Friday, April 3, 2020

Watch the book teaser trailer for FLASH! THE SCIENCE BEHIND INTUITION by Dr. Anne Watson





Title: FLASH! THE SCIENCE BEHIND INTUITION
Author: Dr. Anne Watson
Publisher: Envision Board Books, an imprint of Post Hypnotic Press, Inc.
Pages: 154
Genre: Parapsychology/ESP Books

If we have intuitions (and we do) where do they come from? Where, in us, do they arrive? What, in us, allows us to receive and interpret them? And why? Why do we get them?

Fourteen years of research, often waiting for the science to catch up with a vision sent to me by the Universe, these questions are answered in lay terms for the wonderment and affirmation of those interested in energy from another plane.

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/37U1Fi7

About The Author

Dr. Anne Watson
Anne Watson is a Canadian author and educator and co-author of So You Have to Go to Court! A Child’s Guide to Testifying as a Witness in Child Abuse Cases with Wendy Harvey. She was raised in England, trained as a teacher, and after starting teaching in Canada at Thistletown Regional Centre School for Emotionally Disturbed Children, she then taught in the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, and in Palm Beach County USA. Just before beginning doctoral studies in Special Education Psychology at U. of T., she travelled right around the world. Once a doctor, she became a Prof at UBC and later at Trent U., then switched to doing psychoeducational assessments (CSI of the brain!). After 30 years of midnight oil reports and early morning parent meetings she retired to concentrate on writing and art. Her calling is to help people contact their Inner Voice – the Universe – by fast tracking open brain states using EEG devices, some of which can be glimpsed in a couple of scenes in her just finished movie, “A Thousand Reasons.” She has two successful adult kids and one almost grown up granddaughter.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Twitter Link: @Post_Hypnotic
Read More »

Social Leads: Your Social Media Playbook To Generating More Leads by Shay Banks




We're thrilled to host the virtual book tour for SOCIAL LEADS: YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK TO GENERATING MORE LEADS IN THE NEXT 90 DAYS by Shay Banks. Scroll down to find out how you can pick up a copy of her book!


SOCIAL LEADS: YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK TO GENERATING MORE LEADS IN THE NEXT 90 DAYS
By Shay Banks
Nonfiction

Struggling To Profit From Social Media?

It’s more than likely not your fault. There is a lot of misinformation (and outright lies) being told about how social media is supposed to work. In Social Leads you will discover post ideas to use on Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and more!

Your Very Own Social Media Playbook You Can Use Over and Over

If you want to add social media to your marketing plan, this is the playbook you need to get started. Understand how each platform works and how so you can achieve your business’s goals. Inside this action-oriented book, you’ll learn:
  • How to get traffic to your social media pages for free
  • What to do when you’ve tried everything on social media and you’re not getting results
  • Example social media posts (with pictures) to help get your creative juices going
  • Plus more!



Amazon → https://amzn.to/3awrSVf








What To Expect From This Book
Back in the day, building a business seemed pretty straight forward. You found a building, you got a loan, you opened up shop, and the people came to your store.
Except, that’s not exactly what happened?
People found office space, got the loan, opened up shop, and no one came. The savvy business owners would discover marketing tactics that would generate foot traffic. Tactics like direct mail, radio advertising, catalog advertising, classified ads, etc.
After some trial and error, they saw results.
Nowadays, the storefront is different.
People go online and build websites. No loan needed, just a monthly payment for hosting and an annual fee for your domain registration.
But many people have discovered that though it’s easier to “set up shop” now than a few decades ago, they run into the same problem: getting customers.
The savvy business owners will start looking at different online marketing tactics such as blogging, email marketing, SEO, and social media marketing.
“Build it and they will come” mentality crippled/cripples many businesses.
If you are reading this book, kudos to you for putting forth effort to “figuring it out”. It’s important to get as much knowledge as possible. But as Dale Carnegie infamously said, “knowledge isn’t power until it is applied.”
If you are not action oriented, then this book is definitely not for you. I’m sorry to tell you that this book is nothing but words filled with actions you must take if you want your business to have a chance in hell of survival.
Yes, I know, with a title like Social Leads: Your Social Media Playbook to Generating More Leads in The Next 90 Days, there should be some magic. There should be some snap-your-fingers-and-boom-it-works instructions. Sadly there is none of that in this book.
This book is for action-takers.
Implementers.
Persistent and determined individuals who will, by golly, make this business work; it’s this or bust. If that is you, then you’re in luck.
What’s on the pages that follow is action plan that will help you start attracting leads organically using social media.
Why are we focused on social media?
According to the statistics, the average person is on social media between 2 – 6 hours every single day.
Marketing 101 says “Go where the people are.” And the people are on social media. Chances are high, you will be able to sell your products and services on social media.
But…(there’s always a but isn’t there)…
Social media is always changing. The algorithms, the rules, and the available platforms all can change at the drop of a hat. It’s this constant change that makes social media marketing difficult for many to grasp and understand. In my ten plus years of using social media to generate traffic to websites in a variety of industries, I have seen it all.
And yet, despite the changes, I have managed to attract clients and money with less followers and fans than many of my competitors. (I made $500 my first 6 weeks on Instagram with a meager 40 followers. To date, I have made thousands of dollars on Instagram alone and I have under 300 followers.)
How is that possible?
You’ll discover all of that and more in this book. Turn the page and let’s get started.











