Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Teachers

I've had a lot of teachers in my 17 1/2 years of school. There are only four that have made a direct and wonderful impact on my life.

The first one was my 1st & 2nd grade teacher Miss Whelan. She made school fun. I loved to come to her class and learn. She is probably the one that got me on the path to writing.

The next one was my 8th grade science teacher Mr. Collins. I had to move to Michigan for the 2nd half of 8th grade to live with my Aunt & Uncle, so I was only in his class for 6 months, but they were important 6 months. Those months were the most confusing months of my life, but I loved his class. Science was never my thing, but I never dreaded going to his class. I had fun and enjoyed my time with him. He was also very nice to me, which was something I needed since I was in a new school in a whole new state. Especially because of why I had to move. My two younger cousins both had him as a science teacher and he is still at the middle school. He continues to ask after me & my cousins & was very proud to hear I am now a published author.

The next one was my Legends & Literature teacher my senior year of high school. Mr. Ridder was such a fun teacher. He dressed up & made the class so exciting to go to each day (as if reading Tolkien, Rowling, & Lewis wasn't exciting enough). He was the teacher that made me want to be a teacher. That didn't work out, but I do still feel excited about sharing knowledge with people, which is partly why I want to write.

The last one is probably the one that the most impact on my life: Dr. Marc O'Reilly. I went into college as an Education Major and took Intro to Poli Sci my first semester. Within a month or so, I had decided I wanted to be a Poli Sci major. All because of Dr. O'Reilly. Talk to anyone that's been at that school and they'll probably mention how people make fun of him & how tough his classes are. I had him almost every semester (sometimes for multiple classes in a semester) and I loved every minute. I just regret not trying harder. I wish I could have been a better student for him. He was such a good teacher and I miss being in his classes.

I like to learn. I wasn't a fan of school, but I liked learning. Ok, I liked learning about history, politics, & English. I wish everyone could have had teachers like these four. They made class fun and interesting.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all.

I am still busy writing. I finished another chapter for my royalty guide. There's still a lot to do, but I'm hoping in the next couple of weeks to get a big chunk done. I need to have it done by the end of January so I can do the editing in February.

How time flies. I swear it was just July a week ago.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Ignoring Responsibilities

I get distracted easily. It's what I'm good at. That and procrastinating.

I should be working on my non-fiction book, instead I've begun writing Book #3 in my trilogy. idk. just a bit here and there, nothing too great yet, but I'm having fun with it. There's a lot of anxiety and stress in the book. Characters are depressed, confused, and just generally not having fun. The books are by no means happy, but the last book takes on a new form of sad. Until the end. I hope. I don't know. To be honest, I'm still not quite sure how this trilogy will end.

Oh well.

I actually only have like a page left to write in the first chapter of my non-fiction book. I've almost covered all of the royal families. I'm so close, but now I'm in the territory of families that don't have a lot of info out there, so it's gotten difficult. Chapter 2 will suck though. How to explain disposed families? ugh, I'm not looking forward to it. Also, the Palace chapter makes me wonder why I included it. Seriously, it's so boring. I hate it.

I had hoped to have the first draft done by November. Obviously not. So now I've got to have it done by the end of December. The release date is February 22nd, so I need all of my editing and everything done by then.

It's a lot of work.

I'm still hoping to get some more money so I can afford to purchase a few photos for my book. Please take a look at my indiegogo campaign and spread the word! There's only 8 days left. Any amount you can spare will be greatly appreciated! There are perks (like if you donate $15, you'll get an ebook copy of the book, as well as other little things. $25 gets you a paperback copy & an ebook copy). So please, check it out!