It's happened. I've had another birthday. When you get to be old balls, they come faster and faster. I thought I was going to write about something today, but then I saw this video on Facebook and couldn't not share it.

Check it out:
https://www.facebook.com/Plaizir/videos/954714707900386/

I think it's important to remind ourselves to simply Be. To remind ourselves that we're human beings and we can't do it all. To remind ourselves to take time to slow down and savor the moment rather than spend our moments thinking about what is next. To remind ourselves to take the time to be kind to one another. Because that, fully experiencing the moments of our lives and spending those moments with each other, that is what being alive really is. I hope when we are old we can all look back and know that we lived.

Hugs.

The last 6 weeks have been crazy for my writing!

1. My short story "Good Boy" (adult fiction) was accepted and published by The Magnolia Review (Link)

2. My flash fiction piece "Living" was accepted by Riding Light Review in just over an hour of sending it to the editor! This journal is available for purchase via Amazon and I'll send the link when it comes out.

3. For Books' Sake (literary journal) posted a call for submissions for pieces of Young Adult literature with strong female characters. In a month I wrote a spin off story of the novel I hope to write next about Branko and they accepted if for publication! I'm so incredibly excited. Young Adult is my dream genre. Link to come!!

I don't want to say I never thought I'd see my name in print on a book, however, I would have written all of my life and probably been OK never being published. Writing is my dream, my passion, my thing. I'm not the best. I'm not going to win any awards. But for real. Erin Darby Gesell is an author's name now. It's out there in the world and people are reading my thoughts and words. I guess, what I am saying is, whatever your thing is, do it for you. People will notice. It might take a long time, but if you do you, it'll never be time wasted. 

Hugs. 

Next time instead of counting sheep before you go to bed, count all the things you love about yourself:

I love my freckles, my muscles, my laugh, the color of my eyes. I love my ability to run and write and never give up when it’s hard or when I get rejected. I love my passion to fight for what is right. I love the way I use my voice for what I believe and that my strongest strength is compassion.

If that doesn’t work, count all the things you are thankful for:

Sunshine and animals. Water and trees. My family. My friends. Yadi and yoga. Running and my bike. Good food, chocolate, and cake. Pillows and my bed. Having a job I love and a place to call home. Hot showers and rainy nights. Good music, good books, and laughter.

You can probably go on forever. Eventually you’ll fall asleep and wake up more in love with yourself and more thankful for everything you have. That’s worth more than sheep. <3

My first short story was published by The Magnolia Review today! You can check it out online here. Please know that this story is for a age 15+ audience.
I'm pretty pumped. This is a big day for me! My next piece of flash fiction will be published in the upcoming weeks by Riding Light Review. Look for a link soon.

When I went to AWP (American Writers and Writing Programs’ annual conference) this spring, I met a writer from small town Nebraska writing about small town Nebraska. Her book The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don’t Mind is worth a read if you’re into Young Adult literature fo sho. I’ve attached my review of it below—see if it’s something you might like! What the author, Kirstin Cronn-Mills does with her protagonist in this story is something I love. She gives her main character a thing, a quirk, a little oddity. Morgan’s quirk is that she writes fortunes and leaves them all over her house, outside at her school, at the grocery store where she works, anywhere.

Management changed this week in my job that I very much love, and I’m anxious to see what happens now—if things will go on and the job I’ve worked to build can continue or if my manager will want to bring in change. At the same time, my boyfriend’s organization is talking change as well.

I’ve kind of taken for granted that my job was a certainty. I never thought it would change before I was ready to switch careers. This week I’ve been thinking of my own fortune, words of wisdom, and this is what I’ve come up with:

While the things we feel we can count on most in life aren’t always the most exciting, rejoice in and love the things we have that are certain, because in this great life of ours, most of the world is precariously unreliable.

I wanted to just post my fortune, but I’m terribly long winded so you get all us this. And check out Kirstin’s book! Here’s my review:

Very sweet and honest. Morgan is a fantastic main character that readers can relate to. The author puts readers so close to Morgan that we feel everything with her--the confusion, embarrassment, anger, fear--this is a great feat as most of us don't know how it feels to be kissed by a girl in hick town, Nebraska. Cronn-Mills asks her readers to examine what they believe and think about how honest they really are with themselves. I truly enjoyed this book. Via: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6444812-the-sky-always-hears-me?ac=1

     I have the most exciting news of my writing career! One of my short stories will be published by the Magnolia Review! More to come about the story as well as a link to the publication.
     A million thank you's to my friend and family readers--Pam, my mom, John, Anna, Johnny, Darby, Avery, Lori, and Gayle--and everyone else between Norfolk Senior High and Miss Henre, UNO and Lisa Sandlin, and Antioch University and Gayle, Kerry, and Francesca. So much love to all of my peeps.

     This is totally a first world problem, but I've been struggling with my feelings about Miley Cyrus for over a year now. When she was Hannah Montana, I paid her no attention. Since she has left Disney, she's been taking me up and down on quite a roller coaster of love and dislike. I think she can really, really sing. I've seen her live, and she did a Bob Dylan cover that gave me goosebumps. However, she was also touching herself and riding on a giant hot dog. She's been very open about her support of free love, but then she is naked in her music videos at an age that is barely legal. I admire her free spirit, but hate that she makes a statement by saying the F word every other word and using her body to make her voice heard.
     Miley is in the news this week for posing naked for Paper Magazine. The article has nothing to do with the pictures. The article is about Miley's charity for homeless teens, Homeless Hippies. In the piece she talks about how it hit her while she was driving in her Porsche: how could she have so much and others so little? She's right. Her reasoning is enlightened and humble. I'm excited to see someone with influence actively speaking out and doing something to create change.
     Miley also talks about her fluid gender and how she doesn't identify with one sex nor is she attracted to only one sex. She says, she's down with any adult who is down to love her and as long as you aren't hurting anyone, your choices are your choice. Her last statement about choices--how many times have I said that myself? I whole heartedly support Miley in her quest to create love about love rather than gender or sexual orientation. I'm down with that.
     However, why all the naked pictures? Miley has a great body. I support her showing it off, but let's be honest, she's using her body to sell the article, to sell the product--both herself and the charity. Does she think no one would read about her if she didn't sensationalize everything? Will there ever be a day where a woman can be smart and talented and speak out about her causes and people will listen because she is smart and talented rather than because her boobs are showing? I realize that Miley doesn't identify with one gender, but this is a hard loss for feminism.