M.L. Stephens's Blog, page 3
October 16, 2013
Step into the uncomfortable zone
Are you too comfortable?
Throughout our lives, awkward situations and uncomfortable moments inevitably happen. Your heart races, your palms grow sweaty and your mind instantly tries to scramble together a reasonable excuse to help you escape.
When you're in your comfort zone, the opposite is true. Your body is lax, your mind is at ease and you feel safe. We're creatures of habit and most of us enjoy the familiar routines we've built our lives around.
But what happens when you become too content? Do you become complacent, maybe lazy even? Do your daily deeds become thoughtless actions rather than purposeful intentions? What about family, work and friends? Have you allowed yourself to fall into a routine without considering the importance of your words and acts? How does your complacency affect those around you? Many couples have date night, poker night and various other "fun" nights to keep their relationships alive, but what about your art? How do you keep it alive?
If thoughtlessness can penetrate our daily lives, it can most assuredly infiltrate our professional ones. When it comes to art, there aren't templates available to make your writing, your paintings or your music a best seller or hit. You've got yourself, your musings and your passion to see you through. There's no copy and paste button for life and there certainly isn't one when it comes to creating original art. Each piece should be a new beginning, a fresh start.
Does your pulse increase each time you enter your work space? Do you get excited when a new idea comes to mind? Do you scramble for ways to maneuver your non-essential tasks in order to make time to create? If not, maybe it's time to step into your 'uncomfortable' zone and reconnect with your slumbering artist. Wake up and fall in love again. The world awaits your masterpiece.
Throughout our lives, awkward situations and uncomfortable moments inevitably happen. Your heart races, your palms grow sweaty and your mind instantly tries to scramble together a reasonable excuse to help you escape.
When you're in your comfort zone, the opposite is true. Your body is lax, your mind is at ease and you feel safe. We're creatures of habit and most of us enjoy the familiar routines we've built our lives around.
But what happens when you become too content? Do you become complacent, maybe lazy even? Do your daily deeds become thoughtless actions rather than purposeful intentions? What about family, work and friends? Have you allowed yourself to fall into a routine without considering the importance of your words and acts? How does your complacency affect those around you? Many couples have date night, poker night and various other "fun" nights to keep their relationships alive, but what about your art? How do you keep it alive?
If thoughtlessness can penetrate our daily lives, it can most assuredly infiltrate our professional ones. When it comes to art, there aren't templates available to make your writing, your paintings or your music a best seller or hit. You've got yourself, your musings and your passion to see you through. There's no copy and paste button for life and there certainly isn't one when it comes to creating original art. Each piece should be a new beginning, a fresh start.
Does your pulse increase each time you enter your work space? Do you get excited when a new idea comes to mind? Do you scramble for ways to maneuver your non-essential tasks in order to make time to create? If not, maybe it's time to step into your 'uncomfortable' zone and reconnect with your slumbering artist. Wake up and fall in love again. The world awaits your masterpiece.
October 14, 2013
Hurry up and don't die.
When will you die?
I have no idea and neither do you.
I asked that question to make you think. What happens if tomorrow doesn't happen? Will the world know your story? Did you do everything possible so that the world gained a new voice before yours expired? Did you? Or were you too busy finding the distractions needed to keep you from sitting down and typing the words?
I've heard it said, time and time again, "I'll work on it tomorrow." That sounds like a solid plan, but what if tomorrow doesn't happen? Does the world know the story that was buried inside of you? Let me answer that. "NO." There is only one person who knows the story inside of your head and that's you, so tell it. Write it. Create it.
You are your story. Your experiences are your story. Stop procrastinating and do it. If the story is in you and you have a desire to share…you will find the time. Life doesn't wait…why should you?Shed the excuses and write!
If you're not a writer...the same applies. Shed the excuses and do what you're meant to do. The world awaits your signature piece.
October 10, 2013
October 8, 2013
Early Release!! Everything you've ever heard or beli...
Early Release!!