Introduction
“It doesn’t work!” a woman, we’ll call her Julie, said as she approached my expo booth and scowled at my signage.
Thinking that I must have misheard her, I said, politely “I’m sorry?”
“It doesn’t work. This social media stuff. It doesn’t work. You’re all liars.”
“Well…I’m sorry that it’s been tough,” I said with a strained smile. I mean…what am I supposed to say to that? Yes, you’re right. Many people that do social media ARE liars. Many don’t know how to turn a profit, but they know how to get your some fake followers.
In a way, I truly was sorry for her.
“I don’t want your sorry,” she grabbed a business card off the table and looked at my name. “Shay? Is that I how I pronounce your name” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t want your sorry Shay. I want you to fix it! Here’s my Facebook.” She handed me her phone with her Facebook business page open and ready for my analysis.
I don’t usually do impromptu social media analysis at live events, but it was early. Not too many people were there just yet so I let this interaction happen. Plus, this lady was not backing down. I could tell that she was not going to take no for an answer.
I grabbed her phone and scrolled down a bit. I immediately knew what was missing.
“Yea, I see what—” I began. She interrupted me before I could even finish the sentence. She was definitely trying my patience.
“Nuh huh,” she said, finger pointed up. “I need you to check my Pinterest too.”
She clicked on the Pinterest app, went to her profile and handed me the phone again. I scrolled through her Pinterest page and knew immediately what was missing and why she wasn’t getting results.
Have you ever heard the saying “How you do one thing is how you do everything?” Well it applied here as well. I knew that all of her social media pages were making the same mistake. But to appease her, I looked at all of them.  Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
And then, I looked at her, sternly, and then gave her 3 actions to take right now to turn her social media pages around.
This book is an extension of that conversation with her.
Why The Majority Are Not Making Money
Did you know that 70% of small business owners who create online content make $0, as in zero, nada, zilch, $0 from social media, or from any content that they create online?
This is a good thing because that means 30% of small business owners are making money. So if you can ignore the 70 and follow the 30, you will be okay.
I know those Instagram “influencers” want you to believe that it’s all easy. Just post a selfie and BOOM, watch that cash roll in baby!
It doesn’t quite work that way. Or, shall I say, it worked that way in the early days, but nothing lasts forever.
Nowadays, you better know what the hell you’re doing on social media or you can
1) waste a TON of time getting likes and engagement but getting NO dinero and
2) waste a TON of money on Facebook ads, influencer shout outs, or high-end e-courses that promise you’ll make 6 figures in 6 days. (it never works out like they promise, but you don’t realize that until AFTER the 30-day money back guarantee)
Let’s face it, consumers are smarter now. They are armed with information and they know when someone is trying to sell them. If you plan on using social media to market your business, you better bring your A game!
The Zero Profit Attorney
I did a discovery call with a well-known attorney in Dallas who wanted me to help her generate more leads from her social media pages. She and I met at a local networking event and exchanged cards. At the event she expressed that her social media person was gonna put her in the poor house if she didn’t get this thing turned around.
I was shocked she asked me to help her since, based on all the advertising I’d seen of her online and offline, I assumed she was doing quite well.
Turns out, she was breaking even. If she spent $20,000/month in ads online, she would bring in $20,000 worth of business.
That’s certainly not good because you want to be able to have a profit. I mean, that’s what a business is, right? Products and services sold in order to make a profit.
She was skeptical of working with me because she’d spent upwards of $15,000 already on e-courses and her current social media person.  Both were not panning out like she’d hoped. I told her I don’t have an e-course that could fix her problem and honestly, an e-course wouldn’t do her any justice.
She was neck-deep in this social media ocean and it was not something she could navigate out of by herself.
What she needed was a full on 4-hour session with me, one on one.
And that is what we did. A 4-hour session where I showed her step by step how to tweak her Facebook advertising campaign (on her own), what to post, and how to select better targeting. As a result, she slashed her ad costs from $20,000/month to $5,000/month.
Without doing anything else differently, she was able to profit $15,000/month.
Doing the wrong thing on the right platform is costly. This is what the majority do. They follow an influencer or a marketing guru, they follow their “rules” and then they end up not getting the results that were promised.
The reason it doesn’t work is because the influencer or marketing guru has a different target market, spends more money on advertising, has a more established social media reputation, and has access to partners who will happily promote them.
Follow marketing gurus and influencers at your own risk.
Common Characteristics Of Social Media Posts That Make No Money
  1. Too many stock photos
  2. Perfectly shot photos of people on the beach with their laptop
  3. Generic questions asked in an attempt to “boost engagement”
  4. Lots of branded content
  5. No videos or photos of the person running the page
  6. Too many quotes
  7. Inconsistent posting
  8. No engagement with followers
  9. Too many topics covered
  10. Unclear business message
What I'm going to share with you in this book is stuff that I've used in my own business as well as what I've assisted other entrepreneurs and small business owners use in their business.
These strategies work online as well as offline. You will see some similarities, or things that you can take from social media and use offline or take from offline and apply it to social media.
Both work hand-in-hand.
The Difference Between A Social Media Strategist And A Social Media Manager
We need to address the elephant in the room.
 I get asked this question all the time when I tell people what I do. People think I am in my office all day posting social media content for businesses.
That’s not an accurate description of what I do. So let’s break down the differences so you get a clear understanding.
A Social Media Manager, by definition, manages your social media pages. They interact with your audience on your behalf. They comment on your followers’ posts. They are basically people who boost engagement.
A social media manager’s main job is to increase your followers organically and post the content you create. That’s it. They are acting on your behalf to save you time.
A Social Media Strategist, by definition, shows you a strategy to achieve your business goals using social media. They do a ton of market research on your target audience and use that information to create a specific social media campaign for your business.
A social media strategist’s main job is to get you leads so you can boost your business. That’s it. They do not post the content, but they may create the content for you to save you time. Depends on the services that strategist offers.
If you already have content and just need someone to post it on your social media pages, or you don’t have the time to get on social media every day and you need someone to do it for you, then you need a Social Media Manager.
If you need to know what to do on which platform in order to attract your ideal client using social media or you have a specific goal you would like to achieve using social media, then you need a Social Media Strategist.
What’s Your Motivation?
Before we get into the actions you need to take, you might want to get out some pen and paper. We're going to do a quick little exercise, because I want to tap into your why.
What's your why? Why do you want a business? Why are you trying to make this business grow?
I always do this with my clients because this entrepreneurial journey is tough! I can speak firsthand to that. If you don't have a strong enough why, you will not move forward, you will give up, and you may give up too soon when you were super close to a win.
I don't want you to fall prey to that. Take a quick second and answer these questions:
Three months from now, I will earn ___________________.
I will earn this amount because ____________________________________________________________________________.
I commit to ________________, ______________________, and ___________________ in order to achieve my goal income.
I want you to keep the answers above handy. Keep them around you, because, let me tell you, you will find obstacle. Well, actually, you won't find them, they will find you.
There will be several obstacles for you to overcome on your journey. And it's constant. It never stops. I don't care whatever success you're looking for, there are more obstacles on the other side of that. So keep these answers front and center so that you can stay focused when things get tough.
About Me
“I’m so thankful I had a childhood before technology took over.” -Unknown
I'm going to send you back, waaay back in time when this grown woman was a little six-year-old girl in the first grade.
My first series of novels that I read were the Babysitters Club. The series was about these 4  best friends who started a babysitting business. And I was just so intrigued by that. I thought, oh my gosh, that is my calling. That is what I'm going to do. I am going to have a babysitting club business. But I’ve got to wait until I'm in the eighth grade. Right now, I'm six years old. What kind of business should I do now, I would ask myself.
I knew that a kid that lived down the street from me, delivered newspapers.
I remember asking my mom if I could deliver newspapers like the kid down the street. Without even a second to think, my mom said no because “that's a boy's job.” As a sidenote: there were also a few child kidnappings that had happened in my small town that made her leery too.
Through my search, I was able to find one business that my mom could not say no to: BeautiControl Consultant. If you know Avon or Mary Kay, you may know what BeautiControl is, because it's very similar.
They do make up, they do facial cleansers, and all that good stuff. I remember I gathered up my $100, which was my birthday money and part of my allowance. I scraped it all together to get a starter kit. My first customer was one of my aunts. She bought a moisturizer from me.
It was the first $12 I’d ever earned on my own.
I didn't do BeautiControl for very long, though. But I knew I was meant to be in business for myself because I was already looking for business opportunities at six years old! Now if we fast forward a little while, I have gone through high school, I've gone through college. I lived in South Korea for a year teaching English as a Second Language, and then I came back to Texas, and I was a teacher. So let’s just fast forward 20 or so years after earning that first $12 on my own.
It was around this time, in 2008, I was done with teaching. I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. But I didn’t know what my next move would be. But I knew for sure, it was not teaching.
And so I started looking for business opportunities online. Three days into my search, I became intrigued by a young lady who said she was a business coach. I bought some of her online programs, I read her blog, I commented on her blog, I did some more online research, and then I joined her mastermind.
This business coach advised me that I could have an online business sharing my gifts and passion. (Vague, I know! But I was so eager to jump at the possibility that I didn’t let logic enter in my mind!)
She was like, "All you need is a blog! You already have a powerful voice, you can just write, and you'll make six figures."
And so I followed her instructions. I started my blog. I would work at my school from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and then I would go home and be in front of the computer from 6:00 PM to midnight.
I did this every single day for over a month. I was determined to make this business a success.
After about the first 40 days of doing this, I looked at the analytics. I’d been blogging like a mad woman for over a month and I wondered how many people have come to my website, because I haven't seen anything in my PayPal account.
I knew something was wrong because the equation was blog and BOOM, make six figures.
When I didn’t see anything in my PayPal account, I went to the analytics. I go to the analytics and I saw that only two people had come to my website. Do you know who those two people were? Me and my mama!
 That was not okay because the two of us were not going to help me make the six figures that I wanted.
I quickly learned that this big-time guru/business coach I chose to follow was leaving some important elements out of this “blog and make six figures” equation.
There was more to making money online and I had to figure it out on my own. It took me a long while, a lot of trial and error, lots of money spent, lots of time wasted, but once I figured it out, I started making money.
It started off by getting organic traffic to my website and then getting that traffic to get on my email list. I did that by applying all the SEO tactics I’d learned while reading sites like Copyblogger and ProBlogger. Using the tactics I learned from those websites, I ended up making $50 a day.
This was all free traffic because it was all about using the right keywords and backlinking strategies. I then stumbled upon advertising through Google Adwords, Facebook ads, banner ads, mobile ads, in-app ads. As a result, I started making $100+ a day.
And then, 3 years later, I was able to quit my teaching job.
You can actually shorten your learning curve by just listening to what I'm telling you in this book. Unlike my first business coach, I won’t be holding anything back.
I know what that feels like when someone gives you only part of the plan and then looks at you like you’re crazy for not making money.  This book is all about giving you the whole enchilada, so that way you can start getting leads and you can start making sales really quickly.
So without further adieu, let's get into the social media strategies that will get you more leads in the next ninety days.









