D.G. Kaye's Blog, page 164
October 11, 2015
HAVE BAGS WILL TRAVEL | Carol Balawyder

I was pleasantly surprised when I visited author Carol Balawyder’s blog to get my weekly dose of reading, when I found that she had read, reviewed and featured my latest book, Have Bags, Will Travel, on her blog. Needless to say, I was elated that she not only posted about my book, but that she enjoyed it and took the time to share it on her page.
Thank you Carol!
“D.G. Kaye’s recent memoir Have Bags, Will Travel reminded me how much I’d neglected the travel section of my blog.
Be prepared to have your heart chuckling and your lips smiling as you read through D.G. Kaye’s amusing travel adventures. Although the main theme of the book is on her affection for shopping it’s also a memoir like no other as she holds your hand and guides you through her unforgettable trips to Paris, London, Greece, Venezuela and Vegas. You meet her friends who are almost as zany as she is and she ponders on the good old days of travelling and her sadness to see the old charm of her beloved Vegas fade away.” . . . Read more on Carol’s blog
October 8, 2015
A #Blog about #Blogging — #MostlyBlogging.com

Today I’m introducing Janice Wald from mostlyblogging.com . Janice is a friend and her site is very popular and quite a busy place for bloggers who visit because her posts offer a wealth of information on helpful tips for social media, SEO, best tools for blogging, linky blog parties for meet and greets and sharing links, and a whole hodge-podge of interesting things.
Janice keeps it fresh and always interesting to read; there is something for everyone on her blog. Many bloggers aren’t always fully aware of the technical aspects of what goes on behind the scenes with SEO, links and sharing, etc. MostlyBlogging gives us a lot of insights and details about ‘How To” use certain apps and social media.
As writers, we write because we love to write, but we may not know all the little tricks behind the scenes in our blogging dashboards. This is where Janice’s blog is so helpful because she feeds us so much valuable information about the operational part of blogging. Have a look at some of the testimonials from Janice’s readers.
Besides posting helpful articles, Janice runs Linky Monday parties where writers can add their own links to a post they want to share on her page, which gives others a chance to come visit your blogs, and a chance for us to visit new blogs.
There really is a wealth of information at Janice’s blog, and I know she is so welcoming to everyone. She takes the time to answer any questions you may have and her happy disposition radiates through everything she posts.
A Bit About Janice:
“By night, I am a happy blogger, wife, mother of three daughters, and a dog owner. By day, I am a teacher. Ancient and medieval world history are my passions, and I have taught both at the middle school level. It’s my dream to one day teach education at the college level so I can empower other teachers. Toward that pursuit I recently completed my Masters Degree in Education, Curriculum and Instruction. My Email is Broadwaymusicalfan which speaks volumes about my other passion, musical theater. I have acted in community plays three times and would relish the chance to do more acting, even on a professional level. I might even have the chance to act in my own movie since I am currently collaborating on a screenplay! After Tweeting for years and collecting thousands of followers, I look forward to a more in-depth analytical exchange of ideas about a wide variety of blogging-related topics.”
Now GO check out Janice’s blog and scan down the sidebar for some topics you may be interested in reading in case you haven’t been there before.
D.G. Kaye ©October 2015
October 7, 2015
Thank you for the “Sisterhood of the World” Award | New Creations Ministries
I am honoured to be given this award, Sisterhood of the World Bloggers, from Ellie Marrandette www.newcreationsministries.wordpress.com ,one of my sweet blogging friends here. Ellie is a wonderful, kind-spirited person and author of several books. Ellie is very involved with her ministry and writes so eloquently about living healthy with the foods we eat, with a little twist — her writing always includes kindness and links her passages back to the bible.
A Bit About Ellie:“When my husband felt called to become a pastor recently, we left sunny Arizona and the golfing profession, for the cold climate but warm and friendly residents of northeastern Ohio.
