INTO THE SEDONA VORTEX, or Grumpy Old Woman Attempts to Find Spiritual Enlightenment by Andrea Downing

VORTEX:  whirlwind, cyclone, whirlpool, gyre, maelstrom, eddy, swirl, spiral; black hole

Once upon a time, there was a place called Sedona, and it was magical.  Native Americans held ceremonies in that red rock country and regarded it as holy, and in time, Europeans came and thought it was pretty dang good as well.  Back in the mid-nineties, when I last drove up there, it was still a fairly sleepy town with one lazy road winding through.  It was a whisper, a place folks knew about, a place that energized you through its beauty, a land to hike with vistas and grand spaces, and ancient ruins.  Well, time marches on and stuff happens.

     Roll on twenty years and Sedona now wears a necklace of roundabouts strung on a three-mile long parking lot with a western-style Coney Island of shops along its length, punctuated by stores selling crystals and offers for psychic readings.  Yup, the beauty and hikes and vistas are still there but, as everyone knows, progress comes at a price and Sedona has paid in full.  Perhaps if I had visited at another time, less crowded than the New Year’s holiday, I might have viewed things slightly differently, but my visit was what it was.

     Now, in the interest of full disclosure, let me tell you I already owned a crystal ( and I’m not referring to my daughter who bears the name, Cristal), have a set of bracelets meant to protect me from different ills, possess a Kachina and a couple of trolls who look after me, as well as one or two fetishes.  I have a very unorthodox sense of religion, basically monotheistic but with a few original thoughts thrown in.  You can tell I’d be a sucker for visiting the Sedona vortices…

     Here’s the info we were sent upon signing up for the grand tour: 

How to Maximize your Sedona Vortex Experience

The Spirit of Sedona has called you.  You have responded.  Our guides assist you in feeling, experiencing and receiving what the Spirit of Sedona has in store for you.

All of our guides are masters in their fields, and have spent years connecting with this land and leading others into her mysteries.

The first law of the Universe is to Show Up.  You are doing a fabulous job of showing up by booking your Vortex Tour.

We know you want the most from your Sedona experience.  Here are some tips on maximizing your experience and showing up completely.  They will help you to fully take advantage of your Spiritual appointment with the Red Rocks of Sedona

1.       Show up with an open mind and heart

2.       Turn off your Electronic Devices – better still leave them in your room. (A camera is okay to bring along)

3.        Be willing to participate

4.        Use the power of the spoken word.

5.       Share openly with your guide.

6.       Express yourself in the moment

7.       Let go of expectations

8.       Allow the moment to unfold

9.       Practice an attitude of reverence for the beauty and majesty of this sacred land.

10.   Be grateful for the opportunity to accelerate your spiritual growth

11.   Recognize the perfection of the moment.

12.   Let Go and let the Spirit of Sedona engage with you!

Your Time with the Spirit of Sedona is a gift – May you open it fully!

On our spiritual appointment with the Red Rocks of Sedona, I can tell you we showed up completely (how otherwise, one wonders) with open minds and hearts (this was difficult due to a certain somebody’s pragmatism), put the cell phones on vibrate, had little if any expectations, and revered the beauty and majesty around us. As the moment unfolded and the spirit of Sedona engaged, our guide kindly ignored the fact that I had appeared wearing a sweatshirt from my local gun club, though he rather eagerly agreed I might need my extra jacket on top to stay warm.  ‘Expressing ourselves in the moment’ and ‘sharing openly’ proved somewhat more difficult, especially when it came to sitting in a rather public area going through the ahhhh, eeeee, ayyy, iiiii, oooo (did I forget someone?) mantras with rather less enthusiasm than the Von Trapp children singing ‘Doe-a-deer.’  Our guide, who, by the way, looked as if he had come fully formed from his mother’s womb and never aged in all his forty-odd years, so wrinkle-free was his face, seemed to be the one who was most grateful for 'accelerating our spiritual growth.' 

