I am proud and pleased to share a career milestone. I was contacted by the founder of shepherd.com telling me he was interested in promoting my suspense thriller Mirror.
A Ghost Games novel.
It’s been great working with Ben and his staff. I found them to be great communicators, setting expectations and working with and around my schedule.
I invite you to visit shepherd.com where it is like wandering the aisles of your favorite bookstore.
For more of my work visit elizabethmaxim.com.
This is my third attempt at writing about an aspect of manifesting goals that came to mind while I was in the liquid think tank this morning.
The shower.
I was thinking of an email exchange with a friend who has recently attained a major goal.
One he’d been working toward for years!
During that time in which we traveled parallel lanes as we went for goals we did what we could to support each other’s efforts.
Sometimes acting as a cheering coach, other times a sympathetic ear.
I recently suggested he read Neville Goddard’s Be What You Wish and while it may seem an odd suggestion if he’s achieved his goal, it’s actually a critical piece of the puzzle if he doesn’t want to lose what he’s achived.
Most people, myself included, think of the action items they need to do to achieve the goals. What about what you need to avoid?
Whether you are on the path toward the goal, you have recently achieved it, or you’ve had it for awhile what you don’t do is as important as what you do if you want to attain and/or maintain it.
Fortunately, you can use Neville’s approach for either.
Let’s say your goal is to be a successful consultant. Depending on the industry some of the tasks you’d need to do would be take specialized training, subscribe to an industry publication.
Perhaps join a professional association.
But what shouldn’t you do?
In a nutshell, you’d need to avoid actions, situations, and individuals that would negatively impact your efforts.
You’d do well to avoid activities that would distract you from what you should be doing as well as avoiding people who aren’t supportive of your efforts.
The last one can be trickier than you might imagine because it may not be obvious at certain points along the path to your goal.
As I thought about strategies that might help my friend in determining next steps I considered the importance – now that he’s achieved his goal – of finding people who can help him sustain it. Not just people like me who are happy for him, but peers with whom he can share ideas and embrace this new place in his life.
People who would understand the enormous effort that went into it.
Since it may not be obvious where and how to find these people – outside professional organizations – it makes sense to go back to Neville’s strategy.
What would a person who achieved this do? How would they spend their time and with who?
I’m not suggesting turning your back on friends but it is critical to be around people who can support who you are and where you want to go next.
Who can help you maintain this new phase of your life.
If it’s related to a specific goal, it’s likely you’d want to narrow your search.
You recently passed the bar. What is the next most important thing to do?
If it’s related to a lifestyle goal, you would also want to narrow your search.
You moved to a new state. What unique activities do the locals do that would help you feel the place home and feel like a local?
Perhaps most importantly, what do you need to let go of?
While taking this step can happen at any point along the journey to your goal, starting early would be helpful.
No Time Like the Present
Sooner is better.
We go through a number of transitions along the path to our goal. We grow and become. If we embrace these changes up front by realizing ahead of time who we need to be, we bring the goal to life that much sooner.
Be sure to include what you won’t do or who you won’t be in your planning.
Letting go of that which no longer serves.
Don’t forget to celebrate your victory, but equally as important, hold on to what you’ve achieved.
Honor yourself.
Note: Longer post.
I don’t know if I should love my work-away-from-home place or hate it.
I’m guessing love is the better option.
How Did I Land Here?
About 6 years ago, as I was writing into the home stretch for the Metatron’s Army Series, I began setup tasks for what would become Dragon Core, a series originally begun when I was a sophomore in high school.
I wrote 3 full-length novels for the series.
I began writing Dragon Core’s story not long after conceiving the idea for Metatron’s Army.
About seven months after.
I was 15.
Note: I never typed out a book for the MA series the way I did for Dragon Core.
Until The Dude demanded I do so that is.
In 2014.
By the time I decided to follow the prodding of The Dude and publish Dragon Core I knew it had to be totally ripped apart from the original.
Yep, flushed 3 novels down the drain.
