Will she bring the A-Game? And keep reading...there are RT giveaways finally ;o)

Will she bring her A-Game today?

That's the buzz in the tennis world this morning about Venus Williams--she finally showed up at Wimbledon yesterday (mentally) after sleepwalking through her first three rounds. Will she bring her A-game to her quarterfinal match today, or will the blank-eyed shadow of her former greatness limp back out on court?

We'll talking about arguably one of the best players in the world who rarely plays events anymore and hasn't won a title in years. Why? Because she's lost her confidence, many say. She's shown her weakness and her opponents see a way to beat her now, where before they saw someone who was untouchable.

Which, big picture, begs the question, how much does Venus really believe she belongs on top? She's a three-time Wimbledon champion, and this is the tournament where she brings on the heat every year, even as she pulls out of the rest of the slams or gets sent home too early in other tournaments. So, why did it take her four matches to find the mojo this year? Does she really believe? Many are picking her to win now that she sent Sharapova home in a 2/3 rout, but if you'd asked most of the commentators who their pick was before yesterday's match, the V-bomb wouldn't have made the top of their lists.

My point? Even world-class atheletes fight doubt--and the more they achieve, the bigger the doubt and the longer the line of folks ready to take the former champions' place the first time she listens to the demons instead of her talent.

Those of you who want to publish but just aren't quite there yet, know that the published authors struggle with the same angst about their abilities as you. I say this in my workshops--every book, every challenge to our talent, every blank page we can't fill with words has the potential to terrify a published author, the same as it does you. And any author who tells you otherwise is doing a bit more damage control than truthsaying.

It's a scary place, in your head, just you and you, as you fight your way out of the nasty self-talk that attacks all of us. It's scary for everyone, even the Venuses of the world.

I'm watching her match with Kuznetsova while I type this...it's looking pretty solid but shows potential for being trouble for the last American woman in Brittan's party. Will Venus let herself win the match in her head long enough to pull it off on the court? Will you let yourself win, whatever court your current crisis of confidence is playing out on?

What do I do, you ask, on days like today, when it's easier to watch tennis on TV (or go play it at my club) than it is to fill the page with lovely words I'll one day have revised enough to be able to share with you???

Well, I write in my blog ;o) Because I know this is a place where friends come to share the angst and encourage each other and pick up their confidence and get on with their own dreams. And I pet my cats--four lovely besties put on this earth just to cuddle and purr and beg for food and love me because I'm there to give them the tuna that starts their day.

Oh, and I FINALLY get around to giving away the lovely goodies I bring back from conferences for my blog faithful. Check out the pics below--and the additional ones I'll be leaving in posts over the next week--and leave comments. I'll be sending one or two things out each week until it's all gone, which will take a while (can you tell I drove to this conference and had lots of room for stuff on the drive back???).

A few of you are already on the list of folks to glare at because they got cool stuff you might not ;o) :

1) Shannon Upright, who never received her Froggy from last March...don't know where he went, but Shannon, you'll get one of the cute dinasaurs in the first pic...I'm soooooo sorry your lovely friend hopped away :o(

2) The first two ladies who guessed right about the fairytale symbolism in the first excerpt from my '08 Mother's Day '08 novella, Baby Steps, in the June 19th post--I haven't forgotten about you, RobnL and Cas2jas (Cheryl). Something fun from Romantic times for you, too!

Send me your snail mailing addresses, ladies.

Everyone else, let me know what you think of the pics, or my ramblings, or the other excerpts I've posted on the blog (which you can track back from the links at the bottom of this post and other "excerpt" posts) or whatever. Basically leave a comment and support your sisters and brothers out here, and who knows, there may be RT goodies in your mailbox soon, LOL!!!

And be secure in your talents and your right to live your dreams, my friends. You belong on the court, the same as Venus does--who's up a break at 4-1 in the first now, BTW. She hasn't been to the quarterfinal of a major since '05 (the last time she won Wimbledon, as a matter of fact), but she's banging on the door again now.

Challenge the doubt in your world today and win!!! Bring your A-Game. That's my plan, anyway. As soon as I turn the TV tennis off ;o)

So, let me know what you think of the pics! And come back later in the week/next week for more glimpses of the bounty!!!

Look at the cute dinasours and the kittie and duckie and oversized pens and vampire teeth and notepads and can coozies and stuff... These authors picked the cutest things for RT fans... I was lucky to snag any of it, they were going so fast.

We'll do books and bags and stuff like that later, but for now, here are some more of the goddies I couldn't keep my hands off of. The picture's a little smaller than I like, but amidst all the fluffy stuff and drinkbottle and stationary, there are two decks of Elora's Cave playing cards, my friends...each card with a hunk of burning love on the backside for your opponents to enjoy while you steal their pot ;o)

Next time we'll do the tote bags everyone was drooling over, then we'll get around to the books...eventually...because I'm a tease...but you love me anyway, right???