What Is Success? – Guest Post by Tina Frisco…

July 18, 2017 Tina Frisco 35 Comments

We tend to see success as a realized goal, often overlooking the small successes that create the links in this chain. I write further on this subject in my article on The Story Reading Ape. Thank you to Chris Graham for hosting me ❤

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Image courtesy of Lucie Stastkova

While writing the introduction to a fellow author’s book, I realized many of us view success as an end-product. We aspire, we strive and, if fortunate, we manifest. Only then do we feel gratified, overlooking all we accomplished in the process. In short, we fail ourselves.

If we become discouraged when met by an obstacle, we are not seeing that obstacle for what it truly is: a teacher. Obstacles not only teach us what does not work, but also challenge us to reach beyond our perceived limitations. Obstacles are opportunities to practice what we’ve learned, alter our approach, and move forward. This is success.

Being stuck in obsessive thought patterns, limiting beliefs, or anything that stops us short of reaching a goal can lead to wallowing in the past (nostalgia) and yearning for the future (desire). Turning inward and finding the embedded thoughts sabotaging our efforts…

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Book Release, Inspiration, Promotion

#BookRelease – Plateau: Beyond the Trees

July 14, 2017 Tina Frisco 87 Comments

I am pleased to announce the release of the 2nd edition of my first novel, PLATEAU.

Available in both eBook and paper.

They will show in the Amazon store within 3-5 business days but are available now through the Kindle and CreateSpace stores. The old version is still showing on Amazon but will be removed.

To celebrate, the eBook will be free to download from the 15th through the 19th.

Download it HERE.

I’m so grateful to have this task behind me! It took quite a bit longer than I expected, largely due to how poorly I wrote five years ago compared with now. I decided to give the book a quick overhaul, forgetting it was not a vehicle that merely needed an oil change. And once I started, there was no turning back. I did all the formatting, which can be a nightmare. But I learned a lot when I published my book Vampyrie last December, and fortunately I remembered most of it.

I also needed to make a cover. On the front I wanted to use the same image, which was created by a friend of mine and was easy to upload. I used GIMP to apply the text. Since CreateSpace’s cover design choices are limited, the back cover was more of a challenge. How to get the color I wanted? I was blessed with a light-bulb moment. I scanned a sheet of white paper into my computer, uploaded the image into GIMP, applied color, and added the text. This project was a full day’s work. When I uploaded it to CreateSpace, it looked fine. But CS said the text went too far to the border (even though it was within the border shown), so I had to redo the text, which took another half day. (I need to go to GIMP school.)

During all of this, my mum became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized. I thought I might have to hop a train and travel cross country. Thankfully she recovered and is doing well.

Now that the dreaded book business is completed (I need to go to formatting school), I can resume writing posts and visiting blogs. I can tackle that collapsing pile of books on my TBR. I can open the stack of mail on my desk. Maybe I’ll get around to cleaning and doing the laundry. My neglected little car needs a bath, and I really should jump in the shower. Wash my hair? Yes, I need to do that as well. I even hope to go out to dinner or the movies before the end of the year. An author’s work is never done.

I wrote and first published PLATEAU: Beyond the Trees in 2012, because I wanted to put a message of hope into the world. December 21^st of that year was the end of the Mayan long count calendar. This inspired the making of documentaries that aired over several months. Most of them evoked fear by focusing on the doomsday aspect of apocalyptic prophecies. Many of us wondered if love could prevail in an atmosphere of dread and panic.

PLATEAU offers hope with its underlying message: We must keep our hearts open and act from love instead of reacting from fear; we must practice gratitude and compassion within every moment and with every breath, so that we might help elevate the human species to a higher consciousness and facilitate personal and global peace. Within this vision – this practice – the human species will continue into the Golden Age of Enlightenment.

