Category: mind body spirit

#CoverReveal There’s a New Self-Help Book on the Horizon

On By shelleywilson72In Blogging, Books, Indie Author, Inspirational, mind body spirit, Non Fiction, Reading, Self Publishing, The Writing Process, Tuesday Book Blog, Wellbeing, Writing32 Comments

Back in 2013, I embarked on a year-long quest where I completed fifty-two challenges over the course of the year – one challenge for every week. I blogged the entire event starting on January 1st, 2013 and have continued blogging ever since.

That project was only meant to be a personal mission. It was a way to show my holistic health clients that they could do anything they wanted if they believed enough in their dreams. Instead, the challenge changed my life in so many ways.

In 2014 I published my first book, How I Changed My Life in a Year based on my year of challenges. It went on to hit the number one spot on Amazon’s best seller list in self-help and memoir, and in 2016 it attracted the attention of Penguin Random House.

Since then so much has changed for me. I fell ill following a viral infection caused by an insect bite which in turn began to affect my body, energy levels, and mood. I had to close my holistic health business as there were days I woke up without the use of my arm and hand. It’s been a tough struggle at times, and along with the symptoms of my illness I also had to deal with depression and anxiety – something I’ve self-managed for over eighteen years.

However, I have always clung to positivity and self-help as a way to look after myself, physically and emotionally. Writing is another personal development tool that I find hugely cathartic. I adore penning my YA fiction as this acts as an escape from reality when I need it. My non-fiction books, however, are my way of sharing what I’ve learned, and the journey I took to get where I needed to be – the good and bad bits. Perhaps this is why How I Changed My Life in a Year was so successful, as people could relate to my story on a personal level.

After such a turbulent time, I’m now delighted to announce that my next non-fiction book, dubbed the sequel-that’s-not-a-sequel, How I Motivated Myself to Succeed: Top Motivation Tips for Life, Happiness, Changing Habits and Releasing Fears will be released on Friday 22nd September 2017 but is available for pre-order now.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to share the incredible cover, designed by my friend and fellow self-help author, Peter Jones from Soundhaven.

HIMMTS cover KINDLE

Look out for the blog tour in September and feel free to drop a message in the comments below and let me know what you think of the cover, blurb, topic, or anything else you feel drawn to share.

Blurb:

If you’ve ever felt like life is passing you by at a startling rate, or you just exist day to day rather than living life to the full, this book will share honest, straightforward, and realistic techniques to help motivate you to make powerful changes.

From setting goals and organising your life, to freeing yourself from fear, Shelley shares the unique story of how she planned, prepared, and executed the year of challenges and life-changing events brought about by her motivational, award-winning blog.

How I Motivated Myself to Succeed is full of practical tips, exercises, and real-life stories of success, including advice on how to trust yourself and celebrate achievements, as well as manage your time and balance your life effectively.

Shelley’s first book, How I Changed My Life in a Year, became a bestseller in self-help and memoir as it struck a nerve with the thousands of women looking to make a difference and be the best they could be.

Dubbed as the sequel-that’s-not-a-sequel, this book can be enjoyed before or after reading How I Changed My Life in a Year.

Pre-Order your copy today:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed this post. Want more? Connect with me here:  Twitter @ShelleyWilson72, Instagram or check out my Facebook pages http://www.facebook.com/FantasyAuthorSLWilson and http://www.facebook.com/MotivateMeBlog. You can also find me on Pinterest

#BookReview Depressive Illness: The Curse of the Strong #TuesdayBookBlog

On By shelleywilson72In Book Review, Book Reviews, mind body spirit, Non Fiction, Tuesday Book Blog, Wellbeing10 Comments

Book Review

Title: Depressive Illness: The Curse of the Strong

Author: Dr. Tim Cantopher

Category: Self-Help

My Rating: 4*

Depressive Illness

My Review:

I’ve blogged about my struggle with depression on a few occasions, and so it’s my ongoing mission to find books that help me make sense of this horrendous affliction.

The Curse of the Strong is a short book at only 114 pages. This appealed to me. If you suffer from depression, you will understand the struggle to sit and concentrate for long periods of time. Holding this book in my hand, I felt like I could finish it without too much trouble.

As well as the manageable size of this book I was also drawn in by the content.

  • What is depressive illness?
  • What causes it?
  • What to do when you get ill.
  • Recovery.
  • Staying Well.