Everything you've ever heard or believed about witches, vampires and werewolves is about to change. How do I know? I'm Hecate—the original witch—I'm the one who created them all.
Hecate didn't dabble in dark magic. Watching her lover die at the end of another man's sword changed that. In a single act of vengeance, she turned her lover's killer into a werewolf and cursed him for eternity. It was A Witch's Curse to rival all others and it was her last act as a goddess.
Drago despised being a werewolf. He spent thousands of years searching for an antidote, only to discover that the witch who cursed him, also had to cure him. Unfortunately, that witch died lifetimes ago. Undeterred, he continued to search. Two years ago he found Hecate's remains lying in a crypt hidden deep within the Louisiana Bayou. Today, he watched a coven of witches bring her back to life.
He killed her lover. She damned him for all time. Can two souls who are destined to be eternal enemies, learn to forgive enough to live again?
A stand alone novel which takes place in the Broken Series universe, but can be enjoyed without reading the previous books. Broken Series:
Love You More (Broken Series)
Innocence Lost (Broken Series #2)
Sacred Heart (Broken Series #3)
Eternally Bound (Broken Series #4)
A Witch's Curse (A Broken Series Novel) Amazon LinkAvailable on B&N, Kobo, iStore and Create Space soon!!
Everything you've ever heard or believed about witches, vampires and werewolves is about to change. How do I know? I'm Hecate—the original witch—I'm the one who created them all.
Hecate didn't dabble in dark magic. Watching her lover die at the end of another man's sword changed that. In a single act of vengeance, she turned her lover's killer into a werewolf and cursed him for eternity. It was A Witch's Curse to rival all others and it was her last act as a goddess.
Drago despised being a werewolf. He spent thousands of years searching for an antidote, only to discover that the witch who cursed him, also had to cure him. Unfortunately, that witch died lifetimes ago. Undeterred, he continued to search. Two years ago he found Hecate's remains lying in a crypt hidden deep within the Louisiana Bayou. Today, he watched a coven of witches bring her back to life.
He killed her lover. She damned him for all time. Can two souls who are destined to be eternal enemies, learn to forgive enough to live again?
A stand alone novel which takes place in the Broken Series universe, but can be enjoyed without reading the previous books. Broken Series:
Love You More (Broken Series)
Innocence Lost (Broken Series #2)
Sacred Heart (Broken Series #3)
Eternally Bound (Broken Series #4)
A Witch's Curse (A Broken Series Novel) Amazon LinkAvailable on B&N, Kobo, iStore and Create Space soon!!
September 28, 2013
Coming to 10/10/13 Everything you've ever heard or believ...
Coming to 10/10/13 Everything you've ever heard or believed about witches, vampires and werewolves is about to change. How do I know? I'm Hecate—the original witch—I'm the one who created them all. Hecate didn't dabble in dark magic. Watching her lover die at the end of another man's sword changed that. In a single act of vengeance, she turned her lover's killer into a werewolf and cursed him for eternity. It was A Witch's Curse to rival all others and it was her last act as a goddess. Drago despised being a werewolf. He spent thousands of years searching for an antidote, only to discover that the witch who cursed him, also had to cure him. Unfortunately, that witch died lifetimes ago. Undeterred, he continued to search. Two years ago he found Hecate's remains lying in a crypt hidden deep within the Louisiana Bayou. Today, he watched a coven of witches bring her back to life.
He killed her lover. She damned him for all time. Can two souls who are destined to be eternal enemies, learn to forgive enough to live again?
Hecate didn't dabble in dark magic. Watching her lover di...
Hecate didn't dabble in dark magic. Watching her lover die at the end of another man's sword changed that. In a single act of vengeance, she turned her lover's killer into a werewolf and cursed him for eternity. It was A Witch's Curse to rival all others and it was her last act as a goddess.
Drago despised being a werewolf. He spent thousands of years searching for an antidote, only to discover that the witch who cursed him, also had to cure him. Unfortunately, that witch died lifetimes ago. Undeterred, he continued to search. Two years ago he found Hecate's remains lying in a crypt hidden deep within the Louisiana Bayou. Today, he watched a coven of witches bring her back to life.
