Today is the "official" Suicide Prevention Day.
And the day I have chosen to write to you myself.
To send support and love to others, an organization known as To Write Love On Her Arms began the tradition of spending today (and much of this week) by literally writing love, on their arms. If there is one thing I've seen this week by reading blogger posts, it's that our ghosts are not so different. Write love, spread love, share a picture of your love below in the comments! Dear Friend,
A year has gone by and I hope you’re still here and reading this.
More than anything, I hope you’re here.
I hope that in the last year you’ve found something that helps, or eliminated something that didn’t. I hope your heart remains intact, and that you’ve stayed up far too late to watch the stars. I hope you’ve eaten cake for dinner, fallen in love with a new song, and been kind to someone you didn’t even know.
My wish for you is that you’ve found moments of peace. Whether it is in writing, drawing, singing, dancing, collecting obscure rabbit shaped oven mitts, or simply being more content in your own body. I hope something has been stirred within you and has made you take a leap outside your comfort zone.
Since a comfort zone is often just a polite term for a self-imposed prison.
My dreams for you are that you seize happiness, with both hands, every time you get the chance. I hope that you never forget that you alone can change your world whether it is with a plane ticket or simply a new outfit. I hope you understand that you are here for a reason, and you might not know that reason for another forty years.
I know it’s frustrating, but the day you find out…there will be no better feeling in this world.
I hope in the next year, you go some place you’ve never been before. I went to Florida since last we met, it was a sixteen-hour drive, and I almost burst into flames from all the sun. Yet, I’d do it all again in a heartbeat because fifty years from now I’ll still remember the laughter, the worlds smallest hotel bathroom, and how the moon reflected off the ocean, turning the night into a shimmering Wonderland.
I want you to know you cannot make lasting memories in purgatory. And one day when you’re old and grey you will realize memories are all you have, but if you do it right, they will be enough.
Speaking of heartbeats, remember they are painfully finite.
In the next year, make amends. Love your parents. They are people who can get as lost as you do sometimes. They might not have found their reason for being here yet either.
Sometimes it is easier to love someone than understand them.
But you should try.
In the year to come, read good books. Study if you must, but rifle through library stacks to learn. Fall in love with words, for in them you will find a friend and thus never truly be alone.
Never forget that at least one person remembers this past year fondly because you were in it. When you find yourself in a dark place, think of the things you would have missed if you’d been gone.
Then think of all the amazing things to come.
Life is painful, hard, depressing, and dark, I won’t deny it.
But it’s also beautiful, unexpected, enduring, and so much lovelier and so much more amazing than we give it credit for.
Stay strong.
Until We Meet Again, Remain Ever The Warrior You Are,
xoxoxo
Jessa
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING WITH SUICIDE PLEASE CALL
1.800.442.HOPE
OR CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE
So, we all have time when we can’t deal with life. Personally, I don’t even want to get out of bed. I just want to dream my life away. This really isn’t an option though. The Earth continues to turn and I still have responsibilities.
So, what do we do? Well, the best thing is to talk to someone. Anyone. A friend…and professional…hell, a sympathetic ear. And if you can’t? Or, it doesn’t solve the problem. For example, say you have a job you hate. You can’t quit your job because you need the money. Besides, do you know how hard it is to find a job? So, you’re stuck while you look for something better. This is where escapism comes in.
There are many ways to escape our reality. Books take us to whole new worlds for an hours or maybe a whole day. I love books but I have two other favorites: roleplaying and video games.
Table top are LARP? Who cares both are fun!
Roleplaying games are more of a social form of escapism. No, I don’t mean the type where you dress up as a naughty school teacher begging to be punished. There are two types I’ve played. Well, technically three but I’ll get to the third later. First, there is table top roleplaying. This is your friends and you around a table with some dice and character sheets. The fantasy based Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is probably the most popular, but there are many others like World of Darkness which is more modern. The great thing about these games is that you can be or do anything you want. You only limit is your imagination. The second type of RP I’ve played is Live Action Roleplay. Pretty much, you dress up like your character and act out the story. Once again there are so many types, from fantasy to modern games where you are spies. Even Sam and Dean need to get away from their lives for a while.
So, video games. There is a reason they are popular. Graphics have come leaps and bounds from the 8-bit squares. Through is some good stories and you have hours of entertainment. Personally, I like Massive Multi-player Online Roleplaying Games (MMORPGs), and yes I do get into character and RP with other. I told you there was a third type. Many have a monthly subscription but there are several that you can download for free like Dungeons and Dragons Online or Lord of the Rings Online. One of my favorites is TheSecret World. It’s what is called buy to play. You buy the game and then you can play for free.
