Rippling Effects
Writing & Photography
eBook, Paperback
& Audio; 100 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction/Novella
Not all of war’s destruction takes place on the battlefield.
Violet’s
heart flutters from the scarlet fever she survived as a child, and it
beats faster at the sight of John Smith, the man she plans to marry.
America is entrenched in WWII, and when John enlists, Violet is certain
she won’t ever forgive him for dashing their dreams. As the realities of
war slowly overtake her life, Violet’s days are filled with uncertainty
and grief. She struggles to maintain her faith in John, as the world as
she knows it, crumbles.
Becoming
Mrs. Smith is the inspiring, and at times, heartbreaking story of a
woman’s struggle to reclaim what she lost. War stole the man she loves,
and childhood illness weakened her heart—perhaps beyond repair. While
guns rage in Europe, the war Violet faces at home may be even more
devastating.
A
writer from a young age, Tanya E Williams loves to help a reader get
lost in another time, another place through the magic of books. History
continues to inspire her stories and her insightfulness into the human
condition deepens her character’s experiences and propels them on their
journey. Ms. Williams’ favourite tales, speak to the reader’s heart,
making them smile, laugh, cry, and think.
For more information, please visit Tanya Williams’ website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, and Pinterest.
Successfully
reaching goals in writing, as well as in life, requires the implementation of
several key steps. I recently returned from a writer's conference where we were
immersed in the process of how to reach our writing goals. Workshops on
dialogue, world building, and more were the focus over an intense three day
learning process.
Like busy
ants preparing for a long winter, we bustled from one conference room to
another in hopes of finding the golden key to our success. As humans we have an
innate desire to seek out the pinnacle of our own personal goals. Whether it is
running a marathon, winning the local pie baking contest, or writing a
bestseller, our individual goals motivate us to keep moving forward. Why then
does it seem that achieving our goals is only for the lucky, the gifted, or the
blessed?
It was at
the conference, in a chilly room filled with writers at varying stages of their
respective careers, that one brave soul asked the question. In a voice cracking
with anxiety and a tear in her eye, she asked, "how do we move past the
fear to reach our goals?"
The room
went silent. All eyes landed on the already trembling speaker of the question.
The three presenters, all professionals with seasoned careers in the writing
community, looked like deer caught in the headlights. The words finally came
out from one of the presenters, stuttering a bit as she said, "you just
do".
It
occurred to me in that moment, that we can be taught the process of attaining
our goals. Step one, choose a worthy goal. Step two, create an action plan.
Step three, proceed by following the action plan to reach your goal. Seems
simple enough, right? Unfortunately this is not the case. I am confident that
we have all written a goal down and taken the action steps to work towards that
goal. Often times though, we falter along the way. We lose interest. We lose
hope. We begin to question our goal as to whether it has merit or is truly
worthy of attaining. What was once a goal that excited us, is now tossed to the
junk pile of things we thought we could do, but didn't.
Rest
assured, it is not our goal that is unworthy. It is the belief we have in
ourselves that is at fault. In order to achieve any goal, we first need to have
a solid foundation of belief in our own abilities. Goal reaching is like
building a house. If you build the house on a solid foundation of concrete,
your house will rise toward the sky, straight and tall. If you build your house
on sand, the result will be an unstable, crooked, slanting structure that a
good gust of wind could topple.
Something
to keep in mind is that no matter who you are, goals are meant to be a
challenge. You most certainly are supposed to be tested along the way. The goal
will make you weary at times, but that is when you grow the most and gain the
most. It is easy to look at the superstars of the world and think how lucky
they are to have it so easy. That is merely an illusion of fame. We have only
seen the rise to success, we have not been witness to the struggle or
challenges faced by each individual, famous or otherwise.
The
difference between those who succeed in reaching their goals and those that do
not, is the belief they have in their own self. The key element to reaching a
successful outcome is to believe in yourself when nobody else does. Belief in
oneself does not happen overnight. It is a constant, steady, thought changing
dialogue we have in our own mind each and every day. It is the moment that you
tell yourself, "I am enough". It is in finding the joy within the
journey of attaining the goal. It is the moments that you push through the
discomfort of being the only one in your own corner. Believing in yourself is
the crucial element to attaining all of your goals.
A worthy
goal deserves a worthy goal chaser. Be the best version of yourself that you
can be, nobody can ask for more than that. Trust that you were created to offer
the best of yourself to the world and hold onto that belief as it will see you
through the rough bits of the goal seeking journey. If you are looking for a
little more inspiration on this particular topic, I highly recommend reading
Marianne Williamson's work on, Our Deepest Fear, from her book
titled, A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course In
Miracles. Her words will not only give you comfort, but also the gusto you may
need to love and believe in yourself whether you have a particular goal in mind
or not.
An
intriguing component to reaching your goal is that though, you will be
satisfied and pleased with your journey and its outcome, those emotions will be
somewhat surreal in nature. Once you arrive at the pinnacle of your goal, those
around you will gather and congratulate you. You or your work will be
celebrated and enjoyed. You, however, have already celebrated each and every
moment along the way where you believed in yourself. In the end, it almost
feels like the rest of the world is coming to your party a little late. That is
precisely when you know you've not only reached your goal, but you've also
changed how you live and how you love yourself.
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away an eBook of Becoming Mrs. Smith! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.
Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on November 17th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be
honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon
by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at
our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
No comments:
Post a Comment