Hi All,

How is everyone today/tonight? I hope you are all doing fantastic! Yes, I am!

Today is a big day for my family. My brother is getting married, and yes, I can also go and enjoy it.

My car is still the same. I have not been able to get the heater fan fixed, but now that the weather has definitely warmed up, 86 and sunny today, I won't need to worry about freezing in the car. My only worries will be getting there without getting lost.

I'm notorious for getting lost. I have the directions, and I Googled those directions to make certain I knew where I was going. Will that help? You'll just have to stay tuned to find out. In the mean time, it's getting late. I have to leave here in 2 hours to make my way to a park I've never been to, for the ceremony, and afterwards to backtrack a little to get to the reception being held in a bowling alley. All in all, today is looking fantastic. The weather is cooperating, which is always good.

So while I take the day off from writing, you all

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How are you all today/tonight? I hope you are doing great. I am!

Happy Mother's Day to all mother's. I hope you are getting pampered and loved on by all your kids, husbands, and significant others. We deserve it!!!

I haven't written in a long time. My update message says 19 days.

It has been a tense week. I have online bill pay for all my bills. I set it, and hopefully not have to worry about it. I didn't until this last paycheck when the bank paid out one of my bills 2 weeks early. I don't know about you, but I can't have my mortgage and my utility bill going out on the same check. My paycheck doesn't support that kind of action, and neither can my checking account. Needless to say my checking account went up in flames. I had overdraft fees and account fees that affected all my accounts - I have 3 - checking, savings, IRA. I have it set up that if my checking is low, they automatically draw from the savings to make up the difference. There's a charge for that. So on top of the overdraft fees, there was the savings fee. I also found out that my auto payment to my IRA doesn't happen with my paycheck as I thought I had it set up to do, but takes it on a specific day of the month, so that payment also added to the checking account trouble.

First thing Monday morning I went to the bank. Their initial reply - this has never happened before. What was the answer to my whole problem? Instead of sending the utility payment back as a stopped check and incur further fees from a stopped check, the bank agreed to pay all fees. First though, they had to find out the cause of the debacle. It took a week to get everything figured out, the why's and wherefores. All fees were paid back to my account on Friday, and now my checking account, savings account, and IRA will live happily ever after. I still have a negative balance in my account because of the bill going out early, so here I sit on Mother's Day, and I can't go anywhere, do anything, or spend any money to pamper myself. The good news is that payday is Tuesday and I will once again see my account in the black, and have a little bit extra since the utility bill was already paid. My life will be back to normal. I hope. Though, what is normal? Maybe this state of chaos is normal and anything else is just plain dull and wouldn't even make a good opening for a book.

Well, that's my week. I hope you had a better one, and are enjoying the beautiful weather, if you are in the Midwest - Wisconsin - USA, it's gorgeous outside, so what am I doing on the computer when I could be soaking up some rays?

Everyone have a great and blessed day. Summer's here, take precautions against everything that stings and bites, and may you only find those situations in the books you write.

Today, while the sun shines, enjoy it and tomorrow you can all get back to what's important.

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How are you all today/tonight? I hope you are doing very well. I am!

Yesterday was a milestone for me. It was my Christian birthday. I have been His child for 32 years. My road has not always been smooth, and I know I strayed from the path a time or two or more, but these 32 years have been a journey of hope and love and drawing closer every day to my Savior, my Lord, my King, and my God.

If I were to count all my blessings from the past 32 years they would be more than I could name. My greatest blessing, however, is knowing Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Without Him in my life, my life would be meaningless, with Him in my life, I have a purpose and a hope for a magnificent future. My home here is temporary, but one day, I will walk across the threshold of heaven and Jesus will welcome me with open arms. That will be a glorious day, and one that is in my future. I am not anticipating that joy anytime soon. I know I have a lot of work to do here before I am called home.

My work of course is my writing. After 32 years, Scarred will become a reality. And I am a long way from being finished as an author. I am just beginning, as a look at my port will show you, I have many books that need a home in homes around the world.

I know that at my age, I should be sitting back, waiting for retirement, and the freedom that brings to mind. Though I look forward to retirement from the job force, I do not look forward to retirement as an author. My retirement as an author begins when I cross the threshold of heaven, and as I have over 40 titles that need to see the light of day, I have a long ways to go before I see that glorious day.

So while I get back to work, you also

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How are you all today/tonight? I'm good.

