WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WORLD OF OUR CHILDHOOD?

Not the innocence we remember our world 

being when we were children.

The world we remember is innocent 

because we were innocent.

Do you remember anything before the age 

of five, four?

You must have thought and felt and learned 

so much during those early years.

Where did the memories of those things go?

No one's memory goes beyond three and a half.  

Freud called it "childhood amnesia."

Freud, being Freud, 

said we repressed early memories

 due to the discomfort of our sexual awakening.

Later psychologists ---

without any data to support their theory ---

said that due to lack of focus, 

children could not form stable memories until the age of seven.

The truth is that there are far more links between our brain cells in our earliest years 

than in early adulthood.

Our earliest memories

are will o wisps blended from genuine recollections, 

narratives told us by others, and imaginary scenes churned by our unconscious mind.

Now, scientists believe that

as a forest can hold only so many trees, 

the hippocampus can hold 

only so many neurons.

Sadly, we cannot trust the few distinct memories 

that survive the stormy cycles of growth and decay in our infant brains.

Some of them may be partially or even completely fabricated!

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY?

DO YOU TRUST IT?

ARE YOU LIVING A FULFILLED LIFE?

Living a fulfilling life 
seems a mocking concept for many 
these days.

Yet, it is not an impossible dream.

HOW TO START

1.) COME TO PEACE WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE

Animals in the wild endure bitter cold, injuries, and hunger without going IF ONLY. 

They accept life is what it is and adapt 

without the static of bemoaning that might keep them from finding another path.

2.) HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON ON LIFE TO ENJOY THE MOMENT

Not overlooking the beauty of the "mundane"world around you 

will open your eyes to countless epiphanies, enriching your life and broadening your horizons.

And you might even find a much-needed laugh.

3.) ARE YOU BECOMING A GROUCH?

Focusing on the negative a good part of the day may well be turning you into a toxic person.

Challenge yourself to look for the good in each hour, in each person you meet.

That person who is just sitting at the light turned green 

may well have received terrible news from the doctor or from a loved one.

Practice restraint and don't honk that horn.  

 4.) PRACTICE FORGIVENESS

Not just for others ... but for yourself.

You screwed up yesterday.  That just makes you human.  Today is a blank page.  

Don't smudge it with the guilt of the past.

5.) EXERCISE IS A PRIORITY NOT A "MAYBE"

Exercise, whether it be walking, running or biking, cleans out the cobwebs and tones the body.

It also releases endorphines for free.  A healthy body houses a happier spirit.

6.) STOP HANDING YOUR SELF-WORTH TO THE HANDS OF OTHERS

Those who focus on your flaws continually may do so to keep from seeing their own.

No one feels your pains, dreams your dreams, or lives your hours but you.

Each of us is composed of the very atoms first found in the hearts of stars.  

You are a sparkle of life from the heart of a sun.  You are special.  Let no one tell you otherwise.

7.) OUR FEARS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS WORSE THAN WHAT THE TRUTH IS

Hiding from our fears always magnifies them.  

Facing them gives us an idea of what to do next.

8.) CLING TO YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR

Laughter is one of the best forms of exercise.

It helps you live longer, reduces your blood pressure, and helps you enjoy your own company.

And since you are stuck with yourself  24/7, that is a good thing.

 

THE ZEN OF SNOOPY

I worked 24 of last weekend's 48 hours and drove 600 miles! Whew!

I am still past drained 

so Snoopy has graciously decided to do a guest post for me. 

Say thanks to the beagle, will you?  

 (My thanks to Peanuts Worldwide, LLC)

Have a Joe Cool Day!

DO YOU BELIEVE? IWSG post

I am not asking about your belief or lack thereof in God.

Each person's theory of God is their own 

and worthy of respect and freedom from prying questions.

No, I mean  

"Do you believe you are meant to be a writer?"

Yes?

Then what are you doing about it?

Dreaming of climbing to the mountain top is fine.  

But no mountain is going to reach down and lift you up to its top.

You have to force your way up the side of it, braving the cold, winds, and the weariness all on your own.

 Not everyone makes their idea happen.

You've met those whose heart, head, and hands are congruent, aligned.

They turn talk into walk.

If we want to badly enough, we find a way.

