Spotlight on Elisa Balabram

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

I am happy to feature coach, entrepreneur, and author Elisa Balabram and her novelette ebook, Mending a Broken Heart: Lili’s Magic Journey.

Here’s Elisa!

I remember making up stories as a teenager to entertain my little sister but I never wrote them down. Since I didn’t excel much in essay writing in school, and I exceled and loved math, I ended up pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. A few years after graduation, my desire to write and express myself grew, and I started working on my first novel before I moved to the U.S. The file of the novel was accidentally deleted from my computer and never published. It took me a while to recover from the loss of that first book, which I had written in my first language – Portuguese, and a few years later, I started writing in English a non-fiction book about living abroad, which was also never published.

After I got my MBA in New York, I launched an online magazine for women business owners, and with it, my career as a non-fiction writer. I wasn’t yet ready to venture into fiction again, so in 2009, I published my first book (the third I had written), a self-help business book called “Ask Others, Trust Yourself – The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Key to Success”. I received inspiration to write this book based on my experience coaching aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs.

When I faced a heartbreak a few years ago, I decided to write a fiction story on mending a broken heart. I wrote it as part of my own healing journey, and I knew I’d like to publish it someday to inspire others, and give a deeper meaning to my journey. The process of publishing it in December 2014 made me very vulnerable, for a couple of reasons. First, I wrote a fiction story that was based on a true story, and my own healing journey, and I felt exposed. Second, I was known as a business writer until then, although I had been adding self-love articles to my blog for about a year.

The feedback I’ve been receiving from those who read my new novelette ebook “Mending a Broken Heart: Lili’s Magic Journey”, reassures me that publishing it was worthwhile as it is helping others in their own heart healing journey.

Blurb

After having her heart broken by Prince Charming, Lili goes on a journey of self-discovery, self-love and spiritual growth. She reaches out for help from friends and connects with her Higher Self and her guides. Lili’s magic journey takes her on new adventures and, more importantly, takes her deeper within to realize who she truly is, and to learn to fully embody her power. Lili also teaches Love Classes and as you read them, you can follow the exercises to experience more self-love in your life and to heal your own heart.

If you’ve ever experienced heart break, let Lili’s journey inspire you to create your own self-love and healing adventure.

Bio

Elisa Balabram is an Intuitive Business and Life Coach and the Author of “Ask Others, Trust Yourself: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Key to Success”, and “Mending a Broken Heart: Lili’s Magic Journey”. Her main mission is to share her own self-discovery, spiritual, healing, out of her comfort zone, challenging at times and magical journey with women to empower them to go for it, achieve their full potential, pursue their life’s purpose, and business dreams. In addition to providing one-on-one business coaching, Elisa Balabram hosts webinars, 7-week programs, and in person workshops to help women uncover and pursue their full potential.

She founded and published an online magazine for women business owners from 2003 to 2012, archives of the interviews can be found at Womenandbiz.com. Between 2004 and 2012 she was the director of the SBA Women’s Business Center: in the Bronx for three years and in Brooklyn for five years.

Ms. Balabram was named the U.S. Small Business Administration New York District 2008 Women in Business Champion of the Year. She is currently an adjunct lecturer at Baruch College, teaching entrepreneurial and Family Business Management classes to undergraduate BBA students.

Prior to moving to New York, she assisted in running her family’s business (Coffee shop and chocolate business) in Brazil.

She holds an MBA in Entrepreneurship Management from Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, CUNY, and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. Through her own self-love quest, she worked with therapists, coaches and mentors, she became a Reiki Master and she continues to grow and focus on self-love on a daily basis.

Where to find Elisa…

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Spotlight on Kim Hotzon

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

I am happy to feature Soul Mate author Kim Hotzon and her new release, Hands Full of Ashes. Prepare for an adventure-filled ride that spans three continents.

Here’s Kim!

Twenty five years ago, I boarded a plane (I do that a lot, it seems). My purpose for travelling to Japan was to teach English. I was quickly in over my head. The problem was that I did not have any money, nor did I have sponsorship, which would allow me to stay in the country. I bounced from one youth hostel to another and soon I became ill. After many hospital visits I was given varying diagnoses including (correctly) a kidney infection and severe stress, and (incorrectly) appendicitis and heart disease. After a visit with the Consulate General at the Canadian embassy and his personal physician, I eventually recovered. I found a job teaching English in Osaka and I remained in Japan for two years. Upon my return to Canada I began writing my memoir, When the Cherry Blossoms Fall: My Life as an English Teacher in Japan.

Fast forward two decades. I now had accomplished many things: a marriage, children and a thriving career at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. One morning, I opened up the local newspaper and read an article. A woman was looking for a group of volunteers to travel to Rwanda to work on a project assisting genocide survivors. I felt an instant connection, a need to go. I boarded a plane for Africa. My family were shocked and scared. I was excited and about to fulfill a life-long dream. Naturally, Africa changed my life. How could it not? I was inspired once again to write. This time, what developed was not a memoir, but a fictional love story. I called it Hands Full of Ashes.

I began the long road toward publication. My learning curve was rapid and very steep. I posted part of my work online and began to receive compliments and critiques. I was approached by a well-known Canadian author who also works as an editor on the side. She did the initial editing on the manuscript. I spent months researching agents and how to write a query letter. I enlisted beta-readers to provide feedback. I kept editing. Rewriting. Editing some more. I began to send out query letters. Many of them. I had several agents show interest, but they would not commit. Seems my story was hard to pin down into a specific genre. The prevailing response was, ‘Love your writing and your voice, but what genre is this?’

