Debra Parmley's Blog, page 7

Through the Everglades, From Pompano Beach, Florida to Tampa, Florida

November 2020 we took a trip through the Everglades.

Now that Thanksgiving 2020 was over, we were excited for our next trip. The drive, from Pompano Beach, Florida to Tampa, Florida would take us through the Everglades. Years ago we had taken a fun airboat ride through the Everglades and I loved seeing the wildlife. This time we would be driving our 2010 Allegro Tiffin bus through the Everglades on land. Would we see any gators? Other wildlife? I was hopeful.

My view from the passenger seat. Mike’s view

One thing about riding in this big bus is, we sit up fairly high, so we have a better view than we would have sitting lower down in a car. That combined with great big windows up front made this trip memorable.

There were many little white birds by the side of the road, fishing in the water, or drinking. I tried to capture them in a picture, but most flew off the moment before, eluding me. This is the only picture I have which captured one. Still, one of my favorite memories of this drive was watching those birds. They have a slender white elegance I am unable to fully capture in a photo.

The original airboat tour. Years ago we took a fun airboat ride through the Everglades. I don’t remember the name of the company we hired.

We stepped to fix lunch meat sandwiches at Big Cypress National Preserve visitor center and got out to walk around. We had the place pretty much to ourselves, as you can see. There were no X’s to stand on, marking a six feet apart rule, or masks. Just us and a sprinkling of raindrops.

On the wooden walk in front of the building as we walked across we looked down into the foliage and there we saw my gator. Can you see him?

Can you see the gator hiding?

This gator was sleeping or hiding. I wonder if he was dreaming of his next meal, as he did not move. It began to rain again so we dashed back to the bus to get inside out of the chilly air and rain and back on the road again.

There were signs that said panther crossing, next five miles, though we didn’t see any. We passed an Indian reservation, and Ten Thousand Island National Refuge.

This was a fun trip. Our next journey would be to Tampa, but that is another post.

I’ll be back with more of our story and our travels soon, so stay tuned and remember that every day we are alive is a beautiful day!

With love,

Debra Parmley, your Beautiful Day Traveler

For Debra’s RV travels follow this blog! https://beautifuldaytraveler.wordpress.com/

For Debra’s RV videos follow https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC27hTWse4gLJxTETQw6i7xw/

For more about Debra and her books go to www.debraparmley.com

FB page https://www.facebook.com/debra.parmley.7

FB fan group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/debraparmley/

FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/authordebraparmley/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/debraparmley/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debra-parmley

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/debraparmley

Newsletter sign up: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/w9s9h0

Cover Model Corner blog: https://covermodelcorner.wordpress.com/

Medium where Debra posts articles: https://medium.com/@debraparmley1

Kof-fi page: Where Debra posts her poems: https://ko-fi.com/debraparmley

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Debra-Parmley/e/B002BM9H4A%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Preparing Our Motorhome for Our First Trip and Our First Trip

We had much to do before we moved into the motorhome and took it on our first trip. Our plan was to take it to Florida for Thanksgiving. The first of many stops to see family members.

One thing I did before loading our belongings into the RV was to line many of the drawers and cabinets in the RV with shelf paper from the Dollar Tree store. The shelf paper has a bit of no skid to help prevent things from sliding around as we go down the road.

I was excited to find this pattern and color which matched the countertops very well. And I found them at the Dollar Tree so they were easy on the budget.

The first ride I took in the motorhome was to ride along with my husband Mike to fill her up. Our 2010 Tiffin Allegro bus has a very large tank and she takes diesel. This was our first time to fill her up. Not all gas stations sell diesel and not all stations have room for a 43 foot diesel bus. My husband uses an app called Gas Buddy to find prices and places to get gas.

Mike filling the motorhome’s gas tank with diesel.

One of the new treasures in our new home is this beautiful journal. My husband bought it in New Orleans when we went there for Heather Grahams Writers for New Orleans event in 2019. He went shopping while I was at author events during the day and surprised me with it later. I just love this journal, and I am enjoying keeping a “captains log” of our travels in the RV.

