Dean Frech's Blog, page 33

Everyone Has the Power

Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame, but greatness, because greatness is determined by service ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

I've blogged before that I grew up reading the Little House books and John Jakes.  When I set out to write, I knew I would be historical writer. When my characters and ideas started forming in my head, I knew they belonged in historical backdrops.

Part of the reason I write historical fiction is because that is what I yearn to read. I want to read more stories about LGBT characters in historical settings. If I had more stories and fictional heros to read about, the coing out process might have been easier. You think we have our issues today, what about 1866 or 1910 or 1933 when it wasn't even talked about?

I am participating this week in Authors Care for Suicide Prevention Week.  I hope anyone reading this struggling with anything, understands that it does get better. No matter what the issues is:  sexuality, love, money, there are viable options. Anyone you know wants you around and nothing can be solved by your exit.

Thanks for joining me this week.  Here's a link to others blogging about this important subject this week:

http://louisabacio.blogspot.com/2013/07/authors-care-suicide-prevention-week.html


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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?
Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from Musa Publishing today!
Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

The Gift of Oneself

Love is, above all else, the gift of oneself ~ Jean Anouilh

Whenever you step outside of your comfort zone and share yourself with others, that's the gift of yourself. Whatever you accomplish might be an inspiration for someone else and their journey.

What gifts are you sharing?

Hanging Out With Kerry Frith Today!

I'm hanging out with Kerry Frith, talking about A Place to Call Their Own.

http://kerryschitterchatter.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/kerrys-chitter-chatter-21.html





______________________________________________________________
Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?
Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from Kobo today!
Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

Don't be Afraid of a Broken Heart

Here are the real rules: Don't run with scissors, don't leave the iron on, don't cross against the light, and don't be afraid of a broken heart ~ Lisa Funderburg

I'm sure the broken heart reference in this quote is about romantic love. But when you're on a dream journey there's another broken heart, and that's when you don't achieve your goals.  Or if you're in a creative field, it's when others criticize your work.

And you can't be afraid of that broken heart. When you're looking at criticism, you have to peel back the negativity and ridiculousness. Get to the core of the feedback. Filter out the extraneous wrapping to understand the core of the feedback, the gift to make your work better.

For me, it's been a similar situation to figure out why I haven't achieved a goal. For me, it started by peeling back the excuses: I'm too tired, work is too stressful or busy. Then I was able to figure out the core reason: I don't know where the story is going. It boiled down to outlining and making some other notes about the story to get me going again.

When was the last time you had a broken heart about your dream journey?




______________________________________________________________
Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?
Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from Kobo today!
Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

Life is Better When You Share It

I've always know that life is better when you share it. I now realize, it gets even sweeter when you expand the circle ~ Oprah Winfrey

I've mentioned before that in my corporate life, I come from a culture of idea sharing. Corporate life was like in at U.S. Bank and in Tupperware and other direct sales companies I've been involved in.

I think that's why I enjoy being a part of the writer community. The number of articles available on Twitter, Facebook, and other communities is amazing and so helpful. With social media I like not only being able to glean information I find helpful, but also to interact with others when questions are posed.

What are you giving to and getting from your dream journey community?




______________________________________________________________
Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?
Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from Kobo today!
Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

The One Good Thing

I am on my book review site today talking about Kevin Alan Milne's The One Good Thing.




http://bookreviewsrantsraves.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-one-good-thing.html


______________________________________________________________
Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?
 
When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?
Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from Amazontoday!
Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

Guess

Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how...We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark ~ Agnes de Mille

Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith on your dream journey. When I quit smoking and went to school I had a definite plan laid out before I started. But when I started writing novels, I just starting writing.

That was a leap of faith I started five years ago. I learned not only about writing, but plotting and character development along the way. I built social networks and my blog. It's been an uphill battle.

I continue to navigate through the publishing industry.  My first novel is published and second manuscript is completed. A third manuscript is under construction. I continue to take leaps in the dark.

What's a part of your dream journey you just jumped into?

______________________________________________________________
Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?
 
When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?
Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from Amazontoday!
Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes

I'm sharing a recipe on my foodie blog today! Enjoy!



http://pacefrechkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/08/philly-cheese-steak-sloppy-joes.html 




______________________________________________________________
Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?
 
When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?
Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from OmniLit today!
Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

Not a Destination

Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome ~ Arthur Ashe

Was last week a full moon week or what? Even worse, it was a blue moon!  No, the moon wasn't blue in color (on Wednesday night it was a eery reddish orange from my view in the Midwest).

It was a seasonal blue moon, but a crazy time none the less. Work was crazy busy and just plain crazy this week. I had a horrible personal schedule in the mornings this week and people's moods were just plain nuts. 

But the good thing about the week was finding a new plot point for a future work. Would you read a story about someone who messed up in one blue moon and then worked at fixing everything that climaxes at the next? 



______________________________________________________________
Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?
 
When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?
Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from Barnes and Noble today!
Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

What Did It Feel Like?

You write the first draft with your heart. You re-write with your head ~ Finding Forrester

Are there any "older" movies out there that you always meant to watch but just haven't gotten around to the them? When you did, were you ever like, How come I haven't seen that yet?

Finding Forrester is one of those for me. I remember getting the DVD from Netflix but I don't remember why I never sat down and watched it all the way through. Last night I finally got to it. Maybe if I would have seen it in 2000 it came out I would have started writing sooner?  There's a reason for everything.

I started bawling when Jamal asks William "How did it feel to write those books?" Well, Jamal, let me tell you it's pretty wonderful. It's like asking someone in Direct Sales, how did it feel when you first became a Director or small business owner, how did if feel when you made your first profit.  The feeling is nearly indescribable. (And for the record, yes, I bawled throughout the rest of the movie, when he's vindicated and at the very end.)

And it's that feeling that keeps me going. I've started my third novel and it's going great. I continue to trudge through the daily task of writing and editing. Now I have the extra pressure to have something ready for my critique group each week. Just that goal keeps me going each week.

What did it feel like the first time you achieved a goal?




______________________________________________________________
Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?
 
When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?
Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from All Romance today!
Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!