Tonya Coffey's Blog, page 3
February 26, 2015
Snow
I live in a place, each year we get snow. This year we were bombarded with more than I've seen in years.
I don't mind the snow. I like how it piles on the branches of tree limbs and makes the yard look as if it's an ocean of snow. I even like how it sounds when you walk in it; the crunch of your foot steps.
When you sit on your porch and listen to the light breeze, gently push against the branches and the crack. The snow falls to the ground in a thud.
I can't get enough of the snow and the most important part, it put me in the mood to finish my second book. After all, it is called, SNOW MOON.
I don't mind the snow. I like how it piles on the branches of tree limbs and makes the yard look as if it's an ocean of snow. I even like how it sounds when you walk in it; the crunch of your foot steps.
When you sit on your porch and listen to the light breeze, gently push against the branches and the crack. The snow falls to the ground in a thud.
I can't get enough of the snow and the most important part, it put me in the mood to finish my second book. After all, it is called, SNOW MOON.
January 27, 2015
Freedom of Speech
I recently watched the new movie, American Sniper. What a story. It was filled with all the things you want in a book but this wasn't a book. It was this man's life. It was his story.
I'd heard rumors about the movie before I even entered the theater and experienced it for first hand. The pureness that was reflected on screen was amazing and the heartache was just as honest.
I couldn't believe the rumors, of the things spoken by people who wouldn't and couldn't step onto a battle field and protect their families.
When I say rumors, I mean the opinions of people around the US who felt the movie was awful and the man it was about was nothing more than a murderer. How can a person come to that conclusion? After-all, this man went to war so you could have the ability to degrade him.
Everyone has their own views of what soldiers do. You can stand up next to them or call them names. That is your right as a citizen of the United States something men and women like him fight for each and everyday. I have respect for them. I'm surrounded by people who have served sometime in their life and I'm proud of it.
I'm curious though, if these people who bad mouthed him was a citizen of a country we fought against, would you feel the same way? Would you think the men and women who were fighting to protect you was murderers and cowards for the rolls they played? I don't think you would. I think you would be grateful for the sniper, sitting within cover, waiting for that next target who might be coming for you. I believe you'd be on your knees at his feet, thanking him for saving you. But he wouldn't want you to kneel in front of him. He'd lift you from the dirt and look at you as if you were is family and hug you. These men and women are selfless. They don't care about being heroes and that is what makes them one.
This is my opinion. I think snipers are gifted and they have a job not meany could do. I think him and others like him who have served and are still serving are the back-bone of the country. It is because of them I can sit at my computer and write the stories others read. And I will forever be grateful for them.
I'd heard rumors about the movie before I even entered the theater and experienced it for first hand. The pureness that was reflected on screen was amazing and the heartache was just as honest.
I couldn't believe the rumors, of the things spoken by people who wouldn't and couldn't step onto a battle field and protect their families.
When I say rumors, I mean the opinions of people around the US who felt the movie was awful and the man it was about was nothing more than a murderer. How can a person come to that conclusion? After-all, this man went to war so you could have the ability to degrade him.
Everyone has their own views of what soldiers do. You can stand up next to them or call them names. That is your right as a citizen of the United States something men and women like him fight for each and everyday. I have respect for them. I'm surrounded by people who have served sometime in their life and I'm proud of it.
I'm curious though, if these people who bad mouthed him was a citizen of a country we fought against, would you feel the same way? Would you think the men and women who were fighting to protect you was murderers and cowards for the rolls they played? I don't think you would. I think you would be grateful for the sniper, sitting within cover, waiting for that next target who might be coming for you. I believe you'd be on your knees at his feet, thanking him for saving you. But he wouldn't want you to kneel in front of him. He'd lift you from the dirt and look at you as if you were is family and hug you. These men and women are selfless. They don't care about being heroes and that is what makes them one.
This is my opinion. I think snipers are gifted and they have a job not meany could do. I think him and others like him who have served and are still serving are the back-bone of the country. It is because of them I can sit at my computer and write the stories others read. And I will forever be grateful for them.
January 14, 2015
Heartache of Life
When I was younger, I would argue with people over my family. I would tell them I had a family who would stand together and it didn't matter what would happen, we were one. The older I get the more I realize people change. We may still talk and spend the holidays together but we have out own lives and our own responsibilities.
My older sister hasn't had an easy life. She has struggled with who she is and what she wants out of it but the one thing she stands up for is her kids. She has three. They are all older and the youngest is why I ask my self about family.
