Inner Secrets Is Now Available!

After many months of writing, refining, editing and polishing, Inner Secrets is now available! I had so much fun writing this book and creating the characters. This may sound strange, but I actually miss them!

I am deeply grateful to @editor_girl (T.A. Royce, editor of all 4 of my novels) for her outstanding advice, expert eye, and keen editing ability. In addition, I thank Felicia H. and Dawn M. for reading the final draft and offering their helpful insights.

This story is one that deals with the themes of forgiveness and consequences to every action. It is a novel for anyone who enjoys delving deep into the heart of romance, temptation, genuinity, and friendship.  

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Happy New Year!

Suzie

It is available in paperback, kindle and in the kindle lending library.

Holiday Wishes

I am sitting in my living room all snuggled up with my pups as I write this post.

I am feeling incredibly fortunate right now to have great health, family, friends, and the support of so many people. During this time of holiday cheer, I want to extend my deepest appreciation to all of you who have helped make this year even more special. Through Twitter, Blogger and Facebook, I've come to meet some pretty dynamic people over the course of this year, people who have inspired me, lifted me up, and humbled me. I've created friendships, met new mentors, and developed a network of people with a wealth of resources and information. It's been a fantastic year!

Additionally, through your support of the purchase of my books, I have been able to send some of the proceeds to The LikeMe organization, an organization dedicated to providing education, support and resources to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends. Thank you for all of your support!

My holiday wish for you all is that you have a safe, happy holiday with your family and friends. Be sure to splurge on some pie, cookies, and chocolate! I will be!!!

Happy Holidays!!
Suzie

My Role Model

By Suzie Carr

@girl_novelist

This past weekend, I flew to my hometown and had the pleasure of visiting with my ninety-five year old grandfather. I took him for lunch at his favorite local restaurant where they serve up French Meat Pie and mashed potatoes. This treat delighted him, but not as much as when I asked him to tell me about some of his favorite things in life.

This question created a two hour conversation where my grandfather transformed from a feeble old man to a lively young man telling his tale and reliving those special moments in his life that brought him the most joy. He told me all sorts of interesting facts I never knew about him, and I didn’t know them because I never took the time to ask.

This man lived his whole life stockpiling tons of valuable knowledge and funny memories, the kind of stuff that could fill hundreds of pages of a memoir. His face lit up as he recounted his first sight of an airplane, his first drive in a car, and his first time watching television in color. He spoke fast and animated, anxious to tell me as much as possible in the time we spent together. He laughed and joked about his first date with my grandmother, about their wedding day, about the time his older brother took him fishing, and about the reason he goes by three different names (no one could pronounce is real name, Aurele, so they called him Johnny and Joseph instead).

My grandfather has always been my role model. He is the epitome of a great man, a loving man, a generous and humble man. He believes in hard work and perseverance. He believes in dreams and in laughter. He is genuine and tactful. And most of all, he is a forgiving man who has learned to move forward despite hardships that would crush most people I know. I aspire to live my life as happily and grateful as my grandfather.

My grandfather’s health is failing, but his spirit is not. I do feel blessed that I was given this special moment with him.

Before it’s too late, reach out to those special people in your life. Take them out for coffee and ask them about their life, their dreams, and their favorite memories. They are filled with stories and are just bubbling over with desire to tell them to someone who really wants to hear them.

Hoping you’re equally as blessed,

Suzie

I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

The Journey

By Suzie Carr
@girl_novelist

I’ve been quiet on my blog for the past few weeks because I’ve been focused on completing my fourth novel – Inner Secrets. In early January, she’ll be ready to be unleashed onto the world! I’ve been writing this book since March, and have finally relinquished control over the keyboard to my editor (@editor_girl).

The journey has been fun, and as is always the case, has seen me through the twists and turns of everyday life. I always develop a sense of sadness when I complete a book. The characters attach themselves to me, and I find it hard to let go of them. But, I know to continue as a novelist, I must part my ways with them and start fresh meeting a whole new set of characters that’ll sweep me away from reality a few hours every day for the next six to eight months.

I am ready to take a new journey. So, it’s time to switch my mind into brainstorm mode and start on novel number five!

To give you a sense of Inner Secrets, here’s an excerpt from chapter one:

Dear Journal,

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hope Steele. I turned twenty-eight yesterday and I’ve got something to confess.

