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.     

 So glad to see so many people are motivated and inspired by my blog....😶

Oh well! I'm going to post one of my poems from my last term in school. I'm so sure THAT will get people visiting and commenting. 

Season’s Change

 Pine trees sway

     and shudder in

        autumn’s unabating winds;

blue flashes near-

     a Stellar Jay!

I only glimpse

     my chattering

          friend,

before he flies

          away.

Gone in a wink

     to gather seeds

          before snow

              transforms

the woodlands

          into a

     frosty glaze.

 Hi to anyone who is reading my blog...

Just wanted to share a little information. My mind never seems to stop and after I completed my degree for writing, I'd lost the motivation for actually writing (I hope I get it back someday). Doesn't seem to be a problem since I can't get a job in the writing field...

Anyway, I found a site online to continue taking courses. All kinds of courses - education, hobby, personal growth, etc. If you need CEU's, you can get those too. The site is Universal Classes. There is also a site I have taken a course on, but these courses are a little more out there, but just as interesting and it's Udemy. 

Just wanted to share in case some of you have minds like mine and it keep's going and going and going (Energizer Bunny style). 🐇

I'm posting the last excerpt of "Whispers in the Woods" this evening. Tonight is the last night of my vacation and I wanted to get the final post of my short story in as I don't know when I'll be back on my blog again...it should be within a week, but I can't guarantee that, so here's the last page (or so). Thanks to those few I know are following and supporting. 

           They sat together in silence at the table to eat – not uncomfortably, but not yet companionably either.

            Stew and cornbread done, Emma found blankets and a pillow for Aura who snuggled down on the couch to watch a movie. Emma went to her room with the envelope. She slowly unfolded the one-page note and instantly teared up at the small and delicate writing – her mother. Her parents had gone abroad to see about family property in Ireland when she was six months old. They had expected to return by her first birthday. Some unknown even kept them from her and now she needed to know what, as well as discover a legacy she never knew she had. Maybe if the pieces could come together it

would explain why she’d always felt a pull to Ireland, to animals, to mystical places and things. The fact that the women in the picture were perfect matches to herself and Aura had to mean something, didn’t it? And Aura had given her the picture and note. How she came to be in the woods behind her house still needed an answer but that would come.

 Emma had mysteries to unravel about her own past and her parents, and now she had an aunt – Aura.

              Emma returned to the living room and smiled wanly at Aura, “I guess its time to find out about my heritage. I need to know everything I can. Can you help me?”

             Aura opened her arms to Emma and said “I’d love to. I’ll tell you everything I know about your parents and about being a witch. And you can fill me in on your life. We’ll learn together.”

            Emma and Aura hugged, sealing a fate of family and friends.

                                                                 👭💚📖

 

 

The next excerpt of my short story, "Whispers in the Woods".... 

Together, the foursome head to Emma’s where she fed her barn menagerie then joined the animal companions and Aura in the house. As she walked in, Aura slid cornbread into the oven. The homey aroma of stew beckoned from the stove.

          Counting fur-children as Emma reached into the refrigerator, “Mmmm, that smells good”. She poured two glasses of wine, handing one to Aura.

         “Ok. Now please, tell me how you happen to be in the woods behind my house and why this is the time? I mean, I grew up basically alone, never knowing if I had any family or who my parents were and now, almost 10 years into my adult life, you show up. I’m not trying to be rude but I would appreciate an explanation”.

          Aura nodded sympathetically, “Yes, I’m sure you have many questions, or will. And I completely understand your feelings.” She took a sip of wine and after stirring the stew, came to sit with Emma at the table.

         “After you were born, your parents went on an extended trip and left you with me. They never returned  and to this day, I still don’t know why. After several months, I didn’t have the means to provide for you and social services questioned if I was fit to raise you. You have to understand, they thought I was a witch”.

          Emma almost choked on her wine! “A witch?!”

         “Yes. And they were right – I was – or am. As were – or are – your parents.”