Shay Banks helps entrepreneurs get more leads and sales with social media. If you’re not filling your pipeline with new leads, Shay can show you how to use your social media pages to do just that. Get more leads now by grabbing your free social media toolkit at: www.shaybanks.com.

 





http://www.pumpupyourbook.com
 
Read More »

First Chapter Reveal: UNEARTHING THE PAST by W.L. Brooks


UNEARTHING THE PAST
W.L. Brooks
The Wild Rose Press
Romantic Suspense

A single mother and owner of the town diner, Charlie McKay couldn’t be happier with her life in Blue Creek. Taking care of everyone around her is a labor of love, but the secret she’s keeping about her daughter’s parentage lurks beneath the surface. With the scars of the past still not healed, Charlie isn’t interested in adding a man to her life, even if that man is the oh-so-tempting Craig Sutton.

Determined to own his own bar, as his father had, Craig Sutton is a man on a mission. But wanting to enjoy small town life is only one of the reasons he moved to the mountains of North Carolina. Whether meaning to or not, Craig can’t keep from getting involved with the McKay family, and the closer he gets to Charlie and her daughter the more entangled he becomes.
 In Blue Creek secrets have always run deep, and someone is now trying to expose Charlie’s in a disturbing way. She isn’t the only one with something to hide, however, and deception threatens a possible relationship between her and Craig. As hidden truths are revealed and danger increases, Charlie must find a way to face the past or lose everything. 

First Chapter:

Someone was in his bedroom. Craig Sutton feigned sleep, even though the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He rolled over, slid one hand beneath his pillow, grasped cold steel, and opened his eyes. He didn’t know whether to laugh or curse. Standing on the bed next to him was four-anda-half-year-old Mackenzie McKay. Her big black eyes were wide and unblinking. He released his weapon and sat up.
 “Uh…hi.”
“Hi.” She twirled one of her white-blonde pigtails. Craig had come across Mack, the niece of his landlady, on a number of occasions. But…
“How’d you get in here, sweetheart?”
 She pouted. “I’m allowed.”
“Well…I don’t think anyone told you, but because I’m staying here, you need to knock first.” Craig didn’t want to scare her or, God forbid, make her cry. He’d never been able to handle female tears, especially the tiny variety.
 She crossed her arms. “Auntie Alex shoulda said.”
 “I’m sure she meant to…How about you go in the other room while I change, and then I’ll take you to find your aunt.”
 “Ohskay.” She jumped down and closed the door behind her. Craig went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and changed his clothes in record time. When he came out, he was surprised to find her sitting at the kitchen table, humming and swinging her legs.
 Craig shook his head and smiled; the kid was adorable. “Ready, sweets?” “Yep!” She hopped off the seat and took Craig’s hand.
He shivered the moment he stepped outside; he should have grabbed a jacket. It was freezing, and Mack didn’t have a coat on. He swung her up in his arms, she giggled, and his heart warmed.
She pressed her cold nose into the crook of his neck. “Grandpops does that too.”
 “He’s a nice guy then.”
“Uh-huh. You smell pretty. Kinda like my Uncle Ryan but with more pepper,” she said with a small nod, then her mouth pinched. “But you don’t itch my nose.”
Craig laughed. “Is that so?”
“Uh-huh.”
They walked across the gravel parking lot toward the bed and breakfast Alexandra McKay owned and operated. It was called Granny Vaughn’s, and the place was both massive and impressive, if one was into that kind of thing. There was a closed-in porch leading to the kitchen, which was off limits to B and B guests, but whose entrance he was told he was welcome to use if he needed anything—like paying his rent or chatting up his landlady.
 Craig had expected to come across Alexandra but found her sister Charlie, Mack’s mother, instead. It was a pleasant surprise. He enjoyed this particular McKay, with her short blonde curls, big brown eyes, and supple pink lips—kissable lips. Almost every time he was in her company, he’d been drawn to her mouth, not that she noticed. It was for the best; he had his own agenda here in Blue Creek, and he needed to keep his priorities straight.
 Charlie put her hands on her jean-clad hips. “Mackenzie Annie McKay, where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
 “Uh-oh, kid.” Craig put Mack down. “She used your full name; looks like you’re in trouble.”
 Mack’s gaze darted between the adults. “I went to the playhouse.”
“Do we need to talk again about going somewhere without telling me, or going into places without being asked?”
The child looked down and shuffled her feet.
Charlie offered him a small smile. “I’m sorry, Craig.”
“It was a shock to the system, but what the hell, it woke me up,” he said looking around the room. “Is Alexandra here?”
 “She’s running errands, but she’ll be back soon.”
She turned to Mack. “Do you want to help me or play with your doll babies?” It only took a second for the child to dash out of the room.
 Craig eyed the pot of coffee sitting on the counter. “Are there any guests?”
Charlie, the consummate hostess, poured him a cup. “This is the slowest time of year for Alex, but there was a sweet older couple staying here last night; they left a bit ago. I was helping them load their luggage into their car, hence my daughter slipping away.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He took the offered mug, then sipped. “You do make the best coffee.”
She gave him a shy smile. “There are muffins too, if you’re interested?”
 He homed in on the basket of baked goods, sat down at the table, and helped himself. “Keep me company?”
Charlie shot a quick glance in the direction her daughter went. “Okay, but just for a bit.” She poured herself a cup of coffee, then took the seat across from him. “How’s Blue Creek treating you, so far?”
He shrugged. “I can’t complain, but let’s not talk about me; tell me about you.” He eyed her over the rim of his mug. Was she debating what to divulge? How stimulating!
 “Well…I—” “I didn’t see your ride in the parking lot.”
 “No, my sister Casey took it for an oil change.”
“She’s the mechanic, right?”
Charlie nodded.
 “It’s an interesting choice,” he said around a mouthful of muffin.
Her brow pinched. “Sorry?”
He swallowed both his food and his grin. “Your SUV—not your sister’s career. A female mechanic is pretty badass, but so is your ride. It’s vintage, isn’t it?” Her lips quirked upward.
 “Yes. I saw one like it in a movie once. I’ve never really been into cars, but I wanted that Blazer! I asked Ward Jessup, who was the town mechanic at the time, how hard it would be to get one, and he said he’d look into it. It took him years, and I’d actually forgotten about the entire thing, but after I had Mackenzie, it showed up in my driveway.”

