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Guest Blogger: Renee Wildes
Sunday, June 5th, 2011

CONQUERING FEAR

I am a true April Taurus—earthbound, practical, stubborn and temperamental. My life is ruled by fear. In true “bull” fashion, I tend to meet it head-on. It’s what drives me, not a weakness but a motivator.

I’ve always been a tomboy, preferring horses to boys growing up. I belonged to the Wilderness Challenge Club in high school (Wisconsin Academy in Columbus, WI). Whitewater rafting, caving, rappelling, canoeing, if it meant sunburn, mosquitoes and getting dirty—that was where you’d find me. Very glamorous stuff. Now, I’ve always been afraid of heights. Like—freeze atop a 6-ft ladder scared of heights. We won’t even mention airplanes. Sedatives. LOTS of sedatives…

So, the first time I went rappelling was at Devil’s Lake, from atop Devil’s Rock. Guarded by all manner of…rattlesnakes. Saw two, sunning on the rocks. So there I was on a snake-infested rock atop the world. Beautiful view. Wasted on a sixteen-year-old in a cold sweat. See, the secret to rappelling is to WALK down the rock face. Anyone who’s walked across a floor knows the easiest way to do that is to be perpendicular to the floor surface. So if the floor surface is almost entirely vertical, that means the walker gets to be the one who’s…horizontal. And that translates into standing backwards at the edge of a cliff, the true ground several hundred feet below, and LEANING back against a rope-and-nylon-harness-affair into thin air until you’re lying down on NOTHING—and then walk down the wall.

Sure. Uh huh. (Never said I was a BRIGHT kid. Well, okay, I was. Straight A nerd.) And Mr. Snyder was right there like some hairy bearded cheerleader from Buffy saying stupid things like, “It’s easy. You can do this. Nothing stops you. Just leeeeeean back and walk down.”

But it was my best friend stating “Don’t be such a chicken shit” that got me going. Okay, it took me 20 minutes of whimpering like a toy poodle in a thunderstorm before I leaned back enough to start walking. Reaching the bottom to more Buffy reject cheering felt like conquering Mount Everest.

That’s how I tackle life. I let fear motivate me into moving, defeating, conquering. It can either stop you or get you going. Being a Taurus, stubbornness gets me a long way through life. As a writer I try to let the quality bleed off into my characters. Set them up against a bad situation some would consider impossible, but the character just takes a deep breath, says “Who if not me?” and forges on to start, to try. And so the stories go.

Renee
http://reneewildes1.wordpress.com

About Renee:

Fantasy Romance Author Renee Wildes writes the “Guardians of Light” series for Samhain Publishing. She lives in central WI with hubby, 2 kids, a calico cat, a black Chow, and 2 half-Arab mares. She still considers herself a tomboy, although she hasn’t hoofed it down Devil’s Rock in years. Nowadays, writing, reading and scrapbooking occupy her time—when she’s not prying her kids out of a tree or off the roof… Her latest book, Dust of Dreams, comes out in paperback on June 8, 2011. Riever’s Heart will be out in ebook on Sept. 27, 2011.

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The Promo Ho and Red Ribbon Fairy contests continue! See details here! ~DD

11 comments to “Guest Blogger: Renee Wildes”

  1. tammy ramey
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    1
    · June 5th, 2011 at 6:24 am · Link

    Hi Renee,,
    what a great post,i love that point of view.



  2. Becky W
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    2
    · June 5th, 2011 at 9:17 am · Link

    Great post! I love how you tackle life.



  3. renee wildes
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    3
    · June 5th, 2011 at 7:23 pm · Link

    Thanks so much for stopping by! Gotta be a lemonade-outta-lemons kinda person! Makes life more pleasant if not easier!



  4. Maria
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    4
    · June 5th, 2011 at 7:33 pm · Link

    Loved the post Renee! I’m definitely a scardy cat!….lol



  5. Anya Richards
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    5
    · June 5th, 2011 at 7:38 pm · Link

    Great post, but I broke out in a cold sweat just reading that rappelling story, Renee! I was the kid that got stuck in the first fork in the tree (only about four feet off the ground) while the others picked all the fruit, then had to get someone to help her down. Such a wimp! 😳 I did (sorta) grow out of it through sheer bloody-mindedness, so although I’m still not the most intrepid person, that’s something to be happy about. 🙂



  6. Jen B.
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    · June 5th, 2011 at 9:06 pm · Link

    Congrats on your latest book. My brother is a Taurus, so I recognize the traits you mention!



  7. Cathryn Cade
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    · June 5th, 2011 at 9:35 pm · Link

    Renee,

    I ain’t afraid o’ nothin’. T 🙄 he reason I haven’t (finished that book, asked that author for a quote, sent my book to that review spot) is because …. ummm, well, I’m sure I have several good reasons. So there.

    I ain’t afraid o’ nothin’.

    Another writer struggling to conquer the fear demons,
    Cathryn



  8. Phoebe Conn
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    · June 6th, 2011 at 2:07 pm · Link

    I’m also a Taurus, which is a terrifically good sign 🙂 to be. Once we take a side, we stay there! Thank you for the entertaining blog. I’ve not had the chance to risk my life on mountain tops, but I admire your bravery in getting down.



  9. sue brandes
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    · June 6th, 2011 at 4:00 pm · Link

    Hi Renee. Waving. I would of been screaming. LOL. I hate heights,snakes, spiders. LOL. My son is a taurus. A great sign. I just bought Dust of Dreams. Waiting for it to come in the mail.



  10. renee wildes
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    10
    · June 7th, 2011 at 8:51 am · Link

    Well, about the highest I get these days is atop a very short Morab when I go horseback riding with my daughter, but I still like being outside!



  11. shadow
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    11
    · June 7th, 2011 at 2:45 pm · Link

    hi! thanks for visiting. loved the post. lol



Comments are closed.