Still here. The day to day is- a challenge.

 Since my last post: I dropped out of the publishing program at GWU because to me, they misrepresented themselves. They claim to teach on ALL aspects of publishing when in fact their sole goal is academia or university publishing. That is not what I want. I am still interested in publishing, which is why I made the move I did. Prior to dropping GWUs program, I applied to another program I had wanted to all along: Bay Path University’s MFA in creative nonfiction writing. I was accepted (hence the drop) and I am now less than a year from graduating. 

You would think at my age I would know what I want to be when I grow up. Nope! I’m still interested in opening my own bookstore someday. I would still like to be part of a publishing house. And I still want to write. Now, over the couple of years I’ve been working toward my MFA, I have discovered another passion: photography. How cool would it be if I were able to put my own photos with my written pieces?! 

Anyway, at 54, I think I need to come to a decision and soon. But, at this time I continue the daily grind as a nurse. It pays the bills, takes care of my furry children and keeps me out of some trouble. 

To anyone who reads my stuff- thank you! If you do, could you share with others? I have another website also if anyone wants help getting a written piece out there- I offer editing and proofreading plus I guess I have a few contacts now. 

Thanks again!! Have a great day and summer- stay cool, be safe. 

Changes

 I am not so great at changes. Well, let’s face facts- I hate changes. That is probably why it has taken me so long to make a change towards getting out of nursing, even though I feel my soul dying as I spend another day trying to struggle through the life I’ve made for myself. 

Now, another change I feel I need to make is moving. I have what I always said I wanted. I have my home in the country, on 10 acres of land with my critter family. And it is driving me crazy. Not my critters, I love them. But where I am. Not being in the country. You couldn't pay me to live in town- too much chaos and too many people. But the people is part of the problem with where I am now. Over the years, so many people have moved in and around where I am. They are saying Texas is the new California- dandy! If that is true, I need to leave, and the sooner the better. 

I have never been much of a people person. Always gotten along better with animals, and I like it that way. I just don't see myself changing in that respect anytime in the near future (or ever). The idea of moving though…it makes me cringe, shudder and just plain want to dig a hole, crawl in and cover myself up. Moving is such a mammoth experience. I know, I’ve done it a few times- the last being 2002 when I moved here. I just dont know if I have what it takes to pick up everything and do that again. Because this time, I would have to find a job as well as a home. I would be moving out of state…. And I hope this would be a lasting move, permanent, until the end of my life. 

See, you all. I’m done with Texas and its “good ole boy” attitude. This attitude carries over to every aspect of life: if it moves, kill it; if you don't like, too bad. There is no respect in Texas, for anyone or any thing. I was born here and I am allowed this opinion but I am sure there will be some flack returned. Just because you can, as a fellow Texan. Ok. Just remember, it is my blog and I have the right to delete any hate speech or derogatory remarks. What I said was fact- I have lived here 47 of my 53 years and I know what I see and experience. If you can prove otherwise, great. But until then, I will remain speaking my truth. 

Recognition!

Doing research for a school project, I ran 

across this: MY PERSONAL BLOG mentioned in an article - “100 Best Nature Blogs and Websites in 2023”.

It’s #48. 

Visit, read, write, enjoy. 

I want my personal blog to have the best writing while taking our part in protecting nature. 

And thank you to whomever discovered my blog and decided it was worth mentioning. 

Just trying to get everyone's attention!!!! 

OK- I am in my MPS in publishing program and we are forming hypothetical publishing brands as well as hypothetical projects. My publishing brand is Zia T-n-T and my project is a graphic novel based on TV series from the 70's, 80's and 90's. The show I'm basing my project on is the original Walker Texas Ranger. 

In this post, I'm promoting my graphic novel: it will be the first to my knowledge of a TV series adapted to graphic novel. I hope to capture some nostalgia due to the fact that we fairly recently lost one of the regular actors (Clarence Gilyard) and the show is no longer on television on a regular basis. 

Once things have settled out, I will post my mock cover so it can be viewed - I know nothing about copyrights yet and have used images from the show (spoiler alert). If this hypothetical project were to ever come to fruition, I would work on the cover to avoid infringing on copyrights. 

Please let me know what you think...

 

 

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Starting a new journey....

Completed my BA in English and Creative Writing over two years ago and nothing has changed; so I'm going to change, again. 

