Celebrate The Act of Gratitude
July 12, 2022 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby, WritingAs we celebrate the Declaration of Independence this month, I wanted to share parts of a magazine article I wrote a few years back about freedom and the act of gratitude. I love reminders to be grateful in amongst the chaos of life. Including all the pieces that go with a writing career. I hope that it can be a source of encouragement to you. This was originally printed in WestCoast Magazine in July 2019. I’ve made some adjustments to fit a blog post rather than an article.
Another form of freedom we can celebrate is the act of gratitude. Google defines gratitude as “the quality of being thankful; the readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” Wikipedia’s page takes it one step further and states; “Gratitude has been said to have one of the strongest links with mental health of any character trait. Grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed, and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships.”
I don’t know about you, but I would like to live a happier, less stressed life.
We Can Show Gratitude With Words
Say ‘thank you’. It doesn’t matter how big or small the act is, saying these two words makes a difference. A quick email reply with the words thank you. If someone holds open the door, hands you something, pays you a compliment, or when the server delivers your food, just say thank you. It matters.
Write a note. Send a note to someone for whom you are grateful and tell them why. In my research I learned psychologists use this technique to help people with their overall mental health. Even just thinking or writing about someone you are grateful for can help.
Start a Gratitude Journal. I love to stop and think about what it is around me that I can be thankful for. It’s amazing the little things you will notice when you do this. Sometimes we are so caught up in our to-do list, we don’t stop to appreciate what is going on around us. Like the baby birds chirping, or the sun shining so that the flowers will open and bloom. If writing in a journal seems a bit overwhelming, another option is to write out three-five things you are thankful for at the end of the each day.
We Can Show Gratitude With Our Attitude
Change your perspective. Even in the mundane and ordinary parts of our life we can find ways to be grateful. I have to remind myself when the piles of mount clothesmore scream for attention, to say thanks for the clothes I have while I fold laundry. In the hurriedness of getting dinner on the table, I remind myself to say thanks for the options of what to put on the table, a table to sit at, and that it’s not the only meal for the day. When I get stopped at yet another red light, I stop and refocus my thoughts to be grateful for the vehicle I drive and the ability to be able to travel from one place to another. These small things are what life is all about. Being grateful for even the stressful stuff will help us deal with it better.
We Can Show Gratitude With Our Actions
Be kind. Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Hold open the door, place flags on a cemetery grave, smile and say hi to a stranger. Celebrate someone else’s success, say a kind word, be encouraging in all your Facebook comments, offer to help, give compliments, and refuse to gossip. And don’t forget to be kind to yourself too.
Show grace. Grace means different things to people, but the dictionary’s definition is “goodwill” and synonyms include the terms tenderness, compassion, generosity, and kindness. None of us are perfect and we will make mistakes. Forgiveness, patience, understanding, or even just a hug to let someone know you care, can go a long way.
This year, as we celebrate our nations birthday, let us all show a little more gratitude toward others and ourselves.
Happy Birthday America!
As I write this, I want to show my own acts of gratitude with saying thank you to my fellow writers. The love and support from the writers in the writing groups I belong to is wonderful and something I appreciate. We don’t always get to interact live with one another, but sharing blog posts, emails, and everything in between has a huge impact in encouraging me to keep going. So thank you! I wouldn’t be here without you.
Mothers and Daughters theme for my next Paris WW2 novel… how the dynamic shapes us growing up by Jina Bacarr
July 11, 2022 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as daughters, historical fiction, Mothers, Paris, women's fiction
When I was a little girl about six, I lived with my Irish grandmother when my mom was away doing amazing things… I thought she was a princess doing good deeds because I heard from my grandmum about the ‘people she helped’ and saw her wearing beautiful dresses in the pictures she brought home.
Ah, yes… my grandmum loved to spin stories about how my mom was the spitting image of her grandmother, an English lady of the realm who fell in love with an Irish rogue and ran away from home with him.
My mother was a model.
The people she ‘helped’ were the ladies in the audience.
And the dresses I saw were designs she wore for shows.
And the part about English royalty? My grandmum swore it was true, her eyes sparkling as she mixed up Irish potato pancakes (boxty, my favorites) and I believed it.
Because what little girl doesn’t want to believe her mom is a royal lady?
I still don’t know if the story is true, though my Great-Aunt Marie swore it was… and since she was a pious lady who lived her life as a lay sister among the nuns, who’s going to dispute it?
So what does this have to do with my upcoming Paris WW2 book?
It’s about the dynamics of how we see our mothers and how it shapes us growing up. My mum taught me to be a ‘lady’ and look for the good in everyone and never be selfish if we had extra cake or leftover pot roast and share it with someone who needed it. Since Mom was a great cook, she never lacked for takers.
My mom became the inspiration for the German girl’s ‘Mutti’ in my story. Kindness, understanding… and also the model for the American heiress’s mom… Philadelphia society with an Irish lineage.
Mothers and Daughters… a quilt rich with history and ideas… highs and lows… sorrows and sighs. But in the end, they’re our mothers and God bless them.
Jina —————–
Mom and me
————–
My next Paris WW2 book will be released in Fall 2022. More info coming!
Till then…
check out my Paris WW2 novels:
Paris 1940
The Lost Girl in Paris
My heroine, Angeline de Cadieux, is a Roma girl in WW2 Paris… she’s strong, fights in the Resistance… makes exquisite perfumes and comes up with an amazing marketing campaign during the war to boost morale in France.
Thank you!
