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What I'm Working On - February Goals

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:32:06 +0100

January was a crazy month. I spent a good deal of it sick! Ack! February will also be busy as in addition to a conference presentation I'll be giving at the start of March, I'll be moving (hopefully) at the end of the month. That being said, there's still plenty of space on my calendar for your projects.

Because I was sick during January, I didn't get too much accomplished. Here are some things I am working on from January that are carrying over into February:

Finally putting my Ang Lee and Philosophy chapter to bed
Finishing Part I of Night Song
Putting finishing touches on a chapter for Origins of Mind
Finishing an e-book on change management and going green
Putting the finishing touches on my conference presentation (on change management and going green)
Editing a risk management plan for a client
Writing articles for another client
Finishing writing three grants for a local Chico nonprofit client
Finishing a project plan for a client
Editing a political book for a client

Additionally, over at Words on the Page, Lori has a great summary she does each month of her month. Since I really like what she does, I'm going to start doing the same thing at the end of the month. Here's my monthly assessment for January.

Queries:
I'd sent out a few queries in December. I haven't heard back. I also sent out a short story to 580 Split in September. I suppose I'll hear from those soon.

Job Listings:
I applied to more jobs at the beginning of the month. I need to continue to do that on a regular basis. I'm currently at about 50% of where I'd like to be with clients.

Existing Clients:
The end of 2011 also brought the end of a few big long-term projects I've had. By the same token, I've been steadily working to keep the ongoing clients I have happy.

New Clients:
January was a month with a lot of inquiries as to my services. I did mange to secure a few new clients this month. I've got one proposal out and I need to follow up with two.

Earnings:
I came in slightly under target for January. I'm working hard to ensure I make up for that in February.

Bottom Line:
I'm trying to achieve more balance. Granted, I did spend most of January feverish and with a nasty cough. Even so, I'd like to step things up.

What are you working on this month? How did you do last month?

Inanimate - [Fiction] Friday Challenge #241

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:57:45 +0100

The weasel wove its way through the different parts of the church's sanctuary. Lenora, the church's prior priest took a deep breath. The weasel had better find what she was looking for. It wasn't every day that she would return to the place where her congregation had turned on her. But it was vital that she find the special item she was looking for, the spinning wheel. It wasn't any spinning wheel, but one that would, well, blow the congregants' minds.

The weasel stopped by an area by the back pews. It stopped and turned toward Lenora, "It looks like we've found it. They've got it in here, I'm sure."

Lenora walked toward the weasel.

"Boy, I sure do hope you're right this time. I'd hate to have to fry you for dinner."

"Look, I can only deal with so much of this incessant criticism from you. It's here, I swear it. I can hear it humming."

"If we move these pews, and it's not there."

"Will you at least look?"

Lenora pushed the pew back. Underneath, there was a trap door. As she lifted it up, she became aware of another presence. The weasel scurried under a seat, and she flattened herself on the church floor. It was a week when the sanctuary was supposed to be closed.

~TBC~

[Fiction] Friday Challenge #241 for January 6th, 2012

Include these characters somewhere in your story–a weasel, a priest and a spinning wheel.

http://wa.emergent-publishing.com/writing-prompts/

The Plan - Fiction Friday #238

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:44:49 +0100

"Sorry I had to rig your GPS, but you wouldn't have come otherwise. This is urgent," Tom ducked under the awning and out of the rain.

"I still can't believe you did that." Shelby looked around. "Do you think anybody has seen us?"

"I doubt they're paying attention. Follow me." Shelby followed Tom for a few minutes until he turned to walk into an alley. "I need you to ditch that GPS here. It can't go where we're going."

"Fine." Shelby took it out of her pocket and handed it to Tom. He fiddled with it for a few moments before he set it on the ground. "Where are we going?"

"You'll know when we get there." He grabbed her wrist and began to lead her again.

Shelby pulled away. "I demand to know now."

"You'll know soon enough. You're going to give us away. Let's go."

Shelby reluctantly followed him. After all, what choice did she have but to trust Tom? He was the only person during the whole ordeal who had tried to help her. Not that it was easy for Shelby to trust...She sighed and he shot her a sidelong glance. He could be somewhat handsome - if looked at in the right light. No, she couldn't let her mind wander that way. She was on a quest for justice, and he was just a cog in the justice wheel. Finally, after what seemed like hours, they stopped.

"Here we are. Let's go in." Shelby followed him into the warehouse. They then wandered around until he found a corner he liked. He put his hands on her shoulder. "I've got more information on what they're doing next. I had to get you out of harm's way. They were coming directly after you. How much do you trust me?"

Shelby tried to control her laughter, then shrugged. "I have no choice, I suppose."

He nodded. "I've got a plan."

"Of course you do." Shelby sighed. He always had a plan. The thing about his plans was that he was never willing to share his plans.

To be continued...

(Based on Fiction Friday exercise #238 Use this sentence in your flash fiction. “Sorry I had to rig your GPS, but you wouldn’t have come otherwise. This is urgent.”

What I've Been Up To: November 2011 Edition

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:46:00 +0100

It's been busy, I won't even lie! It's funny how things tend to get really busy at the end of the year - but I've got especially good reasons for being busy.

