Month: June 2019

NEW RELEASES – SHORT STORIES #RRBC

Published on by Jan Sikes30 Comments

I am SO excited to release three new short stories as a result of the 2019 90-Day Alpha/Omega Beginning to End Short Story Contest at #RRBC!

I love how this contest pushes me out of my comfort zone and gets my creative juices flowing!

I’ll list the three short stories in no particular order. I sincerely hope that at least one will pique your interest!

BLURB:

For almost eighteen years, Jewel has known little beyond hopelessness and hunger. Barely existing in a ramshackle cabin, on the edge of a Louisiana swamp with her little sister and their mother, she sees no way to stop the downward spiral. When her mother falls gravely ill, Jewel learns that her life is about to take a drastic turn. But will it lead to joy or more devastation?

Take a heart-warming journey with Jewel as she struggles to rise from the clutches of poverty and shame.

PURCHASE LINK:

BLURB:

At the tender age of fourteen, Jennifer shoulders the full responsibility of running a household and caring for her seven-year-old sister. It’s bad enough that their father is lost at war in Afghanistan, but troubles multiply when their so-called mother abandons them for another man. Hardships and struggles are constant companions. Family is whatever Jennifer can make it. That’s the way the cards have been dealt, and that’s the way she’ll play them.

This strong young girl meets every obstacle head-on, while never losing hope for a better tomorrow.

PURCHASE LINK:

BLURB:

Claire Winters is heartbroken when her husband of many years says he’s found a new love and wants a divorce. While having a pity party with her best friend, Jade, they come up with a daring idea. Together, they construct a Voodoo doll and with the help of several bottles of wine, create a ceremony to bring the same heartbreak to Daniel Winters as he brought to Claire. But do they go too far? You decide!

PURCHASE LINK:

I enjoyed writing these vastly different stories and I hope you enjoy reading them!

TAROT TUESDAY – WHEEL OF FORTUNE

Published on by Jan Sikes35 Comments

It’s TAROT TUESDAY again and the card I pulled today is one that gets me excited!

The card I pulled today is from the Major Arcana. A Tarot deck consists of 78 cards – 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana.

Let me provide a brief explanation about the two.

The Major Arcana Tarot cards represent the life lessons, karmic influences and the big archetypal themes that are influencing your life and your soul’s journey to enlightenment.

Minor Arcana cards tell us about the day-to-day goings-on in our lives and the issues and challenges we face along our journey. Within the Minor Arcana are Swords, Cups, Wands and Pentacles.

So, on to our card today – WHEEL OF FORTUNE!

As you might guess from its name, this card represents good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, or a turning point.

The Wheel of Fortune reminds you that the wheel is always turning and life is in a state of constant change. If you’re going through a difficult time (from the card we had last week, that may surely be the case) rest assured that it will get better from here. Good luck and good fortune will make their return in time. Similarly, if things are going well, know this, too, will change and life may return to ‘normal’ soon. This cycle shows why it is so important to cherish the blissful moments in your life and make the most of them while they are within reach – because in a flash they could be gone.

The Wheel of Fortune is also known as the wheel of karma and reminds you that ‘what goes around comes around.’ Be a kind and loving person to others, and they’ll be kind and loving to you. Be nasty and mean, and you will get nasty and mean turning back your way. So, if you want happiness and abundance, make sure you’re sending out that positive juju in kind. What you send out into the Universe will come back your way.

The Wheel of Fortune card asks you to be optimistic and have faith that the Universe will take care of your situation in the best way possible.

What a beautiful card!

Finally, the Wheel of Fortune can show a critical turning point in your life. Opportunities you could never imagine are suddenly available to you, and you have the chance to make a significant change in your life. While it may be unexpected and unfamiliar, see this as an invitation to turn things around and take an entirely new direction in your life. The more you tune in to your intuition and allow the Universe to guide you, the better the outcomes will be.

Thank you for joining me again today for another TAROT TUESDAY! See you next week!