          Emma simply sat and stared at this stranger. A witch. This woman, her aunt, had just claimed to be a witch. And announced her parents – who’d simply disappeared, were

 

witches as well. Wouldn’t that make her a witch? OH! Wait a minute! More wine… “Am I? Uhm, a – a – witch too?”

          With one quick nod , Aura stated “Of course”, as if Emma should have realized.

          Emma began to think back – maybe this was why she’d been shuttled from home to home so quickly as a child. Maybe this was why she felt closer to animals than people. She looked around the room: three dogs, two cats, and a talking raven snoozed together in apparent perfect harmony.

         She shook her head, feeling a headache coming on and thought to herself ‘its not just the wine’. To Aura she said, “Can we just eat and talk more later?”

         Aura jumped up from the table, “Of course dear” and went to the stove to ladle up stew and cut cornbread. Emma poured more wine.

                                                              🌿🍷🍞

 If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or comments, please let me know. Don't be shy but do be polite...thanks! 

Next excerpt of "Whispers in the Woods":     💨👀🌠

            “How do I know you are who you say you are?” Emma questioned Aura. Silently Aura reached into a pack at her side and pulled out an envelope. “The picture was taken the day you were born – your family: you and your parents and myself”.

             Emma pulled the contents from the envelope. The mentioned picture showed a small baby, held by a woman who could have been Emma’s twin! A handsome man sat next to her and a young Aura stood behind the couple. The date on the picture was October 31, 1993…and the name was Emma Sidney Hallowmas. She’d never known her full name or her actual birthdate. Celebrating in October had just always been her tradition, but now she knew for sure. And she definitely needed more than coffee!

           Tearful and hands shaking, she looked at the woman, her aunt. “Why now? How did you know where to find me? And why are you here, in the woods behind my house?!”

           Banjo left Aura and came to comfort Emma, licking her face and pawing her shaking hands.

           Aura hesitated before responding, “It’s time. Once we’re able to talk openly, I think things will become, uhm, a little more clear”. 

    A strong breeze blew through the woods and heavy clouds darkened the sky overhead, threatening another stormy night.

          Aura continued in a low voice, “This really isn’t the time or place”.

           Not knowing what she might discover, but remembering the picture she held tightly in her still shaking hands, Emma took a chance and invited Aura, and the talking raven, back with her and Banjo.

         “You’re welcome to spend the night out of the weather”.                                                                                                                                    

Aura accepted calmly, “That would be appreciated”.

                                                             🌃☔☇☇☇ 

 

The next posting of another excerpt of "Whispers in the Woods"...

                                                                        🐕🏕🔥

         Emma joined the small group at the fire and wondered if she’d just walked through a time-warp: she felt all tingly, inside and out. Curious but not wanting to stare, Emma tried to notice as much about this stranger as possible. Something seemed natural, relaxed about this woman. The way she looked, held herself, smiled and spoke with a clear soft voice. The stranger was small, about Emma’s height with long hair the color of pearls. Her eyes seemed to dance in the light of the fire, green with flecks of brown behind solid glasses.

         The woman, seemed to sense Emma’s scrutiny of her, offered Emma a cup from a pot on the fire and then took a sip from her own cup she’d just poured. Emma smelled it tentatively – coffee. She needed more than coffee right now, but this would have to do. She took a sip and sighed…hot, strong and sweet.

          “Who are you?!” Emma asked the woman.

           “Aura.” Quiet for a moment as if contemplating her next words, she spoke softly, gently. “I’m your aunt, your mother’s sister”. Only the woodland sounds could be heard around the fire as both women sat, taking in the momentous event: the meeting of long-lost family, never known to Emma. In a wooden box in her closet at home was stashed her birthparents information, where it had been for years. Emma had tried to read it a few times but only placed it back in the box – unable to come to terms with certain issues from her past. But now, a strange woman who kept company with a talking raven sat in front of a campfire in the woods behind her house, claiming to be her aunt. 

