Viva Italia

The past couple of days I focused on my brochure. I have a good draft done, but I think I still want to change things a bit. I didn't do a lot of other writing, because I was busy thinking about this marketing idea.

Of course, in the middle of my job search, I get a call from the travel agency. The gift certificate I had purchased for my parents a few years back needs to be put toward a trip by the end of November or I lose the money. For various reasons, my parents cannot use it at this time, so the certificate reverts back to me. Normally, I don't mind a free trip, but being "between jobs,"I'm thinking I don't want to be planning an international trip right now.

But, I threw caution to the wind and put it all in God's hands. I've been wanting to go to Italy for 30 years and I guess now's the time. So, I called up my paisan and asked her if she was still interested in a viaggio d'Italia when school's out and she said, "Absolutely."  The verdict: we will be traveling at some point next summer for 15 days to five main Italian towns including Rome, Tuscany, Sorreno, Venezia, and Pisa. We'll also see Pompeii, Padua, and some other cool sites. Although I'll be paying a little bit more than the gift certificate, I figured it could be a once in a lifetime event and since I don't know when I'll ever get back to Italy, I want to see everything I want to see it now.

The moral is that sometimes you have to pay a little bit to get something good to happen and sometimes you have to take a chance and let God take care of everything. When you're writing you need to pay for a course now and then to keep you sharp or perhaps a private editor (a good one). Take risks in your writing and try new things. Don't typecast yourself as just a "horror" writer or just a "romance" writer. Be willing and ready to branch out into other areas. That's the way you'll gather new readers.

Of course, the final lesson is to live the Italian way and that's to live life to its fullest. Remember that as a writer you need to create an entire world for a reader. The best way to do that is to get off your butt, out of the house, and go live life. Travel, see things, try new things, then tell your readers about it. Don't just depend on what you read. Live!

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I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween. You should have either gotten into costume, gone trick-or-treating with some little ones, or have been greeting the neighborhood kiddies at your doorway with a smile on your face. Remember: above all, Halloween is all about the kids. Celebrate the little ones!
Please check out my novel Luke Aloysius:  Bloodline on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GD9X8BE