Novel reading can increase our understanding of who we are. I hope PLATEAU will advance this understanding. I hope it will encourage empathy, compassion, and tolerance for diversity. I hope …

I will leave you with this quote by one of the indigenous shaman women of the Sisterhood of the Shields:

You have the choice to nourish or you have the choice to destroy with your power. –Ruby Plenty Chiefs quoted in Spirit Woman, The Teachings of the Shields by Lynn V. Andrews

Until the next time, my friends … Namaste ❤

Books

#Blogging Break

June 10, 2017 Tina Frisco

I’m taking a short break from blogging as I reclaim my first book from the publisher.

I published PLATEAU in 2012 through FriesenPress in Canada. At the time, I knew nothing about self-publishing and was grateful to find an ethical company that could assist. Distribution channel fees were free for the first two years. I since have paid a reasonable annual fee but have decided I want to republish the book myself. And I have only a few short weeks within which to do this.

I do all of my own formatting. Those of you who have traveled this treacherous road are aware that, although it is a labor of love, it is time-consuming. It also can be damn exasperating frustrating! However, the satisfaction of having accomplished such a daunting task is a reward in itself.

Unlike many of my fellow bloggers, I haven’t found my way to blogging/commenting/sharing/replying, keeping my physical life together, and having a life. So with the added task of formatting a book and preparing it for publication, I won’t be visiting blogs for the next few weeks. But please know I’ll be thinking of all of you and will return when the dreaded deed is done 😊

I know I’d freak out stress about not replying to comments ~ and would most likely give in to curiosity ~ so I’m closing them on this post. My inner taskmaster has spoken! I suspect, however, many of you would have much to say that I’ll surely regret missing 😊

Happy blogging to all of my friends, whom I love and cherish ❤

Compassion, Forgiveness, Inspiration

Thoughts of #Peace

June 4, 2017 Tina Frisco 110 Comments

Photo by Terri Webster Schrandt — Image courtesy of Terri Webster Schrandt

Our thoughts and prayers are with
our sisters and brothers in London ❤

The hatred evidenced by terrorist attacks around the world could easily be met with equal hatred, should we allow it. But how would that identify and inform us as a species? What would that do to the hearts and minds of individuals as well as society? What do we want to teach our children, and what kind of world do we want to leave them?

It is a challenge to keep our hearts open amid such unconscionable acts of violence. Yet it is our only hope of survival. Meeting these despicable acts with an equal amount of aggression could lead to our annihilation in this nuclear age. At the very least, it could alter our consciences and consciousness to a degree beyond repair. And that is as unacceptable as the terrorist act itself.

Fire cannot be fought with fire. We know this. Yet our species persists in its futile attempt to meet hatred with hatred, aggression with aggression, terror with terror. However, hope is skirting the horizon ~ fragile in its element but tenacious in its intent. Whether or not it will rise with tomorrow’s sun will be determined by our actions today.

I’m reminded of Dorothy Bryant’s book, The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You. The village folk circle a woman being raped. They neither interfere nor intervene but simply stand in witness of this heinous act. The perpetrator not only cannot continue, but also comes face to face with his salacious fear. When he realizes he has been forgiven, his heart opens and he is transformed.

Some might call this a miracle. Yet if we consider the collective unconscious, we might see this in a different light. Instead of intervention from an outside source ~ no matter how beneficent the being ~ we realize it is a manifestation of our unified thought. We are what we think, and energy follows in kind.

Although I was raised Roman Catholic, I follow an eclectic spiritual path. I hold the avatars and bodhisattvas in my heart, and one in particular now comes to mind: Jesus Christ. Regardless of whether history is to be believed, the story of Jesus’ passion sets an example that sorely needs to be remembered, if not emulated. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

If we understand that all negative emotions and behavior originate from fear, we might be more inclined to err on the side of compassion. This does not negate the validity and necessity of raging with anger, for emotions are raw and must be given a voice, lest we implode. This does, however, caution us to act instead of react ~ act out of love instead of react out of fear.

