Category Archives: Life

The Liberian Agenda BookBub Promotion Mothers Day 2017

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The Liberian Agenda

Hi there:

I have great news! BookBub is going to feature my book – “The Liberian Agenda” – for a promotion on Mothers Day, May 14, 2017.

The fact that “The Liberian Agenda” will be promoted by BookBub on Mother’s Day is ironic and a little bittersweet to me for a number of reasons. First, I lost my mother a few years ago. I didn’t finish or publish “The Liberian Agenda” until July, 2016, so she never got to read the story or see it published.

An avid reader, my mother always encouraged my writing, but, before her death, I treated writing as more of a sideline. It was her death that made me realize that life is short and the time to follow your dreams is now or never. So, in June, 2014, I left the large AmLaw top 100 law firm at which I had worked for twenty two years and started my own self-publishing company and mediation firm. Since then, I’ve published five books and three audiobooks (some under other pen names).

My mom, who always worried about me losing my soul and my creative spirit to the BigLaw grind, would have been happy to see me finally branch out on my own and follow my dreams. It saddens me a little that I waited until she was gone to take that leap. But I’d like to think she’s cheering me on from the other side.

Second, despite the action-packed storyline and steamy scenes, “The Liberian Agenda” is all about motherhood and, more specifically, the lengths to which a mother would go to protect her child:

“Sonia Johnson, native New Yorker, attorney, and daughter of a U.S. Senator, never expected to find herself a virtual prisoner in Liberia, but her husband – the country’s new president by way of coup d’etat – won’t let her take their son back to the States. The only way for her to protect him from her husband’s enemies is to spy on her new family for the C.I.A. If she gets caught, her son will grow up without a mother – if he grows up at all.”

The Liberian Agenda is available for free on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble and Kobo from Mothers Day, May 14, 2017, through Tuesday, May 16, 2017. Click here to get your copy and don’t forget to leave a review.

Peace,

LJ

Transitions

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Hey there:

So I didn’t make it to the third level of the 2014 Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Contest.  But that’s okay.  I got some very useful feedback from the Amazon.com Vine Reviewers that will enable me to make my novel “False Love” that much better.  I’m thrilled to have made it as far as I did in the contest – further than I’ve ever gotten before.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my life has recently undergone some major transitions.  Among other things, I resigned from my job and started two new businesses: my own law practice and my own self-publishing company.  If there was ever a time for me to take a chance and start living the dream, it would be now.  So I’m going for it.

My debut novel – “Just Dreams” – will be out in a few weeks.  The cover is already complete. I’ve just got to implement the revisions suggested by my outside editor and get it formatted for publication.

I can’t tell you how excited and nervous I am about the book and everything else.  I’m walking around feeling terrified yet strangely liberated at the same time.

It’s crazy but, despite the fact I don’t have to report in to the office every day anymore, I still find myself struggling to find the balance between taking care of the marketing and logistical aspects of starting two businesses and finding the time to write.  Who knew that ordering business and announcement cards, mastering the art of marketing on social media, and running around to train and network and properly register the businesses with the appropriate authorities would be so time consuming? I’ve spent hours reassuring friends, family and colleagues that I haven’t lost my mind or suffered some sort of midlife crisis. And we won’t even talk about all the time I’ve been spending with the relatively new (it will be a year in August) and much younger boyfriend.  Oh well, at least he made himself useful by providing me with inspiration for the romantic suspense novels and designing and creating the book covers.   I think he did a great job with the covers.  I hope you think so too.  I’m going to reveal the cover art soon so you can tell me what you think.

It’s going to be a little crazy around here over the next few weeks with me editing the book while figuring out how to set up blog tours, format and upload the book to Amazon, Kobo and Barnes and Noble, and the logistics of running a law practice, and attending writers and law conferences.  But we’ll get it done.

Thank you so much for your support during these transitions.  You’ll be hearing from me again soon.

Peace

My First 10K

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Six months ago, if you’d have told me that I was going to train for and participate in a 10K race, I would have laughed it off. Today I walked my first 10K race ever. Overall, it was a great experience. Crossing that finish line was exhilarating. Looking back and knowing I did that gives me a huge feeling of accomplishment.

Although it was a great experience, the race was not without its difficulties. I walked my best time ever – an average of 17:00 minutes per mile – and finished the race in 1 hour 44 minutes time. Even so, I was the last person to cross the finish line. I was also the last person to make the halfway point. Several of the runners coming back the other way when I was still trying to reach the midpoint were sweet and encouraged me to keep going. It was still a little demoralizing and a bit lonely to be the last straggler in the race.

