Dear Class of 2012...

4:26 PM Elizabeth Seckman 20 Comments

Caleb...officially graduated.

"Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are to some extent a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it piece by piece by thought, choice, courage, and determination."

John Luther

The Seckman Family...graduation night

Welcome to my son, Caleb...he's guest blogging today. Sort of. He saved his Valedictorian address on my Word program, thereby making it easily accessible for his proud mom to cut, paste, and post to her blog.

Ripped from my hard drive...here is Caleb Seckman's Valedictorian address to Magnolia High School. As you can see, he's a young man who is all about character. Thanks, Caleb, for making Mom's life easy. :-)

Class of 2012, we know where we have been. Many of us have known each other since we were in kindergarten. We know what we have done. We set new test standards and brought home state championship trophies in football and track.

Our actions or inactions directly resulted in who we were. As students, we learned that to have academic success, we had to study; to be good athletes, we had to train; to excel at band or any other skill; we had to practice.

We did that well, but it is in the past. Now, it is time for us to look forward. We are officially adults, and as adults, we are entering a world that is suffering from difficulties of historic proportions. As nations war and debts spin out of control across the globe, it lays a heavy burden upon our generation.

Each and every one of us, however, is endowed with an ability that will carry us to success if we keep one key fact in mind. Just as the actions of the child reflected in the substance of the student...our success in life will be contingent upon our continued acceptance of accountability.

It is not enough to just be responsible. We must to be willing to answer for our choices. Make no excuses. Point no fingers of blame. If we are to succeed, we have to make smart decisions. We have to work hard; and we have to learn from our mistakes, not hide from them or justify them away.

Let us enter the world boldly, and make our mark. Not as the “Entitlement Generation” but as the generation of real change. Let us abandon the “take care of me attitude” and return to a time when people passionately heeded the call of President John F. Kennedy to “Ask not what your country can do for you–

ask what you can do for your country.” Let us remember the pride of a great nation and become a renewed nation of leaders and workers who seek solutions over hand outs, and personal responsibility over scapegoats.

Class of 2012- we have begun a legacy of achievement, now we must continue that tradition and be the leaders America needs to move us from a society of victims to victors.

Thank you and God bless.

20 comments:

Deja Vu

10:50 AM Elizabeth Seckman 14 Comments

Today is my son's high school graduation.

Don't ask me where the time went...all I know is it has gone by too fast.

So, I'm not wasting any today...going to play hooky and leave you with a re-run.

Here it is...pasted fresh from the bloggy archives...enjoy...catch you later!

My husband posted last week that the blog needed to have less words (former freaking all star, can you tell?). I aim to please, so here’s what I think in a few less words.

1. Always choose laughter. If torn between a tear jerker or a side splitter, call the doctor and tell him to schedule you for stitches (get it…side splitting?). Life brings enough tears, why seek them out?

2. Always be yourself…it’s good practice for when you get old and simply remembering where you are is difficult enough.

3. Never make choices based on money. Nothing I can buy is eternal. In the long run…it’s all just yard sale fodder.

4. Never mind read. Unless someone TELLS you what they think, you’re probably wrong.

5. Err on the side of the positive. (For example, my husband for our first (married) Christmas got me tires. Why? Because he wants me to always arrive home safely, not because he was a tight wad who parlayed a needed expenditure into a Christmas gift.)

6. Put people first. People trump objects every time, in every situation, no exclusions.

7. Stop beating up on your body, yourself, or your life. We worry so much about our body beautiful that we forget to appreciate that our body is still doable (by that I mean in terms of locomotion...pervert)

8. Do what you love, even if you aren’t the best of the best. Some things should be measured in pleasure factors, not success quotas.

9. Don’t waste time on a hater. I tell my kids all the time, the easiest way to feel tall is to knock someone else over. And some people are so tiny, that’s all they have.

10. Always remember, God built the universe with words…they have power, use them wisely.

14 comments:

Stalker Mom and an Award

11:22 PM Elizabeth Seckman 23 Comments

Cassie Mae over at "Reading, Writing and Loving It" gave me this award.