When my sister divorced her husband, the youngest daughters dad, my niece was fifteen. She went a little wild and went against both her mom and dad but she ended up staying mostly with my mom.
Long story short, she got pregnant. My mom helped her through high school and baby sat while she worked. My parents aren't young but they love my niece and her son.
When my niece met a new boy, she decided my parents weren't good enough for her or her son so she left and refused to talk to anyone in the family or let anyone see the boy. This of course broke my parents heart and my sister still cries over it.
The heartache of the story is, my sister found out recently she has breast cancer. After she found out, she begged her daughter to see her grandson but she won't even answer the phone for her.
I don't understand how she-the daughter-can be so cruel to her mother. Her life wasn't perfect but my sister and my parents done everything they could to make her happy and she still doesn't see they were helping her.
It's been a year since then and my sister is going through chemo. She struggles with the loss of her hair. I know that is petty to most people but to her it was everything next to her kids. And it was all she had since the kids are all gone with lives of their own. And my niece, she has another child. A girl. My sisters only two grand-kids and she isn't allowed to see them.
It breaks my heart that a daughter can be so cruel to her mother when there is daughters out there who would give anything to have a mother like her.
My older sister hasn't had an easy life. She has struggled with who she is and what she wants out of it but the one thing she stands up for is her kids. She has three. They are all older and the youngest is why I ask my self about family.
When my sister divorced her husband, the youngest daughters dad, my niece was fifteen. She went a little wild and went against both her mom and dad but she ended up staying mostly with my mom.
Long story short, she got pregnant. My mom helped her through high school and baby sat while she worked. My parents aren't young but they love my niece and her son.
When my niece met a new boy, she decided my parents weren't good enough for her or her son so she left and refused to talk to anyone in the family or let anyone see the boy. This of course broke my parents heart and my sister still cries over it.
The heartache of the story is, my sister found out recently she has breast cancer. After she found out, she begged her daughter to see her grandson but she won't even answer the phone for her.
I don't understand how she-the daughter-can be so cruel to her mother. Her life wasn't perfect but my sister and my parents done everything they could to make her happy and she still doesn't see they were helping her.
It's been a year since then and my sister is going through chemo. She struggles with the loss of her hair. I know that is petty to most people but to her it was everything next to her kids. And it was all she had since the kids are all gone with lives of their own. And my niece, she has another child. A girl. My sisters only two grand-kids and she isn't allowed to see them.
It breaks my heart that a daughter can be so cruel to her mother when there is daughters out there who would give anything to have a mother like her.
November 24, 2014
Book Events
I think Book Fest and Fairs are a great way for authors to introduce their books to the world of bookworms.
My questions is, why don't Book Fest and Fairs put forth an effort to acknowledge the local authors before they reach out to authors in different states?
Book Fest's should be about showing the book community new and upcoming writers and not about the famous author who has already sold over a million books. Why don't the State Book Fairs help local authors and support them except for treating them as if they are unworthy of an opportunity to be in the light of some of the well-known authors?
I think it's a shame because authors are published by small presses they are treated different. We are still writers and story tellers, we just have a more family orientated publishing house.
My questions is, why don't Book Fest and Fairs put forth an effort to acknowledge the local authors before they reach out to authors in different states?
Book Fest's should be about showing the book community new and upcoming writers and not about the famous author who has already sold over a million books. Why don't the State Book Fairs help local authors and support them except for treating them as if they are unworthy of an opportunity to be in the light of some of the well-known authors?
I think it's a shame because authors are published by small presses they are treated different. We are still writers and story tellers, we just have a more family orientated publishing house.
October 27, 2014
Book Signing's in small towns
I've had a busy week. It was my anniversary(15 years), my sons birthday and my book signing.
I didn't know what to expect when I walked into the public library. It was my first and hopefully not the last.
The ladies at the library set up a table for me and I stood up my poster, fanned out my book marks and stacked my books for people to buy if they didn't have one. I walked around for a moment and took a million deep breaths because I'm not one for public speaking or being the center of attention. But when I sat in that seat and watched as people came in, stopped and began asking me questions about my book, I quickly became relaxed.
My family came of course and stood around and talked. They wanted to support me and I love that about them. They had places they could've been but decided to sit at the library with me.
My husband, who isn't a reader, and my boys came. I noticed they were looking at books and trying to stay focused but they don't like the same things I do and I appreciate what they did for me. They Do love me.
