Renny Barcelos's Blog, page 2

Myself in Blue: Main Characters’ Faces!

It’s been a long while since I last draw, but I guess some things we never forget how to do, even though we might get a bit rusty at them…

I’ve been trying to put on paper how I picture Scott Goodwin and Sunday Oshiro Morning, the main characters of my next novel, Myself in Blue. Today I finally–kind of–got it. The result is this (not perfect, I know, but close to what’s in my brain!):

Sunday

Scott

 And now, for the  couple of you still with me and wanting to know more about the novel, here’s the blurb*:

Sunday Morning is nineteen and recently diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. She finds it fair: a deathly cancer to pay for her sins.

The fourth of five daughters, Sunday could never overcome the jealousy she felt for her sisters, especially the youngest and her Rett Syndrome with all the attention she required. She knows her resentment and rebellion as a wayward teen brought tragedy to her family, but never learned exactly the extent. Self-exiled in Brazil living a hard life of penitence for five years, she finally feels it’s possible to come back and try to mend things.

Scott Goodwin writes bestseller biographies and always dreamed of writing about his idol, Grandma’s Eye’s vocalist, Iris Morning. The singer and her husband, Douglas Oshiro, have been reclusive since 1984, when their famous psychedelic rock band announced a surprising halt. Scott is thrilled when Iris finally agrees to let him write the book and even more so when she explains why. She hopes the bio will help finding her daughter Sunday and rebuild her shattered family.

It is Sunday, however, who finds Scott. Still too mortified to face her family, she offers her story to Scott in exchange for inside information about them. Scott has no idea how intensely the deal will change their lives when he agrees.

Through her own family’s history, from the first Oshiros and Mornings, WWII impact on her ancestors and the struggle to form the band despite Iris’ abusive stepfather—the chain of events that led to the band’s success, the birth of a new generation, and the night that changed everything—Scott will try to show Sunday nobody is perfect, and perhaps everything happens for a reason.

Sunday and Scott may not have much time, with her diagnosis and the fact she doesn’t feel worthy of redemption, but he will not give up easily. Scott has become Sunday’s only link to the past, and perhaps her only chance to have a future.

 *Visit Myself in Blue’s Goodreads page (Cover reveal will happen soon!)

 

 

 

 

War hysteria: Japanese Internment during WW II

On my research for my next novel, Myself in Blue (soon to be released), I had the great opportunity to learn more about many historical and medical subjects. I’ll share with you the most compelling and interesting ones here. Starting today, with the history  of Japanese descendants living in the United States before, during and after WWII.

Their position was difficult after Pearl Harbor; the general public didn’t believe their loyalty to America, and the government decided not to risk and send many to War Relocation Camps. Without trials, without investigations. They were just removed.

Sixty-two percent of the internees were American citizens. There weren’t camps for German or Italian descendants.

Not only there was little to no evidence of Japanese disloyalty, but also thousands of patriotic brave Japanese descendants were essential in the US Army then. Serving in all branches of the United States Armed Forces, those men fought, translated and interpreted for the US. Their efforts were extremely important to the end of the war.

It took them a long time, but after much pressure from the Japanese American Citizens League and redress organizations, President Ronald Reagan in 1980 signed into law the Civil Liberties Act, finally officially apologizing on behalf of the U.S. government.

$20,000 to each individual camp survivor was paid as reparation, in a total of over $1.6 billion to 82,219 Japanese Americans who had been interned and their heirs.

As the legislation later admitted, the actions were based on “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership”.

There are three very interesting documentaries on YouTube about those topics I wanted to share with you. Let’s learn more about this shameful subject, hoping nothing similar will ever happen again.

Some details about the controversial Japanese War Camps in the US during WWII can be seen on:

To learn about the pivotal participation of Japanese-Americans in the US Army in WWII, watch:

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Round Two Entrants Announced!

So I decided to enter Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest this year with My Sore Hush-a-Bye. (which, by the way, is only U$ 0,99 until this Friday, March 21!!)

