Story Land Jamboree

Good afternoon, Members of The Tribe,  I hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's day. I enjoyed mine -- I really enjoyed walking around at work and randomly yelling, "Happy V.D., everyone!"   There were some laughs ... and some grimaces ... Hey, not everyone has a sense of humor.   My husband, who is a wonderful poet, wrote me a poem for Valentine's Day and I made a special dinner. We topped it off by watching the RUSH documentary, "Beyond the Lighted Stage." It was actually a really happy, fun little evening.  You all know I may babble about my personal life, but sooner or later, I'm going to come around and talk about something to do with creativity.  I think it is through these our art -  our creativity - that we connect with others in the human experience and we also learn about ourselves. Well, we will learn if we are Tribal, that is. (**See previous blogs to know what I mean by being "Tribal.") Do you know when I started becomin...

Hello to all fellow members of the Tribe,  I hope you all made it through another week with the daily grind and still managed to eek out some creative moments to nourish your souls.  As you all are well aware ... (or all five of you that read this blog -ha!) this blog has evolved into a weekly discussion about my creative meanderings. It is my hope that you all can relate ... that you'll see my struggles and humor and know exactly what I am talking about.  I have heard so many writers refer to the ideas that come to them as "voices" in their heads. I can really relate to that. I have always thought of it that way, too.  Here's how the process works for me: It starts with a vision - usually just a scene.  For instance, In my fantasy short story, "Viridis," I had an image of this magical place where the gods reside. A place where humans couldn't view it except through special glasses because our fragile minds could not handle what we were really ...

Good afternoon to all the Tribal people out there,  This week, I had a conversation with an artist - and fellow Tribe member -- Dylan. He and I were riding in his car and got to talking about the ebb and flow of our creative lives. Right now, he said the issues in his personal life had led to a short attention span and he cannot seem to make himself complete any work of significant size.  I understand his frustration.  For a while, after the end of the longest relationship of my life, there was a period of several years when surviving -- being a single mom, working 2 to 3 jobs, and full time college student -- was all I could focus on. Previous to that, I had been quite prolific -- having published a poetry book and several short stories. The ideas and the characters buzzing around in my head were things I took for granted. I didn't realize they were blessings. Gifts.  Somehow, in the course of survival mode, I was drained of all else that I was. There was si...

Hello, and greetings to all members of The Tribe.  I hope all of you wonderful creative folks know that I did NOT forget you this past week. I'm a few days late on writing a new blog post because I have been down, man ... really down.  Why? Well, thanks for asking. I will tell you. It's embarrassing and immature, but it's the truth and if I am ever to relate to any of you ... I have to tell the truth.  I allowed an editor to critique my work. There. I said it. Oh, the horror!!! Here's the deal with critiques ... as writers, we all need them. If you are going to be a writer, you MUST get feedback from someone - preferably a copy editor and/or another experienced writer -- to help catch typos and grammar errors, locate possible plot issues, etc.  The problem with most of us is that we're so excited to have completed something that we just want to get it "out there" where we can share it. However, most first drafts are complete crap! Actually, secon...

Good evening and Happy New Year to all members of The Tribe! Lots of interesting things are happening around my place lately. My husband, Keith, who is a poet, recently got introduced to Twitter. I have had an account for quite some time. To say he is enjoying it is an understatement! It began as a way to promote his upcoming third book of poetry -- "Lifelong Road." (He's good, ya'll. Once it's released, you will definitely want to check it out.)   He set up the Twitter account to promote his book -- the same reason I set up mine. However, he found that he has enjoyed networking with other poets, writers, and music artists. My husband LOVES music (as I do -- it's one of the many things we have in common) and he enjoys finding new prog rock bands to check out.  Allow me a moment to step away from my main point as I have to state what should be obvious to all Tribal folks out there. The obvious is the the fact that everything is changing. Indie bands/musi...

