Roland Yeomans's Blog, page 103

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WORLD OF OUR CHILDHOOD?

Not the innocence we remember our world  being when we were children.
The world we remember is innocent because we were innocent.
Do you remember anything before the age of five, four?
You must have thought and felt and learned so much during those early years.
Where did the memories of those things go?
No one's memory goes beyond three and a half.  
Freud called it "childhood amnesia."
Freud, being Freud, said we repressed early memories due to the discomfort of our sexual awakening.



Later psychologists ---

without any data to support their theory ---

said that due to lack of focus, 

children could not form stable memories until the age of seven.


The truth is that there are far more links between our brain cells in our earliest years 

than in early adulthood.

Our earliest memories
are will o wisps blended from genuine recollections, 

narratives told us by others, and imaginary scenes churned by our unconscious mind.

Now, scientists believe that

as a forest can hold only so many trees, the hippocampus can hold only so many neurons.

Sadly, we cannot trust the few distinct memories 

that survive the stormy cycles of growth and decay in our infant brains.

Some of them may be partially or even completely fabricated!


WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY?
DO YOU TRUST IT?

ARE YOU LIVING A FULFILLED LIFE?

Living a fulfilling life 
seems a mocking concept for many 
these days.
Yet, it is not an impossible dream.

HOW TO START
1.) COME TO PEACE WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE

Animals in the wild endure bitter cold, injuries, and hunger without going IF ONLY. 

They accept life is what it is and adapt 

without the static of bemoaning that might keep them from finding another path.



2.) HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON ON LIFE TO ENJOY THE MOMENT

Not overlooking the beauty of the "mundane"world around you 

will open your eyes to countless epiphanies, enriching your life and broadening your horizons.

And you might even find a much-needed laugh.



3.) ARE YOU BECOMING A GROUCH?

Focusing on the negative a good part of the day may well be turning you into a toxic person.

Challenge yourself to look for the good in each hour, in each person you meet.

That person who is just sitting at the light turned green 

may well have received terrible news from the doctor or from a loved one.

Practice restraint and don't honk that horn.  



 4.) PRACTICE FORGIVENESS

Not just for others ... but for yourself.

You screwed up yesterday.  That just makes you human.  Today is a blank page.  

Don't smudge it with the guilt of the past.



5.) EXERCISE IS A PRIORITY NOT A "MAYBE"

Exercise, whether it be walking, running or biking, cleans out the cobwebs and tones the body.

It also releases endorphines for free.  A healthy body houses a happier spirit.



6.) STOP HANDING YOUR SELF-WORTH TO THE HANDS OF OTHERS

Those who focus on your flaws continually may do so to keep from seeing their own.

No one feels your pains, dreams your dreams, or lives your hours but you.

Each of us is composed of the very atoms first found in the hearts of stars.  

You are a sparkle of life from the heart of a sun.  You are special.  Let no one tell you otherwise.



7.) OUR FEARS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS WORSE THAN WHAT THE TRUTH IS

Hiding from our fears always magnifies them.  

Facing them gives us an idea of what to do next.



8.) CLING TO YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR

Laughter is one of the best forms of exercise.

It helps you live longer, reduces your blood pressure, and helps you enjoy your own company.

And since you are stuck with yourself  24/7, that is a good thing.

 

THE ZEN OF SNOOPY

I worked 24 of last weekend's 48 hours and drove 600 miles! Whew!

I am still past drained 

so Snoopy has graciously decided to do a guest post for me. 

Say thanks to the beagle, will you?  
 (My thanks to Peanuts Worldwide, LLC)




Have a Joe Cool Day!

DO YOU BELIEVE? IWSG post

I am not asking about your belief or lack thereof in God.

Each person's theory of God is their own 

and worthy of respect and freedom from prying questions.

No, I mean  

"Do you believe you are meant to be a writer?"

Yes?
Then what are you doing about it?



Dreaming of climbing to the mountain top is fine.  

But no mountain is going to reach down and lift you up to its top.



You have to force your way up the side of it, braving the cold, winds, and the weariness all on your own.

 Not everyone makes their idea happen.
You've met those whose heart, head, and hands are congruent, aligned.


They turn talk into walk.
If we want to badly enough, we find a way.
We live the possibilities we love.

We don't have to remember we are on fire.  

We just are on fire! 
When you are committed to your dream, 

people will sense it in you ...

Some of those will help you on your way... 

for none of us makes it solely on our own.



