$50 Amazon GC-Tollfree Forwarding-US, CAN-Ends 8/6

Do you have a business? Whether it is home based or has a home office in a building-there is one thing for certain.-YOU CAN NOT ALWAYS BE SITTING AT YOUR PRIMARY PHONE WAITING FOR A CUSTOMER TO CALL! Well there is a solution to your dilemma--call forwarding. If you are interested and would like a free trial or just information click on TollFreeForwarding.com for all the contact information for this service.

Entry-Form

Miki's Hope is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

All opinions expressed are my own honest opinions. For more information please check my Disclosure Statement. Our giveaways are in no way sponsored or promoted by Facebook.

$50 Amazon GC-CA Special Needs Law Group-US, CAN-Ends 8/5

Do you have a child who has special educational needs? Are you having trouble getting the help that your child need, deserves and is supposed to get by law? Then you need a lawyer. Not just any lawyer-you need one who specializes in special education law. A firm that can be your advocate within the school district etc. The time, paperwork and aggravation if you try to do this yourself may still not get you the results you desire. Even if you do not happen to live anywhere in California the information will be very valuable as you try to find an appropriate lawyer in your area. There is a law firm dedicated to helping you get your child exactly what they need at an affordable price. For more information contact the CA Special Needs Law Group

Entry-Form

Miki's Hope is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

This is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed are my own honest opinions. For more information please check my Disclosure Statement. Our giveaways are in no way sponsored or promoted by Facebook.

$25 Amazon or PP GA-Summer Heat Giveaway Hop-Ends 7/31

Welcome to the

Summer Heat Giveaway Hop

hosted by Planet Weidknecht

and LeahSay's Views

From July 21-21, 2014,

you can visit all the blogs on the linky list below

and enter to win all their prizes!

Good luck!

Miki's Hope will be giving away the choice of a $25 Amazon GC OR a $25 PayPal to one lucky reader! Hey it is summertime and I am hot here people--I guess I could have tried to find a nice prize-BUT--it is too hot so I hope you will like what I am giving away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

All opinions expressed are my own honest opinions. For more information please check my Disclosure Statement. Our giveaways are in no way sponsored or promoted by Facebook.

Guest Post-The Life of a Writer-Christine Amsden (Author of the Cassie Scott series )

I asked Christine Amsden to give us her thoughts on what it is like to really be a writer-what does it take-here is her VERY HONEST answer to us all! Christine watches the comments so if you have an additional question please do not be afraid to ask it in the comment section below. She loves inter acting with her readers!


The Life of a Writer

So .... you want to be a writer? Are you a dreamer? A story teller? Do you simply love the way words feel when they come together to create a picture? Climb on the crazy train then, and get ready for a long, bumpy ride.

Besides being a writer, I'm also a writing coach. I'm exceptionally good at it for one reason that has come as a surprise to me: I'm honest. Now, I always knew I was honest; what I didn't realize was how rare this quality is, even in a coach. I tell the truth as I see it because only by reflecting both beauty and flaws can I inspire growth in a writer.

With that in mind, let me tell you the hard, cold truth about being a writer. It doesn't pay. The handful of bestsellers out there cluttering up the pop culture notion of what a writer is represent less than one tenth of one percent of traditionally published authors (I'm not even talking self pub here). If anyone has said, “Don't quit your day job,” they weren't trying to be mean. They were trying to be honest.

I didn't listen. :)

I quit my day job ten years ago when I got married, urged by my husband (who made enough for the both of us to live comfortably) to follow my dreams. I took the risk; one of the biggest of my life, and I have no regrets. Children came two years after marriage, filling my days with a combination of domestic and writerly activities that I found perfectly compatible. In a way, diluting my days with a wider variety of activities helped inspire me and make me more productive. I have written six complete novels in the eight-and-a-half years since my son was born (this doesn't include a couple of dead-end projects that were, nevertheless, learning experiences).

Creative work isn't like other types of work. It isn't linear. It isn't easy to quantify. Forty hours of creative work may be enough to write an entire novel draft (under extremely bizarre I-officially-hate-you circumstances), or it may only be enough to learn one important lesson before going back to the drawing board. An inspired writer can take a few stolen hours and create magic. An uninspired writer ... well, that's the problem with the ideal of the “full time writer,” aside from the paycheck thing. Sooner or later you run out of things to write *about*.

That's why I started coaching. It's also why I'm currently looking for creative new opportunities for part-time work. I've got a gig as a judge in a cooking competition coming up soon. Should be fun!

I know a lot of writers. Their stories are all different, their day jobs all unique, but one common theme rings true: We all long for the day when we can write full time, when our income from writing will support us in a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. I think knowing this story so well is one of the reasons why I'm a fan of TV talent shows like The Voice, America's Got Talent, and (most recently) Rising Star. The acts all come on and say the same thing – that they dream of getting paid to perform. To do what they love.

You don't want me to sing, but putting that aside, I understand. I really, really do.

And yet I understand one other thing, or at least, I am working towards understanding. (Self-actualization is more a journey than a destination.) I understand that I am a writer. Fame and fortune are not necessary for us to do what we love. We can do it just because we want to. Because, for whatever reason, these activities fulfill us.

One of the most common interview questions I get on tour is, “What advice would you give to aspiring writers?” I answer, “Only write if you love it.” The full answer is that if you're writing for fame, or fortune, or for any external force, it's not worth it. Writers write because the written word is our currency. It is an end in and of itself.

Between one thing and another, I lost track of that fact in the last year or two. I've taken the summer off from writing. I'm spending more time with my kids while they're still young (6 and 8), working on promoting my Cassie Scot series, and still doing a little coaching. Writing will call to me again, sooner or later. It always does. I've already started to feel the pull of a project that would take me in a completely different direction from anything I've done before. It may pan out. It may not. Luckily, as an independent author I can write whatever I like. No one owns my time or my creativity.

If you want to be a writer, then write. It never even has to be something someone else sees. (Kind of like me singing in the shower where no one else can hear. :) ) If and when it grows to the point where you would like to share it, come seek us authors out on the Internet and join our circles of madness. But if you can, even then, try to keep it in perspective. There is always the dream; we are dreamers by nature, but don't let the dream keep you from living your life now.

All opinions expressed are my own honest opinions. For more information please check my Disclosure Statement. Our giveaways are in no way sponsored or promoted by Facebook.

Sunday Stroll Giveaway Linky-7/20-7/27

Mommie..Again has agreed to co-host Sunday Strolls with me!! AND so has Christy's Cozy Corners. So now you can enter on here or on Mommie..Again or on Christy's Cozy Corners and the links will appear on all three! Please feel free to link up all your wonderful giveaways here!! Link directly to the giveaway. Those linked to websites or main blog pages will be removed. Please use blog name, giveaway title and end date when posting. Post some, Enter Some, Win Some!

AND Why don't you follow me on Bloglovin' so you will be the first to know what's up at Miki's Hope!

I now have a new Email and RSS with FeedPress!!! You all will have to re sign up since I think all was lost!! The buttons are at the very tippy top of my home page and all other pages as well I think!

Here is a list of all the book reviews to date (some with on-going giveaways) for "Free Average Joe" @FreeAverageJoe

All opinions expressed are my own honest opinions. For more information please check my Disclosure Statement. Our giveaways are in no way sponsored or promoted by Facebook.