Just about every time I open my email of late, there is another ‘publicist’ raving about one of my books. They tell me my books are getting the short shrift and deserve a wider audience.
I couldn’t agree more.
These emails were flooding in at such a rate that clearly my TikTok has made me a star, Bradley Cooper has finally outed me as his secret crush, or something is afoot at the Circle K.
Continue reading “If It Seems to Good to Be True… (Navigating the New World of Author Marketing Emails)”Nick showed me a picture of a beautiful car on his phone.
“Hesitation is the hallmark of mediocrity,” I said, mostly in jest.
(I looked up where I found this quote and realized I’d paraphrased something Elizabeth Benton had written in her book, Chasing Cupcakes. She’d actually said it was the ‘cornerstone of mediocrity’)
We had been talking about buying a car for months. Currently, we have his pickup truck and my Honda Element (aka ‘dog car’). Both are getting up there in mileage, and both are beloved. He uses the truck daily to take care of our little ‘farm’ and also our two rental properties. It’s finally paid off, so now our hope is that it will go for another 100K miles for ‘free.’
Continue reading “Hesitation is the Hallmark of Mediocrity”It’s summertime and the living is not so easy, at least in this foster dog home.
With my office cottage filled with three dogs and three puppies, plus a serious medical (possibly hospice) foster dog, my office cat Hazel, and I are both overwhelmed by the dogs, their needs, and their noise.
Which means that I am not getting a lot of writing done. Sigh.
I seem to get myself into these situations on the regular. I’m writing this from a dog bed, where I’m sitting with my Lima Bean, my foster dog who is struggling with advanced heartworm disease in addition to other serious health issues.
There are moments when I’m overwhelmed at all of it – the foster dogs, the nonprofit, our dog-friendly rental business, my writing career (or what’s left of it), and being there to support my family and friends (plus my own three dogs), not to mention my gardens (which so far this year are glorious!).
But then I consider all that is happening in our world, and remind myself that my overly full life is just so rich and I am just so dang lucky.
I used to say ‘blessed’ but I’ve grown to see that word differently these days, figuring that if I’m blessed, does that mean someone who doesn’t have as much is not blessed?
Why would I be blessed, and someone else not? I’ve never cottoned to a God who plays favorites.
I’m where I am because of circumstance, the work I’ve put in, and the decisions I’ve made. But I do believe there is also some luck, or maybe, timing, to it.
One thing I’ve learned after writing eight books is that if you wait until you have time to write, you’ll never get anything written. Which is why I’m here in this dog bed with this needy dog, finally creating a blog post.
When I have the opportunity to teach writing or coach another writer, I always advise them to ‘just write.’
Every day.
And I know there are lots of writers who pooh-pooh that advice these days, but I don’t think there is any other way to make progress. Everyone can write something, every day, even if it’s just a sentence. In fact, one-sentence journals make great stories.
So, having offered excuse after excuse for not finishing writing project after writing project in the last six months, I’ve decided to take my own medicine. I plan to will write every day.
Even if it’s just a blog post written from a dog bed. Even if it’s just a journal entry. Even if it’s just dictating something in a note on my phone.
No one else is going to create the time for me to write. Only I can do that. So, when I finally opened up a document to work today, and I heard Lima Bean whimpering, I unplugged my laptop and moved camp. Now, she is comforted by my side, and I am actually writing!
If you told yourself, ‘this summer I’m going to make time for my writing’ or if last January, you resolved to get something written this year, this is your wake-up call.
Carve out the time and space to write. Your soul needs it.
And maybe this world needs it. But if you find another (good) excuse today not to write, you’ll never know.
Just write.
Honored,
Cara
If you like what you read and want to support my writing, consider buying me a cup of coffee.
If you’re curious about what else I’m up to, check out my website, CaraWrites.com.
If you’d like to subscribe to my twice-monthly newsletters filled with book recommendations, more stories, one truly fabulous recipe, and positive thoughts, click here.