Between Thanksgiving 2016 and when the 1st in the Series was published I redesigned the story.
Even as I kept the original plot in place.
One of the initial tasks I needed to do for Cauldron of the Gods, was find a visual location for Lages’ bar in Seattle.
Aesop’s Cove.
I originally thought of using J & M.
It was the first place I had lunch while staying in a hotel before we moved to Seattle.
I loved the gritty vibe, the history of the place.
According to the server that first time, Nirvana played one of its signature early performances there.
I love Pioneer Square!
Note: As I write in Psychic Hangover, historical places can be – ghosts notwithstanding – a psychic’s best friend.
I always had a good experience at J & M in terms of food and service and, most importantly, ambiance.
The perfect vibe for me even if I wasn’t thinking of using it for a novel.
On the day I went to evaluate
It was in contention with a gritty Irish place further up 1st
and after telling Aaron it was perfect I found out from the server they were going out of business.
I had just told her I’d chosen their location and would give them PR in my series when she dropped that bomb on me.
Wouldn’t you know the owner was in the restaurant that day? She brought him over so I could explain what I was doing there and how much I loved that place.
Bittersweet.
Theoretically I could have kept the location but my heart – after hearing they were going out of business – was just no longer in it.
And the other place didn’t fit with the overall vibe I needed though it IS the inspiration for the fake address for the bad guy!
Back to the Drawing Board
For months I traveled a big circle in an effort to find the ideal place to use as inspiration.
Remember I was still finishing the MA series and that includes Metatron’s Legacy.
and found none of them a good fit.
Too touristy, too trashy, too something.
Frustrated, I went back to a local pub I sometimes worked at to not only think over what to do next but to evaluate one last time.
To see if I could use it as a visual anchor for the pub in the story.
The problem?
The original problem. Get the right vibe.
It was too upscale for what I was looking for in terms of gritty vibe.
From Cauldron of the Gods
1st in the series:
Determined to reserve judgment, thirty-year-old Clare Edwards stepped into the darkened interior and looked around.
“It’s just the right balance of gritty and sophistication.”
“I don’t want a dive bar.”
“I didn’t say -.”
“Gritty?”
“Sophistication? Have you ever been in a dive bar that could be described as sophisticated? You’ll love it. Trust me.”
She did trust Lucas Drake, and not just because he was a cop. The detective was a straight shooter something not necessarily synonymous with a badge.
The Vibe So Needed
Obviously vibe is subjective but as it’s my story and I have to put myself in Lage’s bar – mentally – when writing, I knew what I was looking for.
But…
Could my local place fit the bill?
Gritty is not a word I would use when describing it.
Hmmmm…
For a variety of reasons including blinders on eyes
Like those that keep a horse looking straight ahead
I decided to run with it
I have to layer gritty as an imaginative element on top of it but it works…
Wait! There’s More!
There always is…
In addition to being a visual anchor for a series, it’s a place I’ve been coming to – periodically – when I need to solve a problem.
When I need to get out of my environment because the walls are closing in on me.
As problem solving goes, I have a consistent track record.
Coming here to get out of my space and my head.
But…
This past week I came to see solving a problem isn’t always the funnest thing.
At least in my case.
I came to see that as one problem is fixed another if not several more are right behind it.
Waiting for my attention.
For Instance…
When I finished my sandwich this afternoon, satisfied I’d accomplished what I set out to do I saw that I had a rather significant pile of tasks.
The problem(s)/work behind what I came to solve.
Setting the empty plate aside I pulled the laptop close and began a bit of a deep dive into the issue at hand.
Organizing the task list and assigning owners.
Next thing I knew my fingers were flying across the keyboard with solutions.
And my mind was writing this blog post!
I quickly noted the solutions required additional tasks be completed!
And I needed to start this blog post because it was front and center in mind!
Less than ten minutes later I had a laundry list of tasks to complete
And 1/2 the post written in a file.
While all will bear luscious fruit I can’t help but wince at the additional work I now have on my plate.
