Saturday, April 26, 2014

The Ecstasy of Surrender: 12 Surprising Ways Letting Go can Empower Your Life by Judith Orloff, MD

Surrender as a coping technique for life's issues is a thought-provoking premise. Orloff develops it into an insightful approach. She assumes her readers have high intelligence and talks directly to them with respect and forthrightness. This quality makes her an excellent teacher.  Her chapters speak to paths we all follow from time to time in our lives. I took her suggestion to jump around to read the chapters that have greatest relevance.

The chapter on igniting your super senses and particularly the art of reading people encourages the reader to greater sensitivity in relating to other people. She assumes we all have super senses and can develop them if we choose to. I found the surrender test and the chapters on illness and aging equally valuable.

I love to read books with a highlighter. Returning to read the highlights later gives me added dimension. Orloff's book is such a treasure: "Surrender to your intuition: Make space for grace." "...illness is a call for your soul to grow. "...dreams are committed to supporting your well being." "Make your mind a shelter, a safe place to go."

If we learn her techniques we can grow spiritually, have happier more fulfilling lives, and give more meaningful service to mankind. If that possibility intrigues you, I highly recommend The Ecstasy of Surrender as a guide.  You'll be glad you read it.


Friday, January 24, 2014

Resources for Writers

Editing
chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html nonfiction
Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus
mla.org - Modern Language Association style sheet
The Elements of Style by William Strunk
Rules for Writer by Diana Hacker
camlang.com – Cambridge Language of Style
Self-Editing For Fiction Writers: How to edit yourself into print by Renni Browne and Dave King.
Stein on Writing by Sol Stein
The First Five Pages: A writer’s guide to staying out of the rejection pile by Noah Lukeman.
Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript, Edition 2 by Cynthia Laufenberg and the editors of Writer’s Digest Books
The Writer’s Digest Writing Clinic by Joe Feiertag and Mary Cupito

Publishing
AuthorSmart.com – nonfiction publishing
writeandpublishyourbook.com
azbookpub.com – Arizona Book Publishers Association
booksandtales.com/pod/index.php – a guide for Print on Demand
book-publishers-compared.com/ - a good book
parapublishing.com/sites/para/ - information on self-publishing
communicationcreativity.com/index.html – good books

Libraries
Gutenberg.org – free books
ipl.org Internet public library

Legal
publaw.com - articles on copyright and other writing-related law
copyright.gov/Go to Literary Works and follow the directions.

Agents

Technique
How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query & Cover Letters by John Wood
How to Write a Book Proposal by Michael Larsen
The Marshall Plan for Getting Your Novel Published by Evan Marshall
           
writersdigest.com/ - books and articles on writing – good technique books
fwbookstore.com/category/writing - Writer’s Digest books on writing
Writingcareer.com
Moviebytes.com
Internetwritingworkshop.org

Marketing
literarymarketplace.com/ - one week subscriptions online – also in libraries
Radiolocator.com
Newspapers24.com
Newslink.org
Absolutewrite.com
Inktip.com
authorsandspeakersnetwork.com
Writersreaders.com – local website host for independent authors
newvoicesbookstore.com/ accepts self-published books on consignment.
writersmarket.com – places to sell your writing

writerbeware.org – sfwa.org (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America)
– warnings about literary fraud and other schemes, scams, and pitfalls that target writers


azauthors.com – links to other writers’ groups, associations, magazines, media, publishers, services for writers, bookstores, events

Saturday, January 18, 2014

TOBY FESLER HEATHCOTTE LIVE ON RADIO, ABOUT BOOKS AND PSI

Tune in to "Under the Surface" hosted by Lori Hines, Jan. 24, 2014, at 7 pm Arizona time (9 pm EST) on www.whvrdigital.com.
Toby Fesler Heathcotte answers questions about her psi experiences and her metaphysical books. She authored Out of the Psychic Closet: The Quest to Trust my True Nature and the Alma Chronicles, a multi-generational fiction series based on reincarnation.

Toby also talks about her years as president of Arizona Authors Association and offers advice to writers in all genres. Tune in from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, call in to the studio, or connect through the chat room. You might win a book giveaway.