I mentioned my son several posts ago and today is an update on his career.  He has been with his employer ten or eleven years and there were numerous news articles that his company were downsizing.  Dread speared through me as his mother, of course, but he confidently told me that he was not going to worry and whatever happened was going to happen.

He was reassuring me!  He informed me that middle managers were let go and there was a reorganization and he his new boss would be located in Wichita, Kansas.  His previous boss was located in Phoenix.

So it looked as if his job was safe.  And once again his boss was not located in the same office in which he worked.  I did ask him if the office closed would he relocate and he told me a definite no way.  Before driving to Wichita with a coworker to meet with the team he received a call from his old boss about an available position in Phoenix.  It meant more money (Lots more money) and he applied for the job as was customary.

He was offered the job and said yes.  So in a matter of weeks, he packed his clothes, threw them in the car along with essentials (TV and computers) and drove the twenty-two hours to Phoenix. He had found an apartment via the internet which is located a few minutes from work.  However, he left his buddy Billy. His 7-yr old cat.

Billy

Whom I am babysitting until he flies back to get him.  Once again I am a proud mom! My son has achieved success that I never had or none that I know anyone has received. He is incredibly hard working, loyal and intelligent.

He is now 30 and being single, this is the best time to move before marriage or settling down as it is called.

I love you son, and am so proud!!

Dee Ann

Are you kidding me??

I have been jobless for a year, have applied for over 150 jobs, worked part time, worked temp jobs and am donating plasma to buy my groceries. I’ve sold everything I could and I’m lucky to pay for this crazy internet connection. 

Open your wallet, George Bush and quit giving money and jobs to foreign countries!  

Normally, I’m quiet about my life but I am fed up with President Bush and what he has done to this country. 

George, don’t let the door hit you on your way out!

A young man went to high school. He didn’t readily jump out of bed and say “I’m off to school.” He was a night owl and stayed up late and got up late. He was lazy about his studies. But he did excel in any class that involved computers. The librarians at high school loved him because he made them a designated website. He went on to teach underclassmen in beginner computer applications. He made $7 an hour. His teacher nominated him for the most successful computer application specialist in the school district and he went up against five other students in the state. He didn’t win the big prize but to be nominated was an honor.

Computers are his passion. He took small jobs at a grocery store, a telemarketing company and eventually made it into a well-known cable organization that has offices across the country. He started out in the call center of the satellite office.  He was patient. Compassionate and always volunteering for additional projects.

Many of my friends may know of whom I am writing about.  Jason worked in the call center for three years and had the opportunity to create databases. He stretched the truth about his abilities but they promoted him to the computer database specialist.  He wowed them with the programs he created. Everyone in the office of 200 people called him for help. They don’t call the IT Dept as there is a process they need to follow.  Jason helps everyone as needed and assists them as quickly as he can.

In 2006-2007 he was named Employee of the Quarter.  It is the smaller acryllic award on the left. Jason was embarrassed by the recognition. He went on to be nominated as Employee of the Year. He received the award in the center of the photo, a personal luncheon with the CEO of the office and $2000 in cash.  Once again he was lowkey.

In the past year, he has gained a mentor at the organization. They are guiding him toward the upward fast-track. Eventually, they want him to move to the Corporate Office, away from his family.  But he is guided by the love of what he does and loyalty.

As of this week, the local office wants him directly in the IT Department and his current department is creating a new position for him.  Each department is fighting to get him.  Oh, to have such problems. He has a loyalty to his department but he wants to be a full time programmer.  And money is a factor.

He is loyal, compassionate, probably too helpful and has passion.  This person is my 27 year old son. I wish I had the passion he does at his age.  However, I am thrilled that he is following his dream and now I’m following mine. 

I hope to be as successful as my son.  

Dee Ann

Is it your email service?

Is it a news page?

MySpace?

Academy of Achievement?

And why?

After many years of my Internet page opening to my email program, I have decided to make the change.

I believe my email address is ingrained in my mind considering I have approximately six different email addresses with three different providers.

A day doesn’t go by in which I search the internet for something new or for different ideas and stories that I have yet to discover.

Change was implemented this past week. I stepped past the email program and moved onto something that would be thought provoking and educational. It is a change that I embraced and it will keep me interested for a long time.

My change was to a website that I have never come across before.  It is the Academy of Achievement website or www.achievement.org.  Take a moment to visit the site.  There is so much to see, read and learn. 

There’s a drive inside me to learn from others. At present, I don’t have a mentor and I see this site as my mentors. I learn so much from the successes of others and that is why I have changed my 10 years of opening my Internet to my email application to this awesome website.  Please take a moment to visit www.achievement.org.

People who have done great things in the past, current and looking into the future are represented on this site.

Drop me a comment if you have a website that you find inspirational or motivational. And tell me why.  I would love to hear about it!

Dee Ann

Lori Wilde is fabulous. She is a great speaker, an awesome teacher and a sensitive person.  I can’t say enough kind words about her and the workshop.  To learn more about Lori, go to her website at www.loriwilde.com.  Her books are great. I’ve been a fan for many years.

And thank you to the Iowa Romance Writers Group who put together the workshop for that day.  Everyone was incredibly nice and friendly.  Thank you so much for welcoming us to the workshop.  Everyone did a fantastic job.

It was worth getting up at 5 AM that morning, driving to Des Moines and arriving home around 9 PM that night. 

I received another honor and it was quite unexpected. As a writer I look forward to the day when I see my name in print.  Recently, I was in Arizona for a conference with my good friend, Kathleen. We stopped at the local bookstore and I purchased a book that was just published by an author in my personal critique group and a member of our local RWA chapter.

