books

Energy – Marathons – #Booktok vs Public Speaking

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Photo credit: lograstudio on Pixabay.

Hey guys, welcome back! This week has gone by so fast and I’m all for it. It’s also been a busy one for me which is something that is very much against the norm. But getting to see both friends and family as well as a little league playoff game has been so worth it! Love the people I saw and they’ve given me a lot more energy just by getting me out and about.

If you are new here, I am someone who lives with both chronic illness and disabilities. I have periods of time where walking just isn’t in the cards, however, I also have waves of mobility, like the one I’m in now, where I can not only do things, but can also get things done. Just being able to take out the garbage is an accomplishment for me and it has felt great to contribute. Getting out to a local baseball game? Priceless. (Especially when I get to root for my favorite 8 year old.) Having the energy I’ve had lately has been amazing and I haven’t had it for two years. There is of course the unknown expiration date on this, so while I may pay for this tomorrow, I will be enjoying it tonight.

Because of this new found clarity, I’ve been doing major writing and editing marathons this week and while I’d like to say the writing has had some serious progress, I can’t. However, the edits have been going well and I consider that a victory, I really need to get the writing back on track. I’m in a momentous part of the book. The make or break chapters, the big surprise, all the feelings and yet, my head has not been in the game for it. Energy is great, concentration? A whole other animal.

I’m finding that even with my set writing schedule, I’m crashing just as it’s time to do the actual typing. The edits are flowing, the rereads? Awesome. The coming up with what’s next? Suddenly I’m hitting a wall and crashing hard. Tonight I’m hoping to break that by starting a few hours earlier than I normally do and actually getting something done. What a nice change that will be.

I’m convinced that I totally jinxed myself with the first chapters of this book. If you’ve been following along, you know that I was on a sick roll with them. Writing full chapters, sometimes two a night. Dozens of pages flowing from my fingers at a time and bringing forth the story I’ve been waiting to tell. And then…ugh. It started becoming harder to get to the next level. To bring the characters to their pinnacle moments. I know where I want to take them, but getting them there has been the issue. I know it will happen. I know it will connect. I also know that my brain has decided to fail me on where to go next. I’m hoping that this newfound energy will kick its ass into gear and get me going, so I can head towards the finish line in the best possible way!

While I’ve been doing all of this, I’ve also been doing a ton of reading and adding to my #booktok account. (Link will be below if you’re interested.) I love seeing so many other readers and authors out there. Bringing physical bookstores back and finding new titles to read as well as connecting with other writers and finding out that it’s ’not just me’ with certain issues has been awesome. My personal hangup on it though is that I’m not comfortable on camera. While I just posted my first pic of myself on there, I didn’t do a video. I have done a few in the past on my other accounts and for a little while had fun with it, but honestly, it’s just not my thing. I find this quite strange honestly as I am one of the few people in this world who actually enjoys public speaking.

I’ve given quite a few speeches in my time and love to feed off of the audience. I was involved with the theater once upon a time and there is nothing like getting the reaction from a live crowd. On video? You put yourself out there and hope you get a ‘like’. Not my jam at all. I like to read the crowd, see what sticks and all that. On video, I’m more than self conscious and hate it. So I stick to silly videos, trending stuff that  doesn’t require showing my face and of course, plugging this site with pics. Granted, this may be why my follower count sucks, (which stabs me in my former professional social media manager heart) but alas, it is what it is. I hope to get over the ‘stage fright’ of videoness one day, but for now, I will stick to what I’ve been doing and hope to grow from there.

And that is where I will leave you for today! I hope you all are doing great out there and I thank you so much for visiting and following along. Speaking of, if you are having trouble subscribing, please let me know. I understand the subscribe button is leading folks to a login page for some. I can manually add your email if you’d like to get updates from me.

Thanks again for visiting and until next time…Cheers!

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For my social, #booktok, shops and more: linktr.ee/promosocially

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Please check out the links (and graphics on the sidebar) on this site for my other shops and book suggestions. You never know what you’ll find!