I had amazing help from great and generous writers on this thread, and ended up with this pitch (boy, how maddening it is to write a pitch!):

Ever since her mother left Camille in Uncle Bob’s care with a short note, she has been kept locked inside. In this throwback world, Uncle Bob’s her only companion, breaking her the way he wants: old music, old movies, and the weird games he likes to play. Convinced by his claims of love and protection, she learned to love and accept this sheltered life, letting him become her whole world. 

 

Now a teenager, her desires to leave the house and be free are long gone, but Uncle Bob seems tired of her; she’s too old for everything, and he rarely plays with her anymore.  

 

Terrified, she’s sent to public school, facing brutal bullying and feelings of inadequacy. The only bit of hope is a thirteen-year-old girl who apparently enjoys her company and doesn’t look down on her clothes, her hair, her black skin; Ashley. Despite her fears, Camille starts a friendship. Then Ashley goes missing, and the guilt of perhaps knowing what happened is unbearable.  

 

Albeit replaced and not loved anymore, she’s still loyal to Uncle Bob, staying silent until he hits her for the first time. After eight years of seclusion, she’ll have to rethink everything and maybe find help. Finally allowing herself to think about her mother again, somehow she will have to find the strength to do the right thing.  

 

Is it possible to wake up after so long, understand what really happened to her, to Ashley, to her mother? Is it possible to overcome so much? 

 

MY SORE HUSH-A-BYE touches some dark and heart-wrenching themes, wishing they only existed in fiction. Unfortunately, many kids are suffering like Camille, and the novel tries to give a voice to those helpless children.

I liked it so much I actually changed my blurb at Amazon by a shorter, less revealing version of the pitch. And how surprised was I this morning, downloading the PDF with the top entries from my category – General Fiction, and finding my name in the ‘R’ section? Well, this much:

 

 

That’s it! My Sore Hush-a-Bye made it!From 10.000 pitches, only 2.000 made it through, and mine was one of them. I guess I can be pretty proud of myself, and immensely grateful to the help I found on the Pitch thread. I’d never made it without the advice I got there. Thank you so much. And congratulations to all who passed too. To those who didn’t, keep writing, please. There’s so much talent on you all, and your stories need to be told.

Now it’s time to drink all the tea I can find to calm down and wait for April 14, when the Top 500 (Semi-Finalists) will be announced.

See all Round Two Entrants

P.S. – On a side note, I’m never posting anymore because I’m writing like crazy (well, when the bursitis allow it :D) and Myself in Blue’s first draft is finished and in revision right now! Soon I’ll post more about it here.

My Sore Hush-a-Bye: The Kindle Book Review’s 2013 Best Indie Book Awards Semifinalist!

I’�m not having much time to blog lately, but even if I had, I probably wouldn’�t. That’�s because I have Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) and bursitis in both my arms and shoulders so typing causes some pain.

Actually, sometimes it causes a hell of pain…

But it�’s a manageable condition, meaning that, as long as I don�t use my arms much, or use them with caution, it doesn’�t hurts that much. I’�ve had to take a lot of painkillers last month –which I hate– but I really had no option. I’m feeling better today, however, so I decided to finally post something new.

Well, I had unbelievably good news on July 1st, and still didn’�t brag about share with you.. My Sore Hush-a-Bye is one of The Kindle Book Review’s 2013 Best Indie Book Awards Semifinalist!!!!! Check it out: (Category – Literary Fiction)

http://www.thekindlebookreview.net/2013-book-awards/

I couldn’�t believe my eyes either. I�’m still so, so happy.

You know when people say at the Oscars that it was such an honor just being nominated, and that it didn�’t matter if they win or not? And then we always think… �Yeah, right!� Well, I finally understand. It is true. It�’s so crazy just being nominated, just being there with other amazing books as a semifinalist, that I really get them.

I�’m not even dreaming about passing to the final 5 finalists (there�s some serious competition, check out the other semifinalists!), but reading my book�’s name on July first was already a prize to me. Seriously.

