Monday, May 17, 2021

Will Indie Items Become a Collector’s Dream?



Many people love to collect items that no one else has or items that are considered retro, one of a kind. Right now, anything Indie is becoming popular, or so I was told. I believe that many of those items will be a collector’s dream in the future and might be worth some money too. There have always been collectors and, in 10, 20 or 50 years some people will want to own Indie books, art, music, etc. They will pay big money for them; that’s the way it is. So the things that people don’t give a second glance to, might very well become popular in the FUTURE. Food for thought. 

To my fellow self-published authors: sign your books---you never know. 



Saturday, May 1, 2021

List of Books I Published


I am writing this entry so people will know which books I've written and what category they are in.

Chandra's Quest (category scifi)
Twisted Embers: Chandra's Quest Book 2 (category scifi)
Immortality: Chandra's Quest Book 3 (category scifi)
In the Company of Elves (category fantasy)
Saints and Sinners: Affairs of the Heart (category romantic fiction)
 Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart (category general/romantic fiction)
The Stranger Things: Paranormal, Supernatural and Unusual Phenomenon (generalised as fiction but can be nonfiction depending on the reader's point of view)
The Other Side of Things Part 1 (category nonfiction)
The Other Side of Things Part 2 (category nonfiction)
Both books are considered nonfiction because it's the author's opinion on Life topics.

Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart has some readers perplexed. Some have dubbed it nonfiction. There's a rumor floating around that some of the content is based on my personal experiences. I assure you that this book is strictly fiction, nothing in this book is based on facts. 
Reaching my Goals:
I still have two more novels to finish.
 Omega: Chandra's Quest Book 4 and another book that I will start next year. I will not reveal the title of the book because I want it to remain a mystery until next year. 

Summer Writing: I plan on writing one or two FanFiction short stories. They will not interfere with completing the last novel of the Chandra's Quest trilogy since most of that book is complete.
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Sunday, January 3, 2021

Another Year Gone By

 



  Well, another year has gone by and even though 2020 wasn't the best for everyone I find that it gave me & my family some much needed breaks. Now that 2021 has come and a new President will enter the White House, I pray things will only get better. 

  Of course, the virus is not going to go away anytime soon. Family and friends affected by Trump and the whole 2020 dilemma, will never get together and apologize for being horrible human beings toward one another, during his presidency, however I feel that my family and I will fend well despite of what some people think. Now, with that said, I want to bring up that these past 4 years showed us who are friends really are and it brought out the worst in people, especially in those who were already divided politically or on personal issues.


I normally don't vent about family issues on this blog, but I am ticked off.



A sibling called me on News Years Eve, saying that he wasn't going to ring in the New Year, that he wasn't going to stay up. Well, I personally don't care but unfortunately instead of him just saying, "Happy New Years to you and your family" and leaving it at that, he started in on me about who I voted for and lecturing me on how BAD things will get for me and my family because of the new president. I couldn't even put two words in, because of all the ranting he was doing! 


Unbelievable. I tried to be civil by just saying, " Well I hope you and your Family have a happy New Year," and cutting the unpleasant conversation. 

In the end he just said, " Yeah," and left it at that. It's unfortunate that people have become so divided over politics, with NO way of any reconciliation on both parties.

Final word on this:

When the bridge that connects us has deceased, there is no way we will ever talk again or see each other. I will move on.

My New Years Resolution is:

To continue writing and finish up the Chandra's Quest book series. I think I will focus all my creativity on accomplishing it. I will also do my best to avoid crazy, obnoxious, mean-spirited people but Life is what it is, you can't always avoid craziness and people who are unhappy and feel they should make others unhappy.

May everyone's New Year  Eve be special and filled with Love. Stay Safe out there.


My Website




Thursday, December 3, 2020

My Creative Projects


While cleaning out some of my boxes, I came across several of my old books that never sold when I was a third party seller on Amazon. These books were published through InstantPublisher.com, a subsidiary publishing company. 

The first publishing company I went with to publish Chandra's Quest Book 1 and 2 including In the Company of Elves. I was thinking of destroying them by burning them in the fireplace but then I thought that I can do something creative with one or two of them. Make no mistake, I would never destroy the recent revised versions of my books.


(Top row are the older version of the book. Bottom row are the revised version)
So, I recently made a few new items for one of my shops online. I'll add a link below to my shop. 


