Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Confessions of a Children's Writer....The Dirty Truth

I’m coming clean. I’ll admit it. When I was kid, I hated to read. Okay, there I’ve said it. This is hard to own up to, because I’m a writer, a writer of children’s literature. When I was a child I did love books, but hated to read them. Books were a mystery. They were someone else’s stories, someone else’s ideas. It was all so inviting, but whenever I sat down to read, the book became overwhelming and a lot of times downright boring. I just wasn’t interested, but I really wanted to be.



Now, there were extenuating circumstances. I had a lot of energy and sitting down with a book was asking a bit too much. I had a very disturbing home life, as some children do.  So, concentrating on a book was difficult for a kid stressed to the max. Abuse was a daily event. Survival at school was a primary issue (due to the violence), fear reigned at home and my teachers just viewed me as a problem. This is not the issue for every reluctant reader, but the result is the same no matter what the cause. WE DON'T READ!.

I understand the unenthusiastic reader because I used to be one. I used to think there was something wrong with me. I knew that reading made you smart…it was drilled into you by every force of nature. I believed I going to be stupid for the rest of my life, all because I didn’t like to read. I wanted to like to read. I wanted to be one of the smart kids. But survival was of the utmost importance. Isn't it always?
The reading monster, finally met his match. The love of books did not leave me. I have come to enjoy children’s books. Now, that I am older I have learned to love reading, but it still takes a lot to entertain me and grab my interest. I write with the reluctant reader in mind. I guess you could still call me a hard to engage reader. But as I writer, the story is much different.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Curse of Yama Giveaways

It's time for another giveaway before my next release....

https://www.facebook.com/#!/KFRidleyBooks

Just like the FB page and answer the question in the feed and you are entered in the drawing.

Also, on Goodreads there is another giveaway...there all over the place!!!

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/15193-the-curse-of-yama-the-c-walker-adventures

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Veiled by S C Niccum....Not just another YA

Raise your hand if you are tired of the "good girl" falling head over heels for the "bad boy" that you find in most YA novels. Well look no further, Niccum's Veiled does not follow the traditional outlines of the YA genre . This novel is in a genre all it's own and is completely unique. It is a alternate view on the journey that we all took before we came into this world as a spirit.

Tess, the protagonist, tells her story as a young spirit learning the way things will be on earth. Once she goes into the world, like everyone else, she will forget everyone she has known in the spirit world. This is a concern for her and her spirit friends as one by one they enter the world. There is an upside, all of her friends have signed up to be angels before they actually enter the world as mortals. She helps her friends fall in love, overcome hardships while on earth and she protect them from the cast-outs. The cast-outs are spirits that do not want to follow the rules set by the Eternals but instead follow the Second One.

Not only does Niccum produce this unique view of the world, she also allows the reader to fall in love with the intoxicating characters. Tess' love interest, Alex, definitely does not have the bad boy image. He is protective and is always doing what is right. (It is refreshing  to see a healthy relationship as part of a storyline.)  After entering the world in human form, Tess and Alex know that they will not remember each other or their love while they were spirits. The fear of not being with the one she loves and avoiding the cast-outs (that seem to take special interest in her) are only apart of the many trials Tess faces before she even enters the human world. She can only imagine the life that she will be born into.

This is a fantastic read that you won't be able to put down. Available on Amazon print and kindle. Also available on Barnes and Nobles Nook.....



Thursday, July 21, 2011

Guaranteed Moments, No Refunds

Guaranteed Moments, No Refunds

Our days are made up of hours, minutes, seconds, and nanoseconds. A nanosecond is one billionth of a second. In other words, your days are made up of moments, a brief period of time in the present. Think about all you do during the day. Think about all of the things you do that you are not even conscious of. Many of our reactions are automatic. We generate a lot of thoughts in our mind without a second of pondering. Sometimes our thoughts just present themselves because of our habits and the way we live our lives. And there’s your moment.

