Everyday Woman Radio Show with Vicki Hinze

Join Me Today on blogtalkradio at 2

I'm doing an interview on blogtalkradio.com today at 2 PM. Listen in HERE.

blogtalkradio, interviews, kill zone, Vicki Hinze, books, suspense novels

Mistakes We Make #11 & Vicki Talks Writing on TV Tonight

READ ARTICLE

errors, mistakes, flaws, authors, writers, novelists, creative writing, nurture, positive environment, constructive solutions, resolutions, what we need, what we want Vicki Hinze, writers library

Note: Vicki will be appearing on WSRE (PBS) tonight at 7 PM talking about writing.

ATTENTION READERS AND THOSE BUYING BOOKS TODAY

CODE #: 18391243

If you are buying books at Barnes & Noble online

or in the store today,

please use the code number above.

BN will send a portion of the net proceeds to

Edge Elementary School.

It costs you nothing,

it can provide the resources

to really help the little ones attending this school.

Blessings,

Vicki

Edge Tigers

WHEN YOUR EMOTIONS ARE IN RIOT. . .

EMOTION EXPLOSION ©2000-2008, Vicki Hinze

WARNING: This is a no-edit zone...

Between a contentious election, the economic crisis and all of the additional challenges triggered by both, emotions are running high.

Doubt it?

Philadephia wins the World Series, and fans and supporters react by rocking cars, doing damage to a news van and setting fires in the street. This is not normal “we’re happy about this” behavior.

This morning, a San Francisco WGO radio talk show host called for the death of Joe the Plumber. A citizen whose only crime was to ask a question that some don’t like the way their candidate responded. This is not normal “we’re upset with our candidate’s answer” or “we wish you would never have asked” behavior.

A young woman “gets in the face” of a seventy-year-old woman because she didn’t like her political button. This behavior was urged by the candidate. “Get in their faces and....” This is not appropriate conduct, or being respectful for anyone’s freedom of choice. It was wrong for the confrontational woman. It was wrong for the candidate.

This morning, we’re waking up to news that one of the candidates’ plans, if implemented, will bankrupt the coal industry and for everyone energy costs will skyrocket. (The candidate’s words, not mine.) That’s got a lot of people erupting in an emotion explosion.

Everywhere we look, people are acting as if they’ve lost it, saying and doing things they would normally never do. It’s a time of hyper-stress. Hyper-emotion.

Characters endure times of hyper-stress and emotion, too. But I would be judicious in having a protagonist act in the unacceptable conduct ways that the individuals referenced above behaved. Why?
READ MORE

Tags: emotional reactions, heroic behavior, emotion explosion, Vicki Hinze, writers library, authors, novelists, emerald coast writers, creative writing

Dealing With Stress

WARNING:  This is a no-edit zone...

In the last week, every email that I’ve gotten from those who read this blog has related to crisis and stress.  Understandable, considering. 

Stress either builds slowly over time or comes on like a gangbuster and body slams you.  Either way, we know that stress kills.   Many try to ignore what has them stressed.  They deny, rationalize, ignore, suppress, or otherwise attempt to hide from the stress factors that are burdening them.

It doesn’t work.  And the impairments that come with it impact you emotionally, spiritually and physically.  There is no calm, peace, serenity and the physical body rebels against all those things.  You see headaches, body aches even nausea and colon challenges.  The entire body can be impacted and tossed into turmoil.

What does work?

Dealing with the stress.

How do you do that?

Get physical. 
     Exercise releases endorphins that counter the chemical imbalance stress brings on.

Get rested.
     Weariness and exhaustion destroys our ability to make calm, rational decisions or to set our course of actions.

Get smart.
     Whether your worries are personal, your private business, your professional business, the nation’s business--get informed.  It’s impossible to make wise choices when you don’t know the details.  When you understand the challenge, then you can focus on the solution. 

Making that shift--from the challenge to the solution is paramount in lowering your stress level.  Why?  Because command of the matter gives you confidence that the decisions you make will be good ones, seated in wisdom.

These are stressful times and they’re going to get worse before they get better.  Every generation has its challenges, and this one is no exception.  That isn’t always a bad thing.  It’s not pleasant, but challenges have value.  If we elect not to ignore but to deal with these challenges, we often discover what we stand for, what we will not stand for.  We discover our strengths, our character.  

We discover ourselves . . .

Blessings,

Vicki

Vicki Hinze
www.vickihinze.com

Stork Alert!

The stork has landed...

I'll be out a few days! :)

Blessings,

Vicki

Hurricane Gustav and Memory Lane...

WARNING:  This is a no-edit zone...

We dodged the bullet--or the eye of Gustav--but even in Florida, we’ve been under tornado warnings most of the morning today.  They’ve been spinning off an outer feeder band, coming up from Destin, Fort Walton Beach, and Santa Rosa.

My mom’s family, in harm’s way in Gulfport, Pass Christian and Waveland as well as New Orleans are all evacuated and safe, last I heard, which has been long hours ago.

I’ve failed to reach extended family in Marrero on the New Orleans westbank, but so long as the Harvey Canal tunnel holds, they should be okay.  My hope is that they too evacuated and just haven’t yet gotten through.  As you can imagine, phone lines are really busy at times like this.

