Long Time, No See!

Robin Janney – Author sent me a plea this past week: “Would you be willing to start posting on Broads again?” I reluctantly said I’d try. Perhaps this will be the start of us taking turns posting weekly blogs. Who knows? At any rate, here I am. I even told Robin I didn’t know what to blog about and she suggested I should start with my recent stint at detoxing from social media. Okay.

Can't we all just get along?
Photo from Google Images

Self-admittedly, I am a Facebook addict. As a stay-at-home-mom/writer(or non-writer)/photographer/volunteer, I have a lot of down time or, as reality set in, lazy time. This became vividly clear when I consulted the time monitoring tool Facebook has within your settings. During the week of January 6^th, I had averaged a little over six hours a day on Facebook. Six Hours! It was startling. With this revelation also came the realization that my time on social media wasn’t really enjoyable anymore. Don’t get me wrong. I loved keeping in touch with friends and relatives; seeing pics and having virtual visits. What I wasn’t enjoying was the arguing and ugliness that has come to a head since the 2016 political campaigns kicked into gear in 2015. Mind you, civility has been on a general decline since the inception of social media, but this past election cycle certainly made it hit a crescendo. Some of the most innocent posts could be made and someone on your friends list would snap and attack—off topic and relentless. Never mind the posts of those belonging to a polar opposite ideological nature. Some of the comments I read on friend's or relative’s posts were outright hostile—vile even. Civility is gone. No longer is polite debate used. “Your statement is dumb. You’re dumb. Everyone who thinks like you is dumb. I hope something miserable happens to you so you realize this.” Ugh. I see a person’s Facebook page as their own space for expressing themselves. It’s personal. If they post something you don’t like, scroll by. Or unfollow. Or unfriend. Hell, block them if you feel so strongly. Simple. Instead, some use this as an opportunity to attack. I was often left wondering why some of these people were even friends. Seriously. It boggles the mind. So it is simple, if you can’t be civil, be gone. Think of your Facebook wall as your personal living room, so to speak. Would you allow this same person to come into your home, sit in your living room, and speak to you in that same manner? I sincerely hope your answer is no. Likewise, I would hope you don’t make a practice of entering a friend’s or relative’s home and committing this same act. It’s uncivil. It’s nasty. It’s upsetting. Who needs the stress? Don’t get me started on public account posts like a news station or public figure. I found my blood pressure rising as I read comments. Again, FRIENDLY debate is one thing, attacking is another. I don’t need that in my life. 

Because there is always a heckler who will disagree.
Photo from Google Images

My detox began a week ago today. I researched how to save my photos and videos from my Facebook account because I really didn’t want to lose them. The social media company has a way to convert your property to an HTML file and can be uploaded to the device of your choice. The whole process, including saving to my laptop, took less than an hour. At that point, I opted to start with deactivating my Facebook account. Mind you, my Messenger app is still working. Deleting my account may come later. Right now, I don’t want to do anything permanent. As an independent author, I used social media to market my eBooks. In fact, social media SOLD my eBooks.  

With my newfound “free time”, I have been able to do many projects around the house that I have been putting off for fear of missing my social media time. I have many more projects to do. It’s amazing how much one can accomplish in a day when they aren’t wasting time scrolling. I also got back into a healthier lifestyle routine again after a three year break. I have almost gained back all of the weight I had lost from 2012 through 2015. (A lot of that from stress eating and inactivity that came after my youngest daughter’s brain lesion discovery and the numerous opinions, follow-up appointments, and general stress that comes with such a diagnosis. As of May 2018, the lesion is still stable and unchanged.) I’m counting calories, eating healthier, and resumed daily exercise through walking at a pace of 3mph. I walked 20.34 miles over six days. It is uncanny how quickly your general outlook changes just from leaving social media. My mood is more positive. I have more energy AND I’m getting shit done. I am starting to feel more optimistic about my writing projects and hope to return to a regular writing schedule. I think one more week, as the social media toxins leave my psyche, and my creative side should return.

I hope all of our Broads of a Feather readers have been well and are ready for Team Robin Janney – Author and C.P. Stringham – Author to blog with regularity once again!

Inspiration by Robin Janney

The other day I was asked what inspired me to write.

