December 2014 – Behind Closed Doors

#Thunderclap Campaign is Underway for my #Inspirational #Poetry

FunPhotoBox1143520729jhqsbn — Click on the banner to take you to our Thunderclap page

Welcome back to Behind Closed Doors. Today I would like to ask a favor. I’ve started a Thunderclap campaign for my first book of poetry. Not only was it the first of the poetry to be put out there for all to see, it was the very first book I published myself through Sassy Vixen Publishing. It was only the second book I had out there after For the Love of Quinn with Siren Bookstrand.

Print version from Amazon and Barnes and Noble

January 1st marks the third anniversary of the release of Follow Me: Poetry from the Heart and Soul. Besides chronicling my path through some of life’s most challenging moments, it’s a journal of my evolution as a writer.All the ups and downs are there: love, loss, betrayal, destruction of self esteem and redemption. All can be said for working my way through the highs and lows of the publishing world.

That’s right. The world of a published author isn’t all five star reviews, wine and roses. It’s full of blood, sweat, and tears…a hell of a lot of tears. Some of them are happy, while others are bittersweet. During the last three years I’ve seen and experienced quiet a bit from success to failure, from excitement to despair, from nervous butterflies waiting for reviews to the heartbreaking betrayal of fellow authors.

Reading through these poems again reminded me just how far I’ve come as a person, lover, wife, friend, poet and author. I’ve built walls around my heart and have developed an even thicker skin than I had when I submitted that first manuscript to Siren. I’m far from perfect—just like my characters and their stories. I write about real, honest, and often gut-wrenching emotions. Sometimes the scenes aren’t pretty, but in the end the characters find their way through and into the arms of the one who completes them heart and soul.

Will you help me celebrate these poems by supporting me in my Thunderclap campaign? All you have to do is click on the photo/banner above, or here. I have until midnight on December 31st to meet the goal of 100 supporters so the campaign will go live over Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. It’s easy to do. Click on the outlets you would like to support the campaign on and Thunderclap does the rest. They will only post the one spot and will not have access to your accounts to do anything else.

At the time of this post, with 11 days left, we are at 46 supporters. Can you spare a moment or two and join me?

Thank you for your continued support in everything! Without you, I wouldn’t be able to continue to share my work.

Until next time,

Tammy

#ThrowbackThursday: Revisiting My Journey Through #Poetry #ARTG

It’s Throwback Thursday and two years ago this week, I was getting ready to publish my first book of poetry…on my own without a publisher. Fear and inexperience threatened to derail my resolve. No matter how scared I was to do it, I knew I needed to get the collection out there of all to see. I wanted to share my journey to find happiness. I had gone through hell and back again and detailed it all through poetry. When I couldn’t find the words to speak, my poetry came through for me. It helped me work through some of the most painful and dark times in my life to the happiest here with my soul mate.

It took many years, a failed marriage and a shattered heart but in the end I found my happily ever after with my husband, Liam. Neither of us were looking for a long-term relationship when we met. Both of us had come through nasty breakups and I was legally separated from the first husband. It was a mess but through it all we were able to find each other and a love that wouldn’t be denied.

Back to the poetry book. Follow Me: Poetry from the Heart and Soul. The first cover was a quick photo I found in some clip art. I didn’t have the money to get a good stock photo at the time, but when I did I updated the cover to what it is now. Some people may still see that old cover out there and when I see it, I smile. Like me, it’s gone through changes to its last edition. I have that original cover framed on my wall above my writing area. When we have the new office set up in the second bedroom, I’ll move it in there and put up all the covers. As with the poems, the covers detail my journey as an author, publisher and cover artist. I’m proud of them all!

As with my covers, the video trailers I’ve made have evolved from my first one. I’ve learned a lot and had tons of fun in the process. Here’s the video for this book. It showcases one of the poems in the collection that encourages the reader to follow their hearts because in the end that’s where your true love will be found.

Follow Me New cover Large

I’d like to share another poem from the book, one that I wrote when Liam and I were in the early stages of our relationship. He was active duty military and could get called away at any time. Both of us were dating others at the time but moving toward becoming each other’s one and only. The more I wanted to pull away from him, afraid I’d be hurt again, the more I had longed to be wrapped in his arms. Come to find out, he felt the same!