Heh, So Felicia Day and the guild crew with one of their videos.
So, yes, life may seem horrible, but you have to remember that it’s what you make of it. My boyfriend gave me a great piece of advice when looking at your problems: Is your problem something you can change? I.E. Can you do something about it? Yes, The do something and stop worrying about it. No, then it’s out of your control and stop worrying about it.
But, this isn’t the easiest advice to adhere to. So, if we’re stuck, there’s always something we can find to make us happy and let us escape for a little bit. About Noree Cosper Noree Cosper loves writing about magic in the modern world. While growing up in Texas she constantly searched for mystical elements in the mundane. She buried her nose in both fiction and books about Wicca, Religion, and Mythology. Everyday became an adventure as she joined a group of role-players, acting out her fantasies of vampires, demons, and monsters living in the world.
She embraced her nerdom wholeheartedly.
Noree grew, but never left her love for fantasy and horror. Her dreams pushed her and her hand itched to write the visions she saw. So, with her fingers on the keys, she did what her heart had been telling her to do since childhood. She wrote. Connect with Noree A Prescription for Delirium
Ninety years ago, Gabriella di Luca promised to protect the family of her dying lover. She failed to keep that promise. She was too far away to stop the devil that murdered the eldest Van Helsing son. Years later, Gabby learns the devil has resurfaced. She arrives in Hampton, TX, determined to stop the devil before it can lay a bloody hand on the remaining three brothers.
However, madness is spreading through Hampton. She suspects the devil is using this madness to test a drug which has a side effect of demonic possession. Gabby rushes to end the source of the madness only to fall victim to it. For a woman cursed with eternal life, dying is no threat. However, Gabby must stop the devil's plot or risk losing her most precious possession: her mind. Get Your Copy Now:
September 8-14th is Suicide Prevention Week
Why am I telling you this? What makes this week so much more important than the other 51 weeks of the year.
The answer is...nothing.
Yet we choose this week, just as the newness of Fall approaches, to come together and to celebrate life.
That every single life is priceless to the universe, to the future, and to at least one person.
This week, I will feature blog posts from people who have been on the cusp of suicide.
Who have wanted nothing more than to have the pain of their thoughts stop.
Each one of them is a survivor
And so are you.
I've always said books have played a large role in saving my life. And therefore I have compiled a list of free e-books. If you don't have a Kindle, you can download the FREE reading app HERE.It works on nearly every device you can imagine from your phone to computers and tablets. Take a book. Heck take them all!Let them remind you that everything is possible again.And check back here, every day, to comment, spread your story, and spread the love.Free Books!
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING WITH SUICIDE PLEASE CALL
1.800.442.HOPE
OR CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE
Below is the schedule for this week's Sacrifice Blog Tour!
Links will be updated daily!
Also, August 30th-September 3rd You can pick up the novella in The Sin Collector Series, Thomas, FREE!!
The Sin Collector: Sacrifice will be available for purchase tonight at midnight!
What better way to amp up the excitement than to tease you with ten pictures that relate to the story...with no description whatsoever!
Music heavily influences my writing. It helps to set the mood for scenes that can be difficult to write. However, I've found that in each of my books, there has been one song that was played to DEATH. So much so in fact that I've been forced into headphones!
The song most played during the writing of Sacrifice was a collaboration between Liz Lawrence and Allman Brown titled Sons and Daughters. Below is the song as well as the lyrics.
I hope it gives you another sneak peak into the soul of Sacrifice!
And I
Will hold you tight
Like the moon
In the arms of the sky
And I
Will keep you warm
I will build a fire
In this house
And I’ll build a fire
You fetch the water
And I’ll lay the table
And in our hearts
We still pray for
Sons and Daughters
And all those evenings
Out in the garden
Red, Red wine
It’s quiet hours
Turning to years
And I
I’ll wrap myself
Round your heart
I’ll be the walls of his heart
And I
I’ll keep a light on
To call
You back home
And I’ll build a fire
You fetch the water
And I’ll lay the table
And in our hearts
We still pray for
Sons and Daughters
And all those evenings
Out in the garden
Red, Red wine
It’s quiet hours
Turning to years
It’s all to come
For now we’re still young
We’re just building our kingdom
But it’s all to come
And I’ll build a fire
You fetch the water
And I’ll lay the table
And in our hearts
We still pray for
Sons and Daughters
And all those evenings
Out in the garden
Red, Red wine
It’s quiet hours
Turning to years
It’s all to come
For now we’re still young
Click Here to listen to the song most played during The Sin CollectorClick Here to listen to the song most played during Thomas
Right now, I have the privilege of knowing a brilliant and awesome ten-year-old girl. Currently buried between the desire to model and be a fashion designer, she would like to write. She asked me recently, “Will you give me writing lessons?” She was willing to pay a hefty five dollars per lesson. Granted at this point…I could use the income. However, as I told her I’d be more than happy to critique her work (free of charge) I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Jess…how the hell DO you teach someone to write?”