There will be challenges.

But challenges are merely problems ...


and problems can be solved.
Every road block has a detour that can be taken.  

It may not be the journey you envisioned, 

but the destination can still be reached.

Impossible just gives birth to legends

WHAT ARE YOU DOING 
TO MAKE YOUR DREAM  COME TRUE?
TOMORROW MAY BE THE START  OF YOU BECOMING LEGEND.

DO YOU BELIEVE?

I am not asking about your belief or lack thereof in God.

Each person's theory of God is their own 

and worthy of respect and freedom from prying questions.

No, I mean  

"Do you believe you are meant to be a writer?"

Yes?
Then what are you doing about it?



Dreaming of climbing to the mountain top is fine.  

But no mountain is going to reach down and lift you up to its top.



You have to force your way up the side of it, braving the cold, winds, and the weariness all on your own.

 Not everyone makes their idea happen.
You've met those whose heart, head, and hands are congruent, aligned.


They turn talk into walk.
If we want to badly enough, we find a way.
We live the possibilities we love.

We don't have to remember we are on fire.  

We just are on fire! 
When you are committed to your dream, 

people will sense it in you ...

Some of those will help you on your way... 

for none of us makes it solely on our own.



There will be challenges.

But challenges are merely problems ...


and problems can be solved.
Every road block has a detour that can be taken.  

It may not be the journey you envisioned, 

but the destination can still be reached.

Impossible just gives birth to legends

WHAT ARE YOU DOING 
TO MAKE YOUR DREAM  COME TRUE?
TOMORROW MAY BE THE START  OF YOU BECOMING LEGEND.

4 TIPS TO MAKE YOUR eBOOK STAND OUT

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6AK3HE
The immediacy and convenience of ebooks and digital content has had a marked impact on how people today read.

Authors are beginning to realize that they can publish freely and digitally distribute their work 

for nothing other than their time and a bit of their money.

Readers are beginning to realize that with an eReader, they have access to a small library of books in their purse or their backpack 

whenever they need something to do while waiting for any number of things.


BUT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF eAUTHORS ARE OUT THERE HAWKING THEIR BOOKS!  HOW DO YOU STAND OUT?


1.) BE MAGNETIC -


  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HIU5O38
Daniel Craig, dressed in a tuxedo, walks into a crowded room of middle-aged, used car salesmen.  Who will draw your eye?
People do judge a book by its cover.  You have to catch the eye with mystery, danger and color.
A good cover can be a great marketing tool for an ebook. 
You want your cover to make someone scanning through a website, stop and click your ebook. 
You don’t want to be tacky or overbearing, but the cover should draw attention.
In the wide-open publishing world, a cover gives readers their first impression of what to expect from an author’s book. 
For now, the quality of a cover is a good indication of which authors have invested more time into their work than others. 
Did the cover for DEATH IN THE HOUSE OF LIFE's sequel, 

THE STARS BLEED AT MIDNIGHT (right sidebar) draw your eye?

2.) BE READER FRIENDLY -
The easier you make the purchasing step for your customers, the better. 
This can be done by making your ebook as visible as possible. 
Every time you mention your book or yourself online,

provide links to make it easy for people to find your content or more information about you. 
Let’s say you just put up a book trailer on youtube. 
That youtube page needs a link to your book’s webpage or blog and your blog needs a link to the video. 

This is called cross-linking. 

3.) THE THREE MUSKETEERS had a point -

The best marketing tactic is to write more than one good book.
Each new title will broaden your name recognition and generate more sales for all your previous ones.

That’s because many readers are “binge readers.”
They find an author they like, and they then seek out and scoop up every single title that the author has written previously.

{Only 99 cents! What a bargain, right?}   (The isolated Hollywood film crew for the first talking Western is hunted by Nightmare )
Every successful author out there agrees:
The single best “marketing tactic” that you can employ, by far, is to write and publish your next book.
In fact, many of them counsel that you shouldn’t even bother to begin doing any promotions until you’ve written and published at least three books.
Success in indie publishing is a marathon, not a sprint.
Each new book released will attract new fans, prompting them to go back and buy all the prior books in the series.

That’s how bestselling authors expand their audience over time, often geometrically.

