Stop and Smell the Roses

If you always take time to stop and smell the roses, sooner or later, you’ll inhale a bee ~ Unknown

Sometimes you just have to relax and laugh and that's why I love about today's quote!  How many times in our fast paced, media driven lives, do we hear, "stop and smell the roses" these days?  

The tough thing about hearing this when you're working on a dream journey is knowing that success doesn't come through stopping and smelling the roses.  Success in any dream journey comes from having a clear vision and goals, routines and boundaries to work towards those goals, and friends to help you along the way.  And my new mantra is to keep it all simple so it doesn't become too complicated.

So yes, stop and smell the roses along your journey, but don't stop too often or too long, or yes, you will run into a bee. 

Make it a great finish to your week, everyone!

Change in Yourself

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore ~ Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

Once you get started on your dream journey and start accomplishing some of your smaller goals, you’ll notice a change in yourself.You’ll see the rest of your journey differently. You’ll notice that it’s not as hard as you once thought it might be. You’ll start looking at the outside world differently as well.

But beware - in my experience, just when I have things under control, I get knocked back two or three steps. What I’ve learned is that no matter how much I’ve learned and no matter how easy my routines and boundaries are to adhere to, I have to constantly remind myself all the reasons to keep going.

I’ve also learned that the best things for us (in this case, working on routines that help achieve goals in our dream journey) are sometimes the hardest to do. It’s easy to sleep in every morning and get up at the very last minute before you have to get ready for work. It can be grueling to get up two or three hours before work everyday (including weekends) to work on your dream goals. (The same can be said if you are working all day and coming home to work on dream goals).

What’s a change in yourself that you noticed right away once you started working on your dream journey?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from JMS Books !

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from JMS Books!

Out for a Walk

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in ~ John Muir

Have you ever “craved” the chance to sit down and work on your favorite activity? Whether that is reading a book, watching a new movie that is out, or just have the weekend to be off work?

Establishing routines and working them consistently can cause the same good feelings about working on your dream journey. There are times when I am ready for bed, just so I can get up and working on my writing in the morning. There have been jobs in the past where I literally hit the floor excited for Monday and to sell after the weekend.

We are about a third through the year. Now is a good time review your resolutions. Have you started on them? If so, good for you! Is it because you’ve developed routines that work for you in your life right now?

If you haven’t started, is it because you haven’t worked out your routines? I will admit sometimes it is tough and always a work in progress for me. But I’m getting back into it. Slowly, but surely, I am back to getting up early and working on writing, editing, and other tasks like writing blog posts.

I’d love to hear how you’re doing with your routines this year!

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from BookStrand!

Warm Car on a Cold Day

Here’s to the way a warm car feels on a cold day ~ Jill Badonsky

For me, achieving a warm car on a cold day mean preparation and planning. Most of the time, it means I need to be ready five or ten minutes before I really want to leave so the car can warm up. It’s very similar to preparing to achieve your dream goal.

Every year since 2012, I have made very specific plans to complete very specific writing goals. That takes some preparation and planning to get my head around what I would like to achieve in the upcoming year. Last year, I honestly didn’t get that plan together until about mid-January. This year, although I had my plan together after Christmas this year, I am now five or six weeks behind. I will regroup at some point in the year and either get caught up or revise my plan.

Planning and preparation can help with any daunting task. If finding the time to work on your dream goals is a challenge for you, plan to work on your dream goal during specific times. Make an appointment with yourself.

What plans and preparation have you made to achieve your goals in 2015?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Amazon US!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Amazon US!

Or, check out my author page on Amazon UK.

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwith me to mention on social media!

The Way We Meet Events

I am more and more convinced that our happiness or unhappiness depends more on the way we meet the events of life rather than on the nature of those events themselves ~ Alexander von Humbolt

What a crazy three or four months my life has been! We started the process of buying a house on July 19. It took 88 days close. During that time, I started and completed another novel, and received a submission back. The work job got insanely busy for a period of about six weeks and continues to be out of control.

Through all this, I knew that once we got through the closing and the busyness at work, life would calm down again and I could focus on writing. Now, revisions on both manuscripts loom in front of me as I attempt to get them done by the end of the year. As the holidays approach, I know our lives with continue to be busy and it’s just a matter of sticking to my daily routines to achieve the goals.

If you don’t have regular dream goal routines in place, busy times are good time to establish them. Sometimes I get more done and am more productive when life is busy. I seem to be able to fit all the important things in when I’m busy.

How do you still accomplish your dream goals when life is so busy?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from All Romance eBooks!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from All Romance eBooks!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to mention on social media!

Musa Publishing: To Post, or Not to Post: That is the Question

Musa Publishing: To Post, or Not to Post: That is the Question: by L. Dean Pace-Frech "Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous" ~ Bill Moyers When I started my writing caree...

