Let's Talk About Grace

I know it's been a while since I've posted on my blog. I've been so busy writing books the last two years, the blog has gotten a little neglected. But what I want to talk about today doesn't belong in a book, though it definitely has to do with writing. I thought about the best way to deliver this message last night as I was attempting to fall asleep. I considered a Facebook Live because I feel like it might get a little more attention than a blog post. But I'm not sure I'm ready to put my best face forward just yet. That is, I'm not sure I'm ready to go live and say coherent things to who knows who might be watching. So for now, I'll stick to what I do best and get my thoughts down on "paper" where I can always go back and revise if something doesn't quite come out right.
Last night, I was perusing Amazon as I often do, looking at books in my genre, checking out reviews and rankings and book covers and all of those sorts of things, and a couple of reviews caught my eye. I'm not going to mention the books or the authors here, and I'm not even going to call out the reviewers who seriously need to consider some life changes, but I am going to talk about something that was missing from the reviews in question, and that important item, which seems to be missing more and more from our lives in generally, especially when we are hiding behind screens and keyboards, is grace.

We all need a little grace sometimes. Picture credit: Pixabay

Grace--the ability to give a person a little bit of space, some mercy, to forgive a little or a lot because it's the kind thing to do. That's not Merriam Webster talking or the Bible or even the nagging sound of my mother's voice I sometimes hear in my head when I need to make better choices. That's life telling me that sometimes we all need a little bit of mercy, a little bit of forgiveness, a little bit of "overlooking."
I was reading reviews of some new authors, people who have just started their careers, trying to launch books with little to no funds, I'd guess, no mailing list, no publisher, no social media following. Some of the reviews were so harsh and ugly, it just made me sick. Why do we have to be so hard on each other? If you read a book by a new author, and you don't like it, of course you have the right to tell others what you disliked and possibly warn them from making a purchase of a book they will also have problems with. But one star reviews because a book needs a proofread, or because you found the plot too predictable, just seems spiteful to me.
I have never left a one star review on a book ever, and I have hundreds of reviews posted on Amazon with over 50,000 views. Even when I've read a book that seems absolutely terrible to me, I always find some good to focus on in the review and give at least two stars, often three, because everyone needs hope, everyone deserves to know they are not a complete failure, that they may have hard work ahead of them, but that doesn't mean their dreams are shattered all over the floor.

Why would we want to make anyone else feel this way? Picture credit: Pixabay

Grace. Why not come to the review page with a handful of grace? Why not sprinkle a little bit of sunshine in a world full of anger and madness?
I've been writing long enough that I realize that my style might not be everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay. Occasionally, I will get an ugly review, but I have enough good ones to let those others go. I do read every single one of them, though, and I try to learn what I can from the bad ones, though, for the most part, there usually isn't much to learn except that people can be angry about books sometimes for reasons that seem irrational to me. In the case of these other authors whose work I looked at yesterday, I read some of what they wrote, made some downloads, will finish and review, and when I do, my reviews will remember that I am talking to real people with feelings. I get that reviews are for other readers and not for the author, but that doesn't mean we can't be kind when we communicate our feelings, knowing the author will most likely read every word.
Grace--that's all I'm asking for in this world of keyboard warriors who feel invincible behind their screens. If you take those screens away, you'll see people just as frightened of criticism as the ones they are attacking. And face to face with harsh reviewers, I'm sure they would also appreciate a little grace.

Saying Goodbye to Writer's Best Friend

For the last few weeks, I've been thinking about writing this post--an update on how 2018 went for me as a writer and an outline of what I planned to do in 2019. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be doing it without my best friend, my dog, Kassidy, at my side.

