Book II of John Ellery's Daughters is Finished.

So today I finished Book II of John Ellery's Daughters

 

If I follow suit this series will be four books.

 

Book II brings in a new major character which is the first part of the story

 

before it mingles that character with the youngest daughter, Penny.

 

This is a love story filled with rich characters

 

and adversity they overcome...and of course, I kill those who irritate me.

 

The story will go through one final review

 

to catch any obvious grammar or spelling problems

 

before it will be uploaded to Amazon.

 

thank you to all my readers for your patience and I hope

 

you will not be disappointed.

 

 

barb

Paint with Your Words

            I have had a whirlwind emotional day which means that something is out of alignment in my world.  One would say this is like being in a room with spirits you can feel and smell but they do not appear before your eyes.

 

            Does one believe in ghosts?  I guess that it would appear so but actually I prefer to think of them as residual dust that still lingers as if the soft wind that brings it through has lost the luster to continue along its way.  I love ghost stories, I like scary ghost stories, romantic ghost stories, funny ghost stories and really anything that involves a ghost.

 

            You know a person with an overactive imagination can not help but turn every moment of life into a story.  I have this strange thing of taking a license plate on other cars and trying to turn them into words as well as when in public picking out someone and telling their story.   I am visually encouraged to write but I am afraid that what is in my mind rarely sees itself in black and white and that I plan to change.  I write my best when I write frequently and when I write with a mind to the picture the words should create.  There must be flow for you must be drawn into the picture, there must be colorful prose that brushes the emotions just at the tip of the nerves, there must be texture that makes you create the image as if unaware you are doing so and there must be the anxiety as to where the road shall take you. 

 

             I rewrite.  If the story falls down the worm hole, I take a step back and wonder where it took the wrong turn.  If my rope is not long enough to pull the story back up, I name it and file it away for maybe another day or maybe never.  Sometimes I think I do this too often but unless I am fully satisfied, I second doubt myself.  I am in the 3rd go round with the new story but with each it is crisper, it flows well and yet just the process makes it hard to evaluate properly.  I guess this is why people hire editors but you really need a different editor for each edit.  Wait, that won't do because it is like whittling where you keep working on it until you are holding a toothpick.  I love/hate editing because it is the most self imposed pressure you ever put on yourself.  I can write a good book but I have yet to convince myself to let it go...just release the Kraken and let it go.

 

           Patience...I have a lot and I have none.  Such is my world I suppose.  For everything that I have there is also none that I have.  Some days are up and the words flow and some days are less welcoming and just being in my own company is necessary.  I never regret my decisions for I have learned that good, bad or indifferent I sometimes need all of them but I don't have a fondness for indifference even though it is a good defense mechanism if you can carry it off.  I have to practice the blank look when faced with someone that makes me want to turn and leave.  It works but you literally have to pull that plug and let the emotions settle in your toes because your toes only give a rat's ass if you run into the leg of the table again.

 

         So today was filled with emotions because I didn't get out of bed and turn on the protective shields against the residual stragglers.  I think I'll go back to editing because it will not do itself and I can't afford an editor but first I think maybe coffee ice cream to sooth my nerves. 

 

barb...still hitting the keys.

 



Birds of a Different Color

The first reaction I get from my newest glass adventure is

...why are they fat...

...why are they funny looking...

 

 

As a sculpture glass artist

I have spent a lot of years perfecting my

flower beads

and sculptures incorporating my flowers

and birds

so what is a girl to do when boredom says "do something else"

 

I am learning how to take a hollow glass bead

and use the flame to shape a crazy bird design out of it

no I don't want to make birds you see

out in your tree

I want my birds to be colorful, crazy and a little odd

I personally don't think I am there yet

which is something artists understand as they cut

their way out of the artistic box

all of my birds start as a clear glass hollow bead

and I am using the worst clear glass I have

because it is merely the base

before I start applying the color.

 

The worst part of hollow beads is blowing the

bead release out of the bird

once it dries

but I won't try to explain that one.

 

So my adventure continues

and it is pushing my boundaries with the torch

and the movement of liquid glass.

 

barb

 

 



Book III of the Visitor Free next weekend

http://www.amazon.com/Visitor-Colorado-1869-Mirisa-Eppes-ebook/dp/B00OYUJ5CQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1425796351&sr=1-3&keywords=barbara+svetlick

Book III of the Visitor series - The Visitor - Colorado will be free to download on Kindle Saturday, March 14th and Sunday, March 15th.

To Starbucks or Not to Starbucks

Yep I love good rich hot coffee
    Started drinking coffee in my milk when I was around three or four
         Mostly because I hated milk and refused to drink it
And mothers of those days believed if you didn't drink your milk you would...
    I'm not sure what would happen but why take a chance
         So my addiction...and yes friends coffee is an addiction...began

I have tried cappuccino and Cuban coffee
    I have had the worst excuse for what would never be coffee
             and the best which was Kona coffee in Hawaii but here's the trick
It doesn't matter the brand or style unless the water is excellent
    It is the water that makes the coffee better or worse
             Kona coffee without Hawaiian water is just another cup of joe

Starbucks is an experience I attempt to avoid if at all possible
    No it has nothing to do with whether or not it is good but more because
           if I go for anything but 'just coffee' I forget what I ordered
I stand there with all the other coffee deprived put in all that frufru stuff drinkers
   and no matter what you think people waiting for coffee are on the edge
          of homicidal tendancies because all they want is the double whatever cup

Starbucks is moving into my neighborhood which will be nice on a Sunday morning
      we can go up have a nice treat while reading the paper or better texting
           and spend money unwisely but Sundays are for self indulgence
I won't give up my search for the right blend, the right water and the fresh smell
     of good coffee brewing within my senses
            so we shall wait to see what Starbucks brings to my neighborhood...

Oh yeah...my property value will go up too!!

barb

Random Acts of Kindness

in case you haven't realized...
    I am a child of the late sixties...
         my teenage years on Fort Lauderdale Beach...
             back when it was just the coolest place in the world to live...

random acts of kindness....
    there are websites that give you ideas...
          things you can do for others out of the kindness of your heart....
                    hello...random...out of nowhere...no planning whatsoever acts

it is like breaking into sound...
    or counting everything unconsciously...
             I think that's a disorder so I don't put it on medical forms....
                      an 'act of kindness' is like once in a blue moon thing...

there's no rules at all...
      there's no one keeping score...
              it's like seeing a butterfly or maybe a rainbow...
                      I don't know if you can define it because it's a feeling...

tonight we spontaneously...
      went out for a great tasty burger...
           while standing at the counter I saw gift cards...
                    without a second thought I purchased one for my grandson...

spontaneous...
         random....
             just because....
                 act of kindness!

That one is more personal because it can be as simple is helping someone open a door or reaching something for them, buying someone coffee or just smiling...touch someone and they will remember it forever even if it fades from memory.

barb