by J.M. Phillippe Last night I had the great joy of helping take over Creative Colloquy in Tacoma, Washington’s monthly open mic night with fellow Blue Zephyr Press authors Bethany Maines and Karen Harris Tully in order to celebrate the release of our newest collaborative effort, Galactic Dreams Volume 2. I struggle a lot with […]
by J.M. Phillippe There is nothing quite like seeing your book in print for the first time. I adore eBooks, and am just as thrilled when someone buys a digital version of my books as when they buy a print one, but actually seeing my books in print does something to me that seeing it […]
by J.M. Phillippe In October of 2018, some friends of mine and I met up at a shelter on the Upper East Side in Manhattan to look at cats. The giant, brand new ASPCA shelter was closed down for reasons the website wasn’t sharing, so we were at another city shelter — along with everyone […]
by J.M. Phillippe Every year when the holidays come, I have to brace myself. I know that as the decorations go up and the celebrations begin, my frustration tolerance will shrink, my patience get strained. The stress of the holidays will feel heavy on me, not just because of all the prep I have to […]
by J.M. Phillippe There are a few things that mark the Christmas season for me. The first, of course, is finally getting up the decorations. To make that easier, I invested in a decent fake tree a few years back, which means I don’t have to worry about how to get a tree home (after […]
by J.M. Phillippe Back in July, I wrote about my struggle to step out of my comfort zone and take a risk on a holiday-themed story. I really pushed myself to get this out on time, and am very grateful to all the folks who supported me while I did so. I have never had […]
by J.M. Phillippe I have this thing where I use story telling to help my clients understand growth. It’s a pretty simple formula, I say. All character growth comes from the resolution of conflict. In every life, there is a before, a status quo, or where things are at the beginning. And then something happens, […]
by J.M. Phillippe Anger, they say, is a secondary emotion. I use this a lot when meeting with clinical clients. I tell them that we need to look beyond their anger, find the source. Only then can they hope to work through their anger, manage it better. As we continue to celebrate our updated logo […]
by J.M. Phillippe This month we at the Stiletto Gang are celebrating the return of our (new and improved) red stiletto shoe by sharing our thoughts and feelings about shoes, stilettos, and what it’s been like to be part of this particular gang. I have never been a high-heels girl. I own a few pairs, […]
by J.M. Phillippe Summer has never been my favorite time of year, as I am not someone that does well in the heat (and the summers keep getting hotter). But I am also working on several projects at once…and struggling. My progress has been slow, my motivating waning, and my desire to just get to […]