Kassidy as a puppy

Kass joined our family three and a half years ago and has been my constant companion for much of that time, always nearby while I am writing. This year, I wrote 20 full-length novels, an accomplishment I am proud of and planned to mention in this post anyway, but it seems odd that she's not here to celebrate it now. She was there when I finished, Friday evening, when I sent my last manuscript of 2018 to my editor. It just happened to be The Chronicles of Cassidy, Book 5. I closed my laptop, looked down at her where she lay by my feet, and said, "We did it, Kass. We wrote 20 books this year." She crawled up onto my lap and put her paw on my chest, like she was trying to give me a high-five or something. It was like she knew we'd done something special.
I say "we" because ever since I've become a full-time writer, she's either been on my legs or on the couch next to me as I write most of the day. She'd always let me know when it was time for both of us to take a break, every couple of hours. She was always right--and insistent that, no, it couldn't wait until I finished that sentence or paragraph. It was break time--now!

 I wrote a lot of books with her hovering over me like this.

I'm sure some people will want to know what happened, so I will say that we were out of town. Some neighbors were watching her, and she got away from them and was hit by a car. It was quick, and I hope painless, for her. It was devastating for all of us, and now, about three days later, it is still hard to believe she's gone. Our neighbors buried her for us in the back of our property, and we plan to build a little garden there. My youngest daughter, who loved to read to Kass when she was alive, has gone out there each day and read to her, so we'll make sure there is a bench, some flowers, and a marker.
Some might say she was just a dog--and to some extent, that's true. She wasn't a person as regular human, upright, word-speaking people are concerned. But to us, she was just about as peoply as a pet can be. She was funny and bright, fast as lightning, and could climb a ladder a lot quicker than I can. She would tell us when there was a person at the door, a squirrel in a tree, sometimes a falling leave in the yard. She wanted to be a part of everything we did, and in most ways she was--especially if it involved people food.
Kassidy will certainly be missed, and when I start writing again in a week or two, it will be hard to carry on without her, but I know I will find a way.
The next book on my list to write is Annihilation: The Clandestine Saga Book 7. Since Cassidy Findley is a big part of the story, it will be challenging. I'm glad I just finished the fifth book in the series named for my feline friend as that would've been harder to write without her.

Kassidy and Cassidy Findley have a lot of character traits in common.

Writing must go on, however, so I am looking ahead to the rest of this year. As I mentioned, in 2018, I wrote 20 full-length novels, well over 2 million words. I published 20 novels as well, which was my other writing goal, though some of those books were written in 2017 (there was a lot of overlap, though.) For 2019, I hope to scale my writing back a little and am only planning to publish 13 new novels. But I am working on audiobooks for Titanic, Melody's Christmas, and the Clandestine Saga. It would be great if I could release an audiobook every month this year, but we shall see.
As far as writing is concerned, 2018 was a stellar year for me. I grew my following, wrote a lot of books, got some great reviews, and connected with a lot of readers. I feel like people are starting to recognize my name. I've gotten a lot more emails from readers this year and even had someone recognize my name when I said I was a writer. Those are all great things. In 2019, I'd love for there to be more of the same. If you've signed up for my newsletter or follow me on social media, then I'm so glad that we've connected, and I hope we can get to know each other better this year. If you've left a review on one of my books, you can be sure that I've read it. If you've told your friends about my writing, or suggested or gifted one of my books, you've helped my circle to grow, and you're an amazing part of my success. I value every single person who has supported my writing career over the last four years, and I hope you'll stick with me into the future.
This post definitely isn't what I'd envisioned a few weeks ago. I am glad I've had this opportunity to share with you my wonderful friend Kassidy. And when you read about the fierce female character of the same name in my books, I hope you'll remember her namesake and pat your special friends on the head an extra time or two because you just never know when they might be gone.
My wish for you for this new year is that you will be loved and appreciated, that your goals will be met, and that you and your friends and family will be safe and well. I hope you find lots of great books to read in your favorite genres and plenty of time to read them. If you're an aspiring writer, may 2019 be the year when you put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and see what you can create, or if you're already a writer, let this be the year your words resonate with thousands of readers. Whatever you do this year, I wish you success and happiness. Thanks again for sticking with me, and have a blessed 2019.