Category: books

Book Review: Pieces that Fit

by Karen, posted in author, books, Brave books, education, family, Life's too short to read bad books, writing

Pieces That Fit: A Mother’s Journey Through Her Son’s Puzzling Diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome by Karen Pieces That Fit coverMacNeill is an important book for anyone to read that has, or wonders what it is like to have, a child with different needs in the school system. I found it to be immediately relatable. There are so many passages that could be a page out of my own life, from sitting at the IEP table (p 25. ‘…the process is exhausting…’) to putting undeserved trust in educators who ultimately proved unworthy of that trust. I also love that Chandler and his family found their way with the help of some wonderful teachers and other professionals who were committed to his growth and well-being, both at school and long-term.

This book also reveals how important it is for parents to take nothing for granted and to be strong advocates for their children. The hope is that as the child gets older and witnesses his or her parents modeling this behavior at IEP meetings and elsewhere, they will learn to advocate for themselves, which Chandler has clearly done well. Yay, Karen and Jim! Writing honestly about your real life experience is a difficult and brave thing to do. Bottom line: Read this book!

After you read this book, read my book! One Brave Thing

May is Lupus Awareness Month!

by Karen, posted in author, books, family, friends

May is Lupus Awareness Month!

lupus awareness month

In honor of my niece Lauren, 100% of the profits from One Brave Thing for May will be donated to help find a cure for Lupus! Spread the word!

 

https://www.facebook.com/k.m.creamer.author/?fref=nf

Tell two friends…updated!

by Karen, posted in author, books, writing

I have set a goal to sell at least 1000 copies of my book, ONE BRAVE THING, by my birthday (May 28th). I am open to suggestions on how to accomplish this (please leave your comments below!).
I have one idea that I got from the shampoo commercial (see above video!)…if you have read my book and liked it, please ‘tell two friends’. Hopefully they will also tell two friends, and so on, and so on… 🙂
how amazon reviews help authors
Also, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com. Getting at least 20-25 reviews helps boost the visibility of my book A LOT! I am currently at 14. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS ALREADY WRITTEN A REVIEW! It is very much appreciated!!

 

 

My slip is showing

by Karen, posted in books, no fear, quest for the best, Someone's gotta say it, writing

I have recently become aware of some minor formatting issues with my book, which I will be addressing in the next printing.

😀

Wasn’t that mature of me? An amazingly calm reaction, since my inner critic and inner perfectionist are usually hard at work full-time, preventing me from letting anyone see my fiction writing, never mind noticing that, hello? It’s not perfect. Indeed, they worked quite successfully in tandem to prevent me from publishing One Brave Thing… for years.

After I first published it, I had this nagging feeling of…I don’t know. Something. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Until one day, suddenly, I could: I felt like my slip was showing!  When you put your art of any kind out into the world, you are taking a risk. You are revealing parts of yourself that you have never before revealed. People will tell you what they think of your efforts. Some will not convey this information in a nice way at all. But some will do it in such an amazingly caring, wonderful, loving, joyful way that it will make you want to weep.

The latter more than outweighs the former.

I have found these words (I am paraphrasing Jack Canfield here):

  Some people will say yes, and others will say no. So what.

Maybe there are times when you are feeling imperfect, too.  Here’s a motivational audio by David McGraw based on Jack Canfield’s Success Principles that I love. Maybe you will, too!


So thank you to my friend, Kathy, who did One Brave Thing and let me know that I had a tiny bit of spinach in my teeth. And for now, my first book shall remain perfect in its imperfection.

Like me. 🙂

 

Poetic license, people! Heard of it?

by Karen, posted in author, books, quest for the best, The write words at the write time, writing

writers thesaurusI have been reading and reviewing books for years.

Years.

I haven’t loved all of them, but with only one (to my knowledge) notable exception*, I was not ever unkind to the author in my review. If I liked or loved a book, I said so. If I didn’t, then I moved on. Just because it wasn’t for me didn’t mean it was okay to ruin it for anybody else.

So, I was not prepared to deal with the negative feedback I got about one word that I chose to use in my book, One Brave Thing: ‘fleusy’. The first objection was to my repeating the word. Repetition is a tool that I use in my writing. I like to have my characters repeat words for emphasis. I am fairly sure that I am not the first writer in history to use this technique.

The second objection was to how I chose to spell ‘fleusy’. She wanted me to spell it ‘floozy’. I thought about spelling it that way, but I didn’t like how much it reminded me of ‘boozy’, so I decided to spell it differently. ‘Fleusy’ reminded me of ‘fleur‘ and I liked that better.

Hello? I am a wordsmith. If a word doesn’t work for me in my writing, then I change it up or make up a new word, if necessary, to get the feel that I want.

So, shut up. I can.

*The notable exception: Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper. I wasn’t critical of her actual writing. I just hated how she chose to end the book. Just an artistic difference of opinion.

My first radio interview at Elemental Energies with Chris Ann

by Karen, posted in author, books, local fun, Meditation, Metaphysical healing, my one word, no fear

I had the good luck to be Chris Ann’s Radio adguest on her live radio talk show last night on unitedpaganradio.net (WUPR). What a great experience! Chris Ann made me at home from the moment I entered her studio. We talked about my book and my other writings and doings.

