I got this email that made me do a bit of investigationI never subscribed to Amazon Prime, so the flag went up. I always check where the email is coming from, so I checked. It says fro Amazon, but the email address given to Mailchimp is abbie.cakesco@gmail.com. DEFINITELY not Amazon Check who the sender isThis is what you'll see in the pop-up windowCheck the sender's addressThis is Amazon Headquarters's addressNow wait a minute!Abbie Cakes looks like a legit business! Oh, my! Those cakes look beautiful and delicious! But what's going on here? Abbie Cakes doesn't look like they'd use dirty tricks to sell cakes! Check it yourself: https://www.abbiecakesco.com/ What I think, they might have hired a marketing company that use dirty tricks to to entice people to the site so the site owner can see results as increased visitor numbers. Well, I'm going to send them the link to my little investigation and they can look into this how their business is used to send emails with false information.
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Don't turn into a couch potatoThis #coronavirus is really kicking our butts. Most of us have never been stuck at home for so long. We all have ways to use the extra time on our hands. We catch up on reading and watching movies we never had time for, we clean, we cook, spend quality time together. But we need some exercise. The gyms are closed and it's not a good idea to attend social gatherings, so what could we do? Because I was born with two left feet (not literally) I can't do complicated dance moves or high impact exercises. But there are hundreds of low impact, fun exercise videos on YouTube. Try a few. It will make you feel good, promise! I love this song and the dance moves are easy to learnThe 80s had the best dance musicThis Tai Chi series is easy to follow and very relaxingBut if you like to dance, this video is one of my favorites tooPost the links to your favorite exercise videos in comments.
Have fun and stay healthy! Go from full stress mode to a relaxed state in 60 secondsA friend asked me: "I've watching you for a long time multitasking as a trauma nurse and dealing with problems in your personal life. You never lose your cool and you seem to be in control all the time. If I have to pay attention to two different things at the same time I freak out, while you do ten different things and make it look so easy. How do you do it? What is your secret?" No secrets here. I've just learned how to relax, from my cat. Have you ever watched a cat running and jumping like a maniac one minute and then suddenly stop and stare into thin air for a second and flop down on the floor licking its paw looking totally relaxed? A few seconds later they continue chasing the invisible mouse or their own tails. It seems as if cats have found the best way to stop stress from burning out their nervous system and boost their brains. Of course I have stress in my life. Working in the ER for so many years and solving everyday problems that life throws at me, can be very stressful at times. When I work on editing, designs, or researching facts for my next novel, sometimes I feel like my brain has 16 tabs open and I need to re-focus to make sense of it all. I've tried meditation. Well, it didn't work for me. After a minute or so deep breathing, my mind started wandering and I begun making plans and thought about things that had to be done. So, knowing I can't concentrate on relaxation for more than a minute, I learned to reboot my brains, just like a cat. I stop (when I can) every waking hour and marvel at something beautiful for 60 seconds. There are 60 minutes in every hour and we're awake about 16 hours a day, that's 960 minutes. So I thought: what if I'd spend just 16 minutes a day to relax and go about dealing with stress for the rest of 944 minutes of my day? I tried and it worked. Marvel at something beautifulDriving by a frozen lake surrounded by snow covered trees, stop for a minute to marvel at the beautiful scenery. Breathe the fresh air, take a close look at nature's beautiful work of a snowflake. Sit with your dog and absorb the serenity of nature or just marvel at the beautiful painting on your wall. Dogs have the amazing ability to pick up your mood and reduce your stress just by being there by your side. Blow the dandelion seeds into the air and watch them parachute in the wind finding a home where they'll bloom next year. Watch a little bird feeding its chicks. Marvel at a delicately made embroidery. Find beautyYou'll be amazed how much beauty surrounds you anywhere you go. Find something beautiful and marvel at it for 60 seconds. You'll be surprised how energized you'll feel and your rebooted brain will be a lot more focused to tackle the next task or problem that's been awaiting. Let me know if this will affect your everyday life and stress level. Picture and video credit to www.pixabay.com
Children recognize the "look" of the child molesterAccording to statistics, in the majority of child molesting cases close family members are the perpetrators.
