This is my first ever blog hop (thanks for the invite Blakely Bennett!).
I can’t say enough about how awesome it has been to meet fellow authors while publishing and promoting my book. Everyone has been so helpful, supportive, and we have really built great friendships as well as working relationships; it’s been nothing short of amazing. I also am so very grateful for all the other relationships and connections that writing my book has brought into my life. Victor Marcos, who I met through 99Designs and who did the cover art, has not only become a good friend, but has really brightened so many of my days along the way with his humor, helpful reference material to either give me more ideas (like I need MORE to do), or just to make me smile. My editor, Evan, who I found through Elance has also made me smile and laugh so hard, I’ve almost peed my pants. Derick Welsh, my web helper-outer has impressed me beyond belief.. mostly for just putting up with me. Terry O’Conner, my friend in the UK has also been helpful in a variety of ways including web/graphic design…. and also just being a friend when I needed an ear.
Saving the best for last, Charlie Stephenson, who I hired to do the illustrations for my book, has not only been an amazing artist always impressing me beyond belief, but also stole my heart. You can check out some of his art at: Chuck’s Town. So, what is this Blog Hop all about?… Just a few Q/A where I interview myself basically, then I tag three other AWESOME authors to do the same. Ready? Lets go!
Blog Hop Q&A:
1. What are you working on right now?
I just published Why I Married a Murderer and How I Survived the Divorce. It is a wickedly funny memoir full of abuse, addiction, mind fucking, horribly low self-esteem, trying desperately to find love… but finding myself instead, sorta! It should have something for everyone!
I’m anxious to get back to my project list to see what I want to work on next. Actually, I think I will just make another list and organize it differently, and maybe with a different format, so I can put off deciding which of the 23 writing projects, 5 marketable products, and 8 business ideas I would like to work on next. I like working on several things at once…I guess you could say I am polyamorous with projects.
2. Why do you have so many projects?
I like to stay busy, productive, and feel like I have accomplished something. I also want to save the world from itself. Did I mention I’m nuts?
3. Why do you write?
Pretty much because no one can stand listening to me talk, so I figure if I write and put my words out there, I feel better and people can read them or not read them and not worry about hurting my feelings. Did I mention I am honest?
4. You share sooooo much about you, how you feel, your life, etc. Some of it–Ok, A LOT of it, IS kinda nuts. Aren’t you worried about people judging you, rejecting you, committing you to a mental hospital?
I have feelings just like anyone else, so yes, of course it sucks when people judge me or reject me. Sometimes, I think I should be committed to a mental hospital; having a vacation from my life and being hopped up on meds, might be just what the Doctor ordered, literally. However, I am insanely (pun probably unintentionally intended) passionate about opening people’s minds to the fact that no one is perfect. We all have feelings, many of us HIDE them to keep our friends or relationships because we are afraid if they really knew how we felt, they would run for the hills (like many of my past friends have). One of my passions is the condition of being bipolar. Many people don’t stop to think that, as it’s name clearly indicates, there are two sides to it. One of which being extremely happy. Can someone tell me what is wrong with extreme happiness? However, instead, many people who for some strange reason are proud of being neutral (and maybe boring), only see the down side of being bipolar and are judgmental and even cruel to those who suffer from it. One of my goals is to bring awareness to emotions in that they are part of human nature and should not always require pills to turn us into zombies.
Another one of my passions is also the Criminal Justice System which, almost solely, is bringing our country to it’s knees both financially raping our taxpayers as well as PROMOTING violence, hatred, and criminal activity in our society. From corrupt Judge’s to overworked Public Defenders who force people to take pleas to avoid trials, to Correction Officers who abuse inmates and fraud our government with false claims about ‘safety’ concerns in their workplace, to the FACT that being a Correction Officer changes who they are and affects their family and community (you and me). It is a broken system. I don’t have the answers to fix it, but I am adamant that we need to work together to find a better solution to reducing crime and also the punishment of it. We are finding more and more innocent people have been sentenced to prison, hundreds, and even thousands. And yet crime still happens and we live in fear despite having 25% of the world’s prisoners locked up. Please see this study for a real eye opener on how prison can turn ‘good’ people ‘evil’. http://www.prisonexp.org/
So, back to the question, why do I share so much about who I am and why I do the things I do? I am awesome! Though I am not perfect, I don’t know anyone who is. Everyone has good and bad parts.. even ‘good’ people and even ‘bad’ people. There are too many people who either keep ideas and passions to themselves that could help others, or also those who spout off like armchair quarterbacks barking out opinions about other people making bad decisions or the government this/that… and do nothing to fix the problem. I plan to do my part with writing projects as well as a few product ideas I have. I want to help people. It is my opinion, that the first step in helping people is to first admit, I’m a little broken too!
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Thank you so much for coming to my post in the blog hop. My time is up (arn’t you glad:-) but I would like to introduce you to three authors that I’ve either met in person and adore or met online and really connected with. Please hop along to their sites and check them out as well as their wonderful gifts to the world.
