The Harbinger- Tiny Review

Seriously, has it been two months since my last post? Wowsers. That's not so good.

I've been a little ... well, I was going to say busy, but then, we're all busy and other people get to their blogs.

But I don't. Hmmm. Priorities.

I did read a pretty fantastic best-seller though called The Harbinger, written by Jonathan Cahn.

If you're interested in Biblical history, enjoy the plot and pacing of John Grisham, like fiction and mystery - with a huge dash of real life, because the story is based on facts - then this book is for you.

Blew me away. History is happening right now. And we're in the middle of it.

I'm a Christian, so this book resonated with me. I got to take verses I've read before in the Bible and apply it to things that have happened since 9/11 at and around Ground Zero.

Christian or not (and the author is a Messianic Jew, by the way) this is an incredible book with indisputable facts, despite it being in a fictional format.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'm not a scholar, I don't know everything about everything, not even when it comes to my Bible. But, after reading the book, I plan on looking for more "clues" in real life as events happen around us, pointing us to our Creator and the Hope we have only in Him.

Want to test your Biblical knowledge? Not sure you believe any of the mumbo-jumbo that the book talks about? Read it. Research the same things, the data, the documents he cites.

You'll be amazed. This book should be recommended reading.

Reviews

Anyone who hasn't had a bad review of their work doesn't fully understand the stress that comes with being a writer. I recently had one of these reviews. And it seriously made me doubt that what I had put years into was even worth it.

It's bad enough that we pour out our blood and sweat and tons of tears into our work without a single affirming word from anyone saying, "what a swell job you're doing" or "though you haven't made a penny of your writing in years, your work is truly great."

And we continue to pour away because we are called to write. We can't live without doing that.

This particular negative review of my work, The Puzzle Master, was like a slap in the face, with a punch to the gut, and then just when I thought it was over, a blind-sided karate chop to the back of the legs.

I questioned if her negative review of my work was valid.

I questioned my abilities as a writer.

I wondered if indeed the last eighteen years of college and writing had been a waste of time.

I finally got over me. And wanting to smash in the face of this reviewer.

And a few months later, I got two awesome, glowing reviews.

Here's what I learned from all of this.

1. Don't take reviews seriously. It's SUBJECTIVE. What some people love, others will hate. Just how it is. Reviews are what they are-- reviews. Doesn't mean I'm a great writer, or a lousy one either. Just take the review and move on.

2. I chose to be a writer, chose to put my work out there, so I have to expect major dislike.

3. When bad things happen, drink coffee. Duh.

Was it Bill Cosby who said something to the effect, "I don't know the steps to success, but I do know the steps to failure is trying to please everyone." Oh yes indeed!

So there it is. People will like your work, some people will not like your work. Oh well. We aren't here to please everyone.

A good writer-friend (good writer and good friend) of mine, Lara, once said, "Writing prepares you for parenting: neither one receives any affirmation." So true. This is a genius line. (Lara, told you I'd steal it!)

Having said all of that, reviews can be full of life, uplifting and also give you the affirmation you've been looking for. So, regardless of reviews, whether bad or good, or neither, keep writing!

**To celebrate the one year anniversary of my book, The Puzzle Master, in digital form, will be free the 15th and 16th of February!**

New Year Direction

I'm a bit overdue for a post, but that's okay.

A new year means doing new things. And here's something new: I see that the more I am away from blogging, the more I realize I don't know what I'm doing, even though I'm always researching what I think I want to be doing.

New years goal?

To write to be happy. Not to write to finish a project or to enter a contest (which, by the way, I like). But, I want to be really happy writing. That is the main purpose for writing in the first place, for me. I write because I love it. But, when the writing turns mundane because I HAVE to write or feel compelled to write because I'm a "writer" well, it takes everything good out of the whole experience.

Sure, it makes me busy. But I'm filling my time with with writing things I don't really end up liking, or using; things that don't mean much to me.

I want to write whether the subject I'm writing about is ever published or not. I want that feeling I had before I had this blog that made me excited to write because I was doing what I loved ... and was doing it without the prospect of pay, or accolades or publishing. I want to be happy doing what I love doing.

Kind of like my dog. This is her, at her happiest, because she has her ball. That's the happiness I want when I'm writing. Pure joy because I'm doing what I love, regardless of the end result.

I want that feeling again. It's like family and friends and good cup of coffee. The small and simple things, the things we do when we're in it for the real deal, is what I want to get back to ... and probably what we should all strive for because it's so simple and easy. If success comes from it, then so be it. But, not because I want global success.

So, this blog is for you. If you have a book you want reviewed, ask me. I might do it.
Have a contest you want to tell others about? Tell me about it. I'll probably list it.

Have a great new year, full of dreams fulfilled because you worked at it! A tennis ball in the mouth is pretty amazing...

Keep writing!