Tag Archives: Books

Film Friday: Top Irish Movies

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St. Patty’s Day is just around the corner. A few years ago for the “Wearing of the Green Day,” I featured outstanding Irish writers. If you missed the blog, here is a link to it. https://allthingsfulfilling.com/2012/03/17/irish-city-of-literature/.

 Today on this Film Friday, I thought I’d feature the top ten Irish movies. I’m going to put “My Left Foot,” a story about a disabled artist, poet and writer on my list. I’ve been hoping to see this movie for quite some time now, and still haven’t.Click for Info & Ordering

Here is the list. To read summaries of each of these movies, please go to IrishCentral.com, through this link. http://bit.ly/1dMBPwP.

  • The  Commitments
  • The Quiet Man
  • My Left Foot
  • The Field
  • In the Name of the Father
  • Intermission
  • The Snapper
  • The Crying Game
  • Once
  • Waking Ted Devine

On Monday, Irish writing prompts will be the subject on All Things Fulfilling. I’ll be offering some lead sentences that might just be the thing you need to start writing your tale about Irish gents or ladies who have been in your lineage. No one can tell better stories than the Irish because there are many colorful characters to draw from in most Irish families.

irish limerick

 

 Live, laugh and love! See you back here on Monday. Have a nice weekend everyone!

An Author to Watch

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“You write in order to change the world … if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it.” ~ James Baldwin 

I’ve been so busy I haven’t picked up a book other than my own to proofread it for the zillionth time in several weeks. Not having time to read drives me crazy – walking and reading are my most treasured personal freedoms. It’s how I relax and escape.

library hospital for themind. jpgOn Friday I decided I REALLY needed an outlet aside from what I am doing. I caved and went to the library. I found a real honey of a story by debut novelist Natalie Baszile called “Queen Sugar.”http://bit.ly/1nAv4B9. Oh my, how I have enjoyed it. It has not disappointed. Author Tayari Jones describes the book as “a page turning, heart breaking novel of the new South, where the past is never truly past, but the future is a hot, bright promise.” Put this book, published by Penguin, on your To Read List. In my opinion, the author has interwoven important societal messages and cultural values into a well-crafted story.  Natalie Baszile, I’m keeping my eye on you. You are a great writer!

Now it’s back to work. There is so much a head of me to look forward to.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.

The Glory in the Challenge

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On Thursday, a very important package was delivered to my mailbox. It was a “proof copy,” the first printed and bound copy of my memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.”

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As I opened the package, this is what I was feeling – HAZY!

IMAG0997 In the same blur that has existed for several years now, while the book has been in the making. Writing and publishing a book independently, if I must be candid, takes commitment, persistence, a “can do/will do/nothing is going to stop me attitude. I had determined from the start that I would take on the words of Robert Schuller as a challenge when he asked “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” I was out to answer that and prove it to myself!

Sure, there have been challenges along the way (some big and some small) but I never lost heart in what I was doing because I believed so strongly in the story that I knew one day I’d tell. Every time I got a little disillusioned with my progress, I’d remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who once said “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but rising up every time we fail.”

Here it is – the proof copy. I’m excited but not done yet. Another go round of proofreading faces me.

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You’ll learn more about why I felt it was so important to tell my story when you read it. It has to do with the beautiful traits of a character in it. Although categorized as a memoir, it’s far more than a family tale. There is meaningful value in the universal messages tucked between the covers.

Today, I present to you all my glory……………and by Mothers’ Day, you can share it with me, when you read my story! You can even have it any way you like it – in print from www.Bookcrafters.com and other major on-line booksellers, in an e-book or audio book format. For those who decide on the audio book format – you are in for a very special treat!

See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.com. I’m so excited! This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Thank you, Patient Souls

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St Francis quote about doing few things wellI have always been too good at multi-tasking as most women are. But there are consequences that come with allowing ourselves to do too much.

I think this sign should hang in front of every mirror in every household where there is a woman present. Some lessons are easier learned than others, and this reminder hanging plainly in the face of women might alleviate the guilt feelings that come along  when we CAN’T do it all.

