Swept Away

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Aprille Janes sharing her creative passions and the challenges that permanently altered the trajectory of her life.

Here’s Aprille!

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” J.R.R. Tolkien

Act 1

When we discovered we were expecting in our late twenties, we decided I should work from home. So I took my creative passion and opened an art studio where I taught classes, sold supplies and had the freedom to be a mom to our son. It was so successful that eventually my husband joined me in business when our family grew to include a beautiful little girl. Life seemed just about perfect.

Then — a recession devastated our area as unemployment hit 20%. Disposable income disappeared and luxuries like art classes got cut from budgets. Seemingly overnight our revenue dried up. Luckily, my husband found work in a city two hours away. Off he went while I stayed behind to close that chapter of our lives.

The most difficult moment came when I tearfully closed the door on our home and drove away for the last time. With our two toddlers in the back seat, I watched the house grow smaller and smaller in my rear view mirror until I finally turned the corner at the end of our street.

That corner was both literal and figurative because at that moment I realised just how lucky I was. I had my health and the people I loved. All the rest was just “stuff”.

I learned that letting go makes room for something new. I also learned that when you’re not attached to things, the fear of losing them doesn’t attach itself to you. That gave me enormous freedom in the coming years.

Act 2

Once we were settled, I went back to school. A few years after that I launched a successful consulting practice working on challenging projects, travelling and meeting some amazing people. The work I did was highly valued and life seemed good although I sometimes wondered if there wasn’t something more to it.

Twenty years went by like this and things may have gone on that way indefinitely except that one warm spring day I went out for lunch. It was such a welcome relief after a long winter I decided to walk around the block before returning to the office.

That’s how I found myself standing on the corner of a busy intersection waiting to cross. The light turned green and out of the corner of my eye I saw the car to my left begin to move. My Walk sign lit up and I started across as well.

Suddenly a blare of horns and a violent crash filled my hearing. The car that had been to my left was suddenly shoved right in front of me. I could have reached out and touched it if it hadn’t been moving so fast. Metal and glass flew all around me.

The car that neither of us had noticed, the one that ran the red light, flew past me and up over the center median as it took out the traffic light. The vehicle slid sideways down the road for another 30 feet before it finally stopped, light pole neatly balanced on its roof like the boom on a sailboat.

I don’t remember walking back to the sidewalk, only that I found myself standing there again with a crowd of strangers asking if I was okay. Surprisingly I wasn’t even scratched, as though a force field had sprung up around me in the middle of the chaos.

For days after the quality of light changed and sounds travelled farther. Everything seemed so precious and I wasn’t going to leave this world without honouring my dreams and using my gifts to make a positive difference.

I began choosing the pieces I needed to make it happen.

First, I stopped waiting to write my stories and finally did something about it, even getting some published and winning a few awards. I began painting again and was encouraged to show my work. However, I chose to make art for the joy of it, not as a living.

So I continued my consulting practice for another 3 years while I put the second piece in place, earning my certification as a professional coach and completing a top Leadership program. This provided the keys to unlock my Golden Handcuffs so I could step into the life I envisioned for myself.

Today I earn my living by supporting business women with a passion for positive change. Using my experience and training I help them create and grow successful businesses from that passion. I still write for my own enjoyment and have plans to do more with it in the coming year. I feel there’s a book looking for me to give it life.

Life’s too short not to choose the adventure. After all, safety is only an illusion. I found that out by going out my door on a spring day and getting swept along to my real life.

Bio

Aprille Janes is a sought after speaker, author, podcast host and small business coach. As an experienced business consultant and certified professional coach she helps Bolder Business Women make a difference while they make a living.

Where to find Aprille…

Joanne here!

What an inspirational post! Aprille, thanks for sharing your remarkable journey.

Spotlight on Rebecca Neely

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

I am happy to spotlight Soul Mate author Rebecca Neely and her debut novella, A Mighty Good Man.

Here’s Rebecca!

There was never a time I didn’t enjoy writing. As a child, I wrote stories, and entered some contests. I didn’t seriously pursue writing as a career until I was about thirty. I hold a degree in accounting, and had worked in the field for about ten years. During that time, I’d gained a lot of valuable business writing experience. I combined that with my love of writing, and began freelancing for business clients.

During the fifteen years I’ve been a freelancer, I’ve interviewed dozens of people from all over the country. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with an amazing variety of people, including truck drivers, loggers, vintners, casino executives, interior designers, health care professionals, realtors, artists, antique dealers, inn keepers, restaurateurs, even a manager for a professional soccer team!

All of these people had one thing in common: they were all very passionate about what they did, and that passion was contagious. I dearly loved to hear their stories, and they inspired me to write compelling copy, whether it was for a magazine, a newsletter, or a corporate profile.