As an author, I’ve published one coming-of-age novel, Sometimes Marriage is a Real Crime, now available for the a very affordable price on Amazon.com! I also wrote a short novella, The Curious Proposal for Prosperity, Nevada, found on www.Smashwords.com for free. Currently I am working on a sequel to Sometimes . . . and my most recent non-fiction Christian book on our mental, physical and spiritual connection to food “Life’s Too Short to Eat Bad Cheese . . .” (nutritional and life lessons God teaches us) which can be found world-wide through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and some major Christian distribution sites. . . . Read more about Ellie here
The receiver of the award is to link to the blogger who nominated them, post the award and nominate 10 others. We are then to answer 10 questions given by the person who nominated us. Here are Ellie’s questions for me below:
Would you rather win an Oscar, Pulitzer, Nobel or other award? Why?
What would be your dream job?
What characteristics describe your ideal husband?
What’s your favorite place to vacation?
What’s your greatest skill?
What was your first car?
What were you like in high school?
Have you met a celebrity? Who?
Have you been on television?
What historical person would you invite to dinner?
Answers:
Of course being a published author, it would be a dream to win a Pulitzer.
I’m already doing my dream job – writing.
I am blessed to have married the ideal husband. He’s kind, supportive, understanding, doesn’t complain when my other marriage partner, writing, interferes with plans or with forgetting to make him dinner sometimes. He adores me, tells me how much he loves me several times a day and doesn’t like going anywhere without me. I’d say I was lucky to find the ideal husband.
My favourite place in the world is Arizona. In fact, Ellie used to live there just before we met here online. Coincidence? Maybe.
Hmm, my greatest skill? I’ll just say I’m a Jill of many trades and maybe mastered a few.
My first car was a white Ford Mustang. I moved away from home at eighteen and when I needed a car my father always let me borrow his and came to pick me up so I could use it. One day I was twenty-one, sitting at my desk in my part-time job managing a Recreation Center and my dad came to visit me, along with one of my brother’s friends. He wore a big smile as he placed some car keys in front of me and reminded me that he never forgot he’d buy me a car when I turned twenty-one. I was over the moon, and of course he brought someone with him so he could get a ride back home.
In high school, I was a loner. I was a bookworm, not particularly attractive and somewhat overweight. I went to school for education. My friends were outside of school, but I had plenty of them.
I’ve bumped into a few celebrities in my travels, mostly. One time I literally bumped into Robert Wagner walking through the hotel casino at the Mirage in Las Vegas. I think he may have been feeling a bit celebratory as he walked by with his wife Jill St. John.
Yes, I’ve been on television. When I was in my early thirties, I took some acting classes and played an extra on a few crime shows that were popular at the time. Seriously, I can’t remember the name of the shows. Which reminds me, yes, I played a court scene with Armand Assante, and Christopher Plumber was also in one of the other shows I played a patron in a restaurant scene with.
Now that’s a toughie. I’m going to say Ernest Hemingway because I’d like to ask the Great Pappa how we can become great writers if we “Write drunk, and edit sober.”
I am more than grateful for being recognized and bestowed this award along with so many others I’ve been granted, and in the spirit of what I’ve started doing in this past year with awards, I offer all my wonderful blogging friends to copy this award and post it on your own pages from me because we are all deserving, and definitely all part of the sisterhood of blogging here.
Becoming a new creation by applying Biblical nutritional principles of 2 Corinthians 5:17 (by Ellie www.newcreationsministries.wordpress....)
Source: Thank you for the “Sisterhood of the World” Award | New Creations Ministries
D.G. Kaye ©October 2015
October 5, 2015
Embracing your #Self-Esteem — #NoBodyShame
I was late-night channel surfing one night last week and I came across a TV show on TLC called – My Big Fat Fabulous Life. I watched a few back to back episodes as I found it to be a thoroughly inspiring and empowering show.
As a girl who grew up being made fun of, and consequently, my sharing of my own stories of overcoming in my book, Words We Carry , this show really resonated with me.