           Was she supposed to believe this?! Banjo her dog of the last four years and trusted companion, retired search and rescue canine seemed to have no problems accepting this stranger -her aunt? He sat next to Aura, allowing her to stroke his brown and white fur-coat, happily wagged his tail soaking up the affection as if heat from the fire. Banjo had always been a good judge of character and loyal to no end. 

                                                                        🌁 💥🌄

The second excerpt of my fiction story, "Whispers in the Woods" - I was going to wait a day or two but figured time didn't matter in this case. So, here it is: 

                                                                         🌄🔥

          The day had began to clear nicely but once in the woods, the 20- to 30-foot trees cut out the mid-day sun quickly. Emma was surprised by how dark it seemed so early in the day but attributed it to last nights story and the wetness of the pine-needle covered ground and canopy. Walking deeper into the forest, Banjo slowed his pace and came to walk beside her. Continuing on, she looked for tracks and listened for anything like what she had heard yesterday.

          Suddenly, she heard the ghostly call! It sounded like a creepy toad flying overhead- ROARK ROARK! Then she heard “hello”. Banjo barked and ran ahead. Emma called out to him but he kept going. She followed her dog, deeper into the woods, shivers now danced along her spine.

         All at once, she found herself in a small clearing. Emma could smell smoke and thought she saw a small fire through the next stand of trees. She slowly walked forward, wondering where Banjo had disappeared to.

         Jumping at  the sound of “hello” next to her, she glanced to her left and saw a raven perched on the branch of a very near pine tree.

          Well, that explained the strange sound! Ravens can make all kinds of interesting sounds. Emma had just never been around any. This one was beautiful: iridescent colors to its wings, eyes so black the shine reflected her image. Wings nearly brushed her face as the bird took off from the pine branch and flew toward the small fire. “Come on”, it said. Shaken and feeling more than a little out of her element, Emma followed slowly, still wondering where her dog was and why he’d left her.

           As she walked through the next stand of trees, Emma came to a campfire. There sat Banjo, with an older woman and the raven, wagging his tail and looking quite pleased with himself, as if he’d led Emma to this delightful place.                                                                                                         

       “Come and sit Emma”, the older woman invited and motioned to a log near the fire.

         Emma was shocked! How did this woman know who she is?! The look on her face must have said everything she was thinking as the woman smiled, not unpleasantly. “I’ll try to explain everything”. 

                                                              🌕🌟🐦

 

 Since I started this blog to share some of my writing, I thought I'd post the story I wrote for my fiction writing workshop course. It's a total of almost 7 pages, so I'm going to post it in excerpts...first excerpt tonight will be the first page. 

    My story is called "Whispers in the Woods"; I used the authorial name of AD Hazelett instead of April - trying out pen names if I write fiction. This story was written in January and February of 2021. Hope you enjoy - and don't forget to check back for another excerpt in a couple of days!       

                                                                        🐾☆✨                  

       Even as the coastal winds moaned through the trembling tall trees, Emma heard the ghostly call. She’d heard it several times as the afternoon slid into evening. Now twilight was deepening into darkness and investigating would have to wait until morning. 

As she finished feeding her furred-menagerie and headed in to start her own supper, she told her furry companions “If I hear that sound again tomorrow, we’re going on an adventure”.

      Emma quickly threw together sauteed vegetables with pasta and sausage, poured a glass of wine and sat down to unwind with a movie and her two cats and three dogs.

As the movie ended, the storm let loose- winds howled and sheets of rain pummeled against the house. “Well, I hope whatever we heard has shelter”.

Emma expected sleep to come easily, but something in the night kept gnawing at her. Just on the edge of sleep all night, she heard the thunder roar and the rain as drops mingled with sheets against the house.

      After a fitful night, Emma woke late to a drizzly morning with the promise of sun behind leaden gray coastal clouds. Dressing warmly in sturdy but comfortable jeans, t-shirt and hoody combination and hiking boots, she had already decided to go hunt for the source of the sound from yesterday. A quick feed and check of her menagerie, Emma also prepared her daypack. Shortly after arriving in the northwest four years earlier, she’d figured out never to go anywhere without the barest of necessities.

