Rae Jones's Blog, page 4

We need to talk.

Yes, those dreaded four little words.

But, baby, you and me, we need to sit down and have a serious conversation.

This isn’t working.

You aren’t going to be happy over the long term.

I know, I know, it feels good right now, but …. *sigh* I just don’t see a good future.

We need to talk about your spending habits.

I am a practical sort of girl, and I love you very much. I am prepared to hold your hand through this, but we need to make some serious changes.

Baby, the debt situation is a serious issue. It is a very clear symptom of a deep seeded issue we need to address. We have got to find some balance in this whole spend/save situation.

Creating a budget isn’t rocket science, but you have to sit down and do it, AND (now, darling, this is where it could get difficult), you need to stick to it.

I know, I know, it’s a commitment issue. It’s a paycheck issue, it’s a “oh my gawd that unexpected thing just happened and I have to use my credit card” issue.

Sweetheart, a new pair of shoes isn’t an “unexpected emergency”. Neither is Christmas. I promise, no one is going to die if you don’t get them the newest, fanciest, gizmo or gadget.

Now, put those Credit Cards away.

I love you. I am here for you. But, you have to be there for yourself.

Here: This will help

How to Create Wealth (2011)

Reviews: “Easy techniques and strategies that ANYONE can use to help their finances regardless of income. So many ‘create wealth’ books only give practical advice for those who already have comfortable incomes. This books puts things in perspective for people of all income types and gives encouragement that regardless of income you can create realistic attainable goals. Fun, quick read to the point and easy to use techniques.”

“This book is so simple, so down to earth, so REAL. Yes folks, as much as I wanted something that was going to tell me how to magically manifest millions of dollars, I came to this which gave me the real tools and techniques that actually work.”

There are few books that combine the how-to tactics of budgeting with the mindset changes that are necessary to implement a new budget. “How to Create Wealth” by Rae Jones is one of the few that successfully does this.

Synopsis: Ms. Jones humorously talks about finances and budgets like she talks about diets. Almost everyone needs to work on both, but prefers to avoid the topic if at all possible. This book is full of easy to read information, worksheets and baby steps for those who think budgets are too hard to follow. Learn how you can have $20k in your pocket in 10 years. Highly recommended for anyone thinking (and/or stressing) about their money.

ISBN-13: 978-1463728007 $9.95 (paperback)

ISBN-10: 146372800X $2.99 (e-book)

Purchase Options:

Amazon

CreateSpace

IndieBound

Powells

Time Tornado.

Standing at the precipice of the end of the year, and, according to some, the impending Mayan-fueled-zombie-infecting-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it Apocalypse. It is only appropriate to take a look back. Not for just reminiscing, but also as a reminder to how far you have come. What (sometimes thorny) path you chose, clearing the way, and touching the brangle-berry scars of your flesh.

I watched a Ted Talk recently about why you are who you are. Trying always to answer the age-old question of “Know Thyself”. The gentleman speaking was talking about wristwatches. He made a good point of saying – the face of the watch is not the watch, neither is the band or the hands or even the little gears inside. But, rather, it was the entirety of all of those pieces working together which made the whole unit.

Like you. Like me. All of the individual pieces (like our job, our hobby or even our relationships) are not us. It is the entirety of the package together who makes us who we are. Working together, moving. Same as in life. We must always be in motion for all the pieces to work together. Not that this is a profound thought, but the wisdom comes from looking at all of our individual pieces and putting them into the right place, putting them in motion, in our lives to serve us the most. Making our personal life-watch the most efficient/effective/happy/wise as possible.

So, I will take a look back to before the creation of time. In the brutal strength of darkness. In the thick, inky suffocating blackness, there was a call.

Fiat Lux

Let there be light.

A call forth for the brilliant flash of light. A call to create. From my lips, my breath, to the Universe.

My RE-creation moment, my light in the darkness, my love, and my breath began in Bali, Indonesia in April of 2011.

(I wrote about it in detail in my book Breathe – pick it up, I know you will like it.)

In May of 2011 I began to write, and published 6 books by the end of that year and marked the transformation process with a new tattoo.

Just in time for 2012, the year of the Water Dragon and the beginning of the end of the Mayan Calendar. Change is always a little bit easier when you do it in the water, so I was thankful to have the energy of the swimming dragon with me. 2012 brought me a a Feature Endorsement Commercial on a pair of shoes I loved, and a visit with a Pharaoh.

I wrote and published two more short stories, as well as the signature piece of 2012, my memoir.

Breathe was a book born out of the turmoil of 2011. It was published on November 10, 2012 (with a release party and everything). I have never been so proud.

There were so many pieces which came together to make it perfect.

A perfectly timed watch with all the jewels inside. A perfect moment in time. Clear. Calm. A silent eye in the storm of the time tornado.

2013 is coming, and with it will bring those winds of change once again. Are you ready?

Spare a moment in this Time-Tornado we call life and take a look back. A look at all the pieces which came together in harmony to make you who you are. The pieces which influenced your life. The things you love.

