Between the Lines

The Power of Choice by Chiron O'Keefe

2009-07-01T12:04:00Z

The Power of Choice by Chiron O'Keefe

“Never give up, never surrender!” ---Commander Peter Taggart (lead character in “Galaxy Quest”)

Whenever I’m feeling down, I love to put up my feet and sink my mind into an old favorite movie. The reason is obvious. A good story, whether silly or profound, lifts us out of our ordinary life and into a new perspective. And within each story is a kernel of truth that some reader (or viewer) takes to heart. Perhaps that is the essential ingredient we strive to discover in each of our own stories. That kernel of truth. This is what sets each story apart. For me, this new week, I’m quoting one of my favorite fictional heroes. And I want to urge each of us to Never Give Up, NEVER Surrender!

“Part of the issue of achievement is to be able to set realistic goals, but that's one of the hardest things to do because you don't always know exactly where you're going, and you shouldn't.” ~~ George Lucas

Ah yes, the challenge of balancing the need for realistic goals and the reality that because each story is an independent creation there are quirks and inevitable diversions. Not to mention the unavoidable distractions that daily living often presents. Like Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

We writers also face another challenge in our careers:

“You have to put in many, many, many tiny efforts that nobody sees or appreciates before you achieve anything worthwhile.” --Brian Tracy

Time. Yikes. So many little revisions, hours spent on research or even just staring into space while searching for the exact right word. How many here have sweated over picking the Perfect Name for a character?

Obviously, these precious moments invested are worthwhile. We love being writers, which is why we write. Yet too often we spend just as much time chiding ourselves over the hours wasted or bemoaning the lack of substantial feedback. We all have end goals in sight. A beginning writer hopes to get a positive response from a query. A published writer yearns for a stellar review. A multi-published author strives to reach a particular sales level. And it’s almost certain that every writer will judge herself at each stage, certain that she SHOULD be doing better.

Let us remember, and remind each other as often as we can, that while we should damn well strive to reach whatever far-reaching goal we set our hearts on, We Are Successful. Reaching for the highest, becoming all we can be… That is the best goal we can hope for. Would we sneer at our best friend for her efforts, or judge her for not reaching her goals quickly enough? Of course not! We’d point out that the strongest trees grow slowly, sinking roots deep into the ground. A spindly sapling that shoots up too quickly might snap in a heavy wind.

“Trust, have faith, and keep doing the work,” we’d murmur with an encouraging smile. Part of the process of staying motivated is keeping your spirits high! As the marathon runners stumble past, the onlookers cheer and shout their support. Imagine if they offered up the kind of words we’ve been known to toss at ourselves when no one is listening. We’ve all done it. My personal favorite is to shout, “I’m a hack! My writing sucks!” while pacing around the room. *rolls eyes* Not very best-friendish, eh?

“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes." - Oscar Wilde

The truth is, everyone must strive to reach heights that are unfamiliar. We need to keep in mind that even those blessed writers who do get published immediately have issues or personal struggles of their own. We all share the need to better ourselves, to reach our personal heights, to become the Best We Can Be.

Part of what makes the difference with writing is perspective. The more we put the pressure on, the more it seems like WORK (the dreaded four letter word) and less like PLAY. Yet this is what we want more than anything, right? We’re not digging ditches or scrubbing toilets. This is our life’s dream, our greatest joy. Sometimes I find that my whole attitude shifts when I make a few changes in perspective. Rather than saying “I HAVE to finish this book” or “I have to meet this deadline,” how about “I GET to finish my book!” “I get to meet a deadline!” How lucky am I? *grin*

“The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work." --Richard Bach.

And when you get right down to it, there’s nothing you HAVE to do. Really. Everything is a choice. Even breathing. Sure, the alternative is I’d suffocate *cough* but again, it’s what I choose to do. Sometimes we Choose to take on obligations. It’s easy then to believe we HAVE TO do this or that. But the simple truth is, we Choose. Each and every time. To be responsible. To be kind. To be mature (sometimes *wink*). To write our books.

So let’s make that choice and recognize the beauty and absolute pleasure it is to Have that choice. YAY!! We Are WRITERS!!

My choice this week is to…

Continue on with first draft of suspense. I'm so close to the end I can taste it!

Weekly essay.

How about you?

Have a fabulous week, everyone!! Go-go-GO!!

