Wake Up Celebrity Author Info (Would ya Help please?)

As some of you may know, my second book “Honoring the Sacred Earth: A Path to Spiritual Awakening” has been placed on the Wake Up Celebrity Author Page. The Wake Up Celebrity Author page is a place where you can review the book based on criteria listed on the site such as Cover Art, Title and the Summary listed. This is helpful input that can help with future writing as well as the marketing of this book.
This is also a contest and all your votes would be greatly helpful. Your reviews are given in the form of votes rating the criteria and allowing for your personal comments. If you’d be willing to do this I would greatly appreciate it. The comments are helpful especially if specific.
Just click the link below and then click on click here to leave your vote. It asks for a name and e-mail address (to stop duplicate voting) and they also offer free e-books for the vote. Please feel to vote and encourage your friends to do so, it would be a great help.

If you are one of the people who has looked at this and voted already due to my facebook and twitter announcements etc I just want to say thank you very much.

http://www.wakeupcelebrityauthor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=17:spirituality-and-religious&id=119:honoring-the-sacred-earth-a-path-to-spiritual-awakening

Thanks.

Yours Under the Trees,
Dave/Duir /|\

Wake up Celebrity Author Contest

I've entered the Wake Up Celebrity author contest... My direct link is http://www.wakeupcelebrityauthor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=17:spirituality-and-religious&id=119:honoring-the-sacred-earth-a-path-to-spiritual-awakening.

Please feel free to go there and cast your vote and tell all your friends about it and that they should vote too. Its a nice contest for newer authors like myself as it helps with exposure and should I win it would be some great promotional help for the book. Please cast your vote and of course vote on others if you wish as well and please do encourage your friends and family to do the same. I know I'd really appreciate it and if you vote for anyone else as well I am sure they would appreciate it. (though more votes for me please lol).

Thanks a ton.

Guided Meditations Instructions

Hello all I do plan to add some Guided Meditations to this site so I wanted to add a few basic instructions here for those new to using them when written by another and not spoken.

In order to get the most out of a guided meditation it should really be guided by a voice so either a friend who will read to you or recording it to listen to while practicing it is always great. You may also wish to add music to the background but it should be rather laid back, relaxing and have no lyrics its really there for ambiance and to help you relax and reach that meditative state.

You should remember that your speaker, or yourself if your recording should speak slowly. Don't rush things and if it calls for a pause or a time to think leave some blank space in the recording or just pause if your speaker is live. These are really just some tips you'll find over time what works best for you. Also remember that guided meditations do take a little while some can last over an hour so be sure you have the time before beginning, its never fun to have to end one early.

Of course you could always memorize the meditation and go through it in your head if you are good at memorizing things. Just remember to go with what works for you. If the particular meditation doesn't interest you don't do it, if you find one you really like and want to repeat go ahead and do that.

Some of the meditations will be written specifically for this blog and others may come from one of the books I have written as they both have some different meditations in them. I may adapt them for the wider audience of the blog if they are more specifically aimed. I hope you enjoy them and that in some way any that resonate with you help you along your personal journey.m

The Second Book

Well the first book "Under an Expanse of Oaks, A Druid's Journey" is fresh out of the box and moving forward. We'll see how it goes over the next few weeks. I have two people reviewing it soon so I'm a bit nervous about that.

The second book is now much longer than the first and if it keeps progressing at the rate it has been its first draft should be done by the end of the month. Then it will be time to start the editing etc. My guess is if everything goes right it will be ready by the spring. It should be really great as it has a broader audience than the first book.

Well back to life. More writing to do then bed to get out to the day job tomorrow. Its great though and everything is moving really fast and I'm liking it.

Setbacks

Well it looks like the book has had another setback or two with the formatting. Apparently they've changed the guidelines again. I am hopeful that they will get it fixed expeditiously, and will keep everyone posted as I can. Its getting a bit frustrating but hopefully it will be worth the wait for everyone. I am anxiously awaiting the official launch of "Under an Expanse of Oaks: A Druid's Journey" and I will keep working on non-fiction book number two which is rather relaxing to write and very fulfilling.

