Losing My Mojo and Health

Hi :)

I'm back. I've tried to be back before, but, 2013 saw the start of my writing mojo drain, partly from health and partly from stress. I had an editor tell me, and tear my work apart for 40 pages then tell me to figure the rest out on my own and they weren't going to edit the rest, that unrelated clauses were comma splices. I spent hours and hours searching and never found any sites that said it that were independent from this person. I felt stupid, but I learned about comma splices, fused sentences, and run ons like you wouldn't believe. (For the record, a comma splice is ONLY one thing: Two INDEPENDENT CLAUSES, related or not, that are joined by only a comma. Period. There is no other comma splices. You run into kissing cousins of fused sentences (two complete sentences with no punctuation) or run ons (two sentences with a conjunction word but no comma), but there is only one comma splice.). However, that feeling that maybe I'm stupid stayed with me. The stresses and drama kept going.

Then, on top of that, my health declined. I nearly died June 26, 2013 from my asthma and allergies from living where we were. I started finding a way to leave the house for 4 hours a day, nearly every day, and made it through the summer of 2014 without getting that ill. However, in January of 2015, after leaving that house for good, I'm still fighting chest issues from living there. It makes me slow, tired, can be cranky, etc. I do have a doctor's appointment in February (move caused me to need a new clinic so had to wait.). I can't wait. In the meantime, I'm still waaayy better than I had been before, despite the sore throat and tight chest that sets off my asthma rather easily.

I work on being positive, and for the most part, I manage on my social media and even at home. I am painting more, doing more crafts, and yes, even writing more. Not where I used to be, but, in the midst of the years of illness, I found solace in editing. Maybe I couldn't find the imagination to write like I used to, but at least I was helping others.

Now, I've pulled eleven of my books from the old publisher. I've re-released The Ulfric's Mate, the first in my War of the Weres series, the second will be re-released next month, my only 3some erotic sort of book will be re-released under a new name, Luck of the Draw, also next month. I always hated the title of the old one, but love that it's been changed :D I am in edits for my Epic Fantasy, Cerisa's Quest, to be out in March, and I'm working on new stuff. I am absolutely thrilled with this. The writing is still slow, and I'm still fighting the procrastination temptation that stems from me "not being good enough" that has been instilled in me elsewhere. I can logically tell myself that I was right, that it doesn't matter, but fact is, it did and does. My success with Ulfric's re-release, though not breaking any records, is a big comfort. It has a full newly done scene, and has been re-edited, so no one should be disappointed if they buy the new one. I've added over 1k words and done a re-edit on The Midwife's Moon as well. We've also added a glossary of terms and places and peoples for the series. I'm so excited!! Again, stuff not available in the old versions. Plus, I'll be doing a War of the Weres Chronicles series. First off will be the story formally only available in an anthology, Barely There. It will be number one. I'm still writing number 2, Moriah and Kamiakin's story, but have number three finished, and number four mostly finished. I have book three of the full lengths (55k+) at 30k and cooking. So this series is about to pop!

My art is going well, and people are buying it. I have multiple collectors now, which blows my mind!
Here's a recent finished painting:

And another one (Both are Scotland :D My obsession...):

On the home front, the new schools seem to be really good for my kids. My son earned a citizenship award today! I'm so proud. :D Another son is well liked by the administration at his school, which is a relief. I've lost my grandpa. Though I haven't seen him in years due to money, I'm still distraught about it. He has my happy memories from a child before I was adopted. I had others not so bad, but he was the clearest. The other memories revolved around abuse (one family member, but the rest were from our neighborhood) so this has been a big deal for me.

Last February, I hurt my leg. I messed up my knee and shins. I'm still having pain, but feel it is finally getting better. I'm going to ask for an xray at that doctor's appointment. Last night, my husband sliced his thumb pretty badly. My son's been in a car accident, but he's fine now.

^^ a lot of that may sound bad, er, and is, but we are doing way better than before, and the future is looking good! I hope that with my renewed health that I'll be back to writing blogs like I did before. Thank you to all of you who have stayed with me while I desperately held on with both hands to my writing through sickness and depression. Things are looking up,  I'm getting published, I'm selling my art, and I'm very much excited for the future. I hope to give you more blogs and less promotional blogs in the coming year.

Thank you guys for sticking it in!! Big hugs and Happy New Year! :D

Leona

Lost Souls Sheri Velarde

I am sharing some guest blogs. I'm a bit behind. My brain isn't what it's used to be. Though, perhaps with my daily vitamins, I'll fix that. :D As I was sorting my emails to get as many as possible filed and round filed, I came across this. *headdesk* She's much too nice to me. I have two others that will be posted soon as well. :D
Sheri is a helpful soul whose heart is as big as the internet. I hope you'll enjoy her blog and her book!

