Claire Cook's Blog, page 8
January 19, 2020
January 12, 2020
Never Too Late on St. Simons!
A huge thank you to everyone who came out for yesterday’s Never Too Late Reinvention Workshop sponsored by The SSI Literary Guild and G.J. Ford Books. What a great, enthusiastic crowd! I loved meeting everyone and was totally inspired by your energy and questions and kind words. I hope you’ll come out and walk the beach some Saturday morning at the crack of dawn so we can continue the conversation!
If you’d like to join the Never Too Late Reinvention private Facebook page, here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NeverTooLateReinvention/. Just ask to join the group.
You can also find me on Facebook at https://facebook.com/ClaireCookauthorpage or send me a friend request at https://facebook.com/ClaireCookfriends.
And elsewhere on social media:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ClaireCookwrite
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClaireCookwrite
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/ClaireCookwrite
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairecookwrite/
I made it through most of the questions everybody wrote on the index cards I passed out, but here’s one I didn’t get to:
“How many books did you write on paper before you transitioned to writing on a computer? Any surprising differences when you made the change?”
I’m working on my 20th book now, so I’m not sure I remember! I do remember writing my first book, which was published in 2000, in longhand on a yellow legal pad in my minivan and then transferring the pages to our family desktop computer (!) every morning before I went to work as a teacher. It was probably my third book that I wrote directly on my computer, because that’s when I’d stopped teaching and I was writing full time.
There’s always an adjustment with any big change, but writing on a computer is so much easier and efficient in so many ways! Editing, cutting and pasting, skimming through to check something, switching things around to see if it works better that way, all of it. So if you’re still doing first drafts longhand, I would suggest that you take a deep breath and make the jump. Your brain and your fingers will adjust before you know it!
Shine on!
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 has become a 7-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 19 books as well as a sought-after reinvention speaker. Read excerpts and find out more at ClaireCook.com.
The post Never Too Late on St. Simons! appeared first on Claire Cook.
January 6, 2020
Happy New Year Giveaway Winners!
Fair and square via random drawing, the three winners who will receive a signed and personalized copy of the book of mine that you most want to read (or reread!) or share with a friend to kick off 2020 are…drumroll…
Dawn Treude – Must Love Dogs: Hearts & Barks (#7)
Lynn Paterson – Seven Year Switch
Kitty Rothwell – Life’s a Beach
Congratulations, ladies! Email your snail mail address to Claire@ClaireCook.com and I’ll get your books right in the mail to you!
If you didn’t win this time around, no worries! I’ll do another book giveaway soon! Make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter (https://clairecook.com/newsletter/) to stay in the loop. And follow me at https://facebook.com/ClaireCookauthorpage and https://instagram.com/ClaireCookwrite.
Here are the links to all of my books, in case you’re looking for a new book to start the year:
Shine On: How To Grow Awesome Instead of Old
Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention
The Wildwater Walking Club
The Wildwater Walking Club: Back on Track
Seven Year Switch
Best Staged Plans
Must Love Dogs (#1)
Must Love Dogs: New Leash on Life (#2)
Must Love Dogs: Fetch You Later (#3)
Must Love Dogs: Bark & Roll Forever (#4)
Must Love Dogs: Who Let the Cats In? (#5)
Must Love Dogs: A Howliday Tail (#6)
Must Love Dogs: Hearts & Barks (#7)
Life’s a Beach
Summer Blowout
Multiple Choice
Time Flies
Wallflower in Bloom
Ready to Fall
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 has become a 7-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 19 books as well as a sought-after reinvention speaker. Read excerpts and find out more at ClaireCook.com.
The post Happy New Year Giveaway Winners! appeared first on Claire Cook.
January 4, 2020
7 Simple Steps to Find Your 2020 Vision
This has been a huge decade of reinvention for me, both life and career-wise, sometimes empowering and sometimes terrifying, and sometimes both at once. But hindsight 20/20 (get it—2020?), I wouldn’t change a thing. I hope you feel the same way, and I can’t wait to find out what’s up ahead for us all.
I think of Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention and Shine On: How to Grow Awesome Instead of Old as my New Year’s resolution books. Or even The Wildwater Walking Club and The Wildwater Walking Club: Back on Track, especially if your goal is renewed health and fitness. Every year I hear from readers who read, or reread, them to kick off their new year.
But when I scrolled through my books in my mind, I also thought about Seven Year Switch, my seventh novel, which was first published way back at the start of the last decade, in 2010. At the end of the book, there’s a Passport to Your Next Chapter. So much of it still resonates for me, so I tweaked it and I’m sharing it as a reminder for everyone else who needs it, too.
Seven Simple Steps to Find Your 2020 Vision
SELF. You can’t have self-awareness, self-confidence, or any of those other good self words until you decide to like yourSELF, and who you really are.
SOUL SEARCHING. Sometimes it’s just getting quiet enough to figure out what you really want; often it’s digging up that buried dream you had before life got in the way.
SERENDIPITY. When you stay open to surprises, they often turn out to be even better than the things you planned. Throw your routine out the window and let spontaneity change your life.
SYNCHRONICITY. It’s like that saying about luck being the place where preparation meets opportunity. Open your eyes and ears—then catch the next wave that’s meant for you!
STRENGTH. Life is tough. Decide to be tougher. If Plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters (204 if you’re in Japan!).
SISTERHOOD. Connect, network, smile. Build a structure of support, step by step. Do something nice for someone—remember, karma is a boomerang!
SATISFACTION. Of course you can get some (no matter what the Rolling Stones said). Call it satisfaction, fulfillment, gratification, but there’s nothing like the feeling of setting a goal and achieving it. So make yours a good one!
