IN 2016, I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE IN MAGIC - by Vijaya Schartz

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Most of us do believe in magic, and most of us will never admit it. We use other words for it, and prefer to call it Christmas miracles, sheer luck, pure coincidence, fate, serendipity, or the result of positive thinking. These things happen out of the blue, against all odds, a terrible catastrophe averted, a miraculous recovery, a ray of hope in the most desperate situations, a life-saving intervention, an unexpected act of bravery... it's usually for the better.

Sometimes we give credit to someone else, a good Samaritan, a guardian angel, or God, and we are grateful and give thanks. Truth be told, we as simple human beings are more powerful than we give ourselves credit for, and if we only believed in our own power, we could wield our own magic.

Our brains are the most complex and powerful machines. They can make us feel joy, love, pain, sadness, and sometimes even make us see what is not there. Our brains can transport us through time with vivid memories, and into strange, unknown worlds when we read a story or watch a movie. Our attitude can also influence the people and the world around us. Successful people often attribute their windfalls to a positive attitude.

I prefer to call it magic. The magic of a smile, of a random act of kindness, the power to believe that we deserve to be happy, loved, respected, recognized for our achievements, and so does everyone else.

So this coming year, I want to focus on the positive, believe that good things are coming my way, and that we shall all be happy, loved, healthy, and prosperous.

Wishing you all a magic year in 2016.

Vijaya Schartz

Blasters, Swords, Romance with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com 

In the meantime, you can experience true magic by reading BELOVED CRUSADER, Book 6 (standalone) in the Curse of the Lost Isle medieval fantasy romance series, available everywhere in eBook and in paperback.

Amazon - Barnes & Noble - All Romance eBooks - Smashwords - iBooks - Kobo

You want to be happy? By Sandy Semerad

“You want to be happy. We all do. You just need to figure out how to get there. I don’t think any one person can make you happy. Only you can make yourself happy,” said Freemont Jackson, one of my characters in A Message in the Roses… “As to being content long-term, that has to come from within.”

Easy to say or write about, but how do we actually achieve that long-term contentment?  

A Benedictine monk claims the answer is simple. We need to slow down, look where we’re going and be grateful.

If we stop and look before we go, we can better take advantage of the opportunities life has to offer, Monk David Steindl-Rast said on a recent NPR program. And if we miss one opportunity, another one will come along soon, according to Monk David.

“Grateful people are joyful people,” he said. “If we’re grateful, we’re not fearful. If we’re not fearful, we’re not violent.”

A long time ago, I discovered I’m happier when I count my blessing, though for many years, I searched for bliss, and I’ve listened to my share of happiness experts. One such expert, Author Shawn Achor, said we would all be happier if we do the following activities every day:

1. Think of three new things for which you’re thankful. Repeat this exercise for 21 days so the practice will become habitual. Also share your gratitude with your significant other and friends. Then ask them to reveal their three new blessings. Sharing doubles your happiness, he said.

2. To double your optimism, take two minutes to write down your gratitude and your most meaningful experiences. Again do this every day for 21 days.

3. Add 15 minutes of a fun activity to your day, Achor said. This must be a physical activity like walking the dog or gardening. (I love walking my dog P-Nut. She definitely knows how to live in the moment. I think she’s trying to teach me. Of course, I’m always in the moment when I’m writing.) Achor didn’t include hugging and making love as fun activities. They certainly qualify. (I know Carrie Sue Justice, my protagonist in A Message in the Roses, would think so).

4. Smile at least three times every day. Smiling increases the serotonin in the brain apparently.

5. Get social, if you want to charge your happiness battery. People can motivate you more than anything, Achor said. So take time to encourage and motivate others. In other words, spread the happiness.

I like the idea of spreading happiness. If only we could somehow, magically, make everyone in the world more grateful, unafraid, nonviolent, and ultimately content. Swoosh, just make it happen. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? #happiness

www.sandysemerad.com

http://bookswelove.net/sandysemerad.php

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JUMPSTART AND GET WRITING BY RITA KARNOPP

“So you have such a positive attitude, how do you give yourself a jumpstart to get writing?”  The other day I was asked this question, and I decided would be a great blogging subject.  How do we push ourselves into our offices to write?  Heaven forbid there are enough distractions and other things you could be doing – besides sitting in your quiet office, all alone, with your thoughts and a white screen staring back at you.  Exactly how do we give ourselves the strength to say it’s time to write?

