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Updated Workshop Schedule Through December!
All workshops are currently 2 hours via Zoom
All times are eastern (New Jersey) – 2 HoursTuesday, October 22
Guided Autobiography 2 hour intro (free)
11: 00 AM – 1:00 PM
REGISTERWednesday, November 6 (4 weeks)
4 Week Guided Autobiography ($100)
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
REGISTERMonday, November 18
Fiction Writing Essentials ($40)
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
REGISTERMonday, November 25
Self-Publishing With KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) ($40)
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
REGISTERWednesday December 4
Guided Autobiography 2 hour intro (free)
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
REGISTERMonday December 9
Fiction Writing Essentials ($40)
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
REGISTERMonday, December 16
Self-Publishing with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) ($40)
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
REGISTERWednesday, December 18
Guided Autobiography 2 hour intro (free)
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
REGISTERNEW! 5 Week Guided Autobiography Workshop ($125)
Every Wednesday in April
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
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Social Security Set for 2.5 Percent Increase in 2025
From the Social Security Administration
Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5% in 2025, the Social Security Administration announced today. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $50 per month starting in January.
Over the last decade the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase has averaged about 2.6%. The COLA was 3.2% in 2024.
Nearly 68 million Social Security beneficiaries will see a 2.5% COLA beginning in January 2025. Increased payments to nearly 7.5 million people receiving SSI will begin on December 31, 2024. (Note: Some people receive both Social Security benefits and SSI).
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Client Book Just Published: The Wildflowers Within Her Heart (Poetry), by Tara Elizabeth Benedetti
One of the most rewarding things about working with people to publish their books is that I’m helping them achieve a goal. In this case, a mother’s desire to publish her daughter’s poetry. It was a labor of love for her, and I was able to help her bring it to fruition. Keep reading to understand why it matters to her, and why I feel privileged to help birth this gift from a mother to her beloved but challenged adult child.
The Wildflowers Within Her Heart
Tara Elizabeth Benedetti has written poetry since she was a young girl. Tara wrote a poem when she was 10 years old, in the 5th grade, and it was published when she was 12, in the 7th grade.
The poem “My Windows” was published in the 1993 Edition of the book “Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans.”
Tara was encouraged by her teachers beginning in the 5th grade, and it was always pointed out that she had a profound and rich imagination – the part that can’t be taught.
Tara graduated from Summit High School, in Summit, New Jersey. She obtained a B.A. Degree in Creative Writing and Photo Journalism, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts. She has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickenson University in Madison, New Jersey.
Tara was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was 28 years old, while teaching English in Boston. It has been 16 ½ years of a struggle for Tara. She is now 44 years old. All of her poetry was written before Tara was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
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Self-Publishing Workshop at Hunterdon County Library a Big Success!
Big thanks to the 14 participants who came to my workshop on self-publishing last night at the Hunterdon Country Library, including fellow Mystery Writers of America-NY board member (and president) Nev March. It was so rewarding to engage with everyone, and hear so many of them say how much they liked the workshop. Onward!
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Health Beat: Eli Lilly’s Zepbound (Tirzepatide) No Longer In Shortage (And Why It Matters)
Health Beat is a feature at LGBTSr highlighting health news and issues.
The good news: I’ve lost 24 pounds, with another 20 to go, using Tirzepatide. I’m not arguing for or against using weight loss medication, but after more than a decade of needing to lose some serious weight I’ve finally been able to do it.
The not-so-good news: It’s very expensive for those of us who have to pay the full cost out of pocket. As a Medicare recipient, it’s not covered, unless you have some serious underlying health condition. Eventually this may change, because a lot of expensive medical issues arise from obesity and it would be more affordable for Medicare (and the supplemental health and drug insurance plans) to cover these than to pay the exorbitant costs of heart disease and other serious weight-related illnesses.
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Lambertville, NJ, America’s Halloween Town!
Lambertville, NJ, is my favorite town! It’s only about 20 minutes from our little house in the woods, and it’s America’s Halloween capital. For years now the neighbors on Union Street and elsewhere have made somewhat of a competition (okay, maybe a HUGE competition) out of decorating their houses for Halloween. People come from miles around the stroll along, or drive slowly past, the extravagant displays. The street itself is closed off on Halloween night and thousands of people gather for the festivities. It’s a must-see if you’re in the area.
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Savvy Senior: Does Medicare Cover Cataract Surgery?
By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior,
How does Medicare cover cataract surgery? My eye doctor recently told me I’ve developed cataracts and should consider making plans for surgery in the next year or so.
Almost 67
Dear Almost,
Like gray hair and wrinkles, cataracts are an inevitable part of the aging process. Eventually, everyone (usually in their 60s) will develop cataracts, a condition that causes cloudy or blurry vision. The only way to correct this is through cataract surgery.
