Winter holidays lead to summer weddings

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By Denise Turney
Moods are high, emotions warm during Christmas, one of the few times of year when millions of people in different parts of the world lay their grudges down and opt to love. Visiting family and friends isn’t all young lovers do during winter holidays. Young lovers also deepen their romantic relationships, choosing to get engaged, setting a summer wedding date, rather than limiting their relationships at “only dating”.

Getting married once and for all time

In fact, December is the most popular month for couples getting engaged. Soon after accepting a marriage proposal, as many as 27% of women pick up the telephone and share the news with a best friend. A sign in today’s world that brides believe that their marriages will last forever is the fact that 75% of new brides change their Facebook status after they exchange wedding vows with the man they love.

On average, an engagement last 14.7 months, as shared by MSN. When it comes to taking engagement photos, 69% of couples who agree to tie the knot make a trip to a photographer’s studio so they can take a picture, perhaps grabbing at the chance to solidify their love.

Measuring the depth of true love

However, for some couples the wedding never happens. Arguments, school, finances and other people come between these couples, making it hard for them to communicate. But, that doesn’t mean that the relationship is over permanently. Temporary lulls interrupt the best relationships, if not before a wedding then after a wedding.

The question is if true love can withstand the toughest knocks. The question is if a couple that once loved each other deeply can find their way back to love after the heat in their relationship has turned as cold as a hard winter day. Brenda and Raymond explore these challenges very deeply in Love Pour Over Me. Their love affair brings them to more than one tough conclusions.

Get your copy of “Love Pour Over Me” Now at –

http://www.ebookit.com/books/0000001582/Love-Pour-Over-Me.html

Great gifts for freelance writers

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By Denise Turney
Freelance writers love to receive gifts that make it easier for them to start and finish writing projects. A new laptop, a waterproof keyboard or a multi-functional printer are great gifts for freelance writers. It’s these types of gifts that save freelancer writers time. Because freelance writers put in long hours, cranking out one article, white paper, press release or website content project after another, little beats a comfortable, high-back leather chair as a gift.

Great gifts that freelance writers will love

You can warm freelance writers’ hearts by gifting them with scented candles, back warmers or a pair of comfortable socks, the kind of socks that have cartoon characters on them. Writers love inspirational and motivational quotes; add in cartoon characters and you have a winning combination. Speaking of motivation, you can encourage the freelancer writers in your life to step away from working and take a deep breath, by giving them an iPod as a gift.

An iPod will give freelance writers a reason to exercise their imagination. After all, who doesn’t love to daydream, imagining that he’s setting an Olympic record or creating the next New York Times bestselling novel? Depending on their lifestyle, freelance writers also might turn on their iPod and take off running, skateboarding or bicycling around the neighborhood.

Hard to beat that for staying in good physical condition and keeping the creative juices flowing. If you know someone who freelances who doesn’t have a smartphone, it might be time to upgrade them. Should the freelance writer argue that she’s doing just fine with her old cell phone, consider pointing out that she can search the Internet, completing writing research work, email her writing clients and stay in touch with family and friends — all while using a smartphone.

Laptop cases, ruled executive calendars, spa gift certificates and foreign language software are other great gifts for freelance writers. Bookends and a tall bookcase are other gifts freelance writers appreciate and use. You can’t go wrong when buying freelance writers felt or quill pens either. The creative types will definitely make good use of those gifts.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in my new book, Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

7 way to use social media to market books

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By Denise Turney
Authors published by traditional book publishers are learning what self-published authors have known all along. Book marketing is in the author’s hands. Fortunately, social media networks can be used to connect authors with thousands of loyal readers. Seven key steps writers can take to get the word out about their books at social media networks include:

  • Post free book excerpts at their social media accounts, being sure to include links to their book websites or book order pages.
  • Announcing dates, locations (i.e. street address, website URL) and times for upcoming author interviews at social media networks. For example, if authors are interviewing on online radio shows like Off The Shelf and Blake Radio, they can post flyers about the interviews at their social media accounts.
  • Share pictures of book covers at Pinterest. Again, to get the most out of the posts, it’s important that authors include links to their websites or book order pages with the pictures.
  • Publish links to book blog posts at social media networks.
  • Support other authors and book readers at social media networks by commenting on intriguing or interesting posts. Authors don’t even have to add their website URL to their comments. Social media networks automatically add linkable profile names or images to comments that visitors can click on.
  • Create a powerful social media profile. Book writers should do this for each social media account they have.
  • Add quotes about or made by book characters to social media network updates.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in my new book, Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

How to sustain a freelance writing career

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By Denise Turney
Freelance writing offers a range of rewards, including the chance to work from home, set your own hours, travel and give yourself salary increases two or more times a year. Salary increases come for freelance writers when they market their skills and land jobs with higher paying clients. Freelance writers can also give themselves salary increases by working longer hours or taking on more projects.