Fear is a survival mechanism but, if unchecked, can easily run amok, as we have witnessed once again in today’s attack on the people of London. Where does violence end? Where does peace begin?

Flower by Terri Webster Schrandt — Image courtesy of Terri Webster Schrandt

Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me . . . ❤

Bloggers Bash

Want to know what’s happening at the #BloggersBash? Here’s the Agenda.

June 3, 2017 Tina Frisco 11 Comments

Ali Isaac has posted the long-awaited agenda for the 2017 Bloggers Bash. Hugs on, shoes off, get ready to party! Wishing everyone a fabulous time 🙂

Author Resources, Editing

EDITING 101: 40 – Editing Myths…

June 2, 2017 Tina Frisco 12 Comments

Susan Uttendorfsky brings us Part 40 of her Editing 101 series on The Story Reading Ape‘s blog. She debunks several editing myths, every last one of which has derailed my little grey cells at times. But I now feel I have permission to merrily toss them out the window, in keeping with Susan’s guidelines. I’m such a stickler for correct grammar that I sometimes feel like a train wreck after a long day of writing. I expect Susan’s post will reduce your writing stress level as much as it has mine 🙂

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Originally posted as the Dun Writin’—Now Whut? series on this blog, EDITING 101 is a weekly refresher series for some of you and brand new for others.

Courtesy of Adirondack Editing

Editing Myths

I’m sure you’ve heard of these “rules” that need to be applied to your manuscript. Today we’re going to debunk them as myths!

Never start a sentence with a conjunction (and, but, or), however, or because.
Never end a sentence with a preposition.
Passive voice is always wrong.
You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels.
Don’t use who when the rules call for whom.
Don’t split an infinitive verb with an adverb.
The only way to write a possessive is to add ’s to the word.
Data and media are plural nouns and always take a plural verb.

Because the English language is fluid and adjustable, there is no…

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Author Interview, Authors, Books

Interview with Tina Frisco

May 30, 2017 Tina Frisco 12 Comments

Thank you to the lovely Cathleen Townsend for inviting me to be interviewed on her blog. Aside from being a prolific fantasy writer, Cathleen is also an animal lover, plane crash survivor, and has lived to tell the tale of scuba diving with a mako shark! Needless to say, I’m thrilled to be interviewed by such a colorful and dynamic person ❤

Cathleen Townsend

Tina 4a Tina Frisco is an author, singer-songwriter, RN, activist, a student of shamanism, and our guest here today. Born in Pennsylvania USA, she attended nursing school in New York and lives in California. She began writing as a young child and received her first guitar at age 14, which launched her passion for music and songwriting. She has performed publicly in many different venues. Her publishing history includes book reviews; essays; articles in the field of medicine; her début novel, Plateau; her children’s book, Gabby and the Quads; and her latest novel, Vampyrie. She enjoys writing, reading, music, dancing, arts and crafts, exploring nature, and frequently getting lost in working crossword puzzles.

***

Thank you so much for hosting me, Cathleen. I appreciate your support and the opportunity to be featured on your wonderful blog.

It’s my pleasure to have you here, Tina. Let’s dive right in. Who’s…

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Author Promotion, Authors, Books, Death and Dying, Inspiration

Guest Post: Tina Frisco – On Facing Death

May 30, 2017 Tina Frisco 8 Comments

Friend and blogger John Fioravanti kindly invited me to guest post on his impressive blog. I was thrilled to accept and am delighted to share this with you. John is a historian who blogs on issues of contemporary importance, health, writing tips and more. He also supports other authors by reblogging and guest posting. Please visit his blog and enjoy his excellent posts. Thank you so much for hosting me, John, and for sharing my work ❤

Shortly after John invited me to be his guest, I received an email from a friend telling me his wife and my dear friend had just been diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Upon sending my condolences, Payson replied:

Persevere…the dice keep rolling…and one adapts with as much detachment as possible.
The work of a lifetime….that drawing closer to the Event Horizon makes one more present.
Such good work…a blessing to be aware!