I still remember the "yucky" feeling I felt that a close family friend's glances gave me when I was about five years old. I still remember the uncomfortable conversation with my mom, after uncle Frank left. I was scared and felt something that resembled shame, but when Mom sat down to watch TV, I curled up on her lap and told her, "Mommy, my stomach hurts." Mom looked at me and probably noticed the anxious look on my face and asked, "Do you feel like throwing up, or you have a funny feeling in your tummy?" "Uncle Frank looks at me funny. I don't like it." My mom shrank back a little and an angry look flashed through her face, which made me regret that I told her about my feelings. In my childish mind, I was convinced that I did something wrong that made Mom angry. But then she quickly hugged me and assured me, "I believe you, munchkin! You didn't do anything wrong. You're a very smart girl to tell me about your feelings, you can always tell me anything. Tell me how it makes you feel when he looks at you." Gaining courage from her words, I tried to explain the sickening feeling I had when the man looked at me. I couldn't find words to explain, but in my mind I saw my cat shrinking away from the neighbor's dog that had the look in his eyes just like uncle Frank did. "Mommy, Mrs. Varga's dog looks that way at Miri every time she goes close to the fence. He wants to hurt her. Does uncle Frank want to hurt me?" Mom hugged me tight and said, "I don't know, honey, he might. I'm so glad you told me about this." She then held my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "You can always tell me everything. You now that, don't you?" "Yes, mommy." "Did he ever touch you, put you on his lap, or told you that you must keep something a secret?" "No..." I hesitated remembering the chocolate bar he gave me the day before. "But he gave me chocolate and told me it's our little secret because he knows you don't let me eat candy before dinner." I sobbed. "It's okay, munchkin, you did the right thing telling me this. Remember, never-ever keep a secret from daddy and me." I didn't see uncle Frank again until I was a teenager, when he was arrested for molesting his brother's ten-year-old daughter. The girl had the courage to speak to her teacher about it because her mother had dismissed her and accused her of lying about the abuse. That's when my dad confessed that he beat creepy Frank to a pulp and banned him from ever entering our house, that day when I told Mom about how he made me feel. Dad could never forgive himself for not going to the police back then. He always thought he could've prevented the abuse of the young girl, but also knew that without proof, and only the words of a five-year-old, the police couldn't have done anything. I was lucky to tell my mom about my gut feelings, and she was smart not to didn't dismiss me but inquired further. She knew that young children can't always describe what makes them anxious or uncomfortable, but they can tell you about their gut feelings in their own way, or they find the way to play it out. Children often say their stomach hurts when they feel anxious, because they can't describe the feeling of anxiety, worry, shame, or when someone's actions make them feel uncomfortable. Talk to your children, and no matter what they tell you, believe them, and take them seriously. A Good Laugh and the Unwanted ConsequencesA friend stopped by for a coffee and we recalled some humorous moments from the times when we worked together in the Emergency Room.
She laughed so hard when I told her the story when I was named "Patient whisperer" that she sprayed coffee all over the place-mat of the kitchen table. Suddenly, her expression grew serious, and she cried out, "Oh, crap! I wet my pants." This made me laugh more, but when she shot me angry look, I raised my brows questioningly. "NO! I'm serious," she said with a stern face. "I REALLY wet myself. Just a squirt, but can I borrow one of your pants?" Yup, one of the fun "perks" of getting old. Everything starts to go south, muscles weaken, skins sag, you pee when you laugh, sneeze, or... you get the picture. BUT, we both agreed on how lucky we are to have made it this far. Read my Press ReleaseErika M Szabo, the writer who loves to dance to her own tunes and follow her dreams, introduces her story writing skills and her books that are based on creative imagination. The writer has a passion for creating magical worlds and great characters that make her books enjoyable and interesting for people across all age groups. “It was my grandmother who discovered my storytelling skills and inspired me to continue writing when everyone thought I was wasting my time writing books,” says Erika M Szabo, the writer known for her books that have artistic creativity and fantasy as the core elements. “I followed my dream to become a writer. As an artist, I paint pictures with my brushes, and as a writer, I paint pictures with my words in people’s minds.” Erika M Szabo specializes in writing stories with themes such as alternate history, urban fantasy, magical realism, supernatural fantasy, life experiences, sweet romance, moral values, and similar subjects. Her stories are unique and above all, enjoyable. She wants to write books that can resonate with her readers hundreds of years from now. Published on many sitesSomeone once told me:
"Promises made by just being polite can be broken."
I've never heard so many empty promises until I published my first book.
