Sally Shields is Launching Her Book

Sally Shields is an Internet dynamo and an astute businesswoman. She's also incredibly generous and a great role model for how to give back to others while moving toward your own goals.

Today we're joining with 50 relationship experts and success coaches to help Sally, a best selling author, reach her goal - #1 on Amazon.

Sally is offering a valuable bundle of gifts - free dieting and self-improvement eBooks as well as discounts on fitness magazines and custom jewelry for women who buy her new book, Is She Naturally Thin or Disciplined? Find out about this unique offer by visiting the book launch site.

If you're a card carrying member of the Sandwich Generation, facing the challenges of parents growing older and kids growing up, stress is a given. And with little time for yourself, healthy eating and exercise can take a back seat. Sally's book focuses on first person accounts of women who have found some answers for themselves.

And sign our email list to the left of this post to receive Stepping Stones, our complimentary monthly newsletter.

Teresa Burrell author of The Advocate's Betrayal

Today we welcome attorney and author Teresa Burrell to our blog for a Virtual Book Tour. Her second mystery, The Advocate's Betrayal, centers on female sleuth Sabre Brown, a legal advocate for children, who is faced with solving the murder of a close friend.

Teresa herself has practiced law, both in her own private office and also in juvenile court, representing abused minors as well as juvenile delinquents. She's put in countless hours doing pro bono work with children and their families and earlier worked as a teacher.

NR: I see you have had several careers. Could you tell us a little more about them?

TB: My first career was as an educator. I taught elementary school for twelve years. My second was in the legal field where I practiced law for twelve years, and primarily represented abused children. I had a third career as a business woman for about twelve years. And, of course, my most recent one is as an author. My first book was released just a year ago, so if I consider that as my start date, I figure I have about eleven more years at this.

NR: Is there something magical about the twelve years? Did you plan to change careers every twelve years?

TB: No, I didn’t really plan to make any career changes, and certainly not for any specific time. I think it just happens to be the amount of time it takes for me to feel like I have mastered what I’m doing, at which point I seem to need a new challenge. It’s not like I start a career and think, “I’m going to do this for a while and then move on.” But there have always been so many things I’ve wanted to do with my life and so when I feel like I need something new, I just do it.

NR: You’ve made some pretty major life changes with your careers, were you ever afraid?

TB: Not afraid really, but anxious sometimes, especially when things didn’t go well for some reason. But I’ve always kind of done things because I didn’t know I couldn’t. The changes haven’t always been easy and sometimes came with a great deal of sacrifice but better things always seem to come with each change.

NR: How were your career changes more or less difficult than other major life decisions?

TB: I think my career changes were much easier than some of the other decisions in my life because they didn’t involve as much emotion. I could calculate the time and money it would take to make the change. I could estimate the financial payoff, and I could even factor in other things that I thought I would like or not like about the new career. But matters of the heart and family life decisions take a lot more out of a person. Those are the really important decisions one has to make in life.

NR: Your second career, you worked with abused children in juvenile court. I see your protagonist, Sabre Brown, is also a child advocate. Why did you choose to do that?

TB: I chose to work with abused children because I can relate to many of things those children have suffered through. I chose to make Sabre a child advocate because I think it’s important that people know about the amount of child abuse that still exists in this world. As a result, hopefully they will help to prevent it or give their time to help deal with it. But I don’t think many people would want to read a book that just tells us about the awful things that some of these precious children have to endure. It’s just too heart wrenching a subject. But writing it in a mystery, without being too graphic, will hopefully teach something, and at the same time, provide entertainment.

NR: What have you found most fulfilling about each of your careers? And have you enjoyed one more than the rest?

TB: In my first two careers I was able to work with children and hopefully make their lives better. I still hear from a lot of the students I taught as well as minors I represented, and they often surprise me with their wonderful comments that indicate I did make a difference in their life, and that is certainly rewarding. But having my own import business was exciting and very different from anything else I had ever done. And of course, writing a novel has been a dream for some time, but the dream was to put it all down on paper in a logical order from start to finish. The dream wasn’t to become a published author. That came after I wrote the novel and realized how much fun it was to write. Now, the thrill for me is when I hear from a reader that they enjoyed the book. That inspires me to keep writing.

NR: Your most recent career, writing novels, how has that been different than the others?

TB: There’s more alone time, but not entirely, because I do a lot of book signings and speaking events where I get to interact with people. But the writing part is definitely done in complete solitude, which I enjoy. I never had that with the other careers.

NR: Where do you get your storylines? Your characters?

TB: My plots have been based on real cases, but they are definitely fictionalized. My characters are compilations of people I have met over the years and people I see in everyday life. I like to people watch and when I see something odd or a little different, it often ends up in one of my characters.

