The Spring Photo Shoot is complete and I think we can call it a success! The weather was absolutely beautiful and everyone was in a great mood and we even managed to get some good shots! This photo shoots purpose was to get an author photo for the upcoming release of my second Christian-fiction novel, Waiting for the Sun that comes out on May 20th. But it should also give me some good publicity photos for any number of other things coming up. The pictures with the quotes on them seem to do really well and get shared quite often, so I get a lot of feedback from them. With the back drop of some of these photos, (they were taken at the Missouri Botanical Gardens! 80 acres of beautifulness!!) they are perfect for some quotes I've got laying around!! Lol And lastly, the website needed a little cleaning up so some of the pictures will be featured there as well. A little bit of me splashed all over the place! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my make-up artist, Mary Spezia. She is my go-to girl when it comes to my face and hair. She takes really good care of me and always knows the "look" I am going for. She is patient and funny and is always ready for a touch-up. She is not afraid to hold up the process if she doesn't think I look "just right"! And I love her for that!! Also, thank you to Iramil Kneemiller for assisting my awesome photographer and for making sure the was set up right, my arm was in the right spot and the wrinkles were pulled out before any film was wasted! And my photographer, Shaun Kneemiller. I love working with this man! He is so very talented and has such a brilliant eye. While his wife and my make-up artist were making me fabulous, he was patient and would fill his time taking pictures of other things around us. (Which turned out amazing as well!!) He is destined for great things in the photography world and I am honored to be able to say that I found him first!! We work together so well and I only have to describe an idea and he is off and running with it. I am so happy that he takes the time out of his busy schedule for me. So, back to this whole author photo thing... I am asking for help in choosing the actual photo that will be used on the back cover of the book. So, if you are so inclined to add your opinion, I would be most grateful. You'll be able to see the photos revealed one at a time on Facebook (Elizabeth Bourgeret- Author or EBourgeret), twitter (EBourgeret), google+ (+ElizabethBourgeret) or instagram (EBourgeret) all next week. If you could let me know what you think by leaving a comment or sharing or liking, I can narrow down the choices. I love having your opinions! So, follow me on the social media outlets and let me know what you think of Shaun's handiwork!! I am so grateful to have people around me that love me and encourage me! Thank you to everyone that helps Elizabeth Bourgeret be all that I am supposed to be!!
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Crossroads I don't know what I'm afraid of. I've been here before... at the crossroads. But every time I make my way to this point, I am stricken with fear. Choices. Go right? Go left? Go straight? ... go back? What if it's the wrong choice? I am standing at the crossroads. I can see the choices before me... and that familiar fear creeps up my throat and makes it hard to breathe. I am deathly afraid of failure. Its actually a ridiculous circle of events, I work and work and work so hard just to get me to this point and then I am freaked out when I get here. And one of two things is going to happen... Either, I will push ahead and give it my all and will face whatever outcome results from it, or subconsciously sabotage the project so that when I fail I have something to blame it on. Is it sad that I can literally SEE my two choices before me? This is a big one. It's not like changing the color of my livingroom walls or even buying a new car. My choices in front of me are life changing. If I fail at this, it will knock me back quite a few notches. Sure, I've been there before, at the bottom of the failure pile ... but I don't like it. I realize that sometimes you have to fail before you can succeed, and I could really use a success. If you've been following my blogs, you have seen how I am shifting slightly in my niche. I am turning my focus to teens and family coaching and diving in head first into the workshops and seminars. I have peace about my decision right up until the time I have to take action on it. So I've done all the small things, the research, the writing, the connections, the announcements... but now, it's actually time to do it. It's time to offer my first workshop. It's time to suck it up and start making videos for on-line seminars and the blogs, etc. It's time to make the new website go live. It's time to put the wheels in motion. Scary stuff... Scary, scary stuff... So, this is me where I am at this juncture of my writing career. Thank you for letting me share my trials with you and thank you for your prayers and kind words. I know the direction I need to follow. I am standing in the crossroads, but I know the direction I need to take. It's just a matter of taking that first step. Maybe tomorrow.... yes, definitely tomorrow. As many of you know I can barely contain the excitement about launching my new teen line! New books, new websites, new workshops and new coaching services! We just completed technically two photo shoots and I am thrilled to be able to put the photos to use! So let me begin with my thanks. Thank you to Scott Neer who was our photographer for the St. Louis shoot. He is most comfortable in the sports world or has beautiful, and I mean beautiful pictures of animals from zoos. This time, I think Scott met his match! I'm sure he'd rather have hockey players and polar bears than have to ever deal with teenagers and great danes again! Lol. We gave him a run for his money. Thankfully, we got a few good pictures that will be used for our upcoming events. Jenni Muzillo who was the photographer for the Arkansas shoot. She got in there with the kids, lined them up, and really showed their best sides! She took tons of pictures and it will be hard to narrow down my favorites. Mary Spezia, of Sweet Note Styles, who does my hair and make-up did a lovely job as usual. Unfortunately, on the St. Louis shoot, her artwork stays hidden under sunglasses most of the time! Outdoor shoots can sometimes get tricky! Lol. But that's okay, I felt pretty! Joey Felps, my