Over the past few years, as I have written my memoir, there are things that I know I am guilty of – having neglected certain people, circumstances or tasks. I apologize! It’s not like me at all. But, I guess since I am only a human being, like everyone else, sometimes I screw up or overcommit.

There have been compromises that have been necessary to getting the “other job done.” I am talking about writing and independently publishing a book. Thankfully, my regrets are few. Penning my story has been most personally fulfilling thing I’ve done in my life.

Do return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, I’ll have a surprise for you that has made my transgressions all worthwhile.

god bless you and thank you

Today I ‘d like to honor anyone who has had to be patient

 with me and who has had to sacrifice, so that I could get the job done!

Signed, Forever Grateful.

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Believe it or Not

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 Y'all ain't gonna believe this.Being a twin, my sister and I were partners in crime. Only our silly, foolish double-trouble was more of the innocent kind.

For a child, there is nothing more fulfilling than having someone to pair up with who is also “game” for participating in childhood foolishness – I had that partner in my sister. For instance, once when we had tired of playing with our baby dolls we took up the challenge of trying to diaper two big toads that were leaping about our yard. “Kleenex and mini-sized safety pins, will work perfectly,” we thought. Yeah, I know, “Oh how silly.” An impossible task to achieve, when the toads were intent on hopping around. It kept us busy for a whole afternoon.

The stellar character my upcoming memoir “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” caught us in action. “Lord a Mercy,” she said, “what is ya’ll doin’? Y’all leave dem leapin’ lizards ‘lone. You’ll be growing in all da wrong places if ya keeps on touchin’ dem warts on dem frowgs!” 

Ahhh…that’s only one story that was left out of my memoir. Believe it or not, I’ve got plenty more to tell.  Other tales are  coming on Mother’s Day, when “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected” is released.

If you haven’t done so already, go to our new About the Book page on All Things Fulfilling,  you can see the book cover image and read some reviews from pre-publication readers, too.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. See you tomorrow!

A Piece of Humble Pie

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Gratefulness is the gallantry of a heart ready to rise to the opportunity a given moment offers.

~ David Stendl Rast

sweetheart_cherry_pieDo you know what today is? It is February 22nd – National Humble Day. Perhaps at first glance you may have thought I meant National Hubble Day -celebrating “the man who was first to show that the universe is expanding and is considered by many to be the father of observational cosmology.” 

Well, I suppose I am celebrating National Hubble Day in my own kind of way because today I am celebrating all who have expanded my world by introducing me to the world of independent publishing. It all started back in 1998 when I was hired by West Wind Fine Art, LLC  to handle the internet sales of the publication which became a smash hit for painters “Everything I Know about Painting” by Richard Schmid, published by Stove Prairie Press, LLC. (an independent press). At the time, hardly a soul was selling books over the world-wide-web.

Oh…how things have evolved. Never would I have dreamed that the position at West Wind Fine Art, LLC would have launched me into an entirely new cosmos. And an even more far-fetched idea of penning my own book! It’s  due to be released this spring.

Well, things have changed in my world and in the publishing world – dramatically! Ordinary people with extraordinary stories are now writing, publishing and selling books through the power of e-commerce and e-marketing. To read a report on the industry with some of the latest statistics, please visit this link. http://bit.ly/1dt6xv9.

Today, I’ll eat a piece of humble pie and look back at the changes in technology that have made independent  publishing possible for people who  have great stories to tell but would not have had a prayer of having a their stories told and sold traditionally.

This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. Look forward to your return to All Things Fulfilling tomorrow.

Swinging Life Apart

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“One must learn to love oneself with a wholesome and healthy love so that one can bear to be with oneself ...” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

girls standing up on swing set

Last night I had a wonderful dream that I was back on the elementary school playground with my twin sister. So today in my blogging we are going to travel down nostalgia lane.

Remember those days? Pumping on the swing trying to reach the clouds high in the sky? My sister and I often competed with one another to see who could push the limits. She usually won the race because her stamina was much greater than mine.

We were both pretty fearless when it came to heights, but I may have been the greater daredevil. As soon as we crested the top, we’d let go, become air bound and jump to the ground, nearly giving my mother a double heart attack.

An advantage of being a twin is that you have a “built-in” playmate.The challenge of being a twin is that people often treat twins as if they are one unit rather than two autonomous people with individual strengths, likes and needs.

