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Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde has a new home, which you can find here. This older version of my blog will remain but will no longer be updated.

Thank you!

Lindsey

 

BlogHer Challenge 2013: Roots

BlogHer Challenge | The Black Tortoise

Last night as I was thinking about how I want to revive and update this blog, I realized just how much I miss my blogger friends.  One of the nicest is Adela from The Black Tortoise and Once A Little Girl.  As it just so happens, I read her new post today about the BlogHer Challenge.  Now I am signing up myself.  I’m disappointed that I didn’t participate in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge after having so much fun with it last year.

So, here it goes.  Watch for a new post every day this June.  The theme is perfect for me and my blog:  Roots.  So check out Adela’s first entry – BlogHer Challenge | The Black Tortoise – which is very sweet, as always, and stay tuned for mine!

Related articles

• NaBloPoMo: The Challenge Begins on a Personal Note (theblacktortoise.com)
• Editing BlogHer’s Food Anthology, ROOTS (blogher.com)

Home

Over the last seven months, I’ve thought a lot about the meaning of home.  November 2, 2012, at nearly age 32, I moved back to my hometown to take care of my Grandma.  After a very rough winter and spring, she now resides in a local skilled nursing facility.  Fortunately she now appears to be healthy and at least content.  We are fortunate she is still with us.  Even though I visit her nearly every day, I miss her.  I think of all of our outings to her favorite restaurants, all of her little quirks, not to mention all of the fun we had when I was a kid.  Then add in the fact that I am currently living in her home.  I am reminded daily of French toast and bacon breakfasts, mouthwatering ice creams sundaes with fresh berries, and countless family gatherings, whether Easter, hunting season, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.  She’s always been an important part of my life and the lives of everyone in my immediate family.  It’s difficult to watch her world constrict, watch her lose interest is things she used to love, watch her slowly forget.  No, this year has not been an easy one thus far. So many little things surprised me when I first moved back to Omer.  After managing a convenience store in another small Michigan town, I came to realize just how friendly people can be in my hometown.  They may not be more sophisticated, articulate, or educated, but they are much friendlier.  Working in a convenience store built by my Grandpa brought about mixed emotions.  I wish he was here.  Things you never thought would change change, and yet so many things remain the same. Growing up, all the boys into skateboarding congregated in the large parking lot behind the convenience store.  Well, during an unusually warm January day, I had to smile as I stepped out back to see a group of skater boys trying to impress one another.  Same story, different kids.  I saw more former childhood classmates while working at the convenience store than I’ve seen in the last 14 years.  Since when did we become adults?  Now we are discussing who moved back to town and who moved away, marriage and kids, not scheming and dreaming to be anywhere but here. In mid-May I quit my part-time job at the convenience to work for my parents at Russell Canoe Livery for the summer.  My brother and I eventually plan to purchase the business from our parents.  Already there are so many names I recognize from my childhood, customers who have been with us for over 25 years. Yet, so many things have changed.  I miss my grandparents being there day-in, day-out.  We no longer run out of canoes on prime weekends, we rent more tubes.  You no longer need an adapter to get into our electricity.  Somehow I missed that one.  I love the business and hope we can expand for years to come. All of the little things I mentioned above mean “home” to me.  For better or worse, I do belong here, and I intend to make the most of it.  Now for the hard part:  I have to somehow make this all work.  Somewhere along the way I lost sight of what is possible.  I need to regain the drive and vision I had in college.  I need to once again ignore all those who say “I can’t.”

An Update …

No, I have not fallen off the face of the Earth.  No, I have not given up blogging.  Early in February my Grandma was admitted to the critical care unit of the local hospital.  To be blunt, for a while it did not look good at all.  Fortunately she is doing much better and was transferred to the skilled nursing area of the hospital.  Watching everything unfold with my Grandma has only reconfirmed my belief that my Grandma is quite possibly the strongest woman I know – and one of the most giving.  I’m sharing this because I’ve been dividing my time between work and the hospital, as well as spending time with family, running errands, and gearing up for the camping/canoeing season.