He took us on to a Buddhist Temple where we attempted to meditate.  Strangely enough, it was he who complained about the child playing nearby.  He also owned up to recently eating meat at the so-called best restaurant in town.  Tsk tsk.

     At the end of the day, how did I feel?  What I had envisioned as seeing in the New Year with enlightenment did not exactly cast me into any black hole, but neither did I particularly feel spiritual growth.  What I did feel was a certain sadness that things cannot be left alone, that progress often detracts as it improves, and that maybe, just maybe, searching for something is the worst way to find it.

     Strangely enough, as we walked back to our hotel, I recognized ‘the perfection of the moment’ as the most glorious full rainbow appeared.

     A Lakota friend tells me it’s a good sign.

To learn more about me, please head to http://andreadowning.com  I am here at Roses of Prose on the 8th of every month, and at http://cowboykisses.blogspot.com/ the 3rd Wednesday of every month.     

New, old, another year by Barbara Edwards

Barbara Edwards at Mt. St. Helens

Everyone is posting about their plans for the new year. I had plans myself. I was so organized. I listed the titles I plan to finish, the blogs I will be posting on so  I can do  the writing early instead of the last minute and promised I would write daily.

Well.

Guess where that all went?

The only one I’ve been consistent on is the daily writing. Not the numbers I wanted, but at least I’m keeping up with my blogs. I am working on one of my novels. 

I find I am grieving and the sorrow is exhausting. My daughter-in-law Linda would tell me to power through the pain like she had to do as a ballet dancer, then professional dancer. I can only try. I picture her lining up the angels for Jazzercise class then Yoga. 

So.

I made my list to work on.

Two paranormals for my Rhodes End series: Jacob’s story, Wolf’s Promise.

A romantic contemporary: War is Heck

Another romance: Broken Dreams.

I blog on Barbara Edwards Comments

I also got Scrivener for Dummies so I can use the Scrivener program more efficiently. I found that I like it but forget the details on using the parts. 

For my own happiness, I need to write. 

A new year is just that, new.

Grief and pain do pass. Life brightens and the one we lost is remembered with joy.

Linda didn’t read my novels, she said picturing me writing sex scenes made her nervous. I laughed and told her to read my Christmas shorts. 

Since she loved dogs, she is in heaven with the my dog Dixie from Dixie’s Gift.

Please follow, friend or like me. I love to hear from my readers.

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New Year, New Tech by Alison Henderson

How many of you got new tech goodies for Christmas? I didn't think I needed any, didn't particularly want any, but ended up hitting the jackpot in spite of myself. 

OG stunned me by buying me a very fancy new camera, complete with a box of mysterious accessories I have no idea how to use.  I thought I'd been fine using my phone, but he saw how much I enjoyed taking photos of sunsets and making my calendars, and listened to my complaints of not being able to take decent moon shots. Some husbands (most?) would have shrugged those complaints off, but not OG. He is a man of action. LOL. He's convinced I'll have a great time taking pictures of all our wonderful flora and fauna, mountains and beaches as soon as I learn how to operate the new camera, and I'm sure he's right. I never thought much about photographs except as vacation mementos until we moved here, but now I'm surrounded with natural beauty that deserves to be shared with the rest of you. Expect great pictures this year!

However, before I could begin to learn how to use my new camera, an even more momentous piece of tech entered my life--a new laptop! PO&O was visiting for Christmas and popped into my office while I was checking my email after we returned from shopping the after-Christmas sales on the 26th. My five-year-old laptop was whirring away loudly, as it so often did, and she was horrified. She insisted to OG that I needed a new machine before I burned the house down. (It wasn't that bad; I swear it!)

