Tag: family histories

Nostalgia…remember when… (part 11)

Nostalgia:  A Greek word meaning to Grieve, to Ache

Modern Dictionary:  a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition

I guess I’m the last person, on the planet,  to watch the series, MAD MEN.  I was so surprised; it’s my life as a (very) young  married housewife. I was treated (as seen in MadMen) like that as a woman. It’s hard to believe now and of course when it was happening, I didn’t know any better…..and the men in my life CERTAINLY DIDN’T!!!  That was my husband; me always asking for permission. Him handling the money, etc. Cheating on me. Demeaning my worth with tiny arrows and jabs. And the employers I had at the time….just like the ‘ad men’ in Mad Men.  Talking down to the female employees and always reminding us of our place. Where did men, at that time, learn this behavior? Their fathers…and their fathers before them?

me – circa 1978

  I swear I even had some of those skirts that Peggy wore.  And one of the dresses that Joan wore was in my closet.

I am  amused and shocked that I had that life and then to watch it back in such precise and accurate detail!  Given where I (and most women) are today,  it seems like a life time ago. Oh! It was.

And here’s the really wonderful thing…..the music of that time. As the show opens and closes the sound tracks are from that era. And, fifty+ years later,  I can sing along REMEMBERING EVERY LYRIC OF EVERY SONG.  (The brain is truly a wonder.)

 

 

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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   Did you miss the past few months?    January was Dinah Jefferies and Feb/March’s author is Sheryl Steines. Johan Thompson (South African author) will join us in April.

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Motivational Moments…for Writers! #25

One of the main problems you may face as a writer is standing up to your inner critic.  Being overly self-critical can be very dangerous; stopping you dead in your tracks.  It is all too easy to tell yourself to give up, that there is no point, that you will never get anywhere.

But saying things like this to yourself is untrue and the kiss of death to your creative spirit!

So how do you control your inner critic and learn how to shut it down when it is threatening to ruin your writing career? Here are some examples of what it might say, and exactly how to respond.

‘You’ll never be as good as [insert name of your favorite author)’. We can’t help but compare ourselves to authors who have been and gone, ones who’ve had successful and seemingly effortless writing careers, whose fans adore them, who are praised by the media and their peers, who win awards and make millions.

Of course, there are going to be writers out there who are more successful than you, but this shouldn’t stop you from writing. Nor should it give you any reason to think that you can’t be that successful too.

There is no one right way to write, many different authors have become successful for various reasons. Write for your audience and yourself and know that you are unique, your stories are written just the way they should be and comparing yourself to others will get you exactly nowhere.

‘Your book will be a flop.’  Your self-critic will always try to make you feel like a failure and will fill your head with thoughts of giving up.

Don’t let it win.

Your inner critic has many tricks up its sleeve. They’ll range from petty insults to targeting your biggest fears and insecurities. However, knowing how to respond, to shut it down and feel positive about your writing will only help spur you on to become a better more productive and more exciting writer.

So whatever you do stand up to your inner critic, and never let it stop you from writing!

 

“A writer never has a vacation. For a writer life consists of either writing or thinking.”  Unknown

“It’s okay that I am a little strange, I’m a writer.” Satine

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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   Did you miss the past few months?   December: Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series. January was Dinah Jefferies and February’s author is Sheryl Steines. Johan Thompson (South African author) will join us in March.
Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!

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Book #6 True Crime Series…Available Now!

Just released.  Beneath the Bridge of Murder. 

In Book #6 of this true crime series, someone is knocking off the homeless of NYC. There don’t appear to be any motives; what could a bum have that anyone would want? Their life style affords the killer plenty of opportunity and who cared what happens to these shadow people?  Detectives O’Roarke and Garcia quickly realize that they have another serial killer on their hands as more bodies are found at an alarming rate. 

Midwest Book Review said, “Beneath the Bridge of Murder (Book 6 in the ‘World of Murder’ series) just goes to show several things: that a series of murder mysteries can each successfully hone very different settings, characters, and circumstances that tie together under a universal theme; and that an ability to build tight, unpredictable characters is possible across a number of series titles if the author is truly skilled.”

 

Available at:  Amazon.com or your favorite book store. Also available in e-books.

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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   Did you miss the past few months?   December: Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series. January was Dinah Jefferies and February’s author is Sheryl Steines. Johan Thompson (South African author) will join us in March.

Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!

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New Short Play, Trans-G Parents

Book #30 in the ShortN’Small Series of short, one act plays.   The Trans-G Parents

 A look into the world of the parents who are trying to do the right thing…support their child….love their child…sometimes
even save their life.  Their child is confused and frightened by their physical being telling them they are one gender
while their heart, soul and mind are telling them that they are another.