Sheesh, I'm 42 --- how am I supposed to remember my original inspiration???

I was either in third or fourth grade when I decided I wanted to be an author.  I'm not sure which grade, because I have a very distinct memory of telling the third-grade teacher Mr. Burger how I wanted to be an author when I grew up because I had to repeat myself and change the word from author to writer because I must have had enough of a speech impediment that author came out sounding like Arthur.

But the fourth grade is when I really remember my first writing attempts. I forget the exact assignment, but I wrote a short story for it. It was in the vein of Trixie Belden mysteries I was reading about that time. I tried writing grownup characters, however, and Mr. Haflett gave me a grade in the B range for it (I don't remember if it was a B+, B, OR B- ...it was a looong time ago!!) How silly it must have been though, much like the Indiana Jones novelette I wrote much later.

I was also writing fan fiction in fourth grade. Airwolf, because I think I had a crush on Stringfellow Hawke AKA Jan-Michael Vincent. I remember getting in trouble with a couple of classmates because I had used their names (Sorry guys, I had crushes on you two too and didn't know what to do about it...what can I say? I was 9.) I'm just glad that not only have I matured enough to create original and unique characters...but have also learned to write better villains so I don't have to call them "Bad John" to let readers know they're the villain. Thank all the writing Gods for the Random Name Generators!!

And I never stopped writing.

Sometime after my father first started having trouble with his health (appendicitis led to scar tissue which led to obstructed bowels which led to him stroking out on the operating table) I was introduced to the Star Wars universe. It was a universe I could escape into and did so frequently. As well as the Star Trek universe and Indiana Jones. I worked on my Star Wars novel all through middle school and high school (I kept having to adjust it as new books began hitting the market in 1991.) I did complete it, a few months after graduating. And it was lost over time.

I always had story ideas when I was younger. Was constantly writing them down to get to someday (I don't even know what happened to those notebooks - things get lost every time you move). Then, it was a way to escape the seriousness of my existence. It was hard growing up with a sick father. It was just hard growing up and writing was my way of dealing with it.

There are other worlds in my head, and characters who fill them. A movie plays in my head with narration and if I don't write them down, they keep me up at night and distract me during the day. Of course, new scenes replace the written ones even as they're being written. They overlap and repeat and fall into order repeatedly.

Writing is the only way I can make sense of the madness in my head. Madness, anxiety, depression., pain, grief, insecurities, questions, and What-If?'s. Writing holds the monsters at bay, even if it doesn't tame them.

The Complexity of Writer's Block by Robin Janney

Curiosity - why cats need nine lives...

One of my strengths, which all too often doubles as a weakness, is my curiosity.

Especially when it comes to reading comments on a Facebook post.  There is so much unneeded negativity out there and people feel the need to share it.

There was one day at the end of January that I spotted a Facebook ad for 212 blog ideas for those people who get stumped coming up with an endless supply of ideas to blog about.  It was a download I had already gotten myself, and I was curious what other people were saying in the comments, what they thought of the bulky download which was prefaced by a long winded video we had to watch before we could actually get it.  This was actually a BIG mistake.

I'm not going to quote any of those nasty comments, but the general gist was that either Writer's Block doesn't exist, or if it does and you have/had it...then you're not a real writer.  And if you have trouble coming up with blog ideas, then you shouldn't have a blog.

And maybe if you don't have anything nice to say/comment...then keep your mouth shut?

See, the thing is - I know I'm a real writer, I've been writing one thing or another since the fourth grade.  And I've had my fair share of struggles with Writer's Block.  So yeah, I get a little pissy if you try telling me I'm not a real writer because I've struggled while looking at a blank page or computer screen.

I'm not an expert in any of this, I discover daily just how much of an amateur I am.  I can only tell you my story.  Because that's what I do, I'm a storyteller.

My writing largely started out in the area of fanfiction.  I remember trying to write an Airwolf story in fourth grade; talk about overly ambitious!  Although not nearly as ambitious as the Star Wars novel I wrote in high school!  Fanfiction writing continued all throughout middle school and high school, but I had tons of other story ideas that I would write down in notebooks for 'later'.  Lord only knows what happened to them!