It was a good weekend. I have an editor who will help me get my book ready for publishing, and then today happened.

I was in the shower getting ready for work when my son informed me that we needed to get to the psych center ASAP. My granddaughter had done something extremely stupid.

My daughter and her fiance left for Jamaica on Sunday, and will be married there on Friday, so my title of mother will be enhanced to Mother-In-Law. However, there is one person in the family that has never liked that idea - my granddaughter.

From the moment he came into my daughter's life 15 years ago, there has been friction between them. My granddaughter hates him, and that's an understatement. Today, she threatened suicide so is in lock down for 72 hours.

Back when my daughter was 15, my husband and I were separated. When we got back together, my daughter threatened suicide and was in the psych ward for 2 weeks. We have history repeating itself and it would seem for the same reason.

So what was potentially a very good weekend, with good things to come, has turned bad and my daughter will come home not to a happy family, but a huge problem. I hope her experience will be able to help her daughter, and I hope my Son-In-Law will not think twice about this move that has taken 15 years to happen.

Otherwise things are looking up, at least in the book world. I talked to my new editor last night and am very happy with the situation, and will have the book back on track for publication soon. The good news is that I found her, or rather she found me right here on WDC. What a God-send she is.

Well, that's it for the good, the bad, and the great news. So while I take my mind off present problems by either immersing myself in a book, a game, or television, you all

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

Happy Easter or I should say Happy Resurrection Day. I hope everyone was able to have a wonderful day with family and friends. My wish and blessing for you today is that you would know the true reason for Easter is found in Jesus' resurrection from the grave. He did what nobody else could do, and that was die so you could live, and rise from the dead so you can be with Him through eternity.

Here's to your life, may you live it to the fullest degree and enjoy all God's blessings.

I have been truly blessed today, so I can say I have had a most wonderful day, and I hope you did too.

Blessings
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How is everyone today/tonight? I hope you are all doing very well. I am!

It might not seem like I'm doing fine on the outside. Things are going in a spiral around me at the moment, and I'm having trouble getting out of the spin, but there is hope, there always is.

I told you I got the editorial review back on Scarred, and they suggested a full developmental edit is what it needs. I talked to someone in the editorial department at WestBow. What they want for the editing is far more than I can even contemplate, so I have to look in other directions. I looked online for free editing software, there is only free trials, so that is out for the moment. I looked at some editorial agencies and found they want $2-$4 per page, when you consider Scarred is over 600 pages double spaced, that adds up, so that's also out. So the next best thing is to do it myself. Now I can hear a lot of you say I don't qualify, and you're right, I don't. What I did do however, is get some books to help me get the job done. I have as part of my personal resources The Artful Edit by Susan Bell. I also have Grammar for Dummies. I went online to Amazon and purchased The Chicago Manual of Style, The Christian Writer's Manual of Style, and Copyediting and Proofreading for Dummies. Hopefully with all that help, I should be able to get the editing done adequately. I can only hope. I really can't afford to have a professional editor do it at this time. So my hope that Scarred would be out by summer is a wash. I can hope for Christmas, but one thing I do know, it will get published. I've paid for it, so it's in process.

So, that's the biggest news. Otherwise, I've changed shifts at work, and no, that's not working out so good. After one week, I'm still struggling with my sleep schedule. I'm also ready to pull out my hair at the customers and back to back phone calls. So prayer is greatly needed for my sanity in the coming days, weeks, and months until I can get back to third shift, which won't happen until the call volume goes up for those hours.

Well, that's it for now, I'm going back to bed to get the last couple hours of sleep before I have to be up and get ready for work. You all that can

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How is everyone today/tonight? I hope you are all doing very well. I am.

I got the editorial review back from the editor yesterday, and I'm excited. I'm excited because I'm one step closer to my dream.

My son doesn't see it that way. He sees this as a complete waste of money and time. His reason is because I'm well past my prime - according to him. I'm on the back nine - according to him. In other words I don't have much longer to live and I've wasted my whole life writing this book.

Is it a waste of time? How many other people have published their first book in their later years? Years I'm calling my prime. I don't feel old, yes, my bones creak, and my walking gate has slowed a bit, but my mind is still young. I feel like I still have as many years ahead of me as I have behind. In other words, I'm only reaching the crest of middle age. On paper I'm close to retirement, something I'm looking forward to with every breath I take because it means I can get out of that rat race and do what I love most on a full time basis.

