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Finding Emma

Channeling Mr. Rogers …

June 12, 2012 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

Photo credit – Wikipedia

It’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood, a beautiful day for a neighbour, would you be mine, could you be mine … *channeling Mr. Rogers* … and there’s a lot of blog-hopping going on today, which always guarantees a great time!

For some reason, I’ve been humming the theme song from  the Mr. Rogers show all day. But … hey … his show was all about friendship and that’s what I’m talking about with my friend Jess today.  I must be having some sort of psychic connection with Fred … goodness knows I watched at least a zillion of his shows when our children were small!

I’m hanging out at the Happiness Project with the fabulous Jess Witkins, a young woman with the most brilliant smile and a sunny attitude to match. How could you not want to rush over to a blog with that handle?

As well as spreading happiness, Jess is working on her first novel and we are all following her progress with great anticipation. Write on, Jess!

She’s been telling me recently about her fabulous book club and we got talking about friendship and  … well … click right here and hop on over to join our chat. You know I’m all about friendship! We would love to hear from you AND THERE’S A GIVEAWAY INVOLVED. See you there!

To make the day even better, best-selling author and dear friend, Steena Holmes … (um, she’s a bit on the shy side … could her photo be any smaller? Steena, we have to talk!)

Anyway, the awesome and talented Steena is here to share her exciting news! Her latest novel, “Finding Emma” has just won the 2012 Indie Excellence Award in the Fiction category. It’s a gripping, emotional story which I was privileged to read and review just as it was published and it is most worthy of all the kudos being received.

Along with that, Steena is contributing a portion of the proceeds from sales to the Missing Children Society of Canada.

If you haven’t read it yet, here’s the Amazon link. BUT WE ARE ALSO GIVING AWAY AN E-COPY HERE! Woohoo!

Steena has an amazing blog tour in progress, hosted by Women On Writing, and you can find a list of all of her stops on her website as well as details about a Scavenger Hunt … seriously!  Honestly, this woman is creative!  She has written some terrific posts that truly hit home about parenting … and the subject of chocolate does come up from time to time as well!

Just leave a comment below this post and then click here to go to Steena’s blog to leave a comment after you read her excellent post about her thoughts on winning an award. We will employ our highly scientific method of putting all the names in a hat and having my DH pick out the winner!

Ahem, pardon me for nudging Steena just a little to the side of the spotlight for a second to share the news that The Bridge Club was a Finalist in the Women’s Issues category for the 2012 Indie Excellence Awards. It was fun to find both of us there when they sent out the list of Winners and Finalists. Yay, us!

I know you are going to enjoy getting to know these two fine friends of mine. In the author/blogger community we often pop around to each other’s sites. It’s the cyber equivalent of meeting up at the local coffee emporium, martini bar, or chocolateria. Where do you like to hang out with your friends? 

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Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, 2012 Indie Excellence Book Awards, Finding Emma, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, Fred Rogers, friendship, Happiness Project, honesty between friends, Jess Witkins, lifelong friendship, Missing Children Society of Canada, Mr. Rogers, Patricia Sands, scavenger hunt, Steena Holmes, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, the value of laughter, Toronto, Women, Women On Writing, writing

Spring has sprung! And other good things …

March 20, 2012 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

Really? It’s Tuesday again? Already? I was hoping Daylight Saving Time would fool me into thinking I had more time for everything. Just. Not. Happening.

Never mind! It’s the first day of spring and that’s always good news.

Before I introduce today’s guest, website founder Kathy Scott, (already known by many of you, I’m sure) here are two important quick bits of info.

First, Calgary author Steena Holmes’ gripping novel Finding Emma has just been released on Amazon. Hurry on over to order your copy! Proceeds are being donated to the Missing Children’s Society of Canada.

Second, the guest speaker at our monthly Writers & Editors Network meeting on Saturday was Ian Hamilton, author of the hot new Ava Lee thriller series. This looks like the next big thing in the mystery/detective genre and Hamilton’s personal story is a good one so click on the link and check out his website.