And I love it. He's a cutie pie!!! (do I lose my nerd card for calling a storm trooper cutie pie?)

Now Cassie either really didn't attach strings to this award or I'm in summer reading mode and skimmed over them.

But here's what I'm gonna do...

First of all... Thank you Cassie. This little fella is adorable!

Second...usually you have to tell something about yourself...so I am admitting I have become that crazy middle aged lady who talks to little kids in stores and says, "I have four boys...they used to be little like you" as they stare back at me with that petrified is this the stranger mommy warned me about? look.

Like this isn't typical old mom weird enough...I also find myself admonishing short tempered parents...have patience mom, they grow up so fast...buy the animal shaped plates...they won't want them when they are packing for college. :(

Watch out Boeing...Ian Andersen is on the job!

Third, a blogger is usually asked to pass this award along...and I have the perfect person...Ian Andersen! He's not a blogger...he's a little fella with a paper airplane business. He doesn't have a blog...but his mom, Jessie Andersen over at The Rabid Writer, can accept for him.

Keep up the good work Ian! My boys used to be little like you!!!

23 comments:

Critique Partners...Get Your Critique Partners!!!

10:02 AM Elizabeth Seckman 18 Comments

Need some extra peepers for that work of art? CLICK HERE!!!

The nice ladies at Falling for Fiction are hosting a mixer. They have drinks, free food, and chippendale dancers.

No?

Crap.

Sorry. Wrong party.

But honestly...any new writers out there weaving your first few fledgling lines of magic...you HAVE to have a critique partner.

Mine have improved my words and saved my sanity.

If you don't have one...CLICK quick and head over to the Falling for Fiction site and get one.

18 comments:

Sister Give Away!!!

10:23 AM Elizabeth Seckman 24 Comments

It's my sister's birthday!

The sister who always complains that I have never had a blog post about her.

And I'm still contemplating my 100 follower give away...

Soooooo...

For the lucky follower...I'm giving away my sister!

She's a mid lifer with easy, garage kept miles. She's artistic and creative and cleans a mean house...though her cooking may very well kill you.

If you're a single man...she is widowed and possibly, may very well consider someone who likes pina colladas, getting caught in the rain....oh crap...I'm confusing her with that lousy song she plays from her moldy oldies station.

* For the record...this is a JOKE. I don't need to add get arrested for pimping to my busy 'to do' list.

It's just a sweet, cheap way for me to say Happy Birthday...and this is what you get when you give your passive aggressive little sister grief!

Happy Birthday Cathy!!!!

24 comments:

That's a W...Dance to That!!!

9:21 AM Elizabeth Seckman 9 Comments

Special thanks to Emily and Kelley !!!

This bloghop was fun.

And it's even better cause I won.

And being the praise junkie that I am...I am blowing my own horn.

Didn't see it? You can read my entry HERE

ALSO...I hit 100 followers during this little fun fest!!!

So let's give another big shout out to Kelley and Emily for that too.

(And thanks to my son Cole, who is the official 100th follower because I was tossing around ideas for a give away and he thought that meant the 100th person got a prize, so he hurried up and followed then yelled, "what do I win?!"...we won't analyze why my own flesh and blood wasn't following...I'll save that for therapy if I ever find the time, the money, or the inclination to go.

Be watching for the give away...my brain is cooking...but not today...I am relishing in my

(that's for winner, not wiener)

Now click below and meet some beautiful, awesome gals!

Kelley at Between the Bookends

Emily at Emily R. King

9 comments:

Happy Mother's Day Corkster!!!

4:00 AM Elizabeth Seckman 5 Comments

This is my mom (and my brother and me)

My mom raised 5 kids. 4 of them were rotten.

1 of them was perfect.

And that perfect child wants to say...

Happy Mother's Day

MOM!!

They don't make them any better than my mom.

She's the kind of mom who tells a little girl she CAN be a writer.

She just has to work at it.

And not give up.

She's the kind of mom who anchors her children with roots

and never clips their wings.

She's the kind of mom who misses those we've lost every day.

But we forget,

because she doesn't complain.

I think she's perfect.

Even if we can't take her out in public!

LOVE YOU MOM!!!!

