The Write Life!

 

September 2022 Blog

Be Prepared: A Haiku

Words not written can

Oft’ not be remembered, thus

I keep pen at hand.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(8/31/22)

 

I always try to keep pen and paper handy. Sometimes I fail and the words are lost. In my mind, those lost words were really brilliant, and their loss a loss for all of posterity.

Okay, maybe that last part is pretty far-fetched, but you get the idea. As most writers usually do, I get ideas at the oddest moments – not just when I’m sitting down to write. I try to be prepared at all times.

I have a steno pad turned to a clean page with a pen insered in the spiral witin arm’[s reach of the bed. I used to joy down my notes in the dark of night, but I’ve recently added a tiny flashlight so I can read wheat I’ve written the next morning. Otherwise, it’s jibberish.

I also keep a small spiral notebook the my pocket along with a pen. They really come in handy at those odd moments I’m out and about and an idea strikes. I’ve even gone so far as to jot down an inspiration while sitting on the commode.

When I drove a lot, I used to have a cassette recorder handy to record those fleeting moments of brilliance. Now I don’t drive much or far and cassette recorders are fairly passé.

But the idea stands: Think it, Write it, or lose it. It is also important for those of us who write poetry. One may think of the perfect phraseology for a piece of brilliant poetry, but it can slip away before the ink can strike the page.

Although the main idea may persist, the perfect way to put it may be lost.

It also helps to jot down story ideas, plot points and even a tidbit one of your characters may share with you in those odd moments you are mulling over your story in your head.

I once had one of my main female protagonists tell me she had a younger sister and her name was Petra. The novel tool a whole new turn and richness. Thank goodness I captured that thought (though having a sister is kind of hard to forget).

It’s taken a while, but I guess I’m falling in love with the art of writing all over again (after a long dry spell). I’, beginning to picture scenes and people to populate the worlds my mind dreams up once more. My mind is filling with scenarios involving those people and places – beautiful. Stunning scenarios and (because I’m a horror writer) glorious blood and gore and...

Okay, I’m on a roo. Time to gather my notes and start writing again.

First come the ideas, then the words, then the sentences, the paragraphs, the chapters, the novels, and the series.

Smiling now!

So the take away from this month’s ramblings should be this: keep something to write with and something to write on handy. You will thank yourself (and maybe me) when that gem comes to you, and you capture it. Then you can polish it and share it for posterity.

If you care to see what I am sharing with posterity, feel free to check out my eclectic selection of books on Amazon. There may be something to inspire you.

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

Until next month, read and write to your heart’s content and jot down those random thought. You never where they may land you.

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

You may also find some inspiration in my Haiku Collection Celebrating the #WritingCommunity: “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku, Volume Two: The Write Life”, available, of course, from Amazon at:

https://tinyurl.com/ycqtq3mt

It’s now September and the world is thoroughly heated up. The A/C is still working way too hard. A little more rain recently brought us some relief from the drought. Still a good time to check out: “Global Warning: Climate in Crisis” available from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KWQ6SHK/

 

 

 

Life in Limbo!

 

May 2022 Blog

Stasis: A Haiku

Time was “Limbo” was

Just a dance; of late, it’s been

The state of our lives.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(4/30/22)

It’s like waiting for that other shoe to drop. You know it’s gonna...  Whether its war or  pestilence, something is going to happen. I’m so tired of holding my breath, waiting for those things. I think it’s time to raise the bar and get back to something  like normal – like going to restaurants and movie theaters. Maybe just going out and having fun, maybe writing and editing and publishing like I used to.

Okay, maybe it’s  not just the plague and horrifying  news. Maybe it’s also that I’m getting older and more tired. Naps lately are sounding really good.

I guess I thought I’d just sail along through my golden years with the same energy and enthusiasm I’ve always had.

It’s not happening, and I feel the need to conserve what energy I do have. I’ve tried making lists and schedules, but it’s really hard for me to stick to them. Perhaps if I scheduled nap time in there, it would be easier to stick to.  But then I would probably just nap more.

So I guess I’ll keep muddling along until something clicks and I feel better and have more energy. Then I look forward to writing up a storm or two.

Maybe I’ll even get my ducks in a row. Heaven knows they’ve been paddling in circles for too long.

If you feel you need some relief from the doldrums or the news, feel free to check out my eclectic selections on Amazon. There may be something there you have not read yet.

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

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. Enjoy what respite you can find in your lives.

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

Spring has sprung here and Summer is following close behind. It’s going to be a hot time. I’ve already fired up the air conditioners.

 

 

 

Still Hanging!

