Tag: author

The secret to writing (the draft of) your book in 30 days–

by Karen, posted in books, NaNoWriMo, writing

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) starts November 1, as it does every year.

This will be my TENTH NaNoWriMo!

Three of the books I wrote during National Novel Writing Month are published!
Three of the books I wrote during National Novel Writing Month are published!

In a nutshell, NaNoWriMo is when you commit to writing 50,000 words in 30 days, the minimum words needed to be considered a novel (according to the Powers That Be in NaNoLand).

Every year that I participate, I finish with at least 50K words.

Believe me, this is something that you can do, too.

Have you been telling yourself, “I have no time! There’s no way I can do this!”? Clearly, if you have not yet written your book, then this method is not working for you. What would happen if you start asking yourself, “How can I make this work?”

Here is my Super Secret Formula for how to do it:

1. Decide to write your book (draft) in 30 days this November.

2. Do it!

Keep this quote in mind: What you seek is seeking you. ~Rumi

Want help? Check out my online course (at the special price of $47 until 11.1.19–usually $97!) for how to do this: Write the First Draft of Your Book in 30 Days!

The BRAVE Interview #22 May 2018: Melanie Delorme

by Karen, posted in Being BRAVE, books, Brave books, Catching women being brave, Clarity, comfort, family, Interviews, relationships, The BRAVE Interviews

Welcome to this month’s BRAVE Interview with Melanie Delorme!

I am a teacher, a wife, a mother, an author who was given the role of bereaved mom in 2008 when my 8-year-old son, Garrett, was accidentally shot and killed in a hunting accident.

It would have been so easy to allow this horrific experience to define me as a grief-stricken mom for the rest of my life. I’m not sure how long it took me to realize that Garrett deserved a better legacy than that.

I also realized that healing and moving forward was my choice.

I try to choose every day to celebrate Garrett’s life and to remember that knowing him for eight years made me a better person.

I spent a lot of time writing in a journal during the first few years after Garrett’s death. I have since turned my writing into a book and published it. It is entitled, After the Flowers Die: A Handbook of Heartache, Hope and Healing After Losing a Child. I do not want any bereaved parent to ever feel alone.  I have recently created a website, promoted my book at book signings, participated in my first TV interview, participated in a live grief webinar. Currently I am working on creating a journaling course for grieving parents.

When I think about the word Brave, I realize that sometimes bravery is simply getting out of bed and facing the world every day.

Sometimes bravery feels more like survival. While I don’t feel brave every day, I will continue to choose to move forward keeping my son’s memory alive through my writing and speaking.

My website: www.MelanieDelorme.com

My book on Amazon:  After the Flowers Die: A Handbook of Heartache, Hope and Healing After Losing a Child

 

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Melanie!

Read the other BRAVE Interviews here: The BRAVE Interviews

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE INTERVIEWED FOR THIS SERIES ABOUT SOMETHING BRAVE YOU HAVE DONE IN YOUR OWN LIFE, SEND ME AN EMAIL HERE: karen@karencreamer.com

The BRAVE Interview #20 March 2018: Crissy Maier

by Karen, posted in author, Being BRAVE, Catching women being brave, Interviews, no fear, The BRAVE Interviews, Travel

Here is this month’s BRAVE Interview with Crissy Maier!

  1. WHO are you? Someone who overcomes challenges. Whether it’s my cleft lip and palate, my learning disability, my struggles through the police academy, other health issues, problems at work – I’m not defined by any of them, but rather by my ability to integrate the lessons I’ve learned and to find ways to overcome the next challenge I will face.
  2. WHAT is your One Brave Thing? Sometimes I wonder if I’ve done it yet. I seem to have succeeded at everything I’ve tried, or at least not failed miserably. I might need to try something harder to really be brave. But when thinking about this question, I’m reminded of my first trip to Europe. I arrived in London, almost got lost going to my hotel even though I had step by step instructions. The next day I got on a hop on and off bus and at the stop in Trafalgar Square I wanted to get off the bus, but I was afraid of getting off the bus. In some ways it was an insignificant moment, but it’s a moment that I’ve reminded myself of many, many times. It’s a moment that inspired an entire chapter of my book.  It took a minute or two to talk myself into it, but I got off the bus at Trafalgar Square. I didn’t venture too far away from the bus stop, but I broke a barrier of fear. I traveled through Europe for two weeks before returning to London. When I did, I was a completely different person, I was taking the Tube to sites that I didn’t know how to get to and navigating the streets of London like I would the streets at home. It’s one of those rare opportunities in life when I got to see how much I had changed in a short period of time. When I’m afraid of something, I often think back to that experience.
  3. WHEN did you do it? That was in 2005
  4. WHERE did it occur? London and Europe
  5. HOW and WHY did you make it happen? The woman who stepped off the plane in London in 2005 was ready for adventure, to see the world. But she was afraid of the unknown, of getting lost. But she was more afraid of missing out, or being a “failure.” When fear holds us back, sometimes we need to break down what the fear is, and what the realistic ‘bad’ outcome is. When we think of it logically, it’s usually not nearly as bad as it seems. It’s not always easy to do, it takes time and discipline. More importantly though, I think knowing why you want to do something, and the cost of not doing it, can be enough to give you the discipline needed to overcome the fear you have. If I wasn’t committed to seeing London (in one day), then maybe I wouldn’t have gotten off the bus and found out that it’s not so scary to face your fear.