First travel journal for the RV, a surprise gift from my husband, one I treasure. Day one … The new chapter in our lives begins…

The trailer behind the RV pulls my convertible. The front wheels go on the trailer and the back wheels stay on the road. The RV is 43 feet long so towing the car adds to that making it even longer. We need to find sites that have a pull through for our size when we are looking for our next place to stay.

Our first trip was down to Florida for Thanksgiving. The first of many trips planned to see family.

Our route from Memphis, for our first trip, along with stops was:

From Memphis to Frog Hollow RV Park in Grenada, MS for one night. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g43801-d258451-Reviews-Frog_Hollow_Campground_and_RV_Park-Grenada_Mississippi.html

Lunch in the Talladega Forest, AL at the rest stop, and then one night at the Triple C RV Park in Chattahoochie, FL http://cccscampground.com/

Then on to Highland Woods RV Park in Pompano Beach where we stayed for five nights Thanksgiving week.

https://www.rvonthego.com/florida/highland-woods-rv-resort/?utm_source=yext&utm_medium=directory&utm_campaign=Yext+Directory+Listing?utm_source=yext&utm_medium=directory&utm_campaign=Yext+Directory+Listing

Highland Woods RV Park in Pompano Beach, Florida

After visiting Mike’s mother in Deerfield Beach and having dinner with his cousins who live in Ft. Lauderdale, we went over to Tampa for the next trip. But that is a post for another day.

I’ll list sites we’ve stayed in for other RV travelers and for my readers and family when I post.

I’ll be back with more of our story and our travels soon, so stay tuned and remember that every day we are alive is a beautiful day!

With love,

Debra Parmley, your Beautiful Day Traveler

For Debra’s RV travels follow this blog! https://beautifuldaytraveler.wordpress.com/

For Debra’s RV videos follow https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC27hTWse4gLJxTETQw6i7xw/

For more about Debra and her books go to www.debraparmley.com

FB page https://www.facebook.com/debra.parmley.7

FB fan group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/debraparmley/

FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/authordebraparmley/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/debraparmley/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debra-parmley

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/debraparmley

Newsletter sign up: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/w9s9h0

Cover Model Corner blog: https://covermodelcorner.wordpress.com/

Medium where Debra posts articles: https://medium.com/@debraparmley1

Kof-fi page: Where Debra posts her poems: https://ko-fi.com/debraparmley

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Debra-Parmley/e/B002BM9H4A%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

The Big Downsize: Moving From Our House to a Motorhome

I’ll always remember this move as the big downsize, when we sold our 1,100 square foot house and 40 foot by 50 foot garage on 1.4 acres in Bartlett, TN and moved into our first RV, a 2010 Tiffin Allegro bus/motorhome.

I’d been downsizing for a long time and thought I would be ready, but I was still surprised by how many things we had squirreled away in the spaces we’d lived in for 23 years, and I was still trying to sort through things as we were moving out.

Our sons came to stay with us and they worked on the house before we listed it and then helped us move things into the store and lock, and I really do not know what we would have done without all their help. We would not have been ready.

The backyard always had deer in the evening.

The house sold six days after we listed it and we had two buyers bidding. On Monday, Nov. 23rd we closed on the house and the buyers took immediate possession, so we had to have everything out and ready to go before then. That would have been a lot even if there were nothing else added on.

40 x 50 garage which housed my husband’s business.

But as the ads on television say, “But wait! There’s more!” My husband also housed his business, Whistle Clean Incorporated, in that big garage, so there was an office to dismantle and a business to move out of that garage, everything from office furniture and files to business equipment and chemicals.

Our new 2010 Tiffin Allegro Bus beside our old garage.

The guys worked on Friday the 20th, a regular work day to finish the work, then they collected their last paychecks, and the business closed for any more work. I listed office furniture and equipment for sale and my husband moved everything Whistle Clean into a store and lock. This would be our second store and lock as I already had one for our household things. I am keeping things that mean something to me, antiques and momentos. No, I will not be a person who “gets rid of everything” but in each case these are things I would want around me as I get older and want to be surrounded by my memory things. The question I asked myself was, “If there’d been a house fire, would I be upset at the loss of this?” Having lived through a house fire, I had a pretty good idea of what I’d be upset about and what I wouldn’t. So the decisions were easy for me, and my treasured things are in a temperature controlled storage unit.

