Wanting the Best

I see my boys and wonder what future awaits them.  I want the best for them, of course, all parents want the best for their children.  It is interesting to me that Kevin, my oldest, is evaluating his interests in various career paths and has honed in on wanting to be a Marine Biologist.  Can't say I'm surprised.  He loves the water.  He has his diving certification and is interested in exploring the Deep.  This fascination and love of all things water runs deep in all the McCartneys.   

Across the great divide we are all the same - we all want the best for our children. 

For Kevin - Dream BIG Baby!  An ocean of wonders is waiting ...  
Okay, so he wants to be a Marine Biologist or a Pilot (smiling).  Hey~who says you can't FLY through the water? 

A New Beginning

Is there really such a thing?  A fresh start to begin anew ...  Inevitably, it feels that some part of the past influences the future.  Even if we are totally unaware of the smallest shift, it is still there.  And our new beginning, depends greatly on the ingredients already in the soil.

Tend your gardens well ... for you will bare the fruits of your labor.

The Magic of CHANCE!

I once read that Puff, the Magic Dragon was written quite by chance.  One of the authors, Lenny Lipton, has said that he wrote a short poem and laughingly left it on a typewriter for Peter Yarrow ... who added some lyrics and turned it into a song.  The magical realm of Honalee was just that, for Lenny knew nothing of Hanalei Bay or the massive lava cave, large enough for any dragon.  

How is it that a whimsical poem left in jest became forever immortalized as a wonderful children's book?  A book that decades later, I found myself reading to my four year old today.

Isn't it amazing what we unconsciously already know?  Imagine what magic truths we have left to unlock, if we only let ourselves find the key!

Absolute Future

I woke up thinking about the future ... what will it be and when will it get here.  Once it arrives ~ it will no longer be the future, but the present and sadly, in the blink of an eye, it will be the past.

I looked up the definition of future, in my trusty Webster's Dictionary.  It says: The time yet to come.

On Wikipedia the definition is much more grand: The future is the indefinite time period after the present.  Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics.  Due to the nature of reality and the inevitability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist ~ is temporary and will come to an end.  It goes on to say:  In physics, time is considered to be the fourth dimension of the universe.

I guess, I'm dreaming about another dimension.  The fourth dimension!  Careful, everything is starting to make sense!

Feeling Very Weathered and Worn

Just recovering from a bout of the flu.  It left me feeling drained, to say the least.  I don't think I have ever officially had the flu before.  And I don't want it EVER again.  :-P

I've been running ragged for some time now and I think it's high time to make good on that annual New Year's resolution of mine to actually take care of myself.

In the midst of life's mundane drudgery, it's important to remember what life is.  It's the mundane drudgery!

You are free to feel ALIVE!

Returning from a Sea of Edits

As I got my stories ready to be published at Create Space, I found myself editing them ... again.  For the millionth time.  This whole week, I've been lost in a sea of edits.  Literally!  Those tricky commas get me every time.  I recently read that a comma should help add clarity and if doesn't, then ditch it.  That one sentence made SO much sense.  It was like aaahhh!  Okay, not to delude myself.  I still don't get it ... but it seems a little easier. 

Anyway, that's the nice thing about publishing with Create Space ... you can update your book's file at anytime.  If a mistake is brought to my attention, then I can correct it.  If I make a story change, then I can update my book!  Too cool!   

Shedding the Funk

I've been in a foggy funk lately.  I haven't been totally unproductive ... just ignoring my blog.  During this month's retrospective funk, I've been evaluating my options in publishing the Nautical Mile books with Create Space.  I found this process to be much easier than I anticipated and FREE!  I've uploaded the first 4 books and already I am waiting for my proofs to be received in the mail.  Total time from creation to proof ... about 1 week.  Compared to that same process with Tate Publishing ... just over 11 months.

What did Create Space do for me?  Some might ask ...
Well, with their user friendly software I was able to turn my e-books into paperback books.  They offer pre-formatted files to assist the average know nothing user (a/k/a ... me).  So all I had to do was point and click to get my files ready for print.  They also assigned an ISBN number for each book in less than 5 minutes!  Their cover creator software is also pretty cool and I couldn't resist playing with a few newly formatted covers, just for kicks. 