Thank you so much for sharing your brave story with us, Crissy!

Check out Crissy Maier’s book, Blue Sky Morning  

Read the other BRAVE interviews here: https://kwrites.com/?s=The+BRAVE+Interview

If YOU would like to be interviewed for this series about something brave you have done in your own life, send me an email here: kmcwrites@gmail.com

 

BOOK REVIEW: The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

by Karen, posted in author, book reviews, books, love and marriage

I loved this book The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty.
It’s about husbands and wives and mothers and daughters and sisters and any practically any other relationships you can think of, including one’s relationship with oneself. Boom.

Real, messy, honest relationships.

One note: Pay attention at the beginning of the book because you will be introduced to several characters and you don’t want to be distracted or multitasking and get confused.

Like I did. 

No problem, though. I just referred to the drawing at the beginning of the book and it straightened me right out.

The best quote from the book is on page 128, a wife thinking about her husband:

“She’d hated him for a while over that. Really hated him. But then she just got tired of hating him and started loving him again. It was easier.”

This book has a twist at the end that I never saw coming. Totally worth reading. I had a hard time putting it down once I started reading it. I had the characters dancing around in my head at the oddest moments.

And is one of the marks of a truly great book?

Get it here: The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty. I highly recommend this book and any of her other books (I wrote about one of them  in the past, What Alice Forgot.

The BRAVE Interview #17 December 2017: Amy B. Wells RN

by Karen, posted in author, Being BRAVE, books, Brave books, Catching women being brave, Interviews, The BRAVE Interviews

This month’s interview is with Amy B. Wells, RN!

I am an author and nurse anesthetist.

I’ve had many phases in my life. I was an accountant for a long time (hated it with a passion). I stayed at home with my children for about five years, then went to nursing school when I was in my late thirties. After that, I worked in the ICU for three years before going to anesthesia school. I’ve been a nurse anesthetist for a little over six years. I am married with two teenagers and a grumpy old tom cat and currently live in the suburbs of Houston.

My latest endeavor is writing. I’ve self-published four novels and I have started blogging on my website https://amywellspublishing.com/

WHAT is your One Brave Thing?  Many people might think the bravest thing I’ve done is attending nursing school or working in the ICU and or going to anesthesia school all at an older age while raising two young children, but the bravest thing I’ve done is to publish these novels.

It took me a long time to work up the nerve to publish them. I’ve always been rather introverted. Publishing and writing a blog has meant exposing myself to others. I might as well be naked! Most things I’ve done have been planned and controlled rather than creative or artistic.

WHEN did you do it? I wrote my novels over a period of about five years, but never was brave enough to put them out there.

When my fiftieth birthday approached, I decided it was now or never.

Time is marching on, I told myself!

I self-published my first book on my fiftieth birthday (this year)! Eeek! I can’t believe I’m fifty! How is that possible?

Then I wondered why the heck I waited so long! Not long after, I published the other three. I’ve gotten nothing but support and enthusiasm from those around me.

I’ve met numerous new friends both on social media and in writer’s associations I’ve joined. A whole new world has been opened to me. I had no idea how many nurses and other great people are writing just like I am!

Now, I’m in the process of rewriting them, coming up with new covers and a relaunch next year, hopefully to sell my books to a wider audience, and I am writing a fifth novel and have plans for more. It’s so much fun!

WHERE did it occur? The great thing about self-publishing is you can do it from anywhere you have an internet connection. I wrote and published from my arm-chair.