Downsizing from this house and garage into this motorhome. “The big downsize.”

So, now we had two store and locks. Whistle Clean was officially done cleaning houses and my husband had retired. He had previously tried to sell the business with no luck (guys wanted to run it but didn’t want to work, or sweat and that is not the way a pressure cleaning service company works) and then he had planned to keep the business going, running it from the road while he retired from doing the heavy work, but that was not to be. One employee had a heart attack the week before we closed and the other announced he was going to Mexico for two months. There would be no one left in Memphis to do the work. The doors would have to close. It wasn’t the optimal way to end, but the signs were clear that it was time to move on. We had a new lifestyle to begin and we were both ready to get on with it.

Everything in the garage had to go, from office furniture and files, a van, a truck, pressure wash equipment, tools, etc..

I’m writing this on December 17th and just today Mike finished emptying the Whistle Clean store and lock. Part of the delay has been the first trip we took, down to Florida to see his mother for Thanksgiving as she was alone there and we hadn’t taken a trip in the motorhome anywhere yet! I’ll write about that in another post, as this one is just for the big downsize.

Are you ready? Let’s go!

Tomorrow we get on the road from Memphis to Kentucky. He will drive the motorhome, pulling my car while I drive his truck full of tools and equipment he is keeping to Kentucky, where he will store them along with woodworking equipment and wood for his projects. While we will be living in the motorhome full time, we do have things we are keeping, here and there.

Towing my convertible behind the motorhome.

Once we unload his things in KY, the downsizing will be officially done and then we can head for the warm sunshine and our next adventure. And that, I suspect, will feel awesome.

I’ll be back with more of our story and our travels soon, so stay tuned and remember that every day we are alive is a beautiful day!

With love,

Debra Parmley, your Beautiful Day Traveler

For Debra’s RV travels follow this blog!  Debra’s Beautiful Day Traveler travel & writing blog https://beautifuldaytraveler.wordpress.com/

RV travel pics will also go up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/debraparmley/

For videos of Debra’s RV travels follow Debra’s Beautiful Day YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC27hTWse4gLJxTETQw6i7xw/

For more about Debra and her books go to www.debraparmley.com

FB page https://www.facebook.com/debra.parmley.7

FB fan group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/debraparmley/

FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/authordebraparmley/

To Catch an Elf: Debra Parmley’s Creepy Shelf Elf Group! 12 days of creepy elf party https://www.facebook.com/groups/793115644206381/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/debraparmley/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debra-parmley

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/debraparmley

Newsletter sign up: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/w9s9h0

Cover Model Corner blog: https://covermodelcorner.wordpress.com/

Medium where Debra posts articles: https://medium.com/@debraparmley1

Kof-fi page: Where Debra posts her poems: https://ko-fi.com/debraparmley

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Debra-Parmley/e/B002BM9H4A%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Holidays in the Motorhome – Decorating for Halloween 2020

I have always loved Halloween; from the time I was small and dad would take me out trick or treating. I loved very girly costumes, though one year I had a Batman mask and even a batman lunchbox. Dad loved Halloween too and I have great memories of him taking me and my best friend Ginny through haunted houses. In his later years he wore his skeleton costume and passed out candy to neighborhood children. For me, Halloween will always bring memories of my dad.

Shifting into the RV/motorhome lifestyle, one of the things I must do is make sure the decorations fit into our new 2010 Tiffin Allegro bus as we are going on the road fulltime.

Everything in the RV must earn its place, holidays are no exception. We will celebrate holidays on the road, whether visiting family or seeing beautiful spots in the U.S. The challenge while downsizing is to keep decorations that will fit into our newly downsized lifestyle. I have decorated the motorhome for Halloween and here is how she looks all trick-or-treated out.

Captain Jack, my favorite Jack-O-Lantern, thinks he is the captain of this earth-based ship, and we will just let him think that until captain Michael takes over. Then he can duke it out with co-captain Debra for the passenger seat. (I think I can take him. He is more a lover than a fighter, likes hugs and his little sword is not sharp.)

Snoopy, who I love, does the Snoopy dance it you press his foot and sitting with him is his little buddy, named Batty. They are listening to the talking candle flame that lights up.