The past 10 years since I published my first book, hundreds of friends, family, coworkers and strangers commented on my book release posts: "OMG, your new book! I'm buying it right now!" or "This story sounds amazing! I'm so getting this book!" "Is it on Kindle? I'm buying it now!" And, they never mention my books again. And then those who I know personally: "Oh, goodie! Can I have a signed copy?" "Of course! You can buy it on Amazon or B&N. Here comes the reply: "Oh, I thought..." (meaning: "Do you want me to pay for it? I thought you'd give it to me for free") Then the polite excuses: "Oh, I don't really have time to read." I really want to support you, but new books are expensive, I usually I get children's books for my kids at yard-sales or at Salvation Army for a few bucks." People who stumble upon my books on selling sites or click on my websites are buying and enjoying my books. But those I personally know, who are showing polite support by making empty promises, maybe a handful will ever fulfill their promise. People mean well, they want to be polite and supportive, so they make empty promises. So I thought, I could save people from feeling bad because they know the minute they promise to buy my books, they know they will not buy it, but they will feel guilty about making the empty promise. So here is the deal: Click on my books below. Read the free, sample pages and chapters. If you like my books, then buy them. But, if you find my books too expensive for your budget, you can: Tell your local librarian to order my books so you can read them for free. If you'd like to show your support: Share my book links on social sites. (You can easily do it by clicking the share buttons on selling site or on my website.) Tell your friends about my stories that you enjoyed. The truth is that I make less than a cent out of every dollar I've spent publishing my books, so every little bit helps me to keep going, and helps me to invest in publishing my next book. Thank you for your support! Take a look at my booksMakes me wonderAccording to the author grapevine:
A monster has been created! Reviews were meant to be a tool that readers could use to give their opinion freely and without pressure. I did a reader survey recently:
Personal note: I would love to have hundreds of reviews on each of my books, which author wouldn't? For me, this is the only feedback I get on my stories besides my editor's notes on what I did wrong. Grammar mistakes, sentence structure and so on. However, realistically, I can't expect the opinion of every reader. But when a rare review pops up on my books, it makes me happy. I appreciate every single feedback, good or bad (lucky me, so far I only have good reviews) But... I will not beg or pay for reviews. I've been giving out ARC copies or run promo days on selling sites, but I don't go crazy over not getting reviews for the free or discounted books. Hopefully, my books remain to be noticed by readers even with only a few, or no reviews. Smart Women Don't Waste Time ArguingMy mom would've been a great diplomat.
My father was a sweet person, but as many men in those times, he had the illusion of being the head of the household and his word was supposed to be the law in the family. Mom didn't like to waste time with futile arguments, so she always found the peaceful way to do things her way. I was reading on the couch on a weekend afternoon when I heard Mom telling Dad in the kitchen, "The butcher cut the meat so nice and thin, I'm going to make stuffed pork with potatoes for dinner." "I want fried pork, not stuffed!" Came Dad's authoritarian voice. "Okay, dear, I'll make fried pork then, but I don't have enough oil." "I'll go to the store." Dad volunteered. As soon as he was out the door, mom soaked the bread, chopped onion, garlic, apples, dried cranberries and celery, cracked eggs and mixed the stuffing with spices. "Mom, aren't you making fried pork?" "Nope," she replied, smiling. "He's going to be mad." I volunteered. Mom just nodded and by the time Dad got home with the oil, the dinner was out of the oven. "I thought by the time you get home from the store you'd be starving," Mom said with a sweet smile on her face. "It would take a long time to prepare and fry the meat, so I decided to make the stuffed meat instead." Dad opened his mouth to protest with an angry look on his face when Mom took the lid of the pan. "It smells really good," Dad sniffed the air and he's expression softened. But to save his authoritarian dignity he added, "Hope you didn't put anything fancy in the stuffing like those chefs on TV. Who'd put apples and cranberries in the stuffing? You know I like it plain and simple." "Of course I know how you like it, dear! Let's eat." We enjoyed the delicious meal in silence for a few minutes when Dad put his fork down and asked, "What are those tasty bits in the stuffing? It's really good." "Just some apples and cranberries," Mom said. Supernatural thrillerLauren has everything she’d ever wished for. Great career, financial security, loving husband, and devoted friends. When her Raven spirit guide warns her of impending danger, she takes the omen seriously. She doesn’t have enough time to perform the protection spell her grandmother taught her and after a vicious attack and the Raven’s repeated urgent warning, she knows her life is in danger. Who wants her dead and why? Harbinger of danger, the Raven calls Omen of perils that will befall Ignoring its warning, does not bode well Time of the essence, cast protection spell Kraa from the oak, flapping black feather wings Her heart knows the message it brings ~Cindy J. Smith Cozy supernatural thrillerA short excerptLauren slowly opened her eyes. The white ceiling tiles with fluorescent light fixtures told her exactly where she was. I’m in the hospital, but why? What happened to me? Slowly, she tried to move. Every part of her body ached. Her head throbbed, and when she slowly turned her head, she was able to see the IV pole with a pump attached by her bed. My throat hurts. Was I intubated? My belly hurts as if I had surgery. Why can’t I remember? She touched the side of her head and felt a large, painful lump but no wetness in her matted hair. No open wound, I must have fallen and hit my head. But why does my abdomen feel like it’s on fire on the inside? Is my baby okay? She screamed in her mind but knew it was safer for her not to make sudden movements or sit up, but she needed to know why she was in the hospital and what happened to her.
