Christmas in the Holler - a play, is here!

Have a Holly Jolly!



Merry Christmas everyone!

As I sit here listening to Christmas music and writing a play I realized that... what I want for Christmas, I already have. I have a few amazing friends, a wonderful husband, a job that pays the bills (and I enjoy,) as well as the chance to write all of my stories. I have a place to lay my head and food in my stomach. I am very grateful for all these things and the millions of other things that fill my life.

I couldn't say that a couple of years ago. Things could've been different.  I look at our Christmas tree, mesmerized by it's shining beauty and what peace it holds for me.  Something you may not know... my mother passed away in December of '86, I was 9 years old and Christmas was all around me, but she was gone. Sometimes I think that it's odd that I love this season so much, considering that bit of trauma. I think I've come to the conclusion that I love Christmas so much for all of the reason's most people do, but I find a peace in it. A closeness to the loved ones I've lost. I feel them near and a calmness surrounds me.

I feel blessed. Sure, I could fuss and complain about the million things that go wrong all the time, but when a friend, or Spencer, asks me what I would like for Christmas... All I can seem to say is.. I have all I want in you. You are my Christmas gift.  I have had way too many garage sales in my past and everything is constantly on the lists: Get rid of. Rummage. Donate. Things pile up! The older I get the less I want to deal with piles and I do get tired of moving them about.

My heart is overflowing and I want more! Wait, didn't I just say I want less piles? Yes, but I want my heart to fill to overflowing more often... not more stuff. So I ask you this Christmas... What do you want? You are an amazing gift... Whether it friend, family or more... You are my favorite Christmas present, ever! I love you all, very much.

Merry Christmas and have a Holly Jolly!
-Joe

P.S. Someone out there needs a gift like you for Christmas, find them!
P.P.S. Now I know some of you may get a dirty mind about this... Behave yourself! That's not what I meant! :)

What a year this has been...

Wow.   It's very nice to be typing a new post to you all.  It' been a very long time since I've had the time and a computer that would work.  I won't tell you about all of the extremely boring things that have happened to me since my last post but will try and summarize as best as possible.

A long time ago in a land far away... ok, a few streets over... I went through a very unpleasant divorce and the loss of a best friend.  She and I had almost been married for 8 years, but somewhere along the way... Things happened. I am still a little sad by it all because she was one of my best friends and I'm still unsure of how it got to the way it was in the end.  Anyway... moving on.

I had to buy a new house in a very short amount of time... Well let's just say that that wasn't fun either. I had also met my husband Spencer. Yep, my husband.  He's amazing.  The best thing to come out of the last year and a half. We were actually the first same-sex couple to get married in our county... ever. That part wasn't intentional, it just happened. The day we went for our marriage license we were informed of this little bit of history.

Here we are...

 

My computer had also decided it would no longer work anymore, so that left me with a large pile of stories that needed typing, but I had to wait.  Well the wait is finally over and I can get back to telling you all my tales.

 

I still work at my local library and I am now a board member for our local civic theatre organization.  It all keeps me pretty busy but I promise that there will be time found for writing and keeping you informed.  I hope you all have a marvelous Thanksgiving and I will write more soon.  - Joe

The Difficulty of Breathing is now available.

click here to get your own copy.

My VLOG. :)

It has finally happened after you have all requested it. I'm going to start working on my YouTube Channel.  Check it out and let me know what you think...Don't forget to subscribe. :)

Joe Egly - Author on YouTube

BETA reader reviews of The Difficulty of Breathing...

Here are some recent messages I have received from some "BETA" readers about The Difficulty of Breathing...

"I love the story! It's super good! I can't go to sleep because I keep reading!"

"I can't stop reading, I'm on chapter 10 already!"

"Thank you for this book! (: And I finished it in a day! It was super good I loved it."

"OMG! This is so good...I laughed and cried. Amazing story."

... "I think that it was a really good book, And I definitely think other people would want to read it. I actually had a lot of my friends ask me if they could read it. My boyfriend even asked if he could read it."

"Joe, I could smack you because of how good this is. When do I get my own copy."

