Life is Comedy and Mystery

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Posted on November 17, 2014

“Life is really simple but we insist on making it complicated.” ~ Confucius

Death is no laughing matter, until it comes to Fannie Flagg’s humor. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is a funny story about Elner Shimfissle living in the town of Elmwood, Missouri. This story is about small town America at it’s best. Elmwood is a place where everyone knows everyone. People stick together and help each other out.

When high spirited Elner, one of Elmwood’s most beloved community members, passes away after being stung by wasps, she inspires a whole town to consider some of the absurdities and truths about life.

As stated by the Rocky Mountain News “Elner emerges quite the character…a woman who uses the mind and heart she’s been given… ”

Fannie Flagg, one of America’s most talented humorists, takes us through a rollicking story that will warm your heart and keep you laughing. The characters are so charming, you will love this “feel good” story.

Pick up this comedy-mystery at your library or at your favorite neighborhood bookstore.Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven will remind you not to take life too seriously and to have some fun with those who make your life fulfilling while you are living on this planet called Earth.

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on the memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please visit this link.http://amzn.to/141aW6S

The Reality of Life

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Posted on November 13, 2014

“Trust life a little bit.” ~ Maya Angelou

Have we become a society that is far too difficult to please? Sometimes I think we need to focus on being less picky about what we eat and remember how many people go to bed hungry.

I heard some statistics from a speaker from the Boys and Girls Club last Friday about the number of children who have their only nutritious meal at school or at the Boys and Girls Club. It was astounding how many kids, right here in America, want nothing more than to go to bed at night with a full stomach. It wouldn’t matter to them whether milk was whole, low fat, two percent, skim, coconut or almond, for instance. For them, just having enough to eat would be the height of living a life fulfilled.

Granted for some people with real health issues food choices are necessary and specialized diets are very important. But, at the risk of sounding like an old fogey who repeats stories like “when I was a kid we had to walk 10 miles to school, all up hill, in blizzards, without any shoes,” I’d just like to say how persnickety we have become as a society when it comes to food. Back when I was a child there was one choice:

Because our society as a whole has become so focused on every little thing we put in our mouths, we forget to be grateful that there is even food on the table. There are so many other things in life that should hold more importance, because when you come down to it –

Would you agree or does my statement sound silly, naïve or uninformed? Maybe my attitude is just too square. It seems as if living with balance has become a foreign concept.

NO MATTER WHAT WE EAT…..

In whose hand is the life of everything, and the breath of all mankind? ~Job 12:10

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on the award winning memoir, an anthology of stories, please visit this website.http://amzn.to/141aW6S.

Building Skills for Great Futures

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Posted on November 11, 2014

The foundation of every state is the education of its youth. ~ Diogenes

Last Friday I attended our monthly meeting of the Yampa Valley University Women. We had a wonderful speaker, Lynna Broyles, from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northwest Colorado. Her program was so informative and designed to educate people about the programs of this non-profit youth development organization.

Here are the five core programs that are available for boys and girls to get involved with. They make their own choices based on their interests:

Character & Leadership
Education & Career Development
Health & Life Skills
The Arts
Sports, Fitness & Recreation

Some figures were cited with regards to how many children in the NW Colorado Boys and Girls Club get their only hot meals for the day at school and at the Boys and Girls Club. For me those numbers were astounding and troubling. Thankfully, all youth, regardless of their parents’ socio-economic status can be involved in the program. Scholarships are available for youth who struggle with the annual membership fee ($25/annually).

The clubs are staffed by trained youth development professionals. Many very successful business people, athletes, and prestigious people in our country got a strong foundation through Boys & Girls Clubs. Youth programs as well as literacy programs are so important to the future of children in our country. Often these programs open doors and futures to much greater things. What a gift the Boys and Girls Clubs are to so many children! http://www.bgca.org/newsevents/Pages/GFSH_PSA.aspx

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of the EVVY award-winning book Gift of A Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. For more information on the book which has also won an award in the young adult category, please follow this link.http://amzn.to/1vDFUMt.

Need for Mountains of Creativity

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Posted on October 23, 2014

Entrepreneurship, inspiration, and putting faith in one’s own creativity are all the things that excite me about the world of independent publishing. It is a field that has brought vast changes (with an eye on sustainability) by doing things differently than in the past.

