Mar 07

Rhonda Leifheit: March classes begin soon

  • Filed under Featured

  • March 7, 2014

  • 4 mins to read

LeifheitGuest post by Rhonda Leifheit

The first three classes listed below will be taught through the St. Louis Community College, Continuing Education.

Please register AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE. As always, feel free to call me if you have any questions. Rhonda 314-644-0641

IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH BY TAPPING INTO THE MIND/BODY CONNECTION

Monday, March 17, 7-9 P.M. for 3 weeks at Forest Park Campus

Please note: the class scheduled for March 17 has been cancelled. (Must be lots of St. Patty’s Day parties!)

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) combines tapping on acupressure points with intentional statements. It has been gaining increasing attention due to its effectiveness in alleviating self-limiting beliefs, emotional issues, and physical stress. This class will include:

* Hands-on instruction and guidance in EFT and variations.

* Root Cause Technique to release underlying causation and layered emotions.

* Polarity Reversal Technique to clear self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors.

* Installing Positive Programs to bring peace of mind and physical well-being.

Fee: $45 (if you’re 60+ ask for the discount).

To Register: Call 314-984-7777, or www.stlcc.edu/ce.HEAL:706, Section 450.

Location: Forest Park Campus, B-Tower, room 013 (a quiet, comfortable room)

 

MEDITATION: BEGINNING

Wed., March 19, 7-9 P.M. for 4 weeks at Florissant Valley Campus

Discover the benefits of meditation: relaxation,mental clarity, emotional balance and spiritual attunement. Learn a variety of meditation techniques so you can discover which one works best for you. Enjoy the blessings of greater peace of mind and connection with your spiritual nature.

Fee: $49 (if you’re 60+ ask for discount)

To Register: Call 314-984-7777, or www.stlcc.edu/ce. PERD:732, Section 550.

Location: Florissant Valley Campus, Training Center, Room 109 (a comfortable conference room).

 

DREAMS: WISDOM FROM WITHIN

Tues., March 25, 7-9 P.M. for 4 weeks at Forest Park Campus

Delve into the mystery of dreaming to discover the guidance dream can give. Dreams can help us access our creativity, heal emotional wounds, or prepare us for the future. Dreams can awaken us to astral planes, giving us access to higher sources of wisdom.

* Learn techniques for deepening sleep and remembering your dreams.

* Interpret dreams using different methods to see what works for you (and how different methods work for different dreams).

* Explore the universal and personal meaning of symbols.

* Use “dream incubation” to solve problems, make decisions, and facilitate healing.

* Identify types of dreams such as: precognitive, recurring, guide communication. Even nightmares have a purpose.

Participants will have the opportunity to share their dreams and participate in small groups as “Dream Helpers”. The dreamer is always the final authority of his or her dreams.

Fee: $49 (ask for discount if 60+)

To Register: Call 314-984-7777, or www.stlcc.edu/ce. PERD:735, Section 450.

Location: Forest Park Campus, B-Tower, 013 (a quiet, comfortable room)

——————————————-

THE ART OF EMPATHY: A Complete Guide to Life’s Most Essential Skill

Tues., March 4, 7-9 P.M. for 3 weeks at The Soul-Esteem Center

NOTE: You can still join this book-study next week. (By then we’ll be studying chapters 3-5.)

This class will use Karla McLaren’s book (of the same title) as a study guide. She is an “empathic counselor” who sees emotions as having life-saving wisdom and vitality. She defines an empath as someone who is aware that he or she reads emotions, nuances, undercurrents, intentions, thoughts, interactions, and body language to a greater degree than is deemed normal. Topics include:

* The Value and Purpose of All of Our Emotions

* Relationships as an Empathic Art From

* Empaths Inventory

* Developing Health Empathy for Yourself

* Maintaining Health Boundaries as You “Tune In” to Other’s Feelings

Fee: $60 (or $25 weekly)

To Register: Call 314-275-7685, www.soul-esteem.com. Call Rhonda for more info. 314-644-0641

Location: The Soul-Esteem Center, 105A Progress Parkway, Maryland Heights, MO 63043

 

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/rhonda-leifheit-march-classes-begin-soon/

Mar 07

Nat Geo & NASA: Broadcasting live from space 3/14

  • Filed under Featured

  • March 7, 2014

  • 2 mins to read

Reprinted from Inside Nat Geo:

LIVE GLOBAL TELEVISION EVENT

FRIDAY MARCH 14 8P ET / 5P PT

Broadcasting Live From Space
National Geographic and NASA will journey around the world while broadcasting live from the International Space Station, and you can be part of the epic adventure on March 14.
Say “hello from Earth” to the astronauts.

