Chekov’s gun & life hacks

On By karmamarie23Leave a comment

Before you freak out, let me clarify for you non nerdy theater kids and writers.

Chekov’s gun is the idea that every element introduced in a story must be necessary and serve a purpose.

For example, in a play if there is a gun sitting on the table then it must go off before the end of the performance or it shouldn’t be included. Nothing extraneous to the story.

It hit me the other day that this could be a good philosophy to apply to my life.

I have a habit of purchasing self-help programs, writing courses and so. many. books. I have the best of intentions – I’m going to improve my finances, my health, my skills, my life!

Sadly, just like New Year’s resolutions they fall to the wayside; neglected, orphaned and choking on dust while I binge watch Cougar Town…hey, it’s Bill Lawrence so technically, it could be considered writing research, right? Right?

Well maybe Chekov can help me out.

  1. No extraneous additions! If the item or experience doesn’t improve some aspect of my life, then I don’t add it…even if it’s FREE! Because it’s really not; everything costs something be it money, effort or TIME.
  2. Follow through on what I already have. They say procrastination is caused by fear. So, if I committed to, say a course on shifting realities then I need to face my fears and schedule time for study…which will be even easier once I learn how to manipulate time travel! Where’s my Delorian?
  3. I don’t really have anything more than the two, but I like the number 3. Hey, if you think of something let me know!

Now, I know what you are thinking. “Karma, what about your crazy sche—um, creative opportunity plans?”

I haven’t given up on my dreams of working with Edgar Wright, Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck…to name the obvious characters that we’ve already discussed but we haven’t even begun to delve into my new-ish fascination with Jason Mantzoukas. (not new to me, just new that I’m telling you) He is one of 5 of my favorite Jasons…what? You don’t have a list of Jasons? You should, it’s fun.

In no particular order:

Jason Sudeikis, Jason Segel, Jason Bateman and my brother Jason.

Mantzoukas is my bittersweet crush, my doomed love affair – for as much as I adore his crazy sexy smart self, he is allergic to eggs and that’s 95% of my sustenance.

 I think that would be like a vampire dating a woman who exists on garlic and holy water. ☹

But a crazy girl can dream.

Speaking of dreams, I haven’t mastered the skill of lucid dreaming yet. You know where you are dreaming but totally aware you are dreaming so you can control what happens? So, I’m at the mercy of whatever my psyche throws at me, which is very hit or miss.

Hit – A man told me he won the lottery and I said, “That is awesome, you totally deserve it! I’m so happy for you!” and then he told me he wanted to give me $1 million. 😊

Miss – Any work related or I’m trying to accomplish any menial task. Like needing to get somewhere by a certain time but I can’t seem to move or it’s really slow motion.

Questionable – The other night, I left my office job to join a group of men on a heist. We jumped out of a plane, and we landed in a barren field next to a giant building. As I was collecting everyone’s parachutes to hide, because I was the newbie, I was freaking out about getting in trouble for leaving work without letting anyone know and it had already been four hours!

Yep, that’s what I was worried about.

I left the building because I also started to worry about legal trouble and next thing I know I’m in a restaurant, I believe it was in Beijing or maybe downtown San Francisco. While I’m there I notice Keanu Reeves sitting at a nearby table. He says hello and invites me to join him. Isn’t he nice?

We talked about life and my crazy ideas for a Matrix – Dracula cross over. He totally loved it! Then I realize I’m actually in another country and I’m freaking out about how I’m going to get home.

I say, “I don’t know where I’m going to get the money to get home.” And he looks at me and smiles and says, “Hand me your notebook.”

He then proceeds to sign his name and then three other names and I guess I’m supposed to sell these autographs to buy a plane ticket home? Then he leaves. WTF?

Wait, I forgot. He leaves AND then the manager comes up to me and says, “I want to close up, and your check is the last one that needs to pay.” So no help getting home AND he didn’t pay for my dinner?! Harsh brah!

Needless to say, our relationship hasn’t been the same since. :-/

Also HIT – Ben Affleck placed my hand in his and professed that I was his best friend and it made me feel all warm and gooey inside and I said, ‘Suck it, Matt!’ under my breath. Afterwards we went to Claire’s and got matching bracelets. You know the kind that are two halves of one whole? Okay, maybe I added that part to seem cooler than I am.

Anyways, hope this chaotic catch up post didn’t make you too dizzy and nauseous…if it did just drink some Pepto, you know that pink stuff. Hey that reminds me of another dream.

Just kidding! Hope your 2026 is shaping up to be a time of JOY and BIG DREAMS! Go get em’ Tiger!

Love and Blessings!

Karma Marie

Amuse update

On By karmamarie23Leave a comment

Great news! The Audible version for the revised version of Amuse is now available!

It was a challenging time. I had planned to drop the Audible version on Halloween and started promoting, and it wasn’t showing up as ready on the site. So I reached out and learned we had missed one spot updating my narrator’s name – she got married in between recordings. 🙂

So started the never ending back and forth correspondence…

Me: “Hi, just checking in to see if it’s ready yet?”

ACX: “There was a name mismatch.”

Me: “Oh, I thought I got all of them, sorry.”

ACX: “No worries! We can correct that now if you provide us the original and updated information.”

I did and they did and then I asked ever so hopefully, “Is it ready now?”

ACX: “It needs to go through the quality review.”

Me: “Again? It went through already, the change was with the producer name.”

ACX: “Yes it’s in review. The process takes up to 10 business days.”

It actually took much, much longer than that but, It has arrived!

