SOOOOOOOO FUNNY!

Just copy and paste to your search then enjoy the You Tube magic, this will get rid of all those Christmas shopping grumps! Only the guy in the middle is real! http://youtube/5ivV8ifvjGc

We are fine!

To all those lovely people who have txt, emailed and called we are fine. The poor people in Christchurch though! How aweful so close to Christmas to have yet more bad earthquakes. Please keep these amazingly resilient people in your thoughts and prayers over the Christmas break and thank you for your good wishes to us. Big hugs Isobial in Kiwiland xxoo

Validation challenge

Well if you watched at least some of the clip below you will have an idea of what I'm going on about. I have been trying whilst we are out and about to validate people we are coming into contact with. Now I'm not as good as the guy on the clip but I have found some interesting reactions can occur from doing this. It really is funny watching peoples expressions change and their self esteem takes a good boost from something that is almost effortless on our parts. I guess the trick is to be truthful, find something you really do think is positive don't just put it on! The other weird thing I've found is ever since I started this experiement people keep giving me free stuff, not a bad thing but interesting development, will keep you all posted. Other things I'm working on whilst enjoying my lovely holidays over here are the usual, pre-new years resolutions. I'd love to hear if anyone has some interesting one's, my are way boring as usual. Other than that,I have just secured three new books to read whilst away so looking forward to heading up to the Bay of Islands tomorrow for some beach time and chillaxin. Hope you're all gearing up for the big day and starting to hit holiday mode, not long now...... God Bless Isobial xxoo

Home Again

Well I can say with out a shadow of a doubt you can go home again! Flying into Auckland Airport and seeing the lights over the city had tears welling in both myself and hubby's eyes; we are home. It is funny how much familiarity and weird little things like the smell of a place can make you feel instantly relaxed and at home. We don't have to think two or three words ahead to make sure the people we are speaking to will understand and we know where we are going which is a huge bonus! More than that though the joy of seeing loved ones we haved pined for all year bouncing and cheering on the other side of the barrier was so sweet! All those in jokes and casual conversations slip back into play with an effortless ease and you know for that very short period of a holiday, you truly are home again. I hope where ever you are for Christmas, you travel safe and feel the joy of share such an amazing time of year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from one very happy kiwi girl! Isobial xxoo

Validation

Christmas..Christmas...Christmas

Yes I am one of those crazy people that absolutely LOVE Christmas! An the count down is on in our house. It's genetic so I can honestly say I had no choice in the matter, but who cares when it is such a cool time of year! I have to admit the last few weeks my writing has struggled to compete with the growing excitement of decorating the tree and covering my house in tinsel and lights! I love everything about Christmas, the shopping, the decorating, the cooking and especially the holidays! This year we will be going home in the very true sense of the word and the whole house is buzzing with four very excited Kiwi's! I know a lot of people spout stuff about Christmas being just about presents and spending money and yeah I get that some people look at it that way but in my family we have always done the most amazing family things at Christmas; often travelling oversea's to visit rellies or spending the day as a family doing stuff we all enjoyed so for me the presents are just a nice side issue. My other favorite memories have always come from spending Christmas in church, now people can spout all they want at me about Christians taking over Christmas but HELLO get a clue people the whole reason for Christmas is the celebration of Jesus being born...you know the ultimate gift! If you have that part confused get yourselves a Bible, check out the New testament it's pretty basic stuff! I can't tell you how awesome it is to watch little kids perform the story or standing in candle light singing the carols, absolutely love it! This year heading back over the ditch to our nearest and dearest will be the best present we could ask for; but our absolute best present ever is knowing God loved us enough to send his son as a tiny baby, watch him grow and eventually let him make the ultimate sacrifice on the cross instead of us just so he could take our sin away and we, if we believe in him could have eternal life! Big WOW! Now no one can argue that's the most amazing gift we could ever receive so why shouldn't Christmas be my favorite time of the year? It's the beginning of the most important story mankind has ever heard. Not fiction either, a true story written down by those closest to him and accounted in many other historical texts thus it has continued to be told and read for so long. I hope where ever you are and what ever you do to celebrate, the real reason for Christmas celebrations doesn't slip past you this year! God Bless! Isobial xxoo

Predictability ain't real life or good fiction!