I was contacted by Deborah Gilbert, the editor of Soul Mate Publishing. She suggested a different ending. I was finally ready to consider making changes. I re-wrote the ending and in the same week I had two requests from two different publishers who were offering a contract. A third was interested and considering the manuscript. I nearly fell off my chair. I chose Soul Mate Publishing. Believe it or not, their tag line and website were part of the reason I made that decision. I was looking for professionalism and a good fit for the genre of my story. The other reason was purely based on an intuitive feeling.

Hands Full of Ashes is to be released on January 14, 2015. I am now working on my next novel, another love story, but this romance veers into historical and fantasy territory. Writing is definitely hard work. However, if it’s something that you feel called to do, you can’t imagine not doing it. My advice for new writers – do not give up. Ever

Blurb

Olivia promises to fulfill her dying husband’s wish – to scatter his ashes around the world. Wading through grief and depression, she journeys to a remote orphanage in Uganda. Living amongst the children in their threadbare surroundings, she vows to fight for the children’s lives as she begins to fight for her own. While Olivia develops a passion for humanitarian work, the lonely director of the orphanage develops a simmering passion for her.

Just as time begins to heal the wounds of her heart, Olivia learns the truth of her husband’s unimaginable betrayal. She flees to the tiny country of Rwanda where her soul is reawakened with a startling new love. Olivia realizes that love always comes with a price when she is faced with a decision she thought she would never have to make.
Surrounded by the rugged beauty of Africa, Olivia is determined to find true love while learning how to survive in a region left torn apart by civil war.

Bio

Born in beautiful British Columbia, Kim developed a passion for writing at an early age. Her interest in people led her all over the globe, including a two year stay in Japan and a humanitarian trip to Rwanda.

She loves to write romance stories with a twist, usually involving a dangerous and dramatic backdrop. Her first novel, Hands Full of Ashes, was inspired by her trip to Africa.

Kim spent many years teaching young adults with learning disabilities at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and she currently resides in the sunny Okanagan with her husband and two children. When not writing, she can be found plying the local ski hills, or getting lost in her kayak in the surrounding lakes.

Where to find Kim…

Spotlight on Stormee Waters

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

Alpha Males, Desirable or Despicable? Will Stormee make the right choice?

Blurb

Dirk Savage never fails to acquire what he wants until he encounters Stormee Waters and a backwash of trouble…

Stormee Waters knows about hard times. Needing to care for her aging grandmother and teenage brother, she moves to Houston, Texas and takes a writing job for a popular magazine. Her first assignment is to interview a successful business man for a series of articles entitled, Make My Man Texas-Sized. Her target, Dirk Savage, appears to have the right criteria. He’s adventurous with the air of a conqueror. Admired by his peers and coveted by beauty queens and debutantes, he’s just the type of man that Stormee needs to make her first article sizzle and sell. But can she handle the heat when she catches his attention?

Dirk Savage is used to acquiring what he wants, except in the illusive quest for the one woman who can fill his heart. The shock of discovering her in the naive young woman assigned to interview him sets his jaded emotions on high alert. Can he convince her that his pursuit is genuine?

Excerpt

“How old are you?” His tone possessed a clipped edge of exasperation.

What does my age matter? Mortified, she fidgeted with the small purse she held in her lap. “Twe—twenty-three.”

“You blush and fidget like a little girl.”

To her astonishment, and with more force than necessary, he closed her door, circled the car, and slipped back behind the wheel. A few minutes later, he parked in front of the Stardust Restaurant. This time, when her door opened, he helped her out and led her toward the restaurant’s entrance, stopping just short to maneuver her into a secluded niche in the building’s exterior.

With her back against the rock wall, Stormee muttered, “What are you doing?”

“Time to make up for leaving me standing in your doorway.”

Shock kept her immobile, while the sweetest pleasure she’d ever experienced sensitized her mouth beyond bearing. With unhurried, soft kisses, he explored the corners of her clenched lips.

Mrs. Stanton’s warning echoed in her ears. “Remember to keep it professional, Stormee. He’s not the kind of man you’re used to dealing with.” She pushed away the annoying memory as he wet her bottom lip with his tongue.

Buy Links

The Wild Rose Press | Amazon | Stormee Waters Launch Giveaway Link

Bio

Lynda is an author of contemporary romance that lingers in a reader’s mind long after they’ve closed the book. She lives in Northeast Texas with her husband of fifty years. They enjoy traveling, trying new foods, spending time with family and friends, and doing community service work together. When she feels the need to take a break from writing, she enjoys creating fabric art. She offers an open invitation to view both her writing and fabric art on her blog.

Where to find Lynda…

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Spotlight on Larry Farmer

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

I am happy to feature The Wild Rose Press author Larry Farmer and his recent release, I Will Be the One.

Here’s Larry!

I grew up needing artistic expression. Writing was at the top of the list. I was too shy to express much of my writing publicly, but did finally take a college course in creative writing as an elective. And did well. I began to write long novels that I would throw away. I was never satisfied with them. As I got older I was afraid I would never pursue this dream/obsession even with the desire still so strong inside. Finally, I joined a writer’s group. I wrote and was critiqued as well as critiqued others. I also wrote on my own outside of this group, just trying to learn my craft. Finally I tried to get some of my stories published and was successful in that endeavor.

I Will Be The One is my second contract, my first novel, to be published with The Wild Rose Press. I am very excited about it since it is historically based, true story, first person account of my days in the Peace Corps in the Philippines during the last turbulent years of the Marcos regime. I was there for insurrections, assassinations, and the unbelievably awesome People’s Power revolution. It was made for Hollywood and that somehow seems to have gotten bypassed for all the drama and significance it brought forth. I want people to know. Here it is. I wrote an account of the day-to-day in the barrios and the Cold War aspects of it too. The Philippines, 1984-1986.

