Lisa G. Shore's Blog, page 3

The Hungry​ Monster Interview

If you think that writing  a book is daunting, it’s only half of the work once you jump into the ocean of publicity and promotional options. Authors who love to write and bring their stories to the masses have to be adept at having a marketing brain as well as being a wordsmith. That is why it is such a treat to have help from the interviews and reviews.

My last post was about the Hungry Monster Review, which I really appreciated. Now I have the honour to share the interview from Hungry Monster. I can’t express enough how exciting it is to interact with those who make it their passion to promote authors like me.

Thanks again to Thomas Anderson for his time and kind insights.

Please read the interview here.

Cheers to all and have a great day!

Filed under: Events and Media, gratitude, juvenile fiction, reviews Tagged: dreams come true, humility, interview

The Hungry Monster Review

Oh my goodness!!! What a thrill to open a notice from Google Alerts to find this delightful review! It is the most comprehensive one yet – and still so positive and inspiring.

Thanks to the folks at the Hungry Monster for their time and effort toward reading my book, Gifts of the Crysnix and writing such a lovely account. Hungry Monster reaches out to the following:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
GoodReads
Kobo
Alibris
The Hungry Monster Book Review

Imagine how my heart swelled when I read:

This novel is filled with so much goodness, it’s difficult to feel a negative thought. Lisa Shore gives plenty of sage-like advice in these pages that I couldn’t help but feel like I was better off after reading it.

Overall, this book was a fantastic read. The plot holds enough meaning to make the lessons learned both insightful and valuable to any reader that pays attention enough to take it to heart. I would love to enter this world again and see how the characters continue to progress!

Please take a moment to read the review by clicking the link below.

The Hungry Monster Book Review

You can even buy it at their bookstore at a discounted price!

Just click here for savings.

 

I am presently working on an author interview with them. I’ll share it soon!

Have a lovely day!!

Filed under: Events and Media, juvenile fiction, reviews Tagged: book reading, dreams come true, gratitude, hungry monster, review

The Winnipeg Launch

Hello, Winnipeg! Welcome to my launch!

McNally Robinson Booksellers … (cue dramatic music …) a mecca for any prairie author to give a reading and launch.

It is one of the most beautiful and HUGE independent bookstores that still remains in North America and is the largest in Canada. You can just feel the unique touches as you walk in – the children’s section built like a treehouse, complete with a full line of clothing and soft toys, the fabulous Prairie Ink Restaurant and the photos celebrating hometown authors adorning the walls like a frieze of accolades. This is a special place and I was so honoured to have my launch there recently.

Thank goodness it wasn’t a scene from Thomas Wolfe’s You Can’t Go Home Again! That expression was so false when I looked out at the many faces of the people who took time out of a beautiful summer evening to attend my launch.

Family, friends from my school days and friends of my parents, dear friends I can never see enough of and old friends I haven’t seen in years, all came to support me. I can’t thank them enough for their love and “being there” for me.

 

My dear friend, Patty Christie introduced me. To give you the level of the bar of the people there, she came and stood at the podium to introduce me after a hip replacement two weeks before! Man, I have good friends!

 

 

My best friend from high school, Ali Hanks came by and her husband, Bruce, (and by the way a huge shout out to all the husbands who attended!) took these pictures. Thanks so much, Bruce!

 

My readings were set to the music of Thomas Newman, lowland and Hans Zimmer. Quite an accompaniment! If you would like to hear the music again you can click here , here and here . The first selection was the Prologue and you can read along to the music for fun. It is very dreamy and dramatic and you just feel swept away into another world. I love reading to music and plan to create YouTube videos of me reading to these selections and more.

As I signed books and chatted with old friends, I felt so grateful for the reconnection to Winnipeg. True to the Crysnix magic, the whole evening’s success was a wish come true.

I just heard from John Toews, who is the Events Coordinator, that my book reached #1 that week! 