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If you like what I’m doing here and would like to help support the site, (and me), you can click on my Ko-Fi link: HERE Any donation would be more than greatly appreciated. 🩷

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and hope you will come back again! 😉

Clueless – Resources – Writing Tired

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Photo credit: Katrina_S on Pixabay

Hey guys! Welcome to August!! I’m honestly clueless about what to write tonight. It’s been a whirlwind few days and my mind is quite scattered…but it always is, so let’s see where this post takes us, shall we?

I’ve been reading up a storm for my cancer society fundraiser (Read Every Day Challenge). I already read a lot, but here it is the fifth of the month, as of this writing, and I’m already two and a half books in! I’ve been more in a reading mood than a writing one these past few days and have been enjoying the total escape into these books. Of course I will link to them below the post and add them to the 2025 On the Bookshelf page as well, but that’s not really the point. The point here is that a book can be a great vacation. So far this month I’ve been to Maui, an island off the coast of Rhode Island and now I’m visiting Nantucket. No airport hassles, no middle seat nightmares and no traffic to deal with. Just me and a book and I’m happy. So if you can’t get away this year, I highly recommend this as an alternative.

While this has been going on, I’ve still been trying to keep on track with my writing. I have so much to do as far as reworking scenes, edits and of course, coming up with new stuff. But by the time I’ve been getting to it lately, I’m just too damned tired to write. I have also not been eating. I don’t mean a little here and there, I mean I’ve gone a full day with no food which is not helping the tired. And yes I know, I have to deal with that, but it does happen to me from time to time and I try to get a little something in me, but again, like insomnia, it happens.

I’m finding that the scenes that I’m writing in this state have been all over the place and good for a blooper reel, if that’s a thing for authors. Plus, trying to get into my own work after deep diving into these other novels has been a little harder lately. Usually when I’m reading a book, I will get a sudden idea for something. Ironically, not related at all to what is in front of me, so no, I’m not plagiarizing anything. It’s just sometimes reading clears my head and an idea hits. The lack of sleep, the lack of food and a lot of caffeine have been fueling such strange stuff that I have been more than happy to not just edit here and there, but cut full pages completely.

I will say this though, my own book is never far from my mind. I have had the opportunity to see both family and friends over the last few days and while in conversations, my mind is playing out something that I wrote just the night before. The bonus of this, was that with the research I’ve been doing for one plot line, I remembered that someone close to me was once in the same profession as one of my characters. I was able to pepper her with question after question to get the inside track of what the life was like and it really helped me navigate the story a lot better.

Never let a resource get away!

You may be surprised to find that while you are googling for background, there may not be a reason to. That someone in your life is connected to what you have been looking up! Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions. For many, many years, I’d never asked anyone anything for fear of sounding stupid or totally out of my element. Especially in the workforce. However one day I realized that at most, someone could just simply answer ‘no’ and that would be that. Never fear the ‘no’. Just go for it. If they won’t answer, then Google it is! In this case, I was able to find out some valuable information that is really going to help a lot and I couldn’t be more grateful.

And that is where I’m going to leave you for today. As usual, I hope you got something out of this post. I know I sounded completely scattered and that’s basically how I’ve been feeling lately, but the message still rings true…never fear the no.

Until next time…Cheers!

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To follow me on social, including #booktok you can click: linktr.ee/promosocially

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If you’d like to donate to my American Cancer Society fundraiser for August, click HERE

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The latest books read, (you can click on their titles):

The Unhoneymooners by Christna Lauren

RoomHate by Penelope Ward

The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand

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If you are enjoying this site and would like to help support this site (and me in the process), you can click on my Ko-Fi link either by clicking on the logo or by clicking HERE. I appreciate those who have already clicked so much. It is not taken for granted at all.

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You can shop with me either by clicking on the links here on the site or my linktree above. Lots to see from jewelry to bookmarks to shirts and blank journals and more!

