Reading, Writing, and Blogging

 Dragonfly  Every year we go out on the boat, and I always have a dragonfly land on me. I have begun to believe that the dragonfly is my personal spirit animal.  They seem to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Dragonflies are meant to resemble living life to the fullest and obtaining your own personal potential. Another meaning behind them is ensuring that we fulfill every moment and live in the now. Dragonflies do not have a long lifespan.  Once they reach adulthood, they tend to pass on. I wonder then, at what length of time do they live before they reach adulthood, 6 months, 5 days, 10 years? According to our dear friend Google,  dragonflies only live 7 days to 56 days, but sometimes can last 6-8 weeks. I could not imagine only having that sort of a lifespan. The idea of "making it count," as Jack Dawson says on Titanic, truly does come into play. Each day, would need to make it count because we would never know if tomorrow would be our last.  T...

Write about a time you got dirty.       Growing up, I was that girl who never liked to get dirty. I never would swim in a lake or pond, did not ever play in the dirt, would never go camping, and took showers almost twice a day. I was the girlie girl and took advantage of it.      Now... that is a different story. I go for swims in lakes, ponds, etc. I play in the dirt and mud puddles (especially in my Jeep), I go camping, but I still shower at least once a day. The last major time I got really dirty was when I was working on my Jeep. It has a complete off-frame restoration and was done in three months. Although I could have taken more time to complete it, Man... when you get a jeep that you have been dreaming of... It is so worth the rush of getting things done. This was during the summer time when it was almost 100* out and even hotter with the humidity. On top of sweating like crazy, I had oil, grease, dirt, etc., all over me. This took place several...

  Close your eyes and travel back to a memory you’ve forgotten, a moment when you felt a simple joy. What can you thank your past self for in that moment? A moment in time that I can remember is a family trip to SeaWorld in Florida. It was my parents' usual way of spending time with their children after being left with a family member for long periods of time. It was their way of trying to make up time with us. My biggest want out of this trip included seeing a Killer Whale. I had been obsessed with them as a child, and still am.    I remember when we got in line to see the Killer Whale show at SeaWorld. I was so excited to the point of almost being in tears. I had no idea what to expect, but I was happy to be there. I remember when the whale made his first appearance from inside his enclosure. I had felt so bad because I knew that being inside that tank was doing him more harm than good. I remember during the movie Free Willy, the slumped-over dorsal fin meant something ...

 Edgar Allen Poe: Create a list of questions you would ask them in an interview.     I have always thought Edgar Allen Poe was an interesting writer. His life and career were cut too short for the many successes he could have had as time went on. I often wonder what life choices he would have made that took him down the path he was on. Here are the questions I would ask him if I ever had the chance to interview him: 1) What made you decide to write? What prompted your decision to write such dark writing?  2) What do you feel was your greatest piece of writing? 3) I have always loved AnnaBelle Lee. Had you ever written anything like that prior? 4) If you could rewrite your history, what would you have wanted to change? 5) Some of your short stories were very realistic. Did you witness any of these events? 6) What was it like living in the 1800s? 7) It has been said that you can dig deep into the darker side of the human psyche. Would you agree with that? Or,...

  Write about why you want to write... Who would have ever thought that Grammarly would have writing prompts? I like it. When I was a kid, I used to write juvenile poetry, short stories, numerous letters, and other small pieces that a child would write. I published a blurb in the local newspaper sometime after 2004, entitled "Why I Call Her Mom." It was very short, but I will share it here... I call her mom, because no matter what, I knew that I was always loved. I call her mom because she was crazy, creative, and funny.  I call her mom because she worked hard to take care of our family. I call her Mom because she was spunky and loved her motorcycle.  I call her mom, because even though she has passed, she is always with me.  I love you, Mom! Ashley K.  This blurb was after she had passed. I chose not to make it sound that way due to my own sensitivity toward the subject at that time. Before this small blurb, I used to write romance stories. My mom found th...

  Suffering from vertigo is horrible. It only takes one thing to set vertigo into motion. Before you know it, your body feels like you have been on a boat in rough seas all day.  I am excited to announce that I have received my mockup for my upcoming book. I have to say, it came out way better than I thought it would. I've always been told that your cover is what makes the difference. I do hope this is the case for this book.  My previous book and events took place. I am using this as a way of creating a haunting thriller based on what I had experienced in the house. I have learned that even the smallest horrors can turn our nightmare around and make it into something real. At least for me, it helps to have the ability to tell these stories knowing that I am not the only one who may have gone through something like this. In the end, I think it helps me to move past those demons that haunt me.