This Must Change! It Absolutely Has To!

22 veterans a day take their own lives due to triggering points associated with combat stress. That's one veteran every 65 minutes.

That statistic is unacceptable - Period!

PTSD is real, and must be properly addressed. 

How can we let our sons and daughters - nieces and nephews, our grandchildren, our neighbor's kids, the nice boy from church, that sweet girl from the animal shelter - go off to war, return home in one piece, and then be ignored to take their own lives?

It stuns me that this isn't headline news in each and every newspaper - EVERY DAY! 

It shocks me that Charlie Rose isn't screaming about this on the morning news!

It saddens me that it's always "someone else's problem". 

It is our problem; each and every one of us

I'm sickened by the fact that the Sunday News Shows had a casualty report every week during combat times. Where is the recognition for these brave souls now?

Veteran's Days was last Wednesday. I waited a week to start this campaign. A simple writer's blog where I typically talk about anything but this. Until this week. I want the madness to stop. I want all of our children safe. It's time we put an end to issues like bullying and teen suicide. Time for an end to the "heads in the sand" attitude over PTSD!

It is time we quit ignoring the atrocities occurring right here; whether on American soil or any of our Allies.

Our children are dying, people! Dying at alarming rates! We need to do something...NOW!

PTSD is Real!

If you don't believe me, I feel sorry for you. I've seen it first-hand; felt the pain first-hand; laid awake at night - all night sometimes, worrying about it.

You don't have to agree with the war to love the warriors. I don't love war. More precisely, I wish all war would stop, now! Because our children are the fighters in these battles. Not the President, not Congress, or the Supreme Court. Not any State Legislator, or Governor. Our children; that resource we hold so dear!

Over the next few months, I'll continue posting on this subject. It's not going away - so neither will I! 

Share the post with everyone you know. Because everyone you know knows someone in the military. And chances are that military member might just have PTSD.

Let's start saving lives one at a time, or two at a time. Or how about 22 a day?

Yeah, I like that idea.

Until later, pray for peace!

e a lake

(BTW - 22 a day equals almost 8,000 a year. Do I have your attention now?)

New Year 2015 - What it means to me

Happy New Year to all!  May 2015 be your best year EVER!

I have plans for this year, big plans. And do you know the best way to be held accountable for your plans? Make them public! So, here we go.

Plan One - Publish (at least) Three Novels in 2015

This should be easy. But if you've ever published a book/novel, you know it's not that easy.

I am almost ready to release a prequel for my WWIV series. I have three minor changes to be made, one last round of betas, a quick edit, formatting, and wah lah - it should hit the web. This is a novella actually (approx 20K words) and I plan on giving it away for free. Oh yeah, a title would be nice.

Book Three of the WWIV series is finished and in the hands of my first betas. After any necessary changes it will go out for first edits, one more round of readers, and then line edits. With any luck, WWIV - Basin of Secrets will be released by spring of 2015.

Then comes Book Four of the series; WWIV - Finders Keepers. While it is still in rough, first draft form, I already know of several changes I'll be making. After I release Book Three, I will get Book Four into the hands of my betas. By fall the entire process should be completed, and the fourth of five books will be published.

Plan Two - Advertise Smarter in 2015

Let's be honest; if you are a new author, you've probably wasted a fair amount of money on advertising your babies (your novels). And since there's no one secret to success, your trial and error method of tossing money about like chips on the roulette table hasn't worked very well. At least that's my experience thus far.

This year I am going to take my time and plan my marketing activities with some logic and reason. One of the ideas I'm dedicated to this year, is to make a concerted effort to make my budget reasonable with measurable results. What does that mean? Let me show you.

Many of us think we can spend $50 a month and sell thousands of books. Okay dreamers, that's not going to happen. What if you decide though you were going to spend $500 this first quarter on advertising? I bet you'd focus where that money went with a little more effort.

As self-published, independent authors we "cheap out" a lot. Spend $20 here and $49 there and hope we achieve some sort of results. Big authors with big publishing companies behind them spend thousands, ten of thousands, of dollars on marketing. I'm not saying that I have that to spend. But on a smaller scale, I bet I can make $1,000 this quarter go a long ways towards name and brand recognition, right?