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you so much. See you all soon!!! ☺️

Good – Bad – The Tired

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Photo credit: ME! I have this sticker as well as a ton of others in my Etsy shop. (Or contact me and I’ll gladly sell off of there so they don’t get all of my money. 😬)

Hey all, welcome back! It’s a new week and in a few days, a new month. Is it just me or is the Summer flying by?! It seems like just yesterday, people were blowing up fireworks to celebrate the birth of our country. Of course around here, people are still blowing up fireworks because, well, that’s what they do. (And one day, my heart will start beating again.)

Anywhoooo, besides all the craziness of life, I have been up for nights-going-into-days on the book. The other day I worked from 2am to 1pm and pretty much collapsed to sleep. Well, sleep for about an hour. I’m having some trouble with that particular area. Sleep? What’s that? Between the heat and the story going through my head, sleep is a foreign subject to me.

That’s ok though! Just last night as I was getting something to eat, out of nowhere, a critical plot line that I’ve been having issues with resolved itself!! I have been having so much trouble with this part of the story, fully knowing that what I originally wrote was pure and utter crap. Even with all of the research I did on it, it still came off as made up nonsense that would never happen. Ever. I couldn’t figure out how to fix it. It’s been weeks of either obsessing about it or completely ignoring it and going on with the story. I hadn’t even thought about it in days so when it popped up last night, it was like a freaking revelation and I literally yelled out loud, “THAT’S IT!” (Thankfully no one else was home.) When I went into the old chapter, I did a complete rewrite and lo and behold, it works! So one major hurdle is being rectified and I’m feeling so much better about where it is going now.

In the meantime, it’s been days upon days of little or no sleep and I’m starting to get to the punch drunk tired phase. Which, I have to say, keeps me somewhat entertained, as when I read what I’ve written during these times? Has me laughing as I have apparently been writing like a lunatic on acid. Kind of how I’m writing now.

The point I’m laboring to make here is, eventually, things will work themselves out in their own time. Once I stopped putting so much pressure on myself to figure out this one plot point, it came to me. It’s like life I guess. Once you stop putting pressure on yourself to do something, it’ll happen. Once we relax a bit, you’ll be surprised at what happens. So I hope that will be your takeaway from this strange zombie rambling I’m doing tonight. Relax. Let life happen and maybe the solution to the problem you’ve been having? Will come to you. If it doesn’t, well then…have some ice cream. Ice cream can make everything better. 🙂

On that note, I shall leave you for today. I hope you all have a week of great opportunities and please, STAY COOL! It’s going to be a hot one here where I am and this Summer cannot end soon enough for me. Speaking of, for those who are keeping track, Pumpkin Spice Lattes start at Starbucks last week of August, you’re welcome.

Until next time folks, thanks for following along and I hope you will check out the links below. See you soon…cheers!

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To follow me on social, find my shops and more: linktr.ee/promosocially

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I’m participating in the Read Every Day Challenge for the American Cancer Society. If you’d like to make a donation, that would be great and you can click HERE. If you are unable to, I totally get that but, you can join for free or share the page to help raise the funds. If you have read my About Me page, you will get why this is a deeply personal fundraiser for me. I’ve done it several times now, even doubling the goal here and there.

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Please be sure to check out the links on this page for reader and writer gifts and book journals (all designed by me) and if you like what I’m doing here and would like to help support the writer? Hit my Ko-Fi link HERE. If not, that’s ok too. 😉

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and will see you in the next post!

Bubble – Family – Some Motivation

/ ccsocialcreative / 2 Comments
Photo credit: Engin_Akyurt on Pixabay

Hey guys, welcome back! I hope everyone is enjoying their Summer, or whatever season you are celebrating this time of the year. I’m personally looking forward to Christmas in July as Christmas is kind of an obsession of mine. I already checked the schedule of the two classic movie stations we have here and one is doing all holiday movies all day including three versions of A Christmas Carol, so I’m all set. And just to be clear, I don’t do Hallmark movies. I just can’t watch them. I had one slip last season but that’s it. I swear. I’m also appreciating the fact that the 25th is falling on a day when we are expecting 105 degree weather, so you know, there’s that.