I wrote my first novel, originally titled 'Dominions of Darkness' across the span of about six or seven years.  It took so long because in the early days I let a church friend read some of my draft and I got mixed reviews.  No one wants to hear, "It's good...BUT..."  She was right in saying I had to decide who my desired audience was, although that's not how she put it.  I eventually decided that writing for one genre was overrated, but at the time I was discouraged because I knew the story I had in my head wouldn't be considered "proper" Christian fiction, which is what I was being encouraged to write.  While I was discouraged and put it away, I worked on other projects that may yet see publication.  Obviously, I did finish my story, at least the first draft of it.  I remember writing furiously on the church computer trying to get it done before the service started.

What every writer does with the madness beating at their brains...

Even more the amateur then, I wrote "THE END" when I was done...and felt a door close.  What now?  I asked myself.  Do I submit it to publishing houses and start working on the sequel?  It needed a sequel since I had ended it as a cliffhanger.  Which one?  More than one?  As I began to look into who I could send it to, I tried working on the sequel...only to find that it wouldn't come together.  The harder I tried, the less it wanted to cooperate with me.  I even tried working on my Journey series, and that didn't help.  I just recently found those old drafts, although I haven't gone through them yet to see if there is anything I can use.

So I shelved it.  I emailed myself a copy of my draft for back up, which given how floppies are old news now it was a good thing I did.  I tried blogging, but as life distracted me more and more I did that less and less.  I ended up moving back home with my mother and company, which was interesting as I was working nigh shift and everyone else in the house was decidedly day shift.  I was tired all the time and had no interest in writing anything other than the odd poem.  And most of the time, I couldn't even whip one of those up.

There was nothing there.  No pictures.  No conversations with imaginary friends.  Not even piece of a jigsaw puzzle!  Apparently, I even wrote a poem about it, which you can read here.  Looking back now, I realize I needed to live a little and have different life experiences.  For all that I was writing my own story idea, in a sense, I was writing to please other people.  And I needed to lose that drive to please other people when it comes to my writing (although my mother's opinions still scares the living daylights outa me, but that's a different matter all together!)

I switched from part time jobs to a full time one, on night shift - which was only part of the 'always tired' problem I developed.  I had a failed romance, or what I thought was a romance at the time.  It was the most I had experienced at the time.  As I said above, I gave up my apartment and moved back in with my mother for a time.  I found true love and moved again.

Somewhere in the midst of that, I found the self confidence I needed to write without hindrances.   I'll be honest, a lot of it had to do with the unconditional acceptance I had found in the workplace and also from the man who would become my husband.  Because one day, when we had a good computer - well, good enough for me - I downloaded my story from long ago and gave it a read through.  And I thought, "You know, this is pretty good.  I don't like the ending, and some of it needs to be rewritten, but it's a good story just the same."

I sent the draft I had to a friend for a second opinion and while she was reading it, I thought, "I wonder what I can do differently...what if...???" and unwittingly reopened the dam in my head.  Images flooded my imagination like a movie on fast forward.  They were almost tripping over each other.  It was awesome, a runner's high, invincibility ran through my veins, I could write no wrong...I did, lots of typos but that's after...when the high leveled out and I had to edit.

Two books later and I find myself in a similar spot.  I have no desire to write, the images are faded at the moment anyway.  In part it it an overload of life stress...I'm only working part time, my husband not at all, both due to medical restrictions, which of course leads to financial strain (we've already had our car taken away, but not our truck because that's ours); no doctor wants to do surgery on me until I've lost weight and because I'm limited in my physical activity it has to be mainly through what I eat - which food is my drug, an addiction I have to get under control.  It's crazy I tell you!  And of course, this all contributes to depression, which in and of itself sucks creativity away like a hungry vampire.

I found several good pages of advice and quotes while searching this out.  This article with advice from other writers was a good one, with different advice from each one.  Because what works for one, might not work for another.  We are all different, unique individuals, no matter how much we all love to write.  And this article shows that we are in good company!  Fellow writers who've dealt with writer's block themselves.  While I can't always follow all this advice on "Blogger's Block", there are some good ones in here.  I mean, I can't drink coffee too late in the day anymore!  Another blogger I enjoy following and chatting with as allowed, MJ Bush did  her own article on it here.

