Tag: success

Today’s Season of Seasons: Insects Hole Up Underground

Leave a comment

I’ve always been a very seasonal person. This year, I honored the changing of the seasons with more attention and intention. The slipping from summer into autumn is no exception.

Festive earth-toned vases, leaves, and pumpkins replaced the summertime shells and coastal bits and bobs once autumn officially arrived. Apple scents fill the air instead of clean ocean aromas.  Pumpkin spice coffee brews each morning through Thanksgiving, only to be supplanted by peppermint on the morning of Black Friday then hot buttery rum flavor on the first day of the year. Sometime before the end of January, grounds from Rook or Bongo Blend from Bongo Java in Nashville will once again find their way into my filters, but I’ll savor the seasonal flavors until then.

I am content in this season of change. Some things might not be how I would prefer them, and despite the thick layer of fatigue I am wearing as summer morphs into autumn, I am content. 

I lay fear to the wayside. The morning’s crisp breeze and the early evening’s sporadic raindrops electrify my face. The sun’s vibrancy energizes me when it rises and its pastel ribbons pacify me when it sets.

I move slower, both on purpose and because my body needs to in this season. Walking at a slow-moving pace has become the norm for me. While some might see it as a curse, I see it as a blessing because I have more time to notice and appreciate my surroundings. 

I currently prefer cozy to noise and solitude to large gatherings. As the leaves change from muted to vibrant to bland, they will soon be released by their branches and crisp as they become part of the Earth. I’ll heed their lesson and let things that no longer serve me go while turning inward to cultivate my inner peace before it crisps into oblivion.

I’ve been collecting the little serendipitous moments I notice throughout my days and trust each is a piece to a completed puzzle of purpose. 

This smattering of observations leads me to thinking about Japan’s 72 Microseasons. I first learned about them through this short video on the Headspace app:

Click here to see a presentation about the microseasons as a part of my yoga teacher training.

I’ve completely adopted the microseasons into my days. The seasons actually begin in February instead of January, and they can help us be more present by observing the subtle changes in nature. Most of those changes in Japan align with our climate and natural calendar here in the Northeast. Scroll down for a downloadable worksheet I created for a list of all of the microseasons.

The microseason for today, September 28, is “insects hole up underground.” Yesterday morning, while walking to my car at 5:40 AM to leave for school, I heard less insect songs and noise than I had earlier in the week. 

If the microseasons speak to you, please consider signing up for my six-week movement and journaling series called “In This Season,” which begins next week in Point Pleasant. The classes will explore both whatever season we may find ourselves in, regardless of where society or others say we should be, and the current microseason. Through movement and journaling, we will meet ourselves where we are and be present with our right-now selves both on the mat and through our words. 

If the class isn’t an option for you, consider reflecting upon both your current season and the current microseason in your journal every day. Steal even just five minutes from your day and hide in your closet if need be. Acknowledging your right-now self can help with acceptance and a sense of worth. What came before no longer matters. What does matter is you, in this moment, exactly as you are.

And you are perfection.

Japan Micro Season Handout ColorsDownload

If you are local and searching for a quiet, meditative writing experience, join me on October 20 and/or November 17 for SoulSparks at Embodied Physical Therapy.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it). Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Follow or Contact Me:

“Today’s Season of Seasons: Insects Hole Up Underground” was posted on jillocone.com on September 28, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

A New Season

Leave a comment

My days are longer but shorter, as this new season presents a variety of remarkable yet welcome shifts in my awareness and being.

I have been writing this entry for a while now, and every time I add a sentence or two, my list of things to do beckons and I abandon my flow of words for tasks with a blank box waiting to be checked off, but not today.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve said goodbye a thousand-plus-one times to the lazy days of summer, and with it, the ability to go at my own pace

I’ve said hello to new routines, new students, new challenges, and a thousand-plus-one responsibilities thrown at me all at once. It’s always an adjustment reacquainting myself with so many post-Labor Day changes, but this go-around is different.

I’m finding that I need more rest, and instead of go-go-going, I am honoring my knowings. Surprisingly, acknowledging my needs has led to a significant decrease in experincing a fear of missing out.

Take this weekend, for example. I was really disappointed earlier this year when tickets for the Sea Hear Now festival with Springsteen and the E Street Band headlining Sunday’s show sold out before I could wrangle them into my virtual shopping cart. However, in this moment, I am incredibly relieved I didn’t score those tickets. I am definitely in a season where I need peace and rest, and I cannot even imagine heading to Asbury Park tomorrow for the festival. I’d much rather be at home preserving myself and my energy, and I am not feeling the slightest bit of guilt or fear from missing what promises to be an epic performance. I mean, it’s Springsteen in the sands of Asbury Park, for crying out loud, but my needs to rest and recharge away from crowds and noise come first.

