Category Archives: Joanne Guidoccio

Challenge Yourself to Think Better

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

I receive a daily dose of inspiration from bestselling authors and coaches Marc and Angel Chernoff. In yesterday’s email, they shared this advice:

Many of the biggest misunderstandings in life could be avoided if we simply took the time to ask, “What else could this mean?”

A wonderful way to do this is by using a reframing tool we initially picked up from research professor Brené Brown, which we then tailored through our coaching work with students and live event attendees. We call the tool The story I’m telling myself. Although asking the question itself—“What else could this mean?”—can help reframe our thoughts and broaden our perspectives, using the simple phrase The story I’m telling myself as a prefix to troubling thoughts has undoubtedly created many “aha moments” for our students and clients in recent times.

Here’s how it works: The story I’m telling myself can be applied to any difficult life situation or circumstance in which a troubling thought is getting the best of you. For example, perhaps someone you love (husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc.) didn’t call you or text you when they said they would, and now an hour has passed and you’re feeling upset because you’re obviously not a high enough priority to them. When you catch yourself feeling this way, use the phrase: The story I’m telling myself is that they didn’t call me because I’m not a high enough priority to them.

Then ask yourself these questions:

• Can I be absolutely certain this story is true?
• How do I feel and behave when I tell myself this story?
• What’s one other possibility that might also make the ending to this story true?

Give yourself the space to think it all through carefully…

Challenge yourself to THINK BETTER.

Challenge the stories you subconsciously tell yourself and do a reality check with a more objective mindset.

Note: I highly recommend subscribing to Marc & Angel’s website.

Designing Crafty Ways to Kill People

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome back USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston. Today, Lois shares her writing journey and new release, A Sew Deadly Cruise.

Here’s Lois

Life’s journey is rarely a straight line. It certainly hasn’t been for me. Way back when I was working toward my BFA in graphic design and illustration, I never would have imagined that someday I’d be writing novels. Since graduating from college {{cough! cough!}} years ago, I’ve worked as a layout artist for two advertising agencies as well as the world’s oldest department store, an illustrator for the publications and alumni departments of two major universities, a freelance designer of needlework kits, a designer and design coordinator for a major manufacturer, a craft book editor, and a magazine freelancer. And that was all before I got the crazy idea to write my first novel.

Even then, my career didn’t proceed along a straight line. I started out writing romance, and now I’m killing people for a living—but only in my novels! I also spent twelve years as a literary agent, working for the agency that represented me. Is your head spinning yet? Mine is, just thinking about my rollercoaster of a professional life!

I’m now a retired designer, a retired literary agent, and a retired romance writer. Truthfully, I find killing people (on paper) far more fun than writing sex scenes. I spend my days getting my reluctant amateur sleuth, Anastasia Pollack, into trouble while sitting at my computer recording her antics as she attempts to thwart my efforts.

I don’t think Anastasia likes me very much, but I can hardly blame her. Before I came along, she was leading a typical middle-class life in the suburbs with her husband and two teenage sons. About the only not-so-typical part of her life was her communist mother-in-law and the Shakespeare-quoting parrot she’d inherited from her great-aunt.

That all changed when I decided to kill off Anastasia’s husband prior to the opening pages of the first book. Unbeknownst to her, the two-timing louse was having an affair with Lady Luck. He gambled away all their money, leaving her to deal with staggering debt, his communist mother, and a demanding loan shark. You can read all about it in Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series.

I’ve had so much fun tormenting Anastasia that I’m now up to Book 9 in the series that bears her name, and there are also three connecting novellas.

Books in the series include:

Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun
Death by Killer Mop Doll
Revenge of the Crafty Corpse
Decoupage Can Be Deadly
A Stitch to Die For
Scrapbook of Murder
Drop Dead Ornaments
Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide
A Sew Deadly Cruise

Novellas include:

Crewel Intentions
Mosaic Mayhem
Patchwork Peril

Blurb for A Sew Deadly Cruise

Life is looking up for magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack. Newly engaged, she and photojournalist fiancé Zack Barnes are on a winter cruise with her family, compliments of a Christmas gift from her half-brother-in-law. Son Alex’s girlfriend and her father have also joined them. Shortly after boarding the ship, Anastasia is approached by a man with an unusual interest in her engagement ring. When she tells Zack of her encounter, he suggests the man might be a jewel thief scouting for his next mark. But before Anastasia can point the man out to Zack, the would-be thief approaches him, revealing his true motivation. Long-buried secrets now threaten the well-being of everyone Anastasia holds dear. And that’s before the first dead body turns up.