So tell me, have I wasted my time? Have I wasted my money to get where I'm going to achieve my hopes and dreams? Personally, I don't believe I have. Yes, I have experiences behind me, such as a college degree I haven't worked in because there wasn't any work in my field once I graduated. But I've always been told nothing is wasted. As a writer I can take what I learned in college and use it on paper instead, and I have. A couple of my characters, not in Scarred, in other books, have the degree I have as an Architect. It gives that character the expert appearance and says I know what I'm talking about when it comes to the field of Architecture.

The editorial department advised I go for the full developmental edit. There are some things I'm lacking yet as a writer - punctuation and grammar are tops on their list, not surprising considering that is my biggest downfall, and I've learned a lot with all the help here on WDC. Next on their list is the mechanics, and word repetition. In other words, this book will not be out this summer. Not if I'm going for the full edit on the book.

I will admit that I was ready to throw in the towel when I read the review, but one thing stopped me from doing that, and it wasn't the money I've already invested. It was that the editors said it was an engaging book. It does have merit, so while my son believes I'm wasting my time, I don't see it that way, and will pursue this to the end. I do want to see this in print, and I do want to see this done right.

When it comes to writing, I'm a perfectionist. I don't do anything half-way. So yes, I'm going for the full developmental edit. It will make me stronger in the end and a much better writer, and will help land me on the NY Times Best-Seller list. Yes, I do believe that's where I'm headed. I've always believed that, and until I draw my final breath I will never stop believing that.

I'm on my way, and while I'm headed down that road, you also

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How are you all doing today/tonight? I'm absolutely fantastic!!!!

I submitted Scarred yesterday and will become available in 90-120 days. YEA!!!!!!

Now I just have to do the incidental stuff, like getting the front cover taken care of. It's not coming off the way I hoped it would. Then there's my pic. I have to get a roll of film used and developed and hope that one of the two pics are usable - i.e. I like them. I know one might be a definite miss, the other felt hopeful. We'll see. I might just get a few more pics taken off this roll so I have more options. Other than that, everything seems to be sailing smoothly.

Well, that's my news for today. I'll be taking Manifest Destiny off the site as I prepare it for the final edit/revision and publishing - looking at getting that one published by this time next year or sooner if I can get the funds together for it.

So now while I get some more writing done, you all

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How is everyone today/tonight? I hope you are all well, happy, healthy, and writing. I am!

What motivates you to write? Is it your love for the written word or maybe you want to read something nobody has written yet?

For me writing started when I was 8 years old. It was something I did to survive my day to day home life. It was a means of escape. I found I liked making up stories and watch how they played out. Of course when I was 8 years old my stories weren't worth very much. In fact nothing at all.

Today I write because I have a story to tell that I believe has not been told before, or at least not the way I'm telling it. I love to write. I no longer write as a means to escape, but I still find escape in my writing. I escape to the world of my characters to see what they are up to on that day. I let them write their story, sometimes with a little push and nudge to get them motivated. My characters are my friends. I have gotten to know them better than some of the people I'm around all the time. I know how they think and what they'll do in any given situation. When I give my character a situation that doesn't fit them, they seem to shout at me from the page that they don't act like that or talk like that. That's when I have to hit the delete button and make some serious changes to what I've done to them. When the scene flows everyone is happy. Yes, I have happy characters.

Okay, that is so not what I was going to write today, but let's just think about our writing for a long moment. Sit back, grab your coffee, tea, or soda, and think about the writing you do. First of all, what kind is it - character or plot driven? Who is in charge of your book - you or your characters? In a character driven book your characters are in charge of the action. In a plot driven book you are in charge of the action.

Can you write an outline for your book and keep to it from beginning to end? Then chances are you have a plot driven book. If you have to get on the computer every day to check in with your characters to see what they are up to, yep, it's character driven and you can't write an outline for that. If anyone has been able to do it, let me know. I've tried several times, it doesn't work. My outline is good for maybe the first three chapters, after that it's a bust.

What motivates you to write? Is it the area you live in or don't live in? Do you get your inspiration from nature? How about other books? Do you find your inspiration from reading something someone read? I confess, I often get my inspiration that way. I've read many books and was ready to throw them across the room or in the trash because they were so awful and the writer just didn't do what should have been done with their characters. Now, that's my opinion. Obviously up to this moment in time I haven't had anything published, and I'm neither a publisher, agent, or professional editor, so what works or doesn't work for me, might for someone else. That's what makes writing exciting, we're all different, we all like different kinds of writing, and we all have our own ways of doing it.

