FEARLESS WRITER, FEARLESS HEROINES - Vijaya Schartz

FEARLESS FRIDAY

You're in for a treat today. My guest, Vijaya Schartz, has a great tale of conquering fear.

  

Thank you Brenda, for having me on your Fearless Friday blog today.

Before I start, I would like to mention my two historical fantasy romance bargain books in kindle today:

Curse of the Lost Isle, special edition box set (3 novels in one download) for 99cts: http://amzn.com/B0091HX7EE

and Chatelaine of Forez, Book 5 in the same series, discounted for the first time 99cts: http://amzn.com/B00I3T9VYG

When we say fearless, we are not talking about the absence of fear. Everyone has fears, it’s ingrained in our DNA. Fear protects us from doing dangerous things. Those who have no fear at all usually die young. When fear threatens to overcome you, however, the trick consists in finding peace and clarity of mind, despite overwhelming or dangerous circumstances. Like our heroes and heroines, when the time comes, we need to overcome fear, in order to do what needs to be done.

In the movie AFTER EARTH, the wounded hero teaches his young son, their only hope of survival after a crash on a hostile planet, to ignore fear, because fear is not real. The boy says, "How can I pretend there is no danger?" And the hero answers: "Oh, danger is very real, but fear is a choice."

I remember being about twelve, doing handstands in our small apartment, late at night. On the way down, my bare foot hit a heavy ceramic bowl, which broke, and a large shard gouged a hole in the top of my foot. Blood everywhere... for the first time in my life I saw my mother paralyzed by fear, babbling, unable to function. She could hardly breathe, she was so upset she couldn’t think at all. We had no phone, there was no 911 then. We had no car, it was a small town in France, no hospital, and that late at night, everything was closed.

So, I remembered my martial arts teacher saying “Stay calm. Think. What needs to be done? Do it.” So I did. I told my mother to get out of the room. I took a few deep breaths, then calmly asked my sister to get the first aid kit. I washed the wound in the sink, then cleansed it with alcohol despite the sting, and packed the hole, then bandaged the foot tightly to stop the flow of blood. Then I cleaned up the blood from the floor, the walls, the sink. Early the next morning, I limped to the doctor’s home office with my sister, and the doctor stitched me up. I wore a big scar on my left foot for decades.

Of course, some of us are thrill seekers. Conquering fear has since become a hobby of mine: jumping free fall out of perfectly good planes, braving the river wild, fighting opponents three times my size just to see if I can do it. I have to mention I stand barely 5 feet and a hundred and five pounds (on a good day) and was always picked by my various martial arts teachers for the time honored David and Goliath demonstration.

Skill, speed, balance, training, coordination, foreknowledge of the enemy, endurance, will power, clarity of mind, these are the elements of victory over fear. These are what drives a champion to the Olympic gold, what makes a fictional character worthy, what makes a soldier lethal. Although, in a soldier’s case, there is something to be said for a good exoskeleton... especially on alien planets where gravity can play tricks on you.

MY TECHNIQUE TO BECOME FEARLESS IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS:

1 - Take a big breath, release it slowly, it calms your mind, slows your heartbeat.

2 - Stop and focus. What needs to be done?

3 - What’s the most effective way to do it?

4 - Got it? Now, just do it.

You may be tempted to think of the worst that can happen. Forget the consequences. Get over it. Do what needs to be done. It will save your life, or someone else's life, and whether or not you become a hero, you’ll have the satisfaction of having done the right thing in difficult circumstances. The more you do it, the easier it gets. It’s that simple. I said simple, I never said it would be easy. Good luck.

About the author:

Born in France, award-winning author Vijaya Schartz never conformed to anything and could never refuse a challenge. She likes action and exotic settings, in life and on the page. She traveled the world and claims to also travel through time, as she writes without boundaries about the future and the far away past. Her love of cats transpires in most of her books. Her stories collected many five star reviews and literary awards. She makes you believe you actually lived these extraordinary adventures among her characters. Reviewers compared her stories to Indiana Jones with sizzling romance, and she takes that as a compliment anytime. Find out more about Vijaya and her books at: http://www.vijayaschartz.com

Now you know Vijaya writes kick-butt, fearless heroines (and heroes), and you can find them in all her romantic novels, whether in a futuristic, contemporary, or historical fantasy setting.

About the CURSE OF THE LOST ISLE historical Fantasy series:
From history shrouded in myths, emerges a family of immortal Celtic Ladies, who roam the medieval world in search of salvation from a curse. For centuries, imbued with hereditary gifts, they hide their deadly secret, stirring passions in their wake as they fight the Viking hordes, send the first knights to the Holy Land, give birth to kings and emperors... but if the Church ever suspects what they really are, they will be hunted, tortured, and burned at the stake. 5 stars on Amazon "Edgy Medieval!"

Vijaya Schartz

Blasters, Swords, Romance with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/vijayaschartz 

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