How Animals Can Inspire You... (IWSG)

...to laugh. Okay, so one of these isn't per say an "animal," but it's pretty amazing.

Brought to you by Maggid

WEEEE!

Beware the Kung Fu master!

And you thought fishing was safe.

Can't you just hear him laughing as he runs? Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee, suckers!

Yoink!

(Beware, Elephants are smarter than they seem.)

I'm still kind of on break, drafting like a maniac, but I wanted to pop in and say, I hope you've laughed today. If not, find a good reason. It's when we get too serious about ourselves or life that reality crushes us. Don't be crushed. Be like the first elephant. Jump for joy.

A quick heads up, I'm participating at the Parallels Anthology blog for the A-Z Challenge, posting for C, H, and O. Pop in and say hi! I'll be back to posting weekly in May.

Now it's giveaway time!

Last month Sarah Ahiers shared with us ASSASINS HEART, along with two truths and a lie. Those who guessed the lie correctly were entered into a random drawing for the chance to win a paperback.

The Game:

1. I came in second place in my middle school’s spelling bee when I was in 6th grade
2. I played the violin for ten years.

3. I have had a myriad of pets, including: dogs, goldfish, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, squirrels, horse, anoles, tree frogs, & cockatiels.

The lie: #1. Sarah has never actually entered a spelling bee.

Way to guess everyone! And the winner is:

...DRUM ROLL...

Kai Strand!

Congrats, Kai!

And now for the next few posts I'll be doing something different. I'm so excited to be in the first ever IWSG Anthology contest that I'm going to introduce you to ALL the other authors, one week (or month) at a time. But of course they'll be giving stuff away. And playing the game.

The first one is:

Dani Finklemeier has decided to write a self-help book about how to take over the world, but she’s not sure where to start. After all, she’s only seventeen and looking for a better way to make money than babysitting. She buys a self-help book that promises to teach her how to write a self-help book in the hope of getting the job done.

Not that it’ll be easy to get any work done this holiday season. Her family is staying at the house for Christmas, and fights break out almost immediately. Dani also has to deal with the fallout from an unexpected kiss with her best friend Seth and the feelings that go along with it. On edge around her family and unsure how to interact with the one person she’s trusted with everything in the past, she can only take what inspiration she can from the crazy circumstances surrounding her and see what happens.

One way or another, it should be an interesting holiday.

Get your copy HERE.

Ready to meet the author?

L.G. Keltner has been trying to write novels since she was six years old. She’s wanted to be many things over the years, but the dream that survived into adulthood was that of being a writer. She graduated from Drake University in 2008, but she’s still learning every day. L.G. lives in Iowa with her husband and children.

You might run across L.G. munching Pepper Jack cheese while kicking trash over a game of Monopoly.

Find her online HERE!

L.G. gave me two truths and one lie to test your "lie detector" skills. Those who figure out the lie will go into my magic hat for the chance to an the ENTIRE series (not yet released) in eBook of SELF-HELP 101! (5 installments between now and February 2017.)

You have until Tuesday, May 3, at 2 p.m. EDT to guess. Be sure to come back for the answers on May 4, 8 a.m EDT.

TRUTH OR LIE

1. When I was 17, I got a chance to travel in Europe for three weeks.  The day before I left, I got up early to run errands.  Then I was too excited to fall asleep that night.  Combine that with an inability to fall asleep on airplanes, landing in Rome at 10a.m., and having an entire day of activities ahead, I was awake for approximately 60 consecutive hours.
2. When I was about 12, I was playing basketball at school.  I decided to make a half-court shot.  Not only that, I decided to do it while facing the opposite basket.  After all, I thought I stood no chance of making it either way.  So I took the shot and . . . I made it.  I turned just in time to see it go in.  I’m sure I could never under any circumstances pull it off again.
3. In college, Jamie Kennedy (Randy from Scream, comedian, etc.) did a stand-up routine at my school. On a dare, I asked him to marry me, and he asked me how much money I had.

So sleuths, which is the lie? Have you laughed today? What did you find funny recently? Do you like funny books? Have you met L.G Keltner before?

How to Find Happiness A-Z: J

The day my parents came home with a trampoline...

...everyone took a turn, even Mom and Dad--which I thought was ridiculous. They were grown-ups after all. Smiles and excited screaming filled the yard.

JUMP!

You know that free-fall sensation when the ground rushes up, your stomach clenches, and adrenaline tenses every muscle. Life is comprised of those moments of decision, those turning points that make you either want to puke, or scream from pure exhilaration. But if we aren't willing to jump, how will we ever know what waits? Will we hit the ground and spring back up, or will we be a pancake?

I tend to be trigger shy. Wasn't always that way. In fact, this development is something that's come about thanks to several pancake experiences. Were they true pancakes? I don't know, but my inflation machine is starting to run out of batteries. (Thus the scientists locked in my Floridian basement are working on a never-ending power supply.) Still, the older I get, the more I realize this life only happens once. So what if we fail? Did we learn something? (Perhaps how NOT to fail next time?)

Happiness results from overcoming the odds.

Walt Disney took CRAZY risk when he put out Snow White. He mortgaged everything--his home, his company, everything. He and his wife held their breath as their world threatened to collapse in and crush them. But the opposite happened. The thriving business that is now Disney bloomed out of that single terror-inducing risk. Can you imagine the world without Disney?

And finally, a quick footnote, I would not remember any of the aforementioned experiences if I'd not had the foresight to record them in a JOURNAL. Yup. That's right. A second "J" word! (Watch out--they'll be popping up all over the place today.)

Have you overcome your odds? What pancake experiences have you survived?