And how about I do some activities where I can measure my results; that's a good plan. I've already bought into the idea of separate landing pages for each of my books. This way, I can have my team (daughter and oldest son) drill down into the data that comes from the pages and make more informed decisions as we spend more money.

Yes, I will spend $1,000 to sell a mere 500 books (basically a break-even). This is because it increases my readership, helps my rankings, and gets my brand (WWIV or Smith Chronicles) in front of more and more potential readers.

Plan Three - Be Benevolent in 2015

There are three causes I stand firmly with: Literacy, Anti-Bullying, and Helping our Vets.

I will give at least 10% of my 2015 earnings (usually marked by gross sales) to the causes and some of the many charities that represent them. Last year (2014) I had $6,014 of gross sales from books. My goal for 2015 is $15,000. Given these numbers, I plan on giving at least $1,500 to charities associated with the three causes listed above.

I will keep you updated as the year progresses.

What are your plans/goals for 2015? Please feel free to share them with me, or the world!


Here's to a great 2015 for all of humanity.


e a lake

My Books:

                        

Charity: Begins at Home

Sometimes it's real easy to say you support this or that, or maybe you post a whole series on it. That's all good and fine, but I want to do more for the causes I support.

This week I announce specific plans to support each of the issues I feel strongly about. Immediately below you will find the issue, and the level of my support. I am pledging support upfront with these causes. I'm not waiting until I've made X amount of money or sold Y amount of books. Something from each sale, not matter how large or small, will be contributed to these causes.

By making my plans known upfront, I allow my readers and followers to hold me accountable to these promises. As such, I ask that each of you share this with two or three of your friends. And have them share it with their friends.

Without further discussion, here goes:


LITERACY

A well read population is a better educated population. Many authors support this cause (literacy) and I do as well.

September is National Literacy Month. That makes September a perfect time to set aside some money for the promotion of literacy.

During the month of September, I pledge to give 20 cents from every book sold to help promote literacy, both here and abroad. I place no cap on this pledge. If I sell 1,000 books, $200 will be donated. If I sell 2,000 books, $400. You get the idea.

So far I've sold an average of 700 books a month. September will see the release of Book Two of my WWIV series. Thus, I anticipate higher numbers. As a base pledge, I will give $140 to literacy no matter how many books I sell.

So, it's up to my readers as to how much above that $140 mark I will give. Again, NO top end. Twenty cents on every book no matter how many books are sold.

I will spend the next six weeks vetting the best place for this donation. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact me via email at: ealake5@gmail.com.


ANTI-BULLYING

This is something that needs our attention now! Our children of all ages need to feel safe. They don't need the stress or concern or intimidation caused by bullying. As such, I will help.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month here in the US. That's a great time to focus on this cause. I really want to do something special here.

During the month of October, I will create a small novel (novella) of about 30,000 to 40,000 words that deal specifically with this topic. Now, it will be symbolic for the most part, and the bullying that occurs will be hid in a metaphor. But I think you are going to like it.

If I write it in October, it will be edited in November and ready for release on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, etc... before Christmas. I'm thinking this will sell for 99 cents on all outlets (to make it affordable). It will still be Dystopian in nature, but I have the perfect setting and storyline that will bring bullying to the forefront.

For as long as I'm alive, I pledge 75% of all net proceeds from the sale of this story towards various anti-bullying causes. If enough copies sell each year, this amount could be nice. At a minimum, I will give $250 to the cause each year - regardless of how many copies sell. I will try and announce each October how many copies sold in the last year and how much money was given.


SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

Another worthy cause. Bodily injuries, mental anguish, emotional distress - all harms that befall our young men and women who serve their country voluntarily. While Washington, and our taxes, do provide some help, more is still needed. And that's where I'll help out.

Next year (2015), I will be releasing  Book One of a new series, The Smith Chronicles. This first book will be released under the title of Golden 5. There will be at least another three books in the series. Each of these books is almost twice as long as my current series. I'm planning on making them great reads, for my great readers.

While this series is more Dystopian, and not post-apocalyptic, than the WWIV series, there will be plenty of action and suspense. Chances are Golden 5 (and the subsequent books) will appeal to a wider audience than my first series. As such, these should be good sellers.

