Tag Archives: sharing

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Utterly Loved Valentine’s Day Giveaway

Rose Petal Heart

Valentine’s Day

Some subscribe to the notion that Valentine’s Day has been commercialized. They hold fast to the belief that love should be celebrated every day.

I’m in complete agreement.

Valentine’s Day to me, however, is a celebration of that daily love we each harbor in our hearts. Like an anniversary, it’s a milestone of sorts…a special holiday to rejoice in the existence of love of every kind.

For some, it will prompt a moment of courage mustered in the face of new love. 

Others will remember and appreciate decades of cherished love together.

In celebration of romantic love, we often gift:

Sinful chocolates
Fragrant roses
Heartfelt cards
Romantic dinners
Lace-trimmed satin

Might I also suggest…

Utterly Loved ~ The romantic book of poetry shared with the world for charity with an inspiring foreword graciously written by the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sylvain Reynard.

Purchase Utterly Loved on Amazon 

Utterly Loved Book Cover

 

Utterly Loved Valentine’s Day Giveway

The Utterly Loved Valentine’s Day Giveaway is being held on three supportive blogs, on Goodreads, and in my @’s and emails. That’s right. There are multiple places to enter.

Giveaway Prizes

Signed copies of Utterly Loved
Signed poems by Kat Bastion
Grand Giveaway Prize ~ A Kindle Fire

How To Enter

1. Visit each of the three blogs each posting a new romantic poem:

February 3, 2013 ~  Transformed on THESUBCLUBbooks
February 6, 2013 ~  Indescribable Love on Literati Literature Lovers
February 11, 2013 ~ Temptation by Valentine Bookish Temptations

Entrants have the chance to win either a signed copy of Utterly Loved or a signed poem of their choice from any of my poems. All winners gain entry into the grand prize drawing on Valentine’s Day.

2.  Visit Goodreads.  Each entrant has a chance to win a signed copy of Utterly Loved. All winners gain entry into the grand prize drawing on Valentine’s Day.

Click on the link for the Goodreads Giveway

3.  In my Twitter @’s and website email, send me a picture of a paid receipt for Utterly Loved dated between 1/30/13 and 2/13/13 by midnight EST on February 13, 2013. Each book purchased in any format gains one entry into the grand prize drawing.

The Prize Donations

A generous supporter of Utterly Loved has donated the grand prize of the Kindle Fire. The winner for the Kindle Fire will be selected by Random.org from among all the entrants.

“I appreciate the domino effect of kindness and giving that you are a part of. It is through movements like this that people can show the rest of the world people do care. It is through this domino effect that I would like to join you. I would like to donate a Kindle Fire for you to promote and give away.”

Mr. Bastion and I are donating the cost of the other prizes.

For details about Utterly Loved, and the charities it supports, please see the Utterly Loved page

Thank you for being a part of Utterly Loved. By sharing our love with the world, we are transforming children’s lives with love, one book at a time. You are making the lost feel… Utterly Loved.

May everyone celebrate love of all kinds this Valentine’s Day and every day.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

 

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

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Resolutions… For a Lifetime

Happy New Year!

 

I’ve never made a New Year’s resolution.

Am I an exception to the masses? I’m not sure. Perhaps you could share your thoughts.

 

The idea had always seemed impermanent to me. Anyone I’d ever known who’d made a resolution made an attempt to curb excess of one sinful nature or another, only to abandon said restriction before the next legal holiday.

I’ve never exempted myself from those who have behaviors to modify.  I’m certainly sinful, just as any other person, being human after all, but I’ve never been moved to change with a “resolution.”

Until I had.

Reflecting back on the last few months of my life, I realize the major changes I had ever wanted to make in my life, the person I had always strived to be, had happened.  Events beyond my control flicked on a dusty switch that apparently had always been destined to shine a brilliant light.  I’d blinked in amazement as the darkened world around me suddenly glowed brightly.

Like all things new, however, there will forever be vast room for improvement. Infinite lessons await us as we seek to master… becoming our better self.

Coming off a landmark year for me as far as changes go, I’m embracing the next stage with the strong foundation of the last.  Truly, the first affirmation was admitting to myself that I haven’t changed.

… I’ve transformed.

As I dangle from the safety of my familiar cocoon, the moment has come to fly.  Time to stretch my wings.

I will endeavor to be who I was meant to be… the butterfly.

