Fifteen Firsts: Kathleen Kole

What was your first car? 
Okay, I'm going to be dating myself here, so here goes: My first car was a used 1978 white Chevy Monza Spider. I bought it straight out of high school and was over the moon to purchase my very own car.

What was the first thing you learned to cook? 
Other than the usual breakfast stuff, the first family meal that I cooked/created was a roast with all the trimmings. I was fourteen years old.

When was your first time on an airplane? 
My first flight was at the ripe old age of twenty, and I flew from my home city of Edmonton AB to Toronto ON. (Both in Canada.)

What was your first paying job? 
My first paying job was at a bookstore! Talk about a treat!

How old were you when you had your first kiss? 
Oh dear... this one is awkward! Haha! My first real kiss was when I was twelve years old.

What was the first concert you went to see? 
The first concert I had the pleasure of seeing was performed by Paul Simon. The man can put on a show!

When/what was your first regrettable hairstyle? 
Hmmm, you know I honestly don't have one. Seriously, for me hair has always been an accessory, so I just see it as something you can change. It always grows back.

How old were you when you got your first computer? 
Oh man, this is going to sound sad! Haha! I bought my first computer (a Mac) when I was twenty eight years old.

What was your first big purchase? 
That's easy. My first big purchase was my house.

What was the first book that made you cry? 
I honestly do not remember. I have read so many great books that have made me run the gamut of human emotions. I'm grateful to have had the chance to read all of them.

Where was your first road trip? 
As an adult, my first road trip with a group of friends was to where I now live: the gorgeous Okanagan Valley. I am grateful to that trip as it was the reason I chose to move here, many years later.

Who was your first best friend? 
My first best friend was a girl I met at the young age of five named Heather. And, the best part is, she's still my best friend to this day! 

When/where was your first trip abroad? 
My first trip out of Canada was to California USA. 

Who was your first love? 
My first animal love was my hamster, Tupper. (Yes, for me it counts! I adored that furry rodent!) My first human love was a boy named Wayne, who I met in high school.

Who was your first celebrity crush? 
Oh boy, this one is really going to date me! Haha! My first celebrity crush was Shawn Cassidy. I had a poster of him in my childhood bedroom and thought he was dreamy. 

Thanks, Kathleen!

Author Guest Post & Giveaway: Eliza Daly

Fake It, Don’t Bake It or Make It: A Busy Girl’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays
  
This holiday advice column is brought to you by Monica Jackson, the heroine in my debut romance novel, Under Her Spell. It is the second column in the series. Her first column is Deck the Halls with Stress Balls: How to Bring Inner Peace and Joy to Your Holidays.
*** 
Stressed is desserts spelled backwards. Appropriate, since baking stresses me out, and when I’m stressed, I eat massive amounts of chocolate, and gaining weight is stressful. My cousin Hope makes Martha Stewart look like a total slacker, so I figured she’d be playing domestic elf this year—baking, cooking, and decorating our townhouse. But her no-good cheating hubby is giving her a large divorce settlement for Christmas, so she’s celebrating by popping a champagne cork on a two-week cruise. I can’t skip the holidays. I love the holidays, and this is one of the busiest times for my romantic event planning company.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my stressful job, it’s that you need to look like you’ve got it together even when you don’t. I suffered panic attacks a few months back when Reed, a divorce lawyer, moved in next to my business. It wasn’t pretty. However, Reed turned out to be good for my stress. A lot of people experience a high level of stress around the holidays because they are perfectionists and insist on doing everything themselves. So here are my top time management ideas and how I’m going to enjoy a perfectly imperfect holiday.

1) The Island of Misfit Cookies. Last year, I bought gingerbread cookie dough for a holiday party, and then I realized I didn’t own cookie cutters or a rolling pin. No time to run to the store, I rolled out the dough with a glass and found a gingerbread cookie cutter online and printed it out. Half of the cookies ended up with frowning faces, and I even decapitated a few. So this year, I asked Hope to make my cookies before she starts sailing the high seas. Hope owns a cake decorating business and her cookies are a work of art. I can’t pass off perfect cookies as my own, so she made me some skinny Santa cookies with fuchsia colored suits, one-eyed gingerbread men, and reindeer without antlers. Hope’s misfit cookies business is taking off. However, she has to be discreet or her secret will be out and she’ll lose her clients.

