Caroline A. Shearer's Blog, page 14

Steve Schatz Author Q&A

Steve Schatz, author of the YA fantasy adventures “Adima Rising” and “Adima Returning,” recently sat down to chat characters, writing, and more with the U.K.’s Library Of Erana blog. Here’s what he had to say about the Adima message and his top tip for new writers.

Are your characters based on real people?

Not specifically. I use pieces from everywhere to grow the characters. I listen to a lot of comics (Louie C.K., Sarah Silverman, Eddie Izzard, Margaret Cho, and others). I remember particularly pithy remarks. I steal character traits from people I like and don’t like. That’s how I start. Then, as the characters take form, they develop their own voice.

Is there a message conveyed within your writing? Do you feel this is important in a book?

I have several specific messages in the Adima series. The most important is to take aware, creative action and to take responsibility for making your decisions. If your action works, great. If not, learn and share what you’ve learned. In “Adima Rising,” a major message is also the importance of creating one’s own connection to the sacred, not mindlessly turning such an important, personal decision over to someone else.

What three pieces of advice would you give to new writers?

Write. It’s amazing to me how difficult it is to turn what’s in my head into something on the page. There’s a big difference between thinking about writing and writing. I use Mr. Steve’s 15-minute rule. I promise myself that I will write 15 minutes a day, no matter what. If I do that, I’m good. Many times, once I get going, I will write longer. However, I only commit to 15 minutes.

Enjoy the full interview here 

New Release! Young Adult Mystery Haunted Echo

Absolute Love Publishing is thrilled to announce the arrival of our newest Young Adult novel, “Haunted Echo” by Janet McLaughlin, who has crafted a destination mystery that will sweep readers away with its exotic locale, vibrant characters, paranormal adventure, and light romance. Haunted Echo is now available in digital and paperback formats from Amazon, B&N.com, and the Absolute Love Publishing Store.

Young readers who get into mischief with their besties, adore a great read, or have dreamed of being an amateur sleuth will love “Haunted Echo”!

Sun, fun, and her toes in the sand. That’s what Zoey Christopher expects when she joins her best friend and fellow cheerleader Becca on an exotic Caribbean vacation. What she finds instead is a wannabe boyfriend, a voodoo doll, and Tempy – a tormented young ghost whose past is linked to the island grounds.

Zoey has always seen visions of the future, but when she arrives at St. Anthony’s Island to vacation among the jet set, she has her first encounter with a bona fide ghost. Forced to uncover the secret behind the girl’s untimely death, Zoey quickly realizes that trying to solve the case will place her in mortal danger. Shaken and confused by a menacing threat and by her budding feelings for the too-cute, too-nice Chris, will Zoey find a way to survive this vacation and put Tempy to rest?

“Haunted Echo” is the first novel in the Soul Sight Mysteries, with even more excitement and intrigue to come in future books as Zoey uses her intuitive abilities to solve mysteries while juggling the trials and tribulations of being a teenager. Purchase your copy of Haunted Echo today!

Now available for Nook! Adima Rising by Steve Schatz

Adima Rising, a Young Adult novel by Steve Schatz, is now available in Nook format, in addition to a previously released paperback version at B&N.com and both digital and paperback formats on Amazon and in the Absolute Love Publishing store.

The first adventure in The Adima Chronicles, Adima Rising now can be easily downloaded on your Nook for Thanksgiving vacation. If you are looking for a timeless fantasy adventure that has wit and wisdom, this debut young adult novel is perfect.

Guided by a timeless Native American spirit, four teenagers from a small New Mexico town discover they have one month to awaken their inner power and save the world. Rory, Tima, Billy, and James must solve four ancient challenges by the next full moon to awaken a mystical portal and become Adima. If they fail, the last threads of light will dissolve, and the universe will be lost forever. Can they put aside their fears and discover their true natures before it’s too late?

Purchase from B&N now!

Now available for Nook! “Preparing to Fly” by Sarah Hackley

“Preparing to Fly” by Sarah Hackley is now available in Nook format, in addition to a previously released paperback version at B&N.com and both digital and paperback formats on Amazon and in the Absolute Love Publishing store.

