Today I finally dropped my baby boy off at daycare for his first full day. I meant to do so months ago, but circumstances had other ideas. But every time I got frustrated with my lack of work time, I’d snuggle my baby in my arms and remember this post I wrote back when my now-four-year-old was the baby in … More Dreams Persist
Okay. Now that we’ve covered the very first step, Logistics, it’s time to talk branding. And these days, you can’t talk branding without talking social media. As I detailed in Step 1, it’s best to register yourself as a self-publishing company that’s publishing your book. The same reasoning goes for social media. Make profiles for your … More Self Publishing and Branding
In this week’s installment of book progress: building a beta reader dream team. What is a beta reader? A person who reads a book before publication and offers feedback. Although beta readers can be professional editors or writers, they don’t need to be. More importantly… Pick someone who is: 1. Interested in your project, whether as a friend, … More Building a Beta Reader Dream Team
My husband introduced me to this phrase. His step-father (that’s him to the left) used to tell him, “Do something, even if it’s wrong.” And that confounded him as a kid. As ridiculous as it might seem at first (of course, you shouldn’t do horrible mean things just for the sake of doing them–that would … More Do Something, Even If It’s Wrong
How do you prioritize between outside needs and internal inspiration? Well, to start with, you need to get back to the basics of the word need. For instance for the past three years, on top of my monetary and motherly contributions to my family, I felt I needed to blog 2-3 times a week, all … More How Do You Prioritize?
This baby is officially due Wednesday—if I haven’t had it already. You see, you’re reading this today, but I’m writing it a week early… just in case. I wanted to let you to know that I’m going away for a little while, at least digitally. You’ll still see the occasional updates from me on Facebook, … More Maternity Leave
It’s not often that I recommend a book so unilaterally. Frankly, I don’t recommend most books I enjoy because they’re usually too far in the realm of classic on the one end or fantasy on the other. Not true with The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Whether you’re man or woman, adventure lover or philosopher, page … More The Goldfinch
Sometimes in life, you just need to stop and ask the universe for directions. That’s what I did, going into my recent trip to Hawaii with my husband and daughter. After years devoted to (and struggling with) two kids’ books near and dear to my heart, I left it up to vacation to provide some meditation … More Directions
Lately, many people have asked me: So… what about that kids’ book you were going to write? Well, it’s already written. In fact, several are in the works, but two are in the final polishing stages:
I was having one of those crazy motherhood-freelancing-husband working late shifts-holiday season-pregnancy weeks that makes me wonder, “Why am I voluntarily adding blogging on top of all this again…?” Then I received an email from the universe. Or more, specifically, an email from a very thoughtful stranger named Jill, who unknowingly knew just what I needed … More Connect
My Castle Heart Publications 