5 Reasons Why Writers Give Up On Their Dreams

#1 Told Repeaditly to Stop Day Dreaming

Since when is it okay to let go of the very thing that separates us from the animal kingdom? A dog cannot imagine a new invention and change the world with it. Humans alone have this power. Think about it. Every major invention, every Fortune 500 company, every skyscraper was once a figment of a dreamer’s imagination. Don’t stop dreaming! Get back in the habit of daydreaming. (Maybe not while you’re driving.)

#2 Lack of confidence

Why, would anyone want to listen to me? Well, why not you? Who said you weren’t important? Who told you that you don’t have a unique perspective to share with the world? You are an event individual. Your experiences have shaped your perspective on life. No one else will have your particular perspective. Share it with the world. Be Fearless. You’ve got this.

#3 Lack of knowledge

get off your tush and get it. libraries are still free. Get a library card. Self-help books abound at second-hand shops and garage sales. Take the incentive and do something to increase your knowledge on the subject that holds you back. online courses are everywhere for every price range imaginable. 99 cent books overflow from Amazon’s dates on a daily basis there is no excuse why you cannot get the knowledge you seek. Just do it already.

Arnold Schwarzenegger says, “you can have excuses or results, but you can’t have both.” It’s time for you to decide. What do you want?

#4 Your “why” isn’t strong enough

Why do you write? If the answer to that question isn’t strong enough, you will fail 99% of the time, guaranteed. You must have a purpose behind you to push you through the difficult times. The business of writing is tough. The days of writing a manuscript, sending it off to a publisher, and then all of your dreams coming true have disappeared long ago. Whether you choose to be traditionally published or independently published you have to learn the business aspect behind being an author. This includes marketing. This includes advertising and sales, website development, social networking skills, and much more. If you do not have a strong reason behind why you write, then you will not have the incentive to push forward and learn all of these extra skills that are necessary to succeed as a writer.

#5 Past failures

Everyone fails. Every writer has been rejected. Stephen King got rejected 30 times before he was published. He went on to publish 54 novels and 200 short stories. The Chicken Soup for the Soul books were rejected 144 times before they were ever published and we all know how popular those are. JK Rowling was rejected 12 times before Harry Potter ever saw the light of day. Dr. Seuss was rejected 27 times before his children’s books were ever accepted. Everyone is rejected so get over it. Move on. The winners keep pushing forward.

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November 27, 2019 0

Mobster Monday: Dixie Mafia Hitman – Bill Clubb

Dixie Mafia Hitman, implicated in the Gypsy Camp Murder, never faces justice for the murder of Gypsy Queen Margie George. Bill Clubb, along with his cohorts, Kirksey Nix, Jr, and three others walk free after the state’s witness is found shot dead beside the road just outside of Shreveport.

William Mansker “Bill” Clubb was a 6’3″ good ‘ol’ boy from Dixieland. He seemed to be a polite, soft-spoken gentleman who loved custom suits and handmade cowboy boots. Those who crossed him knew of his darker side.

Bill Clubb was a highly skilled thief, safecracker, and hired hitman. He was one of five men to be implicated in the Gypsy Camp Murder, but he never faced justice for this crime.

February 18, 1969, five masked men stormed in into a gypsy camp of carnival workers. The band was parked in the Skeebow Trailer Court off of Lake Pontchartrain just outside of New Orleans.

Rumors swirled around the traveling carnival workers. Amid the carnie camp was a safe rumored to hold hundreds of thousands of dollars. This tall tale caught the attention of local Dixie Mafia members, and soon a robbery would be planned.

Mardi Gras was in full swing, and most of the camp’s men were away working, leaving the women and children alone and unprotected. Twenty four people were bound with chains, and their homes ransacked.

The armed gunmen came up with a few thousand dollars worth of cash and jewelry. Some reports claim the gypsies lost close to $40,000, but they claimed the amount was much smaller to avoid problems over unclaimed income.

Whatever the case, the total was much less than the Dixie Mafia crew expected. The Gypsy Queen, Margie George, was taken and beaten in an attempt to find the elusive safe. George refused to talk and became belligerent. Instead of realizing their error and leaving with the money, one robber hit the woman over the head with a hatchet. Another gunman shot her shortly after that to put her out of her misery. The poor woman was only 44.

A local Dixie Mafia thief was arrested almost immediately. Bobbie Gail Gwenn quickly spilled the story and implicated Dixie Mafia Kingpin, Kirksey Nix, Jr, Bill Clubb, and three other men.