Work I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t come up to solve a problem only to find myself hyper inspired by the ambiance!
It isn’t like I’m going to blame anyone at the pub for this quagmire but I can’t help appreciating the irony.
Be careful what you wish for
What Else Did I Learn?
I will try to determine what elements I can transplant to my normal work environment
Home
To achieve balance.
Yin and Yang
This place is obviously an opposite extreme for a variety of reasons.
Elements I know do not factor into the equation: Food and Alcohol.
In addition to a variety of foods I have wine and champagne along with a nice bottle of tequila that was a recent gift.
I’m saving it for an upcoming occasion: My birthday!
I’ve never had tequila outside margaritas so I’m looking forward to expanding my horizons!
The Vibe?
A great part of it is the fact it’s a sports pub.
I love watching ESPN and sports!
Sports TV deals with passion and dreams fulfilled
Athletes who started out in a crib like the rest of us
Those interviewing are equally passionate.
There’s also vibrant color and movement and all things helpful for the business side of being a writer.
Read: Inspiring!
Note: It wouldn’t work to just turn ESPN on on my laptop or the TV.
It’s kind of a yin/yang thing.
Music is – I’ll admit – a crapshoot.
I think it depends who’s working the bar.
At the moment Steppenwolf’s Magic Carpet Ride is on.
Thumbs’ up!
“…before the thing could answer me – well, someone came and took the lamp away…”
Been there, done that.
What I know is that I solved one problem and wound up with a laundry list of to-do’s as well as the challenge of figuring out what of the energy here I can transfer to my home work space to inject a bit of that yang energy.
There has to be a balance.
All I have to do is find it…
Note: This post is lengthy.
Listening to UltraVox’s A Friend I Call Desire and working on a fiction project.
Also working on Project Happy.
Andddd….
Making my way through that basket.
I have work to do! I need to get some of the crap in there out.
Thanks to a series of events, one leading to the next, I had a very helpful flash of insight.
While listening to the playlist I created for the nonfiction project and staring, more or less unfocused, at a very cool image in my workspace.
I wrote previously that I no longer have Free Cell at my disposal – the MacOS doesn’t like it.
Or would that be the universe telling me to ditch it because it’s a crutch I no longer need?
Tired of having my system lock up because of it I just deinstalled the game.
That it locked up while I was working on my manuscripts? A message I think.
I tried other Free Cell games from the app store but they all resulted in the system locking up.
Always while I was in MS Word working on a book.
I have not had one problem since de-installing the game.
Message received.
The insight was accompanied by a wonderful feeling; a feeling that immediately mapped to an image, from when I was with my dad in So Cal.
Both when I was a teen after my parents divorced (Downey, CA) and then later (Norwalk, CA) when I visited while waiting for my Sunnyvale Apartment to be ready to move into.
What each of those times have in common, along with a third non-California image, are that I was incredibly prolific in fiction.
I kicked out books in weeks while staying with him. That second time? I finished a book I’d been working on for years but had set aside – in a week.
Obviously, there’s something about the place.
That was the point.
Something I will be writing about in the upcoming nonfiction project.
Hint: It has to do with geologic EMFs.
There’s a point to this.
Understanding I was being given important information I focused on that wonderful feeling.
Specifically, why had it been so long since I’ve felt it?
Fortunately, in remembering it I was able to feel it again.
It means I’m capable still. The potential hasn’t been ripped out – by life.
Deep diving into what happened between then and now I came to see that certain events – and the individuals behind them – put a serious dent in my dreams.
These events happened in my early 20s; some during the Corporate Black Hole era.
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.
There’s a scene in Metatron’s Legacy, one character talking with another:
“And the Iconoclast took advantage of that fear, crushed your hope by playing into it. He crushed your dreams by exploiting your fear. That’s what evil does, exploits your dreams, turns them against you, convinces you they can never come to be even as they lie and tell you they will help you make them happen.”