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

Purchase A Place to Call Their Own through iTunes for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod today!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

Purchase Disappear With Me through iTunes for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod today!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

The Secret

The secret is keeping busy and loving what you do ~ Lionel Hampton

Have you ever looked at the times when you're really busy and those when you're really not? I find it amazing sometimes that I get so much more done when I'm busy than when I'm not. When I have a lot on my plate and a lot going on, I tend to get things done. Most of the time it's because I know if I don't stop and take care of a five-minute or less project, it will get left or forgotten about.

When I was selling Tupperware and trying to build my business, we would talk about being busy. The advice given for those of us with smaller organizations and fewer parties, was to "make" ourselves busy by planning activities to make up the time that we would have spent having a party. That's when I discovered the beauty of making myself busy and staying busy.

Now I keep myself busy. I rarely relent on my rigorous writing goal so that I can get this third novel completed and submitted. Also, it's very hard to write at night after working all day. I must get my goal completed before I go to work. There have been times when I made up the word count over the weekend. Now that that the weather's getting nicer, that's getting more difficult to do. I just want to be outside.

How do you keep yourself busy and focused on your dream goals?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Kobo !

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Kobo!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

Do You Want it Desperately Enought?

You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world ~ Sheila Graham

Have you started working on your goals for this year yet? If no, do you have a plan in place? Maybe school doesn’t start until the May term? Maybe you have a fourth quarter sales goal that you’re working towards?

But what if, for whatever reason, you’ve given up on your goals? It’s sad, but easy to do. The best things for us are ususally the hardest to do, eating right, working out versus not working out. Going after dream goals is the same way. It’s so easy to stop after one or two days of less than desirable results and shelve any ideas we might have had. Believe me, it took four years to write the first draft of my first novel.

If you want to achieve your goals, you have to put forth the energy that created the world. You have to put yourself out there and make sacrifices. Many of the sacrifices might be temporary. If you have to get up early in the morning to work on your dream journey, or fore go television at night, that’s usually temporary. If you have a family, involve them in the goal, maybe they can take over household chores, temporarily, to help you meet your goal?

Do you want your goals desperately enough in 2014? Are you working on them now?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Kobo !

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Kobo!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

The Grass Grows by Itself

Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself ~ Zen proverb

The grass might grow by itself, but achieving your dream usually does not grow by itself.

How are your goals for 2014 coming along?  After a rocky start (the first two weeks in January were a bit sketchy) things are moving along just fine. I've had to make some adjustments, like getting up thirty minutes early in the drafting stage, but things are moving forward.

I also feel like I'm making more progress on the promotions front. I have a few more things in the works and I'm attending RainbowCon in April. My hope is to not only meet many of the wonderful people I've met on Facebook and Twitter but also find some new readers.

How are your goals for 2014 coming along?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Smashwords!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Smashwords!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

Your Best Self Makes Your Best Stuff

When you're settled and still, that's the best way to create because your best self makes your best stuff ~ Bobby McFerrin

I just made my rooming arrangements for Rainbow Con, for readers and writers of LGBT fiction. I was just telling my roommate that all I'm low-key and I just need a quiet place to read, write, and sleep. I plan on spending most of my time at the Con.

One thing I can't compromise on is the time of day that I do my writing. I have to write in the morning when I first wake up. That's when I am my best self for writing and that's the only time I can be productive. I have tried to do some in the morning and some in the evening after work, it's never as satisfying for me as getting up and getting it done.

Now I am taking a bit of a break this week because of the time change. I am sleeping in a bit and not worrying about my word count goals. I planned for the break this week in my over all time frame for finishing up The Higher Law.

What's one routine boundary you can't break yourself?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from BookStrand!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

I'm With You Kid

Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, "I'm with you kid, let's go!" ~ Maya Angelou

If you've been on your dream journey for a while and achieved some of your goals, I think you might understand what this quote is saying. I am in the midst of revising a third manuscript and trying to keep two published novels on the tops of readers minds.

I just had the busiest of month ever of promotions. I participated in a Valentine's Day blog hop, wrote three guest posts, and had three giveaways. It has been one of those months where every day I worked on my revisions. I didn't always get everything done, but then I reworked my plan. And after two days of working, I seem to be finding a balance between being productive, moving forward on edits, and all the social media interaction and promotion scheduling I need to do.

I'm busy, but it's a fun busy right now.

Do you like to work in a busy fashion?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from OmniLit !

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural?

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from OmniLit!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to mention on social media!

I am Tougher!

I've learned...that life is tough, but I'm tougher ~ Andy Rooney

What a crazy month, once again! Life has been going full force since November. If you remember, I spent November trying to do NaNoWriMo (epic fail!) and going through the editing process for #disappearwithme. Disappear With Me launched right smack dab in the middle of the Holiday season.