I found that things can be recycled and made new. I made several pendants and a leather bracelet or two. The glass bottle vase is a project I'm proud of. 


I made a video of the things I used to make my projects. Please visit links below. By the way, the video is not a tutorial. Please leave a comment if you wish. 

Update: on Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart. 
I decided to hold off on making a paperback version of this book. 

I am going to devote my time in completing Chandra's Quest Book 3 and 4. I want to complete the trilogy before 2024. 
Stay safe out there my readers. 

My Video




Sunday, September 13, 2020

Ever Dream this Man?


Normally I don't write about memes or creepypastas, except of course about the Backrooms, but this entry is about this Man. A man that was seen in dreams repeatedly by the whole world since 2006. Did I see this man in my dreams? No. In fact, I didn't hear or see images of this man until I hopped on Facebook, 2010. When I first saw his face online, I thought nothing of it, I shrugged it off. But as his face kept resurfacing, it was then that I remembered something curious. The more I stared at the picture, the more I remembered. 

I have never dreamed of this man, true but I actually did see him in waking life or someone who looked like him. If memory serves me well, it was in 2007. I was busy doing my daily routine, my last stop was the market. After I did my shopping I walked to my car, put the groceries in the trunk and I walked the cart to the cart corral. I saw an odd man standing under a tree in the parking lot not far from where I was parked. At first glance he didn't seem like much, rather ordinary. But there was something about his face that seemed different, it was unsettling. He was just looking around at people, watching them, then he noticed me. He seemed surprised that I was looking at him. He smiled, almost like a soft grin. I smiled back and shrugged it off. I was preoccupied with my own personal problems so I didn't give it a second thought it. 
Years later when I saw the picture of This Man, it triggered a flashback. 


Was it This Man that everyone was dreaming about? I really don't know. Rarely does anyone see him in real life and that's where my story ends. I just wanted to write and share this entry because I recently saw a video about him. Link below. Please do comment if you wish and tell me your story if you've encountered this Man in your dreams. 
Have you ever seen this Man in your dreams??





Sunday, August 30, 2020

The Backrooms


The Backrooms are dangerous, they run deep INSIDE our own reality, meaning there is no physical way to enter it. Rather, a person enters the Backrooms when in a state of deep despair, or during deep sleep. To most it is a fictional realm in which someone finds themselves trapped but some say they have actually been there, physically. Well, lets explore that. Below is a fictional short story I have written specifically for my blog. It is written as a first person narrative. The character is telling her story of the experiences she had in the Backrooms. Do leave your comment if you wish. TY

My name Reyna Salano and I'm 19. I attend the local community college while working part-time as a Target associate. One day, my roommates and I went out for our usual Friday hang out at Buffalo Wild Wings to chat about anything that came to mind, most of the time it was about men. 

After we were there for two hours, Teresa's boyfriend walked into the restaurant. Teresa waved him over and he came and sat down with us. "Hey babe, what are you guys talking about? I hope not about me." He said and gave her a kiss.  

"Really? You think every conversation is about you?" said Teresa, with a Latin accent. Teresa loved his cockiness and bravado, but I was never fond of his personality. I often wonder what attracted her to him. After a while, I looked at the time on my phone and I made an excuse to leave early. "Hey guys, I'm gonna head home. I have a class tomorrow morning, and I have work after." Teresa looked at the time on her phone.  "It’s only 9:30, I thought you were gonna stay till midnight? This place doesn’t close until one in the morning. Stay," she insisted. I pressed my lips together and smiled, "Um, no. I need my sleep, sorry guys." 

"Oh, okay, drive carefully," said Teresa. She turned her attention back to her boyfriend.

 "We'll see you at home," said Mary. I gathered my belongings.

