Romance novels are not trash-y

Romance novels, either you love them or you hate them or you feel indifferent.

I have written twenty-three romance novels and I’m proud of it,  I have also written several novellas and been part of romance anthologies, and I have won a national award.

Christmas Blessing by Maria Greene
Romance novel

It’s damned hard work to write a 300-500 page manuscript. Ask any writer of any genre.

Today I got triggered by reading an email from a well-known online entrepreneur who sent out her list of favorite books in 2016. She freely admitted that she read tons of TRASHY romance novels. The word came up four times in her email and that is really offensive in my opinion. No one ever says trashy mysteries or trashy westerns. She did not use that word for any of the other books she mentioned.  She sent this newsletter out to maybe 50k subscribers, perpetuating the literary “racist” view of romances.

If they are such trash, stop reading them! By the way, it’s the most popular and lucrative genre of all fiction.

Another point was that she would not buy them new but buy them used and then trade them back in. An author does not get any royalties from that. I know it’s very common practice, and I have bought used books myself, but I try to buy new as much as I can.

A book genre is a genre is a genre and they are written in a certain way. That is how the reader expects them to be (especially the ending) when they read them.  That does not make them trashy.

If she alluded to sex there is plenty of mainstream fiction with sex that is not romantic in the least.  Romances focus on the feelings rather than the graphics.

There are books that are badly written in every genre, but any savvy reader would not buy from those authors. Any savvy reader buys books from authors she likes and whose writing she admires.

So, anyone who reads this, please stop using the term trashy romance novels. There are some excellent books out there, and the writers worked VERY hard at making them so.

Stepping off the soapbox….

I’m not writing much at the moment. I’m mostly focusing on art, but I’ll always be a writer! My last romance was published in 2005.

Have a great weekend!

P.S. I have a year-long FREE art journaling journey coming up in 2017.  if you want to follow along, please register HERE.

 

2017 free intuitive art exploration

2017-art-journalingBeginning on January 1, 2017, and then once a month,  I will post suggestions for my year long intuitive art journal journey. When you join this FREE art journaling exploration  you will receive prompts to delve deeply into yourself to release any blocks or stale emotions that hold your creativity back. Look at it as a journey of self discovery and fun!

I will send out PDFs  of inspirational thoughts and items that you can print, color, and add to your artwork.

I will offer one live webinar a month where I answer questions and give you suggestions for progress.

It will help you to create a strong habit of creativity. This will inspire you and help as you use creativity to solve any problems in life.

Through art journaling you can  charter depths that offer new insights and aha moments. You can also use the journal to map out your goals month to month. Your intuition KNOWS what your most authentic activities are and as you excavate and remove blocks you can find more clarity and more motivation to create a life that is more aligned with your inner core.

There is no pressure to perform. You can join or leave any time, but if you stick with the process you will create a new art habit that will enrich your life forever.

I would love to see your art work so please join Art Exploration with Maria Greene, my Facebook group. There will be plenty of support and you can ask questions as well.

high fives

Supply list:

Use what you have but these are helpful:

Old sturdy book to alter OR an art journaling book.

Acrylic paints or watercolors

brushes

markers of all kinds, permanent ink is best

collage materials as in old magazines and junk mail (fabric scraps.)

glue or media like Mod Podge.

fireinthebelly2

What you will learn:

Every month I will prompt some questions about where you are and what you’d like to experience (or feel next.) Your intuition will show you how  to proceed and through art you can gain more clarity and depth.  You will receive a journaling question or two and suggestions for materials to use, but you can choose which tools you want to use. My purpose is to help you bust through any blocks and find more joy in your art journaling practice.

Do not get hung up on the “pretty” aspect of art! You are an explorer.  As you work intuitively you may feel prompted to pick certain colors or objects that appear in your mind. They are all symbols for what is going on within.  So you will learn to read your symbols as you get more comfortable with the process.  You can’t do it wrong!

If you feel confused about the basics of art journaling you can find tons of helpful videos on YouTube to get started. But it’s not necessary to learn any techniques per se. Just cover the page with some paint to get started and then let your intuition guide you.