I’ve declined other invitations that I’d normally jump to accept, and I’m already betting I won’t make my annual pilgrimage to the local seafood festival next Saturday, either. It’s a strange yet welcome change, this absence of guilt in saying NO, and I like it.

In this season, I find myself craving quiet music, instrumentals and yoga-ish meditative melodies instead of my standby hardish-alternative favorites. I can’t remember a September where I didn’t blast Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Foo Fighters on repeat, but here I am, typing this with quiet piano music providing the soundtrack to my now.

In this season, I say goodbye to anything upending my sense of peace and hello to myself and to contentment, which is more important to me than being happy.

Happy is an emotion that is fleeting as best. Contentment, however, is a way of life. It means I am at peace with what is, and I do my best not to allow “what could be” to taint my right-now peace.

I am content with seeking quiet, in reflecting, and in experiencing softer moments with those I treasure. I find solace on my yoga mat and in creating offerings for my students and others who find themselves in a similar season.

I am content with my path to this moment and abandon any strive for perfection because I accept myself exactly as I am.

I find meaning in observing my surroundings, in my interactions with students and others who are a part of my daily journey, and in honoring my knowings.

Life has been a bit heavy lately, and a number of uncertainties still hover me like ominous clouds. In time, each will dissipate to reveal more of the sun, and I will stand lighter yet stronger, quieter yet wiser, bolder and brimming with resoluteness in that joyful, bright light.

On the flipside, if you are reading this and want to extend an invitation to me for a gathering, please do. I might not be able to join you this time, but next time, I hope to be with you.

If you are local and searching for a quiet, meditative writing experience, join me onSeptember 22 for SoulSparks at Embodied Physical Therapy.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it). Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Follow or Contact Me:

“A New Season” was posted on jillocone.com on September 14, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

My Yoga Mat’s Magic

Leave a comment

I often joke that the phrase, “I am always in the way” is the running title of my future memoir because I find myself  in the way more so than not. 

It’s nothing new. Ever since I can remember, I have often been an unintentional yet awkward barrier to movement despite my awareness of where my feet stand and the space around me. The irony is that sometimes when I move to get out of the way, I end up more in the way.

It’s quite frustrating when I unwillingly transform into a giant rock stuck in the middle of a free-flowing stream that blocks the currents of water, traffic, and imagination. My exasperation spills over, and when it mixes with the noise of distractions and the crippling chatter of internal condemnation, I become hindered physically, emotionally, mentally, creatively, and spiritually.

Elixirs and apothecaries failed to free me, as did wizards, hokum, and positive mindsets. 

Last year, however, I unexpectedly encountered the one magical object that could unstick my stuck: my yoga mat.

My yoga mat allows me to breathe into places I wasn’t aware existed and provides the space I didn’t know I needed. Growth invariably happens as I remain present and rooted upon my mat while pursuing my right-now self’s desire for peace.

My mat is my own country, the continent of ME with a map full of gleaming treasures and plenty of bulldozers to obliterate barriers and boundaries. I am at home on my mat, and in the space around my mat during community practices, others are at home on their own magnificent continents of themselves.

My fortuitous discovery is where healing began, a healing that led me to nurture the brilliances of my mind, my body, my spirit, my soul, my life force, and my being, with each of their colors kaleidoscoping together while igniting their individual, radiant hues.

From my mat, I learned to appreciate my body instead of being at constant war with it. I formerly  regarded myself as being trapped inside a defective vessel cursed with autoimmune disease and other flaws deemed unacceptable by society. Now I regard those curses as blessings, as they have taught me resilience. With my new awareness, I accept my beautiful vessel as a glorious container for my kindhearted soul and unabashed spirit teeming with authenticity and incredible love.

Shame and regret no longer have a seat upon my mat, nor does the jabbering voice of self-doubt. I am at peace with all parts of my journey, including those I did not choose, because I did the best I could with what I knew in those times. 

My intuition assures me my gifts both on and off the mat are precious and needed. Creativity and goodness flow through me and from me, and my mat helps my spark to kindle the light in others.

The space of my mat led me to ME, and I don’t have to run away from myself anymore.

Now I relish the opportunity to be in the way as my healing continues.

I am indebted to my yoga teacher and mentor, Katie Morgan, who sparked my journey to becoming a trauma-informed 200-hour yoga teacher by lighting my path with her magical fireflies.

