Vicki Hinze, author of Forget Me Not (March 1-14)

Please welcome Vicki Hinze, author of Forget Me Not. Vicki will be chatting on LibraryThing until March 14.

Good morning, everyone!

I've really been looking forward to chatting with you for the next two weeks. Open to discussing just about anything, so feel free to jump in with topics you'd like to discuss!

As many of you know, I have a new book coming out on March 16th, FORGET ME NOT. It's the first book in my Crossroads Crisis Center series. We can discuss it, or whatever you like. If you're a writer with questions, I'll share what I can. If you're interested in nominating someone for the Edna Sampson Award, we can talk about that. If you want to talk about a specific type of books, or about life, death and the universe subjects--whatever is fine with me.

The important thing in my view is to discuss what YOU would like to discuss.

Blessings,

Vicki Hinze

Hi Vicki! I'd love to discuss your new Crossroad Crisis Center Series. Where did you get the idea for the series?

Hi, Kathc2.

I went on a hunt. What is a likely place for broken or troubled people in trouble to come to and find help? A place where they can heal? Crossroads Crisis Center was born.

I actually got the idea for the kinds of stories I wanted to write first, then crafted a series around them. The first book, FORGET ME NOT, was the lynchpin.

Wondering--as you know, writers do that a lot--is there ever a time or place or situation where we forget everything? And is everything really everything? Or is it impossible to forget a sense of self--innate things to us.

If we overtly can't recall anything to the point where our own lives are a mystery to us, do we remember things such as our likes and dislikes? Our perspectives and judgments? Do we remember things such as love, fears, integrity? What about morals and ethics? Do those stay with us, or do we lose them too? And what about faith? Do we ever get so lost in forgetting that we don't recall something so intensely a part of us like faith?

I explored that in FORGET ME NOT and concluded that while we might forget to the brink, there is a part of us that is so inbred and runs so deep it's at cellular level. That while we might forget who we are, we don't forget whose we are.

And that exploration led to a constructive story I love that I hope will help people through the hard times in their lives.

During the process, I got to know a lot of the other people in the story and fell in love with them. That resulted in the birth of Crossroads Crisis Center as a series.

Thanks for asking, Kathc2!

Blessings,

Vicki

Thought I'd share a post I did today for cleverdivas.com...

TAKING STOCK

Every now and then we need to stop and take stock. Ask ourselves the hard questions about our lives, how we’re spending them, and to actually focus on those questions long enough to answer them. Honestly.

It’s easy to get caught up in everyday life, and to not focus on the things really important to us. Sometimes we hear her whisper in her ear that tells us it's time to stop and think. Sometimes we get bodyslammed and have no choice but to stop and think.

I've often wondered, if the reason we get bodyslammed is because we ignore the whispers. And so that is the point of this post. Listen to the whisper, and maybe just maybe you can avoid being bodyslammed.

When is the last time you really stopped and asked yourself about your life purpose? When is the last time you checked your pulse and felt content? Fulfilled? Happy with the way things are going in your life?

We all have challenges, face obstacles in trials, and suffer hard times. Right now many of us are going through difficulties--some of our own making, some thrust upon us. That makes it all the more important to stop and take stock. Because what we find is that if we do, we can be content even amid challenges and difficulties. We're better able to handle the unavoidable obstacles and trials that are a natural part of life.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this. I wonder if the reason isn't because we're better prepared and more balanced at the onset of a challenger trial and that gives us more resources to draw from to get through it. Think of it like starting blocks in the race. If those blocks are at the start line and you have to run 50 m, then you have to run 50 m. But if you have taken stock and asked yourself those all important questions, maybe that puts your starting blocks at the 25 m position. That means you have 25 m last to run. You have more energy, more strength, more endurance. It's easier to cope because you don't have as far to go.

It makes sense to me that this would hold true in your emotional races and your spiritual races as well as your physical races.

Taking stock isn't always comfortable. There times when we would like nothing better than to avoid asking ourselves questions we don't want to answer. But that too is a signal that it is long past time for us to gird our loins, toughen our skin, and do it. But perhaps even more importantly, is what happens if we don't. Imagine your starting block being placed 25 m behind the beginning line for the race. Imagine how much more energy and endurance that takes and how much more strength you'll have to have to make it through 75 m of the 50 m race. The emotional toll is stronger, the spiritual toll is stronger, and the physical toll is stronger. So the consequences of not taking stock are indeed significant and ones that we really can't afford to continue to ignore.

So bite the bullet, do the uncomfortable, and tackle what might wish to be the unthinkable. Take stock. Know yourself, know your future.

Blessings,

Vicki

Vicki Hinze
www.vickihinze.com
FORGET ME NOT, 3/16

Thought I'd share a post from my Thinking Aloud blog:

(These are single thoughts to ponder as you go through your day.)

"The darkest night can seem unbearably strong, and yet the mere flicker of a single flame utterly destroys it."--Vicki Hinze