Over the last week, I’ve fought the typical holiday blues. I recall the previous year, my first Christmas without my late husband. I’m dreading the upcoming holidays, knowing it will be a repeat of the previous. Compound the anxiety to include our fighting of the Covid pandemic, and to be safe, we need to shelter-in-place.
It would be so easy to succumb to depression. I very well could, and some would say I would have justification. Perhaps, but when I watch the news or look on the internet, I witness thousands of families suffering this year because of losing a family member or close friend to the Covid. Even as devastating this pandemic has been throughout the world, I can find a ray of hope and optimism that we can and will get through it together. I will do my part by staying home. I will thank God the virus has affected none of my family and friends. I will also pray for those that are victims.
I also remember many previous adverse holidays I have experienced. One of those Christmas came to mind, and I will share it with this post. The following I extracted from my book, One Month, Twenty Days, and a Wake-Up. After reading it, please leave me your comments. Please tell me how you are coping with the holiday blues.
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I know I’m not alone when I state, 2020 has been a difficult year. Last spring, my grief for the loss of my late husband was somewhat under control. I was prepared to move forward, do some traveling, and seek out new adventures. The pandemic put a screeching halt to those plans.
This year I have gone through extended periods of depression, and my writing paid the price. My last blog was back in August. I’ve wanted to return to creative writing, but the motivation wasn’t there. I have also been neglectful in reading posts of those writers I follow or who have followed me in the past.
I didn’t totally abandon my writing. I completed and self-published the second edition of my book One Month, Twenty Days, and a Wake Up. But, I have been remiss about marketing strategies, and sales are flat. I continue attending my writing critique group, but we had to meet remotely using Zoom. I am working on the fourth book, but like everything else, I often ignored it.
This post is an attempt to motivate myself to return to writing. I’m challenging myself to put out blogs regularly and move forward on my next book project. Even with the numbers from the Covid crisis going up, there is a glitter of hope with the vaccines’ release. I pray for the rapid control of the pandemic and stop the deaths from around the world.
I don’t have an original Christmas Story, but I will repost one from a previous year. With this, I do wish those that follow my writing and those who might stumble onto it a Blessed Christmas. Have a safe and healthy New Year.
GUEST POST — CHRISTMAS SHORT STORY
Several weeks ago, Hugh Roberts, the blogger of Hugh’s Views and News, invited me to write a guest post for his blog site. As a novice writer, anytime I’m featured on someone else’s post, I jump at the chance. When someone as renown as Hugh Roberts with all his following, it’s an honor to be asked.
In August, I did a post on The Advantages of Anthologies. I revealed my short story had been selected to be included with Living Springs Publishers just released Stories Through The Ages Baby Boomers Plus 2020. I also promised at a later date I would share with you my selected piece.
I hope you will follow the link over to Hugh’s blog site and read Welcome to Vietnam.
Don’t be shy. Please leave me a comment.
Ever since I began my blog site, I’ve done my best to avoid writing about national politics. But, with the recent article in the Atlantic September 2, 2020 publication, I can’t remain silent. With Donald Trump rants on the men and women who are or have served in the military, he crossed the line for me. This is not something new or a one-time occurrence. These are a series of comments he has repeatedly made beginning before he became President.
The article states, “… When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither claim was true.
Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed…”
Our military war heroes are “LOSERS and SUCKER?”
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I found this post from someone I recently started following. We hear similar messages, but do we ever listen. This one comes with a great slogan, one that should pop into our head every time we hear the bigotry and partisanship that is so prevalent today.
Thank you Sherrey Meyer for sharing this with us.
https://sherreymeyer.com/may-goodness-define-us/
If you are an Indie author or novice author like I am, having your writing and name promoted is a boost we don’t want to overlook. There are many ways to gain personal exposure. Having a blog website and posting regularly is one way. Reading and commenting on peer blog sites gains recognition and reader following. Promoting another Indie author on your website often leads to reciprocation. The professionals have a ton of suggestions, advice, and techniques to meet our objectives.
