Category Archives: Trust

Why Bother?

I recently read an article that said the average income for a published author is less than 10k a year. If you factor in that Ebooks are easily pirated and copyrighted material is easily duplicated, the average income drops significantly. One reason that we O’Garas offer ebooks exclusively through Amazon is that if a Dear reader says, “I saw your ebook on website X”, I know my work was stolen. I also very rarely offer free ebooks. Not a fool proof defense, but the options for fighting pirates for authors are few.

So why bother publishing at all?

Simple, I don’t write for money and I don’t write for free. I know my words are good and I have things to share with readers. Those readers love to read my work. Those readers buy my books. Those readers will say thank you when I send out advance free paperbacks. They will share my words with their friends. Those friends will become readers. My readers, my tribe, will have my back.

I write for those readers.

Sometimes You Rest

Even if you have a full calendar, sometimes you have to rest. It may mean you can’t get to that appointment. You may have to say no to doing that favor. You may have to disappoint someone.

Sometimes you have to put yourself first.

The world won’t end if you just let it all go and rest.

What is a Father?

A father can make offspring and walk away. It is not easy to stay and raise your child. It takes work and commitment. Unfortunate for some kids those two things are not required to make children. Humans can make babies and walk away. They can give their children away to others. Humans have a choose to parent their babies or not.

Facts are little humans are better adult humans if they have a father, biological or not, in their lives consistently and long term.

New and Old Friends

Humans are communal. As much as some of us want to be hermits and loners, we by nature want and need contact with other humans. We gravitate to certain individuals who share common likes and dislikes. If we are lucky we find those who we can attach too for a long term friendship.

Sometimes we find that other person was not who we thought they were the entire time we were friends. The longer the relationship the worse the hurt of rejection. That rejection makes us shy away from making new friends.

The key is to accept that other humans are faulty, let that bad relationship go and move on. Be cautious but don’t let that hurtful experience shut you off from others.

You will miss amazing people and friendships if you close your heart.

Day 94

Easter. Jesus lives. He went to the darkest of places for three days. He returned to his disciples. He said to them, “Why are you startled? Why are doubts arising in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me! Touch me and see, for a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones like you see I have.” As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

The disciples of Jesus had no need for evidence of the empty tomb. They could see it for themselves. But what assurance can we have today that the tomb really was empty?

If the tomb had not been empty, someone would have produced Jesus’ body. There are well-documented appearances of Jesus appearing after his resurrection in all four gospels and in 1 Corinthians. The idea of a man returned from death would have been strange to first-century Jews. Jesus told them he would return and he did.

Jesus told them he would return again and he will.

Day 75

Today 34 years ago I became a mother. It is a scary, thrilling, beautiful thing to be.

You are always a parent once you become one. It isn’t something you ever finish doing or being.

Some humans walk away. Better to stay gone if you can’t commit to forever. Tiny humans deserve your best self as a parent. They know if you are a fraud.

Be a good parent to your children or don’t be a parent.