Archive for December, 2011

How We Write in 2012: The Soul of the Matter…

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

I wanted this Wednesdays writing blog is your one-stop INSPIRATION destination for your 2012 creativity and publishing dreams. How will you excel? How will you write every day, even amidst conflict, chaos and adversity? How will you create that which you alone were put on this earth to bring to life through story? After all, isn’t 2012 supposed to be the end of the world… In that case, we better get a move on. We’re running out of time ;o)

2012 planets

Despite 2011’s challenges (on top of 2010’s ;o), both with my personal health and the industry upheaval happening around all of us, I find myself giddy at the thought of what this newest year in our lives will bring. More ownership of our destinies and the fruits of our writing labors. More opportunity than ever before to reach readers clamoring for the escape that you bring them. More ways to engage your soul in your work, and take every chance that could lead you forward.

Move. That’s my overall goal, my “How” for 2012.

2012 goals

  • I will move forward.
  • I will take initiative and take chances and take opportunity and run with them all.
  • I will ask the right questions and listen to those I trust to share their insight and choose, without fear, what my next course of action will be. Then the next.
  • I will role with the punches and move forward despite obstacles and setbacks.
  • I will believe that there is success awaiting me around every corner, and I will work my ass off to claim those victories.

What are yours?

2012 is shaping up as a year where we can very much shape our reality simply by the viewpoint and perspective in which we choose to see our world.

  • Do you see exciting opportunity or scary change?
  • Are you ready to dive in and work hard, or too tired to start over yet again?
  • Do you learn from past mistakes and roads not taken, or do you use failure as an excuse to stop trying?

    • (more…)

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Surprise Digital Bonus!!!

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

I peaked online after the holiday to find that my publisher’s made my ENTIRE award-winning, best selling Atlanta Heroes series available in digital format for $3.99 or less per title (through Amazon Kindle)!

Because Of A Boy: 

Nurse Kate Rhodes is duty bound to report the abusive father of one of her charges–despite the lawyer who proclaims the man’s innocence.

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Stephen Creighton isn’t in the habit of getting involved in his cases. For him, it’s get in, fight like hell, get out. But he has to invest more when he finds out Kate’s actions have put his clients’ lives in jeopardy. And now the father and son have gone into hiding.

With the father being sought by the authorities and the son in desperate need of medical treatment, it’s a race against time. One Stephen and Kate can win only if they work together… Something that’s even harder to do when the tension between them becomes white-hot passion.

To Protect The Child (RT Book Reviews Best Book Award):

FBI agent Alexa Vega wakes in an Atlanta hospital with no memory of how she got there. Except for brief flashes of a little girl’s image, she can’t remember anything, including the assignment that led to her brutal attack. The only person she feels she can trust is the man who saved her–Dr. Robert Livingston.

TP

In his care she begins to recover…and to fall for him. Those feelings are returned, because Robert hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Alexa. But as her memory returns, Alexa knows she has to finish what she started. She has to track down her attackers. It’s the only way she can save a child she’s sworn to protect.

She’s determined to succeed, even if it means losing everything else–including Robert’s love. (more…)

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Dream Theories: The Famous Amongst Us

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Long silence on blog = Anna’s sick. You know that by now, right? I’ve crawled out of my cave. Let’s talk about what the famous people in our dreams mean, before I collapse again. Flu SUCKS, btw. Whine. But I digress. What does it mean when we dream about famous people and fictional characters?

characters simpsons

Yeah, I’m going to riff on animated and over-the-top, real-life characters throughout this post. And you’re not going to see any of my recurring dream buddies. Not a chance. I believe too strongly in this topic to pull my cyber panties down and give you a microscope into my psyche!

Well, okay. I’ll give you one real dream character of my very own. But I’m not gonna tell you which one. So, enjoy the side show and try to figure out which of these images really has come out to play, during my nocturnal wanderings ;o) All votes are welcome. You won’t guess it. You’re never gonna guess it… And I’m absolutely not including political or religious “greats” in this post. I may be a sick girl, but I’m not stupid.