I truly believe us writers are special people.  Yep we truly are!  I think the hardest things for us are our other responsibilities.  We have family, friends, housework, the JOB, yard, cooking, shopping, and of course church (in my case) and the hubby.  The list goes on and on.  In between all those responsibilities and distractions we must ‘make’ the time to write. 

I don’t know if you’re like me – BUT – the other ‘stuff’ must  be done in order for me to concentrate on what I really want to do, write.  It’s not a hobby or what I do for fun.  Let’s face it, we love to write – but it is work.

So I need the house clean, the dishes done, the bills paid, and even my office must be clean before I can sit in front of my computer.  Now that’s a bit easier these days since my kids are out of the nest.  J   But I started writing when my kids were three and five+ so there you have it, I understand it both ways.

I don’t recommend three cups of coffee so you feel awake – that will just give you the jitters and make you feel unsettled.  A nice glass of ice water (or flavored – no calorie water) is what I recommend.  Get it right away so you don’t have an excuse to ‘leave’ your office and get side-tracked.  Yep, I know all the tricks … or mistakes.  You might even fix yourself a plate of celery sticks, carrot sticks, or even pea pods so you don’t get the chocolate cravings.

If you tell yourself you ‘should’ be writing, yet you’re sitting on the couch trying to muster up the energy and drive to go write – ask yourself one thing – “What is my deadline date?”  What?  You don’t have a deadline date?  That is not good!  You MUST have goals and deadline dates or you’ll never accomplish what you want in life.  That doesn’t just apply to writing, but in this case it does.

You need to sit down and look at your work in progress and answer these questions:

·       What genre are you writing?
·       World count for this work?
·       How many chapters will you have?
·       Now- how long does it take you to write a chapter?
·       Add a month in for unexpected distractions/responsibilities.
·       What is your writing schedule?
·       Finally – what is the deadline date to finish your book?

You do this one thing and I guarantee you’ll get more books written than you’ve ever done before.  I always correlate it to this.  If you were planning to go on a trip to Montana, you know you’d get maps and plot it out, you’d look at places to stop along the way to enjoy, there are hotels, costs to estimate, car to get in shape for the trip, etc.  If you just jumped in your car you might end up in Alaska!   Well, planning to write your next book is pretty much the same thing. 

Don’t treat your writing like a ‘hobby.’  I hate it when people say, “that is such a nice hobby.” I stop them and say, “This isn’t a hobby - it’s too much work for that.  Writing is my passion and I do it because it’s something I love and it gives me a feeling of accomplishment.  Don’t accept negativity – it will start making you feel negative – and you’ll start treating your writing like a hobby.  Once you start doing that, you won’t have the drive and excitement to go to your office and write.

Think about your story while making breakfast, working at the office, going for your daily walks (or like me up Sander’s Hill twice a day during my breaks – it’s a humdinger).  Work out ideas, plots, and twists before you even get to your office.  By the time your ‘scheduled’ writing time approaches – you will be raring to go and you’ll be itching to sit down and start typing.

Get your background music going and you're READY!  One thing I always do, to get myself back into my story, is to read the last two pages.  This helps me get into the characters; where are they, who are they talking to, and what is their current situation?  That way I can continue without missing a beat from where I left off.  

Next thing you know – two hours have passed and you’re shocked how many pages you just finished.   When you push away from the computer you’ll have a feeling of satisfaction and pride.  You are suddenly anxious and excited to write again tomorrow!  You can do this . . . day after day.  Oh – and book after book!  J

You can find Rita Karnopp at:  http://ritakarnopp.com

RITA KARNOPP, Author ~ Writing Montana History - Past ~ Present ~ Future
(email)       ritakarnopp@bresnan.net
(publisher) http://bookswelove.net
(blog)        http://mizging.blogspot.com

Watch for Rita Karnopp’s next book ~ Whispering Spirits

   Summer Timber Wolf, Nii’ówa Ómahkapi'si, is disenchanted with life in general.  Ashamed of being Blackfeet, yet broke and alone, she goes to Browning, the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana she swore she’d never return to or call home.    

   Angry with her decision to quit college, her parents give her the task of caring for her eighty-year-old grandmother, Kimi’Aki, Secret Woman.  It sounds like an easy alternative to getting a job. 

   By the time Summer realizes this means she’ll be living in the mountains in the ways of the old ones, in a tipi, with no more modern support greater than a boiling pot, it’s too late to go back.

   In this primitive setting she realizes there’s more to being Blackfeet than just being called Indian.  Although she fights anything to do with her ancestry, she is quickly caught up in a world of whispering spirits and a journey that teaches we must understand and find pride in where we’ve come from . . . in order to know where we’re going.