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Workshop Schedule Through November
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New Release! Dreamshaping: On Shaping Reality and Living Our Dreams (Second Edition)
If you’ve followed me, you know I’ve been working on this a long time. I’ve just published a second edition of Dreamshaping: On Shaping Reality and Living Our Dreams, and I couldn’t be happier to put it out there. I’ll also be creating a Dreamshaping Workshop for next year! I’m very excited about that, and I think it’s going to be a wonderful experience sharing the ways we create the dreams we call our lives, and how to live them with exuberance.
In this Second Edition of Dreamshaping: On Shaping Reality and Living Our Dreams, we find a collection of writings about our ability to shape the lives we live, the dreams we live. These words of advice and experience, presented in easy-to-read short chapters, are more essential than ever as we navigate the dreamscape of our everyday world. Quotes and commentary add to the suggestions made in this simple dreamer’s guide, and everything is presented in a way that makes it possible for anyone to do. As the introduction says, dreamshaping is not wishful thinking, it is wishful doing. Follow along and read about listening to our bodies, and letting go of the poisons in our lives, and embracing change without fearing it. Use this simple dreamer’s guide to steer a course toward freedom, self-acceptance, and exuberance in your life. And remember, all things are of the substance of dreams.
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Dreamshaping: Name Your Poison
By Mark McNease
Dreamshaping: Name Your Poison
From the upcoming dreamer’s guide: Dreamshaping, Second Edition“Have patience with all things. But, first of all with yourself.”
―Francis de Sales
Observing the current cultural and political climate, I’m reminded of a scene from the westerns once so popular with American moviegoers. A bartender in a grimy, dusty saloon, says to a weary customer, “Name your poison.” The customer asks for whiskey—they all drank whiskey in the movies, with names like Rot Gut and Dead Eye—and the bartender serves him from a bottle on the shelf. The customer throws back a mouthful from a greasy shot glass, grimaces as it burns its way down his throat, then smiles, slaps the glass on the counter and orders another one. That sure felt good
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AI: A Beginner’s Guide
By Mark McNease
with an assist from … you guessed it … AIFor the past few years now we’ve all heard about the dreaded AI and how it is going to replace human life on the planet, or at least put most people out of work. As someone who has never been afraid of technology, though often wary of it, I’ve mostly welcomed the possibilities. Whether it’s designing a book cover, or quickly creating images for blog posts, or using synthetic narration for this website, I’ve welcome the challenges and done my best to stay on top of what’s going on.
AI, broadly speaking, has been in our lives for a very long time. Everything from self-checkout kiosks at the grocery store, to Google maps, to auto-correct, it’s a part of our lives that isn’t going away. It can certainly be used for nefarious purposes, but it’s incumbent on all of us who are able to stay very aware of what we see, read, and hear. AI in and of itself is not evil, but there are people who can and do use it for evil ends. So let’s take a deeper dive into what it is …
What is AI and How Can It Benefit You?
A beginner’s guide to understanding artificial intelligence and its applications
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a term that refers to the ability of machines to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing images, solving problems, and learning from data. AI is not a single technology, but a broad field that encompasses many subfields and applications, such as computer vision, natural language processing, machine learning, robotics, and more.
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Health Beat: Juicing, Zepbound, and the Importance of Lifestyle Changes
As readers know from my post last month, I’m taking Zepbound for weight loss. I just completed the first four weeks, with two more months to go. This is not something I intend to do for more than three months. For one thing, my insurance won’t cover it. I’m on Medicare, and unless it’s for some underlying health issue, such as diabetes or heart disease, this is coming out of pocket.
For the sake of being informative: I’m paying $1049 for four injections, per month. It’s a lot, but I see this as an investment on a much healthier future. I’ve been 50 pounds overweight for a very long time, and I can’t carry this excess poundage around anymore. It’s corrosive to my physical and mental well-being. But I also won’t use this medication for more than three months, and that means addressing the underlying issues related to food addiction.
I made my first vegetable juice this morning in a new blender! Yum. I have not had any sweets, at all, for the past four weeks, and I intend to keep it that way. I explain this to people by comparing it to alcohol for those who are alcoholic or who don’t drink for other reasons. I have not had a drink in ten years. I will not have sweets, either. I don’t care if it’s someone’s last day on earth, I am not having cake and ice cream to celebrate their life. And if you won’t offer me a rum and Coke, which you will not, then don’t offer me a cookie.
I feel great. I’ve lost 13 pounds and I’m aiming for 30-40 more. I can to this. You can do this, if you want to. But face the things that make you eat destructively in the first place. A healthier future starts now.