I started this post months ago.  I started, stopped...started again, had to stop again.  Sometimes what you're writing is just being written at the wrong time.  You're brain needs to focus on something else, or it just needs to rest.  My advice, which I know from experience is hard to head, is; don't sweat it.  Writer's Block will break eventually.  Experiment with some of the advice in the articles above...go for a walk, drink a coffee, go to a party or a park and people watch...find what works for you even if it takes time.  Even Google "You should be writing" and pic an image of the actor that most inspires your romance writing!

Whatever it takes.

And never doubt that you're a real writer.  No matter what anyone tells you.

Horses, Chickens and Facebook friends! Oh My! by Robin Janney

This past week has been beautiful weather.  A bit of rain here and there is nothing to complain about after the snow we had this past winter!  A lot of sunshine though, and no day was more beautiful than last Sunday.  Mostly because I went on an adventure.

I was on my own that day, as Mr. Janney couldn't be persuaded to join me.  His loss.

Sonny

First I drove up to my friend Carol's home, where had I moved fast enough I could have seen their resident ghost.  I mean, all I had to do was step around the corner and peer down the hallway.  I was close enough to have goosebumps and that was good enough for me!  Today was a research trip for me and it wasn't ghosts I was interested in researching!

From there, Carol and her daughter Sydney led me to Foxwin Farm just over the border into NY state.  The reason for my research trip can be seen to the right.  Horses.

As I have been working on my third novel, I came to a point where I realized I needed to know more about horses since I had given my main female lead (Angela) a love of horses.  I had been able to fluff  my way through those parts of Ring of Fire, but the moment that Angela walked into the stables at the beginning of three...I knew I was in trouble since it's been a long time since I've even been near a horse and the only time I've actually been on a horse was when I was still in diapers!  Angela's horse Belle, a thoroughbred show horse had been instrumental in her healing from the traumatic ending of my first novel.  In the third novel, it will be a horse named Buster that gets more of the spotlight.

The horses at Foxwin are Morgans, and odds are once I get to know Buster a bit better he'll be one too.  Buster is a trail horse, with a mind of his own and an attitude to match Angela's independent flare.  Belle was her jumping horse, as is Lily.  Angela does not have the same rapport with Lily that she had with Belle, and because of a spooking incident early in Ring, she and Buster have a rocky relationship at the start of 3 and there will be focus on that being mended.

Pat and me posing for Carol

Pat Ross, owner and instructor at Foxin, was a pleasant guide that day.  She drew the horses close to us by filling the water trough.  All three horses in that section of pasture meandered over with a 'Don't mind if I do'.

The four of us spent a few minutes chatting while the horses wandered over,  I was given a crash course on who was who.  Diva was the first one to make it to the watering trough, her mother Twinkle taking her time.  Twinkle, I found out, is Diva's mother. The other horse in the background is Gem, who is related to the other horses.  Gem, Sonny and Twinkle share the same sire - the late Foxwin Jericho, also known as Tank.

Diva wasting no time

Sydney, who is classified as a "working student" at Foxwin, separated Twinkle out from the trio and led her off to be prepped for riding.  We of course all followed.

Something I will have to correct in my novels is saddling a horse by cross tying them.  The one time I show Angela saddling Belle they never left her stall!  Hmm, well she was upset at the time and Belle wasn't your average horse.  However, this didn't always work in Angela's favor as this lack of cross tying is what contributed to her incident with Buster.

Beautiful Twinkle!

Anyway, back to the real horses!

Isn't Twinkle a beaut as she stands waiting for her saddle and rider?  I don't know how it felt for Twinkle to be brushed down, but just watching Sydney run the brush over the horse was therapeutic to me.  Just the time she took, showing the brushes to the horse before using them was calming.  I did get brave enough to step closer and hold my hand out to the horse, but it wasn't until she was saddled and outside that I was actually able to pet her.  Whether she was able to tell I was nervous, I don't know, but she wasn't impressed with my attempts while she was tied here.

Once done with the saddling, we returned to the outdoors where Sydney donned her safety helmet and used a mounting step to climb onto Twinkle's back.

While Syd was trotting and cantering around the fenced in corral, I was given a brief lesson on the different strides horses have, the difference between posting and sitting.  Posting is rising up out of the seat every other step to take some of the stress off the horse, while sitting is exactly that.  Then there was something about diagonals and inside legs and outside legs that for whatever reason went right over my head.  I don't think I'll ever go into that kind of detail with Angela's riding, but if I do I know who I'll be messaging on Facebook for a clearer understanding!

