Abraxas Professional Writing Courses: pump up your writing career, and get 10% off

Abraxas Professional Writing Courses
https://www.facebook.com/Abraxas.Writing.Courses

So, you wanna be a writer? I can help you with that!

My Abraxas Professional Writing Courses page is at 102 likes. Yay for breaking over 100!

In celebration, I'm offering 10% off my courses **for a limited time**.

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NOTE: I have added a *NEW course*!
Social Media for Writers: How to Market & Promote Your Work Like A Pro - 4 weeks - $80 or $20 per week
Sign up TODAY by sending the first week's registration of $20 to nocturnaleditor@gmail.com. I'll send the first week's materials straight to your inbox so you can begin :-)
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For information, read below and/or drop me a line at scribequill@gmail.com.
Abraxas Professional Writing Courses
https://www.facebook.com/Abraxas.Writing.Courses

I've been teaching online courses since 1997 and many of my students have gone on to become freelance writers and published authors. I love to help people make their dreams come true.

For a limited time, I'm offering 10% off any of my courses. Register securely via PayPal by forwarding your first week's payment of $25 or less to nocturnaleditor@gmail.com, making sure to state which course you're signing up for. As soon as you sign up, your course will begin and you'll begin receiving your first week's materials. It's that simple!

Have a question? E-mail me at scribequill@gmail.com with WRITING COURSES in the subject line of the message. Let me know which featured online professional writing/editing course you're interested in and any questions you might have.

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TO REGISTER AND BEGIN RIGHT AWAY, send your first week's course payment to nocturnaleditor@gmail.com
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*NEW course* Social Media for Writers: How to Market & Promote Your Work Like A Pro
- 4 weeks - $80 or $20 per week

* Professional Freelance Writing - 4 wks-$80 or $20 per week

* Creativity 101: Tapping the Muse Within - 4wks - $80 or $20 per week

* Marketing/PR for Writers - 4 wks - $80 or $20 per week

* How to Write, Sell, and Market Your Nonfiction Book - 4 wks - $100 or $25 per week

* Editing 101 - 4 wks - $100 or $25 per week

When you e-mail me, I'll give you a special link to sign up and enroll in the course of your choosing at a 10% discount. You can begin right away! If you have questions, you can ask me those as well.

Grab your copy of HIDDEN FIRE, now available at my online Etsy shop!

The ebook version of Hidden Fire, a contemporary romance I wrote under my pen name Star Ferris, is now available in my online Etsy shop, Nocturnal Divination.

Originally published by Whiskey Creek Press (WCP) in 2009, I now own the rights and it's been republished under the )0( Triple Crow Publishing )0( imprint.

Hidden Fire was a finalist in the Fiction from the Heartland contest at the Mid-America Romance Authors (MARA) conference in Kansas City, MO. It went on to sell to a traditional publisher and was released in June 2009.

Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this book is full of suspense, intrigue, family secrets, and old-fashioned romance. There's a headstrong heroine and a hunky hero -- and sizzling sex, too! ;-)

To purchase a copy (only $1.99) and immediately download the ebook at my Etsy shop, visit https://www.etsy.com/shop/NocturnalDivination

Freelancing for nearly eighteen years -- already?

Just realized that, in three weeks, I will celebrate 18 (yes, that's EIGHTEEN) years as a freelance writer, editor, and writing instructor. In May 1997, I left my job in municipal government, where I worked in utility billing AND the police department, to set out on my own.

One of the best perks of freelancing is that I am able to set my own schedule. That made it easy for me to attend my kids' school and extracurricular events. BIG plus. I think it made a difference in their lives (at least I hope it did).

It has NOT been easy. I wouldn't recommend it for most people, in fact. However, it's been rewarding, surprising, and unpredictable (in good ways and bad -- but mostly good!)

Hardest job you'll ever love, methinks. Where does the time go?!

Marking time, or living life?

Thoughts for the day:

No guts, no glory. But really, who cares about the glory? I don't. Having the guts and inner fortitude to do, say, act upon something reinforces that I've accomplished something. Taking a step, speaking a word, or following a path that many others were too fearful to tread upon is what matters most to me. Being authentic and genuine is the best gift I can give to others, as well as to myself.

We all have stories to tell about things that have happened in our past, things that have cemented who we are and why we say or do things the way we do. There is no competition with anyone else, because there is nobody else like you -- period.