He killed her lover. She damned him for all time. Can two souls who are destined to be eternal enemies, learn to forgive enough to live again?
Book release is 10/10
August 23, 2013
August 13, 2013
August 4, 2013
Early Release! Amazon Link With nothing but shattere...
Early Release!
Amazon Link With nothing but shattered dreams and a busted heart to fuel the way, Angela Fletcher drove out of Arkansas and never looked back. Six years later, the new and improved version of the girl she used to be steered clear of romance, love and late night promises. The only pillow talk Angela engaged in these days was making sure the person on the other pillow knew to lose her number as soon as he left the bed. She only had room for one love in her life and that was Bare Assets, the gentlemen's club she poured her heart and soul into. Dean Murray was the devil in disguise and had left behind enough broken hearted women to populate a small country. Angela would know. She was an expert markswoman who was skillfully self-trained at shooting down the good, the bad and the ugly of all masculine targets. After all, as the owner of the most successful strip club in Dallas, Texas, it was her business to know men. Just as she begins to fall for Dean's silky words and passionate ways, her past and present unexpectedly collide and a meticulously planned future turns into unpredictable chaos. Is the smooth-talking, denim-wearing devil responsible for the chaos? Or are the secrets she left buried in Arkansas coming back to haunt her?
Amazon Link With nothing but shattered dreams and a busted heart to fuel the way, Angela Fletcher drove out of Arkansas and never looked back. Six years later, the new and improved version of the girl she used to be steered clear of romance, love and late night promises. The only pillow talk Angela engaged in these days was making sure the person on the other pillow knew to lose her number as soon as he left the bed. She only had room for one love in her life and that was Bare Assets, the gentlemen's club she poured her heart and soul into. Dean Murray was the devil in disguise and had left behind enough broken hearted women to populate a small country. Angela would know. She was an expert markswoman who was skillfully self-trained at shooting down the good, the bad and the ugly of all masculine targets. After all, as the owner of the most successful strip club in Dallas, Texas, it was her business to know men. Just as she begins to fall for Dean's silky words and passionate ways, her past and present unexpectedly collide and a meticulously planned future turns into unpredictable chaos. Is the smooth-talking, denim-wearing devil responsible for the chaos? Or are the secrets she left buried in Arkansas coming back to haunt her?
July 24, 2013
My Review of Coming Back to You by Devon Youngblood
Review
Amazon Link Facebook LinkGoodreads I was privileged enough to have been gifted this as an ARC and all I can say is, "Wow!" Ms. Youngblood really captured a true to life issue that can curse our soldiers as well as the effects that issue has on those who love them. Maura's life was anything but easy. Pierson, the love of her life dumps her just before leaving for the Marines, ending all contact. Then, her parents are tragically taken from her. Struggling to maintain, Maura finishes college and begins a catering company. Just when she thinks her life is finally falling into place, Pierson waltzes back into town. Tormented by the horrible things he's seen and needing someone who understands him, he reaches out to Maura after five silent years. Can Maura find it in her heart to forgive him for leaving her behind and breaking off all contact with her while he served his country? Or will she run from the war torn soldier who once claimed her heart, body and soul?
Amazon Link Facebook LinkGoodreads I was privileged enough to have been gifted this as an ARC and all I can say is, "Wow!" Ms. Youngblood really captured a true to life issue that can curse our soldiers as well as the effects that issue has on those who love them. Maura's life was anything but easy. Pierson, the love of her life dumps her just before leaving for the Marines, ending all contact. Then, her parents are tragically taken from her. Struggling to maintain, Maura finishes college and begins a catering company. Just when she thinks her life is finally falling into place, Pierson waltzes back into town. Tormented by the horrible things he's seen and needing someone who understands him, he reaches out to Maura after five silent years. Can Maura find it in her heart to forgive him for leaving her behind and breaking off all contact with her while he served his country? Or will she run from the war torn soldier who once claimed her heart, body and soul?