If you hang around with me you will learn that I love polka dotted things, so I had to have this witch hat with pink polka dots. (Next to Snoopy and Batty.) Yes, there are other polka dotted things in my must keep these things basket. lol

 What is Halloween without a black cat? Since I’m trying to lose weight, I have a tiny trick or treat basket, a miniature Frankenstein’s head. Not sure where the rest of him has wandered off to. Maybe in search of the candy I shouldn’t be eating?

This little spider is stowing away on the motorhome but I am keeping all the other spiders out.

These are the little things that brighten up our new motorhome and make it feel homier to me.  It’s fun sharing them with you. What little things brighten up your Halloween? Are they new things things this year or traditional? If you are in an RV, how do you decorate?

Below are all my links. Soon you will see other posts on my pages as we get on the road. Closing on our house is Nov. 20th so, just 24 days to go! It’s going to be a busy week here but I will still celebrate Halloween. Wishing you a Happy Halloween!

With love,

Debra Parmley, your Beautiful Day Traveler

For Debra’s RV travels follow this blog!  Debra’s Beautiful Day Traveler travel & writing blog https://beautifuldaytraveler.wordpress.com/

RV travel pics will also go up on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/debraparmley/

For videos of Debra’s RV travels follow Debra’s Beautiful Day YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC27hTWse4gLJxTETQw6i7xw/

For more about Debra and her books go to www.debraparmley.com

FB page https://www.facebook.com/debra.parmley.7

FB fan group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/debraparmley/

FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/authordebraparmley/

To Catch an Elf: Debra Parmley’s Creepy Shelf Elf Group! 12 days of creepy elf party https://www.facebook.com/groups/793115644206381/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/debraparmley/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debra-parmley

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/debraparmley

Newsletter sign up: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/w9s9h0

Cover Model Corner blog: https://covermodelcorner.wordpress.com/

Medium where Debra posts articles: https://medium.com/@debraparmley1

Kof-fi page: Where Debra posts her poems: https://ko-fi.com/debraparmley

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Debra-Parmley/e/B002BM9H4A%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Beautiful Day Traveler – Debra’s revised blog

Beautiful Day Traveler is the new name for Debra Parmley’s revised blog as she enters into not just a new chapter in her life, but a whole new book of life as the adventure begins.

In the past she has been a writer, a dancer, a writing teacher and mentor, a traveler and a travel agent. All these threads converge for a new journey, one of living full time with her husband, in a motorhome. A 2010 Tiffin Allegro bus. (Pictures coming soon!)

Hang around Debra long enough and you may hear her say, “Every day we are alive is a beautiful day.” Debra is a “beautiful day traveler” and here on her revised blog you will find:

Debra sharing about learning to live in a motorhome full time (it’s their first RV)travel stories of short journeys as Debra and her hubby Mike travel the U.S.adventures Debra’s fictional storiesDebra’s poemsmemoirfreelance articlesnon-fictionwriting tips and advicedance, music, and anything else which adds to Debra’s beautiful day Debra Parmley on writing retreat in Deerfield Beach, Florida January 2020, working on a Hansel and Gretel story

In the archives here you will find posts on writing and dance from her blog formerly titled Threading the Web, which she started for her writing students to encourage them. Debra currently has 24 books of fiction and one book of poetry up on Amazon, most are available in print and four are available in audiobook. She is currently at work on a new novel and on her new online writing classes as they prepare to move into their new motorhome. For more about Debra Parmley and her books visit debraparmley.com

Debra and Mike in Jamaica at Rose Hall Plantation, 2019

Meet Mike Parmley, Debra’s husband of 39 years. High school sweethearts, she asked him out on a $5 bet! They’ve been having adventures ever since. Soon they’ll be sharing their adventures with you.

Celebrating April National Poetry Month with a Poem a Day

On my new Ko-fi site, I am celebrating April’s National Poetry Month with a Poem a Day and my poetry anthology Twilight Dips is just 99 cents for the month of April.

Twilight Dips

 

Twilight dips

elegant fingers

over treetops

into shimmering lakes

deepest blue

ripples spread

fingers twirling

swirling symmetry

calling out to fish

from deepest depths

fish rise

fish mate

fish spawn

fish die

circles

cycles

fishly life.