Blurb

Following his stint as a Marine during the Vietnam war, James needs something beyond the mundane conformity of his life in Vicksburg, Mississippi. As he enters the Peace Corps, a political reformer named Benigno Aquino is gunned down in the turbulent Philippines, half a world away. James has no idea fate will interweave events for him to witness the overthrow of a dictatorship and the miracle of a bloodless revolution.

Lois has joined the Peace Corps to explore the world outside her staid Ohio upbringing. As a teacher in a remote village she totes her own household water from a distant source, learns to accept locals wandering through her hut at all hours, and even becomes accustomed to gunfire in the jungle night. But when the visit of a suspected spy to her village threatens their lives, she and her friend James must make a decision of lasting import.

Bio

Born in Harlingen, Texas, on October 7, 1948, where I grew up and worked on a cotton farm, I graduated from Harlingen High School in 1966. I attended Texas A&M beginning in Summer 1966. In January 1970 I dropped out to enlist in the United States Marine Corps, where I served as an enlisted man, attaining the rank of Sergeant, with an honorable discharge after three years.

I worked as a computer programmer afterwards in Houston and as a civil servant for a US Air Force Base in Frankfurt, Germany. I traveled and worked in Europe for two years, which included flying to Israel in October 1973 to aid the Jewish State in the Yom Kippur War. I was also in Greece in the summer of 1974 when the war between Greece and Turkey erupted over Cyprus. I was stuck on the Greek Island of Ios for part of that war, until I managed to catch a boat to Athens just in time to watch the Greek military dictatorship fold.

I returned to Texas A&M in the Fall of 1976 to finish my Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and returned to Europe afterwards, and then also to Israel, where I lived for almost a year. I later taught English in Taiwan before returning home to get a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics in 1980, which I received in 1982. I joined the US Peace Corps in 1984 and served for three years in the Philippines. In 1987 I began work for the Swiss government as a computer programmer until 1998. I have worked in the IT department of Texas A&M since 1998. I have three children, am presently divorced, and am Jewish.

Where to find Larry…

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

An Extraordinary Ordinary Life

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have author Susan Van Kirk sharing her rich and varied life experiences and introducing her debut novel, Three May Keep a Secret.

Here’s Susan!

I have lived an extraordinary, ordinary life. It has been ordinary in the sense that I grew up and never permanently moved more than twenty miles from my home town. I married, divorced, and raised three children; I taught 4,000 high school and college students over forty-four years; and now I am starting a Second Act as a writer. That would be the ordinary part. Extraordinary applies when I look back and see the blessings and people who have come into my life and made it richer in so many ways.

But it took more than one turn in the road to reach my Second Act.

Born right after World War II, I grew up in a world where women had few choices, and to marry was a lofty life goal. I mention this because today that stifling world seems so far away, but my generation and my thoughts were certainly shaped by that culture. I chose to be a teacher—a mundane choice given the times—but, in actuality, to be a teacher was all I ever wanted to do.

People would say I have had an ordinary life teaching school in a small town in west central Illinois. I married right out of college, and five years later I began having children. But when that marriage fell apart, I was thrown into a turbulent time of raising children myself, working full time on a small salary, and struggling with bills. Teaching high school students and helping them with their own struggles restored me. It gave my life meaning and put it back in balance. Eventually, I got on my feet financially, often working summer jobs to make ends meet, and my children went off to college.

After the last child left for college, I went to graduate school for an advanced degree. It was a scary proposition, living on my own in a university town and knowing no one. After all, I had left my parent’s house to reside in my husband’s house, and then I had stayed there raising children. But I discovered I loved my new-found freedom, and I finished in three summers. This degree enabled me to teach on the college level, and I left a high school job I’d loved and taught college students who wondered if they might want to be teachers. I enjoyed helping future teachers see a profession that might give meaning to their lives as it had mine. Eventually, it was time to retire, so in 2011, I left teaching.

Then, what to do? Because of my age I have spoken to people who decide—gnashing their teeth—that it’s time to retire, but they aren’t sure what to do with that time. I was never one of those people.

Act II began, but it had its roots in Act I.

Back in 2006, I told a story in my education class, an inspirational story about how a college friend of mine who had died in Viet Nam had literally reached through my life and helped a student of mine find direction in his own life. I did, and still do, believe that teaching puts a person in a situation where she can influence lives forever in a positive way. One of my college students said I should put that story in writing, so I did, and Teacher Magazine published it. I had a good time writing “War and Remembrance,” and the magazine also put an audio file of my voice reading my story on their website.

And then the extraordinary happened. From all parts of the country and even abroad, I heard from former students I hadn’t seen in years. After all, now we had the internet. One of them wrote, “I heard your voice and it was just like coming home.” They touched my heart again. Encouraging me to put more stories in writing, they reminded me of conversations we’d had, and moments when our lives had intersected in extraordinary ways.

And so I wrote a memoir, in 2010, called The Education of a Teacher (Including Dirty Books and Pointed Looks), a book about the realities of classroom teaching. I used fifteen stories from those years, some of them stranger than fiction, some of them sad, and some of them funny. While I was writing, I contacted former students who helped with the details and convinced me I was remembering correctly. And each exchange was a gift. As I look back on those stories now, they document an extraordinary life, a life that did—in a humble way—have an influence on the lives of others. That book led to Act II.

A month ago in December, 2014, Five Star Publishing produced my first cozy mystery, Three May Keep a Secret. Not surprisingly, it is the story of a high school English teacher, Grace Kimball, who lives in a small town called Endurance. She often sees her former students, and the reader laughs at what she remembers about their crazy antics in high school. But it is, after all, a murder mystery, and I have had to research and interview police chiefs, coroners, detectives, fire chiefs, and doctors. I’ve learned a whole new vocabulary of death in my new act. My main character, Grace Kimball, is a warm, interesting person, but she finds herself in the middle of a scary, dark place when the murderer sets his/her sights on Grace. She is also haunted by a past event, and her memory of this will not let her go. Five Star has now picked up my second mystery in the Endurance series, Marry in Haste, for 2016, and I am currently starting the third.