Some time ago on All Things Fulfilling, I posted a blog about a TedX talk which I think bears repeating. I believe the speaker, Chuck Scranton, had some wonderful things to say about the future of education, how to engage students in classrooms and what today’s children need so that they are prepared with skills that go beyond what students of the past have been taught. It is all about encouraging creativity and active learning.

Parents and educators, this issue is very important. So please listen in to The Immovable Mountain. https://allthingsfulfilling.com/tag/that-immovable-mountain/.

Is there something more you can do to help support your child’s mind, interests and creativity? Our country’s future depends on new industry, creative thinkers and “pioneers” working in ways that are different than the same old-same old ways of doing things. The new generation will need to work in ways that will lead America forward to new eras of discovery.

Interested in reading about more ways you can foster your child’s creativity? Here is also a good article. http://bit.ly/10dKjtG.

Today and everyday is a great day for brainstorming! Don’t forget to write down your ideas!

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her book Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please visit this link.http://amzn.to/1te9k2F

A Caring, Comedic Character

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Posted on October 16, 2014

Through humor you can soften some of the worst blows that life can deliver. And once you find the laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it. ~ Bill Cosby

“The treasure is in the voice,” the author says of her EVVY award-winning audio book version of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.

Some readers argue that “the real gold is in Fanny’s character.” Either way, the Batton family benefited from the love and friendship of a woman who kept things in the right perspective. Fanny was a real winner!

Last weekend at a book signing in Towson, Maryland, award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard’s home town, something wonderful happened – a group of Fanny fans gathered round! Some knew Fanny in real life and others met her through reading the award-winning memoir.

Fanny’s Fan Club

If you want to learn more about the “phenom Fanny,” Ukazoo has Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfillling Things in the Unexpected in stock! http://www.ukazoo.com. It is also available through other major on-line book sellers in audio book, paperback and e-book.

Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected has become a finalist in another book competition, in two categories – young adult and non-fiction. To read more about the 2014 Harvest Book Competition, please visit this link. http://bit.ly/ZWqMxV and to see the list of other finalists and the titles of their books, please visit this list. http://bit.ly/1vbWwfb.

Naively Speaking

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Posted on October 1, 2014

“It is well for the heart to be naive, and the mind not to be.” ~ Anatole France

I remember feeling slighted. It seemed like all the kids in the neighborhood had their tonsils and adenoids removed except me. As a child, it didn’t matter to me that I had lived through pioneering heart surgery, I still wished I could get my tonsils out like many of my buddies.

Apparently, according to this article, twice as many tonsillectomies were performed in the 1950s and 1960s as today. http://seattletimes.com/html/health/2015264059_med10.html.

To a kid, getting tonsils and adenoids removed meant eating ice cream! And lots of it! Ice cream was one of the few foods that I really adored when I was growing up. And to go to the soda fountain counter at S.S. Kresges or Reads Drugstore for a scoop in an ice cold silver dish with a doily between the dish and a small saucer was a special treat.

Remember the litttle plastic cups of ice cream with the wooden spoons? They reminded me of tongue depressors the doctors used. And then there were the ice-cream pop-ups.

In my memoir I share both a child’s perspective of my “operation” at Johns Hopkins and my adult insight into why perhaps I fared so well.

This blog brought to you by author Sue Batton Leonard. Her memoir, “an anthology of short stories,” is a two-time award winner in the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Book Awards. For information and ordering, please follow this link.

Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected is available in audio book (that holds the real treasure), paperback and e-book.

Motivated by Interest

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Posted on September 17, 2014

“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” ~ Franklin D Roosevelt

About two weeks ago, a newsletter from All Things Fulfilling with the mention of my two book awards and notification of book signings that are upcoming in October was sent out via e-mail. I received an unexpected number of congratulatory e-mails in response. They came from people with whom I have made business connections over the years through the independent publishing industry. I hadn’t heard from some of them in a while. One such e-mail came from Diana who said “You motivate me to work on my own book.” I’d like to say thank you to everyone who took the time to write because you encourage me!

I have had the privilege to meet such interesting and creative people through my work in the field of independent publishing. As I look back over the past 6 years, I am astounded to think that I have published an award-winning book, written some 1,461 blog posts as of today, had 6 or 7 e-zine articles published and formed We Write Steamboat, a networking group for independent publishers with 58 members and counting! There is a lot that has come with that. I’ve also done volunteer work in the arts, for the Colorado Independent Publishers Association and for my church. Needless to say, I’ve been busy. I’ve gotten much personal fulfillment out of all of it or I wouldn’t have continued.