I miss writing, I miss blogging, and I just need to do it.  Unfortunately I tend to over-think anything I write here.  That needs to change.  There is much going on in my life that I would like to share here.  Moving back to my hometown after living elsewhere for well over a decade continues to amuse me.  Each day I am more grateful than the last for the wonderful childhood I had.  Much more soon.

Lindsey

Spin The Plate On Tour With Walker Author Tours: An Interview With Donna Anastasi

Today we have an author interview with Donna Anastasi, author of Spin the Plate, who is currently on tour with Walker Author Tours. Enjoy, and don’t forget to pick up your copy of Spin the Plate!

What are your habits when you sit down to create? Do you have to be in a certain room? outside? Music playing? The inspiration part happens when I’m driving or walking and my mind is relaxed and wandering. The ideas happen at random moments so I’ve always carried a small notebook. More recently I’ve been using the notebook or recorder feature on my iphone. The writing part happens when I’m alone and things are quiet. Any place will do. I usually write an hour at a time between other obligations. But when I’m just starting to pull it together or getting near the end, I’ll go away by myself and hole up for a day or weekend for concentrated writing.

 

Where do you find inspiration for your books? The inspiration for me for fiction work finds me and demands to be written. For non-fiction it is more a intellectual decision to write about something that I’m an expert on that doesn’t have good or detailed enough coverage.

Do movies inspire you and if so, which ones? Yes! I am a movie-aholic. I had one job where I took a bus into Boston everyday and watched 3-4 movies a week. I love movies that are a bit off beat, have characters with great chemistry that aren’t perfect but that you bond with anyways, are intelligent or clever, and teach or remind you of important truths that perhaps help you be a bit of a better person. Just a few of my recently watched favorites are Les Mis, About a Boy, I Am, Catfish, Death to Smoochy. Primal Fear is my most watched movie. Silver Lining Playbook is my newest favorite. I also loved 50-50.

I write reviews and make listmania lists on Amazon of films and books that I like. If you share my tastes you can check these out here:

REVIEWS: https://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3OXW1R2RMDXBX?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_dp_pdp

LISTS: https://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3OXW1R2RMDXBX?ie=UTF8&ref_=cm_cr_dp_pdp

Have you ever had a moment that you felt like quitting writing? Why? No, because I don’t do it professionally which gives me the luxury to pick it up and put it down as I want. I do have different feelings toward my novel at different times and these feelings run the full gamut.

 

Do you think that the future is ebook or print? ebook. Books are going to go the way of the newspaper. That makes me sad. Nothing like the smell and feel of a “real” book in your hands.

Tell us about your book.

This book is not your usual bodice-ripper romance where an unnaturally gorgeous heroine meets a buff, alpha-male for hot nasty sex.

Not even close.

Jo is a survivor of a bleak and abusive childhood. She channels her pain and rage into weight training and roams the city streets at night as a powerful vigilante. While she is more than capable of defending herself against physical danger, she is defenseless against the memories of the past that torment her.

Francis is a mysterious man she meets on the subway train. He doesn’t have a regular job and is still living at home. But he is gentle, likeable, friendly, intelligent, sensitive, respectful, generous, patient, and understanding. Just what a brave, but damaged soul like Jo needs.

In this story, the average-guy hero battles to win the battered heart of the wary, edgy, less-than-perfect heroine.

“Spin the Plate is a fast-paced, edgy, darkly comic tale of resilience, romance, and redemption that breaks over you in waves. All you can do is gasp, stay afloat, and enjoy the ride.”
— Holly Robinson, author of The Wishing Hill and Sleeping Tigers

 

Where can we find out more about you and buy your book?

The novel is offered as a free ebook from Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes, and is a 99 cent kindle ebook. It is available in paperback from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Make sure to get the January 2013 (full length novel) version titled “Spin the Plate: A Novel.” More information about me and the book can be found at www.spintheplate.com.

 

Why I Write: Every Life Has A Story

Let’s start at the very beginning: Why Write At All? « The Collaborative Writer

As of late I’ve come across some great material that got me thinking about why I write in the first place.  The article above from The Collaborative Writer gets it exactly right.  I admit it:  I am my own worst enemy.  I tend to over-think everything and spend too much time planning what I’d like to do when I really should be writing.  I.  Just.  Need.  To.  Write.  Why is that so difficult in practice?

