VIDEO VOTING BOOTH IS NOW OPEN!!

I'm sooo excited to open the polls for the VIDEO VOTE PAGE!! I have found some very cool videos from all over YouTube and selected 4 of them for this month. The talent for editing videos together has amazed me! The winner will receive a badge for their page and a blog post about the video. Also the winning video will be featured for a month on three sites with a link to their page. I can't wait to see what you guys like the most!! Huge hugs to AL...

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Writing Tips

When I started this blog I have to tell you I had NOOOooo idea what I was going to do with it. What started out as an experiment in life and trying to come up with different things to say or do on a daily basis has turned into a great learning tool and a central place to keep all the stuff I like to do organized. Those who know me are probably thinking "You are organized?" because you know I always have kids at my house and there is always a lot going on. It's something I love about my life. As most of you know, a few weeks ago I started a radio show named after this blog on blog talk radio. I love it! However, it struck me earlier this evening that I could post the inspirational words and advice that has been shared by other writers in the interviews. What a cool concept! Sharing...

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What We Do is Significant

What ever you do in life is insignificant, but it's important that you do it. ~~Gandhi~~ Even in the Decemberist of days, chaos is best. It lets you know your alive. What I do may not be significant to the rest of the world, but in my small home, surrounded by the people who love me, what I do is very significant. I know that sounds weird but the truth is we are all important to a few people in the world. We make a difference even when we don't know it. I learned a lesson like that today. I had a friend call me and want to talk about something I'm not comfortable with because it brings up too many bad memories. It was something...

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THE ECLECTIC ARTIST CAVE PRESENTS: STEPHEN PROSAPIO

Stephen Prosapio, author of DREAM WAR joins me LIVE Around the Coffee Pot on SAT January 29th at 10 AM CST.  Join me as we discuss the future of publishing and what it means for writers in general. Also Stephen has a new novel to talk about. Tune in Around the Coffee Pot and learn all the details. SYNOPSIS DREAM WAR 1980. Hector Lopez joins a CIA enterprise capable of entering dreams and extracting information. Lopez saves hundreds of hostages’ lives by dream-linking to terrorists and foiling their plans. When the Red Brigades, an Italian terrorist group, kidnaps a US General, Lopez and his team execute every technique available...

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Feeling Introverted, One Writer's Journey

 When you come across something you were born to do, does it make the path any easier when you discover it? Does destiny play a part or is all just a chain of conscious and unconscious actions that guide you to make the decision of going for it, what ever IT may be? As far as I know, we are born with a single purpose in life. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's what I believe. There are some of us who find it and some who don't. We're not always sure what we're doing is right. We just know we need to do it. To me, it feels like a hunter who has picked up a scent and is on the prowl. I'm hunting my own creation and it fights back. There are...

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KIT-KAT Part 2 of The Butcher's Man

The one thing I have learned is words are as powerful as they are intoxicating. Words bring nations together, inspire people to greatness and make children feel safe. Words have serrated edges and can make you wish you were dead as much as you are alive. The single word that comes to mind when I look into the mirror is "Monster" and I hate it.  Taken from Kit-Kat's journal left at the center. Kit-Kat was taken to an underground facility by Q and Yeager three nights ago. No matter how many times she woke since, all of it felt surreal. The cell, set up to look like her old room from her old life did little to replace the trapped feeling in her stomach. She paced the cell like a tiger from a small zoo. Back and forth she walked so much so that she could almost see the path she had taken...

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Is IT Normal?

I'm sitting here in front of my computer, working on book 2 of I AM WOLF called THE KISS, and I can't help but think that perhaps I can do a better job on this one. I often worry about the simplicity of my work. I don't use words that fall under the category of SAT nor do I always make the chapters real long. There are times when I wonder if what I'm writing is actually good, or if I'm just fooling myself into thinking it's good. Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of my work. I think I've weaved a great story. I just hope that...well I guess I hope it's fantastic and that the companies and the powers that be will love it as much as I do. It's hard to know what people think. It's even harder when I hear, "OMG I love your work" I think it's because I'm still waiting for the validation that...

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So Much A Do About Nothing

I'm sitting here in the living room. The TV is on in the background but I have my earphones in and I'm listening to 30 Seconds to Mars. For those who know me, you're probably saying "Of course she is," because you know I love that group. So much a do about nothing is my way of saying I haven't heard anything yet about my novel or what the publishers think of it. The other thing it means is I'm broke. I have to giggle at the last one because I'm always broke. We have a roof over our head and food in our belly's so I'm not going to complain about that one. The thing that has been bothering me all day is I have a friend who is being emotionally abused and she doesn't know what to do about it. I've told her she needs to get some help and she needs to leave the situation because she doesn't...

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Days Like Today

It's  drab day. You know the kind where your mood matches the clouds in the sky outside. I hate days like this and I always like to find something good that's going on. Finally at the end of the day, I received that one good thing. My daughter's grades are awesome! She has all A's and B's. I'm so proud of her. The teachers said she is a joy to have in class and she is doing great. That was just what I needed to hear today. It amazed me after I had a little while to reflect that it was just the pick me up I needed. I received one of those stamps of approval that said, "You are a good mom." I can't believe the feeling of pride I felt when I read her grades and how happy it made me. It means all the work I have done with Sarah and all the talks we have had, well...she might have actually...