Apologies people, as you can tell from the title some unexpected events have kept me from updating the blog recently; namely one laptop that first had battery failure an then just plain spazzed out. That plus the sudden demise of my contact lenses had me blind and techno-less. So in all it has been a little trying these last few days but a good reminder that life just like fiction is unpredictable and has it's high mountains mixed up with low valley's. One of the very few benefits of my week of depravity has been the chance to catch up on reading, basically with no computer or vision to speak of it was about my only option! So out came all the books I had been planning to read over the last few months but had put on the back burner. A few Diana Gabaldon ones I wanted to re-read and plenty of Nora Roberts in her other form as J.D Robb. I enjoyed them all of course as reading is pleasure in it's self but what I did start to think about is predictability. Although unlike some people I am very restrained and never jump ahead in books or read last pages, I do tend to analyze and pick the outcome or in some cases the bad guy prior to finishing which for me really ruins the book. It's not something I enjoy at all and honestly I would love to not be able to do it but in some books the predictability just flows until I reach the conclusion far before the actual book is completed. Now with all this reading done, my new contacts in place and the spare computer up and running what has been firing my writing passion is a fierce resolve not inflict the angst of predictability on my readers. So every spare minute these last few days has been fueled with 'brain planning' new twist and plot ideas for my second book, expanding and creating characters who are as diverse as reality and basically fueling the continued hunger to create something I would not only enjoy reading but also find hard to decipher before the ending. It's exciting, challenging and once again invigorating which I guess is why I love this writing thing so much! So for all you would be writers out there or just those doing the journey of life, embrace the lack of predictability in fiction and reality because the only absolutes are we were born and we will die everything else is open waiting to be written or lived!

Is it really all that bad?

I have noticed very recently that whining and whinging has almost become a competitive sport in conversation, usually reserved just for the Poms (I can say that cause I am one) the rest of the globe seems to have caught up. If you say you've had a bad day, theirs was worse or the drama was bigger, more involved and in all cases harder than what you have had to deal with. Even our kids have started this no my problem was worse routine with friends, entertaining for us as what parent doesn't love a good chuckle at the enormity of a tweens life dramas? But on a serious note it astounds me considering how good most of us have it that we can be so blatantly ungrateful. Now yes I am sure there is some truly horrid things happening to some people out there and no you are not to whom I am referring; I'm merely trying to point out to the majority of us who consider the small things disasters, that really we should spend a little more time putting things into perspective before we have the big melt down. One of my favourite movies has this brilliant quote from Angelica Houston "No matter how bad things get they can always get worse my dear" although very negative I have often thought of it when something crap has happened and I needed to deal with it. Lets face it whether we moan and whinge about something or not it still has to be dealt with and there may well be something even worse around the corner but it is our character and the excercise of just getting on with it that inevitably pull us through not how much we talk about it and drag ourselves down. Perspective is often the key to sucess and in our characters just like ourselves we must have a reasonable amount of perspective to realistically engage a reader in the problems and walk them through the experience from beginning to end, lets face it most stories have at least a few major problems. Shakespear was full of them! Diana Gaboldan's outlander series is riddled with drama right from the start, Stephanie Meyer's twilight series well it doesn't get much worse than falling in love with someone who wants to eat you does it?Karen Kingsbury, who always makes me cry, I could go on but I won't you get the point I'm sure. Drama and trouble engage's people's attention, thus the reason we all love to share it; but it must have an outcome or it's just annoying noise in real life and in our fiction books. Back to real life for a second I guess the point I'm trying to make is you are not the only one who has walked that walk so look around you at those who have survived, take courage from them and others who have perservered in even harder circumstances. But most importantly "carpe diem, sieze the day" life it too short to spend whinging and moaning, not living! Have a great week people! Isobial :)

Is your heart really where your time is spent?

