PARENTING BLOG
SUSIE E CARON
MOTHER, TEACHER AND PSYCHOLOGIST RETIRED
WELL, MOTHER'S NEVER RETIRE. RIGHT?
SUSIE E CARON
MOTHER, TEACHER AND PSYCHOLOGIST RETIRED
WELL, MOTHER'S NEVER RETIRE. RIGHT?
 You may be wondering why a psychologist would want to write picture book allegories, or maybe not? Since this is my blog......I feel like sharing anyway. (I hope this isn't too boring.)
I started out as a child.....like we all do... Then I became a teacher......as some do...... Later my husband and I adopted children.......... we didn't have a clue...... I began my entrepreneurial pursuit when I opened a horseback riding school, which I operated for about 10 years. Then I got really sick. So we sold it. Our kids moved on to college and I faced an empty nest. My husband and I moved a few times as we followed his career. I couldn't just sit around. So, after buying a home in north eastern Vermont, I re-entered education as a substitute teacher. I told friends that I essentially taught 'social skills' in study hall. However, that's where I met a teenaged student who reminded me of my long forgotten desire to be a psychologist. This young teen was accompanied by an assortment of teen boys, and he clearly desired and captured lots of attention. He wore many different colors of hair and piercings and more often than not, he got into trouble. I cared about him, but without being sappy. He noticed, but when I offered to talk, he politely but firmly declined and said, "Many have tried and all have failed." I respected his wishes but it bothered me that he felt 'all had failed.' I always liked working with kids and especially those often deemed "difficult " by others. I felt strongly most of them just needed someone to see them, and to connect with the kid inside. I wanted to do that and to be that person. By the end of the school year, I decided to go to graduate school for my Masters in Clinical Psychology. I was 49 & 1/2 years old that summer and my daughter took me to a nearby college to learn how to use a computer and word process. I entered graduate school the following fall. During the next year of school, I often wondered if I was cut out for this field. My answer came the second year while checking out at a supermarket in the college town. Across from me, in the next isle, stood a young man, bagging groceries. He wore regular clothes and a regular hair cut and color. I recognized him the instant he recognized me. However, what happened next was anything but ordinary. The young man stopped bagging. He walked over to the end of the isle where I stood and took my right hand in both of his. In one quiet motion he knelt down on one knee and brought my hand, to his forehead. Then he stood, nodded and went back to his work bagging. The gesture took only a moment in time. Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said. I felt I had just received a gift and I was grateful for him. Perhaps you believe the young man was mocking me. All I can tell you is that others in the store who witnessed his gesture appeared to be struck silent by the feeling of his gentle kindness that permeated the air. I know that I felt it. So why do I write picture book allegories? I do so to connect with the person inside: the child or adult. We all make meaning of what we read or see, out of our own experiences. Allegories allow individuals to think about themselves, to identify with others, and perhaps to experience life in a new way. I hope this story touches you. Most of all, I hope you have a wonderful meaning making day and that someone sees you, the person inside. You can connect with me. Just click on the symbols at the top of this page.  Hi Jo! Welcome to my Blog! My friends are ready to read more, as you tell us a bit about your latest book Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home
Virtual Book Tours are a great way to create a buzz for a new release or to put life back into an older publication. In this book I take you through everything you need to know to be able to set up and carry out a successful virtual book tour. The book is divided into 4 main sections for easy navigation: 1) What is a Virtual Book Tour? 2) How to organize your own tour 3) Promoting a tour 4) Useful resources You'll find it packed with links, tips, and advice to help make your tour a hit. Why do authors need your book? Marketing is part of being a writer. Regardless of how you're published (traditionally or self-published), you will, at some point, need to do some marketing. Virtual book tours are one of the most effective methods of creating a buzz about your book and have numerous benefits. In this book I cover everything you need to know to organise and carry out a virtual book tour. Even if you decide not to do a virtual book tour, you'll still find this book useful as it's packed full of marketing ideas and links to resources. Why did you decide to write a book about virtual book tours? I've done several successful virtual book tours for my own books and have worked with book tour companies and authors for years hosting them on my sites. Over the years I've therefore gained a lot of experience in doing virtual book tour both from the author and host