Developing a successful freelance writing career

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, writers, including freelance writers and authors, earned a median annual salary of $55,940 in 2012. Sustaining a successful freelance writing career calls for tenacity, resilience and assertiveness. Assertiveness is crucial because rare are the instances when corporations and small business reach out to freelance writers, especially new freelance writers, asking them to create content for them.

This means, writers have to build winning portfolios that highlight key projects (i.e. website content, headlines, product reviews, advertorials, white papers) they’ve worked on. In addition to publishing their portfolios on the Internet, to land more higher paying clients, freelance writers research the market and contact companies they’re interested in writing for. They do this at least one day a week. It helps to keep their name in front of quality employers.

Continuing to grow a freelance writing portfolio

To keep themselves honest, successful freelance writers may keep a spreadsheet or database that details the names of prospective clients they reach out to, the date they contacted a prospect and the results of the contact. Should initial contacts not prove fruitful, freelancers schedule a date to follow p with those prospects. That’s right. Earning a living as a freelance writer requires these creative workers to perform sales work, and regularly, again – at least once a week. Rather than getting comfortable working for one to two clients who provide them lots of writing work, successful freelancers continuously market themselves.

In fact, some freelance writers don’t rest until they land 10-12 writing clients. It goes without saying that successful writers value each word they use. They work to get out in front of a story. Rather than copying work from other writers, they’re original, innovative. To stay sharp, they also complete certifications and continue learning.

When work is low, successful freelance writers contact clients they haven’t received work from in several weeks, asking if they have content they need created. They value these relationships and keep in touch with all of their clients throughout the year.

Get your copy of “Love Pour Over Me” Now at – http://www.ebookit.com/books/0000001582/Love-Pour-Over-Me.html

The drive to keep running from pain

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By Denise Turney
It’s a good thing to pursue happiness. After all, pain and disappointment do not come bearing worthy gifts. However, running from pain is not the same as pursuing happiness, and being that we are creatures of habit, if we run away from pain too long we may become experts at it and miss out on the thing we want to experience most – real love.

Putting an end to the run

Even so, few people, if anyone of us at all, sees running from pain as a means to avoid love. It’s a ritual or habit that can start early in our lives, when we are kids. We may be repeatedly disappointed by a parent who makes promises but seldom keeps them. Or we might witness one or both of our parents walking out of our lives as if we were merely children they’d met at a park, not people they helped to create, not their own flesh and blood.

Let these heart wrenching experiences continue to find their way into our lives and it’s no wonder some of us shy away from love and affection. We’re tired of being hurt, tired of being disappointed. We might even think that we only get hurt when we let people get close enough to us to cause us to feel love for them. After all, as the saying goes, it’s often the people who are closest to us who cause us to feel the deepest pain.

When this happens to Love Pour Over Me’s Raymond Clarke he responds the way many of us do. He turns away from love, even dismissing it when it shows up in a woman who has never disappointed or hurt him before, a woman he was born to love. Raymond’s good at running, but over time even he realizes that running has cost him too much. Even he, the man with the broken childhood, realizes that it’s time to stop running from love in ways that are disguised as running from pain.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Even if you choose not to purchase your copy of Love Pour Over Me today, I encourage you to “consider Love.”

Lasting benefits from running

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By Denise Turney
Runners reap rewards other athletes don’t. A clear mind, lower stress levels and a healthy, slender physique are byproducts of running long distances. Run at a 10-mile per hour pace and you can burn more than 310 calories. Depending on your body weight, you might burn considerably more calories.

Exercise isn’t the only running benefit

Your endorphins rise while you’re cortisol levels lower. Raise your endorphins and you’ll feel better, happier. Endorphins are brain neurotransmitters that send electrical signals throughout your nervous system. As these chemicals (endorphins) are released your immune system improves, your libido may be stimulated and your mood may rise. Endorphins also help you deal with stress and pain.

Those are good things, all which you can get from running.

Raising your cortisol levels isn’t so good. In fact, heightened cortisol levels can cause you to feel tired, even after you’ve gotten 8 or more hours of restful sleep. You might also have difficulty thinking clearly, feel jittery, gain weight and/or raise your blood pressure if your cortisol levels remain high for too long. Staying in these prolonged states is dangerous. Blood tests are generally performed to determine your cortisol levels.