Now OG's laptop is even older than mine, and we had been thinking we both needed new ones, but sometime in the indeterminate future. That future arrived for me in an instant. Before I could object, they loaded me in the car and drove me to Best Buy. An hour later, I was the proud owner of this lovely machine:

I had wanted something with a larger screen, because doing any type of graphic work--especially book covers--on my small-screened, older model was making me cross-eyed. I got what I wanted. However, in the bargain I also got Windows 10, which I'd been avoiding. OG ordered me Window 10 for Dummies as soon as we got home and insisted I not open the computer box until book arrived. Of course, I also had to buy new Word 2016 and Photoshop Elements 15 software (cha-ching, cha-ching), along with a manual for the Photoshop. I just don't have the patience to try to figure out all the updates on my own or through UTube videos.

I've spent the past week getting the machine up and running, adjusting to the features of Windows 10, and moving all my files. I'm happy to report it wasn't too difficult and I'm adjusting nicely. This post is the first piece of official "work" I've done on the new laptop, and it was a piece of cake. Now to get busy on my WIP!

Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com 

Today's Word is... Hygge! by Christine DePetrillo

Hygge.

Have you heard of this? It’s a Danish concept and pronounced hoo-guh. As hyggehouse.com says, “While there’s no one English word to describe hygge, several can be used interchangeably to describe the idea of hygge such as cosiness, charm, happiness, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, kinship, and simpleness.” And if you think you shouldn’t listen to the Danes, you’re wrong, wrong, wrong. The Danes are repeatedly referred to as the happiest people in the world.

We like happy, don’t we? Of course we do.

When you think of sitting by a roaring fire on a snowy night, a mug of your favorite hot beverage in hand, and a brand new book to dive into, that’s hygge. Thick, cable-knit sweaters, cabin socks, candles in fragrances like maple nut dream and pumpkin pie surprise. Flannel sheets! Oh, God. Let’s not forget the flannel sheets. Natural home décor like pinecones, birch sticks, evergreen boughs. Hanging with friends and just shooting the shit. Finding joy in the simple pleasures. All of this is hygge.  

You get the idea.

I feel like this word was made for the type of romance I write. Settings in the woods of New England where the forest is as much a character as the people are. Folks who are deeply connected to their families. Friendships that won’t quit. Charming men who know how to warm things up on a cold night. Maple syrup and cookies and rum. Stories that make you all tingly inside and push bad moods in the corner where they belong. Local taverns where people are considered regulars, flirting is always welcome (and none of that “how you doin’” crap), and the drinks never make you so drunk that you can’t see the happily ever after that’s headed your way.

These are my books. This is hygge on the page. Even my newer series set in 2025 has moments of hygge in it. Amidst trouble on a global level, there is still sanctuary to be found in the woods, still blossoming love, still hope.

So if you’re on a mission to make 2017 a cozier, more intimate, more positive experience, turn to romance novels and hygge, baby. Make simple rituals out of the mundane. Appreciate nature. Make apple pie and eat it hot right out of the oven with two (yeah, I said TWO) scoops of Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice cream. Live life as if happy is the only emotion you’ll accept.

What will you do to hygge it up this year?      

Wishing you all an outstanding 2017!

  

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

SAFE, Book One, The Shielded Series, FREE in ebook!

PROTECTED, Book Two, The Shielded Series, available now!

SECURE, Book Three, The Shielded Series, coming soon!

Finding Me in 2017

~~ Vonnie Davis

I'm a large woman. You wouldn't think I could get lost. But I did. Somewhere in 2016, or perhaps earlier, I lost myself. Or rather my ability to write like me. Sounds dramatic, doesn't it? Imagine the newspaper headlines: "Great-grandmother Disappears Inside Laptop."

But who reads the newspapers anymore?

The fact remains, a Big Five publisher I was uber thrilled to be with and an editor I thought I adored sucked the writer out of me.

Frankly, there wasn't a whole lot left in my head. I mean the body remained, but we don't need to go there. The writer Vonnie Davis was in a major case of doubt. I'd gone from two publishers who barely had me make edits on my writing to one who pulled out my eyelashes one-by-one. With each book, their demands got worse.

No humor.

No secondary characters, except in a brief mention.

Thin, thin plots. Nothing suspenseful.