One bit of interesting trivia that we learned is: the reason why horses are usually mounted from the left side, and led for that matter, is because of the placement of cavalry swords!  Which made sense after Pat said that. Which also means I'll need to come up with a good reason why Buster spooks when he's approached from the left side, something I wrote into Ring without much thought.  I don't have a fully realized thought yet, but I've been batting stuff around.

It was a great experience and I enjoyed meeting Pat.

Carol, myself and Penny <3

Afterwards Carol led me down the highway a stones throw so I could meet one of her friends, who I only knew through Facebook.  Penny was generously giving me one of her old Tracfones so I could activate it and have some kind of phone while mine is turned off.

The one I held is the gold one
hiding in the back

We were highly amused to realize that all three of us had all chosen to.wear purple tops that day!  Hey, great minds think alike right?

I've seen of Facebook where Penny has chickens, but somehow I missed the fact that she has two Silkies living in her kitchen!  And let me tell you they live up to their name as Penny didn't hesitate to hand one over to me despite the fact I'd never held a chicken before!  She also sent me home with a dozen of her homegrown eggs; she also has outdoor chickens.  Three of the eggs were from the Silkies though.

After this we all parted ways.  Carol and Sydney took off in their direction, Penny of course didn't go anywhere as she was already home, and I took of to go to Walmart to buy some minutes and activate the phone she'd given me.  I'm still learning how to use the thing as it's far different from the smart phone I had been using.

Out for a Sunday drive

On my way home, I was hit with another special treat.  While I am not into antiques as much as some of my family, one thing both my husband and I appreciate are antique cars.  And while I was sitting at a traffic light, look what I met!  Of course, the light turned green while I was trying to get my old smart phone out and the camera turned on so I just pointed and clicked, and amazingly got a somewhat decent picture of this oldie.

All in all it was a great day, one I won't soon forget.  I met some pretty cool people, got up close and personal with some beautiful horses, and breathed in plenty of fresh spring air.  As much of an indoor person I am, I do enjoy getting out and about.

What kind of adventures have you been on recently beloved readers?



Author's note: this was actually 90% done yesterday, but because I was spending time with my family it didn't get polished and finished until today.  Sorry for the delay, but I hope you all understand.  :)

Winter Blues and Books! By Robin Janney

Here it is Saturday night and I have no idea what to write.  I tried starting this post on Wednesday but became sidetracked and have since transferred it to another place for later.  Or never.

"Be Yourself." It's something I struggle with in the area of blogging.  Not always knowing what to write, because I don't want to cross the line and revert back into the venting mode I used to use when blogging.  I'm conscious of the fact that I have readers that I know in person and it's a constant thought in the back of my head.  I have never completely lost the negative trait of wondering what so-and-so will think.  Because of this, I often don't always say or write what I'm really thinking.  And that's not always a bad thing.

I'm still very down because of recent events, and there's the possibility that my thyroid medicine still isn't a high enough dosage.  It is very hard for me to write anything when depression is bad.  Even poetry.  I've always written best when the tide has turned and I'm climbing my way back out.  I know some of it is due to life events, and some of it is due to our lovely winter weather.  We have another snow and ice storm due to start sometime tomorrow - oh joy!  I can hardly contain myself.

Of all the goals I set back at the beginning of January, the one I am sticking to the most, oddly enough, is posting more on Twitter.  How weird is that?  I've been picking up new followers though, and connected with another aspiring author.  I gave her what advice I had, and we became friends on Facebook.  One thing Lisa did was start herself a blog, how exciting is that?  It should be fun to watch her grow as a blogger and writer!

I haven't forgotten my other goals, and still have faith that I'll see them to fruition.

Two things are happening in the world of books that really kinda have me pumped.  One, if you haven't heard yet, where have you been? Harper Lee is releasing a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird.  Because of pre-orders, Go Set A Watchman is already on the best sellers list; it's not due out until the middle of July!  It will be a long wait for some people.

