Will She or Won’t She?

 

July 2021 Blog

Insurmountable: A Haiku

I have hit that wall

Over which I cannot climb,

Yet I keep trying.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Does that make me noble, hopeless or just plain stupid?  As July starts on a rainy note (It’s actually Monsoon Season), I’m vacillating between “hanging it up” or “hanging in there”.

I’m suffering from a really bad case of Writer’s Block. Except for the blog and my daily Haiku, I haven’t made any progress in more than two months.

Sam Rock is not pleased. He wants his new adventures with Marie Delacroix to be published and soon. The natives of Acqueria are anxious to get their early story out there also. And there’s always Eldreth lurking in the shadows wondering why his story isn’t finished.

My muse sits and sulks. She wants us to go outside and write, but we can’t. It’s been too hot (well over 100°F) for most of the month or (lately) raining day and night. She says it’s no excuse, but she knows my inside voice is hampered by the slightest distractions.

And there are plenty of those: the computer, the TV and all the housework and organizing  that screams to be done.

It would be so easy to just hang it up and not make the effort, but I’m not sure the other stuff would get done anyway. And I certainly wouldn’t be any happier.

In fact, I’m happiest when I’m writing , so I guess I owe it to myself to keep at it. There’s always the chance my muse and I will connect, and the words will flow.

My not writing would not lead to a happy me.

This will be the shortest blog I have ever posted, but it’s a compromise with my muse. The alternative would be no blog at all this month, and I’ve posted faithfully since January 1, 2017. I don’t want to break my streak, Hoping for more and better news to report next month. Until then – keep the faith and keep well. Try to stay cool. That’s been difficult in our neck of the woods where the temperature having been north of 100 F° for a while now.

June has been brutal. July promises to be no less. Let’s hope August cools down, but I’m not holding my breath.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Also, please feel free to visit me at my Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

 

 

 

 

Raining on My Own Parade

 

June 2021 Blog

Brass Ring: A Haiku

Happiness is a

Lifelong pursuit without a

Lifetime guarantee.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

I have never been a happy-go-lucky person, but I’d like to think I have had some fun in my life. Lately, it seems, “I’m getting too old for this sh*t” has become my theme song.

I am sitting out in the sunshine between storms writing this. The sun’s warmth feels wonderful, but the re-gathering clouds loom ominously. Kind of like a metaphor for my life now.

Truly, I feel I am in a race against time to pour my remaining words out into the ether. And I seem to be losing that race.

I have no one to blame but myself. I just don’t seem to be up to the challenge anymore. “That which needs to be done” always seems better done tomorrow than today, even though I realize tomorrow is not a given and today needs to better embraced.

But then, this has been my theme for quite a while, hasn’t it? I’m beginning to wonder if I can change. Perhaps I’m afraid the if I complete things (or even a thing)  that will be the end. Foolish,for sure, but still within the realm of real truth.

I’d like to prove myself wrong about this. If for no other reason, than I am happiest when I am in that world of words and nothing else can penetrate – no undone task, no upcoming responsibility, no worry, no care...

See? There I go happily into that world, even with the clouds looming. Wouldn’t even care if I got rained on right now. (Okay, getting wet would not be a real great idea.)

Seems rain has become a theme lately. Besides posting that lead-in Haiku on Twitter the other day, I also recently posted:

Cloud Burst: A Haiku

It rained upon my

Parade of words today; they

Lie in turgid pool.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Guess I’m really not fond of storms and wet weather, even though any moisture  is appreciated when you’ve lived in drought conditions for so long.

But enough about today’s flood in my front and back yard. Let’s talk about the torrent of words not flowing from my drought-stricken mind.

I keep thinking that maybe if I didn’t have so much to do (actually no more than anyone else) and less stuff to worry about (actually have less than a lot of people), I could concentrate more on my writing.

Well, that seems like a no-brainer. Did I mention interruptions? Someone just dropped a text message on my phone. Now I get to worry about who and what the message is. I can’t stop and check right now, because I‘m outside. I also can’t see my screen when I’m outside, but I don’t want to stop and go inside, let my eyes adjust to the dark and either check the message or lose it as I do frequently, and this isn’t even a Smartphone.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, the year is almost half over, and it has pretty much gone the way of the last one. I  pretty much still don’t get out much and don’t get anything done.

