Forget Amazon: Here’s how to buy my book

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Something screwy is going on with Amazon. This week, after receiving yet another new purchase order for my book of personal essays, Writing Home, it dawned on me that I haven’t received any payments from Amazon for the books I’ve sold in more than a year — including Kindle and paperback editions. Where the heck is my money?!

My attempts to resolve this issue with Amazon have been unsuccessful, impersonal, and frustrating. Therefore, I will no longer fulfill new orders for the book on Amazon. (You can purchase used copies of Writing Home on Amazon, since these are sold by independent sellers.)

I still have a few new copies of Writing Home in storage, but the title will be out of print when these are sold. Until then, I will continue to supply books to local shops such as Yellow Door Art Market, and I will fulfill orders by mail. For details on how to purchase signed copies of the book directly from me ($20 including shipping), contact me using the form on this web site.

Written during the years I worked at home while raising my son, the book has been called “a love letter to home and family life.”  It includes 93 pieces that were previously published in national magazines and newspaper columns, and has earned several creative non-fiction awards, including one fom Writer’s Digest and another from Midwest Independent Publishers Association.

 

Intuition is our inner radar

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Artwork by Cindy La Ferle

According to scientists, our sixth sense — otherwise known as intuition — improves with age. In the June issue of Michigan Prime, I discuss how this inner radar can help us make better decisions, avoid danger, and improve our relationships. You’ll find the print edition of the supplement in your Sunday Detroit Free Press, or you can read it online (page 3) here.

Blogging, up close and personal

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Photo: Cindy La Ferle

As a lifestyles columnist, I’ve been concerned about new research on how social media use impacts our mental health, productivity, and well-being. I’m also watching new developments in social media privacy issues.

Which is part of the reason I decided to start a personal blog, Things that make me happy.  I like to think of it as an online journal, a safe place where I can share my creative projects or whatever strikes my interest at the moment — new books I’m reading, political musings, family updates, inspirational quotes, photos of my gardens and places I’m visiting — and anything else I’d share with good friends. (I’ll continue to use Cindy La Ferle’s Home Office strictly as a professional resume and for public writing workshop announcements.) 

To view Things that make me happy, please visit here.

 

The annual spring fashion report

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Accessories at the Studio Sandra clothing boutique, Royal Oak. Photo by Cindy La Ferle

Here in Detroit, there’s no shortage of stylish, creative women. In the May issue of Michigan Prime, I return to the topic of discovering and celebrating our individual style — despite the fact that most fashion magazines still overlook women over 50. For this story, I interviewed several local women of style, including Sandra Rome, the owner of Studio Sandra, a tres-chic boutique in Royal Oak. 

Look for the magazine in your Sunday Detroit Free Press this weekend, or click here to read the feature online.

Click here to read an earlier fashion post that includes links to a few of my favorite fashion blogs for women over 50.

 

A workshop to jumpstart your writing

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“I’ve never met many of my best friends. I’ve read them, as if all their words were letters meant for me. You have no idea who’s waiting for your work. Don’t leave them friendless.” ~Martha Beck

There was a time — before I used a computer — when I wrote my columns and essays in my journals, and later typed them into manuscripts for my editors. Even today, when I’m feeling stuck or blocked, I start scribbling random thoughts in a notebook.

Version 2If you live in the Detroit area, please join me at the Royal Oak Public Library next week for “Write Where You Are,” an evening workshop on how to use journaling prompts to jumpstart your memoirs and personal essays. The prompts will help you recall valuable life lessons and experiences that can be used as material for your memoirs, blog posts, or personal essays.

When and where: April 24, 2017, 7pm in the Royal Oak Public Library Friends Auditorium. This program is free to the public, but space is limited. Please phone the Royal Oak Public Library (248-246-3700) to reserve your space. Copies of my book, Writing Home, will be sold after the workshop at a special discount.