I sincerely have no idea how I manage any of this. You may be a naturally gifted author, but I’m not sure if I’d lump myself in that category. I never went to school for writing (as I’m sure many of my editors will attest to.) However, here are a few things I’ve observed on this winding road of witticisms and prose. I may be wrong, I may be clueless, but for me it works.
First, you must try. That is lesson number one. It seems the easiest task, but I assure you it isn’t. To face a blank piece of paper can sometimes feel like facing a firing squad. Yet it has to happen, before you can find out where your gifts lie you must pursue them. You may fail, you may not, but you must TRY.
Lesson number two: when you’re not writing, read something. No, it doesn’t have to be an American Classic. Read what makes you happy or intrigued or knowledgeable about the world (even if your greatest wish is to escape it.)
Lesson number three: and this one is a toughie. When you feel your soul has purged upon the page a story of value and importance you must share it. Some people will pat your head and say it’s lovely. Some people will hate it with a passion you can’t quite understand. You must search for the person who takes you by the hand and says, “I like certain things, and dislike other’s…do you want to know why?” They aren’t placating you or tearing you down, in fact those people are the nutrients that will help you grow.
Lesson four: fall in love with your story, whether it is about purple people eaters, a group of friends living in Chicago, or a narrative about your childhood. Love your words and believe in what you have to say. If you don’t believe in it 100%, how can you expect others to? Anyone with a computer can string together some words. I’d advise you to always dream bigger. Create a story, a legacy that will far outlive you, and perhaps even the world you currently know.
No one can teach you to write. Like no one can take an afternoon and teach you ballet or how to make the perfect soufflé. In all instances, things will likely fall on the first try. You will sit amongst the heap of your dream and doubt everything you’ve done. You’ll wonder why you picked up the pen at all.
On those days, pick up a book instead. Remember being young and feeling as though you could run your hand through Aslan’s mane. The summertime days you spent reading under a tree. The nights you spoke to the moon, and you swear it spoke back.
Remember the enchantment that can be found in a book. Relish it, take a deep breath, and pick your pencil back up. Create magic for the next generation.
We owe it to them.
Can you believe that in
You will be holding your very own copy of TSC: Sacrifice?!
You can also find 5 other Sin Collector Quizzes by clicking HERE Sacrifice is Coming! Get Collected.
Today I was fortunate enough to lure S.M. Boyce, the author of the national best-selling The Grimoire Saga, out of her visionary land of Ourea. Once here, she was kind enough to answer 15 questions about herself, her books, and give spoilers!
(Find the complete Cover Reveal of The Grimoire Saga below!)
1. Would you rather be a Hobbit, a Mother of Dragons, or a Wizard?
That’s tough. Can I be a Mother of Dragons wizard? No? I think I’ll go with wizard, then. Mother of Dragons comes with a hefty level of responsibility, and I much prefer to wave around a wand and make the bed with magic. I’m easy to please.
2. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what book would it be and why?
Can we stretch this into a series? If so, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There’s so much to it that I could read it a thousand times and probably still catch things that are different.
3. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?
I think Jennifer Lawrence, since we look vaguely similar and her interview persona is hilarious. She seems both fun and hardworking, so I like to think she would do a great job as me.
4. Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Ghost hunting shows. I love them and usually get drunk while I listen for EVPs in the static. So fun.
5. Has a person in your real life ever strongly inspired a character?
My husband is my content editor, so he helps me mould many of my characters. In fact, one of my favorite characters—Stone from the Grimoire Saga—was pretty much created by my hubby. His tone and personality are nothing like my husband, but I could swear Geoff channeled Stone during our editing sessions. He always seemed to know the perfect dialogue. It’s fantastic to have my husband on my team like that!
6. If the Grimoire Saga was made into a movie, who would you want to play Kara?
You mean when, right? Because it’s going to happen! Someday. Hopefully by Peter Jackson.
As for Kara’s actress, I would really like Emma Stone. I love her work, and she seems like the perfect fit for Kara’s character. In fact, I think a Goodreads reviewer actually cast Emma as her ideal Kara. So how cool is that?
7. Do you prefer writing heroes or villains?
Villains! They walk the line of morality, and half the time can rationalize their cruelties and schemes in a way that make you love to hate them. I really enjoy exploring the morally corrupt characters.