Most of the cops and volunteers I passed along the way also called out encouragement. But, in my last mile, the police started to get impatient – presumably because they wanted to release the traffic. One of them said “C’mon, you’ve got to pick up the pace! Get those arms up!” Now mind you, he had some nerve. He was a big guy who looked like he’d consumed more than his fair share of jelly donuts. Lucky for him, I was too busy trying to breathe and get to the finish line to respond. But even he couldn’t diminish the experience. Today, my goal was to finish the 10K race within its time parameters. I did that and I’m very happy. I’ve had a goofy smile on my face most of the day.

I learned some important lessons during this race. For one, I need to get faster. I don’t want to be the last straggler during the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon. Training and learning the proper technique for race walking is the key to that. I decreased my time by nearly three minutes per mile from the 5K I did in February by training in a half-assed sort of way. Imagine how much more I could have decreased my time if I had followed the training schedule diligently and learned how to race walk. Maybe I could get down to a twelve-minute mile. Now that would be something. There is a race walking group in Miami that meets on Tuesday and Thursdays. I think I’ll go check them out.

I also need to make sure I get a good night’s sleep and give myself more time to park, stretch, etc. before the race. I stayed up too late and got about four hours sleep last night. As a result, I was already tired when I started the race and rushed so I didn’t get a chance to hit a restroom right before the start. With all the water I drank before and during the race, it was a little uncomfortable.

I learned a lot about myself during this race too. I learned that I need to rely less on external positive encouragement and more on internal drive, focus and commitment. I learned that I need to push myself harder and more often because I can do more than I think I can. Before today, I had never consistently walked at a 17 minute per mile pace. It wasn’t comfortable and I was breathing heavier than normal, but I could do it. I rediscovered that once I set my mind on a goal and dig in, I can achieve it. I think I’ll set my mind to some other goals now, like taking off some of this weight, finishing my novels and finding an agent.

Peace

Pre-Race Jitters – Upcoming 10K

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So my first 10K ever is coming up in just three days. On Saturday, May 11, 2013, I will be participating in the 12th Annual ALS Lou Gehrig’s Disease 10K in Coconut Grove, Florida.

I’m going to be walking – not running the race. But still, I need to finish within the race’s time parameters. I’m a little nervous about it, but at least I don’t think that participating in a 10K is Mission Impossible for me anymore.

To make sure that I was physically capable of completing the 10K within the time parameters, on Sunday morning I put on my shocking pink Mizuno Wave Riders and matching top and walked 6.5 miles. According to my pink Garmin Forerunner 10 watch, I completed my walk in two hours two minutes and thirty-five seconds. Since that includes the time I spent waiting to cross the street at red lights and dodging wandering tourists, and a 10K is only 6.2 miles (instead of 6.5), I should be able to complete the race by the deadline. Barely. By the skin of my teeth. Pray for me.

When I finally got home from that very long walk, I was thirsty, sweaty, sore, stiff, vaguely nauseous and very tired, but I was still happy. What made me happy is the fact that whether or not I complete the race on Saturday, I’ve already accomplished something that seemed out of reach even two weeks ago. I’ve learned so much about myself during this journey and I look forward to learning more as I finish the race, take a short break, then continue on to train for the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon.

Watch out world! Here I come – one step at a time.

Peace

Time to Dig in – 10K Training

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So I’m signed up to do the 12th Annual ALS Lou Gehrig’s Disease 10K on Saturday, May 11, 2013 in Coconut Grove, Florida. I’m going to walk it. Running is just not in my wheelhouse right now.

Since the 10K is less than two weeks away, I stepped up my training last weekend and lengthened the duration of my endurance walk. I walked 4.5 miles on Sunday. Since I was too lazy to leave the house and take my walk in the cooler early morning hours, I did it in 85 degree weather. Needless to say, I had to stop for water at one point and I was pretty tired and overheated when I got back to my place. At some point during the journey, I didn’t think I’d make it. I had visions of being found laid out by the side of the road, wearing my new searing day glo acid pink tank top, matching sneakers and black Bermuda shorts. I normally am a very conservative dresser. Reknown for wearing black and navy Jones New York suits, I like to fade into the background and not make too many waves. Apparently, I’ve gravitated to the opposite end of the spectrum with respect to my workout clothes, shoes and equipment, opting for gear that fairly screams “Look at me!”

