It’s the Little Things
I did a thing.
Snail Mail is a Good Thing
I did it…so can you.
I admit it…
Make a Decision Already
Fall is Upon Us
Happy Back to School
I love back to school time of year for many reasons. I have been called an office supply/school supply hoarder. I am no longer allowed to go in to the office supply store alone this time of year. I never outgrew my excitement for buying new pens, pencils, notebooks and other stationary paraphernalia. The scent of the paper and ink sends my pulse racing. I am not alone in this obsession. Admit it, some of you can relate to my secret stash of pencils that I do not share and the stash of pens that I will loan with the understanding that if it isn’t returned the borrower will pay the price with their first born or a pound of flesh. Oh come on! Those are my good pens, y’all.
I like this time of year for the memories of the promise of new friendships. Many of my lasting relationships started during the first few weeks of school. On my Facebook friends list you will see my best friends from middle school and high school. I even married one.
As you send your kids off to school this month, remind them about the important stuff. Remind them to stay safe the world is an ugly place. Encourage them to make new friends and keep the good ones they have. Tell them that the friends they meet now are the ones that will love them the longest, disappoint them the worst and beak their hearts the hardest. Every bit of love, disappointment and heartache is worth it. Tell them to yell the loudest at the pep rallies, eat the pizza in the cafeteria, get all those crazy people to sign their yearbooks, and pay attention in class. Give them a camera, preferably one of those New Retro Polaroids. Encourage them to take thousands of pictures. The snapshots they take now will be gold to them in twenty years or less.
Remind them that all the stuff that seems so important right now should be put to the test, will it matter for my future? No, then let it go. Yes, then give it the attention it deserves. Make them read, read and read some more.
Most importantly impress upon them that no matter what happens this school year, no matter what people think or say, they are special, important and unique.
~Lori O’Gara
Fantastic Ficiton
Fantastic Fiction is an online catalog of authors and books for those of us who love to read fiction. If you’ve ever stayed up all night with the latest page turner (even though it’s work tomorrow); if you can’t wait to read the next book by your favorite author and get a real buzz from discovering a new book, then FF is aimed at you. Track your favorites and find new authors.
They recently added me!
Check it out!
Oh, did I mention is was FREE!
I want what I want.
Insane or Not?
Relationship Suicide
Start Somewhere
What or Who is a Whovian?
A Whovian is a fan for the 55 year old (as of 2018) BBC broadcasted show Doctor Who.
A few easy ways to tell if someone is a Whovian are: Turn off all the lights while repeating “Hey, who turned out the lights?”, moving statues around while they aren’t looking or telling them not to blink while staring at a statue, yelling exterminate at them in a freaky robot voice, ask them “are you my mummy?” and watching how they react to you. If they start screaming and or laughing hysterically they’re most likely a Whovian.
Or if they wear any of the following:
-Long multicolor scarves
-Red fezzes
-Bowties
-Question mark covered sweaters
Or if they refer to time as wimbly wobbly timey wimey stuff or if they eat fishsticks and custard.
Once you meet a Whovian you will be asked to watch Doctor Who with them. One of two things will happen. You will love it and become a Whovian or you may find yourself out on your keaster.
Once a Whovian always a Whovian. True Whovians never stop being a dedecated Doctor Who fan. Even in the face of the controversy surrounding the 13th incarnation of The Doctor into a woman. They embrace the change and wait in fervent anticipation for the next season to air.
Still have questions? Drop me a message and I will explain. The one thing I love to do in my free time other than write and spend time with family, is to talk Doctor Who.
~Lori O’Gara
You can’t Read that or Can you?
The Travelers’ Song (Necromancer’s Song Book One)
W.I.P (Work in Progress)
My soulmate and I are working on several projects. From time to time we will share W.I.P updates. As he likes to say, we are shoveling sand to make sand castles later.
The best way to keep up to date with our current events, books, articles and new releases is to sign up for the newsletter. Subscribers will receive updates and insider info. Also, sneak peaks, book excerpts, event invitations for subscribers only and publication announcements, before anyone else!
Cover Reveal: Never There
This is it! The story is over….or is it?
Perdido Key Novel #5
Never There
Publication date TBD.
