Attitude of Gratitude

I woke up at odark thirty aka butt crack of dawn on this Nov 1 not with thoughts of holiday shopping or Nano but with grateful joy.

I walked down my steps to my office and it only grew.

I sat down at the computer and began printing off coupons and organizing my lists with happiness waking me up more than any caffeine.

For you see last Nov due to financial stress I shared a tiny apartment with my family of six. And one of those six was away for over a year.

So now that this holiday season we are in a large, beautiful home I have to get up early and clip coupons and work long hours to afford.

I can't help but be thankful.

Because I get to work those hours from this home and all my family is here with me. And thousandaire or not I know I'd still be clipping coupons.

What were your thoughts this morning?

How Can An Old Jewish Tale Give Guidance In Todays Publishing World? Don't Worry I'll Tell Ya...

We as writers are essentially in a brother and sister hood of sorts. We all want the same goal publication success. However, on that journey we can handle ourselves two ways...we can be selfish and  self serving or we can have empathy and charity. We can impart our praise, patience, knowledge and time.

 An old Jewish legend tells of two brothers, Abram and Zimri, who owned a field and worked it together. They agreed to divide both the labor and the harvest equally. One night as the harvest came to a close, Zimri could not sleep, for it didn’t seem right that Abram, who had a wife and seven sons to feed, should receive only half of the harvest, while he, with only himself to support, had so much.

So Zimri dressed and quietly went into the field, where he took a third of his harvest and put it in his brother’s pile. He then returned to his bed, satisfied that he had done the right thing.

Meanwhile, Abram could not sleep either. He thought of his poor brother, Zimri, who was all alone and had no sons to help him with the work. It did not seem right that Zimri, who worked so hard by himself, should get only half of the harvest. Surely this was not pleasing to God. And so Abram quietly went to the fields, where he took a third of his harvest and placed it in the pile of his beloved brother.

The next morning, the brothers went to the field and were both astonished that the piles still looked to be the same size. That night both brothers slipped out of their houses to repeat their efforts of the previous night. But this time they discovered each other, and when they did, they wept and embraced. Neither could speak, for their hearts were overcome with love and gratitude. ⁸

This is the spirit of compassion: that we love others as ourselves, ⁹ seek their happiness, and do unto them as we hope they would do unto us. ¹⁰

^{Let us learn from the example of Zimri and Abram. As we gain success let us impart of our substance of time and experience to those authors that seek after it. I'm not saying that we should ignore deadlines and answer every scrap of email that comes through. Use your common sense and simply be willing. I have to say I would rather have just enough success and a network of friends and colleagues than a NYT bestseller and no one to share the joy with.}

Seclusion can be inspiring...

Poster created by the uber talent of Ricky Ross

Sometimes you simply need to check out. Authors, artists, musicians and even you need to recluse yourself from the world at times. There are mutiple reasons for self induced reclusion. A person may need a break from stress, emotional turmoil or certain people in their lives. An artist may hide themselves away in a studio creating their latest peice of soulful inspiration. The next club stomping hit may be mixing away now as we speak by a muscician within the confines of their studio.



Then there is the author, the writer, the blogger and the poet, whatever you call them, they are all creaters. I remember when I wrote the first draft of my novel, Glazier. My day began at 4:30 AM. I walked 40 miles a week. I would get lost in my novel playlist. (I have a playlist of music for every novel I write.) The music of my iphone played out in my mind like the background music of my own personal movie. The theatre being my mind. I lived off peanut butter crackers and diet pepsi. I wrote close to 8 hours a day. If I wasn't writing I was reading.


The point is I almost completely checked out of my life. My husband became a single parent for a while. My grandparent's thought I had fell off the side of the earth. My friends and aquaintances thought I was a having a breakdown. Or an affair. The rumor kept changing.


I had no deadline except for the desperate need to know how it ended. Imagine what it's like for people with deadlines. When I finally surfaced a few months later I was happy. I had created something uniquely mine. With that being said I was hesitant of who I shared it with. Luckily I got over the nervous novel jitters pretty quick. My desire to share it with others overcame my fear of rejection. Any serious author knows about rejection.

You're not alone. We have all had them. Whether it was from the all too common query reject or a bad review. The sting is still the same. I have several creative friends, mostly other authors. Their silence is the fuel behind this post. It is also a warning for my own friends and family.


If an email is sent and I don't respond. I'm writing. If I post a status update on Facebook or Twitter and I don't respond to your comments. I'm watching my internal movie. If I post a blog and don't respond to your comments or likes. I'm creating. Take note that it's nothing personal. I'm not in a fetal position on the floor of my too small apartment. Niether am I in any other position with another man that isn't my husband. That was for those gossips from last time.



Keep this in mind if you have any friends that fall under this category. I'm sure they are simply creating as well. Have patience. The best part of having a part time reclusive friend is that you are one of the first to see their latest masterpiece. More often than not it's always worth it.I promise.


Bri