Focus and Go, Episode One
Guess what? We brought the conversation online. Every week we chat about writing, creativity, marketing, and more. And now you get to join the conversation. We have a podcast here and a video on YouTube if you would like to see our faces (and the tiki-hut :)).
Welcome to the “Focus and Go” zone, where we’re working on dreams, making them real. It’s a worthy quest. Let’s adventure.
You can listen below. Thank you!!
Show Notes
Rough Notes, Thanks for Understanding
Lenka
Okay. You ready?
Tim
Okay
Tim
Who's that old guy there?
Lenka
Okay. Hi, I'm Lenka.
Tim
I'm Tim.
Lenka
And we are both writers and creatives that are trying many different ways to
Lenka
make the whole thing come together for our dreams. And it's work.
Tim
So, yes, it does. We have strengths that we give to each other, and we support each other, and we encourage each other to keep going and
Tim
don't stop.
Lenka
Yeah. And we're friends that met about seven, eight months ago and shared that connection of writing and the inspiration and not giving up despite many detours due to health or children, or building
Lenka
houses or whatever might come our way. And we keep circling back around and circling back around and trying again and learning two new technology and trying again and trying new technology. And we realized we're not the only ones that are on this quest. So we, um, wanted to share
Lenka
with anyone else that wants to join the community in helping each other celebrate and keep going and, um, encouragement.
Tim
So that's the word go. That's what I that Lenka had her word of the year in January, and I've had to wait
Tim
through six months to get my word of the year, which is go because like a runner who gets in the blocks, I'm in the blocks, I'm set. But I haven't released. I haven't sprung out of the blocks and go. So it's go
Tim
And if you make mistakes, that doesn't matter because that's guaranteed to happen. You learn from them and you don't make the same mistakes again and you eventually find success.
Lenka
I agree, and my word of the year was focus because I get distracted and I benefit from having a plan that will help keep me directed toward a goal because I can be like, oh, a new shiny feature. I'll share that. But in my researching of all these new shiny features over the time, I know a lot about different social media platforms, which I'm going to share as we go. Um, so what did you write first? Like, what is your current work in progress that you're working on?
Tim
My current work in progress is finalizing
Tim
the book covers and the galley copy that I get from my from my publisher for Light of Summertime Saga one, which is a rewrite, a rerelease of Summer, which was released in 2017. And I'm
Tim
finishing up those so I can get that finished. And then after that one's in the books, so to speak. I'm working with Lenka and hopefully her daughter to put out an anthology of short stories,
Tim
17 or 18, of Talking Animals. I just need to get the artwork finished so we can get it published on an e-book.
Lenka
That's good. It's a lot of work.
Speaker C
And you?
Lenka
Well, I have an established, uh, world of forest fairy crafts, which are
Lenka
little fairies, actually. Can you get the tiki hut for me? Just get the whole hut. So what I'm showing for, if you're just listening, is a little tiki bar that I got in, um, target. So it's not. I did not make the tiki bar, but the little rainbow fairy in here
Lenka
This is Forest Fairy Crafts, and I have two books with my author, um, fellow artist Asia, and we teach how to make these and other enchanted crafts. And we've been doing this for ten years, and we have a very dedicated group of people that
Lenka
enjoy, but I know it could reach more people. So I, um, keep wanting to, to share it and get it to that next level. And then I do have fiction that I've written, and it's sitting on my hard drive where it doesn't do anyone any good. So part of my quest is
Lenka
to, um, make that fiction actually come to life in one way or another.
Tim
That's another thing I've been working on is my things to give out at the con at the Galaxy Con convention that I'll be attending August 16th through the
Tim
18th in San Jose, California. As an attendee only, I'm not going to be trying to sell my books at a booth, but I'll be ready to talk with anybody about my books and have examples and giveaways so that I can go there and make
Tim
connections and talk with people, and hang out with like minded authors and see a bunch of friends, meet new friends and see, see all the people that are walking around and and costumes. And there's going to be at least seven, eight, nine, ten actors from Star Trek, including Brent
Tim
Spiner and Gates McFadden that are going to be there. John Cleese is going to be there, along with the other big names, not sponsored content. So it's not the sponsored content. They're they're invited, right?
Lenka
Right. No, but we're not sponsored by them.
Speaker C
We're not sponsored.
Lenka
That would be awesome
Tim
If they were giving us sponsorship money, it would be totally it would be totally awesome. So anyhow, um, link, his mother made this. Awesome. Uh, let me get it in there. Yeah. See that? That's books. Well, they
Lenka
might if it's an audio they're listening to, they won't see it.
Tim
But if this if this laptop bag, if it's a laptop, it's a laptop bag. If you got visuals, you can see how cool it is. She made that for me to carry my laptop in and in various other stuff. And Lincoln, I have been
Tim
working together to make giveaways. Um, and I've made new bookmarks for the series.