All of that was for FREE!  I'm still in shock.  Considering Tate Publishing (which claims to only publish about 4% of the manuscripts submitted to them) required a $4,000 author investment from me to publish Salty Summer.  Which by the way has a totally new ending, so it interlocks with my other books.  If anyone ever asks why the publishing industry is changing this is definitely one reason why:  Publishing houses of any size gobble up time and money.  If the author has to take control of writing and marketing, then why not publishing and editing?

Pirates on the internet sea BEWARE!

My books have started to show up in a few internet web stores with links back to Amazon.  That in itself is wonderfully amazing ... but there are some sites who are abusing Amazon and their products by selecting products that are totally UNRELATED to their site for the sole purpose of HIJACKING their google ranking. 

I've worked tirelessly to craft and promote my books and I will not idly stand by while their rankings are HIJACKED!  It's time to scrape a few barnacles from the hull Missy; we're going to war!

Convergence

Convergence is where two things come together at the same time.  I believe that good and bad things happen simultaneously for a reason.  Sometimes it's to temper the good with the bad and other times it's so we can cope with things beyond our control. 

My entire life has been about convergence and this mystical dance that God has laid out before me sometimes gets me tangled up in the tiniest details.  If there is a God, HE is definately a SHE!  Because no man would take the time to play such games.     

Just Saying!

Preview of a Chapter

Captain Red Aye was carried into the city as Kyle cautiously zipped ahead of Meridian soldiers on his wild sting ray.  He slid off the wing and landed on red bedrock looking around for his brothers.  An opaque shield lowered over Aquatica as a Meridian clad in battle armor darted desperately toward them.  “Mi Novia!” He shouted.  “Mi Novia!”  He cut through the water, whipping his tail back and forth.  Desperation consumed him as he stretched out his arms.  “Bebe’s detachment didn’t return,” he panted.  “She’s trapped on the other side!” he exclaimed, morphing as he fell to his knees.  His heavy heart beat frantically in his chest. 

Kyle turned on his heel at hearing the gut wrenching news that the second detachment of Aqua Defenders was still trapped on the other side of the shields.  He tried to look through the opaque dome but it was like looking through scratched glass.  He raised both of his hands and pressed on the shield, then watched metallic ripples expanding outward as it flexed.  Purple lightning zinged off the ceiling and illuminated the dark water surrounding him.  Kyle stepped back from the shields and looked down at his glowing hands.  A blue glow radiated from his palms and extended all the way to his fingertips.  He had just escaped from certain death on the back of a golden sting ray, and though it had seemed like an eternity, it had been just a matter of minutes.  The unique glow meant he was connected in some magical way to the creatures of the deep and their life force.  Just as he had been with the stinging nettle that had wrapped itself around his arm on his first mission with Feng.  Delphina, the oracle, had told him it meant he had Neptunium in his blood, and incredibly he was a descendant from the royal bloodline.

An eerie creaking noise surrounded them as the water shuttered.  It felt like an earthquake as war torn Tangled Tower started to settle.  The tower of wrecked ships that had seemed to defy gravity had a huge hole blasted in it.  Lights flickered on and off from the port holes of the high rise.  Tangled Tower appeared to be living quarters for many of the Meridians.  Children’s faces were pressed against circular windows curiously peering out unaware of the danger that lingered.  Wood splintered into a thousand tiny pieces and shot through the water as the building started to collapse. 

Bebe’s friend looked up in terror as the shadow of the building fell across his broad shoulders.  A young boy with sandy brown hair rushed in trying to help the Meridian to his feet.  The twisted building smashed through the water, crumbling all around them.  Instinctively, Kyle threw up his hand in an effort to protect himself and Bebe’s hapless boyfriend.  Blinding white light with streaks of blue shot from his palm and held the building at bay.  Wounded Meridians cried out as the wreckage hung suspended above the boy. 

Another beam of light lassoed the building from the other side and steadied it as Kyle fell back, drained from the use of his newfound magical powers.  Kevin and Triston ran over to the commotion and were stunned to find Kyle lying in the rubble next to the Meridian.  Kevin rushed to Kyle’s side dusting off debris.  “Kyle!  Please be okay!”  Kevin held his breath looking down at his little brother who lay limply on the seafloor.  Kyle’s chest rose and fell.  Kevin took a ragged breath.  “Aaahhh,” he sighed.  Tears of relief welled up in his grey eyes.  “Thank you for saving my brother,” Kevin choked. 

“I didn’t save him.  He saved me,” Bebe’s astonished boyfriend looked down at the pint sized hero at his side.  He was much younger than he had first realized.