40 WEEKS OF ME- Week 11, UPDATE

I’m back. I say this with relief. My descent into funky town last Friday morning was a precursor to a weekend spent in bed with a cold. Achy, tired, sinus headache, yuck! No bike riding for me at all this week.

Oh, I guess I should update you on my progress. As those of you who have been following my 40 weeks posts know, I started this series on my 40^th birthday. I gave myself certain goals that I wanted to accomplish.

1. Quit smoking.
2. Start exercising
3. Be more open

I have now been cigarette free for 11 weeks. I had tried three or four times over the last seven years to quit, but I couldn’t. I think the difference this time is that I mentally prepared myself to quit. I set up a plan for myself to follow. I researched how nicotine withdrawal affects the body so I knew what symptoms to look for during each stage. This helped me to find ways to counter the psychological and physical aspects of quitting, like depression and cold symptoms.

I used the patch for three days, then went cold turkey. I had the mega pack of spearmint gum to help with the oral craving. I still have days where I really wish I could smoke a cigarette, but I know if I have one cigarette, I’ll convince myself it’s okay to have another. Then I’m stuck again.

I also started biking again the same weekend. I had five days off of work so each morning my father-in-law and I hit the road. For those who are bike riders you know that in the beginning it’s not so much the actual distance that is difficult. It’s that each day, you have to contend with the bruises on your posterior. Padded bike shorts are a life saver.

 

I am now riding three days a week. We rotate from fast days where we do the 8 miles through the park as fast as we can. Long days are where we try to go at least 15 miles. Speed isn’t a factor. I’m a huge fan of the “lets stop and take pictures of the wildflowers” portion of this ride. Hill days are brutal. ‘Nuff said.

Being open. Well, I’ve definitely done that. My rant last week was proof of this. I’m still having a hard time coming up with topics to write about for the blog. This may have to do with my having two stories in my head that are wanting to come out. I’m trying to decide which to go with for National Novel Writing Month (NaNo). I haven’t fallen in love with one idea over the other yet.

I have finished up most of my editing projects for my critique partners. They’re such talented people and their stories are so much fun. This last project, well, I honestly don’t want it to end. I’m so entertained by this world I’ve been sucked into. I even dream about it. Thanks, Joyce.

So, is anyone else gearing up for National Novel Writing Month? Have you made any goals for yourself for this year? How are you progressing on them?

SHARING OUR VOICES- RICHARD PIETERS

I'd like to extend a special SOV welcome to someone whose writing has the ability to transport me into his world, to make me cry, to make me think.

Thank you for coming on the blog,

Many thanks to Angie for her invitation to talk about what inspires my writing.

Short answer: the magic of words.

 I began reading early, and early discovered the power of words to transport me, to show me the world in new ways, to take me to places unknown. I didn't begin churning out stories as a kid, as many seem to do. I absorbed and observed. I read, not just for the stories, but for the magic of the words themselves.

I've always read slowly. To me, a joy of reading is in the rhythm and color of beautifully constructed sentences, of images that startle me with their clarity, that cause me to read a sentence or paragraph over again just to immerse myself in it. I always will stop to smell the roses.

My early years as the son of a Presbyterian minister whose father had been a missionary to Korea, where my father was born, exposed me to a world of music, art, and spirituality. I played piano, and later, guitar and other folk instruments. I learned the power of art in its many forms to move people. And I learned, as I grew through school, that I had a talent with words.

For a brief time, I taught high school English, and my greatest reward (maybe the only one) came from seeing my kids awaken to their own power with words. I assigned controversial topics for essays and drew stories out of them. Convince me, I said. Make me believe.

Somewhere along the way, in college (isn't that where it always happens?) I began to question dogma.  New possibilities, worlds beyond worlds, unseen forces teased me to look, to wonder.

I wrote songs. Love songs. Songs of social protest. I used the power of words to influence, to move, and to entertain. I wrote poetry, unstudied, free, spontaneous, and the world around me became a live canvas from which to draw.

I'm moved to write because I can. Because the world is a huge, fascinating, terrifying place. A place of ecstasy and sorrow, of heroism and cowardice, of generosity and love and cold, hard malice.  And I've come to feel that we who write have a power to inspire the better aspects of our humanity while seeing all the colors and shying from none. We can entertain. We can offer distraction from pain. We can paint with words. We can show the strength of love in the unlikeliest circumstances.

If, with my use of words, I can transport a reader to a new place, make her look up from the page in an "oh, wow" moment, or cringe in horror, or laugh, or cry, then I've worked a bit of magic.

The pen may well be mightier than the sword. In good hands, it's a magician's wand.

To follow Rick on his journey, please check out his BLOG, TWITTER, FACEBOOK
 

40 WEEKS OF ME- WHAT WEEK AM I ON?

I skipped out last week. So this is week 10.

