I asked Sia what topic she
wanted for this post and this is what she suggested:
"Remember they don’t see us in our ratty jammies, torn jeans, growling and cursing at everything, or with no makeup, and our hair looking like a herd of horses ran through it. Thank God for that, right? They see you as your author pic shows you and the online personality you've developed.
"To your readers you’re a glamorous author. Okay, quit laughing," she wrote.
I was laughing, because
glamorous means exciting and desirable and my life is anything but exciting or
desirable.
 |
| A framed picture from Sia's office |
I live in an old house in
constant need of repair, go barefoot in the summer, and wear socks, sometimes
several pairs, all winter. And yes, I write in my nightgown. Sometimes I'm so
caught up in the process, it's afternoon when a knock at the door reminds me
I'm half naked, still have bed head, and have forgotten to eat! Almost daily, I
pick up socks from the living room floor, a discarded pair of jeans from a
kitchen chair, and underwear from the most curious of places. My hubby has a
habit of shedding clothes as soon as he walks in the door, and since I love
him, I don't nag, at least not any more. He has to deal with my writing moods,
and that's an even exchange for sure.
Just recently, I helped my
son take an air conditioner out of his window and capture stinkbugs by the
dozens as they sought the warmth of our house for shelter and hibernation. The
word yuck, doesn't describe the chasing down of the little buggers or the smell
if you accidentally touch them, and don't even consider smashing them. Their odor
is almost worse than a skunks. We captured them in empty plastic bottles, where
they suffocate in their own bouquet. Getting rid of stinkbugs is a horrid job
and one that gives me the heebie-jeebies, simply because bugs are just so, so
gross!
Does any of that sound
exciting or desirable? Yet many folks see it all another way. I did too, once,
after all authors are revered, not as much a rock stars or some movie stars (if
you measure it by screaming hordes of fans) but they do appear as guests on
television talk shows, act as consultants on movie shoots, and the more successful ones have bank
accounts in the millions. The pinnacle of success, money in the bank, and while
it's a dream we all share, it's a vision few of us will achieve.
I'll bet the life of most
writers is not far from mine. Therefore, while the life of a few of the most
successful authors may be glamorous, most of us are just regular folk.
Although occasionally,
something cool does happen, and it touches the ego, right where a writers ego
needs to be touched. Just this week I handed a very nice lady my business card
and a bookmark for my most recent release. I asked to speak to the manager, and
told her about my book, and that I wanted to arrange a book signing. She
gushed, and I do mean gush.
"Oh my gosh, you're
an author. Really! It's so exciting to meet an author."
And I'm like, "It's
so nice to meet someone who thinks so." I laughed, but it was.
At our favorite restaurant
the other night, the cashier says to me. "Are you that book lady?"
So for me, in between
scrubbing toilets, dusting, vacuuming, and laundry, I keep trying to convince
folks that I've written a book they can't live without, therefore, while
glamour would be nice, it's certainly not reality!
I'll know I've arrived the
day I can hire someone else to do the mundane for me! I know, keep dreaming,
but if all I get from my glamorous writing life is to be known as that book lady, I'll take it!
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| BUY: AMAZON, B&N, KOBO |
MEMORIES OF MURDER
Decades ago, the seeds were planted...
Today, dark, fathomless eyes
rake the image before him. One final task and the transformation is complete.
Steady fingers screw intricately carved horns on each side of a stiff brow, and
a gargoyle suitable for Notre Dame scowls from the smoky mirror in
satisfaction. A jagged smile rips through his smooth, hairless face, and inked,
reptilian scales caress his naked body. A laugh of hideous resonance emanates
from his gut as the demons of hell welcome Lucifer into their fold.
In a dungeon-like chamber,
his Lilith awaits. The kidnapped daughter of a nun, groomed to fit the final
piece in the complex puzzle for world domination. Will Lucifer marry his bride,
on the summer solstice?
EXCERPT
Yolanda Renée really wanted to be a drummer, or
a racecar driver. Obviously she's neither, but they are on her bucket list,
that, and owning her very own fire breathing dragon!
Renée claims to have always loved books, and
that it was through books that she escaped and experienced all the things she'd
only been able to dream about. Through the stories, the characters, and the
places created by talented authors, such as Caroline Keene, Margaret Mitchell,
and Stephen King. She now reads K J Larsen , Jennifer Hillier, Joanie McDonell,
J D Robb, and well, pretty much everyone and anyone who gets their words in
front of her! SHE LOVES BOOKS!
Renée says she's always been a writer, and that
making things up gets her through the day - a crazy imagination is a good thing
- right?
An adventurous spirit took Yolanda Renée to
Alaska where she hiked the Brooks Range, traveled from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez,
and learned to sleep under the midnight sun.
She claims her vivid imagination as a blessing,
a habit, a hobby, a calling and sometimes a curse.
You can find Yolanda:
~ Defending The Pen ~ Facebook
~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~
