Guest Author & Giveaway: TJ Michaels
Well, people, it’s been ages but…I HAVE A BOO!! For those not up on the most modern lingo (like yours truly until just a few minutes ago) that means I am dating. This is a major squeeee moment considering I have been single since my children were two and four years old and they’ve just hit their twenties. In fact, the newly-overwith dry spell can be credited with giving me inspiration for my book, Caramel Kisses.
Many would think the book was about cooking or desserts or something. But in fact, it’s about a woman who has spent her life taking care of her younger sister and making her own way up the corporate ladder. Now that her sister has her own career, what’s stopping this woman from going forward with her own life? The answer: fear. Total, utter and abject fear.
What if it doesn’t work out? What if she made a poor choice in her mate? What if, what if, what if, what if…?
If we let it, fear of the unknown, fear of the new, or fear of the ‘damn, I haven’t seen or done this in ages’ can keep us from discovering something magical and fantastic.
So, I’m going to put my new beau and my family on the hook and ask them to help me with this blog post.
TJ: You’re an active duty military dude and a total bad ass. What are some of the things that you fear?
Mr. TJ: Failure.
TJ: Failure? But why?
Mr. TJ: Because when we fail, people die. Sometimes when we succeed people still die. The worst thing is to fail.
That was an eye opener. So, I moved on to my family.
TJ: What is the biggest thing you fear?
Son: To not leave an imprint on the world. If I don’t do something to make the world better, I’m afraid I’ll feel like I was just a useless person.
Daughter: Letting people down and being replaced because I’m not good enough.
TJ: I don’t understand.
Daughter: For example, what if I’m really good at business, but then I get fired because someone better comes along. Or if I’m in a relationship and I’m not meeting the person’s needs then I’ll be alone. It’s the idea that your all isn’t good enough.
Hope-to-be-daughter-in-law: To be unwanted.
Well, that needed no explanation.
On the flip side, you can face a fear and defeat it if you know what it is, right? And I can happily say that everyone I spoke to is charging forward in their lives.
And the awesome heroine in Caramel Kisses did the same. By choosing to overcome her fear of failing in her relationship, though she was long out of practice, she went on to have a truly happy ever after.
I think I’ll do the same.
What about you? Leave a comment answering my question along with a valid contact email and you’ll have a chance at winning an ecopy (either Kindle or Nook) of Caramel Kisses. I’ll pick a name (or Lissa’s PA Brandy will) in a couple of days.
Links to Caramel Kisses:
