Love simple but profound statements like this.
What do you think (about this statement…or if it brings to mind other simple but thought-provoking statements that are favorites of yours?) – please share in the comments! 🙂
Challenges
Life Might Not Be Fair, But It’s Beautiful
The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies (for many reasons, Cary Elwes among them) and this quote that reminds me in a clever way that life is to be lived, in all of its tragic, beautiful, messy, wonderful glory.
That said, there are multiple ways I can “take” this quote, depending on my mood.
Anyone else have a reaction to it that is similar or different from mine here? 🙂
Only 30 Days Left!
It’s been a great couple of weeks of Holiday celebration, but it’s winding down now and the grind of regular work/teaching is going to pick up again tomorrow.
Writing and all things book-related will have to take a back seat…so it’s a good thing I’ve got just about everything in place for the February 3rd release date of MOOSE TRACKS ON THE ROAD TO HEAVEN! Just 30 short days left, so place your pre-order now and secure the eBook version at it’s introductory price. Go here for amazon/kindle preorder or here for preordering from Kobo!
B&N doesn’t allow preorders of all books, unfortunately, and we’re working on getting it up at Google and iTunes – though preordering isn’t a guarantee there either. It will be up on all platforms by February 3rd, though.
In the next few weeks, I’ll be posting a few little sneak peeks, reviews, and other little tidbits from the novel, the inspiration behind it, and the process of writing, but until then, you can read an excerpt from the first three chapters here if you’d like.
It’s a different kind of book – set up in the style of Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop CafĂ© – but I hope anyone who ventures to read will enjoy it. 🙂
Artist Interview: M. Reed McCall
I had the pleasure of being interviewed by fellow blogger L.N. Holmes. She asked some great questions that really made me think. We covered a lot of ground, from industry thoughts to how an award-winning medieval romance writer shifts over to mainstream contemporary fiction…and why the two genres are not all that different after all, to me. 🙂
Copyright M. Reed McCall
(Please note that I am adding the addition of colored text. My questions will be in red and the artist’s answers will be in purple.)
L.N. Holmes: “Where is your hometown?”
M. Reed McCall: “I am originally from Rome, NY, which is about an hour east of Syracuse.”
L.N. Holmes: “What is your chosen artistic profession?”
M. Reed McCall: “I am a writer–although I am also a high school English teacher, which requires its own kind of artistry, and I have been working with students (numbered in the thousands by now) for the past 26 years.”
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Try
This has resonated a great deal with me, lately. There have been a lot of changes going on in my life, personally and professionally. It also feels like I’m always juggling at least four and sometimes five or six different things that all need my attention, my energy, and my time, and it’s difficult. Often I feel like I’m failing at one or another.
Some are for my day job.
Some are for my husband and children.
Some are for my extended family or my friends.
And some are for my writing career…which is part of what comprises the things in my life that are “for me”, even though it doesn’t always feel like it’s something anyone in his/her right (write?) mind would undertake.
And there are times I think about just letting some things go (usually the “for me” things)Â and trying to settle into a life that is somehow more ordinary and therefore less stressful.
Except I’m not certain that’s even possible. We are who we are for a reason.
What drives us will do so and still be there, gnawing beneath the surface, whether we feed it with action and time or not.
So the only thing we can do, I suppose, is to keep trying. Even when it’s frustrating. Even when my energy is drained.
Because it is part of who I am, and if it truly is, then I can no more easily cut out effort or energy toward it than I can cut off my own limb.
If my life hangs in the balance, then yes. If not, then I guess the only choice is to keep trying!
Trust the Process
No matter how devastating or upsetting or bewildering…trust the process.
Everything happens for a reason.
The Illusion of Control – Or Being a Superhero
So, lately in my life there have been some extra challenges.
They’re not the life and death kind, thank goodness. I and the people I love are healthy and (mostly) secure.
But the challenges that crop up can be disheartening and distressing, especially when they come in quick succession and kind of knock the wind out of me (you know what I mean?)
Sometimes they’re tied to people I love, and other times they’re connected to my teaching or writing career(s), where despite my best efforts and diligent work, I end up spinning my wheels in a way I never wanted, planned, or intended to. The giant road block (whether tangible, emotional, or mental) rises up in front of me and forces me – usually at great effort – to find a way around it.
Each of these instances sets me back on my heels for a bit. I have to process and come to terms with the hurt or angry feelings and then find a way to move through them to something better.
But that’s like taking a big, scary leap of faith, because continue reading…
M. Reed McCall, Author 