Welcome to the “THE CHOICE, the unexpected heroes” Blog Tour! @gmplano @4WillsPub #RRBC

Published on by Jan Sikes51 Comments

Writers create stories within a context. They establish time and place, but this is not done in the abstract. A writer’s personal world provides the unspoken but overarching backdrop to the narrative. I became quite aware of this fact when writing THE CHOICE.

I was dealing with a degenerative neurological problem which ultimately required surgery. During my writing days, every decision was a struggle; I had choices but often they scared me.

In this sequel, the characters from THE CONTRACT reappear and lead the story. They face one difficult decision after another, life and death decisions. Two protagonists emerge and come to the realization that some things are worth more than the physical life and this awareness gives them the peace they need to proceed.

THE CHOICE bears no similarity to my life, but it spoke to the drama I was living. In an unexpected way, the characters helped me with my ordeal, though I was unaware of this fact until I finished the book and looked back through the chapters. I wonder, have you had a similar experience?

Links:  

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Z3dUEm 

Website: https://gwenmplano.com/

Twitter: @gmplano

Facebook: @GwendolynMPlano

BIO:

Growing up in Southern California, Gwen Plano loved learning. She earned four degrees and taught and served in universities and colleges across the country and in Japan. Now retired, she is focused on writing. Gwen’s first book, Letting Go into Perfect Love, is a memoir. Her second book, The Contract, is a thriller co-authored by John W. Howell. Gwen lives in the Midwest with her husband, and when she is not writing, she is traveling, usually to see one of her four children and many grandchildren.  

To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the author’s tour page on the 4WillsPublishing site.  If you’d like to book your own blog tour and have your book promoted in similar grand fashion, please click HERE.  
Lastly, Gwen is a member of the best book club ever – RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB {#RRBC}! If you’re looking for amazing support as an author, or if you simply love books, 

JOIN US! We’d love to have you!

Thanks for supporting this author and her work!  

How Amazon Destroyed Publishing

Published on by Jan Sikes13 Comments

Warning! This is a very long post from Nicholas Rossis, but one I believe every author needs to take the time to read!

Nicholas C. Rossis

Typewriter | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's book Then, Amazon came along and turned everything upside down. Including typewriters!

In my previous post, How Amazon Destroyed Barnes & Noble, I explained how Amazon (alone) could not be held responsible for the bookstore’s troubles.

This post addresses another common complaint, that Amazon has destroyed publishing.

Again, things are not as black and white as that. Yes, Amazon is a shark. But it was the publishing industry which made blunder after blunder, allowing Amazon to take advantage of their mistakes.

Let’s take things from the start.

A Brief History of 20th Century Publishing

As Kristen Lamb points out in her must-read post, Goliath has Fallen & What This Means for Writers, publishing worked in a pretty standard way for over a century. Writers would take their books to publishers. If their pitch was successful, the publishers would then sign them on, publish the books, and distribute…

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TAROT TUESDAY – 3 OF SWORDS

Published on by Jan Sikes22 Comments

Welcome to another card reading for TAROT TUESDAY!

Today I pulled the 3 of Swords.

Swords deal with the mental level of consciousness that is centered around the mind and the intellect. Swords mirror the quality of mind present in your thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs.

The Three of Swords represents possible heartbreak, emotional pain, sorrow, grief, and hurt. It can signal that you are feeling deeply hurt and disappointed. Your heart has been pierced by the sharp blades of others’ hurtful words, actions and intentions, and they have inflicted intense emotions of pain, sadness, grief, and heartbreak. These events are often unexpected and come out of the blue, making them even more painful.

However, the Three of Swords is also about an emotional release. When you have suffered a major setback or loss, now is an excellent time to have a good cry. Expressing your sadness is part of the cleansing process and letting it all out will help you move on to better times. Allow yourself the opportunity to experience these emotions, no matter how painful. Cry, shout, or scream at the top of your lungs. Do whatever it takes to express your anger or pain as this will help the emotions flow through (and out of) you.

