Tag Archive for: goals

One Word

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by Paula Gail Benson

This year, I received a gift that has me thinking differently about New Year’s resolutions. The gift is a book entitled One Word that Will Change Your Life (Expanded Edition), written by Jon Gordon (a leadership speaker with a training/consulting company), Dan Britton (a speaker, writer, coach, and trainer who serves as the Chief Field Officer with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes), and Jimmy Page (author, speaker, and leadership coach). It was given to me and other members of our church’s congregational council to encourage team spirit and help establish and focus on “relationships” (the word selected for our council members this year).

So, what is the “one word” method? How does it work and how do you determine your word?

The authors explain in the Introduction: “One Word that Will Change Your Life is a proven way to create clarity, passion, power, and life change. Each year, resolutions are rarely kept, and goals are often easily forgotten. But One Word sticks. By living a single word that is meant for you, you’ll find renewed purpose and meaning throughout the year and achieve laserlike focus and power for your life.” (One Word, p. x)

According to the authors, while 87 percent of people make new resolutions and goals each year, 50 percent of those folks keep their resolutions and goals only through January. The authors contend, with resolutions and goals, “[s]uccess is measured by what we accomplish instead of who we become.” (One Word, p. 2) They said, “By embracing, owning, and living a single word for 365 days, our lives changed. Instead of being weighed down with unrealistic resolutions and unmet goals, One Word provides an entirely new perspective on how we approach our year. It frees us up. One Word gives us renewed purpose and meaning.” (pp. 5-6)

The authors recommend a three-step process for finding your word: (1) prepare your heart by removing yourself from “busyness” and contemplating in “silence”; (2) ask God what word is right for you and listen for an answer; and (3) keep your mind on the word as you face life and consider how its perspective changes how you view and react to events.

You can start the process at any time and concentrate on a single word for any amount of time you choose, but don’t repeat a word—select a new one for the year or time-period.

The book itself takes about 49 minutes to read. It is available in audio format. At the end of the book is an “action plan” that provides questions and exercises to help discover your word and think about how to use it. Also, there is a website: GetOneWord.com, and X and Facebook accounts.

In addition, these authors have collaborated on a One Word book for children and a book called Life Word, about finding your passion and creating a legacy.

If you went with a single word instead of a list of resolutions or goals, what would your word be?

photo of champagne glasses and 2024 numerals

Doing More of What Works

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by Sparkle Abbey

Wish for it, hope for it, dream of it

Happy New Year from us to you! Since it’s the beginning of a new year everyone’s talking about resolutions or goals. It appears that there’s a bit of a divide on whether New Year’s resolutions are considered a good thing or not anymore.

On the one hand the beginning of a new year seems like the perfect time to take stock and see how you’re doing. It’s a fresh start, a clean slate, and perhaps good time to set some goals. Or at least establish some better habits.

A recent Forbes article states that according to their survey 62% of us feel pressured to set a new year’s resolution. With 87% feeling optimistic about keeping it throughout the year. Most goals revolve around improved fitness, finance, or mental health. In the writing community, we find that there are usually similar goals being made around writing, publishing, and reading.

We’re big fans of goals and in previous years we’ve shared our views on making your goals specific and measureable. As well as on planning your path to reach them and tracking your progress.

This year we’re taking a little bit different approach and the simple version of what we’re doing is focusing on what’s working and doing more of that. A recent read “Getting More of What You Want” by Margaret Neale and Thomas Lys focuses on the latest advances in psychology and economics to negotiate well. In short, to get what you want. You can read more about that here: Getting More of What You Want by Margaret Neale and Thomas Lys | by Margaret Neale and Thomas Lys

But isn’t achieving your goals really about negotiating with yourself?

Our previous approaches to goal-setting weren’t wrong. SMART goals are smart, right? (The letters stand for: Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Timely.)  But this approach can fall a bit short when you’re reaching for a creative goal. You see, some of those things are outside your control.

Another recent read, “Start More Than You Can Finish” by Becky Blades also provided food for thought. And who can resist a book named MUST READ by the Next Big Idea Club.  An excerpt and more about the book and the Next Big Idea Club here: Start More Than You Can Finish

Because for us this is always an evolving process, where we’ve landed this year on setting goals is this:

  • Make a list of what’s working and figure out a way to do more of that.
  • Make a list of what’s not working and stop doing that.