(Again, only 99 cents!)  
{Find out what happens when the Nameless Ones catch McCord 
wounded and left for dead}

4.) WHAT'S THAT BURNING?  OH, IT'S YOUR BRAND -
“Brand” yourself and your book.
Carve out a narrow, distinctive “niche” in the book marketplace based on some catchy concept, theme, or image
that will appeal to your target readers, but simultaneously distinguish your work from all others in your genre.
As Alex Cavanaugh says of my linked books:

They exist in a common mythic universe is Lovecraftian in scope and design -- 

one minor character in one book becomes a major one in another.

The setting of a haunted jazz club in the French Quarter in New Orleans whose stories go back (so far to 1834) is unique. 
I flit from time period to time period sometimes even from one exotic locale to another.
McCord is a supernatural Paladin as Victor Standish is a paranormal KIM.
Bottom line: 
Find some catchy, distinctive concept that works for you.
Next, use your “brand” in everything you do to promote your work:
book covers, author photos, blog designs, promotional copy, business cards, etc.
That kind of focus and integration will guarantee that your “brand” will become uniquely identified with you,
making you and your work memorable for your target readers.
My header is done, as are many of my covers, by the incomparable Leonora Roy.

Their design is crafted by the artistic Heather McCorkle. 
When you see my book covers, you know at a glance it is from me.
So there you have some ideas.  I hope they were helpful.
SAMUEL McCORD's SAGA
in chronological order: {Though each book stands on its own}
 1.) DRAGONS OF THE BARBARY COAST  2.) RITES OF PASSAGE  3.) ADRIFT IN THE TIME STREAM
 4.) TALES OF THE LAST WOLF
 5.) The NOT-SO-INNOCENTS ABROAD
 6.) The NOT-SO- INNOCENTS AT LARGE
 7.) DEATH IN THE HOUSE OF LIFE 8.) THE STARS BLEED AT MIDNIGHT
 9.) HER BONES ARE IN THE BADLANDS 10.) FRENCH QUARTER NOCTURNE 11.) CREOLE KNIGHTS 12.) HUNTER's MOON
 13.) BURNT OFFERINGS
VICTOR STANDISH 
in order:
 1.)  CARNIVAL OF THE DAMNED 2.)  THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH
 3.)  UNDER A VOODOO MOON 4.)  THE RIVAL       Much of the action occurs in 1834 New Orleans
*) END OF DAYS      Victor is a "soul echo" in this, and the tale is narrated by his ghoul friend, Alice Wentworth -- and has all my major heroes in it.
 5.) THE THREE SPIRIT KNIGHT

Go to 6:34 for the meat of this video

SHARING TREASURE

https://www.amazon.com/The-Ridge/dp/B0054TPHG4/ Nominated for Best Thriller of 2012 by the International Thriller Writer’s Association

THE RIDGE is a classic ghost story, penned by a master. 

I couldn't put it down, 

even though I almost screamed when the wind blew a branch against the tree outside my study. 

Yes, it's that scary." 
- Stephen King

Last post I talked of sharing treasure with strangers ... and with friends.
Let me share a gem I recently found ...




In an isolated stretch of eastern Kentucky, on a hilltop known as Blade Ridge, 
stands a lighthouse that illuminates nothing but the surrounding woods.
Its owner calls Kevin Kimble, the chief deputy of the county, 
asking whether he would rather investigate a suicide or a murder.
Later that day, the owner kills himself ... or was he forced to do so?
Inside the lighthouse are old photographs and maps 
detailing murders and deaths in Blade Ridge that span over a hundred years.

Audrey Clark is in the midst of moving her large-cat sanctuary onto land adjacent to the lighthouse. 
Sixty-seven tigers, lions, leopards, and one legendary black panther 
are about to have a new home there. 

 As strange occurrences multiply at the Ridge, the animals grow ever more restless, 
and Kimble and Audrey try to understand what evil forces 
are moving through this ancient landscape, just past the divide between dark and light.
Go to its Amazon page and listen to the free sample.
I promise you will be hooked.  :-)

HAVE FUN IN HELL, B----H

Teen Vogue's Lauren Duca tweeted yesterday at the news of Billy Graham's death:

"The big news is that Billy Graham was still alive  this whole time.  Anyway, have fun in Hell, B----h."

She later replied to comments at her remarks:

"'Respecting the dead' only applies to people who weren't evil people of shit while they were living, thanks."

Really?  
During a 1953 

(Yes, a time when the voice of compassion in race relations was all but mute)

rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee, 

Graham tore down the ropes that organizers had erected to separate the audience into racial sections. 

He recounted in his memoirs that he told two ushers 

to leave the barriers down "or you can go on and have the revival without me."