The second isn't quite as impressive I guess, but Frank Peretti showing his face on his Facebook page made my day.  He was sharing about his latest endeavor with a group of three other authors.  A new series, each novella written by a different author and in a different character's voice.  If you're interested, you can find the first book here on Amazon.  Frank's book will be out in March.

I've always been a fan of Frank Peretti.  His writing resonates with me.  The book that won my heart for life though was The Visitation.  I reread it every so often, just to see which character I identify with at the current point in my life.  It changed how I thought about God, church, and so-called spiritual gifts.  It gave me piece about my journey in life.  And yes, it's fiction.

I'm in between books at the moment, but will soon be picking one up to read.  Maybe Elantris by Brandon Sanderson, or Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie.  I haven't decided yet.  What books have you read so far this year?  What are you looking forward to reading?

Real Life Romance vs. Fiction

A replica of our cake from a year ago the 3rd...

When I first released my novel last summer, one question that I was kind of expecting was: Is it autobiographical at all?  I got this a lot from local acquaintances.  To which I always reply, "No."

My novel is pure fiction.  Sort of.  The only thing that I pulled from my real life was the large family the main character came from, and while I didn't realize it at the time, struggles with mental illness and my own religious/spiritual issues.  For starters, I am one of ten children; born of the same father but different mothers.  I didn't give either of my characters this many siblings, but both the Carman's and the Moore's have large extended families.  It's the kind of chaos I am familiar with.

And when it comes to the romance of the novel, while there are a few similarities it was written long before I ever met Mr. Janney.  There are far more differences than anything else.

Since I was also recently asked how I met my husband, by a Facebook friend who's an "imaginary friend" I've never met because she lives on the other side of the world, I thought I would share that story for those of you who don't know me and relate some of the similarities and differences.  Largely because it is 2am as I'm working on this first draft and I can't sleep because my mind keeps working on it and technically at this hour it is our anniversary already!

#1 - Like Craig and Angela in my novel (Farmer's Daughter) there is a ten year age difference between Mr. Janney and I.  However, in the novel, Craig is the older one and in real life...I'm the older one!  It caused far more drama in the beginning of our relationship in real life than it ever did in the novel, probably because it is still more socially acceptable for the male to be the older in the relationship.  Craig was worried about the age difference because of his past abuse; Mr. Janney's family had issues with it because what could an older woman want with a younger man other than sex?  Oh well.  We all got over it!

#2 - Craig and Angela met at work, just like Mr. Janney and I did!  However, neither of us were lucky enough to be the owner of a store or anything fancy like that.  We are just two hardworking American peeps who developed a friendship that turned into something more.  I had been working at the press facility of a local newspaper for almost 2 years when Mr. Janney was hired, and he had been there about 6 months when sparks flew.  Truthfully, we owe a lot of our relationship to our one supervisor who gave us a good push towards each other.  Our supervisor was privy to the fact that I had a crush on him, and when she was feeling him out to see if it might be returned, she told me how his face got this big dopey grin on it.  "Age is just a number," she said.

#3 - Quick trip to the altar.  Sort of.

• Craig and Angela were married roughly 6 months after they met, Mr. Janney dumped me roughly 7 months after we started dating.  That lasted little over a week, because he did it for all the wrong reasons.  Later, after we got back together, I left for work early to surprise him by picking him up for work only to meet him on the road...riding his bicycle and trying to call me, not realizing all he had to do was look up!  He later told me how he had been asking God for a sign, at which point I reminded him of this incident and asked him how bigger of a sign he needed!  Unplanned and unaware of each other's intention, we were both trying to get a hold of each other just because we wanted to spend time with each other.
  
  
• Once Craig asked Angela to marry him, not that long after admitting that they were indeed a "couple", they were married before 24 hours had passed.  I had him whisk her out to Vegas for that.  Mr. Janney never really asked me to marry him.  We had been discussing it with his parents after his great-grandmother's funeral, and two days later (Monday) he let me know that he had purchased wedding rings.  Oh, ok!!  Two days after that (Wednesday) after my birthday dinner, we had enough money for either the marriage license or a birthday cake.  He left it up to me and I chose the piece of paper.  Here in PA, we have a 72 hour waiting period before we can use it and then we have a month after that to tie the knot.  Well, at this point we had been a couple for five years, close enough, so I didn't see any reason to piddlefart around and we were married at a Justice of the Peace the first day the paper could be acted upon (Saturday).
  
