Little Miss Winnie

Little Miss Winnie is our queen. She is royal through and through. Well she seems to be. There is something about her that makes you wonder if she descended from the royal cats of Egypt. And she is the best mom when she has a litter of tiny little bundles that constantly vie for her attention from the moment of their birth. She is patient and protective. But she also trusts us to hold them while keeping an eye on us the entire time. She is also very clingy when she gives birth. I can't leave the room without her following me at my heals, or in front where I trip over her. She talks to me and wants me there. It takes a day or two for this to go away, but I think it is the sweetest thing that she wants me there with her. When not taking care of her babies, she is the best mouse catcher there is. Sometimes too good with her prize left at our stoop. And to my disappointment, my birds tend to be her victim. Motherhood changed her. Before she was spry and loaded with energy, just like the kittens of her first litter. After birthing five, one of which sadly died, she now takes her time to walk gracefully where she desires. And trees which she once loved to climb are no longer a part of her passion. I honestly think she likes being a mom. Even after the kittens are older, she still watches over them.

I don't know how she did this. Six little ones from her second and present and hopefully final litter. Extra food to keep her health up will be needed. I will have to get a single shot of her uploaded. This was taken with my phone. I have others on my Nikon camera and need to upload them to the computer. But it is late and I will do that at a later time. Of course I am assuming you all want to see more of our queen.

Praise and worship with your toungue

I'm going through many changes this year. Some I'm not really ready to discuss. They are changes that may be good or could be the biggest mistake of my life. Only time will tell. And as time is known to do, it will pass fast enough and I will look back and see the fruit of my decision.

I find I spend more time with God. Though the rough times should not be the reason one finds solace in the Lord. We should search His presence at all times offering Him praise and glory for the awesome God that He is.

This is at my church in Ozark, Mo, James River Assembly. The sermon was on worshiping God and how the Psalms call us to clap and shout His name in glory. We are called to celebrate our joy of knowing and serving a God who is slow to judge and has an abundance of mercy for the his creation. We are not just His creation but a people He seeks and desires to have a relationship with. How amazing is that? Why would a God who is righteous and knows no sin want anything to do with an evil people that struggles to contain their sins on a daily basis no matter who they are? Or for that fact, why would He want anything to do with those who enjoy everything that isn't Him. See how amazing He is? He seeks those who are everything He isn't and yet there He is tapping us each on the shoulder to turn around and face Him, acknowledging His existence. Yahweh, Yahweh. Say it and know He is your God and stands beside you in all trouble and good days. Better yet, Shout it. YAHWEH, YAHWEH.

Been Too Long

I have been so busy, and yet not so busy, to keep up with my blog. I was surprised (really surprised) to find out that my last post was way over a year ago. Sad. And then sad because nobody noticed. I have been so busy with little life things that I really haven't had the time to write. Even for my books. That isn't totally true. I wrote and published a prequel to the Chasing Dragons Saga. I have book two, though untitled, half done and three chapters left in another book I'm writing. It is a mixture of present and past and no dragons involved. It feels as if I'm behind in my writing. I know I am. I am determined to change that. I am going to put everything I have into finishing my untitled work and then book two of Chasing Dragons. I also am going to work on promoting my published work with a contest to win a free kindle. This thought is still in the works. So much is happening with me. I am at a loss to know how much to share. So until I figure it out I will keep it to myself. I will say a lot of prayers have been breathed.

Fallen Star by Jessica Sorensen

I don't normally do book reviews, but this particular book has bothered me, I will explain at the end. Being an indie author myself, I understand the dedication and hard work it takes to put our work out there by ourselves.

The Fallen Star

Here is the premise:


For eighteen year-old Gemma, life has never been normal. Up until recently, she has been incapable of feeling emotion. And when she’s around Alex, the gorgeous new guy at school, she can feel electricity that makes her skin buzz. Not to mention the monsters that haunt her nightmares have crossed over into real-life. 

But with Alex seeming to hate her and secrets popping up everywhere, Gemma’s life is turning into a chaotic mess. Things that shouldn’t be real suddenly seem to exist. And as her world falls apart, figuring out the secrets of her past becomes a matter of life and death. 


First, you must understand, I love to read. But with the constraints between my own writing, work, family and life in general, my reading has fallen behind. I was trying to promote my book on Amazon for free for a few days and spotted this and thought since I had just finished writing a chapter, I would take a needed break.