I was able to write this scene because I’m all too familiar with the elements in it, having been on the receiving end of it both in and out of the Corporate Black Hole.
I had more dreams than just being a successful fiction writer.
This issue was sitting in the basket, not too far from the bottom. It’s an item I didn’t realize was taking up so much space though I was aware of it.
I knew someday I’d have to address it.
Knowing the what isn’t the same as knowing how.
Though I have a couple of ideas. More music? Definitely.
Not Alone.
It helps that I don’t have to pull this off on my own.
The universe obviously wanted me to deal with the crap in the basket that isn’t mine.
A number of random recent emails and/or texts have been tools to deal with the situation.
It isn’t just friends.
Readers have been in my corner as well, something I am truly grateful for.
Patience and understanding with all those web changes? Switchbacks as I make my way forward?
Ironic – as I’m writing this? The lyrics “…but I’ll never betray your trust…” from Angel Mine by the Cowboy Junkies are coming over the headphones. It is trust between writer and reader.
Something I’ve worked not to betray.
To give you an idea how eclectic this particular list is, I’m now listening to Army of Me by Bjork.
I also have Cracker, Blue Oyster Cult, Breaking Benjamin, Gary Numan, and Ultravox on this particular list.
This item is one of the slimier icky things in the basket.
With roots that spiderwebbed their way into other items also in the basket.
It’ll take a bit of finesse to deal with it.
The Plan.
A big part of the resolution is simply emptying the basket of what isn’t mine. For the most part this consists of labels, judgments, and/or other items that do not properly reflect reality.
Deepak Chopra does an excellent job articulating this concept when he writes about how so many labels are put on us like so many coats on a rack.
It directly ties into the challenge of how I organize my writing, both with genre and on the website.
How do I do justice to all the facets of me as a writer?
Where did this come from?
Well…
It was in the basket.
Why now?
Several months ago I made a Feng Shui tweak that set this all in motion.
And my head’s been spinning ever since.
And now?
The plan is to keep going forward. I have a lot of projects in various states of completion. My objective? Get them completed!
Where do I put this?
That’s the question, isn’t it?
Still.
I have a couple of ideas I’m tossing around. In order to give them context I need to reprint a nonfiction book I’d pulled.
Because I couldn’t figure out where to put it in the catalogue!
It’s a book on surviving child abuse.
I remember, all too well, the giant silence after I released it in 2013.
The Silent Ones.
I was so unnerved by the cosmic silence that Aaron made a point to use science to help out.
He explained that it was simply a case of action/reaction. I’d sent energy into the universe. It took time for the reaction.
He also explained that though people may not comment, it didn’t mean they had a negative reaction.
He called them the Silent Ones.
It helped me get through those early weeks when there was nothing but silence, though a few people did reach out in support, including one guy who said, “You let them off easy.”
I told him, “Yeah, well there are a lot of innocents who have nothing to do with this and I don’t want them pulled into it.”
I also didn’t want to feed the ghouls who gorge on this kind of drama.
I still don’t but I have a plan.
What Else?
I’m still working!
I wrote scripts today for videos providing insight into the writing of Dragon Core and Metatron’s Army. They will be available soon.
Stay tuned.
Note: This article is a nod to the couple at the Hella Mega tour whose energy was infectious and inspiring!
After weeks of almost nonstop work I was looking forward to getting a break at the Hella Mega show.
The weather was perfect, the atmosphere around the stadium mellow yet festive, the bands way cool.
It turns out the show was not only an opportunity to relax, it was a chance to confirm a few facts.
In other words, work.
As I’m in the process of releasing a book that’s part of the World of EMF it makes sense that at least part of my focus was on how I was feeling in a stadium filled with technology. As I sat listening to Wheezer, looking up at a blue sky, I realized I felt completely 100% normal for the first time in I don’t remember.
The psychological toll EMF Sensitivity can take on a person means that even after physical symptoms are gone there’s a bit of PTSD to deal with.
