Nicole Zoltack's Blog, page 58
January 5, 2011
Regret is a 4-letter word
Do you have any regrets?
Credit for picture
Regrets. It's such a nasty little word.
I regret to inform you - that phrase is meant to be polite but it's so informal, it's almost callous.
I think I may know why I have such a almost hatred for the word regret.
My nature, I try to be optimist. If something bad happens, I worry, I fret, I cry, but I also try to see if there is a silver lining. I'm not delusionial, I know when things are awful, but I do try to see the good in everyone and everything.
Regret, by its very nature, is dark. It's depressing. It's being sorry for a past action. Something that can't necessarily be changed or fixed.
Instead of forgetting what you regret, it's important to try to move on, move forward. But it's most important to learn from your past mistakes and regret and go on to be happy, a better person because of your past.
Your past, your failures and mistakes, your regrets, your triumphs and succeedings, make you you. Make you who you are. Make you a better person, a better friend, a better husband/wife/son/daughter.
So maybe regrets aren't so evil and dark. If you learn from your mistakes, if you become a better person, changed and happier, then maybe having some regret isn't such a terrible thing.
What do you think? Do you have any regrets?
And don't worry. I promise to blog about more cheerful subjects, I swear!
Credit for pictureRegrets. It's such a nasty little word.
I regret to inform you - that phrase is meant to be polite but it's so informal, it's almost callous.
I think I may know why I have such a almost hatred for the word regret.
My nature, I try to be optimist. If something bad happens, I worry, I fret, I cry, but I also try to see if there is a silver lining. I'm not delusionial, I know when things are awful, but I do try to see the good in everyone and everything.
Regret, by its very nature, is dark. It's depressing. It's being sorry for a past action. Something that can't necessarily be changed or fixed.
Instead of forgetting what you regret, it's important to try to move on, move forward. But it's most important to learn from your past mistakes and regret and go on to be happy, a better person because of your past.
Your past, your failures and mistakes, your regrets, your triumphs and succeedings, make you you. Make you who you are. Make you a better person, a better friend, a better husband/wife/son/daughter.
So maybe regrets aren't so evil and dark. If you learn from your mistakes, if you become a better person, changed and happier, then maybe having some regret isn't such a terrible thing.
What do you think? Do you have any regrets?
And don't worry. I promise to blog about more cheerful subjects, I swear!
January 4, 2011
Post Holiday Blues
I don't know about you, but I always feel a little depressed after all the hoopla of the holidays are over. Maybe it's because the house seems so much smaller and quieter with all the relatives gone. Or the cleaning up the house and tripping over all the kiddies new toys. Or no more listening to Christmas music 24/7 until next Black Friday.
Credit for pictureWhat I like most about the holidays is the sense of family. Family is something that is so important to me - spending time with loved ones, creating lasting memories, laughing and joking over a warm meal. That is what the holidays are all about.
Togetherness. Love. Family. Friendship.
Do you ever feel the post holidays blues? How do you overcome the symptoms? Should I just pig out on leftovers? :) What do you like most about the holidays?
Credit for pictureWhat I like most about the holidays is the sense of family. Family is something that is so important to me - spending time with loved ones, creating lasting memories, laughing and joking over a warm meal. That is what the holidays are all about.Togetherness. Love. Family. Friendship.
Do you ever feel the post holidays blues? How do you overcome the symptoms? Should I just pig out on leftovers? :) What do you like most about the holidays?
January 3, 2011
Inspiring Mondays
Here's a lovely picture of a winter queen. Methinks there's something magical about the wintry forest behind her. I love her cloak. And dress. I would so buy that outfit.
January 2, 2011
New Year, New Resolutions
1. Edit and send Champion of Valor to beta readers, make changes, and send it to Gail.
This has to be done so this is a guarantee check at the end of the year.
2. Finish the last couple of tweaks to Alexia's Pen before sending out queries.
The query letter and synopsis are all done. Just need to make some scene changes.
3. Re do the beginning scene to Hidden in Shadows and send it off to beta readers. Make changes. Rework the query letter to incorporate voice and send them out.
4. Start working on a new project. Or two.
Last year, I had written down resolutions to write three complete novels. I know that is just not how I operate. I have periods of intense writing and periods of inactivity. With my young ones and trying to get them on the same sleeping schedule, that's just going to happen. I would like to be able to write more than one story a year, even if it's a story and a half and gradually work my way up to two or three full novels a year.