Here is a video I pulled together. Honestly, I need a resident high school kid to help me with this stuff! Just another reason why I miss my kids. Many thanks to my son, Lee for his amazing help through the evening and to him and his fiancee, Emily for putting me up and putting up with me![image error]

A video of the evening and much love to all. xoxox

Filed under: book launch, Events and Media, gratitude, juvenile fiction, old friends Tagged: best life, book reading, dreams come true, family, gratitude, hometown, live your best life

My New Fan

The students file into the library and I smile at the eager faces. I am at my old neighbourhood school and I marvel at how time has passed so quickly since my kids were attending Robert H. Smith School.

The familiar brick walls and corridors call out to my memories of when I was one of the moms who was a permanent fixture, helping out when and wherever I could just to get a glimpse of my kids during their school day.

This is from the letter I sent to the principal, to introduce myself:

I grew up in River Heights and brought up my family there. My three children went through Robert H. Smith in the ’80’s and I was very involved with the school. At the time, I had a video production company and I created a video about the building of the new school and the historic accolades of the original. It was a great fundraising project but also became a testament to the legacy of the presence of the school in the community.

Although I now live in Calgary, my son still lives in River Heights. When I visit him, I love how the memories flood in as I drive by the school. Memories of a very happy time in my life as I raised my young children as part of a loving and thriving community.

My book, “Gifts of the Crysnix”, is about a small community and the people trying to live with purpose. It is about choices and making the right ones to better their lives. Targeted to your middle-grade students, it promotes the message that they have tremendous power over their lives

by trusting their instincts and believing in themselves. This is the gist of my presentation to them. I will talk about life choices, the science behind a wish and also the components of creating a good story. 

My presentation went well and I was thrilled to have the kids line up to buy the book. There were so many, I was struggling to come up with original notes to write alongside my signature!

As I was leaving, I realized I didn’t have a picture of the school. The children were all streaming out of the school, on their way home for the day. I asked one of the boys who bought my book if he would mind taking a picture of me. I asked his name and Daniel smiled and took this great picture of me. Thanks, Daniel!

I was loading my things into my car as Daniel and his mom came running up to me. Daniel’s mom asked if she could take a picture of Daniel and me. I was so touched.

After, as he was running back to his mom’s car, Daniel called out to me, “I’m your new fan!”

Wow, what a high point of the day! When I think of the years it took me to have the guts to publish this book, I wonder – honestly, why did it take me so long?

Filed under: Events and Media, gratitude, juvenile fiction, memories, old friends, old school Tagged: best life, dreams come true, family, hometown, humility, tomorrow's leaders, young men, young women

Old School

With a couple of weeks to go before school lets out for the summer, the students at Balmoral Hall School must have thought I was crazy when I exclaimed how GREAT it was to be back!

But, really, it was.

I began in Kindergarten and left in Grade 7. The memories are rich and textured and, although the school has changed quite a bit with brilliant new wings and lofty ceilings,

 

 

the exterior of the old school is still there and the memories are visceral as I remember how it felt to push out the heavy doors and run down the stairs to the playground.

 

 

 

 

I was struck by the feeling of belonging as I noticed the beautiful, bronze plaque from a capital campaign years ago, and chuckled at my name engraved on it. I felt proud of the connection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My presentation in the beautiful Sifton Theatre Auditorium went off without a hitch as I reminded the girls to believe in themselves and to fight the fear that holds them back from living their best lives.

After, I really enjoyed meeting the girls and hearing their dreams of being a writer. There was zero doubt in my mind they would go places and have a significant impact on the world.

It was an honour to put a note in a beautiful writing journal.

 

 

 

I stood under the pictures of the Head Mistresses who were there so many years ago with me. There have been five more Heads of School since and I felt like I entered a time warp.

There is nothing left of the old senior school as I signed in at the new entrance. Complete with a buzz-in system and guard at the front, I wondered, what has the world has come to? as I clipped on my visitor tag.

 

Gone are the days when I used my crutches with my broken leg in Grade 1 and won at “Mother, My I?” under the glass passage. The old swing sets are gone and with them the original and all engrossing pastime of swing tag. The kilts are still there, though, and the prefects and Closing Exercises, and I am convinced the facilities, ethics and dedication toward our leaders of tomorrow are new and improved.

