Skeletons in the Rum

Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel 1562 - a piece of art history at it's best!  Every time I look at this painting, I gaze in awe at the feeling it captures.  Beyond all the misery, death, and mayhem, I have a deep curiosity with all of the little stories going on within the big picture.  I understand and respect all of the interpretations out there, but Skeletons in the Rum is my own view.

What if this was the place of hell inside of you?  What if you were a raging alcoholic, and you hit rock bottom one night?  They say we all have skeletons in our closet, but what if the skeletons were in the rum?  With a little bit too much, you could have skeletons running all over your life bringing chaos with it.  I think that the demons we see are only a reflection of ourselves.  If we look too closely, this may be what you'd see.

Writing about what you love

This isn't as easy as it sounds. You get there eventually, but there's always that nagging voice that says, "nobody will like that", or "everyone will think that's stupid". And it's only human to want to make everyone happy. We want to please, we want to like and be liked. We want approval. But how do we get there?

Writing what you love is like being a dog that's been set free. After years of being tied on a leash, you're finally turned loose. Just like a dog, you stand there wondering what you're going to do and where you're going to go. At first you wonder what you're supposed to do, but eventually you forget anyone's watching and wander off in your own direction and do your own thing.

My obsession with abandoned places and ghosts almost always make appearances in my stories. Why not? I think that when an author is passionate about their subject, it really shows in their writing.

As long as authors write about what they love, readers will read about what they love....

Alternate World

I really love being an author. It gives me control over this "Alternate World" that I've created. In real life, I don't feel that I have too much control over things. We all do, to a certain point, but there are some circumstances that are out of our control.

But in my books, I get to pick the location and characters. I get to put the right friends into the life of my main character. I get to choose the quirks my character has, and I can give her or him minor or major flaws. I really love curly hair. (Just putting that out there!) So, my characters will often have curly hair. Usually only special ones. I would never waste dark curly locks of sexiness on a serial killer or a loser of any kind.

So, in a story I am currently working on, I have a secondary character (Ash) with obsessive compulsive disorder, and it really helps define her personality. As the writer of this story, I chose to give her OCD. With that being said, I also have the control to take it away or decide not to give it to her at all. Wow. It's almost too much responsibility. Until I stop and think about how I'm not REALLY messing with anyone's life, they're MY fictional characters.

In real life, I can't create a new character for my life. I can't choose my flaws or some physical attributes. We can't even control our locations until we're of a certain age and have the financial ability to do so.

My alternate world is made of magic, and when I don't feel like I have much control over my physical world, there's always my world sculpted of words waiting for me to dive back into.

Partially Abandoned Disney World ride - 20,000 leagues under the sea

After a haunting ride through, see for yourself what became of this amazing ride.

The pictures of the half abandoned 20,000 leagues under the sea ride at Disney World have been some of the eeriest I've ever seen!

http://www.20kride.com/

The squid thing really gave me the creeps.

It looks like they took the submarines out, but left the "unseen" parts all intact for years. We all walked around in the park above oblivious to the magic that was decaying in a cave beneath our feet.

New Book

I truly believe in ghosts and I know that there's more to life than we can see with our eyes. I also don't think that people are really gone when they die. Where would they go? Does it erase their life - a life full of emotions, love, anger, pride, or accomplishment?

Sometimes emotional energy is so strong that I think it sticks around. It's somewhat like a memory. I can recall this time when I was a little kid, and my cousin and I built a fort in my Grandpa's yard. We used things we found in the barn. Fence pieces for walls, boards and shingles for the roof, and we borrowed corn stalks from the farmers field next door. We were glowing with happiness, and we were so proud of our accomplishment. Until Grandpa came home and yelled at us for making a mess. A mess!

That memory is still so alive that it is a part of me. We are adults now, and Grandpa is gone, but it's still with me. I believe that our emotions and lives literally brand places with our energy.

Ashes of the Living is inspired by an old cobblestone foundation we found on our property. I was fascinated as I wondered who lived there. What happened? Who were these people and what did they do here? There have been numerous signs of life on this property. They must have a story. Everyone does.

What if there were a few houses out in the woods, or a small village? And if it came back to life fueled by it's emotions and events - even for just one night, wouldn't that be great? They could tell me their story, or show me their story.

I have listened closely, and ghosts have told me their story.

Being true to yourself & letting your real story out

My imagination runs wild all the time. I'm always thinking of new characters, new stories, possible plot twists, new painting ideas.... There's always something brewing. But sometimes, I snuff out one of my own ideas before it ever comes into the real world. Why? Maybe some ideas are too far fetched. Maybe not, maybe I'm pre-criticizing myself. Yes, I said pre-criticizing.


Maybe we should just let them all out. Every thought, every story, and every idea in our brain. Just let them out to run and play. For example, The Spiderman character began in the human mind right?


Okay, imagine that conversation: "Yeah, so I have this new character, and he's a man, but he also has spider qualities. He was bit by this spider, but anyway, he can jump around on buildings like a spider and he ejects webs from his hands so he can swing around between tall buildings. He wears a tight red clingy leotard. Oh, and he helps battle crime, and catches bad guys. Mostly bad guys with super powers. And his arch nemesis is the Green Goblin. Green Goblin is a total menace to society, and he rides around on this really cool hover board thing."


Know what? It worked!

No more PRE-critizing!

Jersey Shore ratings

Why is Jersey Shore so popular? Hmm.... Even Barbara Walters can't help but express curiosity!

Reality stars give the rumor mill so much to talk about, and some are in the spotlight for several years. The most common question is "why?", and there are quite a few that we don't even know why they've become so famous.

I've heard it all, Paris Hilton has been referred to as a "fake celebrity", because after all, what is she famous for anyway? The Kardashians? Nicole Richie? Could it be amazing talent? Maybe a long and victorious battle of courage and skill that lead them to the top? Or, are they merely lucky to be connected to someone else that has been in the spotlight?

The cast of Jersey Shore is different. They aren't connected to anyone famous. As of yet, none of them has a sex tape, a famous parent, or billionaire genes. They are famous for their personalities! Yes! Just because of who they ARE. This amazes me. I think it's pretty friggin' awesome. Actors spend years and years trying to get noticed. Work their asses off for months at a time on the movie sets away from their families. And maybe in a year or two they get noticed.

I love this day and age where a group of kids from Jersey can make a name for themselves with their personalities and "interesting factor".