So for this time think about what motivates you to write and then just do it.

Now, what was I going to write this blog about? The change of month and seasons. We're in March and you know what they say - In like a lion out like a lamb and vice verse.

We just came through one of the mildest winters in my history. For most of the month I didn't wear more than a hoody to work, church, shopping, or wherever I went. Oh I still wore my winter coat on those days that needed it, but those days weren't many. So what will March be like?

Take today for instance. It's a balmy 35 degrees outside coming home from work, yet by tonight when I go back to work we're supposed to be under snow - 4-6" of it. Now I've become quite skeptical when someone tells me it's going to snow. I love snow, and telling me it's going to snow is like promising a kid ice cream and then not following through with it. It's disheartening, and after a while you just don't believe it anymore.

Take last weekend for instance. We were supposed to get a foot of snow. Yeah, right! I prepared my car - mind you I don't have heat in my car so I bought a windshield cover to keep ice and snow off the windshield and make it easier to see - particularly at night when I have to go to work. We got snow all right - less than an inch of the foot - changed to less than 6" by the time I was going to work, and then a change to a wintry mix by the time I got off work. Yeah, right! Oh it was snowing by the time I went to work, but that foot of snow, even 6" turned into rain by 1AM. So much for our winter storm. Worst of the season, or so they said. Now they are once again forecasting great amounts. Will it happen? Only God knows the answer to that. Frankly, I want to see some WINTER before Spring gets here in the middle of the month.

So what kind of month will it be? Mild like February or will we get some frosty winter wonderland after all.

Well, it's time for me to get back to my writing and you've been with me long enough, so while I get to work on the next New York Time's best seller, you also

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How is everyone today/tonight? I hope you are all doing very well. I am!

Yes, I am. I was a bit ticked off this weekend. I got some very upsetting mail. I've known all along there would be two court dates for garnishment for medical bills. I went to one in October and the garnishment started in with the last paycheck in December. Then on Saturday I received, not the court summons, but the final judgment. It seems they failed to send me the summons to appear on February 1. According to the letter I had 15 days from the date the judgment was filed to send in the information for garnishment. I received that judgment letter on Saturday, 11 February, giving me 4 days, and not even, three really, and with the 12th being a Sunday, really only 2 days, considering the mail. If I didn't comply with the judgment it would mean I would be in contempt of court and facing 6 months in jail. By the way, the penned date on the letter was February 6. The letter wasn't sent out until after that date, and I'm supposed to get all this taken care of in 2 days???? Not likely. However, good things have happened recently that came to my aide. I received my Income Tax Refund, so I just went to my online bill pay and set up the bill. No garnishment - paid in full, thanks to Uncle Sam. I also sent a 'kind' letter to the lawyer, which went in today's mail. I told my son I wasn't recanting one word of the letter. Actually, I did. I misused one word in the letter and had to put in the correct word, hit print and it is now sitting in my mailbox waiting for the mailman to take it.

By the way, my son approved the letter. He said it was business only as he read it. I didn't get sarcastic as I did in one other letter I had to re-write several times to the other lawyer for the first garnishment. That letter proved fruitless. If you are under the misbegotten notion that lawyers care about your circumstances, or that they will work with you, think again. They care about nothing except their pockets, and as long as you fill them with your hard-earned money, they are happy.

On another note, today I had to take Pip to the vet. It was all good until it was time to leave. He got into a dog fight as we were leaving. You could call it Dogfight at the Okay Corral. I was very happy she didn't bite them, the other dog owner had two dogs, and she got into it with both of them. Needless to say, we were ushered out the side door. Pip did NOT get a treat when we got home.

Now for the good news. I got the first section of Scarred back from the proofreaders. One has finished reading it, and given the rest of the manuscript to the other, while I came away with the first 198 pages. Both people love the manuscript, and I got the first tweaking done this morning when I got up. It wasn't bad, just some punctuation, and in a couple areas, finding the right era terms. So all is good as I also work through the submission process. I have most of the pre-work done. I'm still working on the front cover picture. I know what I want for the picture, it's coming up with it that's proving difficult. I did come up with the back cover copy, and am quite happy with it. Now I just have to find out what the editors will say about it and what I need to change for it to be alluring so people will want to buy it.

