• Lifestyle

    Barking at the Moon Review

    My entire life I’ve lived with dogs. In fact, I can’t remember a time there wasn’t one breed or another romping around the countryside with me. They are wonderful companions, good at comforting, providing laughter and helping you learn to deal in many situations. People with dogs believe our canine friends make us healthier, happier, and better humans. That means, we’re often closer to our dog than any other being. And if you’re like me, working alone from home every day, you may find yourself talking to your dog, confessing all sorts of off-the-wall things. My dogs have comforted me through all the sad and scary feelings: filling the void of loss, helping me face fear, calming me through stress. But they also fill me with…

  • Content

    Visiting with the Creators: Interview with Author Bernadette G

    As aspiring authors, artists and creators, we love to see the behind-the-scenes of others who have stepped up and out with their creations. Today I had a chance to visit with a good friend and mentor about the writing and publishing journey of her newly released book. Bernadette Gold sat down virtually with me to talk about her wins, her frustrations and the publishing route she chose for her book, “The Crooked Path to a Charmed Life”. The book is available on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble, and through most bookstores. Visit with the Creator: Bernadette Gold Transcript [00:00:02.960] – Carol Good Morning. [00:00:03.870] – Bernadette Good Morning. [00:00:04.680] – Carol How’s everyone doing? How are you doing today? I want to welcome everyone to Visits…

  • Book Creation

    Should You Outline Your Book?: Why and How To Do It

    It’s the classic feeling of dread from when you were in middle school. You were assigned this big essay that had to be researched, formatted, complete with an outline and a summary. I remember my English teacher drilling it into our heads that we have to create an outline before we can write our essay. At the time, it probably helped me get organized for the report.  But do you need to create an outline before you write your book? There are many ways to write a book. You can wing it. You can sit down at your computer and just start writing. Many people take that approach. In the world of fiction writing they’re called “pantsters” because they write by the seat of their pants.…

  • Content

    3 Expert Tips to Brainstorm the Theme of Your Next Book

    Now that you are home more, it’s the perfect time to write your book. You’ve been saying for a long time you wanted to but never had the time. Maybe you don’t know where to start. Sometimes it’s just a matter of not knowing what the overall theme of your book will be. I’m going to show you three expert tips to help you use brainstorming techniques to find the theme of your next book. I’ve been there. I have ideas for books written down on sticky notes, in notebooks, on my computer hard drive, and in my head. One of the reasons they don’t get written, is I haven’t used any brainstorming techniques to find a good theme for each of them. What is a…

  • Inspiration/Spirituality

    5 Ways to Use Journals to Help Soothe Your Worries and Sleep Better

    In the last post we talked about why a worry journal is helpful. You know what a worry journal is and the benefits it can deliver, now it’s time to learn the best ways to use them for better sleep. There are a lot of different ways you can use a journal to help soothe your worries and get a better night’s sleep. Here, we’re going to look at 5  effective ways to use your journal to combat those worries. 1. Write down your worries a few hours before bed Whether you write in a worry journal in the morning or at night, you’re still going to experience some benefits. However, if you’re looking to sleep better, experts suggest using your journal around three hours before you get…

  • Inspiration/Spirituality

    How to Have Courage To Embrace Major Life Changes

    Have you ever been faced with a life-changing event and felt totally lost on what you should do? You become paralyzed with fear, leaving you stuck in inaction. You don’t know if you can find the courage to go on. Life seems to have lost its color, it’s shine, it’s music. You fear the changes instead of learning how to embrace change with positive steps. Life hands us events that can totally change the course of our lives, for the better or for worse. It’s your choice of how it does. Marriage. Birth of a child. Loss of a loved one. Disease. Overwhelming debt. Move to a new home. Divorce. Empty Nest. Disability. I’ve been there. Many times. Marriage, the birth of a child (x3), loss of…

  • Lifestyle

    Put Down the Gadgets For a Real Conversation

    Today I want to talk about the importance of being present when you are attempting to have better conversations with everyone. You see it everywhere. Everyone you encounter is engrossed in their phone. Your boyfriend, co-workers, even the little girl on the playground is engrossed in their gadgets. With the ease of connecting through social media, real conversations (those that are done face-to-face) are becoming rare.  It’s difficult to carry on a conversation when only one of you is actually paying attention to the other, talking and sharing without any response. Carrying on a conversation with a tiny box and expecting an answer instead of talking face-to-face with someone is like talking to yourself  How many times have you, as a parent, asked your child something…

  • Content

    Weaving Your Story Within Your Copy Inspires Others

    Weaving Your Story Within Your Copy Inspires Others It was one of those weeks when no matter what I did it didn’t work. I was trying to put together an important article. It should have been easy. After all, it was a subject I knew very well. But I had some personal things going on that were pulling my attention away. I was worried, scared and anxious. Every time I sat down to write, I would sit there, trembling, staring at a blank page. That cursor just kept blinking Blinking Blinking Mocking me. Tormenting me. As if to say, “Ha! Who do you think you are to try to teach others about this? You aren’t smart enough. You can’t even take care of the problem you’re…