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Me with my first book draft, not knowing where to go or what to do. Now, years later, I help authors navigate the publishing landscape. When starting out, I think these 5 steps can help you get really clear about what you want... 1 . Know your why. When you understand why you are writing a book, you can work through the rest of the steps easily. Everyone’s “why” is different, as it is a unique perspective as to why you wish your book to be published. Is it to teach someone? O

Remember the game of telephone? Yes that game! The fun one you played when you were little. Can you see it in your memory? Everyone sitting in a circle, and the first person thinking for a few seconds about what to say and then suddenly they began whispering into their friend's ear. She would giggle, and then pass the message on to the friend next to her. Everyone patiently waiting for their turn to receive the message. Sometimes, the anticipation was too much and giggles wer

Can I share a quick story??? It is 2008. Yep. That long ago. I mean doesn't the beginning of the pandemic seem years ago? Can I even think back to 2008? Going to try: "You are freaking amazing!!" He smiled as he shouted this to me. I was eating pizza and washing it down with a beer. (Yes gluten.) "You did it Lucie! You beat this anxiety monster!" I smiled at him. Mouth full. But I already knew. Tears were welling up. I dare not let them spill. Disbelief. Heartache. Br

I may be an Ink Slinging writer, but at one time I was The Ham Slinging skier. Let me back up to the beginning of this story... It was high school, I am not sure if I was a freshman or a sophomore, but I am leaning towards the former. It was my first ski trip with friends. I had only been on the slopes one time before, with my sister and that quick introductory trip was many years earlier and consisted of mostly the bunny hill. I was really looking forward to going on a lift

It is true! You see, years back I was flipping through People magazine in the hair salon. My scalp was burning beyond comprehension, so I was trying to take my mind off the scalding redness on my head (more on that in another post) and instead pour my attention upon the words in the magazine. It was then a quote in an article caught my eye; it said: ‘Because I wanted your first trip to Paris to be with the one man who is going to love you for the rest of your life.’ I devoure

A few months ago I was at a vision board event and the facilitator asked us to envision what our key word would be for 2020. My word was "gift". I explained that I had once read a story years ago about how God gives us all beautiful gifts at birth, but many of us leave these personal gifts high up on a shelf forgotten and unopened. The story went on to say that it would be an absolute tragedy if we did not open our gifts that were meant to share with the world. For it is thos

1. Turn off excessive news. If you have heard it once, it is enough. No need to keep watching the same thing over and over. Information is important, but by keeping yourself in a constant repetitive loop it becomes less about getting news and more about feeding fears. 2. Turn off social media. Just like with the news, too much can become an overload to an already sensitive system. Keep you screen time to a minimum. Instead go for a walk, exercise or meditate.  3. If you feel

Okay. This may be my new fancy, flashy tagline.  "Anxiety can be your greatest blessing." And this picture is eluding to that statement, but I am not just saying this because it sounds good. Or because I have forgotten what it was like to be caught up in panic day after day. I am saying it because I truly believe anxiety taught me more about myself, the world and others than anything else in my life. I could have had that as my tagline, but it really sounded clunky and not as

Sometimes I forget and I struggle. When I remember it all seems easy, almost too easy. What is it that I keep forgetting?  To align myself with the good. The amazing. The bigness that is meant for me. Before you roll your eyes, (I do sometimes when I am out of sync with this amazing energy) let me tell you a quick story. When you align yourself with your troubles you get more of the same. And because you are getting shit sandwiches handed to you again and again it seems like

Years ago my daughter and I were making chalk drawings on our driveway and we noticed a few butterflies fly over us. And then a few more. And before long there were what seemed to be millions of these magnificent creatures flying in a beautifully orchestrated dancing arc above our heads. We didn't speak. We were mesmerized for minutes as we witnessed the Monarch Butterfly Migration. When it was over, we were at a loss for words, but our smiles spoke for us. I thought it was i

The New Year is such a symbolic time. It is a beginning. And just like any beginning, we have the opportunity to begin again, to start fresh. To set goals and to start new things. It is a beautiful time to sit with yourself, finding what it is that you want to accomplish this year, and creating a plan to make that happen.  I know. I know. You have heard this all before. But keep reading, there is more. Creating a plan is one of the sure fire ways to help you get out of anxiet

With anxiety, you keep going down the same road everyday- fear.  And you end up in the rabbit hole- symptoms.  And you feel stuck.  And it is hard to get out of that.  I completely understand. Every day I did the same thing and expected it to be different. I thought I could just will myself out of the rabbit hole of symptoms and get well. In time I learned not to follow what my brain was telling me was dangerous. I learned not to go down that same path every day, but to follo

You have to get up pretty early in the morning to get a picture by the Rockefeller Christmas Tree without anyone else around, but it was important to us. So we made the effort to get up, get out and get moving. And our decision paid off, we got the picture we wanted. What do you want to accomplish today? The remainder of this year? In the New Year? Prioritize your goals and dreams. Time can be your greatest ally and need not be you enemy.  I allowed anxiety to steal so much t

Yeah, this is my wedding day over 22 years ago. It was December and it was freezing! I can see everything in this picture now.  I see us holding hands. I see us running. I see me somewhat leading/pulling my husband down a road that is dirty, dark and unknown.  All very symbolic. I definitely had no idea what the future held for us. I just knew we would walk (or run through) life together. And thank goodness for the power of our union because it was, and still is, a big part o

As we grow older sometimes we tend to hide parts of ourselves that we believe others may not find acceptable. So we shrink, we hide, we change and in this process we lose our authentic self. This is my daughter when she was in all her authentic glory- lol.  Unfortunately, we do this for so long- we hide those parts- we forget who we really are. Go back, to when you were a child and bring out all that you loved and what brought you joy. Bring out the little boy or girl that ha

I love this picture and message! On a personal note, this is the picture I used for one of my very first blog posts. Although I am not sure I could even have called it a blog back then, because I didn't post it anywhere. I just sent these messages to an email list that was full of family, friends and people who happened to find me and asked to be added to my list. The reason I am sending this one today is because it is great to look back at how far you have come. Especially i

This is a picture of the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. It was one of the places I visited on my Icelandic vacation a few years ago. Iceland in three nights was beautiful, and we were one of the lucky ones that saw the Northern Lights. I wrote a very detailed blog about Iceland and how we navigated our way through many sights in only three nights.  Here is a little snippet of that blog:  When we first booked a three-night vacation, I have to admit, I immediately felt a bit cheated.

It is so easy to stay satisfied with where you are in life. Like a walk up a grand staircase, you stop on a step to take it all in and you fall in love with the view. So you sit down on the stairs, and park yourself there for the duration, because you could not imagine something more beautiful and alluring. However, you forget all the while there are additional stairs to climb, and even more magnificent views to experience.  Take the next step. There is so much more for you t

Last night I was watching the Charlie Brown Halloween special.... as I do every year. I grew up on these holiday specials and I still love to watch them .I am almost certain everyone reading this has seen at least a piece of this special. Or if not this one,, another of the Charlie Brown shows. Charlie Brown is a lovable character. He is the underdog you root for throughout the show. He is insecure and frequently embarrassed by his friends.. Charlie Brown lacks self-confidenc

I spent way too much time long ago preoccupied with the idea that my value was measured by other people. I forced relationships to hang on and did not respect myself enough to let go even though I knew they were toxic. I had warped thinking which believed if I failed in the relationship that was not lovable and there was something wrong with me. So I would stay in these consuming and crippling connections even though deep down I know it did not feel right. But I soon learned