Monthly Archives: October 2016

I’m a quiet, shy person, so getting to know neighbors is not an easy step for me. I leave that to my husband who is the friendly one. I love how he engages with others, allowing me to stand back and listen. Living in a large apartment complex, I have a lot of neighbors within a stone’s throw. I’ve come to know a few, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the actual count of people living in our community.

But regardless of who I know, some people know me, and today was a great test of their kindness. My neighbor spotted someone trying to break into my car…in broad daylight. In fact, it was around 10:30 this morning. My neighbor’s daughter stepped outside making her presence known when she felt it didn’t seem right, and then her father came out as well. The prowler got back in his car and drove away. My neighbor came to my apartment and alerted me to the situation. He was able to provide a description of the guy, the license plate number and description of the vehicle the guy drove. Wow…was I ever thankful for my neighbors.

I contacted the police and my apartment complex office right away. Thankfully, the guy was not successful, but it shows the time of year is here where theft goes on the rise. By the way – it was a 1987 gray Nissan, 300ZX, coupe 2d, plate AJE4440. The guy was possibly Hispanic, with short dark hair, about 5’9″, and around 180 lbs. 

As we near the holiday season, crime historically increases. But the point of my blog today was to mention how wonderful neighbors can be. They didn’t know what this guy was capable of, yet they risked their safety to scare the guy off.

It’s also a reminder that we shouldn’t leave anything in our vehicles, and not just this time of year, but anytime. It’s sad that our private property isn’t private at all, that thieves think we want to share at our expense.

Having wonderful neighbors that care about each other is beyond a blessing. Anytime you see something that looks suspicious, I hope you will be there for your neighbor too.

My life as an indie author has opened up my eyes to my creativeness. When I finished my first novel, Do I Know You, I had planned to go with traditional publishing, mainly because I didn’t have a clue what to do next. I attended the Rocky Mountain Writers Conference and gained some insight. I listened to experienced authors, had a synopsis reading with an agent, joined in a few classes…and came out still wondering what to do. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own…I just didn’t get it.

However, I decided to try the traditional method. I did my research on agents and began submitting to a few. Then I had a conversation with a friend and found out by going with an agent I would lose some of my creative control. The editors may want this changed, or that changed. The cover, well, that would not be in my control at all. I’m sure they would give me the opportunity to say yay or nay, but the point is it would no longer be my cover.

I gave this situation a pondering…for quite a while. Then the light switch was flipped and after talking to another friend who was an indie author, the rebel in me reared up and off to the indie world I went…along with my lack of experience.

My friend suggested I look at CreateSpace, along with other publishing companies. I did my research, viewing each company as if they were all on the same playing field and chose CreateSpace as my company.

CreateSpace has been amazingly easy to work with from beginning to end. Even making changes to either the cover or uploading an updated manuscript…it’s been a breeze. I can’t imagine being anything other than an indie, because what I have created in my books is my vision, my world, my imagination…and I plan to keep it that way. Thanks to CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing…I am my own boss.

So, if you are considering letting your creative side blossom, go for it, and remember you are the force behind it all, so read, write, and be happy. #PoweredByIndie