  "See you guys later," I said. Teresa, Mary, and I are roommates and we’ve been renting the two-bedroom condo for about two years. Mary works at an Amazon facility, she is satisfied with where she works and chooses not to attend college, she says she really doesn’t have the time, and Teresa works at a dental office as a receptionist. At the time, I was the only one attending college and I was the youngest of the three. Teresa was 23, Mary 22 and I was 18. Our sleeping arrangements were as follows: Mary slept on the sleeper couch in the living room, while I took one room and Teresa took the other. I drove home and got ready for bed. However, I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling; time went by. Teresa and Mary got home around two in the morning.
 “2am?" I said to myself and sighed. I rolled over and listened as they talked for a bit, then they quieted down and turned in for the night. A breeze was blowing outside, and I could hear a branch from a tree lightly tapping at my window. I soon drifted off to sleep. Around four in the morning, I awoke with a start. I had a weird vivid dream which jolted me out of sleep, leaving me with a feeling of uneasiness and trepidation. I rubbed my eyes as I lay in bed and stretched my arms over my head. I let out a heavy sigh and sat up.”

I could hear Teresa snoring in the next room. Mary doesn't snore, thank God. I decided to go downstairs to get a cup of water. The only light in the room was the dimly lit cabinet lights. I drank some water and placed the cup by the sink on the counter, then tiptoed upstairs.

  As I walked into my room, I suddenly tripped. A sudden dizziness came over me as well. “Damn it,” I said to myself. I was afraid that I would wake them up. As I stood up, I found myself not in my room! I caught my breath and looked around.

 “What the Hell,” I said to myself, my mouth dropped. I took a few steps forward. I was faced with randomly generated rooms interconnected with one another. The wallpaper, ceiling and carpet were a dull dirty yellow color. There were fluorescent lights hanging over my head, like the ones found in many buildings from the 70’s or 80’s. I was flabbergasted, and I stood there paralyzed. My heart raced.

 “Am I dreaming? Where am I?” I mused. There was a muggy smell in the air and the sound of the florescent lights buzzing overhead was annoying. I realized that this place looked like something from my dream. I was shocked, I didn’t know what to do and I was barefooted too since I just got out of bed and didn’t put on my slippers beforehand.

 The carpet felt moist and gross. I curiously walked forward, not knowing how I got there and afraid that I would bump into something or someone that would harm me. I did not have a weapon, not even my hand taser that I usually have in my purse and my feet were bare. I cautiously walked around the maze of endless rooms, and hallways, while all the while the noise of the fluorescent lights sounded above me like a hoard of bees buzzing around. The place appeared desolate; no other person was around. After a while of wandering, which felt like eternity, panic set in and I realized that I would never find a way out. I had the sunken feeling that I wasn’t going to leave at all. I was becoming hungry, thirsty, and weary. I sat down with my back against one of the walls, pondering, reevaluating what happened. I facepalmed, took a deep breath and stood up.

  I began to run, well more of a jog, then stopped when I heard a sound coming from afar. I caught my breath and listened. There are many strange rooms and hallways but it seems as though I am the only one in here but what was that sound? I thought to myself. I dare not call out for help. I don’t know what was coming toward me, but I turned on my heels and ran back the way I came; however the walls seemed to have changed, I was confused and frustrated. The florescent lights buzzed above, confusing me. One of the walls looked a little different from the others, a little darker in color but I didn't pay attention to it at the time. “Am I dreaming? I must be because this can’t be happening,” I mused, and I heard the sound again, something strange, scrapping along the walls, but the sound was still too far away to be of any concern. The florescent lights above sounded louder and flickered, sometimes the sound was deafening.

I decided to continue my journey through the yellow crazy maze and perhaps I will find my way out eventually. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt like a mouse trapped, trying to find the exit. A part of me wanted to believe that this was a dream, a nightmare but instinct told me that it wasn’t. As I turned a corner, I came across a Nike tee shirt and Nike Air Max shoes. I picked it up and inspected the shoe, I saw some dried blood on it. I gasped and dropped it. I took a step back and looked around, wide eyed. I was worried that whatever killed the person who owned those shoes might still be around. I was dizzy with fear, my heart pounded, and I took a deep breath; continued through the ominous yellow labyrinth.

“There’s a killer in this place, something killing people. I must be careful, or I will end up like that person.” I stopped and listened. My ears strained as I could hear a low growl, but it was still far from me, not a cause for alarm. However, I remained vigilant. I breathed a sigh of relief. The musky smell lingered in the air; the moist carpet squish at every step my bare feet took. Lucky that in some areas, the carpet was somewhat dry.

