Happy Almost Halloween/my Birthday, minna-san! 😀 Once again, I apologize for my lack of massive updates since school started up, but it is just that: my first official teaching job (and all the paperwork, meetings, and prep it takes on top of being in the classroom) on top of running an after school anime club at the high school, on TOP of writing and promoting “Spirit Vision 3,” I get tired so easily and get lazy on my rare moments off. Plus, it’s a half hour drive there then another back.  But, I enjoy what I am doing and I AM working on the update as promised.  Slowly chugging along like a rusted train, but I still have my tracks to guide me. ^_^ Thank you for your patience!

If you are unaware, on October 21st, 2016, the third book in the “Spirit Vision” series, “The Power of Mortals” was RELEASED in Kindle format and Amazon paperback on Amazon.com! I am ready to break dance with giant lobsters I am so tickled pink by this! It has been a long and different ride to get this fifth book published, but I am so glad I stuck with it for Stary, Umbra, you guys, and myself.  I want to thank Sheenah for the formatting and being my mentor, Suzy for her once again incredible covers AND the new chibi bookmarks, and my Beta Readers: Morgan W,. Dan W., Danny B., Casey, and Kate!

Get your OWN copy here!

Please check out the new “Spirit Vision 3” book page for the cover, links for purchase (more coming soon), excerpts, and more!

To also celebrate, “Spirit Vision 3” has a book blog tour through Enchanted Book Promotions.  It started on October 21st and ends on November 4th.  Thank you for setting it up! Please check out all the stops by clicking their banner above!

Now, onto my star of this post!  She is my kindred spirit, my spirit animal, my idol.  Her warm heart, charming wit, and bright smile made me relax at the drop of her adorable hats.  I can talk to her about everything and anything and she is my closest con friend.  I know if we lived closer to each other, we would be at each other’s houses constantly, with books, craft nights, and oh so fun, sparkly, and wild “Harry Potter” parties! She is so talented with her shop, decorations, and her photography, has a good head on her shoulders, but a kindness as welcoming as the lapping waves on a summer shore at midnight.  I am so glad she has taken me under her wing, dubbed me as friend, and allowed me to showcase her amazing writing.  As her little Totoro, I will do anything to support her and I know you guys will love this honeybee as much as we all do in Missouri! Please welcome my dear friend and sensei in the ways of the Totoro: Mrs. A.J. Blanton! ^_^ <3

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Aspiring Authors Spotlight Questions:

1. When you wake up in the morning, how do you see life?
It depends. I would love to say that I wake up everyday full of love and zest for the new day. But in truth, everyday is different. Some days I wake up seeing my life as a uncharted path that could lead to beautiful experiences. Some days I awake with a sense of longing and no understanding of how to fulfill my sense of purpose. Some days I wake up seeing the mundane existence that is the ebb of life. And some days I awake seeing my life in all its lovely moments and wondrous relationships. All days become yesterday soon enough so I figure I just allow each day to be its own maker.

2. How did writing find its way into your life?
Through reading I suppose. I cant really recall when the written word was not important to who I was. I began reading at 4 and have never stopped. I love to be transported into worlds and thrown into events. Books are my escape and my reality all at the same time. I have written for almost as long. Nothing grand or impressive by any means, just me jotting down thoughts and characters.

3. What does writing do for you?
Writing gives me another outlet. It allows me to express myself in a way that tends to be more personal than my art, props, and sculpting does.

4. What sort of genre or type of writing do you do?
Young Adult Fiction that slants toward Fantasy or Supernatural. I also write poetry and have written a few children stories. But I have never been published.

5. Do events in your life or people you know affect your writing?
Yes, how could they not? It isn’t a write what you know thing but more a write what you feel. When I am feeling discouraged, my characters feel it. When I am hopeful so are they. I also draw from them a lot as well. When one of my characters dies, I mourn. When one falls in love, I smile.
I try not to base characters on just one person though. Most of the time they are compilations of several personality traits from several people I know. I do draw from situations that I have dealt with when writing. It helps me to organize my thoughts if I can feel or have felt what the character needs to feel.

6. What are you currently work on or what was the last thing you wrote?
I am currently just doing writing prompts getting ready to participate in NANOWRIMO with one of friends.
The last thing I wrote that I actually had someone read is still unfinished. It is called Ghostly Solace.

7. Can you tell us a little about it and its inspiration?
The NANOWRIMO story will be a young adult dramatic piece that may have some fantasy elements thrown into the mix. As I have only written a few paragraphs to try to get into the mind space of what my main character is going through, I haven’t quite figured everything out about the tale I want to weave.
Ghostly Solace is a young adult novel about a girl in high school. She is murdered, comes back as a ghost to help solve her murder and to help the people she left behind deal with her passing. I actually had a dream about a young girl who was murdered and it inspired this story.
A lot of my stories stem from my dreams.