Since this storm had New Orleans in its cross-hairs for days, I did something I’ve not allowed myself to do since my mother’s death. READ MORE...

Important Note

Effective today, I will be posting my blogs on my website as follows:

Writing: Craft, Art, Business and Life: My Kitchen Table

Spirituality: Faith Zone

The "Vicki Hinze on Writing" blog will be incorporated into the MY KITCHEN TABLE blog.

The website url, should you have link challenges or desire to paste into your browser is:

http://www.vickihinze.com

Blessings,

Vicki

P.S. If you're viewing this via reader, you'll need to visit the www.vickihinze.com website to view any updates.

I apologize for any inconvenience, but I'm paddling as hard as I can, and I just can't keep up, so I'm having to consolidate where and when possible. Appreciate your understanding.

For your convenience, I will still notify you of new posts here.

Vicki Hinze
www.vickihinze.com

TAGS: Vicki Hinze, hinze blog, CREATIVE WRITING, feature article, writing craft, books, novels, readers, authors, emerald coast writers, novelists, booksellers, book reviewers, everyday woman radio, romance writers, thriller writers, suspense writers

Stealing Religion

This one of those “can you believe it” days.

In the news this morning, there’s a report on a thief that has me shaking my head and wondering, “What is s/he thinking?”

Stealing isn’t a novelty; unfortunately, it happens with monotonous regularity. So what made this theft, or this thief, noteworthy?

The objects stolen. A nativity scene from a family’s front yard. Statues of Mary and Joseph and more. Not only did the thief steal these things, s/he also trashed other items in the family’s display--including bells and trees.

People have fought wars over religion throughout recorded history. They’ve corrupted religion, and hidden behind it when it suited them. They’ve committed all manner of crimes to all manner of people and dragged religion into it to justify their actions, regardless of how inappropriate or insincere they were in citing them. We’ve seen these type actions often--Saddam Hussein is a prime example, and there are many, many others.

It makes one wonder how a thief can twist and rationalize his/her actions to make stealing, much less stealing these types of things, acceptable.

The majority of us find stealing morally repugnant. We find stealing religious symbols representative of significant events to the owners even worse. Our disdain is palpable, our empathy with the targeted family engaged.

And then we learn that this family suffered this flagrant violation not once but twice. In a single week.

Twice they’ve been violated, had their boundaries trespassed upon and their property stolen. Twice the thief or thieves had no regard for the family. And twice the family was left with the rubble in their yard and with the task of cleaning up the mess the thief/thieves had left behind.

As I think of this family this morning, I wonder if they’ll build their display again--a third time. I hope that they do--and that they consider using electric fencing materials. A little shock could make a would-be thief stop and think. A shame that’s legally considered entrapment when it could spare a soul.

And I find my thoughts veering to the thief and, for the life of me, I can’t imagine how s/he has justified to him- or herself these actions. Stealing a religious display. It’s as warped as stealing religion itself. Will s/he recall the theft with each glance at the stolen nativity scene? What sickening baggage will s/he attach to the theft? Will s/he even grasp the magnanimity of what s/he’s done to him/herself?

You know, the sad truth is s/he probably will not. Anyone twisted enough to highjack religious displays is likely too twisted to know the truth when it’s staring them in the face.

Which is not to say that there won’t come a time when the scales are lifted from the eyes and the thief sees his/her true self with all the veneer stripped away. The truth shall set you free, right?

But first it’ll be a long look into a harsh mirror in which nothing is hidden and all that is true is exposed. Then the thief will learn the penalty of his/her actions, and then s/he will suffer the utmost consequences. Because in the very symbols stolen are promises that remain intact: you reap what you sow. And from that, the thief cannot hide.

I wonder. When the thief sows, feels the full weight of the consequences of his/her actions, how will s/he feel about stealing then? Because the truth is, the thief(s) might have stolen and damaged and destroyed that family’s property. But s/he did far more lasting damage to him/herself. The kind self-inflicted that requires far more than mere repayment to be satisfied. It requires forgiveness, and that requires divine grace.

Do you think, stealing a nativity, that this thief will have the courage to ask for divine grace?

Only s/he can answer that. But one thing is certain, while the family returns to its life of joy and peace, the thief or thieves will experience the absence of joy and/or peace and will experience the question being called over and again--in a year, five years, twenty or thirty years--until s/he does answer.

Knowing that, one has to ask: In stealing, who--the family or the thief--has and will suffer the greatest loss?

Blessings,

Vicki

P.S. After completing this post, I googled the article title “Christmas Vandals hit again.”
There were over 41,000 related stories...

CALIFORNIA FIRES

Warning: This is a no-edit zone...

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/digitaldoc/california2007/1193110980.html

The above link is to digitaldoc’s blog entry. He’s in Mission Viejo, California, which has been impacted by the fires and has some stunning photos on this page.

Thoughts, prayers and positive thoughts are appreciated. Those of us in hurricane country well know the concerns of the people involved, evacuating, not knowing if their homes and treasured possessions will be there when they return. It’s a very difficult time for all these folks and only one word sticks in my mind: heartwrenching.

If you can, join in me in your own way, with your support. I think of the firefighters and their safety, the over 900,000 evacuating, the poor animals... Like I said, heartwrenching.

Blessings,

Vicki

P.S. to Mother Nature: a break, please.