a daily, weekly, month, and yearly to-do list. I love this walkabout and other self-reflecting prompts like it (see my reflection on 2011 post, or all my Soul Saturdays posts). However, I'd like to use November as my planning month for 2013 (sounds creepy!). By planning ahead, it will also help me accomplish my December theme:


December: Relax


Last year, I realized that most editors and agents liked to use December to tie up loose ends, not consider new projects. So, last year I felt like I spun my wheels instead of just spending this time relaxing more and focusing more on my creative writing and craft. So, I will be throwing out my daily routine this month and working a lot less hours ideally. And in a dream world, I will spend a week (or four!) staying in a cabin on the mountains near a ski resort and ski every day. Come on, book advance!

(Non)fiction Fridays: 102 Ways to Make Money Writing 1,500 Words or Less

I saw I.J. Schecter speak at the Writer's Digest conference last month in NYC, and the nuggets of wisdom I learned in under an hour prompted me to buy his book immediately after, and I'm so glad I did. If you are a freelance writer, this is just one of those books that should be on your bookshelf because it's going to prompt all sorts of brilliant ideas to help you propel your business and seek out new markets where you can sell your work. But I think just as importantly, this book encourages you to take ownership of your writing career. For example:

1. Don't work for free, for anyone.


2. Create a sales page, and from that, your spiel about what you do for a living.


3. Everything you write, write it so that you would be so proud of the piece, you'd hang it in your living room and frame it--my interpretation of being proud of your work :)

If you just follow these three things, you will be well on your way to a great career. But don't stop there. For concrete advice and ideas about markets (102 potential markets, to be exact), you have to get this book. And be prepared to take notes and have a highlighter handy. I took six pages of notes while I read it, and I feel like I've just scratched the surface of what I can do.

And a funny thing happened after I read this book. Schecter is sort of my freelance writing hero because he has written for so many different outlets and has made a solid career from it. He loves writing any and everything--really!--and has such a joy for the profession. His career is one I would be thrilled to mimic.

But in some ways, I also realized that while I would be willing and happy to write in any format, there are some target topics I want to put more energy into, and I have been focusing on those subjects intensely since reading the book. Now I know all the different ways that I can write about my favorite topics, and already have one new, potential steady gig thanks to this book. But I'm not stopping there.

How many of the 102 markets are you approaching? Where else could you be selling your work?

Tune Thursdays: Bloodkin Celebrate Their 25th Anniversary

Athens-based rock band Bloodkin is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, so I asked Daniel Hutchens, guitarist and vocalist, their secret to staying together so long: “Just the fact that the core of the band is Eric and me, lifelong friends, so even when other members have come and gone, Eric and I are always here, and there’s no real point ‘starting over’ or renaming the band or whatever, because it would still wind up being Eric and me playing and writing, and it would sound the same.”

To read the rest of the interview, please click on the link below:
http://savannahnow.com/do/2012-02-16/music-matters-bloodkin-celebrates-25-years-music-locos#.Tz1k_7Egf34

Writer Wednesdays: Ashley Barron

I realized that the last two weeks, I have included posts from Ashley Barron, so I thought it only fair to actually write an entire blog post about her blog.

She does mostly Q & A's with authors with books that are just out, and they are insightful and deep. I can't help but think, how in the world does she get all these great authors to do these interviews! I know that they are getting to promote their books and all, but still. The interviews are so in-depth and revealing!

Anyway, she does more than just author interviews. Like this post, where she got permission from an author friend to publish a letter about their experience with KDP select. Extremely informative.

Every once in a while, you get a little piece of her, too, like this post when she talks about her 2012 goals.

This blog is simply designed and simply brilliant. Thanks to Ashley for giving us access to so many great writers to learn from!

Travel Tuesdays: Camp to Save Money (Like Near Key West!)

14 miles north of Key West (it couldn't be South really, could it?!), a nice KOA campground sits waiting for Key West goers. If you want to enjoy all that Key West has to offer: the food, watersports, history, and of course, nightlife, you can save a little money by stay at the amenity-filledSugarloaf KOA. We visited on New Year's Eve weekend, when the holiday rates at the cheapest of Key West hotels can clock in over $300 per night, yet we only paid $60 per night, which split between two couples was only $30 a night.