Good morning all members of The Tribe,  I hope your Christmas holiday (or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate this time of year) has been a good one and not the cause of too much anxiety. If you DID have some awkward moments, then utilize it as rich fodder for use in your writing endeavors. Yeah, I mean the stories about the weird, confirmed-bachelor uncle who likes to sit too close to you and talk -- in excruciating detail -- about his taxidermy hobby, his knife collection, his daily bleach bath, and his never ending hunger for Jello. Go ahead and chronicle the exact moment when you realized Uncle Weirdo fits a serial killer's profile, then ease yourself politely away from his presence and run to your notebook or computer and begin your story. I was recently asked by a new reader: "What do you mean when you call your readers 'The Tribe?'" I explain this periodically. Many years ago, I noticed a certain awareness level in people. Not everyone has it.  ...

Good Day to The Tribe,  This week I've been thinking a lot about duality.  It would not take Freud or Jung to figure out why this has been on my mind. I have a writing life as L.A. Story. Under my own name, I am working on what is shaping up to be a serial novel (probably two parts) called The Gifted . ( The Gifted will have two novels following - Criers and Beyond Shammua .)  Anyhoo, in the most basic breakdown of the plot, it is simply about good versus evil - in the world and in ourselves. Under my own name, I will be publishing supernatural/fantasy/scifi work. Okay, so that would explain why I am examining this, right? But, just like with an infomercial - THAT'S NOT ALL! I also write under another pen name. I gave her official life last week on Twitter. Under that name, I write ... um ... darker stuff. Horror. Why do I feel the need to hide this part of myself under a pen name? Well, my friends, there's the question.  Last night, my second oldest daughte...

Good morning, dear Tribe!  I hope everyone has had a good week. I have been doing okay as I have set off on the adventure that is my life -- working for paychecks that are already gone before they reach my bank account. So many bills, so little time .... ahh, but life doesn't have to be that way, does it? It's all about keeping one's sense of humor. I have to laugh. Life is ridiculous sometimes. It's wonderful and ridiculous and it is the little things that can bring us so much joy.  This past week, the thing that amused me most was how I knew I was aggravating people who had to repeat things to me. Someone was telling me something and I was looking right into her face and I would have to have her repeat half of what she said because my mind was on something else. If I am working on something else, or have other things on my mind, then it is hard for me to focus on any one thing. It can make for interesting situations. The "conversation" can go something...

I LOVE making New Year's resolutions. I have oft documented how much I enjoy the idea of a fresh start. So many people I know never make a resolution because they know they never intend to keep it. In fact, I have had people actually get a little hostile toward me whenever I ask them if they are going to make a New Year's resolution. They often provide me with some snarky responses. Forget that crap! I say GO FOR IT! Let's all just take a childlike leap of faith, throw caution to the wind, and just resolve the heck out of 2014!! I saw one of my Facebook friend's posts this morning. It was a cartoon that basically stated if you are going to fail, then fail BIG!  Let's just pull out all the cliches and dust them off. Let's paint 2014 Town red, take no prisoners, let's party like it's 1999, and let's blow 2014's doors off!  I will believe I can do it! Will it last more than 24 hours? Um. Maybe, maybe not. But, until the resolution is broken, t...

Greetings to the Tribe!  I hope everyone is enjoying a great holiday season. (I'm sorry if holiday greetings sound trite or overused to some people, BUT kiss my fanny, I really mean it, anyway!)  In my local area, a few years ago, I used to have a weekly humorist-style column in the local newspaper that became rather popular. It was known as "The Story Hour." I have decided to get in my often amusing stories about my family -- and/or my own self-involved neuroses -- right here at the Storyland Jamboree blog. So .... if ya'll are game, then so am I. Today I may post more than one just to get us started. This blog started off as a writing inspiration blog and now I have decided that the best way to get myself writing is to do what comes most natural to me -- making fun of myself and those that I love.  To get us started, let me introduce you to my husband, Keith. See Keith? This IS his happy face, by the way.  I told the following story on Facebook a few mo...

