Things Don't Always Go As Planned

Today is cover reveal day for The Devil Within! YIPPEE!!! I promise at the end of this blog post you'll see the cover. But first you have to listen to my mad ramblings a little bit.

When I wrote The Devil Within, I had only written one full book before, No Turning Back. As I wrote about William and the suffering he went through at the hands' of his father, I couldn't help but wonder why this idea had come to me and why I had to write it. I have a charmed life. When I was little, my parents used to say, "You're so lucky you're born in the U.S. It's the greatest place on earth." I genuinely believed it--still do, on most days. I wasn't abused. I went to church, but never felt scared of the devil. (The devil is not someone often mentioned in Episcopal church--just the word temptation.) 

When William's story came to the brink of my mind and then the tips of my fingers I could barely stop typing to rest. I had to get his story out. I needed to write him down to end his suffering. And I thought, what I've always thought, that things rarely go as planned. I had intended to write another women's fiction novel after No Turning Back, but as a writer you cave to the cravings of the mind. Even when that mind gives you an idea that you know will be painful to write down. 

And speaking of things not going as planned. I planned to type this last night, and instead I relaxed and played the Sims 3. I mean of all the useless things you can do in the world, playing house when you have a house to run on your own. Alas, everyone needs down time.

And the release date for The Devil Within was pushed back. At least a week, but the week following I'm out of town. I will spread the word when the book is out, and so will my lovely marketing manager, Sheri Williams, but I wanted to let you know since I know you're all waiting on baited breath to buy my book! 

Now here it is! The lovely Greg Simanson designed my book cover:

Hot Running is Not Nearly as Fun as Hot Yoga

I went for a hot, muggy run this morning.  As I started out, I thought it's 5 AM there is no way the air can already be this muggy. But, yes, it was.  With every breath I took, I felt like I was gulping a gallon of water into my lungs.  Painful and not fun.  I did 2.00 miles, but in 27 minutes 14 seconds, because I kept stopping to walk.  Now I remember why I stopped running last summer, oh, besides the stress fracture.

Speaking of injuries, my leg is about 50,000 times better.  And my hip.  I've been working out five times a week, and I've been doing weights, and I think I finally developed the strength in the muscles to work out the pain in both places. 

With my hip, I couldn't even do criss-cross apple sauce for about three months, but I diligently did some exercises I found online and I did the hip abductor and abduction machine at the gym.  Totally fixed the problem.

I love exercise.  Seriously, what better thing can you do for your body and your mind?  I always find when I start exercising my mood increases. I'm nicer.  I'm less stressed. 

And speaking of less stress, I'm reading an excellent book for my book club right now: 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story.  Forgive the long title, but seriously, this is what the book is all about.  Dan Harris, a correspondent for ABC news, went on a little journey of self-discovery in this book which is autobiographical, but also teaches you how to manage the negative thoughts in your head.  The first page, he says "I initially wanted to call this book The Voice in My Head Is an Asshole."  How many people can relate to their inner asshole? 

Seriously, when I run my voice is such a jerk.  The voice in my head tells me I can't do it, it' too hot, I don't want to go any further.  Am I the only one who has the voice of a four year old whiny child?  It's as if we grow up, but the voices in our head stay small immature children.  They're narcissistic, selfish, one sided voices, who usually seem hell bent on destroying every aspiration you have.  I'm not huge into self-help, and so I really didn't think I would like this book, but Harris finds peace through meditation and being mindful of his thoughts without being obsessive.  I think that's something we could all stand to do.  Be mindful of our thoughts, be mindful of our reactions to others, and be mindful that we never ever know what someone else is feeling, thinking, or how they might react.  After all, they probably have an asshole in their head dictating their life too. 

So today when I was running, and the voice would tell me to stop running, I kept running.  I told the voice, "Ok--that's a nice thought, but I'm going to at least run to that stop sign before I fall over wheezing and die."  I fought against the voice, and I was mindful those thoughts were there, but I didn't let myself associate with the thoughts.  Hard to do for someone like me who is constantly living in their head!  But a good exercise in controlling myself and using the power of mindfulness!

It's Better to Give than to Receive

Alabama came up with a new ethics law that restricts gifts to public officials and employees in order to try to stop corruption. This law, inadvertently affected teachers though, and now parents and children are not allowed to give gifts to teachers unless they are of “de minimis” value. This means, that you may not give your child’s teacher a gift card, money or even a ham, this Holiday Season. You can provide baked goods but anything that you give to him or her must not have significant value.

I read an article today, which states that Governor Bentley is trying to amend this law to remove teachers, and I for one agree with him (maybe for the first time!).

Giving a gift to your child’s teacher is not going to corrupt them into giving your child all As! In the last few years, as the economy has tanked, they’ve had to deal with budget cuts that leave them with little or no resources. They spend thousands of their own dollars providing fun and enriching activities for our children. They prepare our children to be the future leaders, doctors, and lawyers of America. Does your child’s education have significant value? The least we, as parents, can do is thank them by giving them a gift at Christmastime! What do YOU think?