On numerous occassions lately I have heard people state that your treasure is where your heart is or your heart lies where you spend your time and I totally agree in most instances with these statements, but so often I find myself doing things which I wish I didn't have to and yet they are done because they are required. I mean who ever said to themselves "yes today I am going to clean the toilet because I love to do it!" If you have please see your nearest health professional, it's just not right! The general notion though of having something so important to you that your heart and time are entwined with it is not a new one infact it has been the basis of most romance novels and movies for years. The less commercially attractive but equally realistic version of this would also be your family and friendships as I am sure most of us would prefer to spend time with our nearest and dearest more often than we do, for most of us this is not a chore but a joy. Sometime I guess we do these things that we don't want to for those people in our lives we care about and other times maybe we should just learn to say the big NO! On the weekend a very wise young man talked to us about our idols, not the crazy gem encrusted things from tv but the things that take our time and efforts away from what should be our main focus. Things like our jobs, sports,shopping, clubs, t.v, facebook, internet etc Each of these things can distract and take us away from the more important roles in our lives which for me is my faith in God, my family, my friends and my writing. For you it maybe different things but the model still remains the same. If we let distraction and the love of these lesser things become more important maybe even enough to take over; then those we love and eventually ourselves are the ones that will suffer for it. If you get the chance to check out the preach Brian Sumners Sunday 30th October at Nowra City Church it rocked! For me it's all about perspective as a Christian, wife, mother, daughter, friend and writer. As long as I keep my perspective of what is really important in my life then I should be just fine, hope you can all do the same too; just imagine what a fabulous world that would be. Have a wonderful Day! Isobial :)

Surprise!

I don't usually enjoy having people surprise me, I like to know what's going to happen and plan around it but the last few days have been filled with some great surprise's. Firstly my parent's popping over for a totally surprise visit from New Zealand and my wonderful hubby managing to keep it quiet for two weeks worth of planning! It was amazing and so well timed as it felt such a long time until the holidays. I am so blessed to have such wonderful loved ones! The other surprise's over the weekend, the Silverfern's beating the Aussie netball team and the French being silly enough to think walking towards the All Blacks during the Haka wasn't going to make them fight harder to win! Now incase you're thinking you've hit the wrong blog, no I'm not a crazy sports nut infact usually I avoid it at all cost's but when it comes to New Zealand I have a soft spot and can be talked into watching. The great thing about surprising people is the unexpected results and reaction, life isn't always going to be predictable and if it was how boring would that be for all of us? I detest watching movies or reading books where I can pick the outcome from the start and our lives should hold some of that unexpected delight too not just repetition! Think how much better we are as people and in this context as writers because we can experience and enjoy the up's and downs of the unexpected in life, it makes for some fabulous writing fodder too you know! On that note, to my darling Mum. I know you are going to read this so .... surprise, you are awesome I am so blessed to have you and a wonderful family. Thank you for being the most awesome encouragement and foundation in my life, you are the best. Enjoy the day and ride people, do not accept a mediocre life! Isobial

How hard is it really to be nice?

