Psychic Ability: Is It Real?

I was watching a show the other day where they were debating whether or not some people really do have some psychic ability or are they just fooling us? I decided it might be a fun subject to talk about today.

When I think about that question, most times I would have to answer that Psychic’s are just good guessers and are just trying to skam us into believing. However, I think that question sometimes deserves a definite yes.

Me, I’d rather have medium powers then to be able to tell peoples futures. I’d much rather be able to see ghosts and talk to them. Sure it would make your life a lot more complicated but, if I saw a ghost it would definitely reassure me that there really is life after death.

Although I think it would be much more fascinating to have Medium powers, I think I may have a teensy tiny bit of ESP myself. Here’s why:

1. One time while I was working at a factory, I was daydreaming that this certain guy friend of mine would be in the parking lot waiting for me to get off work. I hadn’t talked to this friend in a long time and as far as I knew he was still living 4 hours away. But, I was just feeling a strong need to see him. I daydreamed that I would clock out, and while I was walking to my car, I would hear someone whisper my name, “Allyn.” I would not see anyone because it was dark out, so I would continue to my car. Then I’d hear it again, “Allyn.” And then I would see him in his car, we would go somewhere and talk. And do you know that after my shift that night, that very exact thing happened EXACTLY as I had daydreamed. EXACTLY. Pretty freaky huh?

2. Another time I was driving around town (that’s all we had to do in my small town) and my mind was on a classmate that we had just lost in a car accident. I was driving around wondering who would be next to die. (a bit morbid I know). Anyway, I drove by a friend’s house and I said outloud to myself that he would be next. And you won’t believe this, but one month later, he died in a car accident. Now that is REALLY FREAKY!!

I’ve had a few things like that happen to me over the years and I don’t like it one bit. 99.9% of my thoughts never happen, however when they do… it feels terribly weird.

I wonder if I had real psychic powers if it would help my writing? Would I be able to tell which stories would be published and which wouldn’t? Would I be able to tell what my character was going to do before I’d even written the ending?

I do believe that some people have real psychic powers because of the few things that have happened to me but what about you? Do you believe there are people out there that really can tell the future? And if you had that special power, would you want it?

BLABBING ABOUT YOURSELF

As a published author, I can’t help feeling pretty darn proud of myself. I had a goal, I worked really hard non-stop, I never gave up, and I accomplished my goal of getting a children’s picture book published. However, getting the word out has been a difficult task.

I am probably one of the worst sales person you’ve ever seen. I’ve always said that if someone wants to buy your product, they will. But, if they don’t even know about it, how can they buy it?

The bottom line is, it might be difficult and make us want to puke our guts out with nervousness sometimes, but if we want to get the word out and sell our books, we have to blab about ourselves.

Everywhere we go we should be passing out business cards, bookmarks, whatever we can give to let people know we’ve written a book. And we can’t just do this for a couple of months or so. It has to be ongoing.

I’ve had months where I blabbed about myself and sold some books but then the months that I don’t blab to someone… I sell nothing.

In the words of Susan Sundwall from Writers Weekly:

“Anyone can do this. Whether you live in a huge city, a suburb, or small town all of the activities I've mentioned here are available to you in one form or another. Of course it's important to map out your plan in a computer file all nice and proper. And it's kind of silly to think you can include in that plan spontaneous blabbing, but do keep it in the back of your mind. Understand that wherever you go someone will be pleased to know you've written a book. It's well known that word of mouth sells more books than anything else. Why shouldn't that first mouth be yours?”

How about you? Have you blabbed about yourself today?

Hello fellow bloggers! I had a simply wonderful week last week. First, I received word that I’m getting my 4^th picture book published… Woo hoo!! That’s all I can tell you about that at present as I won’t be signing their contract until September. I’m so excited though!. Secondly, I also heard from the ezine Knowonder and they are going to publish a story of mine called Hippytoe Gets A Frog In Her Throat. No word on when yet but don’t worry, I’ll let you know. And even more exciting than all of that, I received the final proof for the cover of my next picture book titled Bree Discovers The Color of Love. This book is going to be one in which you can personalize it with your own child’s name. Take a looksy. I’m very pleased with it.

And after all of that good news I was then tagged for the Be Inspired Meme’ Post by Nickie Anderson. Thanks for tagging me, Nickie! Here’s how it works: I have to answer the following questions, and then tag five more wonderful bloggers. This time instead of talking about my current book The Pea in Peanut Butter, I'm going to talk about my upcoming picture book Bree Discovers The Color Of Love. Okay, here we go!

1. What is the name of your book?

Bree Discovers The Color Of Love

2. Where did the idea for your book come from?

Well actually I wrote this story for Writers Retreat. This is an online critique group and the subject for the month was to write a story with color in it. So this was what I came up with.

3. In what genre would you classify your book?
Children’s Fiction with a touch of fantasy.

4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?

I would choose Disney Pixar animation characters, of course! Nothing better then a Pixar 3D movie!

5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.
A little girl sets out on a magical adventure to find out what color love is.

6. Is your book already published / represented?

It is not published yet but the illustrator is working on it. As soon as she finishes it will be produced by Frecklebox.

