Ten Reasons Not to Write. WHAT??

Happy Birthday to us.

Wow. Ten years of blood, sweat, and tears. Accompanied by shouts of success, tears of joy and years of growth and love. What more could we ask?

We started out as writers seeking to be published. We were seeking the tricks of the trade and the secrets that would launch our careers as authors. We decided to share what we learned and by doing that, we have learned as well. And have been immensely blessed.

But there have been times when we had to make serious decisions about writing. My topic today to fit in with the theme of ten is to list ten reasons not to write.

WHAT???

I hear you screaming at me.  Smile

I personally have not faced all ten of these reasons, but have faced several and I think it is important to realize that there might be times in your life or writing career when you need to make the decision not to write or to push on through.

What I hope to accomplish by doing this is to reassure you that making that decision doesn’t mean the end of things.  It could mean big changes.  It could mean you are ready for a new direction. It could mean that maybe God had other plans that He needs you to do more than your dream of writing and becoming published. And it could mean that He does intend or you to write, but maybe not at this time.

And sometimes, it may seem like the time not to write and that you really need to push through those times and write anyway. That has happened to many of us also.

But circumstances and difficult times do come up. So how do we tackle them so that we know what course to follow?

Let’s look at those ten reasons and see what we can do.

1. You lose your editors and the new ones you have been assigned to don’t like your writing style. 

This happened to me. I was writing for Harlequin, Time Warner, and Rosen Publishing and lost all three editors at the same time.  My new editors did not like my writing and were devoted to their own “stable”. This was in the eighties and in the days before we had agents to help us through those muddy waters. So I stopped writing for reasons that worked for me. (See number two below)

Many of my writing friends at the time went on to be best selling authors.  Many authors have lost their editors and they just kept on writing until they found another editor that liked their work. Now, today, with agents, that process is a lot easier. You have an agent watching your back and helping you through it.

Lesson.  You can keep on writing and persist.  Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing.  Either way, you are going to accomplish something.

2. Another job comes up that you really have a desire to pursue. That job takes too much out of you and you cannot continue to write.

As mentioned above, I wasn’t getting anything published, so hubby insisted I go back to teaching and finish that career, get my retirement and then I could write what I wanted.  Oh, I did not want to do that.  I prayed for the Lord to give him wisdom. The harder I prayed, the more he insisted until I finally got the message.  LOL.   I did go back to teaching.  That job took so much out of me that I didn’t write.  However, my students all won writing awards. And I now have a wonderful retirement and don’t have to write things I don’t want to write just for the income, which is what I was doing before.  Looking back, (isn’t hindsight great?) I see that I was accomplishing good with all the students I taught, the staff I worked with, and time with family. 

 3. You need to work a job that pays more money than you are making as an author. Maybe you’re the sole support for yourself and/or family.

I know several writer friends who work a day job and then write during early morning hours or late evenings. This is often what they need to do to support themselves and their family. You often hear the saying “Don’t quit the day job.” Well, this is important because most authors take a few years to build up to a decent income from their writing. Oh yes, there is that rare bird that makes a best seller hit on their first venture out as an author, but the reality is, it takes years of sweat and tears and persistence to make a decent income.

Often day jobs take so much out of you that you really don’t have any energy or motivation left. That happened to me. Teaching was extremely draining and truthfully that was so because I was a good teacher and worked hard with those students. I stopped writing and put that dream aside until I retired.

I remember Nora Roberts telling us at a workshop how she found a job selling insurance in Sears stores where she sits at a desk most of the day and rarely was approached.  She said it was a great job to have because she could write on the job. Many others have had day jobs that allowed time to write or at least think about your plot in your head. So they don’t need to quit writing.

I have friends who work 55-60 hour weeks and still get up early and write for an hour every morning. They end up with two novels per year.  Now that’s dedication and persistence. But it’s doable if you have the motivation and stamina. 

Not all of us do have that stamina and motivation. So yes, maybe you quit writing until you have retired or don’t need that job anymore.

Lesson:  You can keep on writing and persist.  Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing.  Either way, you are going to accomplish something.

 4. You have everything you need, like money, lifestyle, etc and just aren’t motivated to write. It is after all, difficult work.