(*Dearest Good Sister Catherine...you thought you'd bested me with the charcoal of Dad, but I'm still a contender!!)

5 comments:

Nuts and Bolts...

10:33 AM Elizabeth Seckman 13 Comments

Surely you've heard the chant?

Nuts and bolts...nuts and bolts...we got screwed?

Or is it a West Virginia thing?

Regardless...this is a post about all kinds of nuts and bolts...

First nut...my baby is graduating...got to finish up the loose ends here...don't want graduation and off to college to be similar to the kid's birthday bike building process...the one where his dad and I looked over that handful of unused nuts and bolts and pretended they were extras as we prayed none of them were meant to hold the wheels on!

*So, forgive me for my sloppy blog visits...love them; just squeezing them in when I can!

About to bolt... Past Due is in its final edit. Wow...is that light at the end of the tunnel or a train full of nuts?

The realization that soon...no set date...but soon...Past Due will be in the hands of the readers. That's exciting, and scary as hell. Why? Because some people are mean...and they may start chanting we got screwed in my reviews!

As I read other writer's books, I try to go back and write a review...and while I'm there, I read other people's reviews. Now honestly? I've been stunned. In one wicked little assessment, someone wrote that the book's editor must have been picking his nose, rather than editing.

Huh?

I just read the book. It was good. A solid plot; likable characters...what the heck?

I considered blasting back...hunting the reviewer down...if she had a blog...go heckle it...find her on facebook and tell her she's full of crap...

But then I remembered...I'm not in elementary school anymore.

Then it occurred to me that it's an elementary fact that children find fun in tearing things apart...my kids got a much bigger thrill out of kicking over a sand castle than they got out of watching me build it. They didn't understand the desire to step back, take pictures, and enjoy the fruit of hard labor until they developed the skills to build their own.

So, keep this in mind...it's fun to destroy when you don't know how to create.

Now, I got to scoot...my train needs to keep on rolling or I'll go nuts!

(That's just one metaphor too far, huh? :p )

13 comments:

Oh Those High School Dances...

9:41 AM Elizabeth Seckman 59 Comments

"Oh Those High School Dances Blog Hop"

Here are the rules:

1. Post pictures of your high school dances. (Make sure you tell us which one is you if they're group pictures.)
2. Share with us your high school dance story.
3. That's it!

April 18, 1988...our 1st son was born April 18, 1994
Who would've guessed?
My husband

Whenever my husband and I part...I always say... Love you

Then he'll say...Love you more

I'll say...Love you most

He'll say...Loved you first

And I melt.

My husband is a hottie. He's adorable and charming.

He is and always was better than any hero I could ever dream up.

And that caused a problem.

I always prided myself on being smart...and anything, or anyone, that seemed too good to be true...well, had to be fake.

And this perfect guy? I pegged him as a wolf in a sheep's disguise. I looked for him to screw up; to show his true colors, then I'd show him the door.

Then one night we were out on a date and he admitted things between us were strained; that he figured the problem was he was way farther ahead emotionally than I was. That he knew from the moment he saw me in the red prom dress that he was in trouble. That he would do whatever it took to make me...his we.

Busted. My heart dropped. Evidently the stud took one too many hits to the head on the football field. Two months past and he already forgot that I wore black?!

I pointed this fact out and he quickly explained...I know. You wore red last year, but you weren't with me.

Yeah, he's that good. And he's mine.

59 comments:

Oh No...She Didn't!!!

10:53 AM Elizabeth Seckman 8 Comments

Oh yes, she did!!

I have already made my confession on Facebook, but it bares repeating...

Saturday I had this idea that I would, in one day, finish the second edit of Past Due (due for release from World Castle Publication, date yet to be announced....just couldn't resist the plug and the SQUEEE!!!)

The problem? Reading a book that you wrote for the umpteenth hundredth time, your eyes start to cross. And crossed eyes are the least helpful things to have when you are combing for every mistaken comma, left out preposition, and misused word. In your mind, you know the next stop is the readers...and you don't want to make them feel like they wasted their money (now for the piraters? For them, you plant mistakes and curse them with viral versions of each and every stolen download!).