Lost Souls Guest Blog by Sheri Velarde

First and foremost I want to thank the lovely Leona for letting me stop by to chat with you all! I will try to be on my best behavior… try…

Today I thought that I would talk a little about how writing is my sanity in a very otherwise insane world. This has been a pretty tough year for me personally and there are two reasons that I have survived it, my fiancé and my writing. Without either I really don’t know if I would be here to talk to you or not.

In a world where I lost my grandmother, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, had to leave a job due to said ms and some harassment, and money woes, well there was not much that was constant in my life this year. And while I do credit a lot of my being able to keep it all together to my wonderful fiancé William, I also know that writing helped me through this year as well.

Even when my body is failing and I can’t work in the retail or office world, well I can still write. When my emotions feel like they are going to boil over, writing is a great outlet to get them out in a safe and secure way. Writing gave me a sense of purpose in a life where I otherwise felt lost, it was my shining light in the darkness so to speak.

At the beginning of the year I had grand writing plans, 12 stories, novellas, works to be out in 2014. Well I fell short of that goal, I had 6, Lost Souls being the last to come out this year. But I still published 6 stories and kept writing during a hard time and for that I am very proud. And next year is already looking bright with one novella and a novel on the horizon and many more to come. Writing is my constant and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Blurb:

Amy is a fallen angel living life on earth as a rock star, embracing her bad behavior and becoming a heavy metal goddess. With the excesses of her new career she almost feels happy. Almost. However something her old friend Aphrodite once promised her is still missing, love.

Jade is a sweet and sexy woman, trying to make a place for herself in this lonely world. Lost in Los Angeles and just looking for a somewhere she belongs. As the holidays approach she only realizes how alone she truly is in the unforgiving city of Lost Souls.

One night these two meet seemingly out of the blue and sparks fly. It is as if something is drawing them towards each other. Now they both are learning what true happiness can feel like, if only some secrets don’t rip them apart before their love even has a chance to bloom.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Souls-Weekend-Getaway-Book-ebook/dp/B00PYZ0ZD8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416788916&sr=1-1&keywords=sheri+velarde

Secret Cravings Publishing: http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=990&zenid=fiineuhckm3phjtinmqh6dj1p7

Author Links:

Website/blog: http://sherivelarde.weebly.com/books-and-more-blog

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sher_V

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sheri-VelardeKelly-Ryan/632892500084202

Excerpt:

Suddenly she felt a warming sensation shooting through her body, something she had never felt before in her long life. She turned to see what had caused it, or she should say who. A beautiful woman with piercing green eyes and waist-length auburn hair stood in the doorway, casual jeans and black T-shirt hugging her body’s generous curves. She was the most alluring creature Amy had ever seen, and she was staring right at her with a look of intensity in her eyes, as if she had been searching for Amy all along and had finally found her. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before the connection was broken, the pale beauty shaking her head and heading towards an empty seat on the other end of the bar and returning Amy’s senses to her.

With the spell suddenly broken, Amy once again could hear Len finishing up his story as if nothing special had just happened. What the hell was that? Was the woman at the other end of the bar some sort of demon? She had to be magical and otherworldly to cause such a reaction. She certainly had otherworldly looks. Even though her hips and breasts were more ample than most angels and the like, she had the body of a goddess that begged to be touched. Amy shook her head. Len had finished, so she ordered them another round of drinks. As soon as her martini arrived she downed it and immediately signaled for another. If only alcohol affected her like it did most humans she would probably be calming down by now and not worrying about the mystery woman. Instead she still felt strange, like something had come alive inside her for the first time. She risked a glance at the red-headed siren down the way. The subtle temptress was sipping a beer, chatting with a bartender on that side of the bar. Suddenly she laughed and her whole face lit up, causing Amy to at once be jealous of the bartender and to want to be next to this woman and be the one making her laugh.

She must have been staring, for Len interrupted her inner turmoil. “She’s a looker, all right. A woman with curves too, not one of those too-skinny Hollywood types. They’re a rarity out here nowadays. If I were younger I might try to fight you for her.” He laughed. “Of course, if she picks you I would be out of the running anyways; you know, that pesky penis and all.”

It was Amy’s turn to laugh. “You know some women like both men and women.”

Len winked knowingly at her. “So I have been told. But I’ve never taken you to be the sharing sort of gal. Now get over there and let one of us live the fantasy tonight. After all, we are rock stars, go act like one!”

Thank you, Sheri. What a tantalizing piece. :D Go get your copy today! I appreciate you all who are still following my wonky blog. I have loads of news and will share it as the days go by! Sheri has overcome loads of personal adversity and keeps going. I'd love for some comment love for her.