Strange as it sounds, this happened to me. I did finish my teaching job and retired and frankly am having difficulty motivating myself to write. My hubby declared his main job as a retiree was to be in charge of fun and he is very good at it. We do so many activities, travel a lot and interact with so many people and groups, that I am just as tired from all the activity as I used to be from working. LOL

But I do persist and have learned to get up early before hubby gets up and I can do like the day job friend and write for an hour a day. A book does get finished.  However, quite frankly there have been times when we are so involved in projects that I don’t get to the writing.

Does that make me a bad person? Goodness, I hope not. My spiritual mentor in my early days as a Christian used to tell me, “whatever you are doing is what God had planned for you to do.”  That took away so much of the guilt.

 5. You have a family member or friend that needs you i.e. elder care, handicapped or disabled person.

This definitely happened to me. When I retired, I started telling people that I retired from teaching, but have a new job in elder care. All of my parents, (in laws, step parents, birth parents) and a couple friends that named me as their trustee developed every health issue you can think of and I had to deal with it.  Cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s dementia, several bypass heart surgeries, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.  I met Karen O'Connor in a conference in San Diego. She wrote a book called “Getting Old Ain’t For Wimps.”   There is definitely truth in that. check out her website for more great tips for dealing with aging.

Dealing with all of these health issues and elders who needed my help all at the same time about did me in. I didn’t write during the most intense years of elder care. I was too emotionally drained to think straight let alone write.

Some of my friends do have elder care issues and still manage to write. I give them kudos because they have to have super strength and motivation to push on through all of the pain and heartache involved in elder care.  But they do it.  Just because I couldn’t do both, doesn’t mean I am weak in any way. It is the way I’m made. Many of you have more stamina and drive. Thank the Lord for that. But don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do both.

I was thankful that I was retired and could spend the time to help my elders. I didn’t begrudge the writing time. I just figured the writing time wasn’t now. And when the elders passed, I spent a year building back my strength and then began writing again. That was me.

Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist.  Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing.  Either way, you are going to accomplish something.

6. You become sick, handicapped or disabled.

Fortunately, I have not had to face this issue personally. But I have friends who have and still do. If you are undergoing chemo treatments for cancer, there are going to be days you are not going to be able to write. If you broke your arm, wrist or hand, there are going to be days you can’t type. If you suffered a stroke, there are going to be weeks and months before you can write again.

I have friends who have gone through serious trials, but upon recovery, went back to their computer and are writing again. Their illness may have stopped their writing for a time period, but most of the time it hasn’t meant a permanent leave of absence from their desk.

There are friends though that, bless their souls, will probably never write again. There is no shame in that. Life happens.

Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist.  Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing.  Either way, you are going to accomplish something.

7. You start a family and have children that demand your time and leave you no time or energy for writing.

Many of you young writers have this issue to deal with. Young children demand a tremendous amount of time and energy. They have been given to you to care for and I’m sure God is pleased if you stop writing to attend to their needs.

Some of you super moms still write anyway. I’ve met some who incorporate their writing time with their children. They become role models of persistence and hard work. That is wonderful and a blessing.

Not all of us are built that way. Each family and each set of children are different in their needs and demands. Each of us is different in our levels of energy to handle them. So if you stop writing to raise your children or as in some cases, grandchildren, don’t feel guilty. Your time will still come. Those children eventually grow up, go off to school, become writers themselves, etc.

Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist.  Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing.  Either way, you are going to accomplish something.

8. You don’t want to cater to the demand for an author to be involved in social media.

Oh my, this one hits hard. I really struggle with social media. I’m so busy with all the activities my husband gets us involved in that I treasure my moments to myself and want them for writing, not playing around on social media.  Doing so steals so much of your time.

But social media presence is a requirement in this day and age of writing. With the loss of bookstores and the paradigm shift in the industry, you are going to need social media to get your name known.

You just have to carve time to include it as part of your writing dream. If it takes too much time or you don’t want to participate in social media for security reasons, you may decide not to write.

Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist.  Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing.  Either way, you are going to accomplish something.

9.  You don’t have any more stories in you that you feel need to be told.

When I came back to write after retirement, Christian and wholesome novels were pretty well non-existent. Some popular secular authors like Francine Rivers and Robin Lee Hatcher were breaking inroads by switching genres and publicly declaring why they were doing that.

Many of us felt it a mission to get more clean and wholesome novels out there. Today, the Christian market has grown and is one of the best selling genres of romance.

This makes me wonder if my stories really need to be out there. Readers have a huge choice of wholesome novels to read these days.  Yay!!  What a blessing and I’m so thankful for that.