My newest book is out! You can order a copy and support the work of Who Will Let the Dogs Out, by purchasing one directly from us here.
If you’re a dog lover, check out my other blog, Another Good Dog. And if you want to know what is really happening in the animal shelters in this country, visit, Who Will Let the Dogs Out, and subscribe to the blog I write there.
I’d love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Substack, and I’m thrilled to get email from readers (and writers), you can reach me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.
My latest novel, Blind Turn is a mother-daughter story of forgiveness in the aftermath of a fatal texting and driving accident. It won the Womens Fiction category of the American Writing Awards. Learn more about it and find out how to get your copy here.
For years, I have resisted TikTok.
Facebook and Instagram seemed like plenty. Who needs one more social media platform to suck my soul?
But then….
Continue reading “My Viral Moment on TikTok”I think the world would be a better place and we’d all be happier people, if we put down the phone and read a book instead.
Why don’t more people read books? This is a question that flummoxes me.
My perspective may be skewed because I LOVE to read. In fact, it’s a bit of an addiction that I passed on to two of my kids.
We were once called in for a parent-teacher conference to discuss Brady’s habit of reading during class. The teacher had removed every book from his desk and seated him up front right beside her desk and he would lean over her desk to read anything on the desk rather than listen in class.
Continue reading “Put Down the Phone and Read a Book”A ferocious storm barreled through our valley this morning at 4:30. I woke to lightning flashing, thunder cracking, and rain pummeling the windows on the west side of the house.
Below the windows on that end of our bedroom, Otis was circling in his crate, banging into its sides in a panic. Fanny leaped up from where she was sleeping at my feet.
I jumped out of bed and let Otis out of the crate (he ran downstairs to his favorite spot on the couch and went back to sleep). As Fanny and I followed him down, I remembered that I’d opened a window above my desk in the cottage last night. It was warmer outside than inside, and I thought Diamond, my foster dog, would enjoy the warmer air and smells of the night. I love that view out the window above my desk to the west to the Alleghany mountains.
Now, my desk, computer, printer, notebooks, planner, and everything on my desk were soaked. I let Diamond out of her crate. She was excited to see me and danced through the puddles on the floor, immediately tracking water all over the rest of the room and up onto the futon where she settled with a bone to watch me frantically try to dry things. The only positive about the whole situation is it forced me to finally ‘mop’ the floor that was coated in a film of dust, dirt, and dog hair.
What a way to start the day.
After I made tea, did my yoga routine that is (for now) fending off the back problems that are coming for me (both parents and both brothers have had back surgery), I settled on the couch with Fanny and Otis, with Gracie farting at my feet. Every morning, I spend at least an hour, often two if I’m up early, like today, reading and journaling.
One of the books I’m reading is a memoir written by a celebrity dancer whose husband (also a celebrity dancer) committed suicide. It was free on Kindle Unlimited, and so far, it mostly felt like reading an article in People magazine (it might have been ghostwritten by a regular at People). I was almost ready to quit the book because I was disappointed in the lack of authenticity, vulnerability, or risk expected in a grief memoir. But then the author shared an exercise she used daily to motivate herself.
Each day, she wrote the phrases, “I am….”, “I have…”, and “I deserve….” And then finished them.
I pulled out my journal and started to answer those same questions. I’d been looking for a way to examine the uncertain feelings I’ve had of late about the world, what I do, my purpose here, really all of our purposes here. But those phrases and my answers left me only asking myself, “So what?”
What ‘I am’ is still a work in progress, and what ‘I have’ is unimportant. The “I deserve…” question made me angry. I’m tired of everyone, everywhere, thinking they deserve more than they receive. In some cases, maybe it’s true, but in too many, mine included, it’s blatant entitlement.
What do we deserve? Food, water, medical care, safety? Maybe. But people choose food that makes them ill and don’t want to pay for medical care, even when they can afford it.