So here goes with my first critique on a book:


I enjoyed The Fallen Star very well, enough that I didn't put it down until I was finished. It was a light read for me, so it only took me a few hours last night. I cuddled on my couch with my blanket and read it via my ipod, such a lovely gadget. There were a few grammatical errors, but not enough to warrant a tirade, also another thing I understand as a fellow indie author. Sometimes our eyes don't catch everything. Most will say to hire an editor, and to that I say we can't all afford it. Like I said, the errors were only a few that I spotted. Ms. Sorensen also kept the spark between Alex and Gemma. In away, it was if you were the one tingling with the heat between them. As for the plot, I often kept thinking, "Surely, this girl isn't that dense." Of course, the author could have meant for her to be. Gemma had just "woke up" out of a life where she never felt emotion. And eventually, she did get it. But for me to keep thinking that, sort of pulled me out of the book a little.


Okay, so here is what I didn't like. The end left me feeling let down or maybe betrayed is the better word. Why? It's the end of the book. The sexual tension is still there, it is never fully accepted between the characters and someone doesn't have the gumption to stand up for Gemma. He lets Gemma down, and yes, after you read it, you might ask... what else could he have done? But that leads to the way it was ended. A cliff hanger. Like watching an end of the television series to keep you waiting for the next season. Yes, it may cause me to buy her next book eventually when I have time. Just because I want to know what happens next. But I like books that end the story in one book. So what if it is a series. A little suspense can be left without you going, what? Take Harry Potter or Twilight for example. They are series plots but each book ends neatly, even while knowing another is out there to read. My own is a series, but I have ended the story within the book with the next one a whole new story. At least I hope others think so after this little rant. 


So there you have it. If you don't mind the cliff hanger, then I do suggest The Fallen Star. If I had to give it a "star", then 4 stars. Only because I don't like to be left saying "what?".

Editing

I thought I would read through my Chasing Dragons: Vengeance and see if I found anything that needed corrected. Sometimes when you haven't looked at your work in awhile, and you step back in to take a peek, you see things that are not supposed to be there. So I decided I might do this, and if I did find any errors, they were an easy fix and an easy upload to Amazon and B&N. I was very surprised at what I found.

Firstly, there were little things. I didn't think it would be too much. A comma here or there, maybe a word misspelled. I am using microsoft word now instead of works. Yes, it makes a huge difference. But I used that last. I read the hard copy first, and with my pen, I marked areas I wanted to look at or fix. And then a funny thing struck me. Really, I was horrified. I realized, the painting in chapter one of the dragon Kwon, was described wrong. I described him as a fire dragon. If you have read the book and have even remotely any memory for short details, you may have caught it. The fire dragons are from the region Gracon, whereas the water dragons are from Fuaun, which is where the story begins with Deagon. Thank goodness for technology. I was able to fix the discrepancy, but I am sorry for those who bought my book before, having read the wrong info.

Also, one day at Wednesday night church, my pastor mentioned his professor, back when he was in college, did not allow the word 'that' to be used in any papers to be turned  in to him. This made me think. I googled overused words in fiction writing and found there were several. I wrote them down and went to my files and did a search. That, now, just, are to name a few. Seeing how these three were the worst, I focused my attention on them. I was able to rid most of them, even if I had to do a little rewrite. The rewrites even made the book better, I think. Other times, I didn't believe I could remove the words because I couldn't think of another way to write it.

So everything is good for the moment, and have been reloaded. I believe it is a better book for it. Someday I will be able to afford a real editor or may even have the luck of having an agent who can get me one. For now, or moment, I must rely on myself and friends, and word.

I hope Vengeance will not need future edits, unless an editor has it in their hands and is the one offering his thoughts. Thank you to my family who put up with my hours and hours of time I spent on the edits and not them. I did not abandon you.

Thank You

Thank you to all of you who have read Chasing Dragons: Vengeance. To those of you who have let me know how much you like it, I am very much appreciative that you took the time to let me know. You are a continual source of inspiration to keep me working on the next. Again, thank you soooo much.

Change

I like change in some things. Room arrangements. Colors for clothes or paint. The arrangement in my garden each year. Change is good for some things. So you may or may not have noticed that I have changed my blog design a couple of times in the past month. While I liked the other green design, I really like this one. If you have read my questions page, you will remember that green is my favorite color. But I also like blues. Like the one for this page. It reminds me a little of the blue of some of the ocean getaway pictures. Take Sandles or the Bahamas for instance. Cool and relaxing. So while you read, I hope it is a welcoming color for you. May you feel warm, relaxed, and cool all in one sitting. Thank you for reading.