You will learn how to center yourself, let go, and let intuition lead you. The inner critic will be shown the door and told to never come back! 🙂 Unfortunately, the critic always comes back but I have a way to deal with that. It’s all about allowing more good and self love!

You will also receive one guided audio meditation every month.

Take part in this adventure! It is guaranteed to enrich your life.

To sign up for the emails  click HERE.

Are you stuck?

Are you stuck right now? I have been stuck many times, and since I’m a DOER I’ve always struggled and fought against the condition. It happens when I don’t have clarity of where I’m going.

It’s ok to be stuck. Actually, invite the sucker in and sit with it for a while, fix it some tea, and see what it has to say.  Stuck came to me like a brick wall, and I sat by the wall and asked what it needed to be happy.

brick-wall
brick wall

Security, safety, it said.  I don’t want to change; it’s too risky.

To get unstuck involves change.

If you have an idea what you want to do, but stop yourself before you even get started, you have fear. My brick wall was solid fear, but when I accepted it, relaxed into it, and had the conversation over tea, it released somewhat. It became more reasonable.

Embrace the fear, allow it a voice, and see how you can accommodate it and watch it melt away. Make a friend of fear, and know it’s not the end of the world.

When you are struggling and trying to break through with force, you’ll only get more stuck.

Making friends, relaxing, allowing, embracing all of you in a caring manner is the way to release the resistance.

Stuck no more!

It might take a few tries, a few conversations with your fear, but after a while it will melt away, and the path forward gets clearer every day.

I have been painting quite a lot lately.  Here are some pictures of my latest art.

Hold them close
Hold them close
fantasy fish
Fantasy fish
flowers
Flowers

Lots of soft shades of blue and turquoise. I’m really into those colors lately.

I have a sale right now in my two etsy shops. 20% off everything until midnight Sunday November 27. EARTH AND FAERY and GREENE EARTH ORIGINALS. The above paintings are for sale in the last etsy link. Christmas is coming…

I wish you all sorts of great creativity in the coming week!

xo

Maria

 

 

Doing what you love is not a brand to follow

Do what you love is a concept that is tossed around all the time on social media these days.

I agree with the concept but it becomes a thought form for the busy mind, not something that actually sinks in.  I make these inspirational wall plaques that say “follow your heart.” I do mean it, but what does it actually mean?

follow your heart

I was at an event at a bookstore recently where I have some art hanging on display. I watched the people wandering around the walls, looking. There were those who threw a cursory glance at my art, and there were those who stopped at every painting and took in every detail. I’d say they liked my art, or they tried to figure out the technique.

I have followed my urge to paint for a long time, and what appears on the canvas today is something I have developed over the years, and maybe there is more “heart” in my art than there was. I don’t know. All I know is that I’m on a journey that never stops as long as I can paint.

My art will never stop developing, so if one of those people at the event would have approached me with questions, like “what inspires you”? I would have answered “many things.” There is no one thing in particular.

What they actually see is my DOING over the years, with no particular goal in mind.

I think the painter Paul Cezanne might be the father of abstract art when he discovered he could paint the loose rendition (or energy) of the landscape he was looking at.  Discovering that took many years of DOING.

Paul Cezanne

The issue was not to create a strong brand of Paul Cezanne, but the journey that led to his discovery of abstract ideas. Like most painters he probably took classes and experimented endlessly with color and form. His art became his brand, but I’m sure he would have resisted the word.

Why lock oneself into a box of “this-is-who-I-am” and I will be this for the rest of my life.  Life is an evolving journey of many “follow my hearts.”

The problem is: most people like to dream but not DO. It’s in the doing that all is revealed!!

You can’t put heart in a box or on a wall plaque and hope it will transform someone, but my intention is to inspire. Still, the journey is mine.

Every day is a day of DOING or not… your choice. By trusting, by taking action and not sitting on the sidelines you will in fact be led by the heart.

xo

Maria

P.S. I have lots of art for sale in my etsy shop Greene Earth Originals: HERE.

Treacherous comfort zone

Treacherous comfort zone is something I try to avoid at all cost. I’m not always successful and it’s easy to sink down into my new recliner and read a book when I need to be more productive.  (Picture is a stock photo. 🙂

recliner
treacherous comfort

I actually fight that urge every day, but I know what needs to be done, so I have a choice of following my lazy side or the side that really wants to accomplish something useful for me and others.