Craig’s eyebrows rose. “He gave it to you?”
A fine sheen glazed her eyes. “Yes, Ward was very special to my family—to me. He died over a year ago.”
And now he was a dick. “I’m sorry.”
 “It’s okay.” She shrugged. “You didn’t know.”
 He shifted in his chair. “What about your family?”
“What about yours?” A blush swept up her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to sound—”
He waved a hand. “Don’t mention it. My mother died when I was a kid. It was just me and my dad until college—two men trying not to let life knock them down, or so he always said. He owned a bar, so I’m continuing the tradition. I’m on my own now.” Sort of.
 “Oh, I’m—”
“What about Mackenzie’s father?”
 She flinched. Damn. “Sorry if that’s too forward.”
“He’s dead.”
Craig sat back. “I see…sorry.”
Charlie stood, dumped her coffee in the sink, and started loading the dishwasher.
 He drummed his fingers against the table. “So, tell me about my landlady.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Alexandra?”
“Yes, is she as—I don’t know—cold as she seems?”
“Alex isn’t cold; she’s shrewd—there’s a difference.”
“Yeah?” He smirked and stood.
 “She seems a bit stuck-up to me.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘stuck-up.’ ” She closed the dishwasher and smiled at him. “We’ve always described her as prissy, and that’s Alexandra to the core. She’s always been like that—she’s a trip. You seem to have a lot of opinions about my sister.”
Craig cocked his head to the side. Was Charlie jealous? “I’m the curious sort, but if you’re wondering if I’m interested in her, then the answer is no. She’s not my type.”
“And what is your type?” Her face went red.
“Why? Are you interested?” Wouldn’t that be stimulating?
 Her brow pinched. “I…” She was a picture with big doe eyes, apple cheeks, and pink, kissable lips.
He downed his coffee and walked over to her. Priorities be damned. “Well, Charlie, are you?”
 “I have a four-and-a-half-year-old and own a diner. I don’t have time to be interested.”
Craig leaned down and breathed her in. She smelled like cookies. Delicious. “Pity that.”
Her gaze searched his, and, God help him, she licked her lips.
“Good morning.” And there went all the heat. Craig winked at Charlie, then turned. Even with the cold stare in her dark blue eyes, Alexandra was breathtaking.
“Good morning, Landlady.”
She put her shopping bags down on the table and eyed him. “Was there something you needed, Mr. Sutton?”
 “Nope, and it’s Craig, remember?” He turned to Charlie. “Thanks for the coffee and conversation.”
Charlie’s cheeks were still flushed, but she smiled. “You’re welcome.”
He gave a curt bow to Alexandra, then headed out the door. Despite the dismissal, Craig smiled. Things were shaping up his way.
****
Craig Sutton…holy moly, but the man caused Charlie to pulse in places best not thought about. From the moment he walked into her diner, she had been taken by the sight of him. And today was no different; his tawny hair had been tousled by the wind, and his dark blue eyes were the perfect mixture of mischief and sincerity. Not to mention how his tight jeans fit his backside oh-so-snugly.
 Even a ratty sweatshirt couldn’t diminish the drool-worthy factor. Charlie shook her head and turned to her sister.
“Do you want to tell me what all that was about?”
Alex paused from putting away groceries. “What all what was about?”
 Charlie rolled her eyes. “Oh, you know very well what I mean.”
“I thought you’d sworn off men?”
She could only stare at her sister. A few years ago, Charlie’s choice in the opposite sex had sent her reeling into a black pit of shame and despair. She had promised herself she wouldn’t go down that particular rabbit hole ever again, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the scenery. And she missed being in a man’s arms, not to mention kissing. Goodness, she loved kissing. If Alex hadn’t come in, Craig may have…Don’t even go there, Charlie girl!
“Cat—or something else—got your tongue?”
Charlie gaped. “What in the world has gotten in to you today?”
Her sister sighed. “Sorry, I’m not trying to be a bitch—”
“You could have fooled me!” She shook her head. Alexandra was more than a sister, she was Charlie’s best friend, and…and… “Do you like him?”
 “Who?”
“Seriously!” She huffed and snatched a package of coffee filters out of her sister’s hands. “Do you like Craig?”
“We don’t know enough about him.” Alex held out her hand.
Charlie gave the filters back. “That doesn’t answer my question.” Most men fell over themselves when they first met Alex, and Craig was no exception. Charlie couldn’t blame him; her sister was like a goddess with her crown of fiery locks and unrelenting confidence. And Charlie wasn’t jealous, but this particular man’s reaction to Alex, and her sister’s odd behavior, did prickle under her skin.
 “Are you interested in him?”
 Charlie shrugged. “I can’t afford to get in a tizzy over any man.”
“Exactly! Men make a mess of things, and that’s all we need to say on the subject.”
“Fine.” Charlie began to help unload the groceries, knowing full well her sister hadn’t answered the question.
 ****
 “Did you get me a surprise?” Mack asked.
 “Yes, baby, but you have to wait till we get home,” Charlie said for the third time since they’d left her parents’ house. It was her own fault for mentioning she’d gone shopping after she’d picked their SUV up from the garage.
She pulled into the driveway, enjoying how the moonlight haloed their little house, a small white-sided ranch with navy-blue shutters and a wraparound porch. It was the house she’d always pictured having—a home of their own. Putting the vehicle in park, Charlie squinted at the package on the front porch. She didn’t remember ordering anything.
She got Mack out of her car seat and hurried up the steps after her. “Look, Mama!” Mack clapped. “It’s a present for us.”
“Let’s go inside first, then I’ll come and get it.” Charlie unlocked the door and urged Mack in. She waited a beat, then went back to get things she’d picked up at the store. She glanced at the box and rolled her eyes. It looked heavy.
Mack tried to take the bags out of Charlie’s hands the minute she walked into the kitchen. “Can I have my surprise now?”
Charlie handed her daughter the new coloring book. “Here, sweetheart. Now go to the playroom, and I’ll come in there in a minute.”
Mack shouted her thanks and skipped away.
 Charlie hated admitting it, but she couldn’t wait for preschool to start again. She understood the teaching staff had the flu, but how long did it really take to get better? Take a chill pill, Charlie girl! Twenty minutes later, she put the finishing touches on her meatloaf. She cranked the timer for another fifteen minutes and went to set the table. She had just put out the forks when she remembered the box.
Maybe one of her sisters had sent them something. Out on the porch, Charlie took a few minutes trying to figure out how to get the thing inside—it weighed a ton. Finally, she decided to open the package right where it was. From the smell, something had gone bad. There was no way she was bringing it inside her house, much less her kitchen.
Maybe if she hadn’t forgotten about the darn thing, it wouldn’t have had a chance to spoil. “It’s freezing out here, so it isn’t my fault,” she told the box. Shaking her head, Charlie used a paring knife to cut the tape. She opened the flaps, wincing at the stench, and looked inside. Charlie rushed to the porch railing and emptied her stomach.
She closed the box, her hands shaking. It couldn’t be! Oh, God.
“Mama, what—”
“Go to your room, Mackenzie, and don’t come out until I get you.”
 Mack hesitated.
Charlie shouted, “Now!”
Her daughter ran back inside.
Charlie rubbed her face. “Holy shit,” she whispered; she choked out a sob, then took a couple of deep breaths. She could handle this; she had to calm down. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed.
 “McKay.”
 “Fletcher, someone sent me a package.” She gulped for air. Do not fall apart, do not fall apart.
“Hells bells, just spit it out! I got a grave robbed out here, and you won’t believe whose it is neither.”
“Rick’s?”
 “How the hell did you know that? Shit—”
 “That’s what I’ve been trying to say. He’s here…someone put him on my porch.”
“Holy fuck! Don’t touch anything! Jasper and I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Charlie shoved her cellphone in her back pocket. Not only did someone out there know her secret, but they’d dug it out of its grave, chopped it into pieces, and left it at her door.