Read the rest of my article here:
http://voices.yahoo.com/save-money-go-key-west-camp-10835465.html

Movie Mondays: Love Essay Inspired by The Vow (No Spoilers!)

Since I know a lot of people will be going to see The Vow for Valentine's Day tomorrow, I thought I would just share the love essay/ burst/stream of consciousness that I wrote after watching the movie yesterday. It felt good to write this and not edit it--just let it stand as is :)

What is love to me?

Love is waking up and giving each other a kiss first thing every day. Waking up and having coffee together, maybe just reading or talking a little about the upcoming day. 

Throughout the day, together or apart, you check in with each other, leaving sweet messages, curious about the other person’s day, thinking about what you will do together that evening. 

When you both finish your work days, you greet each other with big hugs and a kiss—a real kiss. Sometimes it will just lead to cooking dinner together and talking about your days, sometimes more. I think of Lily and Marshall from How I Met Your Mother when they used to tell each other what they had for lunch in detail. If you’re in love, you want to know those little details about someone’s day. 

In the evening, you relax together, watching a movie, playing a game, going on walks, occasionally doing something out of the ordinary and new like a new restaurant, happy hour, bowling, whatever. There should be lots of foot rubs, lots of touching and affection. You sit by each other and pet each other not because you are hoping it leads to sex but because you know that it feels good to the other person and it is relaxing and comforting for both of you. 

Before bed, you have a ritual that you do for one another--like making tea and rubbing lotion on their feet, or drawing figures on their back.

Weekends are for doing something new together and doing active things. Biking, hiking, tennis, running, kayaking, whatever. And maybe trying a new recipe, restaurant, game, exploring a new area—anything. Just enjoying each other’s company and life to the fullest.

Love is not wanting to waste a second doing meaningless things because life is too short. Yes, we have to work hard, but also play hard, together. Life is not about constantly trying to unwind—life should be about trying to love each other to the fullest.

Love means not raising your voice or cussing at each other, ever. Love means putting the other person first. Love means going out of your way, sometimes way out of your way, to show that other person how much they mean to you. It means sometimes becoming uncomfortable trying new things because the other person wants to. It means always being on the lookout for fun things that you can experience together. 

It means putting in effort and hard work and time and energy into the relationship every single day. It means no off days. It means no slacking. Love should energize you and make you feel alive, joyful, and ready to conquer the world and make your partner proud. Love should be the juice, the fuel that makes you run, better than you have ever ran before. 

Being in love should make you the best version of yourself. Being in love means constantly doing things for the other person because you know that it will never be enough, but you are going to give it your best effort anyway. Love means recognizing that the other person could die tomorrow, and you better soak that person up as much as you can and make the most out of every single day you have with them. Love means giving all of yourself, but since the other person is doing that too, you are both filled up. 

Love SHOULD be like the movies and books, only better because it’s real. It’s not that we can’t live up to them; it’s that we don’t try hard enough to. Water for Elephants says, “The greatest love story ever told is your own.” That should be the truth, and we should feel like every other love story—even the ones in the movies--pales in comparison to ours because we have made ours so fantastic and amazing and full that we feel sorry for everyone else.

We look at other people’s relationships and think that we have it better than them, but the reality is, society has set such low standards for what a good relationship is. Is it Homer and Marge? Raymond and his wife? No. These are not loving relationships. Love should be all-consuming; we should lose ourselves a bit not because we are weak but because the love is so strong. 

People say that something is just puppy love, but that is how adult love should still feel too. Like you can’t get enough of the person. You daydream about the person. You miss them when you aren’t together. You do romantic gestures constantly, maybe even obsessively. You make out and can’t keep your hands off each other. You feel like you are magnets with that person. 

You feel so incredibly lucky to be with that person that you do everything in your power to make sure that nothing ever, ever happens to hurt that person or damage your relationship. You try to make it so strong, so powerful, so huge that nothing can bring it down, no matter what happens. You pour out so much love that the other person has not a doubt in their mind how you feel, how special they are, how lucky you feel to have them. 

You leave no doubts, and you make it your #1 mission in life to help make this person as happy as you can, all day every day. You want to give this person the best life you can because you think that they are so important, so incredible, so worth it that you go to great extremes to give them the type of life you know they deserve. 