These benefits might explain why long distance runners experience what some refer to as “runners high”. Sporting a thinner frame offers another benefits — an improved self-image. Add in championship competitions, similar to those Raymond Clarke (star character in “Love Pour Over Me”) races in, and your self-esteem and self-image can be strengthened even more.

Even more, running is fun. Cover 10 or more miles and you can see parts of your community you might not otherwise have learned about. Start and end routes in different locations, and you could learn enough about these areas to pad your bank account by writing and selling real life and/or travel articles.

Because your head clears while you’re running, answers to problems you’ve been dealing with may bubble to the surface. It’s these benefits that make running more than an exercise regimen, that make running a gift, a blessing.

Get your copy of “Love Pour Over Me” Now at –

http://www.ebookit.com/books/0000001582/Love-Pour-Over-Me.html

Who Do You Think Is Better Than You?

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By Denise Turney
At first glance, this question might appear rude. However, it’s a question you may have been asking yourself for years, drawing up images of people you think are more successful, wholesome or intelligent that you are. Perhaps it’s time to ask yourself what it is about these people you admire. And dare I say that it’s these traits that are hidden somewhere right inside of you.

Just as you may not want to look at thought patterns, beliefs or emotions you have, choosing to, instead, project these feelings and thoughts onto other people (as if they felt and believed them, not you), so too you might project beliefs about your own greatness onto other people. After all, no one is better or greater than you, just as you aren’t better or greater than anyone else.

At times it could feel unfair that our thoughts create our physical experiences. But, that sense of unfairness is merely a judgment that changes nothing. Well, it could make you feel like a victim, but that belief definitely won’t help you step into your greatness.

Feelings and beliefs you hold about other people are clues (wonderful nuggets) as to what you feel and believe about yourself. (As a note, the one thing our thoughts don’t/didn’t create is us, and that’s very good news, my friend!!) So, take a moment and ask yourself who you think is better or greater than you. Then ask yourself, what it is about this person you believe is great, perhaps impossible to match or equal. Is there anything about this person you wish you possessed more of? Be honest.

Now look at your experiences. Search for times when you demonstrated these same traits or abilities yourself, even if on a smaller scale. Can you start to see your greatness?

Imagine what it would be like if you saw what you really are all day. Imagine how you would feel about yourself. Imagine how you’d know, completely know, that impossible doesn’t exist.

To start to manifest (bring about the physical expression of your greatness) it may take some inner work (perhaps lots of inner work), but you’re so worth it. The work is merely a matter of removing beliefs in all lies. Once you do that, all that remains is the truth. And then not even the question “Who do I think is better than me” will arise in your mind. You’ll know the answer.

Raymond Clarke learns this in Love Pour Over Me. As with many of us, it takes Raymond awhile to get this lesson. But that’s no concern. The universe is patient. We will learn and awaken . . . all of us.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

Taking the time to get to know your own mother better

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Other than the father and son relationship, no other relationship may be as acrimonious as the relationship a daughter has with her mother. An observer watching a mother and daughter communicate and relate with each mother might think that the two women are enemies. It might seem impossible to believe that the two women live beneath the same roof, share the same blood line.

Calling a truce with your mother

If mothers have unresolved issues with their own mothers, they might carry these unresolved issues into relationships they build with their own daughters. In fact, these unresolved issues could start to reveal themselves while daughters are young, well before the teenage years.

For example, mothers might try to keep their daughters from experiencing similar disappointments that they felt when they were their age. This could cause mothers to become critical of their daughters. Mothers might comment on their daughters’ new hairstyles or outfits, offering their disapproval as a way to encourage their daughters to always look their best so they don’t get teased, sneered at or talked about the way mothers did when they were younger.

Let this keep up and daughters might feel as if their mothers see them as failures, as if they are incapable of making smart decisions on their own. Wall Street Journal reporter, Elizabeth Bernstein says that due to the constant input from their mothers, “Daughters, meanwhile, tend to be very sensitive to mom’s input. They think she is being rude or doesn’t respect them as an adult. Underneath, they fear they’ve failed the one person they have been seeking approval from since before they could speak.”

Furthermore, “A natural break should occur between adolescence and adulthood, where the mother allows her daughter to grow up and make her own decisions. Some mothers, however, have trouble letting go.” To start letting go, mothers can set ground rules around things like dating and going to concerts. While setting these ground rules, they can ask their daughters for input.