About the Author
W.L. Brooks was born with an active imagination.  When characters come into her mind, she has to give them a life- a chance to tell their stories. With a coffee cup in her hand and a cat by her side, she spends her days letting the ideas flow onto paper.  A voracious reader, she draws her inspiration from mystery, romance, suspense and a dash of the paranormal.
A native of Virginia Beach, she is currently living in Western North Carolina. Pick up her latest novel, The Secrets That Shape Us- available now!

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: www.wlbrooks.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorwlbrooks
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2RAd0xl


Read More »

How To Grow Your Social Media Presence: Social Leads: Your Social Media Playbook To Generating More Leads in the Next 90 Days by Shay Banks




We're thrilled to host the virtual book tour for SOCIAL LEADS: YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK TO GENERATING MORE LEADS IN THE NEXT 90 DAYS by Shay Banks. Scroll down to find out how you can pick up a copy of her book!


SOCIAL LEADS: YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK TO GENERATING MORE LEADS IN THE NEXT 90 DAYS
By Shay Banks
Nonfiction

Struggling To Profit From Social Media?

It’s more than likely not your fault. There is a lot of misinformation (and outright lies) being told about how social media is supposed to work. In Social Leads you will discover post ideas to use on Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and more!

Your Very Own Social Media Playbook You Can Use Over and Over

If you want to add social media to your marketing plan, this is the playbook you need to get started. Understand how each platform works and how so you can achieve your business’s goals. Inside this action-oriented book, you’ll learn:
  • How to get traffic to your social media pages for free
  • What to do when you’ve tried everything on social media and you’re not getting results
  • Example social media posts (with pictures) to help get your creative juices going
  • Plus more!



Amazon → https://amzn.to/3awrSVf








What To Expect From This Book
Back in the day, building a business seemed pretty straight forward. You found a building, you got a loan, you opened up shop, and the people came to your store.
Except, that’s not exactly what happened?
People found office space, got the loan, opened up shop, and no one came. The savvy business owners would discover marketing tactics that would generate foot traffic. Tactics like direct mail, radio advertising, catalog advertising, classified ads, etc.
After some trial and error, they saw results.
Nowadays, the storefront is different.
People go online and build websites. No loan needed, just a monthly payment for hosting and an annual fee for your domain registration.
But many people have discovered that though it’s easier to “set up shop” now than a few decades ago, they run into the same problem: getting customers.
The savvy business owners will start looking at different online marketing tactics such as blogging, email marketing, SEO, and social media marketing.
“Build it and they will come” mentality crippled/cripples many businesses.
If you are reading this book, kudos to you for putting forth effort to “figuring it out”. It’s important to get as much knowledge as possible. But as Dale Carnegie infamously said, “knowledge isn’t power until it is applied.”
If you are not action oriented, then this book is definitely not for you. I’m sorry to tell you that this book is nothing but words filled with actions you must take if you want your business to have a chance in hell of survival.
Yes, I know, with a title like Social Leads: Your Social Media Playbook to Generating More Leads in The Next 90 Days, there should be some magic. There should be some snap-your-fingers-and-boom-it-works instructions. Sadly there is none of that in this book.
This book is for action-takers.
Implementers.
Persistent and determined individuals who will, by golly, make this business work; it’s this or bust. If that is you, then you’re in luck.
What’s on the pages that follow is action plan that will help you start attracting leads organically using social media.
Why are we focused on social media?
According to the statistics, the average person is on social media between 2 – 6 hours every single day.
Marketing 101 says “Go where the people are.” And the people are on social media. Chances are high, you will be able to sell your products and services on social media.
But…(there’s always a but isn’t there)…
Social media is always changing. The algorithms, the rules, and the available platforms all can change at the drop of a hat. It’s this constant change that makes social media marketing difficult for many to grasp and understand. In my ten plus years of using social media to generate traffic to websites in a variety of industries, I have seen it all.
And yet, despite the changes, I have managed to attract clients and money with less followers and fans than many of my competitors. (I made $500 my first 6 weeks on Instagram with a meager 40 followers. To date, I have made thousands of dollars on Instagram alone and I have under 300 followers.)
How is that possible?
You’ll discover all of that and more in this book. Turn the page and let’s get started.











