Claire Cook's Blog, page 16

Happy MLK Day!

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“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”—Martin Luther King Jr.

Claire Cook wrote her first book in her minivan when she was 45. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the romantic comedy adaptation of her novel, Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, which is now a 6-book series. Claire is the New York Times and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 18 books, including Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention and Shine On: How To Grow Awesome Instead of Old. Connect with Claire on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Stay in the loop for giveaways, new releases and insider extras at ClaireCook.com/newsletter/.

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Your Next Chapter

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A little Wednesday Wisdom from my book Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention:

“Sometimes the biggest thing you can do to find your next chapter is to get out of your own way.”

 

Claire Cook wrote her first book in her minivan when she was 45. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the romantic comedy adaptation of her novel, Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, which is now a 6-book series. Claire is the New York Times and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 18 books, including Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention and Shine On: How To Grow Awesome Instead of Old. Connect with Claire on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Stay in the loop for giveaways, new releases and insider extras at ClaireCook.com/newsletter/.

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5 Ways to Shine On in 2018

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There’s an old toast: May all your troubles be as short as your New Year’s resolutions. Which is why personally I’m not a huge fan as far as New Year’s resolutions go. It’s too easy to feel like a failure when those daily trips to the gym fizzle out by Valentine’s Day. But I do love to get quiet this time of year and think about what I want my life to be so I can make the decisions that will take me there.

Here are 5 things you might want to try along with me to help you shine on in 2018.

1. Give yourself a tagline. Or call it a theme or even a mantra, if you like one of those better. To me, it’s a way of owning your story, of telling your truth, and also of setting your intentions for the year. Maybe yours is Focused and Fearless in 2018. Or The Year of No Excuses. Or Fun Starts Here All Year. Whatever feels right, whatever works for you.

My tagline for the year is It’s Never Too Late to Shine On. It’s something I believe with all my heart and soul. It’s the story of my own life as well as my books. It’s the message I want to bring to the world. I’ve written a book called Never Too Late and another one called Shine On, so that’s where it started. But it’s much more than that. I’m hoping my new tagline will become a filter I can use to help me make decisions all year. There are so many awesome opportunities out there that it’s easy to become overwhelmed by all the choices and shut down. So what I’ve decided is that if it fits my tagline, I’m in. If not, maybe another year.

So I’ve put It’s Never Too Late to Shine On on the header of my website. I’ve also printed it out and taped it like a banner across the top of my computer screen. It’s a bit wordy for a tattoo, but hey, you never know.

2. Every day, do the thing that will move you forward first. Tweet later. Check Facebook later. Answer email later. Clean your house later—way later.

When I take the hardest step first, when I do the thing that will move me forward in my life first, my day is so much more productive and I feel so much better about myself. For me that usually means getting up, grabbing a cup of coffee and a handful of almonds, and sitting down at the computer and writing my daily pages. I don’t know about you, but this is a lesson I seem to need to learn over and over again. I go along so well for a while, and then the self-sabotaging part of me needs to test it one more time to see if it’s still true. For me it always is.

As I say in Never Too Late, sometimes the biggest thing you can do to find your next chapter is to get out of your own way.

3. Rise above the negativity. All the cynicism and pessimism out there can crush us if we let it. No matter what we’re up against, our attitude is always our choice. I actually picture myself floating above all the nastiness and heading for the light. I try to bring kindness to the world in every interaction, large and small. Many of the great things that have happened to me were triggered by something nice I did for someone else. As one of my characters once said, karma is a boomerang!

Also on the negativity front, whatever their motive, lots of people will tell you why you can’t or shouldn’t do whatever it is you want to do. You just have to decide to do it anyway. You don’t need anyone’s permission.

4. Get Resilient. Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from difficult conditions, to spring back and try again. I really think resilience is like a muscle—the more you use it the stronger it gets. So don’t quit. Just take the lesson if there is one, regroup, adjust your angle, and keep putting yourself out there.

One of the most quoted passages from my books is this from Seven Year Switch: “If Plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters. (204 if you’re in Japan!)” I truly believe this and have seen it play out again and again in my own life. If we’re willing to put in the work, we can get wherever we want to go.

5. Learn Something New. Everything you need to know about the world you want to conquer can be found online. The Internet is a great equalizer, and there are so many awesome opportunities out there, many of them free, just waiting for you to take advantage of them. Or sign up for a class in person. I love teaching, but I’ve also taken classes in everything from digital marketing to graphic design lately. Lifelong learning not only keeps those brains of ours firing on all cylinders, but it’s a huge confidence builder. I’m so proud of all the new skills I’ve picked up. So do yourself a favor and learn something, or lots of somethings, new this year. 

BONUS TIP: So, the truth? I wrote this post last year. When I looked at it again to get some inspiration for this year’s post, I realized that not only did it still resonate for me, but I really needed to hear all this stuff again. So maybe the bonus tip for all of us is that sometimes we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, we can share what we have to share, relearn what we’ve forgotten, and then go take a long walk on a beautiful (okay, frosty) day. Which is what I’m about to do right now!

Wishing you a truly fabulous 2018. And remember, It’s Never Too Late to Shine On!

xxxxxClaire

Claire Cook wrote her first book in her minivan when she was 45. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the romantic comedy adaptation of her novel, Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, which is now a 6-book series. Claire is the New York Times and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 18 books, including Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention and Shine On: How To Grow Awesome Instead of Old. Connect with Claire on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Stay in the loop for giveaways, new releases and insider extras at ClaireCook.com/newsletter/.

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Merry Catmas!

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Merry Catmas, everybody! Wishing you joy!

