I struggled with this post for Memorial Day. Today, we should be remembering our fallen servicemen and women, those young and old men and women who sacrificed their lives in service of freedom and protection. I smile with pride as I hear the national anthem played during sporting events and as I see tributes to servicepersons on television. There are parades and fireworks and I see active duty personnel being welcomed everywhere.

I am proud of these images and moments. But I am sad, too. Most of today’s youth, even the middle age population do not really understand the military or what it means to serve. Yes, there is a much more open and accepting view of the military (unlike how we treated our servicemen and women after Korea or Vietnam), but when you ask a teen about war, most only have a video game reference. I shudder and cringe when I think how war is seen as “shoot-em, kill-’em, get up and shoot again.”  Few understand that when you get shot while servicing your country, most never get up. Those that do, are never the same and many will never be whole again.

Too few of our youth are visiting military museums, going to memorials or even places in this country where battles were fought. There is something sobering and heart stopping to stand in a field where your own countrymen fought and died against other of your countrymen over a need for all men and women to be free. Now imagine that feeling on a foreign beach as you watch your brother and sister service members shooting at an unseen enemry only to fall into the mud or the sand and never to move again. 

There is nothing video game-ish for me about war or the heroes who serve and do so in order to prevent it. So what can we do to help enlighten our children, our peers, our populace?

As an author, I understand not being able to actually go where wars were fought and won. Or lost. I understand not being able to have the money to experience a live truth. But as an author there are other ways to shed this video-game-parade-happy view of those who have fought and died. There are road trips and History movies. There are walking trails and there are books.

There are so many memorials that are free. I would encourage everyone to try a memorial cemetery and read the names of those who have served and died. There are free military museums everywhere, in every state. And there are some who charge only a nominal fee to view real history from still living people.

I’ve been overseas and have walked in the shadows of terrible battles. I’ve been where Jews were indiscriminately cremated or where service members were slaughtered just because they were Americans. I have walked Arlington and Gettysburg and watched a dogfight between warring nations. So I have that experience.

And I’ve also read. There is a huge amount of military literature available that can give a variety of viewpoints about those who served. Not the salacious stuff you see out there with half naked, helmet wearing guys (ala Fabio) on Indie covers about romance (sorry fellow Indie authors). Those books are great for escape but not what I’m talking about here.

In fact, you’ve probably read military fiction and didn’t realize it. Much of it is historical, speculative and even military science fiction. Some of it was satire and even black comedy. But much of it was based on fact or knowledge and worth your time to understand the depth of service. You can’t write what you know unless you gleam some knowledge. You don’t have to have lived it to understand or know about it.

There’s fun stuff like H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds (1898), or Tolstoy’s War and Peace (1869). How about Slaughterhouse Five (1969) by Kurt Vonnegut? Don’t forget the famous 1961 novel Catch 22 by Joseph Heller or a personal favorite, King Rat by James Clavell (1962). There is a terrific historical military fiction in The Bridge Over the River Kwai (1952) by Pierre Boulle, and even something very special in The Hunt for Red October (1984) by Tom Clancy. A personal favorite is Starship Troopers (1952) by Robert A. Heinlein (and no, it has nothing to do with giant bugs on alien planets).

If you want something a little more “today” try Dauntless by Jack Campbell, Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose, or Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden (the book is a definite must read over the movie). Or try Flyboys by James Bradley, or a most moving account by Jake Tapper in The Outpost.

Memorial Day is a good day to hold your families close and cherish your ability to have that cookout, go to that parade or watch those fireworks. It is a good day to kick back with a game of golf or a quiet lounge by the pool. It’s also a good day to read a truly important book.

Whatever you do on this Memorial Day I urge you to shed your make believe views of war and of those who died in them. I hope you will have your bbq and remember you do it freely because somewhere some man or woman in uniform, voluntarily served and died for us, so we could have the ease and choice to choose chicken or hamburger, a movie or a boat ride.

And take your familities to see the real remnants of war and battle. Help them to see the reality that was and is war and what sacrifice actually means. And when you hear the National Anthem again, let it fill your heart with words that mean so much to me, “land of the free, and the home of the brave.”

Because of those who died.

Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry
Proud to be a retired, US Air Force non-combat veteran.

I’m depressed. Yesterday was Mother’s Day and I miss my mom butt that’s not why I have the blues.

Two weeks ago I finished my latest book, The Gypsy Thorn. It’s a paranormal urban fantasy and a prequel novel to a new vampire series. The new series, The Evening Bower, will begin later this year (hopefully). So, you may ask, if I have a book in the can, why am I depressed?