Then, armed with that knowledge and internal strength, march forward into 2013.

Strong.

Arms open.

With the wisdom of the past and the knowledge that you can handle anything in the future.

It’s the moment between dress.

There is a special moment I’d like to pay homage to. That quick special moment between dress. The moment of getting out of your pajamas and getting dressed to get ready for the day and conversely, after coming home from a hard day and getting into your pajamas.

I love jammies (especially jammies with feet).

I love even more the in-between-nees. The moments between dress. The moments between breath. That is where the magic happens. It happens in this space when you aren’t looking. When your socks are half on and half off and you are trying to remember the grocery list and bus schedule and not trip over the cat.



It is in this space that the energy of magic, and inspiration, and creation comes in and wants to befriend you. It crackles on the air like fire, and you hop around desperate for a pen to write it down before it is gone again on the next breath.

It is the moment between stress and relief. Between naked and clothed, between routine and adventure.

Find your magic place and take it inside of you. Take it in deep.

Swallow the magic with your skin.

Even if it takes you to places where you exist half-naked.

Because Half-naked is the better part of clothed.

I just sit here breaking….

Breaking rules, breaking pencils, breaking hearts, necks, mirrors, Breaking Bad and that God-Forsaken Breaking mutha-f-lovin Dawn.

Breaking through.

Through silence and fear, uncomfortable conversations and distance.

Breaking through writers block and waves and sound barriers.

My book broke these things. It broke skin and memories, boundaries and comfort-zones.

Just like a Breath breaks through the surface of water.

*****

This memoir was the stitching of time, the stitching of those broken pieces together in the currents of life.

It is not Chronological. It was those cacophonous broken pieces of memory put back together to find meaning.

It is poetry and hope.

It is acceptance and love.

It is defiance and death and all the things in life which break, and it is the courage to put those pieces back together.

I have broken champagne bottles, expectations and pride as reminders of this journey.

****

To date, I have signed every single book that has sold.

I must have broken some sort of record in that…

Did you get yours?

Great Conversations.

I’ve had a few great conversations in the past week. Conversations that I’m sure at one point or another, you have had. It is those life-questioning conversations, the ones that tickle the depths of your skull. The ones that burrow deep into your marrow. The ones that hop onto your skin and scurry along with you like some invisible sidekick.

Conversations that bring along epiphanies and life lessons. Things I like to share.

Including:

Them: “In life, you have good stuff, you have bad stuff, and you have more stuff.”

Me: “I can fit all my stuff in a 40lb backpack”

Them: “Oh good, that means that you can get up and leave any time you want”

Me: “Leaving has never been my problem.”

Conclusion: I love new adventures. I love the excitement of the unknown. I love leaving and being missed. I don’t particularly love routine.

Which led to another conversation:

Them: “If you can get here, I will be sure you have a place to stay, food to eat, sunshine to lay in, waves to listen to, and awesome music to dance to”

Conclusion: I’m not a big fan of the cold, rainy, dark, grey that is Seattle. It is wonderful in the summertime, with all the tourists and sunshine. Everyone is happy to chat and share and have a pint. But in the winter… the tourists leave and Eeyore’s cloud looms large.

AND

I was looking at doing a writers retreat anyway. I finished and published my book, I have taken a bit of a breath, and am ready for a new adventure.

Do You Hear That UNIVERSE! I am READY FOR MY NEXT ADVENTURE!

Sometimes I need to get away for a while, and into the sunshine to stoke the fires of passion and inspiration.

AND… If there is one thing I know, it is hard to start a fire in the rain.

Art is Messy.

Art is messy. It is perfect. It is everything.

Like life.

One of my very favorite artists in space/time is Jackson Pollock. His Number 1 piece is my all-time favorite (called Lavender Mist), I could stare at for hours.

It is complex, mesmerizing, deeply rich and forgiving. It is fractals and joy, madness and brilliance all held on canvas. It is ravishing and infinite, AND in the words of Time magazine critic Robert Hughes, “It is impossible to make a forgery of Jackson Pollock’s work,” It is a telling comment that gets to the heart of Pollock’s authenticity as an artist.

I want to be an artist like that.

Brilliant and messy, mad and deeply rich, forgiving and ravishing, and, and… infinite.

My most recent piece of work was recently described as:

“Raw, powerful and real.”

It was described as a Hero’s Journey.

Check it out for yourself, I try and let my body of work and my life speak for itself….

It is messy.

Welcome to the madness.

xoxo

Thoughts (and words) have power.

Book is out.

Like having a baby, it was messy. And beautiful.

A beautiful disaster.

Please buy, please read, and please review.

Reviews make the world go round in the book-buying/selling/searching world.

Your words have POWER!

It is available through my publisher HERE

On Amazon,

Barnes and Noble

Powells

or even review it here on

Goodreads

If you don’t like any of those options, you can send me a note, and I will be sure to figure out a way to get you a copy.

xoxox

It’s Out! Thank you!

