nonfiction

When a Writer Dances

Celebration! from Barbara Techel on Vimeo.

I just had to do it.

Earlier this month my manuscript came back from my editor. When I made all the changes and updated areas that needed more attention, I sent it back to her for a final proofread. In my experience from the other books I’ve written, a proofread normally meant small tweaks.

But this time there were more changes and updates to be made which meant I felt more comfortable printing the whole manuscript out yet again and going through it line by line, word by word one. more. time. After reading my manuscript over and over, this is when it starts to feel rather tedious, and sometimes like torture.  But it’s how my brain works and how I work to feel comfortable before putting a book out into the world.

This process of writing this book has been an almost three year endeavor with many labor pains along the way. But when I got to the end of the manuscript yesterday, it was a whoosh! of many emotions that ran through me.

As I laid the last sheet of paper down on the table beside me where I’d been hunkered down in my over-sized wicker chair the last few days, the song “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang popped in my head, so I played it on Youtube… and this writer danced!

A dance of joy, a dance of accomplishment, a dance of perseverance, a dance of determination, a dance of gratefulness, a dance of celebration.

Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.

How My ‘She Shed’ Helped Me Reach a Higher Calling- My TV Interview with CBS 58.

CBS 58

If you weren’t able to catch my interview on CBS 58 this morning, here it is as a replay.

My best friend, Victoria, called me this morning after she saw the interview. And what was lost on me for a moment, came into full view when she mentioned the fact that she was reminded of our friendship and the loss of my chocolate Lab, Cassie Jo, ten years ago when she caught the photo of her in the interview.

I wrote about Cassie Jo in a post yesterday. She was the one who inspired me to find the courage to look into my heart to discover I wanted to try my hand at writing….follow my heart…and see where it would take me.

The fact that this piece about my writing cottage, my writing, my books, my animal advocacy, and encouraging others to follow their hearts aired today, a decade later of some pretty pivotal moments in my life…. well, it would be hard to convince me that spirit is not working magic in my life.

It took me many years and lots of hard work on myself to come to a place of acceptance of who I am. I am proud of this story that Reporter Marshanna Hester & Photojournalist, Brian Urbanek, captured so beautifully….and I’m so grateful.

It truly is my hope that this will inspire other women to know it is more than okay to stop each day and find quiet and creativity for themselves.

Maybe a space of one’s own isn’t quite in the cards yet, but a dream for the future — but to find a way in which to honor yourself and your needs right now, in the way you can best fit it in at this time — this is my hope.

I truly believe that when we do, we are better for it — and that is what you take out into the world — and everyone around us benefits.

We all need to find a way to shine our inner light and I encourage you to shine yours starting today.

Book Review: Hounded- The Lowdown on Life from Three Dachshunds by Matt Ziselman

hounded

I didn’t want this book to end. What a delightful, honest, sincere, loving book! My poor husband had to endure endless shaking of the bed as I chuckled reading the many antics of Baxter, Maya, and Molly.

As I was nearing the end of the book I really began to wonder if author Matt Ziselman may have been a Dachshund in a former life because his accounts of what this breed is all about are so right on!  But I especially related to, and enjoyed, the lessons he has learned (and continues to learn) from his loving trio of short-legged dogs.

As much as these weensters can also frustrate their human friends, I was brought to tears when Matt talks about all three draped on him as he tries to write the final chapter of the book. With Maya pinning down his right arm he says, “I want them to stay right where they are…I will have free and full movement of my right arm, and my heart will not feel as full and warm as it does right now. I want my friends to stay.”

This is a must read for every Dachshund owner out there, or I should really say, for every person that is owned by a Dachshund. But it is also a must read for anyone struggling with challenges, and let’s face it we all are. But seeing life through the eyes of our four legged friends is a refreshing and encouraging way to just get on with life with a little humor and learning to live in the moment.

Learn more about Hounded on their Facebook page, Twitterwebsite, or order a copy today from Amazon!