5. Do a better job of keeping my website up-to-date and work on increasing my newsletter subscriptions. Also, send out the newsletter at least 4 times a year.
So there are my goals. Far more realistic than last year's - get an agent. Oh boy, lol, do I laugh at that now!
I also plan on making monthly goals on the 1st of the month and seeing how I do at the end of the month to help keep my goals in sight and keep myself on track.
So what are your writing resolutions this year? Do you having reading resolutions? (I would like to find more time to read, even if it's only ten minutes a day.) Regular resolutions? (I want to get back to my college graduation weight - a little less than 20 pounds to go!)
This has to be done so this is a guarantee check at the end of the year.
2. Finish the last couple of tweaks to Alexia's Pen before sending out queries.
The query letter and synopsis are all done. Just need to make some scene changes.
3. Re do the beginning scene to Hidden in Shadows and send it off to beta readers. Make changes. Rework the query letter to incorporate voice and send them out.
4. Start working on a new project. Or two.
Last year, I had written down resolutions to write three complete novels. I know that is just not how I operate. I have periods of intense writing and periods of inactivity. With my young ones and trying to get them on the same sleeping schedule, that's just going to happen. I would like to be able to write more than one story a year, even if it's a story and a half and gradually work my way up to two or three full novels a year.
5. Do a better job of keeping my website up-to-date and work on increasing my newsletter subscriptions. Also, send out the newsletter at least 4 times a year.
So there are my goals. Far more realistic than last year's - get an agent. Oh boy, lol, do I laugh at that now!
I also plan on making monthly goals on the 1st of the month and seeing how I do at the end of the month to help keep my goals in sight and keep myself on track.
So what are your writing resolutions this year? Do you having reading resolutions? (I would like to find more time to read, even if it's only ten minutes a day.) Regular resolutions? (I want to get back to my college graduation weight - a little less than 20 pounds to go!)
January 1, 2011
New Year, Old Resolutions
Tomorrow I'll post my new writing resolutions but for today, I want to revisit the resolutions I made last year.
1. I want to sign with an agent for my fantasy YA novel, The Land of Imagining.
I've already started querying agents the end of November and have had two partial requests and several rejections to start this long, drawn-out process.
Well, this hasn't happened. YET. But this is something that is out of my hands, and having a resolution that I can't control the outcome of is never a good idea. Note to self: when making my new resolution, focus on things that I can control.
2. I want to start on the sequel to the aforementioned novel.
I see this series being a three book series, with The Land of Imagining being the middle book, with a sequel and a prequel. So why did I write the middle book first? Because the main character is an ordinary girl (who learns she isn't quite so ordinary after all) and has to journey to a strange, new world. I want the readers first glimpse into the All-Knowers' Land of Imagining to be seen through her eyes, through the eyes of someone who has never seen it before. The sequel is set mostly on Earth, and the prequel is set mostly in the Land of Imagining. So it works best for the middle book to be read first. And it really isn't as strange as it seems. After all, the Chronicles of Narnia were published in a vastly different order than chronological.
Didn't happen. I think I'm going to hold off on writing the sequel into I have interest in the first story.
3. Write the last book in the Kingdom of Arnhem series.
I still trying to come up with a name for this one. I'm thinking Warrior of Courage. I would like to keep the trend going, Woman of Honor, Knight of Glory....
Hero, Warrior, Mage, Champion....
Courage, Virtue, Hope, Justice....
Still playing around. Any ideas? Suggestions?
Well, I've chosen a title - Champion of Valor. And it's just about done. So I'll chalk this one up as a victory.
4. Start and hopefully finish another fantasy YA novel or my suspense novel.
This fantasy novel shows the plight of four teens as their world is turned upside down when magic sudden appears and chaos results.
The suspense novel is about a woman who accidentally kills a young child during a game of hide and seek, and her resulting descent into madness and guilt.
Didn't happen. Now that I have two kids instead of just one, and they aren't napping at the same time, it makes fnding time to write very difficult. I have so many stories I want to write, but the notion of me writing three novels in one year right now is just about impossible. Note to self: make realistic goals. They can be slightly lofty, but they have to be realistic too.
5. Sell some short stories to magazine(s).
I have a backlog of short stories that are collecting rejection letters from magazines. I would like to work on them, shine them, and start circulating them again. If I can't find a paying market for them (so far I've only tried the pro markets), I may end up making some available on my website for you all to enjoy.
So far, I have 9 short stories in various anthologies. I still haven't broken into the magazine market, but I'll still chalk this up as a win.