One thing that really hacks us off to no end is how easy people find it to be rude and mean to others; incase you're wondering yes it is one of our pet peeves and yes has occured too often around us lately! A nasty snipe, a critical comment or a violent outburst can ruin not only someone's day but become a long reaching series of event's. It takes absolutely no more time or effort to be nice to some than it does to be rude or horrid and yet so often we see people choosing to ruin someone else's day just because they can or they think it won't matter; well actually it does. Behaving to others the way you would like to be treated not only has it's benefits in that you feel good about yourself but it also benefits the person your dealing with whether they appreciate it or not. Now to point this into context as a writer it is human behaviour 101 isn't it? cause and effect? relational behaviour, it all ties together in the way we depict our characters and develop our plots. Also just as importantly when your dealing with people you want to help you in your career it is important there is more than just business to what you are doing; if you show an interest in them, their lives and always behave in a courteous way you are more likey to establish lasting professional relationships that will stand the test of time and be beneficial to you both. The best way to insure you do this is to practise with those already around you, as I said earlier it take's no more effort to be nice and you may find that by changing in small ways you form a habit that will stand you in very good stead for the future. I always laugh at people who behave nasty in food places especially; I mean really are you that crazy? These people are touching your food and drinks! They have unlimited access, imagination and if you are particularly nasty, motive to deliver pay back, seriously think people! All that aside though what I am really trying to point out is no matter how you are feeling it is way more beneficial if only for the reason of it being the right thing to do, to treat others well; you never know how much of a flow on effect it may have! Enjoy the day people! Isobial :)

A bad case of "Affluenza"?

It always amazes us that no matter how hard we try our lives are a constant challenge to keep perspective. There is always someone on the T.V, radio, internet, phone etc telling us we need this latest gadget, upgrade, outfit, shoes or body spray! Not to mention all the freebie temptations that come with stuff we have already given in to and purchased. Our world seems to be stricken by the worst disease imaginable "affluenza" described as the constant need to accumulate more; to better our self worth and image by adding to or upgrading the things we already have. It is a never ending affliction though as so many others suffer from it and this causes competition and jealousy which is incurable except by purchasing more to even the balance. Now as adults we should understand that marketing is specifically designed to convince us that we "need" something to make us better people, save us money and or time. Not all of us are suckered in thankfully! Unfortunately though children and teenagers do not have the benefit of life experience and are constantly taunted into thinking they need stuff to make them more acceptable to others or elevate them to a higher social status; sometimes it is also just a way to fill the emotional gap they have in their lives. The reason I bring this all up is because recently I have really had my eyes opened when it comes to marketing. How targeted as consumers we actually are but also since writing for a younger age group I have had to keep a closer watch on what is "in" and believe me this changes fast. Even with characters as diverse as mine the need for techno gadgets and labels is still so culturally prevelent that it becomes a universal thing which can affect even a fictional character on the pages of a book, for instance who would believe in a teenage character without a cellphone, computer or labelled shoes these days? I guess the question then becomes if that is the case how can we write to prevent becoming outdated even before we are published, especially in the genre and age demographic I'm writing in? Equally importantly is how do we prevent our own household suffering from Affluenza? I'll leave it there for today as that is a lot to ponder! Have a "outstanding" day where ever you are! Isobial :)

A very challenging question.....

Wow another crazy weekend over! Dinners out and birthday parties have mean't our long weekend flew leaving us with a now semi-peaceful house in much need of sorting! But before we get onto that we really wanted to write a post today discussing some interesting topic's. On Sunday our senior Pastor Peter Pilt asked "what can't you live without?" as part of his sermon. It was a very challenging service and we highly recommend you checking it out on the Nowra City Church website if you get a chance. So like most people sitting there I answered in my head. What was odd for me was the fact there wasn't much materially I couldn't imagine myself coping without if I had too; my faith and my family were the main things. Now whether this is because for six weeks at the beginning of the year we had to live without much due to our oversea's move. Definately having to evaluate everything in our house,garage, offices etc for shipping it has helped us place less value on possessions . I really did hug my washing machine when it came off the truck! I guess in truth the fact that we were all here together safe and released from a lot of stresses back in our former home it just made the lack of stuff easier to deal with. So for the last day I have been pondering Sunday's question and I have come up with another question which I think is harder to answer "what define's you?" When it comes down to it what is it that makes you the person you are? Do you change to suit your environment? From a writers perspective this is an imperitive question as we reflect so much of ourselves into what we create on the page. Not just in storyline or characterisation but in our research, ethics and storyline. When we create our characters we must have an answer for this question, they must become like real people for readers to truly engage and empathise with them. I can honestly say if I closed my eyes and pictured many of my main characters in various situations I would know what their convictions would be, their behaviour response, attitude, even the tone of their speech. In that sense if I didn't fully understand what defined them as characters how could I ever write them to their full potiential? They would be shallow concepts and unbelievable to readers as their convictions would be interchangable, with no defining elements to their personalities what so ever. So whether fictional or in reality I think "what defines you?" is a very important question. Isobial :)

Patience...patience..patience!