With any luck my "official" writing career will start off soon and with any luck people will like what I have written. The book seems to be getting shorter though as they wanted a smaller font size this time. Well we shall see. At least I know I like it as does the one reviewer that has read it.

Writing

Finding inspiration for writing I have found comes easier the more you do it. I find that the writing actually inspires me from time to time to write more and brings my ideas off into uncharted territory where it finds interesting bits of info to include. All in all its pretty fun and with the quotes I've chosen for my second non-fiction my sources of inspiration are vast. So far I've quoted the bible, Einstein, Anne Frank, and Mother Teresa. Each quote building upon the last as well as inspiring me to write what fits in that section.

Yay SMS works

Though I can only do short posts with it, I am happy SMS posting is set up. This will be great for short messages when traveling or when my computer is not available to me... like at work. It should be a great way to add content to the blog etc. I am glad that now I can keep in touch at all times. Well with any luck sometime today or tomorrow I'll hear that the book is live and available and I will be able to fully launch it. Until then I will just keep working on book two and getting the contest ready to be all settled by the 30th.

Nature

It is my firm belief that we need to listen to the natural world around us. Not only does the Earth itself speak to us when we are quiet and open ourselves to her communications but also the divine whispers to us on the breeze. The divine does interact with us and help to guide us especially when we need it most but only if we listen. Deity likes to whisper the guiding words... Not that Deity can't scream at us... oh it can and does when necessary but usually it whispers.

By connecting with nature we can find ourselves, we can help rebuild what we have destroyed as a race. We need to look towards nature for the answers we seek. I firmly believe that nature has all the answers we need written in it, not in words but in its very existence. We need to look at how things were and how things will be.

We are learning we all know the chant... Reduce, Reuse, Recycle... it is but a part of what we can do and we can all take many small steps to help our world to heal. We must do this, we must act. What will happen if we don't... who knows but I know one thing for sure... we will not be part of it. The Earth will go on and will heal itself, the question is if we will be allowed to stay to see it if we don't help to fix what we've damaged or destroyed.

Things keep moving on

It finally looks like I'll see the light at the end of the tunnel with "Under an Expanse of Oaks, A Druid's Journey" as it looks like the cover art is fixed. Should know for sure if its totally accepted tonight or tomorrow. Also I keep working on book number 2 (the non-fiction) but I'm not going to tell anything about it until its either done or nearly done. So keep watching for little tidbits. I did finish researching the quotes I wanted for it and I may share some of them here and there over time. I've been thinking of adding a bit more and updating my cafepress shop (www.cafepress.com/oaklight) and some other things. With any luck the book will be available by next week and finally everyone who's been wanting it will be able to get it, including the people who want to review it.

I keep working, writing, thinking and playing with my dear son trying to keep everone happy lol. We had quite a giggle tonight. I looked at him (he's 2) and said "your cute" to which he said "I know" lol. If it weren't true I'd call him conceded.

Today's Thoughts

We keep moving forward waiting for the proof to come in so the book can go live. I'm excited and anxious about it. I'd especially like to get the copies because I've had some offers for reviews. Marketing has nearly consumed all of my free time the last few weeks so it will be nice to see how I've done. Between the videos and sites I belong to, plus a few ads here and there and my contest I seem to at least be generating some interest in the book. I hope it all works out and I hope that those who read it, end up liking it or at least some part of it. I sometimes worry about the length because it is short, but somehow I feel it makes it more approachable. While doing this I've also been thinking about some follow up books and those would be lengthier. I guess for my first go its not half bad. Lots of work on both ends of the writing it seems. I definitely have a deeper respect for my favorite authors now.

Book Status

Well the book is still coming soon. We're waiting on a few snafus from the printing company but it should soon be available for purchase I will be sure to let everyone know once it is and where it is. Thank you all for your interest in it and your patience. I am also excited because a couple of stores have contacted me and want to carry it. Its really exciting indeed.