My lack of stamina is a slight problem since I struggled to walk 4.5 miles and a 10K is 6.2 miles. Strangely enough though, once I got over the initial feeling of wanting to die, walking started to become easier. Maybe I fell into a good rhythm or found my second wind. Maybe the music got better on my I-Pod or the scenery more interesting. Whatever the reason, I started rocking right along until I became unbearably thirsty and had to stop at a Walgreen’s for a bottle of water. I bought some makeup removal cloths too since I was there. But I digress.

The closer I got to home, the more I struggled to keep going. I wondered whether I’d be able to do the full 6.2 miles in 12 days and, more importantly, within the race time parameters.

They say that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. When I was so tired I just wanted to lay down, I grit my teeth, reached into my reserves and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Next thing you know, I was home.

Right now, I’m having a hard time envisioning walking for 13.1 miles in September. Hell, I’m having a hard time envisioning completing the 10K on May 11th. But I know two things: (1) I’ve never let fear or a few obstacles stop me from trying to achieve whatever goal I’ve set for myself and I’ll be damned if I’ll start now, and (2) I’ll find the strength to tough it out and finish the race. I always do.

It’s time to dig in and find out what you’re made of. Is there a dream you’ve been putting off for a long time? Does the road get so tough or have so many obstacles you just want to give up? These challenges are just opportunities for us to dig in, reach into those reserves and find out what we’re made of. Take advantage of them. You’ll be glad you did.

Peace.

How to Walk a 5K by Mistake

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So, I’ve been training to walk a 10K next month and I’m freaking out because it’s coming up soon. May 11th to be exact.  It’s the 12th Annual ALS Lou Gehrig’s Disease 10K in Coconut Grove.

I haven’t been extremely diligent in my training, but I have been training and I have noticed some improvements in my speed and endurance. I’m hoping that what training I have done and will do in the next two weeks will enable me to finish the 10K and cross the finish line within the allotted time. This is an intermediate step that I’m taking before I start training for the 2013 Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon which takes place in September.

Two Sundays ago, in furtherance of my training, I got up, dragged on my sneakers and prepared to walk. It was the day for endurance training, so I made a plan. I used shopping as a way to provide myself with the incentive to take a good hike. I planned to walk from my house to a nearby Best Buy store and back. To reward myself, I planned to stop at the Best Buy store and purchase an I-Pod. I wanted one because they’re lighter than my I-Phone and thus easier to carry while I train.

I walked to the Best Buy store, made the purchase, grabbed a bottle of water from a vending machine and walked back. When I got back home, I was somewhat tired, very hungry and a little sweaty. I stretched my tired muscles and then plugged my Garmin Forerunner watch into my computer to see the stats pertaining to my walk. To my surprise, I had walked a total of 3.2 miles (1.6 miles each way). That’s .1 miles more than a 5K!

I couldn’t believe it. I had no idea that the Best Buy Store was that far from my condo building. I thought about the way I felt after walking the Tropical 5K earlier this year versus how I felt after this trek and realized that I had made measurable improvement in my speed and stamina.

So, what incentive can you give yourself to get off the couch? A massage? WeightWatchers activity points that can applied to food? Together time with your honey bunny or child? A new toy or gadget? Apparently shopping is a great motivator for me. 🙂 Whatever it is, go for it. The benefits are worth it.

Getting Back on the Wagon – the 5K Race

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So, I lost 60 pounds a year ago and guess what happened?  I got complacent, lax with my diet, got off WeightWatchers, stopped exercising regularly, and gained a large portion of the weight back.   I was so disgusted with myself and so intimidated by the prospect of taking it all off again (and keeping it off) that, for months, I did nothing.  And I do mean nothing.  No exercise, no attempt to balance my diet, no regular exercise, nothing.  I didn’t even continue blogging about health issues or posting new healthy recipes because I just didn’t feel qualified to do so.

A couple of things happened recently to re-ignite the spark in me and get me off the couch.  First, enough people at my job agreed to bring back the WeightWatchers at work program.  Yay! No more having to travel to North Miami  to attend a meeting on Mondays when I have a conflicting gospel choir rehearsal (which is why I quit).  I can just go to a conference room at work on Thursdays at noon.  Also, WeightWatchers has a new 360 degree approach to weight loss that appears to be working for me.  I got my first gold star for losing 5 pounds on the program at last week’s weigh-in.