 “I will find a way out,” I kept telling myself. I have faith. I would find a way out but as I continued to journey through the maze, I turned a corner and stopped. “What is this?” I said to myself. I found a mini camcorder next to the case. I picked it up and looked at it. It was an older model of a Panasonic mini camcorder. “I wonder where this came from?” I walked to a secluded corner where I felt safe. It had a tape inside, and I played it. I quickly turned down the volume. I held my breath, and looked around, my heart pounding. I waited a few minutes then exhaled. Whatever was out there, did not hear me so I took out the earplugs from the case, placed one into my ear and plugged it into the camera. The video consisted of these teens who were maybe two years younger than me. The date is April 26th 2009, they were ghost hunting at an abandoned old house. As I looked through the video, the footage glitched and became blurry at times. The young men, joked around about meeting a ghoul or ghost or coming across something otherworldly.

 “Hey, we might slip into another dimension or something,” one of them joked.

“Very funny,” said the African/American boy who was holding the camera. He turned the camera around and introduced himself and his friends.

“I am Jet this is Mike and Victor, we are the Truth Seekers, we go to abandoned places and search for the paranormal,” he said. “They must have a YouTube channel,” I mused.

 “Yeah, so we upload a new video every Friday on our YouTube Channel, please give us a thumbs up on this video and subscribe to our channel,” said Mike. They proceeded to go inside the house and look around. Nothing special, just old furniture and a lot of dust everywhere. The curtains of the house were half hung by the rods, the rooms looked as if whoever lived there before, left abruptly many years ago. Jet had the camcorder and the other two had some ghost hunting gadgets. When Jet entered one of the rooms it was then that the camera glitched and he found himself in the Backrooms.

  “What the Hell is this!” he exclaimed as he slowly stood up. At that point the camera must have been facing down because I couldn’t see anything but the carpet. He lifted the camera to check if it was still recording.

  “Good, it is recording,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief. He moved ahead at a slow pace, similar to how I did when I first got here. He just kept walking, but eventually, he broke into a run down the hallways, glancing around and breathing hard with each step. I can tell he was afraid and frustrated because I heard it in his breathing, but he kept filming and pushing onward.

 “Wow, I can’t believe this place, it’s endless,” he said to himself. He called out to his friends but there was no response. He began to panic. He stopped for a moment as though he had heard something.

He slowly turned around. He heard scratching on the walls but couldn’t see anything. He started to run.

  On occasion he would turn the camera back to catch something but there was nothing. Then he stopped cold on his feet and was in a room with many columns. He saw something that frightened him.  He points the camera in that direction. The camera caught a grotesque looking creature, something out of Hell. It had the head of a Human but acted like a hound. It crawled on all fours much like one of them. I honestly thought it was a werewolf. The back legs were twisted like the hind legs of a dog, and the claws were sharp. It was as though someone cut the head off a person and sewed it onto the body. The most horrific part of the creature was its face. You couldn’t see it under the matted hair, but its eyes glowed as it glared at him. 

When it opened its wide maw, it had several rows of teeth. When I saw it on the video my mouth dropped; I was beside myself. “Is that real?” I asked myself. He continued running but I heard on the video the creature close behind. Jet couldn’t find a way out; it was then he dropped the camera and the case; he kept on running, as the camera caught footage of him running away. The creature lunged at him in a heartbeat and that was the end. After I watched it, I sprung up and put the camera securely into the case, hung the strap of the case diagonally around me and continued the trek through the Backrooms as quickly as possible. I came across a strange wooden crate, but I ignored it as I heard that familiar sound again, the same sound that was in the video and the same sound I heard earlier. I gulped and stopped. I held my breath, and I slowly turned around. The creature was a few yards away from me, so I ran, as if my life depended on it because it did. It was strong, fast and I could feel its breath on my heels. My heart raced and the only thing that ran through my mind was finding a way out. Then I remembered the strange wall, the weird looking wall. It was then when I heard something say, “Go through it.” Maybe it was my Guardian Angel, I don’t know. “Yes, that’s where I have to go,” I thought to myself. I can hear my own heart pounding, but I can hear that thing pouncing its feet on the moldy carpet as each step brought it closer to me. I was never very religious but at that moment, I recited the Lord’s Prayer in my head. The creature was hungry, and it was not going to stop until it caught me.