We are not guaranteed tomorrow or the next three minutes, for that matter.  While we are here on this earth, the only amounts of time that are for certain are moments. The only downfall to that is we don’t get refunds on them. We can’t take back things that we have said or wrongs that we have done. We aren’t able to go back in time and do something we should have done; that moment is gone, never to return. Our habits can take our moments from us. But if we train ourselves to think, speak and respond in positive ways we can make our moments count.  Sometimes, we can get so wrapped up in the tasks at hand that we can forget what is really important. We can make a difference in our lives, as well as the lives of others. We can do that by consciously reacting and not letting our subconscious determine the value of our time.

Whether we are well or sick, rich or poor, alone or in a crowd, making each moment count is all that matters. So the next time, you are given the opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and do something extraordinary, take it. It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Three Minute Series Post #2

Life is a journey. ( As if you didn't know). A gift. And I don't suggest living it in the past. But to understand where you are in life, you must understand your past, where you came from and why you are the way you are. You must uncover every stone to find the fossils that haunt you and keep you from reaching your full potential. If you want to change your future, you must learn from your past. You have heard that history repeats itself. This statement is very true. Don't live with the labels placed on you by yourself or by others. Change the labels you don't want, by living differently. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from your parent's mistakes. Contrary to popular belief, it is okay for you to find mistakes in your parents. That doesn't mean that you don't love them. It only means you understand that your parents are human and that everyone makes mistakes.

If you are going to change your life you must discover the scars that limit you. When raising your children, you don't want to repeat the wrongs that you were taught. If you were beaten as a child, do you do the same to your children? If your mother was battered, do you hand your husband the whip or do you raise your fist to your wife? It's not okay to be a bad parent because your parents failed. It's not okay to be a bad wife or a bad husband because you had a bad life. If you are to reach your fullest potential you must accept responsibility for your reactions to your past. You can either repeat history or change the future. Remember, you may only have three minutes left. But then again, you made have three decades.

Friday, June 24, 2011

THE THREE MINUTES SERIES: Post #1

I don't know how many post will be in this series. But keep checking in to see how it ends.

He threw her up against the wall rattling the picture hanging above her head. Like a veil, fear and humilation coverered her face. His hands squeezed her upper arm firmly as he held her there leaving his hand print in her flesh. He wore the face of terror. He was twice her size, 6'2" and at least two hundred pounds. her Asian stature was less than five feet and she was only ninety pounds or so. I just stood in the corner unnoticed as I watched him scream in her face.The carefree feeling of childhood ran from my life that very second, never to return. I was only four.

Everyone has a past. Everyone has a present. Everyone has a future. You must choose in which you are going to live. In the next three minutes, no one can guarantee you what is going to happen. I can't tell you who will call you with devastating news. I can't tell you if a plane is going to drop down from the sky into the middle of your living room. I can' tell you if your spouse is going to cheat on you. No one can guarantee you anything. All I can tell is that you must live your life as if three minutes were all that you had left. 

If three minutes was all that was left on your clock, what would you say, what yould you do? The answer to this question will tell you alot about yourself. We don't know if we have three minutes or three decades here on this earth, but you must life your life as if you had three minutes but really wanting three centuries.

Too be continued...

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Power in the Positive

Our world is made up of the negative and the positive. Just look at an atom. There is positve enrgy in the center of the nucleus, while negative energy orbits around it. A magnet also carries positve and negative energy. You can see God's signature in all things of His creation. You can't  have one without the other.

Likewise, you can see God's handwriting in people. But unlike atoms and magnets, we can choose whether to be a positve energy force or a negative one. As you go through your day, thinks about the power you have to choose.One smile, one small gesture of kindness or one silent moment of empathy can benefit someone's life forever, giving hope when all seems hopeless. Choosing to be the positive element in a negative world could be the most precious gift you give to those you love as well as strangers. Positive energy grows and spreads. Share it. It takes practice and focus to be positive. But after time, it will become part of you. After time, you will find yourself naturally responding to situations positively.

Electrons are contantly moving, never settling. But look at the proton, the one with the positive energy. It just sits quietly in the nucleus. Don't spend your energy running around being negative. Sometimes, just sit quiet and listen. being negative takes a lot of energy. God only gives us so much energy a day. Don't waste it by pulling others down. Invest it by lifitng others up.

And remember, today, you were given the power...the power to be positive.