Welcome to my blog Upstate Girl, (a.k.a Follow Your Bliss Part II), I am an independently published author. This blog is all about writing and the stuff that inspires me to write, the joys and obstacles that come along with the writer's life, and my fascination with the psychology of people and what makes them tick...the human condition, as is...and my love for words, playing with them and making sense of them...and I throw in a few photos from my acre of the world just to make things pretty...sometimes there are things I have no words for, only pictures will do.

*Copyright notice* All photos, writing, and artwork are mine (
© Laura J. Wellner), unless otherwise noted, please be a peach, if you'd like to use my work for a project or you just love it and must have it, message me and we'll work out the details...it's simple...JUST ASK, please.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

May...

This pert little face looked up at me from the rock wall with it's "Who do you think you are?" greeting...I love the wee viola's known as Johnny Jump-ups... who do I think I am indeed... some days I wonder...

The book signing went well yesterday, I sold and signed a few copies... met with a young lady who is in the process of becoming a writer, and while her mom was in line paying for a signed copy of Dusty Waters, she meekly came back and said "Can I talk to you?" She pulled up a chair and asked "How...?" And so I told her... finish this book, but most of all practice, patience... and don't forget to have fun...

Although we had a lovely chat there's this part of me worrying... Wait, who do I think I am? I'm still muddling along, sure I have a book published, and altho' I'm doing better than I ever imagined a year ago at this time... my sales report wasn't "zero" for the month of April, I have a new 5 star review on Amazon, so I'm doing something right... I have an author chat coming up at Library Thing starting May 10th (about Dusty Waters of course)... my second novel is on the cusp of being published... I just need to get a cover ready... but is it enough? What did I forget to tell her?

What I forgot to tell this young lady is this, sometimes there's more uncertainty than certainty on a good day... don't lose heart. It won't be your first book that will get published, it might be the fourth one you write, or the tenth one... no matter what, set your goal to keep going forward. Soak up experience, write, keep your mind open to new stories, write, listen to that special voice that's whispering to you, write. You want to be a writer... be a writer... write every day because you love it. Don't write for the money. Look at it as an investment... invest in time, invest in the tools you need, invest in your words, make them right, make them tell the story the way you want it... it's a labor of love.

It was a hot weekend, the lilacs are blooming... coming around the back corner of the house this morning, the smell of lilac beauty hit me... here they waver on the afternoon breeze...

5 comments:

Gina said...

I am so enjoying your spring unfolding, baby bunnies and all, while autumn colours emerge and swallows have left here ...

congratulations on the book signing - how exciting

>>> Gina

joanna said...

Johnny jump ups were my favorites when I was growing up back in NY-- love the Lilacs too, so many young people buying the old houses take them out and modernize the house and tear out the old garden plants. Such a shame really. Love to get a copy of your book -- after all it is a 5 stars-- is it best to buy it through Amazon?

a few of the elements of the book remind me of my own life growing up -- weird but true --- anyway it looks like an interesting book to add to my library.

Joanny

Caterina Giglio said...

great post and great advice! your little flower is beautiful and a great metaphor standing up tall and straight!

Pat said...

Oh the agony of creation is definitely like labor. Oh,or should I say "woe" the pain. But you always seem so cheerful and hopeful and most of all willing to go on.
On my dog walks, springing from the sidewalk, in the middle of a city, there are two Johnny-Jump-Ups. What resilience and hope they give me.

Laura J. Wellner (author pseudonym Laura J. W. Ryan) said...

I do believe this little "Johnny" came from the field, I discovered them growing wild out there, and I transplanted a few sprigs to my garden...they turn up in odd places here and there... this year they're there...I've always loved them...anything in the viola family really, they have such personalities!

Gina, when it is fall here, I always enjoy browsing through blogs to see the unfolding of spring in places far away!

Joanny, "Dusty" can be ordered from Amazon, the marketplace there seems to have gotten a hold of a few copies.

Thanks for stopping by!