What are you thankful for?

As the holiday season is upon us, I find myself being even more thankful than I normally am. This year has held many challenges but through it all I am thankful that I am coming through them with just a few bumps, bruises and scrapes. Nothing that won't heal over time.

In this fast paced life we often forget about things that have made us happy.

Remember when we were kids and simply walking down the street with our friends was the highlight of our day? Or maybe you remember the day BEFORE Thanksgiving, shopping with your grandmother for the ingredients for her famous stuffing or pie? Or maybe it was when you simply sat outside with your favorite beverage, mine would be wine; and just listened to your own breathing. Stop....do you feel that, it's the memory you just smiled to yourself about.

For me, I smile every time I think about my grandsons; Tyson, Jayden, Zachary III and Zavier and my newest granddaughter, Khloe. Nothing in life gets better than that. Just thinking of these five little people, brings a smile to my face that is unmistakable.

So in this holiday season, take the time to stop for a moment and remember the things that make us the happiest.

I will enjoy this Thanksgiving with loved ones and I hope you do to.

Until next week, Happy Thanksgiving and remember; enjoy the time with your family. Nothing; not writing, not the internet, nor the fast paced life that is this world, can replace time with them.

MY TURN

Today I will feature new author, Nathan Seven Scott; author of "MY TURN: The Knight Affairs" which will be part of a trilogy.

Please help me welcome NathanSevenScott to my blog.

When I decided to write my debut novel My Turn: The Knight Affairs Trilogy, it was based on a dare. A dare to myself to see if I could commit to something and complete it within at least a years time.  Many people around me doubted that I could finish this seemingly daunting task, but I took a page from Obama and wrote "YES I CAN" on post-it notes and placed them in my bathroom, bedroom and on my desk at work.

My process was unique in it's design. I had amazing coaching from a writer named Khadijah. I was then reconnected to a very dear friend Karen Minors, Author of It Is What It Is. Karen challenged me by saying that my stories were like no other and that they needed to be told for a wider audience. Sure my stories were entertaining to those around me but people needed to read what exciting adventures I still had in store. Strangely enough once I had an outline, I found myself ready to go.

I suffered from laziness and writer's block for almost three months. I was so angry at myself for coming close to giving up until my writing coach pushed me to complete my work. She gave me a few suggestions and exercises and that amped me up to complete my book.

Thankfully, God blessed me with multiple talents such as the ability to do graphic design, video editing and a host of other things. Having these gifts allowed me to make an awesome trailer and an eye catching cover.

This is the first of three books and I have already embarked on a new series featuring a female protagonist. I have an exciting twist that will bring both words together taking me to another level in my media empire.

To take a look at my book trailer; please click here:My Turn book trailer

Becoming an author has changed my life and it's only the beginning.

If you want need coaching to produce YOUR BOOK, check out my website www.nathansevenscott.com or email me to find out more about my coaching services.  nathansevenscott@gmail.com

Books-Kindle or Print?

Today I pose the question: Which do you prefer, Kindle or Print?

Now remember, this is only my opinion and just like everyone; I’m entitled to mine.

Kindle seems to be the instant answer to many of our ‘reading dilemmas”. In a world of instant gratification, the Kindle, Nook, and E-Reader has made life much more instantaneous for a lot of people. If they hear of a book that someone says, “they must have” they can pull out their Kindle and download it and read it within a matter of minutes.

Now, let’s look at the same scenario with a ‘print’ novel. Someone asks you if you have picked up the latest novel from Austin Camacho, The Piranha Assignment, and you say, no but you will as ‘soon as you get home and log into your computer and go to the Amazon.com website and type in his name and then check out all of his books”. It’s not as instant as the Kindle conversation that goes like this, “I’ll pick up the latest by Austin Camacho in five, four, three, two, got it. Wow and on Kindle it’s only $.99 versus the “print” copy of $11.66. Or maybe you just saw Karen Minors, author of It is What It Is and you want to read all about Miya and Milan; you will either go to Amazon.com and download a version for $7.69 or you will buy it and wait for it to ship in a couple of days for $19.95.

See for me, I like the ‘hard’ version in my hands. I like to hold the book, flip the pages, and dog ear them as I pour over the scenes. In a kindle, not so much. Plus, they haven’t found a way for you to get your book ‘autographed’ through Kindle; well they sort of have, but it involves buying software to download to your Kindle and then you have to ‘find’ the author again.

Now, don’t get your Kindle all in an electronic huff; I’m merely saying that for some of us, we like to slow down, sit with a nice cup of Chai Tea or Dunkin Donuts coffee, curl up in our pink Snuggie and read until we fall asleep and the book makes that familiar thunk when it hits the floor. If your Kindle hits the floor, you better be on carpet or be prepared to look at a possible crack on your screen or worse yet; a black one, because it has gone on to electronic heaven (with my beloved GRACIE—the laptop that I wrote about previously, but I digress)

All this to say  what? Whether you are a Kindle reader or Print (book –in-hand) reader; whichever one you chose, stay true to yourself and don’t fall for the fads. Sure Kindle will be around for a while, or Nook or whatever E-reader you choose, but so will books, because let’s face it; until there is a HUGE bonfire somewhere, there will also be Mom and Pop bookstores out there where the rest of us NON E-reader owners can go and get our fix.

Will you join me? (wait…I still want a Kindle; but I don’t NEED a Kindle) don’t judge me! (smile)

Happy Writing!