Act II is funny and fulfilling. I love talking to audiences, giving out surprise door prizes, and listening to the many people who come to book signings. I also feel happiest when I’m neck deep in research and trying to figure out how to solve a plot problem. Now, instead of teaching people, I’m entertaining them. But I’m still remaining true to what I did for forty-four years: I’m getting people to read. Between Pinterest, Facebook, GoodReads, and my website, I hear from many of those people whose lives mingled with mine, and I am gratified to think that I have led an ordinary life, but in many ways it has been blessed with extraordinary riches.

And, I’m laughing my way through Act II.

Blurb

Grace Kimball, recently retired teacher in the small town of Endurance, Illinois, is haunted by a dark, past event, an experience so terrifying she has never been able to put it behind her.

When shoddy journalist, Brenda Norris, is murdered in a suspicious fire, Grace is hired by the newspaper editor, Jeff Maitlin, to fill in for Brenda, researching the town’s history. Unfortunately, that past hides dark secrets. When yet a second murder occurs, Grace’s friend, T.J. Sweeney, a homicide detective, races against time to find a killer. Even Grace’s life will be threatened by her worst nightmare.

Against a backdrop of the town’s 175th founder’s celebration, Grace and Jeff find an undeniable attraction for each other. But can she trust this mystery man with no past?

Where to find Susan…

Website/Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads

Joanne here!

Susan, thank you for sharing your inspiring and motivating experiences. The storyline for Three May Keep a Secret sounds delicious. I’m putting it on my TBR list.

From Emotional Roller-Coaster to Emotional Freedom

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have life coach Catherine Simmons sharing intimate details of the challenges and triumphs she has experienced on her life journey.

Here’s Catherine!

As a kid I was a bit of a dreamer. I was very keen to believe in the impossible even though my parents are very practical people. My favorite show on TV was “The Tomorrow People”, and it was this show that tuned me in to science fiction, and the possibility of humans evolving special powers – like telepathy.

Growing up I was always the quiet one, and still am in many situations. Even so, I loved drama and singing in the choir. I never thought of these as practical career moves though, instead I pursued my love of biology and how life works.

After leaving high school, I followed a degree course in Applied Biology. This appeared to be a very sensible undertaking as it wasn’t purely academic and would allow me to get a “proper” job. My first paid employment after graduating was as a lab assistant, where my boss was leading research into muscular dystrophy. While there, I gained practical experience in the principles of how genes are expressed to make our physical bodies the way they are. I also obtained a Master’s degree in Molecular Genetics by research, and could have continued my studies….

….but I didn’t feel like I was making any practical inroads towards helping to cure disease. It seemed like there was a lot of study of “parts” of the biology, and no way to really fix it. I was disenchanted, so I took a job at a Biotech company that was in the research stage of drug development. This was surely going to be a way to help people! However, although everyone worked really hard we didn’t get any closer to success, and the company folded after I’d been there five years. During that time I’d developed a knack for being a support person and facilitator, and was lucky to land a position at one of the UK’s red-brick Universities. The position involved being lab support services manager for their shiny new biotech incubator building. It was this third job that was the start of my metamorphosis.

The Millennium had arrived, and it was a time of excitement, busyness, and life events: both my husband and I had new jobs, we moved house (before selling our home) and had two children under three (one of which who was not impressed about going to sleep at night!). On top of that we had begun plans to immigrate to Canada. My job led me to suffer the stress of inertia, due to University politics and the newness of the operation, and my mind was constantly engaged in trying to come up with new ideas and solutions. Eventually the constant thinking and lack of sleep led me to experience a psychotic break.

Having never taken drugs in college, suddenly being thrown into a psychedelic experience was bizarre and frightening. All my senses were working overdrive and I was talking ten to the dozen. I dare say that if this has happened to me in the Dark Ages they would have said I was possessed by demons. I ended up in hospital for a while with the other folks who were having an “alternate” experience of life. It was certainly an interesting time. After I was over the initial shock of it, the “little biologist observer” in my head found it more and more interesting – I was getting a new perspective. Sure, I always knew that everything I saw and sensed was perceived in my mind, and was a construction based on past experience…but to realize that this was true first hand, was a revelation. Not only that, there were things that I was perceiving that were outside of my “normal” experience.

The drugs to make me well again brought me down into a deep depression for some time, but when I’d recovered enough to start to begin processing the experience, I became interested in the more metaphysical aspects of life. I decided to take a course in Reiki to see what it was like. To be honest I was skeptical, especially about the attunement process, but to my amazement I could actually feel the energy. I didn’t believe this was any kind of special power, but just that most of us live our lives being unaware of it.

Following our move to Canada I had another breakdown (too much excitement too soon) and was again admitted to the hospital. This time I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Having a fresh label of mental illness was a huge blow, especially as I didn’t have the first clue what it was or what it would mean for me. Despite the diagnosis, I landed a job at an early stage Bio-pharmaceutical company and worked there grudgingly for nine years.

I loved the people I worked with, and enjoyed helping them find solutions to their problems and help with project goals, but in the back of my mind I always knew that this was not a solution to the eradication of disease. The integrated treatment model and personalized medicine with teams of professionals with a variety of skills seemed so much more sensible. Plus, I knew from all my experiences that the mind has such a huge effect on the health of the body and vice versa. The more I researched and thought about the subject in my own time, the more I learned there were others out there who had already gone down this path.

