Earth was in danger.
Jealous eyes gazed toward our Sun from a planet called Jive Hive in another star system, black compound eyes that peered without compassion as though we were flies caught on sticky paper ready for the fire.

The first of their suns was setting as blood orange light spilled into the valley. Three female worker bees, two over seven feet tall and the other not quite five feet, sat under a purple-flowered tree, sorting through various flowers.

"We can't go on like this much longer," Banter said. "There are too many of us. The hive has to find a new home. The Black Watch wasps, vicious as they are, know what they're doing. They've been scanning the skies for hundreds of years. And keeping a check on our population."

She sat next to her cousins, Zibb and Bipp. They had worked all day collecting pollen for their hive. Now they rested and talked of the Imperative—to colonize. The whole Jive Hive planet was abuzz with the news.

"Yes,” Zibb agreed. "The queen said this one is a plum ripe for the picking and only eight light years away. It'll be a brand new adventure for us. A new Jive Hive. We'll be tired when we arrive. From the long sleep."

"Too bad there are beings there." Banter selected a fresh flower and began culling its nectar.

"Too bad we have to kill them all," Zibb said. "I've heard the new planet's green and warm. I've heard from the wasp scouts that it's abused by its inhabitants, though."
"Their fault then and all the more reason to kill them. We must take it while we can."

Zibb began grooming her cousin. "The migration will be an adventure to be endured before it's ended. They say the trip will take eight years in suspended animation. Then, on arrival, our poor, wasted bodies must prepare for war." She sighed.

"Or negotiation," Banter offered. She picked up another flower.

"Never! Negotiation with General Vard and his black wasps?” Zibb shook her barbs in the air. “The Black Watch wouldn't allow it. No, the Eternity Drive will deliver some of us to an early death once we've arrived on Earth. The humans are said to be a warlike race. I don't think they'll offer to share their planet. And our Black Watch sure won't share it. Earth will be taken by force and the human survivors used for food for the wasps."

 

Picture courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Summertime and the livin' is easy. Caps are bustin' and the baseball is high...Take me out to the ballgame ...buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack (what's that?), I don't care if I never get back...and it's...

Fifth inning stretch, hotdogs and coke and big soft NY pretzels with salt, and yay, Edmonton has yet another ball team this year to play in Telus Place. Any Edmonton fans out there?

Any baseball fans? Who's your favorite team?

I'm partial to Edmonton, but next to #YEG, I love the Cleveland Indians and the Cincinnati Reds.

♥♥ My poetry anthology is released this week. Buy for 99 cents today! Kindle Select on amazon. Reviews would be welcome. Please retweet and mention on Facebook. Published by Authors For a Cause, fantastic father and daughter team, Mark and Allison. Check them out, buy their books, send your books to them for great formatting and book covers (they did the cover below for me and the formatting of the poetry book, with much patience and skill).

Thanks, pals. Your comments are appreciated.

Summertime and the reading is easy...la la la and the reading is fun. What are you reading this summer? Many are reading about ancient Egypt, magic, the Kane family, and the Serpent's Shadow. Learn about Ancient Egypt in the Kane Chronicles. The on-line world of Rick Riordan is fun aplenty with Chaos threatening to overtake the world, and two teens and some trainees using magic to restore the World order. Will they succeed? Of course, but how?

Check out Rick's blog, see the British Museum's website for fun and games about ancient Egypt. 

If the Kane Chronicles was a movie cast...who would you choose to play the lead roles? This was uploaded by The Muzbo in August 2010. Thank you for the opportunity to download these interesting drawings. Can anyone else do as well? Comments?

 

Interesting blog by Natasha Wing, who's published 22 books and is still dancing with the keyboard.

She wrote the Night Before series, such as The Night Before Kindergarten, a twist on The Night Before Christmas.

Natasha is Picture Book Expert Guide for Children's Book Insider (CBI). Visit them on Facebook and perhaps win a prize for a short story!


Swim around obstacles, join writer's groups, network on Facebook and Twitter, email fans, get an agent, submit, read marketing and writing books, never give up. Write, write, write and you'll outlast your competition.



"Sometimes it's about skill...sometimes it's about luck."

It's stacking the odds in your favor. In the words of Winston Churchill, "never give up, never give up, never give up."

I tried for almost 30 years to publish a book, so I totally "get it." I submitted and polished and submitted again, I let my books gather mothballs and dust bunnies in drawers for years, and then - I learned to write!

I started with articles, gave some poetry and a few articles away for free, began to build a portfolio, started a  blog called The Scribe.

I matured, I found a publisher who was a mentor, I followed advice, she saw something in my work worth coddling and I signed two contracts last year and another two this year.

My ebook called Discovery - An Anthology of Poetry, is presently offered on Kindle Select by Authors for a Cause, and received marvelous help with formatting and promotion from Mark and Allison.


Write because you love it and don't be in a hurry to get published. Keep your day job at least part-time, put your eggs in several baskets, write poetry, articles, nonfiction, fiction, short stories, ghost write, write, write because you LOVE IT.

Make sure your grammar and spelling are perfect. No typos please. Show don't tell. Leave lots of white space. Cut and hire a professional editor. Have a couple of people proofread it. Take constructive criticism and learn from it. Make changes. Go with the smaller publishers, not everyone makes the Big 6 right away.

Consider self publishing but be prepared to put in the effort. Make sure it's as perfect as you can make it. Make sure it's your best work. Be patient.

Develop a fan base. It's not all about you.

One day it will happen. You'll be on your way.


What do you do to stay positive on this writing journey?

CELEBRATE WITH A FIREWORKS VIDEO!!!

Do you have some great ideas? Put them on paper.

1. Write a diary
2. Or journal and copy it to a blog
3. Use writing prompts such as this one
4. For example, "Why I didn't work today..."
5. Or write from the viewpoint of an old car that has just gotten a new paint job
6. Find pictures for writing prompts
7. Write about this...

1. ...or your day

✺✺✺✺ Happy 4th of July to my American friends. Independence Day. Never forget your freedoms fought and died for by your forebears and ours.

1. A location
2. A clever line of dialogue
3. A character
4. A fun title...
5. Every good writing idea comes from a process
6. Most of all, just sit down and WRITE! The ideas will come.
7. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't write
8. That's like telling you that you can't think
9. ...or dream
10. ...or imagine
11. ...or create!
12. Most of all, have fun