Before she could reach the call button, Marcia rushed into the room and called out to her with worry in her voice, “You must stay in bed! You’ve lost a lot of blood.” “What happened?” Lauren managed to croak out her question. She felt a sharp pain in her throat when she made sounds and could barely manage to move her swollen lips. “I’m just glad you are okay!” Marcia embraced her in a careful hug. “I went back to the office because I forgot my phone, and I found you on the floor unconscious and bleeding.” Two particular dolls in her collection scared the daylight out of meMy mother loved her porcelain faced dolls and proudly displayed the in a glass cabinet. Although I never played with dolls other than my paper dress-up doll collection, and Mom forbid me to touch her dolls, I liked looking at their pretty dresses. Until she got two new ones. Those dolls scared me and really freaked me out . Their dead eyes seemed to follow my every move and made the little hairs stand up on the back of neck to the point that I did everything to avoid going into the room.
When I really had to enter the room, I ran to the cabinet and turned those two dolls upside down. Of course, my mother turned them back as soon as she noticed and reminded me again not to touch her dolls. I even tried to leave the cabinet door open so my dog could reach them. Although he shred anything to pieces within seconds, he tiptoed away from the cabinet, and even when I threw one of the dolls to the floor hoping he would chew them to pieces, he ran out of the room. No matter how many times Dad and I told my mom how creepy those dolls were, she laughed. "Don't be silly! There is nothing creepy about them, and they're so pretty." Finally, Grandma came to the rescue two weeks later. As soon as she entered the room she shuddered and told my mom, "Those dolls are cursed! Get rid of them." Mom didn't hesitate and stuffed the dolls in a bag, and to my delight, later that day dropped them off at the thrift shop. A few days later my best friend, Gabi, told me in school, "My mother bought me two dolls for my birthday. They're so creepy looking that I'm scared of them, but I'm more scared to tell my mom that I don't like them." A chill ran down my spine and after school I went over to Gabi's house. As soon as I looked at the dolls I recognized them and told Gabi's mom, "My grandmother told us that those dolls are cursed, so Mom got rid off them." Gabi's mom grabbed the dolls and threw them into the fireplace. Luckily, superstition saved us from being forced to look at creepy dolls every day. When Karma is at its bestLast night this contact message was sent to my Publisher website.When I saw the sender: Pissedoff Reader, I thought, Oh, boy! This reader really hates my book! When I opened and read the message, my first reaction was, "What the Hell?" And then I took a deep breath and tried to think rationally. My book is published on many selling sites, maybe there is a glitch on one of the sites and the book didn't download correctly. So, I sent her an email, not even knowing who she was because she didn't give her name just her email address. When I got the reply, I found out she's a woman. She replied back, "It's cheating! I couldn't even read any of the pages. It's just some small pictures." I assured her that I'll look into this because I want my readers to get my books in the best format possible, and I asked her to describe the picture. She replied angrily that at the bottom of the pictures it says "jump" and she can't read the text on her tablet. By then I had a hunch about what might have happened, so I asked her which site she purchased the book from. "I didn't buy it, it was a website where you can download PDF books for free." And she sent me the link and a blurry picture she took with her phone of her tablet's screen. I clicked on the link and my virus protection immediately flashed "Malicious site". The page had book cover pictures with "Download free" click box under them. Yup, it was a click-bait scam site alright! I wondered if the woman got a nasty virus with her "free" book when she downloaded it. The picture she sent looked like a page screenshot to me. Intrigued, I went through the publishing sites https://books2read.com/Protected-by-the-Falcon-by-Erika-M-Szabo and looked at the free preview pages. I took a screenshot and sent it to the woman. "That's it! That's what the pages look like." she replied back. Then I sent her this message: "Sorry you had a bad experience, but this site where you downloaded the "free" book is called a pirate site. They steal the books, and in this case, the owner of the site is not even smart enough to properly steal the entire book, they just took screenshots of the free pages that are available on legit selling sites. Had you purchase the book from a legitimate selling site such as Amazon, you'd have received a beautifully formatted eBook to enjoy. Also, I advice you to run a virus check on your tablet. The "free" books from pirate sites and not so "free". They usually include a nasty virus or spy cookies in the "free" book. A friendly advice: if they required you to give them your credit card to open a "free" membership so you can download the book, I would put a freeze on the card as soon as possible. I don't wish harm to any reader who downloads pirated books, but...
