Motivation Monday: Alive

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Having been widowed years before I expected, I know there are no promises about tomorrow. It is truly a privilege to wake up and face the day, both good and bad days.

Motivation Monday: Reality

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One thing we love about living in Ecuador is the simplicity, it allows us to enjoy the things around us. As baby boomers, it reminds us of growing up in the 50's in the US.

Technology is a wonderful thing in many ways but it also has complicated life - we are constantly surrounded with a barrage of news and information, both good and bad.

Stop and remember to savor the now...

My name is Donna and I'm an Introvert

Even though authors need to be "ON" a lot of the time, I've found that many of us are actually introverts. We need our alone time to recoup from dealing with too many people around us.

It sounds strange, I can write in a busy cafe/restaurant, but after any gathering of more then 6-8 people at a time, I need my downtime. I call it people overload.

Growing up I was painfully shy and I didn't grow out of that until my early 30's. Then a corporate career taught me how to smile and mingle, although I still hate small talk and don't think I'm very good at it. Although I admit, living in Ecuador helps - perfect conversation starter.

A writing friend recently posted a funny t-shirt on Facebook and when I went to the company's website, I found several more. Know anyone who might enjoy these? The first one is the one I want!! PS. They have the sayings on tote bags, pillows and more, not just shirts.

Buy It

Buy It

Of course ALL writers should have this one!

Buy It

Motivation Monday: Hypocrisy

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So many times the words don't match the deeds...hypocrisy. This is something that irks me to no end. If our good deeds matched our "good" words, the world would be a much better place.

What are your thoughts on those who say one thing but act the opposite?

New books and Free books!

It's time for me to pimp some friends' books, so here goes!

NEW RELEASE:

Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Apple

FREE BOOKS (limited time):

Amazon

Amazon

Be sure to tell your family and friends - you can even share my blog! ;)

Motivation Monday: Stress

I love this quote, a hard one to follow at times. It takes practice but the end result is worth it. While we can't control or get rid of all stress, we all have a certain amount that is self-induced. Next time you are feeling stressed, give this a try!

How do you reduce stress in your life? Some folks like music, exercise and other such methods.

#IWSG for October: Writing Woes, Too Many Stories

Another month has passed and it's time for a new IWSG post. Once again so much has happened that it's all a blur, most of it personal stuff, not much writing related at all. (But I did LOVE and LEARN a lot at The Writers' Police Academy - can't wait to do it next year!)

Busy, busy, busy so the theme for this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group is WRITING WOES, TOO MANY STORIES.

I love to write but lately I find it hard to carve out dedicated time. Too much life going on while we are in the US. Seeing family and friends, catching up on movies we can't see in Ecuador, sorting through things in order to simplify life when we are living in the RV for 2-3 months, shopping for things to take back to Ecuador...I could go on and on.

But worse than that is knowing I need to work on book three in my Klondike Mystery series and SUDDENLY having a new series pop into my head. Oh no! I can't go there...but now I have a kick-ass heroine ready to have me write her story! I have her name, some of her back story and character quirks.

STOP! I can't think about her. I have too many things on my To Do list, like updating Home Again and Barely a Spark with the proof edits that came back recently. Like finishing a short story for submission to an anthology to benefit an author friend fighting cancer. Like BOOK THREE of the Klondike Mysteries!!

What do you do when you are already fighting the time battle, have your To Do list defined and a NEW CHARACTER starts bugging you to tell their story? :(