Use filter words and feels so the readers wouldn't have to think. I should tell them when they should feel anger, otherwise they wouldn't know.

Tell, don't show because readers don't get it otherwise. I nearly choked on my coffee.

Sex soon and often. Call a body part what it is. No cute or outdated euphemisms.

All of this involved changing my voice, the way I wrote, the way my stories flowed. I was writing crap and knew it. I argued. And was quickly reminded I was under contract. I shed a lot of tears for the writer I once was, because I was ashamed of the altered version I was forced to become.

It was an emotionally rough journey no writer should have to make. Yes, we all need editing, direction, suggestions, but not lobotomies to our writing voices. Now I'm in a sinking state. I flounder at every stroke of swimming for the shore of ME. What if I can't find myself again?

So my New Year's resolution is simple. "Finding Nemo" is passé. I'm finding me again, writing every day until my voice returns, until the words flow in the style of Vonnie Davis. It's been a long journey thus far and there appears to be an uphill march ahead. 

You'd think it would be simple. Right? Just do it. But as CP's read my work, they're asking me where I've gone. They're telling me to do things I haven't been allowed to do in years. No wonder some of my reviews are so bad. I'm going back to square one, learning all over again...at the age of 68 with 19 books published.

I don't mean to sound whiny. Call it frustrated. I thought once I'd made it to that level, I'd be doing well. Guess who had a cruel lesson to learn.

For those of you who write, hang tight to your writer identity. Don't do as I did and assume because these editors work for the biggest publisher in the world, they are the "be all and end all" in editorial knowledge. Their eyes are on the market, the bottom line, the big buck--not quality writing. Be true to yourself.

I had to learn to do that. I had to learn to risk breach of contract and simply say, "No. I'm not writing like that. I can't." Now I'm trying to undo the damage and bad habits I picked up while being one of their writers. But then, a writer's learning curve is continual, isn't it? Read more about me at www.vonniedavis.com

Setting Realistic Writing Goals by Jannine Gallant

As the new year begins, most of us take a moment to set a few goals. Since we're a group of authors, my focus is on writing resolutions. However, some of these principles can be applied to other goals, so keep reading even if your life doesn't revolve around getting words onto a computer screen.

Setting goals is easy. Following through on them...not so much. What can we do to change that?

Having realistic expectations is the key to success. And, knowing our own habits is critical to setting reasonable goals. That means you shouldn't stress out because Jane Doe declares her goal is 5000 words per day, but you have a day job, and kids and a husband who expect to be fed regularly, and a dog who stares at you with sad eyes if you don't walk her twice a day, etc. etc. That kind of goal is only going to set you up for an overload of stress and failure. So, take a long hard look at what you can manage with your schedule. Do you only have time to write for an hour before everyone else gets up in the morning or before you go to bed at night? Maybe you have five hours a day you can devote to writing. Are weekends strictly family time, or are they the only time you can take for your writing? My suggestion would be to block out your writing time for the week on your calendar and then subtract a day. We all know life happens, so allow for the unexpected.

Once you've made a realistic commitment to writing time, give yourself a word count goal. If you're slow but precise, you might have a 500 word goal, while someone who writes a dirty first draft may easily write 2000 words in the same amount of time. They'll probably have a lot more editing to do, so it all evens out in the end. Some days don't go as well as others, so I take my daily goal and turn it into a weekly count. That way I can "make up" words on a good day to cover for that day when writing was harder than pulling teeth. Less stress!

Once you have a time slot and a word count worked out, the objective is to actually commit to writing during that time. Facebook is my nemesis. Some days I wonder why the heck I got so little done. Well, maybe it was because I spent my writing time on the internet. MY BAD! Unplug for those two hours. Tell your dog she's going to have to wait for that walk. Set the alarm and actually get up when it goes off in the morning. Turn off the TV in the evening. Do whatever it takes to give yourself a fighting chance at success. And if you really need a morning to sleep in, or an evening to watch Survivor, or a day to clean your house, or your child has a soccer tournament on the weekend...well, that's why you allow yourself a guilt-free day off. Cut yourself a little slack, but not too much!