At its essence, it’s still about defining what you want and planning how you’re going to achieve your goals. But it also acknowledges those things that you’ve accomplished. Things that are going right.  And it also defines what got in your way and how you’re going to eliminate those things. Because maybe the most important thing about achieving your dreams in 2024 is getting started.

What are your thoughts? Do you set goals at the beginning of a new year? Do you pick a word or a thought to focus on for the year? Or are you in the anti-resolution camp?

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

book cover for Desperate HousedogsSparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Ashford and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series set in Laguna Beach. Their series features former Texas beauty queen cousins, Caro, a pet therapist and, Melinda, a pet boutique owner. The most recent installments (book nine) BARKING WITH THE STARS and  (book ten) THE DOGFATHER continue Caro and Mel’s murder-solving adventures. And PROJECT DOGWAY is a short that brings the cousins together – sort of.

But here’s some great news, if you’ve not yet started the series (or would like to share the series with a friend) the first book, DESPERATE HOUSEDOGS, is currently on sale for 99 cents in all ebook formats!

Find it at your favorite place to buy books! 

July 2023 Summertime in Southern Colorado By Juliana Cha Cha de Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico de la cruz Aragón Fatula

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Dear Reader,

This is the story that I want to write and read. Something no one else can write. Only I can tell this story. It is my story about two talented Chicanas from Pueblo, Colorado who solve crimes and mysteries and run Emma’s Recovery House for women and children. L.A. and Eva Mondragón Private Investigators and social activists in Denver, Colorado honoring their mother by helping the unfortunate. There but for the grace of God, go I.

Summertime and living is easy. The tide has finally rolled out and we are beginning to enjoy the peace, quiet, and solitude of retirement and our golden years.

I’ve been working since I was twelve years old. My first job, babysitting, taught me how to take care of a baby, my nephew.

My second job, I was fifteen and pregnant, taught me how to clean and scrub toilets at the beauty shop owned by the only Latina beautician in town, Dee. She gave me my first office cleaning job.

Eventually, I gained employment scrubbing the toilets of the local doctors, lawyers, judges, and politicians. Their houses never seemed dirty to me, but I dusted, swept, vacuumed, mopped, and cleaned windows and bathrooms.

My mother cleaned houses, but she also ironed and washed the clothes of her employers and they gave my mom their children’s hand-me-downs and toys. Even though we were poor, we dressed nice and had great toys, bikes, sleds, skateboards, Suzy Easy Bake Oven…

The rich loved my mom’s cooking. She made the best tamales in the county. They gave her their children’s possessions as they outgrew them. We in turn gave our clothes and toys to the white family down the block because they were even poorer than we were in our family.

Mom and Dad taught us never to make fun of those poor white kids who wore our hand-me-downs. Our parents taught us respect, morals, ethics, honesty, kindness, and generosity, and gave us unconditional love. (Don’t know how I turned out semi-normal).

I worked through the summer of 1972 and by the fall, my friends had returned to high school sophomore year. I left my small hometown in Southern Colorado and moved to San Francisco, California.

The culture shock was minimal but the homesickness was maximum. I missed my family and my friends but not my hometown. I was thrilled to be living in the Bay area and enjoyed my fifteenth birthday, my boyfriend, and my baby boy. I had no clue what I was doing.

My California romance ended, and I returned to Colorado and my parents. I returned to my hometown high school and found my next job at the communication monopoly known then as Mountain Bell.

At sixteen I was the first person of color in my hometown to work at a major corporation like Mt. Bell as a telephone operator. Thanks to the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and Family Planning I was able to rent an apartment, buy a car, and support myself and my son and get healthcare for us. Mt. Bell also hired the first male telephone operator in the county. He happened to be gay but was closeted in our small, town of 99.99% Caucasian in 1973.

I celebrated my eighteenth birthday in the ICU in the hospital in my hometown after nearly bleeding to death in the ER restroom. I had an ectopic pregnancy that burst when I was packing to move to Denver. I lost my left ovary and fallopian tube and lived to tell the story.