7. How long did it take you to write your book?
The actual story only took a week or two. However, I did several edits after that, sent it to two of my critique groups and then more edits.

8. What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?
All readers of picture books, including adults. I think it will be an enjoyable read for parents to read to their child as well.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?
No author in particular so I guess I’d have to say the authors in the WR group. If the author who chose the subject for the month (sorry I can’t remember whose month that was!!) hadn’t chosen that criteria for us to write about, I probably wouldn’t have written this story.

10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.
Have you ever dreamt about having your own magic carpet? Well now you can jump aboard Bree’s and enjoy!

Now for the bloggers to tag:

1. Claudine
2. Mikki Sadil
3. Ruth Schiffmann
4. Katie Clark
5. Elisabeth Hirsch

Please leave a note if you decide to participate. Thanks!

Is Blogging Worth the Effort?

I recently had someone ask me if I found the blogging community beneficial in my writing process. Has it helped me sell any books? My answer to that is it has helped me get the word out and that is how you sell books. Most of my followers are fellow writers and let’s face it, we can’t buy every book from every writer. But what we can do is help each other by making our audiences aware.

Having my blog has given me a platform to announce what’s going with me writing wise. It has also been essential in hooking me up with other writers as well as some great friends. I’ve learned patience and discipline by having a blog. I’ve also received a lot of great tips from other writers along the way by some of my own posts as well as when I visit other peoples blogs. There is nothing more enjoyable to me then to discuss literature with fellow writers who are just as passionate as myself.

I admit, I was very leery about starting a blog in the beginning. I wasn’t sure I’d ever have anything to say and I still struggle with that. It’s hard for me to believe I have anything interesting to say that other writers would be interested in. However, it is getting easier and easier as the weeks/months pass and receiving comments back on my posts is like receiving a nice Christmas present! Yay… someone read my post and felt compelled to take time from their busy day to comment! That feels great to me.

My fellow bloggers have become a great source of information for me as well as a great support system. So to all those writers who are contemplating starting a blog or wondering if it’s all worth it, I believe it is. After all, it does give me another reason to write every week! And that alone is worth the effort.

A shout out of thanks to all my followers for their support! But what about you? Has having a blog been worth it to you?

ONE SUBMISSION AT A TIME

I hear about and meet a lot of people that want to write a book. They seem amazed that I could and actually did get a book published (I am too!). I can tell in their eyes that when they ask me how I did it, they want me to say, “well I just wrote a story and sent it in!”

Truthfully, that is what happened, however not until I did at least 1 year worth of research on writing children’s picture books, enrolled in a children’s writing course, and sent in manuscript after manuscript. Getting published in children’s magazines is not very profitable, if at all, however I believe it helped me get a book published much quicker. Many writers I know won't submit to magazines or small presses because they feel they are a waste of time. However, I think I’m living proof that having a few things you can put on your writing resume makes a publisher see that you are serious about your craft. Plus, just seeing your name in print, whether it’s a magazine, an article in the newspaper or newsletter, is a great boost to anyone’s writing ego. And let’s face it, we need to keep our ego’s going or we are doomed for failure.

The bottom line is if you are a writer who is afraid to submit, then you will quite possibly never see yourself published. I admit, it really is hard to get the confidence in yourself and your writing to actually start submitting it. But, if you go in to it with a positive attitude and believe in your story, then even if you get a rejection at least you can sit back and say you tried. And it will give you the courage to try again and again until your dream finally comes true. Persistence is the name of the game when it comes to anything you really want, and especially in getting your work published.

So if you are one of those writers who are afraid to submit, I challenge you to get out that favorite story you’ve written, edit it the best you can and send it out. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing so! Just take it one submission at a time. Goodluck!

Today I’m a bit sad. One of my favorite people in Baton Rouge is moving away. And is she choosing to move to somewhere I might be able to visit? Of course not! She’s moving to Barrow, Alaska!! It is the 9th northernmost city in the world and is the northernmost city in the United States of America. Geez, if she wanted to see snow, couldn’t she have just moved to Chicago or someplace like that!

Why is she moving?  Well she was one of the lucky people (I’m being sarcastic) who got laid off on the same day as myself so I guess she needs a job.  All kidding aside, I’m really happy for her. She is single with 3 grown children so why not take this adventure? Other then the fact that she is going to freeze her little toosh off, the city only has a total of 21 square miles, there is no way in and out except by plane, temperatures remain below freezing from early October through late May. The high temperature is above freezing on an average of only 120 days per year, and there are temperatures at or below 0 °F (−18 °C) on an average of 160 days per year. Freezing temperatures, and snowfall, can occur during any month of the year. But hey… why not!!??

Actually the company she is going to work for is offering her a really great salary, fantastic benefits which include 6 wks vacation right off the bat, and they will even let her keep her doctors here in Baton Rouge and fly her back for doctor visits twice a year.

But is she still nuts for moving to the middle of nowhere land? Heck no, she will just be a hop, skip, and a jump away from Santa Claus! I wonder if she’ll get to meet Rudolph?