We live the possibilities we love.

We don't have to remember we are on fire.  

We just are on fire! 

When you are committed to your dream, 

people will sense it in you ...

Some of those will help you on your way... 

for none of us makes it solely on our own.

There will be challenges.

But challenges are merely problems ...

and problems can be solved.

Every road block has a detour that can be taken.  

It may not be the journey you envisioned, 

but the destination can still be reached.

Impossible just gives birth to legends

WHAT ARE YOU DOING 
TO MAKE YOUR DREAM 

COME TRUE?

TOMORROW MAY BE THE START 

OF YOU BECOMING LEGEND.

4 TIPS TO MAKE YOUR eBOOK STAND OUT

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6AK3HE

The immediacy and convenience of ebooks and digital content has had a marked impact on how people today read.

Authors are beginning to realize that they can publish freely and digitally distribute their work 

for nothing other than their time and a bit of their money.

Readers are beginning to realize that with an eReader, they have access to a small library of books in their purse or their backpack 

whenever they need something to do while waiting for any number of things.


BUT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF eAUTHORS ARE OUT THERE HAWKING THEIR BOOKS!  HOW DO YOU STAND OUT?


1.) BE MAGNETIC -

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HIU5O38

Daniel Craig, dressed in a tuxedo, walks into a crowded room of middle-aged, used car salesmen.  Who will draw your eye?

People do judge a book by its cover.  You have to catch the eye with mystery, danger and color.

A good cover can be a great marketing tool for an ebook. 

You want your cover to make someone scanning through a website, stop and click your ebook. 

You don’t want to be tacky or overbearing, but the cover should draw attention.

In the wide-open publishing world, a cover gives readers their first impression of what to expect from an author’s book. 

For now, the quality of a cover is a good indication of which authors have invested more time into their work than others. 

Did the cover for DEATH IN THE HOUSE OF LIFE's sequel, 

THE STARS BLEED AT MIDNIGHT (right sidebar) draw your eye?

2.) BE READER FRIENDLY -

The easier you make the purchasing step for your customers, the better. 

This can be done by making your ebook as visible as possible. 

Every time you mention your book or yourself online,

provide links to make it easy for people to find your content or more information about you. 

Let’s say you just put up a book trailer on youtube. 

That youtube page needs a link to your book’s webpage or blog and your blog needs a link to the video. 

This is called cross-linking. 

3.) THE THREE MUSKETEERS had a point -

The best marketing tactic is to write more than one good book.

Each new title will broaden your name recognition and generate more sales for all your previous ones.

That’s because many readers are “binge readers.”

They find an author they like, and they then seek out and scoop up every single title that the author has written previously.

{Only 99 cents! What a bargain, right?}

 

(The isolated Hollywood film crew for the first talking Western is hunted by Nightmare )

Every successful author out there agrees:

The single best “marketing tactic” that you can employ, by far, is to write and publish your next book.

In fact, many of them counsel that you shouldn’t even bother to begin doing any promotions until you’ve written and published at least three books.

Success in indie publishing is a marathon, not a sprint.

Each new book released will attract new fans, prompting them to go back and buy all the prior books in the series.

That’s how bestselling authors expand their audience over time, often geometrically.

(Again, only 99 cents!)

 
{Find out what happens when the Nameless Ones catch McCord 
wounded and left for dead}

4.) WHAT'S THAT BURNING?  OH, IT'S YOUR BRAND -

“Brand” yourself and your book.

Carve out a narrow, distinctive “niche” in the book marketplace based on some catchy concept, theme, or image

that will appeal to your target readers, but simultaneously distinguish your work from all others in your genre.

As Alex Cavanaugh says of my linked books:

They exist in a common mythic universe is Lovecraftian in scope and design -- 

one minor character in one book becomes a major one in another.

The setting of a haunted jazz club in the French Quarter in New Orleans whose stories go back (so far to 1834) is unique. 

I flit from time period to time period sometimes even from one exotic locale to another.

McCord is a supernatural Paladin as Victor Standish is a paranormal KIM.

Bottom line: 

Find some catchy, distinctive concept that works for you.

Next, use your “brand” in everything you do to promote your work:

book covers, author photos, blog designs, promotional copy, business cards, etc.