From this series, I pledge 25% of all net proceeds to be donated to causes that support our troops and veterans. As 2015, and the books release, draw closer - I will let you know what causes the money will go to. One will have to do with physical injuries - a charity similar to Wounded Warrior Project. Another will deal will emotional and physical problems - something like Soldiers to Summits. Still another will deal with PTSD, and a last will be a local California organization where MY Marine spent the first four years of his service.

If this series sells exceptionally well (and I have no idea what that means after being a published author for only 4 months) I will use some of the funds from these books to help equal out support for the first two causes mentioned above. If I make $10,000 from the sale of this series, I will be more than happy to give away in excess of $2,500. There is no limit to how much I feel I should give. I have already exceed my expectations (and wildest dreams) with the sales to date of WWIV - In The Beginning. I'd like to make a difference in this world; I'd like us all to make a difference. And together we can...we will!


Until next week, read a classic or a brand new author. You never know what's waiting for you in the world of books. And take a few minutes during your week to perform random acts of kindness.


lake

Time to Put an End to Bullying

That's a pretty aggressive statement, I know. But haven't we had just about enough of this to last a lifetime? Isn't it time for all of us to work collectively at getting rid of bullying?

First a little history lesson.

Bullying has been going on FOREVER!
If not a little longer. 

Once upon a time, bullies would call others out for a duel (or visa-versa). If their shooting prowess was at least a little better than their opponents, the bully prevailed. If not, end of that bully. Seemed simple enough. Dangerous, and lethal, but much more direct than we see nowadays.

In this world we find emotional bullies, physical bullies, physiological bullies, and cyber bullies. That's quite a variety, but make no mistake - a bully is a bully is a bully.

To me (and many, many others) all bullying is wrong. If I search my mind, I can't come up with a single instance where bullying is an appropriate action.

Let me first address any bullies that may be reading:

Stop it, Stop it right NOW!

You think you're cute, you think you're clever, you think you are innocently hurting no-one? WRONG! You are not cute, or clever, or innocent - you are hurtful, spiteful, mean and ignorant.

Chances are, if you are a bully, you've been bullied somewhere in your past. Or you may be in a relationship right now where you are the victim of this awful scourge. Humans as a whole are not wired to be mean to others. It's more of a learned behavior. Want to stop the vicious cycle? Keep Reading.

You want to meet someone's who really cute and clever and a whole lot tougher than you? Then I recommend joining the United States Marines. They have these folks called SDI (Senior Drill Instructors) who will show you a whole new level of cute and clever thoughts, and toughness. I guarantee that once you get through basic training, you'll never bully again.

Are you being Bullied at this Time?

Here's the best pieces of advice I can give to you if you are being bullied by someone.

First, remove yourself from the situation. Some big kid wants to take your lunch money? Avoid him or her. Someone wants to insult you and say hateful things to you? Turn away and don't give them a chance. Stand up for yourself. Leave the situation and even remind them that you are not going to waste your time listening to someone who has nothing nice to say. And then LEAVE!

Maybe it's a "friend" who's attacking you. Take my advice; you need (and deserve) better friends. Drop that person like a bad habit and never go back to them. You (all of us actually) deserve to be happy. Take charge of your personal happiness. You don't need friends that are not as nice to you as you are to them.

Are you being bullied in CyberSpace? Cut it off! I mean it. You don't like what people are saying about you on FaceBook? Delete your FB page. Twitter getting you down? Cut that one into cyber-pieces as well. You don't have to go out on the web and be attacked. Even though it's wrong of others to disparage you on the web, you don't need to take part. Again, take charge of your life and your personal happiness.

Tell adults and all your friends about your bullies

This is my second piece of advice for you - tell others. I know, you think this is embarrassing and personal, but it doesn't need to be. Your parents, teachers, and friends can (and WILL) help you. These people love and care about you. Really, they do. But they have to know what's wrong before they can help.

If it takes changing schools, so be it. Trust me; it's not the end of the world. Perhaps you'll have to make new friends. Hey, there are better ones out there. But you'll never know about these people until you actively seek them out.

