Random Acts of Kindness Continue in 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope that everyone will have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!

The first week of this new year did not start with a bang, but it did have a couple of nice surprises. Once again, someone bought my breakfast in the Starbuck's drive through. This is an awesome practice and I've now participated in it as well. Even if you only do it once this year, choose a random person behind you in the drive through line, and pay for their Starbuck's. It will make you feel just as good to give as it does to receive this token of kindness.

The next surprise was  from the people I work for. I was given a thank you card . I was not expecting what was in it. Three crisp, new twenty dollars bills to thank me for my kindness. I can't tell you how much I thank these people for their kindness in return. I haven't work there long, but they've made me feel welcome and appreciated.

I hope that random acts of kindness and generosity continue to happen all year long for everyone. The world would be a better place for it.

That's all I have to write this go round. My next blog will be a teaser from my book. I hope you all will check in and read it.

Blessings in the New Year!
Robin

'Tis the Season!

I believe in Christmas!

One of my favorite Christmas carols is 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.' The message of comfort and joy is what I wish for everyone in this season of giving and love. I know there are those who celebrate this season differently, but the message is universal. Love one another.

I ask that God blesses each and every one of you now and in the New Year. 

Merry Christmas!

Robin

The nativity story and the miracle of it, the supernatural awesomeness of it are what I believe. It's the story of the ultimate gift. Everything else pales in comparison and it doesn't stop at a celebrated birth. 

The Little Things

Little, random things make me happy. Sometimes they even restore my faith in humanity or at least make what's rude in the world a little less so.

What triggered me to write this, is a random act of kindness. I sat in the drive through of Starbuck's Wednesday morning, ready to pull up, give the barista the gift card I'd received two days prior, and grab my order, only to be told that the lady in the van ahead of me had paid for my breakfast. We both exclaimed at how generous and kind that was as she handed me my scone and coffee.

I hadn't recognized the van, and I couldn't see the drivers face, so I have no idea if I knew the person, or if it was a total stranger. Did the season prompt her to do this? Could she see the stress and distraction on my face? Was it simply a kindness that she felt compelled to do?

None of this matters. What does, is the fact that there are still people in this world who perform random acts of kindness. This person, whether I know her or not, can be sure that I will pay her act forward at the first opportunity. I believe in this philosophy and wish that more people would.

Thank you, whoever you are. I pray you are blessed for your generous spirit. Your simple gift made my day and boosted my outlook. The warmth of this act stayed with me that day and will for some time.

My wish for everyone today, this Christmas season, and all year is that you experience this phenomenon at least once, either as a recipient or as the benefactor. Either way, it makes the soul sing.

Warmest regards - Robin

The voices in my head.

I hear voices. I know what that sounds like...crazy.

The loudest voice in my head is my character Simon. Lately he's been nagging me to get on with revisions of "his story." Yes, he is a little possessive of the novel since it is about him. I won't argue with the fact that he did have something to do with the direction it took.

Lately, Simon is competing with Grace, who is a new character in a new idea for a novel. Unlike Simon though, Grace is content to sit back and wait her turn. She does; however, get a scene in when Simon shuts his mouth.

There are also, Hayden and Blush, characters from a short story that I wrote, which won 2nd place in The Creatively Crazy Writing Competition. They are biding their time until I decide to write a full length story about them. They whisper now and then, never raising their voices, just reminding me that they should get a turn eventually.

By now, several of you are contemplating a call to the nearest asylum. I don't blame you, I might have too if someone told me this a little over a year ago. That was before I started writing my book. Now, if I don't hear from one of them, I worry. I need them to motivate me, but not just my characters, I need my friends, family, and followers to encourage me as well.

I want to see Wayward published, so does Simon. He's very adamant about that. Actually, so is Grace, because the sooner that happens, the sooner her story gets told.

I hope you all get where I'm coming from and understand. My mother told me once that when I was little, and she would put me in time out (usually for my smart mouth), she would hear me telling stories. Making them up where I sat on the little red bench, in the hallway, by myself. So, obviously, I've been hearing voices most of my life. If only I had listened to them sooner.

: ) Robin

Going Up...... (I hope) - "Top floor, Agents, Publishers, Readers!"

I've heard it called a pitch, or a log line, but my favorite phrase is elevator speech. It's the quick version of a self marketing ploy, that can be spewed forth between floors - hopefully - going up.

Now that I've said this, I would like to put my pitch out there for you to read. I will preface it first by telling you that my book is called Wayward (at least until someone tries to talk me into changing it) and it is a paranormal fiction (or speculative genre). I welcome any comments or questions you have, and will answer them, but keep this in mind, if you ask me anything where the answer might be a plot spoiler, you will get the game show buzzer.

Without further ado, here it is:

Simon isn't sure how to tell his disapproving father that he wants to move home to the small mountain town of Farrell Springs. The need to make a decision escalates when he is inadvertently pulled into a conceptual plane called Wayward, where dreams are tested and the dead interact with the living. But, Wayward also holds memories, and after a disastrous family gathering, he returns there to uncover the family secret and decide on the life he truly wants.


Okay, that's it in a nutshell. I hope to hear from you and the next time I post about the book, I might just include an excerpt.

Until next time,
Robin

We Gather Together

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am taking this time to relate how thankful I am for my family and friends. I have a network of people that are always there. We may not stay in close contact, or see each other often, but I feel you there.

I am especially thankful to have my children home for Thanksgiving. They are amazing people and I am very proud of them.

I'm not an overly sentimental type, so this won't be a long, maudlin regale of what I'm thankful for. It's simply this...I'm thankful for life in all it's guises; the joys, the messes, it's never ending cycle.

Whatever belief system you have, I ask that all of you are blessed tomorrow, with food, with family, with friends, with love and life.

God bless and keep every one of you.

Love,
Robin

Waiting on a Train

This will be a short entry, but I just had to share something that made me smile Friday morning while waiting on the Light Rail train.

As I was standing there, I saw some movement below me along the tracks. As I watched, a field mouse appeared from a small pile of leaves. I then heard the chitter of the tracks, the prelude to the train arriving at the station. This clearly panicked the mouse and I watched as it scurried along trying to decide which way to exit, across the tracks or up the side of the platform wall.

I silently urged it to choose the platform wall, and was relieved when it did. The diminutive creature climbed up and over the edge, sighted the landscaped beds lining the outer edges of the platform and dashed for the closest one. I mutely cheered it on.

What really made me giggle, was the reaction of two people at the back of the line next to mine. The mouse, in it's haste, did not care if it ran toward the human hedge on it's way to the cover of the real thing, so it did. The woman jumping didn't  surprise me, it was the well over six foot tall man, who leapt higher, that put the grin on my face.

Hope your weekend has been a good one.

Robin