Kayeleen Hamblin from Kayeleen's Creation Corner is hosting her first ever blogfest, yay! So of course I had to jump in and join ('cause I'm crazy like that, but also to support her). All I need to do is share why I write. What is it that makes me clock in less than the recommended 8 hours of sleep just so I can write? Why suffer carpal tunnel syndrome at the keyboard? Why do I get glassy-eyed in mid-conversation with someone because an idea had gripped my brain vise-like and wouldn't let go?

I was a reader first before I became a writer. But I've always had a penchant for writing, even early on in my childhood. Or at least I liked telling stories. My audience? A bunch of sniffly cousins all younger than I was (it's all about hierarchy among cousins, of course. Haha!). They'd sit around me and I remember spinning tales off the books I've read, mostly from the Arabian tales (Scheherazade copycat). Later on, my sister and I would write down short fiction that were very melodramatic and made us cry (forbidden love and death...very Romeo and Juliet).


High school came with a lot of teen angst and insecurity. I wrote poem after poem to deal with my inner drama. They weren't anything grand or exceptional, but they comforted me. Needless to say, English was my best subject at school. My teachers would borrow my pieces to be shown as examples.

All through the years, I've always found time to read. While I was carrying my second child, it came to me that I'm capable of writing a freaking entire book if I'd put my mind to it. Why not, right? Others have certainly done it, and I could do it too. So I wrote. Feverishly, I might add. My sister (the same one who used to write Romeo and Juliet spinoffs) read my 400-page ms and loved it. Thank heaven for wonderful sisters!

I would later chopped this beloved first draft until I had to concede and put it to rest in a folder. Other ideas would come and go, and that exhilarating feeling of writing would slap me happy. I do write for pure enjoyment--whether I get published or not, as long as I'm happy slaving away at my PC, I keep on writing. I know people snort when they hear a writer say, "I'm not doing this for the money". But I'm not. I'm blessed enough to enjoy being a stay-at-home mom and being able to pursue writing as a creative outlet. To get published would be a bonus, certainly, but the money is not my ultimate goal. (You can throw rocks if you want to, but this is my truth.)

Thanks Kayeleen, for this opportunity to share. Check out the other responses by clicking on the picture:

Hello Monday!

There's been a change in the Skeleton Key Round Robin Blogvel line-up. Chapter 4 is now up by my favorite teen, Riley Redgate over at In The Jungle,.

On other sweeter news, two awesome blogger friends were nice enough to give me blog awards. Kimberly Krey of The Write View and Carissa Elg of My Inner Stillness handed me another Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award.

These two chicas are rock n'rollers when it comes to writing and blogging. Thank you, ladies! The rules are to pick 15 other bloggers and share 7 random facts about myself. But today, I'm going to be a rebel and break the rules. Instead of picking recipients, I am giving this to anyone who wants this strawberry goodness in their side bar. Don't be shy. Come and take it. Just right-click on picture and do "Save Picture As".

I'm sharing 7 songs I like to listen to, instead of the usual random facts. Enjoy!

Oh, happy Friday! The weekend is here!

It's been a great and fun week for me. I hope yours had been, too. Anyway, I'm sure a lot of you have already heard or used WORDLE before. For those of you not acquainted with this funny word, Wordle is a fun toy that lets you create word clouds. All you need to do is copy and paste your text--it can be a blogpost, your short story, your whole ms even, and the words that are frequently used will come up bigger than the others. It's a useful tool for editing, yes for EDITING your MS, because it lets you see how many just, like, that, was words (and other unnecessary ones) are littering your beloved work.

You can also play around with Wordle and create your own works of art. Today I made one to honor my wonderful followers who've stuck with me through the crazies, the fun, and the laughs.

Here's one for you, my friends: (Click on the picture to see it in full size)

To all of you, THANKS! You make my blogging experience a positive one. ;)

Have a great weekend!

Today I'm excited to have my wonderfully talented blogger friend, Michelle Simkins of Greenwoman guest post for us (and in turn, I'm a guest poster at her blog). She's a writer, knitter, gardener, radical homemaker, and friend extraordinaire. I think we're in for a really cool treat. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. I give you, Ms. Simkins.