All in all, it is a very good Monday, as I work towards getting Scarred ready for publishing. So while I get more work done on Scarred, edit and revise Manifest Destiny and other manuscripts, you all

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How are you all today/tonight? I hope you are all doing great! I am!!!

Well, today, almost three months into winter, it finally showed up. It almost looks like a blizzard out there right now, and those of you who know me, at least from the site and the blogs, know I love winter and I love snow, so this is fantastic!

I know that it looks nice from the inside, but I can tell you from a driving standpoint, the roads are slippery at the intersections, and the snow is blowing at a good clip. I don't know what it will be like when I have to go back to work tonight, but I might have to give myself more time to get in, unless this has died down by then. We're only supposed to get a couple inches, but we'll know how much when all is said and done.

As for Scarred - I now have my check-in coordinator, received all the information - I still have to read and go over all of it. It came in before I went to bed yesterday and I didn't have a lot of time to look at it before I went to work last night, so I'll look at it this morning to see what I need to do to make this ready for publishing. I've also come up with the design for the front cover, and I'm totally excited about it, now I just have to either find a picture that would represent what I want, or an artist to sketch it. I have two in mind, just in case I have to have the artwork done. So everything is getting started, and that is very exciting.

Other than that, nothing else is going on, but it does look nice out as I look out my window here in my office.

Have a great day and

Keep on Writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How are you all doing today/tonight? I hope you are all fantastic. I am!!!

I am on my way to becoming an author, the only step I need to do now is submit my manuscript and I will do that as soon as I get it back from my proofreaders.

I also have to come up with the back cover and dust jacket info regarding the book. It seems to be the hardest thing I've done regarding Scarred, but I'll do it and you will see the results when you purchase my book.

In the mean time, I have another book to work on, and while I do that you also

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How are you all doing today/tonight? I hope you are all doing great. I am!!!

Well, yesterday I talked with the agent from WestBow Press and had a few more questions answered, and I'm raring to go. I have one of my tax refunds in the bank, and I'm waiting on the big one, hopefully this week. As soon as I get it, I can move forward with the book.

I found out it will be sent as an electronic submission, so all the work I've done making certain it was correctly formatted, was unnecessary. If I was going traditional it would be, but not self-publishing. She said they would format it to fit a 6x9 book - your average book. I also found out how long it will take from submission to completion - 90-120 days. So look for Scarred as early as May. I will keep you updated.

Other than that, I've started the revision and editing for Manifest Destiny, so I'll be taking it off the site soon. I haven't had a lot of reviews on it, but those who read it seem to like it, except for one person, and quite frankly, he's only one person. Nobody likes every author, we all have our tastes and preferences.

With that said, I'm going back to writing and you all

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How is everyone today/tonight? I hope you are all doing great. I am!

I am reminded that it has been 14 days since my last blog, so I thought I would write something.

Scarred is in the hands of proofers, one has threatened the RED pen on it. I got an email from her asking about 3 hole punching it and putting it in a binder - as you can imagine I paled at the thought. I quickly told her NO. I also as an after thought sent an email regarding contractions and the time period it's set in, so she wouldn't red pen every word that would normally be a contraction.

I have also begun the revision/editing process for Manifest Destiny, also found in my port. I'm looking for good critiques for it. In my work, I realized I have some revision/editing to do on Scarred in one area that I messed up on. They didn't have pockets in their clothes in the 1700s, they wore them tied around their waist and had slits in their clothes so they could reach their pocket. So I'll get that taken care of as soon as possible.

Other than that, everything is going as well as can be expected. My finances are in a shambles, thanks to the garnishment. Someone at church suggested I go directly to the hospital and talk to billing. She said someone did that, and they wiped the bill out. It's worth a shot, though my mind is telling me it won't do any good.

Today is an unusual day for me. Normally working third shift, and normally off on Tuesday until 10:30 tonight, I have to be at work for training at 8AM and 10AM, so I will have a total of 4.5 hours of work, amounting to overtime before I start this work week tonight. I'll also end up going to bed late as a result and have a maximum of six hours of sleep before I have to get up for work tonight. It could be less, since I'll also need to eat before I go to bed. I'm not looking forward to tonight's shift. I'm going to be creative to stay awake through the night hours. I'll be leaving in just over an hour.

In the meantime, I'll get some more writing done, and maybe play on FB for a little bit. We'll see.

So while I get busy on my writing, you also

Keep on Writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How is everyone today/tonight? I hope you are all fantastic. I am!