Anywhoooooo….I’ve been on a writing roll again. I’ve figured out the best way to progress right now is to pass by the parts I’m having trouble with and keep going with the story. There’s so many scenes I want to get to and the ones giving me issues? Well, I’m going to have to revisit them after the rest is out of my head. Which of course means I’ll have to do a lot of rewriting once I incorporate these things, but that’s the life, right? The rest is flowing a little better than it has been lately and at least that’s something.

I just hit a milestone moment in the book. As it is a romance, there is a little bit of spice to it. I mentioned in a previous post that I had written a scene that was a bit spicier than I had planned (now saved for a possible future book). I did want to have characters share a good moment and I think I was able to nail it…no pun intended. However, there is a voice in the back of my head telling myself to remember to tell any family members who will read this thing to skip over the pages involved. I may be an adult, but every now and then, I freak myself out about what my parents will think. 😂

Speaking of, if you’ve read the post I did about my wanting to use a pen name, I hath cleared it with both mom and dad and they are fully on board. Yay! (You’d never know that I will turn 55 in November. As mentally I will forever be 36.)

So the first hurdle where that is concerned has now been written. I can breathe a sigh of relief that it’s now done as it is quite the pivotal plot point. It may sound benign, but with books out there ranging from deep dark romance with lots of kinks to the mild mention of a chaste kiss, there is a broad range of how romances can go. Again I admit my first go around surprised me as the darker side came out in the first draft of the scene but scaling it back, being a bit more on the romantic side, I think I hit the nail on the head. This is a book that also deals with a bit of a serious issue and one that needed to be worked through. Remember, not every romance is a Hallmark movie. Some do deal with real life issues that need to be out there for awareness and as I have tried to keep 90% of this on the lighter, funnier side, life is not always light and funny. There’s always that 10% lurking in the shadows that we all have to deal with.

Because I have been writing for hours and hours for days on end, I’ve created my own little bubble for myself. I live a very Groundhog Day life. I pretty much do the exact same thing over and over, the only real differences are what book I’m reading and what new scenes I’m typing out. I hardly know what friends are talking about when they say the’ve seen this or that on Netflix these days. Although I did finally see a documentary I’ve been waiting to see and have another in my watchlist on Prime. I am also an insane Yankees fan and do make sure to catch all the night games. (I say insane because we all have to be insane to keep up with the team these days, but third generation fan here so I shall suffer until the next ring is won. #fireBoone)

I know many may see my life as boring but I’m actually pretty happy. Considering I can’t do much with my illnesses and live on my bed with the rare day out at a bookstore or the always ‘exciting’ trip to cvs to grab prescriptions, I’ve managed to run two (struggling) businesses, write one full book and 3/4 of this new one as well as reading like I’ve never read before.  Do I miss my old life? Going out every night with friends, having fun and knowing everyone on my favorite street? (The one with the bars.) Of course I do. That being said, all those nights out, all those people I’ve met and those who are still in my circle? Alllll fodder for characters. My first book that I do hope I will get back to editing after this one is completed, is my tribute to them. Almost all characters are somehow based on my friends, either with names, characteristics or both. This new book may have some basis on those I know, or on myself in some ways, I’m just thankful I have this outlet to create a place that gives me an escape to go to and relive what it was like to be out and about. To be able to walk down the street and see folks I know, sit and have a drink with them or even get some advice from the friendly neighborhood bartender.

If we can’t have the life we want, we can create it. Whether if it is making up a story, or actually DOING that which we have wanted to do forever. Want to paint? Do it. Want to sing, go to karaoke and get started or take lessons! Want to run a marahon? Start training! Before I got sick, I once trained for my first 5k (walking, could never run) by starting in my bedroom! Eventually I started walking all over town and by the time the race came around I had gotten my time down from over 23 minutes a mile to 15:20. No matter your goal, it always takes that first step.

And that is where I will leave you for today. Once again I thank you for being here and I hope that my little rambling motivations give you the boost you need or at least a smile. We all need that now and then I’m hoping I can be there for you. 🙂

Hope you will check out the links below and continue to follow me here. Keep having a great Summer and until next time…Cheers!

