If you are unfamiliar with the history of Thanksgiving here in America, check out the link.

It’s embarrassing to admit this, but I’ve been slow at writing the next blog because the overwhelming response is a little scary and I’m afraid that I might disappoint people with my next blog.  Some people might never admit to their own fears on the world wide web, but it’s hard for me to be anything but honest.  For example, I have this beautiful illustration of a turkey which I wanted to include in this blog.  After two hours of fiddling, formatting and trying umpteen ways to pop the image into my blog, I finally gave up.  Seems my techie skills have a long way to go.

On a positive note, I am poo-pooing my fears and jumping back into the blogging …even if I’m still scared and turkeyless. 

Oh, and I promise not all my blogs will be confessionals.  I guess I’m a bit Oprah-ish and just can’t help it. 

Let us all give thanks for the abundance in our lives and pray for those who are less fortunate.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Go ahead and take the leap!

Welcome to my first blog post.

I’ll start by making a confession; right now, I feel like a baby bird taking my first step out of my secure and comfy nest and into the scary blogosphere.  I’m a little scared.  And it’s funny, because I’ve actually been planning to write my own blog for a couple of years now.  Most writers, published and unpublished, are blogging and I enjoy reading the blogs.  I even started a list of topics which I want to blog about.

So what’s been holding me back?   Why all the procrastination?

First, I’m not a techie.  I cringe at acronyms like DNS, URL and RSS.  Worse yet, I feared that blogging would cut into my precious writing time and distract me from my primary focus of finishing my book.

Then one day, while pondering this conundrum of whether to blog or not to blog, it dawned on me:  I was in a rut.  Of course I want to blog.  I just need to step out of my comfort zone.

After all, I constantly push my characters out of their comfort zone.  In Savage Heart, the historical romance I am writing, my heroine leaves the luxury of England to live life on her own terms in a rugged and wild Virginia.  What happens when she leaves her comfort zone?  Well, you’ll have to wait for the book to find out, but I can promise it isn’t boring!

“The desire for safety stands against every  great and noble enterprise.” Tacitus

As for my own dilemma, I just had to get rid of the irrational fears (okay, excuses) standing in the way.  It was time to leave my comfort zone.  Instead of feeling afraid, I decided to feel excited about the challenge.

So after some research and planning, I revamped my website and learned some basic blogging skills.  Now here I am, taking the leap from quiet writer to blog writer.  It appears I can fly after all.  My comfy nest hasn’t moved, but I want to keep moving forward; which is a good thing since I have so much I want to blog about.

“We cannot become what we want to be by remaining who we are.”  Max DePree

My weekly blogs will include news from conferences, meetings and workshops I attend, historical research, books I like to read, writing tips, author interviews and much more.   Visit often and watch this blog evolve as I journey on the path to publication.  Whether you are a reader or writer, I’m happy to answer questions and receive feedback.

Subscribe to my Updates to receive any news relating to the progress of publication of by book.

Ouch. I did it.

And what about you?  Is there something you want to do, but feel afraid?  Do you feel stuck in a rut or ready for a change?  I found a couple of great websites offering how-to advice.

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/how-to-break-out-of-your-comfort-zone.html

www.essentiallifeskills.net/comfortzonequotes.html