Drawing on personal experiences and nearly a decade of financial expertise, Sarah Hackley walks readers step-by-step through empowering plans and tools to help them leave unhealthy and abusive relationships.

Figure out how much money it will take to leave your current living situation and see how much you’ll need to live on your own by

Learning What You Have

Making An Asset Worksheet
Figuring Out What You Need
Creating A Needs Budget


Knowing Where You Can Go

Additional tips for women with children, married women, pregnant women, the chronically ill, and more …

Preparing to Fly is a smart, concise guide for anyone wanting to learn more about what resources they have and what resources they will need to prepare for financial freedom from domestic abuse. Break free and live in your own power.

“… This book should be in every public library, doctor’s office, counseling center or clinic, and shelter …” Kimberly Jayne, Author of Take My Husband, Please and All the Innuendo, Half the Fact

Sarah Hackley is also the author of the min-e-book™ “Finding Happiness with Migraines: A Do-It-Yourself Guide” and a contributor to the women’s studies bestseller, “Women Will Save the World.”

Raise Your Financial Vibration: Attract Harmony, Joy, & Abundance

In raising our financial vibration, one of the main principles is, “We are not separate from the money. The money is ours already,” said Caroline A. Shearer on the Wealthy Wednesday show with host Luci McMonagle. Rather than trying to create it, “We have to learn how to claim it.”

Shearer said while the Law of Attraction is about attracting in, “being the vibration is actually a more important part of that. We have to resonate at the level of what we want.”

She said it is important to recognize, analyze, and heal any financial fears we have. “When we start to unfold our fear and look at it deeper, we can funnel light and healing” to it. This allows us to “heal this area and allow it to shine in the way that it is meant to shine – as we are ALL mean to 100% shine.”

Learn more by listening to the Wealthy Wednesday with Absolute Love Publishing Creator Caroline A. Shearer.

Taking Charge of Your Wealth Signature

Did you know? You have a wealth signature!

But, before you grab a piece of paper and try a fancy new way of signing your name, this is not the same signature we use for our electronic documents, texts, emails, paperwork, and personal notes. This is an invisible and potent energetic signature directly connected to your financial well-being.

Your wealth signature can range from riches to poverty and is created by every financial experience and belief you have been exposed to in this life and in other lives. Whatever financial situation you are experiencing, it is because that is what resonates with your wealth signature.

What is a wealth signature? Your wealth signature is the essence or the vibration that attracts your financial experiences. You don’t have to do anything to have a wealth signature – everyone has one. However, it is important to understand your wealth signature if your finances aren’t where you’d like them to be — so that you can improve them.

If you are not financially where you aspire to be, ask yourself: How am I contributing to this lower money vibration?

Try a structured self -exploration about money by answering these pertinent and clarifying questions:

•         What are my earliest experiences with money?

•         What are my beliefs surrounding money?

•         What/who is influencing my beliefs on money?

•         What money-related activities do I choose?

•         Who am I spending time with – do they have poverty mindsets or abundant mindsets?

How do all of the above play into the money that I have, that I earn, that I spend, that I save, and that I invest? All of these things are related. When you begin to unfold the answers to these questions, your financial story will reveal itself. Once you understand the story, you can see what to work on, what to release, what to strengthen, and what to let blossom.

To learn more about changing your financial vibration, listen to Caroline A. Shearer discussing financial abundance on Wealthy Wednesday with Luci McMonagle, or purchase Caroline’s min-ebook™, “Raise Your Financial Vibration.”

When You Find Your Joy, You Find Your Strength

When we feel sick and weak, we often believe we are sick and weak, said Sarah Hackley, author of the min-e-book™ Finding Happiness with Migraines: A Do It Yourself Guide, in a post on Migraine Again. Hackley says our self-image changes, and – with it – our self-esteem. This is especially true when migraine disease is chronic or intractable, and the attacks frequent. Here is an excerpt from her uplifting article on thriving despite migraines:

You’re Stronger Than You Feel Right Now

This belief that we are the way we feel is a false one, however, and it’s one that can be changed. When we change it, we restore ourselves to ourselves, regaining – and strengthening – our spirits. Solidifying our self-image, and enhancing our self-esteem.

