Breakfast & Giveaway with Best-Selling Author Michelle Cruz Rosado :)

Breakfast is served! Author Michelle Rosado's favorite smoothie!

Good morning, writers!

Yesterday we had special guest author Michelle Rosado talk with us about her book PURSUING YOUR DESTINY. It was a pleasure to interview Michelle and as a thank you for being our featured guest author this week, she is giving away a SIGNED COPY of her book, so be sure to enter to win :)

Today at the BB Writers Retreat, she's serving up for us her favorite breakfast smoothie recipe!

To make it vegan, Michelle skips the yogurt and adds a dash of almonds and flax seed.

Strawberry Spinach Smoothies

Ingredients:
1 cup mango juice (Orange Juice also works well)
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 lb  fresh or frozen strawberries, halved or quartered
1/2 lb fresh or frozen blueberries
1 banana
1 cup packed fresh spinach
Drizzle of honey (about 1 Tbsp)

How to:
1. Add the liquid ingredients first: 1 cup mango (or orange) juice, 1/2 cup yogurt.
2. Add in the 1/2 lb strawberries, 1/2 lb blueberries, 1 banana (broken into a few sections). Blend until smooth.
3. Add in the 1 cup fresh spinach and drizzle with honey to taste. Blend until smooth and serve to the folks eagerly waiting in line.

Recipe from Natasha's Kitchen.

Interview & Giveaway with Best-Selling Author and Mentor Michelle Cruz Rosado, author of "PURSUING YOUR DESTINY"

For this week's BB Writers Retreat, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to invite Inspirational Speaker, Best-Selling Author and Mentor Michelle Cruz Rosado, co-author of PURSUING YOUR DESTINY.  

Michelle Cruz Rosado, co-author of PURSUING YOUR DESTINY

Michelle Cruz Rosado has devoted herself to teaching and mentoring around the world through words of love, hope and perseverance. Rosado's story has been featured on CNN, NBC Nightly News, FOX and BBC.

Lia Mack:  Michelle, thank you so much for speaking with us today. 

Please start us off by telling us why you write.

Michelle Cruz Rosado: I write to communicate from spirit in ways that my mind finds distracting. Writing gives me the opportunity to express myself solely from the depths of my heart and not by the demands of others. I write to inspire others, and in turn inspire themselves.

Writing has been a passion of mine since my early years in high school. My English teachers were extremely supportive of my work and encouraged me to be a writer. I began my writing journey with poetry, then on to articles for the school newspaper.
After the tragedy of September 11 however, I wrote an article entitled, "Will I Recover", a personal account of my escape from Tower 2 when the first plane crashed into Tower 1. The article was released on October 6, 2001 was followed by "The Recovery", in September of 2006. Both articles became the foundation for my co-authored book, "Pursuing Your Destiny" and has motivated me to continue writing through my blog.

Lia Mack:  Can you tell us a little about your book? 

Michelle Cruz Rosado: "Pursuing Your Destiny" is a story of survival and forgiveness. It first describes my experience on September 11, 2001 and takes the reader back in time as two children growing up in different parts of New York. Through the journey, I also describe my spiritual awakening and share ways of how to overcome any adversity one faces.

Lia Mack:  What was the most challenging aspect of writing this particular story? 

Michelle Cruz Rosado: Through weeks of contemplation I decided to share very personal stories of my childhood and as a survivor of domestic abuse. When I realized the book was not about the authors but about the reader, the fear and resistance subsided. It's important for everyone to know that they are never alone, and each of us has the ability to heal.

Lia Mack:  What are you working on now? 

Michelle Cruz Rosado: I'm currently working on a piece for a New York City publication which will be released in December 2013, as well as working on my mentoring/consulting business.

Lia Mack:  What does your typical writing day look like? 

Michelle Cruz Rosado: A typical writing day is in between the emails, calls and research. I always have a Word document open to type whatever comes to me. I could find myself writing from 7:00am to 9:00pm at times, if I'm truly inspired.

Lia Mack:  Can you share a photo of what your writing space looks like? 

Michelle Cruz Rosado: Below :-)

Lia Mack:  Do you read while you write? What are you reading now? 

Michelle Cruz Rosado: If something sways my attention I'll take the time to read it while I'm writing. I'm currently reading Dale Carnegie's classic, "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living." It's helping me calm my inner critic and confidently move forward in my writing.