My mom and dad came. I always said, Mom was the one who got me started in writing. She didn't mind when I was young and made up crazy stories and proceeded to act them out. She encouraged me.
My oldest sister couldn't come, she had surgery last week, breast cancer and I think of her each day.
My next oldest Sister had a camera attached to her face. She took two hundred pictures and out of those, half are great.
My sister born seven years before me, came with her daughter. She took a break from work to make an appearance. I really appreciate her. Her daughter, Victoria, is the person I wanted for my cover. She is gorgeous: long dark hair, big brown eyes and she's petite.
The library staff was great. I couldn't ask for a better group of ladies who set this up for me. So to them, Thank You!
Of all the people who came in and bought my book, I have to say one stood out more than any other. She was 14 and she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. She told me about books she had already started writing and of newspaper articles she wrote. She was thrilled to meet me and I wasn't any different than her.
If I can meet one person like her each time I set up and speak to the public, I will be thrilled. That's what it's all about. Reaching others who want to succeed.
I didn't know what to expect when I walked into the public library. It was my first and hopefully not the last.
The ladies at the library set up a table for me and I stood up my poster, fanned out my book marks and stacked my books for people to buy if they didn't have one. I walked around for a moment and took a million deep breaths because I'm not one for public speaking or being the center of attention. But when I sat in that seat and watched as people came in, stopped and began asking me questions about my book, I quickly became relaxed.
My family came of course and stood around and talked. They wanted to support me and I love that about them. They had places they could've been but decided to sit at the library with me.
My husband, who isn't a reader, and my boys came. I noticed they were looking at books and trying to stay focused but they don't like the same things I do and I appreciate what they did for me. They Do love me.
My mom and dad came. I always said, Mom was the one who got me started in writing. She didn't mind when I was young and made up crazy stories and proceeded to act them out. She encouraged me.
My oldest sister couldn't come, she had surgery last week, breast cancer and I think of her each day.
My next oldest Sister had a camera attached to her face. She took two hundred pictures and out of those, half are great.
My sister born seven years before me, came with her daughter. She took a break from work to make an appearance. I really appreciate her. Her daughter, Victoria, is the person I wanted for my cover. She is gorgeous: long dark hair, big brown eyes and she's petite.
The library staff was great. I couldn't ask for a better group of ladies who set this up for me. So to them, Thank You!
Of all the people who came in and bought my book, I have to say one stood out more than any other. She was 14 and she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. She told me about books she had already started writing and of newspaper articles she wrote. She was thrilled to meet me and I wasn't any different than her.
If I can meet one person like her each time I set up and speak to the public, I will be thrilled. That's what it's all about. Reaching others who want to succeed.
October 15, 2014
The Forest
I was walking through the woods the other day and found myself standing under a tree, looking up into the sky. I wasn't looking at anything in particular, I was listening to the sounds around me.
It's amazing what you hear when you let your mind go and allow the world around you to dissolve into your mind and body. You can hear the smallest of creatures and the things from miles away.
I stood there, the wind causing the leaves to make a soft wrestling sound, my eyes to the sky. The gray limbs twisted up and out like fingers pointing at something out of the way, but I didn't know what. I didn't care. I was lost in the calmness and the serenity of the world.
For a few moments or heart beats, I don't know how long, I stood there, listening and waiting. Waiting for nature to take away my frustration and my mental discomfort. When I feel as if I'm going to scream, I walk out my back door and into the forest. I walk until the house is no where to be seen and I close my eyes, take a deep breath and relax.
I can be having the worst day of my life and thirty minutes in the woods can take it all away. And I love that about nature. It doesn't judge me for being mad or upset at my family or the world, it just helps me get over it. I couldn't ask for a better friend.
If you live around a patch of woods or a national forest, I suggest, if you are having a bad day, surround yourself with nature and give yourself to it. It will help you through your day.
It's amazing what you hear when you let your mind go and allow the world around you to dissolve into your mind and body. You can hear the smallest of creatures and the things from miles away.
I stood there, the wind causing the leaves to make a soft wrestling sound, my eyes to the sky. The gray limbs twisted up and out like fingers pointing at something out of the way, but I didn't know what. I didn't care. I was lost in the calmness and the serenity of the world.
For a few moments or heart beats, I don't know how long, I stood there, listening and waiting. Waiting for nature to take away my frustration and my mental discomfort. When I feel as if I'm going to scream, I walk out my back door and into the forest. I walk until the house is no where to be seen and I close my eyes, take a deep breath and relax.