What about love? Respect? Truth? But do we deserve these if we don’t give them in turn?
What do we deserve?
I’ve thought about that all morning. I think we all deserve the basic freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But do we still deserve those if our use of them hurts others or deprives them of those same basic rights?
Deep questions for a rainy, turbulent morning with more storms coming.
I looked at my precious, adored, spoiled dogs snuggled all around me. Do they deserve the care we give them? Most of the people in my world would resoundingly say, “Yes!” and agree that we made dogs dependent on us, so they deserve to be cared for.
Like every other essay I’ve started this week, I’m unsure where to take this one. Maybe because I don’t have the answers. My present uncertainty in so many areas is rooted in the fact that all that I believed about people, the way people should care for each other, that respect I think all human (and canine) life deserves, has been called into question in this country, and all over the world.
Why do we hurt each other?
I have always believed in our better nature. That, at their base, most people are good. I will cling to that belief, even as the news makes me not so certain anymore. We have to take care of more than ourselves. What’s the point of any of this if we don’t?
What do people deserve?
Maybe they don’t deserve our love, and maybe granting our respect is asking too much. Unalienable rights aside, though, I believe they deserve our kindness, our time, our thoughtful consideration of who they are, and the acknowledgment of the unknown battles they are certainly fighting.
Maybe instead of pondering our answers to “I am,” “I have,” and “I deserve,” we should finish the phrase, “I will…”
I will look for ways to spread light instead of darkness.
I will connect rather than disconnect.
I will help instead of hurt.
Honored,
Cara
If you’re curious about what else I’m up to, check out my website, CaraWrites.com.
If you’d like to subscribe to my twice-monthly newsletters filled with book recommendations, more stories, one truly fabulous recipe, and positive thoughts, click here.
My newest book is out! You can order a copy and support the work of Who Will Let the Dogs Out, by purchasing one directly from us here.
If you’re a dog lover, check out my other blog, Another Good Dog. And if you want to know what is really happening in the animal shelters in this country, visit, Who Will Let the Dogs Out, and subscribe to the blog I write there.
I’d love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Substack, and I’m thrilled to get email from readers (and writers), you can reach me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.
My latest novel, Blind Turn is a mother-daughter story of forgiveness in the aftermath of a fatal texting and driving accident. It won the Womens Fiction category of the American Writing Awards. Learn more about it and find out how to get your copy here.
I’m also writing on Substack. It’s a great community. Join me there – https://caraachterberg.substack.com/
“PAUSE. BREATHE. Don’t Respond.”
This is a sticky note I have pasted to the top of my computer screen. I try to focus on it when I’m on zoom calls or when I read something on social media and feel the irrational urge to SCREAM AT PEOPLE (or cry).
Continue reading “PAUSE. BREATHE. Don’t Respond.”This morning, something magical happened. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was a sign. Or maybe it was a message. I’m still not certain exactly what it was. Nick thinks it was evidence of a husband I have in an alternate reality.
Continue reading “Message from My Other Husband?”I love new years—the fresh starts, new habits, and the grand opportunity to leave a few things behind.
Every year I create challenges for myself. No one tells me to do it and there’s no great reward at the end. The stakes are basically nothing. Sometimes, I invite others to join me, which, at least on the surface, creates a little accountability.
Last year, I created the Lighten Your Load, Lighten Your Life challenge. I planned to let go of five ‘things’ every day, all year.
Continue reading “What Are YOU Doing with Your New Year?”Are you a list maker?
Me, too.
There is a tiny thrill in checking things off my list.
I draw little boxes next to each item and then make a check mark (with my red pen) when I get them done. Whatever I don’t get to, but I need to, I circle in blue. Whatever I don’t get to and probably don’t really have to (but I thought I should do when I wrote the list), or now it’s too late to do, I cross off with black pen. Anal, much? Here’s what it looks like in real time:
Continue reading “My Do-not-Do List”
My Life in Paragraphs 