Our greatest gift is the thunder of Silence. ~Joel Goldsmith
It’s the end of the week, and the wisdom of the wordsmith in me says “that’s enough!”
Do return on Monday to All Things Fulfilling. You’ll be Looking at Lucky and I will tell you how that relates to my life. Some details of my journey weren’t included in the memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, so I’ll share more on this site. Sue’s memoir
“Have you realized that today is the tomorrow you talked about yesterday? ― Jaachynma N.E. Agu, The Prince and the Pauper
Indeed, I have come to understand that! For many a year I had visions of writing and publishing our family’s story, and it has become a reality. Memoirs are important because they are not just about our immediate family. They often reflect and record a time in history, a culture or religion, a way of being raised, and the values we pass on to the next generation.
Oh, there were times when I doubted, got discouraged or couldn’t find the right words, but I never let it stop me. Action led to fulfillment of those dreams. I made it happen!
Each time the task seemed daunting or I couldn’t find the right words or hit a road block I’d press on remembering the words of Bill Cosby “Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.”
We published authors overcame our fears and live to tell the story of it!
This blog brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.
“My dear girl, you must cultivate a taste for the finer things. Civilized pleasures give meaning to life.”
― Barbara Taylor Bradford, Being Elizabeth
Did you read yesterday’s blog about my childhood fiasco of trying to take my little brother on a road trip? If not, check it out.
Speaking of road trips – A few weeks ago, a friend and I took a journey from Steamboat Springs, Colorado to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. We gallery hopped, window shopped and had a tasty lunch. It was a wonderful and a much needed day away for both of us just before Easter.
Not only did my friend get to return to something familiar from her past, so did I. My book, Sue’s memoir
There she stood a shapely women, a manikin, dressed in a fitting Easter outfit all made from tissue paper flowers. I couldn’t believe my eyes! My memoir has a chapter entitled Paper Roses. which recounts my fulfilling experience of learning to make and sell paper flowers as a project in junior Girl Scouts.
I had never seen an entire frock made out of tissue paper flowers. As you can see from this image, it was gorgeous and so was the women’s clothing shop. The store had a real vibrancy to it, every color in the spectrum was represented in their high quality and creatively decorated shop. The sales clerks in it could not have been more hospitable either.
I could have shopped til I dropped, but instead I behaved myself. I’m trying to be fiscally conservative so I can properly get the word out about my publication through a diverse marketing plan and that takes some bucks.
Some day soon, I will take Barbara Taylor Bradford’s advice and will return to Confetti Designs with cash in my pocket to splurge on something deserved and special just for ME – perhaps an accoutrement to an outfit for a book talk! From all appearances, the ladies in Confetti have an outstanding eye for style and design. Maybe they will help me find just the right thing. I will be back!
I want to remind everyone to shop around by visiting different blogs – it’s a great way to discover fascinating sites and topics through the world-wide-web. You never know what you might run into that may peak your interest. Looking for a fun fashion blog? Visit http://invisiblecrowne.blogspot.com/. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.
One of the many life lessons that I have learned throughout the independent publishing process is how things don’t always proceed as expected. That’s when frustration, disappointment and self-doubt sets in.
I’ve had a sign hanging on the wall, given to me by a friend from Macedonia, since the start of my memoir writing project that says “anything is possible if you believe.” Sue’s memoir
Have you ever noticed how often things come to us at the right time? It maybe a life event, circumstance or a person who seems to be heaven sent. This is essentially what my book is about.
I never thought very deeply about this concept but in recent years it has become my motto. Keeping these sage words at the forefront of my mind has eliminated many moments that would otherwise have provided me with angst.
Admittedly, sometimes I forget the adage because impatience has a great nagging presence. Although there is truth behind the divine timing concept it does not let us off the hook from being active participants in working toward our dreams and goals.
See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling. It is hard to believe May Day is right around the corner. I’ve got lots to look forward to next month. More about that later.
