“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the lines gradually moved from grocery stores to embassies.
The first time she had to stay in this line was when Hannah applied for a German visa. It was three months ago. It was before the day her life changed. It was before yesterday.”
#novella #book1 #series #suspence #spystory #contenmporaryfiction #fiction #touchofromance #mixedgenre #physics #highresolutionmicroscopy #formersovietunion #moldova #chisinau #germany #darmstadt #OptimistWriter
I am revising my latest work-in-progress right now, and I found myself struggling with incorporating the changes I made on paper into the project on my computer. There are so many changes to make! They’re not more or less than for the previous eleven books I published. I guess my struggle fits the general perception of edits. So, I decided to look for a quote in one of my books that would help me.
Here is an excerpt from the chapter “E – Editing” from my book Cheerleading for Writers.”It is for all writers who are either self-editing or looking through their manuscript edited by others:
“Welcome the edits, thank those who proposed them, and, again, look at all this as a big, fun game. It is a game, and the more you practice it, the better you will become. So, let’s practice. I’ll do it along with you.”
So now, I will try now to welcome my own edits. ?
I wish you fun with your writing and other project games. ??
P.S. If you want to check out this or other of my books, then click here.
#motivation #inspiration #cheerleading #CheerleadingForWriters #amwriting #tipsforwriters #editing #selfediting #gamification #SelfGamification #OptimistWriter
‘“I’m sorry.” Sasha loosened her grip on Ion’s arm. “I’m so sorry I pulled you into all this without giving you a choice. I hope—”
Ion’s grip on the umbrella tightened. “I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to run away.”
Sasha swallowed hard. Run away. That was exactly what her parents said she was doing. Did Ion think this, too? She looked at him and waited. Please, don’t be angry with me, she thought, not quite knowing how it would be when Ion was angry.
They didn’t speak for at least twenty minutes, because as Sasha looked up from the plastered way to see where they were, she realized that they reached the Pushkin Park and were walking along the alley of classics, with busts of Eminescu, Creangu and other long gone but immortal singers of this tiny piece of land.
At that moment, Sasha realized that she not only fell in love with Ion, but also with Moldova. It became her home. “I will come back. And I will stay.”’
#shortstory #prequel #series #suspence #spystory #historicalfiction #formersovietunion #OptimistWriter
I read many story collections in my life. Many of them were very good and enjoyable to read. But there are only two I could name by their titles and which are the first to pop into my mind when speaking of inspiring stories. These are Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment and Being Here…Too: Short Stories of Modern Day Enlightenment by Ariel & Shya Kane.
In fact, reading of the first book ignited a turn in my life I have never thought would be possible. I might not have dared to write books or anything else as daring, have I not read that book and all other books by Ariel and Shya Kane, listened to their radio shows and participated in their live seminars.
I first saw Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment when an online retailer generated a recommendation based on my previous orders of self-help and motivational books. I read many self-help books before and still felt lost. So after buying and receiving Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment, I resisted reading it for almost two years. But my sight kept being captured by the beautiful butterfly on its cover, and even by its spine when I tucked it between the other books on one of my bookshelves.
At some point, I surrendered and read it. I learned about a unique approach called Instantaneous Transformation developed by Ariel and Shya Kane. And with time, I learned and experienced the three revealing principles of this approach.
First, I realized that if I resisted something or tried to get rid of something – a thought, a habit, a person, a task, a book (see above 🙂 ) or anything else – I didn’t get rid of it at all. This person or thing just kept on sticking around, dominated my life and often became overwhelming.
Then, I learned that I couldn’t be anywhere else or anyone else at any given moment – I could only be who and how I was (or wasn’t), whether I liked it or not. And whether I judged my situation or not.
Finally, there was the Kanes’ third principle – anything that I allowed to be exactly as it was without judging or trying to change it, completed itself in an instant.
As I read Ariel and Shya’s books and articles, listened to their Being Here internet radio show, and participated in their live seminars, I experienced what it meant to let myself and others be just as we were. I discovered how to breathe and savor my life moment by moment, completely and freely. I came to understand what I truly wanted, what was my heart’s desire.
Yes, reading Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment was the moment when this beautiful journey I am now on began. It was a journey of curiosity about what was happening at any given moment of now and what could happen if I surrendered to my wishes and did what my heart called me to do, instead of what I thought others wanted me to do.
As I practiced transformation, being in the moment, I discovered again and again that kindness and honesty were mutually inclusive, not exclusive. That allowed me to start observing myself non-judgmentally, in my life and also in the process of writing, teaching, and consulting.
I was delighted when I heard of the successor of one of my all time favorite books and of its concept. Being Here…Too: Short Stories of Modern Day Enlightenment is unique because the stories in it relate the magic of being here. These true stories were written by fantastic people of various walks of life, background and beliefs.
If I try to summarize the new book in three words, then these will be: Inspiring, empowering, brilliant. (You can read my full review of this book here.)
I strongly recommend reading and re-reading both books. You will laugh, smile, feel inspired, uplifted, utterly well in yourself and discover each time some new aspect of every story, which you didn’t notice during the previous read. They are that multidimensional!
#transformationmadeeasy #arielandshyakane #shortstory #truestories #inspiration #motivation #compassion #beinghere
Early season’s greetings to all who participated in the Cheerleading for Writers Giveaway and who supported the campaign by liking it in the social media. Huge congrats to the winners of the contest! I will contact you later today and make sure you get your prize soon. 🙂 Huge thanks to Auria Paz, dear friend, story-teller, musician and entrepreneur, for organizing and rolling out this campaign together with me. It was the first one of such a dimension and I learned a lot. Thanks for being with me on this book promotion adventure! 🙂
Huge thanks to Alice Jago and shore lines designs for my book cover design and beautiful Christmas cards that served as background for this picture.
#bookgiveaway #holidaygift #NaNoWriMo #NaNoWriMo2018 #WritingANovel #WritingABook #WritingLife #motivation #inspiration #HappyWriting #HappyCreating #MotivatingWriters #CheerleadingForWriters #OptimistWriter