Introduction
“It doesn’t work!” a woman, we’ll call her Julie, said as she approached my expo booth and scowled at my signage.
Thinking that I must have misheard her, I said, politely “I’m sorry?”
“It doesn’t work. This social media stuff. It doesn’t work. You’re all liars.”
“Well…I’m sorry that it’s been tough,” I said with a strained smile. I mean…what am I supposed to say to that? Yes, you’re right. Many people that do social media ARE liars. Many don’t know how to turn a profit, but they know how to get your some fake followers.
In a way, I truly was sorry for her.
“I don’t want your sorry,” she grabbed a business card off the table and looked at my name. “Shay? Is that I how I pronounce your name” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t want your sorry Shay. I want you to fix it! Here’s my Facebook.” She handed me her phone with her Facebook business page open and ready for my analysis.
I don’t usually do impromptu social media analysis at live events, but it was early. Not too many people were there just yet so I let this interaction happen. Plus, this lady was not backing down. I could tell that she was not going to take no for an answer.
I grabbed her phone and scrolled down a bit. I immediately knew what was missing.
“Yea, I see what—” I began. She interrupted me before I could even finish the sentence. She was definitely trying my patience.
“Nuh huh,” she said, finger pointed up. “I need you to check my Pinterest too.”
She clicked on the Pinterest app, went to her profile and handed me the phone again. I scrolled through her Pinterest page and knew immediately what was missing and why she wasn’t getting results.
Have you ever heard the saying “How you do one thing is how you do everything?” Well it applied here as well. I knew that all of her social media pages were making the same mistake. But to appease her, I looked at all of them.  Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
And then, I looked at her, sternly, and then gave her 3 actions to take right now to turn her social media pages around.
This book is an extension of that conversation with her.
Why The Majority Are Not Making Money
Did you know that 70% of small business owners who create online content make $0, as in zero, nada, zilch, $0 from social media, or from any content that they create online?
This is a good thing because that means 30% of small business owners are making money. So if you can ignore the 70 and follow the 30, you will be okay.
I know those Instagram “influencers” want you to believe that it’s all easy. Just post a selfie and BOOM, watch that cash roll in baby!
It doesn’t quite work that way. Or, shall I say, it worked that way in the early days, but nothing lasts forever.
Nowadays, you better know what the hell you’re doing on social media or you can
1) waste a TON of time getting likes and engagement but getting NO dinero and
2) waste a TON of money on Facebook ads, influencer shout outs, or high-end e-courses that promise you’ll make 6 figures in 6 days. (it never works out like they promise, but you don’t realize that until AFTER the 30-day money back guarantee)
Let’s face it, consumers are smarter now. They are armed with information and they know when someone is trying to sell them. If you plan on using social media to market your business, you better bring your A game!
The Zero Profit Attorney
I did a discovery call with a well-known attorney in Dallas who wanted me to help her generate more leads from her social media pages. She and I met at a local networking event and exchanged cards. At the event she expressed that her social media person was gonna put her in the poor house if she didn’t get this thing turned around.
I was shocked she asked me to help her since, based on all the advertising I’d seen of her online and offline, I assumed she was doing quite well.
Turns out, she was breaking even. If she spent $20,000/month in ads online, she would bring in $20,000 worth of business.
That’s certainly not good because you want to be able to have a profit. I mean, that’s what a business is, right? Products and services sold in order to make a profit.
She was skeptical of working with me because she’d spent upwards of $15,000 already on e-courses and her current social media person.  Both were not panning out like she’d hoped. I told her I don’t have an e-course that could fix her problem and honestly, an e-course wouldn’t do her any justice.
She was neck-deep in this social media ocean and it was not something she could navigate out of by herself.
What she needed was a full on 4-hour session with me, one on one.
And that is what we did. A 4-hour session where I showed her step by step how to tweak her Facebook advertising campaign (on her own), what to post, and how to select better targeting. As a result, she slashed her ad costs from $20,000/month to $5,000/month.
Without doing anything else differently, she was able to profit $15,000/month.
Doing the wrong thing on the right platform is costly. This is what the majority do. They follow an influencer or a marketing guru, they follow their “rules” and then they end up not getting the results that were promised.
The reason it doesn’t work is because the influencer or marketing guru has a different target market, spends more money on advertising, has a more established social media reputation, and has access to partners who will happily promote them.
Follow marketing gurus and influencers at your own risk.
Common Characteristics Of Social Media Posts That Make No Money
  1. Too many stock photos
  2. Perfectly shot photos of people on the beach with their laptop
  3. Generic questions asked in an attempt to “boost engagement”
  4. Lots of branded content
  5. No videos or photos of the person running the page
  6. Too many quotes
  7. Inconsistent posting
  8. No engagement with followers
  9. Too many topics covered
  10. Unclear business message
What I'm going to share with you in this book is stuff that I've used in my own business as well as what I've assisted other entrepreneurs and small business owners use in their business.
These strategies work online as well as offline. You will see some similarities, or things that you can take from social media and use offline or take from offline and apply it to social media.
Both work hand-in-hand.
The Difference Between A Social Media Strategist And A Social Media Manager
We need to address the elephant in the room.
 I get asked this question all the time when I tell people what I do. People think I am in my office all day posting social media content for businesses.
That’s not an accurate description of what I do. So let’s break down the differences so you get a clear understanding.
A Social Media Manager, by definition, manages your social media pages. They interact with your audience on your behalf. They comment on your followers’ posts. They are basically people who boost engagement.
A social media manager’s main job is to increase your followers organically and post the content you create. That’s it. They are acting on your behalf to save you time.
A Social Media Strategist, by definition, shows you a strategy to achieve your business goals using social media. They do a ton of market research on your target audience and use that information to create a specific social media campaign for your business.
A social media strategist’s main job is to get you leads so you can boost your business. That’s it. They do not post the content, but they may create the content for you to save you time. Depends on the services that strategist offers.
If you already have content and just need someone to post it on your social media pages, or you don’t have the time to get on social media every day and you need someone to do it for you, then you need a Social Media Manager.
If you need to know what to do on which platform in order to attract your ideal client using social media or you have a specific goal you would like to achieve using social media, then you need a Social Media Strategist.
What’s Your Motivation?
Before we get into the actions you need to take, you might want to get out some pen and paper. We're going to do a quick little exercise, because I want to tap into your why.
What's your why? Why do you want a business? Why are you trying to make this business grow?
I always do this with my clients because this entrepreneurial journey is tough! I can speak firsthand to that. If you don't have a strong enough why, you will not move forward, you will give up, and you may give up too soon when you were super close to a win.
I don't want you to fall prey to that. Take a quick second and answer these questions:
Three months from now, I will earn ___________________.
I will earn this amount because ____________________________________________________________________________.
I commit to ________________, ______________________, and ___________________ in order to achieve my goal income.
I want you to keep the answers above handy. Keep them around you, because, let me tell you, you will find obstacle. Well, actually, you won't find them, they will find you.
There will be several obstacles for you to overcome on your journey. And it's constant. It never stops. I don't care whatever success you're looking for, there are more obstacles on the other side of that. So keep these answers front and center so that you can stay focused when things get tough.
About Me
“I’m so thankful I had a childhood before technology took over.” -Unknown
I'm going to send you back, waaay back in time when this grown woman was a little six-year-old girl in the first grade.
My first series of novels that I read were the Babysitters Club. The series was about these 4  best friends who started a babysitting business. And I was just so intrigued by that. I thought, oh my gosh, that is my calling. That is what I'm going to do. I am going to have a babysitting club business. But I’ve got to wait until I'm in the eighth grade. Right now, I'm six years old. What kind of business should I do now, I would ask myself.
I knew that a kid that lived down the street from me, delivered newspapers.
I remember asking my mom if I could deliver newspapers like the kid down the street. Without even a second to think, my mom said no because “that's a boy's job.” As a sidenote: there were also a few child kidnappings that had happened in my small town that made her leery too.
Through my search, I was able to find one business that my mom could not say no to: BeautiControl Consultant. If you know Avon or Mary Kay, you may know what BeautiControl is, because it's very similar.
They do make up, they do facial cleansers, and all that good stuff. I remember I gathered up my $100, which was my birthday money and part of my allowance. I scraped it all together to get a starter kit. My first customer was one of my aunts. She bought a moisturizer from me.
It was the first $12 I’d ever earned on my own.
I didn't do BeautiControl for very long, though. But I knew I was meant to be in business for myself because I was already looking for business opportunities at six years old! Now if we fast forward a little while, I have gone through high school, I've gone through college. I lived in South Korea for a year teaching English as a Second Language, and then I came back to Texas, and I was a teacher. So let’s just fast forward 20 or so years after earning that first $12 on my own.
It was around this time, in 2008, I was done with teaching. I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. But I didn’t know what my next move would be. But I knew for sure, it was not teaching.
And so I started looking for business opportunities online. Three days into my search, I became intrigued by a young lady who said she was a business coach. I bought some of her online programs, I read her blog, I commented on her blog, I did some more online research, and then I joined her mastermind.
This business coach advised me that I could have an online business sharing my gifts and passion. (Vague, I know! But I was so eager to jump at the possibility that I didn’t let logic enter in my mind!)
She was like, "All you need is a blog! You already have a powerful voice, you can just write, and you'll make six figures."
And so I followed her instructions. I started my blog. I would work at my school from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and then I would go home and be in front of the computer from 6:00 PM to midnight.
I did this every single day for over a month. I was determined to make this business a success.
After about the first 40 days of doing this, I looked at the analytics. I’d been blogging like a mad woman for over a month and I wondered how many people have come to my website, because I haven't seen anything in my PayPal account.
I knew something was wrong because the equation was blog and BOOM, make six figures.
When I didn’t see anything in my PayPal account, I went to the analytics. I go to the analytics and I saw that only two people had come to my website. Do you know who those two people were? Me and my mama!
 That was not okay because the two of us were not going to help me make the six figures that I wanted.
I quickly learned that this big-time guru/business coach I chose to follow was leaving some important elements out of this “blog and make six figures” equation.
There was more to making money online and I had to figure it out on my own. It took me a long while, a lot of trial and error, lots of money spent, lots of time wasted, but once I figured it out, I started making money.
It started off by getting organic traffic to my website and then getting that traffic to get on my email list. I did that by applying all the SEO tactics I’d learned while reading sites like Copyblogger and ProBlogger. Using the tactics I learned from those websites, I ended up making $50 a day.
This was all free traffic because it was all about using the right keywords and backlinking strategies. I then stumbled upon advertising through Google Adwords, Facebook ads, banner ads, mobile ads, in-app ads. As a result, I started making $100+ a day.
And then, 3 years later, I was able to quit my teaching job.
You can actually shorten your learning curve by just listening to what I'm telling you in this book. Unlike my first business coach, I won’t be holding anything back.
I know what that feels like when someone gives you only part of the plan and then looks at you like you’re crazy for not making money.  This book is all about giving you the whole enchilada, so that way you can start getting leads and you can start making sales really quickly.
So without further adieu, let's get into the social media strategies that will get you more leads in the next ninety days.