The Resistance Girl
Juliana discovers her grandmamma was a famous French film star in Occupied Paris & her shocking secret…
CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08DNDHDG4
AU https://amazon.com.au/dp/B08DNDHDG4
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Linda O. Johnston Featured Author of the Month
July 7, 2022 by Linda O. Johnston in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as cozy mysteries, Dogs!, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O Johnston, mysteries, romance'
Linda O. Johnston enjoys writing, romance, puzzles, and dogs.
A former lawyer, Linda is now a full-time writer and has published 57 books so far, including mysteries and romantic novels. She has written several cozy mystery series including the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries and Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink, and the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries and Pet Rescue Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. She also writes romances for Harlequin, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Writing as Lark O. Jensen, her latest release is Bear Witness from Crooked Lane Books. No matter what name she uses, nearly all Linda’s current stories involve dogs!
In addition to blogging for A Slice of Orange on the 6th of every month, Linda blogs at Killer Hobbies, Killer Characters, and Writerspace. Linda was interviewed by Jann Ryan, you can read all about it in Linda O. Johnston—Mysteries, Romantic Suspense and So Much More!
Linda enjoys hearing from readers. Visit her website at www.LindaOJohnston.com or friend her on Facebook.
A Few of Linda’s Many Books
I Am Honored by Linda O. Johnston
July 6, 2022 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Author of the Month, Cozy mystery, Linda O. Johnston, romantic suspense
I am A Slice of Orange Author of the Month this month… and I feel honored.
It’s always such a delight to be recognized!
Yes, I’ve been at this for a while. As mentioned, I’ve had 57 books traditionally published, mostly romantic suspense and mystery. And I’m still going!
Also, I checked my list of blog posts for A Slice of Orange, and if I’m correct my first one was in 2007, fifteen years ago! And I still enjoy it.
So thank you all so much for having me here and reading my posts and seeing my comments about the joy and complications of writing, as well as my take on all the writing I’ve been up to for now, and for a while before.
Yay, A Slice of Orange!
A Few of Linda’s Books
Mid Year Goal Check
July 5, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as #NewRelease, goals, Marketing, Tracy Reed
Happy July and belated Fourth of July. I almost forgot I needed to write a post for today. It’s not an excuse, but a reason. My family was hit with an emergency medical issue with my dad. For the past couple of months our schedules were interrupted. During this period I had a release I couldn’t push back.
I had a plan for how I was going to promote this book, but that never really happened…not fully. With all that was going on in my personal life, I found myself second guessing a few things. How to promote a book in a series when it ends on a cliff? How much should you spend on advertising? What about the cover…is it too racy? And let’s not forget my editor hit me with a major curve.
What was my plan? Run Facebook, BookBub, AMS and newsletter ads. I never got new FB ads up. I turned the AMS off. I’m on the fence about AMS ads. Personally, I think they are more effective for Kindle exclusive authors. I’m wide and I don’t experience the returns Kindle exclusives receive. I did run a BookBub ad which produced wide sales. I never set up newsletter ads.
I hear you saying, “It only takes a few minutes to set up ads.” You’re right, but when you’re juggling unexpected doctors appointments, tests and eventually surgery, ads and writing are the last things on your mind. I was grateful to God, the book was finished and edited. I reached out to a couple of authors for advice on marketing which helped alleviate some anxiety.
So what did I do? I had this book up on preorder for a few months and for the record, these were the most preorders to date in my writing career. I reached out to my author and blogger community for swaps and posts. I ran book one in a free giveaway to draw attention to the series (this really works…this is going to be a part of my release plan). I posted to my socials as well. I ran BookBub ads for the free book one.
How did I do? This was my second release this year. I released part four earlier this year which doubled the sales of book three which was released last year. This release has been out three weeks and so far it has out performed book four in the series.
Did I hit my sales goal? No. But some amazing things did happen.
First sale on Google Play
First preorders on Kobo
Kobo Sales have already surpassed last year’s sales
Most preorders to date in writing career
Preorder for book six (which only has one chapter so far)
Gained new readers and increased read-thru in the series
Best release sales to date
What did I learn with this release? Trust God. I’m not preaching, but being honest. The only way this release did well was because I asked God to help me. I was close to stress mode. The other thing I learned was Pre-Release Prep. There are things I can do now even though the book isn’t complete. I have a cover, but I can create the graphics and blurbs now. I already have the book on preorder and as soon as it’s complete, I’ll set it up at Amazon.
The other Pre-Release Prep I’ve done is hired some help. I realized I needed some help. If I’d had help I would have been able to implement more promotion things and done even better. My PA is already setting up swaps for me.
I’m also going to use some advice I received for the last release which I wasn’t able to, because book one was too small. Apply for a BookBub Featured Deal. There’s a lead-in book which meets the BB requirements. Here’s a tip…if you’re doing a series, try to write book one to the BookBub Featured deal requirement. If not, create a box set which can be a series starter. I’ve already added create a box set for The Good Girl series so I can apply for a BB Featured Deal for Book Six.
Let’s do a quick check on my goals for the year.
Here’s my updated goals list:
Get my letters
Triple my income
Triple my mailing list – Working on this. Added approximately 400 new subscribers so far
Master Facebook ads – I made a change last month to how much I spend and it’s paying off. Last month, I scaled back to one ad and it’s paid off. This one ad for a first in series free has led to sales of the books in two of my other series. I’m going to ride this strategy for a little while before scaling up.
Update covers – 13 covers in total to update. 8 completed.
Learn how to write a sellable blurb
Use Ingram Spark – Launching first books this month
Direct distribution – I started with Nook. So far, it’s worked out. Considering selling ebooks direct from my website.
Increase BookBub US Followers to 1000 – Added two hundred new US followers.
Increase my prices
Release 3 Books – Two down, one to go. I also added three short stories for anthologies. One is. My first Christmas story.
How are you doing with your goals so far?
Tracy’s Books
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