The solution to nodding off as I read through words that I nearly have memorized? Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

This was an excellent solution.

Until....

My nieces and nephew: Taylor, Mackenzie, Bart, and Tabitha

Well, I had my nephew's confirmation to go to. And well, when I am staring at a computer screen, time becomes this esoteric sort of concept...until you realize you still have an hour drive north and you're still in sweatpants!

Holy guacamole! The clock struck 3:45...fifteen minutes to dress and go. Hair, make up, skirt, shirt...boom...I'm THE MAN...well, not literally...but you get the gist, right.

I'm ready to go. But as I grab my purse, that pot of coffee says to me...you certain you can make the hour drive after we spent the whole day together?

Crap. I look at the clock. Then back at the bathroom. I can do this is 30 seconds...whammy...been there, done that...out the door...with my skirt tucked into my panties.

Best part is? As I get into my car and do the lady like skirt sweep and I feel nothing but bare leg and buns? My first thought? Thank God...I had nothing for my blog post for Tuesday.

And writers, you know what I'm saying...we are gluttons for punishment for the sake of others' fun.

Happy Tuesday!! Be back tomorrow for the Oh, Those High School Dances Blog Hop. Join me, should be fun!!

8 comments:

Introducing Bulletproof..The Pretend Movie

10:15 AM Elizabeth Seckman 25 Comments

Today I'd like to welcome fellow World Castle Publishing writer, Jeff LaFerney!!!

When I signed with World Castle, Jeff was kind enough to send me a welcome note with wonderful advice and an offer to help a newbie in any way he could.

I thanked him by quizzing him with some odd questions to promote his newest book...

First up...you're book is now a movie...what tagline would James Earl Jones be delivering?
(Jeff's answers are in blue; mine in pink...I'm girly enough not to care about stereotypes!)

Nothing is as it appears...(remember that's James talking here, so it's ominous and spooky like...and the tagline is perfect...how else do you explain a couple of mind bending sleuths who find justice for the recently, or not so recently departed?!)

I'm liking the opening, so, of course I have to ask...

Who would you cast in this little blockbuster?
Jeff scratches head and wonders if I've gone crazy...but politely answers anyhow...

Tanner: Taylor Lautner (but only if he can shoot a basketball and have a good sense of humor)

Clay: Mark Wahlberg (he’s more of an action guy than Clay, but I really like him, and I really like Clay) J

Erika: Kate Upton (cute, bubbly, and after watching her YouTube video, she’s the top blonde out there)

Jasper: Peter Dinklage (he’s the “angry elf” from Elf)

Sherman: Andre the Giant (he’s not alive, but if he was and he could be understood, he’d be perfect)

You're on a roll! I'm going to push my luck and ask, what would be the theme song?

La Roux – “Bulletproof” This is one strange lady, but how do I pick any other song?

Now, you've written an awesome book...been forced to make the pretend movie...now you're pretend rich and famous...e-tv (that's elizabeth tv, not the entertainment network) and the world want to know-

How long did this book take you to write?

It took about five months. I wrote it mostly in the evenings when I got home from work.

How long have you been writing?

I’m an English teacher, so I’ve written things for years, but the decision to write a novel happened in the summer of 2009…so I’ve been writing books less than three years.

Any tips for other writers?

One thing I work really hard at and pay very close attention to is time. I’d advise writers to keep track of time closely and make sure everything times out right and is possible…too many writers don’t pay close enough attention to that. (I've been guilty of that...started keeping a timeline when I write...must remember, readers are intelligent, they notice these things!) Another thing is to write realistic dialogue. Try to make the conversations sound like the way people really talk.

Motivation behind the story?

When I signed with World Castle Publishing, Karen (my publisher) told me she’d publish my next book too if it was part of the Clay and Tanner series, so I had to come up with another story. Skeleton Key had a ghost’s murder solved. People seemed to like that, so when I mentioned that my next setting would be in a town called Fenton, Michigan—so I could more easily get my two main characters together—nearly everyone mentioned the hotel in town that was supposed to be haunted. After doing research on the town, I chose to solve another murder of a ghost haunting the hotel. I combined that with an idea I had about a character with mind powers that was using them selfishly. It allowed me to have two mysteries in one book.

