Christmas Ebook Coming Soon

I have a new short ebook that's going to be released from Red Rose Publishing titled, Under The Mistletoe. Here's a short blurb from the book:
"Grace has harbored a secret from her husband, Tony for twenty-five years. She believes he is not the biological father of her son, Trace. Trace is in need of a kidney. Because of her medical history, that eliminates Grace as a donor. Tony is hell bent on being the donor. Grace knows her secret is about to be revealed, and struggles with how she is going to tell him. Reluctantly, she reveals the events the night of her employer's Christmas Party to Tony, where she believes an indiscretion with a co-worker was the night Trace was conceived. Due to her intoxicated state, she doesn't remember everything that happened that night, especially after she returns home but Tony does. He recounts how their evening really ended. Is Tony really Trace's father? Will he be able to forgive her for her indiscretion all those years ago?"

Merry Christmas, Merry Xmas, Seasons Greetings or Happy Holidays

Well, it's that time of year again and the holidays are in full swing. This time of year beginning with Thanksgiving, has always been my favorite time of year. When I was growing up, it was always a time for families getting together, visiting, sharing, laughing and just simply enjoying being around each other. Times were much simpler then. Maybe that's what made everything special. We were far from wealthy...and let me tell you I mean FAR. There were thirteen of us, so you know money was tight in my family. But when I reflect back, while we didn't have money, we had LOVE, a roof over our heads, warm beds to sleep in, food to eat, and the company of each other.

There are so many times I feel sorry for this generation of kids. Everything around this time of year is so commercialized. All you hear nowadays is I want...I want...I want...I truly feel sorry that our kids will never experience the good times of family like we did back then. A time of family getting together and enjoying each other's company, enjoying good food, helping, sharing and caring for one another. Kids today walk around like zombies, their heads hung low, their attention fully on the latest Techno gadget (ipod, ipad, smartphone). Do you realize kids don't talk much anymore. Texting is the new fad. With everything the technological advances have done for the world, the downside is it's replace plain old communications, i.e. talking.

That's why, this year, it's Merry CHRISTmas for me, not Happy Holidays or shortening the word Christmas to Xmas or Happy Holidays or Seasons Greetings...I want to put the CHRIST back in Christmas. What are your thoughts on this matter? Is it Merry Christmas, Merry Xmas or Happy Holidays for you?

Life In The Retirement Lane

When I approached my retirement date in mid July, 2002, many people expressed their envy when they learned I was retiring at age 47 and had worked 30 years on the job. Many offered tips on what I should do to keep from becoming bored, particularly because of my age. Many said, “You’re too young to be a senior citizen.” Others asked, “What are you gonna do with all your free time?”

It never crossed my mind that I’d ever get bored once I retired. My response to them was always, “You know what, let me have the opportunity to become bored and I’ll deal with it then.” I loved spending time writing and I eagerly anticipated having much more time to devote to that. My young daughter’s after school activities occupied much of my free time during the evenings, thus leaving me very little time for writing. I’d already self-published my first book, When Death Comes a Knockin , completed several short stories, have enough poetry for a collection or two, and a few book-length novel, and several works in progress (novels) which I was very eager to complete.

By the time my retirement date finally arrived, I’d successfully had one of my novels published, Sacrifices In The Name of Love. I celebrated both accomplishments in grand style. Being one of thirteen children, I was the first to officially retire. It was a bittersweet moment for me because by now both of my parents were deceased, and if there was one thing I wished they would have lived long enough to see was me being able to retire, especially after they’d seen me weather so many trials and tribulations on the job. But I knew in my heart, they’d be very proud of my achievement.

Summer arrived. The first thing my daughter and I did after my retirement was travel to Chicago, Illinois via Amtrak in celebration of my retirement. When we returned, I decided we’d have a lazy summer and just chill. We slept in late on many mornings, stayed up late at night and watched movies, went to dinner on Friday nights, and spent many Saturdays shopping at the mall.

Summer ended. My daughter returned to school. It was at that time that I experienced my first bout of withdrawal symptoms from my daily work routine. Through the years my routine consisted of arriving at work early, thus allowing me extra time to make a quick breakfast and a fresh pot of coffee, during which time my co-workers and I would exchange small chit-chat before delving into our work. I now missed that interaction as well as our interaction at lunchtime. All of my family and friends in my age range were still working. I felt alone.

But, instead of wallowing in self-pity, I decided I’d work on my unfinished writing projects. In the meantime, my grandson, a toddler came to spend some time with us. I did mention that I started writing again, right! Well, if anyone is familiar with the daily antics of having a toddler to care for, you know my writing time was short-lived, and before I knew it, my days would fly by and my daughter would be out of school and our evenings would be filled with Catechism class on Mondays, piano lessons followed by cheerleading practice on Tuesdays, tumbling class on Wednesdays, cheerleading class on Thursdays, and cheerleading activities on Saturday mornings.

And many people wondered how I’d spend all my free time now that I wasn’t working! What free time? With all I’ve found myself involved in, I have often wondered how I was able to do the things I did with my family and still had time to go to work. Free time? What is that? I haven’t had much time to appreciate free time, and as far as becoming bored, I don’t see that happening anytime in the near future.