#hellofromearth #livefromspace #hellofromearth #livefromspace #hellofromearth #livefromspace

 

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/national-geographic-broadcasting-live-from-space-314/

Mar 07

Kimberly Schneider: The 6 Ps of Presence

  • Filed under Featured

  • March 7, 2014

  • 4 mins to read

KimberlySchneider-2Guest post by Kimberly Schneider

Patience isn’t a strong point for many of us.

It’s hard to be patient when you’re waiting for something exciting, like a party, or a reunion with a loved one.

And when you feel sad, or anxious, or troubled in any way, it is also hard to be patient while you wait for easier times.

The funny thing is though, that if we don’t choose to cultivate patience, we just might miss the really great moments: those joyful ones we’ve been anticipating, and even those that come in the midst of great trauma or ordinary days—those gifts of Grace that somehow reach our weary souls like the sun suddenly breaking through the grey of a cloud-covered sky.

So I’m working on that patience thing.

Because really, patience is about having the courage to show up for this moment now, whatever it is bringing.  It’s about welcoming all things, and choosing to trust that there’s a blessing in the midst of it.  

And when you do that on a regular basis, here’s what happens:

* problems get solved without your intervention

* you see what you couldn’t see before

* you begin to trust life, as you recognize the miracles that have been happening around you all along

Practicing patience, practicing Presence, is an art.

You will never have “made it;” it’s not something you figure out how to do perfectly, or every time (well, at least, I haven’t figured out how to do that).

But if you set an intention to practice the art of Presence, and keep choosing that intention again and again and again, you’ll experience your life.  You’ll be here.  You will be participating in the magic.

And that’s worth being here for.

I’ll leave you with a little passage I wrote about practicing Presence—I was inspired by a Lao Tzu poem, so I adapted it for a speech I recently gave about “The 6 Ps of Presence” at a corporate meeting:

Do you have the patience to pause

until your mind settles and the next step is clear? 

Can you remain unmoving

until the right action arises on its own? 

The Artist is not attached to the answer.

Living the questions,

the Artist is Present,

and can welcome all things. 

Adapted from Lao-Tzu by Kimberly Schneider, 2014

May you have the Presence to relish the art that shows up as this life of yours!

And if you want to join me in stepping into Presence, and Renewal, and Transformation and Joy, I hope you’ll come to the Celtic Soul Experience this weekend! Irish singing/songwriting brothers Owen and Moley O’Suilleabhain and I will be offering a Renewal Retreat inspired by Celtic Spirituality this Saturday, March 8th, in St. Louis.  All seekers/paths/traditions welcome! And on Friday night, March 7th, the lads will be opening the weekend with a smashing concert that also includes St. Louis favorites Stickley and Canan.  You can get your tickets right now at: http://togetherinfaithseries.com/2014/01/02/march-7-8-celtic-soul-experience-2/

I hope to see you there!

Blessings,

Kimberly

http://www.KimberlySchneider.com 

The Manifestation Maven

http://Facebook.com/KimberlyVSchneider 

EYNsm-3Request Kimberly’s free Conscious Manifestation eCourse and you’ll also receive the introduction and sample chapter of her book, Everything You Need Is Right Here: Five Steps to Manifesting Magic: http://www.TheManifestationMaven.com

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/kimberly-schneider-6-ps-of-presence/

Mar 03

BRoP interview: K.T. Bryski

  • Filed under Featured

  • March 3, 2014

  • 5 mins to read

KTHeadshotWelcome to K.T. Bryski, this week’s Blog Ring of Power guest. K.T. is a Canadian author and podcaster. She made her podcasting and publishing debut with Hapax, an apocalyptic fantasy with Dragon Moon Press (2012). Select playwriting credits include scripts for Black Creek Pioneer Village (2011) and East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon: a Children’s Opera (Canadian Children’s Opera Company, 2014). She recently received her Hon. B.A. in History from the University of Toronto, and she is currently at work on her next novel. Visit her at www.ktbryski.com.

