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 |  My life is a roller coaster ride, but there's beauty in the madness. |
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Ink in Faded Hues My aspirations, triumphs, and failures. Life is a beautiful mess! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ~All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.~ T.E. Lawrence ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** This is me, for those of you who wondered! 
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| It's hard to believe my 5 year anniversary on WDC is just around the corner. Gone are the awkward stumbles of my "toddler" years, though I am still certain to fall a time or two as I navigate through the pages of my life. It just seems to hard to believe. It still feels like only yesterday that I came across this wonderful site. To me, it was like finding the golden gates of Heaven. In many ways, it still is. I can honestly say I would not be where I am today if it weren't for the many vaulable things I have learned here, or the countless people who took the time to teach me. Last week, I came across some of my earlier writing. Things I had written back in 2005-2006. Needless to say, I blanched.  That is the difference, the strength of the impact this site has made. I've been published several times, placed in and or won several contests, and forged friendships that will last a lifetime. One novel sits completed, waiting for the time to come when I can send it off into this big, bad world. I cannot WAIT for that day to come. I know it will do well in whatever hands it makes it way into.There's no way to explain that kind of service, or the treasures I have found. It just saddens me to think that so much time has passed already. I can still feel the nervous excitement of being a "newbie." The uncertainty and, at times, overwhelming sense of being lost. I still feel like there is so much to learn, to read, to discover. Every day is a continuing series of steps in my journey . . . yet I can't help but wonder if I will turn around in another five years and wonder where that time, too, has gone. I don't FEEL any older. Nor do I feel wiser.  Just more confident and not quite as niave.They say time flies when you are having fun. I've learned that is the case when surrounded by my family, and that is certainly the case among my friends here. The older we get, the faster it goes. Someone please take your finger off the flippin' fast forward already! In closing, I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you. You've all made an impact on my life. Thanks for sharing your time, wisdom, encouragement, and above all your friendship. They mean more to me than you will ever know. Here's to another five! Lord, but I hope they don't go by as fast.  ~Best wishes and happy writing!~ Adriana  |
The other day I was talking to one of the people brave enough to associate with me and call me friend. (Trust me--I am proud of these rare and special folks. It’s kind of like finding a unicorn. ) She was kind enough to point out that Amazon offered a free version of Kindle, directly through their website. Granted, you download it onto your PC, but you can still use it to buy all the nifty little goodies out there that Kindle has to offer. Not only that, but you can synch it with any other existing Kindle devices you may have. Needless to say, I was delighted.  I LOVE books. I devour them like a starving man at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The library in my hometown is so small that you could spit from one side of it to the other—and probably without hitting any books. Chances are, if I want to read something from there, I’m going to have to put in a request through Cleve-Net and wait…and wait…and wait some more. The last book I requested, I’d all but given up on and forgotten when it finally arrived four months and several grey hairs later. I am not the world’s most patient person. That, my friends, was my own version of personal hell. Well, maybe that or being forced to listen to polka whilst being immersed in a coffin full of spiders. The point is, my library is SLOW, and I often don’t feel like waiting the week or whatever it can be to get books in the mail when I order them. I’m an instant gratification kind of girl and this free Kindle edition with its whisper-net technology, where I could browse, buy a book with one click, and have it in the time it took me to blink was AMAZING! Even better yet, was the Kindle Top 100. Every hour, they update these lists and you can see the top 100 paid best-sellers and the…get this… *cues lead in music* Top 100 FREE!  That’s right, not one penny. Not one stinking penny!In today’s economy how can you beat that? Not only do they offer many classics from Treasure Island, Pride and Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and many more—but they also have books by established award-winning authors, and brand new ones still hoping to make a name for themselves. I browse these lists daily. (As hard as it is, I DO manage to avoid the hourly updates…at least for the most part.) Even though my friend pointed out their Kindle application, she had no idea they offered so many free selections, and I just wondered if any of you bargain hunters or book lovers out there knew about these deals as well. If not, now you do. You may repay me in chocolate or words. Either will do. Check it out. What have you got to lose? http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_357628962_9?ie=UTF8&docId=100... Top 100 freebies: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Kindle-Store/zgbs/digital-text/ref=pd_ts_zgc_... ~Best wishes and happy reading!~ Adriana |
| I managed to make it through Mother's Day with only mild trauma! The cooking and cleaning wore me out, but Mom really seemed to enjoy dinner, and her day---sooo score one for Adriana! J and I only got into one heated debate, and frankly, it was because he was having another bout of inverted cranial rectal syndrome...which really is to be expected. Lucky for him, he rebounded and was spared further Irish wrath. Now, it's on to my birthday. *crosses fingers* I know we can do it! We can have a good one this year! Since TT is coming down for my actual birthday (how lucky am I that it happens to fall on a holiday weekend every year, if not Memorial Day itself?) mom, dad, and J are taking me hiking the weekend before. I love where we are going. We used to spend every weekend there when I was growing up. This place is awesome, with all the trees, valleys and gorges, high cliffs, caves, and even a few natural waterfalls. I can't wait.  Mom rolled her eyes when she asked what I wanted for my birthday dinner and I told her PB&J sandwiches and chips, but it's what we used to eat there when I was a kid! It's all in the memories, I'm telling ya!I'll try to take some pictures, if I remember. Well, that and if I'm not clinging to trees for support. I hope you all had a great weekend and that this week finds you feeling creative and inspired. That said, I really should go play with my muses. They're feeling quite neglected after the weekend! ~Best wishes and happy writing!~ Adriana |