As I walked to my car, I glanced at the old Junior School. Still the tindlestone brick and the many windows we all looked out of, almost every day of our formative years. I paused and looked at one window in particular and a hilarious memory flooded in of when a schoolmate climbed out of it, causing quite a stir as she inched along the outside of the building and climbed in the next one. I remember telling my mom about it and she just laughed along with me. She was definitely NOT old school.

Many thanks to Balmoral Hall for the warm welcome and the warmest of new memories. There is something definitely intriguing about going back … to the place of your foundation and the seat of your ideals and values and friendships and aspirations … to your old school.

Filed under: Events and Media, gratitude, juvenile fiction, memories, old friends, old school, positive influence Tagged: best life, dreams come true, goals, gratitude, hometown, humility, live your best life, tomorrow's leaders, young women

My Hometown

 

 

Sweeping, swamping memories flood in as I drive around the old, familiar streets. Anyone who knows River Heights understands when I say how the cavernous, verdant arches of the tree-lined streets whisper, “Welcome home, welcome home.”

I can’t help but drive by my old homes as my son now lives on my old street and as I go to visit friends, they live on another old street and as I drove into town and went to the car wash, I couldn’t help drive by another as it was on the way. Seeing the places where I once lived tugs at my heart as I remember the visceral details of switching on certain favourite light fixtures, the feel of opening a window in the spring or the heft of opening a front door, all insignificant at the time. All were just moments and motions in an ever-changing life that always moved too fast. Moments and motions that were torn and shoved into memory as life abruptly moved on. Now, as life is a little calmer and I am much more at peace with all the loss and change, I look at my old homes, not with sad nostalgia, but a reverence for the pace and resilience I developed in those years.

Winnipeg has a way of drawing old friends together as we all lived up or down the streets from each other. We have generations of tales of antics down the back lanes. “We trudged to school in minus 30 degrees up and downhill both ways…” was the joke of our parents and we laughed at the part about being in the hills, not about the temperature that earned Winterpeg its nickname. Close to the longitudinal centre of Canada and also on the pancake flat prairies, I actually have a lot of respect for anyone who can drive decently in snow. We played and grew and loved and lived in an urban forest and never realised how incredibly special the quality of air is from all those trees. Years ago an out-of-town  friend said Fess up – there are only five streets in Winnipeg and you have lived on all five! Pretty much.

My hometown is a place of constancy. Not a large city, it boasts beautiful women, bountiful nearby lakes, and culture to rival anywhere. The fans of the Winnipeg Jets are renown for their loyalty and that love and devotion just spills over into lifelong friendships.

I am here to share my book, Gifts of the Crysnix. This is big for me! It will be so poignant for me to look into the eyes of old friends and read my words – my heart – to them. I have chosen the biggest, most beautiful bookstore in town and it thrills me to think I will finally be launching at McNally Robinson Booksellers. If you would like to read more about it go here.

A blurb about me from McNally Robinson was in the Winnipeg Free Press weekend edition. Out of the blue, I heard from an old friend, actually, someone I was never really close to but knew many years ago. She took the time to track me down through my website and say hello. It was so great to hear from her as she congratulated me and promised to read my book. An acquaintance from the past, in this harried, busy life, made the time to send me a lovely note. That is the kind of quality of people who live in my hometown.

I am so proud to be back in Winnipeg.

Filed under: book launch, juvenile fiction, memories, old friends Tagged: gratitude, hometown, live your best life

every WOMAN

A weekend like the every WOMAN Conference in Whistler is an event that silently draws us in with three days of introspection and nurturing our bodies and souls. Once it is over it becomes a memory of drawing us out as we revel in new friendships made and new attitudes and perspectives on life.

I was so fortunate to be a part of the weekend as a presenter and participant. I lead the workshop, “Chart Your Best Life”, and was only a small cog in a wheel of presentations that mirrored and strengthened my message of believing in yourself to create your most inspired life.

