By the time I finished my latest Productive Learning & Leisure class, “Productive Communication,” the floor was wet with all the bubbles burst by co-founder Rick Itzkowich.
I’m a writer and a public speaker – of course I’m a fantastic communicator! Aren’t I?
The definition of communication, according to dictionary.com,… Read more   

I meant to start this article earlier, but I was too busy on my Facebook page taking The Ultimate Grammar Quiz. (If you have a Facebook account, click here… Read more    to take the quiz.)
Got an A+! Yes! Not a surprise, considering my friends call on me to proofread everything from

Nine seconds. NINE seconds? I just read that studies show a writer has a measly nine… Read more    seconds to reel in a reader. Have I caught your attention or did I lose you? This is a lot of pressure!
“Back in the day,” as we old people like to say (at

New Year’s Resolutions… Read more   —Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you simply cannot escape them!
Personally, January 1st has always given me a thrill. I get a sort of “back-to-school” feeling and enjoy the whole mentality that, “The holidays are over, so let’s crack open a new notebook, sharpen a new #2

When I was in high school and had aspirations of being a famous journalist (if the whole becoming a famous actress thing didn’t work out, that is), I remember my English teacher telling us to “Write what you know.”
Hmmm…as a 15-year-old who had not yet had a boyfriend, held… Read more   

“Gratitude” wrote William Faulkner, “is a quality similar to electricity
—it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.”… Read more   
This Thursday, from coast to coast, Americans will be gathering with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. And while the focus for many

“The surly bird catches the germ!” proclaims a sign posted in my doctor’s office, which brought a smile to this perpetually positive person’s puss.
Studies abound that prove the benefits of positivity in the mind/body connection. According to the Women’s Health Initiative, a clinical trial of more than 161,000 healthy… Read more   

If you happen to be British, a diversion is, a detour on a highway or road. In military terms, the definition is, a feint intended to draw off attention from the point of main attack. According to dictionary.com, a diversion is, the act of diverting or turning aside, … Read more   

Contrary to popular belief, success in any business, including the book industry, is not who you know, but rather how well you know them—as any expert BNI… Read more    networker will tell you. Your success as a writer will grow exponentially as you grow your relationships with others in the book industry.

It’s generally accepted we are driven by the avoidance of pain or the reward of pleasure.I want to lose weight, but I’m not nearly as driven by the potential health benefits of losing 10 pounds as I am to the immediate pleasure of sinking my teeth into the peanut butter… Read more