Well it's the day after - the first playoff game that is for the Super Bowl next month and the Packers lost so we won't be going to the Super Bowl as I was so confident we would. It was a tough loss, but it was also hard to watch all the mistakes we made. As disappointing as it is that we lost the first playoff game of the season, I understand it's only a game, and no, I did not pin all my hopes and dreams on a football game. Yes, I'm a solid Packers fan, but if you know me at all, I'm even more a solid Jesus fan. On Him I do have all my hopes and dreams and I know He will never lose.

Well, things got a little bit tough this past week. My computer died. My withdrawal was not an easy thing to see, but things are better and under control. I have it fixed so I'm doing a lot better.

I was in the middle - literally - of the final edit for Scarred when the power died. It was only the power supply, my work is and was secure. Things are looking up now. I have the first half in a friend's hands from church who is proofing it for me. I have two people from church who will do that for me before I send it to the publisher in just a couple months now. I have also backed it up on my Google Docs, so that if something should happen to it, I still have it, no matter what. At the moment I'm 200 pages from completion of the final edit and am very excited to have this part of the journey to publication completed.

Well, that's it for now. I'm going to get back to my book, or perhaps I should go to bed, it's that time. While I decide what's the best course of action you

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi all,

How are you all today/tonight? I hope you are all doing great. I am!

I read an email yesterday that how we are is a state of mind, and right now I settle in my mind that I am great despite how life is really looking at the moment with all it's twists and curves that want me to slink away in defeat.

Yes, I could easily slink away in defeat with my finances in the mess they are because of the two lawsuits that hit me the end of last year. I was not expecting either one of them, and to feel the garnishment for something I was already paying before my day in court really doesn't seem right. I'm also still waiting on the court summons for the second lawsuit which was actually the first as it came out of the blue at me before the court summons for the situation I'm currently facing.

What put me in this position? Am I really a bad person that someone would want to take me to court for past bills? Not at all. For the bill that is currently under garnishment, I was already paying that bill, and saw no reason for the judgment against me and tried to tell the judge that. He simply told me the company - hospital - had the right to take me to court over the bill even though I was paying it. For the other one I'm still waiting on, that one literally hit me from left field. I had no idea I owed anything as old as four years. I never received any bills to make payments on, and thought I was paying it when I paid the hospital - different one, for services rendered and I knew how happy I was when that bill paid off. I really thought I was in the clear.

So with judgments against me, how can I say I'm feeling great? Because I've set my heart and mind to feeling great no matter what comes against me.

I know the truth that God will take care of me no matter who grim things look, and they look grim. But you've all heard the saying that things don't always look as bad as they are. So I'm going to take one day at a time and trust God to see me through each day.

Right now I'm doing a jig, figuratively. For those who know me, I love winter. Today, it is finally snowing. Yes, we've gotten a little bit here and there, barely enough to cover the ground and the snow we got for Christmas and again for New Year's, didn't cover the ground. The grass showed through the and was melted by Christmas and New Year's night. Now however, the snow is flying - literally. We have wind gusts up to 20 MPH and it's supposed to keep snowing until Friday - tomorrow. That feels a long ways away, as I went to work on Wednesday night when they had the winter advisory for and finishing off tomorrow - two days of snow, though it didn't start when the weatherman - can't trust them to be right on every time - said it would. The original prediction was for around midnight. I checked all night - no snow until just before I got off work, and now it's heavy enough you can see it, and it looks good. They are talking 4-7" before it's over. Not a lot, but it will at least cover the grass this time, and we might need to shovel. So far we haven't needed the shovel yet this winter.

I had a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows in it to encourage the snowflakes, and it seems to have worked. When I came home, you couldn't see the snow it was so light and fine, now you can. and I'm displaying a very happy - happy face. :)

In other news the Packers are in the playoffs. Of course I believe we'll go to the Super Bowl again this year. If you know anything about the Packers you know they went to Super Bowls 1 and 2 - won both, 31 and 32, lost the second, and went last year and won, so it only stands to reason we have to do a repeat. And of course with this years record 15-1, I also expect we'll win.

In other news closer to home - my computer went on the blink for a week. It died. It was the power supply, so I don't have to worry about my hard drive crashing, it's in good shape. Better than I was for the past week. I went through computer withdrawal - not a pretty sight. I was doing real well with the edit for Scarred too, just 265 pages to go and it will be ready for submission to the publisher. Now I can get back at it.