point of view. As I often get asked for advice about doing them from other authors I decided to put all the information together and created Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home What is the first thing you recommend authors do when they decide to organize a virtual book tour? Put together a media kit. In creating a media kit you have all the information regarding your book, you as an author, and your virtual book tour, all in the one place. This makes it a useful reference tool for you, but also a valuable tool you can use during preparations for your tour. It looks professional and creates a good impression. I also makes life easier for your hosts as they have all the information they might need for your post all in the one place. You created the cover art for the book yourself. What was your inspiration for the design? I wanted a cover that was thumbnail friendly as, more often than not, it gets seen online in that format. That meant the text needed to be easy to read and the whole look needed to be clutter free. Too many details or fancy fonts don't look good in thumbnails. I also wanted an image that quickly portrayed what the book was about. I choose the theme "sending your book around the world" and played around with some ideas based on this idea. I'm really pleased with how the cover came out. Why did you choose to self publish using Amazon's KDP program? I've always been very pro self publishing. For me, it's always been my plan A. I choose Amazon because it's the leader in its field. Everyone knows Amazon. Using the site is super easy and through KDP your book can be available to the public in just 12 hours from hitting the publish button. I like that through KDP setting up a free day is easy. It's a great way to spread the word about your book and get readers to take notice. I like that you can update your book information as and when you please and have full control over pricing. They also have one of the best customer services I've come across. If that's not enough, they bought Goodreads earlier this year (one of the top sites for book lovers). You're best know for your best selling children's picture books. Why the change in genre? For me, it's not about thinking outside the box. The box simply doesn't exist. I like to experiment with my writing and although I've had most success as an author and illustrator of children's picture books, I'm always trying out new genres. When I get an idea that gets me excited, like this book about virtual book tours, I go with it. You're a mum to a 5 year old and a 2 year old. How do you find the time for writing and marketing? My kids definitely keep me busy but I've learned to make the most of the time I get. I do most of my writing in the evenings once they've gone to bed. Sometimes my husband will take the kids out for the morning to give me a break and give me a few hours to work on bigger projects. During the day I hop on and off my social media pages to network. I have the apps installed on my phone so I can visit and engage with my contacts even when I'm not near my computer. I use sites like Social Oomph to program some content to post at scheduled times. I do the same for some posts to my Facebook pages. This gives me a constant online presence without needing to actually be online all the time. I also program my blogs ahead of time. When you have young kids anything can happen and so you need to prepare for the unexpected. By having some content programmed in advance I give myself a safety net and so don't need to stress about keeping up with things as much. What's next? I'm currently working on another children picture story book The Bedtime Book, a series of non-fiction books for writers and authors about using social media, and some new collaborations as an illustrator. I like to keep myself busy ;) Where can people find out more about you and your books? On my website www.JoLinsdell.com Anything else you'd like to add? Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home is available to buy at the discounted price of $2.99 for the whole month of September to celebrate its release (normal price $4.99) http://bit.ly/VBTKindle Virtual Book Tour from here: September. 30. http://apiusman.blogspot.com (Guest Post- Writing Non-Fiction) October 1. Kathy Mashburn Newsletter 2. http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com (interview) 3. http://thebusymomsdaily.com (Guest post- Juggling family and career) 7. http://TimeWithTannia.tripod.com (guest post) 14. Blog Talk Radio with Dellani Oakes 10pm CET (Radio Interview) 21.http://artistadonna.blogspot.com (Feature Piece) 26. Google hangout with Claudia Moss 11am EST, 5pm CET (Interview) Thank you for reading this author interview. If you would like to read more about other authors, and if you have a favorite author, especially a children's book author, why not send me a link. I hope to interview one per month. I look forward to hearing from you: contact@susiecaron.com You can also click on the links at the top to join me on facebook, twitter and linkedin.  Here we are again. I just can't get enough of Jo Linsdell. Take a look at some of the reviews of Jo Linsdell's Book Virtual Book Tours!
