A...A...A...ACHOO...

 

I don't know if my computer gave me the bug it's been fighting for this past week, but now I'M not fully functional and fighting my own bug. I promise I will get back to posting on a regular schedule just as soon as I get rid of a few bugs...

 

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 earlier this month.

 

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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Not Your Normal Zen Garden...

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:


HACK


One of the houses I lived in as a child had a rather large area at the back of the house filled with tall bamboo trees, giving it (at first glance) a rather Zen feel to that corner of yard. I could stand next to those trees towering over me and dream myself away to some far away land where anything was possible.


My mother, on the other hand, lived a very practical existence and all those trees meant to her was another back breaking chore to be done by HACKING the branches back into some resemblance of order instead of the wild array of branches they typically displayed.


The only problem with trimming those wild trees, is the fact we never knew of the multitudes of hornets who called those plants their home.


That is, until the day Mother decided to HACK into their nest and unleash their outraged fury on my poor head and shoulders. I remember there was a lot of screaming on my part and numerous lumps left all over my head on the part of the hornets. 


While the pain subsided eventually and the bumps finally healed, the memory of that horrible day is etched into my soul forever. Even to this day, if any winged creature ventures too close to my head, I will still do the dance of the deranged to try to escape another possible attack.


I don't think HACKING is such a good thing for a writer either. A few years ago my own computer was HACKED by a gentleman out of South Africa, posing as an author trying to be a part of my WRITERLY WISDOM series at the time. While I chose not to allow him to participate, he decided to HACK into my yahoo email account at the time, as well as my Facebook account, and delete two years of detailed research I had been doing for a project I was working on at the time.


My computer was very old and really didn't allow much back up capabilities. There was nothing I could do to recover from being HACKED.


Sometimes things happen to our writing that devastates us. The pain to our writerly spirit is as real as the pain caused by those hornets so long ago.


But we have to remember it's not the end of the world. Some of our work may no longer be around, but the spark that chose to take on a particular project is still there...deep within us...leading us to even bigger dreams than we might have first imagined. I know, because my latest book is a dream come true...

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 earlier this month.

 

Children's book author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo 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 providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books. She is also a book reviewer for Harper Collins, and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. Donna is a lover of dark chocolate, time at the beach, and good stories.

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Waves Upon Waves of Stories...

 

  

 

 

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:

 

STORIES

 

I feel like I've been writing all my life. I have copies of poetry I wrote beginning at age 8. Even then, voices whispered in my head...calling to me and wanting to spill out onto paper. By age 11 I was entering writing contests, and even won a contest sponsored by my hometown library to receive a copy of MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE. It even had a book plate on the inside with my name inscribed on it and I thought I had won the lottery.

 

Over the years I've written snippets and full manuscripts of hundreds of stories...picture books, chapter books, young adult fantasy, essays...stories swirling and dancing through my mind  when there was no one else around to keep me company. 

 

Writers ALWAYS have another story waiting to be told. It might go into hiding and we have to work hard at enticing the muse to show themselves. And sometimes the stories tumble out of us so quickly, we stumble over them, just trying to write all of them down before they fade from our memory.

But there is one thing that ALL writers have in common. It is "written" in our DNA to gather words together in the hopes we can create a strong enough picture to leave our imprint on the world...

My latest book, Are YOU The Missing Piece?, is now available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, and other fine retailers. Last week, it became a #1 bestseller  in Austrailia, Canada, the UK, and the US. All those stories now flowing out into the universe like waves in the ocean...and maybe one day, flowing back to me...

 

 

Children's book author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo 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 providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books. She is also a book reviewer for Harper Collins, and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. Donna is a lover of dark chocolate, time at the beach, and good stories.

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