I transferred to Denver and left my hometown. I was a customer service representative for Mt. Bell in their downtown Denver high-rise. I met people from all walks of life and became part of a diverse community. I loved living in Denver. I transferred several times to better-paying jobs and climbed the corporate ladder. I learned job skills and networked with coworkers from around the country.

I never gave up on my dream of graduating from college. I made my goal of a degree in English and Creative Writing a priority in my life. Eventually, I earned several degrees and my teaching certificate.

When my Dad died, I returned to my hometown to be near my mother in her golden years. I was hired by the school district and taught in the same building I had attended in my freshman year of high school.

I had come full circle, but I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted to push myself. I challenged myself to write and get published. The year I graduated, Conundrum Press published  my first book of poetry, Crazy Chicana in Catholic City, a year later my second book of poetry, Red Canyon Falling on Churches, was published.

I graduated with honors from CSU Pueblo in 2008 at 50 years old, published two poetry books and a chapbook, The Road I Ride Bleeds, and decided to challenge myself to write my first novel.

I’ve always loved the mystery genre. I naturally chose to write a love story mystery. I don’t want to write a good novel. I want to write a great novel. I joined several national writing groups and networked with writers, editors, journalists, and publishers. I read books on writing by the masters: Stephen King, Ernest Hemmingway, Linda Rodriquez, etc.

I set my self-imposed deadline of July 15, 2023, to finish revising my m.s. I’ve been writing this novel off and on for five years. Stopping when life gets too crazy and starting again when I figure out how to survive the global pandemic, my son’s drug addiction, his heart attack, his stroke, his brain damage, and his death at fifty.

In December of 2022, my husband and I both had covid and weeks of illness. Then came the death threat to my husband by my nephew and the subpoena to testify against him in court.

One day I shook off all of the pain and grief and went back to work on my novel and worked harder than I ever had before. I realized with my son’s death at only fifty years of age that I could die at any minute from anything and needed to complete my book, publish my book, and then I could die, but not until then. I added to my bucket list: publish a great mystery love story and spread my message of diversity, inclusivity, peace, love, and understanding and do it with a sense of humor and dun dun dun, mystery.

Today I’m chilling. I’m waiting for feedback from my editor and her critique for revisions and submitting my novel. I truly have hopes of submitting to all the Latinx/Chicanx publishers. There are few but they do exist, and I want to start with them first. It also is important to me to submit with an LGBTQ publisher because many of my characters are lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and queer and have important messages to teach about being marginalized.

Many of the women characters in my novel living at Emma’s Recovery House are recovering drug addicts, alcoholics, inmates, human trafficking victims, runaways, abused, confused, and used women looking for a new life, a new start, a fresh chance to survive in a world gone crazy. They have been judged, mistreated, abandoned, beaten, and ignored as worthy human beings with something to contribute to society. I want to tell their stories of wicked warrior women with survivor attitudes and joyful spirits.

How to Meet Those Yearly Goals Everyone is Talking About

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by Sparkle Abbey

We love the fresh start of a new year! With 2020 in the rear-view mirror, a fresh start has never felt more important than it does right now. We are strong believers that our present path doesn’t have to determine our final destination but can represent where we started. And we’re starting with a clear vision of what we want out of 2021.

For those of you who have followed us, you know we LOVE to set goals. Not just writing goals, but spiritual, health, personal, financial, and career goals, too. We’ve talked about the importance of setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) in the past, so this time we’d like to share some tips that help us keep on track with achieving our goals. Because honestly, setting the goal is the easy part. Following through is a challenge.

 1.       Write Them Down

We do mean, write. There’s something to be said
about handwriting your goals that helps you visualize what you want to accomplish.
And if you’re like us, without writing them down, you’re bound to forget by the
end of the month. When you see those goals in writing it helps you focus. There’s
a fascinating article about the
psychology of writing down goals that explain the relationship between writing
down goals and achieving them better than we can. Take a quick minute and check
it out.

2.      
Tell Someone

It’s all about accountability. Share your goals with
someone. We all need a cheerleader in our corner to motivate us to keep going
when we’re tired or discouraged.