Greetings to The Tribe! I hope you all enjoyed your Halloween festivities and have made a smooth transition to November as we journey toward winter. Lately, I have taken up exercising on a regular basis for perhaps the first time in my life since before forced to take physical education in school. I have been told that the best way to ensure that you will adapt exercise regularly to your lifestyle is to make sure it is something you enjoy. That's funny. To me, "exercise" and "enjoyment" are mutually exclusive. Much to my surprise, I found that there is a form of exercise that I actually -- GASP -- enjoy. I have taken up swimming. I have found that, in the pool, I am graceful. In the pool, I am at least 30 years younger and the boundaries aging has forced upon me no longer exist. So, I thought ... well, now I am exercising my body - why not my mind, as well? My little sister, Betty Jo, gave me a book recently called, Do The Work by Steven Pressfield. My ...

Good afternoon! I hope all members of The Tribe are enjoying their Labor Day weekend. Well, Dear Readers, I am in the middle of a HUGE lifestyle change and at times it is so hard! I have had a weight problem for a long time -- and it's been worse since I have gotten off steroids for my illness. I am 47 years old. I like to think I eat well ... but I do like too much junk. I have tried different diets. Heck, I've been on a diet most of my adult life. It never really lasts more than a couple days or so before I'm absolutely stark raving mad from hunger and deprivation and then I pretty much eat everything in sight. It is then that I give up and just eat what I want until I feel I have the emotional strength to try another diet. I had given up hope. Until now. I am proud to say that I am on Day 7 of a healthier eating plan -- a plan that is slow carb, gluten free, and a general whole foods approach -- and have begun exercising. I have an illness that is degenerative an...

Okay ... here we go ... we are looking for some funny redneck haiku poems for Bubbaku, Too: He's Bigger, He's Badder, He's Bubba! If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the original Bubbaku which has tickled the funny bones of so many people already, then go to the store online at albanlake.com. Check it out ... then try your hand at penning a few of those hilarious redneck haiku! It pays $2 per poem, if your work is accepted. Allow plenty of time for a response ... I am just getting started going through submissions. The publication date for this collection is still TBA depending on the submission response we get. The original Bubbaku is selling like hotcakes so we thought another collection was warranted! We will also accept haibun and other similar forms as long as it fits the theme. (**A Haibun is a very short story that is punctuated by a haiku. Again, see the original Bubbaku . There are two haibun published in that collection. One is by myself and the ...

So ... I've been hearing all about Stephen King's "Under the Dome." I also had read the ebook on Kindle. I'm excited about his telling of the tale, BUT his idea is not entirely new. I had a short story accepted for publication back in 2003 ... it was published online in Twilight Times. My writing has VASTLY improved (so, if you go read the story, then please accept my humble apologies for errors in grammar) ... but the story was pretty good I think. You can still find the story online (under my old name), it's called "City Limits." Check it out if you're interested: http://www.twilighttimes.com/jan03/la_StoryHoury19.html Just sayin'.  I eventually want to turn my City Limits idea into a novel ...  Have a happy Independence Day!!!  Hugs to you all,  L.A.

So, I struggle every single day with the strong desire to be lazy. Every. Single. Day. I have all these delusions of grandeur in which I am the star in my own Successful Author Nationally Televised Interview fantasy. (It's one of my favorites.) I am interviewed about where I get my ideas and how did I get so brilliant ... and so on. (**Pauses here to indulge in the fantasy because now it's on my mind.)  Where was I? Oh, yeah. Laziness. Okay, to be fair, I am really quite hard-working BUT my hard work is usually motivated by things such as when someone is paying me, when I am being chased by zombies (or rabid political activists - no matter whether they come running at me from the left or the right), when being forced out of guilt, OR by a deadline.  Passive activities are usually my activities of choice if left to my own devices. There are things in which I love the end results, but do not like the work involved to get there. These "things" include exercising and ...