Craft projects included.

Buy Links

Amazon | Kobo | Nook | Apple iBooks

Bio and Links

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry.

Website | Newsletter Sign-up | Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers Blog | Pinterest | Twitter | Goodreads | Bookbub

#TeaserThursday – No More Secrets

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

In this excerpt from my new release, No More Secrets, Angelica meets Sergio Delfino, her future husband.

Enjoy!

June 1957

Mama approached and hugged me. “You have a good head on your shoulders and would do very well if…well, if you had been born male, there would be no question about your choosing to remain single for a while. You could stay here or emigrate on your own. But that’s not an option for you—not in this town, and, I suspect, not in too many other towns.” She sighed. “As long as your father and I are alive, you’ll be fine. But once we’re gone, you can’t remain in this house alone. You’d have to move in with Gina or Rosetta. Marry Sergio and live the life of a signora in Cosenza.”

Mama understood me very well. Moving to a city would be a step up. I would also be exposed to more culture, socializing, and shopping. I smiled and squeezed Mama’s hand. While I approached each encounter with an open mind, I could never settle for loud, overbearing men. Kindness and consideration were my top priorities. Love didn’t really matter.

I kissed Mama goodbye and headed out toward the square. While the town’s winter population was well under one thousand people, it expanded in size during the spring and summer months. As I walked toward the piazza, I encountered several unfamiliar male faces. Each time, my heart would flutter in anticipation. I was excited about meeting Sergio and hoped for a connection.

As I approached the piazza, I heard the loud, booming voice of Giovanni Barone, Maria’s husband. “Angelica. Angelica. Over here.”

I liked Maria but didn’t look forward to dealing with her leering husband. I plastered a smile on my face and approached the couple. A thin man of medium height stood next to them. He blushed as I approached. Before anyone could speak, Giovanni blurted out, “Angelica, this is Sergio Delfino. He’s the best shoemaker in Cosenza, and he has a big apartment right in the center of the city.”

I ignored his comment and extended my hand to Sergio. “I’m very pleased to meet you. I hope you’ll enjoy the festival.”

Sergio returned my smile and handed me a white rose. “I hope you like roses. I removed all the thorns.”

Maria and Giovanni exchanged amused looks. I was pleasantly surprised at the gesture and gave Sergio a closer look. This man would be gentle and not give me any grief. And he could design and create custom shoes for me. A minor detail for most, but with size 40, triple A feet, it was a major consideration for me. I took his hand and led him away from my gaping relatives. I had already decided to marry him. There was no need to be coy and pretend otherwise.

Buy Links

Amazon (Canada) | Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (Australia)

On the Path to Freedom

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

I highly recommend The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life by eminent psychologist and Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eger. Here’s an excerpt from the Introduction:

We do not change until we’re ready. Sometimes it’s a tough circumstance—perhaps a divorce, accident, illness, or death—that forces us to face up to what isn’t working and try something else. Sometimes our inner pain or unfulfilled longing gets so loud and insistent that we can’t ignore it another minute. But readiness doesn’t come from the outside, and it can’t be rushed or forced. You’re ready when you’re ready, when something inside shifts and you decide, Until now I did that. Now I’m going to do something else.

Change is about interrupting the habits and patterns that no longer serve us. If you want to meaningfully alter your life, you don’t simply abandon a dysfunctional habit or belief; you replace it with a healthy one. You choose what you’re moving toward. You find an arrow and follow it. As you begin your journey, it’s important to reflect not only on what you’d like to be free from, but on what you want to be free to do or become.

Finally, when you change your life, it isn’t to become the new you. It’s to become the real you—the one-of-a-kind diamond that will never exist again and can never be replaced. Everything that that’s happened to you—all the choices you’ve made until now, all the ways you’ve tried to cope—it all matters; it’s all useful. You don’t have to throw everything out and start from scratch. Whatever you’ve done, it’s brought you this far, to this moment.

The ultimate key to freedom is to keep becoming who you truly are.

Source: The Gift by Dr. Edith Eger.

On Tour with Goddess Fish – Day 3

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

It’s my third Monday on tour with Goddess Fish.

I’m visiting the “Fabulous and Brunette” blog and sharing tips on dealing with rejection. I’m also including a blurb, excerpt, and buy links for No More Secrets.

Stop by and visit for a while. Remember to scroll down and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway. You could win a $20 Amazon gift card.

Find out more here.