Every time I sit down to write or edit, I have to re-gather my papers and my thoughts. It’s far too long between sessions. It’s a good thing the I have a running synopsis now of what I have already written, so I don’t have to go back over the whole manuscript. But every such stop and start is time-consuming and not the best use of the time yet allotted to me.

I’m happy that Steve Hamm is now narrating my first “Black Oak” novel, so I have that release to look forward to. But any other releases are strictly up to me, and so is the advertising campaign I need to start working on.

I need more reviews for my books on Amazon, so I’m going to be heavily promoting that in June. Any of my readers, who have enjoyed my books, if you can, please post a review to Amazon. People do tend to pay attention to those, and I could certainly use a boost – you know –  like the Experian Cow on TV – BOOOOST!

Okay, I’m smiling now and the sun is still shining . I guess I’ll wrap this up before my parade gets rained on again and go and check that message I got.

Have a great June! See you again come July!

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Also, please feel free to visit me at my Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

 

Unfond Farewell

 

December 2020 Blog

Not sorry to see 2020 go. In fact, good riddance, bad rubbish.

 

Unfond Farewell: A Haiku

One useless, cruel year

Coming to its end. Hope the

New Year brings better.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Not given eternity, I have but the rest of my life to get things done. So I’m putting all my eggs in next year’s basket.

I am sitting outside again, smiling at my platitudes. Hey, at least it’s a reason to smile. This has been one unbelievable year. It’s not like any other in my lifetime and I’ve lived a long, long life.

I would take a deep breath and shake this year off as December’s passing brings it to a close, but it’s not safe to take a deep breath. It may not be safe to do so for a long time yet.

I’m betting a lot of us will be happy to see this year go away and take its nightmares with it. We’re for sure hoping 2021 will restore our health, our outlook and our sanity. I’m not certain I could stand another year like 2020 has been.

So, I’m spending December planning for the future. During November’s NaNoWriMo, I wrote most of the sequel to the “Seasons of Sam Rock”, tentatively titled “Ravens’ Roost”. I may finish it in December, or I may just work on a myriad other things that need doing sooner rather than later.

I’m also hoping for the freedom to go places and do things outside the house besides grocery shopping and doctors’ appointments. Maybe even have access to a viable vaccine that may end at least part of the nightmare that is 2020. And it really would be nice to go somewhere without donning a mask and gloves.

With 2020 behind me, I’d like to embark on a new and more productive cycle of writing, editing, publishing and marketing. I may spend part of December planning for that. It’s hard to keep to a schedule if you don’t make one first.

I am thinking of publishing at least three novels, two or three new Haiku chapbooks and lots of audio book releases from my print and ebook back catalog.

First novel, of course, will be the “Seasons of Sam Rock” sequel. Then, probably “The  Early Years” prequel to the “The Chronicles of Acqueria”. Not sure what will follow that,

Then I have another full chapbook of Haiku for a “Global Warning” sequel, and I’ve been collecting Haiku for a chapbook on my personal outlook on life. (Not sure that won’t be mostly depressing.)

I’ve been promised the completion of my “Seasons of Sam Rock” audio book for Christmas. It will join the already available “       The Cottage”. Also looking forward to putting the “Aurora UFO Incident” out there and maybe the “Black Oak” series.

I might even make the “The Castleweaver” poetry series available in audio, I’ve been trying for a couple of years to figure out how to  make an ebook version available. It’s rather difficult considering all the artwork involved. But it should be doable. I’ll have to keep studying that.

So, there’s plenty to do in 2021, assuming we can successfully get  past 2020. I hope my faithful readers and fellow writers can look forward to a good new year as well.

I, for one, will ring in the new year joyfully, after burying 2020 somewhere in a landfill, where it belongs.

If you’re still looking for books for gifts, all mine are available on Amazon for your gifting pleasure.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. It will help pass the lonely hours of isolation and quarantine.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this month we may enjoy some holiday festivities and next month will find us able to enjoy our lives even more. Let’s keep the faith.

 

 

 

 

Tempus Fugit

October 2019 Blog

Boy howdy! Time sure does fly! Okay, three-fourths of the year is gone! Where did it go? The same place the other years of my 75 year-old life have gone. They’re just gone – into oblivion!

Time Passages: A Haiku

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

Life rarely moves on

A schedule of our choosing,

Else it would not end.