So now it’�s waiting time, until September, when they’�ll announce the finalists.

I want to thank some people so much. People that encouraged me in my writing, and gave me reason to believe My Sore Hush-a-Bye stood a chance in this competition. A lot of people, actually, but especially Becky, Chasity, Maria and Martha. You are amazing, and there aren’�t enough words in my humble vocabulary to thank you. Be sure you all have a designed spot in my heart!

Meanwhile, I�m still �working on a new novel called Myself in Blue�. It will happen, someday, but of course, it�’s difficult with the typing-pain problem… I haven’�t been able to write much, but the story is in my head. It will eventually come out. I already have the cover though! Maybe I’�ll share it in my next post.

eFestival of Words – My Sore Hush-a-Bye nominated!!

Yesterday I was looking for another thing on the Internet and found out, to my absolute astonishment and delight, that my novel My Sore Hush-a-Bye was nominated this week to The Best of the Independent eBook Award from the eFestival of Words – Virtual Book Fair Award, in the Best Thriller category!!

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I’m in excellent company, as you can see looking at the the full list of nominees. The Best of the Independent eBook Awards is a peer-nominated program designed to showcase the depth and range of content available in digital format from small presses, micro publishers, and independently published authors.

This year’s competition includes 482 nominees across thirty-two different categories, including format specific awards (novel, novella, audiobook, etc), genre-specific awards (horror, romance, historical fiction, etc) and special awards.

Finalists will be selected by the eFestival of Words volunteer staff and announced on July 1, 2013. Winners will be selected through public vote at the festival site and announced during this year’s festival, scheduled for August 23-25th.

The eFestival of Words Virtual Book Fair is a free virtual event held annually in August. You can buy all the nominee’s books at their Bookstore.

Thank you so much for this honor!!

Related articles:

http://bardsandsages.com/juliedawson/2013/05/01/2013-efestival-of-words-award-nominations/

My Sunshine Award!!

Sometimes good people are hard to find, and I’m so lucky to have found lots of good and kind people on the internet, since I started writing and blogging. Lord David Prosser is one of them. A great, warm guy, and an amazing writer. I love his blog, and he, being the gentleman he is, nominated me for a blog award last week!! The Sunshine Award.

I’m still in shock, thank you so much, David!! I hope my humble post doesn’t make you regret choosing me!! O.O

So, first, I answer some questions:

What inspired you to start blogging?

Well, I was told that every writer should have one, so, as a good girl, I obeyed!

How did you come up with the name of your blog?

Oh, there was a lot of brainstorming, huge creativity and…who am I kidding?? It’s just the usual… It’s about my fiction, so… Renata F. Barcelos’ fiction! But I like it, sounds good!

What is your favorite blog that you like to read?

I swear it’s not because he nominated for this blog award, but I truly love reading The Barsetshire Diaries, by my dear friend David Prosser. He has a gift with words, and can write compelling and funny stuff all at the same time, even when the subject is not easy. Really great!

There are others I enjoy, but as I’m sure I’ll forget someone, I’ll only mention David’s.

Tell about your dream job.

As every other author, I wished to be a full time writer, having a nice studio with an amazing view, from where I’d be writing as long as I wanted every day…

Is your glass half full or half empty?

Always half full. I’m so optimistic that sometimes even I find it enervating!

If you could go anywhere on a week’s vacation, where would you go?

New York, but actually, just for one week is not good enough… My goal is to live there in the future!

What food can you absolutely not eat?

Dead animals! I’m a vegetarian, so, actually, I don’t even consider it “food”!

Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

I don’t really like chocolate, but if I have to choose… dark. At least it’s not sweet, which I absolutely dislike. (Yeah, I know… weiiiiird!!)

How much time do you spend blogging – in other words, are you one of those lucky people who can dash off a blog post in no time, or like me and take forever on one post to get it just right?