Smiles,

Chiron O'Keefe

The Write Soul: www.chironokeefe.blogspot.com

Read an excerpt! eirelanderpublishing.com/sidekicksexcerpt.aspx

WRDF Review of The Winds of Fall By Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter

2009-07-01T11:55:00Z

Title: The Winds of Fall

Author: Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter

The Wild Rose Press

Fantasy Faery Rose

348 pages Spicy

ISBN 1-60154-400-6

Blurb:

Unknown to Skye Worthington, the people most important to her are keeping unearthly secrets from her. If not revealed and faced, these secrets will cause death for untold billions of people, Skye included. Rebelling against his family and their deadly, but necessary, secrets that kept him a recluse in a Caribbean paradise, Joe Allen meets Skye. They fall into a love forbidden to Joe until now. Can two people with unimaginable secrets—and more in common than either know—overcome a force capable of entering dreams and taking humans through outer space without life support to other planets? This is the dilemma facing Skye and Joe as she fights to keep her sanity, and her identity as a human being.

Review:

Imaginative, endearing characters and an intriguing storyline kept me interested through every page. I thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic story and look forward to more from this author. The only thing about this story that was a huge turn off was how everyone was lying to everyone else. Although with complete honesty, Skye and Joe would probably not have had such an interesting love story.

Reviewed By Breia Brickey

WRDF Review

WRDF Review of The Trouble With Playboys By Margaret Tanner

2009-07-01T11:53:00Z

Title: The Trouble With Playboys

Author: Margaret Tanner

The Wild Rose Press

Recent Historical Vintage Rose

Rated spicy Pages 228

Print ISBN: 1-60154-476-6

Release Date: April 24 2009

$6.00

Blurb:

When a wealthy Englishman, Paul Ashfield travels to Australia in search of the birth mother he thinks deserted him, he never expects to meet and fall in love with Daphne Clarke. Upon meeting her parents, Paul is horrified by the possibility that they may have the same mother. He beats a hasty retreat, leaving Daphne heartbroken. Amidst the turmoil of WW2 they meet again in Singapore, just before the Japanese pour into Malaya, and in the chaotic aftermath each believes the other is dead.

REVIEW:

Paul is a young boy when he finds out that the woman he thought was his mother told him his real mother lives in Australia. Paul sets out to find his real mother and meets Daphne in Australia. A series of events leads him to believe that the woman he is falling in love with may be his sister. Terrified by the possibility, he leaves leaving her heartbroken.

Margaret Tanner is an amazing writer. I am not a fan of the historical genre but found this one thrilling. The characters are three dimensional, and exciting to follow as each one takes on new responsibilities. The historical descriptions were as accurate as one could except from this talented author.

I particularly grew fond of Daphne, her strength to move forward and her dedication to help those who were touched by the war. Margaret Tanner delivers true romance in an era of chaos.

Reviewed By Annie Alvarez

WRDF Review

WRDF Review of Lethal Lasagna By Rhonda Gibson

2009-07-01T11:49:00Z

Title: Lethal Lasagna

Author: Rhonda Gibson

White Rose Publishing

Inspirational White Rose

Rating: Sweet Page Count: 240

ISBN: 1-60154-632-7

Digital Price: 6.00

Blurb:

When Claire Parker’s best friend Mitzi is found dead, and Claire turns out to be the prime suspect, she takes matters into her own hands to find the murderer. Tracing Mitzi's steps, Claire meets new friends and a handsome man who may turn out to be the love of her life or Mitzi's murderer.

As the evidence piles up, Claire discovers the murderer is willing to strike again.

Can she find the killer before she becomes the next victim?

Review

This story, although about a cold-hearted murder, was very sweet. Claire Parker is a sweet, innocent retired woman, who seemed to be enjoying life as a widow, when her friend, Mitzi; who appeared to be nicer than home-made apple pie, was poisoned by lasagna for no apparent reason than what seems to be her abundance of niceness. Claire is drawn into sleuthing when she appears to be the main suspect, so determined to clear her name and find the real killer of her best friend (about whom she appears to know very little). She jumps into her friend's life as she gets to know Mitzi posthumously, with many surprises for Claire along the way!

The story moved along at a nice pace with compelling plot and nicely engaging dialogue. Brandon, the love-interest, was a little over-sensitive and protective towards a complete stranger; Claire, when the rest of his panting classroom of love-struck students is left in the dust for this new amateur-sleuth. For church groups, the other social circles she joins, the ladies seem to be cut-throat competitors on a different level, and a little incongruous for their setting. While painting a colorful landscape of picket fences and flowering gardens, dog walks and every item of clothing Claire wore, and morsel of food she ate, we are never given a good description of the heroine; except the turmoil she felt emotionally about falling in love after passing the big five Oh, which made her sound like she had one foot in the grave.

Nice twists and turns of plot, interspersed with prayer and visits to church, with an implausible murder motive involving a seriously deranged family. The super-sweet ending was a little too fairy-tale-like, but gives readers a moist moment to contemplate the delights of true romance at an adult age. Definitely effortless escapism from the humdrum of reality, and a page-turner for the murder mystery plot between tea and cakes at the church socials.

Reviewed by Sally Vanessa Hearne

WRDF Review