With beauty and grace, I accept who I am.  I will remind myself daily of what I was meant to do with my fragile life in this harsh and unforgiving world…

To live each precious moment to its fullest
To multi-task less and focus more
To think of others and act so they feel it
To love with all the fire and passion in my heart
To cherish those whose lives I touch
To stand strong amid the darkness and brighten it daily
To believe the smallest kindness matters
To give charitably in thought, word and deed at every opportunity
To honor the vessel in which my heart and soul reside
To write for the love of writing
To spread awareness of those in need of love
To save the world one book at a time…

The last resolution came about from publishing the romantic poems in Utterly Loved, and yet, from that one project, all the other tiny miracles within me strengthened and took hold.  One book pivotally changed me.  The belief in a singular collection of heartfelt poems delivered with a message powerful enough to change our world… transformed me.

Of course, there where many catalysts along the way, for which I am forever grateful… My readiness to accept change toward growth.  The humanitarian efforts of the author who wrote the inspiring foreword for Utterly Loved, Sylvain Reynard. The support of loved ones and new friends made along the way.

I look forward to the path unfolding before me. My journey is not for the year ahead.  The adventure I’m taking will be for a lifetime.

Please join me in embracing a lifetime of resolutions.  Our world will be a better place if everyone commits to spreading love in a place very much in need of the kindness of our hearts.

Begin by purchasing Utterly Loved.  For yourself.  For your friends.  Your library.  Your church.  Share the beautiful poetry with a serious message of saving those in need of everything we have to give.  Daily.

Purchase Utterly Loved in paperback
Purchase Utterly Loved in Kindle edition

So? I’m truly dying to know… 
Have you done New Year’s resolutions in years past?
What are your resolutions this year?
Are you ready to commit to Resolutions… For a Lifetime?
What are your ideas for lifetime resolutions?

Thank you, my friends.  Your support in spreading awareness of charity, in giving all you can to those in need, in purchasing and sharing the news of Utterly Loved, is deeply appreciated.  Have a happy, loving, and prosperous year to come… that you may share your abundance with others.  May love and hope spread like wildfire in our world.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

Oh… {slides back in before you leave}
P. S. ~ I have one more very important resolution to add…
         To keep my desk uncluttered for maximum creative writing flow! 🙂

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

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Hold On In The Night

Hello, everyone.

Utterly Loved, the book of romantic poetry for charity, with a brilliant foreword by Sylvain Reynard on humanitarianism, has been out almost three weeks.  It’s doing well in paperback sales, but we need to do more.  Within days, it will also be out in a Kindle version.  I hope you buy both and encourage everyone you know to do the same.

Not long ago, I mentioned that after I completed the romantic poems of Utterly Loved, two more poems of a different sort flowed hot and furious onto the page.  The additional heartfelt words were not love poems.

They were a battle cry.

They are about those lost.
They are about the fight.

 

Hold On In The Night

Can you remember?
Unencumbered fresh air into your lungs
Racing barefoot on cool grass in the park
Blue-sky days before a bright world turned stark

Do you still have dreams?
Fearsome warriors destroy stone prison walls
Alone stand beautiful forgotten
Disbelieving flee heart’s desolation

Will you hear the cry?
Across the globe on every continent
Invincible gather armed for righteous
Fury flows deep at human injustice

Have you seen our light?
Fiery rising sun scorching harsh landscape
A million wild horses charge unbridled
Dark captors meet their maker reconciled

Are you ready to fight?
Blind faith fiercely grasps boldly outstretched hand
Devastation laid to rest from plunder
Frightening history ripped asunder

Hold on in the night.
In every shallow ragged breath you take
With each hard swallow, eyes pinched in mourning
Never lose hope… a new dawn is coming

 

Please join me in the fight. There are millions of lost children who need our help, need us to care, need our love.  Buy Utterly Loved. 

Tell two friends.  Tell twenty. 

Only through awareness, donation, and activism will we make a better place in this world for those who, without the actions of those like us, would never have a chance.

Buy Utterly Loved on Amazon

With 23 inspirational quotes, 21 love poems, incredible 5 star reviews, an amazing foreword by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sylvain Reynard, and the endeavor all about supporting the very worthwhile charities, World Vision and Covenant House, there is something in Utterly Loved for everyone.

Contact me if you need links to European Channels for Amazon, as it’s also available now through Amazon in Great Britain, Spain, Deutschland, France and Italy.

Thank you for all your support, my friends.  Together, we are making a difference in lives.  We are making the lost feel… Utterly Loved.

Your humble shoe,

Kat Bastion

 

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

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12 Days of Utterly Loved In Time For Christmas Delivery Event & Giveaway

Hello, everyone.

Thank you for helping make the Release Week of Utterly Loved with Foreword by Sylvain Reynard a success.  Due to your purchases for yourself and gifts for others, Utterly Loved remained a #1 Amazon Best Seller in New Releases Love Poems almost the entire week.

