YA Indie Carnival!

Welcome to The Shootin' Gallery and the eighteenth post in the YA Indie Carnival. The carnival is designed for authors, readers and reviewers of YA Indie books. Each Friday this team of YA Indies will post on a common theme.

This week’s post theme is 11 Reasons....!

What an open ended theme! I love it! Being the optimistic soul that I am I decided to look at this post as an opportunity to remind myself and others about what is truly important in life. In a world which is constantly changing (and not always for the better) I think it is important to remember that our lives are what we make of them. So, with this idea in mind I've decided to give all of you 11 reasons to be happy!

Reason #1 Physical & mental health
This reason is fairly self explanatory, right? Many folks in the world struggle from day to day due to illness and/or mental disease (including addictions). Those of us who have been blessed with healthy bodies and sound minds should be grateful for our fortune. Being a person who has learned how to live/cope with a rare illness I feel especially grateful for my ability to still be able to live out my life and dreams. Not everyone can do this and I am forever grateful to God for my good fortune.

Reason #2 Being resilient in tough times
Today we are living through a challenging economy which has caused many of us to endure hardships along the way (loss of work, cut wages, decreased benefits). These factors only complicate and make more difficult the already existing challenging factors which may be present in our lives (loss of loved ones, debt, troubled relationships). Our ability to cope with these hardships and take care of ourselves and the ones we love is a blessed gift which should not be taken for granted but treasured and honored.

Reason #3 Work satisfaction
Doing what you love may perhaps one of the most celebrated aspects of our lives. I teach high school and working with teens everyday gives me a sense of purpose in this world. I feel if I only touch one life I will have made a difference. This reality is very gratifying, especially in a day and time where my profession is not as respected and appreciated as it once was. Celebrate what you do and make it meaningful!


Reason #4 Good relationships with colleagues, friends and loved ones
Nuture your relationships. Make efforts to collaborate with collegues and share your success. Tell your friends and loved ones that you love them, they matter to you, and that you are proud of them. Make sure they understand thier importance in your life. Relationships are a give/give effort. The more you give the more you receive in return.

Reason #5 Living a long life
Take care of yourself (exercise, eat healthy, reduce stress). So often we think of others and we neglect ourselves. If we truly love the people we take care of then we need to maintain ourselves. We need to take good care of ourselves so that we may be around long enough to enjoy those we love with out leaving them too soon... leaving them to miss us and regret our absence.

Reason #6 Inspiring others
Be yourself, be happy, be selfless, live life to the fullest! Share your joy, tears and fears with the world. If you do this it will be impossible to leave this world with out becoming at least one person's inspiration.

Reason #7 Being inspired by others
Let positive people rub off on you and lift you up! Don't say, "I wish I could be like that." or "I wish I could do that." You can do whatever you put your heart into. Surround yourself with positive and adventurous people. Your life will explode with fun and satisfaction and you'll surprise yourself by accomplishing things you never dared to dream before.

Reason #8 Liking yourself
Be your own best friend. If there is something about you that you don't like, change it or forgive yourself and move on. No one is perfect, even God forgives us for that. Look at each new day as opportunity to do something great with your life, that's a lot of chances!

Reason #9 Liking others
Too often we dwell on the negative. Challenge yourself to see the good in people. Look beneath the surface. Underneath the rough exterior may lie a heart of gold. Give people 2nd, 3rd and 4th chances. I'm not suggesting that you be a door mat, only that you keep your door open. Sometimes people only need to know that you like them to allow themselves to like you in return. After all, you can never have too many friends.

Reason #10 Being blessed with a loving family
Love and cherish your family. They are your heart and soul, your inspiration, your reason for living and giving and sacrificing. They are enough... for everything we must endure.

Reason #11 Being a parent
My children are my legacy to life. If my lessons in the class room are forgotten and my books are forever sealed and never read again I know my genetic line will continue on, making a mark on the world. Children are precious, they are our future. We gave life to the future presidents of The United States of America. We gave life to the scientists who will one day cure the world's most horrible illnesses. We gave life to future of the world!


I hope you enjoyed my 11 reasons... and I hope right now you feel a little bit happier and inspired by life! Before you head off to the next booth in the carnival please don't forget about...

Soulless; The Story of Shayan is out and available for FREE (ebook) at Smashwords and Goodreads! For now it is available for $0.99 at Amazon.com but I hope to list it FREE soon.