-by Debra Parmley

Published in Bellowing Ark, Jan. 1996

and in Debra’s first collection of poems.
The anthology, also entitled Twilight Dips, June 2013, Belo Dia Publishing.

Twilight Dips on Amazon

debraparmley.com

For daily poems visit my Ko-fi site here

 

Imposter Syndrome, A Snarly Dog

Imposter Syndrome is a Snarly Dog. I decided it was time to write about this, after mentoring one of my author friends on Imposter Syndrome and self-doubt. I realized this is something we don’t talk about enough. If we did, writers would not view it as unique or unexpected when it happens to them.

Mention Imposter Syndrome in a room full of authors and ask them to raise their hands if they have ever encountered it and you will see almost every hand go up. It is as common as typing THE END. Think about that for a minute. Let this sink in – Imposter Syndrome is so common to writers, that almost everyone has experienced it at one time or another. I don’t know any authors who haven’t experienced it and it’s been ten years since my first novel was published and I’ve been in author circles for over twenty years. Imposter Syndrome is universal and seems to be part of the author’s journey.

I like to picture these doubts as snarling dogs, because that’s what they do. They ask the question who do you think you are? And it’s always with that snarl.

I like to say Imposter Syndrome is a big snarly dog and you have to go all out alpha on it to show it who the alpha is.

Imposter Syndrome is a form of self-doubt and is fear based. Fear of being judged as an author, fear of having your book judged, fear of being found wanting, fear of someone saying – who do you think you are to write that book? You may experience one of these or another from the same snarling dog family.

You may experience this snarly dog with your first book or your twentieth. When writing, you may experience it halfway through, in those moments when you think the good pages you wrote yesterday which you thought were such good pages now totally suck and the whole book totally sucks so much you’d like to shred it, burn it or delete it. That one is a very nasty snarly dog. You can’t let it win. You may experience a snarly dog after hitting the bestseller lists multiple times; with readers saying they love your books. Some writers experience it on book release day and don’t feel like celebrating, because that snarly dog is winning. You may experience it when being asked to read from your work or when asked to speak or to be in an interview or on a panel. So, what can you do about a snarly dog?

First, know they can pop up at any time and be ready to face one. Acknowledge it and face it. No hiding in your house, or cancelling or destroying pages. No posting all over social media, wallowing in it and being a victim of it. Tell an author friend or mentor privately if you need to talk about it, but then face that snarly dog.

Imposter Syndrome is a big snarly dog and you have to go all alpha on it to show it who the alpha is. Your words and your voice and your stories have value. When it snarls, say out loud, “I am (your full name) and my words have value. My book has value and people want to read it.”

There is power in “I am” statements. Great power.

Now go write your awesome books, never let the snarly dogs win, and boost and encourage your fellow creative friends. I’m fine with you quoting me and hope this article helps.

To learn more about Debra Parmley and her books, or for her writing classes check out:

Website www.debraparmley.com

Facebook personal https://www.facebook.com/debra.parmley.7

Facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/authordebraparmley/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/debraparmley/

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/debraparmley/

Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debra-parmley

Writing Blog https://beautifuldaytraveler.wordpress.com/

Debra’s poems on https://ko-fi.com/debraparmley

 

Celebrating Ten Years as a Published Author and a New Box Set

I am celebrating! This year marks the tenth anniversary of the publication of my first novel in print, A Desperate Journey.

This is me, holding the first copy of my first book, A Desperate Journey, which came out in March 2009. – Photo by Monica Parks. This was the original book cover.

My western historical romances have been described as “gritty.” The west could be a rough place for a woman, or a man, and I started out writing my first novel, A Desperate Journey, as a western. It started with a challenge. I was attending the Ozark Creative Writers weekend and Dusty Richards, a well-known western author, issued this challenge. “Write your first novel, make it a western and if it wins my contest, my agent will read the full manuscript.” I’d been writing short stories and poetry up to that point, never a full novel and that challenge was too good to pass up.

I sometimes will take a challenge or a bet and when I do, it can be life changing. For instance, I asked my husband out on a date, on a five-dollar bet, back in high school, but that is a story for another day.