But here's the bottom line: It's never worth hurting yourself over. NEVER! There are other (much better) alternatives. There are people who care about you very much and are waiting to help you. You deserve these people. So never be too ashamed or hurt or humiliated to seek them out.

Many, may people are on your side. You just can't see them right now through all the hurt and pain. I'm on your side. That's why I am dedicating myself, my blog and my writing to help put an end to this tragic problem. NEVER give up on yourself. NEVER stop trying.

In two weeks, I'll be making a special announcement regarding this subject. And it will be me in a VideoBlog, not just me writing all these words that at times may not be enough. Watch for my July 30th post!


Until next week (when we talk about Our Troops), make this a special day in your life!


lake

So, what exactly do I "stand" for?

Okay, it's a fair question. And it deserves a well thought out response. I hope you will find just that herein.

Many writers/authors have a cause. Some are cheerleaders for social change. Others bring the environment to the forefront. And still more want to feed the hungry children here and there. While I support many causes in my daily life, here are the big three to which I plan on donating some of my writing profits.

Literacy
All literacy in general, but especially children's literacy.

Found this interesting little tidbit online: According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 34 percent of America’s fourth graders read at grade level. (parenting.blog.nytimes.com)

Here's the problem with the above statement: those children who fall behind in reading, typically fall behind in other areas of school work. This leads to higher dropout rates as well as another alarming issue - a larger number of high school graduates that are functionally illiterate. And that my friends, is a huge problem.

Last month I read another alarming stat, but I'll be darned if I can remember where I found it. So I'm going to paraphrase and hopefully someone will help me out and refer to this article in the comments below. The statement went something like this: In 1970, the number of Americans who didn't read a book in the last year was 7%. By 2012, that number rose to 28%.

A huge part of learning is reading. We have to - absolutely must - get our children reading, and reading more. Whether it's a magazine, a sporting journal, a book, or even a comic; we need our children more actively involved in this past time.



Bullying
I stand firmly with our youth who find themselves bullied these days.

When I was a kid, times were simpler. If you were bullied, you had more options. I remember being picked on by a certain classmate in third grade. Regardless of what I did, it seemed this young lad made fun of me. Others laughed at his bullying. I felt embarrassed, less of a person.

It started up again immediately in fourth grade. When I walked into the classroom on the first day, there he sat, ready to dish it out all over again. After about a week of it, I realized something. Over the summer I had grown nine inches; him - zero. I now stood a full head taller than he. So one day at recess, when he decided to bully and badger me about something (I honestly don't remember what his problem was anymore), I confidently stepped over and shoved him to the ground. Staring down at the now cowardly bully, I made this statement: "If you don't shut up, I'm going to pound you."

That was it; the bullying ended. Looking back it probably wasn't the best way to handle the situation, but I'm sure my father would have told me to do just that...if I had ever been brave enough to tell my dad.

I know it's different now. Social media brings a whole new life to bullying; takes it to another level. I understand. And hopefully my post on bullying will help at least one person who finds his or herself in the rotten spot which I found myself in so many years ago.


Our Troops
I live by the expression, "Hate the War, but Love the Warrior!"

On December 13, 1862 Robert E. Lee stood on a hill overlooking the Battle of Fredericksburg. As the cannons roared just below him and spewed death upon the Union troops, he uttered these immortal words: "It is well that war is so terrible - otherwise we would grow too fond of it."

A few years back I visited my son in Fredericksburg and stood on the spot where it is believed Lee spoke the above phrase. It's a haunting place; the feeling of dead souls seems to fill the air. Just below the ridge you can still see the trenches that the Confederate soldiers dug to protect themselves from the Union artillery. War, it does truly seem, is hell.

We send our finest young men and women to do battle for our country. While we may not support the war effort, we need to remember our troops. Many are returning nowhere near as whole as when they left. Some die; more are physically injured. Many of our children return emotionally and psychologically battered.

They need our love, our support, and our help. I for one will do my part.


Alright, I've said enough for now. Starting next week, I will pick up with Literacy. Watch for that post on Wednesday July 9th. And please share these posts with a friend and encourage them to share with others as well. I'm not really trying to sell books on my blog - I'm attempting to help others as much I can. Even if it's just one person at a time.


Until next week, enjoy your summer (and do some fun reading).


lake