A BIG thank you to all my BETA readers, I appreciate your comments and I'm very excited about this book. Tell your friends.

It will be released soon... Are you going to read it? :)

Coming soon!  In a few months you can read the shocking and heartbreaking story of Sam. You'll laugh, You'll Cry, You'll Spit. Each copy comes with free tissues.  :) lol, just kidding.

 

Here's a snippet:

 

Loneliness…  That's what I thought life was all about, (that and being drug through broken glass on a daily basis.)  Nothing ever seemed right and nothing ever went right.  It always seemed to be a matter of stepping in the deepest puddle of oily, muddy water in your brand new shoes. Life just seemed to absolutely suck.

            I really don't mean to seem so “emo” and blunt about it, but to be honest that's the way life can be.  All up in your face, can't smell the roses for all the shit that's been shoved up your nose.  I could sure smell the shit and let me assure you that it didn’t smell good.

            Okay, I have a story to tell you.  It's my story. (I know, boring right?) It has its moments.  It’s no skip through a park, but there are some moments along the way. Some that are sad, some happy, and some that probably shouldn't be put in print, but I can tell you one thing; if you are willing to stay with me, be brave through this mess and not leave me, we can go this journey together.  You can read it as I write it. Deal?  Ok then…here we go.

            So many stories start with once upon a time, or in a far-away place, but for me and my story, I wasn't sure of how or where to begin.  So now I choose the memory my mind goes back to first.

            Even though it shouldn't matter, my name dear friend is Sam.  No last name needed and no explanation granted, just Sam. Simple, easy, short and unusual Sam.

 When I was growing up my grandmother told me the story of the man in the moon. I don’t know if you know it but it’s the story that if you shared with him your heart's desires and secret wishes, in return he would answer them for you. If you would only listen and pay attention.

            You had to listen closely because he would whisper.  That always proved to be my problem. I can't seem to listen to the right people.  Instead I listen to those who want to cause me some sort of trouble, which always ended with me in a major bind. (And I'm not talking about the legs over your head bind either.  Although...sigh...)

            Night after night, I would talk to the man in the moon hoping that one day he would answer me. That he would tell me the truth, my truth, my destiny.  I would sit, wait, and listen for him gazing from star to star.  I knew the answers were there waiting for me. They had to be somewhere, hidden within the mysteries of the heavens.  I knew that he was there too, the man in the moon.  He could answer me, that is if he would.

            Maybe he had answered me long ago and I just wasn't listening.  Perhaps he had already told me my story.  My person in shining armor, my fairy tale ending that was to come and take me away to 'Happily-ever-after.'  Someone to love me, hold me tight and never let go. Were those just tales told tall?  Told to enrich the minds of gullible children, filling them with hopes and dreams that would never be? Disguising a life full of heartache, by a veil of hopes and dreams?  Think about it, where’s your knight in shining armor? Right?

            That night my head slumped from all of this pondering. I practically had a headache. I already knew the answers to my questions.  I was doomed, a freak of nature whose life was set toward a path of chaos from birth.

            Still, every night I sat and talked to the man in the moon, telling him my side of the story, letting him know that my lonely, desperate heart yearned for that special someone, the one I had asked for so long ago.  The one I would never have.

            That night, however, was a little different.  The stars seemed to dance and play among the slow passing clouds, as if they still existed in the night sky.  The moon himself seemed to be smiling at me, as if he knew something.  It was one of those looks like, Have I got a big surprise for you!  Yet his calming peace still had shown down through the dark.

            A peaceful feeling came over me, keeping me at ease for the moment.  It was then that I realized that it really was true, he was actually trying to tell me something.  It was as if he were actually whispering to me. (Well, in his own way of course.)

            It was a feeling that passed through me like lightning.  He was talking to me, telling me it would be okay.  Just hold on.  Just breathe.  He told me that my story was coming, it was yet to unfold. But he forgot to mention that it wouldn’t be pretty. The love of my life once told me that I was the difficulty of breathing… I’m learning everyday how difficult that really is.