The Birthday Blog Hop!

Welcome to my little stop on the Carrie Ann's birthday blog hop!
First, of course, I would like to wish Carrie Ann a very happy birthday, and thank her for the chance to join in on this little adventure.
Now for the blog!

As some of my regular visitors might already know I am not one for planning out blog posts. In fact, most of my posts are done on a wing and a prayer. So having to come up with one purely about birthdays might be a touch tough for me. You know, planning ahead and all. However, never fear! As it would turn out my son's birthday is coming up only a few days before Carrie Ann's, and as luck would have it. I happen to like talking about my son!

On April 2nd my Son Nathan will be turning 5. As a father I couldn't be more proud of him. He is a smart, caring, and loving son. He is quick to learn, (he can already read basic words) and he follows along with his sister in all her schooling, matching her work most of the time. (even passing it in some areas)

That is a picture of him, to the right, at his sisters birthday in January. He loves to be the joker in our family and is always quick to try and bring out the laugh in everyone. I love my little man, and one day when he reads this post I want him to know all of you said a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Carry Ann, and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my son NATHAN!

In the spirit of keeping this blog short, I will now cut to the best part. As a prize to a random commenter on this blog I will be giving away not 1 book, but a total of 4 books! THE DREAMERS series by David and Leigh Eddings to be exact.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dreamers_(novel_series)
One of the lucky commenters below will find themselves enthralled in a series of stories told by one of the best authors in the fantasy genre.
Now for the personal part. I, of course, am an author as well. For those of you new to my blog you will find more than a few samples of my work posted here. However, if you wish to see some of the more polished, and proper samples of my work. You can find them here on Amazon and Smashwords. I would love for you to check them out, and if you find them interesting, perhaps buy one or two (or three of four). Now as a teaser...here is a photo the books you can win. Good luck!

If you wish to be entered in the grand prize for this hop, (who wouldn't?) All you have to do is...
1: Leave a comment here on my blog.
2: Make sure it has your email address in it. (You want to be contacted if you win don't you?)
And...what are you trying to win you might ask?
Well here you go!
1st prize is) A Kindle Touch (Yeah! How cool is that!)
2nd prize is) A $60 Amazon or B&N Gift Card (Shame you can't win em both and use that to load up that Kindle)

Really doesn't get much better than this folks! So, thanks for visiting, feel free to hit subscribe, or even drop in on my Facebook page and click a like. Happy hopping and...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CARRIE ANN!

Pain

Pain...
Everyone has it in some level.
I know this to be true.
Some people get headaches, others deal with emotional pain, while still others deal with the physical pain.
I have the physical pain.
There is a problem though. I was raised to be tough. Don't show your pain. Keep it inside and just deal with it.
That only works for a while.
What do you do when you can't do that anymore?
As a "man" society expects you to get over it. Deal with it. Move on.
I have been, I am, and I still will, but...how much can a person take before it breaks them?
What is my breaking point?

I injured my shoulder at work. There was no blood, there was no screaming. I just did it, and for years now I have been sucking it up. Yes, years. The last has been the worst.

I noticed in the spring of last year I had a real problem when I tried to throw a ball for my son. I would toss it a ways and he would run after it laughing. "Throw it farther Dad!" So I did...try.
I was never a slouch at throwing a ball, I could toss one from the outfield to the infield with little difficulty. I tried to throw it far and it barely went 20 feet, and a gun shot went off in my arm.
I had to tell him I couldn't throw a ball.
Spring is coming up again fast, and already he is asking me to do things I just can't do.
I can't climb a rope one handed. I can't play at the park one handed (very well). The list is sure to grow as we will be taking out the bikes soon...
So I am scheduled for surgery in the near future. The specialist has informed me I will need at least 6 weeks off work. Or at the very least, I can't move my arm after the surgery.
I am hating this.
I don't want to be "That guy".
I want to keep "Sucking it up for the company I have worked 18 years for."
I don't want to be the "Trouble employee".
Yet, I know, if I don't get this done I will never heal properly. I will not get the chance to throw a ball for my boy.
My mind is so conflicted here, I want it all to be swept under the rug. I want to pretend I am fine and there is nothing wrong. The people I deal with every day don't see my pain, usually. Most don't even notice I am only using half my body, let alone care.
One particular person actually keeps trying to tell me to hit the gym. "You need to work out." he says.
He doesn't know, or care, that I can't even lift a bottle with my right arm without feeling the heat in my neck, the rip in my shoulder, or the swelling in my right hand from over use.
I am just an employee to be used.
My state doesn't matter.
Just do your job and deal with the
Pain...

Struggling authors, thoughts, joy, and another random blog.

I have struggled with what to blog about lately.
No.
It isn't a writers block, in fact I have had many ideas, but I dismiss them all  as soon as I think of them. Why? Well..perhaps because there is so much going on that I feel every one of them should have their 15 minutes in the sun. Or, it could be that my mind is like a spring bird, flitting from one idea to the next so quickly it never has a chance to light on any one area, before flying off to the next.
So what am I blogging about then?
Nothing, and everything would be my response. In no particular order and with no intent to be negative, or too positive. Here are some thoughts...

As of late I have watched some of my good friends struggle with their own demons.

I have an old friend that has announced he is getting married. (First time and well deserved! Congrats to him!)

I have a new(ish) friend that has been having some issues in her own life that are working to tear her down, yet when I put my hand out for help she was the first one to grab it and offer assistance when others have just moved on.

I have a friend I have never met, who lives not too far away, but a world apart, feel the weight of her world too much for her own shoulders. She is taking a much needed break from her own "friends" on social media who instead of support, seek to tear her down. In stead of praise and help, they inject their "opinions".

I question my own past experiences with writing, while enjoying the best month ever, as far as sales go. (No I am not getting rich, but every single sale puts a smile on my face.)

Spring is coming and with it the chance to once again get outside, enjoy the sun, spend time doing things that I love with the people that I love. It will be a good summer, I know it will!

I have family that are not well, and it reminds me of my own illnesses that plague me. It is said that pain is a reminder you are still alive. Lately, sometimes I am much more alive.

“Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.” August Wilson

Ideas come from the strangest places.

I am not sure exactly where this idea popped up from, but I do know I was pacing a floor. So, I would assume that it was probably when I was bored at work. Yes, I get lots of ideas while bored at work.

ANYWAY...It was the start of an idea.

Like a good camp fire it just needed some time, and some space to breath, before the flames caught and the idea took off.
Those flames caught me while driving home from a doctors appointment today. It was a rough draft and only in its most bare form, but it was there.

Que the pestering of my wife.

In every writers carrier, I believe, they come to a point where they have a great idea, but it is missing something special. I know I can count on my wife for those times.

I will be honest, she loves that I can make up stories, she doesn't care for the idea of making her own...yet, but that might come in time. However, when I need a fresh new thought on something, I can rely on her to come up with an idea that my own twisted imagination wouldn't have imagined. She brings me back to a level of reality that can be very important for a writer in the field of fiction. She did that again today.

Skip time forward about three more hours, with the kids asleep, the house clean (ish) and 300 words later I had a very rough drafted outlined. I can see this story sitting around the 30-40k mark and it is a story idea totally new to me.

I intend to research it and see if I am wrong.

So, I have pounded out some words on a doc file, my hand joyously moves to hit the save button and I realise I have no idea what this title will be.
It is a good thing I have great friends on twitter. Their words come back to me even when they are offline. FIND ANOTHER WORD!
I have an idea in my head but it sounds terrible, cue thesaurus.com and viola! An outline for BREATHING SPACE has been born. Now all I need is the time to write it and make it happen.