Shay Banks helps entrepreneurs get more leads and sales with social media. If you’re not filling your pipeline with new leads, Shay can show you how to use your social media pages to do just that. Get more leads now by grabbing your free social media toolkit at: www.shaybanks.com.

 





http://www.pumpupyourbook.com
 
Read More »

Thursday, April 2, 2020

WHISPERS ON A STRING by Kathleen Stone


We're thrilled to kick off the virtual book tour for WHISPERS ON A STRING by contemporary lit author Kathleen Stone. Scroll down to find out how you can pick up your copy!

WHISPERS ON A STRING
By Kathleen Stone
Contemporary Lit

What happens when your soul is bound to another before you were ever born? Lonny and Roo have been best friends since they met in high school in 1975 at the age of fourteen. Same last name, same birthdate, they were attached at the hip; rarely was one seen without the other. Together they navigate through their emotional high school years, but nothing prepares the naive teenagers for the real world ahead of them. Now on the cusp of their fiftieth birthday, Lonny finds Roo broke and alone and convinces her to leave with him on a cross country road trip from New York to Las Vegas, hoping to set her on a new path in life. Told exclusively by Roo, follow the friends back and forth through their unique relationship — experience the loss of innocence, career and life choices that separate and unite them, and unspeakable events that nearly destroy them. It’s a love only they understand, as well as the unbreakable bond that forever ties them together. Is it possible they are only capable of loving each other?

Amazon → https://amzn.to/329vHMV

 

 
 



 2011

    It was the kind of headache you get when you've been out in the sun all day... the heat emanating off your skull and the dull throbbing of drums that causes your stomach to go all queasy. I could hear the buzzer for my apartment going off, then my phone started ringing. I could barely focus my eyes as I poked my head out from under the covers to see it was my friend Lonny trying to video chat with me. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, so I ignored it. Then the buzzing from outside and my phone ringing started all over again. I decided that whoever was buzzing my apartment could only be bad news, so I answered my phone instead.
    “Hey Rooster,” Lonny said with his crooked toothed smile, his eyes hidden behind a pair of aviator sunglasses.
    “Lonny,” I groaned, barely opening my eyes. “What time is it?”
    “Seven o’clock.”
    I wanted to strangle him. He rarely woke up before nine in the morning… why was he calling me at seven?
    I could hear the buzzing to my apartment door continuing in the background and knew it was bad news. Everything was bad news lately.
    “Come on Rooster, wake up. I have a surprise for you.”
    I opened one eye to look at Lonny smiling at me from my phone. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
    “I’m standing outside your door. Don’t you hear me buzzing to get in?”
    I jumped out of bed and grabbed my head, the throbbing so intense it was as if someone hit me with a hammer. I stumbled to the door and buzzed Lonny into the building, then began searching blindly for some clothes. I managed to throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before he tapped on my apartment door.
    I opened the door to see my best friend standing in front of me, wondering how he managed to get to New York from California without telling me. I put on a smile and pulled him into my arms, hugging him as tightly as I could.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked as I finally pulled away.
    “I’m picking up a car for my daughter,” he chuckled, sitting on a kitchen chair. “And driving it back to Vegas for her.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
    “I wanted to surprise you. Surprise!”
    I searched in the cabinet over the kitchen sink for a bottle of aspirin, dumping four into my hand and swallowing them down with water from the tap. I wasn’t in the frame of mind to explain things to Lonny, and I could already see he was quickly figuring out that I hadn’t been completely honest with him the last couple months.
    “What’s going on, Roo? The shop downstairs is closed up, your apartment is nearly empty—”
    “Lonny please,” I begged. “I can’t do this right now.”
    “You look like shit,” he said, standing. He opened the door to the refrigerator, but made no comment about seeing that it was practically empty. Instead he smiled and said, “Let’s get some breakfast. I’m starving.”

1975

    I met Lonny Winter when we were both fourteen and just starting high school. We seemed to be shoved together at every opportunity, not only having the same last name, but the same birthdate as well. Our names were bound together, attached at the hip, from the day we met, standing in line to get our yearbook photos taken. I giggled as his name was called when it was his turn… Leonard Winter! He turned and glared at me; I was so painfully shy I immediately regretted it. I could feel my face burning as the redness took over.
    He was the most beautiful boy I’d ever seen.
    Lonny was still in the room when they called my name… Ruby Winter! I could hear him cackling like a kid who just heard the funniest joke of his lifetime. I deserved it, I knew, but it was hard to ignore him. I was so embarrassed, I wanted to run home and crawl into my bed. Instead I joined my friend Molly and some of her girlfriends, and we walked uptown to get something to eat when we were finished.
    When we walked into McDonald’s, Lonny was already there with a group of his friends. I wanted to die. I told my friends I needed to head home and walked out. They were used to my odd, shy disappearances so never questioned me. I didn’t realize Lonny was right behind me on his bicycle.
    “Where you going?” he asked.
    “Home.”
    “Why?”
    “I have to.”
    I was so embarrassed by this cute boy that I just wanted him to go away. I almost started to cry. My heart thundered in my chest as I wondered if that’s what it felt like to be in love. I was fourteen… what did I know about love?
    “Ruby.” He continued to speak as he rode his bicycle slowly beside me. “Sounds like an old lady name.”
    I stopped walking and glared at him with my eyes burning. “Leonard!” I hissed. “That’s my grandpa’s name!”
    He stopped riding his bike and put his feet on the sidewalk. We stared at each other silently for what seemed like hours to me. All of a sudden we both started giggling, which turned into hysterical laughter. It was that moment the spirits aligned to bring us together. The moment we became the Winter twins; looking nothing alike but having everyone convinced we were siblings living in different houses. The very moment I became Roo… but only to him. He was the only one I ever allowed to call me that; the only one who would ever get away with it. When he was feeling particularly funny he called me Rooster, which he knew I hated. He claimed it was a combination of my name and my auburn hair, and it became a term of endearment between us.