I skimmed through the first couple pages and stopped to read the acknowledgement.  And to my shock, I saw my name in print. Tears welled in my eyes and I was over-whelmed with emotion.  First thought—my name is in print. Finally!  Secondly, to my friend, author, and critique partner, Kim Louise—this is the sweetest and most touching thing that anyone has done for me.  Yes, I’m a critique partner as are Patti and Theresa who are also listed in the acknowledgement but for me your thoughtfulness is overwhelming.  It touched me deeply. 

You could have easily generalized our names as your group but you didn’t and that’s the type of person you are.  You’re kind, humble, giving, considerate and an extremely talented writer.  I’m proud to be in your critique group.

Thank you, Kim.

Sweet Like Honey was released in April 2008 and is available at amazon.com or your local bookstore. It received a 4 ½ out of 5 star rating from the Romantic Times Book Reviews.  Visit Kim’s website at www.kimlouise.com and take a glimpse at other books Kim has available.

Excerpt:

She knows all about sex

Honey Ambrose is a hot mess—literally. Her online sex-toy business has become a huge success, leaving her house overflowing with her ever-popular inventory. Honey’s brother hires professional organizer Houston Pace to help her out, but when Houston arrogantly insists that anyone who needs gadgets doesn’t know what they’re doing in bed, Honey takes matters—and her toys—into her own hands . . .

He’ll teach her all about love . . .

Houston begins to fall in love, but Honey’s fear of intimacy stalls their promising relationship. He is willing to patiently earn her trust, but when Honey’s past—and her family—interferes, he’ll have to step up to prove that real love is strong, true and oh so sweet . . .

Kim is an awesome critique partner along with Patti and Theresa. All of you have taught me so much.  You guys are the best!

So I did what I normally do. I googled for an answer. I found numerous blogs and one blog provided hard questions that you need to ask yourself. They were either yes or no answers. Of course, if you answered yes to many of the questions, you were off to a good start but answering no did not mean you need to step away from your computer. The ‘no answers’ meant you have more work to do.  Very encouraging.  I did find a website that I found to be very insightful.

It began with the following quote. “A professional writer is an amateur that didn’t quit.”

Below is the article taken from The Writers Loft and proper credit is given to their site and Jerry Cleaver.

What does it take to be a successful writer? Two things: motivation + story craft. I know you’ve heard about talent and of course it does exist but you don’t need it to be successful, even very successful, in this art. Unlike the other arts (music, painting, dance, etc.) where you must have a special inborn talent to succeed, no special talent is needed to be a successful writer. How can that be? That’s because the very skills you need to get along in the world are exactly what you need to be a successful storyteller. You don’t have to know how to play the guitar or paint a landscape to survive, but you must know how people work, how you work, and how the world works. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have made it this far. And because you’ve made it this far, you’ve got at least ten novels in you. You may not feel it. But trust me, they’re there.

They’re there because you have a full set of emotions, plenty of dramatic and exciting experience, and a rich imagination. Getting in touch with what you have is what The Writers’ Loft workshops are all about. Your emotions, your experience, your imagination, and the desire to write are all you need to create successful novels, short stories, screenplays, stage plays, biographies, memoirs, and nonfiction – plus one more critical skill. Story craft and technique. That’s what you get at The Writers’ Loft in the quickest, easiest, most enjoyable way possible.

Now I’m not knocking talent. It does exist and if you have it, it’s a bonus. But talent alone, talent without craft, will never do the job. I’ve had many talented, gifted writers who don’t take the time to master the story craft and because they don’t, they never bring their ideas to life on the page and they never get published. Beautiful writing will not save a dead story. A beautiful corpse is still a dead body. No matter how pretty you make it, it’s never going rise up and do something exciting.

And of course talent comes into play if you’re trying to win a Pulitzer Prize or the National Book Award. But few writers win those prizes – just as few actors ever win an Oscar but still go on to make fortunes in the movies.

Also, you may have noticed when you read novels or go to movies, there are plenty of average writers writing mediocre stories and making lots of money doing it.

www.thewritersloft.com

Of course, mentioned in the above article is their workshops which could be helpful. I personally have a vivid imagination but my downfall is lack of motivation (not sitting in the chair to write). I think about my story all the time–even new ideas pop into my mind.  I need to resolve my personal issues of sitting down to write. One step I have taken toward writing is trying to stay current with my blog.

Keep on writing!

As a writer or just someone who is curious about locations in the United States or around the world, Google Earth will provide an aerial view of your home, neighborhood, favorite bar or your local Walmart.

My current work in progress takes place in Okoboji, Iowa.  It has been several years since I’ve been there.  From the aerial view, I had a great visual of both East and West Okoboji lakes.  I went on to search for the Eiffel Tower and another place that I’ve been, the Atlantis Casino in Nassau.  This is a great tool for so many different reasons. Several people have added photos of the casino for those of us searching for the location and are given an actual visual of the building.

I recommend that everyone visit this site at least once.  Again, it is a great tool for writers. 

Here is an aerial view of the Atlantis Casino. The casino does have a tag and if you look closely, the casino is in the cove. It is just as I remember it.  I hope you like this download as much as I do.

This past weekend I attended the Desert Rose 2008 RWA Chapter conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The weather was fabulous, the event was outstanding and the attendees were incredibly friendly. I chatted with author Brenda Joyce, spoke with CJ Lyons, new author of Lifelines and sat at the same table as Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Thank you to my great friend and author of The Doctor’s Deception, Kathleen Grieve for allowing me to invade her home and thank you to Hayleigh for sacrificing her bedroom during those days.

The workshops were fantastic. I learned so much about query letters, book marketing and promotion; especially the daunting trail of publication for Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Sherrilyn’s rendition to success was overwhelming and motivating. I came away from Phoenix with a renewed sense of anticipation. Destiny and success are mine. I need to decide when to get there.  Not how.