If someone can't afford the $2.99 price for my eBook, please go to your local library and ask them to purchase the book. Then you can read it for free, but the author and publisher gets paid for their work. Writing and publishing a book is a long process and requires investment as well. 1. The author works on the story for months or even years to bring the best reading experience to readers. 2. It cost money to edit and format the book, have attractive book cover designed. 3. It cost money to promote and market the book so readers can find it. It would never occur to people to ask for free coffee, haircut, manicure, or walk into a store and get shoes and clothes for free, because they know how much work goes into producing items they buy. Publishing a book is work and the authors and publishers deserve to get paid for their work. Don't you think? Your book is finally finishedYou finished your book.
You poured your heart and soul into it. You know it's a great story and readers will love it. You send your inquiry letter to 50 publishers. While you wait for the acceptance letter, you build up followers on social sites. You work on your website and write articles announcing your book. You're excited and tell everyone about your upcoming book. You start getting the rejection letters one by one. A few months went by and 10% of the publishers didn't even reply. You feel devastated and question if your story is good enough. Deep down you know it's good and you feel determent. Figure out how to self-publish your book. Go through the process of paying for ISBN, editing, book cover. Spend a month planning your book launch. Finally it's launch day. And you sell 3 copies. You check your sales dashboard 168 times a day for a week. Nothing. Beg all your 2000 friends and followers on social sites to buy your book. You sell 2 more copies... and then nothing for weeks. Months go buy and you're going crazy in the jungle of promotion and marketing. You spend $600 on marketing and make $25 in royalty payments. You freak out and binge on chocolate cake for days. You're determent to make it as a writer, so you start writing a new story. Months later your story is finished and you start the publishing journey over from step one. So, that's the life of thousands of writers. Very few gets lucky to be noticed and become a bestseller author, but the rest of us keep writing and hoping. We keep writing because we must. We have so much to say that we can't stop writing. And we always have the hope that some day our dreams will come through. I saw a tree walking awayA few years ago my friend and I were enjoying our afternoon coffee and cookies on her porch. The weather was beautiful and my eyes wandered over to a row of trees by the small creek at the edge of her property.