I celebrated my 34th birthday recently. It's amazing how much changes in a year. I feel blessed to have wonderful people in my life who continue to inspire and shape me. It's so important to surround yourself with those whom you love. The entire week of my birthday was filled with love, happiness, and fun.

I've been working on Bright Hub articles, as usual, helping clients to edit their books, and providing companies with the materials they need to promote their services. Recently, I helped Stonewall Alliance Center to edit their website. I also serve on the communications committee of this fabulous organization. I was working on and off over the summer with Habitat for Humanity.

I've been working hard to finish my novel, Night Song, before the end of the year. I'd like to have at least a complete draft done. Since we're in mid-November, we'll see how that turns out.

What projects are you working on? What projects do you need assistance with?

The Antiques Dealer #[Fiction] Friday Challenge #230

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:41:33 +0100

His nose pointed at things before his customers could. He had something special for each person. It wasn't quite like in Stephen King's Needful Things, Adelle thought, but it was quite creepy. He found a locket that seemed to match the woman's locket that had been lost in a fire. Needless to say, the townfolk heaved a collective sigh of relief when the antiques dealer packed up and moved away.

But they really didn't know or understand, at all, where he was coming from. He'd come to the town, five years prior, after a divorce with his wife had forced him to deal with his pain self. He never intended to be creepy. He just, well, wanted to feel needed. Adele watched as Garrett packed up his belongings. Part of her wanted to touch him. To confirm what she'd observed, what she dreamed. Instead, she sat back.

As Garrett picked up each item, carefully wrapped it, and placed it into a box, he told the story of the item. There was a wooden horse from a childhood trip to a camp in the mountains. An old man had whittled it for a boy. Adele wasn't quite sure whether the stories the antique dealer told were true, but he spoke them with such authority, they had to be. He picked up a silken scarf. "This," he said, "this is really something special here."

The man's lips moved, and Adele studied him. She didn't dare interject. She didn't want him to know that she could get a feel for his soul. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking anyway. Garrett was striking, but strange. His harlequin pants and purple striped shirt clashed with his bushy red hair. When he looked at you, through the safety of his glasses, Adele thought, there was something really special there.

Garrett continued to wrap and pack, carefully securing each of his items away for the move. He continued to mumble under his breath about what each of the items was, while Adele looked on. If he hadn't have paused every so often to look at her, Adele would have thought that he was oblivious to the fact she was there. "Mmm, yes, this box. It's from when this woman, she was very beautiful, you see..." he held up a box in the shape of a frog "was proposed to. Mmm, yes, not a very lucky item though, as that was not a good relationship, but mmm, yes, it's a beautiful box, no?"

Adele watched him watch her. She wasn't quite sure whether he'd expected a response from her or whether she should even try to respond. But he was quite. She watched his eyes soften as he looked at her. "Mmm, you've never been married?" Adele shook her head. She hadn't. She began to feel uncomfortable as he stared her down. Suddenly, heput his finger up in the air. "Yes, I have just the thing for you. Mmm, yes, here we go."

She squinted her eyes to see what he had pulled out. He turned toward her, slowly, wrapped up in it. "Put out your hands. Now, what I'm going to do is give this to you. You cannot open your hands until you get out to that field there. Mmm, yes. Now, when you open your hands, you need to kiss the item and spin three times to the right. Mmmkay?"

Adele looked at him, somewhat deflated. She had hoped the strange antiques dealer had finally noticed her. She sighed. "Mmmkay?" he repeated. "You need to keep your hands closed."

She shrugged in response and left the store, keeping her hands closed.

~TBC~

From Write Anything's Fiction Friday Challenge #230, "Use this somewhere in your story “The townfolk heaved a collective sigh of relief when the antiques dealer packed up and moved away.”

Disguises Poetic Asides Wednesday Poetry Prompt #153

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:57:58 +0100

So, I thought that I'd do a little poetry prompt this evening. I selected the one for today from over at Poetic Asides. The point of the exercise is to write a poem "that plays with the idea of disguises. There are physical disguises, of course, but also emotional and psychological disguises that most people wear to some extent every day."

Here it is.

My Everyday Masks

I try to keep it at bay, the romanticism that gets me into trouble
I hold out my hands, pushing back others' bubbles.
By trying to pretend I don't want exactly what it is I want most
I can stave off the room that is filled by that empty host
Throwing forward an assertion of bravado
Makes me not worry so much about tomorrow
Yet when I lay in the corner I feel fear
But that's not at all what people want to hear
I put my hair up upon my head
and try not to worry about the things others have said
I mean what do their words mean anyway
In the end it's what I want to do with my days
We all have masks to protect our inner cores
To keep our hearts from being kicked across floors
I want to take my mask off, to let loose
If I'm not being myself ever, then really what's the use?
Life has a funny way of working itself out
It's time to rise and cast aside ridiculous self-doubt
Put the disguises away, break down the wall
Halloween's only once a year, held in the fall

All Talk, No Action (Fiction Friday #223)

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:38:05 +0100

Okay, so I totally know that I had said I would have this up Friday, but guess what, like all good things, life got in the way of those plans. But here is my Fiction Friday exercise (it's Sunday...but ya know Write Anything does Spoken Sunday where people read their writing aloud, and well it's still the weekend!)