Both Payson and Kamla are authors and devoted to a spiritual path. I read Kamla’s book, The Singing Guru, during one long night of sitting with a dying friend. Kamla writes:

The Divine “is everywhere, in every direction, in every space, without exception.”

Payson produces DVDs he calls VideoTonePoems, which are a blend of exquisite visual art, intriguing sound, and the poignant written word.

I’m sharing their work with you here, because it’s relevant to the subject matter of my guest post ❤

Author Promotion, Authors, Short Stories, War

Again

May 30, 2017 Tina Frisco 10 Comments

A powerful story by Andrew Joyce depicting the carnage of war, and drawing similarities between what led to the Nazi takeover of Germany and what is occurring now in the United States. Who or what is the enemy? Could it be our own lack of insight? Could it be that we have placed fear at the helm of our consciousness? This is a story that will stay with you for months, if not years ~ if not the rest of your life…

Author Promotion, Authors, Bloggers Bash, Books

#Author Interview: Sacha Black

May 29, 2017 Tina Frisco 76 Comments

I am delighted to feature Sacha Black today. For those of you who don’t know Sacha, she is the founder of the Annual Bloggers Bash and Bash Awards. (More about the Bash at the end of this post). Please join me in congratulating Sacha on the release of her first book, 13 Steps to Evil: How to Craft Superbad Villains, a step-by-step guide to creating multi-dimensional villains and much more.

Buy the book HERE and HERE

Welcome, Sacha!

Why did you write this book? This book started out as a couple of blog posts. Everything I’ve learnt on my journey to publishing, I’ve blogged. I guess as both a consolidation of my learning and a way to give back and share the lessons and mistakes I’ve made so others don’t have to. When I was studying villains it was no different. I wrote up the things I’d learnt as blog posts and I was fortunate enough they proved popular. But that told me that kind of content was not only wanted but needed too. So the seed was sown for 13 Steps To Evil.

Did you feel there was a gap in the market for this type of book? Absolutely, because of the popularity of the posts, I did some research and discovered that although there were lots of blog posts, there were only a couple of books out there that covered the topic and none were as in depth as I wanted. So absolutely there’s a market.

Does the book shed new light on a common issue? I think so. It comes at villain-creation from a different angle. For a start, it’s based on a myth busting concept. Your hero is not the most important character in your book. Your villain is.

Most writers have hero-worship syndrome. Blindly concentrating on their hero and creating his or her depth of character and forgetting that a novel isn’t just one character.

So 13 Steps To Evil tries to blow that concept apart by suggesting the villain is actually the most important character in an author’s book. Why? Because a villain is the source of conflict, and without conflict, there is no story and no need for a hero.

Is it a topic that a lot of people can easily relate to? Absolutely. This isn’t a stuffy textbook. I purposely use really well known character examples from books, film and TV because most people will have heard of all, or at least most of the examples. I try to sprinkle a little humor and sarcasm into the book and provide a couple of thought provoking exercises at the end of each chapter.

How will the book help writers? The book is an easy to understand, step by step guide to creating Superbad villains. Each step has bite size chunks of info a summary and a couple of useful questions/exercises. There’s also a free checklist to go with the book, a short course and I’m also opening up a Facebook group for the short course completers where they can discuss their ideas/feedback with each other, and I will be in there monitoring it as well.

It will take writers from the basics all the way up to their ultimate warlord.

Who’s your favorite villain? Can you ask me that? That’s totally not fair! Honestly, I have a penchant for anti-heroes. The first anti-hero I ever fell in love with was Beetlejuice, I secretly wanted to wear his stripy suit. I love Deadpool too, with his ego and outrageous sense of humor, Loki, Patrick Bateman, Dexter, GAH there are so many. If we’re talking pure villain, then one of the best has to be Hannibal Lecter, surely?

