Help Get Buckley’s Story Into Stores Nationwide
I’m excited to announce that Buckley’s Story is featured in Barnes and Noble’s Rising Star Special Collection. Another milestone along this amazing journey! Not only is it an honor to be part of this collection, but it could also potentially open the doors to nationwide distribution at Barnes and Noble stores for Buckley’s Story.
As an independently published author, I knew from the very beginning that I would have to do most of the promotion and marketing for my book myself. And I was okay with that, I enjoy doing it, and I’m reaping the rewards of my hard work as I’m watching Buckley’s Story become more and more successful. But there is one hurdle that can be very difficult to cross for indie authors, and that’s getting into national bookstores. Currently, Buckley’s Story is available in several Barnes and Noble stores in Northern Virginia, and it can be special-ordered at any bookstore across the country, whether it’s Barnes and Noble, Border’s, Books-a-Million, or independent bookstores.
As the indie movement in the music industry showed us, grass roots support can make or break a band. Indie publishing is not that different in this respect – word of mouth from readers helps create buzz for a book, and the more that buzz builds, the more successful it will be. And that’s where you, dear readers, come in! I’ve been told by my publisher that Barnes and Noble buyers watch this Rising Star Collection page closely. Traffic and demand coming through this page is an instrumental piece when a buyer is considering stocking a title in a store.
So, for the month of April, I would love it if you would help me get Buckley’s Story into stores by clicking on the Rising Star Collection link. Click on the link, and click through to my book from there. Click every day, and click often.
Thank you for supporting Buckley’s Story and my dream!
In Home Euthanasia
Making a decision about whether it’s time to let a beloved pet go is one of the hardest things anyone loving a pet will have to go through. What can compound the difficulty of the decision is that most pets don’t like going to the vet’s. I’ve heard from many of my readers that, until they read Buckley’s Story, they had no idea that having a pet euthanized at home was even an option.
I write in Buckley’s Story: “There was never a doubt in my mind that when the time came, Buckley would die at home. I had never been comfortable with euthanasia done in veterinary clinics. Even though I had assisted with many of them in my years of working at animal hospitals, and they were usually peaceful experiences, I did not like the idea that an animal’s last moments would take place in such a sterile and unfamiliar setting. No matter how peaceful veterinarians and staff try to make this final transition, most pets are stressed by veterinary hospital visits, and pet owners can be left with their final memory being one of a stressful experience instead of the peaceful one it can be when done in the pet’s home.”
There are few veterinarians who offer home euthanasia. Those that do generally don’t advertise the fact. I feel that asking a veterinarian whether they offer this service is extremely important while the pet is healthy, rather than waiting until there is a need for the service and then to find out that it is not available.
Home euthanasias can make the final good-bye a peaceful, and sometimes even beautiful, experience. There will not be a stressful or upsetting car ride. You won’t have to see healthy pets or other pet owners as you walk into the clinic with your pet for the last time. By gathering family members around the pet, you can create a calming atmosphere and surround the pet with what she’s familiar with, providing comfort and support. You can even have the euthanasia conducted outside in the pet’s favorite spot in the yard. In home euthanasia also allows you to create a ceremony that suits your personal and religious beliefs. You will be able to spend as much time with the pet’s body after the ceremony as you need to without being disturbed by veterinary staff. You will be able to grieve in privacy and on your own terms.
I recently came across an online In Home Pet Euthanasia Directory and wanted to share this valuable resource with you. The site is still under development, and not every state is showing listings yet.
Finding Your Bliss in Unexpected Places
Feebee
In Buckley’s Story, I share my story of how Buckley helped me take the leap to start my own business. But this wasn’t the first step on my journey toward finding my bliss. Prior to starting my Healing Hands business, I worked in various facets of the veterinary profession for twelve years.
It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I started my professional life by translating manuals for a computer manufacturer. Then I wrote and translated ad copy for a magazine about diesel and gas turbines. After that, I worked as a travel agent for a while. Eventually, I ended up at a financial services corporation, beginning as a receptionist and working my way up into middle management. After fifteen years in corporate America, I had enough. At that point in my life, I was looking for purpose and meaning in all areas of my life, including my work. That’s where veterinary medicine came in.
Feebee, my first cat and the love of my life for almost sixteen years, who got me through a period of great upheaval in my life in the mid-90’s when my marriage of thirteen years ended and my mother died, all within a four month period, developed bladder stones (most likely, as a result of trying to absorb some of my stress). We ended up spending a lot of time at various veterinary hospitals while he was going through treatment, and ultimately surgery (he fully recovered and lived for many more years). One afternoon, I was sitting in the waiting room of an animal hospital while they were taking x-rays of Feebee in the back, and I looked around and found myself wondering what it might be like to work in an environment like that. The thought wouldn’t let go. I started to do some research, and saw an ad for an office manager position at a nearby vet clinic. I knew I was well-qualified for the position rom a business perspective, even though I knew very little about the inner workings of a veterinary practice at the time. I applied, and was invited for an interview. The clinic’s owner offered me the position. Sadly, I couldn’t afford to take it at the time. The one aspect of veterinary medicine I hadn’t researched very well ahead of time was the pay – the salary offered was not enough to support myself. So, instead, I asked whether I could volunteer at the clinic . The clinic’s owner laughed and said sure, why not!