All Talk, No Action

"So, did you want to go to the movies this Saturday?"
"Not really."
"How about dinner?"
"Eh..."
"Um...what if we got together and went golfing or something?"
"Not really my thing."
"Well, what do you want to do?"
"Nothing, if it involves you."
"Nothing?"
"No, not really...maybe I'll wash my hair."
"Your hair?"
"Yeah. It feels kind of greasy."
"I could take you to a salon."
"No, it's really a one-person kind of thing."
"But you could get a massage. Heck, I could take you to Napa, and we could do a whole spa thing."
"I really just want to be alone right now."
"It's been a month."
"Just because it's been a month, doesn't mean I'm over it."
"You're just going to be like this, from now on?"
"Look, really, I want to be alone. I don't particularly want to talk to you. Can't you just go away?"
"What if I brought you candy?"
"Really? Candy? That's going to make it better? You really are an idiot, aren't you, Brad?"
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
"You're supposed to leave me alone when I ask to be left alone!"
"It's not even like it was that big of a deal."
"That shows how much you understand. It's a very big deal."
"You can just do it again, if it's that important to you."
"The thing is, it's not that easy. You don't get it."
"Well, explain it to me then."
"I don't have the energy."
"You can't expect me to read your mind. I'm not a mind-reader, you know!"
"I don't want you to be a mind reader, I mean honestly, I don't even care if you understand. Right now, I just don't want to see you."
"Look, if you don't talk about it, I can't help you!"
"I don't want you to help me! I want you to leave me alone."
"I think you're being really childish."
"Who's the childish one? You're the one not respecting my boundaries. I'm going to ask you to leave now."
"But it's my house."
"It's my house too, and I don't want you here right now."
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"You know, I think you botched up the book on purpose. Just so you could be mad at me."
"Get out!"
"You get out!"
"Fine, I will. Goodbye, Brad."
"Goodbye, Muse."

What I've Been Working On September 2, 2011

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 21:28:26 +0100

I've been working on - lots of things! I helped Stonewall Alliance Center, Chico last month with their newsletter. I did the editing and design. You can view it here.

Additionally, I finished up work on the fall issue of Equanimity Magazine. I'm really excited about this issue, and I can't wait until it's available for readers. You'll find the story of my firewalk, time management tips, tips on implementing the power of attraction in your life, an interview with Fran Harris, and more in this edition.

With Bright Hub, I wrote an article asking whether having a lot of passion for your work is always a good thing. I also gave some tips on when you might want to walk away from a job offer. You may want to check out what I've been up to over there if you haven't already.

Perhaps the biggest news is the release of the book I have co-authored with Murali Chemuturi in paperback: Success in Life through Personality Engineering. It's only $11.99 on Amazon, so grab your copy today. It's a handy guide you'll want to keep on your shelf and pass on to your kids as they go off into the world.

This months goals include helping a client to edit her dissertation proposal, finishing work on editing content for a website, continuing work on editing a political theory book, and finishing up a draft of an essay for Ang Lee and Philosophy.

What are you working on?

What I've Been Working On August 11, 2011

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:25:03 +0100

Honestly, I've been quite busy! This, naturally, is outstanding news. Things have picked up around here, I've been meeting lots of awesome people, involved with a lot of charity events, and I even ran my first 5K in July. I've fed the homeless, built a home with Habitat for Humanity for a needy family, worked with the church and society group, and even sung in my church choir. Yes, I even stopped to breathe and enjoy good times with friends and comradeship with my new writing group.

Perhaps the biggest news (if you haven't downloaded your copy yet, you should) is the release of the book I have co-authored with the wise Murali Chemuturi, Success in Life through Personality Engineering. In this book, you'll find many tips and techniques for bringing success into your life. It's only $2.99 on Kindle, and a paperback version will be available soon. If you have your own blog, and you are interested in reviewing the book, please contact me for information.

The fall 2011 edition of Equanimity Magazine is sitting with the designer. We're excited, because it's the best edition yet. We're now accepting queries for the winter 2011 edition - the theme is happiness. if you're interested and have a story idea, please contact me with a query letter and clips.

As usual, there's lots going on over at Bright Hub. Recent articles include an article on vintage board games and articles on homeschooling. I've always got new articles coming out over there, so please check it out.

I have recently resumed work on my novel, Night Song. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of this year. Other projects include resume writing, putting together a newsletter for my local chapter of the Stonewall Alliance, and book editing. Though I'm busy I do have some openings, so please contact me with your project needs.

There's always something going on - and we should always embrace the wonderful opportunities sent our way.

What sorts of things have you been working on?

Firewalk!!!

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 04:27:13 +0100

It was an awesome experience, and I'm writing about it for Equanimity Magazine's fall edition. While you're waiting for the article, check out my new blog Not Quite Ally McBeal and be sure to get a copy of the book I have co-authored with Murali Chemuturi, Success in Life through Personality Engineering available now on Amazon Kindle. If you are interested in a review copy of the book, please contact me!