I don't know about you, but the rude behavior that surrounds us currently makes me tired. We have a saying in the south: "You make my tired ache." Well, that's how I feel about the current political environment, the nasty posts on social media and the general public behavior of so many people.

I don't think anyone who puts himself or herself above other people deserves my respect. And, I don't think the people who are publicly being rude, inconsiderate and demeaning to others realize what bad images they are creating.

John Daly, an etiquette expert, friend and associate of mine, told me that to get respect, you need to earn it. The same goes for love. If you want it, you need to be willing to give it.

Even the vampires, that's right the blood-craving kindred  in my Snow Blood Series, understand  compassion, respect, and love. 

Honestly, I think rude behavior generally goes back to low self-esteem and the lack of love for self. After all, if you can't respect and love yourself unconditionally, how can you feel that way about anyone else? This goes back to the premise I put forth in Luke's Tale.You  have to learn to love who you are before you can care about other people. Once you are at peace with yourself, you can be right with everyone else. Does that make sense?

Do you disagree? I would love to hear your thoughts on it, because I think we're getting to the point where we need to expect people to "own their behavior." When they are rude or disrespectful or unloving, we need to "call" them on it. I think often that many people don't realize the damage that they do to themselves or others when they live in an egocentric world that is void of self-love.

Comment below and share your thoughts with me. This is something that is weighing on me heavily, and I would love to have  your thoughts about it.

Til Next Time,
Carol

I just finished reading Stephen King's"Everything You need to Know About Writing Successfully - in Ten Minutes." If you want to be a writer and haven't read it, you should. It inspired me.

Why? Because lately I've been talking to A LOT of people who want to write about their relationships, their battles, their issues. I've even met a few who want to write novels. This has focused me on providing advise about how to write books. First of all, every one who wants to be a writer should read Stephen King's article above. It takes 10 minutes to read it and is great advice.

What I want to add to it are the following:

• Don't start writing thinking that you are going to get rich. Not many of us do. Some are more fortunate than others. Trust me. I've read some great works by people of whom you've never heard. Every bit as great as Mr. King himself. So much of it depends upon a ton of hard work. It doesn't just magically happen. Why? Because writing the book is just part of it. You have to be prepared to find your voice and your audience and market the heck out of it. Self-published or traditionally launched, it makes no difference.
• Be prepared to pour all of your creative talent and research skills into producing a book. That goes for fiction or non--fiction. People want to be entertained or to learn, either way. Don't ever forget that.
  
• When you start to write, just let it pour out of you. Each of us has something unique to share. Write about what you know, and expand upon it with valid research. But first, just get it down in rough form. Like Mr. King says, don't even look at a dictionary or a Thesaurus. Get it down. Get it all down. Then, go back and add the research, tweak it, edit it, make it the best it can be.
• Then, get a great editor. Someone who will push you to be even better.
• Share it with critique partners (other writers) or people who like to read books for free. You can find them on the Internet. Make sure they don't have an emotional attachment to you and will give you an honest assessment. Take what they tell you to heart. Don't get your panties in a wad or take anything personally. Take valid comments and edit more.
• Return it to your editor for further help.
• When you've given it all you've got, follow Mr. King's advice, or self-publish. But understand that the real work has just begun.

Sounds daunting, doesn't it? It is. But if you approach it with the thought that you might help someone else with what you've shared, or you might make others smile, laugh, learn or be entertained, then you will have stepped into the shoes of a writer. Writers are givers of unconditional love. We want you to love us, but we'll keep on writing to you, no matter what, because we care very deeply about what we think we have to offer you.

If you're a writer and you are reading this, please share and add your advice to mine. This is in no way a complete list. If you are a reader, share your thoughts as well. Share what you like to read and why.

In the meantime, before I go, my publisher just completed a book trailer of Snow Blood Season 2 that I want to share with you. Let me know what you think!

Til Next Time!
Carol

In my Yoga class this morning, our instructor paid me a great compliment. He called me out in front of everyone and said, "In case you didn't know, Carol is a writer, and a beautiful writer I might add. I just finished her book, Luke's Tale, and I can't tell you how moving it is. You need to read it."

