Blog
In our journey toward emotional wellbeing, the way we express our pain matters. We often hear the phrase, “You have to talk about it to heal,” and while that’s true, not all conversations lead to healing. There’s a difference between complaining and seeking to understand, and learning to distinguish the two can open the door to genuine growth and peace.
Complaining often sounds like this:
- “They always do this to me.”
- “Nothing ever works out.”
- “I’m just so done with everything.”
While these...
Healing the Heart: The Power of Naming Our Pain and Speaking Our Healing
When we carry emotional wounds—grief, betrayal, fear, or shame—our instinct is often to stay silent. We may fear judgment, feel overwhelmed, or worry that revisiting the pain will make it worse. But science and psychology tell us something different: putting our feelings into words—what researchers call affect labeling—can be a powerful step toward healing.
What Is Affect Labeling?
Affect labeling is the process of...
Think You’re Too Smart to Be Scammed? Think Again.
You might be vigilant, but scammers are cunning. They often exploit our compassion, manipulating loved ones and, by extension, us. Here’s how:
- Unusual Behavior: Has a responsible friend or family member suddenly made questionable financial decisions or become withdrawn?
- Frequent Requests: Are they repeatedly asking for money without clear explanations?
If you’re providing funds under these circumstances, you might be scammed by proxy. While...
Resilience doesn’t always look like a grand comeback or a powerful speech. Sometimes, it’s getting out of bed when the weight of life feels unbearable. It’s sending that one encouraging text to a friend even when you’re struggling yourself. It’s choosing hope—even when it feels like a whisper.
Resilience lives in the small moments:
- Saying “no” to burnout and “yes” to rest.
- Letting yourself cry without apology, knowing strength isn’t the absence of emotion.
- Reaching out when you’d rather...
Books & Beats: A Lifelong Love Affair
There’s a unique magic in the interplay between books and music—a harmony that has shaped my imagination and storytelling since my teenage years.
A Teenage Memory: The Lazy Boy Chronicles
Picture this: a cozy evening with my family gathered around the TV, immersed in a movie. Meanwhile, I was nestled in our well-worn Lazy Boy chair, legs curled up, a novel in hand, and my trusty Walkman delivering tunes through my headphones. In that moment, I was in...
Spring is in full bloom, and so is my creativity!
Lately, I’ve been savoring peaceful mornings—windows open, a warm cup in hand, and a gentle breeze stirring inspiration. While I’ve momentarily paused work on my books, my creative journey is far from idle.
Podcast Launch Preparation: I’m channeling energy into preparing for the launch of my upcoming podcast.
Songwriting: I’ve been crafting new song lyrics, letting melodies and words intertwine in exciting ways.
Editing ‘I Am NOT Your ATM’: I...
Announcement: We are re-branding ahead of the May 31, 2025 podcast launch date. Although I still very much hope to provide a safe space for those who have been scammed to share their stories, as well as their friends/family to share their observations and experiences and professionals to weigh in on how best to help, I have concluded that Voices of the Scammed was too specific a niche to attract the people I hoped to interview.
There are events of our...
Guess whose book is going to be at the SECOND LARGEST International Book Fair in the world? Yes, you guessed it!
I am pleased and a little amazed that representatives from the BIBF reached out to me (twice) about this book which is the first book I have ever published.
Amazing.
My most recent guest spot on a podcast program was with Monica Owsichek and is available by emailing her for access to her private podcast for Highly Sensitive Empaths.
Here are details written by Monica about the episode:
Sometimes, we don’t realize just how much we’ve given away—our energy, our voice, our peace—until it’s almost gone. That’s what struck me most during my recent conversation with Zoey Michaels on this episode of Conversations with Highly Sensitive Empaths.
Zoey didn’t enter...
I found this post as I was perusing Facebook today and wanted to share because these can also be signs that your friend or family member might be under the influence of a scammer. Especially if you have never known your friend to behave in these ways before.
I’m out there on some of the facebook groups that answer questions and alert others to scammers and possible scammers and I really applaud those who came up with this forum to help advise and check each others thinking.
Today, as I prepare for another interview as a guest on a podcast program to share my own experiences, I am thinking about what others are currently experiencing and how my book can help them.
Yesterday I posted the questionnaire designed to help someone who isn’t sure if they...
Excerpt from Breaking Free: How Scammers Manipulate and How to Fight Back
https://youtube.com/shorts/3Evry8vtBNU?si=l3Pay0YORfuMR8kp
Self-Assessment Questionnaire:
Have You Been Scammed?
Instructions: Answer the following questions honestly. If you answer “Yes” to multiple questions, you may have been targeted by a scammer.
Section 1: Identifying the Scam Relationship
1 Did you meet this person online, through social media, a dating app, or a business connection?
• Yes
• No
2 Has this person...
For those who missed the first podcast interview about my latest book designed to help those being scammed and their friends/family to understand what is happening behind the scenes and in their thinking.
Here is the link to that interview.
https://youtu.be/VJAiurysdpg?si=GS74o8j1DMinJlB4
Stay tuned because more interviews are also coming with other podcast programs.
Also, this is to announce that I will soon be launching a new podcast series. Details to come.
I’m not sure if it was something I watched with my family or a rerun of The World of Disney later in life but I remember as a young person being enthralled by an episode of Walt Disney discussing the idea of the plausible impossible. I fell in love with the idea immediately and maybe it was in that moment that my desire to write was born.
As a writer, my happy place is in the world of ideas and taking ideas that may or may not be possible in real life to weave a story. With the changing of...
Dear Reader,
I hope you will enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. For a long time, I’ve had a soft spot for Escape (The Piña Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes—it’s one of my guilty pleasures.
At first, I wrote this story purely for my own entertainment, but as it came together, I realized I couldn’t just keep it to myself. That’s one of the joys of being an indie author—I get to explore different genres and follow wherever inspiration takes me. Since my mind is always brimming...
Chapter 4: The Agreement
Maggie couldn’t breathe.
The moment stretched between them, heavy and sharp-edged, thick with something she couldn’t name but could feel deep in her chest.
Oliver just stared at her, his expression unreadable—except for the flicker of something dark beneath it.
“You,” he said finally, voice low, almost stunned. “It was you.”
Maggie swallowed hard.
“Looks that way.”
Oliver exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair.
“So what?” His voice was tight, controlled. “You were...
Chapter 1: The Distance Between Them
Maggie Bennett used to believe love was meant to be grand—a force that filled rooms, painted the sky, made your heart race with possibility.
That’s what it had been in the beginning. She and Oliver had burned so brightly, drawn to each other like moths to a flame, fueled by late-night talks that stretched until dawn, by road trips with no destination, by the simple thrill of knowing that whatever came next, they’d face it together.
Now, twelve years later,...
In celebration of my new release, The Echoed Mind, premiering today on Amazon.com will be available for an introductory price of 99 cents.
In addition to this book, I am also discounting previous book releases to the same price. This low price is for a limited time, so download your copy of this new release or any of my previous books while the deal lasts.
Although this book is premiering on Amazon.com today, it will soon be available for purchase (at same temporarily discounted rate) on other...