Useful as in art inspiration. Sometimes it’s hard to be inspired and produce art, but to break that lazy habit you have to show up at the easel or art journal. Once that resistance is broken, I can then face the resistance of the art itself. Nothing but hurdles, haha.

The art resistance is harder to break than the habit of what to do with my time.  I usually force myself over that hurdle and things open up.

There is a third resistance and that is to try some different art modality. If painting faces was my thing I might try landscapes. That resistance might be stronger than anything. That’s why you see artists painting the same thing over and over because it’s safe, tried and true.  Not that the art lacks merit, but you get in a groove and staying there is more comfortable than taking a risk.

That’s maybe why people paint photographic perfection instead of doing risky forays into the loose and undefined.  Technique is safe.

I watched a documentary yesterday, Sky Ladder, on Netflix about this famous Chinese artist Cai Guo-Quing.  He uses fireworks to create his huge pieces of art, and he also designs massive  firework displays (opening of Olympic Games.)

It was wonderful to follow his creative process which is on a huge scale. His art is subtle but right in your face, and I was mesmerized and also mortified at my own small thinking. I highly recommend the documentary to all artists as an inspiration to stretch boundaries.

Life really is about stretching boundaries and trying new things. So what if it fails? It’s just another step in the exploration called life.

It’s important to have a balanced inner life, but also so important to do the “right thing,” it being the work that fires you up.

Right now I feel that I’m at a crossroads. Either I break through to the next creative level or I make deeper grooves in the rut that I have dug in the past. Life is constant evolution. (Or painful boredom.)

Standing still equals staleness.

To live a creative life is to be dynamic and open to the possibilities as they happen. I saw those in the eyes of that Chinese artist. He’s is fluid, open, present, and seeing the biggest opportunities for risky expansion.

He spoke to my heart.

I also saw lots of bravery and a conviction that it’s only possible to move forward.  No choice really.

So I come back to the choices we make every day, whatever work we do.

Yes to being proactive.

Yes to expansion and greater things.

Yes to creative risks.

Yes to LIFE, not habits or ruts.

What is the risk you need to take today?

I cheer you on from my studio, not my recliner….

xo

Maria

P.S. I have lots of art for sale in my etsy shop. Christmas is coming…  There is a price range for everyone. CLICK HERE.

 

 

 

Don’t follow the rules!

Don’t follow anything.  Break the rules and do your own thing.

With my art I have discovered that every day is different.  Some days I feel inspired to paint, others I craft, and then again, the crafts change as I see an opportunity.

I suck down a lot of Altoids due to allergies, so I end up with a lot of empty tins. They are too cool to throw away. Sometimes I recycle them, but lately I have had the idea to make travel shrines out of them.

tin shrine
Tin shrine

 

tin shrine
tin shrine

This is an example of one.  I used scrapbook papers, borders, polymer clay mosaic tiles, words, and a picture of Mary. I’m not even Catholic, but I like the classical pictures of her and what she stands for.  This shrine is for sale in my etsy shop. (Link in sidebar.)

I love it when creativity takes me on detours. I often have the notion I should paint, or work on my art journal, but I see something and I see possibilities with the items around my house.

I go where inspiration leads me. I made a video about how to make these Altoids mini shrines. You can check it out HERE.

They are very easy to make. Basically all you need is paper and glue. If you have any stray ribbons or mini silk flowers, they would work too.

It doesn’t have to be a religious shrine.  It could be a nature shrine, an inspirational shrine with a picture of someone who inspires you. It could be used as a small gift box. The sky is as wide as your imagination!

I have a 50% off sale on one of my e-courses: ART AS ORACLE.  It’s a way to tap into your intuitive answers through art. It’s a lot of fun also.  You can read all about it HERE.

The sale ends on November 3, so only two days left.

I also have lots of things for sale in my two etsy shops. Christmas is coming. Are you looking forward to it? I enjoy all the lights the most.

Have a creative rest of the week.

xo

Maria

Artist and writer