A Life of Miracles
The world is changing. Many would say that it’s not for the better. I’m not sure I agree. Two years ago I had my #1 client sue me out of existence. They were afraid of me leaving and working for their competition. I lost my business, my amazing partners, my...
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Don’t Give Up.
I know it’s hard. I know you feel you’ve tried everything you can think of, but there’s one factor you cannot control or influence. Time. Sometimes our greatest challenge is simply to last longer than anyone else. To be willing to sacrifice and do things out of...
Read More"Blogging is about sharing that part of yourself that has something significant to say."
That, or you just don't know when to shut up...
Working as a family
It’s been a while since I was able to make a post, mainly due to the stresses and rigors of everyday life–coupled with the deadlines (self-inflicted) to publish another book (or three) in the Wanted Hero series.
The experiences we have been having are worth noting, because I have seen a tremendous change in my family…especially the children. As challenges arise from our poverty, each of the children has stepped up in their capacity and assisted the family as a whole. From Evan and Leilani working jobs to keep diapers on the baby and gas in the car, to Jessica and Asia helping mom around the house with meals and laundry, to Nathan who has become my master gardener. Even the smallest ones, Jami on down find ways to come to mom’s rescue by keeping Wynnie smiling and laughing.
That has left dad freed to write with all his might, day in and day out and to focus on the primary bills of the household, which have become substantial.
It may not sound like much to you, but the point I’d like to make is: we have a certain level of harmony in our home.
Harmony that could not have been achieved unless we had been blessed enough to experience the opposite. To appreciate the food we eat every day because we have gone without for a time–always making sure the little ones had enough first. To be grateful for heat in all its forms, when we were forced to cook by firewood and take sponge baths with a bowl of warm water in the shower.
The funny thing is…no one ever remembered or complained about the TV, or the radio or the Internet being gone. Hmmm.
The great blessing I have seen as ‘dad’, is my family working together…as a family. Like they should: lovingly, patiently and with an eye focused on the body as a whole.
We were blessed to go camping this last weekend and to be with our extended family in the mountains. A new friend of ours was so kind as to pick us up, with our gear, drive us there and then come pick us up again a few days later. Just so we could have the experience and get away from the struggles of life for a moment. Thank you Ryan.
It was heaven. Everyone was happy, we worked together, we had rationed out our food and even brought some home. But when I asked the children what they liked the most about the whole trip, the answer was unanimous:
They liked that we were together.
So though life is providing greater challenges, I would suggest that you consider working more closely as a family.
…because when you do, those ‘challenges’ become blessings and experiences you’re not likely to trade for anything.
-Jaime Buckley
Share Tweet Read MoreWhy Do I Have To Answer The Phone?
When I tuned on my cell phone this morning, something very common happened: I had voice mails…telling me I was wrong not to have answered their calls.
Now, I have a habit: as soon as I start working I turn off my phone. I give the house phone to the children or Kathi and ignore everything until I’m done working. I take a break at 1pm to let my mind rest–sometimes to answer emails, sketch, or maybe make a phone call…but only if I feel its critical. Anything else I leave until my work is done.
So my mind pondered as I listened to the voices of annoyed people…declaring how essential it was for me to realize how important their time was.
…but what about my time?
Do I harass people when they don’t answer my calls? Nope. ...and it doesn’t matter who they are. I simply believe they’re busy and have a very good reason for not answering…and I’ll most likely learn WHY they didn’t answer my call when they DO get back to me. So what would possess a person to believe they have a right to interrupt my time? They certainly don’t know what I’m doing at any given moment…yet they demand my attention. What’s worse is–they demand I make them my priority.
Seems a bit pompous to me. In fact, I would label that flat out asinine, wouldn’t you?
Just because the phone rings, doesn’t mean I’m honor bound to answer it. So next time you call me, know that I love you and I will get back to you…but once my personal organized list brings your name to the top.
…we now return you to your regularly scheduled program… Read MoreHunger Games ticked me off…
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Just finished this book and I was very impressed. It took me almost 4 days to get through to chapter 5 until it grabbed me and didn’t let go. I don’t know why, but I kept taking nibbles of it, like the food Katniss rations out in the Games.
Not quite sure if I wanted to commit to the adventure.
I have not felt such hatred in many years from a book. It was unsettling, but there’s no other way to describe my feelings of the government in this world. The very presence of the games and how they are used had me hoping mad and disgusted without measure.
The pacing is incredible, the timing is near perfect and the characters are unforgettable. Looking forward to getting my hands on the next book.
…and hopefully the downfall of the government.
*Hunger Games fan art by Briarthorn
Share Tweet Read MoreA house of creativity…or insanity.
Sometimes I don’t know what to think about my own family…but by the end of the day, I’m usually smiles and silently thanking the heavens for the crazy lot that lives with me.
Right now all I can hear is Jessica and Asia in the other room, laughing. They’ve been at it for over 35 minutes, telling one another stories about how people have scared them and made them jump in the silliest ways. Kathi laughs as they tell their stories and cut out sections of cloth for blankets they’ve been making.
I recently got the “Little Rascals” movie for my younger kids. I loved the originals when I was growing up–so I wanted to share them with my kids, especially Simon (4) and Carley (3).
…at dinner, Carley walked past me, arms waving through the air as she loudly gave her dramatic speech:
Read MoreIT’S NOT FUNNY!