NR: Have your earlier careers helped you with your writing?

TB: Everything I’ve ever done or seen in my life has helped me with my writing. Readers are smart and fiction has to ring true or readers won’t accept it. My careers have really helped me to understand human behavior and that certainly makes it easier to develop a fictional character.

NR: Are there any careers you wanted to do, but didn’t?

TB: I always wanted to be a flight attendant. I even applied once when I was in college, but they had a height requirement and I was about an inch too short. But I think the attraction was really about being able to travel the world. And now as an author I can do both. I get to travel a lot to book signings, speaking events, and conferences and I can write anywhere. So, I think being an author has taken care of that particular need.

NR: If you were to do it over, what would you change and why?

TB: I wouldn’t change much in my life, especially in my careers. Any changes I would make would be in my personal life. I made a few mistakes along the way that I would certainly do differently, not that I would change any end results but I might change the way I handled things. I would spend more time with loved ones. That’s one of the reasons I stopped practicing law—to spend more time with my family.

NR: What do you see for your future? What are your goals - both practical and absurdly hopeful?

TB: I think this is probably my last career change. That’s not to say I won’t keep fulfilling dreams and having adventures. My present goals are to keep writing the Advocate Series until my readers don’t want it any longer. I have hopes of one day being on the New York Times Best Seller list, but then doesn’t every published author?

NR: What advice do you have for other women who want to make career changes?

TB: I’d say, “Go for it! Consider your family and your personal commitments, but other than that don’t let anyone get in your way. It’s your life, live it!”

NR: Teresa, thank you for sharing, so generously, your experiences with us. We've enjoyed reading The Advocate's Betrayal and look forward to your next mystery.

Readers, now is your chance to ask Teresa about her careers, her book, her life. Just click on the "Comments" link and let her know what's on your mind.

Virtual Book Tour: "If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny"

Today we are delighted to welcome Lucy Adams to our blog’s Virtual Book Tour. Lucy is the author of “If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny.” Her first book celebrates family and the struggle to balance life while maintaining a sound mind and body. Readers get lost in her stories of family antics which somehow always seem to explore and further her own personal growth through insight and a healthy portion of humor. Now see for yourself:

Nourishing Relationships: What inspired you to write this book?

Lucy Adams: So many things inspired me to write If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny. My husband stayed after me about doing it. Readers of my weekly newspaper column frequently asked me when I planned to write a book.

The turning point came when a publisher called and asked if I was interested in writing a how-to book on parenting. Wow! I was flattered. But when I finally got my puffed up ego to sit down and be quiet, the reasonable, logical side of me said that it was dangerous territory to tread. After all, my own children aren't fully cooked. I've yet to see the end product of my own parenting. Who am I to tell someone else how to do it? I had to call the publisher and decline the invitation. While on the phone, however, with newfound confidence clutched in my sweaty palms, I pitched the idea for If Mama. He liked it.

If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny was also inspired by my need to prove that life is more than a collection of chaos book-ended by rare moments of calm. Every moment counts. Every minute of every day has a purpose. I have found that by learning to live in the little moments, I open myself to the biggest lessons and the best rewards. And, of course, humor. The smallest sliver of a second contains a complete journey. So much more happens between loads of laundry than wiping noses, folding shirts, and scrubbing the kitchen floor. In fact, most of life happens at the same time that I’m driving carpool, cleaning toilets, and scorching spaghetti.

N R: How did you decide on the title, "If Mama Don't Laugh, it Aint Funny"?

L A: My husband actually inadvertently coined the title. One evening at dinner, several years ago, one of my sons asked my husband to pass the rolls. Instead of passing the plate, the man tossed a roll to the child who bobbled it. Buttery bread left a long grease streak down the front of my child.

I was irritated at the poor display of table manners and at the challenge of getting butter stains out of navy blue pants. My husband could see it on my face, so he said, “Uh oh, y’all. Mama isn’t laughing. If Mama doesn’t laugh, it isn’t funny.”

The title (and ghastly grammar) evolved from there.

N R: Do you have a favorite story from the book?

L A: My favorite story is "I Hope I'm Getting Smaller." It tells of a brief but poignant interaction with my then 4 year-old daughter. She questioned me about loving "bad guys" and what God would want us to do. We shared an amazing moment when I had a revelation about my relationship with my daughter, as well as about how she and I both understand God. It was such a profound experience; tears fill my eyes every time I read that story.

Another of my favorites is about Noah, the three legged pig. But that story is best consumed a little bit at a time, so I won’t go into detail here.