Still, I longed to write stories of my own. I’m a voracious reader, and always loved to read romance, especially Nora Roberts, Linda Howard and Heather Graham, to name a few. I started writing romantic suspense stories, and there are two finished books under my bed that I’ll call my learning books.

Once again, I combined the experience I’d gained as a freelancer, and applied it to writing fiction. I realized my interviewing skills would serve me well, not only in fleshing out my characters, but in capturing the passion that would enable me to tell their stories, and put ‘perfume’ on the page.

Some of those characters come to life in my debut novella, A Mighty Good Man. I grew up in my family’s restaurant business, working, cooking and eating. The restaurant is long gone, but that hallowed place lives on in my memory, and served as inspiration for the setting in my book. I sincerely hope folks enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Blurb

‘Hank’ Jerry, a down and out writer, and Jack Darcy, a former gang leader, team up to write his story for mutual gain and end up falling for each other. Only problem is, they’ve both got something to hide that could blow up in their faces, and with time running out and gang enforcers closing in, will the trust they’ve forged survive the ultimate test?

Bio

Rebecca E. Neely was born and raised in a small town in western Pennsylvania. Her father, an English teacher and a writer, instilled in her a love of words, and literature, especially short stories, at a young age.

Her mother, a voracious reader, gave her Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild as a Christmas gift when she was nine, and Rebecca’s been hooked on reading stories of all stripes ever since.

Rebecca’s parents also owned and managed a restaurant until she was about sixteen, and she grew up in the family business, working, cooking, and eating.

Rebecca enjoys finding, and reading new authors via her Kindle. Live music inspires her, as do the characters she’s blessed to have in her life, including her daughter, her boyfriend, and her mother.

She loves drawing, crafting, walking, and camping. She also enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, going to summer music festivals, and exploring cities she’s never been to before with her daughter.

In a former life, she earned a B.S. in Accounting, and worked in that field for about a decade. Since 2001, Rebecca has freelanced, writing a wide variety of copy for local magazines, and businesses all over the country. She is a PRO member of Romance Writers of America.

Where to find Rebecca…

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

Follow Your Passions

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Alma San Roman sharing the challenges and triumphs she encountered on an inspiring journey spanning three countries.

Here’s Alma!

Act One

Growing up in Mexico, my life was full of challenges. While I didn’t have a horrible life, I felt like a victim of difficult circumstances that I could not transcend.

My childhood was pretty normal for a dysfunctional family. My parents loved me and my two siblings, and they did the best they could with what they knew and had. From an early age, I wanted to be a doctor and help others feel better about themselves and their lives. That changed when I realized I could not stand the sight of blood, nor could I deal with someone in pain. At age sixteen, I had to make up my mind because I was about to start university. I honestly had no idea what I wanted to be.

Back then, my father had a cattle ranch in Veracruz. The expectation was that someone in the family would keep the ranch, but my brothers didn’t want anything to do with it. I assumed the responsibility was mine and that’s how I picked my degree, with a little persuasion from my dad. I became an engineer in agronomy and animal husbandry. Two years before finishing my degree, my dad sold the ranch.

I lived in Queretaro while going to university and after finishing my thesis, I started a landscaping business with a friend. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, so I moved to Mexico City to live with my grandmother. After taking a baking course, I fell in love with baking. I started my own business, created my own products, and had a great clientele.

Two years later, my dad asked, “When are you going to find a serious job and work on your career?” Like all other parents in Mexico, my dad had covered the cost of my education. I must add that I had a scholarship covering 80% of the tuition in university.

To please my father, I left the bakery and searched for a serious job. And I found the most tedious job I’ve ever had: assistant to the Nutritional Director for a company that made vitamin and mineral supplements for farm animals. The company would offer free diet formulation for the clients. My boss would visit the farms get all the information needed and I would help formulating at the office. I took care of all the paperwork.

After several years at that job, I experienced a traumatic event. I was robbed on my way home while on a public transit bus. Afterward, I felt unsafe and afraid all the time. That fear propelled me to take a risk and accept a friend’s invitation to visit Canada. I had planned to stay for three months, learn English, and then return to Mexico. Seventeen years later, I am still here.

Second Act

When I moved to Canada, my sense of safety and freedom dramatically changed: I felt at home. I accepted jobs that I would never have considered back home in Mexico, mainly because I needed the money. I was a waitress, bartender, nanny, banquet server, and banquet supervisor. But I wanted more. One of my coworkers advised me not to be so ambitious. According to him, immigrant life was pretty rough, and we were just supposed to do those jobs. Fortunately, I didn’t believe him and decided to pursue one of my passions: baking.