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Howliday Tail Giveaway Winner

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Drumroll please…Fair and square via random drawing, the winner of signed and personalized copies of all 6 books in the Must Love Dogs series, plus a DVD of the Must Love Dogs movie, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, is Anne Murphy. (If you didn’t win this time around, make sure you sign up for my newsletter list here so you don’t miss the next giveaway!) Congratulations, Anne! Email me your snail mail address at ClaireATClaireCook.com and your prize  will be on the way!

There’s still plenty of time to celebrate the holidays with Must Love Dogs: A Howliday Tail, Book 6 of the Must Love Dogs series! It’s the perfect gift for yourself (because you SO deserve it!) or for the readers and animal lovers in your life. It’s a standalone novel, so you don’t have to read the other five books in the Must Love Dogs series first—you can just jump right in with this one.

Here are the links to buy Must Love Dogs: A Howliday Tail:

Paperback

Kindle

Nook

iBooks

Kobo

GooglePlay

You can read a free excerpt right HERE.

You can add it to your Goodreads “Want to Read” list right HERE.

Talk to you soon!

xxxxxClaire

Claire Cook wrote her first novel in her minivan when she was 45. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the adaptation of her second novel, Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, which is now a 6-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 18 books as well as a sought after reinvention speaker. Read excerpts and find out more at ClaireCook.com.

The post Howliday Tail Giveaway Winner appeared first on Claire Cook.

Howliday Tail Giveaway!

Hi Everybody,

I hope you’re having the best holiday season ever, filled with peace, love and joy, plus plenty of time to curl up with a good book.

I’m thrilled to tell you that Must Love Dogs: A Howliday Tail, Book 6 of the Must Love Dogs series, is out in the world just in time to help you celebrate! It’s the perfect gift for yourself (because you SO deserve it!) or for the readers and animal lovers in your life. It’s a standalone novel, so you don’t have to read the other five books in the Must Love Dogs series first—you can just jump right in with this one.

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A little bit about Must Love Dogs: A Howliday Tail:

In the charming small beach town of Marshbury, Massachusetts, preschool teacher Sarah has the heartbreak of a messy divorce behind her and the promise of a second chance with John ahead. When she finds out that buying the family house also means hosting the holidays, her only goal is survival. They’ve got a house full of animals and a renovation in full throttle. Sarah’s single and pregnant teaching assistant Polly is staying with them, too, as is her brother Johnny, whose marriage is on the rocks, and Sarah has just been made chair of the Bayberry Preschool holiday performance. Can she and John survive all this?

Here are the links to buy Must Love Dogs: A Howliday Tail:

Paperback

Kindle

Nook

iBooks

Kobo

GooglePlay

You can read a free excerpt right HERE.

You can add it to your Goodreads “Want to Read” list right HERE.

And here’s what one early reviewer had to say:

“What a Christmas present from the always wildly entertaining Claire Cook! Take a break from shopping, from holiday office parties, from all the stresses that come with this time of year and escape once again into the world of the Hurlihy family! As a matter of fact, I can’t think of a better Christmas present for the reader on your list. This latest book in the Must Love Dogs series is just what we’ve come to expect from Claire Cook. It’s warm, funny, moving, surprising, and, most of all, very hard to put down.”

A Howliday Tail Giveaway!

It wouldn’t feel like a new book unless we celebrated with a giveaway, so here we go!

One randomly drawn winner will receive signed and personalized copies of all 6 books in the Must Love Dogs series, plus a DVD of the Must Love Dogs movie, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack.

If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you’re automatically entered. (If somebody forwarded this newsletter to you, you can subscribe HERE.

I’ll announce the lucky winner on my blog on Wednesday.

For a second chance to win the giveaway, head over to my Facebook author page (http://facebook.com/ClaireCookauthorpage) and enter there.

Good luck, everybody!!

Must Love Dogs Boxed Set

[image error]If you prefer to read your book series in order, Books 1-3 of the Must Love Dogs series are now available as an ebook boxed set. You just download once and get all three ebooks in one file for the cost of two.

Here are the links to buy the Must Love Dogs Boxed Set:

Kindle

Nook

iBooks

Kobo

GooglePlay

 

 

Cool News!

Guess what? I don’t want to jinx myself by saying too much too soon, but there’s serious interest in turning the Must Love Dogs series into a television series! How much fun would that be!?!  So cross your fingers and toes for me, and I promise I’ll do the same for you whenever you need it. And speaking of TV, the Must Love Dogs movie is back on Netflix again, just in case you’re looking for something fun to watch.

Our Christmas Tree (Must Love Rescue Cats!)

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“Sometimes, in your own small way, you really can make a difference in this crazy, crazy world.”—Must Love Dogs: A Howliday Tail

Talk to you soon. Let’s all Shine On in 2018!

xxxxxClaire

Claire Cook wrote her first novel in her minivan when she was 45. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the adaptation of her second novel, Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, which is now a 6-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 18 books as well as a sought after reinvention speaker. Read excerpts and find out more at ClaireCook.com.

The post Howliday Tail Giveaway! appeared first on Claire Cook.

Snow on Camellia!

It’s snowing in Atlanta! It’s such a rarity around here that I enjoyed every moment of of this morning’s walk. Now I’m staring out my office window at big cotton ball-like flakes.

Here’s a picture of the snow on one of our camellias. (If it’s not showing for you, go to http://clairecook.com/snow-on-our-cam....

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Have a great day!

Claire Cook wrote her first novel in her minivan when she was 45. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the adaptation of Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, which is now a 6-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 18 books. Be the first to hear about new releases, giveaways, and insider extras at http://ClaireCook.com/newsletter/.

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When you have a dream

Some Monday Motivation. Have a great week, everybody!

“When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.”—Carol Burnett

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Happy Thanksgiving!

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My favorite part of the day is the walk after Thanksgiving dinner. Hope you had a great day, everybody!

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Clematis

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Brave clematis in bloom in 36-degree weather!

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