8. What are your goals for the future?
A goal? I don’t really do goals, at least not currently. I am taking this year to just live and see where I land. I am lucky to have a wonderful husband and son who support me in this haphazard journey of self reflection. Dang it! That in itself is a goal isn’t it? So much for the philosophical nomadic expression of my soul. In reality my goals tend to be more goals for the ones I love and less for me. Although, I am trying very hard to work on changing that constant frame of thought. I have dreams more than goals. I dream that my creativity and my businesses can be financially sustaining for my family.

9. What are your interests or hobbies?
I am a geeky girl who likes lots of random nerdy stuff. I like to cosplay and have nerdy gatherings with friends. I love comics, video games, costumes, prop making, wands, sculpting, painting, reading. See lots of random geekery fill my life.

10. If you could be a superhero, what are your powers and how would you use them to help the world?
Is it bad that I actually don’t have an answer for this? I never want to be a hero. But, if I were a character in a comic I think I would probably be the sarcastic best friend who helps the hero to find their way. I have always related more to that type of character.

11. What advice would you give people who want to write?
Just write. It doesn’t have to make sense. There doesn’t need to be a clear path when you begin. All you have to do is sit and express what is in your mind with words. Writing, like all art forms, can be done by anyone at any skill set. All they need to do is write. Write gibberish. Write a sentence. Write random ideas. Write often! And soon you can become a craftsman of words.

12. If you could be remembered for one thing or thought, what would it be?
I want people to remember me as a caring person who always tried her best. I would rather be remembered for a million little everyday things than any one particular thing. when I am gone I want those that knew me to recall something I did or said and smile.

Example of Work:

This interview.
In actuality, here is a sample of the story building I am working on for my NANOWRIMO story.:

I sat there letting the words sink into the depths of my soul. Simple words with no extraordinary meaning broke me. How? How could just words bring my world crumbling around me. My whole life was nothing but a lie. I had been lied to by not just a few people but by everyone who had every known me. Those who promised to love me, those who I thought I could trust with my life and in one swell swoop destroyed me. I hadn’t even began to process that they were gone. They were gone, I let this sink into my mind and felt a sharp pain in my chest. Tears fell from my hazel eyes in an uncontrollable shower. I felt anger build up and I screamed at the air around me. “I don’t know what to do. Why?” I placed my face in my hands. “Who am I? Why didn’t you tell me! Oh God, please why?” I looked around the dark bedroom which seemed so much smaller than it had been just yesterday. “I am no one.”

As I stood up from the chair my legs began to give out on me. Slowly, I made my way to the bed. I curled into a ball, covered myself under the warm patchwork quilt and just let the fear, the anger, the pain overwhelm me. I sobbed for what seemed like hours maybe even days and then nothing.

I awoke and pulled my phone from the table next to the bed. I had slept for 18 hours. Yet my body and mind were still completely worn down. Exhaustion hung around me like a low fog on a brisk fall morning. I wanted to close my eyes again and just hide. Hide from the world, Hide from myself. Hide from the pain. But no matter where I went or what I did I couldn’t find a way from this. It was now my life. Without answers from the only people who actually knew what happened, I must try to grasp the truth. However, right at this moment I couldn’t.

It was numbing, looking around the dark house realizing that I was alone. That mom and dad were no longer there. Tears began to fall once more. Why did they leave me? Why did they have to die? Why did they have to keep secrets?
I was so mad at them and I couldn’t figure out if it was because they left me here without anyone, or if it was because my whole life they had kept the truth from me.

“UGHHHH!” sounds of frustration escaped my body with a slight release of the pain.
I’ve got to get dressed. I have to take a shower and prepare for the onslaught of friends and family coming to offer their condolences. How can I look at these people knowing that most of them knew about me and never said a word? I don’t want to deal with them. I want to just crawl back into my private quilted world and let them have the funeral without me. I don’t want to sit there and listen to them drone on and on about how wonderful our family was. LIES! Why not say the truth? Your parents were wonderful at keeping secrets.

I peeled off my pungent clothes and stepped into the shower. The water from the adjustable shower head  poured over me, mixing with tears. I couldn’t stop crying. Please let me stop crying. I can’t! I don’t want to. I felt my body shaking. I can’t breath. “Please help me. Somebody help me.” The water had turned cold as I sank into in the corner of the tub.

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Adoena (AJ) Blanton was born in Missouri in December 1976. She lives in Branson Missouri with her 21 year old son, Dakota, and her husband. Tom. She works part time at a movie theater and runs two home based businesses, aBeesCreations and partnership in AazuBee Artifacts. She also works as a photo shoot Creative Director sometimes for Friendly Fire Fotography. She loves to create props, work with other creative people and make art. She is currently working on a calendar project for 2017-2018 with over 18 models, photographers and artists. She writes for her own sanity.

You can find my art and items on my face book page www.facebook.com/aBeesCreations