N R: Did all of the stories in If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny really happen?

L A: All the stories but one are true. There is a clue embedded in the book. Can you find it? Do you know which story isn’t true?

N R: How do your family and friends feel about their lives being published?

L A: I have to admit, there’ve been a couple of pieces I published that sent my husband over the edge. He has actually given me a list of things I can’t print about him in the newspaper. For example, I can never write that he “squealed like a school girl.”

And every now and then my parents will question something I put in print. My parents are very thrifty and I once used a metaphor of gnomes burying their gold under toadstools to describe my mom and dad. There was no end to the grief they caught for that. I’m fortunate that they have a good sense of humor.

My friends laughingly say things like, “Uh oh, you’re not going to put that in the paper are you?”

But my children seem to go out of their way to supply me with topics. I even find myself lecturing them on not doing brainless things just to see if I’ll write about them.

Unfortunately, we usually don’t realize how entertaining the chaos is until the crisis du jour has passed. In the moment, I’m like every person – I’m surviving. I hope that in all the minutes that come between racing time to the grave, ha, ha, I’m teaching my children to laugh at themselves and take life’s ups and downs lightly.

N R: What is your favorite thing about being an author?

L A: Let’s see. Perhaps that total strangers write me and e-mail me to say they love If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny and that they’ve put it in the basket of reading materials in their bathrooms. On a home tour last Christmas, one man actually walked me into his bathroom to point out my book, which he keeps on the back of his commode.

Making people laugh; making an emotional connection.

I also enjoy the idea that something of my creation with my name on it is recorded in perpetuity in the Library of Congress. I'm a permanent, though tiny, piece of the fabric of America. It's a record of my existence and my contribution. Hmmm. That sounds so silly and neurotic when I say it out loud.

N R: How did you get started writing?

L A: My original plan, when I was 5, was to be an artist and live in my parents’ garage and take care of them in their old age. Despite my father nursing that ambition, I ended up being a writer and living down the rod from my parents. An arrangement that pleases my mother very much, since she and my dad haven’t decided to get old yet.

My high school friends would tell you that they always knew I would be a writer. My college friends would tell you they were all surprised. My husband says I’m not the same woman he married; that it’s like my alien inside took over.

I always wanted to write. I sort of gave up on it, though, after high school, seeking to do more practical things with my education and my life. It wasn’t until I was 34, with four children ages 6 and under and a husband who said we needed extra income, that I got up the courage to act on it.

I typed up sample columns and went to my local newspaper and asked if I could write for them. Then I called back the editor again, and again, and again, until he said, “Yes, if you’ll quit bothering me. I’ve got work to do.”

Now, in my 40’s, going a day without writing is like going a day without oxygen.

N R: Do you have any advice for other people who would like to get into writing?

L A: It’s NEVER too late to start. But, if you’re serious about it, you have to truly commit to seizing every moment. Working full-time and managing a family can pose barriers to a writing career.

I write in every sliver of time I can find. I try keep a notebook and a pen with me at all times, everywhere I go. Ideas suddenly come to me and I have to write them down or I’ll never remember them. Sometimes I don’t have my notebook handy when I get inspired on aisle 9 of the grocery store. I’ve written entire stories on the back of my grocery list. I’ve also been known to scribble notes on the backs of soup labels, on napkins, and flattened straw wrappers. Sometimes I dictate to my 14 year-old son when ideas come to me while I’m driving (deciphering his handwriting, however, is whole other challenge in and of itself). I jot things down while in waiting rooms, dressing rooms, and bathrooms. I have lots of scraps of paper stashed here, there, and everywhere with various notes. Often, writing a story is like piecing a puzzle together, literally.

The first step, however, is just starting. Commit to writing a certain number of words a day. My number is 250. It’s manageable. You’ll find that once you start, it’s very, very hard to stop. I know I do. I’ve burned countless meals because I couldn’t put my pen down.

N R: What's in the future for Lucy Adams - another book?

L A: My second book of humor, Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run, chronicling embarrassing moments in life, is due out in late spring 2010.

I also continue to blog at www.IfMama.com, to write freelance articles, and to publish my syndicated humor column.

N R: If your readers only got one thing from If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny, what would you want that to be?

L A: That life is short, without a lot of big moments outside of marriage proposals, weddings, and children’s births. So it’s important to live it all in the everyday small moments. That’s where the marrow of our existence is. Fill those moments with laughter, and appreciate the lessons they hold.

Thanks, Lucy, for a delightful interview. Now, Readers, it's your turn. Ask Lucy questions, share your thoughts, you can even show us how funny you are. Just click on 'Comments' at the bottom of this post and follow the prompts.