Find something that speaks to who you are at your core, and indulge in it as often as possible. Most of all, when you are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, remember this: You are not your illness. You are so, so much more.

See the full article on Migraine Again to learn Sarah’s six suggestions to finding your joy again.

Sarah is the Absolute Love Publishing editor and the author of Finding Happiness with Migraines: A Do It Yourself Guide, a min-e-book™, and Preparing to Fly: Financial Freedom from Domestic Abuse. Her most notable contributions with Absolute Love Publishing include the Love Like God books and Women Will Save the World.

Steve Schatz Shares Writing Wisdom on Waking Writer

Steve Schatz, the Absolute Love Publishing author of Adima Rising, recently appeared on Berneta L. Haynes’ Waking Writer to discuss the art and business of writing, including how he structures his creative process and why editing is so important. Here is a sample of the interview:

Do you work to an outline or plot sketch, or do you prefer to let a general idea guide your writing?

Steve: I chart out some parts, but the book usually starts with an idea…just a flicker of an idea and grows out in little pieces. Then I start to string those together. The best time is when the characters start speaking for themselves and showing how they would react.

What are some ways in which you promote your work?

Steve: I drive my marketing by the phrase, “If you need it…You will read it.” When people are ready for the message and the adventure, it falls in their lap.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Steve: Edit, edit, edit. Then send it to friends and edit again. Then send it to knowledgeable people and LISTEN to them. Change your book. Say thank you instead of defending it. One of the hardest and most common lessons is that there will be wonderful sections of your book, but they don’t move the book forward and do not make the final version. Finally, write what you want, what you love.

Read more of the informative interview on Waking Writer.

Sacral Chakra Recipe from “The Chakra Secret”

Absolute Love Publishing author Michelle Hastie “dished” about specially crafted recipes designed to nourish and strengthen our energy centers when discussing her min-e-book™, “The Chakra Secret: What Your Body Is Telling You” on Love, Liberty, and Lip Gloss with Donna Lyons.

Hastie described these recipes as “one more tool to try, to see how you can help influence the body to do what it does perfectly.”

Here is a sneak peek!

Sacral Chakra Recipe by Chef Maria Schonder

The sacral chakra is supported by water and, when balanced, keeps us juicy (at least that’s how I think of it!) Since the sacral chakra is associated with our reproductive systems and our creativity, juicy and flowing is what we want! One way to support your sacral chakra through food is enjoying those that are hydrating and have seeds (to represent fertility). If the food is orange in color, all the better!

Cantaloupe Salad

6-8 servings

2 ripe peaches, pits removed, peeled

1⁄4 cup (scant) shallot

1 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Pinch salt

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cantaloupe, seeds removed, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes

Coarsely chop the peaches, and add them to a food processor bowl. Add shallot, tarragon, lime juice, and salt. Puree while drizzling in olive oil until smooth.

Place cantaloupe in a large bowl. Top with dressing, stir well. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Listen to the full interview on Love, Liberty, and Lip Gloss with Donna Lyons!

ALP Author Sarah Hackley Featured as “Blogger We Love”

Colorado Pain featured Absolute Love Publishing author Sarah Hackley as a “Blogger We Love” and described her posts as “honest and straightforward, but with a healthy dose of positivity.”

Through her empowering quick read min-e-book™ “Finding Happiness With Migraines: A Do-It- Yourself Guide” Sarah Hackley “gives permission for you to let go of all the unnecessary things in your life, so that you can save your energy and attention for what really matters.” says Colorado Pain. This, as it turns out, is sage advice for everyone.

Sarah says, “No matter what stage of illness we are in, whether we’ve just been diagnosed or we have lived with chronic migraines for decades, there are adjustments we can make to increase joy in our lives and to live more fully. I have learned that there is joy in living with chronic migraines, and I hope this book allows me to pass that joy on to you.”

Did you know June is National Headache and Migraine Awareness Month? Read more, including Sarah’s six tips for migraines.