Thanks, Mike. That was very kind of you. 

Since writing Luke's Tale, I've published two other books in a series, with a third installment to be published in May. It's called the Snow Blood Series, and, yes, it's about the original, the first vampire, and, yes, his vampire dog. But, before Snow Blood 3 is launched, I wanted you to know that you can get the eBook of  Luke's Tale for FREE. All you have to do is click here, give me your name and email, and I'll send it to you.  I promise not to share or spam you!

Why do I want you to give me your email? So that I can send you articles that might be beneficial to you and special offers (like getting future books for free by being a test reader or providing a "free read for review" service). I will be sending a special invite to my "friends list," before Snow Blood 3 is published, to receive the eBook for free in return for a review. I don't do that often, so I swear I won't clutter your inbox with junk!

Anyway, I hope you will take me up on this offer, and click here to be on my special list of friends.

Til Next Time,
Carol

I'll admit it. My secret pleasure is watching reality shows. Particularly The Bachelor franchise. Why? Because it's about love, of course. At this point, you are raising your eyebrows at my words and telling me to get a grip. "It's fake!" "Those relationships aren't real!"

Well, actually, a few of them have worked out. There's Jason and Molly, Sean and Catherine, Trista and Ryan and Ashley and JP - all of  whom are married. Desiree and Chris and Kaitlyn and Shawn are still together and engaged. 

As nutty as it seems, in this day and age, who can say it's impossible to fall in love on a reality show? The couples I listed above certainly have committed to their relationships It's better than meeting in a bar! Is it any more far-fetched than online dating? I know numerous couples who have met online, fallen in love in person and are celebrating a number of years being married.

So what's my point? Should anyone hesitate to look for love even in strange places? I certainly write about love in unusual circumstances - between dogs and humans, between humans, between vampires.

But finding someone to love isn't always as difficult as staying together after falling in love. Look around you. How many divorced people do you know? Or how many do you know who have been married more than once? I can raise my hand to that one. Third time was charm for me. (BTW, Mark and I have been married since 1974!)

It all leads back to loving someone unconditionally. When you put limitations on another person in order to love them, you're doomed to failure. Or, if you marry someone thinking you can change them, you're wrong again. (I can definitely attest to that one.)  People need to be free to be whomever they are. And, when you love someone, you should love them for who he or she really is, not what you want or expect them to be.

Think about it. Do you place conditions on those you love? If you do, don't do that! Try putting the other person's feelings above your own. If you do, you might just discover a life-long relationship.

If you enjoy my ramblings, click here to sign up for my email list and get a free eBook for your trouble! I hope you do!

Til Next Time,
Carol

 You probably know that my novels are all about illustrating unconditional love.  But, I have a real-life example in my life every day. I work with John Daly, founder and CEO of The Key Class.

John retired a number of years ago from a highly-successful career as an event designer and producer. He owned and managed six companies and traveled the world for his corporate clients. He was even dubbed "the Guru of Special Event Design" by Special Events magazine.

You would think, after it all, that John would rest on his laurels. Nope. Hardly sitting still for a moment, John created a course to teach students the soft skills needed to succeed in today's world - the same skills that had made him such a big success.

He didn't do it for the money. In fact, he spent a huge chunk of his retirement savings to get The Key Class up and running. He did it for love - his love for the youth of this country. You see, John has been mentoring children and teens for the past 20 years. He observed what they sorely lacked in the way of soft skills - manners, behavior, etiquette, knowledge about how to obtain a job - and he sought to give them those tools. And, to date he has taught these skills to more than 7,000 students, with the goal of expanding it from his home base in Santa Barbara, California, to the nation. It took him three years to get into a few of the high schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District with the course . Today, it's in all the schools there with high praise from the superintendent to the teachers and the students themselves.

John's love for these young people, and his passion to help them succeed, exudes out of every pore in his body. Everything that he does is to help them. He leaves nothing on the table ... he gives it all. What an incredible example of unconditional love!

Thank you, John Daly, for the privilege of working with you and, in my small way, furthering your cause. What an example you have become for all of us to follow.

Til Next Time,
Carol