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway
What do you get when you take a group of poorly adjusted, unpublished writers and add a new member who snags an agent immediately, and finds unexpected success?
And comedic results! Author’s Anonymous is a newly released movie, now showing in select theatres and available on DVD, beginning June 17th.
Although this independently produced PG-13 film does not have top ratings, it is fun entertainment for aspiring writers, book lovers, art councils, writers groups, MFA writing students to watch and discuss in a group setting.
Interested in watching the movie? Click here for info & ordering
Have a great weekend, everyone! Sprouting seeds of inspiration for fulfilling new writing projects will be the subject on All Things Fulfilling Monday.
This blog brought to you by author Sue Batton Leonard.Sue’s memoir
Life is like a moustache. It can be wonderful or terrible. But it always tickles. ~ Nora Roberts, From the Heart
Pet white mice! “They’re so cute,” we’d say to our parents. “We want one to play with.” My sister and I nagged at our parents to let us have a domesticated mouse until finally they gave in. Did anyone else have one or more of those creatures as a kid?
Ohhh- now, that pet brings back memories to yours truly and her sister. We kept our mouse in a glass aquarium with a screen over it for a cover so it wouldn’t escape. However intruders were more the problem. More than once we were awoken in the middle of the night by loud squealing. A wild mouse that came from somewhere within our house had found it’s way into the cage. When we turned on the bedroom light to investigate all the noise, we caught the mice in action mating. You’ve never seen two little, screaming naive twins scamper into their parents’ bedroom in the middle of the night so quickly! We jumped on mom and dad’s bed with wide-eyes to apprise our parents of the situation!
Three weeks later, an unexpected development! We learned more about the facts of life, when we awoke to little, translucent pink bodies squirming in the clear glass cage.
Who knows where the newborn babies went when they disappeared the next day. As a young child, I figured the cat clock hanging on the wall in our bedroom, that I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, had come alive and eaten them up. After this happened twice, my parents sent the pet white mouse packing!
Would your parents have let you have a white mouse for a pet? I grew up in a bit of a crazy house. Domesticated white mice were only the start of the many animals that could be found inside and out on our family’s property – more about our zoo in my memoir. Add a wonderful character named Fanny into the mix of the menagerie, and life was lived differently than many of our neighbors.
Oh….I can only image the stories my parents could tell about the histrionics of life with two twins.
This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, the author of Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.
“Each day provides it’s own gifts.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
I am very excited! Last week I reconnected with a childhood friend who I have been out of touch with since I graduated high school in 1975. That was many,many moons ago – do the math!
Out of the blue, she connected with me through my Facebook page and said “that she had learned I had published a book and had ordered “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” for her Nook. She had questions about a few details of our childhood in trying to recall exactly when we moved down the street to our second childhood home, built by my father. When I was an newborn we lived next door to her parents. She said, “I still remember the cat clock you had in your bedroom.” Hard to believe after all these years she’d remember, with clarity, a detail like that.
Did any of you readers have a cat clock like the one in the image? It’s still available through the Vermont Country Store! http://bit.ly/1hVqDkQ.
Mine hung in my bedroom. It was a gift from my maternal grandparents to my twin sister and me. They both passed away when we were very young children, and the clock is a remaining memory that I associate with my mother’s parents. I remember laying in my bed mesmerized every night watching the cat’s glowing eyes go back and forth, along with it’s swishing tail until I drifted off into laaa laaa land.
What I have since learned from my childhood friend, Cindy, is that her sons, Brian and Jason Lyles, are involved with a publishing endeavor also. They recently published The Lego Neighborhood Book: Build a Lego Town which gives tools to create your favorite architectural styles in homes and buildings. How cool is that? http://bit.ly/1hd18dm
If I hadn’t written a memoir, who knows if Cindy and I would have ever connected again throughout our lifetime! So today’s story is all about neighborhood and community connection! See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.