I can be having the worst day of my life and thirty minutes in the woods can take it all away. And I love that about nature. It doesn't judge me for being mad or upset at my family or the world, it just helps me get over it. I couldn't ask for a better friend.
If you live around a patch of woods or a national forest, I suggest, if you are having a bad day, surround yourself with nature and give yourself to it. It will help you through your day.
September 16, 2014
Life
I recently had to deal with those unexpected things that pop up in life that make you wonder if there is an all powerful being watching over us.
It is hard to watch the person(s) you love go threw an illness when there is nothing you can do about it. You feel helpless and alone while they suffer and tell you everything will be ok.
Why is it they have all the confidence when you question existence?
I know I am not the only one who has sat next to a loved one and cried or held the hand of a person who is fighting for their life. I want to understand why the best people, who have never laid hands on another or said a bad word toward another, are the ones who suffer.
Watching them, I see the goodness in their heart. The love they spread to others. Why make them suffer while a person with no regards to their own lives don't?
When I was smaller, I went to church. I was taught each of us only receive what we can handle. What will make the people around us stronger. I still question it. I still wonder why a person should go through trials, to make another believe in what is happening around them. To believe in a higher power.
I see their strength and their courage and it makes me question my own. Would I be able to endure what they went through? I know I wouldn't have the same look on life. The same unchanging faith they hold so dear.
It is hard to watch the person(s) you love go threw an illness when there is nothing you can do about it. You feel helpless and alone while they suffer and tell you everything will be ok.
Why is it they have all the confidence when you question existence?
I know I am not the only one who has sat next to a loved one and cried or held the hand of a person who is fighting for their life. I want to understand why the best people, who have never laid hands on another or said a bad word toward another, are the ones who suffer.
Watching them, I see the goodness in their heart. The love they spread to others. Why make them suffer while a person with no regards to their own lives don't?
When I was smaller, I went to church. I was taught each of us only receive what we can handle. What will make the people around us stronger. I still question it. I still wonder why a person should go through trials, to make another believe in what is happening around them. To believe in a higher power.
I see their strength and their courage and it makes me question my own. Would I be able to endure what they went through? I know I wouldn't have the same look on life. The same unchanging faith they hold so dear.
September 8, 2014
Characters
When someone asks me if I am writing about someone in particular, I tell them no but every writer gets their inspiration for a character from people that we know. It may be a small detail to the biggest flaw.
When I write, creating new characters, I try to focus on what I would like to be as a person and what would attract me towards them. I know it's kind of silly but it works for me.
In my new book, I came up with the names because that was what I was around. Jessa came from what I wanted to be named. I loved the name Jessica and thought every girl in school named that was special and I wanted to have the same name. So when I started the book, she was Jessica then it was shortened to Jess and then I wanted something alittle different so I added the a--Jessa. I love her name.
Roderick was the second character that I came up with. I originally had him as the only guy in the story, but she needed more of a struggle and that's why I added Micha.
Micha is a extra. My husbands friend is Michael and his wife is Jessica so I felt it was right.
Everyone else just kinda fell into place. They each reflect their name somehow, whether it's in their personalities or their looks.
I give the advice to look for inspiration around you, it doesn't matter how small or big. It's important to have a connection to it, so the reader can feel the emotion you feel when you wrote the character. That is what makes readers come back to read more.
When I write, creating new characters, I try to focus on what I would like to be as a person and what would attract me towards them. I know it's kind of silly but it works for me.
In my new book, I came up with the names because that was what I was around. Jessa came from what I wanted to be named. I loved the name Jessica and thought every girl in school named that was special and I wanted to have the same name. So when I started the book, she was Jessica then it was shortened to Jess and then I wanted something alittle different so I added the a--Jessa. I love her name.
Roderick was the second character that I came up with. I originally had him as the only guy in the story, but she needed more of a struggle and that's why I added Micha.
Micha is a extra. My husbands friend is Michael and his wife is Jessica so I felt it was right.
Everyone else just kinda fell into place. They each reflect their name somehow, whether it's in their personalities or their looks.
I give the advice to look for inspiration around you, it doesn't matter how small or big. It's important to have a connection to it, so the reader can feel the emotion you feel when you wrote the character. That is what makes readers come back to read more.
September 5, 2014
Public Libraries
I have found the public library is a remarkable institution. It is run by the biggest book lovers in the world. It doesn't matter if you have read all your life or picked it up when your kids started school. They give you advise on the books they think you would like and they inspire you to visit these worlds you never knew existed.