We have only just begun, my friends.

The mission of Utterly Loved is…

To share love with those who read it…
To inspire those to feel it…
To help those who desperately need it.

Join me in igniting a wildfire of purchases for Utterly Loved and donations for the charities Utterly Loved supports, World Vision and Covenant House.

The 12 Days of Utterly Loved in Time For Christmas Delivery Event & Giveaway

The 12 Days of Utterly Loved In Time For Christmas Delivery Event & Giveaway begins at 12:01am EST Saturday, December 8th and runs for 12 consecutive days.  Each day, a winner will be selected from the eligible entries by Random.org.

The Prizes…

Each day one lucky winner will receive two items:
~ A signed copy of Utterly Loved for which Sylvain Reynard has also offered to send signed bookplates.
~ A $25 Amazon Gift Card, large enough to buy copies of both Gabriel’s Inferno & Gabriel’s Rapture, for instance. 😉

Grand Prize Drawing (one winner from the 12 winners):
One very lucky winner will receive the Grand Prize ~ A Kindle Fire

11 Daily Ways To Enter, Rules & Requirements…

Each day is a separate contest and there are several ways to enter:
~ Buying a copy of Utterly Loved that day earns an entry
~ Donating to World Vision or Covenant House that day earns an entry (Donate to both that day? You get two entries.)
~ Tweet that day asking followers to buy Utterly Loved earns an entry (Tweet again every four hours for separate entries-6 total)
~ Facebook post asking friends to buy Utterly Loved earns an entry
~ Blog post asking others to purchase Utterly Loved earns an entry

11 possible entries each day. Please purchase and donate responsibly:  Give only what you can and share news of Utterly Loved to inspire others to do the same.  Together we will help those in need.

Help me count your entry. @ me on Twitter or comment below with:
~ A photo of that day’s purchase receipt of Utterly Loved
~ A photo of that day’s donation receipt to either charity
~ Tweet your promotion to buy Utterly Loved with my @ AND Amazon’s Utterly Loved Page
~ If your FB posts go to your Twitter timeline, @ me so I can see it.  If not, get creative…like screen shot and send me the pic… 😉
~ If you blog about Utterly Loved,  link this page and comment below so I know about it.

The requirements:
~ You must provide evidence of purchase, donation, Tweeting or FB posting to be eligible for that entry (see above.)
~ When you Tweet, FB or blog post, you must ask others to buy Utterly Loved and provide a link to the Amazon Purchase Page of Utterly Loved << (like this one)

Disclaimers:  Each daily giveaway runs for 24 hours beginning at 12:01am EST until midnight EST that day. The first day of the giveaway is Saturday, December 8, 2012 and the last day is December 19th, 2012.  Giveaway is international where allowed.  Winners of the 12 daily giveaways and the Grand Prize drawing will be chosen by Random.org. (All giveaway prizes, for this giveaway, and all the Release Week giveaways, are being donated by myself and Mr. Bastion.)

The bottom line? 

You help with every purchase.  You help by spreading the news of Utterly Loved so others purchase.   You help by donating to World Vision and Covenant House.  Your small acts of kindness make a world of difference.  Thank you for being a part of the difference.

Thank you for helping make the lost in this world feel… Utterly Loved.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

Buy Utterly Loved on Amazon

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

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What an amazing review. I’m thrilled my emotions in writing the poetry flow into the hearts of those reading Utterly Loved. Thank you so much, LLL, I am deeply humbled.
~ Kat

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Utterly Loved ~ Cover Reveal & Sharing Abundance

Utterly Loved ~ Cover Reveal

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

 

The time has come for a reveal of the cover of Utterly Loved.

The intention of Utterly Loved is to touch the hearts of readers and share our love with the world through charities.  The image on the cover had to be universal.  The elegant art has an elemental beauty.  I hope you all love the cover as much as I do.

Utterly Loved Book Cover

Utterly Loved Book Cover

{whispers} If you’re curious who did the cover art… I did.  From the water-color painting of a crumpled piece of parchment paper, to the single tiny cut-out paper heart, to the photography, to the uploading of photos … all of which I am a novice at or have never done before … the cover art is 100% Kat Bastion.

 

Sharing Abundance

On the eve of a holiday in America where we gather to give thanks, we count our blessings, we send up prayers that our bounty continue, and we embrace those around us with love.

… At least in theory, anyway.

Not everyone can gather.
Not everyone is blessed.
Some have lost the will to pray.
Many have never known love.