8. What do you think makes a good story?
Relatable conflict that makes you connect with the characters. A story begins on the day something changes. Of course, characters, world building, and plot are all important as well, but I think relatable conflict is the core driving force of any spectacular story.
9. Have you ever considered writing a story from a completely different genre? If so what genre?
Yes, actually! I have a dystopian sci-fi with biological warfare undertones in the works. It will probably come out in a few years, after the Grimoire Saga is done. I make it a point of honor to learn something new from every book, and that book will be an experiment in treading outside my comfort zone with my novels.
10. What was your favorite childhood story?
Not sure if this counts, but The Magic School Bus. I loved exploring science with Miss Frizzle and the class, since they always went on these impossibly magical adventures. Actually, I think that’s what I liked best—the blend of magic and science.
11. What has been the best part of being a writer?
I’m going to sound like a total sap, but it’s a tie between watching a novel come to life and interacting with fans. Writing is a journey, but I don’t want to do it alone. I love to share my stories with readers, and it’s an unmatched thrill to see someone else enjoying my story enough to tell me they liked it.
12. If the world was ending in 24 hours, what is the one thing you’d wish you’d done?
Damn, that’s depressing. Um… I live in the now, and I’m a very happy person. I’m fulfilled and blessed in so many ways that I know I’ve lived (and will continue to live) a very full, peaceful life. But if I had to choose something, I would wish I’d slowed down a bit more. Watched more butterflies or studied flowers. Sat back on the grass and watched the clouds. Life blurs by if you aren’t careful—you have to make time to appreciate what’s there, or you won’t ever get the chance.
13. What’s your favorite holiday?
My anniversary. Hey, that counts! And yes, I’m gooey. I love my husband. He’s my soul mate.
14. Do you have a piece of jewelry you never, ever take off? (aside from wedding rings)
Before I finished Lichgates (Grimoire Saga #1), I gave myself a present: a Grimoire pendant from the series. I wear it all the time as a reminder that I can absolutely do whatever I want in life. It’s an empowerment symbol, and it makes me proud every time I see it because I did something incredible: I achieved a lifelong dream and published a book. And I’ve continued publishing!
15. Just give us one teeny tiny spoiler from your upcoming novel, Heritage.
Hmmm… Someone mentioned in book one as an evil murderer is revealed to have a softer side—and when we look into their past, Kara realizes she’s more like them than she feels comfortable admitting.
How’s that?
Thanks for having me! This was really fun!
Briefly after this interview concluded, Ms. Boyce jumped back through a Lichgate and should emerge again in the Fall!
Check out her work below!
Fantasy & paranormal novelist S. M. Boyce is releasing brand new covers for her YA Fantasy series, the Grimoire Saga. And man, are they visually stunning. Take a look!     Lichgates (Grimoire Saga #1) Fans of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Eragon will enjoy this contemporary remix of the classic epic fantasy genre ---------------- Kara Magari is about to discover a beautiful world full of terrifying things—Ourea. Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With no way out, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea's royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict—a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing. For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire. Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive. Grab your FREE copy Amazon: USA | UK | Germany | France | Spain | Italy | Buy the Paperback Kobo | Apple | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords Add to Goodreads | Watch the Trailer Treason (Grimoire Saga #2) Kara Magari ignited a war when she stumbled into Ourea and found the Grimoire: a powerful artifact filled with secrets. To protect the one person she has left, she strikes a deal that goes against everything she believes in. But things don’t go as planned. Braeden Drakonin can no longer run from who—and what—he is. He has to face the facts. He’s a prince. He’s a murderer. He’s a wanted man. And after a betrayal that leaves him heartbroken, he’s out for blood. To survive, both Kara and Braeden must become the evil each has grown to hate. Grab Your Copy Amazon: USA | UK | Germany | France | Spain | Italy | Buy the Paperback Kobo | Apple | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords Add to Goodreads Heritage (Grimoire Saga #3) Available Fall 2013 In 2013, the saga continues with Heritage. Kara is forced to face a past she never knew existed, and Braeden must prove his loyalty to the brother who still wants him dead. (Set to release in Fall 2013.) Bookmark Now Add to Goodreads Illusion (Grimoire Saga #4) Available Fall 2014 In 2014, the Grimoire Saga ends with Illusion. Blood is spilled. Love is tested. Loyalty fades. Peace will come at a hefty cost. And in the final moments of the war, both Braeden and Kara must make a heartbreaking sacrifice to win. (Set to release in Fall 2014.) Bookmark Now Add to Goodreads
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