One of my favorite leaders in the field is Bruce Lipton. As a biologist he explains so well how our thoughts affect the way our genes are expressed, and affect our lives so much more that we imagine. I was drawn also to energy psychology and Emotional Freedom Techniques (tapping) as ways to change limiting beliefs and enable not only to cure certain diseases but to move forward from trauma.

After a divorce in 2010 and losing my job in 2012, it seems I was finally in a position to pursue my real dream of becoming a life coach. I took courses in EFT and became a qualified practitioner. There was still something missing though. The EFT was working, but up to a point. I knew about the Law of Attraction and in 2014 enrolled in Christy Whitman’s Quantum Success Coaching Academy – I now feel I’m building on my skill set to really support clients to value themselves for their uniqueness and to design lives for themselves that they love. I really believe that we have the capacity to heal ourselves from depression, lack of self-confidence, overwhelm, trauma and the diseases that are associated with them. The first step we have to take is to ask for help and support to do it.

Bio

Catherine Simmons is a Life Coach, Facilitator and Speaker. In 2014 she was a panelist at Professional Development Week for the Canadian Association of Pharmacy Students and Interns in Vancouver, and a speaker at the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Bottom Line Conference in Calgary. Her mission for 2015 and beyond is to support women to reach their life and career goals in a way that values their individuality and uniqueness.

Where to find Catherine…

Website | Facebook | Twitter (Life Coaching) | Twitter (Mental Health)

Joanne here!

Catherine, thank you for sharing your inspiring journey. Best of luck with your mission for 2015–you are in a unique position to make it a reality.

Living Your Dream is Never a Failure

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Soul Mate author Camille Faye sharing her inspiring journey from existential crisis to literary publication.

Here’s Camille!

In 2009 I went through an existential crisis. My son was 18 months old, I had an adjunct teaching job, and I was driving myself nuts trying to care for him all day while teaching freshman Comp classes at night. If I’d had a full-time teaching job (including that much fuller paycheck), I’d probably have stuck it out, but my course load had dwindled to one class per semester so I was making a pittance.

To me, this situation spelled F-A-I-L-U-R-E.

Up until that point in my life, I’d been the classic overachiever and did well in school, so that’s probably why I chose teaching as a profession in the first place. One hard lesson I learned during this dark-night-of-the-soul period is that life isn’t completely under our control. No matter how perfectly you lay the ground work, you can’t force things to turn out the way you expected.

Since my teaching career wasn’t taking off, I decided to be a stay-at-home-mom. I also decided to pursue a huge bucket list item: write a novel. After all, I’d been a college writing instructor and never seemed to have the time to do my own writing.

Within a year, I’d produced my first version of my novel, Voodoo Butterfly, and gotten a full manuscript request by an agent working in New York City. Needless to say, I was absolutely over the moon. But he didn’t pick it up.

So I joined a critique group, The Lit Ladies, and over the next few years about a dozen agents and editors requested full or partial manuscripts. None were quite the right fit. Doubt crept into my mind and I thought many times about just giving up. And I wrote this…

My cells tried to run the old programming of uncertainty, hopelessness, and inadequacy, resisting the spiritual transformation I’d just undergone. Doubt crawled inside of me like thousands of tiny spiders.

These lines from Voodoo Butterfly describe how my main character, Sophie, feels as she tries to adjust to her new life as the owner of a New Orleans voodoo shop. Sophie, a native Missourian, knows nothing about voodoo or her strange surroundings in the crazy city of NOLA. Over the course of the novel, facing down inner demons becomes Sophie’s specialty and I used her character to help face down the monsters of doubt and despair in my own life.

Becoming a writer was my big picture so, rather than give up on that dream, my stubborn German ancestry kicked in and I kept on. In 2013, I entered a few Romance Writers of America chapter contests and–hallelujah!–Voodoo Butterfly finaled in the NW Houston Lone Star Contest. My publisher and editor, Debby Gilbert of Soul Mate Publishing, was one of the judges and she offered me a contract.

Since the release of the book in October of 2014, Voodoo Butterfly has had steady sales and lots of awesome reviews on Amazon. One day I’d like to get back in the classroom, but for right now I focus on the two life areas that make my soul happy: family life and writing.

I have two bits of advice for anyone who wants to pursue a writing career.

1. Write every day. I commit to 15 minutes which normally turns into about an hour or two.

2. Follow your bliss. If it’s not writing, that’s okay. Whatever it is, when things get hard, do as Dori says and, “Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!”

Blurb

When twenty-five-year old Sophie Nouveau inherits her grandmother’s voodoo shop she knows nothing about voodoo. Or her family’s history of Mind Changers who have the power to change evil people into good. To complicate matters, someone doesn’t want Sophie in New Orleans and sends a series of death threats to scare her away from her new enchanted life.

Tipped off by her grandmother’s ghost, Sophie realizes her mind changing spell’s been missing one magic ingredient: true love. If Sophie cannot experience transformative love, she cannot make her spell work, and she will be powerless to fight back when confronted by the one who wants her dead.

Bio

Camille Faye lives in Missouri, loves on her family, and writes during the baby’s nap time. She grew up in a haunted house, which sparked her fascination with the paranormal. Before becoming a writer, she reported for an NBC affiliate and taught writing at universities in Missouri and Illinois. She found the muse for her debut novel, Voodoo Butterfly, during a family trip to New Orleans where she dreamt of a woman who had the power to change evil people good. The Northwest Houston RWA named her novel, Voodoo Butterfly, a 2013 Lone Star Contest finalist. Camille’s stories are inspired by her travels to 27 countries and counting!

Where to find Camille…

Website (Camille) | Website (The Lit Ladies) | Amazon | Twitter | Facebook

Joanne here!