Starting on August 24, I am officially a student of GWU's Master of Professional Studies in Publishing program with a tentative graduation date of Summer 2025. 

Someday, I would love to own my own bookstore...🤞 

 I want to start a new blog, or maybe I can just do what I want to from here....

I have been reading fanfic stories that are take-aways from TV shows or movies, even books that fans like - they write their own version or a continuation from an episode/chapter. 

Problem is, these stories I've been reading have not been proofread or edited and that is such a pet peeve of mine. I cannot STAND to read anything that has major typos or spelling errors, major grammatical errors or consistency screw-ups. I mean, if you are going to write, then do the work. Even if you are only writing for fun, at least make it clean. Many of the stories aren't even finished but have been "published". And that is super annoying to me - if you are going to put something out there for the public to read, then damn well make sure it is complete. If you want to come back later and write a second part, great! But finish what you start...or just don't start at all. 

Which is where this comes in. I want to start a site where others can also publish what they have written. BUT ONLY IF IT IS COMPLETE. You would not send an incomplete manuscript to the publisher and expect it to be accepted for publication...You also would not send a sloppy manuscript that hadn't been proofread or edited. So, I propose we do this for each other - I know I'm not perfect, but I do proofread everything that comes across in front of me (bad habit). 

I had originally started this blog to be a place where others could put pieces of their own, but no one did anything but myself and now I'm again inviting others to join me. As long as there is no pornographic pieces or abusive content, I'm relatively cool. Like I said, I do plan on proofreading and editing: spelling, punctuation, grammar, consistency and especially accuracy. And this will happen PRIOR to publication. 

So great that I can't align MY photos the way I want them on my OWN blog... Oh well. It's not like anyone is reading this besides me. 

←Java is my female Catahoula/Blue Lacy and is a serious couch potato. She is not very impressed with the camera and would much rather I forget to take her picture. 

                                                                    \                                                                                                                    →
                                                             Dante is my male Catahoula/Blue Lacy and is much more curious about things, including the camera. He's very serious about his naps and if disturbed will let out a menacing growl. 

Both these furbabies of mine turned 8 on November 26, 2021.

An excerpt of a nonfiction story I wrote in school, with Dante and Java as the stars and their momma Destiny: 

 

                                                           🐾   Destiny, Dante and Java  🐾

        My two dogs we know are part Catahoula because their momma dog, Destiny, was one of my mom’s rescues in 2013. This almost black and very skinny dog was running up and down Harper Road, which is the highway we live off of, as my mom was going into town. She stopped and was trying to

 catch her, leading to other cars stopping. One nice man offered his lunch, some sausage, to lure the dog

 into my mom’s car – it worked. The female black and blue spotted dog was shaking and scared but

 didn’t have a mean bone in her body. My mom took her home, planning to find her a new home – she

 did, hers. My mom had a Catahoula before and loved her very much, but she died of liver failure, and it

 nearly broke my mom’s heart. So, when she took this dog to the vet the next day and was told she was

 most likely full-blooded Catahoula, it was an instant connection. There was a drawback though. The

 vet also told her, “she has a basket full of puppies.” And so she did – she delivered that basket three

 weeks later the week of Thanksgiving. Seven: four boys and three girls. Unfortunately, one of the boys

 passed away unexpectedly at twenty-four hours. I had already claimed one puppy as I’d lost two dogs

 over two years and had been without a canine companion at that time for over a year. The rest of the

 puppies we were going to give away to people we knew would give them good homes when they got

 old enough and we’d gotten them their first shots.

        We took care of them, played with them, bathed them and loved on them until they were four months old. I’d decided to keep two pups – a male and a female as I believe all critters need a playmate. The remaining four went to friends of my sister: another male/female duo went to a friend’s parents, a female went to that friend, and the last male went to a co-worker. I sent blankets and toys with each puppy and on their first birthday, I sent birthday cards. The updates we’ve had are that the single female passed away at the age of a little over two years and no one knows why; the single boy got a brother from another rescue my mom did a few years later. I can’t get any information on the male/female duo which is extremely sad for me because I had gotten very attached to that little male puppy and had a very hard time choosing between him and the male I did choose. I will forever regret letting little Sirius go to another home. My two: Dante and Java are a handful, but I love them. Spoiled rotten as they should be with toys, treats, a couch of their own, blankets and pillows, and their own dog beds.