Lipstick. I adore it. I crave it. I drool over all the beautiful shades and colors. I forcefully push myself to avoid the lipstick aisle in any store I visit that sells cosmetics. And I often fail. Yes, I have at least a dozen lipsticks. Maybe more.  Read more →

Out there, in the world, where I discovered nice people who liked me, yes, Sally Field, they liked me; I began to question everything my mother had ever said to me. Read more →

This day, this July day, we'd all been talking about going to high school. Eight grade was done and high school loomed a mere six and a half weeks away. Read more →

But the truth of being a writer is that it’s a lifelong venture. No matter who you are or how well you write, it’s imperative you live in ‘learning mode’, studying your craft by reading classics, by writing everything and anything, and by attending workshops or holding your own. To do less is to risk creating stale, poorly understood, almost unreadable copy. Read more →

Now, after you've committed words to paper - okay, words to keyboard because today you must, must, must, have a digital copy - you take your work and submit it to an editor or an agent. No one reads print manuscripts anymore. Read more →

Can dreams determine who we want to be or do they tell us who we are? Read more →

Working with bloggers is a good thing. Working with bloggers if you're an author, to create a blogging book tour, can help your book soar in sales. Read more →

I call it time to embrace your phenomenal self, as a woman, in the 21st century. I call it time to tell the story - the real story - of who you are. You can leave out some parts because some parts are too personal or too precious to share. But, for the most part, you need to cry a little, laugh a lot, get angry, then be joyous, because the telling of your story is just the beginning of your journey and the journey you will take your readers on. Read more →

We talked further about blogging. About how it could grow his readership. He proposed to me that he wanted his books to be read by small business owners, CEOs of businesses under $24million. Or thereabouts. He knew his message of how to be a great CEO would resonate and help those people. But he didn't see how a blog could get him there. He insisted the people he wanted to reach didn't read blogs. When, of course, they did. Many big brands were starting to blog by then.  Read more →

The post got me thinking because... my Mom isn't here any longer. Nor is my Dad. Neither Dad. Yes, I had two dads. It happens. My step-Dad passed so many years ago, I don't even remember the date. I only remember how he suffered and how angry I was that he wasn't going to be around for many more years. Read more →