That kind of focus and integration will guarantee that your “brand” will become uniquely identified with you,

making you and your work memorable for your target readers.

My header is done, as are many of my covers, by the incomparable Leonora Roy.

Their design is crafted by the artistic Heather McCorkle. 

When you see my book covers, you know at a glance it is from me.

So there you have some ideas.  I hope they were helpful.

SAMUEL McCORD's SAGA
in chronological order:

{Though each book stands on its own}

 1.) DRAGONS OF THE BARBARY COAST

 2.) RITES OF PASSAGE

 3.) ADRIFT IN THE TIME STREAM
 4.) TALES OF THE LAST WOLF
 5.) The NOT-SO-INNOCENTS ABROAD
 6.) The NOT-SO- INNOCENTS AT LARGE
 7.) DEATH IN THE HOUSE OF LIFE

 8.) THE STARS BLEED AT MIDNIGHT
 9.) HER BONES ARE IN THE BADLANDS

 10.) FRENCH QUARTER NOCTURNE

 11.) CREOLE KNIGHTS

 12.) HUNTER's MOON
 13.) BURNT OFFERINGS

VICTOR STANDISH 
in order:

 1.)  CARNIVAL OF THE DAMNED

 2.)  THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH
 3.)  UNDER A VOODOO MOON

 4.)  THE RIVAL

       Much of the action occurs in 1834 New Orleans

*) END OF DAYS

      Victor is a "soul echo" in this, and the tale is narrated by his ghoul friend, Alice Wentworth -- and has all my major heroes in it.

 5.) THE THREE SPIRIT KNIGHT

Go to 6:34 for the meat of this video

SHARING TREASURE

https://www.amazon.com/The-Ridge/dp/B0054TPHG4/

 Nominated for Best Thriller of 2012 by the International Thriller Writer’s Association

THE RIDGE is a classic ghost story, penned by a master. 

I couldn't put it down, 

even though I almost screamed when the wind blew a branch against the tree outside my study. 

Yes, it's that scary." 
- Stephen King

Last post I talked of sharing treasure with strangers ... and with friends.

Let me share a gem I recently found ...

In an isolated stretch of eastern Kentucky, on a hilltop known as Blade Ridge, 

stands a lighthouse that illuminates nothing but the surrounding woods.

Its owner calls Kevin Kimble, the chief deputy of the county, 

asking whether he would rather investigate a suicide or a murder.

Later that day, the owner kills himself ... or was he forced to do so?

Inside the lighthouse are old photographs and maps 

detailing murders and deaths in Blade Ridge that span over a hundred years.

Audrey Clark is in the midst of moving her large-cat sanctuary onto land adjacent to the lighthouse. 

Sixty-seven tigers, lions, leopards, and one legendary black panther 

are about to have a new home there. 

 As strange occurrences multiply at the Ridge, the animals grow ever more restless, 

and Kimble and Audrey try to understand what evil forces 

are moving through this ancient landscape, just past the divide between dark and light.

Go to its Amazon page and listen to the free sample.

I promise you will be hooked.  :-)

HIDDEN PENNIES

When Annie Dillard was six growing up in Pittsburgh, 

she used to take a precious penny and hide it for someone else to find.

She would cradle it at the roots of a sycamore or 

in the hole left by a chipped out piece of sidewalk or some other hidden place.

Then, she would take a piece of chalk and draw huge arrows leading to it from either end of the block.

When she learned to write, little Annie would label the arrows: 

SURPRISE AHEAD or TREASURE.

As she would draw the arrows, 

she would be greatly excited at the thought of the look on the happy face of the lucky discoverer of her precious penny.

She would never lurk about waiting to see who it was.

It was enough just to know of the pleasure she was giving some lucky stranger.


And her imagination provided much more pleasure than the actual reality of seeing those faces I would suppose.

 Life is like that

How many lonely people do we pass 

that believe that they have drawn obvious arrows to the hidden treasure that they are?

Do they wonder why no one finds them?

Each person in our lives is a hidden penny ...

precious like Annie's penny, for they are all they possess of worth.

“All great and precious things are lonely.”

- John Steinbeck

Have You Ever Been 

A Hidden Penny?