Lia Mack:  If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself if you could speak to the aspiring writer you once were? 

Michelle Cruz Rosado: Nothing can stop you from expressing what you feel, whether it pertains to a traumatic experience or the happiest moment of your life. You have the right to write.
 
Lia Mack:  I like that! "You have the right to write."

Thank you so much for being our guest author today. Where can BB readers go online to find you and your work? 

Michelle Cruz Rosado: My book, speaking, consulting and mentoring services can all be found on my official site, www.MichelleRosado.com.

Michelle Rosado's writing space :)

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Writing Prompt Wednesday #2...

Prompt
Inspired by the photo above, write something. Anything. The beginning of a story. The middle. A scene. Some dialogue. Anything!

Share if you Dare!
Brave? Share in the comments section below.

Go!

:)

Good Monday, Y'all!.. Five Pin Monday

Well, it's Monday and I felt like doing a little show and share of some of my favorite PINS from over the weekend.(Pintrest is evil, by the way. You can spend way too much time looking at all the pretty pictures and, before you know it, hours have passed and it feels like you were only on there for 5 minutes...)

Kind of the like the hotel in Las Vegas that Thalia found herself trapped in with Nico... Can you guess which book I'm reading to my kids? ;)

Five Pin Monday...

Well, there you have it. I think for a Monday, a little show and share is fun. Maybe I'll do it every Monday... who knows? ;)

Have a great week!!

:)

Traditionally publish or self-publish? Honestly, I don't know...

Okay. Here's the thing...

I'm in a tizzy about what to do with my book. It's finished and I want it published yesterday. Yet, I know that, in order to have it done right, published NOW isn't the best option.

Yet still, that's the thing! After you finish editing, which way do you go? Wait months, years to find the perfect traditional publishing route? Or self-publish in a day. I mean, really. There are so many options available to writers today, which is best to use?

I have a great many friends who have published and most have self-published with great success. Others have been published via small presses and others still by big house publishers. Everyone has a book out there and I'm happy for them all. Not even a bit jealous. See, they all took the road most worthy of their own book. Big, little, self, tradition. It's all the same and who cares what road to publishing you take SO LONG AS what you ultimately choose to do for your book WORKS for your book.

In that sense, I want to traditionally publish.

Why? Because I feel that will give my novel the best reach. And since the purpose of this novel is to reach a particular audience, I want to put my best foot forward in reaching them. I honestly would give my book away for free to this audience, I feel THAT strongly at reaching them.

I don't need to get rich with this book. I have other books inside me that'll do that work just fine.

That said, I'm not sure, actually, that traditionally publishing my novel will be the best way to keep in tact that purpose. What if an editor, publisher wants to change something critical? Keep it more 'commercial', therefore losing it's appeal to the exact audience I want to reach?

Then again, if I self-publish, will I even be able to REACH any of them on my own? It's not like I wrote this book for me. I enjoyed writing it, no doubt. But it's not FOR me. Again. I'll give this book away for free so long as it gets in the right hands. Those hands mean more to me than the money they'd bring.

So, should I be true to my calling and self-pub?

Or, should I try to reach the world beyond and traditionally publish so no one is left behind?

I don't know...

Just by typing this out, I feel the answer coming to me. Self pub...

But...I honestly don't want to. And for many reasons. #1, I don't care to shell out the money it would cost to do it right. And I only WANT to do it right. Then again... you can self-pub a disaster and it can render a movie contract (think "shades" of disaster... ever heard of a thesaurus??? sheesh... Sorry, didn't fool this reader into thinking erotica was a "new" genre. Dumb readers...)

Anyway!... rant aside...

There's also a price with going traditional that can be costly to the purpose of my novel. It's not straight Women's Fiction, nor is it straight motivational. It's empowering and deep, but also quirky and fun. It's a mixed bag that is entertaining and also self-help'ish if you pay close attention.

So maybe self-pub is the best way to go since it's so unique.

But I don't know...

As I sit here finishing off the last remnants of wine from our Thanksgiving feast yesterday, I'm torn. I want my book out now! I don't want to hear on the news again that some poor girl or woman took her life because some asshole family member or friend or stranger said "all girls cry rape" and didn't believe her.

For HER I wrote my novel WAITING FOR PAINT TO DRY.

Not going to throw a tantrum... just thinking out loud... What should I do?

:/