There and Back : Hello William Porter
2 Days
When we read a book that sticks with us it is the characters that make the story come alive for us. It is like the people are real just not with us. We can see them in the situations and locations. We can feel the emotions that they are living. As I think about the Perdido Key novels, I look at the cast of characters and how real they seem to me. I live with them day in and day out like members of my family. To me they are almost real people. Well, invisible real people. I hope that when you read the books you see and feel the realness of them too.
William Porter is no exception. His realness is stronger for a lot of my readers. More so than other characters even though his story is not the main plot. He has a distinct personality that readers and I have become attached to. His brutally honest charm is what we want to see in a hero. His vulnerability and ability to love makes us want to love him back. I don’t know about you but when he closes that door leaving Krystal that last time in We Will Get There, I wanted to be standing on the other side of it waiting to hug him. I wanted to tell him everything is going to be alright. Your story isn’t over yet.
In two days, dear reader, you will have the opportunity to see what the next chapter of William’s story looks like in the third book, There and Back. I won’t give away any spoilers here, however I will say that you will laugh and cry with him. You might even want to hug him too.
~Lori O’Gara
One More Week!
I am amazed every time a reader says to me, “I love William Porter.” or “Poor William, he deserves a happy ever after.” William Porter was written as a support character and he is the favorite of most of my readers. The runner up is Brianna Dario and her friends in Bend, Oregon. “We want to know more about those people.” Thank you for the feed back. Keep it coming.
Perdido Key Novel #3, There and Back focuses on William and his attempt to find happiness. One more week…..
Self Perception
There and Back Give Away!
On June 30 I will release my third novel to the world. To celebrate the release of There and Back, I will give away copies of the first two Perdido Key novels. AND, one lucky winner will win a free copy of There and Back on the release date!
To Enter
Like my
author page on Facebook.
AND Share my page with your friends.
Winner announced on Facebook July 1st
Why I Write
Humble Pie Please
Respect. Love.
Weird is Relative
Sunday Thoughts: Selfishness
It’s No Big Deal
What I Learned from Mothers
Happy Mother’s Day
The Power of Touch
“Bring me your night terrors. I will make them stand silent. Give me your fears and I will replace them with pure calm. I will gather your demons and slaughter them one by one. I will empty your heart of stress, anxiety and discord. I will fill it with love, peace and happiness.”
A Goal is a Wish…
I just published “A Goal is a Wish with Action” on Medium.
Believe with big picture wishes. Believe in long reaching journeys. Believe in dreams with feet.
Sunday Thoughts: God’s Day & Fun Day, What?
We are lucky to live near one of God’s most beautiful creations. We live close to the beach. For those of you, Dear Readers, who have been on this journey with me for a while know that the beach, particularly Perdido Key is home to me and my family. (See page 21 in the Perdido Key Visitors Guide for my article about home)
The beach is for me like being in church. Not everyone will understand and that’s ok. If you pray and ask God to meet you where you are, he will not let you down. He will be there.
Today we will go to the beach. We will marvel at the beauty of God’s creation. We will sing songs of praise in the car. We will share the love of God with each other. I do not believe that God loves me less for not going to church on his day, but rather choosing to spend the day with my family out in nature that he created. There is nothing in the bible that says Sunday can’t also be a fun day.
Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (NIV)
~Lori O’Gara
Sunday Thoughts: I am not that Kind of Christian
What’s love got to do with doing Church?
I was asked a fair question recently by a unaware person, nice person, who knew me once upon a time, in another life. She simply asked, “Why do you no longer go to ****** Church?” (Name of church omitted by me to protect the innocent.)
I gave her question some thought. I love my old church family. I still communicate with many of the some people I went to church with, so it wasn’t that I didn’t want to associate with them any more. I still consider myself an Episcopalian in a lot of ways, so it wasn’t the Church big “C” that I was avoiding. My reasons for not settling down with one church was simple really.
One church, one Christianity method of serving God does not have all the answers. Each in their own way put God in a box that they construct with interpretations of the Bible, traditions and human invented rules. They then expect me (and You), dear reader, to fit as a perfect conformed shape to hold that particular box. I am not very pliable for conformity to certain shaped boxes. Therefore I drop said box all too often. I find that I can’t live up to the expectations of what many of the box builders expect. It is better to save them and me the agony of trying to get me to reshape to fit their version of God. I simply walk away. No mention of love there.
