I've been preparing mentally, this past week, for the Meet the Author event that occurred yesterday. It went well, a few people came by and bought a few books. I met more people that just spoke about everything from horror movies to books that I like. Still, I felt so positive about being able to feel comfortable speaking to people.
I think in meeting people, over the years I have started to have a very difficult time in speaking to new people. In my past, I could open up a conversation and...
Have you ever found yourself in a tough situation, one where you knew terrible things were about to happen, but you could do nothing about it? Things become very slow; one becomes very aware of every minute detail.
The smell in the air, the breeze in your face, how hot it was... So much, yet it all takes place in a very brief few moments. I find that falling does that to me everytime. Slowly, I feel that I have lost balance. Even slower, I begin to find myself going to the floor. Over and...
Good afternoon, I will be at Bundok Books; 3827 S Meridian, Puyallup WA on October 25th, this event will be from 11:30 a.m. till 1:30 p.m. To find out more, please visit www.bundokbooks.com
If you are in the area, stop by and say hello...
We all have a person or group that make our lives the better; they make us happy and we feel complete around them. In my life I found that as a child, you found these types of people more often. But why?
Well, as a child we haven't learned all of the negative stereotypes about people that don't look like us. Hate, racism, and negative expectations of others are taught to us. So, kids find fast friends because anyone at anytime can be a friend. So, we are left with more options for friends and...
We often feel out of control; anger boils in traffic, at home, and at work. The days pass and we feel like we are just waiting for something good to happen. Something that falls into the category of "the good old day."
Guess what? These are the good old days. Everyday that we take a breath. See our loved ones. Feel the sun on our face and the breeze at our backs. Or spend a day making snowballs to throw at one another!
Those are the good old days, my friends. A sum of all the moments of our...
Haddaway may have asked it the best. It's been called a many splendored thing, a gift, a once in a lifetime adventure... And so on and so forth, but love is not that simple. And it's definitely not just a chemical reaction. As a kid, you think that you will meet the person that you fall in love with and run into a window, trip on a sidewalk, or simply feel magic all about you.
No, finding love is a process. You become attracted to someone. You get to know one another and then you find one day...
There are days that I don't wish to step out of bed, my body aches, my head floats about over my neck. I find that the things that used to make me happy are only slightly entertaining. My memories are a cool color now; interestingly, it makes them appear blue. I sit and stare at my legs they burn like iron from just walking the steps to a recliner where I will sleep the day away.
So, why do I feel this way? Maybe I gave up.
I would take things very literally as a kid. And one of the phrases that had me confused for a long time? "Read between the lines."
But why? Because I wanted to find something, anything that would explain the things that I was missing as a reader. Well, you grow older and you learn more. It's not to be taken literally; rather, it was a way of telling you to pay extra attention to the way the language is used. In anger, sadness, surprise, and it goes on and on.
The way you read any word problem,...
In my life, I have had lots of opportunities to do good. To be the guy that does good things and brings joy to others. Still, I found myself failing in many of those tasks. My downfall? My drinking.
Is that easy to admit? Well, that's complicated. When I was drinking, yes. When you are in the midst of any type of addiction, you do your best to act like you are not addicted, you are in complete control, and everyone is overreacting.
After I stopped drinking (four years ago this next month!) I...
I have been reaching out to a variety of bookstores about making "Divergent Lives of No Consequence: Short Stories" available for purchase in their stores! I'm on a waitlist at one store, but here is some information on the stores that you can visit soon to get your physical copy!
-- https://fordsbooks.square.site/
-- https://agoodbooksumner.com/
-- https://www.bundokbooks.com/ (I will be appearing for a 'Meet and Greet' on October 25th at this location. You can scan the QR Code!)
If you don't...
As the sun rises from the East, I awake to greet it.
I get up, I begin the day and I step out into the warming glow.
Another day, another opportunity to do better. Be better.
If you take advantage, there will be more that you can do.
My job? Live each moment to the fullest.
As a person that enjoys writing and other means of self expression in art, I find that the words that come to me don't always adequately convey my message. I have a decent vocabulary, I think, but getting the essence or deeper meaning is at times a rough job.
In writing, I want to create a world that no one has seen or experienced. Artistry, of any kind, brings us new realms, worlds, people and the list goes on. But even the greatest writers can look back on one or another of their works and...
What makes a writer's stories compelling? And if your thinking, "Yeah, you need to find out?"
Keep the cheap shots to yourself! Ok, now that the jokes have been made, what makes a compelling story?
I have always found stories that compel me have believable characters. People that make me want to know about them, how they got there, where are they going...
Whether the character is antagonist or protagonist is not the matter; how do they make the story move? So, who are some of your favorite...
Have you ever sat down to dinner, started eating and then you eventually feel completely satisified.
Within fifteen minutes you get sleepy. Maybe you take a nap in front of the TV, or wherever you like to nap! Feeling that I'm comfortable and ready to relax.
Now, in life, if we get that same satisified feeling and we take a nap; the danger is, a lot of things will begin pass us by. Goals, self-imposed rules, and all of the hardwork that we have done in our lives will go away. Napping while...
All the talent in the world gets you (a whopping) nothing. Talent means nothing if you don't have drive, want, and willingness to go beyond being a big fish in a little pond.
They will stay still for a life that could have been so much better. They will be a never been rather than someone that made it for a bit, coming close but just not the greatest. Becoming a has been is quite a step up from being a never was! You have to work harder than the next one up.
Have you ever met someone and something was just off about them? Like a darkness that surrounds them? Do not ignore that.
Our bodies can warn us that this person is just not healthy to be around (at least not for us).
It may sound strange or farfetched, but it's your very own "Spidey Sense" and it could save you grief!
Have you ever felt completely out of control. Everything is going to fast, and you can't get any footing on moving forward. You continue to just stay in one place, falling further and further behind from where you want to be.
Remember, you control the pace. You can only control you; so, take your life by the reins.
Be the control that you should be!
I write this today to share my dealings with anxiety. It's a message of positivity, I hope. I want others to know that they are not alone. Trust that you aren't alone in difficult times!
People should strive to do better, be kind and helpful, or just give a smile as you walk down the street. The problem, with me? The things that I strive for elude me very often. It's a difficult concept to be stable when you fight to do the right things and your mental capacity wants to do it's own thing.
I...
I sometimes think about the phrase, "Do it for the greater good."
It makes me ponder why someone does a thing that is not necessarily good for them, but it's a sacrifice that will help everyone around you. The greater good, makes a situation better for the many; by providing the sacrifice of the one.
As Flash Gordon had to remind Prince Vultan, "No Vultan... It's a rational transaction! One life for billions..."
Flash Gordon was doing this for the greater good! Well, how many of you though that...
Friends are not just people that show up in your life for a season just to leave, or even people who hang out and never add any good or support to you. No, true friends are shoulders to cry upon, ears to listen, and arms to hug away the pain. But the important part of friendship is honesty.
"Do I look good in this?" Be honest.
"What should I do?" Be honest.
And, most importantly, a friend is someone who speaks up for you when you aren't present and will be the first to tell you that you did...