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If you are new here and confused about what I was talking about with my health, you can check out my ABOUT ME page to learn more. (You can also add three years to it as it will now be 9 years since all of this happened.)

If you like what I’m doing here, I hope you will sign up with your email to get updates on when new posts are made. Look for the subscribe button on the right sidebar (or if on your phone, keep scrolling and you’ll see it below the post.) If you would like to help support the site and would like to send a small tip, you can hit the Ko-Fi button or click HERE to get to my page. 

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I’ve updated the On the Bookshelf 2025 page with more books, so if you are looking for some book recommendations, there’s a nice list for you there.

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To follow me on social, including my #booktok as well as to find my shops, you can find me at: linktr.ee/promosocially

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Thanks so much for being here and if you’ve made it this far? You rock!! See you next time.

Revising, Rethinking and Lots of Rewriting

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Hey guys, welcome back! It’s a dark and stormy night here in New England and that for me means, lots of reading and writing! I love rainy nights, days, weeks, for just this reason. Plus, it holds the oppressive heat at bay so that’s always a bonus.

I’ve been kind of losing my mind lately with the progress of my book. I wrote myself into a hole of crap that I now am trying to fix. If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that this current novel that I have been working on has been really flowing. I was on a role writing a chapter a night and the story has been going great. And then…

I hit a chapter with a pivotal plot point. One that is taking much more research than I thought it would. As I’m working on that, there is another aspect that I also need to do some follow up on and in the meantime, the rest of the story wants to come out! Yes folks, I’ve hit that point where I yell at my screen at least once an evening now.

I’ve rewritten full chapters, cutting scenes that I really thought would work but now see that they would be better in future pages. Lots of cutting and pasting to rework what’s already been written which, by the way, is another reason why I save each chapter separately. This way I can rework them individually without having to scroll through the entire manuscript. Still, it’s been hard to change what I thought were great pages.

Like others who write, this book has become such a part of me. I dream about it. I work scenes in my head like a movie and even as I talk to people, the next chapter is playing out in my mind over and over again until I can get it written. I feel like I owe it to these characters to give them my best and damned if I’m not going to give it to them!

Is this a public pep talk to myself? Maybe. But when it’s now been months and reams of paper have been printed with chapter after edited chapter, I need to keep myself on track. I lost several days of writing last week when I was stuck, blocked and basically up against a wall. Plus, I was reading a book that I never wanted to put down and once it was over, it stuck with me deeply and I couldn’t get my own story back in my head for two days. So here I am, putting this out there…all creatives will get to this point. That time where there is a pause in the flow of our work. Where there will be a blip in how we think and a time where we constantly curse at ourselves while we try to get it back.

For me, stepping back last week was good. I had been taking the book in the wrong direction. Not saying it wouldn’t have worked the way it was going, but it wasn’t where I wanted this story to go. It was like writing an alternative universe for these characters. Sure it would have been a bit spicier, but I’m writing a romcom not a Fifty Shades kind of book and that’s when I knew stepping back was needed. (However, if I do decide to write something steamier in the future? I’ve kept those scenes in another document, just in case. Throw nothing away.)

Maybe the Summer is affecting me, who knows. As I sit here and type this, waiting for Fall and my first PSL of the season, my characters are trying to keep me in the moment. It’s really a good thing I have no life or else this wouldn’t get written at all! 😂

Anywhoo, this is where I’m going to leave you for today. I hope this resonates with you on some level. If it doesn’t, that means I’m just losing it. But hey, thank you for letting me lose it here! 

Until next time…keep enjoying your Summers!

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For my socials, including my new #booktok you can find all of my links: 

linktr.ee/promosocially

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To read one of the best books I’ve ever written, The Things We Left Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros: click HERE

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I’m happy to announce that I’m now a PangoBooks ambassador! Use my link to get $5 off of your your first purchase and get some great books at super low prices! My first order with them, I found two brand new books for less than $1.50 each! Click my link to get started: https://pangobooks.com/NEWCHAPTERCOVE

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If you’ve gotten this far, thanks so much. You guys rock!! 🙂