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Audio Books Now Available!

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 Amazon has been beta-testing a new service where books can be turned into audio files using automated technology. I'm suffering from no illusions that this is as good as having a human narrator, but seeing as hiring someone to do audio books was not in the budget, I decided to take advantage of this service.  I know many people prefer audio books for a variety of reasons. I also appreciate that it makes my books available to those who have difficulty reading print material for any reason. So, four of my books are now available in audio format. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use the service for The Lacemaker: A Novel of St. Zelie Martin (at least not yet). If that changes, I will let you know.  In the meantime, if you'd like to check out any of my books / audio books, please click the links below. These are affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission on any purchases made after clicking a link. Thank you for your support!     The Charter Class   Mother Jo

The Creative Act: A Way of Being

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  I recently read The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. This is a spiritual but not religious book with the author, who is a music producer, believing in a generic high power. That being said, it did offer much to reflect on regarding living a creative life and producing art of any type. "Creativity is something you are, not only something you do. It's a way of moving through the world, every minute, every day." He emphasizes that art is not meant to be competitive or even a profitable venture (most people will need to do something else to have income). Rather, it is meant to be representative of who we are. It is also a collaboration. "You are in a constant dialogue with what is and what was." He also talks about dealing with the response to our art. "In the end, you are the only one who has to love it. The work is for you." He defines success as moving forward. We should complete our projects, share them, and begin another. We have very li

Why Bother Writing? Here's Some Encouragement

 Why bother writing? I admit that this is a thought that has crossed my mind more than a few times lately (and by lately, I mean many of the last twenty years that I have been writing). It is hard to keep going when book sales and page views are minimal and the income produced is far below minimum wage. It is hard to see so many books out in the world with tons of reviews and sales and know that by comparison my work has failed (and by extension, I have failed), that very few people care about anything I write. To be fair, there are many writers in the same boat as me. Of course, I'm not actually able to stop writing, at least not without feeling even worse. God gave me this gift. I have all these ideas that need to get out or else they just sort of bubble inside of me if I don't work on them, taking up mental space that is better used for other tasks.   On my better days, I do realize that writing for one person matters, that perhaps a few someone's lives are a bit better