I’ve been to Alaska and it is a beautiful state. There is almost nothing more lovely than seeing mountains with snow on them all around you.  

Surprisingly, my friend has always dreamed of moving to Alaska so this is really a big thrill for her. She is ready and willing for this new adventure in her life and although I’m being selfish in not wanting her to go,  I still wish her all the luck in the world.

How about you? Is there a place you have dreamed about all your life moving to? Me, I have no specific place I’ve dreamed about, however I do dream about walking out my back door to a white sandy beach, some type of waterfall, or a gorgeous mountain view. Sounds like heaven to me!

Let's Play Tag!!

Do you remember playing tag as a child and loving it! Well us writers love it too so this is our version of the adult tag. I’ve been tagged so now I’m tagging 4 other lucky fools (oh I mean players).

Part of the game is that when you’re tagged, you have to answer 11 questions that the tagger made up, which in my case was Courtney. Then the taggee (which is me right now) have to make up 11 questions and pass on. Below are the questions from Courtney with my answers (it even has a theme!):

Theme: Would you rather (and please explain ‘why’, if you can):

1. Would you rather meet Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny?

Definitely Santa Clause. And I’d love to meet him in the North Pole, please.

2. Be bitten to death by a mosquito or a snake?

Can I take the fifth on this question? Either one would be awful, however a snake might be quicker. Plus hopefully if I got close enough to a snake that he might bite me, I’d have a heart attack first and never have to feel the bite of the snake.

3. Be too fat or too skinny?

That is the easiest question in the world for me since I’ve been too fat for the last 30 years!! I’ve been dreaming of being too skinny for more than half of my life. Please God, I’d love to be skinny again!

4. Be too smart or too dumb?

That’s kind of easy for me too as I’ve always felt I was too dumb. I’d love to have more smarts. However, being too smart would probably give me even more stress. My mind never stops now so I can imagine how many sleepless nights I’d have if I knew everything. So, I guess this wasn’t as easy as I thought because I’ve talked myself right out of being too smart. Being too dumb would definitely be an easier life!

5. Have 10 girls or 10 boys as children. Not all at once just total.

I’d be totally broke but I have to say 10 girls. Think of all the years I’d get to play with their barbies!!

6. Be put in the foster system or live with a drug-addicted parent (this does not mean abusive)?

Oh goodness this is an awful question!! Either one would be horrible. But I’d have to say live with a drug addicted parent because at least there might be a glimmer of hope that the parent would get better someday. Being tossed around from foster family to foster family would almost be hopeless.

7. Live on an island or in the mountains. Either place having few if any inhabitants.

Hmmm, this is a toughy. I think I’d chose in the mountains. Living on an island would probably be gorgeous because there would be water all around, however the hope of ever getting away would be nearly zilch. At least living in the mountains you could walk your way out or hop on one of your trained wild animals and get out.

8. Die in a plane crash or by sinking of boat?

Neither would be good. But at least a plane crash would be quick. Sinking, sinking, sinking in a black bottomless pit would be a slow torturous death. Thanks for giving me nightmares, Courtney!! LOL

9. Lose all your teeth or lose your eyesight.

Definitely my teeth. Maybe then God would give me my dream of being too skinny because I could only eat soup and liquids!! Actually, losing my eyesight would be horrible as most the things I enjoy in life are through my eyes. At least if I lost all my teeth I could always go buy new ones!!

10. Have a jaguar or a wolf (not a hybrid) as a pet.

Ooh, a jaguar would be interesting but even more dangerous than a wolf, I think. Since I’m a woos, I’d have to pick a wolf. I think almost dog like would be a lot easier to train than a big spotted cat.

11. Live forever or live until only 25. You think this is easy? This is really a question of die before all your loved ones or watch all your loved ones die. See? Not so easy is it?

True, watching everyone die before you would not be easy but I sure would want to live past 25. At 25 you haven’t even experienced life yet. But to choose living forever, I’d have to know at what age would I stay forever. If I had to live forever at age 70 or above, then I’d have to reconsider. So you see, your question isn’t fair!! So I am definitely taking the 5^th on this question and let you just wonder. hee hee.

Drum roll, please. Here are my 11 questions. My theme is going to be “If you had to choose” and please answer why. Have fun!

If you had to choose:

1.Would you choose to have diarrhea or constipation the rest of your life?
2. Would you choose between falling in love with any movie star in the world, or any athlete in the world. And who would it be?
3. Would you choose to add a certain trait or quirk about yourself or take one away? And what would it be and why?
4. Would you choose to turn into a fairy or a vampire?
5. Would you choose to live in the rain or live in the hot dry desert forever?
6. If you had to choose between being a reader or a writer for the rest of your life, which would it be?
7.Would you choose to be the president of the united states or the queen of England?
8. Would you choose to have big luscious lips or big boobs?
9. Would you choose to be taken care of or take care of someone else?
10. Would you choose to be the cheerleader or on the debate team?
11. Would you choose to have warts all over your body or hair?

There you go! I hope you have fun with these. You can link your answers in a comment or just list them in a comment, whichever works best for you. Here is who I’ve tagged:

Angelia 
Mikki
Kelly
Claudette