Make the Decision to Pursue and Press On

I happened to look down at my weekly calendar today.  I don't always do so despite having specifically chosen one that had good quotes to read on a weekly basis.  Today, I did, and I am glad.

In the words of Amelia Earhart...

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.  The fears are paper tigers.  You can do anything you decide to do.  You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward."

So today, as we embark on a new week (and soon a new month), decide to act.  Read, write, research, edit, market...whatever it is you need to do.  Do it.  Don't let the fear of the what ifs prevent your action.  Decide to do it and just. do. it!  Go grab that reward with both hands and be productive.  I've spent a couple hours organizing my mess of a desk and pile of to-dos today, so I can hit the road running in the morning.  I hope you can too.

Happy writing/doing this week!  If you feel so inclined, please check back in at the end of the week and let me know how it went.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday filled with peace, love, health and family...not to mention turkey and all the fixings!  Enjoy your Thanksgiving and be safe in your travels.

2016 SCBWI Winter Reading List

I am excited to share that Little Bug is part of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Winter Reading List.  You can check it out on page 3 of the West division at https://www.scbwi.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/West_2016.pdf.  Come visit Little Bug as he crawls to find a morsel of food, a drink of water and a place to rest. He looks high and low and gets very tired and slow after trying to leap on the wing of a butterfly and catch a wiggly worm.

There are over 1,100 titles on the list from 328 publishers in 15 different regions around the world.  Find Little Bug and many other great books to love on the SCBWI Winter Reading List.

God Bless America

Thank you, Veterans, for your service, your strength and courage and your commitment to protecting our great nation.  To those who have fought, those who continue to fight and those who will fight in the future, may God protect you and keep you safe.  God Bless you all!

Exciting New Guardian Angel Publishing Releases

October 2016 Guardian Angel Releases

Coby Ryan Harris is Officially Fat!
Chapbook for Tweens
by Joni Klein-Higger, Flora Zaken-Greenberg, Ph.D.
An inspiring novel about Coby Ryan Harris, a smart and funny seventh-grade boy who overcomes the challenges of childhood obesity, bullying, girls, and divorce.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/coby-ryan.htm

Once Twice Thrice
Academic Wings
by Kim Chatel; Illustrations by Kathleeen Bullock
Once Twice Thrice is a loving and humorous look at a father trying to explain plurals to his child. Names of groups of animals to learn about, too.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/123.htm

Something to Crow About- A Children’s Easter Musical
Angelic Harmony
by Dixie Phillips, Sharon Phillips
Crow the rooster is an eyewitness the night Peter denied Jesus, but no one has ever heard his account until now.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/crow-about.htm

Too Big
Chapbook for Tweens
by Judith Dearborn Nill
Shelby Bradshaw hopes to escape the ridicule she endures for being the biggest girl in her class by skipping fifth grade, but her problems worsen as she tries to act older than she is.
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/too-big.htm

Create a Positive Condition

"Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it."
                                                                                             Rabindranath Tagore

This quote was in my planner last week, and I was thinking of it today as I pondered the start of NaNoWriMo tomorrow.  I don't believe I am going to tackle it this year though very much want to do so one of these years.  I have been working on edits of some picture books that I very much want to complete and submit by the end of the year so think I will keep plugging along on them.  

I like this concept of "create the capacity to receive" everything that belongs to us.  One can interpret this in many ways, but I like how it can apply to writing.  Create the capacity to receive and be open to new ideas, create the capacity to write and edit, create the capacity to work hard and put forth effort and time to achieve the desired outcome, the "everything" we want...to produce a book a publisher wants to publish, that children want to read over and over, that parents are willing to read over and over, that continues to sell and stays relevant to children over time.

This concept brings fresh life to my writing senses today.  I am going to use the motivation to continue to create and receive all I am capable of.  I hope to have something to show for it in the days to come.

Good luck to all of you embarking on NaNoWriMo!