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onebardmojo

Love is stronger than death.(RF)
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Goodness

3 min read
Earlier this year, I got a new doctor who compelled me to take all those tests I'd been putting off. We have a lot of medical stuff in the family genes and there were some warning signs I couldn't ignore any longer. The long and short of it is, I don't want to wind up like my dad who dropped dead on his front porch a few years ago because he didn't listen to his doctor.

Now I stick my finger and check my blood sugar twice a day. I've dropped forty pounds. I walk more. And (in case you missed the new pic a couple of years back) I have a golden retriever with the personality of a perpetual toddler who is really enjoying the new, more active me.

Another change for 2017 is that I distanced myself from some negative forces and surrounded myself with positive people. I write every single day. Being an indie author is quite the dream come true although it's not paying the bills - yet. Did you notice that I didn't say "working as an indie author"? That's because the old quote is true - Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. It's a lot of work, don't get me wrong. But it's not ... work.

I've three e-books out now, one of which will soon be in print and on audible. People frequently ask me, "But why wouldn't you want to be traditionally published?" I don't want to give up creative control. I create my own book covers, hire (or barter for the services of) great indie editors, and manage my own social media. Today, for the fourth time this month, my latest release hit #1 in its main category.

So for those of you who want to write, draw, sing, act, sculpt, play an instrument, paint, or whatever, don't listen to the negativity. Do what you love. Do it every day. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. Develop a thick skin. Find an accountability buddy who will nudge you just over the boundaries of your comfort zone. Ignore the haters. Don't be afraid to say "yes" to new opportunities. Embrace every little win (because they will add up to big wins). And don't be afraid to share your art with others.
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News!

1 min read
1. Always back up your fonts and Photoshop brushes. I did the latter, but didn't think to do the former, and now my old laptop is deader than dead. I had over 1k fonts. I need one of them, and can't recall the name. Guess what I'm doing tomorrow. Yup, downloading fonts!

2. Always use a program (like Scrivner) that automatically backs up your work. Otherwise you get that moment of "Oh THANK God!" when you see that "creating backup" message after you tried to close the program out without hitting control-S. Especially harrowing after several hours of researching / taking interview notes / writing.

3. I'll be keeping this account around for Achaea stuff. But mostly, my professional graphics stuff is going on another site. If you'd like the address, please leave me a note and I'll try to check back periodically.

Take care!
Becky aka Madelyne
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So the other night, my sister calls and tells me she found God. Keep in mind this is the first contact I've had with her since October when I blocked her from my Facebook account after she hurled hate speech toward me and my boys.

Apparently she's now leading a "Godly life". And after listing off her material possessions, which include a nice house, car, and man who works really hard every day, said she hopes I get the therapy I need for the mental sickness that keeps us from having a relationship, and help for my drug problem.

Considering the fact that I don't have anything in the house stronger than a Benadryl, and refuse to have a relationship with her out of common sense, I replied that the next time she contacts me will result in a restraining order and hung up the phone.

She later left the fireman a voice mail saying she didn't understand why I refuse to have a relationship with her. If she doesn't quit, then so help me I'm modeling a character in one of my books after her and it will pay. And that's benefit #163,974 of being a writer.

#BitchesBeCrazy
#DontCallMeIllCallYou
#DoYouWantToBeInMyNextBook?
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We came for salvation 
We came for family 
We came for all that's good that's how we'll walk away 
We came to break the bad 
We came to cheer the sad 
We came to leave behind the world a better way 

~ The Avett Brothers, "Salvation Song"

Listening to a lot of stuff like this lately, especially while working on the book I created for NaNoWriMo. The distractions are everywhere. EVERY-WHERE!

Twice I've woken from a dream with original lyrics for country western songs in my head. Can I just say that I've not been a fan of country western music since the early 1980s? And I doubt I ever will be again. This "bluegrass with a twist" station that I have going on Pandora is as close as I'd get.

In other news, I still hate combat in Achaea but managed to get 350 kills with a sniper gun on Call of Duty Ghosts to get the badass cobra suit. Now I can run around with my machine gun and shoot 'em up like nobody's business. It's oddly relaxing despite the fact that it goes against everything in my typically passive nature. (Does this make me passive-aggressive? Stop! It's rhetorical. I don't expect an answer.)

And finally, work is just busy enough. It lends me enough extra cash to enjoy lunch with the girls, but doesn't keep me so busy that I'm stressed out, filled with angst, and lacking free time to do fun stuff.

No complaints here!
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Happy 2014!

1 min read
In 2013, here are 13 awesome things that I experienced.

...lost both my dogs, Gingerbelle and Gideon.

...rescued three new pups, Amazing Gracie, Gibson Girl, and Sookie Doghouse.

...finished NANOWRIMO! (www.nanowrimo.org)

...took a lot of time off work, but also took less vacations.

...read a LOT of books.

...discovered The Polka Dots, an all-girl bluegrass band. (Because I'm a closet bluegrass fan. Heh.)

...bought new shoes for the first time in nearly two years.

...kept a promise, even though it hurt.

...discovered BBC America's Sherlock. (Wow!)

...grew closer to my sons and husband.

...learned how to play Call of Duty Ghosts.

...started holding weekly conversations with someone I used to avoid.

...became a Whovian.

What did you do? :hug: Hopefully it was something awesome!
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