Because the book is done. 

Sound silly? I suppose it may seem that way. I have written three books of poetry, one memoir, one photography book, and one urban fantasy. Now I have this new book and it will be published any day. Putting a book “to bed,” typing “the end” (figuratively), isn’t new to me and you may be saying, “why aren’t you celebrating instead of bemoaning?”

Let me explain and then maybe you’ll understand what I mean. With the photography and the poetry, I didn’t deal with a character. Yes, my poetry discusses a variety of “characters” but not a sustainable one, not one that has a complete substance.

With the memoir, the topic was me and I was happy when the book was done and published. I released me and it set me free.

With the urban fantasy, Midnight Assassin – A Tale of Lust and Revenge, I told a story that I new would continue. The main character – the vampire Drahomira – was due to return in the new book and so I didn’t feel as though I walked away from her or left her. I never felt that I ever left the story. Instead, Dra hovered near me as I wrote this new book where she is the driving force. Maybe you could say we got very close.

However, when I finished The Gypsy Thorn (GT), Drahomira’s work was done. She was the tool I used to prepare my readers for the series where Drahomira is not the main character. She is one of the important people (and will have her own off-shoot series) but she is not the character on which the series is based. And putting an end to GT closed the door on my favorite bad girl. Her voice stopped and I was alone. Hence the depression.

I hear from other authors and many experience this feeling. I haven’t given birth so I don’t know post partum depression though some have said that birthing a book is similar. It is my baby. Every single one is a labor of love and I give everything to it. I am told that this feeling of “letting go” is much like seeing your children move on, graduate, leave home, etc. I can’t speak to that, but I do feel sad to see it end. And I do miss her not being there to whisper in my ear.

As a result, I am hard at work on the next book. The new characters (introduced in Midnight Assassin and GT) are shyly stepping up and demanding my attention. New whispers fill my ear. But I did want to tell you how I am overcoming this lingering, last book sadness.

Book completions are both joy and sorrow. The joy is pride and a sense of accomplishment. There is no feeling in the world like finishing your story. The sorrow is finishing the story. As with any book I read, I feel satisfaction and a little sadness in ending. That’s the key. Ending.

I realized I needed to let go. I also realized I need not grieve! Nothing is over. The new story begins, and characters continue. Things are not done yet! There is more to tell.

And that is my answer to you. When you find yourself in a little bit of the blues, in sorrow of your book’s end, then begin anew. Take your joy in your success and reseed, regrow, renew!  Be happy and proud, congratulate and celebrate.  And hey, it’s okay to be blue.

To be sad is understandable but not to remain that way. Each author must find a way to move forward, and when you do, you will give birth to new exciting characters and new stories. But first, release yourself.

I’ve heard authors say, “I gave my all to that story. I don’t know if I have anything else to write about.” Pish posh. You need to let go! Blood renews itself. Mine did. Yours will, too.

Today I am nearly over being blue and excited about The Gypsy Thorn’s upcoming release THIS MONTH. Keep checking here and on my Facebook Author page for info.

And the new book, Time and Blood? Oh what a deliciously tangled web we weave! I’ll see you with this one in October.

Meanwhile, I hope your Mother’s Day was lovely and that you have projects you can sink your teeth into with joy and gusto. As for me, the vampires are calling and demanding my attention. And THAT makes me happy!

Thanks for stopping by and keep writing.
Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry

(Midnight Assassin cover by Robin Ludwig Designs)
(The Gypsy Thorn cover by Marisa-rose Shor of Cover Me Darling)

Good Monday, everyone. Instead of the usual Monday lesson or information article, I felt compelled to step on my soapbox and have a wee rant about Blog Etiquette, specifically, visiting blogs and responding to posts.

I love to visit my friends’ blogs. I enjoy reading about their adventures, vacations, family moments, or whatever lessons they feel are important. Reading about what others feel and do broadens my perspective and also helps me to stay in touch with people in a more personal way. Some are like digital newsletters while others are like family scrapbooks. But what is important to remember is that they are sharing personal things, whether it is a lesson or an intimate family vacation, the blog is theirs, their thoughts, their impressions, theirs.

It’s a little like visiting someone’s home. When you go to another’s house, I was taught to behave. In other words, you don’t put your feet on the table, or shoes on the furniture. You mind your manners and be gracious. And blogs are much the same as going to someone’s house — you are a guest to them.