He later warned a white audience, 

"we have been proud and thought we were better than any other race, any other people. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to stumble into hell because of our pride."



Billy Graham is now being criticized for leaving children in his wake damaged by his absences 

which resulted in divorce,  drinking, and drugs --

similar things were written after the death of John Adams about his children.

It is easy to disparage a man after he is no longer alive to defend himself.


He is now said to have damaged the LGBTQ community with his legacy.


Sigh

Rev. Graham was a product of his times and spoke from his interpretation of the Bible.


Do we truly expect people of decades ago to have the same mind-set as we possess?

How unrealistic is that?


WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT LAUREN DUCA'S REMARKS?

WEP: STARDUST

http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2018/02/wepff-february-2018-challenge-in-too.html
{988 words|}
The old woman looked at the cup of pills.  "I used to be famous once."
The stone-faced nurse gruffed, "Everyone here used to be famous."
The nurse shook the tiny cup.  "Rita, take your damn pills.  They'll make you think clearer."
Rita pouted, "I don't want to remember.  I want to forget."
Another old woman, her hair so white it looked platinum, kneeled stiffly beside her.
"Honey, I know bad things happened. I believe everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go; things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right;
you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”  
Rita sighed, "Better, Marilyn? Men fell in love with Gilda, but they woke up with me."
The nurse frowned, "We need you to remember where you stashed those millions you got from Aly Khan."
Rita snorted, "You're out of luck, sister. Everyone thinks that because I was married to him, I'm rich. I'm not. I never got a dime from Aly or any of my husbands."
The nurse turned to Marilyn.  "I guess you don't recall what you did with your diary."
The faux platinum hair bopped once.  "I do.  I burned it."
The nurse said, "That's what I get for being nice to you."
Marilyn smiled sadly, “If you're gonna be two-faced at least make one of them pretty.”  
The nurse tugged both women roughly to their feet.  "Then, it's off to the showers for you."
Rita ripped her arm away.  "This isn't Columbia. No one tells me what to do."
Marilyn patted her friend's arm.  "Your bruises still haven't healed from last time."
"You know no one ever comes back from the showers."
Marilyn became all eyes.  "I know.  We didn't have anything when we got here.  Now, we have each other."
Those eyes welled with tears.  "Maybe dying with a sister won't be so bad as dying alone."
Rita whispered, "We all die alone."
Marilyn reached down.  "Not if we hold hands."
The nurse rolled her eyes, pushing them towards the open door.  "Puh-lease!"
Rita squeezed Marilyn's hand.  "You know, dogs never bit me.  Only humans."
She turned.  "Basically, I'm a gentle person.  But I am attracted to mean personalities.  You sure we haven't dated?"
The nurse shoved Rita so hard that she would have fallen if Marilyn hadn't held her upright. 
Rita bunched up her fist.  Marilyn knew it never ended well when her sister punched the staff so she tried to distract her as they walked down the long hallway.

"Orson seemed like such a fun, brilliant man.  Why did you two split up?"
Rita shrugged, "I couldn't take his genius anymore."
With those words, the two elderly friends were at a strange door with sealed hinges.
"Strip!" snapped the nurse.
Marilyn hesitantly did as she was told.  "I never did this for free before."
Rita saw how frightened her friend was.  She nodded to the shriveled husk of the body for which millions once lusted.
"Old age -- that's when a woman takes vitamins A through G and still looks like H."
"Don't whine," said the nurse.  "You had everything."
"No.  I had too much."
Marilyn squeezed Rita's hand.  "Life has so much pain.  Maybe there's value in it."
The nurse opened the metal door with a hiss and shoved the two old women into the dark interior.