The second thing that happened is that my girlfriends came to Miami for the ING Marathon.  Some of them are old pro runners who ran the half-marathon.  Two of the girls are novices like me who vowed to participate in the Tropical 5k the day before the marathon. Since I am  a joiner at heart, I jumped onto the bandwagon and agreed to do the Tropical 5K.

Unbeknownst to me, however, one of my friends, who just had a baby less than a year ago, had been training to run the 5k for months and lost more than sixty pounds in the process.  When I saw how good she looked, my jaw dropped.  And I used to be the one to inspire her to get into shape.

I walked the Tropical 5K and came in two seconds under the deadline.  Crossing the finish line was exhilarating.  Going to the ING Marathon site the next morning to cheer my other friends on was also very inspirational.  Standing amidst a crowd of 25,000 runners from all over the world and watching the sun rise was an indescribable experience.

Needless to say, I have now been bitten by the marathon bug.  The three of us who participated in the Tropical 5K now plan to do the Rock and Roll Half Marathon with our other friends in Philadelphia in September.  I also signed up for a 10K that will take place in Coconut Grove, Florida in May.  I’m training for the 10K now.  I plan to walk it (I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination).

Training for the 10K has brought a purpose to my exercise regime other than weight loss which is to survive the race and come in under the deadline.  This type of external goal is something I’ve never had before. It gives me a more direct incentive to wake up and walk in the mornings.  And I must say that it works.  I may have slacked off the past few days, but you better believe I’ll be up walking tomorrow morning because I want to be ready.  I want to feel the exhilaration of timely crossing the finish line once again.  In every sense of the word.

So, have you fallen off the wagon?  What will inspire you to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on?  Maybe I’ll see you at the 10K or the Rock and Roll Half Marathon.

Peace.

What Writers Can Learn From Rejection

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I’m baaaack!  I took a little hiatus to work on some non-writing goals, but I’m back baby and more fired up than ever.

Okay, so I got kicked out of the Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Contest during the pitch stage and two of the three e-publishers that requested to see excerpts of my legal thriller have rejected it.  I could sink into a funk, throw in the towel, and stop writing, or I can pick myself up, dust myself off, and see whether I can learn something from this experience.

As writers, we get a lot of rejection – whether it’s a less than thrilling grade from a professor, a form rejection letter from an agent or editor, or a bad review of a published work.  Chances are that if you submit your work to public scrutiny and/or try to get it published, you will withstand a fair amount of rejection along the way.  They say that, to survive in this business, we must learn to be thick-skinned, to roll with the punches and to never give up.

In his book “On Writing” Stephen King tells us that we should be ready to paper our walls with rejection letters until we get that one shot.  In fact, he literally did that.  I don’t know . . .   that would take up a lot of wall space and mess with my decor.

The thing is that not all rejections are created equal and the reasons for rejection vary.  Your work might be rejected because you didn’t properly research an agent or editor and they might not represent the type of book you wrote.  You might get rejected because the type of book you wrote is not hot in the market at this time or the agency or publishing house already represents or has books by competing authors in your genre.  You might get rejected because you didn’t do a good job of pitching or describing the story or your target market or because your prose or your storyline or your writing is not up to the standards  of a particular agent or editor.  You might be a fine writer and/or storyteller but your storyline might not excite or inspire an agent or editor to want to sign you up or publish your work.

The types of rejections you get vary as well.  Sometimes you get a form e-mail or letter simply stating that your work is not a good fit for that agency or publishing house, sometimes you get very detailed editorial comments, and sometimes you just get radio silence.  I seemed to have progressed from getting form rejections letters to getting very detailed comments on my excerpts from editors and agents alike.  That tells me that I’m close to finding the one (agent and/or editor) according to the tales told by successful novelists concerning their breakthroughs.

Sometimes, we can actually learn something from rejection.  In my last rejection letter, the editor told me some of the same things I had heard from my beta readers – that my book has too much legalese in it which threw her out of the story and that it started too slowly after the action- packed prologue.  So what did I learn from that?  I learned that I should listen to my beta readers and edit the beginning of the book to move it along.  The legalese and a couple of unnecessary scenes are slowing the book down.  Apparently, it takes flight after page 50 where the only legal scenes take place in the courtroom (as opposed to in the law firm) and are more dramatic.