Well I wrote that western, set it along the old Chisholm Trail in 1867, and along the way, as I wrote, the story turned into a romance. A Desperate Journey is a blend of romance and western. If you pulled the romance out, there would still be a lot of story. It’s interesting to me that men enjoy reading the story and I think that is one reason.

This is the new book cover.

Now you might wonder what happened with Dusty’s challenge and the contest. I finished the book by the following year and entered it in the contest. By then Dusty no longer had an agent, but he sat with me and went over the first chapters, giving me advice. I will always be thankful for his advice and his challenge. I revised the book and entered it the next year in a contest that western romance author Bobbi Smith held at the Romantic Times Book Lovers convention in St. Louis, where it won third place. Bobbi sat with me afterward and said, “Debra start your story in chapter three.” (I was giving too much back story and not getting to the action soon enough.) I rewrote the story and the next year entered it in the American Title II contest, where it was a finalist. During that contest I signed with an agent and a year later he sold my first book to Samhain Publishing. A Desperate Journey would be in e-book in 2018 and 6 months later be in print in March 2019.

After Samhain published A Desperate Journey, my editor invited me to write a novella. Another western historical romance for a new anthology to follow the first book was a good idea and to meet that call, I wrote Dangerous Ties. This one starts out with the heroine strung up over a mineshaft and the rope is breaking. I’d paid attention to my mentors and started my next story with action. Jumping right in. I thought this would be the first of many westerns with my publisher. But then my new editor turned it down and wanted me to write erotic romance instead. A third book, a contemporary romance I’d written right after I finished A Desperate Journey was turned down next. In the seven years I was with Samhain, I had five editors, but later editors were not as enthusiastic abut my work as my first two, who I’d enjoyed working with.

Dangerous Ties went on to be published by a different publisher, Desert Breeze Publishing. But now, writing a third book to connect the two books was going to be impossible. Because different publishing houses held the rights to the two books. So you can imagine how thrilled I am to have those rights back, and to have republished both books through Belo Dia Publishing Inc. It has also enabled me to be able to publish a third book to tie them all together. My readers deserve that and it’s exciting to be able to do it the same year I am celebrating of ten years of publishing.

I am celebrating the tenth anniversary with the release of a box set of the three westerns. A new book, Deadly Adversaries brings together the daughter from A Desperate Journey and a son of the couple from Dangerous Ties. The box set, Desperate, Dangerous and Deadly: A Western Collection is available now on Amazon.

Dangerous Ties is also on sale for 99 cents for the e-book up through June 15th. That’s the breaking rope after the mineshaft one, if you just want a nibble of one of my westerns to see if you like them. It’s a quick novella. It is also available in audiobook and in print.

Deadly Adversaries, the newest of the three westerns is up for pre-order and releases Tuesday May 7th.

I hope you will join me in celebrating my tenth year. To my readers, thank you for your support and for your love. It has been a wonderful ten years and I look forward to many more and can’t wait to share new books with you.

Over on my Debra’s Beautiful Day YouTube channel you will find my First Chapter Reads playlist where I read from the first chapters of my books, and I have many other things there as well. I am always adding new content there. You’ll find the link to that site and many more below.

Check out my books on these book sales pages and read a sample:

Debra’s books on Amazon

Debra’s books on Barnes and Noble

Debra’s Audiobooks on Audible

Debra’s ebooks and audiobooks on itunes

Debra’s books on Kobo

Debra on the web:  www.debraparmley.com

And on social media:

Facebook fan page

Facebook group

Facebook personal page

Goodreads page

Debra on Instagram

Debra on Pinterest

Debra’s Cover Model Corner blog – interviews

Debra Parmley’s Beautiful Day YouTube Channel

Debra Parmley on Book Bub

Toads, raindrops and playing in the rain with writing.

 

One day not so long ago it was raining and I was coming home from a good dinner out with my Shimmy Mob Memphis dance sisters when I spotted a toad by my back door.

He was up on the deck railing which is as high and as close as any toad has ever come before. We stood for a while, he and I, without moving as the rain sprinkled down all around us.