So maybe I will decide not to write anymore. Maybe there are other reasons the stories aren’t there. You might be called for other purposes.

Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist.  Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing.  Either way, you are going to accomplish something.

 10.  You want to retire from writing to pursue other interests.

Writing is a career and like other careers, a writer might feel the need to retire. As we age, we have less energy and maybe have other interests we feel led to pursue.

One talented artist friend of mine left his art. He had the gift of healing and he devoted his time to that instead. He felt led and called to do so.

You may not have a particular calling that you are led to pursue, but may simply be ready to stop working as a writer with all its demands. We each are made differently and have different motivations, energy levels and desires. So embrace that and be thankful for what you have accomplished to this point.

I do know writers who have continued to write until they were taken home. They had that calling. But like we have already pointed out, each one of us is different. Whether we retire or keep on writing, we will be doing what we are called to do.

Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist.  Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing.  Either way, you are going to accomplish something.

Hubby and I on the beach in Maui, Hawaii earlier this month

So what I wanted to impart today was the seed acceptance. We are all different and have our own individual needs and motivations. Embrace your own calling and pursue your own dreams. No matter what you decide to do, it will be right for you. Listen to that inner voice and trust the Lord to provide and guide.

To celebrate our birthday, I’ve baked several apple pies. In our family we order pie instead of cake because we love pies.  And truthfully, I can bake a dynamite pie, but my cakes often become Grand Canyons. LOL 

Hubby and I just returned from our fiftieth-anniversary celebration in Hawaii. (Yes, I know, our anniversary was in March, but we have been celebrating all year)  I went to a local street fair and found this lovely Kindle/I Pad bag, made by the locals. The street fair was marvelous. Permits are not needed to set up a booth so no restrictions. You would not believe how many booths were set up with people promoting Christian churches and ministries. There was one booth where people were lined up for healing prayers. I was astounded because we often see that kind of thing prohibited in public. 

Comment today and win this lovely handmade bag and an autographed copy of one of my books. Let us know how you’ve dealt with decisions to write or not write. Readers, we welcome your comments as well. You may have faced difficult decisions also and can share how you dealt with them. One bag for a reader and one for a writer.

Aren't these bright and colorful?

Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She is based in Arizona, but she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motorhome and enjoy the outdoors. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audio books at Audible. You can read more of Sandra's posts here.

10 Things I Wasn’t Doing 10 Years Ago

In 2007, I was working a stress-filled day job as a purchasing manager, working part time for ACFW, had teenagers at home, and was struggling to find time to write.

As an unpublished author, I wondered more than once if all the hard work was worth it. I was so busy doing what needed to be done, that there wasn’t much time—or energy—to pursue much of the dream.

But as we celebrate Seekerville’s 10th birthday, I started looking back on the last 10 years of my writing life, and found a plethora of amazing things that I wasn’t doing then that I’m doing now. Really, I had a hard time stopping at ten!

1. Writing - Keeping to a writing schedule because it’s my job now. This seems like a no brainer, but life and exhaustion can get in the way of producing good copy. I’m in a season in my life where I was able to quit my high-pressure corporate job a few years ago. I know this isn’t an option for everyone, but I put in my time at the office. I’m still at “the office” every day, it’s just in my own home.

2. Speaking/Signing - Ten years ago, groups had no real reason to invite me to speak. Even today as I’m blogging in Seekerville, I’m packing my SUV with books and heading out to visit the library in a neighboring town. I’ll be signing books at a local festival in a couple of weeks, along with two more appearances before Christmas.

3. Keynoter - I’m listing keynote speaker separately because there’s just something extra special about being asked to keynote at a conference or retreat. In August, I gave my first keynote speech at a Christian ladies retreat in Indianapolis, Indiana. What an honor! I never, ever, in my wildest dreams, thought I’d be able to add “keynote speaker” to my resume.

4. A Taste of Fame - Okay, fame is relative, but it’s a big deal to be standing in line in my small-town grocery store and have someone recognize me and tell me — loud and proud from across two checkout lanes — that they meant it when they posted on social media they want to know what happened next [to secondary characters]. 

5. Sharing the Stage with Francine Rivers - Yep, ten years ago, who would have thought that in 2015, I’d be standing on the same stage with Francine Rivers at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX as we and six other Tyndale authors addressed the 700+ ladies in the audience and signed books afterward. Surreal!