While I am unsure of where my yoga teaching path will lead, I welcome every opportunity to connect with others who might be seeking a similar experience on or off the mat. Please reach out if you are interested in talking with me about possible opportunities for growth, classes, workshops, or movement.

If you are local, I’d love for you to join me on August 15 in downtown Toms River from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Garden State Distillery! We’re planning a fun evening with short readings, Q & A, and mixing & mingling.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it). It’s a great beach read, and since it’s beach season, what are you waiting for? Order it. already!

Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Follow or Contact Me:

“My Yoga Mat’s Magic” was posted on jillocone.com on July 29, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

Thank You, Manchester Library!

Leave a comment

I had the honor of presenting a program I titled “Enduring Life’s Waves” at the Manchester Township branch of the Ocean County Library on Monday, July 22 with 24 guests present.

It was my first public presentation about my novel. I brought many brochures I picked up on my first two Dublin trips, as well as my travel journals and photo books to enhance my presentation. While preparing my talk and accompanying presentation, I looked at a number of images I took ten years ago while on my first trip to Dublin and more from my 2016 trip I call my “Mission from the Universe,” and marveled how when I took these pictures and saw these locations with my own eyes, I had no idea my novel would be the end result. Having faith in following the signs that appeared in my days changed my life in so many unanticipated ways.

I spoke about just that, trusting the path even when you cannot see the first step, and how important it is to be present in the moment at hand. So many times we go rushing through our lives, meeting this benchmark and crossing this or that task off our lists that we fail to stop and recognize with all of our senses where we are in the present moment. That’s one of the points of James Joyce’s masterpieces Ulysses, a writer and work that played pivotal roles in my journey.

Having Joyce’s inspiration mesh and meld with my path was not something I would have expected, but here we are, and I look to the pompous bloke as wise because I shifted my view and looked through different lenses upon him, and to be honest, upon everything over the past ten years.

I would like to thank everyone who came to Monday’s program and the staff of Manchester branch of the Ocean County Library for trusting me with presenting a quality program where I hope everyone felt included and learned to follow their inner compasses.

Promo Poster
During the Presentation
Reading a sample from the novel

If you are local, I’d love for you to join me on August 15 in downtown Toms River from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Garden State Distillery! We’re planning a fun evening with short readings, Q & A, and mixing & mingling.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it). It’s a great beach read, and since it’s beach season, what are you waiting for? Order it. already!

Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Follow or Contact Me:

“Thank You, Manchester Library” was posted on jillocone.com on July 24, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

Thank You, Bethany Beach Books!

Leave a comment

I traveled to Bethany Beach, Delaware last week with one of my best friends for my first real author event at a bookstore. Bethany Beach Books accepted my request for an author event earlier this year and it was an amazing milestone! I am forever grateful for Bethany Beach Books for hosting me. If you are in the Bethany Beach area, I highly recommend you visit this quaint book store. Might I add seeing my book near Elin Hildebrand’s most recent release was surreal!

Signed copies left at Bethany Beach Books waiting to be shelved.
Outside Bethany Beach Books
My lifelong and longest friend!
Post signing walk up to the beach. Go figure, free admission unlike New Jersey!
In action!
Signing a copy of “Enuring the Waves” for a reader!
It’s a real event! That’s my name!
My book among a-list authors!

I crossed off a few “firsts” on this quick getaway, including taking the Cape May/Lewes Ferry for the first time. We stayed at Hotel Bethany Beach, which I also wholeheartedly recommend. The price was right, the location perfect, and the accomodations wonderful. For meals, we enjoyed dinner at Mickey’s Family Crab House and The Cottage Cafe, and for lunch we sat next to The Gipper, Ronald Reagan himself, at Ropewalk. We enjoyed walking the main strip and browsing many surf shops and coastal decor stores. A few years ago, my niece and I stayed in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for a few days, which is about 13 miles north. Delaware’s shore area is similar to Jersey but has a very different vibe and feel, and I hope to return someday.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it). It’s a great beach read, and since it’s beach season, what are you waiting for? Order it. already!

Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Follow or Contact Me:

“Thank You, Bethany Beach Books!” was posted on jillocone.com on June 30, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

About Time to Promote “About Time”

Leave a comment
About Time‘s cover I designed

I am pleased to announce the publication of About Time: A Coming of Age Poetry Anthology published by Red Penguin Books. 