 April 2022 Blog

Delayed Reaction: A Haiku

I’d put off musing

About the day until it

Improves somewhat, but...

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(3/30/22)

...it may not. And the war and the virus continue. And I’ve come to a conclusion: I am that which is...  and the only one who can “make it so”, as Captain Jean Luc Picard used to say. All is my responsibility (at least in my immediate family), and I do not have the right to consider it onerous. Nor do I have to be happy about it. It is what it is.

“Somewhat Improved” is not something, it seems, I’m going to hear about anything, anytime soon. The virus tapers off, but it continues. The war continues. The Earth’s tipping point looms. And doctors’ diagnoses (at least in my husband’s case) are still “best guess”, and not one of them has found a solution in the last three or four years.

Yet we continue to plod on. And plodding it is. There has been little forward progress in quite a while, and the year is one-fourth gone already. Spring has barely come upon us, and I am little refreshed.

So, we push things back. We wait...  for what, I’m not sure. The end of the pandemic? There is no end in sight. The end of the war? Not on the horizon anytime soon. A breath of fresh air? That would be lovely, but so far only ill-winds are blowing everywhere.

So, I have decided to just do what I can – remembering Yoda’s famous words: “Do! There is no try.” And the old Nike slogan: “Just Do It!” (when that was not mired in controversy)

So, I will go about my daily chores, pay my bills, and write my chapters. But there is little joy in any of it, except maybe in writing my chapters. I will nap as I am able and expend what energy I can garner to improve my little corner of the world.

I am so happy to have you, my loyal friends, in my little corner of the world that I will do my best to make is a brighter corner. Even if that means more murder and mayhem from Marie Delacroix’s ravens (my Sam Rock sequel) and exposing Dhavin’s true origins in my Acqueria prequel.

Those will be still brighter than what’s happening out there in reality.

By the way, it’s a sad thing when the news of war is overshadowed (but for the briefest moment) by the slap seen ‘round the world. And I stand with Will Smith. Okay, he shouldn’t have done that, but I understand why he did it.

And so, I leave you now with this shortest of blogs to delve into another world where I can actually make things happen just by scratching my pen across the page (until the ink runs out and there are no more legible scratchings).

If you need some sweet relief from the the realities that confront us daily, check out my selection on Amazon. There may be something there you have not read yet.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

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

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 can really recover from the woes that plague us, and the following month will find us enjoying a more beautiful, peaceful Spring in anticipation of a stunningly brilliant Summer.

 

 

Cheers To A Happier New Year!

 

January 2022 Blog

Season’s Supplication: A Haiku

I would not only

Pray for world peace, but health for

All this time of year.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Hopefully, we have rung in a happier New Year. We are certainly celebrating the world over. Hopefully, that will not come back to bite us in the end.

We deserve an end to the pain and suffering and dying of the last two years. And I am so tired of the isolation. I would love to hug somebody, see the smile on an unmasked face. At the moment, it seems like only a far flung dreams, and we are mired in an unending nightmare.

I should have written tons on my manuscripts in the year just past, but the inspiration has been little and more than a long time coming. Yet I persist and I will publish what I can this year.

When I do write, I love it because for the time I’m writing I am wrapped in a world where I have the control. I determine who is happy and who is miserable. I decide who lives and who dies and when and how. Even the weather is at my command. Oh, the power! I can feel it even just writing this. It’s wonderful feeling.

But, then I put the pen down and I’m back in the real world, wearing a mask and trying not to touch too many surfaces anywhere.

I haven’t been to a movie theater in two years. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to a restaurant in that time also. My shopping is limited to Walmart, the local grocery store, and Office Depot. The rest of my shopping is on line. Amazing how much you can spend with one click of the finger – and what you can find on Amazon.

We have not had a winter here yet. I’m sure we will have some bad weather in the next few months. We certainly could use the moisture. We’re already considered in drought conditions for the year ahead. Sounds like we are in for another grassless, flowerless summer. More hot and dry times ahead.

Actually, I’ve not heard much encouraging news about the upcoming months of the year we just embarked upon. All my hope is based on the belief that we’ve had enough, and we deserve better – much better.

I guess that makes me somewhat optimistic, which is not a trait I have an over-abundance of. “What could possibly go wrong?” is one of my favorite questions, which serves me well as a writer. It’s amazing what problems I can dream up. Unfortunately, life has thrown in its own answers, and they have not been pleasant.

I’m planning on spending more time with my pen and paper this year. Hope I have enough of life’s memories left that I can keep my writing interesting. I’m certainly not planning on making many new memories anytime soon.

I guess I’ll just hunker down and keep a low profile in the real world. I thank the internet gods for the ability to connect with people all over the world at anytime of the day or night as long as the power doesn’t go down – there’s that “What could possibly go wrong?” again.