The good news is that this painful season will pass. While the Three of Swords brings hurt and sadness, it is only temporary. You will bounce back. The clouds will dissipate, and soon you will have a better perspective on what you can learn from the experience. You can conquer any pain that comes your way – all it takes is faith, self-love, forgiveness and time.

Just remember that you do not have to accept the hurtful words as truth; they are merely another person’s opinion or a projection of their own inner fears and anxieties. Shift the energy by looking at these people with a compassionate heart: what struggles are they going through that they feel they need to throw their insecurities at you? Be mindful, too: why are their words triggering you? Is there a more profound truth in what they’ve said, one you might not be willing to see just yet? Use these pain points to expand your perspective and see the bigger picture of what is happening here.

I hope if you are experiencing anything like this that you can take away a different perspective from the message the card brings, and keep in mind this too shall pass!

This interpretation was taken from BiddyTarot.com.

See you next week for a new card and a new message!

Tarot Tuesday – Knight of Cups

Published on by Jan Sikes32 Comments

Hello, everyone and welcome to the first of many posts to come on TAROT TUESDAY!

I love the card that we get to start this series off with!

The Suit of Cups Tarot cards deal with the emotional level of consciousness and are associated with love, feelings, relationships and connections.

The card I drew is the KNIGHT OF CUPS.

The Knight of Cups represents Creativity, romance, charm, imagination, beauty.

What an appropriate card for authors!

The knight rides on a white horse and holds out a golden cup as if he bears a message from the heart. Over his armor, the knight wears a cloak covered with images of fish, the symbol of water, consciousness and creativity. His helmet and boots are winged, a symbol of an active and creative imagination and an appreciation for beautiful things.

The Knight of Cups is the classic romantic of the Tarot deck. He is in touch with his intuition and emotions, and he uses them masterfully to charm and attract others. He shows compassion and understanding towards others because he has learned to understand his own feelings and emotions. The Knight is kind, caring and very in touch with his feminine side. He might be found writing a romantic poem to his lover, creating art inspired by his innermost feelings or appreciating a vibrant sunset with a glass of champagne in his hand. His heart is wide open, and he wears it on his sleeve. He shares his love freely with others, without constraint or worry; he is in love with love itself.

When the Knight of Cups appears in a Tarot reading, you thrive on all things beautiful and are inspired by the many creative outlets available to you. 

The Knight of Cups is motivated by action. You have dreamed about what it is you want to create and now are moving forward with this dream to make it a reality. It may be an art project or something you feel ‘called’ to do, based on your emotions, imagination and intuition. Be open to exploring your passions and your big ideas. You may find yourself drawn to a particular passion or hobby and now is the time to turn it into ‘something.’ While you are in no hurry to reach the finish line, keep in mind that true imagination feeds on action; if you do nothing with your dreams, they will remain just that – dreams and not reality.

That, of course, is the short version interpretation of this card. If you’d like to read about it in more detail, I invite you to visit BiddyTarot.com.

Thank you for tuning in for the first segment of TAROT TUESDAY! Make it a great day to create! I welcome your comments!

Something New

Published on by Jan Sikes38 Comments

In Texas, and all across America, we have this thing called “Taco Tuesday.”

Being the curious soul that I am, I wondered how that tradition got started. What I found is that a restaurant in California, Taco John’s, started and registered a trademark for this tradition in 1989. And it has been carried forward since that time to become a national celebration every Tuesday!

But, I digress.

I am going to start a new weekly post here on my blog site called, “TAROT TUESDAY.”

I’m sure many of you have worked with Tarot cards in the past and some of you have written books based on Tarot cards, so you are no stranger to this method of divination.

Tarot Cards likely originated in Northern Italy in the late 14th century. The oldest surviving set, known as the Visconti-Sforza deck, was created for the Duke of Milan’s family around 1440.

So, they’ve been around a LONG time!

I’ve been working with Tarot Cards for over twenty years. I use the standard Rider-Waite deck, which has been around since 1909.