The self-serving in Washington HAS TO STOP–and WE THE PEOPLE are the ONLY ones who CAN stop it!!!
I got this email this morning from my beloved Uncle Bob, (retired Army) and it got my blood boiling.
Sending it off to 20 people is NOT enough, when it’s something this important.
The following email is uncut.
|
I challenge you to read this and NOT have the will to pass it on to your 20…
Monday on Fox news they learned that the staffers of Congress family members are exempt from having
Governors of 35 states have filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them. This will take less than thirty seconds to read. If you agree, please pass it on. This is an idea that we should address. For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that If each person that receives this will forward it on to 20 people, in three days, most people in The United States Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution: “Congress shall make no law that applies to the You are one of my 20+ |
If you feel as I feel–that the leaders of this country have taken advantage of their positions to further their own personal agenda’s at the price of the American people, then get this message to others. Show them this article, tweet it, Facebook it and let’s use the media to put the pressure on those who claim to serve the people!
Tweet Share Read MoreMexican Kim Chee (for breakfast)
I love food. My dad is an awesome chef…me, not so much, but my belly IS by design and i love to cook for my kids and guests–especially my best friend Ondi, when I can get him to show up.
Love almost any kind of food, but anything Asian will get my attention first. One of my all time favorites is Kim Chee. Something my dad got me hooked onto when I was a kid and I never survive for long without it. Unfortunately, store bought Kim Chee is usually garbage, so I started making it at home.
My first batch was in 1990, soon after I was married–which I felt was a huge success. Made 5 gallons of it, but made the mistake of putting it in direct light to ferment for several days and it became so hot, my linebacker friend, Steve Nawahini had to eat it–which he did, out of the jar, without blinking…while the rest of us teared from the fumes in the air.
Last night I couldn’t sleep, so I started another batch. I wanted a really good recipe, something as close to an authentic recipe as I could find, not a white persons version.
Thank you YouTube.
After several videos, I found the BEST way of making Kim Chee, even if you are going to do a variation. Forget the rest of the video’s and watch this video for the best method by Maangchi!!
Its clear, she shows you all the steps…and BTW–BE CAREFUL WITH THE CHILI POWDER!! I decided to go ‘hot’, but I got it hot enough to make the hair on my butt fall off. Yeah…ouch.
Great in stir fry though! That’s what I made for the family this morning: eggs and rice with some pastrami and Kim Chee. MMMmmmmmmmm!!!!
Love you all–have a GREAT day, and trust me, try making some Kim Chee, but do it the way Maangchi does it!
God Bless,
Jaime
Mapping the Future
When I go shopping with Kathilynn it’s usually so we can spend time talking alone about the story and what we want to do next as a family when it comes to Wanted Hero. It’s amusing to watch some of the looks the housewives give me when I get animated in the isles of grocery stores, waving my arms around and talking about the various races or how certain families were brutally murdered and that I felt the villain who did it shouldn’t get caught (I once looked at a lady, shrugged my shoulders and whispered…“At LEAST not until book four…don’t you agree?”). People think I’m nuts and Kathi just laughs.
The publishing industry is changing so fast I’m having a hard time staying in the flow. In fact, if it wasn’t for David Farlands Daily Kick I’d miss a lot of what’s going on. My habit is to keep my head buried in my projects and work hard and fast until I run out of energy or pass out. I don’t pay a lot of attention to what others are doing…and it’s getting to me. So I brought the subject up to Kathi today while shopping:
Can we create a system that will help us as a family to build Wanted Hero into a successful story and support our family financially?
I know full well (as did Kathi), that our one book (Prelude) sitting there on Amazon.com isn’t going to do us much good. People like it and we’re growing interest…but we also sell it for $.99 specifically because people just don’t know who I am as a writer yet. I had a fan base with the comics–but I don’t DO the comics anymore and that group (for some reason) has not transferred over to the book…and that’s perfectly ok. It’s the way writing goes, but our goal now is to change that if we can–to create a series of books that readers not only enjoy, they go crazy over them.
Kathi has a difficult time with how big the Wanted Hero universe is. All the notes, backgrounds, intertwining lives, events, prophecies and side stories that tie into Wendell and his life. It’s literally 20 years of ideas and though not all of them are great ideas…they all end up becoming springboards TO great ideas…which in turn dramatically increases the size of the story. We simply don’t have years to come out with 2-3 books. The story needs to grow faster!
So how do we get the story out faster to the readers, so;
- readers have entertainment and don’t lose interest in the story;
- readers actually gain interest in the story and recommend it to those they know;
- the story itself is not compromised, and;
- the story is produced in rapid succession to feed readers and feed my family.
I had a few ideas that I shared with my wife, which I’d like to share. The most important thought was to create a basic system of how we literally produce the books. Not a rigid box we conform to, but guidelines, such as 40,000+ words in a few months, rather than 200,000+ words a year. Maybe 10 chapters averaging 4,000 words each. Then there could be follow up books, like Hobins field guides which aren’t required for the series…but they certainly enhance the enjoyment of them.
Then there are background stories of characters in the books, histories and obscure knowledge about the vast world that people might enjoy. All created and illustrated to enhance the readers experience.
What this came down to was having to make the decision to produce as best we can, as fast as we can, so people can enjoy as much as they can. My desire is to not only bring you a great story, but to create a universe rarely seen. I can see it in my mind and I’ve dreamed of it for decades…the real test now is to bring it to you.
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