 “God, help me find the way out,” I shouted. As I continued, the creature was gaining on me, then I turned a corner and saw it, the wall. I ran right at it, hoping to make it through or that I would knock myself out, so I wouldn’t feel a thing when the creature’s teeth sink into me. I was thinking that death will be swift. I went right through the wall, but the creature managed to rip a piece of the hem from my bottom pajamas. I screamed as I flowed through emptiness, a void, then suddenly I was thrust into a small room. I hit hard against the door. I thought I was still in the Backrooms, but I looked around and it was a storage room under some stairs in a house. I breathed heavily, catching my breath. I slowly opened the door and crawled out, limping. I quickly looked at my ankle where the creature tore my pajamas, it scratched me, blood ran down my foot. I was trembling uncontrollably. I still had the camera with me and as I looked around the room, I noticed there was no furniture, it was an empty house but clean.

“It looks like no one lives here but it is well kept so someone comes to clean this place,” I pondered. By the way it was early evening. I found myself in an unknown house. Tears ran down my cheeks. “Hello,” I called out. Then I saw a camera erected on the corner of the wall.  “Yes,” I said, hoping that someone was watching the camera, I waved at it, saying, “Help me, please.” I passed out and it wasn’t until the next day when the housekeeper and two men dressed in security uniforms came in and found me. I escaped the Backrooms by a hair but others have not, and i pray for them everyday.

(Thank you for reading this short story. I will be using fragments from it for a book I'm contemplating on writing in the near future. Please do visit the link below to my website.)

My Website

NEW! I made a video relating this short story. Please visit link and comment. TY

The Backrooms

UPDATE: I recently published a book based on the Backrooms. Please visit link to download the eBook or purchase the paperback.

Lost in the Backrooms: The Phoenix Files vol. 1

Please consider a small donation to support Indie authors like me. TY

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Thursday, August 27, 2020

First, Second or Third Person Narrative

 




Let’s talk about First person, second person and third person narrative.

First person narrative is a point of view (who is telling a story) where the story is narrated by one character at a time. This character may be speaking about him or herself or sharing events that he or she is experiencing—the use of first-person pronouns. Many stories and novels are written I the first-person point of view. In this kind of narrative, you are writing the character’s story by their perspective. You are writing their story through their eyes.

 


 Example: “I left my keys on the kitchen counter but now I can’t find them.”

Second Person Narrative:

  Second-person point of view belongs to the person (or people) being addressed.

The biggest indicator of the second person use is pronouns like: you, your, yours, yourself or yourselves.

Example: “If you eat these fruits you will find that your health is much better to combat illnesses.”



A self-help book is written in a second person narrative. There are a lot of self-help books out there and when you buy one, you’ll see the narration and how it’s written. These books are a dime in dozen and the writer is addressing the reader when they write.

 



Third Person Narrative:

The third-person point of view/narrative belongs to the person (or people) being talked about. The third-person pronouns include he, him, his, himself, she, her, hers, herself, it, its, itself, they, them, their, theirs, and themselves.

 Example: “Candy used her paycheck to buy herself a new dress.”

 Most popular books are written as a third person narrative but let’s talk more about first person narrative for a bit.

It is easy to write a book using first-person narrative/point of view. Take a look at Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey, all of those books were written as first-person narrative.

Easy? Yes, the author publishes his/her book quicker, and are capable of producing several books within 6 months. Most of my books are written as a third person narrative, only The Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart and Saints and Sinners: Affairs of the Heart are written as first-person narrative. My book Chandra’s Quest Book 1, the 2002 version, was written as a first-person narrative but when I decided to re-write the book, I chose third person narrative instead.

 Author’s that write as a first-person narrative, usually use what they know about the subject they are writing. Sometimes they will use personal experiences in their life and will use fractions of those experiences in their books.

  One of my sons told me that someone they know wants to write a book using first-person narration and use actual names of people he/she knows. Well, you cannot copyright your own name, or titles, or ideas, names are not copyrighted. The person who wants to write a fiction book can make subtle changes to the characters, like hair color, eyes, the character’s place of employment, relationship with other people or where they live. Making subtle changes can help avoid confusion and grievance.

Again, I want to state that names are not copyrighted. You cannot sue an author for using your name in his/her book. It would be considered frivolous and will not hold up in court, not even small claims. Food for thought.

The link below will give more info.


My books:

Saints and Sinners: Affairs of the Heart

Secret Diary of a Gypsy Heart

MY Website

Please consider donating a small portion for struggling indie authors. TY

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