Facebook: The Group Page of K.T. Bryski’s Writing

Twitter: @ktbryski

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6511613.K_T_Bryski?from_search=true

 

BRoP Logo Revised-1Don’t miss the rest of her BRoP interview at:

Part 1 @ Terri

Part 3 @ E.M.

Part 4 @ Sandra
Part 5 @ Vicki

 

PART 2: THE WRITING LIFE 

How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life? Work/life balance isn’t really my forte; writing tends to bleed into other aspects of my life. Treating it as a job with defined hours seems to help: I can make sure I’ve allotted enough hours both to my writing and to my friends, family, and sanity.

When do you write? I seem to naturally gravitate towards writing at night: usually 9:00pm-1:00am. Midmorning to early afternoon also works, as long as I’m not working the dayjob. Ideally, though, I try to be able to write anytime.

What is the strongest criticism you’ve ever received as an author? The best compliment? Being told to rewrite an entire book from scratch was probably the strongest criticism I’ve received so far (my editor was absolutely right, though). The best compliment? When a reader told me that my book gave her nightmares.

Other than your family, what has been your greatest source of support? I have two.

First: the broader community of authors. I’ve met some wonderful people who have given me advice, encouragement, and a listening ear. Plus, it’s really cool when you’re writing, and you know that a pal is writing at the exact same time.

Second: a wickedly talented young woman named Blythe. She’s my friend, beta reader, and voice actor. Not only does she give insightful critiques, she’s believed in me even when I couldn’t believe in myself. There’s one book in particular that she pretty much saved from abandonment through sheer faith.

How do you deal with rejection and/or negative reviews? First, I take time to cool off­—whether it’s a minute or a week. Then I go back and take a second look. My main objective is finding something that I can learn from the experience. Then I remind myself of several things. They’re critiquing the work, not me. I’m not going to please everyone. And there’s always another project.

HapaxFrontSmall

HAPAX: The Apocalypse has come, and in seven days the world will be no more.

Only the Hapax, the Word which began the universe, can recreate the world and avert the Apocalypse, but that Word has been lost. Brother Gaelin finds his faith crumbling as he is forced to shelter two fugitives from the Magistatiem, the college of magi which has been divorced from the Ecclesiat monks for centuries.

As time slips away, the monks and magi must do more than just heal the ancient rift that divides them—they must trust in the very Being who drove them apart.

Hapax is available in print, e-book, and podcast forms.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15958404-hapax?from_search=true

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hapax-K-T-Bryski-ebook/dp/B009OMKC7G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1392529865&sr=8-2&keywords=hapax

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hapax-k-t-bryski/1112447144?ean=9781897492529

Kobo: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/hapax/9781897492567-item.html?ikwid=Hapax&ikwsec=Home&gcs_requestid=0CPjcrZn7z7wCFVD45wodkmsAAA

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/hapax/id559998352?mt=2

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Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/brop-interview-k-t-bryski/

Feb 24

BRoP interview: T.J. Woolridge

  • Filed under Featured

  • February 24, 2014

  • 9 mins to read

Author Pic-2Welcome to T. J. Wooldridge, this week’s Blog Ring of Power guest! T.J. is a professional writing geek who adores research into myth, folklore, legend, and the English language. Before delving full-time into wordsmithing, she has been a tutor, a teacher, an educational course designer, a video game proofreader, a financial customer service representative, a wine salesperson, a food reviewer, an editing consultant, a retail sales manager, and a nanny.

While infrequent, there are times she does occasionally not research, write, or help others write. During those rare moments, she enjoys the following activities: spending time with her Husband-of-Awesome, a silly tabby cat, and two Giant Baby Bunnies in their Massachusetts home hidden in a pocket of woods in the middle of suburbia, reading, riding her horse in the nearby country stables and trails (not very well), reading Tarot (very well), drawing (also not very well), making jewelry (pretty well), making lists, and adding parenthetical commentary during random conversations. She also enjoys dressing up as fey creatures, zombies, or other such nonsense at science fiction, fantasy, and horror conventions.