3.      
Do Something Every Day

You’ve heard the saying before, “How do you eat an
elephant? One bite at a time.” It’s similar to meeting your goal. You meet goals
by taking one step at a time. For a financial goal, that can be as simple as
putting $1 a day into an envelope, or instead of buying that latte, Venmo that money
to your savings account. If it’s a fitness goal, schedule a twenty-minute
meeting with yourself to take a walk. You get the idea.

4.      
Accept That You Will Have A Setback

Hey, life happens. All you have to do is remember 2020.
Enough said. When you have a setback, readjust and don’t feel guilty about it. The time you spend feeling guilty is time you could have spent towards reaching
your goal.

5.      
Check-in

Remember when we said to tell someone? This is where you check-in
with that person or persons and hold yourself accountable. What did you do to
get yourself closer to your goal? What worked? What didn’t? Maybe they can
offer some advice if what you’re doing isn’t working the way you had
envisioned.

6.      
Celebrate Your Successes

When you reach that goal, make sure you take the time to
celebrate. Rewards, big or small, will help you stick to your goals. Pro tip:
don’t let the reward set you back from meeting other goals. If you’re trying to
improve your fitness and diet, don’t celebrate your new promotion or
outstanding book sales on a couple of margaritas. Maybe have a vodka with club
soda and a squeeze of lime. Just sayin’.

We hope these tips work for you. Now go forth and conquer 2021. We believe in you!


Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Ashford and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series. They are friends as well as neighbors so they often get together and plot ways to commit murder. (But don’t tell the other neighbors.) 

They love to hear from readers and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, their favorite social media sites. Also, if you want to make sure you get updates, sign up for their newsletter via the SparkleAbbey.com website.

Follow Your Bliss

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By Cathy Perkins 
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you
where there were only walls.” Joseph Campbell
I’ve
been trying to finish an amateur sleuth mystery (the next Holly Price story) but another story keeps nagging at me. It’s one I’ve picked up and put
down about a dozen times; changed the focus; the motivation; everything except
the central characters and the theme.
I’m
not sure why that book keeps pulling me back. Maybe it comes from the idea that
each one of us has something special to contribute—maybe work we feel compelled
to do. By doing it, we feel fulfilled and enrich the world. Joseph Campbell
talks about finding your own path (“If you can see your path laid out in front
of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with
every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.”). 

How do you find that path?
Some refer to it as following your bliss. Others say, find your heart’s
passion.

But
is that passion the broader goal or a kernel that embodies it?

For
many of us on this blog, our passion is writing. Taking intuitions, snippets,
dreams and moments of pure fantasy imagination. Adding overheard conversations,
glimpses of a vignette as we pass by. Grabbing that nebulous possibility, and
shaping and turning into a polished story. Is writing the passion we want to
share with the world? Or is it a particular theme or story that we feel we have
to tell to reach that bliss?

I
really have no idea, so I keep putting one foot in front of the other and
step-by-step find my path.
Right now, that path is
strolling along with a forensic accountant who’s trying to find her own path through life…
You might hear a bit more about her later. But as much fun as
the amateur sleuth story is to write, that other story is still there, a siren song.
Even if we take the steps
to become an author, maybe we chose a certain path because we fear the stories
we want to write won’t sell. We love chic lit or romantic mysteries or literary
stories where the characters rule and the words flow to a different rhythm, but
we read online, hear from editors, agents, creative writing texts that D, all
the above are passé. We’re tempted to follow trends rather than listen to the
story inside us. I think most of us have cleared that hurdle, but the doubt is
always there–should I have chosen a different path? 
Overall, I’m happy with my
path to “here.” Sure, there have been highs and lows, joys and
regrets. I’m happy our paths crossed, here on the blog, at various publishers, conferences, or any of the other places we’ve connected. I hope my passion for writing lives
on and that I can share my joy and make a small corner of the worlds a better
place. 

And in the meanwhile, I
think my other story is still growing—or growing up—quietly evolving in my
subconscious. I have many books still to write.
But I suspect “that story”
will one day be the one I have to tell.
What about you?
 “As you go the way of life,
You will see a great chasm.
Jump.
It is not as wide as you
think.” 
― Joseph
Campbell

An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.  Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook 

Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.