HOW did you make it happen? Lots and lots of screen time with hands on keyboard. I was obsessed with my books and I still am. I love thinking up new books; coming up with ideas is never a problem. Execution, on the other hand, is more difficult. I credit the discipline of anesthesia school and nursing school for teaching me how to be dedicated to a goal.

For me the first stage in writing a novel is to develop my main characters, which so far have been nurses because I think nurses make perfect protagonists. They are strong-willed, funny, caring and dedicated with lots of interesting quirks thrown in. And the situations they get involved in make for great stories.

After coming up with my protagonist and an alpha hero (I’m a sucker for romance and love to include it in my books) I then think of the worst possible thing that could happen to the protagonist. This is the “dark moment.” This is when the reader thinks the protagonist can’t possibly be saved and the reader wonders how it will all end. And then, the protagonist finds a way to save herself. In my books, I want the heroine to be responsible for solving the problem and saving herself even though I have a strong hero, too.

I then think of an inciting incident, the event that starts the story and several tension-building incidents until I hit that dark moment. From there I build the rest of my tale. Sometimes I get stuck and go around in circles, but that’s part of the process.

I’m still learning about the craft of writing and marketing fiction. It’s a never-ending learning process, but I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.

WHY did you do it? I’ve always been an avid reader of fiction and dabbled in writing over the years although I also love sciences and nursing. Giving anesthesia is a technical job, although there is an art to it, but I find writing provides a creative outlet that I don’t get in the operating room.

When you create fiction, you are responsible for the interactions of your characters and what happens to them.

I love being immersed in a book and even more so being immersed in creating one. I find I grow quite attached to my characters and miss them when I finish a novel. Sometimes I want to write a sequel just so I can see them again.

You can click on the image to find them on Amazon. You can also go to my website to click through to Nook, Apple and other distributors.

https://amywellspublishing.com/

Read the other BRAVE interviews here: https://kwrites.com/?s=The+BRAVE+Interview

If YOU would like to be interviewed for this series about something brave you have done in your own life, email me at kmcwrites@gmail.com!

My novel is the pick for this month’s GET ARTSY BOOK CLUB!

by Karen, posted in author, books, Brave books

I am excited to announce that my novel One Brave Thing has been chosen as the next book for the ‘Get Artsy Book Club’! 

I have been a member of this book club as a reader for a few months now. I was drawn to the ‘Get Artsy Book Club’ because, well, I love books! More than that, the name of Allyson’s business, Determined to Shine, also resonated with me. I have been telling myself to ‘shine’ a lot recently, so the word caught my eye right away. I took it as a sign that this was something that would benefit me, and I am so glad that I did! I love the books we have read so far.

Reading the books and doing the projects as part of the ‘Get Artsy Book Club‘ have helped me gain new insight and inspiration in my own life.

I also have discovered a new art form – artist trading cards – and they are so much fun to make! Allyson gives clear, step by step video directions that make it easy to create these unique and fun art forms.

So again, I am very excited that my book, One Brave Thing, was chosen as the next book for the ‘Get Artsy Book Club‘ to read! If you have already read (or want to read!) my novel and would like to participate in this unique book club this month, click here to sign up. You can sign up for one month for $15, or multiple months for a discounted price. NOTE: This is Allyson’s book club and all the information about the club and pricing is on her website.

Included in the book club are questions for reflection based on the book, art projects (easy! you can do them!), and a live book chat together online.

So I hope you’ll sign up for the club this month and join me in reading the book, making some art and some new friends, and discussing the themes of One Brave Thing together!

Need to get the book? Click on the title to order your copy of One Brave Thing!

Thank you! Please share this post with anyone you think would be interested! I look forward to discussing the book and creating with you!

 

The BRAVE Interview #15 October 2017: Allyson Bright

by Karen, posted in author, Being BRAVE, books, Catching women being brave, Clarity, Interviews, no fear, online courses, relationships, The BRAVE Interviews

This month, we are meeting Allyson Bright!