Lenka
Very cool. And the bookmark has the covers of the three books that are currently available on Amazon and
Lenka
Barnes and Noble, and I got them to be reversed. Probably. It looks fine.
Tim
I got the back. Uh, let me get. Oh, yeah, there we go. Okay, now that's a bookmark. And and then I have the updated business. Updated business card.
Speaker C
Yay. Which is a
Speaker C
starry sky has the name through Marvel Publications and, uh, horse, which we recently updated.
Tim
Yeah, we're we're in the process of updating the horse, modernizing it, keeping it looking similar in its stance but modernizing it. Mhm
Tim
And uh, I have my good friend Dave in, in Chicago who's, who's doing some fine tuning on it. Um, so I'm getting everything ready for that. And then Lenka is, is working with me with getting my pitches
Tim
and my elevator speeches in my how I explain the book to a total stranger without going, duh, the deer in the headlights.
Speaker C
Yes.
Lenka
So everyone gets the deer in the headlights and someone says, well, what's your project? Or what do you do? Or what do you make? Or
Lenka
what is it about? And we all get the deer in the headlights.
Speaker C
Yeah.
Tim
So this is, this is the last, one of the last things to get through before I go to the convention. And then I will be ready to just have fun for three days.
Lenka
So a lot of fun. So our goal here
Lenka
is to share the journey and then hopefully bring other people on the journey. We tend to sit and help each other focus and give each other inspiration, and perhaps one day we can do that live or invite other people into the experience to hang out and sit and write and
Lenka
get encouragement or make whatever you're making. Um, we want to help dreamers get closer to their dreams. However, however they interpret that dream, you don't have to be rich and famous to be successful. Like our definition of success is
Lenka
very one person's definition is different than another. So, um, we just want to try and lift other people's, um, hopes and, and give some concrete tools along the way, because we have both learned the hard way. Some of
Lenka
these lessons. And we would like for you to avoid those. Um, I really thought I was going to be a young phenom writer, and I wasn't, um, for many reasons. And, um, but I could be an older phenom writer. That can happen at any
Lenka
moment if I just get the books off the hard drive.
Tim
Well, our our goal, one of our goals and exploring social media marketing is that we have lightning
Tim
strike.
Speaker C
Yeah.
Tim
That that that one of one of our, one of our goals is to get lightning to strike, not out of thin air or magic, but by the work that we do and we put out there and the communities that we build and the people that we help, that the
Tim
lightning that's going to strike is going to come from there. Yeah. And then, believe me, when we get some lightning strikes, you guys are going to be all part of it sharing and how we got it so that it can happen to you.
Speaker C
Yeah.
Lenka
So and if it happens
Lenka
to you first then I'll be cheering you on. Remember he's holding up our little framed thing that miracles. Because, you know, they're miracles all over the place. Um, and it can seem like a long, lonely
Lenka
haul. And we're here to kind of share that journey together. So welcome aboard.
Speaker C
It's our pleasure.
Tim
And we welcome you all to join the family.
Lenka
Yeah. I'm not even sure what the name of this is going to be, but whatever it is, if you could follow us and, uh
Lenka
maybe I'm not good with criticism. I'm ultra sensitive, so I'm not going to ask for any kind of reviews, because unless they're nice, if you have a nice review, they're wise. Um, I don't know. My ask is, I guess I'm just thank you for being here. And if you
Lenka
you're in for the journey and would like to see us get better because we will we'll get we'll get this process down.
Tim
Um, then give us a follow and like and my ask is, is that if now or at any time in the future after we
Tim
present something that if you have anything to add to that, please do because you may know something that we don't that could unlock some really good doors.
Lenka
Yeah, we do not have all the answers, but we have lots of questions and we're very curious. Yeah
Lenka
So, um, we are going to explore all the platforms that are mainstream, maybe some that aren't so mainstream. And, you know, I dabble in a lot of different platforms. And, um, we'll talk about that next time about social media
Lenka
and, uh, where our strengths are in social media, where we're finding the most, uh, engagement. So you can find me pretty much everywhere. I'm at Lenka land, Lenka land, except for TikTok, where I am Lenka land fam, because Lenka land was
Lenka
taken somehow. So I'm Lenka land fam. It's short for family and you're welcome to join.
Tim
And I have my authors website at thumar1.com, all lowercase
Tim
That'll give you a good history of the books that I've written, and if you want to read it, read anything else that I've written. I'm also write short stories. So if you go click on the books link, it'll take you to booksie, and it'll have about 20 short stories that I put
Tim
up there. So yeah. Free. Enjoy.
Speaker C
Yeah.
Lenka
We like free.
Speaker C
Yes.
Lenka
Okay. Hope you have a very inspiring day. And I hope that something you do really resonates with you to keep going forward and have a great day, and may God bless you
Lenka
all.
Speaker C
Yeah. Thank you. Bye bye.