Years ago, child psychologists theorized it was best to keep twins together in the same classroom, but they have since learned not so! http://bit.ly/1lWgEdY. When seventh grade rolled around my twin and I began to learn what life was like with separate groups of friends. We were put into different classes and weaned away from one another, having to adjust to not being together constantly.

Even to this day, we have lots of mutual friends. It wasn’t until I married that we really were completely separated and life has never been the same for us since. In fact for four decades we have lived in different cultural and geographical climates.  One lives in the heat and humidity surrounded by a huge population of people, the other in artic temperatures in remote and intimate surroundings.

What we share are similar values that were instilled in both of us when we were little. You’ll learn more about my twin double troubles in my memoir, Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. Click for info & ordering

Do come back tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling. This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

My Winter Olympics Race

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“Starting your book is only the first five miles of a twenty-six-mile marathon that’s one-third of a triathlon (authoring, publishing, and entrepreneuring).” ― Guy Kawasaki

I’ve been so busy I really haven’t watched much of the Olympics.  For a few minutes I looked in on the ice skating. Lately, I’ve felt like a participant in a speed skating relay race – going back and forth with the publisher to make very minor, but necessary changes. Every last detail has to be in place so it is smooth sailing and there are no trip-ups to having the manuscript published. Thank goodness I finally did a hand-off and gave my manuscript to the publisher. It was time to let go, and let someone else carry the composition to the finish line.

energy goes where attention goesMost people would think now it’s a straight glide to the end point ~  not quite! The marketing, promotion and advertising is a completely  different dimension to a publishing project. Many authors loose steam, big-time, when it comes to that part.

It’s not just the independent publisher who has to carry the load of marketing, promotion and advertising. A traditional publishing house  is committed to putting  big resources behind a top selling author but, most authors are now expected to carry a good portion of the marketing load themselves. It’s understandable. After all, no one can promote a story as well as the one who wrote it because they have an intimate relationship with the characters!

Like any job, writing and publishing is not without it’s challenges. But for me,  it is very personally fulfilling. Thankfully, I went into the project with realistic expectations since I had worked in the independent publishing industry long before starting my own race.

The prize for me will come as each book is sold in the marketplace. Now, it’s back to more work. This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. The space where independent thoughts, words and views are all part of the business.

At the Heart of the Story

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“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest of souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” ~ Khalil Gibran

“Holy Mother, Full of Grace,” I said suddenly to myself when I saw the International Serial Book Number (ISBN) attached to my story “Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.” This dream I have had of publishing a book is about to become a reality!

Every heart has a story to tellI‘ve felt the presence of someone much greater than I watching out for me throughout my whole life. It’s all part of my character driven story. I am so grateful to those who have been beside me throughout all my lifetime of experiences including the publishing process.

Tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling I will tell you a brief story of just a few paragraphs of something that happened to me this summer that brought my thoughts about gratefulness full circle. Do come back!

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Story of Attachment

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“Because everything of value that we will know in this life comes from our relationships with those around us. Because there is nothing material that measures against the intangibles of love and friendship.” ― R.A. Salvatore, Passage to Dawn

twin babies picture, one not expected to livejpg

Medical research institutions and psychologists have put a recent emphasis on studying what love, friendships and positive living have to do with good health and the outcome of surviving illness. I am deeply interested in this subject. It is just one of the reasons I have chosen to share my experiences through this blog and in an upcoming memoir.

Here is an insightful article from the Mayo Clinic about the value of love and friendships, check it out. http://www.mayoclinic.org/friendships/art-20044860.

February is a good time to share our heartfelt sentiments, so on this day I’d like to say to all of my family and friends.  “I am grateful for the wonderful support systems I have had in my life. I believe they make such a valuable difference.”

This video is especially for my twin sister because I know she will enjoy it. Warning: Be ready to clap your hands and tap your feet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh7YyoDD138. This video was produced by artists collaborating with one another from all over the world.

There are other important contributing factors besides love and friendship that I believe have led me to enjoy a fulfilling and vigorous life. I will relate them to my readers when my book is ready.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. The space where independent thoughts, words and views are all part of the business.