The thing is that I truly believe everyone has a story.  No one has a perfect life.  Everyone is struggling with something and conflict is the heart of any great story.  Not only does that simple premise – everyone has a story – get to the heart of why I write, it is also the reason why I love to read.  I am drawn to biographies and autobiographies or any good plot driven by realistic conflicts dealt with by well-rounded characters.

Again, I keep going back to asking myself why it has to be so hard.  I love to create.  I know what I like to write.  I always feel more myself when I write.  Why don’t I write more?  I think we all need to ditch the excuses.

The video included below I came across as part of training for my position as a clerk.  I love the message of the video.  It is all too easy to forget that everyone is struggling with something.

Related articles

• Let’s start at the very beginning: Why Write At All? (collaborativewriter.wordpress.com)
• Writing Challenge: Character Development (theevolvingdad.wordpress.com)
• 7 Easy RulesTo Write Your Best Chapter. (Rule 1: Write Your Worst Chapter.) (thebestchapter.com)
• Writing Thoughts on Compositions as a Whole (crampedwriting.com)
• Writer Interview: The Lovely Monique McDonell Talks About Her Writing And Creative Process (pamelacook.wordpress.com)

2012 In Review

I meant to post this earlier, but better late than never.  By the way, the most viewed post of 2012 happens to be my absolute favorite.  Click below to check it out!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 15,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 3 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

32 …

I turned 32 yesterday.  While I’m not exactly where I thought I’d be at this age, I am where I need to be.  There is a reason why I haven’t blogged much over the last couple of months.  I recently moved back to my hometown in order to care for my Grandma, who will be 88 in January.  In the midst of the move, I also changed jobs.  I still work for the same company, but I now work part-time.  Instead of managing a convenience store, I am now working once again as a cashier.  I also moved stores in order to make it all work.  So far, so good.

And since everyone who knows me has asked:  Yes, Brian and I are still together.  That’s the hardest part of it all.  Brian and I are still very much in love; it is just that much harder to spend any time with him.  We lived together for eight years, and I thought we’d be married for several years by now.  I also thought that I’d own a home, have my career at least on the right track, and even possibly have the adoption process started.

So where did I go wrong?  I’ve asked myself that very question several times over the last few years, and I still have no answers.  All I can say is this:  Everything happens for a reason.  Right now I have a fresh start.  And I have to admit, I am closer to achieving some of my dreams than I have been in a very long time.

Welcome September

I’m hoping to make some decisions regarding my writing soon.  I need a fresh start.  I have all these wonderful ideas, and then they just fall away because I don’t make the time to follow through.  I can do so much better.

Facebook, Twitter, and GoodReads ~ Oh My

Lately I’ve been spending my time filling out the Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde Facebook page, which you can find here.  I’m hoping to eventually create a community there that wants to have in depth conversations.  Right now, as I’ve just set up the discussion boards, I’m having a conversation with myself!  I visualize it as a place for readers to plug their blogs, discuss what books they just finished, and share ideas as to what they’d like to see here.  I want to make Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde truly interactive.  Currently I have 50 members, myself included.  There is always room for one more.

In addition to finally fleshing out the Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde facebook page, I’ve also spent some time developing my Twitter account, @russelllindsey.  If you take the time to follow me, I follow you back.  Currently Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde, each and every post, is broadcast to 162 Twitter followers.

Twitter and Facebook aside, I’ve also gone through my GoodReads account.  You can find me on Goodreads here.  While I don’t have the details right now, a conversation or two I had on GoodReads may have a huge impact on the future of Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde.  Stay tuned!

Even though it has taken me a lot longer than I would’ve liked, I’m glad I’m finally starting to truly use social media to promote Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde.  So, I’m curious – to all those writers out there:  What social media sites are you using?  How often do you use it?  How do you create an audience for your work?  I’d love to hear about all of your experiences.  Good, Bad, and Ugly.