The way I like to work with the cards on a daily basis, is to light incense and a candle, meditate, ask the Angels for guidance, then pull one card from the deck. I then look at it as my message for the day or my focus for the day.

Every Tuesday, I will be pulling a card to share with you here. The translation I like best is Biddy Tarot. And that is where I will go for the meaning of the card drawn.

This is all done in fun, light and love and only meant to give you food for thought or an uplifting message for the day. So, take it in the spirit it is given.

My first post will be on Tuesday, June 11 (which just happens to be my oldest granddaughter’s birthday!) After that, I will post weekly on TAROT TUESDAY!

Feel free to share with me any and all thoughts about the cards, your experiences, or your insights. This is meant to be an interactive post.

See you on Tuesday with the first card!

Can We Be Replaced?

Published on by Jan Sikes25 Comments

I ran across an article recently that gave me pause, and I want to share with you a few of the facts and points it made.

There has been a lot of talk lately about the increased use of Artificial Intelligence, not only in manufacturing and logistics but also in news reporting. But what is the possibility of creative writers being replaced by Artificial Intelligence?

It seems far-fetched, but in Japan,  a novel was written by an AI writer, and it passed the first round of screening for the Hoshi Shinichi Literary Award in 2016. Impressive, indeed. Undoubtedly, it is a solid proof of what AI writers are capable of.

But can they ever replace the real and spontaneous human emotions? I think the quick answer to that is “No!” However, I can see where AI can be extremely helpful in aiding writers. Apps like Grammarly and ProWritingAid are basically programmed bots that can detect grammatical errors, typos, overused words and misused words. Some of these tools can even spot missing words. But, at the end of the day, they can only do what they are programmed to do. AI cannot dream nor imagine. They can gather and compile data.

I use a lot of southern dialect and slang words when I write, especially dialogue. And none of these writing aids can distinguish these words. They only see them as misspelled or incorrectly used words. So, from that standpoint, I don’t think AI can ever truly replace human writers. Of course, I suppose they could always be programmed to recognize slang from different locals, but it’s not likely.

Nevertheless, it is food for thought. Imagine that we had a bot that we could tell our stories to and they could then put in totally proper and correct form? Well, that might be helpful.

In conclusion, this article stated that while AI can never replace human emotion-driven writing, it can be a helpful tool to make us better writers. Okay. I guess I can go for that.

I use both Grammarly and ProWritingAid on a regular basis and they are both helpful in correcting punctuation and finding typos. But, they can’t find everything. So, for now, we humans are still needed to craft creative and entertaining stories!

What’s your take on AI?

How often do you do this?

Published on by Jan Sikes43 Comments

Everyone I know responds enthusiastically at the mention of getting a massage, myself included.

There is nothing more relaxing than having all the knots and kinks rubbed out of your neck and back.

But, did you know that getting regular massages increases productivity and creativity?

Whether you are writing a novel, working on a challenging project, or coming up with new creative content for a business –a massage will help. This is because one of life’s biggest stressors can come from prolonged intense focus on a particularly taxing subject. The intense focus that creative projects require can place blinders on an individual. A massage helps lift these blinders and allows ideas to formulate. Left unattended, this added stress can lead to anxiety, lack of sleep and even mental mind blocks. Mind blocks definitely prevent creative juices from running free, which in turns leaves you concerned about completing your current project, adding to your stress levels.

A relaxing massage could be the best cure known to man for writer’s block, difficulty falling to sleep and negative attitude.

It is a proven fact that a 30 minute massage can do wonders for not only the body, but the mind and spirit as well.

There was a time when only wealthy aristocrats could indulge in such luxury. But we are privileged to live in a time when a massage is affordable and available!

I make it a practice to go for a massage once a month. I have gotten story ideas while on the massage table. I’ve worked out sticky plot issues with my WIP while on the massage table. I’ve figured out ways to deepen my characters while on the massage table. So, I am a believer!

I am curious. How often to you treat yourself to a massage? Do you believe in the therapeutic benefits? Do you have any stories you’d like to share?