BRoP Logo Revised-1Don’t miss the rest of her interview at:

Part 1 @ Terri

Part 3 @ Emily

Part 4 @ Sandra

Part 5 @ Vicki

 

PART 2: THE WRITING LIFE

What is your writing process? Do you follow a regular routine? Do you use pen and paper or computer? Work at home or at the library/Starbucks, etc. My writing process is all over the place and driven by deadlines and other people. 😉 I have some elements of regularity: a few standing writing and critique dates with friends, stolen moments after Sunday horseback riding lessons before that coffeeshop closes, various meetings with friends and colleagues to talk about our work and support it. Mostly, though, it’s not all that regular. I write when I can. If I know I need an oil change or some car work done, where I’ll be sitting for at least 15-20 minutes, I’ll make sure to bring my netbook so I can write. Similarly, if I’ve got various errands and appointments with time in between, I find a place to stop and grab a coffee and plan to get a little writing done.

I’m also an editor, and unless I’m at the very tail end of a deadline that will get MY editor in trouble, I will work on my authors’ work before mine. So, when I get my own writing done depends on what I’m working for with my other authors.  Similarly, if I’ve got deadlines for Broad Universe, where I’m president, or I’m handling Broad Universe related things, those get attention before my writing.  I also work a lot of conventions and converences, for BU, for myself, for my publishing house, so those change up my schedule quite a bit.  I have been known to steal time in a convention’s green room or con suite at the bar to get writing done, too, though.

My handwriting alternates between pretty and ornate to totally illegible, so unless I’m writing poetry, I type.

How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life? Not all that greatly, I’m afraid. I haven’t been late on any deadlines for some time, and I do get an awful lot accomplished, but I’ve pulled more all-nighters and lost more sleep than I’d like to admit.  Basically, I work on a “what’s the nearest deadline? And what deadline is after that?” sort of mentality. I have spreadsheets for my projects for what needs to get done when.  I check those spreadsheets regularly and I make lots of little to-do lists on the back of quartered sheets of old critiques (because I support recycling!)

I also fail at exercise. I DO a lot–I ride my horse, I hike, I read Tarot at stores–but I also spend copious amounts of time sitting at my desk which is awful for my back.  I have a horse, and having her is an amazing part of my life, but occasionally I get a few weeks where I only get to see her once a week (I board her about half an hour away from my house) and sometimes, if I’m traveling, I can go two weeks without seeing her… and I hate that.

What has been the most surprising reaction to something you’ve written? My original cover artist for The Kelpie was wonderful and amazing, but she stopped working as a professional artist…that’s why we changed covers: so we could maintain a “brand” with the series.

That said, I’d never met this artist, Vic Caswell, before in my life, and she had read the entire novel. We had a Skype meeting over the phone and she told me how moved she was with the book.  We both ended up with tears in our eyes and I’ve never felt so wonderful before.  Here was this amazing woman, amazing artist whose sketches were already capturing the pictures I had in my head, and she was moved by my book! It meant something to her…someone I didn’t know and had never met before.

I still get teary when I think of that call and that will pull me through when I will get negative interviews (when I hear about them) and when I get future rejections for other stories. There was one person who I never new before and who I may not get a chance to work with again, and we both touched each others lives on that deep a level.

Other than your family, what has been your greatest source of support? My writers groups and Broad Universe.  And it feels weird to say the latter because I’m current president, but when I sent out a call for help in publicizing my book, I had an amazing amount of people come forward.  Members I hadn’t met in person before or had not spoken to before… and I couldn’t even include everyone on my blog tour! (But I appreciate all of you!)  Not only that, I see so much of my stuff shared by members.

I have three writers critique groups, one of which I’ve known since my very first convention–DragonCon–in 2002: The DragonWriters. We were all part of A.C. Crispin’s writer’s workshop and many of us have stayed friends and supporters all these years.  I just co-edited an anthology with Anthony Francis, one of the members that came out this past September, Doorways to Extra Time. Most of the DragonWriters are scattered, so, outside of DragonCon, we are mostly online friends. I have two in-person critique groups who have been amazing resources, too. Traveling Java ended up  was created when I had to help a member of Broad Universe get some cheese back to Massachusetts from WisCon…and grew with other mostly-local Broads and friends of ours. The critiques are top notch and make my editors’ lives a whole lot easier, I truly believe. Also, the monthly deadlines keep my writing and editing on track. My other group, which was at one point called Common Ground and met at a coffee shop, now meets once a month at one of the member’s family’s Thai restaurant and they’ve also come to a lot of my local events and given me great feedback on my writing…particularly with feedback on male point of view and characters from different cultural backgrounds than mine.