Clubb was arrested two days later with $9,000 in cash and a loaded .38 caliber pistol. Police then raided his home and found several guns and an assortment of burglary tools. Some of the weapons were traced back to a home robbery in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Clubb fought extradition to Louisana and succeeded in stalling the process. He was eventually extradited to Louisiana, but it was too late. Just before Clubb was transferred, the stool pigeon was found shot dead beside the road.

One other hitman implicated in the Gypsy Camp Raid, Gary Elbert McDaniel, was found dead in the Sabine River. His death brought on a giant controversy. McDaniel was rumored to be involved in the ambush of Buford Pusser on New Hope Rd. Some wonder if the revenge filled Sheriff could have taken out the killer, or if he was silenced by his own people because he was rumored to be working with authorities.

After the death of Bobby Gwenn, the case against Nix and Clubb fell apart, and Clubb was released. He would continue to have run-ins with law enforcement for the next 13 years.

Clubb was a pilot and used his skills to run drugs throughout the Southern states for the Dixie Mafia. On June 5, 1982, his Piper Cherokee plane crashed just outside of Houston. The soft-spoken killer was dead at 55.

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Further Reading:

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana/story/2013/dec/02/dixie-mafia/295497/

https://www.newspapers.com/US/Florida/Orlando/The%20Orlando%20Sentinel_4644

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1957-fbi-wanted-poster-william-1900773718

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Back Cover Summary:

Deep in the heart of Dixie lies a hidden evil. It’s tentacles stretch from state to state, from county to county. The Dixie Mafia has produced infamous outlaws, bank robbers, and murderers. The story contains tidbits from each of their lives and even includes the story of a famous sheriff, but this book is not about them.

Silenced by the Dixie Mafia is about a big sister who has fought for answers for over five decades. It’s about a father who was an ex-alcoholic turned into a gambling addict. A father’s decisions would lead to the death of his disabled son and eventually lead to his own demise. Now left alone to find answers and make sense of the chaos is a brave little southern belle named Phyllis.

Tying back to the ambush of Sheriff Buford Pusser on August 12, 1967, this story will change history as we know it. The world knew nothing about the Dixie Mafia until the murders of Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife Margaret in 1987. This public assassination brought this band of ruthless criminals into view, but the truth was still hidden until the death of the Andersons.

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Shattered: behind every story is a shattered life

Every year Synova compiles the most popular blog post from the previous year into a case files book. In 2018, Synova Ink was filled with serial killer cases, cold cases, famous cases, and many obscure unsolved missing persons’ cases. Don’t miss this one.

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November 25, 2019 0

Trafficked – The Christina Whitaker Disappearance

Stumbling along through the night, suffering a panic attack, the 21-year-old redhead couldn’t find a ride home. She eventually found one, but the driver had evil intentions. Christina Whitaker wouldn’t be seen by her family again.

November 13, 2009, Christina goes out to a local bar in Hannibal, Missouri, to celebrate with friends. It was the first time she’d been out since giving birth six months earlier. The night took a turn for the worse when Christina has one too many drinks and starts causing a ruckus at the bar.

Christina Whitaker suffered from bipolar disorder, anxiety attacks, and fibromyalgia for years. She had been on medication for three years, trying to get her life back together. Unfortunately, those medications didn’t mix well with alcohol. It is unclear what happened at the party, but Christina was asked to leave. Her friend refused to leave the party and give her a ride home. Now, this left her alone on the street just before midnight. The new mother was at the mercy of the night, and unfortunately, a predator lurked in the shadows.

Christina was very childlike and naive, making her the perfect target for someone to exploit her. Reports say she wandered about trying to find someone to give her a ride home. She asked all of her acquaintances and a few strangers. Everyone refused to provide the troubled woman a ride.

The next morning, Christina’s live-in boyfriend calls Christina’s mother, Cindy. Christina never returned home. Cindy filed a missing person report.

Timeline:

11:45 pm – Christina is asked to leave Rookie’s Bar

Shortly after – Christina enters the Sportsman’s Bar asking for help. She was seen running out of the back entrance in tears.

Her phone was found in the 200th block of 7th St. near 7th and Church St. This is a few yards away from the Sportsman’s bar where she was last seen.

Trafficked:

Within two weeks of her disappearance, an informant gave the Hannibal police a lead. Christina was taken by a group of guys who dealt in drugs and prostitution. The witness claims she was taken two hours away to Peoria, Illinois, and sold into the sex trade.

Several possible sightings have come out of Peoria, leading the authorities to step up their investigation. A waitress claimed to have seen Christina when she went into the Raedene’s Country Cafe, asking for help. The waitress tried to ask what was wrong, but Christina left quickly before the lady could get help.