My first day as a volunteer at the clinic arrived. I was so excited. I didn’t really know what to expect. I was introduced to the head technician, who I was going to be shadowing all day. I was told that, due to insurance restrictions, I wasn’t allowed to touch any of the animals there, which was a bit of a disappointment. I had sort of figured that if I was going to be allowed to do anything, it wouldn’t be too terribly glamorous. I was prepared to do lowly things like cleaning cages and emptying trash if that’s what it took. I just wanted to be in a clinic environment and learn as much as I could through observation and by osmosis.
The first thing the technician showed me how to do was to set up a fecal test. In retrospect, I think it was a test on her part to see how dedicated I was to this volunteering gig. She showed me how to separate out a small amount of stool from the (giant! smelly!) sample the dog’s owner had dropped off, and how to set it up in a small plastic vial with a solution that would allow any parasites that might be in the sample to float to the top. Icky, stinky, nasty work. I was in heaven. That’s when I realized it – I had found my bliss. If I could feel this happy playing with a fecal sample, surely I had found my calling!
It was the beginning of a twelve year journey. I was eventually hired as a part-time receptionist at this clinic, then went to work part-time at my own vet’s clinic, where I was trained as a veterinary assistant. I did everything from cleaning cages to answering phones to giving injections and monitoring anesthesia. I reduced my hours at the day job as a business analyst at a financial services corporation to part-time status, and for the next three years, I worked pretty much seven days a week at either the day job or the vet clinic. Being at the vet clinic never felt like work, no matter how many hours I spent there – another sign that I had found my passion. In 1998, I quit the day job and took a hospital manager position at a vet clinic, in essence combining my business background with my newfound love for veterinary medicine.
You really can find your bliss in the most unexpected places.
Have you found your bliss? Have you found a way to apply it to your work?
When Dreams Come True
Dreams really do come true. And when they do, the feeling is almost indescribable. Last night, I held a book discussion and signing at my local Barnes and Noble store. And I’m glad I have photos to remind myself that yes, this really did happen, I did not just dream this.
Back in the days when Buckley’s Story was just an idea in the far reaches of my mind, the dream of being a published author was just that – a dream. Holding a book signing at this particular Barnes and Noble store was part of the dream. This is my hometown bookstore. I’ve been going there since they first opened their doors I don’t even know how many years ago. I’ve attended many author events at the store over the years and met many wonderful authors, including Diane Chamberlain, Emilie Richards, Ellen Crosby, Cara Black, and many many more. Each time I’d go to see an author at the store, I wondered what it would be like to become a writer. And once I started writing myself, I wondered whether some day, I would be the author who people came to see. And after Buckley’s Story was published, I allowed myself to actually imagine myself being the author people would come to see.
Last night, I was that author. And people actually came to see me. I spoke about Animals as Teachers, and shared stories about some of the animals who’ve made a difference in my life even before Buckley came into it. I answered questions from my audience (I had an audience!). I signed a lot of books.
And I got to experience the incredibly joyful, exhilarating and fantastic feeling of having a big dream come true.
The Power of Vision Boards
In the early days of the human potential movement, you would often hear the catchy acronym CBA used to summarize the process of conscious creation. CBA – Conceive, Believe, Achieve – reflects the steps involved in reaching goals and making dreams come true. Visualization has always been an important part of the process. In recent years, especially since the immense popularity of the movie The Secret, visualization as a tool to achieving one’s desires has been brought to the attention of a wider audience, particularly through the use of vision boards.
In the “old days,” vision boards used to be called collages. They can be as simple as a single sheet of paper, or as elaborate as a giant posterboard. The process is simple, all you need is scissors, glue, some free time, and a stack of magazines. Start cutting out pictures that appeal to you and that represent what you want to manifest in your life. This goes beyond just things, you can also use pictures to represent less tangible desires such as love, peace, fun, fulfillment, abundance, and happiness.
I constructed my first vision board more than fifteen years ago (and yes, it was called a collage back then) when my life was going through several major upheavals. My marriage of thirteen years was falling apart, and my mother passed away, all within a four month period. It’s the kind of confluence of events that makes you take a really good look at your life. My vision board at the time focused on meaningful work, peace, and inner strength.
About a year ago, I attended a vision board workshop hosted by one of my mentors, Cheryl Harris of Conscious Creations. In the days before the workshop, I remembered the fifteen-year-old board, long forgotten and shoved in the back of a closet. When I pulled it out, I was stunned that almost everything I had represented on the board had manifested in my life: I had changed careers twice since the creation of the board, coming ever closer to living my passion. I had found inner peace. I had become a strong and independent woman.
The workshop made what would have been a fun experience all on its own a very powerful exercise in really reaching beyond just surface wants and desires to what we really wanted to manifest in our lives. The shared energy of the group enhanced the process. I created a vision board that is hanging on my refrigerator to this day.
I “see” the vision board every day, several times a day. While I may not always consciously look at it, it’s always there, reminding me of my goals and desires. It’s keeping them in my energy field.
And the other day, it hit me that one of the really big things that I represented on the vision board is about to come true. I had placed the photo above, of the Reston Barnes and Noble store, next to a photo of the cover of Buckley’s Story, symbolizing that I wanted to see my book in that store, and that I wanted to be invited to a book signing at the store. It’s my hometown bookstore, I’ve been going to the store since it opened its doors, and the thought of my book being sold in the store some day was always part of the dream.
The store has carried my book since before Christmas. On March 4, the store will be hosting me for a discussion and signing.
I’ve always believed that vision boards are powerful tools to consciously create what you want in your life. Do you use vision boards? I’d love to hear your experiences with them.
And if you’re in the Washington, DC area, please come and join me for the discussion and signing on March 4, and help me celebrate making another part of the dream that is Buckley’s Story come true!