I had the distinct pleasure of serving as the collection’s guest editor, which was the first time I held such a role for an anthology. As editor, I sifted through the submissions after printing them and cutting off any identifiable information from each poem because I personally knew a few of the poets who submitted their work for publication consideration. I wanted every poet to have a fair chance regardless of whether I had a prior connection with them or not, so I blindly read each poem five times during the selection phase. 

The challenge of whittling down the number of accepted poems from the pool of over 300 submitted poems was real. I ultimately divided up the poems into three categories: yes, no, and maybe, then carefully read each poem two more times before making the final selections.

The hardest part of the process was contacting the poets in the “no” pile. I have received more rejections than acceptances in my writing life and know firsthand how it stings to find out my work wasn’t accepted. I did my best to pen a graceful and encouraging rejection letter, and to my surprise, received some replies from poets thanking me for such a kindly worded email. 

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of my role as guest editor for About Time, from redesigning the book’s cover and selecting poems that best exemplified the book’s vision and theme to providing a publishing credit for many new writers. I hope to work with Red Penguin again in the future!

You can order a copy of About Time by clicking this link.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it).

Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Follow or Contact Me:

“About Time to Promote ‘About Time” was posted on jillocone.com on April 19, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

The Red Light Conundrum

Leave a comment
Image Created in Canva, canva.com

Today is a bad light day.

I travel through 26 traffic lights on my 15-ish mile drive to and from my workplace every day. There’s typically one or two mornings every year or two when I hit green lights all the way, and those are the absolute best! I’m a time traveler of sorts on such mornings with an incredibly fast commute while maintaining posted speed limits.

Not the case this morning.

I actually left a few minutes earlier than usual and planned to use the added time to write. Excited about the sentences I would create on my computer screen, I backed out of my driveway after pressing the play button on my morning playlist, drove three houses up to the stop sign, and turned left.

And it began, the first red light glaring at me a few blocks up the road.

Then another. 

And so on. 

Five red lights in a row quickly added almost three minutes to my travel time, and I had just left my house six minutes prior.

I thought I had cleared the stop-and-go cycle when I miraculously drove through three green lights, but I was wrong. I was at the back of the green-light pack, and as my comrades in commuting sped up, I lingered to avoid the officer I knew was hiding in the trees alongside the highway, and much to my chagrin, the yellow-then-red lights mocked me yet again. 

Each light further irked me, especially those with no vehicles waiting for their turn. 

Phantoms. Frustrating as all hell.

The overwhelmingly unproportional number of red lights ridiculing me from above added a total of six minutes to my commute and robbed me of the extra writing time I thought I had so cleverly planned.

I realized, however, that while this morning might have been a bad light day, it is not a bad day. In fact, it is a good day. Taking some breathing exercises after I got settled helped to clear my mind, and I still had time to write, hence this post.

Life can be like that at times, constantly throwing up red lights and barriers in our path. Instead of letting them defeat us, we can learn to accept the adage that everything happens at the right time. Some of us may experience immediate success with our goals and dreams, while others may have to work a little harder and a lot longer to make our dreams and goals realities. 

While frustrating at the time, just now it hit me that perhaps those red lights might have prevented me from danger or harm. Maybe the extra time sitting in my car provided me with a springboard over the writer’s block obstacles that have recently plagued me so that the flow of words as I type this is smoother, more fluent, and more relevant.

The more I think about it, the color red is associated with the root chakra which provides grounding, stability, and safety. Words are rooted inside of me. I am open to all possibilities and trust the universe to support me, even if my journey is delayed by red lights and unavoidable obstacles.

I am grounded and have found peace.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it).

Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Follow or Contact Me:

“The Red Light Conundrum” was posted on jillocone.com on March 12, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

“Enduring the Waves” Surfs into the Hands of Readers

Leave a comment
February Breen’s Seasonal Book Club February Meeting at The Little Point Bookshop. Thanks to the staff for hosting us all!

I added a milestone to my calendar this month by attending my first solo event in support of Enduring the Waves. I spoke to the members of Breen’s Seasonal Book Club on Saturday, February 10, 2024 and enjoyed every moment of my time with them. It was wild to see people walking on the street of my hometown carrying my novel in their hands. “They have MY book!” I yelled to my sister-in-law as we searched for a coveted parking spot near The Little Point Bookshop, where the club meeting was held. 

After meeting club members at their December brunch, where some purchased signed copies of Enduring the Waves directly from me, I knew they were collectively interested in the book. And the waves of serendipity rolled through the February meeting as I connected with several teachers from different schools, some of whom worked with people I knew or had also worked with at some point.