I went back to college and got certified in the Baking and Pastry Arts program and landed a pretty good job. I worked at Dufflet pastries for seven years as assistant production manager. I was involved all aspects of production: purchasing, inventory control, nutritional labels, human resources, and managing close to 100 staff. I worked ten to twelve hours a day and had to be available for all emergencies.I could completely get away only while on vacation.

I asked myself: Is this really all that life is?

Lacking a firm grip on my emotions, I created a lot of stress in my life and developed TMJ – temporomandibular joint disorder – a condition that affects the jaw, caused by clenching the teeth when sleeping. My body was misaligned and that caused a lot of pain, affecting my physical and emotional health.

Something was definitely missing. While I had been brought up Catholic, I no longer believed in organized religion. Spirituality, however, had always been my core inspiration. I read a few self-help books and then started the practice of meditation. That changed my life in a positive way, awakening a desire to search for something more.

Third Act

After experiencing more pain and stress, I quit my job in 2010 and embarked on a journey of self-discovery. Inspired by a book about an enlightened guru who had lived in India, I traveled there and participated in a month-long “awakening retreat” that expanded my worldview. I learned that we create our reality with our thoughts and feelings, but most importantly, I learned how all the beliefs we carry in our subconscious mind dictate what we actually think, feel and do. I was able to heal all the pain in my body as well as some of the emotional pain I was carrying but didn’t understand. Since then I have read and listened to many different healers. “Healing” is another one of my passions.

While searching, I stumbled upon The Passion Test. Fascinated, I became a certified PT facilitator. Then I heard about Theta Healing – a technique that access a conscious theta brain wave and then addresses the limiting subconscious beliefs that we have that hold us back from reaching our fullest potential, our most optimal health, and our deepest joy. I found it so interesting that I also got certified as a Theta healing practitioner. When I started using those techniques on myself and family members, the results were amazing. I now have excellent health and I have created the life I always wanted.

To make money, I joined a couple of MLM companies. There, I was exposed to many successful people and teachers. Even though that was not my path, I am grateful for the change of perspective.

I decided to start my own company: Enlightened Possibilities. My philosophy: We have everything we need to be joyful, happy, healthy and successful. We have just forgotten who we are and how we work. Suffering arises when we believe we are separate from source. That belief and many others keep us from creating the life we really desire and deserve, so is well worth the time to stop and revise our beliefs.

We don’t know what we don’t know. When we know better, we do better and when we do better our life, relationships, work, health, and finances improve.

To conclude, I have followed my passions all along even when I had no idea what I was doing. That has taken me to unique places and experiences. I have all the resources to help me remember who I really am … to go back home.

My next Passion Test Workshop will be on Thursday, December 11.

Email me at alma@almasanrom.com for more details.

Where to find Alma…

Website | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter

Joanne here!

Alma, I’m in awe of the courage and persistence you have demonstrated throughout your journey. You are an inspiration to all of us. Muchas gracias!

Spotlight on Sarah & Shannen Brady

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

I am happy to spotlight the mother-daughter writing team of Sarah and Shannen Brady and their debut novel, Healer. Sit back and enjoy this entertaining post about their unique writing journey.

Sarah & Shannen!

The plot for our first novel was scribbled longhand in a notebook in a brutally boring lecture class my sophomore year of college. My mom Sarah and I decided to form a mother-daughter writing team – apt, since we’ve been a team essentially since I was born. We eventually abandoned that first manuscript, but writing fiction got its hooks in us. After ditching our original concept (a tough, but utterly necessary step – our protagonist was an unlovable harpy), we decided that the next book wouldn’t get half-written and shoved onto a shelf for my dog to eventually discover and gnaw on. The next one, we would finish. The next one, we would publish.

Healer, our first published novel, was released with Soul Mate Publishing October 8, 2014. (WARNING: Shameless self-promotion ahead! Healer is now available on Amazon.) The publishing journey was an interesting one for us, especially given that we live on opposite sides of the state. The trading of manuscripts back and forth over email was a steep learning curve, and only caused a few headaches and face-to-desk head beatings.

A lot of the questions we get asked as a mother-daughter duo can be summed up with a perturbed expression and a hushed, “You do this with your mom?!?” Okay, so I get that writing romance with the woman who birthed you is a little weird. Fortunately for our author careers, I’m an irrepressible blabbermouth with the discretion of your average potato, so it never was a problem for us. I’d also recently moved for college, and writing a book together meant I had to call my mother at least once a week. Win-win.

As with anything, practice is the key to success, and we eventually started writing a m/m series as well. The first in that collection, Sweet Fire, is set for release January 2, 2015. Cue the patented Shannen-Brady-booty-dance. It’s crazy to think that almost exactly two years ago I texted her and said, “We should write a book.” Now, we’re looking at two traditionally published works. I think it proves that if an accountant and a college student can team up to write a book, anybody can.