Sometimes, you have to take some of the editorial advice you get with a grain of salt.  One editor, in her rejection letter, told me that she didn’t like the fact that my hero was suing for the death of his wife and child and yet was attracted to his very sexy attorney.  All of my beta readers (with one notable exception) had no problem with that whatsoever.  They felt that almost two years was enough time for him to be ready to move on even though he was in the process of seeking revenge against the company that caused the death of his family.  If it was a romantic suspense novel (as opposed to being a legal thriller with strong romantic elements), I might have to rethink that storyline since romance readers might be more sensitive to that issue.  But I seem to be making more progress now that I’ve stopped trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.  I do not write romance novels.  Period. 🙂

What did I learn from being kicked out of the Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Contest at the pitch stage?  That I probably shouldn’t have put a line as asinine as: “This book is a legal thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat” in my pitch. Oh well, I’ll do better next year.

In the meantime, I have a legal thriller to edit and send out to more agents and editors, another thriller to rework, and a political suspense novel to edit and get ready to pitch at Thrillerfest next month.

Giving up is not in my DNA.  I bet it’s not in yours either.

Peace.

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Overcoming Fear

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Last year, around this time, I sabotaged any chance I might have had to win the 2011 Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Contest by waiting until the last possible second to edit my suspense novel and then electronically submitting it two minutes past the deadline (which, by the way, was two minutes after midnight on a Monday morning in January).

Missing the deadline and not entering the contest wouldn’t have been such horrific events if I hadn’t spent most of the week and the entire weekend before the deadline editing the novel (and I do mean the entire weekend – I barely slept).

Why did I do that to myself?  Fear.  Fear of losing the contest, fear of winning the contest and being locked into the terms of the publishing contract that is first prize, fear of having others review the book and tear it apart, fear of never even making it through the first stage of the contest.  You name it, I was terrified of it.

This year, I entered my romantic legal thriller – “Just Dreams” – into the contest at 12:02 a.m. on the very first day of the contest.  What was so different about this year?  I asked myself some very valid questions like:  How will I ever know how far I could get in the contest if I never enter it?  How will I ever find out whether people enjoy my writing if I don’t let anyone read it?  And then there’s the most relevant question:  Why the hell am I writing all these books if I’m too afraid to let anyone read them?  Do you have any idea how much work it is to write a book?!!  But I digress.

Don’t be fooled.  I’m still as terrified as I was last year.  I darn near had a heart attack after I pressed the “Submit” button and I’ve used the “Edit” feature on the site quite a few times since then.  The difference this year is that I refuse to let my fear stop me from trying to realize my dream of becoming a published novelist.  I’m pushing through it to get to where I want to be.

How about you?  What are you afraid of?  Public speaking?  Looking for a new job?  Getting back out there and dating after a divorce or bad breakup?  Wearing a mini-skirt? Making a fool of yourself?  Succeeding? Failing? If your fears are stopping you from living and/or realizing your dreams, then maybe you need to find a way to push through them.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  I might get kicked out of the contest at an early stage or I might take it all.  At least this year, I get to find out.

Peace

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Happy Thanksgiving and Using the Senses of Taste and Smell in Fiction

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When I think of Thanksgiving I think of my mother’s cooking – the taste of her macaroni and cheese, her stuffing, her sweet potato pie.  I was watching the Food Network’s two hour Thanksgiving Live special and, when Rachel Ray started talking about her stuffing recipe, I was instantly transported to all those holidays when I helped my Mom prepare hers and we shared the food with friends and family around my dining room table.

It’s funny how certain foods evoke memories of events.  You see a turkey or cranberries, you think holidays.  I smell sage and I think of Mom’s stuffing.

In fiction, novice writers tend to rely more heavily on sight and sound and touch to trigger memories or to make an event more real.  Two powerful but underused senses we could use to make scenes more palpable are taste and scent.  A scent or a taste could trigger a memory into our hero or heroine’s mind that could serve as the vehicle for inserting much needed backstory into a book.  The scent or taste of garlic or spices or beer could trigger a memory of a vacation to Italy or India or of having been stationed on an army base in Germany or of helping a parent or a spouse prepare a meal.

Scents and tastes could also be used to make settings more real or to establish facets of characters.  For example, the scent of paprika or cumin or curry could be used to make a scene in a Hungarian kitchen or a Mexican marketplace or an Indian restaurant more real.  The taste of coconut milk and ginger in a dish could be used to make a scene in a Thai restaurant or kitchen more palpable or hint at a cook’s Thai or Indian heritage or connection to those places.

These are ideas that popped into my head while in the process of editing my novels since I am bombarded by the scents and tastes and images of the Thanksgiving holiday.  I hope you find them helpful.

I wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving.  May you enjoy and savor the opportunity to spend the holiday with friends and family and create new memories.

Peace.

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