BIO

Sacha Black has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules. She also has the mind of a perpetual sixteen-year-old, only with slightly less drama and slightly more bills.

Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing. She lives in Hertfordshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.

When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, blogging, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.

BLURB

Your hero is not the most important character in your book. Your villain is.

Are you fed up of drowning in two-dimensional villains? Frustrated with creating clichés? And failing to get your reader to root for your villain?

In 13 Steps to Evil, you’ll discover:

How to develop a villain’s mindset
A step-by-step guide to creating your villain from the ground up
Why getting to the core of a villain’s personality is essential to make them credible
What pitfalls and clichés to avoid as well as the tropes your story needs

Finally, there is a comprehensive writing guide to help you create superbad villains. Whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned writer, this book will help power up your bad guy and give them that extra edge.

These lessons will help you master and control your villainous minions, navigate and gain the perfect balance of good and evil, as well as strengthening your villain to give your story the tension and punch it needs.

If you like dark humour, learning through examples and want to create the best villains you can, then you’ll love Sacha Black’s guide to crafting superbad villains. Read 13 Steps to Evil today and start creating kick-ass villains.

EXCERPT

Why Writers Fudge Up Their Villains

Villains are like newborn infants. So much glorious potential. Until we writers get our grubby mitts on them and balls it up. With the careless flick of a pen, we can turn a finely sculpted baby villain into a cringe-worthy cliché because we didn’t make him bad enough, or we create something so heinously evil it’s unrealistic.

A villain might be a plot device, but he still needs a purpose and a goal, or he’s unworthy as an opponent for your hero (See STEP 3 for motives and goals).

While researching this book, writers told me all kinds of problems they encountered while creating their villains. From getting the dialogue right and avoiding clichés, to knowing how evil to make a villain, to how to reveal her motives without using blatant exposition.

Behind all these issues lie two basic barriers that are the Achilles in every writer’s villainous heel:

1. Depending on the point of view (POV) the book’s written in, the villain is usually seen through the eyes of your hero.

A solitary POV gives you a page-limited amount of time to show your villain’s best, most authentic and devilishly evil side. Page-limited to the point it makes it eye-wateringly difficult to convey her backstory effectively without information dumping. You have to be better, clearer, more tactical and more concise with your words to create superbad villains.

2. Writers are hero worshippers.

We love our heroes and protagonists more than our spouses. And as a result, we spend shameful amounts of time honing our protagonist’s muscular heroics into shape. But that relegates our villain (the plot-driving conflict-creator) to the corner of our book, complete with a nobody-loves-you-anyway hat. In other words, writers don’t pay enough attention to their villain.

Learn more about Sacha: Non-Fiction Website Fiction Website Amazon UK Amazon US Twitter Facebook Pinterest Instagram Tumblr Google+ LinkedIn Goodreads Non-Fiction Goodreads Fiction

Sacha organizes the #AnnualBloggersBash along with Ali Isaac, Geoff LePard, and Hugh Roberts. This year, the Bash will be held on June 10th in London. If you haven’t yet voted for your favorite blogger, you can do so HERE. But hurry, because voting closes on June 2nd at 12 p.m. BST.

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I am pleased to announce the release of the 2nd edition of my first novel, PLATEAU.

Available in both eBook and paper.

To celebrate, the eBook will be free to download from the 15th through the 19th.

Download it HERE.

You have the choice to nourish or you have the choice to destroy with your power. –Ruby Plenty Chiefs quoted in Spirit Woman, The Teachings of the Shields by Lynn V. Andrews

Share this:

I’m taking a short break from blogging as I reclaim my first book from the publisher.

I do all of my own formatting. Those of you who have traveled this treacherous road are aware that, although it is a labor of love, it is time-consuming. It also can be damn exasperating frustrating! However, the satisfaction of having accomplished such a daunting task is a reward in itself.