I am gay.

Just seeing these three words scrawled out on my page jolts me. I am charged tossing my truth out and seeing it stand on its own, strong, confident, fearless. I’ve told two people in my life to date, my best friend, PJ, and her girlfriend, Rachel. I’ve lived the better part of my life with this secret, and might just lose it if I have to live another moment hidden. So, here I am, confessing my truth on paper, hoping I can get to know the real me through this journaling.

So what’s the big deal that I’m gay?

Well, you see, I’m married. I’ve been married to my husband Ryan for two years, ten months, four days, ten hours and thirty-one minutes.

It's nice to be back blogging. Drop me a line and tell me what you think of this excerpt if you get a chance!

Wishing you lots of happiness,

Suzie


I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

The Destiny of Love

Today is my parent’s forty-ninth wedding anniversary so I feel inspired to write about love. 

When you consider all of the things that must align properly for two people to meet, falling in love is a remarkable miracle.

Is it luck or destiny that helps us find that special person with whom we share our lives? Is it random fortune that causes two people to meet in exactly the right place together at the right time? Or is it divine intervention that brought them to this place?

I have many people in my life who struggle to find that ‘special love’. They search bars, classrooms, corporate settings, and countless other places only to return solo. Defeat looms heavily on their shoulders as though in some way they think it is their fault that a magical spark didn’t happen between them and one of the millions of other people in the world.

Those successful in love will tell you that finding that right person is all about timing. I think about all the great relationships surrounding me. The one thing they all have in common is that they all bloomed from a single, defining moment in time when the two people had a clear path to each other, despite obstacles that stood in their way.

Here’s a clear example: my dad actually met my mom at a dance where he was on a date with her sister! My brother met his bride when on a random military leave for a day in South Carolina. A friend met her girlfriend in a college class that she decided to enroll in at the last minute.  Another friend met her husband when she had engine trouble one day and just happened to beg this mechanic, now her husband, for help. As is the case with all of these first meetings, paths crossed at the right moment in time.

When it comes to finding love, we never know when, where, or how it will come at us. One day we’re lonely, the next we are floating on the wings of love. To me, finding love is a hopeful pursuit. The waiting brims with hope for a bright future. One never knows when she will walk out of her front door and find that special person.

The hopeless romantic in me believes it takes more than chance for two compatible people to find each other in this great, big world. I’d like to think that it is destiny that brings us together with the ones we love.

Wishing you much love in your life,

Suzie
I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Here and Now!

"If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven't done much today.  ~Author Unknown"

Do you ever find yourself reliving the past and planning for the future more than living in the moment? The here and now is such a precious lot of time, yet, many of us tend to ignore it. A while ago, I was fortunate enough to meet a person who was completely aware of the present. She had an aura of happiness around her that was unlike anything I’ve felt before. It was like she radiated with a burst of energy that actually gave me energy back!

Now back then before meeting her, I seriously fretted way too much in worrying about my future and all the what-ifs of a lifetime that wasn’t even guaranteed to me. Caught up in this cycle of looking back on past failures and looking forward worrying about many of the same thoughts that created those failures in the first place, I neglected to enjoy the moment in front of me, the only moment guaranteed.

Wanting to get to her level of joy, I asked her straight up, ‘where exactly is your power source located?’ and she replied rather anecdotally, ‘it’s in the here and now’.  

I remember walking away from that conversation with her vague answer in hand, trying to melt it down to some logical sense.  I suppose I was looking for something more substantial that I could tap into right away. I was seeking a logical solution; one that offered a checklist of steps I could scratch off as I got closer to this ‘energy source’.

But her answer made me think, and through my thinking, I began to focus. In this determined state of mind, I delved into a whole new set of experiences that flirted with my senses. My world suddenly blossomed into sweeter scents, more delicious tastes, prettier views and a more definitive sense of awareness.  I was savoring the present, making the best of my life as it was gifted to me, and have been ever since.

Do you have a method of living presently that you can share? I'd love to hear and learn about it, if so.

Here's a video that has inspired me.

Hoping the same for you!

Suzie

I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Beautiful Days Ahead

Recently a friend of mine ran into some adversity and she turned to me for guidance on how to move forward. I tried earnestly to say something to her that would spring joy back into her life, but was at a total loss for words. What do you say to someone who suffers a break in hope? “Don’t worry. It’ll get better with time?” Most of us have been in that place where we feel humiliated, overwhelmed, and hopeless all in one. This is not one of life's places we want anyone we care about to be.