Of course he was unbothered by it, rain being a thing natural to him. It is this that got me thinking. Does rain feel unnatural to you? If so when did that start happening?

Children take joy in playing in the rain. Adults, well it depends on the adult. I was taking great pleasure in the plunk of raindrops on my head while I took a few pictures of my new companion with my phone. I was not listening to the adult voice in my head which said go get your umbrella first. I ignored that adult voice because I was sharing a joyful raindrop moment with my toad friend and when you share a moment, it is best to stay in it. Once lost it never comes again.

Toad in spring rain

When we are writing we tend to write what we know and that is the advice usually given to young, new and aspiring writers.  Well it’s the advice given to all of us really, even those of us who have been writing for a while. It’s one of those things most people don’t even question but accept as factual and true. Kind of like when it’s raining out, take your umbrella.

So we walk around carrying our adult umbrellas and sometimes we forget how to play and how to reach out beyond that. If we always reach for the umbrella we miss the experiences that fall outside of that comfortable dry spot beneath the umbrella.

Let’s play with this one a bit. Splash around in the rain with me for a moment and put the umbrella down. Place the write what you know umbrella in the corner for a moment and lets see what’s splashing outside of that dry spot.

What if you were to write something you did not know, something you were in the process of learning?

What if you were to write about that learning process?

What if you were to write a fictional story while you were still researching and fact checking?

Some raindrops fall farther from the umbrella than others. It is okay to play in the rain and get wet. It can be great fun to splash around once in a while and play with your writing.

My fourth book of fiction, Trapping the Butterfly,  is set in the 1920′s in Hot Springs, Arkansas USA. I wrote it on spec. Had pitched the story idea to my editor and she loved the idea and sent me a contract. I wrote the first couple chapters while researching at the same time. As the story came together I was doing the follow up research almost til I typed “the end” Some of what I thought I knew turned out not to be historically accurate, for that town in that year. If I had held back writing the story until I did all the research first it would have been more difficult to meet my deadline.

Some might argue that the process of writing this way would lead to a sloppy or inaccurate book. My counter argument would simply say this book is now up for a RONE award. I offer this as proof the process did not hurt the book or this author. In fact it was a joy to write and is my favorite work of fiction of all my stories so far.

Is there something you’ve always wanted to write about, but haven’t because you don’t feel knowledgable enough? Try setting that umbrella aside. Step out into the rain and play a little. You might discover joy in the writing process.

You might meet a toad companion and share a joyful moment. That alone is worth stepping out into the rain.

 

 

 

Four Week Creative Writing Series: The Writing Web, Beginning April 5th

Four Week Creative Writing Series: The Writing Web

Beginning April 5th, 2014 every other Saturday from 1:00 to 3:00 at The Circle

Creative Writing 101: Stepping into your scene: In this intro class, you will learn the process of the writing web and the overlays. You will learn how to step into a scene or setting and make it come alive using your senses.

Topics of professional critiquing and being critiqued are introduced as well as ways to breathe life into your work and ways to find and keep the joy of writing.

Creative Writing 102: Adding Movement: In this follow up to 101, you will learn how to write the silent conversation. We discuss the overlay and how to layer lessons fro both classes into your work. we end with 5 minute timed writing sprints.

Creative Writing 103: Dialog: In this class, we focus on dialog, using writing exercises to stretch your writing muscles by stepping into varying story people's points of view.

Creative Writing 104: From Character to Living, Breathing Story Person: What makes a character become a story person who comes alive. Writing exercises focused on breathing life into characters.

Debra's classes are interactive and include writing exercises, teaching moments and discussion. These writing Web exercises are designed to guide you into writing practices to help you release your writing flow. Because your writing can be personal, you will never be asked to share your pages with your instructor or the classmates. There is no grading.

Creative Writing classes taught by Debra at The Circle are taught in a safe, supportive environment both for the beginning writer and for those already writing. Guidance toward writing for publication and private manuscript evaluations are available by appointment.

Please bring your preferred writing materials.     

Contact the Circle to register 

The Circle

2465 Whitten Rd, Suite 105

Memphis, TN 38133

901-217-1275

Visit my new blog at 

http://threadingtheweb.wordpress.com

for tips and talk about writing