I was sick during Christmas and then the cough hung on for three full weeks. There were times I couldn't even talk because I would cough. Then my husband's mother was sick and passed away, we had to make two trips to Colorado in a two week period because of that.

(See my guest post on the Musa Blog for some reflections on the long trips across the Kansas Prairie:
http://deanpacefrech.blogspot.com/2014/01/delighted-by-our-beautiful-little-planet.html )

I was determined after Christmas to get back on track with writing. For the first time in eighteen months, I don't have a first draft that I am massaging and getting ready for submission. It's weird to think it took four years to get a first draft completed, and now just two years later, I'm freaking out because I don't have one.

Between the general busyness of the holidays, year end/tax time at work, and being ill, January wasn't starting out too well at all. But when we got the call that we needed to go to Colorado, having routines stuck in my head immediately kicked in.

Though he teases me heavily about taking so much stuff with me on road trips, I really did pack nearly my whole desk so that I had all my tools available while we were away. I expected to be sitting in the hospital for long periods of time with nothing to do, and I wanted to keep myself busy.

I kept myself as busy as I could, supporting my husband and his brother through his difficult time. I figured out a writing schedule to get my current WIP, The Higher Law, completed and ready for submission later this year. I also figured out a "balance" plan to polish the Higher Law and begin working on the next title, Sartin. That's all in keeping with my goal this year to write three manuscripts and publish two.

It's been easier for me this time because I knew I had done it before. One of my obstacles was figuring out my story. I just used a trick I've used before by jumping to another part of the story and writing that. Sure enough, by figuring that out, I figured out how I would deal with more difficult parts of the story. As a result, I've written 1000 words per day since January 16 and am well on my way to completing the first draft of The Higher Law by the end of March.

How do you get back on track when you've been derailed on your dream journey?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

 

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural?

Purchase A Place to Call Their Own or Disappear With Me from Amazon US today!

Purchase A Place to Call Their Own or Disappear With Me from Amazon UK today!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to talk about the novel on social media!

Nightmares

I have dreams and I've had nightmares. I overcame my nightmares because of my dreams ~ Jonas Salk

What nightmares do you have think about? For me, it seems to be about not being happy at work in life.  So how do I overcome that? With my further dreams of a success!

Sometimes these dire thoughts fuel me to keep working, especially when I'm struggling. It also helps to fuel my daily routines because I don't want those dire thoughts to come true. I turn the dire thoughts around into positive actions to prevent them from coming true.

How do you handle negative self talk along your dream journey?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

When the War Between the States ended in 1865 many Americans emerged from the turmoil energized by their possibilities for the future. Frank Greerson and Gregory Young were no different. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Frank yearned for his own farm, away from his family—even at the risk of alienating them. Gregory, an only child, returned home to claim his inheritance to help finance their adventure out west.

Between the difficult work of establishing a farm on the unforgiving Kansas prairie, and the additional obstacles provided by the weather, Native Americans and wild animals, will their love and loyalty be enough to sustain them through the hardships?

Purchase A Place to Call Their Own from iTunes on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod today!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation:  use #APTCTO to talk about the novel on social media!

Your True Creativity

If you are unhappy with anything - get rid of it.  Because you will find that when you are free, your true creativity, your true self comes out ~ Tina Turner

If you're working on a dream goal and working full time in another job, you might be able to relate to this quote like I do.  For four years, I struggled with balance between writing every day and keeping the novel moving forward.  When work got busy or stressful, as you can imagine, my writing and creativity were stifled.

Last year about this time, I made a major change.  An opportunity came up for me like no other.  On a leap of faith, I took another job with different hours.  And what a difference that has made.

If you have followed me over the year, you probably know I work 1 PM to 9 PM.  I get up every morning by 7 AM, workout, and then write each morning. After writing I still find plenty of time to catch up on my DVR and spend time with my partner.  More importantly, I finished my first novel, and wrote a second novel from beginning to end. I edited the first novel and submitted it to countless small publishers and agents.  Now, in July, A Place to Call Their Own will be published by Musa Publishing.

I really don't know if I would have gotten all that accomplished had I continued working a traditional schedule.  Every day I tried to get up at 5 AM to get all that accomplished before going to work and every day I hit snooze until I absolutely had to get up.  By cutting out a negative in my life - a schedule that didn't work for my writing cycle - I've moved my writing career in the direction I want.

Have you cut out any unhappiness in your creative life recently?

To Experience Peace

To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful.  It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life ~ Jill Bolte Taylor

The thought of embarking on a dream journey can be daunting.  One of my biggest misconceptions was the time issue.  After working long, tough hours, coming home and working on dream projects didn't always have an appeal.  That's being completely honest.

But amazingly, once I made the commitment to myself to achieve my latest dream journey, publishing a novel, time no longer became an issue.  If you have followed me for while, you know that I struggled with getting up early to write when I had to be to work by 8 AM.  Then a year ago I switched schedules and now have time in the morning to do my writing.