Wow! I could feel goosebumps rising as I read your inspiring and motivating post. Best of luck with Voodoo Butterfly.

Seven-Year Itches

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have author Joyce Ann Brown chatting about multiple career changes, the power of seven, and her debut novel, CATastrophic Connections.

Here’s Joyce!

“The only thing that is constant is change.” The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, must have had plenty of life under his belt to come up with that truth. I used to think change had something to do with the number seven. Moves to new states, graduations, marriage, children, and career changes all seemed to happen for me at age seven, fourteen, twenty-one, and so on—or when there was a seven in my age.

The year of my birth has a seven in it, and my age at the time I had my first child has a seven in it. I moved to different states at ages seven and fourteen. At age twenty-one, I graduated, married, and started teaching. You get the picture. I may have had to stretch for the seven connections after that, but I’m incredulous that the years with sevens seem to fit the big changes in my life. Or—maybe the big changes in my life fit the years with sevens.

One thing is for sure—my first article was published in 2009, and my first book was published in 2014, a year when my age has a seven in it. They punctuate the most recent chapter in my life—Writer, Author—titles which mean I’m doing what I want to do.

I majored in education, not creative writing or journalism, even though I wanted to write for a living. A college history instructor once told me, “You write well. Have you thought about history as a major? You could research and write history.” But by then I was focused on getting an elementary teaching certificate so I could help support my family and be off during school vacations with my future children.

Teaching and raising my children, then, took my time and energy for years. For a short period, I worked as a professional story teller. It was fun, but not lucrative. Too bad. At one point (in one of those seven years) I earned my master’s degree and became a school library media specialist. I still wanted to find more time to write and would have loved to call Writer my profession.

Truth to tell, I did write during those years. There were stories and plays for the students, multimedia presentations, newsletter and journal articles, and my personal journal. One summer I wrote a children’s book. After several rejection letters and the return of the school year, my manuscript found its permanent home under scarves in a dresser drawer. Nevertheless, writing helped me fulfill my passion to be creative.

Not until I qualified for my pension did I make the decision to pursue writing in a serious way. I took college level creative writing classes, attended local writing workshops, and read with an eye to style and technique. Professionals advise: to be published, one should be published. Hm.

So I wrote articles and stories for local publications and for contests and was surprised when, voila, my articles were purchased and my stories won prizes. Real money for my written work! Whoopee!

A few years ago, I took a class in mystery writing. I was hooked. My first book, CATastrophic Connections is published. It’s the first book of my Psycho Cat and the Landlady Mystery series. Now, I’m working on the promotion phase and book two. Whoever said, “Going public with your creativity is like walking out with your pants down” understood book promotion. I’m having fun with it, though. Must be an exhibitionist.

What will my next act be? Beginning in 2016, perhaps (seven years after my first work in a year divisible by seven), or in 2017. The making of the Hallmark movie or a TV miniseries based on my mysteries? I could handle that.

Blurb

When Psycho Cat alerts Beth to her step-niece Adrianna’s disappearance, the klutzy landlady careens into action. She and her no-nonsense sister question Adrianna’s associates. They discover that the police suspect the young woman of embezzling a huge sum of money from the Kansas City construction company where she works. Believing Adrianna has been framed, Beth finds clues which lead her to the U.S. Virgin Islands. After a series of bizarre detours, she finds her niece at a spectacular island hideaway.

Once home, the niece is not cleared of the theft charge. Instead, someone murders the company bookkeeper, and Adrianna is the primary suspect. Beth must try to prove her step-niece innocent by unraveling connections among unknown construction company villains in Kansas City and in the Virgin Islands. Shadowy characters follow and intimidate Beth and her family at every turn. Someone else could end up dead. It’s one thing for Beth to skirt danger on her own, but when her loved ones are threatened—Beth and Psycho Cat will fight to the end.

The award-winning story is the first in the Psycho Cat and the Landlady Mystery series.

Bio

Joyce Ann Brown is a landlady, storyteller, retired school Library Media Specialist, former classroom teacher, former realtor, and a freelance writer and award-winning author. CATastrophic Connections is the first book in the author’s Psycho Cat and the Landlady Mystery series.

Where to find Joyce…

Joanne here!

Joyce, thanks for sharing your journey. Best of luck with CATastrophic Connections and the series.

A 1000 Mile Midlife Journey Starts with One Courageous Step

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have coach and speaker Saskia Jennings sharing an extraordinary journey that spanned two continents.

Here’s Saskia!

My life was that common routine of getting up to go to work, come home to cook, watch TV or visit a friend. My marriage had lost the fire and we divorced.

They say: “Life starts at 40″… And I was excited, I couldn’t wait to get there.

But it wasn’t much of a party. I lost my coveted job (burnout “they” called it), and I faced major physical, emotional, mental and spiritual challenges. My life had turned upside down, total midlife crisis, although I didn’t realize it at the time.

I would say that my First Act ended confused, disappointed and feeling lost…

Longing for something new and exciting I took on a new job, for that needed “security” and I went back to school. I entered a four year part-time program in alternative medicine. I loved it, four evenings in the week in school, lots of interesting learning and I healed myself in the meantime.

I also started exploring Canada and from the moment I set foot on Canadian ground, I hopped in a car and left the big City behind. I felt home in the forest, at the lakes and stargazing in the wide open skies. “I belong here” I said to myself, I knew it!

My mind’s eye saw future images, a vision and my almost ‘out of body’ experiences gave me a real good feeling, although it was scary sometimes!

So I decided to start my Second Act. In 2005 at the age of 45, I made the decision to move from Rotterdam in The Netherlands to Northern Ontario in Canada, leaving my small family behind in Holland. On my travels, I had met the man of my dreams and he lived deep in the forest.