 

Women from all over joined us and our jaws were sore from smiling all day – from the early morning yoga, through the day’s activities and on to the wine on the deck of Nita Lake Lodge. What a beautiful setting! There were too many fabulous workshops to choose from and I couldn’t be in two places at the same time. Hmm … skiing or mountain biking, yoga outside or an inspirational workshop inside???

The choices offered were both diverse and targeted, depending what you wanted to get out of the weekend. I personally wanted to push myself beyond my comfort level and not only mastered the SUP but DID YOGA on one!!! Holy crap, I was scared of winding up soaking wet for my presentation. But I did it!

I had so much fun I barely had time to sell my book Gifts of the Crysnix at the marketplace. My presentation took some of the life lessons from the book and suggested the steps to take to reach your full potential. Much like charting out a trip, we discussed where you

want to go and how to get there. As always, I loved sharing the message of my book at the marketplace too and was delighted to have some of my new friends take it home with them.

It is fantastic how my book continues to give gifts to me. I could never have imagined how satisfying it would be to promote the message of believing in yourself as a public speaker. I am looking forward to the 2017 every WOMAN Conference next year and the many engagements to come.

Have a look at their site here .

In the meantime, I am preparing for my school appearances and big launch coming up in Winnipeg! It just gets better and better …

 

Filed under: Events and Media Tagged: fitness, Whistler, women's conference

Story Monsters Ink Review

“Great reads for growing minds” in the subtitle of this thick, high-quality magazine, “Story Monsters Ink”. I was so pleased to see the end result of an ad I placed there. They created the ad for me and I think it turned out great!

Below is the review they gave me. It’s always such a treat to see that people have enjoyed the book and have something original to say about it.

Story Monsters Ink Review

April 2016

Beautiful creatures from a parallel universe watch over the humans in a small seaside town. A breathtaking new world-so perfect, so enchanting that we want to believe-unfolds as we witness the journey of new friends, who lead us toward our own personal triumphs. They have harnessed the power to bend time and grant wishes. “Elixir will do just fine,” Marsuveus said with conviction. “He doesn’t know it yet but he has tremendous power behind him. He is fulfilling his destiny.” At that moment, the storm hit full force, and the animals and Crysnix cowered for cover. The hurricane whipped and tore at Galvin Cove and shredded the young trees of Castle Forest. It seemed it was only a matter of time before the Dark Prince Onyx would win. The king flew above them all on the back of Marsuveus and shouted to the expectant faces below. “Take heart! Remember our strategy! Fight the fear! Fight the fear!” All it takes is the will to believe.

“Gifts of the Crysnix” is a wonderfully entertaining and original story that will have for young readers an immense appeal to their imagination and sense of wonder. Very highly recommended for school and community library fantasy collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that “Gifts of the Crysnix” is also available in a paperback edition (9781504339650, $16.99) and in a Kindle format ($4.99).

I really appreciate the line, “Very highly recommended for school and community library fantasy collections…”

The people at FiveStar Publications, who produce the magazine, were really nice to work with and I was surprised at the quality of the magazine when a complimentary copy arrived at my door. Cristy Bertini, the Editor-In-Chief was just a phone call or email away and she came across in a very friendly way. So nice to be dealing with people one-on-one and not feeling intimidated.

Thanks again to all the folks at “Story Monsters Ink”!!

Filed under: Events and Media, juvenile fiction, reviews

A Creative Writing Challenge!

I’m taking time off writing to write about writing … Yeah, that’s been my focus these days!

Working til past midnight these past few days, I have had the house to myself (as my husband is away) and I have lived on oatmeal and blueberries and crackers and hummus. I finally got out of the house this morning and treated myself to sushi for lunch. California crunch rolls! Awesome!!