I am not one of those Christians that think that only main stream Christianity is the way to serve God. I believe that all religions hold some truth of God and that saying one is better or more true than another is foolish. To say that an all powerful omnipresent God will only use one religion to commune with His human creation is ridiculous. To say that God will only answer to one name is equally arrogant. No mention of love in that. However, I digress….
I am not one of those Christians that say, “ I just don’t like organized religion.” I actually love it. The more structured and Scripture filled the better. I love the singing, praying, and bible dissection. I love the communion with God and fellow humans. I don’t even mind tithing. No, I like church.
I am not one of those Christians who blindly follow a teaching because I learn it in Church, so it must be true. I always take the time to study and research a truth for myself. I don’t like being told how to love God and humans. I don’t like being told that I must serve in certain ways through the church. I hate feeling like less of a Christian if I don’t go to every function or serve on committees. I hate the back biting and politics that come with church membership. Where’s the love in that? However again, I digress…..
I am not one of those Christians who follow a teaching because a preacher said I should. I also don’t like to be told that the message I got from God through my own prayer life was incorrect. Excuse me? It is not our place to judge other humans. God told me to love everyone and you are saying yes but not certain people? No thanks. I will follow what the Bible says and what God says on that one. Let me remind you what the Bible says about that, good Christian….
I believe that love is the number one point of being a Christian. Sharing God’s love by following Christ’s example, however that looks like for you is what makes you a Christian. Not what church you walk in to or not.
(Lori is a novelist and self proclaimed expert on how to be a non traditional, people loving, happy life living Christian. Read more about her here.)
Envelopes, Stamps and Books, Oh my!
I have been busy getting books packaged up to send out to reviewers and contest winners. If you are lucky enough to be one of those, keep a watch on your mail box. Mr. William Porter does not like to be kept waiting.
Thank you for each one of you who have shown interest in my work. I am so thrilled to share my stories with you.
~Lori O’Gara
Announcement: Book Giveaway
Book Giveaway!
Like my Facebook page and comment on the giveaway post to be entered into a drawing for your choice!
A copy of Almost There or We Will Get There!
Drawing held on April 18th, winner announced and contacted through Facebook.
Sunday Thoughts: Rest in God
Sometimes you just find yourself exhausted. Not the sleepy tired that goes away with a good night’s sleep but the bone weary tired. You know the one, you go to bed with it and wake up with it the next morning.
Yeah, that one. We knew it is coming because we begin to feel it in the middle of the day. It taps us on the shoulder and says hey, how about a nap? Usually we are standing at work putting our best customer service smiles on, waiting in the grocery store line or some other place that frowns upon sleeping, like sitting in church on Sunday morning.
Excuse me mam, you are storing.
God tells us this sort of soul tired is to be expected. ““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The burden he is talking about isn’t the kind you physically carry but the emotional one that changes from day to day. Emotional burden come from many causes. Life causes stress good and bad. Many people are living with emotional burden and do not show it because they have found a way to cope. They might be repressing their emotions and this can often be more damaging. Coping and repressing brings the exhaustion that sleep won’t fix. Sharing the burden with someone you trust and making a plan to deal with it is one way to handle the burden.
This burden is not always because life is difficult or from something bad. Even when life is good we have this burden. It may be the overwhelming happiness that you are terrified you may loose, It may be the responsibility of supporting a family, because well, children like to eat. Life may be all picket fences and daisy chains that is making you tired.
Sometimes you just need to rest. Stop what you are doing, give the burden to God, lay down and rest.
Believe in the power of restoring rest and letting God handle your stuff.
~Lori O’Gara
(Also published on Medium.com)
Thank you, to our new Friends
We had a wonderful time in Chipley, FL. We talked books and writing. The friends of the library were so much fun. They fed us well and bought books. Thank you to Renae Roundtree the director of the Washington County Library System, for inviting us.
P.S. The dino is Blue the Literary Velociraptor, learn more about him here.
Announcement: New Series
Adventure awaits…
New Book Series by Brendan and Lori O’Gara
Johan, Wandalor, Dar, Thalin and Gadlin, came from different backgrounds, thrown together by fate and these are their stories.
The Travelers’ Song (Necromancer’s Song Book One)
The Gathering of Five (Necromancer’s Song Book Two)
Serpent and the Six (Necromancer’s Song Book Three)
Sunday Thoughts: He Lives
Resurrection of Jesus has many consequences for us today. It means that we have a living reason to stand for truth, a hope for the future and a foundation to place our faith. Not everyone who was lucky enough to be there when Jesus vacated the tomb believed He lived. I am amazed that even after Jesus was seen by several people after He was risen, that people still didn’t believe it. The writers of the four Gospels either had themselves been witnesses or were relating the accounts of eyewitnesses. The apostles appealed to common knowledge concerning the facts of the resurrection. Everyone at that time was talking about it.
When He ascended into heaven over five hundred people witnessed His departure. Yet, some still did not believe what they saw. Those that did believe that Jesus was in fact alive and returned to His heavenly home told everyone they encountered. They spread the gospel far and wide. As a result they were beaten, stoned to death, thrown to the lions, tortured and crucified. Even in the face of fear, the face of death, they laid down their lives as proof of the truth of their message.
Jesus lives, He died for us and rose again.
He lives. What’s more He will return for us!
We must believe in the Resurrection of Christ. Paul puts the Resurrection of Jesus this way (1 Corinthians 15:14-17) “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
We are forgiven. We are not under the threat of death if we share the gospel, yet we are more often than not silent. We go about our daily lives faithful, but how much are we sharing the gospel?
We haven’t seen Him. We never walked and talked with Him, we certainly did not get to witness His death, burial, His Resurrection and Ascension to the Father, but we believe in the person, the divinity for Jesus. We should be telling everyone! Sharing the gospel with everyone. What do we have to lose?
Galatians 2: 20 “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
What are you waiting for? Tell everyone about the life, death, Resurrection and love of Christ.
Happy Easter.
~Lori O’Gara
Three Days, the Fools Dance
On April 1st it will be Easter and the famous Fool’s day. On April Fool’s day in Ireland, a common practical joke was to send someone to deliver a note by way of several people who kept him going on to someone new until the last person opened the note that read “send the fool further.” In many places, these ‘fool’s errands’ would be accompanied by a verse for the recipient which said “don’t you laugh, and don’t you smile, send the gowk another mile.” A gowk is a Celtic word for cuckoo, a gullible or naive person. It was also a day of celebration in honor of Lod, the Celtic God of humor. The people took delight in anticipating spring with fun, frivolity and foolishness – usually at the expense of their friends. There was also dancing and merry making of all sorts.
I can promise you that the note in the April newsletter is no joke however there will be some fun involved. In the next installment of The Inner Circle I will reveal some amazing things. I hope you have signed up so that you do not miss it.
~Lori O’Gara
Have You Signed Up Yet?
Click here! The O’Gara Clan on YouTube
We now have an official YouTube Channel. Like all things O’Gara it is a work in progress. It will eventually contain author interviews, glimpses behind the scenes and more.
Here’s the button!
Sunday Thoughts: You are Loved
“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know.” ― A.A. Milne, The Pooh Story Book
Every word of this quote is true. He wrote it for his son, however we can all learn some valuable lessons by looking at these words in detail. Milne did not speak about God or religion often. He did call Hitler the anti Christ. He write poems that indicated he was thinking about God and believed God exist. The words in the poem are encouraging and thought provoking either way.
You are brave. The trick to being a brave soul is to believe it not feel it. Your emotions can deceive you. You can listen to your heart it always tells the truth by your emotions that live in your brain flat out lies.
You are strong. Every time you are placed in to a situation that you think you can’t deal with then you make it through, you learn more about your strength. This is a tough one because mostly it is the stressful, sad and devastating moments that teach us our strength.
You are smart. There are different kinds of smart. There are book smart people and there are common sense or street smart people. I believe that everyone has the capacity to be smart. It is in your brain someplace. Where the brain is not good for emotions it is wonderful for logic. You have to brave enough to tap in to your smarts.
You are loved. If you were ever loved just once then are you forever loved. God sends love to us through each other and, I believe through pets. You may be alone right now but somewhere on this planet or in the other spiritual realm someone loves you.
When you are loved, truly loved and you know it, all the other things, bravery, strength and smarts are all easy. You have nothing to fear and you can do anything you set your mind to when you have love.
Remember you can give all the things to someone else. You can encourage someone to be brave. You can give someone your strength and you can teach someone logic. Then you can love them trough all of life’s ups and downs.
What is in it for you? You become courageous, you get stronger, you learn more and you get loved back.
All of this will bring happiness.
See how wise A A Milne was? He may not have been a Christian, but God sure believed in him. God gave him a talent for sharing truth even if he did not know it. He wrote seven novels, some poetry, and various forms of non fiction.
If you haven’t read any of Milne’s works start with Pooh, and then read his other works of fiction and non fiction. Then let me know if you agree with me?
~Lori
Thank you!
We had a great day yesterday! Thank you to everyone who came out to the library in Pace Florida to see us.
Sunday Thoughts: He Changed Me
As mentioned in a previous post, most of my blogging will now be published on Medium. Looking for today’s Sunday Thoughts, you can find them here!
Happy Reading!
Lori O’Gara
What is a Marriage?
What is marriage? Is it a wedding ceremony and a license? Is it a commitment to love honor and obey? Marriage is defined by Webster’s as the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law or by the rite by which the married status is effected, an intimate or close union. No mention of love.
Marriage existed before any government was organized. For thousands of years, people were getting married without a marriage license. Even today, there are some countries that have no governmental recognition of marriage and no legal requirements for marriage. Government endorsement is usually necessary for certain benefits, however. In American history, up to around the 1920’s, there was no such thing as a marriage license. The states invented them as a way to dictate who could and could not get married. Primarily as a way to stop white people from marrying black people. Still no mention of love.
Some people believe that a man and a woman are married in God’s eyes when they have completed some kind of formal wedding ceremony. There is an event, action, covenant, vow, or proclamation that is recognized as declaring a man and woman to be married. Love may be present, maybe not.
But does the very act of getting married constitute a true partnership? Does connecting yourself to another in the bonds of marriage mean that you are equally respected, loved or wanted?
Though many of my characters that I write choose to get married, I for one do not like what marriage has become in today’s society. It is an institution that gives people carte blanche to dictate what another person can and can’t do. I consider myself an expert on how not to be a spouse and how not to preform life as a married person. I should know I have had three failed marriages. Just as it takes two to make a marriage work it takes two to destroy one as well. I know, I have been there. Usually it plays out that one person gives up sooner in the marital timeline than the other. The vow is broken, hurt happens and loss is felt. Often a marriage dies long before the participants are willing to admit it. How many times have you known people who stayed married for the sake of the children or other reason that is not that they truly liked being together? Notice I said marriage not love.
Love is a choice. Love is a promise to cherish the other person.
You choose to love or not. There are couples who are more devoted to each other without a marriage license than others who have been married for years. It is society that has conditioned us to believe that those who are in committed relationships but are not legally married are somehow not valid partnerships. Somehow we are taught to believe that two people can’t be devoted if they do not get married or we think maybe they don’t love each other, trust each other, or care about each other enough to get married.
Marriage as ordained by God is a spiritual connection that is grounded in faith not government. Faith in God, faith in each other and faith in your choice to be together. It is not based on the human’s faulty idea of marriage that is a contract and dictated by social norms. It is the choice and promise of commitment to that one other person that is important. Love and devotion do not require a piece of paper or even a ceremony. Ultimately, that is between the couple and God. Only God knows our true heart (1 John 3:20).
A marriage license is just a piece of paper. If there is no love there is no point.
~Lori O’Gara
Sinners Only
When you think you are not good enough. When you feel worthless. When you want to give up. Remember God uses the broken. He prefers the company of sinners. Throughout history we see God using imperfect people to get things done. You are in good company. Here are a few of your companions:
Abraham was a senior citizen.
Issac was a daydream believer.
Elijah was suicidal.
Joseph was abused and broken.
Job ran away from responsibility and went bankrupt.
Moses was a murderer and he sucked at public speaking.
Gideon was scared.
Samson used women for sex and liked it.
Rahab was a sex addict and a prostitute.
Samaritan woman was divorced many times and had a live-in boyfriend.
Noah liked to drink wine, a lot.
Jacob was a cheater and was good at it.
David murdered his lover’s husband, so he could keep her.
Peter denied truth.
Martha worried about everything all the time.
Zacchaeus was a greedy little man.
Lazerus was dead…long dead.
Paul brutally killed Christians.
Then there was Jesus. He was a tradesman with a skill. He was a carpenter. He could have lived a life of privilege. Instead he chose to be with the homeless, hookers, thieves and liars. He spent all his time with the imperfect people, you know, the normal ones. He empowered them to do the will of God.
So, what makes you think you are so special that you can wallow in self pity?
Get up. Do the thing you have been scared to do.
~Lori O’Gara
