Balloons, Lawn Chairs, and Dreams

You may have heard about Kent Couch this past weekend. He's the 48-year-old gas station owner who strapped more than 150 giant party balloons to his lawn chair Saturday and flew 235 miles, from Bend, Oregon to Cambridge, Idaho, in his third such attempt in as many years. His goal was to fly from home to another state in this unorthodox fashion. His dream, since childhood, had been to "ride on a cloud."

Personally, my stomach flips just imagining being so high and so exposed. But you have to admire the guy's tenacity. He had a dream--albeit a weird one--and he kept at it until he realized that dream. He learned from his failed attempts, made adjustments, and tried again.

Writers must embrace the same attitude. Learn from rejection, adjust what you can, and submit again. What's the worst that can happen--having to try again? That's better than plummeting to your death in a lawn chair, don't you think?

If you'd like to see photos of Ken's takeoff, go HERE. But before you go, you might want to enter the CONTEST I mentioned on Friday. I'm giving away a free signed copy of my new novel, Beach Dreams. Simply leave a comment at the end of any of my blog posts (today's post is only my fourth) and/or subscribe to my blog, using the subscription box on the right. Why subscribe? I'll be giving away books (mine and those of the authors I interview) at least once a week. If you subscribe you'll never miss notice of a give-away.

So you have up to five chances for today's drawing. For each comment and each subscription, I'll add your name to the drawing once. Comment after each post and you'll increase your chances of winning. I'll draw the winner's name on July 13 and announce the winner on July 14, along with my interview of Michelle Sutton, author of It's Not About Me (Sheaf House).

If you'd like to win a free copy of Beach Dreams, be sure to leave your email address so I can reach you. For cyber-safety's sake, enter your address like so: trish[at]trishperry[dot]com

See you Monday!