So while I do that, you all


Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How are you all today/tonight? I hope you are all blessed beyond your wildest imagination. I know I'm blessed.

Well, we've come to the last day of the year. Do you have your resolutions and goals all settled for next year? Once written down, do you have a plan to execute them?

We all have good intentions when a new year comes our way, and many of us will get off to a really great start with our goals, but many of us will fall by the wayside in the effort to achieve and maintain our goals for the coming year.

They say if you can do something for 30 days, it becomes a habit that is hard to break. Here's to good intentioned habits that are hard to break. I hope you will be able to say at the end of 2012 that you achieved all your goals.

The key to achieving your goals is to make them achievable. I know as writers many of you want to see your name on book spines along other books on bookstore shelves. I know that is also one of my goals and I should see that happen this year, God willing.

So while I work on my goals, you also

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How are you all today/tonight? I hope you are all doing very well. I am!

Yes, yesterday I ranted and raved. We must do that sometimes. We're human. I'm still a bit upset by what happened, but as I said yesterday, I do know my God is able and He will take care of me through this trying time.

Today I want to bring your attention to the date. We are two days from the New Year. We have the chance to start over, make everything new, turn over a new leaf, make a proclamation that this New Year will be better than this one or any of those gone by have been. I'm certain that right now you're thinking that not all the past years were bad, you can in fact think of a good many good years, and that is good. It is only when we are going through a particular trying season that we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, hope, or anything but the worst scenario we can think of. For me right now, my worst scenario with my financial situation would be the loss of my home, but I'm expecting my God to come through for me. I know He will not let me down. I know yesterday things looked bleak, but I remember a movie - Apollo 13 when the head of NASA at the time turned to someone and said it would be their finest hour. It was, they brought the astronauts home safe, and my God will see me safely through this time as well, and I will remember this year as yes, a trying year, but one of my finest.

So what resolutions have you made for this year 2012? Are you going to write the next best seller? Are you going to find that agent? Are you going to begin the next best seller? As writers we have a lot of resolutions we can make for ourselves. For me, topping my list of resolutions is getting published, and not even this financial crunch is going to hinder that from becoming a reality. My second goal is to lose weight. I want to feel good about myself physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. When I look in the mirror I want to see a person I can look in the eye and smile at, even laugh at because I have done what I've failed to do for the past fifteen years or so, since I started college and gained all this unsightly weight. My third goal would be to start seriously on the copyrighting program I bought last year and have done very little with, but I want to get started on that making a serious effort to not only complete the course this year, but become a copyrighter big business will hire. If you want to know more about this lucrative At Home business go to AWAI and learn all about it.

Those are my top three goals, and mixed in those would be my spiritual goals - a closer walk with God, learning to trust Him more than I already do, listen more to what He has to say to me, becoming a mighty prayer warrior. I am already a prayer warrior, I just want to go to the next level of prayer warfare.

Well, that's my list, and it is attainable. We need to make attainable goals, so that when we achieve our goals we can feel good about our accomplishments. If we make unrealistic goals, we will assume we are failures, and if you have ever put a word on paper, you are an achiever, and I know everyone here falls in that category.

So now while I edit my best-seller, you all

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Hi All,

How are you all doing today/tonight? I hope you are all doing very well. I'm trying to, but not quite there.

Can I rant and rave? As most of you are aware, I've been hit sidewise in the past couple months with medical suits. I had my first garnishment today, and it didn't look anything like the worksheet I filled out. They took three times plus more than I was expecting, though I had no idea when to expect the garnishment to start. I wish it wasn't on this check which affects my mortgage.

I was so upset by what happened I wrote out a letter, a rebuttal if you will. My son read it and told me I needed to rewrite it. I did. It sounds more like a business letter now instead of the ravings of a mad woman, which I was and still am.

I filled out the worksheet according to the guidelines stipulated, and came up with a number that worked for me. Yes, I had to pull in the apron strings a bit, tighten my belt, and make things work, but with what they intend to garnish, the only thing I can look forward to with another impending garnishment, is the loss of my home. I can't afford what they are doing to me. And I don't know if this garnishment is for one or both checks per month. If both, and I still have another court date coming up, I just don't know when yet, I'm sunk.

I know all the platitudes about how my God is able, I need to keep the faith, just believe, my God is greater than my circumstances. I know them all, I've read, or said them all, and yet, here I am in the middle of a total disaster to my finances and I am sinking fast.