2) Recruit Elves. I’ve started over twenty businesses. When I was ten years old, I dressed up as an elf and went around the neighborhood offering my gift wrapping services. I was an awful wrapper and once mistakenly wrapped a centerpiece and salt ‘n pepper shakers that were sitting on a client’s table. I didn’t last more than one season. My wrapping skills haven’t improved and everyone knows this. So I’m hiring a nine-year-old neighbor girl to wrap my presents. I’m also having her wrap the pictures on my walls, which will make festive decorations.

3) Dual-Purpose Cards. Last year, my cousin Ellie posted her annual Christmas brag letter on Facebook and asked everyone to share it with friends and family who weren’t on Facebook. Rather than being put out that she wanted us to distribute her letter, we were happy that Ellie wasn’t so perfect after all. This gave me the idea to do e-cards this year. I emailed photo cards of my assistant and me dressed as somewhat sexy elves and her cute little Shih Tzu dressed as Santa, standing in front of my business. I posted this photo on Facebook with our business address and a caption reading We can help you be a little naughty, or nice, this season with your significant other. Not sure if it was the cute little dog or our sexy elf outfits, but the promo just went viral on Facebook. You may have already seen it.

4) Voila—A Holiday Feast. I’ve been watching Hope cook for the past few months, and if there is one thing I’ve learned—the only thing—is that cooking is all about presentation. Hope and her soon-to-be ex owned a restaurant, so she knows the secret of haute cuisine is small portions, stacking and garnishes. I’m going to buy deli turkey with the fixings and reheat the turkey on Christmas Day in a slow cooker so the aroma fills the air. Then all I have to do is place a few spoonfuls of mashed potatoes on a plate, top it with a dollop of stuffing, slap a slice of turkey over it then drizzle with gravy. Garnish the plate with a few cranberries.

5) Indoor-Outdoor Decorations. We recently had a major snowstorm in Milwaukee. Go figure. School was cancelled. When I came home from work, some kids who live in an apartment building without a yard were building a snowman in the dirty snow plowed up on a curb. I offered them my yard. I asked them to decorate the snowmen with red and green attire and to build them in front of my windows, so they could be enjoyed inside or outside. Of course this only works if you have snow.

6) Deck the Halls with Stress Balls: How to Bring Inner Peace and Joy to Your Holidays. This is the title of my first advice column published on November 14th at Urban Girl Reader. It offers suggestions on how to reduce holiday stress. I hope my two columns, along with some deep yoga breaths, help you survive the holiday season!
*** 
Which of Monica’s suggestions do you like the best? What do you do to simplify your holidays?

Giveaway! I will be giving away two e-copies of Under Her Spell and a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift certificate. To be eligible to win one of these prizes, please answer both of the above questions. Include your e-mail address with your comment and check back here on December 3rd when the winners will be announced in the comment section.  

Thank you so much to Nancy and The Chick Lit Bee for helping me celebrate the release of Under Her Spell!

Book Description
When a series of failed relationships and business ventures have Monica Jackson doubting her self-worth, she turns to spell casting to attract positive energy and the opportunities needed to achieve her goals.  But can Monica’s belief in spells restore her belief in herself? Monica creates a spell to find her soul mate, and one to ensure the success of her new romantic event planning company, Enhance Your Romance.  Monica is confident she has found her niche until divorce lawyer Reed Walker opens a practice next door to her office.  The anti-marriage slogan plastered on his office window, and his down-on-love clients, quickly prove detrimental to Monica’s business.  When his arrival appears to trigger a string of bad luck, Monica fears one of her spells sent negative energy into the universe and it has returned to her threefold.  Although Reed is beyond sexy, and she admires his self-confidence, she’ll do whatever it takes to get the universe back on her side, and Reed out of her life. No way is she losing another business. Reed finds himself attracted to Monica’s beauty and her optimism. His job and his parents’ divorce have made him a pessimist, especially when it comes to love. However, he soon finds that Monica’s pro-love attitude is rubbing off on him, causing him to lose his edge.  If Reed doesn’t distance himself from Monica, he’ll likely destroy his reputation as a pit bull divorce lawyer. Can Monica and Reed look past what they might be losing to realize the love they have found? Under Her Spell is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and eBooks.
 