Guess I’ll post this and get on with finding dastardly situations to embroil my heroes and heroines in. Smiling at that thought. Writing horror is good.

Here’s hoping again for a brighter and better New Year. Maybe I better light a few candles and say a few prayers.

Happy New Year to one and all!

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

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

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 can recover from the holidays and next month will find us looking forward to a less restrictive spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 Tomorrow Has Come!

December 2021 Blog

Tomorrow Has Come: A Haiku

The time to do what

You put off is now. There will

Not be a better.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Today is yesterday’s tomorrow. The day I swore I would do “it”. Time to do “it”.

Starting to work early on my New Year’s resolutions. I feel I need to catch up and get super-organized before I can’t.

The Sam Rock sequel will be published next Spring, but I need to schedule and complete several more following that. I need to have a prolific year.

I also need to get all my pesky personal life in order.  Medical, insurance, financial. You know, all that stuff – just in case.

Time I guess also to start downsizing my possessions. I really, really, really don’t need all this stuff I have accumulated over these many years. I could never move this stuff again – even if I had to move (which I’m not anticipating any time soon).

I have a closet full of stuff I’ll never wear again and drawers full of gadgets I’ve totally forgotten I have.

 There are also boxes that are still packed from my last move (surely full of things I don’t need and will never use again).

Also, I’ve kept receipts and papers well past their get-rid-of date. The only things I don’t want to want to part with are the original drafts from my novels. I’m kind of fond of those pages.

My biggest problem is that I can’t past making plans to get stuff done to actually doing stuff. You know, that old three-step deal; (1) Conceive, (2) Plan (3) Execute. I’m great in the first two – not so hot in the third.

I’m trying to go back to scheduling my time, but I’m having trouble sticking to it. There are always distractions – including not wanting to jump out of bed in the morning to get started.

     Maybe it will help with winter coming on. I won’t be spending so much time outside. Maybe if I’m looking at what needs to be done, I’ll tackle it sooner. And then there’s the storage spaces we’re paying for. It would be nice to be able to save money this coming year.

Perhaps I’ll even have more brain space to write more and get to publishing faster. Sur couldn’t hurt. Maybe even have some fun next year, when the pandemic is finally over and we can all breathe freely again.

Hard to imagine, but we’ve been at this for two long years now. We’re still wearing masks and keeping our distances. And now we even have  a new and possibly more easily contracted variant ”Omicron”. When will it end? Would sure like to see more people embrace the vaccines that are available. It sure couldn’t hurt.

We actually went out the other day to a restaurant to celebrate my birthday and my friend’s . We went to lunch at our favorite place, which used to be packed for lunch every day. Now, it’s nearly empty. They have even down-sized the menu, and it’s printed on one sheet of paper for a one-time only use. Everyone is still friendly, but there are a lot of new faces, and like everywhere else in town, they are hiring.

No one seems to have the staff now-a-days to service even the most limited clientele.

Well, here’s hoping for a brighter and better New Year. We certainly deserve one – world-wide – all we’ve all been through.

Here’s hoping for a milder, gentler winter also. Not looking forward to nasty weather on top of everything else.

Happiest of New Year’s to us all!

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

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

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 can enjoy our holidays and next month will find us actually embracing in a great New Year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oops!

 

March 2021 Blog

Well that didn’t work!

 

Daylight: A Haiku

Sad – when the day shines

More brightly than I ever

Can hope to again.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

But then, it’s been a busy month – and short. And I’m not the brightest tack in the box lately – nor the sharpest bulb.

Most notably, I’ve had my second vaccine shot (Pfizer) and there were no noticeable side effects for either. One more week, and I should be immune.  My husband got his first (Moderna) and gets his second March 15^th. By the end of the month, we can both breathe more easily.

Also, our county is out of our state’s red zone and into the yellow, so more businesses will be reopened. Hope our favorite restaurant, Peppers’s Grill and Bar, makes a comeback. They will be sorely missed if they don’t. They are an institution around here.

The audio version of “The Seasons of Sam Rock” is inching ever more closely to being released. And my narrator, Steven P. Hamm has expressed an interest in doing my “Black Oak” novels, starting with “Town of Joy”. He’s done a preliminary chapterm and it’s just great. It helps to have a talented actor as narrator.

The Sam Rock sequel is inching ever closer to publication. Found that I really like the story behind “Raven’s Roost”, so I’ve been saving the changes I was contemplating for a third Sam Rock novel on how he got kicked off the police force. Spoiler alert – it wasn’t all his fault.