Tyndale Authors, Editors and Marketing
at Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, TX

6. Conference Calls - Since I worked as a purchasing manager, I’m no stranger to phone convos with salesmen and the occasional conference call to hash out some major problem. But even those daily interactions working out $100K steel deals weren’t nearly as fun or as dear to my heart as conference calls with my editors and marketing. The time just flies as both sides work to make my latest project shine as bright as possible.

7. Books, Books, & More Books - Books with MY name on them. Should this be listed as #1, or #10??? Isn’t it the reason for this post, for all the time and effort, writing, speaking, signing, and being tied to my laptop 24/7? Yep, what I wasn’t doing 10 years ago was holding my books in my hands, and seeing my books in bookstores and online.

8. Industry Recognition - The dream was just to become published. Just to get my foot in the door, have a book with my name on it. But then to have those books win awards and land on the CBA and ECPA Bestsellers lists is just above and beyond anything I ever imagined.

9. Savoring Morning Coffee at Home - Okay, this is a bit of a departure from all the writing-related points above, but for someone who loves, loves, LOVES being at home, it’s just about the best of the lot. My dream has been to work from home just about all my adult life, and it seemed as if that dream would never come true. Granted, I still wear many “business” hats since my husband and son are both self-employed, and I’m the bookkeeper for their businesses, plus the work I do as the treasurer of ACFW. All these jobs are what enables me to stay at home.

10. Bring on the jammies and grungy hair - There’s a lot to be said for working at home and being able to wear whatever you want all day. Get up and twist your hair up in a clip, throw on an old t-shirt and a skirt or jeans and call it good. What I’m not doing, is jumping out of bed, scrambling to get dressed, and driving thirty minutes to the day job, rushing to get there on time. (Uh, did I say that I’m not exactly a morning person?)

Okay, I’m out of numbers, so this last one is just a plain out BONUS…Because of the blessing of working from home and my flexible hours, I have the absolute JOY of baby sitting my sweet and sassy grand baby twice a week. It doesn’t get any better than that!

So, there ya go. Ten (plus one!) amazing, wonderful things I wasn’t doing ten years ago.

Now for some Seekerville birthday fun! Leave a comment sharing at least one amazing thing that you weren’t doing (experiencing) ten years ago. It can be writing related, but doesn’t have to be. Today’s birthday prize is a grab bag with ten cute and fun items - along with a signed copy of Pam Hillman's latest The Promise of Breeze Hill.

Let’s chat!

Fiction to Non-Fiction with Dementia Shock and Awe!

I first met Stephanie years ago when her daughter Bailey interviewed me about my Men of Allegany County series, set in the Southern Tier of Western New York... Stephanie and I, both new authors, working toward a dream... and I've liked her ever since (and she didn't run screaming, always a plus!) Here she is today, author of several great stories, and new non-fiction author of a book that touched my heart and my soul after watching my father-in-law fade into the nasty oblivion of Alzheimer's four years ago... Steph, the book is great. So are you.

Welcome to Seekerville for our 10th birthday bash, amazingly talented speculative author S. R. Karfelt! 

There’s a quote by Stephen King that’s one of my favorites about fiction.

“Kids, fiction is the truth inside the lie.” ~Stephen King

That speaks to me. Writers can tell the bald truth wrapped in a nice and easily digestible story. We can overcome race, politics, and religion in a wonderful fiction world. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Writing out the first draft of a fiction novel into the wee hours of the night is my happy place. I never planned to take my happy writing soul into that dark dank alley of non-fiction.

Reality Bites. Compared to fiction anyway.

My plan for the next book was a fiction one I’ve had rolling around in my psyche for ages. In fact I thought I’d whip it out in no time because I’ve drafted it and rewritten it a couple times over the years. That book was even scheduled with my publisher. But. Reality bit in the form of my mother-in-law with dementia moving in with us.

Before she came, when I knew she was heading our way, I made grand writing plans so that I could make this work. I’ll take a couple months off while I get her situated. She can get used to being here. We’ll get her on memory meds. When she’s comfortable, I’ll start writing again.

That thought process strikes me as ludicrous and darkly amusing now. The one and only steadfast fact I’ve learned about dementia is that no one gets used to it. Getting comfortable with losing your memory is not a thing. It didn’t take long for me to come to that realization and contact my publisher. I told them I couldn’t make my deadline. Fortunately for me I’m with a small press and they’re more flexible than some.

But as I was talking to them they made a suggestion. Why don’t you take all of those Facebook posts about your mother-in-law, and put them in a document and see if you can’t make a book out of it?