Were  time a commodity, I assume it would be the most wasted one of all. It is an unquantifiable resource whose worth is virtually not realized until it has expired.

Procrastination would appear to be the most grievous sin possible against time. It is something I have been guilty of most of my life. My favorite pastime seems to be putting “it” off until tomorrow – or the next day – or the next.

Instead of counting off the things I have accomplished this year, I can list the things I haven’t. (It’s a much longer list.) Even my audible book projects, through no fault of my own, have languished and may not be completed this year.

I’m even thinking that maybe if I throw more irons into the fire, I might accomplish more. (Not that that trick has ever worked.)

Maybe it’s time to take a deep breath and plunge back into my original pool of projects.

So, I have three months to publish “Global Warning”, “The Chronicles of Acqueria: The Early Years”, and whatever else was on that project list that I started and misplaced before I could check anything off of it.

Besides editing the already written (a long time ago) first twenty-eight chapters Of “The Chronicles of Acqueria: The Early Years”, I still have ten more chapters to write to complete the novel. It is a prequel to “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery” and seeks to chronicle the founding of Acqueria and the young lives of the central patriarchal figures in Sentia’a story.

All of the Haiku for “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: Global Warning” have been written. I simply need to gather them in some cohesive order and develop filler material to assure a smooth flow. That will be extremely time consuming, considering it will be the most critical and careful of this most important offering.

As each month passes, we are getting closer and closer to the tipping point – beyond which no matter what we do, it will not change the inevitable. I would like to publish while we still have a chance. Perhaps even sway a few more thinking individuals or ignite a spark in a Climate Emergency advocate who can actually make a difference in the future of the world. (Okay, I can dream, can’t I?)

Also, it would be nice to get this pending stuff done before I can no longer do it.  Like this month’s Haiku says – time is not endless, nor is it finite until it ends.

So, I’ll take a deep breath after I post this month’s blog (been doing a lot of deep breathing lately) and plunge into a publishing frenzy.

Perhaps I can even help save the world. Hey, at my age, I’m entitled to some delusions of grandeur.

This month I’m featuring “The Chronicles of Acqueria: Blood Moon Treachery” so my faithful readers can get involved in Sentia’s story before you learn of its origins. It is available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y96zzp9u.

My featured poetry for October is the first of my two dark, medieval poetry chapbooks, “The Castleweaver's Tales: A Dozen Glimpses of Medieval Madness: 25th Anniversary Edition” – available from Amazon at: https://tinyurl.com/y9d8czj4  Eldreth insisted.

Until next time, keep the faith. Keep writing and keep reading. Enjoy what makes you happy. There is far too little happiness in this world these days.

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

As all of my books are available on Amazon, I’m also including a link to my Amazon Author’s page. Feel free to visit me there also:

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003SH6HIQ

Writer’s Quandary

February 2018 Blog

Writer’s Quandary

I would cast my words upon the ether and give them life more eternal than my own.

Writer’s Quandary: A Haiku

What of what I write?

Hidden under a bushel?

Cast upon ether?

February 2018 Blog

What do you write when you want to write: “Life sucks and then you die” And, George (the dead girl form “Dead Like Me” who was killed by a toilet seat that fell from the space station) says, “It still sucks!”

Do I force myself to write something inspirational (and against my current mood), or do I go with the flow and embrace my “Debbie Downer” side? And does it matter anyway? This has got to be the least read blog of any out here in the blog-o-sphere.

Usually, when I’m in this kind of mood,  I just work on one of my novels and kill someone horrifically. But, today is the first of the month, and in keeping with my resolution from last year, I’m blogging.

Which reminds me, I didn’t  make any resolutions this year, so I don’t have to worry about breaking them. If I had made any, I’m certain they would have been broken by now. It’s been that kind of year so far. (Can’t believe that it’s only just started.)

So here I am free to write anything I want. Guess I’ll just practice crying in the wilderness.

I am not happy. I’m not happy with the current state of affairs in the United States or in the world, for that matter. I am not happy with myself, either. I don’t see either unhappiness being mitigated anytime soon. The only thing that seems to bring a smile to my face lately is sitting out in the sun in my back yard, watching the birds and the squirrels and writing.

Wait! That’s it! I’m happy when I’m writing! Within that statement may lie the solution. I need to write more.

