Do YOU Have A 'LIFE of FICTION'?

The things that happen to ME look like a fantasy novel most days.

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Let Me Lift YOU Up Today…

…because YOU lifted ME up yesterday.

Monday, May 12th, 2025…

It wasn’t just one of those days…it was the worst Monday I’ve had in a year.

The morning coffee video felt…weird. Not bad. I was happy, life is good, but my mind was on my wife and her health. I got the video done and sent out, right?

Then my mind went to WANTED HERO DAY.

This is a once in a lifetime alignment, IMO… this fictional world that I love so much will officially be turning 21 on the 27th of May. I will also be turning 56 years old. To celebrate, I thought, “Why not give 21% off annual subscriptions during the celebration?”

Makes sense, right? I thought so.

The cartoonist in my head scoffed. “We don’t DO ‘discounts’…we add value, idjit.”

“I know,” I countered, “but this is different. I want this event to be special. Wanted Hero will be 21, so 21% makes sense, but I’d like to do a live stream for 90 minutes, celebrating my birth hour, at 7:56am…and I want to do something EXTRA special.”

“That’s…kinda cool. You’ll be 56 at 7:56 am?”

“Yeah. I mean, how often does stuff like that line up?” I said.

“Probably never.”

“Exactly. So I want to make this special…but…what if no one shows up?”

…and the stress settled in.

I’m so overly aware that I suck at marketing.

No, that’s not accurate.

I’d have to work very, very, very hard to get good enough to suck.

[This gets better (I promise), just stay with me…]

This massive wave of anxiety flooded over me and within the hour…

• My HD camera stopped working.

• My beautiful RODE mic popped, crackled, and died.

• The company I’ve used for merch can no longer provide service (AND they kept the money I’d earned from sales).

• I learned my baby sister, whom I adore, received horrible news from hospital tests, and has to have a wave of new, expensive tests.

• No matter how hard I tried, the worry about my sister knocked each and every idea from my mind. Couldn’t write. Couldn’t create. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think of a single idea for this weeks HUB Studio event.

It was too much, and I couldn’t quite cope. So I thought, “No, we need to be positive and proactive,” and went into the yard to work on a huge project for our chickens.

…and put my back out.

“You suck at this, today,” snickered the cartoonist in my brain.

……….!

Shoving said cartoonist, screaming, into a locked closet, I chained the closet door, went to my bedroom, strapped an oxygen mask to my face.

Everything in me needed a tiny bubble of “not screwed up” around me, so I shut my eyes and took a nap.

This is where life is…magical.

I’d like you to know that I believe in God. Deeply.

I may not know a whole lot, but I believe.

I also believe in what I call ‘magic’. Others call them miracles, good luck, and a score of other things. But I believe that ‘magic’ oftentimes other people. Amazing people who are SO in ‘tune’ with the Universe, that their love and kindness floods across this world…and finds a way to me (and others).

It seems to happen when I have done all I know how, done all I can, and yet life’s boot pushes on my neck, driving my face into the mud.

That’s when magic happens.

• The timing is always perfect.

• The methods are always unexpected.

• The gestures of kindness and sacrifice are such, that I can’t help but stop and marvel, to take it all in.

• The experience always lifts me up, infusing me with hope, and proves to me that striving to do the right thing for the right reasons…is the right choice.

You see, MY definition of a ‘HERO’…is someone who does something for someone else that they cannot do for themselves.

When I got up from my nap, I wandered out and sat on the couch, next to my wife.

“You okay?” she asked.

Shook my head slowly. “But I will be.”

Then she held my hand.

“I wish I had a replacement for my camera,” I sighed to my wife.
”Things will work out, sweetheart. They always do,” she replied.

“Dad, you have a package,” Roman (my 10yr old) says, walking in the front door. He hands me the package…from Amazon.
I open the box.
…and found this:

“Daddy, why are you crying?” asks Ruby (my 6yr old).
”He’s just happy,” replies my wife. “Could you get some tissue for dad?”
”Of course.”

When I went to sit at my desk and read the manual for this new camera, I saw an email:
URGENT: Your TeePublic Store Is Set to Expire!

*sigh*

Turns out that a new platform was being offered, to replace what had failed me. It was the best manual I’d ever seen, the set up was fast, flawless, and it looks as good on mobile as Substack does. Within 15 minutes my new store is up and running, with dozens of products touting 3 designs.

“What of no one wants to buy from this new store?!?” shouts the cartoonist from the closet.

My email dings.

The new camera is plug and play, works flawlessly, and during the process, I find the problem with my Rode mic are just old XLR cables =)

I had a spare cable!

The nap allowed my back to shift into place and I’m not in pain.

‘Clockworks’ sent me an AI 4K Camera that works like a dream. [THANK YOU!!!]

Rode mic is still perfect, with a new cable.

I now have a NEW & BETTER store, up and running.

Then I reached out to

Tell Me a Mystery

and

Kummer Wolfe

for ideas about our Wednesday Stream. Ann came to the rescue:

Lastly…my baby sister still has some tests to go, but the insurance approved them, which is a start. She is loved by everyone.

We will be patient, pray, and wait.

The day ended with hearing a song written by my son, Simon. It brought tears to my eyes, and put me back together again.

I’d like to share it with you.

Why Are You Lost - by Simon Buckley

Thank you, my friends…

…for being heroes in my life.

…for being patient when I’m not quite strong enough.

…for sticking around Life of Fiction, even though I’m just one guy, with too many goals.

And most of all…for being that ‘magic’.

You are seen.
You are loved.
You are appreciated.

Thank you.

Your friend,
Jaime

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