Now, that was different! No neighbours, no public transportation. I had no car, no bank account, no high speed internet. What we did have was a warm home, my very first vegetable garden that was shown to me in my vision, wildlife, forest and lakes and each other. I took one step at a time: getting my own car so I could make new friends in town, take courses and get a job. I also retrained as a Reflexologist and Intuitive Healer and started my own business Creating Being Well on the side.

Oh and in case you are wondering… I LOVE SNOW!

My Second Act threw another challenge at me. I ended the marriage after five years due to a lack of trust, questionable money management, and some abusive issues. No, I didn’t get physically harmed. All other areas in my life however were in turmoil. I felt small, unworthy, neglected (mostly by myself) and my self-esteem had reached an all-time low. I felt terrified for two years. I kept pleasing my “marriage” and it wasn’t until I got sick again that I tapped into my trust and courage, reconnecting with my own values.

No more procrastination! I left the marriage, found a safe place in the forest and started all over again. Time to transform my midlife crisis into Midlife BLISS!™

I invested my remaining savings in hiring a coach and taking new directions and training.

I started moving forward, in growing trust and faith. The biggest AHA’s and celebrations were about acknowledging myself, who I truly am. Valuing my gifts and skills. It sparked renewed confidence. My energetic, dynamic, courageous and caring nature started to come to full bloom, one colorful bud at a time. I became an inspiring messenger, coach and speaker, a Catalyst for Midlife BLISS!™

When I took the training to become a Sacred Money Archetypes© certified coach I discovered my own money challenges and the way to turn that around and become wholly independent.

If I’m a true Connector, how could that help me take the next step?

The answer was simple and so clear: “MOVE!”

In mid 2013, I packed up again, left the forest behind and moved to Toronto. I’m still a bit in culture shock, and the best part is that I’m coming into alignment with who I am. The vision board I made three years ago is coming alive: growing into the joy and abundance of Midlife BLISS!™

I am allowing myself to thrive and be successful and happy, I don’t need any more approval from anyone. And I love teaching this deep transformational work to other women who are stuck on midlife crossroads.

When I talk in front of an audience of women and usually wearing my favorite orange jacket, I’m on fire! And my contagious energy brings smiles, warms hearts and helps women become more empowered. That’s what makes my heart jump and I’m busy spreading Midlife BLISS!TM over the world. My mentor holds me accountable, my clients, my ‘peeps’, my new connections all support me wholeheartedly. I have my retreats in nature mapped out: Women in the Woods: Ignite your Midlife BLISS!™

I am grateful. What’s next?

“You can’t do it alone, and you have to do the work” my favorite quote, by Werner Erhard.

Bio

Saskia Jennings is a true Catalyst for Midlife BLISS!TM, intuitive Midlife Coach and Sacred Money Archetypes Cert. Coach, Trainer, Author and Speaker. With her signature system: Transform your Midlife Crisis into Midlife BLISS!™ she specializes in helping women like you to turn your fears into real midlife fulfilment, honoring your self-worth, overcome midlife money challenges and finding your true essence. She runs her programs locally and worldwide, online and on-site.

Upcoming events – 2015

January 29-31st: “Unite Your Health & Wealth” Workshop Facilitator and Speaker at the virtual LIVE summit: Women and Money: http://womenandmoneysummit.com

Unite your Health & Wealth is a collaboration of 2 caring, passionate women: Sharon Carne (http://soundwellness.com) and Saskia Jennings

Spring & Summer: “Unite Your Health & Wealth” 3-day women only Retreat: Calgary/Toronto http://unitemyhealthandwealth.com

February 27-Mar. 1: Women in the Woods, Ignite Your Midlife BLISS!™ Location: “The Birches” at beautiful Lake Joseph in Muskoka (Parry Sound, Ontario).

October: Midlife BLISS!™ Conference – Toronto

Where to find Saskia…

Joanne here!

Wow! Saskia, thanks for sharing your inspiring journey and wonderful advice. I looking forward to hearing more about Midlife BLISS!™

Pursue Your Dreams

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Wild Rose Press author Anne Ashby sharing the highlights of her childhood, an impressive career in the Navy, and the unexpected third act that followed.

Here’s Anne!

I’m not sure if I’m in a second or third act. Looking back over my life I could divide it into more acts but I figure many of those are of minor significance.

Act One

Where to begin? My childhood seemed uneventful at the time, pretty boring by today’s standards or so my little grandchildren think. I mean, growing up in a tiny coastal town of less than 50 people, without television, computers, mobile phones, how did we survive? Although widowed when I was two, my mother provided my sister, brother and myself with a great life. We never had much money but she set us on our pathway to adulthood with many important guidelines. She gave us morals to live by, showed us hard work never hurt anyone and confirmed every day by her actions that excessive money and possessions aren’t necessary to enjoy life. She shared her great sense of humour, her love of books and her determination to explore all she could of our beautiful country. And so many more things I am grateful for. Looking back now, I regret my own children had to grow up in a world so different from my ‘deprived’ one.

I was a very shy, quiet kid and was very content at home, especially as my brother and sister had both moved into Invercargill (our equivalent of the big city back then) for work by the time I was twelve. Looking back I cannot believe where I found the courage to take the huge step which lead me away from home and everything I knew. Probably my mother’s confidence in my ability to be and do whatever I decided I wanted to.

Act Two

At eighteen, my Act Two began. I joined the Royal New Zealand Navy. This involved my travelling to almost the other end of the country. For years I had dreamed of joining the police force but needed to be twenty. Three years (minimum engagement at that time) in the Armed Forces was one of the suggested options to gain necessary life experience prior to joining the police. Looking at the three services, Navy was the only option for me. I’m a Pisces, I grew up in and around the sea and feel it is part of who I am. (I still live within walking distance of the coast). My determination to leave the Navy and join the police soon waned. By the time my initial engagement time would have been up, I was serving a two year posting in Singapore, I was engaged to a sailor and I loved the Navy way of life. Unless a person has served in the Armed Services, I doubt they can understand the impact this service time has on your life. The Navy is particularly bonding. There is a new language to learn, new ways to tackle tasks, and a dependence on each other that builds a comradeship that is in place for life.

