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C Word–It’s All About the Children

On April 14, 2009 / children, curtain climbers, juvenile court, The Advocate / 3 Comments

My “C” word is children. Although, I never gave birth to any, I’ve been surrounded by them since I entered this world. I had eight brothers and sisters. I’m the baby. When you come from a clan that large you soon have oodles of nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. I lost count around twenty years ago—at fifty plus.

When people would ask me why I didn’t have any children, I would jokingly reply, “I hate kids.” The truth is, I’ve spent my entire life working with those little “curtain climbers.” I’ve taught, represented, tutored, counseled, and coached them. I even helped raise one son who I inherited from a relationship. He’s wonderful, but I have to give his father the credit for doing such a fabulous job. He was consistent, caring, and conscious of what was going on in his child’s world. And as a result, Bobby grew up to be a well functioning member of society. In fact he’s now an attorney—ok, so he’s not perfect (and that’s the part he got from me.)

Our children are our most cherished commodity. They need our protection, our love, and our direction in this crazy cosmos. I’ve seen so much heartache and pain among those little ones with my stint at juvenile court. That’s part of the reason I wrote my novel, The Advocate. It deals with a fictional juvenile court case while it delves into some of the realities of child abuse.

Life is all about the children and the joy they bring into our lives. What have you done lately to make a child’s day special? Or what has a child done that made you smile?

B words: Bald is beautiful—After the shave

On April 10, 2009 / bald, breast cancer, donations, prostate cancer, St. Baldrick's / 2 Comments

At the St. Baldrick’s Day “Shaving the Way” to cure for kids’ cancer event on March 21st over 130 heads were shaved. My buddy, Jo Jensen, was one of them—a beautiful act on her behalf. Jo now has an energy efficient hairdo which will be nice and cool when the sun starts blazing. Through this event they raised a total of over $60,000 and Jo has almost reached her personal goal of $2,000. Donations were still coming in the last I heard, but Jo was over $1,800.

Unfortunately, I was not there to see it for myself, but Jo told me the energy was “electric” and the kids were phenomenal…beholding to each and every person for their donation of bucks and bristle (money and hair.)

Within the last week I lost a niece, Sheila, to breast cancer and a dear friend, Roberto, to prostate cancer. Both of them suffered for a long time and both left this world way too young. I want to give a special thanks to all of you who contribute to this research so other families don’t have to suffer with this agonizing death.

Here are the photos of Jo before and after her selfless act:

A to Z Blog–The A Words

On April 7, 2009 / Uncategorized / 7 Comments

I’ve decided to write an A-Z blog. I’m starting with the letter A (because I’m too anal to start anywhere else). My “A” words today are: accomplishments, aspirations, author/advocate and a few other “a” words.

Aspirations: I’ve always had countless aspirations. Many people I know don’t seem to aspire to much of anything, or maybe they had aspirations, life got in the way, and they lost them. I remember as a small child playing in the snow banks of Minnesota and dreaming of a better life to come. Of course, back then I thought I wanted to be an anchorite, a nun to be exact. I sure missed that one by a country mile. I loved the nuns’ apparel and I longed to take a lap around those huge beads that hung from their habits. But most of all the nuns would give me bananas when I was good (and back then I was always good.) My sister wasn’t too crazy about the nuns and usually got in trouble—and to this day she abhors bananas. I think there’s a correlation there.

Accomplishments: So much left to do in my lifetime. I have accomplished quite a bit since I left the algid winters of Minnesota. I managed to get through law school, become an attorney, and have lots of adventures along the way. I traveled to every state in the United States, except Alaska (had to cancel that trip when my brother-in-law got sick—but still planning to get there.) I’ve been to the Americas (north, central, and south), to Amsterdam, Athens, Austria, Asia, Acapulco, and other places from A to Z. (I know you writers and editors are going crazy because I’m mixing cities and countries, but it’s not easy getting all these A’s in.) Now I’ve written a novel, The Advocate. But there is so much left to accomplish, and oh, so many places left to see. There’s that “A-list” to get on (the bestseller list,) The Advocate #2 to finish, the novel after that; there’s Alaska, Africa, Australia, and Aruba. I think I’ll wait on Afghanistan. And there’s learning to play Bridge. I know it doesn’t start with an “A”, but I’ve always wanted to learn so I threw it in anyway.

Author/advocate: So, I went from attorney to author and as a result, I wrote The Advocate. Although it is fiction, it was inspired by an actual case. I have been an advocate for children most of my life, through my teaching, my law practicing, for my amazing de facto son, and my awesome nieces and nephews.

Everything I’ve done in life I’ve done because I didn’t know I couldn’t. What do you still aspire to? What is that one thing you really want to do in life that you haven’t done—yet?

Bald is Beautiful

On March 16, 2009 / bald, cancer research, children, St. Baldrick's / 2 Comments

I received a message yesterday from my friend, Jo, in Texas. She is scheduled to have her head shaved next week. She has volunteered to do this in an effort to raise money for St. Baldrick’s childhood cancer research. She has less than a week to go to reach her goal of $2000. So far, she has about $1100. I think it’s an incredible thing she is doing.

I’m sharing this because I’m so impressed when people give this much of themselves. Although I’m not quite ready to have my head shaved, I was not at all surprised to hear Jo was going that extra mile. So instead, I’m helping to support her in this quest. (When I finally decide to cut my hair, I will donate it to the cause.)