I need to shut out the world I cannot control and immerse myself in the worlds over which I have complete control. Worlds in which the characters do my bidding and their existence is at my pleasure. Where they always do what I expect…

Okay, that’s not entirely true. Sometimes, my characters do exactly what they want to  do and turn my tales a whole different direction. Usually it’s for the best. They seem to know their own inclinations and can surprise me at every turn. They even make my job easier.

At times I merely put my pen to paper and their words flow scene after scene. That’s part of the joy of being a writer: the flow of words that make a cohesive story that you like even when you read it back to yourself.

That doesn’t always happen. There are times (during editing especially) that a writer comes to loathe the words on the page and would like to just to ditch the whole thing. In fact, we almost didn’t have Stephen King’s “Carrie” because he trash-canned it. We have it only because his wife Tabitha rescued it, read it and told him it had merit. One “Carrie” resurrected.

I wonder how many writers out there have become unduly discouraged and abandoned their “babies” before they even had a chance at birth.

Persistence, then, is the key. In fact, it is the key to so much in this world. Without it, we cannot succeed and in fact may fail just this side of a brilliant breakthrough.

I guess that is why I’m writing this blog. I am nothing if not persistent. (although it may take me a while to persist.)

I would advise all aspiring writers to make persistence part of their makeup. Write and keep writing. Edit, but don’t abandon. Pursue publishing vigorously, and repeat and repeat and repeat.

The breakthrough (however you define that) will come, or if it doesn’t, at least you will have spent quality time away from the world such as it is. You will also have yourself to thank for your success. You know I’m sure no one is going to hand success to you. It’s a battle all the way, but a worthwhile one.

I guess I’m feeling better now, and I know what I must do – spend more time in my happy place and write, write, write. Whether I’m widely read or not, I will have the satisfaction that I have said my piece and I will have some peace because of it.

I may not change the world, but I will give it a piece of my mind.

Okay, I’m smiling now. Catch you next month, when I may have some happy news on the publication of my next two Haiku chapbooks, my next Black Oak novel and my next Sam Rock, and then there’s my Acqueria sequel and prequel.

Oh, I am going to be so busy.

Until next month, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

All of my books are available on Amazon.

This month’s featured novel is my contemporary paranormal “The Cottage”

https://www.amazon.com/Cottage-Ann-Wilmer-Lasky/dp/1514293870

This month’s featured poetry chapbook is “The Castleweaver's Tales: A Dozen Glimpses of Medieval Madness: 25th Anniversary Edition”

https://www.amazon.com/Castleweavers-Tales-Glimpses-Medieval-Anniversary/dp/1452863326

Resolutions

January 2018 Blog

Resolutions 2018

Revived from their dis-use last year: Must Write! Must Edit! Must Publish! Must Promote!

Resolved: A Haiku

There must come a peace –

Within if not without; I

Pray this be the year.

So much for the best laid plans of mice and men. This blog almost didn’t happen – or might have been very, very late. I’ve been down with a crummy cold for the past few days.  Not much thought for the pen and paper. I’m full of Alka-Seltzer fizzy stuff, so I’m up for writing this. Should get it posted before my midnight, once again.

I’m actually looking forward to this coming year. I plan on accomplishing a lot . (See, I said plan, not hope.)  Hoping doesn’t feed the bulldog – or so I’ve been told. (Just usurped part of an old saying I never really understood, except that it fits right here.)

As part of my Writer’s Resolutions for 2018:

I will chart each part of my writing goals this year. (See, I said will, not should or might.)

My “Must Write!” section will include the rough draft, the plotting and maintaining a bible of who’s  who and what they’re doing, as well as what they look like. That way, I catch if my heroine’s eyes change from blue to brown, or my hero’s hair from blond to sandy and back again. I might even keep a log of how many hours I spend on each. (Okay, I said might, and it might be might.)

The “Must Edit!” section on editing will include the first pass of checking the rough draft against the first printout for errors, omissions, or to make preliminary changes. The second pass is where weak dialog is punched up and story is expanded where needed (or changed if I made a really, really bad start). Then comes the final pass where all the little formatting problems are fixed and the bible is fleshed out with story and plot lines and how each character ends up, so that the dead stay dead, if I’m doing a series.

The “Must Publish!” section is relatively simple for an independent author. It is also the really hard part. I usually use a CreateSpace ( https://www.createspace.com ) template, so I can cut and paste the body of the book and the front material. But it is tedious and not everything goes smoothly. You need to pay close attention to detail including scene breaks, chapter headings, contents and index. (I try to index or at least list poetry titles in my chapbooks.)