OMG! I just noticed my good friend Bridgette Booth has invited me to her blog for a fab brunch today. I thought it was tomorrow! See what I mean? WAY too much going on here … but it’s all good, good, good! So when you finish up here, please pop on over to Bridgette’s blog and join us. If the party is with Bridgette, you are guaranteed it’s going to be fun, delicious, and full of surprises – whatever it is! See you there!

And now … heeeeeeeeeere’s Kathy!

Kathy Scott is the award-winning creator of Me and My 1000 Girlfriends, That’s Who! and the Women’s Party of America. She has published more than 100 articles in various business magazines and newspapers. Her focus on women’s issues has earned her accolades from many organizations and she is currently working with Moms Clean Air Force, advocating limits on poisonous chemicals released by coal and power plants.

Kathy has spent the past two decades working in public relations and marketing and, as well as maintaining her very active website, presently serves as head of public relations and social media strategist for a B2B media company. She is a member of the Atlanta Press Club and has served on the boards of several local charities.

Kathy, welcome! Would you tell our readers how the idea developed for this website? I think it’s a great story and demonstrates how you found an innovative solution to a problem which in turn became a site that is helpful for everyone.

I was on the board of a local botanical garden, which at the time had 5 members, and was asked to head up their fundraising and membership efforts. As I began building membership levels and crafting fundraising programs, the man that oversaw the gardens would get irate and send me emails like, “Adhere to the chain of command.” He was a bully and he had the ear and support of the local city councilman that oversaw the property (which was owned by the city).

I started an email campaign and noticed that my sorority sisters and girlfriends were always willing to send emails and post info. I thought about the concept and created a Facebook page where women could post issues of concern, stories, petitions, etc.

The year we started, teachers in Florida were under fire and a movement by government wanted to tie their salaries to children’s grades, which would have hurt the kids. We got involved and provided information. The governor later vetoed the bill. One GIRLFRIEND posted, ‘we need to tie the politician’s salaries to performance of their district.’ I loved that.

I recall you telling me that the “bully” at one point challenged you asking “You and who else?” when you said you would continue to defend your position and that’s how the name of your website came to be. I love that story!

The number of followers of the website is growing rapidly. What has been the most difficult aspect of building such a powerful voice for women?

Not all women want a voice. Even with the recent issue of Rush Limbaugh’s comments, some women were posting praise for him. Other times, women really go after vocal women like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachman. I don’t agree with either of their politics, but when Bachman won the Iowa straw poll, that was a big deal for women. In fact, one of my favorite quotes by Maureen Reagan is, “I will feel equality has arrived when we can elect to office women who are as incompetent as some of the men who are already there.”

Also, women who are powerful politically follow the party line. For the Women’s Party of America, our motto is: Women First. Party Second.

What are your goals for the future of this site?

I would like to add more interaction to the website and get more involved with other organizations.

I am also working on starting a non-profit called ‘1-3 Just for Me.’ The idea is to try to get girls to spend the first 13 years working on themselves. So many have boyfriends in elementary school! I have a daughter and I see how so many judge themselves by the boys who like them.I have encouraged her girl friendships.

My mother was from County Cork, Ireland and my grandmother was French Canadian and German. I come from a long line of strong women who speak their mind. You can’t control your children, but you can let them know where you stand, and I think that’s important for them. I know it was for me.

Thanks for dropping by Kathy, and continued good luck! I always look forward to seeing what issues your website is highlighting. Keep up the great work.

Who has your back? Have you ever mobilized a group of people to fight for a specific issue? How did it go? Take a minute to tell us about it in the comment section below.

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Filed Under: Blog, Social issues Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, advocacy, Atlanta, Ava Lee, Bridgette Booth, Finding Emma, follow your dreams, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, IanHamilton, Kathy Scott, lifelong friendship, Me and My 1000 Girlfriends, Patricia Sands, Steena Holmes, The Bridge Club, Women, women's issues

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