Love bugs! I wanted to share news of a random turn of events. Mama’s taking an indefinite break from hosting writing retreats—online and in person. This Tuesday’s Virtual Retreat and my Feb. 3rd Carmel Retreat at the gorgeous La Playa Hotel will be my last ones for the foreseeable future. I MAY still have a spot open for Tuesday’s […] The post Yikes! Scared & excited, I’m pulling the plug on my future writing retreats. appeared first on Book Mama ..read more

Did anyone else find yourself triggered last week between hurricanes? Since I was nowhere near the storms, I obsessed about telling a few clients I’d been unable to focus on their manuscripts. Would they see me as unprofessional if I admitted I’d been so worried for friends and clients in N. Carolina and Florida (and […] The post Hurricanes got you triggered? When the world f*cks with your focus. appeared first on Book Mama ..read more

The world will never make it easier for you to write your masterpiece. You know this. Halloween’s coming in spooky fast. And the year’s end will be here before you’ve digested all that candy corn. Rather than starting 2025 wishing you were further in on your writing project (where did the year go?!) or racing […] The post Before the Holidays! 5 Ways My Oct. Virtual Writing Retreat Could Rock Your World appeared first on Book Mama ..read more

“Do NOT publish your book unless you LOVE it,” I warned. Simple enough, right? The women staring back at me from their Zoom squares nodded in unison. Of course, they wouldn’t publish books they didn’t adore. Except, I knew some of them absolutely would, hence my plea. It felt personal. I’d come to deeply cherish […] The post LOVE before publishing. Follow these steps & save your tears. appeared first on Book Mama ..read more

The post It’s here! My Diamond Jubilee! The day I feared would never come. appeared first on Book Mama ..read more

The Olympics were a great reminder that we fall hard for others when we know their stories. It makes me think of what Glennon Doyle says: People are hard to hate close up. Once you know someone’s story, try not to care about their journey, right? As Jenn Sutkowski wrote in our last Beautiful Writers […] The post My son’s woo-woo readings are so accurate it’s like we really do live in the Matrix appeared first on Book Mama ..read more

I have a secret place I go to connect with writers. It’s my safe place, where I can be vulnerable and talk about everything related to writing and publishing, especially the hard stuff. It’s where I feel the most support, and other than my writing retreats, where I give the most, too. Okay, it’s not technically a secret, but The Beautiful […] The post Wow. The new Beautiful Writers Group. Have you seen our latest upgrades? appeared first on Book Mama ..read more

I can die happy now. My kid loves my book! Forgive me if this sounds hysterical. The stress has been weighing on me. As a mom, you want nothing more than to protect your kid, and I worried that I had hurt mine by publishing my story, which included scenes centered around his childhood. I’d […] The post I was heartbroken my son wouldn’t read my book. The audiobook changed everything. appeared first on Book Mama ..read more

The magical duo of Rhonda Byrne & Kelly Noonan Gores are rounding out a bucket list week here at the Beautiful Writers Podcast. After years of dreaming, writing, podcasting, and, more recently, recording my latest book, the audiobook for Beautiful Writers: A Journey of Big Dreams & Messy Manuscripts—with Tricks of the Trade from Bestselling Authors (aka the […] The post Double dream fulfillment: Rhonda Byrne on the Pod + Audiobook birthday appeared first on Book Mama ..read more

What a great couple of days in LA. For a gal who doesn’t get out much (eight horses + eight dogs will jack up a gal’s schedule), I always appreciate it when technology allows me to experience an event after the fact. If I say so myself, both signings last week were special. And Zibby’s […] The post Techtastic Livestream links from Zibby’s Bookshop signings—the next best thing to being there. appeared first on Book Mama ..read more