How do you deal with rejection and/or negative reviews? I have a desk drawer dedicated to holding my stash of chocolate and other snack foods for emergency use.  Also, I really don’t have a lot of time to read reviews, so unless someone sends them to me or they end up in my Facebook feed, I don’t see them. With rejections, I’m definitely down and less productive for a few days, but I have too many other people’s projects depending on me to really let me get too down.  And I have a lot of wonderful friends and memories (like of my first cover artist) who support me.

Please let us know where your readers can stalk you:

Blog: novelfriend.blogspot.com and novelfriend.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NovelFriend

Twitter: novelfriend

New_KELPIE front cover-2

THE KELPIE: I can’t honestly say I was joking when I suggested to my best friend, Joe – Prince Joseph, eldest son of England’s Crown Prince – that we could probably find something the police had missed in regards to the missing children.  After all, eleven and twelve year olds like us did that all the time on the telly and in the books we read…

When Heather and Joe decide to be Sleuthy MacSleuths on the property abutting the castle Heather’s family lives in, neither expected to discover the real reason children were going missing:

A Kelpie.  A child-eating faerie horse had moved into the loch “next door.”

The two barely escape with their lives, but they aren’t safe. Caught in a storm of faerie power, Heather, Joe, and Heather’s whole family are pulled into a maze of talking cats, ghostly secrets, and powerful magick.

With another child taken, time is running out to make things right.

 

Available at:

The Kelpie on Amazon

The Kelpie at Barnes & Noble

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Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/brop-interview-t-j-woolridge/

Feb 18

My first audiobook debuts today!

  • Filed under Featured

  • February 18, 2014

  • 3 mins to read
Audiobook available!

Audiobook available!

My first audiobook is now available on Amazon/Audible, and coming soon to iTunes!

JAGUAR HOPE, a novelette, is only $4.86, a 30% discount. The introductory price probably won’t last long so don’t wait. You can check out the three-minute sample on Audible. The complete audiobook is a little over one hour long.

When Laurel Schroeder contacted me via ACX about producing JAGUAR HOPE, I was thrilled with her narration. I checked out her website and discovered she not only has a wonderful voice, but holds an MFA in acting and BA in theatre.

643a24_d6489de48138e2292c9fdcfc76857fb3.jpeg_srz_328_503_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpeg_srz

Laurel Schroeder

If you are new to Audible and purchase JAGUAR HOPE as one of your first three audiobooks, Laurel and I will share a $25 “bounty.” Send your receipt to me at twfendley@gmail.com after you complete the 61-day membership requirement to receive a complimentary Kindle copy of my novel ZERO TIME, which continues the saga.

Listen: Play Sample

Two black jaguars become the symbol of hope for a race facing extinction when they accompany a dying traveler back to her home planet. JAGUAR HOPE, a novelette, tells of the ill-fated journey to Earth’s Age of Crystal in this action-packed prequel to the award-winning historical fantasy novel, ZERO TIME.

NOTE: If you’d be interested in providing an honest review on Amazon/Goodreads, please contact me for a free copy at twfendley@gmail.com.

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/my-first-audiobook-debuts-today/

Feb 17

BRoP interview: George Sirois

  • Filed under Featured

  • February 17, 2014

  • 6 mins to read

GSiroisWelcome to this week’s Blog Ring of Power guest, George Sirois! He self-published his first novel, From Parts Unknown, in November 2002, and is now re-working it as a five-part eBook serial and paperback release. When he self-published his Young Adult/Science-Fiction novel Excelsior in July 2010, it was named “Top Pick” by Night Owl Reviews and a quarter-finalist in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. George’s writing has also been seen on 411Mania.com and Booktrib.com as a featured columnist.

After living in New York City for most of his life, George and his wife and their two dogs now happily call St. Louis, MO, their home. In his spare time, George is an avid cinephile, a collector of film scores, a lifelong fan of the New York Giants, and enjoys West Coast Swing dancing.

BRoP Logo Revised-1

Don’t miss the rest of his interview at:

Part 3 @ Sandra

Part 4 @ Vicki

Part 5 @ Terri

 

PART 1: ABOUT YOU

How long have you been writing? – A better question would be, “How long have you been creating?” I started coming up with a group of characters in 1985 with some classmates in grade school. We would just spit out one character after another to create these two teams of heroes and villains. It was a lot of fun, and when I was in 6th grade and was in a different school, I kept adding more characters on my own and eventually started refining them and adding more detail.