  
• Small wedding  Craig and Angela had only their closest friends stand with them.  We had our parents; both of his, and my mother.
  
  
• Neither of us had a true honeymoon; Craig and Angela had a short stay in Vegas before coming home to Angela's kidnapping and coma; Mr Janney and I both had to be back to work on Monday.  I got a bit of ribbing for coming back from my vacation a married woman when I had been single when I left, but I had no idea what was coming when my week long vacation started!  Surprise!
  

Me posting by the new/pre-owned truck
that was a gift to my husband and I
from his parents.

So sometimes art imitates life, and sometimes life imitates art.  In my case, life often feels like abstract art.  But then I can take something simple and straight forward and twist my perspective just right and come up with something...well, abstract!

Granted, a writer draws from their life experiences, which is probably why there is a lot of naivety to the characters in my first novel.  In a lot of ways, I was writing about experiences I hadn't had yet. Okay, some I've never had - like being kidnapped or in a coma.  (knock on wood)  But that's where imagination comes in (and a passing knowledge of some basic psychology).  Google makes research so much easier than it used to be, so long as you find the right sights.

There will never be a perfect lineup of similarities between real life and fiction.  And that's the way it should be.  Just enough to let us know that the story isn't all that far-fetched.  After a story, we should be left thinking, "That could happen to me."

Because you know, it sometimes does.  (See pic of truck -- speechless!)

There are probably more comparisons I could make between my story and my real life relationship, because every relationship has different sides to it.  Differents shades of grey, different chapters.  Real or imaginary.  Just like no two books are alike, even on the same subject, so it is with relationships.

Never stop believing in the fairy tale moments of real life.

Untold Stories: by Robin Janney

What do you do when you have a story you can't tell?

I wish I knew.  Maybe that's why writing under pen names came about?

Let's face it, some stories are just embarrassing.  If you're married, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  Those little moments that are hilarious and make you laugh for years afterwards with the one you shared the moment with, but you can never share with anyone else because of one thing or another.  Like being naked.  A momentary oopsie getting out of the shower and a random comment that brought you to tears with laughter.  Or the moment that you were kissing your spouse and he exhaled through his nose at the same moment you inhaled and so you got a nostril full of his snot - oh wait, he had no problem sharing that story so I guess I can too...(insert maniacal laughter here).  Gross beyond words, but I laughed so hard I cried.

Life's crossing paths, as intricate as any spiderweb...

More years ago than I care to count, I found myself standing in the Montoursville, PA Walmart.  The friend I was with had to run back to grab something she'd forgotten and I just stood there near the front entrance watching people as I waited for her to return.  So many people, going different directions and doing different things.  I was entranced as I wondered how many of their 'stories' intersected without them even knowing. When my friend returned and I shared my musings with her, she reminded me that Montoursville had lost a group of people, mostly high school students, in the TWA 800 crash a few years earlier.  I didn't make the connection until she said something.

That moment has stuck with me for all these years. I'm not 100% certain why.  Something about the thought of all those separate lives crossing paths, sharing joys and grief as old as time, lingers with me.  It is far from a new story idea, I've watched movies and read books with such a  theme.  But it's one I haven't tried for myself yet.

To write a story of people who don't know each other, yet their lives are undeniably intertwined like that, is beyond me at the moment.  I'd love to, but I think I lack the skill. That doesn't mean I won't give it a try someday.  But for now, it sits in the back of my head with all my other stories in waiting:

• The triplet royalty whose mother commits suicide on the day of the ball celebrating their eighteenth birthday which triggers a tale of epic fantasy involving prophets, witches and demons.  And of course loooove!  I don't think it will ever matter what genre I try to write, Romance will always have its place.
• Noah and the Archive of Atlantis - what if the accepted story of Noah and the Ark falls far short from the real story?  No doubt, I will cause as much controversy as the new Noah movie that released not that long ago.  Even if I am upfront and honest about not making any attempt to follow the biblical outline.
• The story of the woman who allowed herself to be reprogrammed in order to become an assassin with the promise to be programmed back, only to find out that her "original" personality was a lie as well...what would it be like to suddenly discover that you had NO idea who you were?  How could you love anyone, or believe that someone loves you for 'who you are'?
• The woman kidnapped by an alien humanoid race because they thought she was their prophesied ruler.  A case of mistaken identity?  A chance to make a difference?