I looked around at the sheer number of cell phones, the stage setup, thought of all the tech at the food and beverage stands and the fact that being in downtown Seattle, I was exposed to a lot of WiFi including 5G, And yet I felt totally fine.
Rather than return to my seat after eating I decided to enjoy the show from a higher perch where I could do some people watching.
One of a writer’s favorite activities.
I took in the energy of the place, the ages of the fans, noting how many cross-generational groups there were and how cool that was in terms of bringing people together for fun.
Sanity Check. Though I’d been enjoying myself I kept taking an internal pulse as if I couldn’t believe how good and how normal I felt. Recognizing this might become a bit too distracting and I’d actually stop enjoying myself if I wasn’t careful I tried to redirect my focus to just enjoying the music.
Health Check. The sun hadn’t even set when the stadium became filled with thousands of cell phone lights. Unfortunately, as cool as it was, it was a reminder that there was a time not long ago I couldn’t have been in such an environment without being sick.
The thought definitely distracted me from the show.
After acknowledging this truth I again confirmed I felt completely fine and tried to redirect my focus to the music.
Fun Check. Well the universe must have been listening because the next thing I know my focus was on the most enthusiastic couple I have seen in decades.
Not since the H. O. R. D. E. Festival at Pine Knob.
Standing not far from me they held hands while they danced, periodically looking at each other with smiles that rivaled the cell phones in lighting up the space.
The joy just spilled out of them.
Reality Check. A most interesting thing happened. Like with the cell phone lights, seeing their energy and enthusiasm, their pure joy at being alive and being together – connected to the joy of thousands of others – I again became aware of how normal I felt only this time instead of bringing my focus back to EMF Sensitivity it took me to that same joy.
The joy of being connected to thousands gathered for fun, the joy of being connected to happiness.
With that energy going through me I saw the musicians in a new light, taking in not only the energy with which they moved around the stage but the happiness they radiated.
They were very happy to be there.
I then noted the happiness of the stadium guy standing at the top of the aisle where my seat was, of the woman who poured a cabernet for me, of the couples sitting at the tables throughout the Club Level where I was standing.
The couple continued dancing, smiling, sharing their joy with any and all who might be close enough to see them.
Trust me, it was contagious. I saw lots and lots of smiles after people caught sight of them.
In addition to feeling the happiness I was treated to another bonus being near them, inspiration.
A creative’s best friend.
Not one to miss an opportunity to write I pulled out my phone and typed notes that will find their way into an upcoming Port Gallatan story. Just like the World of EMF and the Hella Mega experience, it will be a story with a happy ending.
Stay tuned.
As a result of new information gained by going to the concert I will be adding content to the upcoming book Ignoring the Rules: An Intriguing Approach to Resolving Calcium Toxicity. This will push the release date.
Timing isn’t always everything.
I’ve spent the past week doing some serious multi-tasking and as things seemed to have settled down a bit I set my energies to finishing a scene I’d set aside because it isn’t the type of scene I wanted to work on while distracted.
An intimacy scene.
So much for best laid plans. I’d no sooner gotten started when I got a text from the dentist with links to forms that needed filling out.
I can honestly say the dentist doesn’t bring to mind the energies of romance or intimacy.
Finished with that I took a break to get a snack which reminded me I needed to come up with an idea for dinner. Finished with that I set back to work on the scene when I got another text asking me to review a web change.
Not happy with the image I explained what needed to change then went back to the scene. Andddd… another text regarding a separate dental form.
Back to the scene and – another text with the updated web image. That one needed a slight tweak so I spent some time on that. Happy with how it turned out I sat down to work on the scene only to find I’d lost the romance energy thread.
Like seriously?
Amused I decided I would give readers a glimpse of how it might go for a writer in a typical day.
It is an entertaining consideration – all these interruptions – but the post does serve another purpose. In putting it down on paper, the distraction – the idea of it – is no longer in my mind.
NOW I can go back to the scene!
The Day Before, a Dragon Core story is on track for an Autumn 2021 release.
Stay tuned!
Elizabeth Maxim 