I’m currently the National President of the Naval Women’s Association. We had a reunion last month. Seeing World War Two service women, who are now in their nineties mixing with other service women, many strangers, from all the decades since, clearly shows the bonding we all still feel toward each other. I spent 21 years in the Navy. I served in every ship available to me – this was prior to women serving at sea as they do now – and retired as a Warrant Officer, the top of my trade. I had two children while serving, and only left because I wanted to experience the joys of motherhood completely.

Luncheon on HMNZS Endeavour - November 2014 (I'm in the back row, far right)

Luncheon on HMNZS Endeavour – November 2014
(I’m in the back row, second from the right)

Act Three

What I consider to be my Act Three began some years and two more children later. My eldest, then at university, regularly informed me I was allowing my brain to stagnate and knowing of my interest, kept suggesting I attend creative writing classes. I baulked at these, believing, rightly or wrongly, they were geared toward literary works not the writing of popular fiction. I knew where my interest lay, not only with popular fiction, but even more clearly defined, contemporary romance.

My husband was attached to the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC for two years and it was during this period I spied an evening course at the local college. “How to Write a Romance” sounded perfect and was exactly what I wanted to do. Then began the rigmarole of trying to get enrolled – living in the US without benefit of a social security number caused us so many hassles during our two years, and I feared this would be something else which would prove to be just too difficult. Thankfully this wasn’t one of those times and I began my writing journey with very small, faltering steps.

The instructor, Harlequin writer Loree Lough, was marvellous and became more than a mentor to me. We are still in touch, although not so often now as during my stumbling years toward publication. During the ten (I think) week course, Loree continued to share her expertise and offered to read work any of the students had completed. My idea of a New Zealand woman visiting Maryland quickly developed into a story which I wrote diligently throughout the period of the course, but the nerve to ask Loree to read it kept deserting me. Finally, on the last night I realised if I didn’t ask her then, I would likely never see her again, never have such an opportunity to have a professional give an opinion of my writing, and so yep, I hung around until everyone else had left and quaking in my boots, approached this multi-published writer to ask her to read my completed manuscript.

I grasped at her willingness to read the 85,000 word story, agreeing she could do anything, suggest anything, say anything in response and I would be so grateful. About a week later I got a phone call and went around to her house so she could return my “baby” to me. My heart sank. The pages were splashed everywhere by red scrawled symbols and crossed out portions. She had not just read it and been willing to give an opinion, she had edited the whole story. So we sat in her dining room and Loree went through the whole book with me. She queried passages, pointed out the things I’d done wrong, made suggestions to tighten some scenes. She spent ages encouraging me, then assured me this story would find a publisher. Those words stayed with me all the years it took to get numerous proposals, partials and full manuscripts snail mailed around the world once I returned home to New Zealand. I figured Loree knew so much about writing romance, and if she thought “Worlds Apart” was good enough to be published, I was going to continue believing her. Worlds Apart did finally get published by The Wild Rose Press in 2009 and was dedicated to Loree Lough.

Since then I’ve been writing “full time”. I’ve been fortunate to have a very supportive husband who accepted if he got home and found dinner not ready or the house less than tidy, then I had had a good writing day. My confidence and expertise continues to grow as I attend conference/workshops, along with the ready advice from an excellent editor who has become more of a friend. I keep writing because I cannot imagine not sharing the stories clamouring around inside my head. I’ve been fortunate to have had five books published by The Wild Rose Press and look forward to continuing my association with this amazing company. When I’m not writing or reading, or travelling the world with my recently retired husband, I enjoy spending time with my family, my friends from the Navalwomen’s Association or sorting through my years of genealogy notes. One day, if writing romance ever palls maybe I’ll collate all my family history notes into something readable for those who follow me.

Meeting with longtime editor TWRP’s Maggie Johnson in San Diego – May 2014
(I’m on the right)

Anne’s Advice

Being at a turning point in your life, be it by your own choice or by circumstances beyond your control, can be a scary and daunting . But fear of change shouldn’t hold you back. Other fears may seem to be insurmountable or even prove to be so, but don’t hold back changing your life because of your own lack of confidence or fear of the unknown.

“Come to the edge, he said.
They said. We are afraid.
Come to the edge, he said.
They came.
He pushed them, and they flew…” Guillaume Apollinaire, French Poet

Blurb

After years of financial struggle Leath Robson and her brother are ecstatic when they’re willed a property in northern New Zealand. It gives them some much needed/highly sought after security. But who was this old lady who’d left them so much? Leath struggles with guilt when discovering their benefactor had spent her last years in a nursing home.

Kirk Buchanan had left the family farm years ago to make his fortune. Summoned home he’s devastated to find his father suffering from Alzheimers. Hearing his dad likes to visit his childhood home, Kirk resolves to buy the place to ensure his safety. It’s not much but he has to do something.

Unfortunately the property has new owners who keep refusing his generous offers. He must have his father’s birthplace. Obviously a more personal approach is called for.

Buy Links

The Wild Rose Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Where to find Anne…

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

Comment for an opportunity to win a PDF copy of Leath’s Legacy.

Joanne here!

Anne, thank you for sharing so many wonderful moments from your jam-packed life. Best of luck with Leath’s Legacy. If you have a few minutes here and there (highly unlikely, I know!), start that family history. It would be an amazing read!