Okay, this is the next highly amusing LIGHT BULB idea I had. What a great idea! All I have to do is tell the truth! That’s easy! I can whip out a 50 or 60K word manuscript, fulfill my obligations, and I’ll have a nice little non-fiction book.

For the love of light, Seekers, that was probably the stupidest thought that’s ever rolled through my head, and believe me there have been some doozies. But I did it. I took all my Facebook posts about dementia and Gummy and put them into a word document.

The reason I’d been posting about her, to begin with, was because when my husband left me alone with dementia for a work trip to Asia, he made the mistake of saying, Do whatever you have to do to survive it.

Now, what do writers do to survive it? We write!

It surprised me how many people responded to those posts. I’d received a flood of responses, and suddenly I wasn’t alone with this avalanche of a disease.

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. ~ Helen Keller

Suddenly I felt the stirrings of inspiration. So I gathered up months’ worth of posts like these:

• It's not that Gummy packs all her stuff to leave a couple times a day. It's that somewhere in this luggage are all the pix from her room, the batteries from her clock, and a vase full of live flowers.

*

• I'm trying something new. The answer to "Where am I?" is, you are here. It's not that I mind answering it. It's simply that it is often asked 2-3 times a minute. The confusion that goes with the answer and the proceeding questions can eat an entire day—and it can bring on panic, tears, or acceptance, but even if it goes well, it is asked again immediately.

• Physically I can't answer that question 16 hours a day. I'm exhausted halfway in, and she is shattered.

So I'm experimenting. You are here, we love you, you're safe. This is an evil ugly disease, but it can't make us not love her. Take that you evil _______. #dementia

And thanks Target for the perfect nightlight.

That nice easy non-fiction book took nine months of hard labor. Isn’t that 

indicative? I like to say it’s both the easiest thing I ever wrote and the hardest.

The easiest because all I had to do was tell the truth. The hardest because all I
had to do was tell the truth.

Part of the difficulty was because Facebook posts are not an outline and had to be slowly edited out. There’s a reason it went through eighteen rewrites and ten edits. Part of the difficulty was I spent my days dealing with dementia and my nights writing about it. The other problem was I’d never written a memoir before. In the end, I just started writing the truth and crying. All I know is I’m super tired now and my tear ducts are desert-dry, but I have what I call Gummy’s book.

It’s the story of us, us against dementia, laughter through tears, and that deep love when adversaries become friends. I’ve been blessed with the most wonderful mother-in-law, and in the end it’s been an honor to stand by her through this hellacious disease and to write this book. I can’t control dementia, but it can’t stop me from telling our story.

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. ~Mark Twain

That quote could not be more apt.

Dementia isn’t obligated to stick to possibilities either. Memory loss is the dark side of Wonderland.

If Gummy and I both face it with rude gestures and naughty asides, that’s because we’d both rather laugh than cry.

Since Gummy collected teacups for what must be centuries, judging by how many she has, I named a chapter in the book after them. When I thought about a Seekerville giveaway, I decided it had to be tea related with some of my travel goodies thrown in. (Stonehenge cookies, chocolates, and bookmarks!)

The cover of Gummy’s book has a broken teacup on it. I cried all over the place when I saw it. By then my tears were little puffs of dust. When I showed the book to Gummy and told her it was about us, a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law and our eons together, about her fight with dementia, and the funny stories when she tried to make me a better housekeeper or when the dog jumped into a puddle of oil and she washed him with Tide, she said, “Really? Nobody told me!” And that is the book’s name, and Gummy’s tagline. Nobody Told Me love in the time of dementia.

If you’d like a chance at the tea giveaway, tell me a quick story and I’ll guess whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. I have a theory that the really off the wall ones are the true stories!

S.R. Karfelt writes fiction with a twist of fantasy, like the ancient immortal moonlighting as a cop in Kahtar, Warrior of the Ages and The Covenant Keeper Novels, or the witch in B*tch Witch who inherited an evil gene but refuses to be evil just because it’s in her blood. Nobody Told Me love in the time of dementia is her first work of non-fiction.

Wife, mother, explorer, and part-time hermit, S.R. lives in that hidden part of New York she likes to call The Shire. www.SRKarfelt.com

Celebrating 20 Love Inspired Books and Ten Years of Seekerville!

This is a monumental month. 

SEEKERVILLE IS TEN YEARS OLD.

Gosh.