They are the most important thing in your life, so fear of any kind—embarrassment, pain, hurting someone else’s feelings, ridicule, looking silly—anything is worth fighting for your love and the person that you love and never for a second letting someone else hurt them. You will do any and everything for this person without a second thought or worrying about if they will repay you equally because you feel so blessed to be with them that you feel repaid just by being with them. 

Love is selfless, plain and simple. Love is the greatest gift God gives us. Love is the reason we are alive and on this planet. Love is everything, and it is our responsibility to protect it fiercely and make it grow as big and powerful and wonderful as it can be. We should never settle for enough; we should always think that what we do is never enough and could never be enough, as long as we live. We should do whatever it takes to make the other person know just how important, special, wonderful, capable, amazing, and significant they are to not only us but to the world. 

Just by the sheer fact that they love us back, we should feel like the most confident, strongest, best version of ourselves, basking in their love and how special we feel because out of all of the billions of people on this planet, that other person chose YOU to spend their days and life with. Just that fact alone should make people in love feel like they can do anything, be anything, overcome anything because they have love and that person on their side. Love is a force to be reckoned with, and it should give us the power to be the best version of ourselves and become the person that we were meant to become. 

Love is love is love. 

SUPER Sharing Sundays: Best 8 Links of the Week!

I attended The Creative Penn's Joanna Penn's webinar this week: How to Promote Your Novel Online, and it was fabulous. I highly recommend. The information was condensed and immediately useful. Check it out.

Author interview with Beth Elisa Harris on Ashley Barron's blog is worth reading (and made me privy to Seth Godin's Linchpin).


Shout-out to one of my favorite cities--Savannah!--named by Forbes as one of the best downtowns! Very cool.

I have not yet jumped into the Google+ world, but it is one of my goals for February. LuAnn Schindler breaks down why authors need to get on board and how to improve your visibility.

Be a chess player, not a juggler, when it comes to managing all the aspects of your career via Paul Dorset.

Sarah Baker talks about if self-publishing is the way to go for you. I am SO torn about this. How long do you seek traditionally publishing before you go the self-pub route? That is the conundrum.

Alexis Grant interviews Jade Craven, a "connector" who can teach everyone a ton about building a platform without saying the "p" word.

Excellent discussions about Amazon vs. Big Publishing. Why the ball is in big publishing's court.

Soul Saturdays: Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich Exercises Via Stacey Curnow

I was inspired to answer the four questions below thanks to Stacy Curnow's blog post "Feel Like Giving Up? Read This First" which was in turn inspired by Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. Click the link above to read her responses, then write your own responses to help make 2012 your best year yet!

1. Have a definite purpose, backed by a definite desire.
My purpose is to be a writer that writes stories that touch people emotionally and inspire them to get the most of of life and ideally, live their dream lives. I've always wanted to help people, and through writing, I get to potentially help hundreds (and hopefully thousands?) of people through every piece I write, even if what I'm writing is just a restaurant review that encourages them to go out and enjoy life to the fullest! 

2. Create a definite plan expressed by definite action—even if they only involve one-minute actions!

My definite plan is to write four books per year while also amping up the number of magazine and newspaper pitches. I also want to start a second blog, co-written by my husband, about our marriage which will hopefully appeal to my novels' target audience as well. 
3. If you experience any negative or discouraging messages from others, try to understand that your desire is creating some discomfort for them—probably because they wish they were acting so boldly on their desires—and do not take it personally.
This one is tough for me because as a rule, I have honestly always been the type of person that celebrates the success of others and is inspired when other people do great things. I credit my mom for always making celebrations an important part of my childhood. When my sister's birthday rolled around, my mom would buy me one small gift because she wanted me to know that she and my dad were thankful for me too, and she would do the same for my sister on my birthday. Every achievement was celebrated and recognized, and that attitude rubbed off on me. But I have come to terms with the fact that we as humans are jealous/envious by nature and that nature is amplified by the"keeping up with the Joneses'" mentality of our society as a whole. 


4. Have a friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage you to follow through with both plan and purpose.
Twitter has been a godsend for exactly this reason. I feel like I have a whole bunch of fellow writers that genuinely want me to succeed (or at least pretend really well that they do!). However, more than anyone, my husband has supported me during this last wild year when we both quit our jobs and did a total "life upheaval" in order to allow me to chase my dreams of being a full-time writer. He is my unpaid editor, toughest critic, and biggest cheerleader, and without him, I wouldn't have been able to take the full-time writing leap. Thank you honey!

