Perseverance

   This probably won’t be the happiest blog. We all have things we have to go through to get to the good stuff, and this is what’s happening in my life. These are the things that are making it hard for me to see the rainbow at the end of it all.

   Let’s start with a few days ago. I found a house I really liked. Things didn’t work out, though. The people who owned it wouldn’t work with me on the price very much. When I looked at comparable houses in the area, I found out that it wasn’t worth what they were asking either, so there was no way I could pay them what they wanted, even if I did like it. That was disappointing, but I got over it. I found a new house to look at. I’ll be checking it out this weekend, and I’m really hopeful.

   Here’s another thing. I’m sick. I wanted to enjoy the week leading up to the release of The Divide. I can barely sleep at night now, though. I can’t breathe, I can’t sleep, and maybe worst of all, I have this dull pain in my ears at all times. I rolled with the punches, though. After all, everyone gets sick. Sure, I had a good two year run where I didn’t get sick at all. Since then, I’ve been sick twice in a few months, but I was due, right? I had all but decided to approach life with a good attitude over the next week when I woke up today. Then I discovered something else.

   Apparently, one of my books has been pirated. I didn’t freak out at first. We’re in the electronic age now. These things are normal. Here’s the thing, though. This book’s sales have nearly ceased. I thought maybe this could explain it, and boy did it! In the past 12 days, over 1,500 people have downloaded my book. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot to some people, but I make over 2 dollars off of every book I sell. That’s 3,000 + dollars worth of MY work that has been pirated, and that’s just what I know about. To say the least, I’m mad. I don’t see how people can be so evil. Here’s the thing, authors spend hours writing, editing, and then reediting. I’ve spent at least 400 hours of my life working on this book. That’s a conservative figure, too. When I finished with it, I thought, this book should be affordable to people. I put a 3.99 price tag on it, and later I decided that was too much. I priced it at 2.99. Who doesn’t have 2.99? We do all of this work, and all we want is 2.99! You can’t even buy a meal for that. I’m giving you hours of entertainment, and you’re getting it for the price of a sausage and biscuit. I don’t get it. I’ve always paid my way. If I wanted entertainment, I bought it, and if I needed necessities, I got them. I never expected a hand out or stole from someone. That’s what this is. I don’t make a ton of money. As a matter of fact, I probably don’t make as much as most of the people reading this blog. 3,000 dollars would go a long way for someone like me. I think we can all agree that it would go a long way for most of us. After all, who wants 3 grand taken out of their salary? You know what? I’m not going to let this destroy me, though. I don’t hate the people who have stolen my work. Truthfully, the only people I blame are the ones who put it up. Pirating sites are destroying our music, movie, and book industries. Personally, I think it’s time that some people started getting put in jail for taking money out of artist’s hands. That’s neither here nor there, though. What I really want to say on here is this. I’m hurting, and truthfully, I’m doing a lot more than hurting right now. I’m down and depressed. I’m not out, though. I’m going to keep looking for my house, write until I die, and maybe most importantly, I’ll find a way not to hate the people who have wronged me. After all, a lot of people I know are going through far worse than I am. I hope we all find forgiveness and peace with the people who have betrayed us. That doesn’t mean we should trust them again, but at some point you have to realize something. When the universe and a lot of people in it seem to be against you, say GAME ON. I don’t know about you, but if anyone thinks that sickness, betrayal, thievery, or disappointment can stop me from reaching my destination, then they’re crazy. I’m going to reach my rainbow. Don’t give up on yours. We can find the perfect job or house only to find that others stomp on our situation. We can even find what we think is the perfect person, only to find that we never really knew them. Don’t give up on your idea of perfection, though. Those people, things, and passions are still waiting on you. Sometimes it just takes half a lifetime to find the people and things that lift you up above everything the universe throws at you. It will happen. It just takes time and effort. Today is terrible, but tomorrow is still a question mark, and I’m optimistic. I hope you are, too.