Ya Gotta… Accent the Positive

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Ann Roth

Interesting fact: I always learn something from the characters in my novels.

A good story is filled with conflict and problems, and I usually throw such terrible obstacles in my characters’ paths. (I love to make them suffer!!) Yet as the true heroes and heroines they are, they always figure out ways to overcome and succeed.

How they do this depends on who they are and the story. I’m never sure how they will triumph, but often, a willingness to learn and a can-do philosophy helps.

It can’t be done? Of course it can, if I just tweak the picture a little…

And so, when I came across this, I thought, Aha… This humorous and positive spin on gray hair is a metaphor for overcoming the trials and challenges of life.

My characters have taught me that no matter how painful or difficult life is, there is always a way to put a glittery spin on life. Finding the glitter may take some digging and hard work to find, but the reward is worth the effort.

Until next time,

Ann
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It’s My Party…

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Ann Roth

If you constantly compare yourself to others, you’re at the wrong party.

Truth: Your party is strictly about you, and begins and ends with you. I know this, and yet time and again, I catch myself chasing after someone else’s success and happiness, and wishing it was mine.

Yes, I’m multi-published author. I worked hard to attain this dream and I love sharing my stories with others. Readers often email to let me know how much they enjoy my books. As wonderful as I feel when I hear from fans, I still catch myself in the ugly trap of comparing myself to others. I’m not as good as this writer, or as successful as that one.

This is not good for my self-confidence or my happiness, and certainly does nothing to improve my writing.

Which is why I like this sage advice:

This makes perfect sense. Because, let’s face it, the only writing skills and output that I can control is my own, and the only person I can control is myself. The same goes for you.

Of course, I can learn a great deal by reading a particular author and noting how s/he crafted their masterpiece. I can learn new ways of promoting myself from others’ successes. I’d be crazy not to do these things.

But ultimately, my party is inside of me. Just as yours is inside you.

Food for thought…

Until next time,

Happy New Year!

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Ann Roth

May 2015 be filled with joy and success, however you define it.

See you next year! (I’ve always loved saying that. 🙂 )

Until next time,

Ann

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Hump Day Wednesday: Motto for Life

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Ann Roth

Front steps of Travelers Thali House

Recently, I ate at dinner at Travelers Thali House, an Seattle Indian food restaurant where the chef makes everything homemade, right there on the premises! Fresh and absolutely fabulous. Even if I hadn’t planned to stop in and eat here, the homey look of the place (a big old house, converted into a restaurant) and the message on the steps would’ve drawn me in. Cook with love, eat with passion–who could resist that? 🙂

This great motto applies not only to food, but to life! Cook up whatever you do in your life with love, and be passionate about it.

If that isn’t a recipe for success…

And look at the spices for sale! They fill an entire wall of the restaurant.

Wall of spices for sale

So many spices to try. This, too, could be a metaphor for flavoring that passion with new fragrances and tastes.

I am fortunate that I found my life’s work as a writer, and that with a little help from the endless choice of spices, my passion for creating stories and sharing them with my lovely readers continues to grow.

Until Friday, feeling blessed and wishing you a life of passion and joy,

Ann