First of all, I want to thank everyone who made it out to the book release party, and even a few that didn’t (but sent their well-wishes). This last year of writing has put me *and many of you* through the wringer. You were there, you know. You might have thought I was writhing in ecstasy, but in truth, most of the time that was just me sobbing in a corner.

When I started this book, I never intended anyone to read it. I was just trying to stitch back and forth, past and present, desperately hoping the seams would hold into some sort of future. These memories which are encased in a beautiful cover were held as close as atoms whooshing in my being-ness. Small stories held in my particle-ness. This is a thick, artistic expression of an intensely personal and chaotic journey and writing this book carried tremendous peace on its wake.

Especially now.

Especially today because it is finally released.

Thank you.



Each of you for making it possible.

Speaking of a beautiful cover, I’d like to introduce two people who were brave enough to be the face of this little journey. Micah & Bree Reese. This is Micah’s beautiful photography, please enjoy it. Bree is the face of courage on the cover of this work. Thank you both for everything you have done, especially for someone you never met until the night of the party!

Allen Sparks, the genius of design. If the devil lived in the details, he answered to you on this one. Thank you and your lovely wife Jules for all those late nights.

(Here is a great picture of Allen, myself and Micah)

Brandy Grey, my editor, who was the force of completion. She waded through the illogical process that is this writing machine. Because, let me tell you, writing a book like this is Not a logical process. Ideas and memories do not come forth on a schedule. Writing alone, in a quiet secluded room is safe, it is the perfect secret space of self, but Brandy taught me a very important lesson. She taught me that although words have power, silence in the face of fear can destroy even the most articulate. She taught me that we are all “United in our pain and broken dreams, our laughter and our fear.” AND she taught me that even though my memories, struggles and triumphs were personal, they were also universal.

So I broke all the rules of writing and forged ahead.

Forged ahead through fear and nervousness, courage and bravery, sunshine and darkness.

The poet Rumi once wrote:

“The wound is the place where light enters you.”

Peter, Thank you for holding that light. Thank you for the reflection and thank you for the reminder to Breathe. You have been my sun on those days which were dark and rainy. I couldn’t ever promise you much, but I can promise you a hit of something awesome, where you will trip balls for a lifetime. Although I have heard the hangover is quite fierce.

I love you all and couldn’t have done this without you.

So please, enjoy. This book is for you, for me, for the darkness and the light. It is for everyone struggling, for everyone who has ever wanted a little release, or breath of their own.

Cheers.

Ask your local bookstore if they have it (support local businesses first! Powell’s has it in stock.) If not, You can order it direct from my publisher here

or

Amazon has the paperback and Kindle versions,

Barnes & Noble has the paperback and Nook version.

Order your book, I’ll be happy to sign it next time I see you.

p.s. I do still have a few First Editions left, so if you are interested in one of those, please shoot me a note.

xoxo

The First Review is in! – UPDATED

Here it is, the very first review of my upcoming memoir Breathe.

Please join me for the release party on November 10th!

****** As reviewed by the East Oregonian ********

For Rae Jones, who started training as a competitive swimmer at the age of 8 in Hermiston, the words under water mean many things. She learned early on that being under water was safe, and secret, and quiet, and she taught herself to hold her breath for much longer than most people can. Under water was a refuge that few people could invade. Jones turned to this refuge at age 15, and began a lifetime of lies and submerging herself under whatever was available to escape reality.

“Breathe” is a journey through the shallow waters of relationships, the crashing waves of leading a double life and the black deeps of depression, loneliness and despair. As most memoirs do, this book exposes the roller coaster ride of her life — but unlike most, Jones keeps the names of the others involved to herself; it’s an expose, all right, but the skeletons in the closet belong to her alone.

This is a tale of despair and redemption, but if you’re expecting a fairy tale ending you’ll miss the point. When you’ve plumbed the absolute depths of what you are, and confronted what you find, you have two choices: you can embrace the safety of the deep or climb to the surface and … breathe.

“Breathe: A Memoir,” by Rae Jones. ©2012, self-published. Softcover, 244 pages. Retail: $14.95. Available after Nov. 10, 2012. For more information about the author, visit www.msraejones.com.

UPDATE:

HOLY SHIZNIT!

This review made front page news of the East Oregonian today!!!!

Building a book fort

Well….

The shipment arrived. All my precious books came to my door in a cardboard box. After unpacking….

I smothered myself with them. It was a little book bath on the floor of my writing room.

Then I made a book fort, took my blankies and pillows and slept peacefully all night surrounded by newly printed words.

zzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

If you can’t tell, I am ridiculously, supercalifrajalistically excited about the book launch on November 10th.

There will be 50 signed/numbered/first edition prints available to purchase ONLY AT THE BOOK LAUNCH PARTY! Everything else will be a second edition and available online and at retailers (hopefully) everywhere!

I seriously hope you can make it. I couldn’t have finished this project without all of the support you have given me.

xoxo