I remember her when she was a youngster, wet behind the ears, featuring posts written by aspiring authors... Only six of us were published when we launched the blog in 2007... But we'd made a pledge, a vow to pray each other into publication... a vow that said we would leave no woman behind...

And we meant it! 

"Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you..." Matthew 7:7

We started as fifteen... and when we'd reached the goal of ALL 15 AUTHORS being contracted by royalty-paying publishers, we kept going. We kept writing, two of the originals moved on, and the remaining thirteen joined hands to make Seekerville and you a priority.

Why?

Because you matter.

In a competitive business like ours, it's good to know that someone is out here who isn't just reaching for your pocket. Your wallet. It's good to know that help exists beyond the measures of payment, and that there are people who believe that the more you give, the more you get. That's our belief system here. It's not about us... although we all love selling books. It's about the collective "us"... you and me and Patti Jo and Caryl and Seekers and editors and agents and Trixi and Helen and Wilani and Deb and Tracey and Jackie and Jackie and Jacki... 

It's about advice and encouragement, work and encouragement, lectures... and encouragement IN THE LECTURE! :)

As we celebrate this birthday, I get to celebrate a different milestone, one that I'm immensely proud of: My 20th Love Inspired book hits the stands this week, around October 17th... "The Lawman's Yuletide Baby", a beautiful story of second chances and forgiveness... And how a baby changes everything, not just at Christmas, but every day of the year.

I got the call in June of 2009. Melissa Endlich of Love Inspired, calling to offer me a contract... Twenty books later, I've just signed another six book contract with them, and I was delighted to do so. 

Publishing is an odd biz. Many publishers get upset if you work with more than one company/publisher. Or if you put out indie books... but the reality is that unless you're a NYT bestselling author, they're probably not paying you a living wage. When other publishers contact me, I let them know that I'm not giving up my Love Inspired books, because not only did Love Inspired give me my first chance, they've sold close to a million books for me... 

Remember that old line "dance with the guy who brought you..."

I believe that a good turn deserves another, and my goal has always been to delight my Walmart and Kroger readers alongside my B&N and Amazon readers because a growing readership is the plan... but not one at the expense of the other. 

And this business has more than its share of shellackers. Folks who prey on the desire to write a book and see it published by offering all kinds of help.... for a very steep fee. 

Those sharks lurk in all waters of this industry, and they often see Christian authors as easy targets. They see us as trusting, naive, innocent and maybe a trifle foolish because we like to believe others are the same way. Nope. Throwing the word "Christian" or "Believer" into a name doesn't mean the person is on your side. Don't let appearances deceive. It's up to us as smart businesswomen and men to check the fine print... 

Why am I telling you this? Why am I advising you to stay away from sharks and empty promises and luring offers that will take your hard-earned money?

Because there are no short-cuts. There is one formula. 

Talent + Desire + Perseverance + Hard Work = The Possibility of Success.

Believe in yourself. Believe in the gifts you've been given. Believe in the opportunities that abound... but it will all go for naught if you are unwilling to do the work, to take the time, to make the commitment to be the best you can be.

Remember our scripture from the Rockin' It 2016 New Year's Eve party? 

This is what I leave you with as I celebrate my 42nd published work and my 20th Love Inspired and our 10th Seekerville Birthday... 

Be strong and courageous in all things, and when this writing road seems rough or tough or broken, remember that God alone sees beyond the bends in the road... and He is our strength and our salvation.

Reason enough to throw a party, right there!

Great parties have great company... You!!!... and great prizes, so I'm giving away three copies of "The Lawman's Yuletide Baby" today.... and a $20 Amazon gift card to celebrate TWENTY LOVE INSPIRED BOOKS... with more to come!

Leave a comment and you'll be entered into the drawings... and into the conversation! What makes you stick with a goal... and if it gets tough, what helps you to re-engage and get back on track? Share your tips with everyone here... and Happy Birthday Seekerville!!!!

Multi-published inspirational author Ruthy Logan Herne loves God, her family, mini-donkeys, dogs, chocolate, coffee and Diet Mt. Dew. She is obviously not a health nut, cringes at the free use of hand sanitizers, and encourages small children to splash in puddles and play in mud. She lives on a crazy fun/busy Pumpkin Farm in Western New York where her dual lives offer great story fodder... and a chance to meet all kinds of sweet people! Email her at loganherne@gmail.com OR friend Ruthy on facebook, follow her on @Twitter or stop by her website to see what's new!