She’s hard at work on sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, which was recently presented with the Claymore Award. 

New Year Promises

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by Sparkle Abbey

Happy New Year from us to you! Since it’s the beginning of a new year everyone’s talking about resolutions. We’d have to say it appears that there’s a bit of a divide on whether they’re a good thing or not.

On the one hand the beginning of a new year seems like the perfect time to take stock and see how you’re doing. It’s a fresh start, a clean slate, and perhaps good time to set some goals.

But according to U.S. News and World Report 80% of New Year’s Resolutions fail by February. Wow. We’re optimists but even we realize those are really terrible odds. We can see why this January some are just saying “no” to resolutions.

Psychology Today recently published an article on the Four Common Reasons Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail. The article is a great read, so please check out the whole thing, but in short the main reason we fail is that our goals aren’t clear. That makes sense to us. The best type of goal is a very specific one. We’ve all heard of SMART goals, right? The letters stand for: Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Timely.

Turns out the research mentioned in the article covers some of the other parts of the SMART acronym. Another piece of the puzzle is that change is hard and we don’t always take the time to figure out the best path. So maybe rather than just jumping in, we should figure out where we’re going and understand that slow and steady (and one track) can win the race.

Another point made in the article is that it’s easy to get discouraged and so we need to look at whether our goals are realistic. As we go forward we may need to make adjustments. We love this recent blog Practical Resolutions by Hank Phillippi Ryan at Career Authors. Hank’s advice involves Writing (a lot), reading (a lot), and also things like listening, respect, patience, perseverance, and getting better.

When it comes down to it, that last one is really what it’s all about, isn’t it? Getting better. So, whether your goals involve writing more, reading more, eating healthier, or getting more exercise, you can always get better. And you can start on January 1st or some random Tuesday in May. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you start!

We like to write our goals down as a reminder of what we’re focusing on. And we enjoy working with SMART goals, but like everything else you have to figure out what works for you. We’re all made differently and motivated differently. Some people, like our friend Holly Jacobs, picks a word for the year. We love that idea! Check out Holly’s Word for 2019.

What are your thoughts? Do you set goals at the beginning of a new year? Do you pick a word or a thought to focus on for the year? Or are you in the anti-resolution camp? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series set in Laguna Beach. Their series features  former Texas beauty queen cousins, Caro, a pet therapist and, Melinda, a pet boutique owner. The most recent installments (book nine) BARKING WITH THE STARS and  (book ten) THE DOGFATHER continue Caro and Mel’s murder-solving adventures.

But here’s some great news, if you’ve not yet started the series (or would like to share the series with a friend) the first book, DESPERATE HOUSEDOGS, is currently on sale for 99 cents in all ebook formats!
Amazon

Find Your Purpose in Life

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Do you have a sense of purpose?

A friend invited me to hear a presentation by
a local historian. At the end of their speech, she turned to me and said, “This
is their passion. I wish I knew what mine was.”

That comment stuck with me as I move into a
new stage of my life. What is my passion? Where do I find purpose in life? For
years, I’ve found purpose in my professional life and through the charitable
organizations I’ve supported with my time and money. Now, I’m reexamining these
activities, searching for that greater sense of purpose.


For decades, psychologists have studied how
long-term, meaningful goals develop over the span of our lives. The goals that
foster a sense of purpose are ones that can potentially change the lives of
other people, from launching an organization, researching disease, to teaching
kids to read.


A sense of purpose appears to have evolved in
humans so we can accomplish big things together—which may be why it’s linked to
better physical and mental health.
Purpose is adaptive, in an evolutionary sense. It helps both
individuals and the species survive.


Many seem to believe that purpose arises from
your special gifts and sets you apart from other people—but that’s only part of
the truth. It also grows from our connection to others, which is why a crisis
of purpose is often a symptom of isolation. Once you find your path, you’ll
almost certainly find others—a community—traveling along with you, hoping to
reach the same destination.

Here are six ways to overcome isolation and
discover your purpose in life.