No lucky here, nope! Same thing… A blog post can take forever, and sometimes never be published because I simply don’t think it’s good enough… That’s why I don’t have a regular schedule for posts, but write just when the inspiration comes…

Do you watch TV – if so, what are some of your favorite shows?

If I watch TV? Are you kidding me?? Boy, TV is part of the family here! My daughter and I can’t live without it! Well, to be absolutely honest, I can’t live without it, my daughter might…

I love old TV shows and movies — black and white appeals so much to me!! I Love Lucy is our favorite of all times. For the new ones, we adore Once Upon a Time, The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy, The Soup and The Middle.

And now, to my nominations:

www.battyforbooksandlovingit.blogspot.com

http://bevjoneswriting.wordpress.com/

http://qwiklit.com

http://katevsworld.com

http://hcelliston.co.uk/#/new-blog

http://acflory.wordpress.com

www.booksasportablepiecesofthought.blogspot.com

Have fun, guys!

 

Spotlight on Scott Cairns – Interview with Author of ‘Silver’

Scott Cairns is a new author that was recommended by Yvvette Edwards when I interviewed her a while ago. This is a tremendous recommendation, let me tell you.

His debut novel, ‘Silver’ has made it through to the quarter finals (final 500 of 10000) of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award this week.

So, let’s learn more about him and his work!

Please, tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Scott Cairns and I am a self published author from Wokingham. I am married with one daughter. My first novel, ‘Silver’ was published with Createspace in August 2012 and has been shortlisted for the Historical Novel Society Award and is currently one of the quarter final entrants for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2013.  I have also written some short stories for teenagers (‘Hogwash & Hooey’) and compiled two further anthologies of Drama Games and Seventeenth Century Comedy Plays.. The book has some high profile fans including Yvette Edwards, Booker Shortlisted author of ‘A Cupboard Full of Coats’. I chose to self publish after receiving some rather positive but narrow minded reviews from agents. ‘Silver’ centres on the story of a transgendered man (Avery Silver) in Victorian England and how, when his secret is revealed, it devastates but does not destroy his family and reputation. One or two agents where of the opinion that, having read ‘Trumper’ by Jackie Kay, there could not be room for another novel dealing with a transgendered character. By this token, is there no room for Andrea Levy’s ‘The Long Song’ because slavery has already been written about, if ‘Schindlers Ark’ is the pinnacle of Holocaust writing then why did John Boyne write ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas‘? At first, this feedback got me down and I shelved my manuscript but I decided to take the plunge last year and self publish because I really felt that the story of Avery is one that deserved an audience. Inspired by a true story of a Tammany Hall politician who, it was revealed on his death bed in 1901, had been ‘masquerading’ as a woman, the plot is tantalising and the era allows the reader some distance to really see a different side to what is a very contemporary issue.

How long have you been writing?

I have been writing since I can remember and always dreamed of being able to call myself a novelist. ‘Silver’ is my first completed novel but I have many projects on the go and am currently completing Book 2.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

The very first story I recall writing was in my junior school for a lovely teacher called Mrs Hallett, it was a fantasy story about an island which had a gauntlet of exciting areas which needed to be surmounted before a glorious prize could be claimed. I was really pleased with it and she was too. It won an award and she tried to get me to send it off to someone but I never did. I was embarrassed about my illustrations!

Can you tell us two eccentricities about yourself?

Try as I might, I cannot write without a soft covered, lined, large Moleskine notebook. I have a collection of over fifty notebooks in various shapes, sizes, covers and papers but I just prefer a Moleskine. This is eccentric as I type all of my work but need a notepad to keep track of family trees, character notes and images I collect to inspire me.

What was the best thing you’ve ever heard (or read) from a reader?

I heard from a reader who chose ‘Silver’ as her Book Club read. The all-female group met in February this year and they all dressed as men to discuss the book. As well as enjoying the book and being very complementary about the writing, I was thrilled to hear that the book had sparked a debate about heritage, gender, sexuality and identity – all key themes from the book. I really felt as if they had got it.

Do you have a good Indie author to recommend?

