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Featured Guest Writer

Time To Put “OM” Blogger Jason Cushman In The “Hot Seat!”

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer A Writer's Thoughts, Featured Guest, Featured Guest Writer , , , , ,

 

Hey, look! “It’s a bird, it’s a Plane! NO, It’s SUPER JASON!!

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Yes, this Cape Crusader is one of the most “Popular WordPress bloggers I know. So, I thought it was high time to put Jason Cushman of ‘The Opinionated Man’ ON THE HOT SEAT!

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Now I know many bloggers, friends, and visitors may know Jason from his awesome blogs, over at  HarsH ReaLiTy | A Good Blog is Hard to Find ….

Sometimes I get confused, but at age 53 I am told that is due to hovering in “old age.” Jason has loads of happenings going on over on his blog with a gazillion names like OM, HarsH ReaLiTy, Opinionated Man, and, OH, A Good Blog Is Hard To Find? So I ask? Which The Hell is it Jason? LOL. LOL. So, I am hoping you will learn a wee bit more about this interesting man of mystery we all may not know! Let me start with a few “Hot Seat” questions I asked Jason . . . .

*Hot Seat Interview Questions*

 

Cat – I and many readers know you are a very popular blogger, what is something readers may not know about you?


Jason:  “I think new readers may not realize that I am not popular at all. I have simply taken the time to meet and associate with a lot of bloggers. That is how you form online relationships and a community of your own. Popularity is just a word, in reality. you only get back what you give.


Cat – How did you decide to start book promoting for authors? Do you enjoy reading books?
Jason: “I do enjoy reading books, but specific books and authors. I simply felt it was easy to offer some authors a little help through my platform and I do sometimes feel bad for those caught in the struggle to get noticed.”

Cat – Have you ever considered writing a book? If so, what genre or type would you write?

Jason: “I’ve considered it. I have a few in mind, but the first book would probably be a memoir in format.”

Cat – Tell readers a little about yourself?

 

Jason:  “I was born in Pusan, South Korea and was left on a street when I was 3 years old. I was adopted and lived my early childhood in Jackson, Mississippi which was… interesting. I moved to Memphis, TN around the first grade and although similar in some ways, Memphis was very different in others. My adopted parents are white. My mom is a writer and my father is a doctor, I have an adopted sister who is Korean as well, and I have a white adopted brother. I am the middle child.

I grew up playing competitive soccer, golf, and gymnastics. I hate baseball so I guess I will never be “American.” Something about small hard objects being thrown at my face does not appeal to me. I was never tall enough when I was younger and did not get picked often to play basketball. They would say “we will takkkkkkeeee… Cindy!!!” “DAMMIT!!!”

Growing up with all white friends and black school mates was a bummer because I was generally in the lower 25% in height and weight. A fact that was readily apparent in physical altercations, but I will say that I gave as good as I got. I grew up white which really is simply the truth. I didn’t even eat Asian food, and yes I say Asian here because I wasn’t Korean at the time.

I attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and quickly went from a good student to a below average student. Mainly because for some reason to do well in school you have to attend class, a concept that passed me by. I did not do well in college mostly because of anger at my birth mom, which I discovered in 2000. I still have not met her or talked to her and she has kept me from ever meeting my older sister, whom I didn’t know existed till 2000 as well. It took me 12 years to move past that. I still like soju, though… so at least I have a comforting companion.
I enjoy writing, poetry, history, animal shows, ESPN, a few regular shows, and I also LOVE Anthony Bourdain. (CNN ) If I could meet him I would, he has inspired me in many ways. I would also love to meet Robert Jordan, W.E.B. Griffin, and Raymond E. Feist, my three favorite authors. Unfortunately, I will have to wait a bit to meet Jordan, RIP we will always miss you, Robert. Your light still shines.

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Jason-Cushman
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Currently, I work in information technology under the yoke of ‘Corporate Rule’ … but maybe one day I will be able to be a real writer. Right now I do not consider myself a writer at all, in fact, I would say I am an amateur pretending to be a writer. I will accept the title of blogger though, that I suppose I have earned. I enjoy scotch, 12 years or even older if I can afford it. Famous Grouse is my favorite brand because it is cheap, but if I could drink Macallen every day I would. Unfortunately, my Crohn’s keeps me from drinking too much of that, probably a good thing.

What else… this is beginning to sound pretty frivolous. I like to debate and I admire conviction and passion in anyone. I dislike people who throw facts around without basis, or that try to validate themselves by throwing up hypothetical statements. That to me is the most annoying thing ever. I guess I am more human than I thought.
I currently live in Colorado with my wife and two daughters. It snows here. I hate snow. Anyways, that is pretty much me.

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HEY NOW! Look what I found! Jason DOES NOT LIKE Snow? Bet he didn’t SEE this one coming, Right Jason?

 

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GOTTCHA JASON!!! LOL
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Jason is such a good sport!. One last thing that is important I did ask Jason.

Cat – Where and how can readers and authors find what you offer with “Book Promotions” and how readers can find the books and author’s you promote?


