The Struggling Author

That would be me, Paula Hardin and many others out there in the writing world. I’ve learned so much since I started. When I look back at my first book that I ever wrote it’s a painful thing. Once I entered it in a contest and a judge told me, I should hire a ghostwriter to write my stories. I have to admit, I cried and afterwards couldn’t write for months. Not to mention hurt and also furious. How dare someone tell me to hire someone else to write my stories. I can look back now and realize at the time she may have been right. I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought I did, but I know now that I still don’t know everything, but I’m learning my way.

I’m not the best at blogging, I have twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and I even have google+, and Pinterest. I’m in the process of recovering my first book’s cover so I can do a relaunch. In September4th through the 6th I’ll be going to the Writers for New Orleans and I’ll actually have a table at the book signing. This December at the Geekonomicon 2015 Convention in Biloxi, MS I’m going to have a table and there working out the details but I might also be on a panel or two. I’ll keep you posted.

Here is my link to: Forever Lost, and The Unforeseen Rescue, which is in ebook and paperbacks.

Forever Lost ebook Available at Barnes & Nobles

You can now purchase Forever Lost in ebook and now paperback on Barnes and Nobles

Hooray!!!!! I am PUBLISHED !!!!!!

Hello everyone. I finally took the plunge and self published a short story. It’s on Amazon.com and you can download to your computer or kindle. Now, I am working on my other stories so I can send out to get published. Thank you everyone for all your support. Much love…

Blog Live Radio… Live After Dark

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Hello everyone!!!  I know I’m horrible about the blog thing, but I’ve been extremely busy. I’ve decided to self publish one of my stories Forever Lost. Here is my book cover we created ourself with the help of my fabulous talented husband. If everything goes right it should be up and running this weekend on Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles. If not, it’ll be really soon.

What I didn’t know is that my sister in law host a blog live radio site and has asked me for a interview. So, I’ll be online tomorrow night at 10pm., at Live After dark. I’ll also plug in our conference for next month.

http://www.gccrwa.com/silkensands/

Also if anyone else would like to do an interview please let me know and I will talk to my sister Helen Cannon.  Here is the site of the Blog Live Radio.com/liveafterdark

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/liveafterdark

Apple Launches IBOOK2 Digital Textbooks

IF anyone knows me, you’ll know I only use apple/mac book computers, ipad, ipod, and working on getting the iphone. Here is a new method for self publishing… Enjoy..

Apple Reinvents Textbooks with iBooks 2 for iPad New iBooks Author Lets Anyone Create Stunning iBooks Textbooks NEW YORK—January 19, 2012—Apple® today announced iBooks® 2 for iPad®, featuring iBooks textbooks, an entirely new kind of textbook that’s dynamic, engaging and truly interactive. iBooks textbooks offer iPad users gorgeous, fullscreen textbooks with interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, unrivaled navigation and much more. iBooks textbooks can be kept up to date, don’t weigh down a backpack and never have to be returned. Leading education services companies including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill and Pearson will deliver educational titles on the iBookstore℠ with most priced at $14.99 or less, and with the new iBooks Author, a free authoring tool available today, anyone with a Mac® can create stunning iBooks textbooks. “Education is deep in Apple’s DNA and iPad may be our most exciting education product yet. With 1.5 million iPads already in use in education institutions, including over 1,000 one-to-one deployments, iPad is rapidly being adopted by schools across the US and around the world,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Now with iBooks 2 for iPad, students have a more dynamic, engaging and truly interactive way to read and learn, using the device they already love.” The new iBooks 2 app is available today as a free download from the App Store™. With support for great new features including gorgeous, fullscreen books, interactive 3D objects, diagrams, videos and photos, the iBooks 2 app will let students learn about the solar system or the physics of a skyscraper with amazing new interactive textbooks that come to life with just a tap or swipe of the finger. With its fast, fluid navigation, easy highlighting and note-taking, searching and definitions, plus lesson reviews and study cards, the new iBooks 2 app lets students study and learn in more efficient and effective ways than ever before. iBooks Author is also available today as a free download from the Mac App Store and lets anyone with a Mac create stunning iBooks textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books and more, and publish them to Apple’s iBookstore. Authors and publishers of any size can start creating with Apple-designed templates that feature a wide variety of page layouts. iBooks Author lets you add your own text and images by simply dragging and dropping, and with the Multi-Touch™ widgets you can easily add interactive photo galleries, movies, Keynote® presentations and 3D objects. Apple today also announced an all-new iTunes® U app giving educators and students everything they need on their iPad, iPhone® and iPod touch® to teach and take entire courses. With the new iTunes U app, students using iPads have access to the world’s largest catalog of free educational content, along with over 20,000 education apps at their fingertips and hundreds of thousands of books in the iBookstore that can be used in their school curriculum, such as novels for English or Social Studies.* The iTunes U app is available today as a free download from the App Store. *Some content is available only for iPad. Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

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The Lure of Old Cemeteries

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If you know me, you would know, I’m a scary cat when it comes to watching horror movies. At the same time. I have this passion for paranormal, witches, voodoo, and old cemeteries. The old ones are my favorite, aged, and covered with moss, and some defaced from weather, and climate.