1.
Read

Reading connects us to people we’ll never
know, across time and space—an experience that, research says, is linked to a
sense of meaning and purpose. (Note: “Meaning” and “purpose” are linked but
separate social-scientific constructs. Purpose is a part of meaning; meaning is
a much broader concept that usually also includes value, efficacy, and
self-worth.)

“Reading fiction might allow adolescents to
reason about the whole lives of characters, giving them specific insight into
an entire lifespan without having to have fully lived most of their own lives,”
Raymond A. Mar suggests. By seeing purpose in the lives of other people, teens
are more likely to see it in their own lives. In this sense, purpose is an act
of the imagination.


Find books that matter to you—and they might
help you to see what matters in your own life.

2.
Turn hurts into healing for others

Of course, finding purpose is not just an
intellectual pursuit; it’s something we need to feel. That’s why it can grow
out of suffering, both our own and others’.


Kezia Willingham was raised in poverty in
Corvallis, Oregon, her family riven by domestic violence. “No one at school
intervened or helped or supported my mother, myself, or my brother when I was
growing up poor, ashamed, and sure that my existence was a mistake,” she says.
“I was running the streets, skipping school, having sex with strangers, and
abusing every drug I could get my hands on.”
When she was 16, Kezia enrolled at an alternative
high school that “led me to believe I had options and a path out of poverty.”
She made her way to college and was especially “drawn to the kids with
‘issues’”—kids like the one she had once been. She says:


“I want the kids out there who grew up like me,
to know they have futures ahead of them. I want them to know they are smart,
even if they may not meet state academic standards. I want them to know that
they are just as good and valuable as any other human who happens to be born
into more privileged circumstances. Because they are. And there are so damn
many messages telling them otherwise.”

3.
Cultivate awe, gratitude, and altruism

Certain emotions and behaviors that
promote health and well-being can also foster a sense of
purpose—specifically, awe, gratitude, and altruism.


Studies conducted
by the Greater Good Science Center have shown that the experience of awe makes
us feel connected to something larger than
ourselves—and so can provide the emotional foundation for
a sense of purpose. Of course, awe all by itself won’t give you a purpose in
life. It’s not enough to just feel like you’re a small part of something big;
you also need to feel driven to make a positive impact on the world. That’s
where gratitude and generosity come into play.


With gratitude, children and adults who are
able to count their blessings are much more likely to try to contribute to the
world beyond themselves. This is probably because, if we can see how others
make our world a better place, we’ll be more motivated to give something back.


Here we arrive at altruism. There’s little
question, that helping others is associated with
a meaningful, purposeful life. People who engage in altruistic behaviors, like
volunteering or donating money, tend to have a greater sense of purpose in
their lives.

4.
Listen to what other people appreciate about you

Giving thanks can help you find your purpose.
But you can also find purpose in what people thank you for.


Like Kezia Willingham, Shawn Taylor had a tough childhood—and he was also
drawn to working with kids who had severe behavioral problems. Unlike her,
however, he often felt like the work was a dead-end. “I thought I sucked at my
chosen profession,” he says. Then, one day, a girl he’d worked with five years
before contacted him.


“She detailed how I helped to change her
life,” says Shawn—and she asked him to walk her down the aisle when she got
married. Shawn hadn’t even thought about her, in all that time. “Something
clicked and I knew this was my path. No specifics, but youth work was my purpose.”


Although there is no research that directly
explores how being thanked might fuel a sense of purpose, we do know that
gratitude strengthens relationships—and those are often the source of
our purpose.

5.
Find and build community

We can often find our sense of purpose in the
people around us. In tandem with his reading, Art McGee found purpose—working
for social and racial justice—in “love and respect for my hardworking father,”
he says. “Working people like him deserved so much better.”


Environmental and social-justice organizer
Jodi Sugerman-Brozan feels driven to leave the world in a better place than she
found it. Becoming a mom “strengthened that purpose (it’s going to be their
world, and their kids’ world),” she says. It “definitely influences how I
parent (wanting to raise anti-racist, feminist, radical kids who will want to
continue the fight and be leaders).”