And last but not least...share your goal with a friend or group of friends. We all need encouragement to keep going. Sometimes knowing you have to report that word count to your CP will be the kick in the butt you need to get off Facebook and write. If you have a deadline to make, that might be motivation enough. Or it might lead to a whole lot of stress. So, set yourself up for success by planning ahead to be finished with time to spare. Adding 100 words a day to your total word count might save you from flipping out somewhere down the road.

So, in the spirit of sharing goals, mine is to write 1000 words per day. Subtract one for life getting in the way and one for promo/editing, and my goal is 5000 words per week. I have two books to produce in 2017. Easy peasy...if I stick to my weekly word count goal. So, what's your writing goal? Think about it and share in comments. Maybe we can all keep each other on track in 2017!

For info on all my books, stop by my WEBSITE. Happy New Year, everyone!

Due to Circumstances Beyond My Control by Rolynn Anderson

Happy New Year! to all of you reading my blog entry.  Worry not that I will speak of resolutions to set for 2017.  Skip the guilt about missed opportunities in 2016.  Let’s have a little fun laying blame on circumstances beyond our control in 2016 and expect the same with 2017.  

This picture is me, my brain exploding at the surprises that hit me in 2016.  Here's my Blame Fest:

Foremost: the upending results of the presidential election.  I hadn’t planned on a political focus in 2017, yet already on my calendar is a women’s march Jan. 21.  New, as yet, mostly unnamed, activist tasks will turn up on my To Do list and I must put my time and energy into them.

I’d planned on releasing two books a year, which I successfully accomplished in 2015.  Even though I worked as hard as I could to unveil both Cezanne’s Ghost and Bad Lies by December 31^st, you won’t see them until 2017.  What the hell happened?  I partly blame the stunning National Parks.  The two-month journey my husband and I took to explore our country’s treasures robbed me of some writing time, and even when I carved out hours to write, distractions abounded in the tiny hotel rooms: where to set up the computer, how to keep the light and noise from bugging my late-sleeping husband; working while my husband watched TV.  You get the drift.  So many details I couldn’t juggle well.

Way out-of-control event: My website software wasn’t being supported/updated (dang those iWeb Mac people), so I had to start from scratch with a new website builder and host.  I was astonished how much time and effort that project took!

My editor’s available time sometimes didn’t jibe with mine; my beta readers wanted hard copy and the printer I’d taken along on the trip died, so I had to learn how to make copies at Staples.  Worse, my beta reader responses got lost in the mail.  What's up with the post office system?

Makes me chuckle about resolutions and goals.  So many circumstances beyond our control throw us curves…we give wry grins, straighten our spines and shoulder on!

So tell me, what blameworthy circumstances upended your 2016 and altered your writing plans?  Does 2017 look as challenging to you as it does to me?  Whew, thank goodness we’re in this together.  Happy 2017!

BAD LIES, coming soon (she said hopefully):

Italy’s haunted caves spell danger for an American golfer and a NATO geologist

****

Sophie Maxwell is a late-blooming, unorthodox golfer, and mother of a precocious thirteen year-old.  Determined to put divorce, bankruptcy, and a penchant for gambling in her past, Sophie goes to Italy for a qualifying golf tournament.

Jack Walker turned his back on a pro golfing career to become a geologist.  As a favor to his ailing father he’ll caddy for Sophie; off hours, he’ll find caves on the Mediterranean coast, suitable for NATO listening posts for terrorist activity.

Someone is determined to stop Jack’s underground hunt and ruin Sophie’s chances to win her tournament.

On a Rome golf course and in the Amalfi coast’s haunted caves, all the odds are stacked against Sophie and Jack.  In their gamble of a lifetime, who wins?

Six Suspense Novels Spiked with Romance

http://www.rolynnanderson.com

http://www.amazon.com/author/rolynnanderson