The star of this reality show is Whitney Way Thore . Her show focuses around Whitney’s daily life as she struggles with being overweight. Her initial weight gain began when she was 18 years old and she gained 100 pounds within 8 months and was consequently diagnosed with PCOS – Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. From then on, her weight ballooned with the disorder and was enhanced with the negative emotions that came along with the disease. PCOS is a mysterious disease which is mostly hard to detect.
I gained an instant compassion for Whitney because she uses her show to empower others, not to wallow in self-pity. I’ve always been attracted to shows that deal with people with overweight issues such as: The Biggest Loser and Extreme Weightloss, because it gives me sheer joy watching those people begin to value their self-worth again in their quests to overcome their unhappiness. When those contestants step on a scale after a grueling week of diet and workouts and see their unwanted pounds shed, I sit there rooting for them on from my couch. When I see their elation it brings tears to my eyes.
Whitney’s show is a bit different to those other weight loss shows. Whitney is all about learning to embrace her curves with no shame. Her campaign is called #nobodyshame – No B S. On her show, Whitney runs dance classes for ‘big girls’ who are taught by Whitney to embrace their curves and handicaps from a judgmental world. Many of the girls had never joined any clubs out of embarrassment or fears of being made fun of, but Whitney invites them to a place to express themselves, and where they can feel comfortable and motivated.
In her latest episode, Whitney began a little girl’s dance club as her big girl’s dance club was getting some positive attention. Whitney thought it would be a great idea to start building the esteems of young girls too, especially those who were being bullied for their appearance. She then took it one step further than just building up these girl’s egos, she decided to start talking in schools to other kids to teach compassion for those who pick on the underdogs.
Whitney uses her own weight issues to show others that just because someone is overweight, doesn’t mean they can’t have a full, beautiful life, instead of hiding in the shadows. That’s a beautiful message! Not only is Whitney empowering, she is beautiful inside and out, she’s hilarious, she’s colourful and charismatic, and she’s entertaining to watch.
Recently, Whitney Thore was invited to the Doctor Oz show to talk about her show and she made a very clear statement about what she stands for. She said, it’s not that she’s pro-obesity, rather it’s about learning to love and embrace ourselves.
When I watch #MyBigFatFabLife I don’t feel sad or pity. I just find myself wanting to give that girl a huge hug and tell her how proud I am of her.
While I’m on the subject of PCOS, I’d like to add that an author friend of mine, Debby Carroll, wrote an article in the summer about discovering about the mystery of PCOS when she discovered her own daughter had it. Please read Debby’s article HERE and find out how she finally diagnosed what was going on with her daughter’s mysterious weight gain and symptoms.
In conclusion, many of you may know that there is a Canadian comic, Nicole Arbour, whose youtube video has gone viral lately, about shaming fat people. She’s gotten a lot of press lately, and surprisingly, not so good. Her theory seems to be that her video is supposed to be funny, in jest, to pick on overweight people so they will be shamed into losing weight. In this method, she claims that she is helping them. I find the whole act in terrible taste and very hurtful.
Like Whitney says, shaming people to lose weight is not in a positive light and nobody knows what people are going through by judging them by their weight. Whitney adds that perhaps someone has a condition, or maybe they’re in a depression over losing a loved one. I’m with Whitney; nobody has walked in our shoes. And nobody has the right to judge others.
Please have a listen to this short video Whitney made in response to the fat-shaming video by Nicole.
I’d love to know your thoughts. Have any of you watched My Big Fat Fabulous LIfe?
D.G. Kaye ©October 2015
October 2, 2015
Book Review #Self-esteem – Missi’s Dating Adventures – by Carol Balawyder
If any of you have read my book, Words We Carry, you will know that the book is geared toward finding my own self-esteem, and how I got through an awkward childhood and teenage years by learning how to conquer my own insecurities. I share my lessons in hopes that I can encourage others to find that if we discipline ourselves to discover ways to overcome our shortcomings, we can truly help ourselves. I am all about overcoming adversity and encouraging others.