If you’re having trouble remembering your
purpose, take a look at the people around you. What do you have in common with
them? What are they trying to be? What impact do you see them having on the
world? Is that impact a positive one? Can you join with them in making that
impact? What do they need? Can you give it them?


If the answers to those questions don’t
inspire you, then you might need to find a new community—and with that, a new
purpose may come.

6.
Tell your story

Purpose often arises from curiosity about your
own life. What obstacles have you encountered? What strengths helped you to
overcome them? How did other people help you? How did your strengths help make
life better for others? Reading can help you find your purpose—but so can
writing,
“We all have the ability to make a narrative out of our own lives,” says Emily Esfahani Smith, author of the 2017 book The Power of Meaning. “It gives us clarity on our
own lives, how to understand ourselves, and gives us a framework that goes
beyond the day-to-day and basically helps us make sense of our experiences.”


On a final note, I wish I
could take credit for this wonderful advice, but I can’t. This content was
curated by the folks at mindful.org. I suggest you click the link and head
to their site so you can read even more inspiring thoughts on this subject.




Have
you found your passion? What inspires you? 



An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd. 


Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com


She’s hard at work on the next book in the Holly Price series, In It For The Money.

What Can You Do to Help Out Your Favorite Authors?

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by Sparkle Abbey
A portion of this blog was originally published in April of 2013. 

 It’s the beginning of a new year, and most people are making resolutions or setting goals for 2017. We are definitely in the goal setting camp. Setting goals gives us a clearer picture of what we want for the year, or next 3 years. It drives us forward with focus and keeps us organized, and most importantly, keeps us accountable.

 Something else we do each year is to make a concerted effort to support our fellow authors who have new releases. For us that means spreading the word about their awesome books on social media or posting a review. 


As we were discussing our goals for 2017, we thought this would be a great time to remind us all how we can actively support our favorite authors.

Let them know what you think. 

  • Write the author a quick email or letter telling them how much you liked their story. Writing fiction is itself is a solitary pursuit but ultimately we writers put ourselves and our work out there for the world to see. You can’t imagine how much someone taking the time to comment means to us. 

Share via bookstore sites.

Depending on where you buy your books, you can help readers find your favorite authors books by providing quick feedback.

There are a couple of things you can do for the paperback and/or Kindle versions.

    1. “Like” a good review that you agree with.
    2. If you read the book and enjoyed it, post a short (even 1 or 2 sentences) review on either the paperback or Kindle version about specifically what you liked about the book. (One review goes both places, unlike the tags and ‘like’).

There are a couple of things you can do for the paperback and/or Nook versions.

    1. Click that you found a good review “Helpful.”
    2. And again, if you read the book and liked it, post a short (even 1 or 2 sentences) review on either the paperback or Nook version about specifically what you liked about the book. 

If you’re a member of Indie Bound for independent book stores, add your favorite authors’ books to your “Wish List” or your book lists on the Indie Bound website at http://www.indiebound.org/ 

 You can also link to your friends and tell your friends about the books. 

Spread the news via Social Media

Tell your friends about their book. 

  • Share with friends and family via Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, blogs or word-of-mouth.


A sample Tweet might be (This one is more than 140 characters, but Twitter will shorten the link for you): 

 Great fun read: Raiders of the Lost Bark #book #mystery
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/sparkle-abbey 

 or  www.amazon.com/Raiders-Lost-Bark-Pampered-Mysteries/dp/1611946778

 If you’re currently reading the book, you can always tag it as a #FridayReads.
A sample Facebook post could be something as simple as: Check out my friend Sparkle Abbey’s book, Downton Tabby, at your favorite bookstore or visit their website at www.sparkleabbey.com

 If you’re a member of Goodreads, check out your favorite author’s Author Profile and click on “Become a Fan.” For instance our Author Profile page looks like this: Sparkle Abbey: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5283557.Sparkle_Abbey 

 If you’ve read the book, you can also rate the book and add a review. Much like Amazon, you can also “Like” positive reviews

 Another great help is to visit review sites or book-related blogs and comment if you have the time. For instance, we’ve been featured on our very own Dru’s Musings, The Mystery Gazette, Cozy Chicks, and Seekerville.