How many of us are willing to do what Jo is doing? Not everyone has to go that far, but if you want to get involved, please go to http://www.stbaldricks.org/ and click on the “Find A Participant” tab. Then type her name (Jo Jensen) in the name field and make an online donation to this important cause! She’ll be posting an “AFTER” photo for you to see that she kept her promise of shaving her head just to raise money for pediatric cancer research.

Yes, bald is beautiful, Jo. And so are you for helpling our “little people.”

A Thank You to the Protectors of our Children

On March 12, 2009 / attorneys, CASA, classroom, coaches, doctos, Echelon Press, nurses, police, social workers, teachers, The Advocate / 1 Comment

This is a thank you to all the people out there who have dedicated their lives to working with children—the teachers, the classroom aides, the doctors and nurses, the social workers, the attorneys, the judges, the police, the coaches, the CASA volunteers, the children’s charities, and anyone else who spends their time and money to help our precious “little people.”

There is nothing quite as rewarding as seeing a smile appear on a child’s face for something you have done for them. If you haven’t done anything lately to make a better life for a child, start today. You’ll be glad you did.

My novel, The Advocate, (Echelon Press, publisher) gives you a glimpse of what goes on in the juvenile court system. I’m hoping it will help to educate the masses a little on what the process is like and how much some of these children suffer. I’m in the process of setting up speaking events at non-profit functions where I can dedicate the proceeds from the novel to support organizations dedicated to child advocacy. It’s a small way to do my part.

Please add your thanks to these special people with your comments on this blog.

Does a new author need a publicist?

On March 4, 2009 / internet marketing, publicist / 4 Comments

If you read the websites of the PR specialists, they say you can’t afford to NOT have one. But, of course, what are they going to say? There are only so many marketing dollars available to all of us, and in these tough economic times, even less than usual. So, do you spend your hard earned dollars on a publicist or do you do try to do your own publicizing?

And if you do hire a publicist, how do you chose one? Of course, referral by someone you trust is probably the best way to go, but when you’re new to the industry you may not know anyone who can make that referral. And then there’s their area of expertise. Do you hire someone who is an expert in internet marketing or brick and mortar? Both would, of course, be ideal if you can find it. But if they do both, do they know both? Or are they spreading themselves too thin and not giving anything?

I have spoken to several authors who have had bad experiences with publicists, mostly the same complaint, “It was a waste of money.” I’m not suggesting this is a fact. I’m sure there are plenty of authors, novice and experienced, who have had success with their publicist. So, what does the new novelist do? Does one do his or her own promoting? I’m sure you’re all familiar with the saying, “An attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client.” That is certainly true in the legal field, but does it apply here? I’m just askin’. www.teresaburrell.com

Get In Line

On February 25, 2009 / Uncategorized / 4 Comments

So, I wrote the book, The Advocate. Then I rewrote the book. Then I rewrote the book again…and again…and again. I finally found a publisher willing to take a chance on me and guess what? She had me rewrite it again. But I’ve got to tell you, this process is great fun, every step more exciting than the one before. Look at that book cover….It’s gorgeous! And here is a description about the story. I’ll give you a minute to read it….

For Sabre Orin Brown, life is good; she has it all…or would have, if only she could solve the mysterious disappearance of her brother. The search for her brother and her career as a juvenile court attorney collide when she defends a nine-year-old whose father will go to any length to obtain custody.

Sabre finds herself immersed in a case with too many unanswered questions. Her quest for the truth takes her coast to coast and five years into the past. Confronted with mysterious clues and strange occurrences, Sabre is threatened by someone wanting to make her suffer the unbearable anguish of losing everything—including her life.

As Sabre’s passion to find the answers intensifies, she discovers a twisted history of desperation, deceit, and revenge. And she discovers how obscure and treacherous the truth can be.

…See, isn’t that just the coolest? Makes you want to read the whole thing, right?

My head is spinning with news from my publisher. Right now, I’m thinking the only thing better than writing books is marketing books. We’re planning all these exciting things: speaking engagements, charity events, races, book launches, press releases, and other promotional activities that are brand new to me. I have no clue what I’m doing half of the time. I’m blogging, and twittering, and facebooking, and linking in, and linking on, and learning, learning, learning. Sheer excitement is carrying me through the process and I’m smiling like a Cheshire cat all the way.

The Advocate will be released in August 2009. Yes, I said August 2009! That’s just around the corner. So, you might want to get in line now at your local bookstore to make sure you get a copy.

It’s Just Mind “Bloggling”

On February 18, 2009 / book contract, children, legal, mystery, novel, The Advocate / 6 Comments

I recently signed a book contract with Echelon Press Publishing. My legal drama, The Advocate, will be released late this summer or early fall.

Since I now have a book contract for The Advocate, I was told I should start blogging. So this is my first attempt at this incredible new communication system. This stuff still boggles, or should I say “bloggles,” my mind. But then I’m still amazed every time I fly, that those gigantic metal birds can stay up in the sky. I’m also impressed with robotic vacuum cleaners, cars that park themselves, and microwave ovens. So, you see, it doesn’t take much to impress me or “bloggle” my mind.

Once I get through this initial stage of figuring out how this all works, learn the mechanics, and get comfortable with the process, hopefully, I will come up with something intelligent or at least interesting to blog about. Meanwhile, if you want more information about my exciting new novel, The Advocate, (I keep saying the title because I just like seeing it in print.) please check out my website at https://www.teresaburrell.com.