As deflating as adversity can feel at the moment, I believe it puts us in a place that helps us grow into even better people. Without pain, without agony, without defeat, we have no frame of reference on which to judge greatness when it shines itself onto our life. I am a firm believer that defining moments, like the one my friend was going through, shape our lives just as the powerful storms and angry volcanoes of years past have shaped Earth. Without conflict, we'd have no Grand Canyon, no Mount Everest, no separate continents, and in respect to our singular lives, no respect for ordinary days when all is calm and right. And just as the storm clouds clear and open up to bright blue, sunny skies, so too will this shroud of regret for the past and fear of the future be lifted for my friend.  For everything is temporary.

Wishing all the best days for you,

Suzie

I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

A Little Zest Anyone?

In my mind, the greatest teachers of how to experience a zest-filled life aren’t the paid actors on television, or the seasoned columnists, or even the well-educated leaders of the world. Such an esteemed honor goes to the best deservers -- to the children in our lives.

In the inquisitive minds and innocent spirits of children, where inventive ideas emerge and creativity flourishes, there is a great pool of discovery brimming that, on any given creative playground, could overflow with Niagara Falls-like power.

Have you ever sat and listened to children play? I mean, really listened? Not with one ear trying to decipher your best friend’s debate over which latte is better, mocha or white chocolate, and the other cued in a child's make believe parades down the great street of imagination. I mean with full concentration. When you do, you’ll soon discover the experience of belly-tickling laughter and giggling marathons (must-haves for zesty living!)—opening your mind to not just what is apparent, but more importantly, to what is not—the area outside the box of your own reality. 

Study a child’s rendition of artwork and you’ll see what I mean. From the earliest portrayal of self-expression through art, my niece was not limited by the famous color-in-the-lines rule. She would run that crayon against the page in every direction that she wanted, and in the end, she would proudly smile and feel good about her unique work of art. She didn’t worry about what her auntie would think of the countless red and purple strokes filtering outside the bold, restrictive lines. She cared only that the colorful lines were hers. The more stray lines of color, the broader her smile grew.   

Self-expression dictates uniqueness. Making something our own. When we learn to stop worrying about what others will think and instead care more for what we will love, we open our hearts to living a life bubbled over with more expression, more passion, more wonder, and a whole lot of zest. 

Hoping your day is filled with wonder, 

Suzie 

I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Hidden Blessings

By Suzie Carr

@girl_novelist

Breast Cancer Awareness Month has taken on a whole new meaning to me this year, and here’s why…

My thirty-eight-year-old sister just got married this past June to a wonderful man who adores her. They enjoyed a fairytale wedding surrounded by family and friends, and then celebrated their new marriage with a fun-filled cruise to the Caribbean. Life couldn’t have been any happier for them both.

Fast forward three weeks into their new married life, and my sister made the sobering discovery of a lump in her left breast. Panicked, she called her doctor who immediately examined her and sent her for a breast ultrasound and mammogram. She learned that not one, but two lumps had invaded her once healthy breast. So, the doctor performed a biopsy. Unfortunately, she was told she had breast cancer of the milk ducts. Less than a month after marrying her husband, she faced an uncertain future.

Fortunately for my sister, this has a happier ending than some women get. She was told that milk duct cancer isn’t one that is easily discovered on one’s own, and so by the time it is usually discovered, it is a later stage cancer. Thanks to her performing a self-breast exam and discovering the lump, hers was discovered at a very early stage.

This past week, she had a double mastectomy and thanks to modern day medicine will have reconstructive surgery in three months once she’s healed. She is cancer-free and will not have to endure chemotherapy or radiation.

Here’s the real miracle in this story. The lump she felt was not cancerous. It was a benign cyst, as was the other one discovered in the mammogram. If she hadn’t performed a self-breast exam and discovered that lump, her outcome a year or more from now, could’ve been fatal. What she at first viewed as the worst thing that could’ve ever happened to her, soon became her saving grace. Discovering that lump saved her life, and now her two children can continue to enjoy their healthy mom.

Please do yourselves a favor and perform self-breast exams, and encourage the women in your life to do the same. It really does save lives.