Healer cover

Blurb

Alexandra Grayson is an empathic healer, flying under the radar as a Spokane Valley EMT. Protecting her family’s secret from Homeland Security’s Gifted Agenda and the bigotry of a fearful populace is the most important thing to her. Getting close to men, especially super sexy cops, isn’t an option.

Tyler Kincaid is a man who knows what he wants, and what he wants is Alex. When she outs herself as Gifted by healing a child, Tyler helps her escape, but even his love is not enough to protect her. When Alex is taken by HOMSEC agents, Tyler has to lead a motley collection of Alex’s Gifted relatives in a daring rescue.

Bio

Shannen Brady lives in Western Washington with her boyfriend and their child, a rambunctious corgi named Chubberus Maximus. When she’s not writing her latest sexy story, you can find her hiking, watching terrible SyFy movies and avoiding cooking of any kind.

Sarah Brady lives in Eastern Washington with her husband and teenage son, dividing her time between her real life and the voices in her head.

Sarah and Shannen are a mother/daughter team and together they write paranormal romantic suspense. Their first book, Healer, is book 1 of The Gifted, a series of four m/f romances, and published by Soul Mate Publishing. Their second book will be Sweet Fire, book 1 of a related series of m/m books, to be released January 2, 2015 by Dreamspinner Press.

Where to find Sarah & Shannen…

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

Spotlight on Rachel Sharpe

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

I am happy to spotlight Soul Mate author Rachel Sharpe and Lost Distinction, the second book in the Jordan James, PI Series.

Here’s Rachel!

It’s safe to say I’ve always wanted to be a writer. While that was not my first career of choice (not that you asked, but according to my grandmother it was lion taming astronaut), it has always been one I’ve returned to. Ever since I could write, I would write down my stories. As the daughter of two English majors, it came as a surprise to no one that I decided to major in English. My initial goal was, however, to continue in law.

A post-graduation job at a local courthouse made me realize quickly that that was not what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. With school finished and no idea what I wanted to be whenever I finally grew up, I decided to use my free time wisely and return to my roots: writing. My first true foray was a forty-five thousand word novella about a police detective solving a murder at a Louisiana seafood festival. It was fun to write, but I knew I could do better.

The best advice any author has ever given me was to write what you know. After my novella, I thought about what type of novel I would want to write, something I could maybe even turn into a series. It didn’t take long for Jordan James to emerge. “Cold Ambition,” the first novel in the Jordan James, PI series, took about four months to write. I also lucked out with editing thanks to the help of my super supportive parents. Now, all I needed was a publisher.

This, it turned out, was harder than it looked. It took two years for me to find my publisher and that was after two other possibilities fell through. At the time, each one felt like a devastating blow. Looking back, I can see it all happened for a reason. I couldn’t imagine working with a more amazing publisher or having the constant support of the other authors who have signed with them. My writing journey has been filled with as many twists and turns as a good mystery novel and I know it’s far from over. I look forward to not only watching Jordan’s story develop, but my own as well.

Blurb

“It all started with a favor…”

When private investigator Jordan James agreed to search for the missing son of a U.S. Ambassador, she didn’t realize she was walking into a case one hundred years in the making. The deeper she delves into this unusual assignment, the more shocking, and the more dangerous, it becomes. With time running out and lives at stake, Jordan must race to identify the culprit of an elaborate plot while also uncovering a far more personal truth too intimate to ignore…

Excerpt

We stood there in silence, considering the significance of this discovery. Although there was still no proof, this threat suggested there could have been more to Arthur’s disappearance than we realized. If Arthur was kidnapped, we might not be looking for a missing person. We might be looking for a murderer or his victim.

I suddenly felt a new anxiety about this case. The more I considered all the unknowns, the more I realized there was only one person who could provide some much-needed answers, Ambassador Gatlin Cross.

Also, be sure to check out Jordan’s first case in Cold Ambition, available now on Amazon!

Bio

Rachel Sharpe is the author of Cold Ambition and Lost Distinction, the first two novels in the Jordan James, PI series. Although born and raised in the South, “Yankee” relatives first led Rachel to historic New England, which she has come to consider her second home and is the setting for the series.

After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English, Rachel began dedicating her free time to her childhood passion, writing, and in the fall of 2013, she signed with Soul Mate Publishing. An active member of Sisters In Crime, Rachel currently resides with her husband in the Greater New Orleans area.

Where to find Rachel…

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

What Doesn’t Kill You…

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have author and editor Alison Williams sharing the difficult circumstances that led to a flourishing career and fulfilling life.

Here’s Alison!

Alison Williams (2) I have had lots of jobs, tried my hand at lots of things, but the one constant in my life has always been words, whether reading or writing. It has just taken me a while to get the point in my life where I am finally building a career on my own terms around those things.