When I visit an old cemetery I love the old crypts, or graves. Love to see their names and wonder  what their life was like when they were alive. A defaced and broken crypt is ideal for a scene in any paranormal story which might include a vampire, goul, ghost, or whatever your fantasy might take a writer.

So with this in mind, here are some great pictures of some crypts located somewhere in the deep south. Let your mind wonder, and your imagination run wild, and free.

How to catch your MUSE, I just call it my inspiration.

What pumps you up more then your muse… the ideas floating around in your head. It’s like a hurricane spinning wild and its controlling everyday life because all you want to do is write. The house goes to the dogs, and dinner is late or you might offer a burnt offering, shrugging it off, thinking to yourself, “You should of did the cooking.” I’m like a junkie with a high when it’s in full swing. I love how my mind works and builds a character, a scene. In my head their is a movie going on and you have to catch it as it flows. Forget the world your living in because your not there anymore your in your own world.
Then sometimes you crash and burn and you need your muse back, feeling frustrated or in withdrawals you might turn cranky, or go into a depression. First I try a movie, something that might motivate me, or read a book. I love artwork, so sometimes I’ll go look for something new, or a music video. Alot of times music can jump start me, but under worse case situations, I tell my hubby, ROAD TRIP, and we head out to the French Quarters, Magazine Street, the River Walk, stop and eat at some hole in the wall, and I’m good to go.
So, you have to find what triggers yours, and work with it. Sometimes for me a song, or a certain movie that might work for one scene is all used up in my head because I listened to it too many times and it’s lost it’s magic. So, I have to go out and hunt for something new to replace the high..
Write on, It’s been fun.. A few pictures for you to enjoy..

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The Mortuary

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This is a Victorian Mansion on Canal Street in New Orleans, It was originally built as a family home later sold to a Notary in 1923, and in 1928 information was brought to attention that it was purchased on on behalf of PJ McMahon which turned it into a grand funeral home. It has over a mile radius of graves and in between the year of 1930 to 2003 over 20,000 funerals took place and their body fluids flushed down the basement. Not to mention being surrounded by the city of the dead. It is documented by a paranormal investigation team. Now it has switched hands and is a Haunted House and only opened at Halloween. For what you mean, they turned it into a HAUNTED HOUSE. I’ve been to see this place of wonder at night, and my daughter screaming to me that she seen a ghost in the cemetery connected to the house as we pulled away. It sent shivers down my spine. And the legend

Struggling with POV

I’ve been writing since around 2000. Since then I have learned a lot of great information to help me with my craft. BUT, there is always something new to learn, or things that just go over my head. POV, has been my downfall forever, and ever. Some authors can jump heads and can get away with it, but us new unpublished writers. Well girls, guys it’s just not in the cards. There were times I thought, I got it, and tried editing adjusting my pages only to fail yet again. You can purchase all kinds of books on point of view, and there is so much information online, but I’m a hands on kind of girl. In my head I thought I needed to be shown with a teacher standing over my shoulder. That impression, and sometimes those very thoughts stop us from moving forward. It puts up this invisible wall. The NEGATIVE thought…

This angel friend of mine, RITA helped me and it was like this bell going off in my head. OMGoodness, talk about she’s a genius. I FINALLY GET IT. GOT IT.. UNDERSTAND. There are no words to express my gratitude or appreciation. She knocked down my wall and I didn’t get see it happening. Now, I’m not saying I still don’t mess up because when your writing I write, but I make it a conscious effect not to jump heads.

I also want to say Thank you to Runere who is my soldier, the sister of my heart. She has held me together when I have been on my knee’s in distress with my writing, and my personal struggles. I want to be able to give back to you all what you have done keeping me sane and on the right track. I hope I never let you down. Love you sister of my heart.

So my friends write on, keep your head up, and when you fall… pick yourself up, dust yourself off and take one step at a time. We will survive and we shall conquer our dreams.