I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Words = Reality

Our Words Become Our Reality

By Suzie Carr
@girl_novelist

I’ve had friends and coworkers venting to me about their husbands, their wives, their sisters, their mothers, you name it, and the deeper into the trough of the complaint they get, the crazier their moods become. I can actually see their eyes start to pop, their cheeks start to redden, their bodies start to tighten like a balled up fist. What might’ve started out as a romp in conversation about a partner’s inability to put the remote control back on the end table each day, turns into a tirade about this partner never listening, never helping, never being home, etc. Wow how does this partner ever redeem herself?


The more we breathe life into a complaint, the bigger it grows. What a force!





It’s easy to complain to a friend about the pesky habits of your partner or the outlandish way another friend acted, and honestly, sometimes it just feels good to complain. Find a willing listener, and airing out the frustrated details of another person’s supposed angst against us tickles our inner comfort zone, strangely enough.


The problem with complaining is that it tends to perpetuate into a completely different animal altogether by sheer momentum. And, any good feeling derived is short-lived. Just like a creamy chocolate bar is delicious as it passes your lips and dances with your taste buds, so too is the lure of complaining. That yum factor loses its power pretty quickly. What’s left is that bitter taste of knowing you’re going to have to work extra hard to nullify its effects.


So, if our words become reality, imagine the possibilities of directing them from complaints to accolades? Imagine the things we could perpetuate in this lifetime if we harnessed this power?


Do you agree in this power of words?

Wishing you a great day,
Suzie

I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Great Expectations

"Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds." George Eliot

By: Suzie Carr
@girl_novelist

The other day I lived one of those days I wished I could do over.


I planned this day off from work a month previous to it. I was going to spend the entire day at a café sipping creamy coffee and completing my next novel’s first draft. I had great expectations that I would accomplish a ton and enjoy some much needed downtime from my marketing job.


Well, the day went down like this: A friend called and asked me to take him to the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) so he could update his out-of-state, outdated driver’s license. On the drive over to the MVA, he sat cheerful in my front passenger seat, while I stewed at his lack of good timing. I'm not completely sure, but, with my writing plans altered, steam might have been blowing out of my ears.

The day veered far off from where I wanted it to go. My mood was not pretty, especially after spending the entire day (8.5 hours exactly) driving back and forth to the MVA because my friend forgot an item, needed to take a special course at a different location, needed to go back to show his course completion certificate only to be told he needed to now take a written and driving test to complete his updated driver’s license ordeal. He was devastated by his plight. Instead of being the optimist this day, I was fuming.


And just when I thought the day couldn’t have dug any deeper into the abyss of waste, when we were ready to leave the MVA parking lot, my car refused to start. Yeah, seriously, right? Talk about calling out to the wrong frequency! Eventually, roadside assistance showed up and helped me out. By this time, my head felt heavier than a fifty pound kettlebell.


Fast forward to many hours later, long after I tossed all sense of compassion out the window and acted like a petulant child who didn’t get her way, I knocked on my friend’s door. I hung my head in shame embarrassed that I acted so selfishly by making him feel badly that he wasted my day.

Stuff  happens. He didn't order this crazy day for himself anymore than I did. So, I swallowed my pride and apologized to him and tried to explain my actions. But, how do you explain selfishness? The only way I figured how was to show him I cared. I volunteered to take him back to the MVA for his tests this weekend. I know if the situation were reversed, he'd so the same for me with zero hesitation.

So, what did I learn from this?
We should have great expectations, but also be flexible when we're called to part with them for the greater good of someone else. Approaching a good deed with a selfish mindset only nullifies it. To truly be selfless requires that a person steps out of her life momentarily and focuses all her love and attention on the one who needs it.

We're all in this together.

Suzie


I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Beauty in the Raw

"For myself I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else." Winston Churchill
By: Suzie Carr

@girl_novelist
Free spirits—you know the kind—the ones who walk with a skip in their step, a whistle from their lips, and a sparkle in their eye, who have the ability to brighten lives. They radiate joy and show a deep appreciation for life.

I am attracted to free spirits - completely drawn to them. I’m fortunate to have quite a few in my life.

Even in the midst of adversity, these people look at life with gratitude. They can harness the good from what others might view as worthless. They see a pile of work as a great way to accomplish something, a bad customer service situation as the ideal way to make someone happy, a challenging circumstance as one that can lift a person to higher ground.