Stunned by what I saw I cried out, "I just saw that small tree walking about 2 feet!" Marie looked at me with shock and fear in her eyes. "What?" That tree looked like it was walking toward that large tree." Marie stared at the trees, shook her head in disbelieve and tried to smile. "Girlfriend," she exclaimed. "Whatever you're on, I want some!" "No!" I protested. "You know me, and you know I would never touch any drugs or even alcohol." "Then you're scaring me! Are you feeling okay?" she asked with worry in her eyes. "I'm fine." I assured her but deep down I started to doubt if I really saw the tree move or my eyes played a trick on me. "But I really saw the tree move. I swear! Let's go, I'll show you." We got up and walked to the creek. What we saw made me feel a whole lot better. "See?" I pointed at a young tree hanging in the air. "That's the tree I saw, and I was right. Look, a beaver chewed the trunk free but the tree couldn't fall because its branches are tangled with that big tree's branches." "Man!" Marie looked at me relieved. "For a minute there I thought you were losing your marbles or going nuts on me." We all meet narcissistic people every daySometimes we fail to recognize them because narcissists tend to be great at first impressions, coming across as very charismatic and personable. Zlatan Krizan, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Iowa State University, explains that there’s actually two kinds of expressions of narcissism: grandiose, which is where the bragging and showing off is exhibited, and shy, where a person may not be as forthright “or be out there with a bullhorn, but is sitting in the corner, fantasizing about when their day will come, and resenting others.” What is a narcissistic personality disorder?A mental condition when people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that's vulnerable to the slightest criticism. People with narcissistic personality usually don't think that anything could be wrong, so they may be unlikely to seek treatment. If they do seek treatment, it's more likely to be for symptoms of depression, drug or alcohol use, or another mental health problem. But perceived insults to self-esteem may make it difficult to accept and follow through with treatment. Narcissistic personality & behavior
You might tell them about your hip surgery but you can see it in their eyes that they're not hearing a word you're saying, but they're thinking about telling you their story, as soon as you shut up, when the doctor removed a splinter from their pinky. You tell them about the award ceremony where you were recognized and honored, but you can read their expression of thinking about what they're going to say to belittle your achievement. How do you deal with narcissistic people? Can you build a healthy relationship with them or as soon as your recognize the symptoms you stop interacting with them and run? In some cases we have the freedom to escape toxic relationships, but sometimes we can't and must find our own way to deal with them the best we can. Sometimes our eyes deceive us
I stopped at a garage sale to browse and found a few books and a Christmas bowl that I loved. I was walking toward the owner with my treasures when I heard a woman, standing by one of the tables, talking to her companion.
"Look, this rubber snake would be great to scare the squirrels away. They keep chewing their way into the attic." "Yes, and it wiggles too," the other woman replied." I turned to look and saw a plum woman holding up a snake by the tail. Snakes give me the heebie-jeebies, even rubber snakes, so I quickened my steps and reached the chair where the owner was sitting. "How much you want for this snake?" The plump woman called over to the owner. The owner seemed to be in deep thoughts for a few seconds staring at the snake in the woman's hand, and then she mumbled, "I don't have a rubber snake." And then she jumped up and screamed from the top of her lung, "Oh, my God! Throw it away!" "What? Why?" The plumped woman asked looking confused, still holding up the wiggling snake by the tail. "It's real! It's a cottonmouth," the owner yelled. "Throw it on the grass as far as you could." The plump woman shook with fear, screamed, and flung her arm throwing the snake about ten feet away. The snake landed on the lawn with a thud and quickly slithered away. The owner closed the garage sale and asked us to leave the property. The plump woman gasped for air and threatened the owner with a lawsuit, but her companion calmed her and trailed her to their car. I was happy to get out of there and heard the owner talking to animal control on her cell phone. I doubt I'll stop at any garage sale in the near future. Halloween story
Halloween is just around the corner and this heroic fantasy story provides great entertainment to children 8-14. It's a great read-along story for children 6-8 as well.
Scroll the presentation below to read about the series or click on the page to read more: A little help for authorsA few authors asked me how I make my blog posts look so neat on Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4264484.Erika_M_Szabo/blog I made this video and tried to explain it as simply as possible. If you find this video useful, feel free to share it with author friends and in your groups. The audio quality is not top-notch because I can't afford a good system, but I hope it's clear enough to be helpful. We're in this publishing jungle together and help each other. Watch the videoThe codes to add to your postIf you find this video useful, feel free to share it with author friends and in your groups.