Daughters can speak up for themselves when they are right or when a decision they make is truly up to them. If the two become angry, they can take several deep breaths and honestly discuss why they are angry, without placing blame. It also helps if mothers talk about their own childhoods and difficulties they may have had relating to their own mothers. Both should avoid trying to hurt or compete with each other. Lying is another practice that should be removed from the relationship. Mothers and daughters will also benefit from regularly focusing on attributes they appreciate about each other.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in my new book, Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

7 way to use social media to market books

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By Denise Turney
Authors published by traditional book publishers are learning what self-published authors have known all along. Book marketing is in the author’s hands. Fortunately, social media networks can be used to connect authors with thousands of loyal readers. Seven key steps writers can take to get the word out about their books at social media networks include:

  • Post free book excerpts at their social media accounts, being sure to include links to their book websites or book order pages.
  • Announcing dates, locations (i.e. street address, website URL) and times for upcoming author interviews at social media networks. For example, if authors are interviewing on online radio shows like Off The Shelf and Blake Radio, they can post flyers about the interviews at their social media accounts.
  • Share pictures of book covers at Pinterest. Again, to get the most out of the posts, it’s important that authors include links to their websites or book order pages with the pictures.
  • Publish links to book blog posts at social media networks.
  • Support other authors and book readers at social media networks by commenting on intriguing or interesting posts. Authors don’t even have to add their website URL to their comments. Social media networks automatically add linkable profile names or images to comments that visitors can click on.
  • Create a powerful social media profile. Book writers should do this for each social media account they have.
  • Add quotes about or made by book characters to social media network updates.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in my new book, Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com, or any other online or offline bookseller and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

Life Happens While You Pursue Your Dreams

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By Denise Turney

Congratulations if you’ve recently realized what your life dream is. What a wonderful awakening. Now that you’ve come to know what’s inside you, don’t be surprised if passion to pursue your life dream starts stirring your emotions. Ideas may surface in your mind, ideas that, if you act upon them, will help you get closer to the realization, the physical manifestation, of your dreams.

Birthing Life Dreams

Life dreams are different from night dreams. However, Source may use night dreams to reveal the unfolding of your life dreams to you. As an example, recall Joseph in the Bible (Genesis chapter 37, verse 5). Joseph understood the meaning of his night dreams. He had a dream interpretation or analyzing dreams gift. But, you may not. Not everyone appears to have this gift the way Joseph did. In this case, you can pray and ask Source to give you the dream interpretation. However, if you’re not open to receiving the dream interpretation or knowing what the dream means, you may continue to be confused about the dream. Your own unwillingness to receive the dream’s message is what keeps you confused about the dream’s meaning.

Our life dreams are inside of us. They’re like seeds planted within us, waiting for us to nurture them and help them to surface in our lives so the fulfillment of our dreams bless us and everyone we come in contact with. Life dreams are powerful, impossible to ignore or turn away from. Yet, it takes courage to bring life dreams to pass. The world doesn’t pause so we can fulfill our life dreams, bring forth what Source has planted in us. Our loved ones transition, children continue to be born, we get hired into new jobs, leave old jobs, move into new residences, care for our families and meet a myriad of daily responsibilities . . . all while pursuing our life dreams.

Although it would be welcomed, the world doesn’t slow down just because we’re taking steps to manifest our life dreams. We can still feel pain, disappointment and discouragement as we go after our life dreams. There may also be times when we feel like throwing the towel in on our life dreams. In fact, after we realize what our life dreams are and start acting on them, opposition from the ego may build. It’s almost as if, as long as we stay blind to the good that’s inside of us, the world’s thought system buffets us less.

Wake Up to Your Life Dreams

Wake up to our truth and the ego seems to rouse from its slumber, challenging our courage to bring our life dreams to pass. If we continue moving forward, running with the vision, we’ll produce a good result. This work is not for the faint at heart. It requires courage. But, it can be done. Many have already fulfilled their life dreams, people like Harriet Tubman, Joan of Arc, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Owens, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm, Dr. Charles Drew, Wilma Rudolph, Marva Collins and Evelyn Ashford, to name a few.

Nothing can replace your life dreams. No amount of work or fun can fulfill you the way bringing your life dreams to pass will. Considering the truth that joy is our strength, it’s wisdom at work when you take the steps to fulfill your life dreams, even if you have to do so as the world’s thought system tries to stop you. Awaken to your life dreams!

Get your copy of “Love Pour Over Me” Now at –

http://www.ebookit.com/books/0000001582/Love-Pour-Over-Me.html