They see the world in a brighter light and are not tarnished by its demands. My ninety-six-year-old grandfather is a free spirit. I’ve never heard him speak negatively about anything or anyone, and this man would be justified with the challenges that have attempted to break him down. I believe the secret to his contagious positive spirit lies in the way he chooses to view things.

Viewpoint is a powerful phenomenon. Something could be troubling or it could be beauty in the raw. It’s our choice. Take a dandelion flower. A landscaper who works hard to make her garden perfect may view it as a troublesome weed, while a person who looks out at cement everyday may see it as a beautiful flower. Or take a bag of bruised apples. Aren’t they really the perfect ingredient for a delicious homemade apple pie? My grandfather would say so.

A classic example of extracting the good out of the bad is with Jimmy Stewart’s character in the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. What was once a drafty ole’ house became his life-affirming salvation and sought-after sanctuary. The job he had once viewed as a burden that was handed down to him became his saving grace and one of the many reasons for living. When he stepped back and viewed his situation as a blessing, he saw it for its value. He suddenly choose to see purpose in everything, even the broken staircase railing that earlier tore him up inside.

Imagine the power we could harness if we saw broken things as a pathway to change or a road to better things to come?

Do you know of someone like this? If so, how have they affected your viewpoint?



- Suzie Carr
I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Change

When you are through changing, you are through. ~Bruce Barton


By: Suzie Carr@girl_novelist
Change is something that can benefit all of us. It can bring us rewards, introduce us to new opportunity, and present us with beautiful new insights. A life rich with change is really like a healthy garden. Everything is budding, flowering, growing into spectacular new form.


Change is scary for most. It requires getting out of our comfort zone and walking an unfamiliar path that could bend or twist in ways we never thought imaginable. It’s only through this process, though, that we conjure up the momentum to get us places we’ve never seen before.

Sure, it’d be easier on our psyche and our nerves if everything just stayed the same, remained predictable. We’d know what each day would bring us. We’d be surefooted, confident that each step would lead to somewhere within our control, within our scope, within our patterns. We’d fall asleep every night unchanged, unweathered, pretty much the same exact person we were when we awoke that very morning.


If that sounds dull to you, further indulge with me for a moment and imagine what this world would look like if nature refused to shake things up every day. Picture a world where the clouds didn’t give way to sun, brown grass didn’t turn green, bulbs didn’t bloom into full-grown flowers, and bare tree branches didn’t sprout leaves.


Change renews the spirit, freeing us from all that is old and holding us back from our destiny. In moments of change and uncertainty, take pleasure in the unknown of the situation. Be reassured, the sun will shine, life-preserving raindrops will fall, seedlings will grow, and the flowers will bloom.


Change is beautiful. Its cultivating power nurtures our gardens within to grow into a colorful, ever-changing life.


Hoping you enjoy change as much as I do,


Suzie Carr


****




I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Finding Fulfillment

"Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others." - Brian Tracy



Finding Fulfillment
by Suzie Carr
@girl_novelist

My first job out of college was as a Senior Operations Associate working for a financial company in Massachusetts, where I eventually shed many frustrated tears.


You see, I wanted to be a creative writer, not to be a monetary wizard. Where others found gratification, I found a straight path to dissatisfaction.


Why did I settle for something so apparently astray from where I wanted to be? Money. I needed the green bills and this company gave them to me. I had a new, shiny, red car in the driveway and a lovely three bedroom apartment in the city of Providence. I succumbed to the lure of comfort, which resulted in many sleepless nights, wallowing in useless self-pity and drowning in relentless tears. The need for money was my obstacle. It forced me on a path which I didn’t want to be.


When I measured my dream against my reality the two were remotely off. The problem was that there were few positions available as a writer that did not require solid experience—something I did not have. There seemed to be no answer--no way to “break in.”


On a long hike one day, a friend turned to me and asked, “Isn’t a writer supposed to write?” Fueled by my laborious trek up the mountain and a biting need to defend myself, I answered quite hastily, “I don’t have time to waste on foolish dreams. How am I supposed to carve out time to write when I have to concentrate on cleaning, grocery shopping, and oh yeah, working?” Her patient reply was, “You shouldn’t feel guilty. Write to help others--not yourself.”