I continue to write (and post to Twitter and Facebook) my daily Haiku. That’s 2,614 Haiku (at least) since Jan. 1, 2014. I’m still going strong, although I’ve considered quitting a few times. I always seem to manage to crank out just one more.

March heralds the coming of Spring, and I’m starting to consider Spring cleaning. I would love to see everything bright and shiny and free of any chance of harboring the Covid-19 virus. I think we all deserve a new start this year, and Spring is a great time for renewal.

Still not planning any trips, nor considering visitors. I feel it’s just too risky. Although I shouldn’t be able to contract the virus, there’s no guarantee that I can’t carry it from something or someone I’ve touched.

You know, that’s really hard for a little old lady who’s used to hugging people. Doubt we’ll even regain the habit of shaking hands anymore. So sad, to feel you shouldn’t touch someone you love.

Hope all my readers and writer friends are doing well and survived what has turned out to be a horrendous winter of vicious cold and storms. I thought we were going to get through the season with only global warming to worry about. Looks like I was wrong. However, it is nice that we have a renewal of concern for the climate change emergency we are faced with. Hopefully, we get the Covid-19 crisis under control, so we can concentrate on alleviating the world-wide crisis.

Always so much to think about. Where do we start? There’s global and domestic hunger and homelessness. Then, there’s world-wide and domestic terrorism. So much unrest and dis-harmony everywhere. Hopeful here, there’s solutions to be found for more than one of our problems.

In the meantime, I’ll keep writing, if not to illuminate, then to entertain and allow an avenue for some escape for at least a little while.

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

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content, all the while looking forward to enjoying our lives even more in the coming months. Let’s keep the faith.

Hard to believe that I have eleven books published, All are available on Amazon for your pleasure.

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

 

 

 

 

Happier New Year 2021

 

January 2021 Blog

Hard to raise a resounding cheer replete with mask and gloves, but here goes.

 

Happier 2021: A Haiku

The clock has struck, and

I have held my breath too long;

My cheer is silent.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Happy New Year! I am imploring 2021 to do better by us. It’s predecessor was such a cruel, deviant monster. It would be difficult to survive two such years in a row.

I know nothing has changed overnight, but there is hope on the horizon for better days ahead. I’m actually looking forward to getting a shot in the arm. Also, looking forward to less daily chaos surrounding us all. The sooner, the better on that front.

After things settle down, I’ll look forward to finishing at least two novels this year, along with a couple of Haiku chapbooks.

Sometime this month, the Audible version of “The Seasons of Sam Rock” will be live. I’m  listening Steve Hamm’s upload now. It sounds great! He really brings Sam Rock to life. Would love to see him star in a Sam Rock movie someday. I’ll settle for him doing the audible for the Sam Rock sequel now titled “The Secrets of Raven’s Roost: A Sam Rock Novel”, if he’s available. I like to dream big.

I’m also dreaming of a healthy world at peace. I’m thinking that is not so far-fetched with the changes coming this month. We can only wait and see, but the signs are encouraging

Maybe I’ll be able to concentrate more on my writing this year. There is so much I need to catch up on that’s been so difficult to do this last year. I spent way too much time worrying and waiting for the worst to happen. Maybe this year is my year to anticipate the good things left in life.

I’ll also look forward to going to a restaurant and enjoying the company of others. I’m even looking forward to getting in a car and going somewhere to enjoy the scenery and the people. And, although I don’t like crowds, I’d love to attend a gathering of people and not have to worry about coming in contact with someone with something I might get that might kill me. Oh, and I’d like to see a movie at a theater with popcorn and everything.

I ‘m hoping this New Year finds all my friends well and safe. It’s been rough for all of us. We’ve all gone from crisis to crisis with barely a chance to breathe in between. May we all find the inspiration to follow our dreams instead of reliving our nightmares on a daily basis.

I will try to maintain a positive attitude for this coming year. I’m planning on getting everything organized and clean and neat and tidy. Okay – now I’m getting into resolution territory. I hate doing that, because there’s always so much room for disaster and failure.

So, I’m not making any hard and fast resolutions this year. I’m just going to do the best I can, which is really the best we all can do.

I’ll be happily reading and writing and editing and publishing to my heart’s content. And I will be encouraging my writer friends to do the same, so all our reader friends out there can continue to follow our journeys and enjoy themselves.

So, again, Happy New Year! Cheers to a much better 2021!

Hard to believe that I have eleven books published, All are available on Amazon for your pleasure.

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

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. Look forward to the best of the coming year. I have a feeling...

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, all were able enjoy some holiday festivities, and we can look forward to enjoying our lives even more in the coming months. Let’s keep the faith.