One Yes

October 23, 2019Leave a comment

One yes. That’s all we need. A million rejections won’t matter when that one yes comes through.

When you’re knee-deep in a huge pile of no’s, it’s hard to see above it. It’s overwhelming. But it’s temporary. And hard.

This is where I’m learning to find grace and patience. Those two things are harder than rejection because they come from me. I can control them. How I respond to silence and rejection is 100% on me. The last year has taught me a lot when it comes to this. The initial gut and physical reaction haven’t changed. There is still a slight fluttering in my heart. My stomach knots and a brief bit of anxiety creeps in.

What has changed is the mental and emotional response that follows. I’ve learned how to process these responses in a much healthier way. I can see the reason in the no and understand it much better.

Now, I’m grateful for the rejection. It’s taught me so much about myself and this process. It’s also given me some hard lessons in perseverance.

Most importantly? A million rejections don’t define my value or talent. That’s all on me.

Lightness of Body and Mind, Sarah Hays Coomer

October 17, 2019October 23, 2019Leave a comment

**Review**
Lightness of Body and Mind, Sarah Hays Coomer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend a writer’s retreat all about overcoming obstacles that women face. I met Sarah Hays Coomer there and learned more about her approach to health and mindfulness. After her first session, I went back to my room and bought both other books.

We’ve always been taught to push ourselves until we break. Starve until our jeans button. Focus on the scale. Lightness of Body and Mind shatters that approach. Sarah promotes the mindset that how we feel is more important than how we look or what the number on the scale says. It dismantles the idea that to be healthy we must stop every bad habit. Instead, work to find what habits truly make you feel good. It’s not about deprivation or killing yourself on a treadmill. Replace the bad with good—if it feels good, keep it, if you feel like shit after, ditch it. Stop fighting your body.

This message resonated with me. I’ve been battling my body for as long as I can remember. Hearing the tips and tools in Lightness of Body and Mind changed my perspective toward food and exercise.

Discouraging Silence

October 16, 2019Leave a comment

Silence is the most daunting side effect of putting yourself out there. Silence is the sound that haunts your thoughts at all hours of the day and night. It creeps into the crevices of your biggest fears and doubts and eats its way further and further until the wounds fester.

It is in the most silent of moments that you either choose to give up or strain to hear the music. These are the make or break moments for me because in silence, it is very easy to hear the nagging of my inner negative voice. She screams as loud as the silence, their voices creating a chorus of You’re Not Good Enough. Silence calls for me to join in her pity party. As tempting as it can be to dive head first into the Silence’s negativity, I’m working to stay out of it.

That pity party offers nothing for me. It doesn’t invite me to write or create. It places a spotlight on every flaw and mistake and reminds me that those moments are defining.

But they aren’t.

Silence is a liar. Her pity party is a drag and a bore, and it is not one I ever want to RSVP to (though there are times I do attend despite my better judgement).

When Silence creeps in, I like to drown her out with music or audiobooks. If I fill my ears and mind with words and music, Silence can’t get a work in edgewise. Her voice is muted. Her negativity stifled.

It is in those moments that I remember I have the power and the control, not Silence.

Winter in Paradise & What Happens in Paradise, Elin Hilderbrand

October 16, 2019Leave a comment

**Review**

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I won’t lie, I missed Nantucket, but I adored the Caribbean island setting in Winter in Paradise. The cast of characters was compelling and intriguing. I do wish each got more time as there was a lot of unpack with each character. The twists and turns were fun and kept propelling me forward.

As much as I enjoyed Winter in Paradise, What Happens in Paradise topped it. I fell a bit more in love with the island and it’s dysfunctional cast of characters. My favorite part was getting more of Rosie’s story.

I am a tad disappointed that I have to wait a whole year for the next book in this series.

Life is But a Dream

October 10, 2019October 11, 2019Leave a comment

This book right here represents so much for me. I wrote in during NaNoWriMo in 2012. As I wrote, I posted it live to my blog. LIVE TO MY BLOG. Do you have any idea how scary that was?

As terrifying as it was, it helped keep me motivated. I knew people were waiting for the next chapter. Now, I have two friends that read as I write and ask questions or point out inconsistencies. They also help pester me when I get off track.

Life is But a Dream (November 2014)
Poised. Graceful. Organized. Yes, Rebecca Jane has it all – Kyle, her handsome, loving fiancé, her dream career and her five-year plan. She is successful and driven and up for a promotion as long as her evil co-monster Hannah stays out of her way as they tackle an interesting, new client together.

Rebecca is on the verge of greatness – at least in her own mind.

As it usually does, her past finally catches up with her. Now, at thirty, Rebecca is questioning who she is and the choices she made along the way. Is she really ready to settle down and be Mrs. Kyle Turner?

Rebecca is forced to reevaluate everything she thought she ever wanted and to finally face the fact that she never really let go of the past.

Available on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle.