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have book for any writer's resource shelf! September 6, 2013 By Author Virginia L. Jennings Amazon Verified Purchase I thought I knew everything about Virtual Book Tours until I read this book, I now know so much more! Virtual Book tours are a highly effective way to spread the news about your book, I did one for my own book (The Alien Mind) before I read this book and was amazed at how much more traffic and interaction it brought to my website as well as the boosts in sales and reviews. I can't wait to apply the tips Jo shares in this book to my future book releases and see how much MORE of a boost these tips will bring! I think the next thing I want to try out, which Jo discusses in her book, is a virtual book signing! Jo Linsdell has blown me away with her new book Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From The Comfort of Your Own Home. This is seriously a book that EVERY author promoting any book absolutely NEEDS to read. You will not be sorry, as a matter of fact, you will want to keep it close at hand for reference. All the steps are clear and easy to follow and there are many tools discussed in this book as well. You will find yourself going back to it repeatedly for marketing advice! 5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK IS A MUST... September 1, 2013 By Katherine Mashburn Amazon Verified Purchase If you are an independent writer and self-promoter of your books, products, or services then this book is a must! Jo Linsdell does a fantastic job designing a blueprint to follow to use to promote and market ones work. The "how to" steps she presents in the book are both effective and easy to follow. Jo has also filled its pages with loads of other marketing resources that any writer or entrepreneur will find useful! By Lady Helen Doherty I have completed one virtual book tour for a trilogy of picture books about squirrels, so when the opportunity arose to review Virtual Book Tours I jumped at it, as I wanted to see how well I done on my own tour, where I went wrong and what I could improve next time around. My virtual book tour was a rather fly by the pants event, so the planning section of the book was quite an eye opener, as it gives additional places to find reviewers and other methods I’d not thought about – like searching on Google – I did a search today for “PR Friendly Mom Bloggers” and I was blown away by the first search result, which was a linky directory with over 500 Mom bloggers, which will keep me busy for a while! There are also other invaluable links I will try out as well. One area that I could have improved on is that I could have done more interaction with my hosts and their readers, but I did convey my thanks to every host. However, I received an email the other day from a lady thanking me for an interview and a review I posted on this website and it was so enthusiastic and grateful – I’m not sure my paltry thank yous were enough! I must admit I did try to emulate Jo Linsdell’s media kit for my trilogy of picture books, as I was intrigued by and a host for her Out and About at the Zoo picture book tour, but I really need to try press releases, creating some of the other promotional materials and carrying out the promotional methods revealed in this book. One piece of advice I will definitely take on board is to re-purpose content – I have a string of reviews and interviews out there on the internet, but they are not all on my media page, in fact at the moment I don’t even have a media page, so that’s a wasted opportunity right there. This book has taught me that for my next virtual book tours, I will need to try to find more specialized bloggers and hosts in the parenting arena. I also need to have a sharper focus on what I want to achieve from the tour and get used to using social media more to my advantage. The resources in the book are phenomenal – there are lists of potential hosts, internet radio shows (I’ve not ventured on this ground yet) and much more and the final check list will be invaluable to me. A very well written and comprehensive book – after reading this, there can be no excuse not give a virtual book tour a go. There may be a time in the future that I start offering virtual book tours to picture book authors, so I will definitely digest and follow this advice in perfecting my own tours first. 5.0 out of 5 stars The REAL works begins AFTER you've published September 15, 2013 By linda s gross Amazon Verified Purchase As a writer, it's grueling to have the discipline to finish the book. After that, the real works starts with marketing the book. If no one knows about the book, who cares? Jo's book kick starts peddling the book to get the word out. Get great links to put her advice to action. Get must-have tips for book promotion. Go and enjoy the journey. Linda Gross author of THE CAVEMAN FORMULA The Caveman Formula. (DT4M, Dating Tips for Men.) Tomorrow I will post an interview with Jo Linsdell and where she is going next on her tour.  Welcome! This is a picture of my new friend and author, Jo Linsdell! She is on a virtual book tour and I'm one of her stops! Yesterday, I posted about her new book: Virtual Book Tours! (Scroll down to read about it and get the links.)