I appreciated the thoughtful questions asked by some members after I shared a bit of the novel’s backstory with images taken during my own Ireland adventures to provide visuals of places that they read about in Enduring.  I am comforted when readers share with me they found Enduring to be healing, especially from readers I don’t know. I ultimately wrote Enduring to heal myself without ever thinking it would heal others, and yet it has.

It maynot make a best seller list, and some might not consider it to be worthy of promotion because I am largely unknown as a writer right now, but because my novel helped to heal many, it is a success in my eyes.

And it’s a damn good story. 

I went through countless folders of images from my Ireland trips on my hard drives to find the right pictures to share with the book club, and emotion suddenly swept over me. 

I did that, dammit! 

I followed the signs and went to a foreign country with nothing other than courage and a sense of adventure, and a trusted traveling companion along for the ride. Eight years later after my first true mission from the universe in 2016, I know some reasons I was there, with writing Enduring the Waves the most prominent.

The future of the path I am currently walking is foggy, but I know in my heart I am being led to something wonderful that involves words and light. I trust it despite not being able to see my feet moving forward or the final destination. Like Kelly (Enduring’s main character), I am riding all of life’s waves and enjoying every moment.

Thank you to those who have purchased and/or read Enduring the Waves ! If you haven’t, I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it).

Please reach out to me via email (jillocone@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or present at your next book club or community group meeting. I’m happy to meet you!

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Follow or Contact Me:

“”Enduring the Waves” Surf into the Hands of Readers” was posted on jillocone.com on February 21, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

Published in “Beach Badge” Magazine Issue 4!

Leave a comment

I’m elated to share that my essay, “Summer’s Shore Roars,” was published in Beach Badge Magazine Issue 4.

Beach Badge Magazine is published by Eight Stone Press and edited by William Tandy. From their website, Beach Badge Magazine “is a salt-encrusted, sand-clogged homage to the magic, mayhem, and mystery of the New Jersey Shore, as told by those who have lived it.”

My piece, “Summer’s Shore Roars,” focuses on the local long-running powerboat races and traditions, the revels surrounding the boats’ arrivals, and the thrills of the races themselves. Locals will remember Benihana restaurant founder and race sponsor Rocky Aoki tearing up the ocean in the grueling summer heat alongside other racers as they traversed up and down the shore in the late 1970s, from Monmouth County down to Atlantic County and back. Over time, the races became shorter with different fanfare, but the roar of the boat engines as they scream out of the Inlet onto the face of the ocean lures me to this very day. I did my best to capture in words the magic of those core memories in “Summer’s Shore Roars,” and having my piece selected for publication was truly an honor.

Beach Badge Magazine Issue 4, along with issues 1-3, can be ordered online by clicking here. It is also available for purchase at a handful of shore locations, including Asbury Book Cooperative in Asbury Park and Steady Hand Collective in Neptune City.

While you are waiting for your copy of Beach Badge Issue 4 to arrive, remember to consider Enduring the Waves as well! I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book, should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it).

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Follow or Contact Me:

“Published in Beach Badge Issue 4” was posted on jillocone.com on January 17, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.

The best books for lovers of the shore and the sea

Leave a comment

When I was approached by the folks over at Shepherd.com to provide recommendations for books with similar aspects to Enduring the Waves as a way to promote my novel, I hesitated at first as doubts and questions swirled around my mind. What kind of expert am I? How could I whittle down my extensive collection to only five surf and shore themed books, and which books had a message that could most inform and inspire others?

Then I looked at myself with different lenses.I realized I am worthy of providing recommendations, and knew the perfect books for my list because they are the ones I’ve reread more than once and/or keep going back to for various reasons.

As such, I accepted the challenge and my list went live today. Head on over to Shepherd.com’s newest list of book recommendations, The best books for lovers of the shore and the sea,

If you haven’t already done so, please consider reading Enduring the Waves as well! I guarantee you’ll make at least one connection to Kelly’s story. Click on the book cover above for ordering links and more, including a Reader’s Guide (kind of like a study guide for the book should you be interested in a deeper relationship with it).

Thank you for joining me on my journey. I’m so glad you are here.

With light and love,

Jill

If you’d like to stay current with my journey, please consider signing up for my newsletter here:

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Follow or Contact Me:

“The best books for lovers of the shore and the sea” was posted on jillocone.com on January 15, 2024. Views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the writer, who was not endorsed or compensated in any manner by any entity; views do not represent any of my employers. Copyright 2024, Jill Ocone. All rights reserved. Contact Jill with reposting, licensing, and publishing inquiries using any of the links below.