I always wanted to be a writer but circumstances meant that I went straight to work when I left school and had a variety of office admin jobs. At nineteen, I was in a rather difficult relationship; not a nice thing to go through but it focused my mind and I went to night classes to do A’levels in English and Politics. These got me a place on a journalism course and I left that horrible relationship behind, left home and met my lovely husband-to-be.

Life got in the way of my career again and I married and had my two children while supporting my husband as he built his own career. He became a successful journalist and then moved into public relations. Meanwhile, I took a job at my children’s school and began a degree in literature and language with the Open University. I also began to build a small freelance writing career and was so thrilled to see my name in print.

As I finished my degree, one of the worst times in our lives began. My mum was diagnosed with bowel cancer. I felt at a real crossroads in my life and wasn’t sure where to go next. My colleagues were all encouraging me to become a teacher and my mum was keen for this too, so I applied for a place on a Post Graduate Certificate in Education course.

Christmas 2008 was a horrible time. My mum was getting worse and my dad had a heart attack. I felt like I spent most of my life in hospitals. In January 2009, a week after my mum died, I had an interview for the PGCE. A week after that I was offered a place. A week later my husband lost his job.

That summer passed in a blur. I left the school and the friends that I had made and worked with for the past six years and stepped into the unknown at a time when I really needed support. My husband was struggling to build his own business; my kids were coming to terms with the loss of their lovely Nan and dealing with the pressures of school. I felt like I was walking around with a massive weight on my shoulders. Then in September I started my course. It went well, I made some wonderful friends, and my first teaching practice was a real success, but as Christmas drew near I became ill and went down with a nasty case of bronchitis.

I dragged myself back to college in January and started my final placement just after Easter. I look back at those weeks now and still shudder. The teacher I was assigned to hated me on sight. Nothing I did was right. She withheld help and advice, bullied rather than supported me through difficult times, on one occasion deliberately finding things for me to do to make me late for an interview for a teaching position I really wanted. I was so low that I cried every morning when I woke up and every night when I got home. My husband, whose business was taking off, couldn’t have been more supportive but he couldn’t really do anything. I remember calling him from the staff toilets one day, sobbing because I just couldn’t go on.

It all came to a head when I was due for a lesson observation. My teacher offered no help, no guidance. She said I had to do it all myself to prove I was capable. The night before the observation, I went home and my sister, an assistant head in a local infant school, came round to help me plan. She took one look at me, bundled up my files and told me I wasn’t going back.

Ask my family or my friends if I’m easily put down, easily picked on, an easy target and they will say, unequivocally, no! I’m known for standing up for myself, for speaking out, for being a bit gobby even! But I was so beat down, so vulnerable, so low after a couple of terrible years that I just didn’t have the strength to fight back. So I walked away.

And it was the best thing I did. I took a Masters in Creative Writing, wrote and published my novel ‘The Black Hours’, went back to freelance writing and researching, began working for my husband’s now thriving communications consultancy and began my editing business. I’m working with writers, reading loads of wonderful manuscripts, writing articles and editing for my husband and, best of all, writing novels.

And I’m sorry, I have to admit that I’m not one for Karma or forgiving and forgetting ; I’m a sceptic, an atheist and I’m happy to live my life for my life’s sake. Forgiving won’t make me feel better, because I feel fine. I’m happy, forging a career doing what I love. And I don’t cry when I wake up any more. I smile.

Blurb

‘Look upon this wretch, all of you! Look upon her and thank God for his love and his mercy. Thank God that he has sent me to rid the world of such filth as this.’

1647 and England is in the grip of civil war. In the ensuing chaos, fear and suspicion are rife and anyone on the fringes of society can find themselves under suspicion. Matthew Hopkins, self -styled Witchfinder General, scours the countryside, seeking out those he believes to be in league with the Devil. In the small village of Coggeshall, 17–year-old Alice Pendle finds herself at the centre of gossip and speculation. Will she survive when the Witchfinder himself is summoned?

A tale of persecution, superstition, hate and love, ‘The Black Hours’ mixes fact with fiction in a gripping fast-paced drama that follows the story of Alice as she is thrown into a world of fear and confusion, and of Matthew, a man driven by his beliefs to commit dreadful acts in the name of religion.

Where to find Alison…

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Joanne here!

Alison, I am inspired and impressed by your courage and perseverance in the face of so many personal and professional challenges. Thank you for sharing your story and best of luck with all your creative endeavors.

Conflicting Passions

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Kassandra Lamb sharing her remarkable transformation from psychotherapist to mystery writer.

Here’s Kassandra!

Act One

I think I was eleven the first time someone said I should be a psychologist when I grew up. I was stunned. “Why?” I asked.