Despite everything that I’m involved in, I’m enjoying life in the retirement lane. Many people still ask me if I’ve gotten bored yet. I enthusiastically respond, “No way!” I absolutely love the freedom I have in choosing how to spend my time. I volunteer my time teaching Catechism class on Monday nights. I write freelance articles for the regional newspaper’s Thursday column. Spending quality time with my daughter and grandson is priceless. I work part-time as a substitute teacher at my daughter’s school. When my son was growing up, I didn’t have such opportunities, and that’s the main thing I regret about having to work. There were many times I missed some of his school programs due to my work schedule.

To say I’m enjoying retirement life now would be an understatement. I love the freedom that retirement has afforded me. I often say, “God must have started at the end of the alphabet and worked backwards and created the word retirement right after he created the word sex, because I swear next to sex, retirement is definitely the next best thing.”

Thanks to Goddess Fish For Hosting Me The Blog Today

I'd like to thank GFPV for having me on their party blog today, and a special thanks to those who took the time to visit with me, Doreen McGettigan (doreenb8@verizon.net), Jen B (jepebATverizonDOTnet) and Na (Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com).

I promised to pick a winner to receive a copy of my ebook, Uncommon Bond, but because there were only three posters, I'm giving each one a copy of my book.

Congratulations to each of you. Check your inbox for a PDF of Uncommon Bond. I hope you enjoy the quick read, and please by all means, I look forward to hearing your comments.

Here's the link to the book trailer I created for Uncommon Bond. Please help spread the word about Vanessa Alexander Johnson and Uncommon Bond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_8h_L3QiuU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

The Writing Life of Author Vanessa Alexander Johnson

As a writer, I’m often asked various questions about my writing life, i.e., how do I come up with story ideas, where do I get my titles from, are my stories purely fictional or are they based on real life people, do I do character outlines or just write off the cuff, have I ever experienced writer’s block, and many people say they want to write a book and ask where do they start. Well, today, I’m going to try and answer those questions in hopes that they may help reduce the fear that many of these writing quirks for someone who’s contemplating putting pen to paper, or with today’s technologies, fingertips to keyboard.

Many people have frowned, looked at me sideways or backed away from me when I say my characters talk to me. But it’s true for me, as it is for many if not all writers. When a story idea comes to me, the main characters will begin having dialogue in my head. No, I’m not crazy, so don’t call the people at the nut farm yet (LOL) and believe me when I tell you, the characters don’t know anytime about time either. An idea can come to me during the day, but often times they begin their chatter when I’m in bed about to go to sleep, or in the middle of the night if I wake for a bathroom break.

When this has happened at those odd times, I’ve resisted the urge to run to my computer or grab pen and pad, telling myself that I’ll remember it in the morning. Most times, I do remember some of the information, but not exactly as it was transpiring inside my head when the idea was initially sparked.

Where do the ideas from my stories come from, you ask. The answer is it varies. My first novel, Sacrifices In The Name of Love was sparked from a conversation I had with my son while he was in college. The conversation centered around girl groupies waiting for athletes to get their autographs or whatever else the athletes wanted as they left the football field, even from the athletes who didn’t get any playing time, although the sport was changed to basketball in the book instead of football. My second novel, Uncommon Bond that was released on my birthday (07282011) was sparked from an incident similar to the one that Uncommon Bond is based on, although names have been changed and details embellished to make the story more intriguing. My next book, Tempted By Love is purely fictional and is based on two high school sweethearts who split due to an indiscretion, with one keeping a secret and all hell breaking loose at their 30-year class reunion. I love attending my class reunions and I’m always threatening some of my closest high school classmates that I’m going to put them in a book, and so I did..

I’ve ever experienced writer’s block, (Thank God!), but if you do, try doing what I do as I ponder what my next ‘conflict’ in the story will be. I move onto another story as I have many story ideas and incomplete works stored in a file on my computer that I may work on, or I may be inspired to write poetry as my muse might dictate. I don’t force my writing. If you find yourself bored or stuck, back away from the story until you are inspired to get back with this. There aren’t any time restrictions to complete a story unless you place them on yourself.

I don’t do character outlines when I begin to write a story. I write off the cuff and allow the characters to dictate the story, even the conflicts, and this practice hasn’t let me down yet. If I have one pet peeve in writing, it is doing rewrites. I hate doing them but I know they are a vital part of the writing process especially if you want to put your best work out.

When people say they have a story to write and ask where to start, I always say, “Start at the beginning and just write. Don’t worry about things being in the right order or spelling errors. Those things can be corrected later, just write when the must strikes. My first book, When Death Comes a Knockin’ started off as a 7-page article about my journey through the grief process after the loss of my mother and son 33 days apart. I just kept adding to it and the first seven pages were broken up into chapters and thus the end result.

Do I have a regular writing routine? No I don’t, although sometimes I wish I did. I write because I love to, not because I NEED it to sustain my way of life. I write when my writing muse dictates. If only one person ever reads what I write or I’m able to inspire just one person with my writing, I’m okay with that. With my writing I write to Entertain, Inspire and Encourage.

I hope I’ve been able to answer many questions for you or calm whatever fears that holding you back from starting your writing life. The main thing is for YOU believe in YOURSELF and YOUR WRITING.

Thanks for visiting. Have a blessed day.

**One lucky commenter will receive a copy of my latest ebook release, Uncommon Bond.** The winner will be announced on the blog on Sunday night (08072011 at 10 pm. Good Luck!**