And finally, the bonus question! In a battle to the death...who will win...Clay and Tanner or Superman?

You know, Superman is way more powerful than Clay Thomas (leap tall buildings in a single bound, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive), but I have two protagonists since Tanner is just as important, and between their mind-control abilities, hypnosis, mind-reading, telekinesis, etc. they could manipulate his mind and defeat him for sure. J But all three characters are the soul of justice and seek only the good, so they’d become friends, and there would surely be no death.

You can find Jeff on Facebook and be sure to buy the book, or better yet, all three in the series at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Thanks for stopping by Jeff! Best of luck. :)

25 comments:

Tripping Over the Bar...

10:44 AM Elizabeth Seckman 22 Comments

Last Saturday was orientation day for my son’s soon to be home away from home.

Caleb and me...Natl Honor Society induction

I’m about to be the mom of a college student.

Sigh. I’ll pause a moment while you feel sorry for me.

Thanks. I needed that.

Now, that sympathy was nice, I appreciate it…but I do have a reason for this post!

My son just got a 34 on his ACT (YAY CALEB!!)…2 points away from a perfect score. He has carried a 4.0 GPA since he was in kindergarten. He’s the president of two honorary societies and the National Honor Society. He’s a lovable, huggable over-achiever and his dad and I couldn’t be prouder!

Most of you are probably thinking…woo hoo…free ride through college!

Not so fast.

He is receiving scholarships through West Virginia University and our state’s Promise program (thank you WV tax payers and lottery ticket buyers for that!). But these two together cover about half the cost. To fund the rest, my son has been diligently filling out private scholarship applications from everywhere…from Burger King to the local credit union.

Now this extra work doesn’t kill him. He’s a smart kid and spending evening after evening writing essays and filling out forms is just how an egghead rolls.

My beef? To get a Pell Grant (the need based pay out) a person only has to have a 2.0. They can fall as low as a 1.4 and then it is up to the college to decide whether or not they are making “academic progress” and deserve to keep the grant. That’s free money.

Who doesn’t want that?

Some parents who share our boat were joking about the ways we could open the doors for easier funding for our kids…we could all get divorced; we could quit our jobs; or we could marry our kids off to each other thereby making them poor independents.

I don’t have a problem with need based pay outs, but a 2.0? Have we set the bar so low it becomes too easy to trip over?

We bemoan constantly the failings of the American educational system, yet we reward mediocrity instead of success. A student is better off, lucratively, to have a 2.0 and a low income than a 4.0 and a middle class income.

Yet we blame the teachers, the parents, and how the stars are aligning in the sky for our “failing” educational system…when honestly if you want more students to reach for those stars…lift the bar at least to shoulder height.

*Now for all you middle classers who will need to scour the universe for scholarships here are a few tips:

~ Start early. I didn’t realize there are some scholarships available for freshman. (FastWeb)

~ uPromise. Join their program and the money you spend at participating businesses is matched from 3-10% and accumulates as a sort of “cash back” that can be sent to colleges and applied to costs.

~ National Merit Finalist…you know all those “awards” you get in the mail, and ignore them thinking it’s another Who’s Who; you know, a nice little accolade, but not worth cash? Well, the National Merit Semi-Finalists are chosen after they take the PSAT in the Junior year. Become a finalist and it’s worth $6,000.

~ Get a flash drive for each student. Use it to keep track of all their awards…build a resume and update it as it changes.

~ Save all the essays on this flash drive. Who wants to write, “what are the plans for your future?” a hundred times? Cut and paste.

~ Get a daily planner. List all the scholarships you’ve found and dates they are due. Do the soonest to expire first, of course.

~ Bug the school guidance counselor. They receive the information about the local scholarships. My son’s school has a place on their website listing available scholarships.

~ Applications always want a list of activities. To make things easier on everyone, we made a form. It’s easy to read and that list of activities is printed out with a click of the mouse.

This is nearly impossible to read, even with the contrast lowered, but you can get the general idea.