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What are You Waiting For - Inspirational Quote on a Blackboard.

So much is new!

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First and foremost, to all of my followers and subscribers, THANK YOU! I’m honored that you want to follow me.

For those who aren’t, if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter, now is the time to do so!

I don’t send many newsletters out because I want your mailbox to remain happy.  The most I’ve ever sent out in a year has been 4 and that was last year’s total. The two years prior each saw 2 newsletters going out.

I’ve been so busy these past couple months that the New Year’s newsletter that I wanted to write kept getting delayed! So much has been happening!

So why sign up now? This next newsletter will include:

  • recipes
  • a book I highly recommend reading (I couldn’t put it down; there were so many twists!)
  • a tip if you’re wanting easier ways to downsize or declutter
  • a tip for writers
  • a movie recommendation
  • upcoming events
  • and of course, my newest publication news

To sign up now, click here. Exciting things are happening!

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The Incredible Power of the Written Word

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

May 1 question: What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

My experience would have to be when I first started publishing. One of my earliest publications was to a small magazine and it was about finding the positive in anything and everything, including the not so positive experiences we go through from time to time.

The day I got my copy, I got a phone call from a reader who lived in Oklahoma. I lived in Michigan. He was quite direct wanting to know what my day was like right then and what was so positive about it.

I must admit, that day wasn’t the best day for me. I paused.

Right away, he quipped, “Ha, I knew you couldn’t do it.”

“Give a minute,” I said. A few seconds later, I found my positive and told him.

He paused and said, “I guess you showed me that we can find the positive if we’re willing to look around and think about it.”

The fact that my little article could reach someone halfway across the country like that was a powerful message to me that I needed to take care about what I wrote.

More than ever that holds true in today’s social media and e-mails. We have the power to help or to hurt. I’ll choose to help every time.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

 

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Diana’s Sunday Snippet – 4/14/19 – Shattered Dreams

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Weekend Writing Warriors / #WeWriWa / #8sunday

Welcome to the Weekend Writing Warrior blog hop where writers share an 8-10 sentence snippet of their writing, published or unpublished.

My snippet this week comes from the first novella in a series of seven, Shattered Dreams. Drafts for #2 and #3 have been written. The last four plotted out. My plan is to start publishing them by the end of the year. What’s fun is that the characters come in and out of each other’s stories, as they should as one or both of the couples went to school together and all remain in the same community. Oh, and there is a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle that is pulled out of the lake in #1 with a mystery surrounding it.

As a waitress, Shelley is in the diner’s freezer, having propped the door open with a brick. She stumbles, exclaiming out loud, and in the next instant, Mason is there beside her asking if she’s alright. She’s startled, bumping into him, which tips over a bucket of pickles that moves the brick, which seals them in darkness.

SNIPPET:

Shelley heard him moving around. “Where are you?”

“Smile so I can see you.”

Shelley chuckled, unable to help herself. So like Mason to joke when there was a problem.

She heard him moving. “What are you doing?”

“Let’s pretend we’re blind, and we’ll talk with our hands.”

“We are blind. It’s dark, remember? Besides, I can’t see your hands.”

“That’s the point. We can use the braille method.”

   Shattered Dreams (#1)

Grendel's Mother

Thank you, readers!!!

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The reviews for Grendel’s Mother are starting to come in.

From  Sarah Stuart on Readers’ Favorite:

“The author paints a vivid picture of inequality and discrimination. More than entertainment, this book is thought-provoking. . . . produced a fantasy that will appeal to teens and adults alike.”

From readers on Amazon.com:

“A tautly woven tale around a character often ignored in literature and offers the reader insight into how she became the frightful figure in Beowulf. . . . a story of abandonment, desperation, survival and strength. How surprised I was to find myself rooting for a character I had always thought of as menacing.”

“Presents a graphic description of village life in medieval times, especially for women of the times. . . . a survivor who uses her love of nature and her determination to live and protect the life of her unborn child to make a home in a cave deep in the forest.”

“Highly recommend it. Gripping tale!”

“Thank you for a wonderful book!”

Thank you, readers, for your comments!