Imagination: a door worth walking through

Some stories will just take time for me to write and get to.  I'm so focused on my romance series that every other story thought has to take a backseat. Some ideas I have though, come from real life events that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt would make greats stories...but because they're too close and too real, I know that it will be many years before I can begin to tell them.  And then under a pen name so that no one can sue me!  Although I am sure that the passage of time would dull much of the reality of the situation and turn into more fiction.

In so many ways, truth is much stranger than fiction. I'll listen to a tale from my mother about one event of family drama or another and think: I can't dream up stuff this bizarre/dramatic/funny.  And I can dream some pretty wild and wacky dreams!  The first and last story idea that I listed above were born in dreams I had.

A writer will never really want for story ideas.  Even in high school I had notebooks full of ideas.  Of course, back then I was stuck on Star Wars and my dream to write the next chapter but Timothy Zahn beat me to that one!  All I have to do at any given time is talk to people, observe them as they walk in and out of a store, even read their antics in the newspaper, and an idea is there ripe for the taking.

There will never be enough time in the world, enough paper, or enough computer memory, to tell them all.  Some stories will remain untold.



What stories have you read that you wish had remained untold?

Music Makes My World Go 'Round by C.P. Stringham

It struck me, while I was working on rewrites and edits yesterday, how much music plays a vital role in my author world. Not only does it increase my productivity, it also helps me get into the heads of my characters. Maybe I get too detail-oriented sometimes, but I truly want to know my characters inside and out—and their music preference plays into it.

Now, don’t laugh, I’m not a very modern gal. I don’t own an MP3 player. My daughters do. They love them. Have them loaded to capacity with songs. My eldest even has favorite movie clips downloaded on hers—Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs. Yep. Creepy. And cool. Despite my lack of techno-gadgets, I get by with a decent collection of CD’s (those shiny, silver plastic thingies) and by tuning in to our local Top 40 station. My friend, Lisa "The Rage" (I'll explain her nickname at the bottom,) works in the offices at Pembrook Pines Media. They’ve recently changed their format on 94Rock to include hits from the 80’s and 90’s—music from my heyday. Mostly, I like to listen to the DJ banter during the morning show. Background conversation that doesn’t require my active participation.

    Today’s music selection is courtesy of Grace Werner, my latest work-in-progress protagonist, and is comprised of Daughtry, Hinder, Offspring, and Pantera. Grace will be featured in book three of the Ellis Springs Series, Rest in Peace. She had a rebellious youth and, even at age forty, still likes to headbang (quite the contrast from Natalie’s Classical and Reverend Stephanie’s Country music in the earlier books of the series.)

Music to headbang write to...

As I’ve said before, music helps me think like my characters. During particularly difficult scenes, it often helps set the mood. Allows me to sink into the turmoil or despair I’m trying to create. A good portion of Rest in Peace was written while listening to Evanescence Fallen. Amy Lee’s haunting vocals combined with the lyrics from such songs as Going Under and Bring Me Back to Life made for inspirational writing partners. Another favorite was Broken by Seether with guest vocals by Amy Lee. The book’s theme of escaping and overcoming one’s violent past required me to be able to delve into perfect emotional darkness. At the same time, as Grace’s story reaches a turning point, I needed something to help show her emergence into lightness and good; embrace the positives in her life while never forgetting the past that molded and shaped her because, no matter how far she’s come, she’ll always carry a semblance of burden.

You can see how important a role music plays in making my books happen. It encourages my chameleon moods in the creative process. Tolstoy captured it best, “Music is the shorthand of emotion.” What helps to set the mood for you? 

As promised, the story behind Lisa "The Rage." She joins Paralegal Jenn and I two to three times a week for our hikes around The Matterhorn. We call her The Rage because she totally fits the mold of hot-tempered (natural) redhead. Her adventures in anger mismanagement often leave us laughing hysterically (and doubly thankful she's on our side.) This video clip from Malcolm in the Middle is a close representation of the scene taking place in the Wegman's parking lot not so long ago. Of course, in The Rage's story, the F-bomb was dropped into the mix.