This short play’s setting is a support group for parents. Resigned, angry, confused, religious, experienced and lost,
they come together out of a common desperation.  Some handling the situation much better than others.

The script offers an insightful and educational dialogue from parents.  There is no manual on parenting much
less facing the challenges of this gender affirmation generation. 6f. 5m.

 

TS.  This seemed like a natural sequel to the Trans-G Kid, another short play by this playwright. Inspired by the television documentary, The Gender Revolution. 

 

 

 

 

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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   Did you miss the past few months?   December: Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series. January was Dinah Jefferies and February’s author is Sheryl Steines. Johan Thompson (South African author) will join us in March.
Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!

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Halo-Halo Book Review Praises Song of the Yukon

A REVIEW

‘I read Trisha Sugarek’s novel Song of the Yukon, as I’m generally interested in homesteading and off-grid stories. Trisha’s novel, set in Alaska, more than satisfied my curiosity. It’s about LaVerne, a teen and budding song writer who followed the poet Robert Service’s trip into the wilds of Alaska. The inclusion of Service’s life offers a welcome layer to the story, and the references are inserted harmoniously so that they seem a natural instead of forced companion to the primary plot of LaVerne’s life: she impersonated a boy to be hired aboard a freighter who took her from Seattle to Alaska; along the way, she experiences boat rides on the Yukon, meets members of native tribes, files homestead papers and works the land.

Song of the Yukon also delights due to its structure of seamlessly weaving poetry, song lyrics and correspondence within the novel’s narrative. There was  a scene around a camp fire where LaVerne gets to know the indigenous guide, Black Eyed Joe and his mother, Edna that I particularly liked. Sugarek weaves Service’s poem into the dialogue where Edna makes an observation about Mother Earth.

Sugarek’s use of correspondence also doesn’t grate in the narrative flow. My personal experience is I’ve found the insertion of correspondence to be an interruption or a cheat in writing a story, but such isn’t the case here. Here, the correspondence makes the story more personal as well as is effective in bringing onto the page the rest of the world beyond LaVerne’s particular environment.

Last but not least, the story weaves in a love triangle, (perhaps not the first time but) a rare point of view within the genre of homesteading, off-grid Alaska and Wild West stories.  All in all, Sugarek’s multi-layered approach uplifts SONG OF THE YUKON from the crowded field of such stories.’ ~~EILEEN TABIOS, Senior Editor The Halo-Halo Book Review
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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   Did you miss the past few months?   November was best selling author, Grace Burrowes and in December, Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series. January is Dinah Jefferies and February’s author is Sheryl Steines.
Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

 

Interview with Best Selling author, Dinah Jefferies

TS:  I discovered Dinah recently in my routine search for authors I might enjoy reading. What a treasure!  My favorite genre’ , a good story based in historic fact.  She is currently research and writing her next book so, understandably, her answers are short and sweet!

 

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? (please provide a photo/s of your shed, room, closet, barn….) Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

DJ. I have recently had a garden room built and that’s where I do my reading, writing and where I have an exercise bike. I have no photos of the room yet but it’s very peaceful and I have music at hand whenever I feel like it. It feels like a little oasis that’s just for me.

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

DJ. A cup of coffee and my latest notes on the left of my keyboard and if the room is warm enough, then I’m ready. I don’t do any social media when I’m writing. If the room is cold I get on my exercise bike to warm up.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

DJ. When I first came to live in England it didn’t feel like home. I was born and brought up for the first nine years of my life in British Malaya and saw that as my home, so I was what they call a Third Culture Kid. Not quite one, not quite the other and it left me with a feeling of not properly fitting in.

Q. Do you have a set time each day (or night) to write?

DJ. I write in the mornings and use the afternoons for editing, reading, taking the dog for a walk and any household chores that need doing.

Q.  What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

DJ. You overcome procrastination by sitting down and getting on with it. You make a choice. You work or you don’t.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters? Before or after the idea of a story?

DJ. They begin to pop into my head at the research stage. As I read about a place and a time I begin to think about the type of people who might have been there at the time and the kind of story I want to write.

Q. What first inspired you to write your stories?

DJ. Having time on my hands. We were living in a tiny medieval village in Andalusia, Spain and once the restoration of our house was complete I began. Writing a novel is very labour intensive.

Q. What comes first to you? The Characters or the Situation?

DJ. The place comes first and then the characters and the situation arise simultaneously.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

DJ. Absolutely, especially when it’s going well and I’m in the ‘zone’. When I’m struggling it’s much harder, but I try to keep going anyway. You can’t edit a blank page.