We also discussed ways of manifesting things that you want in your life.  I mentioned different methods I had tried over the years on my path to publishing my book, like making vision boards, meditating, creative visualization. A big one that I forgot to say was MIND MAPPING. I will talk more about this in a separate post.

I was shocked to hear how many listeners we had! There were 20,089 listeners in 129 countries. What the whaaaaatttt??? Isn’t that amazing? 🙂

If you missed the show, you can listen to it here: https://soundcloud.com/karen-maffeo-creamer/k-m-creamer-one-brave-thing-interview-with-chris-ann

I’m happy to share that my book One Brave Thing is now available at Chris Ann’s store, Elemental Energies with Chris Ann and Jeff, 27 North Berwick Road in Wells, ME! Stop in and buy one! While you’re there, pick up a crystal or two, just because!

My first book signing

by Karen, posted in author, books, writing

I found out at the last minute New England Authors Expo having an author event last Friday night. Fortunately, it wasn’t too late to participate! I had fun and met some very nice people!

Izzy and Me at NE Authors Expo

I brought my books and my daughter came to help me.

Highlights:

  1. One woman said my book is “exactly the kind of book she loves to read” (unfortunately, she said she had already spent all her money before she got to my table! Oh well. Maybe she’ll buy it on Amazon. Maybe you will too! Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/One-Brave-Thing-K…/dp/1523347899)
  2.  I got to see how the more experienced authors set up their tables and how they talked to the customers. I got to talk to other self published authors about their process compared to my own.
  3. I also tested out my second (not yet published) book’s title out and got some great responses.
  4. Everyone loves chocolate. 🙂
Overall, a wonderful way to have spent a Friday night!
My book is also available in Maine at Annie’s Book Stop in Wells, Nonesuch Books in Biddeford, Longfellow Books in Portland. In New Hampshire you can find it at RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth by 3/25/16.

My book is published! (part 3)

by Karen, posted in author, books, writing

longfellowYes! My book One Brave Thing is now available at Longfellow Books in Portland, Maine! YAY!

Please share this link with your friends!

My book is also available at Annie’s Book Stop in Wells and Nonesuch Books in Biddeford.

My book is published! (part 2)

by Karen, posted in author, books, friends, local fun, no fear

It’s been a busy week! I was at Will’s Copy Center yesterday, ordering some bookmarks (Maine NonesuchAuthor!!) and flyers and such, when I ran into my friend, Denise. She was saying that it must be hard, putting the book out into the world. I said, “Yes! Thank you for validating that! It’s terrifying!”

This is true.

But what I wish I had also said was, “But it’s also a lifelong dream come true! I’m so happy!”

Because this is also true.

What helps in both cases is this: all of the people who have messaged me to say that they loved my book and (even though they were busy) they read it in two days, and oh, when will my next book be out?

Today I was lucky enough to learn that Nonesuch Books in Biddeford, Maine will be selling my books!

See? It’s just getting better and better!

Book Review: SARK has a new book: Succulent Wild Love

by Karen, posted in author, books, family, Life's too short to read bad books, no fear, relationships, writing

I am writing today about the new book SUCCULENT WILD  LOVE by SARK and Dr John Waddell.

Succulent Wild LoveSARK’s books are lovely, bold, and vibrant celebrations, and this collaboration is no different. It’s as visually gorgeous, vibrant, and engaging as all of her prior offerings.  In the past, she has written about being soulfully single and marrying herself, but in this book SARK is happily coupled. So happily coupled that she wants to share her ‘joyfull-ness’ with us (I am a wordsmith myself, so I especially appreciate SARK’s reconfiguration of words to suit her purposes).

SARK and John share six habits, which I think of as tools, to help us reach this joy-full state with our own partners. Because, as SARK tells us on page 25, “You can do what I have done.” 

One of these is our Inner Wise Self. You know those voices you hear in the back of your head, chatting away all day long, mostly telling us untrue and unkind things about ourselves? Those are NOT your Inner Wise Self. They are your Inner Critics. But our Inner Wise Self is in there too! She is patiently waiting to muscle those other chuckleheads out of the way.  

  • Hello, Inner Wise Self? HI! Long time no hear! It sure has been a while!
  • Um, oh, you’ve been here all the time? Duh. Time to start listening, huh?

Because you can consult your Inner Wise Self about anything. And everything. Can and should. You will receive loving, kind advice when you do. Let yourself listen to it. Let yourself act on it. Even if it’s scary. Especially when it’s scary.

Another of the six valuable tools they teach in this book is the one I’ve come to think of as the “Perfect Person” tool. John tells us on page 155, “Susan was being the perfect Susan, and any way that I was not able to see that was my responsibility.” Wait, what? Your partner is already perfect? So they do not need any fixing? So they do not need any fixing! They are already just fine! You are free! You can work on yourself, instead! As excellent this tool is to use in a relationship with your partner, I think it is equally as powerful, maybe even more so, to use in relationship with one’s children. Try it. Let me know what you think.

I have so little free time. I don’t waste it reading (or recommending) books that are not worth reading. This book is WONDER-FULLY worth reading!

If you are interested in buying this book, here’s a link to the product page on the New World Library website: http://bit.ly/1WdRY6c.  You can also find it Succulent Wild Love on Amazon.

Enjoy!