You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Amuse/dp/B07JP7W6NV/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ZME9NHIFUU50&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3oPGL3dBW-vU3spUdCUhfKs6Z3g0xt6KsCKvGYzmfB0.vxwohS_-8HBOFU6L89feW9onKSiJ2jLaBdSRlxjGG04&dib_tag=se&keywords=amuse+by+karma+marie&qid=1766980270&sprefix=Amuse+by+karma%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-2

Wow, that’s a long link! Anyways, I hope to hear what you think of it, the good, the bad and the fugly. Amuse is the first of a series, currently awaiting notes from my beta readers for book 2 and hard at work outlining book 3.

Tell me, what BIG or little projects are you working on in 2026? Whatever they are, I bet they are amazing!

Love and Blessings,

Karma Marie

Choosing your reality

On By karmamarie23Leave a comment

Your reality is but one of infinite possibilities. That’s right, infinite.

There is a reality that exists right now where you are living your ‘dream’ life and another that is so much worse than the one you are currently acknowledging and everything in between.

I said acknowledging, yes. You align with what you focus on.

Think about your tv, there are always multiple channels available = multiple realities.

You select the show you want to watch and hit play = your focus.

So why do we get stuck watching a show we don’t want to see again? The program that plays on a loop.

Our subconscious wants to keep us safe, predictability is safe, surprise is risky. Ever feel procrastination when attempting something new? Going after a job that pays more than you ever made before? Asking someone out? Starting a new fitness routine?

So your subconscious runs this program of expectation. It’s not what you want but it’s predictable. Go to bed at this time. Wake up at this time. Start work at this time. Etc…

So how do you break out of this loop?

FIRST STEP: DETACHMENT. You have to detach yourself from the reality you are stuck in. When an unwanted experience shows up, move your attention along; keep shopping.

SECOND STEP: CONNECT. Meditate and connect to God, Source Energy, the Universe, whatever you call your higher power. Connection empowers with loving, creative energy. Empowerment helps you determine what experiences you want to have while here on Earth. You can do this in as little as 5 minutes! Envision your ideal reality.

THIRD STEP: ANCHOR. Once you have decided which reality you want to experience, hook into it by focusing on signs, clues, etc… Remember you align with what you focus on. Count your blessings, especially those that are part of this new reality.

Let’s use the Wizard of Oz as an example. If Dorothy is in Oz and acknowledges she’s in Oz she would be detached from the reality of home.

She decides she’s had enough of Oz and wants to return home, only not the same home as when she left. She envisions her ideal home.

By focusing on the aspects of home she anchors to it.

When I first started thinking about owning a house, I was nowhere near what would be considered close to being able to fulfill it. However, I started a brand new job in October 2022 and we were able to close on a home 9 months later!

I had to DETACH myself from the belief that I was only a renter, I then CONNECTED with source and my imagination – closing my eyes and envisioning sitting on my back deck of my ideal home drinking coffee and then ANCHOR myself into the reality by acknowledging the clues and signs that showed up like the candle holders I found in a store that I bought as a show of faith for our house and never put them up in our apartment or the image on my vision board that was almost exact match to the house we purchased.

IMPORTANT STUFF:

DETACHMENT means not investing yourself into the unwanted scenarios and experiences that will ANCHOR you into the unwanted reality. That means no falling down the rabbit hole on social media, tv, conversations with others, etc…

Imagine you are playing a game and in that game you are driving a car towards a goal. It moves where you direct it to, not necessarily where you want it to. READ THAT AGAIN. Your FOCUS determines where you are heading, not your wishing. If you start to go off course, it’s okay, just correct by refocusing on the goal.

The way you start your day plays a big part in how your day will end. I try to start every morning with a diet rich in positive content. That means I’m listening to morning meditation, motivational speakers like Wayne Dyer, Gabby Bernstein or Christie Marie Sheldon or music. I love playing upbeat house music during my shower. I’ll also go through my gratitude list. When you count your blessings, you receive more blessings.

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer

As I’ve been on this shifting reality journey I’ve found I like to give myself some visual cues to help sell the new reality. I like to do this at night so I see them first thing in the morning.

I’ll rearrange furniture or decorations or add something, like a new shower curtain with bright butterflies. Seeing the change really ANCHORS in the new reality, slowly but surely.

I hope this helps you on your own journey. Let me know if all or any of this connected to you. Do you have questions? Do you have answers? I’d love to hear from you.

Love and Blessings

UNBALANCED

On By karmamarie23Leave a comment

Ever ride in a car with someone who uses BOTH feet to push the pedals? I have and it can be rough. The right foot punches the gas and the left foot slams on the brake. You lose that transition time if you are only using the one right foot. It’s just GO and STOP!

My life has felt like that, lacking balance. I think it’s because I lack structure. There is an author I follow, Kelsey Humphries. She’s big on YouTube, look her up. You wanna talk about organized?! She’s a damn fine writer, too, I just finished her novel Happy Christmas and can’t wait to read more. Anyways, she teaches writers how to plan their writing and publishing and it triggered me so much! Why?

I think my fear of organizing the writing; creating a spreadsheet or outline or even a simplified word doc stems from fear. Fear that if I stop the momentum of constant writing, well whenever I cram it in around work and taking care of my mom and the house and… I think you get my point.

I don’t want to be unprepared, actually, quite the opposite. I desperately yearn to have my focus contained, each chapter mapped out, at the very least; a goal! That sounds like bliss to me. Knowing exactly who is doing what, when and how? Sign me up!

So, why can’t I do it? Why haven’t I implemented this glorious new call to action? I don’t know, but I aim to find out. When I do, I promise to share here, this place that I neglect so due to…you guessed it; no structured schedule!

Well, I just wanted to pop on and share some thoughts, random like I do. I do want to take this moment to wish you the very best holiday season – I wish you so many blessings you can’t count them all!

Love and Blessings – Karma Marie