About the Author 
Eliza Daly’s first attempt at creative writing was in fourth grade. She and her friends were huge Charlie’s Angels fans and she would sit in her bedroom at night writing scripts for them to act out at recess the following day. She was Kelly Garrett. Fast forward to the present, she’s still writing stories about beautiful women who always get their men. The journey from fourth grade script writer to published author wasn’t an easy one, but it was always an adventure and the final destination was well worth it. When Eliza isn’t traveling for her job as an event planner, or tracing her ancestry roots through Ireland, she’s at home in Milwaukee working on her next novel, bouncing ideas off her husband Mark, and her cats Quigley and Frankie. You can find Eliza on the Web at her Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Fifteen Firsts: Michele Gorman

What was your first car?
It was a 1960-something Opel, which I bought from my next door neighbour for $1. I found 26 cents in the glove box, and thought I’d got a bargain. It was covered in rust, its driver’s side door was welded shut from a previous accident, and had dinner plate-size holes in the floorboards. To get into the driving seat I had to shimmy over the emergency brake from the passenger seat, and couldn’t wear shoes when it rained because the water sprayed up through the holes to douse my legs. My, how I loved that car!

What was the first thing you learned to cook?
Cookies! My Mom makes delicious cookies at Christmas – cut out cookies, butterballs, peanut butter cookies. I have wonderful memories of frosting the cut out cookies with my Mom and my little sister.

When was your first time on an airplane?
Infancy. My Dad worked for NASA so I was born in Houston, and then moved to Florida near Cape Canaveral, and we would fly north to New York to visit family at the holidays. The first flight I remember though was when I was four or five. I got to meet the pilot and he gave me a pin with wings on it.

What was your first paying job?
Babysitting. I looked after two really nice neighbourhood children every Tuesday while I was in high school so that the parents could go bowling. I arrived at 6:30, and the kids were supposed to go to sleep at 8pm, but they couldn’t tell time on regular clocks, only the digital one in the kitchen, so as soon as the parents left, I’d move the clock ahead an hour and put them to bed. I feel bad about it now - those poor children probably still get confused about time!

How old were you when you had your first kiss?
Age fifteen, on a hayride. We were playing spin the bottle and in the circle were about half a dozen boys that made lovely candidates for a first kiss. It was my turn. I spun. It landed on my best boy friend, Jim. I was so disappointed!

What was the first concert you went to see?
Billy Idol and Duran Duran at the Syracuse Carrier Dome with my older cousins. I felt like such a grownup! I had the greatest outfit too – a teal blue one-piece jump suit and dangly fish earrings. Oh yes, I was a style icon all right.

When/what was your first regrettable hairstyle?
I’m not sure that I ever regretted a hairstyly but my parents certainly did. In school, I used to blow dry my fringe straight and curl the rest of my hair into what I thought of as ringlets. My mother said it looked like I had sausage rolls on my head. And my Dad hasn’t liked a hairstyle since I was about 9.

How old were you when you got your first computer?
I was very very late to computing. I used them at work but my very own, unshared computer was a MacBook Air I got about 5 years ago. I wrote my first 3 books on a shared computer.

What was your first big purchase?
A camera that I saved all summer for my freshman year in university. I was working 3 jobs – a very bad waitress, babysitting, and as a pharmacy assistant. I wanted to buy three things: the camera, a real gemstone necklace, and a trip to New York City (where I would use my camera and find my necklace). I had an envelope for each one that I stuffed money into. I did get all three by the end of the summer. I still have the necklace (aquamarine stone with a tiny gold chain).