Today I want to introduce you to Jo Linsdell, herself. Of course you can go directly to the following link, if you prefer. http://www.JoLinsdell.com/ But if you stay right here, I'll introduce you. Author Bio: Jo Linsdell is a best selling author and illustrator and internationally recognized marketing expert. She is also the founder and organizer of the annual online event "Promo Day" (www.PromoDay.info) and the Writers and Authors blog (http://WritersAndAuthors.blogspot.com). To find out more about Jo and her projects visit her website www.JoLinsdell.com or or contact her by email: webmaster@JoLinsdell.com. Contact details: Email: webmaster@jolinsdell.com Social Media Links: Google+ YouTube Goodreads Amazon If you want to you can Click to tweets: Add Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home to your to-read list http://bit.ly/VBTGoodreads Learn everything you need to know about virtual book tours in this book by best selling author Jo Linsdell http://bit.ly/VBTKindle Must read book about organising virtual book tours! http://bit.ly/VBTKindle #Authors Press release: Best selling author shares secrets of successful virtual book tours Author Jo Linsdell shares everything you need to know in order to be able to organise and carry out your own virtual book tour in her latest release 'Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home'. Worldwide – August 2013 – Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home is the latest release from best selling author Jo Linsdell. The book will be officially launched on 1st September 2013 via Amazon.com and the author will be doing a virtual book tour over September and October to celebrate its release. In this book, Jo Linsdell, shows authors how to successfully market their books online and build their author brand by utilizing virtual book tours. When asked why virtual book tours are good news for authors, Jo had this to say " A large percentage of the world's population (currently around 40%) now uses the internet and with the rapidly increasing use of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices the number of people on the web will continue to grow. It's therefore clear that authors need to be marketing online. Our target audience is now online and just a click away. Through virtual book tours, we can now reach our readers from the comfort of our own home and successfully promote our books to a global audience at little or no cost. That's big news for authors." The virtual book tour will start on 1st September 2013 and will end on 31st October 2013. Among other events, the tour will offer interviews and a chance to communicate with the author, Jo Linsdell. There will also be chances for readers to win bonus materials and other prizes, and the book will be available at a special reduced price for the duration of the tour. Virtual Book Tours: Effective Online Book Promotion From the Comfort of Your Own Home is available in Kindle format and can be found at Amazon. That's all for today. In the nex I will post an interview with author Jo Linsdell along with what some readers have said about her books. See you then.  Welcome to my first ever BONUS BLOG with author Jo Linsdell and her Virtual Book Tour featuring her new book titled:
"VIRTUAL BOOK TOURS". Wow! That was easy. This has come just in time because I want to do my own virtual book tour for my Twee' books too! Jo Linsdell's book is teaching me how! To the left is a picture of her book; read more below. About the book: Virtual Book Tours are a great way to create a buzz for a new release or to put life back into an older publication. In this book I'll take you through everything you need to know to be able to set up and carry out a successful virtual book tour. The book is divided into 4 main sections for easy navigation: 1) What is a Virtual Book Tour? 2) How to organize your own tour 3) Promoting a tour 4) Useful resources You'll find it packed with links, tips, and advice to help make your tour a hit. Product Details: File Size: 384 KB Print Length: 83 pages Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. Language: English ASIN: B00ELNAQ92 Text-to-Speech: Enabled Purchasing links: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ELNAQ92 (Kindle) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Virtual-Book-Tours-Effective-ebook/dp/B00ELNAQ92 (Kindle) http://www.amazon.ca/Virtual-Book-Tours-Effective-ebook/dp/B00ELNAQ92 (Kindle) Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18340947-virtual-book-tours Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/428511413928514 Author website: http://www.JoLinsdell.com Tomorrow, 9/27/2013, I will put up more about Jo Linsdell the author. If you are in a hurry, go to her website: http://www.JoLinsdell.com. On Saturday, 9/28/13 I will post what some others are saying about Jo and her book. Sunday, 9/29/2013 I'm scheduled to post an interview with Jo! This is fun!  Read to your children until they won't let you. Let's look at three main benefits for reading to children that can pay off for their life time, and yours. At the end of this article, I will make a suggestion about how you can continue to engage with your older children over books.