Why am I telling you all this? Because sometimes we do have to pat ourselves on your back and be proud of our own successes. When I moved to Colorado six years ago due to my husband’s new employment opportunity, I had no idea what I was going to do. I decided to take a leap of faith and invest in learning all I could about this thing I became so interested in called “independent publishing.” As it turned out, even though I had already worked in the industry I had just begun to wade into the waters. The industry kept evolving. At that point I hadn’t even begun to learn about good writing or public speaking either. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think I would soon get to all that I’ve accomplished!

Leaps of faith…sometimes we need to take them. What happens when we are driven and livin’ by our heart, soul and creativity can be surprising!

Over the next 10 days or so, I will be taking a much needed break to concentrate solely on preparing for some upcoming book appearances. I invite you to peruse this site. There are hundreds of postings about independent publishing, finding motivation in the arts, writing, ideas that are an extension of my book and all kinds of fulfilling things to read about.

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard. For more information on her memoir, Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, which has won two EVVY book awards, please follow this link.http://amzn.to/1mbmVGR

Writing Motivation Tip#1

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Posted on September 17, 2014

Writing & Publishing Tip #1 – Next time you start a new endeavor or start down the road to a personal journey – post a sign with the following words on the mirror so you see it first thing every morning. Put it front and center.

Make a contract with yourself right now, writers, to pay no mind to the first line of this “what if” thinking. Only focus only on the second question and life affirming possibilities.

Every time you are feeling defeated, discouraged or disillusioned ask yourself once again which alternative is the most appealing. “Oh my darling, what if you fly?” is what will keep you pressing forward.

You’ll soar to new heights. I found it really works!

This blog brought to you by the award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. For more information on the publication, visit this link. http://amzn.to/1mbmVGR.

Fire is Lit, Ribbon in the Hair

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Posted on September 13, 2014

To My Dear Husband ~~~~

I am sorry that according to this 1955 article, I have failed you miserably. I have not always lived up to the Girl Scout creed of “I promise to do my duty…..” and to The Good Wife Guide…..

…I mean, sometimes, I let you cook breakfast. You changed dirty diapers, and too many times I told you about my day first. Then there is the matter of the fire, I didn’t always make it happen….well, I apologize.

And then there is the issue of our son. Ok, I’ll admit it. He often greeted you with a dirty face and hands. And his hair…what can I say…let’s just hope it never happens again now that he is an adult. I’m sure it won’t, after all he is a visual effects artist. I’ll speak with him later about that matter. At least he is playing the part well of the treasure that he is. That should make you feel better. It does, doesn’t it?

I’ll see what I can do to mend my ways and not be such a modern day woman. We are 34 years into this union. I hope you can forgive me if I start taking your shoes off. I know, I ruined many an evening when I didn’t have you “lean back and relax in your chair…..” Well, I pledge from now on to remember…I’ll say it. I promise. No… really, I will. Yes, I am serious. Truly… I’m not kidding.

I hope you’ll agree to continue on this journey through life that we started. Happy Anniversary!

Much Love, hon ~ Sue

P.S. And by the way, the last item on the list – don’t worry! I do know my place. I belong beside you with a ribbon in my hair.

This blog brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard and her award-winning publication “Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.” http://amzn.to/1ulyFYs.

Finding the Lesson

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Posted on September 12, 2014

“Live joyously among your occupations.” ~ St. Francis de Sales

“What do you want to do when you grow up?” Children are often asked. In my generation and particularly in the generations that came before the “baby boomers” it was usually assumed that little girls wanted to be wives and mothers, above all else.

How my sister and I loved our baby dolls.We paid so much attention to them because we were practicing for the real thing. There was Thumbelina to care for and Betsy Wetsy. “Betsy” was the top toy of the century in the 1950s.

Girlfriends, do you remember this ad?

It never occurred to me when I was a child that not all women are blessed with children. When I became an adult, I faced a big realization that having children is a great honor to be taken very seriously.

Wouldn’t it be a more perfect world if every parent grasped this concept prior to conceiving? Good parenting is an awesome responsibility. Even finding the joy and meaning in difficult parenting conditions is what I think the great philosopher St. Francis is also talking about.

Do return tomorrow, on Saturday. I have a special blog planned for my husband for our anniversary! It gives a little insight into our marriage.

This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. For information on her EVVY award winning book, Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, please visit this link.http://amzn.to/1ti4XVi