I am trying so hard to be patient but waiting for my manuscript to return from being reviewed and edited is driving me crazy! Every motor bike is the mail man, every noise is the courier, every phone call is the possibility they are calling. Well you get the drift! It could become all consuming if I didn't realise that no matter how much I worry, stress or anticipate the outcome it will not change the fact it will get here when it gets here. Now I know how donkey felt on Shrek though "are we there yet? are we there yet?" the most annoying words on the planet for most parents! After many years of practise I have become a slightly more patient person, but like many family members before me I am a doer so I struggle with times of waiting or idleness. Now I could just keep ploughing through the next chapters in the follow up novel to The Gift and yes I am working on it but the distraction of waiting is ever present. Pastor Lynley from our church Nowra City Church spoke so well on this Sunday morning. In a world where everything is so immediate and at our finger tips the idea of waiting for anything from food to a txt response is seen as too hard. I might also add our mentality to things being so easily disposable is also appalling but that's a whole other rant! Well for me right now it is tough bikkies because the only option is to wait so I will try to follow the good teaching from Sunday and work on my patience muscles for a little bit longer; exhaustive school holiday activity will definately help. It's all good training in the end and don't they say "good things come to those who wait" Hopefully that saying included writers! If you want to check out the great sermon on Sunday morning from Pastor Lynley check out the Nowra City Church website, it will definately give you a good laugh too! Have a brilliant patience filled day! Isobial :)

Technology...can't live with it or without it?

Love it or hate it we live in the technological age, almost everyone you know will have a cellphone, ipad, note book, net book, ipod etc. They will spend countless hours updating their facebook, blog, twitter posts and sending sms's. Of course I am no exception, infact I am probably worse as I spend so much time on my computer writing! I did have a funny moment today though with one of my gadget's which made me stop and think: "what if people worked the same as our techno toy's?" I was trying very hard to check something on twitter and the page wouldn't load up properly but at the bottom of the page it kept saying done; it was not done actually, nothing came up just a totally blank page. But what if we worked that way? What if I had all the best of intentions to do something, tried but didn't quiet get there and just said "done" or did nothing at all. What if everyone we knew did that? How would our society cope, what would we miss out on or how much chaos would suddenly take over? Or our cellphones, what if we were suddenly out of range or network too busy? How would the people around us cope with the lack of contact; for that matter how would we? Just an interesting concept to ponder, could even make a good book plot, feel free to borrow it and let me know so I can check it out. I do love most of my gadget's really....but some days I do think they have a personality and a particularly vindictive side. On that note if you are not too over the computer and you are trying to write, remember to check out the great programmes you can use to help. I will be loading a few of the more popular choices shortly. The fact that most of these also have trial options on the net is an awesome bonus and time saver too. What ever technology you are using today I hope it is kind to you all, have a fantastic day! Isobial :)

Courageous - In Theaters September 30

Courageous - In Theaters September 30 The last movie Fire Proof was fantastic, so I can't wait for this one! If you haven't seen the movies these guys make you are seriously missing something special! Check out the preview! Isobial :)

You thought the hard part was done?