I have often seen promotions for a writing contest. There seems to be a proliferation of them covering every genre of writing. Daily, when I’m scanning the many blog post that I follow, I see their announcements. I frequently wish I had the time needed to write something original or unique to submit. But I’ve learned if you will invest the time in a contest that fits your style, you can get the recognition you seek. The ones that catch my attention aren’t the ones that offer only cash prizes; although, I wouldn’t refuse the money. I notice the ones that provide their anthology to include my writing.
If you win a cash prize only contest, after they make the announcement on the host site, and you spend the cash prize, that ends the acclamation. What does an anthology offer? An anthology doesn’t stop at the communique. Every time a reader sees and hopefully purchases the book, you get the desired effect.
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Whether you’ve been following my recent post or not, you don’t want to make the same mistake I made. I didn’t know if I should update the original One Month, 20 Days, and a Wake Up book with the files of the 2nd edition or publish the 2nd as a separate book. I went on Amazon’s KDP Help pages for advice. Here’s what I found:
- Under the subject title “Upload your book content,” it states, “… if your changes are significant, you must publish your book as a new edition…”
- Under the subject title “Update your Manuscript,” it states, “… if it’s considered a new edition, you must publish it as a new book…”·
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Sherry Meyer is a writer I follow, and she posted a piece that affirms how I have been feeling lately. Even when I have more than enough to occupy my day, I find means of avoiding my priorities. At the end of the day, I reprimand myself for my procrastination. I’m constantly fighting the loneliness for human contact. I have days my depression is elevated to the point I all but vegetate. While daily, I’m bombarded with negative narratives from TV and social media, it is hard to keep a positive attitude.
After reading Sherry’s post, I don’t feel so alone with my feelings. I believe if you take a minute to read it, you too may identify with her. It put a different light on our plight during this pandemic. Thank you, Sherry, for sharing your viewpoint.
Click here for Sherry Meyer’s post.
Don’t be Shy, leave a comment
I’m proud to announce that my 2nd Edition of One Month, 20 Days, and a Wake Up is now available on Amazon. I released it simultaneously in eBook and paperback format. I followed KDP’s recommendation of publishing it as a new book. Their advice, if the book has significantly changed, don’t update the older version, but release it separately.
My question now is, do the two books link somehow? The title didn’t change, just the cover and a good portion of the storyline. What is also obviously updated, the quality of the writing. What I will eventually do is delete the original book. But I don’t want to lose the complimentary reviews. I need to find out how you can move the reviews to the recent release.
The process of the rewrite began in April 2019. A friend invited me to go to the writer’s critique group he attended. They met twice monthly and asked their members to bring in original work to read and reviewed by the group. When I told them I had self-published three books, they invited me to return. My reply, “If you will help me rewrite my book on Vietnam, I will.”
Now, after fifteen months of hard work, I’m thrilled I have completed the project. Included in this post is the final version of the book blurb and the acknowledgment section from the book.
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Something New
I am one step closer now in releasing the 2nd edition of One Month, 20 Days, and a Wake Up. If you’re a writer, you know the editing, and we never complete the changes. We’re never satisfied, but we have to stop at some point, or we would never publish or post our writing
Since I’m self-publishing this book, I’m required to format the manuscript for eBook and paperback formats. Each has its unique nuances. If the ultimate product has presentation errors, it is just as bad as being poorly written. I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice to state; it is a painstaking and timely process.
I thought it might entertain you to share another section of the book. Instead of me copying a part and you reading it, I recorded it in hopes it might grab your attention. This is my first attempt at dabbling with a different medium.
I selected the introduction this time because it sets the temperament of the manuscript. I didn’t write this book to make any political statement, although I believe I did for the Vietnam Veteran. I wrote it to share a portion of my life that influenced and changed me. I wanted the reader to have an insight from my viewpoint into what it meant to be a PJ. I wanted people to know the sacrifices and risks my fellow PJs did to rescue and save lives. I wanted you to know that we risked all to fulfill our motto: “We do these things so that others may live.”
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