A New Year's Blessings...

To all my current and future #DCSPeeps (DECIDE, COMMIT, SUCCEED), welcome to my new series in my continuing effort to inspire, amuse, and entertain you! Each Monday I will select a new word to analyze how it might apply to our writing lives and also give you a peek into my childhood growing up in the swamps of southern Louisiana, so kick back, put your feet up, and check out my story about TODAY'S WORD:

BLESSINGS

When a new year rolls in, it can be a good time to look back on the BLESSINGS of the previous year...

All my Christmas' have always been spent at home. Growing up, it included things like decorating a real tree my father cut down from land we owned, baking cookies to send to my older brother and sister who were both serving in the Navy, and getting to choose one gift to open on Christmas Eve.

This year, I was given a chance to spend my holidays returning to a place I hadn't seen in over 25 years. I eagerly anticipated indulging in everything from whale watching and lighthouse climbing to seafood buffets. Instead, Mother Nature and Karma decided I was to spend my entire vacation struggling with everything from multiple illnesses which kept me in my room most of the time to buffeting winds and freezing temperatures to keep me away from my beautiful waters. 

Of course I could have sat around and moped, but instead I took that time to think about the year gone by and the BLESSINGS I had been given...

1. I started 2017 with both a home and a job. With so many homeless and jobless, how could I NOT be grateful for such gifts?

2. Despite my current illness, I have been able to look after my own health and well-being this past year without becoming bogged down in the complications of participating in a poorly executed health reform program. 

3. I've met and made many new friends over the past twelve months...each of them becoming a part of the fabric of my life and I cherish each new connection.

4. My third book, an inspirational anthology called Are YOU The Missing Piece?,was released in October last year and immediately became a #1 International Best Selling book and continued my streak of releasing a new book once every two years since 2013. It makes me wonder what will happen in 2019?

As a writer, we are all challenged to continually question the What If's of our world and use the answers we uncover to breathe life into our manuscripts. While reflecting on past accomplishments, don't forget to also look forward to this new year of possibilities. I'm currently participating in Tara Lazar's STORYSTORM where I will read inspiring posts to help me generate 30 story ideas in 30 days. I've already generated six promising ideas so this new year has already been a BLESSING to me!

And, I was BLESSED enough to get out of town before a winter storm rolled in...

 

ARE YOU THE MISSING PIECE? is now available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, and other fine retailers. It was a #1 bestseller in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US last fall.

 

International best selling author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt Taekwondo Instructor by day and a 'ninja' writer of children’s picture books, chapter books and young adult novels by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host and book reviewer for Harper Collins, She is also a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators and Children's Book Insider. Donna is a lover of dark chocolate, time at the beach, and well written stories.

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