The Art of Apologizing Or Being a Better Person: Step One

Recently, I met someone that has made me want to be a better person. And not because he asked me to, but because I want to. This man is the most caring person, where I have been callous and calculating. Even if our paths part ways, I hope to remain amicable, and I hope to serve my memory of him with happy nostalgia. 

In my past and present, I have held grudges to be stubborn and to protect my heart. I spurned and spited people who did me wrong through even the slightest or silliest offense. Years this has lasted. So I am starting my bettering by apologizing to those that I have let eat at my soul and close my heart.

Some I can do face-to-face but living so far from everyone is hard, even harder is contacting those that I haven't spoken to in years. In these cases, I am using facebook. (Yes, I am too chicken to use the phone.)

1. Jen
2. Cody
3. Kim
4. Roman
5. Gabby
6. Lamie
7. Alpana
8. Michie

Many of these letters are sudden and out-of-the-blue so I do explain why I have waited so long (basically my thoughts above and being a dumb kid) and I close, not with hope of acceptance or forgiveness, but with hope for friendship in any degree. 

The thing about apologizing is that it will impact people differently. Some I recieved no response from while others were very happy I had reached out. And still others had a mixed reactions and weren't sure how to feel. But the biggest thing is that it opened a dialogue with people and, hopefully, is a step in the right direction for them and for me..

 

Next comes something easier: a list of thanks. A few I have already started on like Lauren, who took me into her family one Thanksgiving. Another is Junette, who gave me a place to live when I had none.

And, when I have thanked those that I need to, I will move on to letters of admiration. These are people I have looked up to or wished to be friends with, but I never had the courage to tell them that they were inspiring. 

I know I'll miss many people and have to add to these lists as I grow. And I look forward to writing to them too. 

How to Promote Your Facebook Fan Page by Irene Helenowski

Irene Helenowski's book has just come out and yet she has over 14,000 likes on her Facebook fanpage! How did she do it? Learn from her guest post below:

 

Promoting my book through Facebook has been a challenging experience and one that I am still learning about. When I first created my Facebook page, I discovered that I could get more likes if I promoted the page for a fee. This action did contribute to the majority of likes, but it did not lead to potential buyers.

In the beginning, I mainly posted positive reviews and science-oriented posts. I also hired a publicist named Jessi, and she has generated about 2000 more likes for me. At first, she also put up mostly science-related posts per my instructions, but over time, I gave her free-range on what to post. I must admit I became apprehensive about having someone post topics unrelated to the book, but then I noticed that interactions on the page were increasing.

Another way to increase likes is to bring up some controversial debates related to immigration, child rearing, and even the legalization of marijuana. Such debates are sure to bring out some interesting viewpoints on both sides from different readers. Jessi has also come up with more lighthearted ways to bring up interactions though such as finding hidden animals in pictures.

Will such ideas lead to increased book sales? I hope so but only time will tell. I myself have never read as many books before as when I began writing. And most of the books I am reading at the moment are books that I have found on other authors' Facebook and Twitter pages. I only hope that a handful of them might still return the favor and look into mine.
 

About Order of Dimensions:

When Jane Kremowski first began her graduate studies in physics at Madison State University in Wisconsin, little did she know where her work would take her. Now, she is embroiled in a multitude of dimensions all leading to different outcomes. She and her colleagues therefore must act wisely in order to take and keep away the Order of Dimension from falling into the wrong hands for the sake of her loved ones.

Buy the book at Lulu or Amazon!

 

About the Author:

Irene Helenowski is a biostatistician at an academic medical center in Chicago and recently received her doctorate in biostatistics. She also enjoys going to movies and concerts in her spare time.

 

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: Another New Life by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle

Publication Date: June 2, 2014

New Adult Contemporary Romance

Cover Design by: © Arijana Karčić, Cover It! Designs

Miranda Preston is a walking contradiction. Beautiful on the outside, but, insecure, haunted and damaged on the inside. Despite these contradictions, she’s ready to start Another New Life. When her talent wins her a piano scholarship to the University of Texas at Austin, Miranda arrives on campus determined to experience everything college has to offer and to keep her secrets in the past where they belong. An easy task, until the first guy who catches her eye happens to be someone, she’s known all her life. Eight years have passed since the last time Miranda and Troy saw each other. He reminds her of the best and worst times of her life, but she can’t think about one without dwelling on the other. As they grow closer, every day their attraction reminds them they are no longer kids. The epic romantic love story that is Miranda and Troy seems to be destined for a happy ending, but Miranda knows it's only a matter of time before her secret is discovered. A secret that will not only destroy their relationship, it will destroy Troy, too. Can Miranda focus on her future with Troy while preventing her past from tearing them apart all over again?

Giveaway

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About The Author

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   Sydney Aaliyah Michelle is a New Adult Contemporary Romance writer, a voracious reader and movie fanatic who  Sydney has been blogging at sydneyaaliyah.com for three years, where she interviews people about their tattoos, discusses her favorite movie quotes, reviews books (New Adult & only the ones she loves) and journals about her writing and editing process.hailsfrom Texas. After surviving 5 1/2 years living in China, she had the courage to finally pursue her passion and become a writer. Sydney’s self-published debut New Adult Novel Another New Life will be available June 2014. An active tweeter, she is also a JuNoWriMo (2x) and NaNoWriMo (2x) winners who notes the sci-fi action flick “The Matrix” as the best representation of her life in the past. She is blessed to be awake now and doing what she loves.

Body Changes in Your 20's: Dietary Restrictions

I can make and eat these at least

Apparently, your body does not stop changing once you've gotten out of puberty. Today, I'm talking about food allergies and dietary restrictions. Since I moved to Hawaii, I have had the opportunity to try an array of new foods, and (more often) I am finding that certain comfort foods are no longer edible.

How I eel about bananas and milk

Lactose Intolerant: I used to eat cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now my stomach bloats when I drink milk and I get indigestion sizzling in my throat. My stomach hurts as thousands of bubbles build up and expand. The upside is I can still eat some cheese and chocolate as long as it isn't too much or too heavy in dairy. (I expect this will not be the truth as I get older and more intolerant.)

Latex Allergy: I became increasingly aware that my lady parts burned after sex. I should've seen this coming. Just a few years ago, my feet broke into rashes after wearing plastic/latex sandals and went away once I switched to leather or cloth sandals. At the advice of my sister, I tried non-latex condoms and it was like angels flooded my vajay.

The thing I didn't know about the latex allergy is that, as it gets worse, the body starts to react to non-latex foods that have the same protein as latex. It's some cross-reaction that kills my stomach and makes it burn when I eat:

• Bananas
• Avocados
• Papaya

Also on the cross-reactive foods list are:

• Kiwi
• Watermelon and other melons
• Apple
• Potato
• Chestnut
• Celery
• Carrot
• Tomato
• And many more...

This is not the worst of it though. With these foods, I get stomach aches sometimes or itching in my mouth. Nuts: Being allergic to the pollen in trees and their sap and their everything is not enough apparently. I will break out into rashes and get itchy all over. My eyes water and I sneeze so much I piss myself sometimes. Gross, but honest. Still, if I ingest a tree nut (including coconut), I am likely to asphyxiate.

Damn you body! For once in my life, I'm trying to eat healthy and I have access to cheap (and many times free!) organic food!

I would love help, if anyone can offer advice.