To my chagrin, I haven’t read any independent authors recently. I have been chairing two book clubs and have been reading traditionally published novels. My favourite has been by ‘The Visitation’ by Jenny Erpenbeck, a german writer whose work has been translated recently so I am unsure of the publisher. The book’s central character is a house and the novel follows the lives of its various occupants whilst within the house’s four walls. Its a chilling and compelling piece of work that touches on the horror of Nazi germany from an entirely new angle. This was a book which I jealously admired and learned from.

Who inspired and/or supported you to become a writer?

I am a huge fan of Sarah Waters, Margarat Atwood and Alice Walker and they are a source of great inspiration to many writers. Most of my favourite novels are written by women. I don’t know why this is but they seem to feel more real somehow. My mum, my wife, my Nanna and my daughter are my own network of support and inspiration, all of whom are immensely proud of my modest achievements and encourage me daily to get on with the next project. I secretly think that they want ‘Silver’ to be made into a film so they can go to the premiere. Who would play Avery? Someone like Jude Law, I think.

Do you have a WIP (Work in progress)? If so, can you tell us a little about it?

I am working on a very contemporary novel at the moment. It is a thriller and that is a huge departure for me as I much prefer the historical novel; both  to read and to write. The central character is a hoarder and I have found it fascinating to research why people become compelled to hoard on such a scale that it becomes an obsession; a dangerous one for my character…!

What is your favorite of your books? Why?

That’s easy as I only have one novel so ‘Silver’ it is!

What is your favorite of your characters? Why?

I have a huge soft spot for Elizabeth Greenwood. She is feisty, hedonistic and, in some ways, quite a charmless creature but she was the easiest character to write. Her dialogue crackles with a fiery quick wit that I am jealous of and she was a pleasure to write. I have often heard writers who say that sometimes characters write themselves or that they find their stories going in directions they had not imagined and I wondered how this could happen. Well, this happened to me every time I sat down to write Elizabeth.

Do you like to interact online? What’s your favorite social media?

 I love Facebook and find it hard to ‘disconnect’. It is a horrible distraction sometimes and one that writers can ill afford. I do tweet but find it hard to find the point to Twitter.

How do you feel about marketing your books?

This has been an uphill learning curve but an essential one. As a self-published author, there is no marketing department to do this part of the job for you. If you want your book  to be read, then you have to promote it. It’s not terribly British to place yourself on a platform and give people reasons why you think they should spend money on your work. It doesn’t come naturally to me but I am learning about the art of Self Promotion all the time.

Please, give us all your links – where can your readers find you and your books?

‘Silver’ is available from Amazon in Paperback or in eBook format for Kindle.

Twitter – https://twitter.com/SkittleBeanz

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Silver-ebook/dp/B008X9P37A

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silver-Scott-Cairns/dp/1479132284/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363367303&sr=8-1

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Scott! Wishing you the best of luck with the Amazon Breakthrough Novel!!

And readers, don’t go anywhere! Stay tuned for the next interview.

If you’re an author and want to be in my spotlight, contact me!

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Spotlight on Wodke Hawkinson – Interview with Author duo of ‘Zeke’ and other stories (renatafbarcelos.wordpress.com)
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Spotlight on Amanda Green – Interview with Author of ‘My Alien Self: My Journey Back to Me’ (renatafbarcelos.wordpress.com)
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March 8 – How about a “Human Race Day” instead?

It’s been a long, long while since my last post, I know. And I’m sorry, but life’s been crazy lately, and I always choose spending time with my daughter than on the web every time a decision has to be made, so…

Anyway, today I feel that I have to post. Because it’s the infamous (for me) international women’s day. Ha!

I wish to explain why I feel so sad every year when people come to congratulate me for this day. I cannot, for the life of me, understand how such a day still exist. It’s 2013 and we are still splitting HUMANS into categories, and trying to diminish one over another.