So I've been thinking of my dad this week. Of course I have--Sunday was Father's day.
My dad was a good guy. Kind of quiet and a little bit of a hermit, but clever and steady and responsible. He worked his whole life to support his family, and he couldn't wait to retire and live the life he wanted.

He never made it that far. He died of a heart attack in his early 60's, too young, too soon, too sad.

In the years since his death, I've often thought about how unfair it is that he gave so much of his life to take care of us, but didn't really get to do all the things he wanted to do. He didn't like his job--it sucked the life out of him. He was holding out for a some day that never came.

The tragedy of his death drove home a major lesson for me.

You should do what you love right now, because you might not be here tomorrow.

You hear it all the time. Carpe diem, etc. etc. But it's TRUE people. It is so true. Life is brief. Make sure it's full of what you love.

I'm not saying you have to quit your day job--though if you can swing it, I highly recommend it. What I'm saying is make room for your passions. How do you do that? Well, as I so often do, I have a LIST for you.

No Means No

There's this word. It has only two letters. The word is "No."

Say it with me now: "NO".

You can use "no" whenever you want to do the thing you love, and someone else wants you to do something else.

Practice in front of the mirror.

If you can't bring yourself to do it? Record someone else saying no. Carry the recording around with you. When someone tries to interrupt the thing you love, play the recording. Make yourself a sign and hold it up. I don't care how you do it. Just do it--and stick to it.

Be Selfish

You don't have to be as selfish as me. You don't have to be selfish all the time. But for the sake of that thing you love, you must be selfish. You must find your time and place to do that thing you love, and then you must guard it more jealously than any dragon ever guarded it's hoard of treasure. The strategic use of no will help you with this. Also, turning off the damn phone. You don't have to answer it just because it rings. You don't have to answer your door, either, and you don't have to go to that all afternoon Candlelight Party when you'd rather stay home and bake a souffle. Guard your love selfishly, or others will trample it into the dust.

Permission Granted

Give yourself permission--officially--to have what you love in your life. Write yourself a permission slip and hang it on the wall if you have to.

Need someone else's permission? Fine.

I, Michelle Simkins, being, according to at least one person on Twitter, the Queen of All, hereby grant (insert your name here) permission to do what (s)he loves. Furthermore, I forbid the placement of guilt upon his/her shoulders by herself or any other individual, living or dead, henceforth now and forever.

There. Feel better now?

Make a List

Make a list of reasons you should do what you love. Here, I will get you started.
If you give yourself what you need, even in small doses, you will be a nicer person.

You will enjoy greater mental health.

You will probably also enjoy greater physical health.

It's easier to get out of bed in the morning when you have a good reason--like getting to do that thing you love.

You will, very likely, love something in to being that has never been before. Something no one but you could ever create. It would be irresponsible of you to deny this needy world the fantastic fruits of your labor of love.

This list, of course, is secondary to the main thing--which is that you, by virtue of being alive, deserve to be happy. We all do.

Follow Your Bliss

So you don't think much of my authority to tell you what to do? Fine, ignore me. But you can't ignore Joseph Campbell, the amazing author of a whole mess of books on mythology. I'm going to leave you with this quote of his, from the interviews he did with Bill Moyers in the late 80's called "The Power of Myth". If you haven't seen the videos/DVD's of this series of interviews, you need to get your hot little hands on them right now and read. They are thought provoking, fascinating and inspiring.

Bill Moyers: Do you ever have this sense when you are following your bliss, as I have at moments, of being helped by hidden hands?

Joseph Campbell: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as the result of invisible hands coming all the time--namely, that if you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.

From Michelle's garden

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As this is the summer of bloggerly love, I am guest posting at Michelle's blog, so head on over there and check out my LOVE-ly post. ;) Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Hello Monday!

I hope you all had a nice Father's Day weekend. To all you daddies out there, THANK YOU.

By InaFrenzy

The Skeleton Key Round Robin Blogvel continues with Chapter 4 by E.M. Delaney. As of writing this post, the chapter is not up yet so I will update this later. UPDATE: Apparently, our Chapter 4 writer is MIA at the moment.

Check out the other chapters: Skeleton Key table of contents.

And now, enjoy the funny!

By Debbie Ridpath Ohi