~AUTHOR REVIEW~
Carol Balawyder is a wonderful author and blogger and has written a series about women in midlife who find themselves single and in search of the perfect relationships. Missi’s Dating Adventures is about a midlife woman searching for a fulfilling relationship in the online world.
About Carol:
“Welcome to my website and blog.
I write about justice, mid-life dating, grief, blogs that inspire me both as a writer and a person, awesome writing workshops.
I have series on: How I Got Published, Femme Fatale, Nobel Prize Laureates, Writers’ Desks, Ten Great First Dates.
One of my goals is to make online friends with bloggers around the world of different religions, race and culture and talents….” Read more about Carol here
Here is my review:

LESSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY
Poor Missi, in search of the perfect companion in the vast world of online dating. Missi invites us into her world as an intelligent, perhaps, overly compassionate woman who has taken to writing an online dating column with a culmination of stories from her own experiences. Missi doesn’t have much luck with the men she chooses to date, and although her dating stories are told with wit and humor, one can’t help but feel a sadness for her. I want to give her a big hug, as well as a good shake throughout the book. How many chances is one supposed to give to a guy who doesn’t appreciate the goodness of a good woman? You have to give her kudos for having the courage to continue to go on dates after reading about some of the losers she went out with and chose to stay too long at the dance with when her kindness was taken for granted. This book is a good lesson for those who don’t value their own self-worth enough, to learn not to sell yourself short for anyone.
Have a look and Get this book on Amazon
D.G. Kaye © October 2015
September 29, 2015
Catching up | Daily Echo
Sue Vincent is a woman of strength – a huge conqueror of adversity, an artist in more ways than one, and an avid blogger in the writing community. Her blog The Daily Echo is an eclectic mix of wonderful prose and detailed posts on her treks, trial and tribulations, and last but not least, beautiful photos.In her latest post, Sue shares recognition for some other bloggers, and I was honoured to be named one of them. Also in this post, Sue is doing the 3 Day Challenge with adding quotes. I am not part of this challenge this time round, but I would like to add here one of my own favourite quotes:
Thank you Sue Vincent for including me in your list of bloggers to receive this award.
A little about Sue:
Sue Vincent ~ Echoes of Life, Love and Laughter (by Sue Vincent)
“I am a Yorkshire born painter and writer, living in the south of England. I paint the strange things that come as images in dreams and fantasies and write about life as it happens.
I was raised in a spiritually eclectic family in a landscape where myths and legends were woven into the stones, and have always had an intimate relationship with the inner worlds and the understanding that all paths are but spokes on a wheel, leading ultimately to the same centre. It is not the path that one walks that matters, but how one chooses to walk it. . . . .”
Read more about Sue Vincent
It’s always an honour for me to be recognized by fellow bloggers and given an award. As always, I offer all my fellow bloggers to help themselves to this award to place on your own pages, for we are all deserving.
Source: Catching up | Daily Echo
D.G. Kaye ©September 2015
September 28, 2015
Saturday Morning Coffee with Olga Nunez Miret, D.G. Kaye and Teagan Riordain Geneviene | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life
Sally Cronin of SmorgasbordInvitation began a new Saturday morning coffee and chat with authors and writers. Sally is a wonderful writer and a great sharer of the works of others. In each of her coffee invitations, Sally always shares a beautiful story of her own, which ties in with the company she’s having over for coffee and dessert. Today’s writing is about friendship. As part of her invitation to us, she always takes our order, asking what type of coffee and dessert we’d prefer. Anything is fine with me, as long as it’s gluten and dairy-free.
I was elated to be in the company of, not only Sally, but other friends and esteemed writers/authors, Olga Nunez Miret and Teagan Riordain Geneviene Please join us now for Saturday coffee and chat.“Friendship can sometimes be hard to define as we, as individuals, play different roles in the lives of others. We are daughters, sons, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, bosses and employees, husbands and wives, lovers and friends. I was browsing the web looking at opinions on the subject and found this post by Alex Lickerman MD author of the book The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self. http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Lickerman-MD/e/B008UT77MW ”
“Here is an excerpt from the post and you might like to pop over and read the full article as I felt it summed up what I feel about friendship including those that I have developed online with fellow bloggers. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201312/the-true-meaning-friendship ”
“The Japanese have a term, kenzoku, which translated literally means “family.” The connotation suggests a bond between people who’ve made a similar commitment and who possibly therefore share a similar destiny. It implies the presence of the deepest connection of friendship, of lives lived as comrades from the distant past. Many of us have people in our lives with whom we feel the bond described by the word kenzoku.”