 Whether you do one thing or all of the above, showing your support and sharing your love of books with others truly makes a difference.
Are there are ways to support your favorite authors that we didn’t mention? Leave a comment and tell us about it!


Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets–Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). If you want to make sure you’re up on all the Sparkle Abbey news, stop by their website and sign up for updates at sparkleabbey.com.

Resolution as Metaphor

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This
year, I made two New Year’s resolutions. The first was to carry only the
essentials in my purse.
I’m
a person who delights in handbags. In particular, I like to carry totes, which
accommodate lots of extra stuff. As a result, my shoulder and back are
constantly aching from the weight I carry.
Hence,
this year, I determined to lighten my load.
My
second resolution was to drink more water. Perhaps part of this resolution came
from the fact that I had the flu the last week of the year, and discovered the
keys to getting better were taking the antibiotic, getting lots of rest, and
keeping hydrated.
Liquids
are very comforting when your throat is sore and nothing tastes good. They’re
both filling and moisturizing, two very satisfying feelings associated with a
comfortable, healthy lifestyle.

At
some point during my recovery, I read in a writing craft book that characters
should be viewed as metaphors rather than people. Interesting concept. Rather
like the passion plays from the medieval times where audiences were encouraged
to associate characters with good or evil.
It
made me wonder if resolutions should be viewed as metaphors instead goals. Is a
resolution a plan for action or a reflection of what you think about yourself?
What
does it say about me that I want to carry less around and concentrate on
drinking enough fluids? Are those signals that I want to shed
unnecessary baggage and focus on keeping refreshed and vital?
How
do those resolutions relate to my writing?
If
you travel only with the essentials, you’re not overwhelmed with personal
objects. You can watch what’s around you and enjoy new experiences. And if you
keep hydrated, you have what’s essential to life. You are, in fact, embracing
what makes up most of a human body (50 to 75 percent) and of the environment
(about 71 percent of the earth’s surface and about a trace to 4 percent of the
atmosphere).
Lightness
and water are two ideas associated with movement and flow. They enable the
journey and keep the adventurer fueled to seek new possibilities.
So
far this year, I’ve been able to keep my resolutions. My shoulder and back
don’t ache, and I’m rarely thirsty.
I
know it’s hard to stick to resolutions. I’m sure the day’s coming when I slip
that extra book into my tote or stay at the computer too long without taking a
break to fill my glass.
But,
maybe when I stray, remembering how much better I felt when I was following the
resolutions will bring me back to them again. Perhaps I’ll read over some of my
writing from a time I carried only a notebook and pen instead of my iPad or
laptop and wrote at a coffee shop drinking refreshing mint tea. Maybe I’ll
notice the easy movement of my prose when I was less encumbered and better lubricated.
Then, I can sit down at my computer with a full bottle of water, type from my
notes, and feel like I’m making progress.
And,
isn’t that what resolutions are all about? Getting us started going forward
into the New Year?
 
Have
you made any resolutions? If so, what do you think they say about you and your
writing?

New Years Resolutions – Or Not -Part II

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Hi Gang,

It’s been twenty days since the New Year started.  Have you kept to your goals? Are they flexible enough to adjust when things go south? Or when your load gets heavier?

Last post, I talked about my health goals. I lose weight VERY slowly. So who knows where I am today. But even if I’ve fallen, I will get back up because I know I can lose weight with this same program. Eat more fruits and veggies, cut back on calories, and work out more.

Another set of goals I made was around taking more time for myself. I’m the queen of busy. If I can fit in one more blog, or one more chore, that’s one less that I have to do tomorrow. One more lap. Just a little faster. The problem is I can burn out easily if I forget to fill the well.

Around the holiday’s, I took some time off and spent it reading, watching movies, and spending time with my family.  During that respite, I decided one day a week I’d take time off for me. No word count, no editing pages, just re-creation time.

We’ll see how that works.

I’m hoping to carve out more time for baking, quilting, crochet, and, yes, of course, reading. During my vacation I read Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. Loved this character study in the life of an alcoholic. Well, an alcoholic with an ability to talk to spirits, and other cool psychic tools. Great book.

What would you do with a free day once a week? What’s stopping you?

Lynn