“Because you’re a good listener,” my friend replied.

I shook my head in confusion. I was the kid whose older brother had dubbed Chatty Kassie. Indeed, everybody teased me for being a non-stop talker. How could I be a good listener when I never shut up?

From middle school on, I had dabbled with writing poems and short stories, losing myself in my own imagination. I shudder now at how awful those early writing attempts were, but still, I tried. In high school, I toyed with the idea of being a writer, or perhaps a translator of others’ fiction. I loved both reading and languages, especially French.

But parents and teachers told me those pursuits would not earn a living wage. Writers and translators both needed a day job.

By the time I was nineteen, a sophomore in college, I had heard the “you should be a psychologist” at least thirty or forty times. But I was bent on being an elementary school teacher. Looking back, I’m not really sure what I was thinking.

After a couple more misguided turns down blind alleys, I finally listened to the advice of that eleven-year-old friend. I ended up in graduate school, studying to be a psychotherapist.

In the mid 1980’s, I started a private practice, and life was good. I loved my family, my home, and, much to my surprise, I loved my work.

Despite my chatty tendencies, I was a good listener. I heard things that others missed. I got where my clients were coming from, and reflected back to them what they needed to hear to move to a better place.

During my thirties and forties, as I raised my child and loved my husband and helped my clients get sane, I occasionally worked on a novel or two. Somehow I never made it past the fifth chapter.

But my need to write was being satisfied in other ways. I wrote journal articles, edited a professional newsletter, wrote articles for a self-help magazine for trauma survivors (my specialty as a therapist). I honed my writing skills without even realizing I was doing so.

Act One and a Half

After twenty years as a psychotherapist, I burned out. What got to me more than anything else was the weight of the job. I knew that I wasn’t responsible for my clients’ lives or well-being. They were responsible for themselves. I was just the “coach,” as I often referred to myself.

But nonetheless, each time I took on a new client I was committing to doing my very best to help them heal the wounds in their psyches and learn to live a mentally healthy life–something they were usually piss poor at which is what had brought them into therapy.

The day I received an emergency call from a suicidal client and my gut response was, “Ask me if I care?” I knew I needed to do something else for a living. (I didn’t say that out loud, btw, and the client is still alive and well today.)

Fast-forward through a couple years of angst and I am a part-time college professor, passing on to the next generation of psychologists what I had learned, and easing out of my psychotherapy practice by attrition. By early 2004, I was teaching four days a week and seeing clients one day a week, and my husband was eligible for retirement from his government job. We were ready to implement a long-time dream of retiring to his native Florida!

Act Two

“Getting serious about my writing” was on my to-do list in retirement. But somehow five years went by before that happened.

In 2009, I had just extracted myself from a commitment that had absorbed way too much of my life. One day, I was batting about the house, thinking, “What will I do with my time now?”

Warning: watch what you say when you talk to yourself, because you never know when God is eavesdropping!

I immediately had a new idea for the opening of one of those two novels I’d been writing for years. I sat down at my computer to capture the thought, expecting to spend fifteen minutes tops on the process.

Five weeks later I had finally finished one of those novels. I had written like an obsessed person. Because I was an obsessed person. Day and night, I wrote, sometimes until I was so tired my fingers were literally missing the keyboard.

Thus was born Multiple Motives, the first novel in the Kate Huntington mystery series. Once my muse was unleashed, there was no stopping her. I wrote the first drafts of four more novels in the next two years, while I was editing and polishing Multiple Motives for publication.

Today, my question is what happened to my retirement? 😉 I’ve never worked so hard in my life. But I’m producing two to three stories a year (some of them are novellas). And while a few aspects of this new “act” are annoying (promoting and bookkeeping, for instance), I’m having a blast!

This week, I’m releasing Fatal Forty-Eight, Book 7 in my Kate Huntington series. Meanwhile, I have the beginnings of Book 8 and a 3rd novella languishing in my hard drive, begging me to finish writing them.

Years ago, as a joke, I gave my husband a plaque that said: Life is what happens while you’re making other plans. Ha, jokes on me!

Blurb

Celebration turns to nightmare when psychotherapist Kate Huntington’s guest of honor disappears en route to her own retirement party. Kate’s former boss, Sally Ford, has been kidnapped by a serial killer who holds his victims exactly forty-eight hours before killing them.

With time ticking away, the police allow Kate and her P.I. husband to help with the investigation. The FBI agents involved in the case have mixed reactions to the “civilian consultants.” The senior agent welcomes Kate’s assistance as he fine-tunes his psychological profile. His voluptuous, young partner is more by the book. While she locks horns out in the field with Kate’s husband, misunderstandings abound back at headquarters.

But they can ill afford these distractions. Sally’s time is about to expire.