Please join us for the coffee chat by continuing to read by clicking the link below:
September 26, 2015
New Book Fanfare – Have Bags, Will Travel by D.G. Kaye | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life
Thank you Sally Cronin for inviting me to your place today to be part of your special edition: Fanfare, and introducing me and my latest new book release, Have Bags, Will Travel.
“Today’s featured book is by a firm favourite of us here in Blog world. D.G. Kaye, affectionately known as Debby, with a novella about some of her more memorable moments of traveling. Including issues of overweight luggage and causing rather a celebrity moment when passing through Canada customs on her return trips!”
Sally Cronin – Blog with a view – on most things!
Read Sally’s article by clicking on the link below:
Source: New Book Fanfare – Have Bags, Will Travel by D.G. Kaye | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life
September 24, 2015
#Sale #Book #Promotion – Words We Carry
I’ve been such a busy beaver that I haven’t taken advantage of kindle countdown promos since the summer. Considering my books are locked into KDP right now I think it’s time to do a little advertising.
BLURB:
“I have been a great critic of myself for most of my life, and I was darned good at it, deflating my own ego without the help of anyone else.”
What do our shopping habits, high-heeled shoes, and big hair have to do with how we perceive ourselves? Do the slights we endured when we were young affect how we choose our relationships now?
D.G. takes us on a journey, unlocking the hurts of the past by identifying situations that hindered her own self-esteem. Her anecdotes and confessions demonstrate how the hurtful events in our lives linger and set the tone for how we value our own self-worth.
Words We Carry is a raw, personal accounting of how the author overcame the demons of low self-esteem with the determination to learn to love herself.
Starting Thursday September 24th until the 30th, Words We Carry will be on kindle countdown in the U.S. and the U.K. Sadly, Amazon still won’t share those promo prices with the rest of the world, so for those lucky enough to be able to take advantage of this promo, don’t forget to get your copy of Words We Carry if you haven’t already read it.
Oh, and please consider leaving a review if you’ve read it. I know it’s been said many times but . . . Reviews are an author’s gold. Many readers aren’t aware that when authors pay for their advertising, the ad companies will sometimes decline putting us on their ad list even though we’re paying for it, if it doesn’t have enough reviews. Imagine that? We need to pay for ads to gain readership and reviews, but if we don’t have enough good reviews, our ad request may be declined. Quite an oxymoron!
I look forward to your reviews!
D.G. Kaye ©September 2015
September 22, 2015
4 Easy Steps to Seriously Awesome #Blog Post #Photos | Sacha Black

Friend and writer Sacha Black has put together a post with a wealth of information for bloggers who are always on the lookout for great photos to add to their blogs. She points out where we can obtain free photos as well as paid. Check out some of Sacha’s other wonderful posts. Besides great information, Sacha is a wonderful writer and does some fabulous interviews with authors. Surely, a blog to offer something for every reader.
Sacha Black… Writer, Thinker, Lover of the Strange and Unusual (by Sacha Black)
Blog post pictures. They are, if you don’t know how to do them, a bit of a mystery.
I have had a couple of lovely compliments recently about the photos I use to start my posts, (thank you, and blush!). But what it’s resulted in, is me sharing my photo tweaking knowledge with others. So I thought it might be useful to share that knowledge with everyone else.
If you would like to know how to make photos like mine, or ones in your own style, then read on……
Source: 4 Easy Steps to Seriously Awesome Blog Post Photos | Sacha Black
D.G. Kaye©September 2013