Let's look at what has already taken place. I had this court date at the end of October. This is the end of December. It took two months from the day I stepped into the courtroom until now for the garnishment to take place. If my court date is in January, I'm looking at another garnishment to my paycheck in March, and if they do the same thing with that garnishment that they did to the first, I lose everything. I can't afford almost $400 taken from my paycheck.

I know I have some things happening on my horizon, such as a book being published with my tax money, and I have another possible income stream, if I can get myself motivated enough to get the course completed. This should motivate me big time. Right now, all I want to do is go over to my Facebook account and play games to take my mind off what happened and calm down. I really need to calm down, then I can look at this from a realistic point of view, maybe.

I'll have my son read over the letter again, and if he passes it, I'll put it in the mail. If not, I'll work on yet another revision of this letter. After all, what do writers do best if not revision.

While I work on calming down, you all

Keep on writing
Valerie
 

Merry Christmas to All,

How are you all today, tonight? I hope you are all excellent in body, soul, and spirit. I am!

Christmas comes once a year, and many of you are shouting praise for that because you have spent more than you want to think about on gifts, trips, food, and everything that goes into the holiday.

This year, I can honestly say, I did not spend very much on gifts. Christmas isn't about my gifts to my family or what they will give me. Christmas is about one very special gift - the one God gave humanity in the form of a baby.

Why would God give us His Son, wrapped up in swaddling cloths, and sleeping in a manger - a feeding trough for animals? Why would God cause His son to be born of a lowly teenager and carpenter instead of in a palace in the most famous city in Israel - Jerusalem. After all isn't that where kings are born?

Do you remember the statement God does not call the qualified, but qualifies the called?

Here we see Jesus, born in a stable because there wasn't any other place in all Bethlehem for Him to be born. No room in the inn. What a sad story that is when you think about it, and we have heard many sermons about the over housing of all the people who went to Bethlehem because of Caesar's tax census. But did you know there was another reason there was no room in the inn?

Picture a large square stone wall. Around the inside of this stone wall were places for travelers to sleep. The inside courtyard was where the animals were kept. There was no privacy of any kind, and at this time no space around the wall either.

God had a better idea for the birth of His child than an inn that afforded no privacy for Mary during the birth. You might also recall, if you know your Bible, that a woman who had a child had to be secluded from the rest of the village until the time of her cleansing.

Leviticus 12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.
3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.
5 But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.
6 And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:
7 Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female.
8 And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean. (KJV)

Mary had to find a secluded place to have her child, not in a noisy inn without privacy.

As Christians we overlook this fact, and cause the innkeeper to be a bad person, when in fact, he knew the law. Joseph, was a man also who knew the law, and that Mary needed seclusion, so where did he find this seclusion?

Judea is a hilly country filled with caves. It would have been to one of those caves that Joseph would have guided his virgin bride so she could have her child in the privacy necessary to the birth.

What happened next is well-known to all Christians. God through a birthday party. He sent angels to announce His Son's birth to some shepherd's and told them where to find the Baby, theirs and our Messiah. Then God put a star in the sky so that magi from the east would be able to find them. Of course this trip, believed to be from Persia, would take a long time. When the magi found the Baby Jesus, He was already 2 years old and living in a house in Bethlehem.

We don't think of travel taking more than a few hours to get from one place to another. We have cars, trains, planes, and boats to take us where we want to go. But in that day and time, it took many days to travel from one place to another either on foot or by camel, horse, or donkey. There simply wasn't any other means of transportation - not even a bicycle.

God took care of His child from conception to birth, causing Him to be born in the best place possible - not in a noisy inn without privacy, but in the luxury of a cave where they could lay Him in a manger for a bed.

It was to this cave the shepherd's went and found their Messiah who would one day die for their sins, and would one day again find Himself laid in a cave for a tomb.

As Jesus was born in a cave, God sent angels to tell shepherds about His birth, the most lowly and unaccepted people of the country at that time, and He told the magi - men of wealth and importance about the birth of His Son. No matter who you are, whether poor or wealthy, all are welcome to the cave, all are welcome to come to the Savior for salvation and the ultimate gift eternal life. That is what God gave us that first Christmas day - He provided the world with salvation. Through Jesus birth God qualified all of us for eternal life - we only need to accept it.

Something to think about as you enjoy a very Merry Christmas.

Blessings
Valerie