Happily Ever Never

October 10, 2019October 11, 2019Leave a comment

Between Life is But a Dream and Happily Ever Never, I wrote two other books. Both were okay, but neither inspired me like LIBAD had. I started writing HEN in February 2017. My son was almost two and we were trying for a second.

Then it sat on my Google Drive for over a year. One day, I decided to reread it and something miraculous happened. I didn’t hate it. In fact, I love it. I sent it to a few friends to read and they loved it too. Happily Ever Never was really the first book that made me feel like an author. For that, it will always be my favorite.

Happily Ever Never (October 2018)
Janna Hargrove’s life wasn’t a fairy tale, not even close. She’d never imagined her life would have its happily ever after moment. Until she met Ryan. The moment their eyes met, everything changed. She knew he was the one – he was the happily ever after she deserved.

Five years into their two-year plan, Ryan finally popped the question. The moment was everything Janna had dreamed of. She had the man, the ring, the wedding date, the house, the career and the plan for 2.5 kids living in suburbia bliss. Everything was just as she’d always dreamed, designer dress and all.

Everything she’d ever wanted was within reach.

Until it wasn’t.

Available on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle.

Lie Baby Lie

October 10, 2019October 11, 2019Leave a comment

Lie Baby Lie was one of my favorite books to write. I loved both Reese and Caroline. They’re two beautifully flawed women who are unlikely friends.

It was also the first book that I wrote without knowing the title. For me, I almost always have a title the instant I start writing. It comes to me right along with the character or opening scene. I spent weeks agonizing over the title. Ultimately, I landed on and loved Lie Baby Lie. It just fit so perfectly.

Lie Baby Lie (February 2019)
Caroline has a one track mind. She wants a baby, and she’s willing to do anything to get what she wants. Her husband promised her she’d have her wish. When a secret from his past threatens to ruin Caroline’s plans, she takes matters into her own hands. His lies soon become her own web of lies and deceit.

Reese is desperate for a child too, but years of infertility and loss have jaded her. Secrets and lies have become second nature. The secrets she’s kept from her daughter. The lies to her husband about pregnancy tests. Reese hides behind these lies, protecting her family from truths that could hurt them and her.

Their lives are woven together in a way neither women understand. An unlikely, fragile friendship is born. Can it withstand the secrets and lies?

Available on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle

Writing & Marketing as an Indie Author

October 10, 2019October 16, 2019Leave a comment

The hardest part of being an author is sucking it up and being you’re own hype man. Sure writing and editing are hard too, but having to sell yourself with confidence when you used it all pouring yourself into your books? That’s like function on two hours of sleep without a drop of coffee.

As an independently published author, 100% of the marketing is on me. Should be easy considering I am a marketer by trade, but it’s not. Self-promoting is difficult. It feels icky.

But it’s necessary.

I write because I want to share stories about every day people whose lives are like our own. I want readers to see themselves on the pages. I want you to relate.

A friend recently challenged me to share and promote my books. I resisted and argued. She didn’t back down, and I eventually saw her point.

Over the next few days, I’m going to be sharing a bit about each of my books. Why I write them and what I hope the readers connect to.

I hope you come along for the ride and fall in love with the women on these pages just as much as I did.

American Wife, Curtis Sittenfeld

October 10, 2019Leave a comment

**Review**
American Wife, Curtis Sittenfeld
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A good friend forced to read this book. She surprised me with it on my birthday after casually texting to see if I’d read it. When I told her I hadn’t, she replied, “don’t, it’s horrible.” Imagine my surprise and amusement when it arrived at my house a few days later. (Side note: get you a friend like this because they’re the best). American Wife started slow, but once Alice and Charlie Met, I couldn’t put it down. I also couldn’t not picture Laura and George W. Bush (the book is a fictionalized version of Laura’s life). So, that was fun during the intimate scenes.

This book was raw, emotional, honest and also amusing (even my son would’ve enjoyed all the fart and poop mentions). I laughed and almost cried a few times.

American Wife also shows what can happen if you learn to put aside differences and focus on the good.

Definitely recommend. Both the book and my friend.

SLAY, Brittney Morris

September 29, 2019October 1, 2019Leave a comment

**Review**

SLAY, Brittney Morris

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m a white, middle-class suburban working mom who’s never gamed a day in her life. I also don’t read YA.

I loved everything about this book. The characters. SLAY. The story. The writing. All of it was amazing.

Keira is a strong, brilliant teenager. She recognized a need and rather than wait for someone else to build the game she needed and wanted to play, she built it. She created the community wanted to be a part of and gave a home and safe place to so many. I’m doing so, she found her voice and gave a voice to the hundreds of thousands of SLAY players in the world.

This is the universal story of SLAY—what everyone can connect to—the desire and need to be seen, understood, celebrated, and to be a part of something. To belong.

SLAY is without a doubt one of the best books I’ve read this year and I’ll be waiting anxiously for Brittney Morris’s next book.