I refuse to be congratulated, to receive any advantage or gift, for something that I didn’t work for. I am a woman, so what? I am also white, so what? Discrimination, as I see, is not just for bad things; even if the intention seems sweet, it’s still a different treatment, pure and simple. And every time one decide to discriminate someone for the way he or she was born, something very wrong is about to happen.

I don’t want any kind of different treatment just because I happened to be born a woman. We are all humans, and as long as we keep having ‘days’ to talk about parts of the human race as if they were a different, special kind–again, something is very wrong.

We must reach a point when we can talk just about humans. When violence and prejudice will be discussed because they harm the human race, not just women. Every person has the right to be treated equally, no matter how he or she was born, and it’s about time we start fighting for human dignity, for human rights. We must all be together, not divided into separated fields, men against women.

I know I may sound radical and not many people will agree with my point of view, but it really breaks my heart that society still tries to convince women that they are different – it’s not genetically disposed that all women should like make-up, flowers and pink stuff. Come on, we are all individuals, and every person has his or her own way in life. The way things are showed one starts to believe that just because she doesn’t like high heels she’s not a woman, or just because he doesn’t like football, he’s not a man. As if we should all be classified and categorized to fit. Again, we are all humans, all the same kind of animal, but with personal tastes, and individuality. Not because of gender or color, but because each one of us has a different brain, a different soul.

Like Dr. Martin Luther King, I had a dream. About a day when we will not have special days for any groups, but every day for all people!

IndiesForward – What if you couldn’t promote your own book?

Days ago I received an email from the amazing Duolit team, telling the story of Julie. “Our indie-ninja-in-spirit Julie Forward DeMay dreamed of being a published author, and in 2011 her first book was released — two years after Julie (a daughter, sister, wife, and mother) lost her battle with cancer.”

Julie’s mother decided to self-publish her blog in 2011.

Cell War Notebooks is a compilation of the blog Julie kept during her last seven months — it’s beautiful, funny, brave and truly inspirational for anyone, whether you’ve been through cancer or not.

So the idea Duolit came with was that on January 31st, bloggers (authors and otherwise) would show support for Julie by dedicating a blog post to her. I was immediately on board – how can one not truly want to be part of this? Especially because all the proceeds from the book’s sale go to Julie’s nine year-old daughter, Luka.

I’ve been thinking of what to write for this campaign for days now. ‘A post about an experience in your life where you were inspired to overcome an obstacle.’ Ummm… Isn’t that what daily life is about? Aren’t we every day overcoming obstacles to get through the day, to live? At least to the average, working guy or gal, each day has its own obstacles to overcome.

I mean…think about it. Every single day you have to wake up in a time not of your choice, to get ready fast to a commute that you probably won’t enjoy, to get to a job that most people don’t really love… So, the first obstacle, each day, is the laziness. That feeling, every morning, that your bed never seemed so comfortable before that moment when you have to leave it…

Then, the urge to stay home, to stay with your children instead of going to work, or to study. Okay, that little responsible voice in your head, built year after year yells “Go already, you’re getting late!”, so you stop musing and go.

Then you look at the bus stop, and there are already several others like you, and the commute itself is an obstacle. In some cases, a horrendous one. Talk about closeness with strangers! Boy, you have no option in a crowded bus, trolley bus or train (the three of them every day in my case!) than to share a lot more of intimacy that one would like with totally unfamiliar people. Some of them clean, some not… Well, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

Then you finally get to work…and the obstacles turn into a mountain in front of you. It may be your boss, a colleague, the work itself, the phone, the emails…or everything all together. The result, usually, is one looking constantly to the watch, counting the time left until freedom!

And, of course, there’s the commute again. Perhaps even worse, depending on the time you leave work. Finally home, you think of resting, of watching some TV and doing nothing. But normally you can’t, because there are house tasks to do. The dishes, the clothes and the floor refuse to obey my orders and clean themselves! I’ve been trying for years, but never faced anything more stubborn than those three… And food, you have to prepare and eat something. If you have children, you have to play with them, to check homework, to chat…

Anyway, it’s a day-to-day battle, and we face it every day, most of the time not even noticing it. So many obstacles. Life is made of them.