One thing you'll learn about me is I like to come up with fun projects. I’ll be all gung ho. Storm the castle! Then halfway through the project, all the fun dribbles out. I’m left with a project, not so much fun anymore.

 

Things like painting the kitchen cabinets, alphabetically organizing my eff'd up bookshelf. Writing about myself for forty freaking weeks = boring.

Yes, I said boring. I'm totally mind-blasted from talking about myself. I don't find myself that interesting. At least not to talk about for 40 weeks.

I wish I could've gone back in time to warn myself how this would be destined to go down in history as one of my more impulsive, not well thought out ideas.

I'm private for a reason, for goodness sakes.

Rant over.

Call me a cry baby if you want. I deserve it.

I’m not a quitter so I’ll still do these posts, but occasionally I’ll feel the need to vent.

I guess I should share why I’m so very cranky.

Last week, I got a streak of gray in my hair from the insanity. The day job, whew! I would’ve thought it was a full moon, but I think that’s this week. I went home every night totally exhausted. Then I had edits to work on. Lots and lots of edits.

My own edits.

My four critique partner’s full manuscript edits (I swear we’re all psychically linked).


My daughter’s thirteenth birthday party with eight wonderful teen girls (so much fun and that wasn’t sarcasm. I really enjoyed watching them do teenage-y things). 

In the grand scheme of my life priorities, blog posts are way on the list. I’m feeling a wee bit burnt out. So, here are some some pictures that make me feel refreshed.

 

Burney Falls

 

Yosemite National Park

 

 

 

 

SOUL EATER

Due to my being insanely busy with edits, Kiwi volunteered to write a guest post for me. She is far more knowledgable about manga and anime, so it's for the best that she handle these mini reviews. I still haven't finished InuYasha...so yeah.

Take it away, Kiwi.

Source

Soul Eater is a shonen manga from 2004. It is written and illustrated by Atsushi Ōkubo, and is still coming out today. An anime came out in 2008. It takes place at Death City, Nevada, and the plot is basically students at Shibusen (Death Weapons Meisters Academy) fight kishin eggs to protect the world. Some students can transform into weapons and are handled by meisters.


It’s a really cool show and its very funny as well.

SHARING OUR VOICES- CATERINA TORRES

I would like to welcome a special guest to Sharing Our Voices. Her source of inspiration is apocalyptic in nature...or, I guess in opposition to nature would be a better description since the natural order does not apply in this case. Please say hello to Caterina Torres.
 

First I just want to say thanks for letting me guest post on your blog. It’s so great to share my experiences as a writer with others, especially what inspires me to write what I write about. What do I write about? Oh, you didn’t hear?

ZOMBIES!

 

I’m sure you’re probably expecting some sort of deep, heartfelt reason behind what pushes me to write. But honestly, I write because I want to. Plain and simple. I love imagining a life outside my own; something that’s different from the daily grind of working 9-5, cooking dinner, cleaning the house, being a wife, etc. And I want to evoke an emotion from my readers. I want them to be so engrossed in the story, they forget about their own lives.

I didn’t experience something life changing. I don’t live in poverty. I have a great husband, a roof over my head, food in my stomach, and loving family and friends. I hope this post doesn’t come off as rude, but I got bored with regular life and thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if the apocalypse hit and zombies took over?” Truly, it would be a horrendous and scary experience, but the thought also excites me. No rules, no laws, no reason to go to work anymore. People’s true selves would come out as we band together to survive.

So I guess what inspired me to write my first book, Zombie Whisperer, was because real life wasn’t exciting enough. I kept coming to work, expecting something different, but getting the same old, same old: People sitting at their desks, typing away, ignoring everyone else, and waiting until it’s time to go home so they can repeat the entire thing the next day.

And if you really think about it, we’re already zombies in this world. We go through the same motions day in and day out until…what? My books help me escape that reality so I can create my own and share it with others.

Ciao-Cat
 

Show More

She can speak to the dead. Only problem is, they’re still walking around.

After enduring a week-long flu, Jane Smith wakes to find out a terrorist organization has spread a deadly virus over the nation, changing anyone who’s infected into the walking dead. With no choice but to flee her home, Jane teams up with her boyfriend, Josh Williams, as they venture to find something better than the desolate land that was once called the home of the brave and the land of the free.

Driving across the country, Jane encounters some of the newly turned and finds she can hear their thoughts inside her head. Before she can understand her link to the undead, Jane and Josh are captured by the terrorists responsible for the virus because of one special reason: they know she can communicate with the infected and they want her to be a part of their fight to take down the rest of the world.

Afraid for their lives, Jane must decide if she should join the terrorists or use her new found powers to stop them.

Blog/Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Zombie Whisperer.

 

Show Less