Grab Dreams by the Throat

"I resolved to take fate by the throat and shake a living out of her." - Louisa May Alcott

I started reading a book yesterday called "Inside Every Woman" by Vickie Milazzo. Its subtitle is: Using the 10 strengths you didn't know you had to get the career and life you want now.

Honestly, I'm a little like Tom Cruise's character in Cocktail. I typically have some kind of self-help non-fiction book hanging around (though usually they're about natural health care).

I'm only through the prologue and chapter one thus far, though, and I'm enjoying it -- though she doesn't say a lot that I haven't heard before, it's always good to have it reinforced. For instance (I'm mostly paraphrasing here):

GO FOR IT OR REJECT IT - Don't leave your dream hanging as a reminder of what you don't have the time, courage or enthusiasm to do.

This is a good point. I am frustrated by folks who want to do something -- like write and publish a novel for instance -- who say they don't have the time. Fact is, there's always time to do something you want. Bet they make time for TV, or eating out, or going to a movie or whatever. If you don't have passion or enthusiasm for a dream, you won't do it. Period.

SUCESS BREEDS SUCCESS - Basically the better you get, the more you achieve toward your dream, the more likely you are to get the whole tamale.

I got to thinking about this last night, and decided I'd rather get published slowly, in small bites. Kind of like how I am doing it. For instance, "The Historian" was sold with much fanfare, a high advance and (I imagine) higher expectations. Aside from the fact that I was bored out of my mind by the novel, how does an author follow that up? When you've reached the top of the mountain, where do you go?

Here's a direct quote:

"If you're not passionate about an idea, you won't do what it takes to carry it out, because pursuing that idea would be way too hard without passion."

What do you think? True?

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As an aside, I sold another story to The Wild Rose Press. This one is called "Magic". I'm mailing off the contract today. Yay!

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I re-discovered a huge romance pet peeve: when the hero kisses the heroine to shut her up. Ugh. This happens in the books all the time. Please. I talk like a crazy person, and no guy ever has kissed me to shut me up. Given me a "look", maybe or said, "Do you talk all the time?" but kiss me? Yeah. Right. Blech...

Any pet peeves from your fiction reading you'd like to share?