And yet, we love it. Even in our bottom moments, when life seems like just a huge amount of work and no pleasure, I bet most would never trade if for the alternative. Put into perspective, our mundane daily obstacles seem so small when we have health enough to face them every day.

We complain a lot, and I’m a firm believer in the power of protest. I’m a very happily-grumpy person, if you can understand what I mean. I hate doing so many things, but I know I have to do them, so I complain, but in a grumpy humorous way. At least that’s what I try… My point is, you have the right, almost the sacred right to complain. It’s not fair, it’s too much sometimes, we all would prefer a life of full pleasure and no work, so let’s all whine, let’s all scream inside of us to the people in front of us in the stairwell who don’t walk, making you late; to the people who simply do not understand the concept of “wait in line”; to our bosses; to the lack of money; to the lack of time; to whatever makes you feel oppressed and stuck. It’s reliving, stimulating…soothing. If you think protesting makes you ungrateful, I beg to disagree. I think it’s just normal and healthy.

In my humble opinion, what makes one ungrateful is to forget the other side of life. To just complain. So…let’s protest, but let’s also remember that it all seems so small in comparison with stories like Julie’s.

Life can be tough, but even then, it’s life; it’s valuable and beautiful. That’s how I overcome my obstacles, all my life. Always believing that tomorrow will be better. As long as you have tomorrows, don’t waste them, they’re precious; they’re [potential] dreams coming through every day!

So yes, Julie and her poignant, touching story can make you see things differently. I hope you find it inspiring as I did, and will help spread the word about her and her book. Please read more – read it all – here. Then, go tell everyone you know about this campaign. Let’s make an angel smile seeing how so many people are helping to promote her book!

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Indies Forward Campaign: A Tale Of Keep Going (turndogmillionaire.com)

No guilt, eh? That must be nice… :)

I was watching an episode of ‘The Middle’, one of my favorite TV shows, the other day. It was a rerun, where the family decided to give the mother a different Mother’s Day gift: left her alone to have an entire day just for her.

She wastes the whole day in ordinary tasks, while the family has a marvelous day without her. At the end, Frankie, the mother, says to Mike, the father, how being a mother is to be always feeling guilty. If she’s with the children and wants to be alone…guilty; if she’s alone, she wants to be with them, so…guilty!

I can understand that. As a mother, I have to be away from my daughter most of the day, to work and commute. The entire day I miss her. Then when I get home, there’s always a lot to do, and there’s writing related stuff too. So I try to stay with her in the middle of all that, but it never seems like enough time.

I’m sure all parents understand that, actually. Kids grow up so fast, every day they’re slipping through our fingers, and all we can do is try to capture every minute, the feeling in them (yes, I love ABBA! Do you know that song?)…

So…how can we live with all that guilty? If I’m so tired that all I can think of doing is to take a nap, but my baby wants to chat; or if I have got to promote my book for a while, but she wants to play something; or if I just want to stay quiet for a moment, because I have a headache, and she wants to show me the new stop motion video she made…?

You know what I think? There’s no way to win. It’s just like Frankie says; a mother is always feeling guilty. You’ll never believe you’re doing enough, you’re always thinking you should do more. Now, for example…I’m writing this, because I wanted to share my thoughts, while my daughter is by my side, finding new dolls she wants to have on the internet, and I’m thinking I should be doing something with her.

The funniest part of the show is that when Frankie says it, Mike, the husband, states that he doesn’t understand, because he never feels guilty. Her answer? ‘No guilt. That must be nice.’ It might be…but I think it’s part of the ‘fun’ of being a parent. I wouldn’t change it for the world!

Well, in my family things were quite the opposite. My father played the role of Frankie. He cared, and tried his best, so I’m sure he felt guilty a lot, J. How about you, fathers and mothers? How do you deal with that feeling? How do you arrange things to spend enough quality time with your children?