When ever I talk to people about what I do there's a lttle pause where you can almost hear them thinking "really" as in well sitting around writing's not that hard. Actually it is, no matter how much you enjoy doing it there is a lot of mind numbing hard work that goes into every finished page. Depending on the topic you can spend months researching and formulating just one chapter. Add the extra demands of life into the mix and what seemed like a fairly simple prospect now looks like the impossible, but if you hang in there the overwhelming sense of achievement you feel when you hold that completed manuscript in your hands makes it all worthwhile! At present we are experiencing the joy of gettting published; this is a real whirlwind of fast learning! The options are numerous and daunting but life is mean't to be an adventure isn't it? We will keep updating the blog on how that's going and of course providing as much info as possible to others; who knows what other amazing books are out there just waiting to be shared with us! Keep an eye out for blog updates as we will list some of the self publishing options, writing competitions and publishing houses shortly. To completely change topic for just a second before I go, congrat's to The Warriors and All Blacks fantastic job yesterday...very proud to be Kiwi over here! Have a great day...an yes it's still sunny here! Isobial :)

Writing and Music

Good morning wonderful people, yes I will make you jealous by saying it is another fabulous day here; word is we are expecting 27-31C over the weekend...Yeah Baby! Have to add here "Go The All Blacks!" I thought I would talk a little in this post about how music can impact us as we are writing or life in general. I know for myself I need noise, the only time our home is quiet is when we are all out to it! When I'm writing though music is always playing, at first I didn't quite grasp the importance of this but as I progressed the type of chapters I was working on dictated what was pumping out of the speakers. It is much easier to write about teen angst if you have someone screaming at you in the back ground LOL ! Looking into this a touch more I found that many writers use music to set the tone of their work, probably the most famous for this would be Stephanie Meyer of Twilight fame, she is quite open about her constant stream of back ground music; luckily for the artist's most of them get a mention too! Obviously our subconcious picks up on what we are listening to and reflects that in our mood,behaviour and for some of us our writing. On top of this many songs hold significant memories for us i.e at present Eric Clapton is on the radio right now "tears in heaven" I think this is a beautiful song but I detest listening to it as it was released just before my grandmothers death and played at her funeral thus it makes me feel miserable and annoyed. Note to self change station next time! My point is what ever you are doing music is a very powerful tool so don't be afraid to use it to help you along, in your writing or just life in general! Test out the theory an have a brilliant day! Isobial :)

Another B E A U TIFUL Day here!

It is such a stunning morning, roll on summer! Like many others I'm sure the fact that the 10th anniversary of September 11 has past without any major incidents thus far is a real relief. Also can't believe it has been that long, seems to have gone so fast and yet the fact that our kids have grown up and we are used to the New York landscape minus the towers must prove how much time has past. Planning a full on writing day today, for all of you budding authors out there isn't it funny how other people assume that writing will just do it's self? I always seem to be explaining that yes I do have work to do just like everyone else LOL. I'm currently finishing up the second chapter in my new novel, the follow up to The Gift, it's almost like going back to visit old friends but with so much action waiting to be put on paper I need to give it some TLC, my head is literally bursting with the following two chapters so time to put the hard yards in front of the computer. I have been accused by those nearest and dearest of leaving people hanging at the end of The Gift so have strict orders to get moving on the second novel, motivation in itself! Have to just make a little plug here too, went to evening service at Nowra City Church last night, seriously rocking worship and if you can check out the seriously talented guitarist, oh to have those mad skills! Very impressed in general was a great night! On that note, have a brilliant day no matter what you do! Isobial :)

The beginning of another beautiful day!

Well it's the beginning of another beautiful day and the coffee cup is full so life is good. As you can see the first chapter of the gift is loaded as a sneak peak on page two, we are still working on the page/blog in general but I really wanted to get something from the book loaded so excuse the in progress state of the rest of the second page, this is a learning curve for all concerned!
Updates to be loaded up soon: synopsis of the novel,books we are loving at the moment,some new pics and heaps more!

Have a fabulous day!

Isobial :)

Welcome

Hi and welcome!
I hope you enjoy visiting this site as we continue to add snippits of the soon to be released novel "The Gift" Notes on how to start writing your first book from someone who's just done it and we may even tempt you to join in discussions on writing,Christianity,coffee obsession basically life in general!

Bless you!
Isobial :)