Just Popping In To Say Hi

"Hi!!" by Christine Graves via NightCafe Studio

Hello, my darlings. I hope you've been enjoying your July. I've been going a hundred miles an hour at my real-world job, so on my days off, I've done pretty much NOTHING!! And now we're only days away from August, and it's time to get ready to go back to school.

I've been working on some writing projects. Other than just working on my blogs, I've also been working on another Promptly book and am in the process of rewriting a piece I'd done as a microfiction serial on a multi-author writing platform. And when I say rewriting, I mean I've taken the whole story and turned it on it's head. The same premise is there, but I'm writing it from a whole different POV. 

I've written a couple of Promptly books over the years, but haven't done much to advertise them. I need to change that. I have one on Amazon called Promptly Chronicled--300 writing prompts for the fiction writer. I have another one on Gumroad, but I'm fixing to move that over to Amazon in the near future as I've had absolutely no luck on Gumroad. 

The one I'm working on right now is called Flash Fiction 500--500 writing prompts to get the fiction writer moving. I started working on this little book several years ago, but ended up having to put it away for personal reasons. As I was looking through some of my old writings, I ran across it and decided to get it finished. I'm hoping to have it done and uploaded to Amazon by my birthday (September 17th).

The book I'm working on is called The Pin-Up Girl Murders. It's about a young Los Angeles detective who has a former detective's life work dropped in his lap. The younger detective's timeline is set in the late 1970s, while the older detective's work is set between the mid-1940s and the mid-1950s. I'm not sure when it will be finished, but I'm really hoping to have it published by the first of the year. 

I've also found several other pieces that I'm going to start working on as soon as I get through these. I don't want to get too many things going and then drop them all because of brain burnout. I have a bad habit of doing that. 

I've also been thinking about submitting some of my microfiction to various online magazines. I'll be honest, I didn't even think this was a thing anymore. I still remember the days of sending off stories to magazines through snail mail. I had several of those Writer's Markets books over the years. If I remember correctly, I had the 1993, '94, '96, '99, and 2002 editions. Pretty sure that's a thing of the past.

As I move into my golden years, I'm more determined than ever to continue making writing my chosen venue. I've been researching a lot about taking early retirement. I still have a few years to go, but it'll be here sooner than I think. I'm seriously thinking about taking an early retirement, then throwing myself into my writing. And the more I think about it, the more excited I'm getting. 

I still have no idea what the future holds, but I do know that mine will have some type of writing journey in it. I've been a writer for as long as I can remember, and I'll be a writer until I just can't physically do it anymore. 

What's your plan for the future? Have you been thinking about what you're going to do? Are you even at that point in life yet? 

May all your dreams come true.

Until next time, 

 

Calm Your Storm

"Calm Your Storm" by Christine Graves via NighCafe Studio

I planned to make the Sunday Morning thing go from week to week, but there's a problem. I have a real-world job, and it's been a long week. I won't go into a lot of details, but I've had my spirit tested multiple times this week. It's been exhausting.

As an older woman with high blood pressure, you'd think I'd know how important it is to stay calm. However, because I'm an older woman, I also have that wonderful thing called "Mental-Pause" happening. Anger just kind of comes with the affliction.

My job is very physically demanding. I am the department head, so I also have to deal with a lot of mental stress. It's my job to make sure everyone else gets their stuff done, has everything they need to do their jobs, and is doing their jobs correctly. At the end of the day, my nerves are shot.

This past week has been especially brutal. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried to keep things running smoothly, everything was falling apart. I actually broke down in tears today. I was angry, hurt, exhausted, and just tired of all the crap. I was broken.

Then a little voice in my head said something to me that I normally say to others. "Calm your storm". 

No, it's not a verse from the Bible, but a quote from a movie. In the 2010 version of Clash of the Titans, Perseus is about to fight the Gorgon, Medusa. In preparation, the goddess (?) Io reminds Perseus that he must "ease" his storm. Calm his anger. Get his thoughts in order and make his plan. 

Mark 4:39 says, "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down, and it was completely calm."

It's easy to get upset in a situation that isn't going our way. I'm probably one of the worst about this. Getting angry instantly isn't going to fix the situation. A cool head and a steady hand is the way to go. Speaking from experience here. My getting upset over the situation only gave me a headache and chest pains. Once I'd calmed down, I was able to tackle the problem, come up with a solution, and get through the rest of the day. It wasn't a permanent fix, but I was able to get through the day. 

As you go through the rest of this week, remember to "Calm Your Storm" when you feel yourself getting upset over little things. Even with the bigger issues, keep your calm. Find that place within yourself that fights those negative feelings. Understand that getting upset isn't going to make things better, only worse.

Until next time,
Mom Graves!!!