Okay, back to business. First of all, we can invite anyone we want to our dreams. So you have to ask yourself who you’ve brought along for the party, and why. Do you feel negative or positive about these characters? 

characters pluto

Actually, is there just one famous person and you, or are you in a crowd of those you admire or publicly despise?Are you interacting with them, or standing back to watch. Are we talking  tv/movie/entertainment famous, or dead/living politicians, writers, great thinkers, etc? Oh, and where are you all getting together for this shindig?

As I’ve said, the emotions of your dreams are key. They’ll point you to the better understanding you seek of why the people in your dreams do and say what they do, especially your famous guests. Dream analysis will first tell you that these characters may represent aspects of our own personalities that we either aspire to improve or long to negate.

characters powerpuff

(more…)

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Dream Theories: Sleep Myths Debunked!

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Welcome guest blogger “Dr.  C” to Drem Theories. She has great sleep and dream facts and myths to share and bust for us! A PHD in clinical psychology with a specialization in sleep disorders, she’s giving us awesome insight into what’s happening to our minds and bodies as we dream. She’s also a fantasy author and has been a great “real world” resource for me as I write about dreams and parapsychology and metaphysics and all the other “brain” stuff I use as I create my contemporary fantasy worlds.

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Read on for some sleep basics (types and stages and helpful hits about sleeping better yourself). You’re sure to learn something new. Ask questions, get her talking about all that she knows, heckle, or whatever else entertains you ;o) I know I’m going to!

Next week: more of my Dream Theory insights based on the research I’ve done for my Legacy series. Dr. C will be back in two weeks, with all her knowledge and confirmation that I’m a quack and that she’s the sleep expert, and that you should all be listening to her instead of me ;o)

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Thanks, Anna, for inviting me to do this series of guest blog posts! 

People do weird things in their sleep.  It’s one reason I love being a sleep psychologist – I rarely hear the same stories twice.  Also, I feel I can make a huge and almost immediate difference for my patients, and I get to be a “Myth-buster” of sorts.  Yes, there are lots of myths going around about sleep and dreaming, so for my first post, I wanted to take the opportunity to “bust” some common misconceptions. All of these have been said by several of my patients.

Myth #1:  If I don’t remember my dreams, I must not be having any.

To address this one, we need to back up a bit and talk about some sleep basics. We have different stages of sleep from lighter to deeper, and when you go in for a sleep study, the doctors and techs can tell what stage you’re in by the kind of squiggly lines your brain is putting out on the EEG channels.  There are two main types of sleep:  Rapid Eye Movement sleep and non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep.  We progress through non-REM to REM in cycles.  Here’s a hypnogram to illustrate how we do it:

hypnogram

Here are the stages within types.

Non-REM sleep: (more…)

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The Soul of the Matter…

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Platform. Everyone says you MUST have one in social media. Platform is your brand. It tells folks what you’re about. “The Soul of the Matter,” is what I’ve come up with for my particular bent on the world, after reviewing back blog and Facebook and Twitter streams.

soul eyes

It’s a focus I chose organically about two years ago,when my world view was skewed by surgery and scary medical predictions and a  chaotic publishing environment that’s become even more crazy since. If I was going to write, blog and participate in social media, it had to go deeper. I wanted to be saying something meaningful about how I see my world, every time I put my thoughts onto paper or typed them into the computer.

I’m in the entertainment business, and that’ll never change as long as I publish in commercial fiction. But I wanted to feel even closer than before to what I’m writing. And I wanted that to spill over into my weekly blogging and the things and people I focus on in social media. I want it to be about heart and soul, above all else.

soul hear

For two years I’ve posted into my “Revising a Year” blog series. It’s morphing now into “Anna’s Soul of the Matter.” You’ll see it at the top of the category list to the right. And in each blog post I write forward.

Whether I’m writing women’s fiction or romance or suspense or psychic fantasy/sci-fi, or chatting about dreams or my teenager or wacky current events and happenings or psychic stuff or the nuts and bolts of writing, I’m pouring my heart into the words. That’s my daily goal. That’s what keeps me coming back, keeps my writing, no matter the stumbling blocks.

That’s the kind of community I’d like all this content and sharing and re-tweeting to build. Folks looking deeper and wanting more and loving the insight as much as the chatty, easy-to-read posts and pics and one-liners.

Let’s share the soul of all that matters to us. If that’s your cup of tea, you’ve stumbled across the right place. Welcome!

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