Fiction Fridays: Elin Hilderbrand's Nantucket Nights

I love Elin Hilderbrand, but this novel fell a little short for me. I think because of the plot device of having one of the best friends disappear and the whole novel we were left high and dry. Was she dead? Was she alive? Pregnant? What the hell was going on? It felt too manipulative. I think that perhaps having us, the readers, in on it may have been effective but maybe not.

I understand why Hilderbrand did it. Keeping that carrot dangling definitely keeps the pages turning. But it just felt too forced to me. And I thought some of the decisions that the characters made were just too far-fetched. In her other books, every decision felt real and felt like something I might actually decide for myself, good and bad. But in this book, I just couldn't get on board with the decisions and lacked empathy for the maybe drowned/maybe dead character.

I think too that I hated to see three 20-year friendships shattered by selfish behavior. I know that in Hilderbrand novels relationships are going to be destroyed, but I just didn't get invested enough in the lives of these three women to care enough.

I want to read another Hilderbrand novel ASAP though. Any suggestions? I've read The Castaways and The Island so far. 

Tune Thursdays: Jody Espina Trio in Savannah, Georgia

Jody Espina has traveled all over the world, performing and teaching jazz music while also running JodyJazz, a renowned saxophone and clarinet mouthpiece company. Several years ago, he left New York and settled in Savannah to be closer to family.

Read the rest of my Savannah Morning News column here: Jody Espina Trio headed by Jody Jazz, Inc. CEO

Writer Wednesdays: Why You Must Follow Chuck Wendig's blog, Terribleminds

Chuck Wendig is one of those unabashedly blunt, slightly vulgar, and totally confident (at least from the outside looking in!) that makes me sit up and pay attention to what he says. His blog is full of hands-on, super useful advice that is immediately applicable. And it's hilarious, which feels like perfectly whipped icing on an already delicious cake.

He's not a guy that's going to blow rainbows up your booty, or tell you everything is going to be just dandy if you "just believe." No, Wendig tells it how it is in this wonderful, wacky profession called writing:

Damn hard.

Now, once you accept that fact and get over it, Wendig will help you improve not only your craft, but your marketing and most importantly, your attitude. You have to be willing to put yourself out there (like he does) and be confident that if your stuff is any good, you WILL get published and recognized.

His combination of wit, sometimes raunchy humor, and expertise combine to make a surprisingly beautiful blog, both aesthetically and information-ally. Go get inspired, and make sure to check out the rest of his site too. All kinds of great resources for any writer.

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/blog/

Travel Tuesdays: Spending the Day in Ellis Square in Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia offers an abundance of historically significant sights, great food, and fun entertainment throughout the city. However, for a unique one day experience, you can stay inside just the few blocks surrounding the restored Ellis Square to have a complete, fun-filled day at the heart of the historic district. A variety of food, culture, shopping and entertainment awaits you in this area favored by locals and tourists alike. Envision the old hustle and bustle of the city market of the past where all the trading and shopping was conducted in Savannah's current day City Market, coined "The Art and Soul" of Savannah.


To read the rest of my article, please click the link:
http://voices.yahoo.com/spending-day-ellis-square-8876907.html

Movie Mondays: Dan in Real Life with Steve Carrell

In my review of Crazy Stupid Love, I talked about my favorite version of Steve Carrell is when he plays a down-and-out regular guy like in Crazy Stupid Love and Dan in Real Life and realized that I haven't reviewed that movie yet, so here goes.

I love this movie due to it's central theme: the power of love. For Carrell's character, the power of love is so strong that it nearly ruins his life. He lost his first wife and now this widower is raising three little women alone. He hasn't let himself fall in love again--heck, he won't even play the guitar again because he used to play for her--and his depression is palpable. Carrell plays this role of depressed-but-doesn't-realize-it dad adorably well

Then, he meets a woman randomly while running to the store for his extended family, which have all gathered for their annual vacation at his parents' lake house. He and the mystery woman talk for hours, and he opens up to her more in those hours than he has in years since his wife passed away. But she hastily exits and he is left feeling exposed and frankly, in love already from this one encounter.