2011

    I plopped myself into the booth across from Lonny in the diner a couple blocks away from my apartment. I never understood why he loved it so much; to me it was just another greasy spoon, but I obliged him whenever he was in town. He smiled as the waitress came to our table, ordering coffee for both of us. I stared at my menu, not really reading anything, all the words just a jumble of letters taunting me.
    The waitress brought our coffee and I was still staring blankly at my menu. I could hear Lonny speaking; he knew me better than anyone and ordered my breakfast for me — two eggs sunny side up, english muffin, a side of bacon, hash browns, and a small orange juice. He gave the menus back to the waitress and after she walked away, I finally looked up at him. He was grinning at me. I couldn’t help but smile back.
    “Come on, Roo,” he said, poking my hand with his finger. “What’s going on?”
    “Billy left me,” I managed to croak.
    “Left? When?”
    “Two months ago. The divorce was final yesterday.”
    I could tell he wanted to scold me for not telling him, but he didn’t. “We talk twice a week… why wouldn’t you tell me?”
    The throbbing in my head continued as I tried to answer my friend without bursting into tears. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, hoping for some relief, but none came.
    “I was too ashamed.”
    “Rooster,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
    I went on to explain how my husband of nearly 30 years was having an affair with one of the young tattoo artists in our shop, right under my nose. Eight weeks earlier he closed up the shop, left me, and took her to Arizona to start a new life.
    “I’m behind on the rent. I’ve been selling everything he left behind, everything I own, hoping to go back home.” I spoke just above a whisper. “I have nothing left.”
    The waitress deposited our food plates in front of us and I dug in, unable to remember the last time I had a decent meal. I tried not to look like a homeless person Lonny had pulled in off the street, but I was so hungry.

1979

    Lonny was on the short side for a teenage boy when I met him, but had a growth spurt between sophomore and junior year that brought him to about five foot eight. I always seemed to be two inches shorter than Lonny at any given time. He was always skinny, always funny, always pretty quiet and shy. Most of the girls at school thought he was a silly twerp, but he wasn’t too keen on high school girls anyway. He despised their giggling and screeching, and he really hated the way they seemed to stab each other in the back at the flip of a coin.
    Lonny preferred music over anything. He was a genius on the guitar and would rather spend his time away from school playing or writing music. He was never comfortable playing in front of anyone, so he never joined a band or played for an audience. He was perfectly happy playing in his room or for his friends and mother, but that was it.
    Until senior year, when Billy Downey transferred to our school. Billy and I hit it off immediately when we met in English class his first day, and started dating that weekend. Lonny let me know right away that there was something about Billy he didn’t trust. I knew Billy loved to embellish the truth a bit, but didn’t see that as a reason not to date him.
    Right before graduation there was a student talent show put on by the seniors, and Billy, who claimed to be the greatest guitar player our school would ever see, signed up to perform. Lonny and I snuck into the theater after school one day when they were having rehearsals and Billy’s guitar playing was abysmal at best.
    As we tried to sneak back out of the theater, Ms. Cooke, the choir director, caught us and threatened to assign us detention the following day. Lonny stared at the ground, kicking at imaginary rocks with his foot as I tried to think of something to say. He finally looked up at her and asked, “Got any open spots for the talent show?”
    Ms. Cooke’s face lit up like a neon sign, a smile spreading over her face so large it was almost clownish. “I’ll see you at rehearsal tomorrow, Mr. Winter,” she replied.
    “Nope. Tell me what time I’m going on. I’ll be there.”
    Ms. Cooke wrinkled her nose, but for some reason, chose not to argue with him.
    Word spread quickly that Lonny was going to be doing something in the talent show. Rumors ranged from magic to gymnastics to juggling bowling pins set on fire. I sat in the theater’s front row watching the different talent acts perform, impressed by what our student body could do. Even Billy sounded better during his actual performance than he did at rehearsal, but he had no idea what was to come. Ms. Cooke added Lonny at the very end of the show, and introduced him as the last act of the evening. I held my breath.
    Lonny walked onstage carrying his electric guitar and a small amp. He looked directly at me and winked, then closed his eyes and let his fingers do the talking. He played that guitar like a man who had been doing it for three lifetimes. He played a medley of genres covering blues, pop and rock. The intensity on his face as he played brought tears to my eyes. I could hear the gasps all around me as people were realizing what a talent goofy Lonny really was.
    It was because of his unexpected performance that evening I eventually lost him.

2011

    I looked up at Lonny when I finished eating every morsel on my plate, and he was holding a piece of toast with butter and grape jelly close to his lips. He hadn’t even taken a bite of his breakfast, but I was already finished with mine. He grinned, the mischievous grin I knew so well. His grin quickly turned into his famous crooked-toothed smile that I adored our entire existence together. I wiped my mouth with a napkin and leaned back, crossing my arms in front of me.
    It had been almost a year since I saw him last, on our forty-ninth birthday. Even though we talked at least twice a week, we only saw each other once a year on our birthday. It was something we had always promised we would continue, no matter what the circumstances were in our lives.
    Even though he hated people gawking at him, Lonny was good at the staring game. I watched his face intently as he ate his breakfast, not a word spoken between us. He never broke eye contact; it was a game he always liked to play with me, ever since we met. Whoever laughed first, lost.
    Lonny had beautiful brown eyes that were more copper than anything else, but when the sun hit them, they almost looked gold. He had the kind of eyes that drooped on the outside edges and when he laughed, his eyes almost completely disappeared. I loved it when he laughed. He had dimples in both cheeks and his teeth were far from perfect, but they were perfect for him.            The day I met Lonny, he had short brown hair with awesomely crooked bangs that rested about an inch above his eyebrows — something he blamed on his mother, who insisted on cutting his hair. She agreed, however, once he got into high school she would leave his hair alone and I don’t think he had it cut once while we were there. He was one of those guys who grew into his look when he let his hair grow; he fancied the shaggy look with the feathered layers that went off to the side, his bangs long enough that he could have them or not, depending on his mood.
    I sat staring at Lonny and he stared right back at me, never flinching. At that moment I just wanted to see his eyes light up the way they did when he was about to laugh. For a guy so close to his fiftieth birthday, he didn’t look a day over thirty. The only telltale signs were a few laugh lines by his eyes and a few strands of gray hair, but even that was barely noticeable. People had said the same about me, but I never believed them. And this day, sitting in the diner playing the staring game with Lonny, I felt about eighty.
    I opened my mouth to speak but Lonny wagged his finger at me. I had forgotten the staring game rules… no talking. He winked, continuing to eat his breakfast. I knew I would win this round, as I was so depressed and without hope that I couldn’t imagine breaking into laughter. I was suddenly overwhelmed by feelings of dread, my chest getting tight and my head about to explode. I don’t know what I looked like, but it was severe enough to get Lonny to break his own staring game rules.
    “Hey,” he whispered, “it’s going to be all right.”
    He put down his fork and wiped his hands, then slid into the booth next to me, pulling me into his arms and letting me sob against his chest.







Kathleen Stone has been a freelance writer since 1999 and now writes full time. Her work has appeared in Doll World Magazine, Apolloslyre.com, The Lake County Journals, Trails.com; USA Today (travel), Livestrong.com (lifestyle), Essortment, eHow, Answerbag, Examiner.com, Suite101 and YahooVoices. She is the author of Whispers On A String and the Head Case Rock Novel Series, which includes Head Case and its sequels, Whiplash and Haven. She also has short stories published in the Secrets: Fact or Fiction I & II anthologies.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website:  http://www.kathleenstone.org
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/kstonewriter
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/kathleenstonewriter

 

http://www.pumpupyourbook.com
 
Read More »