I have been notified by this Maryland-based book club that my new publication “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” will be their group’s June selection and the subject of their discussion. How exciting is that! They’ve asked whether the author (yours, truly!) can be present. Of course, I’ll do all I can to be there in person. But, if the logistics don’t work out, perhaps I can Skype in and have an “author chat,” like many libraries and bookstores arrange in this day and age.http://bit.ly/1gMOBNs.
This group of ladies, no doubt, will find the cultural and historical references familiar. Many of them were living in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland and in the prime of their lives raising young children when the story takes place (1950’s- 1960’s). Their discussion of my memoir, is sure to be rich with opinions. And, I am sure, the book club members will have their own fulfilling memories to contribute to the discussion.
So, that’s the good news on this Easter Monday on All Things Fulfilling. We will see what transpires on that story. I will keep you posted.
I’ve got an industrious week ahead! Here’s what it looks like:
Monday, March 31, 2014 Get my audio book posted on the audio book site, so it is ready for selling. Details of how to order the audio book will be forthcoming soon right here on All Things Fulfilling.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014 “Sue Leonard will be speaking with the Young Professionals Network of Steamboat Springs, Colorado about the independent publishing industry, her group We Write Steamboat and the upcoming World Book Night (4/23/14).”
Friday, April 4, 2014 – Yampa Valley University Women, 11:30 am – 1 pm. Selbe Apts, Rollingstone Road, Steamboat Springs. Colorado. Open to the public. Soup, salad and bread luncheon is available for $3. “Sue Leonard will be presenting her book Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.”
It will be interesting to speak to these two groups of people this week because the age demographics are very different. The young professionals are just beginning to embark on careers and trying to figure out what they want to do in life. I want to encourage them to save stories from their life journeys because at some point they may be interested in inspiring, entertaining, informing or educating others through independent publishing. This group of young people, who spend a lot of time volunteering out in our community, will be part of World Book Night on April 23rd, which I will also be discussing.
The Yampa Valley University Women , a group that I am a member of, has been following my endeavors in the publishing industry and the progress of the memoir. I look forward to finally bringing a perfect bound book to show them and having the opportunity to relate my experiences with with them. This event will be open to the public. The women who belong to the group are well-educated, well-traveled and most are retired. They have a wealth of life experiences, and I wish to convey to them the value of writing to preserve history and culture. Many of them have interesting stories to tell and with the ability to independently publish e-books and print-on-demand, many people are investing their time in writing in their retirement.
Have a great week ahead, everyone. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling. We will be talking about the origination of a game show that had many women waiting by the telephone, in hopes of having their dreams fulfilled, in the 1940s- 1970s.
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~ Maya Angelou
“Set still, chile,” said the stellar character that you will learn a lot about in my upcoming book as she fed our little brother his lunch. Our mother had run to the store to get a gallon of milk and the woman, the star of my story, had been given the task of watching over us kids as we ate our lunch.
“What did yo’ sisters give ya?” she asked my brother, “a bunch of dem squiggly wigglies in your pants? Dem girlies is always carryin’ around dem squiggly wigglies deh dig up out da Earf. Must be God give us dem creatures for a reason, but I ain’t knowd what it is. My preacher man ain’t read me dat part yet from da Greatest Story Ever Tole.”
What a character! She was talking about the worms my sister and I always dug up out of the garden and shared with each other.
When my twin sister and I were little we always thought everything should come in pairs like we did and like the animals in the story of Noah in the Bible. When we only had one of something, my sister and I always shared it. We’d pull a worm apart until we had two equal pieces. Yes, I know – how cruel! But give me a break – we were only two little children. All we could think was that it wasn’t fair if one of us had something and not the other.
My twin and I shared everything and had utmost trust in each other until we became teenagers and when it came to clothes. We never trusted that we’d get things back from each other in the same condition as when they were lent out. But, have there ever been teenage sisters who have been good at sharing clothes?
Trust, attachment and caring are all inside the pages of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. But, the real treasure in the story will come from the enlightenment you will find through the unique perspectives and colorful dialogue of the stellar character.
Don’t miss out on the MP-3 audio book version of “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” when it comes out! This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.
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