A spider had found its way into my room, and as usual, I gently swept it into a box and carried it outside. Walking to the back of the property I let the spider out of the box on the porch of the old, rundown cottage. "Make your home here," I said to the spider. "You'll be happier here than in my room." As I walked back to the house I thought about Kati. She was my childhood friend, the gentlest person I've ever met. Even as a young child she was constantly aware of the surroundings, especially living creatures. "They deserve to live a happy life," she would say. "Don't step on that flower, it's so beautiful!" she warned me when we played in the field. "Watch out! The ants are carrying a grub to their nest. Walk over there!" Kati’s influence made me a better person. She passed away when we were seventeen. She had an inoperable brain tumor. But her gentle, loving nature had a huge impact on who I am today. Was that the purpose of her short life? To teach people to respect the life of every living creature? Remembering Kati made me think about how we touch people’s heart and even influence them every day. We don’t even think about it, but a look, a touch, or a few words could make a huge impact on someone’s life. Picture credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaeUq_mep2M At the very beginning of my nursing career, I had a middle-aged deaf patient who came to the ER with an interpreter. I asked her questions, checked her vitals, gave her a gown, and pulled the curtain around her bed to give her privacy to change. After the doctor examined her, I went back to her room a few times to draw her blood, hook up her IV and so on. When the admission was done, I went back to take her up to her hospital room. She motioned to her interpreter and started moving her hands. The lady was looking at her and started interpreting what she said in sign language, “Thank you for looking at me when I’m talking. When I speak to someone, they’re looking at my interpreter and they’re dismissing me like I’m not even there. You’ve shown me respect throughout my visit by acknowledging me as a person.” I didn’t know what to say, so I just gave her a smile. However, from then on, I paid a lot more attention when I approached people. Everyone deserves respect and attention and making someone feel dismissed leaves a painful emotional scar. Compassion leaves a markI'll always remember people who showed kindness, respect, and acknowledged me as a person.
The woman with a full shopping cart told me to go ahead of her in line because I only had a head of lettuce in my hand. The young man who gave me his seat on the bus when I was pregnant. The construction worker who paid for my coffee when someone stole my valet out of my purse in the line in the coffee shop. The nurse who sat with me quietly, holding my hand, when my mom passed away in the hospital. Did anyone leave a mark on your soul? Did anyone with words, actions, or showing an example make you want to be a better person and pass on the kindness you've been shown by others? ~Erika M Szabo What is the difference?Critique is a detailed analysis, assessment, and evaluation in a detailed and analytical way. Criticism is the expression of disapproval based on perceived faults or mistakes. A review is a form of subjective critique that expresses the reader's opinion. Being a writer is hard and building critique is important to every writer. Authors need feedback in order to grow as writers and the goal of the person who critiques an author's work is to point out the areas that need improvement, without crushing the author's spirit. Every writer goes through different stages of their writing career and even those, who are just at the beginning, need encouragement. A good critique is a valuable feedback that the author can use to make the story even better, and therefore more likely to be loved by many others. Authors need feedback to improve their overall writing skills. I often read reviews posted on fellow authors' books who write the same genre, and sometimes I'm amazed at how well some readers point out in their reviews the areas that need improvement. Such as being more consistent and clear with the storyline, dialog, and character development. These reviews are very valuable to any author no matter what stage they are in their writing careers. A good and valuable critiqueI'm not an expert when it comes to grammar, and I tend to write long-winded, complicated sentences. This reader managed to point it out in a building way while stated what she liked in the story: "What really bothered me about the book was that it didn't seem to have been edited. And not just normal eBook errors. There were homonym errors and structural sentence errors! Somebody needs to have a talk with that editor. But, overall, mostly very enjoyable. Fresh idea. I will be reading the sequel." I've found a great editor who helped me snip and split my complicated sentences without changing the story and edited the homonym words, therefore, the second edition of the story was well edited. Moreover, I had ideas to change and add to the story, which reflects in the third edition, again edited by a great editor. And because the story got too long, I split the two books into a trilogy. Now I'm almost satisfied with the story. The third edition doesn't have any reviews posted yet, so I'm eagerly waiting. According to statistics, one of about every hundred reads result in a review, and my books are not there yet. Bad reviewsIsaac Asimov said, “Writers fall into two groups: Those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review.” Yes, bad reviews hurt, no matter what anyone tells you. But reviews such as the following few are just simply hurtful and don't help the author: "Horrible read." "Waste of time... good grief!" "Is fantasy so dire and bleak. This is unreadable." "Just words on paper." "Like propping up some sticks and calling it a fire - this book has no spark." "Total Junk, did not finish." "Could not get past the poor writing to finish the book." But, bad reviews could be valuable tooSome of Stephen King’s latest novels received up to 500 one-star/two star reviews on Amazon.
Famous writers get bad reviews. As a matter of fact, the most famous books have at least 6 to 10% one start reviews. Bad reviews are not a death sentence for a book. In a twisted way, bad reviews give a book legitimacy because their very presence indicate that the good reviews must be genuine. A reader told me once in my post's comments when I was feeling a bit down about a one star review: "If I see nothing but 5 stars I’m thinking the author got all his friends, family and associates to write a lot of butt-kissing reviews." Reader and writers, share your experiences! When people wear their thoughts on their facesSome people have such talkative faces that I can read their minds almost word for word.