I know I’d freak out stress about not replying to comments ~ and would most likely give in to curiosity ~ so I’m closing them on this post. My inner taskmaster has spoken! I suspect, however, many of you would have much to say that I’ll surely regret missing 😊

Happy blogging to all of my friends, whom I love and cherish ❤

Share this:

Our thoughts and prayers are with our sisters and brothers in London ❤

Fear is a survival mechanism but, if unchecked, can easily run amok, as we have witnessed once again in today’s attack on the people of London. Where does violence end? Where does peace begin?

Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me . . . ❤

Share this:

Ali Isaac has posted the long-awaited agenda for the 2017 Bloggers Bash. Hugs on, shoes off, get ready to party! Wishing everyone a fabulous time 🙂

Share this:

Courtesy of Adirondack Editing

Editing Myths

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Buy the book HERE and HERE

Welcome, Sacha!

Does the book shed new light on a common issue? I think so. It comes at villain-creation from a different angle. For a start, it’s based on a myth busting concept. Your hero is not the most important character in your book. Your villain is.

Most writers have hero-worship syndrome. Blindly concentrating on their hero and creating his or her depth of character and forgetting that a novel isn’t just one character.

So 13 Steps To Evil tries to blow that concept apart by suggesting the villain is actually the most important character in an author’s book. Why? Because a villain is the source of conflict, and without conflict, there is no story and no need for a hero.

It will take writers from the basics all the way up to their ultimate warlord.

BIO

Sacha Black has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules. She also has the mind of a perpetual sixteen-year-old, only with slightly less drama and slightly more bills.

Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing. She lives in Hertfordshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.

When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, blogging, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.

BLURB

Your hero is not the most important character in your book. Your villain is.

Are you fed up of drowning in two-dimensional villains? Frustrated with creating clichés? And failing to get your reader to root for your villain?

In 13 Steps to Evil, you’ll discover:

How to develop a villain’s mindset

A step-by-step guide to creating your villain from the ground up

Why getting to the core of a villain’s personality is essential to make them credible

What pitfalls and clichés to avoid as well as the tropes your story needs

Finally, there is a comprehensive writing guide to help you create superbad villains. Whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned writer, this book will help power up your bad guy and give them that extra edge.

These lessons will help you master and control your villainous minions, navigate and gain the perfect balance of good and evil, as well as strengthening your villain to give your story the tension and punch it needs.

If you like dark humour, learning through examples and want to create the best villains you can, then you’ll love Sacha Black’s guide to crafting superbad villains. Read 13 Steps to Evil today and start creating kick-ass villains.

EXCERPT

Why Writers Fudge Up Their Villains

A villain might be a plot device, but he still needs a purpose and a goal, or he’s unworthy as an opponent for your hero (See STEP 3 for motives and goals).

While researching this book, writers told me all kinds of problems they encountered while creating their villains. From getting the dialogue right and avoiding clichés, to knowing how evil to make a villain, to how to reveal her motives without using blatant exposition.

Behind all these issues lie two basic barriers that are the Achilles in every writer’s villainous heel:

1. Depending on the point of view (POV) the book’s written in, the villain is usually seen through the eyes of your hero.

2. Writers are hero worshippers.

Learn more about Sacha: Non-Fiction Website Fiction Website Amazon UK Amazon US Twitter Facebook Pinterest Instagram Tumblr Google+ LinkedIn Goodreads Non-Fiction Goodreads Fiction

Sacha organizes the #AnnualBloggersBash along with Ali Isaac, Geoff LePard, and Hugh Roberts. This year, the Bash will be held on June 10th in London. If you haven’t yet voted for your favorite blogger, you can do so HERE. But hurry, because voting closes on June 2nd at 12 p.m. BST.

Thanks so much for stopping by ❤

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Inspiration, Author Promotion, Various Musings

Our thoughts and prayers are with
our sisters and brothers in London ❤