The Guardians of Souls, Book Two in The Soul Quest Trilogy (now only $0.99!!!). It is available on Amazon NOW!

Gwenn Wright's The Von Strassenberg Saga. Our very own Dani Snell just released and designed the official cover for BlueStocking Girl! Here's a link to Gwenn's awesome video:

Laura A. H. Elliott's 13 on Halloween new release! Check out her awesome book trailer and an excerpt.

Courtney Cole's novel, My Tattered Bonds, the finale of the Bloodstone Saga, has been released early. You can find it on Amazon here. Congrats to Courtney's debut on Amazon’s mythology bestseller’s list!

At the end of the month, a group of our own carnies (including yours truly) will be in Savannah, GA for a book signing. You can find the details here.

Lexus Luke is donating 30% of the proceeds from Manitou The Sky People Saga to the ASPCA. You can enjoy a great read AND support a wonderful organization!

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines will release on October 21. You can see its trailer here.

For a limited time, Kimberly Konrade is selling signed copies of her thriller, Forbidden Mind along with some other really cool stuff! Details here.

And don't miss the giveaway on Gwen Wright’s blog. When she reaches 100 followers, she will give away a signed copy of Filter and cool coffee mugs.

Carnival of fun!

The Ferris Wheel
Dani Snell: An awesome reviewer.
http://www.refractedlightreviews.com

The Rockin' Roller Coaster
Patti Larsen: Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, and The Diamond City Trilogy.
http://pattilarsen.blogspot.com/


The Kissing Booth
Courtney Cole: Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
http://courtneycolewrites.wordpress.com/

Cotton Candy Corner
Wren Emerson: Author of I Wish and a contributing author in the upcoming anthology that I am participating in (The Glassheart Chronicles).
http://wrenemerson.wordpress.com/

The Fun House
Nicole Williams: An indie author of paranormal fiction. Her titles include: Eternal Eden and Fallen Eden. She is also participating in the Glassheart Chronicles. Here is the link to my review on Goodreads.
http://nicoleawilliams.blogspot.com/

The Dunking Booth
Fisher Amelie: Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
http://fisheramelie.com/blog/

The Carousel
Laura Elliott: Author of the recently released Winnemucca!
http://www.laurasmagicday.wordpress.com

The Haunted Castle
Rachel Coles: Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms.
http://rachelcoles.wordpress.com/

Hayrides!
T.R. Graves: Author of Warriors of the Cross.
http://thewarriorseries.blogspot.com/

The Face Painting Booth
Cydni Tefft: Author of Between
http://ctefft.blogspot.com/

The Fortune Teller
P.J. Hoover: Author of Solstice
http://pjhoover.blogspot.com
Congrats to P. J. for her recent book trailer award for Solstice!

Popcorn and Caramel Apples!
Alicia McCalla: Author of Breaking
http://www.aliciamccalla.com/

Pony Rides!
Heather Cashman: Author of Perception
http://heathercashman.com/better_off_read/

The Petting Zoo!
Cheri Schmidt: Author of Fateful and Fractured
http://cherischmidt.blogspot.com

Fire Breather!
Suzy Turner Author of December Moon and Raven
http://www.suzyturner.com/

Clown Sherif!
K. C. Blake Author of Vampire Rules
http://kasi-kcblake.blogspot.com/

Elephant Trainer!
Gwenn Wright Author of Filter
http://hereventuality.blogspot.com/

Ring-Leader!
Kimberly Kinrade Author of Bits of You, Pieces of Me and Forbidden Mind
http://kimberlykinrade.com/

The Giant!
J.L. Bryan Author of Paranormals series- Jenny Pox. Tommy Nightmare & Alexander Death
http://jlbryanbooks.blogspot.com/

Lizard Woman!
Darby Karchut Author of Griffin Rising and the upcoming Griffin's Fire
http://darbykarchut.blogspot.com

Octo - lady!
Madeline Smoot Author of Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
http://www.madelinesmoot.com/category/ya/

The Fire Breathing Lady!
M. Leighton Author of Blood Like Poison Series, Wiccan, Caterpillar, Madly and Wolfhardt and The Reaping
http://mleightonbooks.blogspot.com/

Don't forget to make a comment and join my followers! I love hearing from my old friends as much as I love making new friends!