Others with expressionless faces make me nervous because I never know what they're thinking behind the "frog face" I call it. Today when we finished lunch at the diner, my hubby stopped in the bathroom and I went out to the parking lot to wait for him in the car. A woman about my age with heavy makeup and two pounds gold and diamonds all over her body was right behind me. I opened the passenger door, turned to get in, and I happened to look at her face. She glanced at my car and then me with an expression that told me what she was thinking: "Scratch my f****g car with that piece of junk and I'll sue your ass off." Then as I put my foot in the car and sat down, her expression changed. Clearly she was thinking as she stared at my face for a second while touching the pea-size diamond on her finger: "She doesn't have makeup on and she looks better than me. She must use Botox. She's not married but she was with a man in the restaurant." I closed the door and rolled the window down while she unlocked her BMW and sat in still looking at me. I could guess what she was thinking: "I'm better than you!" That smug "I'm better than you" expression on her face did it! I said to her, "Ma'am, I really like my old Subaru, it's been faithfully taking me to places the past nineteen years. I don't wear makeup, never had Botox, and I only use almond oil as moisturizer. I'm happily married but I don't like to wear jewelry. You felt the need to feel sorry for me and look down on me because I don't own an expensive car and don't wear jewelry to show my status. Did I read your mind correctly? By the way, first expressions are usually wrong." I smiled at her. The surprised expression on her face was priceless. She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it grasping for air. Finally she managed to croak out, "What... are you... are you a mind reader or something?" "Did I guess correctly what you were thinking?" I asked. "Well, um... you did. Word for word, except I wasn't thinking that you look nice, but I thought that your skin is fu***g gorgeous without makeup and you must have had a chemical peal or something. I was jealous, I admit." My hubby got in the car so I said to the woman, "Have a nice day, ma'am." We drove away but she might still be in that parking lot trying to figure it out what happened and who I was. She might be thinking that I'm really a mind reader and will never realize that she wears her judgment, jealousy, and smugness, on her face. Living in a mansion, driving the most expensive car, looking like a Christmas tree decorated with gold and diamonds, might make life more comfortable, but it doesn't make anyone better or worth more than others. At the end, we all go out in a box leaving everything behind. What makes a difference is how people we connect will remember us. I'm pretty sure something like this happened to you a few times in your life. Tell me about it! ~Erika M Szabo A man I used to go to elementary school with found me on a social site. We had a nice chat remembering the simpler times and all the fun we had without iPhone and internet. "We had a lot of fun at the beach every summer, remember?" he asked. My mood turned a bit sour. "Yes, and I remember when we were in fifth grade and you embarrassed me in front of a bunch of kids by unsnapping my bikini top in the water. It was awful." "I'm so sorry I did that. But you know how things were back then... Boys were expected to behave like that, otherwise we were teased to death for being sissy boys." "Yeah, I know. Those were different times." "You know, I was so grateful for the black eye you gave me. You threw a helluva punch." "Oh?" "From that day on, I didn't have to behave like a macho guy with you because your girly reputation had elevated to the highest level. Boys in the class got the 'don't ever mess with that girl' message."
"I always wondered why boys in the school didn't tease me or ask me out anymore." I laughed. "Now you know! I'm glad things had changed for the better. Boys don't need to feel obligated to do stupid things like that to girls just to please their buddies." "I'm glad too, but I think the changes are happening a little too fast and to the extreme. Now boys are punished and labeled for the smallest things. "That's true. Well, every positive change starts with extreme new rules but as time goes on the rules are softened." "Hopefully, boys will not be forced to lose all their positive masculinity traits in the process." The proceeds are donated to
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Bilingual storybook for children 4-12
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A thought-provoking, futuristic, romantic short story. Will people feel the emotions of loss in the future as deeply as we do today? How far will they be willing to go in finding the happiness they lost? Caleb lost his Valerie. Will he find her? Available in eBook and audiobook |
Thank you, Cindy J. Smith, author of amazing poetry books, for the wonderful poem you wrote for this book. Visit Cindy's blog and read the best author interview I ever had: https://cindysvoices.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-causual-conversation.html |
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