I am having a ball working on a power point presentation for my upcoming gig at the every WOMAN Conference in Whistler in a couple of weeks. Click here to see more. Here is some info on my workshop from the conference website:

Chart Your Best Life! {Navigating new territory to reach your full potential} | Lisa Shore | Author, The Gift of Crysnix | Calgary + Phoenix

Using themes from my book, Gifts of the Crysnix, we will explore how quantum physics can make wishes come true. Through the powers of letting go and positive intention, we will break new ground in the search for creating our best lives. Adventure awaits as we travel to a place where true manifestation begins. Oh, and did I mention space travel? That too.

I  have been researching fun stuff like the effects of quantum physics on the power of intent, how the brain works and scientific backup of electromagnetic impulses and positivity.

It will be a great way to take the messages from my book and share them with women who are looking to change their lives for the better! The whole 3-day conference is super-charged with hikes, skiing, water sports, biking, and inside workouts of every kind imaginable, as well as wonderful dinners and spa options.

 

 

 

Here is a picture I found in “Resonance”, a fabulous book I read to hone my presentation skills. It sums up the gist of my presentation. Powerful words from an exceptional lady.

 

 

 

 

 

And here are some screen shots from my presentation.

 

 

My points are emphasized through the ancient musings of Marcus Aurelius, the profound wisdom of the Eastern concept of Ikigai and beautiful imagery from the web to bring my message home.

 

 

 

 

 

I include excerpts from The Harvard Business Review and cite the experiments of Drs. Joe Dispenza and Masaru Emoto to demonstrate the power of our mind.

One such experiment involves targeting thoughts to two different containers of rice in water. In Tokyo, 2,000 people directed loving thoughts and hateful thoughts to the two different containers that were in California!

The rice with loving intention sent to it was white and fluffy while the sad, hated rice became black and rotten. This experiment has been recreated on YouTube several times and the same result happens.

I decided to put the trial to the test myself so here are my rice containers. They’ll hopefully be showing some results by the time I get to Whistler!

I’ll have to get back to you on whether this worked or not!

Check out the every WOMAN conference details. everywoman.ca You may want to attend! If I don’t see you there I’ll be sure to let you know how the conference went.[image error]

Bye for now – I have to get back to work!

 

 

 

Filed under: Events and Media, juvenile fiction, positive influence, self empowerment, self love, world tolerance

Reviews with a personal touch.

I knew that when I finally published my book, Gifts of the Crysnix, I would be “putting myself out there”, leaving myself open to criticism (both good and bad) and becoming vulnerable to sharing my life with the masses. Being a very private person, I think that is the reason it took me so long to pull the trigger, so to speak.

I took so many years, in fact, I began to ask myself if I would live to regret not publishing it at all? My answer was, YES, and so I steeled myself as I went about answering the promotional questions my publicist put to me with honesty, candor, and the silent hope that I was doing the right thing. Although it went against my core of being happy to stay under the radar, I realised that I would never be able to reach my potential readers and share my message if I didn’t just suck it up and go for it.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the tremendous, positive response and support I have received from friends, strangers and (wow?!) the reviewers. Below are a couple of reviews I have received recently.

I am so touched that someone took the time to snap a couple of pictures of my book in their home – on a table and in the hands of a reader who is my target audience. My heart swelled to see that picture! My book … there in the hands of a young woman comfortably settling in for a good read …

Thank you so much to the gals at GROOVINMOMS for the time and effort they put into the review.

Here it is:

GROOVINMOMS review

 

The second review reveals some personal points from my past that are tender issues. After I lost both of my parents, I grew into womanhood feeling that no one had my back. I had to figure out life on my own. The life lessons I learned are some of the ones I wrote the book around. They are the reason why I wrote it. If I can help a young person figure out life a little by reading Gifts of the Crysnix, then I will have had their back. It means everything to me.

Many thanks to the people at Mystic Living Today, an e-zine about our mystic life. They wrote a very sensitive article about my book and me.

Have a look:

The Gift of Life Lessons

Filed under: gratitude, juvenile fiction, positive influence, reviews, self empowerment, self love, world tolerance Tagged: gratitude, humility, live your best life, tomorrow's leaders, young women