And so began my writing journey.


For many years, I volunteered writing articles for a local animal advocates group to help educate the public on issues pertaining to domesticated animals. Simultaneously, I began volunteering my time to write articles for hair salon trade magazines to help educate stylists around the globe on ways to market and build their businesses. Eventually, I discovered my real writing love  --novels that depict real life struggles and bring a sense of awareness that love is a beautiful thing!


I’ve learned that to stand for something requires action. If I want to be a writer, I must write. I can’t just talk about it. I must do it. And, I also need a definite purpose behind writing to experience the kind of fulfillment and purpose I crave. That definite purpose, of course, is to serve others.


And so continues my writing journey.


Hoping all the best for you,



Suzie


I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org//) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.


Follow me on Facebook to keep up on my latest projects! www.facebook.com/suziecarr.author

Defining Moments

“There is no security on this earth. Only opportunity.”  - Douglas MacArthur

Defining Moments

by Suzie Carr
@girl_novelist


Not long ago, I had one of those defining moments when I realized just how lucky I was to still have the opportunity to tell those close to me that I love them.

I had volunteered to serve lunch to wounded soldiers and their families and met some extremely brave, positive, strong individuals. Chills traveled up and down my spine all day long, as these soldiers taught me the value of love, of resilience, of appreciation. The defining moment came when this one soldier and his parents approached me for a scoop of mashed potatoes. 

The soldier had lost both of his legs in combat, yet, he wore a bright smile as he talked about his success competing in a bike race the day before. He stood tall with the help of prosthetics, beaming brightly as he recounted the finest details of the race. His parents smiled with obvious pride when he got to the part about finishing first. His parents cherished him and savored his enthusiasm, this much was evident.

As he waved goodbye to us and headed off to his table, a wave of what-if's washed over me. What if this young man would have been killed? What if his parents hadn’t had a chance to tell him one last time how much they adored and loved him? What if? What if? What if?

His mom sat by his side at his table and laughed at something he said. Joy bubbled up around them. Thankfully, she had that chance to show him how much she loved him.

What this defining moment taught me was that I should never feel entitled to waste precious opportunities to tell people I love them.

I'm going to strive to say it the first time around.

Hoping the same for you,

Suzie

I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.
Follow me on Facebook to keep up on my latest projects! www.facebook.com/suziecarr.author

All The Right Moves

When the student is ready, the master appears. ~Buddhist Proverb

by: Suzie Carr
@girl_novelist

I’m goal-oriented. I have my goal list pinned to my corkboard, taped to my bathroom mirror, even displayed on a dry-erase board in my hallway. If it’s in my sight, I’m going to tackle it. So, naturally, it comes as no surprise that I’ve failed to put certain bucket-items on these lists, items like ‘go skydiving’ and ‘sleep under the stars without a tent’ and ‘run a marathon’. After all, out of sight, out of mind, right?! Admirable as these are, I love my feet safely on the ground, my head resting against a tempurpedic pillow, and my relaxed state of mind during a manageable three mile run. 

My goals are slightly less adventurous.

I just recently added a new practical goal to my list, and this one will most definitely come as a surprise to all. You see, I’m about to admit something no novelist should feel comfy admitting… I stink at typing. Up until now, I have never had a clue how to type like a writer should. So, new to my list is: Keyboarding 101.

A little crazy, right? I’ve written three novels and am writing my fourth now, and I am just now learning what ‘home keys’ are. I am also just learning that my left pinky depresses the ‘a’ key and that the ‘?’ key is near the ‘shift’ key and not on the top row where all the other important symbols are located.

I can get by alright with my cavewoman style typing methods, but clearly a better method exists.

So, for fifteen minutes every day, I load up my Keyboarding Pro software and challenge my fingers to move in ways they’ve never moved before.

I often wonder how much time I’ve wasted over the years hitting backspace and delete. In a day’s time, I would bet I hit them a thousand times. Well, now, three weeks into my lessons, I am happy to report that I typed the last 300 or so words of this blog hitting backspace only twice (big smile).

What about you? Is there a new skill you have always wanted to learn, but haven’t gotten around to learning it? What are you waiting for?