       After a quick and simple meal of coffee and oatmeal, Emma turned to the woods with Banjo her retired search and rescue dog and they started what was believed to be a rescue mission.

 After a lifetime of wanting to write, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans and I have no idea how many hours applying to numerous writing jobs- I still sit, unhappily in a rut. Sure I was hired as an independent freelance contract writer two days out of school but I can count on one hand how many orders have come through there since I was hired… And either they were rewrite requests or something not within my expertise/something I felt I could do within the deadline. 

So, someone please tell me. How is a novice writer supposed to break into this apparent closed field without experience? Even the job postings that say “no experience necessary” or “for new/beginning writers” apparently go to experienced writers or the hiring company just ignores the applicants. 

Please. I beg of someone to explain this to me. Or give me some valid suggestions. 

Thank you. 

I cannnot believe what I just saw on the news...censoring books!? I thought we, as a society, had learned something over the years. But I guess I was wrong. Not that that hasn't happened before - oh, so many times before. But censoring books? Seriously people - books keep our minds sharper and our humanity in tune. There is the crutch - humanity. I have seen less and less of true humanity over the past year or so with the pandemic overshadowing our lives. Domestic violence and overall crime. It's not enough that the virus has taken over our lives. We have to let our inner idiots take over too. Well, not me. I'm going to read every book I can get my hands on and if I can get a copy of the so-called 'censored' list, I'll read those twice at least! When someone tells me I can't, that's when I become a driving force to do just that very thing... 📚 

I promise, this is the last post tonight. But, the entire reason for my starting this blog was to get some of my writing out to others. So, with that in mind, I am going to post one of poems...now I'm no poet but one of the last courses I completed in my BA program was Poetry and I actually enjoyed it. Hope some of you enjoy my work: this is called Nature in the Night

 Twilight’s evening, darkness gathering-

stars twitch on overhead.

Night bugs rattle a clatter sound

over the murmur of a babbling brook.

Leaves whisper secrets to one another

as the wind blows gently from limb to limb-

Birds flit between these branches,

their colors bright against late summer’s green.

One last feed before settling in for a soft cool night.

A haunting howl from a high-country wolf

drifts down through the quietening meadow.

All is still for the brief echo of a moment

CRASH – a mule deer hurtles through the trees,

across the meadow and disappears into the

forested shadows. And night falls, the first long shadows

of early night before the moon rises.

Her majesty, the full moon brings new

Shadows to the woods –

Stealthy movements of night creatures

on paw, hoof, and wing as they move about-

foraging and searching, hunting and preying.

Moving about in careful and precise motion.

 Hi everyone...just wanted to share really quickly. I have started a fundraiser on my Facebook page (shared to Twitter and Instagram as well) to raise money and awareness for Best Friends Animal Society. This is in honor of my 50th birthday at the end of this month. I have gotten the ball rolling with a $25 donation. 

I can't think of what my life would be like without my furry children. They greet me at the door every day when I come home from work and are there any time I need to talk. They are my family....

Forgive me for posting pix of my babes on the first day, but this is what you've gotten into!

 Good evening everyone...this is April and I want to welcome all to my new blog Reading Nature. 

This is my first post on September 17, 2021. I want to invite anyone who has reading/writing experience or pleasant nature and/or animal-related stories (or both) to join me in posting. Pictures are also welcome, but no X-rated anything. I won't appreciate rude or trolling behavior - this is not social media. 

My reason for starting this blog is to write and tell stories and experiences and to communicate with others of the same mind-set. I graduated with my BA in English and Creative Writing from SNHU's online program July 1 of this year in an attempt to recreate myself and start a new career after 30 years in nursing. My passion was to write green pieces for animal and environmental conservation and maybe I can do a little of that here. 

I live in Harper, TX and share my life with my furred menagerie of two dogs, several cats as well as barn critters and wildlife. 

Please feel free to share and be nice or I will find a way to delete what I feel is not appropriate for my new blog. Thanks and welcome....