But here comes the twist: it's his brother's girlfriend, who he wooed by stealing words from Carrell's character's published book. Chaos ensues, and the whole family, including his daughters, hates Carrell towards the end of the movie.

This plot twist makes the movie. We as the audience are in on the secret, and we can't help for root for Carrell to get the girl. The most memorable scene is when Carrell and his brother play a duet for the brother's girlfriend/Carrell's soul mate before the family is in on Carrell's secret love.

The movie showcases love in its purest form: two people meet, they connect over meaningful conversation and basically fall in love at first sight. Nothing physical (except for plenty of longing stares); just a pure emotional connection made that grabs them at their core and won't let go, no matter who they might hurt.

The power of love indeed.

SUPER Sharing Sundays: Best 8 Links of the Week!

Hope C. Clark gives selflessly to the writing community; it's time to show our appreciation with the release of her new novel, Lowcountry Bribe! Read about her infectious joy at this news.

Great post by Shelli Johnson about why being obsessed with your sales numbers can be detrimental to your writing career.

Publishing guru Jane Friedman talks about the attitudes aspiring writers have to avoid regarding the publishing industry and self-publishing (I have been guilty of #1!).

However, if you DO decide to self-publish, GX graphic designer discusses the importance of having a striking ebook cover to interest the "casual browser" on Ashley Barron's blog.

An interview by Alexia Purdy with hard-working author Michael K. Rose and the importance of setting writing goals (more like standards!) to reach your publishing dreams.

I find myself including (or so it seems) at least one post by Jeff Goins each Sunday. But they are just so darn good I have to share'em!

Rob Eager gives advice to authors that are struggling to sell books (Hint: It's you, not them).

And most exciting (for me!): My first-ever given interview, on Lanea Miller's blog (consequently, it was her first interview also! Too cool.). She calls me an "extraordinary woman. I was (and am!) so honored. Right back at ya, Lanea!

Soul Saturdays: #Manifestival Part 3--Reflecting on 2011

Today's assignment: Reflecting on what each month of 2011 meant and the dominating theme/topic of each month.This sort of intimidates me more than any of the reflections so far, perhaps because 2011 was a year of such drastic change in my life and career.

January: Hopeful. Started this blog, so my hopes were extremely high and I envisioned making a steady income just by people reading my blog (which is rare, and requires that you have products to sell, which I don't yet).

February: Proud. I published several articles on Yahoo that got a little bit of buzz, and I felt that surge of pride when you know people are reading and liking what you're writing, and maybe even getting some use out of what I'm saying. I also took a chance and submitted these articles to my local newspaper, Savannah Morning News, and got hired to do a weekly music column for them, which I still do currently and has helped me develop as a journalist/interviewer.

March: Ecstatic. I overheard a stranger talking about an article I'd written. I felt like a celebrity, but more importantly, I felt like I was a good writer and people enjoyed my voice and style.

April: Reflection. As a high school English teacher, I assigned career research papers every April. I realized that I was a hypocrite because as I was pushing them to think beyond being a lawyer, doctor, or something else that involved high salaries and instead pursue their passions, I was not following my own passions.

May: Accomplished. I wrote and finished my first screenplay and had an absolute ball doing so. I realized I really could write and enjoyed the all-consuming drive that came with wanting to finish the screenplay and then edit it to perfection. One of the best nights of my marriage was when my husband and I read aloud the screenplay to fine-tune it.

June: Courage. I attended the skirt! creative conference, and was so inspired that I came home and sat down with my husband for an hours-long talk about our futures. By the end of that conversation, we had decided to both quit our jobs, rent our house, sell one of our cars, and move in to my parents' house for a few months so we could pursue writing and editing careers.

July: Opportunity. I saw that our regional magazine, South Magazine, didn't have a complete listing for bars and restaurants, so I contacted them and offered to write up profiles. Reaching out resulted in a steady position as their dining editor, which I still do currently.

August: Momentum. Seeing my first magazine article in print was truly thrilling. Having my words alongside memorable, dynamic photos, sidebars, and cool fonts blew me away, and I was hooked. I upped my number of pitches to magazines per month and have three articles coming out in national publications in the coming months thanks to this effort.