"Pray if you believe in that nonsense."The door shut and sealed behind them.
Marilyn said, "I don't pray,"
She added, "I don't want to bore God."
For the first time, Marilyn didn't care if she bored Him.  'Oh, make it quick!"
The mists were icy.  Rita thought of her sister's prayer,.  "Spin around and breathe it in.  That has to kill us fast.  Don't give that bitch the satisfaction of hearing you cry out."
But except for tingling skin, nothing happened.  The mists thinned, the door opened, and the nurse's jaw dropped.
"Y-You're still alive? Of course, it would work for you two."
It was a quick shove/walk down the hall.  Marilyn and Rita slept in the same cot, holding hands.
Towards midnight, Marilyn whispered, "I think that nurse truly hates us."
The weight of a body pressed down on their cot,  "It's a sign of your worth sometimes, if you're hated by the right people.”  
Rita popped straight up.  "Bette!  You're all ...."But Bette wasn't all right.  Half her face was young again.  The other was still wrinkled.
Bette sighed, "Not all right.  Guess I shouldn't have turned away from the mist.  Better off than Joan who died of a heart attack."
The old actress shivered.  "As soon as she did, she just mushed into sparkling stardust. It was a poetic end for that dame."
Marilyn took her by the arms.  "We have to get you out of here!"
"Half right.  You have to get out before they start those damn tests.  You must be the right type.  You already look younger."
Rita said, "We won't leave you."
Bette sighed, "Arguing will just cost us precious time.  I made preparations just in case one of their showers worked."
She dangled car keys.  "To Queen Bitch's car.  I even have clothes for the two of you."
Bette smiled wide.  "And I took her money."
Rita frowned, "But where do we go?"
Marilyn smiled wider than Bette.  "To Las Vegas.  They pay star impersonations a fortune."

Headline to VARIETY DAILY:
MARILYN M. AND RITA H. WOWS WITH THEIR STAR IMPERSONATIONS

Headline to the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:
Hal B. Wallis' film, TWO FOR TROUBLE, starring the famous Las Vegas impersonators, sets box office records.

Headline to THE NATIONAL INQUIRER:
Limo for the stars of TWO FOR TROUBLE, found crashed into tree in Las Vegas desert.  No bodies found ... only what appeared to be sparkling stardust on the front seat.

WHY AUTHORS SHOULD LISTEN TO AUDIOBOOKS

DID YOU KNOW AUDIOBOOKS CAN IMPROVE YOUR WRITING?

A) NO SKIMMING ALLOWED


     C'mon, admit it: you skim over the "boring parts" as you read print.  It's instinctive by now.

     But skimming robs you of the power and purpose of the words you skim!


B) AUDIO LETS YOU CATCH THE PACE, THE FLOW OF THE WORDS


     The sounds of the words will bleed into your own writing.  You will begin to "see" words as images.

     It will limit your use of HE SAID/SHE SAID in every line of dialogue.

     Don't tell me those words are invisible to readers -- only to you as you block them out as you write.

     You'll discover new ways to add pauses to the spoken lines.


C)  YOU'LL HEAR THE WORDS AS YOU WRITE THEM


     Maybe in your voice.  Maybe in the voice of your favorite narrators.

     It will spotlight "kinks" in your paragraphs.

     The audio's will create a Theater of the Mind letting you see words as images.


D) YOU'LL "READ" MORE


     Stephen King stresses that the more you read the deeper your perspective will be in your books.



     You'll read in places you couldn't with a print book: in bed, exercising, gardening, commuting.

     You'll discover favorite narrators and seek out books they narrate no matter the genre and 

your literary horizons will expand, enriching your prose, breathing new ides into your future novels.


E) YOU'LL LEARN


     AUDIBLE has its DEAL OF THE DAY:

     I got Arthur C Clarke's 2001 for $2!  The intro was by Clarke himself, detailing the unique way he wrote the book.

     I got BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S read by Michael C Hall of DEXTER fame (great narrator) for $2!

     Craig Johnson of LONGMIRE fame detailed at the end of one of his books the origin of his hero and how he writes.  Great lessons.


F) YOUR OWN AUTHOR READINGS WILL IMPROVE FROM LISTENING TO PROFESSIONALS.


G) YOUR VOCABULARY WILL IMPROVE

     You'll learn new words from their use in context of the action of the novels.  

     You'll repeat crutch words less as you insert the new words into your prose.


OH, BEFORE I FORGET WHY ALL THIS TALK ON AUDIOBOOKS! I'VE GOT An AFFORDABLE ONE!
 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MPZL0FB/ONLY $3.99!
There are dragons in all of our lives. 
Sometimes the dragons are real. 
Learn about the two dragons in young Samuel Clemens's life.

It is the Barbary Coast of San Francisco in 1851. 
An undead Texas Ranger,Samuel McCord, 
is there to find the murderer of the publisher of the San Francisco Herald.

 Sixteen-year-old Sammy Clemens is there to secure his first job 
 as cub reporter to the same newspaper.

Neither McCord nor Sammy know they are there for much more: love, revenge, mystery, and a terrible encounter with two dragons: one two-legged, the other all too real.

Since McCord's blood brother 
is Lakota

here is John Two Hawks with lyrics