Jason:  “I list my book promotion terms on my personal blog at https://aopinionatedman.com/book-promotion-terms/. I also show my current promoted books on my WordPress blog at https://aopinionatedman.wordpress.com/

YOU can also find Jason on social media too! On Facebook: Opinionated Man – -Opinionated Man Jason C. Cushman … – Facebook  And on Twitter: @SmokeNdust

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So I thank Jason Cushman “WordPress Blogger Extraordinaire” for letting me put him on “Lyon Book Promotions Hot Seat” for a little while. I met Jason on WordPress years ago. He was actually a very nice blogger pal to me when I first started visiting his blog three years ago. Has really been that long? Wow. I took to his funny sense of sarcastic humor when some just “didn’t get it!” I love that he never holds back and shares just what he feels, and he shares a lot of his personal life through his blog like this post that touched my heart because I know how Jason felt:  Struggle To Feel “Accepted”  …

He knows I too suffer from a few mental health challenges myself and have also been in that complete “dark hopelessness” as he has. When he writes and shares about that part of his life, that truly is the “human side” of Jason. Not many can do that in an open forum like he and I both do on our blogs. So when I need a pick me up, all I do is go to Jason’s blog and find something there that takes me out of “myself” to me feel better!

So know this Mr. OM,  ….  my best-est “Cape Crusader”? Thanks for being such a great friend. Thanks for doing a ‘Fantabulous Job’ in your new venture of promoting my book and many authors I am sure “Thank You” for giving them a new book promotion platform for their books so readers find them. You really are appreciated in the “Blogging Community!!!”  XOXO

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Authors? Don’t hesitate to go get your Book Promotion Package with Jason  ….

 

“Lyon Book & Social Media Promotions by Author/Columnist, Catherine Lyon”  :-)

Guest Author Article by John White. Turn That Career Around Into SUCCESS Author’s and Business People.

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Featured Guest, Featured Guest Writer , , , ,

 I Thought My Career Was Over Until I Did These 5 Things ~Here are 5 tips to turn your career around.

 

BY JOHN WHITE
Founder and CMO, Social Marketing Solutions 
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(CREDIT: Getty Images)

It was just over three years ago that I thought my career was over.

I remember the exact moment well: There I sat in my drab, mundane-looking cubicle, which sat in the middle of a rather large call center. Most days I could drown out the noise.

However, on that day, the sound of what seemed like 1,000 simultaneous conversations going on left me unable to focus. I sat there with my head buried in my hands.

You see, I had just realized at that very moment that the company I had recently joined was far more dysfunctional than the one I had just left.

This wasn’t the first time I had left a job to go to another company in hopes of greener grass only to end up being worse off than I was before. I was depressed and unhappy to think that a career that only a few years before had looked quite promising was in jeopardy of going nowhere, and I felt like a complete failure.

I needed to do something to change the course I was on, and it wasn’t simply to change companies again. I attribute reversing my career path to five things. 

1. Take ownership of your career.

Up until that point, I had been quick to blame external factors for my unhappiness and the shortcomings in my career. I put the blame on things like bad management, company policy, poor timing, etc.

The result is that I stopped improving as a professional, and if I’m honest, I probably regressed a bit.

Making a change in your career is tough. However, perhaps the hardest part is admitting that you need to change yourself to make the career change you desire.

2. Be bold.

If doing things the way you’ve always done them has gotten you to the point in your career where you’re feeling like a failure, it’s time to try something new and bold.

For me, that was starting a blog. Before I started my blog on LinkedIn just over two years ago, the only people who had ever read my writing were my college professors and my mother.

In fact, there was almost nobody from my inner circle telling me I should start a blog. I decided to do it anyway.

Can a blog change your career? After a few of my blog posts went viral on LinkedIn and received over a million page views, I began to get offers to write professionally, which led to the start of my company and the career path I’m on now.

3. Continue your education.

For me, that meant getting an MBA at age 39. I needed additional skills and knowledge to move ahead in my career.

I reached the point where I was no longer learning in my position. I needed an outside source to inspire me to develop the new skills I lacked, which was preventing me from reaching my career goals.

You don’t have to pursue a fancy degree from a formal institution. In today’s online world, there are all sorts of ways to further your learning and gain the skills you need to move ahead: certificate programs, short-term courses, webinars, online learning programs, etc.

4. Become entrepreneurial.

You don’t have to quit your day job! However, if you’re like I was and you feel stuck in a position where your skills are being underutilized, consider doing some consulting work or starting a side business.

Doing so could lead you to several positive career outcomes: additional income added skills that you can use to gain a more fulfilling position or a successful startup that ultimately replaces your corporate job.

Today, I’m working with two startups–my own Social Marketing Solutions, a social media marketing agency, and beBee, a high-growth business social-media and blogging network with 11 million users.

5. Get social.

Before I invested in social media, I was always the one reaching out to people about opportunities. My networking activities were 100 percent outbound-based.

Once I started to grow my online community and produce insightful content, a significant shift occurred: People began to contact me. In fact, all of the business for my company has come from my online activities. Instead of me always being the one to initiate contact, now people regularly seek me out to discuss opportunities.