When I was little, I always went to the library. They had a story hour that I loved. The older I got, I seemed to stray from the stories that made me feel like a hero or take me to a country I would never get a chance to visit.
When my kids were older and they didn't need me as much, I stopped by the library. I wasn't for sure what I was looking for but I wanted something that made me feel like I had a purpose again. After talking to one of the ladies, I told her I like paranormal. She introduced me to a few series that I would read over and over again.
One, Jennifer Rardin's Jazz Parks novels propelled me into a world of action, mystery and love. I wanted more when I read hers and it saddened me dearly when she passed away.
Two, Rachel Vincent's Shifters Series. The moment I picked up book 1, I didn't stop reading until I was finished with the series. For four days I read about a woman who wanted to be someone else but she accepted her roll as a shapeshifting panther and took control of her Pride. I love these books!
Three, J.R. Ward's, Black Dagger Brotherhood. The only thing I can say about them is WOW. This woman knows how to tell a story.
Four, Sherrylin Kenyon's, Dark-Hunter novels. What drew me to them was the idea vampires came from the gods and you had good and evil ones. She gave a new spin to an old classic that I still read.
I could go on and on about the stories I read. The vampires, fledglings, werewolves, demons, faeries, succubus and angels. I can't stop picking up a book and reading it. It takes me to a place of magic and joy, I'd forgotten about. So I have to think the ladies at the library for opening my eyes to the beautiful worlds they hold inside. If it wasn't for them, I couldn't go to these new worlds and experience the lives living in each of them.
So to them, I say thank you.
When I was little, I always went to the library. They had a story hour that I loved. The older I got, I seemed to stray from the stories that made me feel like a hero or take me to a country I would never get a chance to visit.
When my kids were older and they didn't need me as much, I stopped by the library. I wasn't for sure what I was looking for but I wanted something that made me feel like I had a purpose again. After talking to one of the ladies, I told her I like paranormal. She introduced me to a few series that I would read over and over again.
One, Jennifer Rardin's Jazz Parks novels propelled me into a world of action, mystery and love. I wanted more when I read hers and it saddened me dearly when she passed away.
Two, Rachel Vincent's Shifters Series. The moment I picked up book 1, I didn't stop reading until I was finished with the series. For four days I read about a woman who wanted to be someone else but she accepted her roll as a shapeshifting panther and took control of her Pride. I love these books!
Three, J.R. Ward's, Black Dagger Brotherhood. The only thing I can say about them is WOW. This woman knows how to tell a story.
Four, Sherrylin Kenyon's, Dark-Hunter novels. What drew me to them was the idea vampires came from the gods and you had good and evil ones. She gave a new spin to an old classic that I still read.
I could go on and on about the stories I read. The vampires, fledglings, werewolves, demons, faeries, succubus and angels. I can't stop picking up a book and reading it. It takes me to a place of magic and joy, I'd forgotten about. So I have to think the ladies at the library for opening my eyes to the beautiful worlds they hold inside. If it wasn't for them, I couldn't go to these new worlds and experience the lives living in each of them.
So to them, I say thank you.
September 4, 2014
What's next?
I never realized how hard it would be after you get your book published. I always thought it was the time before, where you had to submit to hundreds of publishers and hope they gave you a chance.
I was wrong.
Post publication is the hardest. You have to promote and promote some more and hope a bookstore will give you a chance because your book it different than the other hundred published by a big name publisher.
I'm from a small town and the closest book store from me is over 35 miles away and its a chain store, which means you have to go through a merchandising director.
I am sure the manager (who looked half my age) thought I was stupid for asking to stock my book, but I didn't know this. I didn't know you had to go to the top of the food chain in order to request a form. But I will know next time.
I am going to take a breath, relax and hold my head up high and continue to the next public library--who by the way are very supportive.
I was wrong.
Post publication is the hardest. You have to promote and promote some more and hope a bookstore will give you a chance because your book it different than the other hundred published by a big name publisher.
I'm from a small town and the closest book store from me is over 35 miles away and its a chain store, which means you have to go through a merchandising director.
I am sure the manager (who looked half my age) thought I was stupid for asking to stock my book, but I didn't know this. I didn't know you had to go to the top of the food chain in order to request a form. But I will know next time.
I am going to take a breath, relax and hold my head up high and continue to the next public library--who by the way are very supportive.
