Heather Erickson ~ Author~Writer~Speaker

The Pink Bonnet: A Book Review

heatherericksonauthorReviewsMay 18, 2019

After the 1st book in the “True Colors” series, blew me away, I was looking forward to the next offering in the series. I was rewarded! In “The Pink Bonnet,” author, Liz Tolsma, explores the underbelly of Memphis Tennessee in the 1930s when parents dared not to leave their children alone, for fear they may just disappear.Imagine leaving your child with a neighbor so you can go on a job interview. You return home to discover the neighbor has given her to someone who runs an orphanage. What lengths would you go to, to get her back? That’s just what Read more…

Those People : A Book Review

heatherericksonauthorReviewsMay 9, 2019

“Those People” by Louise Candlish is a mystery/psychological thriller set in England that strikes at the heart of where you live. I found it incredibly gripping, similar to the 1990 film, “Pacific Heights,” about a bad renter. Only this was more disturbing, because you don’t have to become a landlord, but you can rarely control who moves into your neighborhood. What’s your recourse when the new neighbor on the block is a menace?The characters were well written and easy to relate to.I couldn’t stop turning pages to see what would happen next. What would this lunatic newcomer do next? And, Read more…

Reflections on the 2019 A to Z Blogging Challenge

heatherericksonauthor2019 A to Z ChallengeMay 8, 2019

The 2019 A to Z Blogging Challenge didn’t go as expected for me. I spent the months of January and February writing posts for both, Facing Cancer with Grace and Heather Erickson Author/Writer/Speaker. I scheduled them to publish automatically, as I have done in past years, planning to use April to comment on other A to Z bloggers’ posts. In past years, this has been extremely helpful. This year A to Z would take a back seat.In March, my husband’s cancer took a dramatic turn for the worse. By the end of March, after repeated visits to the hospital, including Read more…

The Sentence is Death : A Book Review

heatherericksonauthorReviewsMay 3, 2019

“The Sentence is Death” by Anthony Horowitz is the 2nd book in the Detective Daniel Hawthorne Series. The first book in the series is “The Word Is Murder.” What makes this series so unique is how “meta”[1] it is. Horowitz places himself in the story as a writer who is following and working with a disgraced detective turned police consultant, Daniel Hawthorne. They don’t particularly get along. Horowitz spends a great deal of time trying to solve the mystery himself, while also trying to find out what Hawthorne is trying so hard to hide about his private life. These characters Read more…

CaringBridge is a Powerful Medium #IWSG

heatherericksonauthorBlogging, Cancer Information, WritingMay 1, 2019

It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to this month’s IWSG co-hosts: Lee Lowery, Juneta Key, Yvonne Ventresca, and T. Powell Coltrin! Today I will be writing about my experience writing about my husband’s cancer journey on his CaringBridge blog, as I answer the IWSG Day question for May:What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?Maybe it doesn’t qualify as an early experience, but it has by far, been the experience with the most impact. I always loved writing, but I didn’t know if other Read more…

Z is for: Foster Your Inner Zen. Then Write it Down

heatherericksonauthor2019 A to Z Challenge, Get Creative!April 30, 2019

I had a story idea yesterday. I was particularly excited about it because it was the 2nd idea I had this week, and both were brilliant. I was a creative machine! But, I didn’t write it down, so I forgot it. It got me wondering how often a brilliant idea is forgotten because we don’t write it down in time. It’s important to keep track of Zen-inspired ideas—those that hit you spontaneously when you aren’t even trying to come up with them.The A to Z Blogging ChallengeI’m doing double duty this month during the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Here Read more…

Y is for: Your Charisma is Powerful!

heatherericksonauthor2019 A to Z Challenge, Authenticity, Reach Your GoalsApril 29, 2019

My daughter Sam has charisma. When I asked her when she first knew she had charisma, she said, “It’s like knowing the color of your skin. You might not know what to call it, but you know you’ve got it.” She has always known how to get what she wants. At the age of 8, she struck up a conversation with a comedian who was selling CDs of his Christian comedy act. She asked him about one of the CDs that had a scratch on the cover. She convinced him (with very little effort) to give her the CD. Then, Read more…

X is for: Use X-Ray Vision to See Beneath the Surface

heatherericksonauthor2019 A to Z Challenge, Authenticity, Get Creative!April 27, 2019

One of the few arguments my husband and I had was about something beneath the surface. At the time, we were dealing with some discipline issues with our kids. They were typical teenaged issues, but one of our daughters, who is autistic, was taking it personally. So, I felt he was being too hard on her. Normally, it would have been fine, but my concern was that she might question his love for her.Yet, I didn’t want to say this.I didn’t want to say, “What about when you die? What if she doesn’t feel loved by you, and it’s too Read more…

Finding the “Wow” Factor with Pain Points

heatherericksonauthor2019 A to Z Challenge, Get Creative!, WritingApril 26, 2019

Mills & Boon have been publishing romance novels for over a hundred years, yet it was an unknown self-published author, E. L. James, who hit the best seller list with her “50 Shades of Grey.” For millions of people around the world, it had the “WOW” factor. Somehow it has hit an important known (or unknown) need or want, also known as “pain points.” That’s a little bit of wordplay for readers familiar with the book’s premise.Think a challenge your ideal user is facing.What are their biggest pain points?What would really “wow” them?The A to Z Blogging ChallengeI’m doing double Read more…

V is for: Visualize Success for Confidence

heatherericksonauthor2019 A to Z Challenge, Reach Your GoalsApril 25, 2019

When my daughter Summer was about a semester into her college experience at the age of 16, she knew what field she wanted to work in. With great confidence, she asked her professor, “How do I get your job?” The professor told her. Since then, she has been on track to work as an art historian.Visualizing success can you the confidence you need to reach your goals.In 2012, social psychologist, Amy Cuddy gave the TED Talk, Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are.[1] In it, she hypothesizes that your body language not only affects the way you interact with Read more…