novels

My Next Novel

/ inkspeare

My plans were to continue where I left off before writing The Five-dollar Miracle; however, in the final rounds of writing this story, another title kept crossing my mind on several occasions to the point of captivating my full attention. I understood that this is the story I must write next – The Girl Who Could Not Love – and I will put aside the story I was about to continue, once more. And once more, I will trust the process and write, although right now all I have is a title and the main character’s name – Amalee Stonehart (yes, she named herself).

I will be working on developing this story (or it me) for the remainder of the year, and I have no idea what it will be about or where it will take me. It seems that this one also will not follow the style of my previous works. We will see. As a writer, I am open to inspiration and try not to box myself in, whether genre or style. I am excited to see where this litte adventure will take me this time.

Right now, I have several stories in the back burner, as well as future plans for a book of poems (will not dare call it a poetry book) and a compilation of short stories. These will have to wait, at least another couple of years, for what I can tell. I would love to continue where I left off soon, as I do really want to write this story that has been patient enough with me, and put aside a couple of times. I am not sure of its title, which is ironic, but I do have a short outline, mostly chapter ideas, and ending. I never knew that writing could be so unpredictable for me, on the contrary, I thought of it as very predictable, planned, and structured. As far as the remainder of the year, it will be dedicated to my next novel – The Girl Who Could Not Love. Wish me well.

In Between the Lines – Trust

/ inkspeare

Trust – Firm reliance; confident belief; faith; hope. (American Heritage Dictionary)

Here is one of several definitions that the dictionary gives for the word trust, and the one that I will use for the purpose of this post. Trust is another theme in my novels, and one that I find the cornerstone of everyday living – how we interact with our environment and people around us. We trust systems, people, routines … It goes from an external dimension to a personal and inner dimension to a spiritual one. When we lose trust (in whatever) our balance is shaken, and so is our reliance, confidence, beliefs, faith, and hope. Our feelings hurt. The issue is that once we lose trust in someone or something, it is very hard to recover. It takes change for us to consider trusting again, and as far as people go, many times the only thing that will make someone trust again is the presence of Love. In a way, Trust encompasses the above mentioned conditions; however, Love supersedes all.

In today’s society, it seems that trust has almost ceased to exist. We pay attention to conspiracy theories, and many people delight on these. Whether these theories are true or not is not the issue. It is how you process and internalize the information that you receive every day that will determine your level of trust – external, internal, and spiritual. Pay attention to your “trust process” and see how your balance is being affected. I will use myself as an example. When I start watching more television or increase watching the news, I immediately feel a direct effect on my balance. I like to be informed but I find that if I am going to listen to the news or watch television, I have to place a conscious filter before doing so, otherwise this simple activity may end up influencing the way I feel, and if I pay too much attention to negative news, so does my level of trust. This is just a simple exercise on a very mundane level, but a good example to illustrate.

We use Shakespeare’s line very often – To be or not to be, that is the question – but many times, the To Be depends on our level of trust, externally, internally, and spiritually. The question might be to trust or not to trust.

Photo by M.A.D.

Photo by M.A.D.

 

 

Let Me Let You In On a Secret

/ inkspeare / 2 Comments

All good things must be shared, so I am sharing this bit of information that is great for business owners and authors who work hard at marketing and promoting their business.  I have looked at several print services for some promotional items for my novels – rack cards, pens … and decided to use Vistaprint since they had a variety of items.  Well, I am glad that I chose them because I got so many great coupons and discount offers from them that I could not believe it at first.

To give you an example, on my last 2 orders for promotional items for my business all I had to pay for was the shipping, and I got 10 items free of charge.  I got a lawn sign, 10 sheets of stationery, 25 magnets, 50 rack cards, 140 address labels, 50 rack cards for my business, 50 rack cards for my novel, and another 50 rack cards for my other novel on a separate order.  All these items were free of charge, and all I had to pay for was the shipping.  For small business owners and entrepreneurs, it does not get better than that.  You might be thinking, was I overcharged for shipping? Not at all, shipping was what it usually is, and you can select to receive it sooner, the next day, or in 2 weeks, like I did.  Right now, I have more than 5 coupons between mail and emails with great deals, which I will probably use before they expire.  I am not promoting Vistaprint; I am just letting you know my experience so far, since I know many of you are authors and writers on a tight budget, and it is always good to know where to get the good deals.  I used to print all my promo items by myself – flyers, business cards … but the cost of ink and paper has proven to be more expensive than ordering out, and the printing quality is better.  Adding all these amazing coupons and offers, the cost is considerably less than doing it myself.  I still keep my designs in case one day I run out and need to print something quick.

So far, the quality of items has been great.  I am waiting for these last items to see their quality.  I think it will be great; so far I have been happy with the items .  This is all I wanted to share for today, and I will update you on this with a post and pics, once I get the stuff.

I hope that this post was of use to you.

 

Reminder:

I will be giving away three copies of Ramblings of the Spirit, the first book of the trilogy The Dinorah Chronicles.  To enter for a chance to win one of the three copies, just like my Facebook page (link at the right of the screen on this blog) and that is all you have to do.  I will announce the three winners on May 20, which is the birth date of the person to whom I have dedicated this book – my maternal grandmother.