BONUS STEP: SIMPLIFY! In the years since writing this list, I’ve discovered how truly fabulous it is to simplify. I’ve moved and downsized twice in the last decade, cleared away so much physical and mental clutter, and learned to say yes only to the things I really want to do. I’m finding the balance between writing and walking the beach every day.
BONUS 2020 VISION TIP: Pick one of the words above (or in the word cloud below) and make it your theme for 2020. Print out the word in big letters and tape it to the refrigerator or your bathroom mirror. Write it in tiny letters on a small river rock or on the inside of a seashell and carry it in your pocket or purse. Scrawl it across the top of your daily journal entry or write it on each day of your calendar. Choosing a single word is such a great way to set your intention and keep your focus on it for the whole year
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Find out more about my New Year’s Resolution books here:
Never Too Late: https://amzn.to/28YspnD
Shine On: https://amzn.to/28Zm89u
The Wildwater Walking Club: https://amzn.to/2kIbN4K
The Wildwater Walking Club: Back on Track: https://amzn.to/2kBIepF
Seven Year Switch: https://amzn.to/291F34z
Sending you a great big heartfelt wish for a spectacular new decade!
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 7-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 19 books as well as a sought-after reinvention speaker. Read excerpts and find out more at ClaireCook.com/read.
The post 7 Simple Steps to Find Your 2020 Vision appeared first on Claire Cook.
January 1, 2020
Happy New Year Giveaway!
Three randomly drawn winners will receive a signed and personalized copy of the book of mine that you most want to read (or reread!) or share with a friend to kick off 2020.
I couldn’t fit them all in the picture above, so here are the titles of all nineteen books to choose from:
Shine On: How To Grow Awesome Instead of Old
Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention
The Wildwater Walking Club
The Wildwater Walking Club: Back on Track
Seven Year Switch
Best Staged Plans
Must Love Dogs (#1)
Must Love Dogs: New Leash on Life (#2)
Must Love Dogs: Fetch You Later (#3)
Must Love Dogs: Bark & Roll Forever (#4)
Must Love Dogs: Who Let the Cats In? (#5)
Must Love Dogs: A Howliday Tail (#6)
Must Love Dogs: Hearts & Barks (#7)
Life’s a Beach
Summer Blowout
Multiple Choice
Time Flies
Wallflower in Bloom
Ready to Fall
If you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you’re automatically entered to win. (If not, you can subscribe here:
http://ClaireCook.com/newsletter.)
For a second chance to win the giveaway, head over to my Facebook author page (https://facebook.com/ClaireCookauthorpage) and enter there.
For a third chance to win the giveaway, head over to my Instagram page (https://instagram.com/ClaireCookwrite) and enter there.
Good luck, everybody!!
I’ll announce the lucky winners on my blog (https://clairecook.com/claireblog/ next Monday!
Wishing you a fabulous New Year/New Decade!
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 has become a 7-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 19 books as well as a sought-after reinvention speaker. Read excerpts and find out more at https://clairecook.com/read/.
The post Happy New Year Giveaway! appeared first on Claire Cook.
December 25, 2019
December 4, 2019
Paisley Magazine
So honored to be featured in the December issue of Paisley Magazine!
Here’s the link: http://www.paisleymagazine.com/…/featured-…/item/claire-cook
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 has become a 7-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 19 books as well as a sought-after reinvention speaker. Read excerpts and find out more at ClaireCook.com.
The post Paisley Magazine appeared first on Claire Cook.
November 28, 2019
Happy Thanksgiving!
Early morning beach walk. I hope your day is just as beautiful. Happy, Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!
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 has become a 7-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 19 books as well as a sought-after reinvention speaker. Read excerpts and find out more at ClaireCook.com.
The post Happy Thanksgiving! appeared first on Claire Cook.
November 23, 2019
Must Love Dogs and Bandannas!
Thanks to everybody who has sent me a photo of this dog bandanna, which is apparently everywhere at Petco! And in answer to your curiosity about whether I get a royalty on them, no I don’t. Titles can’t be copyrighted, so there are also quite a few businesses using the name. At one point, there was even a dating site called Must Love Dogs. The way I look at it is that it’s pretty cool that something I created has become a small part of the national lexicon. As an author, I’m just so grateful to everyone who reads the book series and spreads the word to their friends. (Although I have to admit that on my tougher writing days, I wonder whether I should be making doggie bandannas instead!)Thanks to everybody who has sent me a photo of this dog bandanna, which is apparently everywhere at Petco! And in answer to your curiosity about whether I get a royalty on them, no I don’t. Titles can’t be copyrighted, so there are also quite a few businesses using the name. At one point, there was even a dating site called Must Love Dogs. The way I look at it is that it’s pretty cool that something I created has become a small part of the national lexicon. As an author, I’m just so grateful to everyone who reads the book series and spreads the word to their friends. (Although I have to admit that on my tougher writing days, I wonder whether I should be making doggie bandannas instead!)
Here are the links to the Must Love Dogs book series, just in case you haven’t started reading them:
ebooks: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074C9F1CX
paperbacks: https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B00YYXME76
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 has become a 7-book series. Claire is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of 19 books as well as a sought-after reinvention speaker. Read excerpts and find out more at ClaireCook.com.
The post Must Love Dogs and Bandannas! appeared first on Claire Cook.
November 11, 2019
Inspiration
Love this!
“I just want to say to all the women out there, we take ourselves out of the game all the time, we think that ship has sailed, but I’m telling you there’s a dock waiting for you to walk on and a boat waiting for you to step on, so just do it…Whatever you can do to put yourself back in the game, whatever that game is, just do it.” —Kate Flannery
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