September: Gratitude. I put my profile on Media Bistro and as a result, was asked by Forbes Travel to go on two assignments to Hilton Head and gorgeous Kiawah Island. I produced over 40,000 words in one month to meet my deadline, and travel writing became a top priority for me. Free dinner, massage, and night's stay at a 5-star resort? Heck ya! Hoping to expand my travel writing portfolio even more in 2012.

October: Confident. Things really started lining up in our lives and doors started opening. I was invited for an all-expenses paid trip to New Orleans through their tourism board, connected with a few clients that I now do social media for, and met another writer who helped me get a gig writing travel descriptions for Travel + Leisure's website. I felt like all the signs were point to that I was on the right path and good things were going to continue to happen.

November: Superstar. I participated in #Nanowrimo for the first time and wrote my first novel in a 17-day burst, averaging over 3,000 words per day. The feeling of accomplishment, pride, and a little bit of fear was so motivating, and the community I felt with the other writers was overwhelmingly motivating and satisfying. I realized I want to write books forever and ever, and as many as possible.

December: Scared. Editing my novel, doubts crept in that it just wasn't good enough, and the doom-and-gloom attitude about the fate of traditional publishing made me question if I'll be able to find an agent and publisher. Thankfully, my two pre-readers gave me the shot of confidence I needed to do another round of editing to really get my novel ready for the Writer's Digest conference I was attending in January. (Partial manuscript requested by several agents I met there!).

2011 Overall: Freedom. I feel blessed and thankful that I took the leap and went after my dreams. I love everything about my writing career, and I feel a sense of freedom knowing that I no longer have to count down to a far-off retirement date. Instead, I have hundreds of article and book ideas that I want to complete, and to be honest, I will spend the rest of my life trying to get all of these ideas out into the world. If I die typing away on my computer, I will die a happy person. Now, I try to encourage any and everyone to pursue their passions because it has transformed my life and brought me a level of happiness and contentment that I never dreamed possible.

Fiction Fridays: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

What surprises me about this book is how much I love the structure--little vignettes that Cisneros described as "lazy poems"--because I don't tend to read collections of short stories, which this essentially is. Perhaps because each one is about the same person, Esperanza, so they are all obviously connected. And it reads like a memoir, and I love memoirs.

Anyway, I am always delighted to read books with a unique structure, and I hope to one day write a novel in a similar fashion. I feel that it would be so freeing to jot down little stories that when pieced together, tell someone's whole life. Really, we are all just made up of our little memories because the stuff we can't or don't remember cease to be part of our identity anymore.

Critics and audiences latch onto the themes of sexism and racism, but really it boils down to identity, which is a powerful theme that, for me, is a must for a book to make it onto my "tops" list.

Have you read any books similar to The House on Mango Street that you can recommend to me?

Tune Thursdays: Brad Wells of 107.9 Savannah (He Plays Music, Too!)

New to the area from Louisiana, Brad Wells has worked in radio for thirteen years, and when he saw “the opportunity to start up Y107.9 in Savannah,” he immediately fell in love with the city.


Read the rest of this Music Matters column for Savannah Morning News here: http://savannahnow.com/do/2012-02-02/music-matters-brad-wells-excited-play-first-friday-savannah#.TyrP1lyXT34

Writer Wednesdays: Roy Stevenson's Travel Writing

Today I stumbled on Roy Stevenson's article "What's Selling Now: Travel Writing in 2012." This article makes you want to immediately sign up for courses, workshops, and whatever else that The Travel Writer's Life offers to help boost your travel writing career. He has been published in over 150 magazines, and he was in New Zealand when he wrote this particular article (which isn't about New Zealand at all, but still).

As I finished the article, I immediately was ready to book my next plane ticket to somewhere. Travel writing is something I do a little for Yahoo, South Magazine, Travel + Leisure's website, and I was put on-assignment by Forbes Travel for Hilton Head and Kiawah Island, but I want to do even more. I want to do what Stevenson does and go on full-blown, weeks-long vacations to see as much of this beautiful world as possible with the time I have left.

Stevenson's article is geared to aspiring travel writers, but his passion for traveling comes through in even this instructional-style article. He is made for travel writing, and the joy he gains and shares about his travels and lifestyle is evident, and I finished reading feeling inspired because he is someone that identified his passions and then created a life that is in line with those passions.

2012 will be full of great things for Stevenson no doubt. And thanks to the motivation I feel after reading this article, I hope for me too :)