| Seriously? My anger cannot be described in mere words. Your network is off the chart when it comes to stupidity, and that's hard to do given the competition out there. *cough MTV cough* Not once, but twice now, you've taken critically acclaimed shows off the air after one short season. First Terriers and now Lights Out. What's next? Sons of Anarchy? I fail to see how garbage like Archer or the upcoming previews of some jagoff pretending to be a dog can possibly hold a slot on your network, when a soild drama backed with incredible acting is not worth at least a day or slot shift to see how a second season goes. You lost some incredible talent with this one, and more than one viewer's respect. It really doesn't say much about our society when garbage like Teen Mom or Jersey Shore manages to clutter the airwaves against anything with any real substance. An outstanding drama that had the same potential as the Sopranos was snuffed before it had a chance to explode. I sincerely hope another network picks it up and crushes you. Beyond that, I pray that the people making decisions in your office find the leverage and strength to be able to pull their heads out of their asses. I realize it must be difficult seeing how far up there they are jammed. Please don't let us down. |
| It's hard to believe it's been that long. It seems like only last week that I stumbled across this wonderful site, and with eyes wide and full of wonder, e-mailed my beloved TT to tell her all about it. I'm not sure where time goes, but what I am sure of is the amazing benefits that come with this site. Thanks to the amazing feedback, encouragement, and support I've found here, I realized a lifelong dream of mine, and became a published author. (Multiple times over!) I now have three seperate anthologies to pet and stroke and squeeze, and a novel in the works. I know I owe this to everything I have learned here...so from me to all of you, Thank you! I look forward to many more wonderful years here, and the continued blessings of the friendships I have found. ~Best wishes and happy writing!~ Adriana |
| This week, I submitted two short stories to a literary anthology, Literary Foray. I'm pleased to announce both were accepted. Not only that, but the editor selected one of them to take first slot. At least so far. *laughs* Farspace 2 finally hit the shelves, putting another printed copy of my work in hand . . . and I figured, while I was seizing the word by the horns this week, I might as well try shaking it around for a while too! I sent 'Philomena' off to play in traffic. We shall see if she makes it across the road in one piece, or if I've murdered my precious darling. This is the first item I've ever dared put a pricetag on, other than a contributor's copy. While I can say that makes me feel--odd--almost like selling out some aspect of myself . . . the one that wrote just for the sheer joy of writing . . . I can also honestly say "It's time." I've proved to myself, and my family, that I have the talent to make it, if I so desire. I've reached beyond the glory of winning sitewide contests and taken those first few difficult steps: I've gotten my name in print. Several times. Now, I want to up the ante. I'm hungry for more. It's like a shark getting that first taste of blood. I want this so bad now, that I can FEEL it clear down in my core. I want a paycheck. Cash--check in hand! Beyond that, I want to finish a novel. I have two in the works. I don't know. I just feel like it's time to stop playing author and finally become one. The road won't be easy, and I'm sure I'll stumble many times before I find my feet in this new battle arena . . . but I'm warning you now world . . . I'm not about to let anything stand in my way! ~Best wishes and happy writing! Adriana |
| I did not sleep well last night at all. Conflict and discord have a way of unsettling me to my core and I had more than my fair share yesterday, for no apparent reason. I drove around aimlessly, paced the darkened street for a while, then surfed the web, searching for some form of distraction. It was well after 3 am before I finally made my way to bed, and then I had to deal with a most unsettled muse. It seems even he was not pleased with my actions. As usual, I got swayed far too easily off course, and if ever there was a demanding or jealous muse, this is certainly it. Today, I've been trying to make peace with myself and those around me, looking for some sacntity and shelter from the storm. Though tired, I've been picking diligently at next week's horror newsletter and listening to the soothing murmur of my muse. Even now, he whispers, lending a hand in the words I write. I realize, in these moments, that I need him, just as much as he needs me. It's a strange dependency, one that only others who have felt this calling will understand. Anyone else would label it insanity. Next weekend, I will be busy shopping and celebrating my mother's 50th birthday. I want the day to be as special as possible for her, to return just a small measure of all the smiles, love, and laughter she has given me over the years. She's been my rock, and many times, the only person I've felt comfortable enough to turn to in search of anwers for the things that plague me. My mentor, my bestfriend, my partner in delightful Irish pranks and moments of wicked humor. I don't think there is any way to convey to her all that she means to me, or all of the sacrifices she has made for my benefit over the years. Funny how you never truly come to appreciate these things until you are moved out and looking at young ones of your own. How she survived my teen years alone is beyond me.  *sighs* I suppose I've blathered on long enough. It's time I get some more of my newsletter done . . . I hear my story calling. ~Best wishes and happy writing!~ Adriana |
| That seems to be the story of my life as of late. I only have a few minutes and then it is "I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go!" The good news is, I've been feeling quite inspired as of late, listening to the loud and fevered whispers of a new muse. He's quite an interesting character and this story will be unlike any I've done or read before. Can't say if that is a good thing or not! Nor do I know how long this tale will be. Ah well. It's good to be writing and feel that passion pumping through my veins once again.I hope that you are all doing well and that this week brings you much inspiration and rest. ~Best wishes always!~ Adriana |
My muse has spoken and Philomena is here! She's finally here! 
Please feel free to stop by and let me know what you think!  Best wishes~ Adriana |
I'm busy, busy, busy this week despite being on vacation. But, I really wanted to take a moment to congratulate the new blues! I've had the pleasure of interacting with Lornda  on more than one occassion and always found her to be such a delightful, warm, and helpful preson. Her reviews are wonderful. It's no secret around these parts how fond I am of my soul twinnie, Mara ♣ McBain  and I consider JACE  to be a good friend of mine.I'm sure krislgreen and Sara - will be back soon  are equally fantastic, though I've not had the pleasure of getting to know them yet. Congrats again to all the new blues! You've worked hard to get where you are. Take some time today to celebrate and enjoy! ~Best wishes always!~ Adriana |
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