Enjoying Life,

Suzie Carr

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I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Follow me on Facebook to keep up on my latest projects! www.facebook.com/suziecarr.author

A Worthy Goal

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."
Zig Ziglar

by: Suzie Carr
@girl_novelist

After several years of living enviously and vicariously through other people’s good fortunes, a friend said to me, “If you don’t take charge of your life, someone else will.”

Up to that point, I had been living my life afraid to assert myself, afraid to rely too heavily on unrealistic dreams. So, this phrase, swimming in truthful murk, stung like hell.

I couldn’t think of a single moment in time when I’d morphed into this person who allowed obstacles to cut into my dreams. But, somehow I’d allowed these challenges access to my primordial self, turning me into a victim of happenstance instead of a warrior claiming victory over my life.

No more my brain screamed.

My friend’s phrase had spun me into action. Compelled to act, I immediately set a goal to improve upon three areas of my life that I felt were most important to regaining my self-worth and well-being: to educate myself on how to invest, to get into the best physical shape of my life, and to write my butt off so I could work towards my lifetime dream of becoming a full time novelist.

That afternoon, I sat down at my dining room table with a pen in hand, and scribbled down the action steps I’d need to take to accomplish these three ideals. To see a goal in writing actually made it come alive for me. I couldn't ignore what I wanted to achieve a moment longer.

I broke each action step down into daily tasks and carried them with me in my pocketbook. When the craving to sleep in a little longer or watch some addictive television show tempted me, I thought about my daily list and how empowered I’d feel at the end of that day if I had checked off all the items.

With each day that passed, I became more and more determined to learn about bearish and bullish markets, to challenge my body physically with a good run or kettle bell workout, and to refine and publish my three novels.  Amazing what a little action each day could do for a gal!

Now, as I look back over this period of time, an easy smile rests on my face because all those little acts have added up to something powerful and tangible. I feel more alive than I did when I was in my twenties, I feel more financially empowered for my future, and I feel more grateful than ever that I am connecting with hundreds of readers a month now through my novels.

I have taken back the control and am continuing to steer my life in the direction I want it to go.

For the first time in my life, I am realizing that I can do anything I set my mind to doing.

I came across a great blog that speaks to the importance of setting goals. Randall Rogers talks about how setting goals is universal.

Here's to setting great goals,

Suzie Carr

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I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends.

Follow me on Facebook to keep up on my latest projects! www.facebook.com/suziecarr.author

Life’s a giant playground

“Happiness consists in activity. It is a running steam, not a stagnant pool.” – John Mason Good

I strive to be a flexible and free-spirited person; one that yields to the slightest and most extreme of changes, one that appears to be in complete enjoyment of the unknown, and one that shrugs off problems like they were merely disposable incidentals.

But, the conscientious, responsible adult in me makes this quest a constant struggle. Thankfully, I have lots of little angels, (and I use this description with complete seriousness – of course), in my life to help keep the rigid adult in me at bay as they bring out my inner child.

Not long ago, I tagged along with a friend of mine and her ‘little angels’ to a playground park, and somewhere in between swallowing feathery mouthfuls of cotton candy and chomping on buttered, salty popcorn, I realized how freeing it was to stop thinking like an adult and more like a child again. This was a good thing because it started to pour on us. Did this stop the fun? Of course not!

What a catharsis it was to swing in the pouring rain and not care that my mascara dripped down my cheeks, my hair lost its style, and my sneakers turned into water-logged reservoirs. None of that mattered. There we all were giggling, swinging, running, and simply enjoying what I would have otherwise considered a washed-out day. The gentle reminders from my fun companions, that skirting around a playground park in the rain with their ‘auntie’ was just fine, changed my whole perspective. I wasn't worried about how silly I looked exchanging goofy faces with these little angels or about the intake of calories and fat grams I was ingesting as I chomped into all that sugar and chugged down a regular Coke (not diet)!

That day taught me something important – free-spirited and flexible people don’t shy away from childlike fun. Since then, I have continued acting a little silly, having more fun, and taking life less seriously as I pounce and propel upwards on the great trampoline of life, one freeing, child-like step, flip, or even flop at a time. 


Hoping the same for you,
Suzie

 
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I feel it's critical to support the community, and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/) to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their families and friends. My books can be found on Amazon: The Fiche Room, Tangerine Twist and Two Feet Off The Ground.


Follow me on Facebook to keep up on my latest projects!
www.facebook.com/suziecarr.author