Will you speak your mind, or remain silent?

Will you explore, or remain satisfied by what others tell you?

Will you ask challenging questions, or will you remain cozy in the downy comfort of stories (and lies) you have been told?

Will you grow a metaphorical spine, or will you remain spineless?

Will you put your thoughts out there (even if they shock or repel), or will you stay silent, muted, and loyal to the status quo?

The choices are up to you. You came into this world alone, and you will leave alone. What you do in between is, ultimately, in your hands.

It is a harsh truth, and one I'm still learning. But at some point you must leave the shadows and gaze at the bright, piercing sun -- even if it hurts your eyes, or your soul.

What will you do, or what will you not do?

Are you living life, or simply marking time?

I don't want to just mark time...I want to live life on my own terms.

Living as you're intended

The other night we watched clips of the popular '70s (and beyond) dance show, "Soul Train," with Don Cornelius. I miss those days when things seemed more innocent and simpler. Of course, I was a young child, so it wasn't truly the case. It's just that the world hadn't yet had a chance to fully get its claws in me and I hadn't seen the many horrors I've now been exposed to in my fifty years of life.

I miss the times when all I had to worry about was finishing a report for school or whether a cute boy I liked would like me back so we could "go" together. You know, life could be uncomplicated, but we humans utterly insist on making it such.

I think it's possible to live without pain, drama, and crisis in our lives. When we live with those things, we get sick...mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. I don't want to be sick. I want to be well. I want to live as I was intended to live, with joy, hope, and creativity.

Do you?

[Humor] True Survivor - David Hasselhoff

This is one helluva EPIC music video--so hilarious! Probably The Hoff's best work!
David Hasselhoff - True Survivor

Down with the sickness -- for nearly TWO weeks!

Cross-posted here and on my FB pages:

I'm sorry I haven't posted much over the past two weeks. I've been incredibly ill since April 9th. I cannot recall being so sick in recent memory; in fact, I was in bed for almost 1 1/2 weeks straight, and hoping the super flu I caught wasn't going to turn into pneumonia. Unfortunately, my husband also caught it as he was taking care of me. frown emoticon

We had tickets to see a concert last week, and I thought I'd better go since Icouldn't afford to throw that money away (and it was for a particular musical group I will probably never get to see again -- unless I'm in Japan). At any rate, I nearly passed out that night and had a hard time breathing due to my asthma and bronchitis.

The following day, I had a relapse. Yesterday was the first day I could sit in the office without having to go lie down again, because each time I tried to get up and get back to normal, I nearly passed out and I felt incredibly weak. Anyway, this illness has been the worst in my entire life -- no exaggeration at all.

So, the point is this: I'm still weak, my lungs are still not working normally again, and right now I am merely concentrating on (1) trying to stay upright so I can work (2) trying to breathe, and (3) trying to get my head on straight because I feel overwhelmed with everything I haven't been able to do and all the things I'm behind on.

That said, I'd appreciate any patience and understanding given while I attempt to get completely well and back to normal. I'm not 100 percent okay, but I will be. I will respond to comments, answer e-mails, and the like as I can, but right now my energy is limited and only about half as much as I normally have.

When I say I've been sick, I mean so ill that I could barely function and get out of bed -- literally. You are welcome to private message me here on FB or e-mail me at scribe quill@gmail.com, but please allow me 24 hours to respond. I'm swamped, overwhelmed, and behind on every single thing, which only adds more stress.

Thanks for understanding, and I fervently hope you and your loved ones dodge this wicked respiratory flu. If you have asthma like my husband and I have, it is even more serious, since breathing is primary for surviving! There is nothing more nightmarish than trying to take a breath and not getting enough air. Talk about instant panic!

This note is long, I know, but I had to touch base and let you guys know I'm still alive (thus far) and taking things one step at a time. Thanks for understanding. I appreciate it more than you know.

The Scandinavian MacNeils: Families trace roots back to the Vikings | The Chronicle Herald

Yes, and I have the DNA test to prove it wink emoticon I am related way back to Thomas MacNeil of Barra (for starters), who fought in the Revolutionary War.

The majority of my DNA ancestry is Northern European, with Scandinavian/Norwegian as part of it. I am proud to have come from the Northmen (and women)! Smart, powerful, fierce, tenacious.

Skål to my ancestors!

The Scandinavian MacNeils: Families trace roots back to the Vikings | The Chronicle Herald