These are the questions I ask myself daily.

I’ve been told to ‘snap out of it’ a couple of times and believe me, I wish I could. To discover in the first few pages that depressive illness is not a psychological or emotional state and not a mental illness, but a physical illness was a huge relief.

According to Dr. Cantopher, Clinical depression is every bit as physical a condition as pneumonia or a broken leg. He goes on to explain that this can be demonstrated in the chemical analysis of the cerebro-spinal fluid (this is the fluid found around the brain and spine) by showing a deficiency of two chemicals.

What I liked about this book was the way in which Dr. Cantopher feeds his reader the scientific information behind depression without losing his audience. I was grateful for the simplistic way he describes the limbic system for example.

He uses cases studies to put his points across, and the section on cognitive therapy was interesting to read as I didn’t find CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) to be of any help for me when I had my sessions. It made me review a lot of the work I’d already done.

He lost me completely when talking about medication as he goes into great depth about the history of antidepressants and their chemical and trade names. I skimmed over these parts as I just couldn’t focus.

To finish, Dr. Cantopher reviews practical ways to help yourself, including relaxation exercises, time management, and tips for sleeping.

I liked his down to earth approach and the fact that he has worked with clients for many years. Although Dr. Cantopher hasn’t suffered from depression himself, he has seen the harsh realities, symptoms, and effects on his patients and uses his knowledge to offer a practical, manageable book that will offer some help.

People who get stress-induced depressive illness tend to run too hot. They spend too much of their lives putting in too much effort. When confronted by a sea of troubles, they try to deal with them all at once. By now this will be a familiar picture. When they get over-whelmed they just push harder. Because they are so over aroused, they have difficulty in getting to sleep and then, when they become ill, they start waking in the early hours of the morning as well. Then they deal with the mounting tiredness by trying to push their way through it. So the conditions are in place for the fuse to blow.

At the end of the book, there is a list of useful addresses and recommended further reading suggestions.

Depressive Illness: The Curse of the Strong is an easy read that offers good advice. It will be helpful for anyone suffering from stress-induced depression as well as family or friends who wish to understand this illness better so they can offer support.

BUY a copy from Amazon UK or Amazon US

Book Blurb:

This book has helped many thousands of those who have depression. This new edition, written by a leading consultant psychiatrist, explains that depression tests the strongest of us. Dr Cantopher guides the reader through the nature of depression, its history, symptoms, causes and treatments. He covers the latest information on medications, new guidelines as to the management of depression, and stresses that no one should be to blame for succumbing to depression.

 

I write. I read. I review. #FridayReads #NonFiction #YA

On By shelleywilson72In Authors, Blogging, Books, Fiction, Indie Author, Inspirational, mind body spirit, Non Fiction, Reading, Self Publishing, Social Media, The Writing Process, Urban Fantasy, Wellbeing, Writing, Young Adult22 Comments

Reading is a favourite hobby of mine, not just as a way to escape the daily grind but it also helps evolve my skills as a writer. It was Stephen King who told us “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others. Read a lot and write a lot.”

Losing yourself in a good book is the perfect way to relax and unwind. It’s thought that reading for just six minutes a day can reduce stress levels by 68%.

Sharing the wonderful books I’ve read and reviewed is the highlight of my blogging life. When a book touches my heart or reduces me to tears, makes me laugh out loud, or shudder with fear, then I know I’ve found a masterpiece. Continue reading “I write. I read. I review. #FridayReads #NonFiction #YA” →

Does Everyone Have a Book in Them? #selfpublishing

On By shelleywilson72In Authors, Books, Fiction, Fun Stuff, Indie Author, Inspirational, mind body spirit, Non Fiction, Poetry, Self Publishing, Social Media, The Writing Process, Women's Fiction, Writing, Writing Tools, WWWBlogs23 Comments

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At the beginning of March, I attended the Women In Business Conference in Coventry hosted by the team at Socially Shared. I wrote about the day over on my motivational blog; you can read that post HERE.

As well as attending this empowering event, I was also honoured to run a couple of the afternoon workshop sessions on the topic of self-publishing. Getting me to talk about writing, publishing, or books, in general, is an easy thing to do, but trying to shut me up can be quite a challenge. As it happens, I had forty-five minutes per session to share my knowledge, experience, and tips with my audience, so keeping it brief was a necessity.

Normally, when I attend various fairs and author talks throughout the year, I am inundated with people telling me how they would love to write a book. Some people are still shaping an idea, others have begun getting their story down on paper, and a few have reached the stage where publication is the next step. At the self-publishing workshops, there were only two ladies who were thinking about or had started to write. I was initially surprised by this feedback, but the more we got into the session, the more I realised how difficult it could be for people to know how or where to start.

ss-conference-2017-131

As I write non-fiction, it was easy to base my talk on writing to enhance your business. My first two books were based on personal development classes I ran as part of my holistic health business; Meditation for Beginners and Vision Boards for Beginners.

Choosing a section of your business and turning this into a guidebook, a how-to book, or even a memoir can add another income stream to your company. It also works the other way too, as I am now asked to run talks and workshops based on my book How I Changed My Life in a Year.

Talking through the process of publishing via platforms such as KDP, Smashwords, Lulu, and Createspace showed my attendees how easy the procedure could be. We didn’t discuss dominating the best seller lists, or hitting huge sales targets; this workshop concentrated more on writing a book to use as a promotional funnel, sales tool, or a corporate giveaway.

I was delighted at the end of my sessions, to hear the majority of the ladies tell me how inspired they were to write. I was equally excited about the ideas they had unlocked throughout the forty-five minutes I’d been talking.

ss-conference-2017-137

Does everyone have a book in them? Yes, I believe that’s true. I’m also fully aware that not everyone has the skill, time, or desire to write. However, it only takes one idea. A concept that can be cultivated into something wonderful, even if it means employing a ghost writer to pen a book with you.

I thoroughly enjoyed running both workshops and received incredible feedback during and after the event. I hope to continue to support the ladies who were inspired, and hopefully, in the future, run more self-publishing and writing workshops.

The photographs included in this post were taken by the event photographer, Faye Green. You can find Faye on Facebook HERE.

Let me leave you with a couple of questions. For the authors – is there a book you long to write but haven’t started yet? For the novice writers – do you believe you have a book in you, and if so what genre would you like to write for?

Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed this post. Want more? Connect with me here:  Twitter @ShelleyWilson72, Instagram or check out my Facebook pages http://www.facebook.com/FantasyAuthorSLWilson and http://www.facebook.com/MotivateMeBlog. You can also find me on Pinterest

#TuesdayBookBlog Twelve Lessons by Kate Spencer #NewAge #Romance #BookReview

On By shelleywilson72In Book Review, Book Reviews, Books, Fiction, Inspirational, mind body spirit, Reading, Romance Fiction, Tuesday Book Blog, Wellbeing, Women's Fiction4 Comments

Title: Twelve Lessons

Author: Kate Spencer

Category: Contemporary Romance/New Age/Personal Transformation

My Rating: 4*

twelve-lessons-by-kate-spencer
Amazon UK | US

My Review:

Having brought my own life back from the brink on several occasions, I felt that Kate Spencer’s book, Twelve Lessons would be a perfect read for me.

It’s very cleverly written as it fits into the personal development genre and yet it’s disguised as a contemporary romance. Stephanie Slater’s life falls apart at the seams, with one disaster after another landing at her feet. She attends a party where there is a Tarot reader who tells her that certain hardships are coming her way, but she refuses to believe such a charlatan. Stephanie is fine. Life is fine. Nothing could ever burst her bubble – could it? Continue reading “#TuesdayBookBlog Twelve Lessons by Kate Spencer #NewAge #Romance #BookReview” →

#TuesdayBookBlog Numerology: Discover Your Life Purpose #BookReview

On By shelleywilson72In Blogging, Book Review, Books, Fun Stuff, Inspirational, mind body spirit, Non Fiction, Tuesday Book Blog, Wellbeing13 Comments

Numerology: Discover Your Future, Life Purpose and Destiny from your Birth Date and Name. My original book review for this title was published on my motivational blog, Motivate Me! but this book was so fascinating that I thought it deserved another share.

numerology

When Hay House brought out their ‘Hay House Basics’ series, I jumped at the chance to add their version of Numerology to my growing collection. Numerology: Discover Your Future, Life Purpose and Destiny from your Birth Date and Name by Michelle Buchanan is just one book in a growing catalogue of back to basics mind, body, and spirit books ranging from Angels to the Qabalah, and Astrology to Tarot. Continue reading “#TuesdayBookBlog Numerology: Discover Your Life Purpose #BookReview” →