Another sighting was by a local police officer. He claimed to have seen her and tried to approach her. He said she seemed terrified and fled before he could talk to her.

At one point, a witness comes forward with valuable information. This woman was a patient in the local mental hospital when a woman fitting Christina checked herself in for treatment. She told the witness that she had been kidnapped and was being forced to work as a prostitute. She had gotten pregnant and was beaten so severely that she miscarried. She also claimed they were forcing her to take drugs. The witness went straight to the police, but by the time they arrived, Christina had vanished once again.

What happened to this poor, mentally disabled woman? Who is taking advantage of her? What terror have they struck in her heart to where she’s afraid to run? If you have any information on the disappearance of Christina Whitaker disappearance, please contact the Hannibal Police Department 573-221-0987

Further Reading:

Christina’s Facebook Pg

Lostandmissing.org

Recommended Reading:

Read more about Christina’s case in this book. Steffen Hou interviewed her mother for the chapter about Christina.

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November 21, 2019 0

Dana Bruce – A Mother Taken

She was a disabled single mother snatched from her children and family, first by him, then by drugs, and finally physically. What happened to Dana Bruce from Sedalia, Missouri?

October 4, 2008, a single mother broke away from her typical pattern and decided to take a night off. She leaves her toddlers at a babysitter’s house and goes out for a much-needed break. Dana Bruce, 23, was a devoted mom. She had no hobbies and no significant social life. Her life quite literally revolved around her two children.

Dana was once a fun-loving, somewhat mischevious teenager, but once she was introduced to Nathan Dotson, her life changed. She became a mother, and she was introduced to a drug-filled world. While Dana was disabled with multiple learning disabilities and blind in one eye, she had two little people who loved her unconditionally. Those two babies meant the world to her, and they were always with her.

Her relationship with the babies’ father was abusive and complicated, so Dana eventually ended up getting herself an apartment. Alienated from her family and many of her friends, Dana, became a target. Who targeted her? Eleven years later, we aren’t sure. Someone took the 98-lb woman, and she was never seen again.

September 2008, Dana broke down and called her stepmom, Rebecca. Although they weren’t blood-related, no one called her a step-mother. Everyone knew Dana as Rebecca’s daughter. Dana and her mother had lost touch a bit after Dana met Nathan, but she knew she could call mom if she got into trouble. That is exactly where she found herself in September. Her disability check had been stolen. She was out of diapers, her ex had broken her apartment window, and now she was being evicted. The worried mother had no idea that ten days later, her sweet Dana would disappear forever.

Public Timeline: October 4, 2008

Dana leaves her children at a babysitter’s house and heads out for a few drinks
She is seen leaving Malone’s Night Club around 11:30 pm
She leaves with a man in a RED Ford F-150
Dana stops by the babysitter’s house and asks if the kids can stay the night. She pays the sitter the extra fees and leaves with the man in the red truck
She is never seen again

Dana was seen with a man named Joe Rich from Atlanta, Georgia, at one point during the evening. He would become a “person of interest” after her disappearance. Police would even travel to Atlanta to question him, but nothing ever came of it. It was later revealed that Rich drove a WHITE truck. He claims he parted ways with her BEFORE she returned to Malone’s.

The rumor mill claimed she was with two local boys, and one was driving a borrowed red truck. Although law enforcement has followed dozens of leads, it seems they are no closer to solving this case than they were back in 2008. The rumor mill in the rural town has produced a horrific tale surrounding this mother, however.

Theory:

Dana Bruce was supposedly at a woman’s house with several other individuals. She had a few drinks with people she thought were her friends. A group of guys came in and shot her up with drugs inadvertently overdosing her. In a panic, they rolled her up in a carpet and threw her out by the road to die.

Although this is a very plausible story, family and law enforcement officials haven’t been able to find this poor woman. Where is Dana? All she wanted was to fit in and to be loved. Was she taken by drugs and then disposed of by people she thought cared about her?

Missing In Missouri Podcast – Facebook Page

Missing in Missouri is a podcast produced by a husband and wife team. They are from St. Louis County, MO and they are doing a great job digging into this case. I highly recommend everyone to listen to this podcast series if you’re interested in the case of Dana Bruce’s disappearance. Keep up the good work Zack & Morgan!

Listen to the series of podcasts here:

Missing In Missouri Podcast on Podbean

Further Information:

Youtube

Cached Site

Charley Project

Missing In Missouri Podcast

Missing In Missouri Facebook Page

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