Physical Closeness: Reading to children provides opportunities to be physically close. Most children enjoy the warmth of the physically close parent or caregiver, as they cuddle in to hear a story. This cuddle effect can be enjoyed during a 'winding down' time, or before bed. By carefully choosing books, this may even help prepare children to enjoy some good dreams while they sleep. Children benefit by feeling valued, loved and nurtured. The parent benefits by enjoying a little 'quiet time' now, and the potential for good attachment in later adult life. Emotional Closeness: Reading to children offers numerous opportunities to get to know "the child inside." During and after reading, a child can be asked about feelings and thoughts about issues brought up in the book. Ask, "What did you feel when_______?" Or ask "What do you think ______could do?" Be patient and gently validate your child's attempts to express his/her inner feelings and thoughts. It takes time to evolve into mature expressions of those. Your gentle validation can help your child feel heard, understood and cared for. With a light touch the parent/caregiver may also develop a clearer picture about the child's feelings regarding self and others and help build the child's self-esteem. Intellectual Development: I saved this one for last, because it is often the first benefit we seek when reading to children. However, it is true that when adults read to children who are old enough to read for themselves, we can choose books above the children's current reading level. This allows for more social, intellectual and moral stimulation and development, than possible if the child read alone. Plus it allows parents to continue to influence their children's exposure to preferred content a while longer. For example, I read one chapter of A Wrinkle In Time, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, and others before bedtime, to my two children when they were already reading on their own. We all enjoyed that time together. What if your older child simply won't let you read to him/her? Here's how you continue to influence your child's intellectual, emotional, social and moral development and to engage in a mutual interaction over books? Choose some books that you have read and which you want the child (usually a tween or teenager) to read. Select one and tell them if they read the book, and write up a book review and discuss the book with you, within a specified length of time, you will reward them in some way that you agreed upon. (For this investment, I may even suggest financial rewards.) The child benefits because you can expose him/her to as wide an array of information as you would like: literature, social issues, biographies, geographical issues, political, religious, moral, ethical questions and more. This benefits you both as your child continues to reveal more about him/herself to you and that helps develop strong bonds between you both as you discuss these works. Enjoy Years of Happy Times Reading Together! Susie E. Caron (copyright 2013) |
Susie E. Caron
These are from my former life with many current memories and helps for parents. I retired from teaching, became a psychotherapist treating children and families and an author. After retiring I became a full time artist. I recently reopened this parenting blog because I believe wisdom is to be shared. Author of Chidren's Books, Christian, Wife, & Mother, I want to help you build parent-child relationships, 1 blog, & books at a time. When I'm not busy creating articles or paintings, you might find me looking for dark chocolate or playing with my Boxer, Josie. Disclaimer
These articles are for educational and self-help purposes only and are not intended as psychotherapy. If you experience unusual symptoms or discomfort please see your medical or mental health practitioner. No patent liability is assumed for use of the information contained. The author disclaims any responsibility for loss or risk for use or application of this material. 
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Sheila Michelle July 13 at 7:17pm · Just wanted to say that I love your posts about the different ways to connect/relate/understand your child. It has given me a new approach towards understanding my daughter and allowing HER to tell me how she feels instead of me suggesting to her how she should feel. Thanks Susie! |
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