Fatal Forty-Eight is available for pre-order at half price–$1.99.
On November 13, the price goes up to $3.99.

Bio

Kassandra Lamb is a retired psychotherapist/college professor turned mystery writer. These days she spends most of her time in an alternate universe with her characters. The portal to this universe (aka her computer) is located in Florida where her husband and dog catch occasional glimpses of her. She and her husband also spend part of each summer in her native Maryland, where the Kate Huntington mysteries are set.

Where to find Kassandra…

Website | Misterio Press | Amazon

Joanne here!

Kass, thanks for sharing your inspiring journey. The Kate Huntington mystery series sounds delicious. Congrats on the launch of Fatal Forty Eight.

Making the Most of Second Chances

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have author Julie Ryan sharing her whirlwind first act and the unexpected second act that followed.

Here’s Julie!

First Act

I see the first forty odd years of my life as Act 1. After an idyllic childhood and University I met the man I thought I would be with forever. We travelled the world teaching English as a Foreign Language and I have some great memories of those years. Teaching children in Alexandropolis and Athens in Greece, working for the British Council in Bangkok, Thailand and setting up our own Language School in Warsaw, Poland. No sooner had we found one job it seemed than we were off again. My partner seemed to live in a constant state of flux, searching for what I don’t know, whereas after a while I was beginning to long to settle down. Moving to London, I was offered a post as Head of Languages in an all boys’ school. I loved the job but it was the most stressful thing I’ve ever done, especially since the school had been put into special measures just before I started. Soon it became the usual grind of work, eat, sleep and weekends spent recovering while looking forward to the next holiday. Something had to give, as neither of us was happy, yet neither of us wanted to be the one to break things up after almost twenty years. I knew for my own sanity I had to get out as by this stage we were barely talking. Just when I felt I was at breaking point, I met someone who was to be pivotal in forming Act 2.

Second Act

Just one month after meeting Tony, I left home with just a plastic bag containing a change of underwear and my toothbrush. It was a huge gamble. I had no idea if this new relationship was going to work and felt horribly guilty about leaving my ex even though I knew I’d tried my best. However, sometimes you just have to go with your instincts and jump in with both feet. People who know me say I don’t do things by halves. Within two months I’d handed in my notice and within four months we were looking at property in Gloucestershire. We both wanted a change of scene to start a new chapter together but couldn’t find anywhere to buy that was in our price bracket. Then Tony spotted a convenience store for sale in a small Gloucestershire village. I don’t think my feet touched the ground for the first six months as we took on a business as I worked as a supply teacher. In addition, the upstairs where we were living needed totally renovating as there was no plumbing, heating or electricity. It was hard but satisfying and I knew I’d made the right decision. When Tony proposed on my birthday I was in seventh heaven. We married in our local village Church surrounded by a few friends and family eighteen months later.

Where are you now?

I was 43 when I met my husband so we both knew that children were most unlikely. Nevertheless that didn’t stop us trying even though Tony said it didn’t matter. It wasn’t easy but nobody could have been more overjoyed than this pair of elderly parents when I gave birth to our precious son. After waiting so long for a child, I couldn’t face going back to work and we made the decision that my husband would get a full time job while I stayed at home and looked after our son and managed the Post Office and shop part time. That was another pivotal point – the first time in my life that I found myself with the freedom to live my life the way I wanted. I started writing, which I would never have done as a full time teacher and really appreciate the joys of country living. Would I change anything? Only that I wish I’d started the Second Act sooner. However, then neither of us would have been the people we are now. For a while we had to sacrifice holidays as we lived hand to mouth and any spare cash went on renovations. These are still ongoing but over the years we’ve got used to living in a muddle. Life isn’t perfect but I know how lucky I am. In September 2013 I published my first book in the Greek Island series followed by the second in 2014. Like many people I worry that my best isn’t good enough. I’m a perfectionist so I’m never really happy with my writing and then I came across this quotation:

So, while I encourage you to do your best, just remember that not everyone can be THE BEST. For me life really did begin in my late forties and I’m embracing my fifties with gusto in the knowledge that not everyone gets to have a Second Act.

Julie’s Books

When Jenna decides on a whim to go to Greece, she’s trying to escape her failing marriage. Will Greg let her go so easily though? Can she make a new future for herself and how did she get involved in an antiques smuggling ring? Is fellow holidaymaker Tom all he seems and will it be happy ever after with Nikos? It’s not until twenty-five years later that some of the questions are finally answered.

This is the second book in the Greek Island Mystery series. Although each book is intended to be read as a standalone, some of the characters from the first book, ‘Jennas’s Journey’, do make an appearance.