What was the first book that made you cry?
Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

Where was your first road trip?
Visiting California with my two friends after university.

Who was your first best friend?
Amy Sullivan, best friends since age 6!

When/where was your first trip abroad?
1991 with three girlfriends – we spent two weeks visiting London, Paris and Berlin. I came back and knew I’d live abroad. In 1997, I packed my bags and have been here in London ever since.

Who was your first love?
Chucky Wilson (sorry to out you Chucky!).

Who was your first celebrity crush?
Davy Jones. I was sure he was going to marry me. 

Thanks, Michele!

Maintaining Perspective for Authors


It’s nothing personal,  just business… Whoever wrote that obviously wasn’t an artist. Our business happens to be very personal, or at least, it can be. Artists create, and their creations are reflections of themselves. No wonder we’re so touchy when someone else wants us to incorporate their two cents.

Not long ago, I attended a writing workshop about how to create engaging book titles. I never imagined that such a benign sounding meeting could end up being so emotionally charged. The speaker asked for people to share their book titles with the group, and there were about fifty attendees. One elderly lady (we’ll call her Helen) raised her hand and shared her title. The speaker asked her to come up to the stage and stand next to her and a flip chart. The book in question was Helen’s autobiography. The story was about her journey in and out of her church and her struggles along the way. The original title was something like “From Chosen to Castaway.” The group did not go for that title. Someone said that it brought images to mind of the movie “Cast Away” with Tom Hanks. The speaker said that Tom had dibs on that intellectual memory branding for the time being. Of course, she could use the title if she liked, but she was advised that another option would make it more ‘her own.’ During the exercise, the presenter kept flip chart notes of all the great ideas given by attendees. Here’s where it got awkward, though – Helen became incredibly defensive about the title, the attendee feedback and the presentation in general.

Helen was a first time author. She suddenly found herself in front of a panel of local publishers and writing professionals that were all throwing out ideas. You could tell she had not thought this through. You could tell she didn’t want to be up on the stage. Well, she did, but she didn’t. She wasn’t in a place that she could be open to constructive criticism. She stammered and became red-faced and flustered. She was taking deep breaths to regain composure, which obviously made her very anxious. Although all the people in the group were enthusiastic and genuinely wanted to help her, the poor lady was overwhelmed. My heart really went out to Helen, because it was a personal, painful experience that she was sharing, and she clearly was uncomfortable doing so. The speaker was very gracious and smoothly transitioned to a less emotional audience member, and Helen faded back into the audience where she seemed much more comfortable.

How will we react when put ‘on the spot?’ You never know when you will get a big break (like a room full of authors trying to help you establish your branding platform). I don’t know if I would have fared much better in the same situation. This event taught me that I need to spend more time working on my presentation skills. I may even join Toastmasters to make sure I can have such impromptu conversations. I have a feeling at some point, we are all a little like the lady who freaked out at the presentation, staring at the audience like a cat at a ceiling fan. Overwhelmed and out of our leagues.

Once a writer finishes their book and goes to promote it, something happens. In order to maintain perspective, in order not to overlook helpful feedback, the author has to separate themselves in part from their work, in order to sell it, push it, promote it and have conversations about it. How to get the right tone? As an HR Manager, when I have to have conversations with employees that may be emotionally charged, I always use the same tone I would use if asking them to please pass the butter. There is no emotion involved in a request such as that. If I can only apply that thinking to my writing…
   
What do you do to maintain perspective about your writing?
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Birthday Book Giveaway: True Love Way

To celebrate my birthday, I'm giving away two Kindle copies of my bestselling novel, True Love Way! 

If you would like to enter to win a copy, please leave a comment answering the following question: If you could spend your birthday with any chick lit heroine, who would it be and why? 

Be sure to include your email address or Twitter/Facebook information so that I can get in touch if you win. The winners will be chosen at random tonight at midnight, so enter now!