Let’s change the above picture, something that deeply saddens me.  None of us have everything.  But some in the world have nothing.  Remember them.  Do what you can to show them you care.

The original tradition of Thanksgiving celebrated a coming together of two nations on one land in peace for prosperity.  They enjoyed their abundance and counted their blessings.  Let’s do the same on this day of Thanksgiving and every day. 

Let’s stand together, united around the world, to show those who feel lost that they are not alone. 

Join me in making all of them feel… Utterly Loved.

Utterly Loved is expected to release the first week of December.  Please stay tuned for more information about the anticipated release date, and share news about Utterly Loved with your social worlds.

No dollar will ever line my pocket.  All proceeds, less costs and taxes, will go to selected charities.  So far those charities include World Vision and Covenant House.

How can you make a difference?  Buy two books.  Buy twenty.  Tell everyone to do the same. 

Together, we can make a world of difference.  Our combined efforts will help everyone celebrate Thanksgiving and feel… Utterly Loved.

Thank you for all your continued support for a very worthy cause.

 

Your humble shoe,

Kat Bastion

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

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Adventures Of An Optimist

Adventures of an Optimist

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

 

Half full. That would be a description of my beverage vessel.

Those who read my blog posts or watch my Twitter timeline know this indelible truth about me.

What does it mean to be an optimist?

The label means I’m fortunate enough to wake most every morning excited about the day. Present me a problem? I focus on solutions. If storm clouds threaten, I see sunshine after the storm.

I do have occasional defeated moments, bluesy afternoons and down days. There are times when I desperately need a hug, a smile, or a cheerleader. Most of the time… I’m the one giving them.

Optimists are hardwired to see and seek the goodness in a dark, harsh world. The blessing is multi-faceted. We share positivity with others, because our cups are more than merely half full.
They runneth over…

With enough joy in one’s heart, sharing with others is easy. The rewards for everyone? Immeasurable.

Many of those closest to me are not optimists. I dare say some are pessimists. It’s good, actually. We balance each other. They worry about the worst possible scenario. I anticipate the best outcome. Reality plays out somewhere in between.

One day a snarly stranger, upset by life’s circumstances, threw her anger at me. I smiled, deflecting it. My surprising reaction disarmed her. We focused together on the root of her problem, and she relaxed. I’ve never worn a cape, but I know I saved her day, or at least a moment in time for her. I gave her some of my optimism. I gave her hope. At no cost to me. The act lifted both our spirits.

It’s almost like a super-power. With not enough of it out there in the world, it shines like a beacon, attracting others to the vibrant feel-good. They want a hit of the drug you’re dealing.

Can someone learn to be an optimist?

Anyone can adopt optimist traits. No matter our natural tendencies—two loved ones in my life are textbook pessimists—we all have the ability to give selfless love. Smiles and laughter are contagious. Those same beloved pessimists often go rogue, making others smile and laugh.

Now you all know why I vibrate so much! {laughs}… It’s impossible to hold it all in.

We’re all on the same spectrum. I’m nowhere near the most optimistic. Every day I strive to find the bright side. Everyone has the capacity to find and share more happiness.

How can you increase your own optimism?

Here is what I find helpful…

  • Find a happy place. Look outside the window at the wind rustling through the trees. Imagine floating on a raft. … In Bora Bora. {smiles on a sigh}
  • Stop worrying. Every minute spent worrying is a wasted present moment.
  • Make someone else laugh. I dare you not to laugh yourself.
  • Remember the blessings. Wrapped up in troubles, we easily forget how good life is.
  • Give selflessly. The last dollar on you may be the first someone has ever received. Offer an unexpected hand, a random gift, or surprise hello. Make someone’s day.
  • Stop stressing. Imagine the worst outcome, but for no more than the briefest moments. Remind yourself there are so many scenarios better than the worst. Make those happen.
  • Seek positivity. Surround yourself with positive people. Read positive quotes. {whispers} … Like me, and my Twitter timeline…

Would you like to read more?

Two wonderful books on the topic are The Ultimate Happiness Prescription by Deepak Chopra and Always Looking Up – The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist by Michael J. Fox.

An optimistic quote…

In the darkest hour, the smallest act of kindness bestowed becomes the foundation of many miracles. ~ Kat Bastion

I know I cannot save the world. But, I can brighten someone’s day.

Want to know what it’s like to have the adventures of an optimist?
{smiles slowly}… Join me and find out.

What are your favorite ways to find optimism? Who inspires you the most?

Go forth. Share your smile. Ignite hope in another.

 

Your Favorite Shoe,

Kat

© 2012 by Kat Bastion