Kat has never understood why she was sent at the age of seven from Greece to live in England with her Aunt Tigi. When she receives an email from her grandmother, the first contact in over twenty years, informing her of her mother’s death, she knows this could be her last chance to find out the truth. Little by little she finds out the shocking facts as her grandmother opens her heart. It seems everyone has a secret to tell, not only her grandmother, as Manoli, her school friend, also harbours a guilty secret.

Then there’s a twenty year old mystery to solve as well as a murder and what happened to the missing Church treasure?

Bio

Julie was born and brought up in a mining village near Barnsley in South Yorkshire. She graduated with a BA (hons) in French Language and Literature from Hull University. Since then she has lived and worked as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language in France, Greece, Poland and Thailand. She now lives in rural Gloucestershire with her husband, son and a dippy cat with half a tail. She is so passionate about books that her collection is now threatening to outgrow her house, much to her husband’s annoyance!

‘Jenna’s Journey’, her début novel set in Greece, a country to which she has a strong attachment, was published in 2013. The second novel in the Greek Island Mystery series,‘Sophia’s Secret,’ is due to be published in the summer of 2014.

Where to find Julie…

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon UK | Amazon US

Joanne here!

Julie, thanks for inspiring us with your journey. If you ever run out of ideas, consider writing your memoirs.

A Tale of Two Trailers

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

After signing the contract for Between Land and Sea with Soul Mate Publishing, I started brainstorming about different marketing tools. One idea that popped in my head was a trailer. In my research, I had discovered mixed messages regarding the effectiveness of trailers. Some authors and publicists were wildly enthusiastic while others suggested that trailers did not necessarily lead to more sales.

Weighing both sets of opinions, I reached the conclusion that it wasn’t just about sales. I wanted to celebrate the launch of my debut novel with a trailer. And to make the prospect of a trailer even more exciting, I could call upon the expertise of my musically-talented brothers.

Continue reading on Erin Bevan’s blog.

From Classroom to Lunchroom

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Joanne Guidoccio

Welcome to my Second Acts Series!

Today, we have Gwen Stephens chatting about her transition from the classroom to a perfect (but temporary) second act.

Here’s Gwen!

Ask a young child what she wants to be when she grows up and the answer may surprise and amuse you. Princess, baker, dermatologist, Olympic gymnast, and Hollywood stunt double are some of the future careers my girls have dreamed up over the years. My imagination rarely stretched this far when I was a kid. From an early age I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and my sights never wavered.

But in my working class, inner city neighborhood, higher education was regarded as something other people did. College was reserved for the elite – rich kids, great athletes, the academically gifted. Fortunately I married a guy whose vision extended beyond the confines of the old neighborhood. He encouraged me to follow my dreams, and as soon as it was financially possible, I earned my teaching degree.

Throughout the course of my career, I’ve worked everywhere from the gang-infested inner city to upper-middle class suburbia. What I’ve learned is regardless of life’s challenges, children at their heart are remarkably similar. They all need love and trusted adults to guide them, instill confidence, and believe in their abilities. It’s what I’ve tried to do with each student in every class I’ve taught.

What I never expected was how truly difficult the profession would be. The work is physically and emotionally exhausting, and as I gradually discovered, it never gets easier. Those challenges compounded when I had children of my own. Trying to be a good teacher and a good mother at the same time seemed an impossible feat. Something had to give, and for a long time it was my family.

My decision to resign from classroom teaching was not reached easily. I loved my job, and years of hard work had earned me the respect of colleagues and the community. But ultimately I loved my daughters more, and they deserved a better mom.

My Second Act began in 2011 when the ideal opportunity came along: a part-time position in the same school, working just four hours a day. In my view it was the perfect “Mom Job,” so I decided to snap it up and call myself a Lunch Lady.

Friends and colleagues thought I’d lost my mind, yet this job is one of the best I’ve had. My team includes five other 40-something moms who are also on career hiatus for the sake of the family. We supervise the lunchroom and playground for each grade level’s daily recess. There’s almost no stress. I get to spend my workday outdoors. And I still have daily interaction with students.

Probably best of all has been the difference in my home life. A much more relaxed Mom has had a trickle-down effect on the rest of the family. Home cooked meals have replaced pre-packaged convenience foods. I’m able to help with homework and drive carpools. The extra time in my day allows me to pursue my interest in writing and participate in neighborhood book clubs. I know how lucky I am, and every day I’m grateful for my good fortune.

Returning to the teaching profession is a question of when and not if. It’s my true calling, and I can’t imagine myself in any other career. Someday when my children are grown and I can devote myself entirely to the demands of the job, I’ll go back to the classroom. Until then, I’m making the most of each day with my kids, because it’s time I’ll never get back.

Visit Gwen at her website.

Joanne here!

Gwen, I applaud your decision to take a “Mom Job” and devote more time and energy to your family and creative pursuits. Best of luck with your writing.