When and why did you begin writing? – I started writing about my characters in 1990 for a very simple reason: I can’t draw very well. The original idea was to make a comic book about them, but since some level of artistic talent is required to make that happen, I shifted over to just prose. The idea was to make the definitive origin story of my characters and go through all the adventures that I had sketched out in comic book form for the past two years. Of course, their histories have completely changed since then, but this was the first one that I finished and it filled almost 200 hand-written loose-leaf pages.

Tell us about your early works—what was the first thing you ever wrote? – In 1988, my last year in Poughkeepsie, NY, before making the move to Richmond, VA, I had an idea for a short story and wrote this children’s book. It was about a couple of kids that found a strange time travel device that shot them hundreds of years into the future. There wasn’t much to it, but it was fun to write. And before that school year ended, I had written a Part 2 and 3 to the story, but Part 3 ended on a cliffhanger and I never got to finish the story. But in 1989, during my first year in Richmond, I refined the first story and submitted it to a young writers’ contest where it won First Place in my age group. I think that got everything started.

What genre do you write? – Excelsior was my first full-on Young Adult novel, but even though my main genre of choice was science-fiction, I enjoy writing stories for a younger audience. Most of the characters are adults – Matthew Peters was the first younger character I wrote about – but most of the comic book heroes we know and love are adults and are read by a younger audience.

What is your favorite theme/genre to write about? – I’ve always been a sucker for the “Hero’s Journey” template that Joseph Campbell introduced. When I first read “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” and thought about the different types of stories that are referenced, I realized that I gravitated toward them the most. So Excelsior would be my opportunity to tell my own “Hero’s Journey” type of story, and I couldn’t pass that up.

Is your book in print, ebook or both? Both

Please let us know where your readers can stalk you:

Blog: http://www.georgesirois.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/excelsiorbooks

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4103079.George_H_Sirois

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/georgesirois

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003ZWJJG6

Newsletter –

ExcelsiorEXCELSIOR: Created by high school senior Matthew Peters, Excelsior – savior of faraway planet Denab IV – is becoming an Internet sensation as the main character of a popular online comic strip. But before Matthew can enjoy his burgeoning success, a beautiful older woman arrives at his school and tells him that not only is she from the planet Denab IV, but that Excelsior’s lifeforce lives within him.

Now, with Excelsior’s old enemies regaining strength, Matthew realizes he is the key to Earth’s survival and Denab IV’s salvation, and he has an opportunity that he never thought possible, to become his greatest creation. . .

 

Available at:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8524646-excelsior?from_search=true

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Excelsior-George-Sirois-ebook/dp/B00GNI41FI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390493251&sr=8-1&keywords=excelsior+sirois

BarnesandNoble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/excelsior-george-h-sirois/1100074453?ean=2940148861881

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Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/brop-interview-george-sirois/

Feb 15

Free 2/16-2/17: Solar Lullaby

  • Filed under Featured

  • February 15, 2014

  • 1 min to read
Kindle short story

Kindle short story

To celebrate the re-release of my short story, SOLAR LULLABY, as a Kindle ebook, I’m offering it FREE Sunday and Monday (2/16 & 2/17). FREE

In 2010, it was published by L&L Dreamspell in an ebook anthology — it was the first piece of fiction I sold!

I’m trying to re-do the trailer, but it is still available (with promo for the defunct anthology). TRAILER

Author/illustrator Jennifer Stolzer did the cover art.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://twfendley.com/free-217-218-solar-lullaby-re-release/

Feb 10

BRoP interview: T.E. Ridener

  • Filed under Featured

  • February 10, 2014

  • 8 mins to read

authorpic-2Welcome to this week’s Blog Ring of Power guest, T.E. Ridener. She resides in the small community of Gray, Kentucky, with her equally eccentric yet amazingly interesting family. Miss Ridener has written a handful of novels as well as various short stories during her career as a writer. When she is not writing, she enjoys listening to nearly every genre of music, watching movies, and spending time with her niece and nephew. Her greatest accomplishment to date has been The Blood Betrayal Series, with characters she dreamed up while she was still a teenager. She believes that the Blood Betrayal Series will go far one day, despite the overrating of vampires in the past few years. According to her, vampires will -never- go out of style even if their fashion choices do!

BRoP Logo Revised-1Don’t miss the rest of T.E.’s interview:

Part 1 @ Emily

Part 2 @ Sandra

Part 3 @ Vicki

Part 4 @ Terri

 

Part 5

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? When I started Transition, I really just wanted to write a Halloween themed story for people to enjoy, but after I finished it I realized there is indeed a message.  Everyone has a purpose.  It takes some of us a little longer to figure out what that purpose is, and sometimes that purpose is out of this world; but we all have a purpose.  We were all placed here for a reason.

What tools are must-haves for writers? For me, it’s my laptop, pen and paper, and a thumb drive. It’s so important to save save save!  I also find that using another backup is great, too.  I use dropbox and email myself files regularly.  You never know when something terrible may happen.  I’m always super paranoid about things like that, haha.   Of course, you also need a dictionary, thesaurus, and a good search engine!

What are your current / future project(s)? Right now, I’m bouncing back and forth between books 3 in both The Descendants Series and The Blood Betrayal Series.  I’m also working on my bear-shifter novel that should be finished up anytime now.  On top of that, I’ve added some more to my plate by trying to start the sequel to Romance in Rodney, told from the perspective of Nate’s little sister, Maggie.  Hopefully I can have all four of these done before 2015 arrives.  My current goal is to write 10 books this year, so fingers crossed!

Tell us about your route to success – how/when did you decide to self-publish? Did you query an agent first? How did you handle the editing, proofreading, cover design, etc. I decided to self-publish in 2011 when I discovered Amazon’s KDP program.  I thought it was an amazing opportunity and I quickly snatched it.  I’ve never regretted that decision and I can’t imagine I ever will.

I’ve never queried an agent.  Honestly, there’s that fear of rejection, but I like being my own boss.  I make up my deadlines (and prolong them), I get to interact with my readers, and it’s all on my time.  It can’t get any better than that!

As far as editing, proofreading, and cover design; I have wonderful Beta Readers who help me catch mistakes, and they aren’t afraid to tell me when something doesn’t sound right.  I’m eternally grateful (just like the little green aliens) for all of their help.  I make my own covers as of now, and I think I do a pretty wonderful job.  I get better and better with each cover, and that’s all part of the process.  You learn and you grow.

What are the most important elements of good writing? I think the most important elements of good writing for me are tone, imagery, and storytelling.  At the end of the day, it’s your story and you reserve the God given right to write it however you see fit, but make sure that the story is understandable for the reader, and most importantly; enjoyable.  If you’ve already started writing a book, then chances are, you’re well aware of which elements work best for you.  All you can do now is better yourself.  Grow. Flourish. Absorb as much knowledge as you can when it comes to writing.  There is always room for improvement!

Do you have any advice for other writers? Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.  Listen to me on this, please.  When I was a senior in high school, my ‘guidance counselor’-and I use that term loosely- told me I wasn’t smart enough.  Smart enough for what, exactly?  College?  The business industry?  Writing stories?  Well, no matter which way she may have meant it, I have proven her wrong in all three instances.

You can do whatever you want to.  We are only given one life and we have to live it how we want to.  For me?  I choose to write, and to write often.  Don’t be afraid to hit publish.  Don’t be afraid to ask a friend to look over your work and help you correct any errors.  Just don’t be afraid.  Ever.

Be the brave little Gryffindor I know you are and show the world how amazing your writing is!  Not everyone is cut out to be a writer; that’s true.  But chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve got just the right mix of crazy, hope, faith, and imagination it takes to give others an escape from reality.  Go forth, my little writer.  Go forth and tell your story!

A wise man once said ‘A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.’

I absolutely agree with him.

Never give up on your dreams.

Is your book in print, ebook or both? Ebook for now. Print will come later.

Please let us know where your readers can stalk you:

Blog: teridener.wordpress.com

Facebook: facebook.com/TERidener

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6535925.T_E_Ridener

Twitter: twitter.com/TE_Ridener

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/T.E.-Ridener/e/B0072S9U8Q

Google +: https://plus.google.com/116562535517354273173

choicefour-2TRANSITION: From the moment we are born, we accept that a day will come when our lives must end.

That is not the case for 23 year old Ren Croswell.

Ren died a few short months before his 24th birthday and he’s been stuck in the Colgrove cemetery for the past five years. He’s made some friends and it’s not all that bad, but there is one thing that won’t settle in his restless soul; he isn’t supposed to be dead.

Twenty-three-year-old Hannah Benoit moved to Colgrove, Kentucky, in hopes of escaping her past. One can only handle being ‘the girl who sees ghosts’ for so long. This new town will give her a clean slate and a fresh start, but nothing can prepare her for what she’s about to find.

On Halloween, the one day of the year when Ren can walk among the living, everything will change. Death promised him it would be different this year, but there’s no possible way Ren could’ve known the true reason for his sudden and mistaken demise. Hannah will discover that her blessing of a curse was given to her for a reason, and they will both find what they’ve been looking for this entire time; the truth, and each other.

You won’t see it coming.

———-

Transition is a New Adult Fantasy novella that will accompany a future series from T.E. Ridener, currently untitled. If you are under 18, please be aware there is strong language in this novella from time to time, and sexual situations are implied.

D. Buy/Book Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00HTP8BA0

Brop-Members

 

 

 

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Feb 06

Kimberly Schneider: Do you have a Celtic heart?

  • Filed under Featured

  • February 6, 2014

  • 4 mins to read

KimberlySchneider-3Valentine’s Day is next week. In my house, along with expressions of affection for our loved ones, Feb. 14th also means we’ve just celebrated Imbolc, and St. Patrick’s Day is coming.

You may not have known that February 1st marks the beginning of spring (Imbolc) in the Celtic calendar and perhaps you don’t yearn to head to an Irish pub for traditional music when March 17th arrives. But even if that’s true, and even if you don’t have a drop of Irish, Scottish or Welsh blood, you might have a Celtic heart.

How do you know your heart is Celtic? Here are a few clues:

~You are capable of wonder.

~You encounter the sacred in the rituals of everyday life.

~You’re connected to people who’ve passed on.

~Beauty can move you to tears.

~The sky, the sea, the animals and the trees sometimes speak to you.

~You know that words have power.

~Your soul is hungry for LIFE.

~You believe anything is possible (or at least, you want to believe it).

If any of these statements describe you (or you wish that they did), you might want to explore the spirituality of the Celts.

Celtic tribes made their way across a huge expanse of the Eurasian continent at different points in history. “The Celts,” as we now call them, were not one distinct people, but many different groups loosely connected through shared traditions and perspectives. And we can’t state with certainty what spirituality meant to the Celts, since their sacred teachings were not recorded in writing. Only clues remain. In mythology and archaeology, and in the stories, music, poems and traditions still found in rural Ireland, we can catch glimpses of who they were, and what they believed.

But we don’t need, nor should we try, to replicate history. The problems and opportunities of today’s world require more of us than imitations.  They ask us to be here, now.  Present and aware, with our sense of wonder reawakened to hear the whisperings of the Divine. Open to possibilities. Receptive to the song on the wind, the message in the sky, the wisdom of our ancestors inspiring our modern Celtic hearts.

Close your eyes.

Feel how your heart beat echoes the heart of the earth.

Open yourself to receive the love that’s waiting for you in every breath. It’s been here all along.

Have a Celtic heart then, have you?

If you do, I hope you’ll join us for a Celtic Spirituality Retreat in Ireland in July, www.KimberlySchneider.com/trips, and/or the Celtic Soul Experience Retreat I’m facilitating with Irish singing/songwriting brothers Owen and Moley O’Suilleabhain in St. Louis March 8th! Owen and Moley are also putting on a not-to-be missed concert featuring a mix of Irish folk songs, sacred music and their fresh and inspirational pop tunes. If you want to attend both the retreat and concert, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, who are sponsoring the programs, are offering a discount. Get all the details at http://togetherinfaithseries.com/2014/01/02/march-7-8-celtic-soul-experience-2/

Wishing you all the love available to you on Valentine’s Day and always,

Kimberly

http://www.KimberlySchneider.com

The Manifestation Maven

http://Facebook.com/KimberlyVSchneider

 

EYNsm-3Request Kimberly’s free Conscious Manifestation eCourse and you’ll also receive the introduction and sample chapter of her book, Everything You Need Is Right Here: Five Steps to Manifesting Magic and Miracles.

http://www.TheManifestationMaven.com

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