What about you? Did you make writing resolutions last year? How did you do? Are you making new resolutions this year? What are they?
1. I want to sign with an agent for my fantasy YA novel, The Land of Imagining.
I've already started querying agents the end of November and have had two partial requests and several rejections to start this long, drawn-out process.
Well, this hasn't happened. YET. But this is something that is out of my hands, and having a resolution that I can't control the outcome of is never a good idea. Note to self: when making my new resolution, focus on things that I can control.
2. I want to start on the sequel to the aforementioned novel.
I see this series being a three book series, with The Land of Imagining being the middle book, with a sequel and a prequel. So why did I write the middle book first? Because the main character is an ordinary girl (who learns she isn't quite so ordinary after all) and has to journey to a strange, new world. I want the readers first glimpse into the All-Knowers' Land of Imagining to be seen through her eyes, through the eyes of someone who has never seen it before. The sequel is set mostly on Earth, and the prequel is set mostly in the Land of Imagining. So it works best for the middle book to be read first. And it really isn't as strange as it seems. After all, the Chronicles of Narnia were published in a vastly different order than chronological.
Didn't happen. I think I'm going to hold off on writing the sequel into I have interest in the first story.
3. Write the last book in the Kingdom of Arnhem series.
I still trying to come up with a name for this one. I'm thinking Warrior of Courage. I would like to keep the trend going, Woman of Honor, Knight of Glory....
Hero, Warrior, Mage, Champion....
Courage, Virtue, Hope, Justice....
Still playing around. Any ideas? Suggestions?
Well, I've chosen a title - Champion of Valor. And it's just about done. So I'll chalk this one up as a victory.
4. Start and hopefully finish another fantasy YA novel or my suspense novel.
This fantasy novel shows the plight of four teens as their world is turned upside down when magic sudden appears and chaos results.
The suspense novel is about a woman who accidentally kills a young child during a game of hide and seek, and her resulting descent into madness and guilt.
Didn't happen. Now that I have two kids instead of just one, and they aren't napping at the same time, it makes fnding time to write very difficult. I have so many stories I want to write, but the notion of me writing three novels in one year right now is just about impossible. Note to self: make realistic goals. They can be slightly lofty, but they have to be realistic too.
5. Sell some short stories to magazine(s).
I have a backlog of short stories that are collecting rejection letters from magazines. I would like to work on them, shine them, and start circulating them again. If I can't find a paying market for them (so far I've only tried the pro markets), I may end up making some available on my website for you all to enjoy.
So far, I have 9 short stories in various anthologies. I still haven't broken into the magazine market, but I'll still chalk this up as a win.
What about you? Did you make writing resolutions last year? How did you do? Are you making new resolutions this year? What are they?
December 31, 2010
New Years Eve!
Happy New Year!Currently, I'm in Va. Hubby, the boys, and I are on our way to NC. My childhood best friend is getting married tomorrow. Isn't that the most romantic way to start a new year - with your wedding? I'm so excited for her!
I wish you all the best in the coming new year. I hope you enjoy time with your family and friends, eat and drink, be merry. I want the best for you all, I really do.May this be our year. :)
December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! I hope Santa brings you all the love and happiness that you'll ever need.
Oh, and presents too.
I'll see you all on New Years!
Oh, and presents too.
I'll see you all on New Years!
December 24, 2010
Medieval Love
Just a quick, short little post today. I wanted to share a link. I guest blogged at the Book Boost about medieval love and would love for you to visit and leave me some comment love!
And I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve, spent with your family and loved ones, as we await for Jesus' birth on Christmas. Merry Christmas!
And I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve, spent with your family and loved ones, as we await for Jesus' birth on Christmas. Merry Christmas!
December 23, 2010
Dear Santa
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is a totally awesome story idea. Ideally it would make for an immensily popular movie too. #writingiseasy #Illfinishinaday
Love, Eager Wanna-be Writer
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is for that totally awesome story idea to be a totally awesome story. #whoknewwritingtookupsomuchtime?