* * * *

Safe In Your Arms

Tossing and turning

Restless and burning

Aching to feel your body

Close to mine.

The bed that we once shared

Seems cold and lonely

Without you to hold me tight.

When you are here,

All sadness and pain disappear

And I am safe in your arms

Every night.

Once again tossing and turning

Restless and yearning

For the day you will

Return back to me.

Knowing in my heart of hearts

Your First Love will always call…

Taking you away to the arms

Of the beautiful, cruel and majestic

Lady of the Sea.

Knowing all along

Your heart would not belong

To me alone…

I still chose to share mine

With you.

For the Lady promised

She would keep you safe

And bring you home

When your journey together

Was through.

Tossing and turning.

My heart restless and burning

For your love,

Your touch and your kiss.

Hoping and praying

That the coming dawn would finally bring

The day I will be safe

In your arms…

And once again our hearts joined

In peaceful bliss.

3/28/2011

You can find this collection as an ebook for only 99 cents from the following retailers. It’s also available in print.

Sassy Vixen Publishing

Who Do You Trust? #amwriting #MyWANA #ARTG

Welcome back to Behind Closed Doors. I’ve been away for awhile sorting through the projects on my desk and getting ready for my new releases scheduled over the next two months. It’s been a whirlwind of activity with a few set backs with the move, new jobs and my monitor dying on me last night. LOL! Thanks to the Navy Exchange, I have the new one up and running and I’m catching up on everything I wasn’t able to tackle with the Netbook.

I’m sure many of you have heard of the new wave of pirate sites and illegal file sharing groups. It’s disheartening to get Google alerts with my books listed on more sites daily. I took a long hard look at where these places got the files to begin with and my heart broke further. Most of them came from copies I had given out in exchange for reviews and for prizes during blog hops. The other source turns out to be from purchases right from Amazon.

Yes you read that correctly. Amazon’s policy to allow returns of ebooks has enabled these book hoarders to continue to steal from their “favorite” authors. One person purchases the book and copies it to their computer before returning it to Amazon for a refund. Then they take this file and convert it to any other format needed for their share groups before uploading it to those sites. It’s a game to these people. They love the attention they get when people ask them to find a book for them. All the while they make it more and more difficult for the authors of these books to continue with their craft. I mean, who wants to pour your heart and soul into a story only to have it stolen from you over and over again?

Speaking of stealing…

It’s not only the pirates we have to watch out for but the snakes in our own community. That’s right. What’s the old saying? Keep your friends close but your enemies closer? What do you do when the people you thought were your friends and colleagues are the very people stealing from you?

Creating stories similar to each other is bound to happen. We are a close knit group. There are fewer and fewer truly original ideas out there. I’m not talking about that but blatant, full on plagiarism. Oh wait, it’s not really that now but “mixing.” That’s what some snot-nosed 17 year old writer, and I use the term loosely, calls her theft of another author’s published work. What’s even worse is she is getting REWARDED for this horrible behavior instead of tossed out on her ass.

But wait! There’s more.

I posted a question on my Facebook page not too long ago. I asked what was worse: an author who steals from a fellow author or an publisher who steals from one of it’s own authors and then publishes the story under their own pen name. The overwhelming response was while both were heinous, the theft by the publisher made everyone want to vomit.

I agree. It’s the worst kind of betrayal but add in there snakes who disguise themselves as beta readers or critique partners, or those valued members of your street teams. Who the hell is left out there to trust? My original question on Facebook wasn’t a hypothetical. It actually happened. Not to me but to someone in my inner circle. Those of you who know me, know I don’t sit back and take that sort of thing lightly. I may appear all nicey nice on the outside, but if you cross me, my family or my friends then I unleash the Wicked Vixen…and “it ain’t purdy.”

This whole thing has left a sour taste in my mouth and a knot in my stomach. Why should I keep writing and putting myself out there if someone will end up stealing it away from me or my friends? We’re supposed to help and encourage each other in our journeys, not sabotage them before we leave the nest.

So what do we do? We keep going. We continue to write and put our best stuff out there. The more we do, the more people/readers will know we are the real deal. We’re not going anywhere and we will take back what was stolen from us…in spades.

For those of you out there who think you’re getting away with stealing…we’re watching you and we’re not the only ones. Karma never forgets and neither do I.