go-to behind the sceens guy took TONS of pictures!! They are so much fun to look at. I see a bloopers reel coming! Paul Arthur took on the job of capturing video. He is the creator behind my website and has been urging me to get some video on there, so we started at the St. Louis shoot. It was so windy that I don't know how much of it is usable, but hey, it was our first attempt! AND, I might mention, this is a huge hurdle for me that I am struggling to overcome. Seeing myself on video... not a pleasant thing... And most of all, thanks to the kids that took the time out of their busy teenage lives to help me out when I needed them. They were all so wonderful and had great attitudes and beautiful smiles and were a joy to work with. In no particular order, I thank: Ariel Cummings, Catalina Holbrook, Laycie Bivens, Thomas Arnold, Elizabeth Weick, Eric Cummings, Chrissy Holbrook, Dylan Blackwood, John Cummings, Dustin O'Donnell, Katie Bourgeret-Caldwell, Andrew Hopkins, Will Skaggs, Emma Sievers, Megan Jines, Austin Brown, Thomas Cornelious, Daniel Hopkins, Ashley Evers, Kylie Prestien & even my Great Dane, Meera. Look for these wonderful faces to start showing up everywhere! I am so excited at the turn of events for my future and I can't wait to get started! What are your priorities? What moves you to work a little harder? What motivates you to reach your goals? What is on that priority list that you keep in your head? Do those items move your forward? Or work as a reward for you? Or keep you in defeating habits? Traveling, is a priority to me. It seems to me that I am most productive when I am traveling. I'm not sure why that is... Maybe its the lack of a set schedule, or the relaxed state of mind that I fall into when I am allowed to leave my daily grind. Or maybe it's just the change of scenery that shakes things up a bit. When I am driving, out on the long highways of America, a couple things happen. First, I am so filled with a patriotic pride that I live in a country where I am allowed to freely move through state after state just because I want to. And let's not forget the beauty that each state has to offer as I pass through their small towns and big cities and miles and miles of untouched land. I get to meet and talk with people from all walks of life and all matters of culture, and food! Don't even get me started on the variety of foods there are to try! And second, those hours spent in the car, my mind is free and has no boundaries. I come up with my best ideas, story-lines and future plans behind the wheel of my SUV. Being able to travel is a high priority for me. Even when my budget is tight, I have to make an allowance that will let me travel. Usually to an ocean destination. The ocean feeds me, makes me feel strong and yet very small at the same time. It literally washes away my tension and no matter how many times I see it, I stand in awe. When I am allowed to travel, I write more (which is important for an author!). I am inspired. I feel sense of worth and can clearly see the goals for my future. I also know that these circumstances are limited, so I try and make the most while I am away. A little work, a little sight seeing, a little cultural experience and a little relax time. It's a balance that has taken me years to perfect! I also travel because the winter does bad things to me! I absolutely hate to be cold and am not a big fan of snow. But for the moment, I must stay where I am residentially, so I use travel to help break up the long dark winters. And finally, traveling keeps me moving forward. Literally. It works in a circle. I am more motivated to reach my goals, to create more speaking events, to make more money, to be able to travel. And now being asked to travel AS my job? Well, that's just about perfect! I am so thankful that my world is opening up to create those opportunities! Keeping those priorities in front of me!! Keeping me on the road and traveling... So keep an eye out for me in your town in the near future. I am going to be offering a whole new series of seminars and speaking topics!! I am so excited about what my future has in store for me and I am excited to share it with you! I'm looking forward to meeting you and visiting your home towns. So, if you live in a warm climate I could show up any time! But if you live in the colder climates, I'll be around to visit in the summers! Big things happening at elizabethbourgeret.com! Stay tuned so you don't miss a thing! Congratulations to all twenty winners of the Goodreads Give-away Contest!! And thank you to all 984 people who entered to win!! I am so inspired by the feedback I have gotten from this, my debut novel! I am very grateful to have the opportunity to get this book into the hands of some avid readers and am anxious for their feed back! For those of you who were not chosen as winners, may I offer that Amazon has Captive Heart on sale and is available for free shipping! (http://www.amazon.com/Captive-Heart-Elizabeth-Bourgeret/dp/147917453X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378003819&sr=8-1&keywords=elizabeth+bourgeret) "This book is inspiring and is a great read for all of us who are or have at some point faced adversity that tested our faith in what we know and feel." - Jessie King "This is one great novel. I average about 3-4 books each month and this one is in a class by itself. So realistic that it really grabs you by the throat (and heart)." - Terry Hutton "I absolutely loved this book! I had trouble putting it down since there were so many exciting parts and I couldn't wait to see what happened next." -Megan Chadwick "It was incredible! I laughed, I cried... Seriously, a good book! Thank you!" - Christy Lawson, Element Church, Wentzville, MO Congratulations again to: D. Senn of Portland OR, D. Duncan of Dover OH, M. Geenen of Redmond OR, P. Bogue of Hopkinton RI, C. Chu of San Francisco CA, B. Wheeler of Spokane WA, H. Bridenstine of Crossville TN, G. Ocamplo of Chicago IL, J. Morris-Duffy of Portland OR, M. Melton of Lincoln NE, J. Kohman of Salina KS, M Dotson of Marshall TX, J. White of DuPont WA, S. Tromm of Tracys Landing MD, C. Diggs of Pensacola FL, H. Kinnon Tallahassee FL, L. Siebeneichen of Adamstown MD, L. Fennimore of Flagtown NJ, and T. Smith of Van Nuys CA!! It is so exciting to see all the different cities that Captive Heart is heading out to! I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I did writing it! |
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