Problem is people visiting blogs have forgotten how to act. Guests behave badly these days.

So let’s review some fundamentals and bone up on our manners.

1. When visiting a blog or posting on someone’s social media page, remember it is THEIR page, not yours. They have a right to write what they will.

2. If you don’t like what is written, you have the right to leave, move on, pass over the post.

3. If you don’t like what is written, and it is a public forum, you have the right to your own opinion and may offer a dissenting viewpoint. But remember to mind your manners. You may NOT attack the author. Just as you would not attack someone in a person’s home, so you do not do it in a public forum. 

4. Do not show up to sell something. That’s rude and spamming. Never use someone’s invitation to their blog as a means to solicit. If I invite you to my house, you don’t get to have a Tupperware sale, or a Come-To-Jesus meeting. That’s inappropriate, rude, and disrespectful to use people that way, in case no one ever told you that.

5. In today’s world, everyone seems to be a writer. That’s great! Do not use a shared connection (we’re both writers or painters or singers or mothers, etc.) to ask for help. That is inappropriate to solicit in public in a comment. If you want to reach out to a person because you want help or need to share, use contact forms or send private messages or use email (if known). Stop using comments to ask for help or solicit anything.

6. Remember that your comments should address what the post is about. If the person writes about a recipe, then comment about how you tried it, how it sounds, if your family makes something similar, or ask a question about the recipe. Do NOT branch out into how the recipe is used by politicians to solicit votes (just a far flung example, folks). In other words, be in the moment and focus on what the person is saying/writing about. Reminder, this is THEIR house, not yours.

7. Do NOT come to people’s posts to ask them to buy your products or view your page. That is spamming. Do you know the sign that says NO SOLICITING?

8. Mind your manners. If the poster speaks about winning an award, congratulate them. If you don’t feel the love, move on. No one said you had to be there. If you won the award too, share! If you are jealous and don’t feel the award program was worthwhile, don’t spew your negativity. That’s rude and is meant to drag down the other person. Take your hate elsewhere or write your own post about it. Remember you are to comment on what is, not what should be or wasn’t. Don’t be a troll.

9. If the poster asks for your opinion, by all means give one. But remember to mind your manners and watch your language. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom to disparage or be foul. Would you do this inside of someone’s house as a guest? (If you would, then you need more manners than I can remind you of here!).

10. Remember that there are other means of expanding conversations if you feel it is warranted. Do NOT use other people’s posts as a means to advance yourself. Get your own blog for that, ok? Then maybe I’ll come and visit you.

11. Behavior as a commentor also defines you as a person. Are you trying to be seen as a professional in a like field as the poster? Perhaps in a field that may be of interest to the blog writer? Then act professional! People will notice those who carry themselves with a welcoming and professional attitude. Be a putz if you wish, but that will be your forever reputation. Is that what you really want? I hope not because that behavior can also get you deleted and blocked. That’s a huge UNWELCOME mat and people hear about folks who earned one.

Blogs are a good way to disseminate information, share photos, expand awareness, even approach controversy. I like them, and I like visiting them. But I never forget to mind my manners when I do.

I hope you will use and share these basic etiquette tips going forward. I think it will improve everyone’s experience as a poster and as a commentor.

Don’t forget that the owner of the residence has the right to toss you out on your ear should you be disruptive or unruly or downright nasty. The same holds true for online social media locations.

And as my mother always said, “always bring a gift when you are a guest.” If you can’t literally bring a gift, then let good manners be your present and the example for others.

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Did you participate in my NAME MY BAR CONTEST??  We have a winner!  Ann Nedich came up with the best idea and the new, trendy New Orleans bar will be called CLUB MALACHITE.

Rather appropriate since Dra’s eyes are green, the bar lights are green, and Dra just happens to own a malachite necklace which no one knew. I took that as Serendipity.

Congratulations Ann! You are now immortal. Have a Mini Malachite on the house!

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ATTENTION!   Going to do a FACEBOOK LIVE event on Wednesday March 29 at 7:30pm EDT.  It will be my first solo event, so come see me be foolish on my Facebook Author page.  I will be announcing something SPECIAL for April’s National Poetry Month. Remember to check out the archived video if you can’t join me live.

In honor of National Poetry Month, next Monday I will begin a series of articles about poetry, along with a schedule of when things will appear and special freebie book days! FREE! Stay tuned.

Thanks for joining me again. Please feel free to leave comments or use the contact form if you wish to reach me!

I remain, Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry