Jan 25 2012

C. J. Heck, An Author…From Within

Published by under Writing

Our children are the future, our future, the future of the planet we call Earth.  Problems abound, Nature sometimes ravages with earthquakes and tsunamis, politics plunder our energies, etc.  Our children are growing up here, among this crowded complexity of life.  What will they recall as adults? What skills and tools will they take with them through all this life-noise, to their adulthood?

Meet C. J. Heck, published in over 20 different publications along the years. “Since its release in August of 2000, I have been promoting my first children’s book, Barking Spiders and Other Such Stuff, through school visits, poetry workshops, Young Author Conferences, Literacy Evenings, as well as other personal appearances.”

C. J.’s writing sends children some sounds of silence, sounds louder than most others in life.  Their profound meanings can give the children who read her books, some inner strengths necessary to help carry them through the harshness that life can sometimes throw in their paths.

“When you find your center, you’ll feel your awareness and the energy from the universe. Nothing in the outside world can take that from you. There, you’ll find your inner peace, no matter what problems your life may be throwing at you. This is where your creativity comes from. Time seems to stop and you see everything from the stillness within. Peace and joy and acceptance of all that you are surrounds you as you realize you are not your problems. They cannot and never will own you.”

If I were of childbearing years, my child would be exposed to all of C. J.’s work; she seems to have the key to dealing with life on this planet with minimal stress.  Gee, now that is a concept.

But that’s not all; she has completed the sequel to Barking Spiders and is now deep into her tenth children’s book.

As I browsed over C. J.’s sites, reading her poems, trying on her essay insights, reading what other authors and journalists wrote about her, this quote jumped off the page.  This quote tells me how and why she achieves her genuine and deep connection with her young readers; “To write for children, the most important thing to do first is get back in touch with our own inner child.”

“The Child Within

Down inside this grownup
lives the child that used to be.
When I look in my mirror,
she stares right back at me.

Now that I’m a grownup,
it’s an older face I see,
but the child’s still there, just hiding,
way down deep inside of me.

Sometimes, we work together,
that little girl and me.
She comes up from her hiding place
and we write poetry.

I like being grownup
and I wouldn’t want to swap,
well … maybe a little younger face
and no gray hair on top.
Hugs,
CJ”

Most writing lessons urge you to write what you know, pull from your experiences.  And C. J. does just that; “Not everything I write has a lesson, but if I learned a lesson from it, it will show up in the poem.”  And it does. In one of my favorite poems from Barking Spiders 2, “Am I Pretty”, a child continually asks her mother am I pretty?  After several answers, the last stanza reads;

 “Mama! AM I PRETTY?

I didn’t mean to shout …

Then mama smiled and told me,

“Sweetheart, yes, inside and out.”

If you are an author wanting to get your books out there, known, read and enjoyed as they should be, here are some of C. J.’s thoughts:

“The first thing I would advise a writer to do is go to their local bookstore and pick up a copy of “Children’s Authors and Illustrators Market” by Writers Digest Books. A new one comes out annually in January or February. That’s your new Bible.

Other things you can do to promote yourself and the book: create a website, do book signings, book fairs, donate books to school libraries, do free readings for children who are patients in the hospital, do interviews for newspaper and radio stations, put together a press kit with a bio and newspaper clippings, anything having to do with your book and you.”

Here’s some of C. J.’s advice for getting published:

“**Never send an original manuscript, only a copy.

**Always make sure it’s spell-checked.

**Always double space.

**Put the word count at the top.

**If the publisher says “no staples” … they mean no staples! Use a clip.

**Unless they tell you not to, always send a self-addressed stamped envelope for their reply (SASE).”

C. J.’s book page offers touching and profound readings. If you want to treat the children in your life to genuine, deep experiences about life, you have many choices from her printed collection, all available with the click of a button.  Or maybe…you might want to treat your own inner child.

For our adult reading, C. J. is a prolific E-zineArticle author who delves into her spiritual and family experiences with a professional depth and vulnerability not often seen in writing.

I close with a sad quote from one of C. J.’s articles about the passing of her mother; it grabbed my heart so deeply, as well as reminding me of my own final moments with the passing of my own Mother, only 11 years ago.  You can read the complete article by clicking on the above E-zine link to better understand her last line.

“After a while, I put my arm across the front of her and gave her a gentle hug. Then I whispered in her ear that I loved her with all my heart. Through my tears, I told her it was alright for her to go; she had fought a brave fight, but I knew she hung on now for us and she was tired. I told her again, it was okay for her to go. I promised her that the girls and I would be fine. Then I thanked her for being my Mama and my best friend and I kissed her goodbye for the very last time.

Then I saw a tear, one slow, single tear. It spilled from the corner of her closed eye, ran down her cheek, and melted into the soft white pillow.

Mama had heard me…”

Find C. J. through the following links:

http://www.barkingspiderspoetry.com

http://memoirsfromnam.blogspot.com

http://cjswriterthoughts.blogspot.com

http://knowingwhispers.blogspot.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/cjheck1949/videos

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/cj-heck/17/312/b76

http://www.authorsden.com/cjheck

http://twitter.com/CJHeck60

http://www.facebook.com/cj.heck1

http://www.amazon.com/Barking-Spiders-Other-Stuff-Second/dp/1563152215/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262457459&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Barking-Spiders-Children-CJ-Heck/dp/0983932069/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318266396&sr=1-1-catcorr

http://www.amazon.com/Me-Too-Preschool-Poetry-1/dp/0983932034/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317227254&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Bits-Pieces-Short-Stories-Writers/dp/0983932042/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317227071&sr=1-1

 

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Jan 13 2012

Writer Thoughts: Jan Verhoeff

Published by under Writing

Jan Verhoeff once told me in another interview that ‘…she writes because she breathes.’ She wears out several computer keyboards a year! I must agree with her reasoning.

As author of over 30- plus active websites, many e-books and a few books including one coming out next year with a movie in tow, Jan writes for the same reason her heart beats…because it’s part of her life-force. Let’s take a peek into this writer’s mind and heart and maybe glean a feel for her productive muse. Continue Reading »

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Nov 03 2011

Write about the Water Tower Romance

Published by under As the Plot Turns,Romance,Writing

Some writers understand the process of writing. Writer thoughts, they just need a head up on creating a plot. This plot might need some tweaking, but it’s a fun plot to rewrite and send out to publishers, because everybody knows romance sells in times of economic stress. Continue Reading »

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Jul 17 2008

The Critiquing Horrors – You’ll Get Them!

Published by under Critique

 

You Saved My Article… Thank You!

 

 

Gasping for air, I looked around the table at the faces looking back at me and all I could tell was their lips were all moving at the same time. I’d passed around a piece I intended to publish and it was ready to go to print, prior to passing it around the table.

Until my dying day, I will remember the fear that swam through my veins as I watched them hatchet my work with X’s, lines, scrolls, and deletions they believed I should make. Their changes may have been constructive, but I wasn’t on the same planet anymore. I was on the planet where my article was living, breathing, alive, and they’d just damaged it beyond repair. I still have those seven chop shopped copies of the first article I’d passed by my friends at the Critique session. Continue Reading »

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Jun 22 2008

Worthy Writer Quotes

Published by under Quotes

“In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on. A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book. I am a writer and I take up my pen to write.”

~ Pearl S. Buck (American Author, 1938 Nobel Prize for Literature, 1892 – 1973)

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Jun 22 2008

Worthy Writer Quotes

Published by under Quotes

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”

~ Richard Bach (author of “Johnathan Livingston Seagull”)

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Jun 19 2008

Functional Writing Methods – Developing Your Own Style

Published by under Methods,Style

Are you still trying to fit  your words into someone else’s book?

I remember when I started writing, I kept trying to put my voice into the book styles I’d read and they just didn’t fit. I knew I had to find my own style of writing and perfect what came from inside of me. Continue Reading »

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Jun 06 2008

Worthy Word Quote

Published by under Quotes

“Whenever words fly up at me from a printed page as I read,
I intercept them instantly, knowing they are for me. I turn
them over carefully in my mind and cling to them hard.”

– David Grayson

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May 29 2008

Write about the Famous Wiley Mansion Ghost!

Are you lagging behind in the sequence of story writing? Everyone has a different methodology for writing a book, and each one is better than the others, for someone. If you’re still trying to figure out what style is yours, try this simple Story Builder for a quick write and a great read!

  1. Primary Plot —- Murder at Wiley Mansion
  2. Secondary Plot —- Romance of the Ghost Continue Reading »

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May 29 2008

Written Word – Effective Communications

Published by under Communications,Writing

Writing is the ultimate communication resource. Although we often think of speaking as the national pastime, we do love to talk, writing offers so much more…

Generations of communication available year after year, centuries down the road. Shakespeare was a popular writer in the 1400′s and his work is still prevalent today. If you want what you say to go down in History, Continue Reading »

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