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The Butcher's Man Series, Part 1

The Butcher’s Man ‘I dance with the devil in the silver light. On a duel sided blade I stand. I run like the wind in the dead of the night. You can’t catch me; I’m the butcher’s man.’ To look long into the abyss means the abyss will be the only place you can look out from. It will engulf the soul and erupt from with in at the same time. It waits patient, unwearied by the dying of the majestic moonlight that filled the sky once every month. The sound of a chopper rumbled in the distant, it carried a distinct noise, like an ak-47 firing round after round. A tall dark figure killed the engine on his motor cycle and pulled out his cross bow with silver tipped arrows and waited. He was the hunter-the Butcher’s man. He knew all too well what was happening in the woods. His leather jacket, adorned...

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The Eclectic Artist Cave Presents

Around the Coffee Pot on Blog talk radio. Join me LIVE tomorrow at 10 AM CST when I interview Tami Snow. She is a writer, mother and now she has a new Vlog called Lyrical Lip Service in which she records herself on video reading various writers works. Last week she read from Alice in Wonderland, one of my personal favorites. This week she will be reading from The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. Tami currently resides in Las Vegas. When she isn't snow boarding or rushing off on some other adventure, she's writing. Some examples can be found on Slaves to the Muse. A blog that has been co-founded and co-created by herself and Joann Hamann-Buchanan. Tami Snow has a sweet voice and a great Vlog. Tune in to learn how she gets inspired and inspires others. Next week, The Eclectic Artist Cave Presents:...

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Coming soon to The Eclectic Artist Cave: A VIDEO VOTE!!

There will be a new addition with the new look of my blog. I'm going to seek out the coolest videos from youtube and post 4 a month to my blog. Some of them will have a lot of play already while others will be tiny gems I've dug out of the mining pits on Youtube. From those 4, you decide who wins. The winner will be blogged about and announced on Around the Coffee Pot. If you find yourself curious about what I like to see or have a suggestion you want featured,  send me a message or post a comment. I will start posting on January 31, 2011. Don't forget to come by and vote. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!!...

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Shadows Between the Pages.

"There are places between the shadows, worlds within the printed page. There are things that live beyond the grasp of conscious thought, things both wretched and beautiful, horrible and fantastic." - C. D. Bennett No matter how many times I read this, I will never forget the first time. I felt like a sharp cold pen had been used on my very soul and it sent me crashing deep into a world...my world. I love it when a couple of lines written on a page send me to the edge and back. It makes me chase the written word and I become intoxicated by the very thought of the world that is created. The love of the written word is like a drug. A single thought can turn into miles across the ocean or a night in bed with someone you love. They are the very essence of my soul; I breathe them in everyday...

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The Eclectic Artist Cave

My url address now makes sense...lol...this is the way I pictured my blog when I first put it together. Well, minus the fairy (Chris's idea)  I want to thank Chris Bennett for all his help in getting my blog put together the way I wanted it...huge hugs and lots of love to you!! If you're curious about Chris, you can find his blog at the following location. http://echoesofdusk.blogspot.com/ He has an awesome blog...huge hugs to you Chris!! Take care of Cleo she's my inspiration to THE KISS...he he...

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Life Breathes Anew (For Trystan my baby boy)

Tiny unyeilding strings linger on my heart From yesterday. I fell. Hard. Fast. All the way. Trial by pain. Streams of light. Love of life. Then nothng. Was I even really there? Was it real? Torn apart to set you free. Life breaths anew. A tiny beating heart mimicing mine. So pure and innocent Full of joy. Shadows of my heart just a distant memory of the pain. I didn't know what awaited me would bring me such sweet tender unconditional lo...

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On the Threshold of a Dream

I was asked the other day what it was like to be so close to my dream of getting published. I smiled and said, "It's so exciting. I can't believe it might actually happen." The truth is it can be more nerve racking than anything else in the world because when you're a writer you give a piece of your soul to each and every line you put down. All the characters you create, they are a part of you in so many different ways and on more levels than most of us care to admit.  I'm a writer. I create ideas, characters(which could be construed as people), worlds and even obstacles. Being a writer is like being the goddess of your own world. We are neurotic and imaginative beings who share the very essence of our souls. We do it because we love it. There is nothing like it in the world...

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Cool Waters Run Deep

The waving plains of the valley covered in reds, gold and greens wake every morning when the sun peeks just over the horizon. Elroy calls it the dragon’s eye because the colors are so vibrant and vary so much, only a dragon could shine like that. He walked out to the barn where his horse, Samies, waited patiently for his master to feed him and set him loose. He fed the tall beautiful creature his food, cleaned the stall then loaded Samies up with a saddle and reins. The horse, a beautiful brown stallion, was gentle by nature. He didn’t scare easily, which is good, otherwise there wouldn’t be a story to tell. Elroy was a widower who lived alone on his small ranch in the middle of Marion county. He didn’t have any children of his own since his wife died of pneumonia when they were young....

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Karma

Jerry Patterson was a common man. He didn’t have a lot of money, nor did he have any special “it” factor like others in the world. He always wore a grey suit with a white shirt and a black tie. He drove a beige Volvo and he never had the radio turned on. Jerry was a person you would forget two seconds after you met him. He liked it that way. He needed it in fact because Jerry’s job was different then most other people who walked around him on a daily basis. Jerry was a Cleaner. Jerry came into the business by sheer accident. How does a man become a Cleaner by accident? Simple. He needs a job. His resume’ included sharp shooter in the Army. After 10 years of faithful service, his psych evaluation said he could no longer serve. His old Sergeant used to say, “The dead man cometh, he cometh...

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