JLB Creatives: Inspiring Things

Monday, March 12, 2012

Inspiring Things

NEWS FLASH!
Hidden Earth Volume 1 Maycly Part 1
has just released as an ebook!
Maycly Part 1 is available on Amazon, and is also in the Kindle Lending Library for Prime members.

Click the link below to check out the ebook:
MAYCLY Part 1

Part 2, and Part 3 are coming soon!

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Hello fans! So great to see you here. And a very special welcome to those of you joining us for the first time. We hope you'll make JLB Creatives Blog a regular stop during your week. 99% of our posts are made on Monday, with a few exceptions for when those rare moments occur that there's something extra special we want to share with you. Most weeks consist of a video, a topic post, a pic of the week, and a link of the week.

Several times throughout the year we like to post an Author Splash.

These are fun posts that introduce you to authors from around the world.

You get to know the author on a more personal level, and not just by their books.

So go ahead and become a follower if you're not already, and you'll stay in-the-know

along with your friends and family.

The best thing you can do, is spread the news about the JLB Creatives Blog by:

Tweeting

Sharing on FB and other social sites

and Pinning us to your Pintrest Board

You may keep in contact with JLB Creatives and author Janet Beasley all around the web.

Twitter: Handle - @JLBCreatives / Profile - https://twitter.com/#!/JLBCreatives

Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/JLBCreatives

URL: http://www.HiddenEarthSeries.com

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/janetbeasley

YouTube: http://youtu.be/6zyMZfbezLI

Pintrest: http://pinterest.com/jlbcreatives/

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OK - time to treat you to this week's video:

Inspiring Things

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TOPIC POST: Inspiring Things

When I write, I imagine the many places I've been. I think about what meant the most to me, what stood out at a particular location, and even the sounds that I heard while I was there.

My husband and I do a lot of traveling around the US. We love to hike, and kayak the slow flowing rivers and streams. I shoot a lot of photographs of nature as we glide down the silken liquid paths, or traipse through the forests, but I'm also listening to the sounds around me. Birds, insects, the wind having its way with the leaves. . .these are all things I take into account.

There's a couple of things you can do to enhance your outdoor experience, and find much more than you ever dreamed of when it comes to sights and sounds to inspire you. One of the first things I like to do is stop, yup, bring the kayak to a dead stop to sit and listen. I've taught myself to listen beyond the "surface" sounds, and listen deeper into nature. By doing this my ears have been blessed with sounds I didn't even knew existed in nature.

You can do the same with looking. A dear friend's father once taught me, as a kid, look into the forest but look for what doesn't belong. I had to think about that for a while, but as I got older I began to understand exactly what he meant.

Mother Nature is the master at camouflage. Take a look at the photos of a great blue heron I recently snapped while on a kayak trip. As I was looking for things that didn't belong, a slight movement caught my eye. It was this particular heron blending in with the cypress trees behind.

Living in Florida we have plenty of opportunities to capture the ever elusive alligator on camera, on nearly every kayak trip we take. Their best camouflage is the "floating log" deception. I keep an eye out for these prehistoric beasts, but even then we accidentally kayaked over one as he lay just beneath the dark colored water. It was quite a scare as his tail flipped up, hit the front of the kayak as he took a dive, and soaked me. My husband was startled to say the least. Another time we watched as one swam. . .or shall we say slithered. . .through the water coming from the side of us. When he got to within about 15 feet of the front of the kayak he slowly sank into the merky water of the lake. As you can't stop suddenly in a kayak, we pulled up our paddles and glided over his "path" peacefully and quietly. If you take a look at the next two photos you'll see the "floating log" effect in one, and a moss covered turtle's shell on the log in the background, and gator snoozing in the lily pads.

It's moments like these I'm thankful for my zoom lens.

We are by no means encouraging you to kayak with alligators unless you are an experienced kayaker and nature professional. You should never feed the wildlife when you are in nature, and never try to catch, pet, or chase wildlife. They are called "wild"life for a reason. . .because they live in, and have wild tenancies.

We do encourage you to take pride in the outdoors, educate yourself, then teach others. Nature is an amazing thing, and it is what inspires me the most to write my stories.

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Taken by Janet Beasley

Days End is the Lovely Sign from Mother Nature that Morning Shall Return

Find more of Janet's nature photos at:

Flickr.com: Photostream of Janet Beasley

All of her photos are FREE to download and use on

blogs, business cards, church bulletins, in the classroom,

and much more!

It's her way of giving back to her fans.

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LINK OF THE WEEK:

I've recently been introduced to Pintrest. . .and love it!

I've found so many cool photos, posters, fashion, food,

nature, weirdness, funny, creative, stuff it's amazing!

It's free to join - then start creating your Pin Boards.

You'll see what I mean if you visit the site.

For me, it's like scrap-booking bulletin boards online!

I by no means endorse this site, receive any monetary funds

for promotion, or any of that junk. I just think it's a cool site

and wanted to share it with you as the LINK OF THE WEEK.

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WEEKLY SUMMARY:
I've had fun putting this week's post together. I hope you have had as much, if not more, fun checking it out!

We were introduced to JLB Creatives and myself, Janet Beasley, and discovered all kinds of places to find us on the web. Remember to be kind and share us with your friends and family so they can join in the fun.

We learned what inspires me the most when it comes to my writing, and I'd love to hear from you regarding your inspirations for your works of art, be it writing, photography, painting, musician, what ever...just let us know by leaving a comment below.

Our photo delivered an amazing sunset from the Gulf of Mexico, and our link of the week took us to Pintrest - the latest craze in social media.

I certainly hope you'll take the time to check out Maycly on Amazon - paperback collector's edition. Ebooks should be releasing sometime this week if all goes as planned. Part 1 will be featured in Kindle Prime as well as available for purchase/download. Parts 2 and 3 will be available for purchase/download.All parts listed at the great rate of only $4.99 each! Ebooks will contain full color illustrations!

So, until we meet again, you know the routine. . .stay casual - live life to the fullest - and have a piece of chocolate for me. ;-)

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Janet Beasley