And when I writing, boy it sure does seem like I'm busy.  When there are interruptions in my morning:  appointments, going into work early, etc, I have to plan around those interruptions in the schedule to meet my goals for the week.  Yes, being busy working on a dream goal has actually made me a better time manager in my personal life.

What other benefits have you gained from being "busy" working on your dream journey?

The Path of Joy

Learning to live in the preset moment is part of the path of joy ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

I've talked a lot about creating a vision and goals for the future.  I've talked a lot about using visualization to get you through the tough times.  Look at all my dream boards on Pinterest!

I hope I've also made clear the importance of working in the present moment.  No matter how much you visualize and plan, I'm convinced your dreams won't come true without hard work.  That's where your routines and boundaries come in. No matter what your dream journey, you have to have routine, focused activities to achieve those stretch goals.

I'll also be the first to admit that sometimes those routines can get to be more of a chores.  That happened to me last summer.  But I worked through those feelings and just two months later, my second novel was written.  Now nine months later, I'm getting ready to publish my first novel with Musa Publishing.

Have you been working in the present moment?

The Goals We Seek

The goals we seek, and the good we hope for, comes not as some final reward but as the hidden companion to our quest ~ Madeleine Albright

Have you reached a milestone on your goal journey and then sat there and asked yourself, "Now what?"  If you're in sales, you know the answer is to go out and make it happen again.  If you're a writer or any other creative field, you also know the answer is get started on the next project.

Although most dream journeys start out as lofty goals, most turn into journeys of the soul.  Believe me, I will never forget the afternoon that I read the email from Musa Publishing telling me they wanted to publish my book.  But I have become such a better person along the way.

I've become more disciplined in my daily life to balance writing/editing/creating with a full time job and finding time to relax from both of those activities.

This balance and discipline is spilling over into my work life as well, and that's a good thing.

I'm living a healthier lifestyle because my schedule and discipline demand that I work out six days a week.

And, thankfully, my writing seems to be be getting better as well.

What residual growth have you achieved while working on your dream goals? 

I DID IT!!!

I am so excited to announce that last Monday, I signed a contract with Musa Publishing to publish my first manuscript, A Place to Call Their Own.

Here's a little bit about Musa Publishing:

Musa began as a dream shared by four publishing industry professionals. Now that the reality is here, Musa has become the home to debut YA novelists and NYT/USA Today bestselling authors, award-winning books and literary chapbooks, the latest in speculative fiction to the lost treasures of an American science fiction pioneer—and all at reasonable, affordable prices. So whether you're an author, looking for a home for your latest book, or a reader, looking for the best digital fiction without paying an arm and a leg for it, Musa has something for you.

Here's a link to the website where you can check out other great authors from Musa Publishing:

http://musapublishing.com/


A Place to Call Their Own will find it's home within Musa's Erato-GLBT imprint. Here is a link to Erato-GLBT's blog:

http://erato-glbt.blogspot.com/


If you're an aspiring writer like me, they are accepting submissions, give them a shot.

Anyway, through hard word, determination, and perseverance, I will be able to say I am a published author this year. If you're also a writer, I wish you the best of luck and my only advice is to just keep trying. If you follow my blog because you're on another dream journey, I wish you the same!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Canvas to Our Imagination

The world is but canvas to our imaginations ~ Henry David Thorreau

I hope that you have a productive weekend planned.  For some of us, that include working on our dream journey goals.  I have lots of editing waiting for me.

For others, it means rest and relaxation.  You'll have completed your goals for the week and have planned to just enjoy the weekend with your family and friends.  And that's awesome.

Are you more or less productive on your goals during the weekend?

It Continues to Entertain

I was born inside the movie of my life.  The visuals were before me, the audio surrounded me, the plot unfolded inevitably but not necessarily.  I don't remember how I got into the movie, but it continues to entertain me ~ Roger Ebert

Sometime, when caught up in the throes for accomplishing my goals, I've forgotten to slow down and enjoy life.  There was a point last summer when Monday used to come and I'd already be exhausted from all the work accomplished on my writing over the weekend.  Then the week seemed to drag on until finally Friday came once again.

Now don't get me wrong.  There will be times when deadlines will loom, there will be goals to accomplish on someone else's timeline to meet.  Hopefully, most of the time that will be temporary.  When it gets to be boring, mundane, or the norm, that for me is the time re-examine my routines to make a change.  Remember - accomplishing a dream goal should be fun.

I kept up my routines last summer and within four months I had written my second novel.  I think I was really suffering from change in job and excitement from accomplishing so much last year with my writing.  I kept on and now I'm working on editing and submitting the second manuscript to publishers and agents.

What do you do to keep your dream journey fun and interesting?