 

  1. WHO are you? I’m 36. An artist, a woman in love, a widow, a crafter, a teacher, and a seeker of joy. I live in Wisconsin with my boyfriend, TJ, and my Beagle, Gracie.
  1. WHAT is your One Brave Thing?  It’s hard to pick just one – honestly, it’s been a journey. I was 32 when my husband died by suicide. After that, I found that I had to face new fears and learn how to create a new life for myself.About nine months after he passed, I went away for a week by myself. I was having trouble trusting my own decisions and I knew I needed to leave my comfort zone in order to move forward. The trip was transformational and ultimately led to my decision to leave my home in Iowa and move to Wisconsin for a fresh start.  Art journaling and crafting were such a vital part of my healing process, and I really wanted to share that with others. My ultimate brave thing was to leave my day job in order to start a business teaching art classes and offering coaching services. 
  1. WHEN did you do it? I started my company, Determined to Shine, about 18 months ago. It’s been a bit of a crazy journey, to be sure. But without a doubt, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.
  1. WHERE did it occur? Right here in Madison, Wisconsin.
  1. HOW did you make it happen? One step at a time! Determined to Shine has grown into so much – weekend retreats, several online workshops, and even one-on-one coaching services. Sometimes it can seem like all of that happened at once, but it’s been a gradual process. For those looking to make a career change – don’t let the size of the task overwhelm you! Pick apart each task into small chunks, and just get started.
  1. WHY did you do it? The idea for Determined to Shine had been in my mind for several years. Ultimately, I realized I was just going to have to take a leap and be willing to fail. I didn’t want to wake up in three more years and still be talking about it. Taking that leap was terrifying, and I had to build my plan along the way. But everything that’s worth anything is scary. Determined to Shine has brought so much joy into my life and the lives of others – I can’t imagine what life would be like if I hadn’t done that one brave thing. 

Thank you, Allyson, for sharing your brave story with us!

Allyson is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Scrapbook Projects Illustrated.

You can find Allyson’s FREE online class here: 30 days of Art Journaling. I have taken this class myself and I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend all of Allyson’s classes. Find them all here: http://www.determinedtoshine.net/

Check out Allyson’s online book club: Get Artsy Book Club

Click here to find out more (act fast! It’s almost time for this!) about Allyson’s Determined to Shine Fall Retreat!

Read the other BRAVE interviews here: https://kwrites.com/?s=The+BRAVE+Interview

If YOU would like to be interviewed for this series about something brave you have done in your life, email me at kmcwrites@gmail.com!

NaNoWriMo is coming and announcing a new course

by Karen, posted in author, Clarity, education, NaNoWriMo, NaNoWriMo, online courses, writing

October 1st! You know what that means? That there’s only 1 more month before National Novel Writing Month begins!

Are you planning to participate this year? I will be. This will be NaNo number 8 for me. I have completed the 50,000 words to win every year since 2010, and I expect this year to be no different.

Maybe you would like to win NaNo, too!

My online course just launched, How to Win NaNoWriMo. These are my strategies that I use to make sure I fit my 50,000 words into 30 days. I do things differently now than I did when I was a NaNo fledgling back in 2010.

Maybe these tips will help you, too!

I wanted to be an author for years and years. I wrote drafts and partial drafts and outlines and overviews but never turned anything into a completed draft of a book.

And then I found National Novel Writing Month.

It turned out that structure is my friend! The NaNo structure helped me get it done. The first drafts of both of my novels came from National Novel Writing Month.

All the details are here: How to Win NaNoWriMo.

Whether you want to take the course or not, I would still love to know if you are a NaNoWriMo-er. Comment below if you are! What year(s) did  you win?

BOOK REVIEW: Informed Consent: Critical Truths Essential to Your Health and to the Health of Future Generations by Michele Stanford, M.Ed., CHC

by Karen, posted in author, Being BRAVE, book reviews, books, Brave books, Catching women being brave, Clarity, health, no fear, writing

I began to read Michele’s story and as a woman, my heart was filled with compassion and empathy for her and the situation she was in. As an RN, my heart was filled with rage for how this patient was treated by her physician! Michele was not defined by her circumstances, however. Rather, she decided to educate herself and therein lay her power, and now she is offering to share her results with all of us.

One quote resonated with me very early in the book, as the author described her experience with “continual roller coaster ride courtesy of allopathic medicine,” perfectly capturing what can happen if you are not empowered with the information you need to evaluate medical information and make good, informed health care choices for yourself and your loved ones.

Many other sentences speak to my own beliefs. On page 92: “The pharmaceutical industry is not interested in your health.”  Truer words have never been spoken. Also, on page 108: “The corruption at the CDC runs deep and wide and the health of the American public is not the sole priority, or even a priority at all.”

The chapters dealing with the pharmaceutical industry and vaccines will provide you with especially valuable information.

I highly recommend this book. Buy it here: Informed Consent

Spoiler alert: Cheez-its lovers, you are about to have your heart broken. J

 

Michele Stanford, M.Ed., CHC#InformedConsentTheBook

The BRAVE Interview #13 August 2017: Jennifer Davies

by Karen, posted in books, The BRAVE Interviews, writing

Please enjoy this month’s interview with Jennifer Davies!

INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone, I’m thrilled to be here as a featured guest in the Brave series. Thank you Karen for inviting me! A few facts about me; my name is Jennifer Davies, and I’m a fifty something mom with four boys, two cats, a dog, and a husband in tow. I have been married for twenty-one years this August to my best friend and strongest supporter. I’m originally from Wales in the UK which is why I have a funny accent, but I now reside on the East Coast of America in New England.

I have lived in North Andover for the past 14 years, and it’s a perfect distance from the city of Boston, the coast, and the mountains which I love. Living in New England has been a huge source of inspiration for me, but I find inspiration from many avenues, my family, my life, traveling and my persistence to keep writing. As a result, I always have ideas for future books.

I’m a former registered nurse/midwife. I am always battling my weight, but as I’m addicted to chocolate, it’s not a fight I will win anytime soon. I adore Grey’s Anatomy. I love yard sales and get excited at the purchase of old furniture that I can recycle. My goal is to be a NY Times best seller—one day!

MY BRAVE STORY

Well, it’s actually hard to choose which piece of my life to reveal that would showcase something BRAVE that I have done! I believe to be BRAVE you have to face something that is painful, fearful or difficult, and my life has contained many instances that would fit that definition.

Most recently, the one I still process is the loss of my mother. Even now, six months later I miss her. My mom, lived with Alzheimer’s, and had for the past almost five years. Living overseas made it difficult to provide the care I wished to, but in the early stages I could help by having mum visit through the summer and stay for several weeks at a time. As the disease progressed, even that wasn’t an option. Feeling frustrated and needing to do something, I started a support page on-line called ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT, which still provides help to those going through the painful and heartbreaking experience.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/291824310860629/
In December 2016, my mother entered full-time nursing care and shortly after her renal disease deteriorated to the point that we knew we were entering the final stages of her life. At Christmas, my wish and prayer was to be able to care for mum in her final days. God answered in a strange way that enabled me to spend four weeks with my mum in the UK until her passing on the 29th January. Even now, I have tears as I write this because knowing your loved one is dying is devastating no matter the age or the situation. Being a former nurse, I knew what to expect to a degree, but I wasn’t prepared for the emotional trauma and loss as I watched my mum slip away.
The memories of her final four weeks are ingrained on my brain, good and bad. I remember the days that she slept, and we weren’t sure if she would make it through the next twenty-four hours, to standing next to her in the make-shift church singing hymns in shock at her complete turnaround, to holding her hand as she took her last breath. Those final hours were heartbreaking, and I have no regrets. In life, mum had always been there for me, and this was the least I could do no matter how hard or painful it was to ensure she wasn’t alone as she made her final journey onward to my dad.

All through the night there was a panic that I wouldn’t be able to face the end that I wouldn’t be able to find the words of comfort as her condition changed. In the early hours when the built up fluids became noisy, “death rattle” I lost it. Tears poured, and an overwhelming sense of panic and futility washed over me. I wanted to leave, but as I watched mum, I couldn’t let her down. I needed to be strong and to be there for her right until the end. I hated the thought of her being alone, and now, it gives me comfort to know she was surrounded by love, and her death was peaceful. My mum enjoyed a long and happy life, she was a brave woman loved by all her daughters and grandchildren. She is missed every day.

MY LIFE

My mum was always a strong supporter of my dreams to become a romance author, and her encouragement kept me going. I’m now a multi-genre author, and I’ve been writing full-time for the last eight years.  Every good and bad moment of my life has helped shape me as a writer. Throughout my life, I have always been an avid reader, and from that stemmed the desire to create my own stories.

My Latest Release THE WITCH’S HEART is the second book in the Rise of Orion series.

I love to hear from readers and these are the ways you can contact me…

FB Author page https://www.facebook.com/Jennifer-Owen-Davies-YA-J-M-Davies-Adult-1421409368089313/

Website            http://www.jenniferowendavies.com/
Email                 Jendaviesuk@gmail.com
Twitter              https://twitter.com/jendaviesuk
Instagram        Jengal124
Blog                  https://welshjensblog.blogspot.com

Thank you, Jennifer!!

Read the other BRAVE interviews here: https://kwrites.com/?s=The+BRAVE+Interview

If you would like to be interviewed for this series about something brave you have done in your life, email me at kmcwrites@gmail.com!