Part two will appear January 28th. Don’t Miss it!
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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   Did you miss the past few months? October Author, Lisa Jackson.  November was best selling author, Grace Burrowes and in December, Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series

Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

Motivational Moments…for Writers! #22

You’re a great writer.
Not an aspiring writer, a mediocre writer, or a someday, somehow, almost writer.

You’re a great writer, right now.
People are going to line up ten deep to tell you that you
aren’t good enough. Don’t do their work for them.

Maybe you aren’t published.
    Maybe you aren’t successful.
       You definitely aren’t perfect.
But, you’re a great writer.
Being great doesn’t mean you won’t continue to improve, or be excited and passionate.

My awesome takes nothing away from your awesome;
your awesome takes nothing away from my awesome.
Awesome is not a finite resource.

So say it. Out Loud. Every day.
“I’M A GREAT WRITER!!!”   
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My BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!    December: Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series.  January: Dinah Jefferies.

Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

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Best Idea Ever!

This was one of my better ideas and it grew into book sales. 

I met with a group of teachers a few years back and they were bemoaning the fact that their arts budget was non-existent. Everything they did in the classroom, with regard to visual arts or theatre arts, was ‘out of pocket’ for them.  So I went away thinking, ‘I should create 10 minute plays for the classroom, no costumes, no sets, no props, and inexpensive for the teachers. And make most of the plays preteen and teen specific.  Stories about real issues challenging our teens. 
Maybe the plays would open a dialogue between a troubled teen and an adult who could help them.

Twenty-eight short plays later……(who knew?)   These plays are used and produced in classrooms around the USA, in England,  Europe and Argentina.

This may sound like a sales pitch but it isn’t.  It’s advice and encouragement to other writers out there to keep trying different ways to market your talent. You just never know what will take off.  My belief is to throw as much as you can at the wall and see what sticks. Of course my little ego-writer self was certain that my novel, Song of the Yukon, would be a best seller.  Turns out that “The Creative Writer’s Journal” is my top seller.

If used in the classroom with no formal audience, these plays are royalty FREE to teachers. 

texting and driving, teen texting, short plays, high school, middle school, To view a complete list go to:https://www.amazon.com.   shy, shyness, conceit, bullying, high school, middle school, teenagers,short plays, small casts, one act plays for the young actorhomosexuality, teenagers, family, short plays, small casts, maternal loveteen dating violence, teenagers, high school, middle school, one act play, short plays,domestic violencebullying, bullies, high school, middle school, teens,one act, short stage playcyber-bullying, bullying, girls who bully, short plays for teens, high school, middle schoolteenagers, new ideas, family, young Entrepreneur, short plays, one act plays

I was also certain that there were a few writers wondering how to begin, how to write a play so I developed these Journals.

                                    

These can be found at: www.amazon.com 
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My BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   October Author, Lisa Jackson.  November will be best selling author, Grace Burrowes and in December, Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series

Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

Motivational Moments….for Writers! #20

Motivational Moments….for Writers!  #20

R U Passive? waiting for your muse to strike and help you write your novel or story?  Back in the day, a muse was thought to be a creative spirit that unleashed your creativity. If you weren’t creative, it was the muse’s fault. 

R U External?  Setting an external reward for completing your daily writing task.  Usually food, drink or an activity such as watching your favorite TV show.

R U INTERNAL?  Ah, now we’re talking!  Writers need to examine their own brains to get that motivation working.  Your pain/pleasure receptors, in your brain, need adjusting if writing is painful.  If your writing causes you more pain than pleasure, waiting for a muse or an external reward is all you have. 

You need to write for the sheer joy of writing. Writing becomes the motivation for writing. Writing becomes your addiction.  Turn off the negative voice in your head that tells you you’re a crappy writer, have no talent…you know the voice I’m talking about.  Reinforce yourself by making positive statements, to yourself,  about your writing.  Take the time to admire that well-turned sentence, page, or chapter that you just wrote!

“Writing is a journey of discovery because until you start, you never know what will happen, and you be surprised by what you do~~expect the writer-ship-left-quote-copyunexpected!” Mini Grey

 

 

 

“As a writer, I speculate, hibernate and marinate.” Trisha Sugarek

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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   October Author, Lisa Jackson.  November will be best selling author, Grace Burrowes and in December, Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series

Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

Help Me! Take a 1 minute survey about my Blog!

1..girl.write..mouse_1Now that  I have some time (4 yrs) and some traction under me with regard to my blog, I would love to hear from my subscribers, friends and fans.

What do you enjoy reading the most? What direction should I  continue in?

 

The series:  Motivational Moments…for Writers

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Thank you for your on going support of my work and effort.writing, process, writers, style

Warmest regards,  your fellow writer and friend,  Trish