Love, Wanna-be Writer with No Time to Write
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is a kick-ass query letter for that totally awesome story. #writingqueriesisworsethanwritingastory
Love, Writer Ready for the Query-go-round
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is my dream agent to offer to represent me. #hittingsendmakesmesonervous #Iwanttopuke
Love, Writer who is Losing Weight from Nerves
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is for my dream agent to sell my story at auction. #wouldsellmysoulifitwouldhelp
Love, Writer with a New Eyeglass Prescription from Checking my Emails Excessively
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is to earn out my advance. #needtohavereadersupport
Love, Writer who still feels Nervous and Anxious
Dear Santa,
Now that my awesome story has sold through three printings and is being turned into a major movie, all I want for Christmas is another totally awesome story idea. #writingisthebestpart Oh, and a new agent. My last one decided to become an author. #yeahneedtogobackonthequerygoround
Love, Writer who is Clearly Insane but more than Ready to Go Through the Vicious Cycle all over again.
All I want for Christmas is a totally awesome story idea. Ideally it would make for an immensily popular movie too. #writingiseasy #Illfinishinaday
Love, Eager Wanna-be Writer
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is for that totally awesome story idea to be a totally awesome story. #whoknewwritingtookupsomuchtime?
Love, Wanna-be Writer with No Time to Write
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is a kick-ass query letter for that totally awesome story. #writingqueriesisworsethanwritingastory
Love, Writer Ready for the Query-go-round
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is my dream agent to offer to represent me. #hittingsendmakesmesonervous #Iwanttopuke
Love, Writer who is Losing Weight from Nerves
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is for my dream agent to sell my story at auction. #wouldsellmysoulifitwouldhelp
Love, Writer with a New Eyeglass Prescription from Checking my Emails Excessively
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is to earn out my advance. #needtohavereadersupport
Love, Writer who still feels Nervous and Anxious
Dear Santa,
Now that my awesome story has sold through three printings and is being turned into a major movie, all I want for Christmas is another totally awesome story idea. #writingisthebestpart Oh, and a new agent. My last one decided to become an author. #yeahneedtogobackonthequerygoround
Love, Writer who is Clearly Insane but more than Ready to Go Through the Vicious Cycle all over again.
December 22, 2010
The 2010 Goodie Tour with Danielle Thorne: Let Them Eat -- Orange Chocolate Cake!
Greetings, Nicole, and thank you for letting me visit your beautiful blog on my 2010 Goodie Tour. I've enjoying visiting all around the blogosphere with my sweet recipes and sweet adventures. I appreciate everyone who has followed me on this sugar trip. (Haha!) Today is my final stop, so I'm not only excited I shared the best for last, I'm also giving away a copy of my environmental romance, TURTLE SOUP, to one of the lucky visitors who comments on this guest post. Did you know TURTLE SOUP has a bonus recipe following the story? Now you do!
For your holiday banquet, tempt your family and friends with this luscious Orange Chocolate Cake that I found browsing through my buddy's cookbook collection a few years ago. Both the cake and the frosting originally come from THE CAKE DOCTOR series (with a few of my tweaks to make it my own). I matched the cake and its topping together. It is a rich, refreshing combination that will amaze your taste buds, and the frosting is my number one favorite – you know – the kind of stuff you want to eat out of the bowl with a spoon. Out of five stars, this recipe is a six, and I use it whenever I want to impress.ORANGE CHOCOLATE CAKE AND FROSTING
Cake:1 box of Devil's Food cake mix1 1/3 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice (I use Tropicana Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice.)½ cup of vegetable oil3 eggs1 teaspoon of orange zest
Grease a 9X13 pan. Blend ingredients in mixer one minute on low. Beat on high for two minutes. Bake about 30 minutes or until cake springs back to the touch.
Frosting:1 8 ounce package of cream cheese½ stick of butter¼ cup of dark (Dutch) cocoa½ teaspoon of orange peel2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed orange juice3 and ¾ cup of powdered sugar
Blend cream cheese and butter on low. And the other ingredient except for the powdered sugar and blend on low. Beat in powdered sugar to spreading consistency. YUM!
Now, to go along with your amazing cake, check out one of my sweet romantic adventures, such as Regency Romance, JOSETTE, or my pirate ship treasure hunt, BY HEART AND COMPASS. Need a getaway? BY HEART AND COMPASS will take you on a trip you'll never forget!
When Lacey Whitman buys a restored Victorian home, she never dreams discovering an antique diary will lead her back to sea and into the arms of the dive bum she'd rather forget. Her habit of living in the past comes to a screeching halt as diver Max Bertrand and the diary of his ancestor take Lacey on the quest of a lifetime: To discover and raise the privateer ship, Specter, and bring the treasure and legacy of a true hero home again. But will finding it cost her heart?
AMAZON
PUBLISHER
Have a wonderful, sweet holiday season!
Sincerely yours,Danielle Thorne
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