Susan Mary Malone

Just yesterday one of my editorial writers corresponded when she received her edited manuscript and critique.  That’s always a bit overwhelming for writers, but she said the magic words: “I hear what you’re saying about this one chapter, but my gut instinct is I need it.” And my response was, “Absolutely follow your gut instinct!”  The […]

Especially first thing in the morning, and last before going to sleep. It’s easy to wake up with negative thoughts, no?  And for sure if you’re not an “Oh, what a beautiful morning!” type of person.  Because you probably woke up grumbling to begin with. Ah, to stay in that wonderful bed would be so […]

Are you working on breaking a habit? That seems perpetual sometimes, no?  I mean, we can always improve.  And that improvement comes down to working on habits of the mind. Because of course, that’s where they live. I was a born skeptic.  At least, I can never remember a time in this lifetime when I […]

Only if you want it to work! We know all the wonderful ways thinking positive affects us.  We’ve listed countless studies showing that those who maintain a good attitude are healthier, more successful, and just live better danged lives. So you don’t have to undertake this as a project.  What you allow purchase in your […]

What makes a successful woman? Of course, that means different things to different people.  And, at different ages and life stages. But I suspect you know what success means for you, in your specific circumstance.  It’s the desire that lies buried deeply in your breast, the goal you shoot for that sometimes seems like some […]

I have the world’s best friends. You may dispute me, countering that yours take the prize.  And I won’t argue that fact 🙂 But not only are my friends in my corner, continuously having my back, whenever necessary, in a crises, they rally to see me through. Last Friday, many of our dog friends traveled to […]

Although this life may indeed be filled with sadness and despair, it’s also chock full of happiness and laughter.  And whenever I’m blue, counting the latter turns my world back to smiles. So let’s see how many things we can find to be happy about. 1). Politics.  Isn’t that a funny one to start off […]

                  10 Habits for Finding Joy in Life Surround yourself with joyful people. Entrepreneur Jim Rohn famously said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Always have a Labrador puppy. Okay, easier for me as a breeder!  But in lieu […]

We all get in crummy moods.  Oh, not the depressive or grieving ones.  Those take a different sort of attention to manage.  But just the down-home, from a definable source or not, garden-variety bad mood. We don’t need to list the causes 🙂 I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being in a bad […]

We all go through dark times.  Funny thing about this life—bad stuff will happen.  It just will. And sometimes, it seems as though the negative stays and stays, moving in like a rabble-rousing relative who refuses to vacate the premises. Sadly, beating it over the head won’t send it away.  In fact, the converse is […]

Do you ever feel like a rat in a maze?  Running from task to turn, spinning until you think, wasn’t I just here?  Chasing a non-existent tail around a sharp-angled curve? Ever feel that way? I’ve just had a sustained time of way too much to do.  We all have those stints.  Where the segments […]

Writing anything is creative, no?  Narrative non-fiction, any sort of non-fiction actually, blogging, article writing, all are creative endeavors. But those’re mostly left-brain undertakings, where you have a plan, an exact theme you’re writing to, usually with quite rigid specs.  That does, though, still take some right-brain spark to make it worth reading. Fiction, however, […]