Lifelong Unwavering Influence

It’s no secret. I don’t go out of my way to be liked; not to be mistaken for recklessly disregarding the feelings of others or intentionally trying to be irksome. A long time ago a mentor gave me unwavering advice that has served me a lifetime, any time I’m in doubt.

I was told if someone doesn’t like you, no matter what you do, they’ll never ‘really’ like you. YOU lose twice trying to twist and turn and reshape YOUR natural self to fit and fill the desires of others.

YOU won’t be happy with YOU. And others won’t be happy with YOU. It’s like stuffing a size 22 foot into a size 2 shoe. Trust me, it’s all I needed to be convinced. I go out of my way to find good-fitting comfortable shoes that I can walk around in for any occasion. Others might patronize me, seeing me trying to fit in, tipping around in an ill-fitting pair of shoes, or feel sorry for me for how I feel, and look, and walk… but that is not the kind of respect I'm looking to win when my feet hurt like all the dickens.

And still, it’s not always easy being me. Sometimes I leave the house feeling good around the feet, when the heel breaks, or the shoe doesn’t feel as good as it did when I left the house, or I might see someone else stepping in a cuter pair of shoes. I’m forever reminded of my mentor's advice. ‘Girl…walk with it…work it… just put the shoes at the back of the closet when you get home.’

That pep talk has always worked. I may have been caught wobbling around, or sitting on a curb rubbing my feet, but I’ve never lost the respect of a true friend. NEVER.

Now, since I’ve been talking up all of these ‘other’ books, expressing my views and revealing my innermost feelings as if I’ve sold a million books, make this a good spot to plug a few incidentals about my own books.

While I have not sold a million books, I have built an impressive reading audience. The funny thing is, the books I love, aren’t the books that get the most love from readers.

Of course, my favorites is Lock Box, (a killer paranormal mystery); Pleasure (my baby); Double Dare (a fun writing experience); Big Bully (corporate fiction); A Piece of Peace (spiritual) and the entire Rhapsody Series--- Leiatra’s Rhapsody (series 1), Something Xtra Wild (series 2), This One I Got Right (series 3),
Rye & the Rump (series 4) and My Love (series 5).

With all that publicized, I’m about to go into writing mode, which means I may not post as frequently as usual. May not, however, is a looooonnnnng phrase for she who finds blogging enjoyable.