While my career journey is far from complete, I now feel as though my work is appreciated, meaningful, and fulfilling. I’ve stopped blaming external factors and switching jobs when things don’t go my way.

“I finally realized that when it comes to my career, the grass is as green as I make it.”

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About John White & Social Marketing Solutions:

Columnist at INC Magazine. Founder and CMO, Social Marketing Solutions LLC.

Social Marketing Solutions, (SMS) is located in historic Old Town Fort Collins, Colorado, servicing clients locally, nationally, and internationally. SMS specializes in online branding utilizing today’s latest inbound marketing tactics to tell your brand story to potential customers, making it easier for them to find your website and purchase your products or services.

“Marketing is no longer about pushing a product, rather it’s the stories you tell about your brand value that sets you apart from the competition.”

 

Connect with them for more tips on Twitter
Over on Facebook
And with John White on LinkedIn or Email John: juanblanco61@gmail.com
 

 

Guest Writer Interview Of Mystery Author, Kim Carter . . .

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Author News, Featured Guest Writer , , , , ,

Hello and Welcome Readers, Friends & Visitors,

kim

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Today I would like you to meet one of the best mystery writers
around as far as I am concerned.
Please meet Author Kim (Herron) Carter and
all four of her fantastic mystery thriller reads.

Her newest book SWEET DREAMS, Baby Belle is receiving
Rave Reviews over on Amazon Books. She had
recently been interviewed over on Awesomegang Book Club,
and it is such a great interview I wanted to share it
on my blog so my readers can get to know more of
Kim’s writing technique.

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kim and turb
(Kim and her hubby rescued retired greyhounds)

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~Writer’s Interview With Mystery Thriller Author, Kim (Herron) Carter~

 

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m the mother of three grown children and live in Atlanta, Ga. I’ve written eight novels, four of which have been published, and I’m currently working on my first series.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sweet Dreams Baby Belle is my latest book and it was actually inspired by a young child’s tombstone in the Biloxi City Cemetery in Mississippi. Although the book is fiction, her small broken monument touched and inspired me. After two years of research to discover the truth about Baby Belle, we were able to find out very little about her short life. This mystery is a tribute to that little girl who died in the late 1800’s.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I always write in my pajamas. I mean, who doesn’t want to be comfortable? I also write best when it’s raining. I have a sound machine with thunder and lightning, but it’s just not the same as when it’s storming outside.

What author’s or books have influenced you?
I’ve been influenced by so many great mystery writers starting with Sue Grafton. I also love Iris Johansen, Karin Slaughter, and Mary Higgins Clark.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a series that is actually a spin-off of Sweet Dreams Baby Belle. I just wasn’t quite ready to let go of some of those characters.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Awesomegang of course! But. I have to give some ‘Kudos’ to my little book promoter – Catherine at Lyon Book & Social Media Promotions has done an excellent job in getting my mystery books out to the readers who will enjoy them.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t let anyone discourage you! I’m trying to get thicker skin but sometimes it’s difficult.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My mother told me all the time as a child and often as an adult that ‘practice makes perfect’. Some days my writing is better than others and I’m not afraid to delete a sub-par day of writing.

What are you reading now?
The Witches by Stacy Schiff

What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue writing for as long as I enjoy it. I have a new book almost done to release early summer 2016, which is book 2 of the Sweet Dreams series.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Oh wow, just 3 or 4? Could I take 3 or 4 books from each of my favorite all-time authors? That’s not fair, I know, but I’m going for it… Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sue Grafton’s Alphabet Series, Beverly Cleary, and John Steinbeck.

 

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More About Kim The Author & Writer:

Kim Carter, Author and prolific writer of Contemporary Mystery, Suspense, and Thriller novels, a fan favorite among avid mystery readers has an array of released titles like; “When Dawn Never Comes,” “Deadly Odds,” “No Second Chances,” and her new release, “Sweet Dreams, Baby Belle.”

Kim has been writing mysteries for some time and has a large reader fan base who enjoys all her books, as it shows with the many 5-star book reviews given by her readers. She continues to write for her mystery fans, as she enjoys interacting and engaging with them.

Kim and her husband have raised three successful grown children and have vested in retired greyhound dogs, and they enjoy attending the many events held annually for them, as well as educating others about their need for great homes and what great pets they make after retirement.

Kim, a college graduate of Saint Leo University, she has a Bachelor Degree of Arts in Sociology. She has worked in Human Services in the Grant Division before becoming an author. She lives in the Atlanta, Georgia. Between reading and traveling with her beautiful family, she will continue to write mysteries for years to come for her avid readers.

Kim’s has just finished her 5th mystery book and will be released early summer 2016. It is a new volume of the Sweet Dreams series. Early edit reviews say it maybe an Amazon Best Seller!

 

Author Websites and Profiles
Kim Herron Amazon Profile

 

Kim Herron’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Buy the Book On Amazon.

 


“Presented by Lyon Book Promotions & Interview Courtesy of Awesomegang Book Promotions”