Special Note:  It’s always best to order a proof copy of your novel before it goes live. It’s amazing the little things that pop out at you when you actually have the book in your hand. After you’ve corrected and/or okayed the print copy on line, you get to push the button to publish the book and make it available on Amazon and as many of its subsidiaries and outlets as possible.

Then you get to “Must Promote!” That’s where I still fall a little short. I’m great (or at least okay) with the technical stuff, but I’m a rank amateur at asking people to buy my book. Perhaps I should rethink that and say that I have difficulty letting potential readers know that I have something they might enjoy reading.

I believe I will find that promotion is the hardest thing of all, yet it is perhaps the most important. I don’t believe there’s any writer out there who doesn’t want what Stephen King has – fame and fortune. Seeing your book on the big screen can’t hurt either. I always picture my novels as movies. Too bad they will not get there in my lifetime.

Again, the happiest of New Years to you and yours. If you are a writer, the best luck to you. If you are a reader, please enjoy what I (and other independent authors) have to offer – our hearts and our souls on every page.

Until next month, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

All of my books are available on Amazon.

This month’s featured novel is my paranormal Western “Black Oak: Town of Joy” http://tinyurl.com/hohuhce 

This month’s featured poetry chapbook is “Life's Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku: Volume One: One for the Book” http://tinyurl.com/zuayqu8

Stagnation

October 2017 Blog

The year is now three-fourths over and I am dead in the water.

Stagnation: A Haiku

These feet, mired in the

Muddied waters of life, long

To dance on the air.

Stagnation: #WritersBlock and #LifeBlock

Only in forward movement is there life worth living. I should think on this more often. I’m certainly not living it.

It has been a year now since publishing my “Life's Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku: Volume One: One for the Book” (http://tinyurl.com/zuayqu8).

I should have another novel out and at least two more Haiku collections. But I don’t.

And there’s no one to blame but me. I have fallen into the rut of living day to day and expecting there to be a tomorrow, even though I know there are no guarantees.

Maybe I’m thinking that if I keep living in expectation of tomorrow, it will always come. Now, I know I’m not that delusional, but it does lend a certain rationality to my behavior (or lack thereof).

Three-fourths of this year gone. One year since my last release date. An actual dead line staring me in the face, and a nap is the best thing each day I can look forward to. I need to find the energy or at least the fortitude to start cranking out some more works I’ve had in progress way too long.

There are three months left in the year.

I’d like to see the sequel to my paranormal western “Black Oak: Town of Joy” (http://tinyurl.com/hohuhce ) on the market.

The sequel is already written. All I have to do is the final edit, format it and hit publish.

I’d also like to see two more Haiku collections hit the market. They will take a little more work. I’ve got three subjects I’m currently gathering material for. One is on writing – hopefully with all kinds of helpful hints to overcome writer’s block or lend inspiration to writers who might need that extra boost I seem to constantly need.

The second one is about our Universe and this planet Earth that we are so badly using. It is to be called “Global Warning” and I hope it serves as such, although I fear it will be but another voice “crying-in-the-wilderness”.

Another is a collection of Haiku and other poetry to be called “Dark Horizons” – a compilation of the darker side of me, the side that is closer to Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf than even I care to admit.

Gee, talking about them almost makes me want to stop writing this and get to work on them, but then, I’ve left writing this blog to the last minute again, so I’d best keep at it. I would like to keep this year’s blog record intact. This will be my tenth month in a row to post it on time.

So I’ll keep writing this while I’m catching glimpses of the latest episode of the Ray Donovan show, which appears to be all about the right-to-die and/or assisted suicide.

I am surprised that they did this so openly. I don’t think it would have been possible to get it aired a few years ago – even on HBO. It is surely a topic that needs to be addressed. As morbid as it may seem, it is an important subject. Something that we need to legitimize along with all the other personal rights that should be a given by now. But these rights, it seems, we have to keep fighting for over and over again.

And while I’ve gotten off topic, why does the greatest nation on Earth still not have Universal Health Care?

Really, it’s one of those things I thought we’d have before I died, along with a woman’s right to choose, racial equality, and justice for all.

I guess some things will have to wait until my next incarnation.

Until then, I welcome your reactions and responses to my current rantings. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky