Life is… Simple!

The last few weeks have been crazy busy! You see I thought organizing a concert would be easy… Simple… Pffft! I was of the belief it was just weddings that were crazy, but this is a whole new level! The biggest wedding I had to arrange involved 70 guests and though time consuming it became kind of fun.

This however is becoming a whole different animal! I spoke to one of my funders and we talked about venues two weeks ago and how I had the choice of three places… The Hammerstein, Below 54 club, which is just off Broadway or a yacht. I explained of how the Below 54 Club seated 150 people, of what a wonderful cozy place it is but I was cut down_ immediately with a “Good grief girl, I can fill a church with a 150 people on a Sunday!” Hmmm Okaaay…

Hammerstein Ballroom

The Hammerstein holds 1,600 and the yacht 1,200 people, simple huh? In the real world it’s like organizing a wedding with1,600-1,200 guests… See? Simple! He wants me to book the Hammerstein and so the yacht it is! On an evening in June with the full moon glinting over the East River from Near South Sea Street Port;-D

One of the decks on the yacht

Oh and then there’s the guest line up. I have worked in some Rock, a little Hip Hop, some comedy and lastly a couple of guest speakers. Of course all well known to everyone. I’m also working with a charity and I have an organization to make donations to from the ticket sales. Then we are also working on a Pay per View version of it online for $5.99 so there’s a production crew for it and of course merchandise of T-shirts with a coupon for a Kindle down load of A Broken Ring, hats, CD‘s, posters… As I was saying… Simple! Oh yes I forgot there’s the PR company for radio and newspapers… So yes as I was saying… Simple!

If you think it’s just me going a little crazy here I’m not alone! See I told Hubby he has a 3 song set too! Hahaha! You  should’ve seen his face! From playing at the local open mic night to let’s say 20-30 people to playing in front of 1,200. Guess who’s panicking now! We just have to get him into a studio to polish him up with a producer…

Oh and by the way, we have to move again. The road floods weekly, ants absolutely love sharing this place with us, it’s drafty cold, the landlord won’t replace the washer/dryer, the fuse box hasn’t been replaced since Sandy so we keep thinking the place could go “Pooft!” up in an electrical fireball and smoke any day because it’s so corroded from the salt water flooding from the tidal surge.

Our flooded road after a normal high tide

You can imagine my surprise then when on finally letting my head hit the pillow on Tuesday night at 1am to wake up at 2am from a nightmare. It included ghost like zombies, they were pretty in fact almost ethereal but nonetheless zombies and they didn’t bite you to turn you into one… No! These evil crazy things just had to touch you! I woke up at the point where one was a cat with white eyes staring at me! I woke up and freaked because my bad, black puddy cat was standing staring at me in the dark! Seriously?! I told myself to calm down think of happy things and go back to sleep. I did but I ended up back in the same bloody dream again! This happened all night, needless to say I was exhausted on Wednesday and dragged myself around all day thinking about how I had “Stuff” to do still. Today I woke up more refreshed and did no work, no writing until now with this post and a little catch up on Facebook. I think the nightmares were a way of telling me to slow down a little… Simple. Yes I do like that word a lot lately. It seems to help keep everything on track and … Well… Simple!

I sometimes tell myself I must be crazy but the support I’m getting is amazing and uplifting and at the end of the day it really is all about spreading the word about violence and abuse, assault and rape. Letting people know they are not alone, that it effects everyone, black, white, straight, gay, women, men and children. Violence doesn’t discriminate but we can heal. We can transform and  become amazing!

In fact I’ve already started creating some cool things in my CafePress shop! Please check them out and let me know what you think. Just click on the picture below. Thank you for all your support and I hope your having an amazing week!

Transformation from Abuse

Transformation from Abuse.. My new online show!

Yes! You read it right! I’m going to be a talk show host on an online show!… Okay now that you have finished laughing, you can pick yourself up off the floor… Thank you!

You see… I was offered several different opportunities one being a book tour but when I thought about it_ most of my book sales have been Kindle sales. I’m still waiting for Nook to approve it and I’m having difficulties with Kobo but I’ll sort it out when I can. Kindle though has been wonderful, in fact I love it! You pay and BAM!! The book is there! How cool is that?

I sat down down and thought how crazy a book tour would be when just about everything I do is online! Therefore an opportunity online would seem to be the most fun way to go and VIOLA! It slam dunked it’s way right into my lap. Now those of you who have followed me know that I like to involve as many people as I can into a good thing… Spread the happiness, so to speak!

So here we go!

Transformation from Abuse – The new online show!

I am going to be hosting an online show called Transformation from Abuse. It will be aired worldwide as the internet is… Well.. Worldwide! Haha! Oh boy, can you tell I’m tired!

It will air twice weekly from NYC and will have a Twitter feed so the at home audience can ask questions in ‘real time’. There will be a set with a sofa, myself and a fully trained psychologist. Each episode we will have a different guest from celebrities, politicians, victims, survivors, doctors, advocacy groups… to be honest the list is endless!

We are then going to take it on the road! State to State, Coast to Coast! (This is where Claire fulfills one of her bucket list items… a t-shirt from every State! hee-hee). We will be meeting and introducing people from all around the country who is involved in abuse issues.

I hear you “Not my bag!” Your saying well not the case as there will be humor mixed in as well as some amazing healing techniques incorporating mind and body!!

To launch this wonderful show we are going to have an awesome concert! Yes! Here in NYC! Very R&B, very soulful!

On this night we are going to sell t-shirts with the logo on it, not only that but each t-shirt comes with a coupon of a free download of A Broken Ring!!!

Susan Cooper

Now one of the coolest things to all of this is the logo… Which I’m not releasing yet but you know it’s going to be awesome when I tell you Susan Cooper of Finding Our Way Now has been involved! Oh yeah baby! I have an original Susan Cooper graphic!!  Awesome!! Oh? You want a clue? It’s purple!! And no it’s not a ribbon! Fooled you!

Actually, on a serious note… It is fast becoming an amazing adventure more than I could have hoped for. It is becoming much more than the book… It is now becoming a whole new animal… One of healing, one of getting the word out there about abuse, one of letting people know they are not alone, giving a voice to people who are normally too scared to speak out as they can remain anonymous with an ‘Escape Button” on the site. A way of bringing communities and people together. I want people to come away from watching the show feeling empowered, inspired and totally uplifted! It will be about us, about ‘We the people!’ together, making a difference in this world as best we can!

Here is the video I have put together, as I updated my Indiegogo Campaign to incorporate the show as every little bit helps!

Now before you watch it think about this! There is a slide who someone put together for me and I have done so much reading and writing lately that I became word blind and missed a couple of grammatical mistakes. Thankfully, Sharla Shults found them for me but before I correct it I thought it might be fun to hold a little competition! First one to comment and say where they are will win a free Kindle Copy of A Broken Ring! Ta-Dah!!

So with out further ado here it is! And please every dollar, penny, pound… gold sovereign will help the show if you could take a minute to visit my Indiegogo Campaign here. I thank you most humbly!

National Stalking Awarenes Month 2013 is here

January is Stalking Awareness Month 2013

Each month is dedicated to some cause now. For me October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, April is dedicated to National Assault Awareness Month, but this month it is National Stalking Awareness Month which impacts 1 in 6 women and 1-in 19 men.

That’s a lot of people here in the US!

Think about how many people you know friends, family, in the work place. At some point of them, maybe even you have been or will be effected by someone stalking them. Those are frightening figures.

A stalker is terrifying, you lose all sense of freedom when you are wondering if they are watching you and when.. Are they watching you when you have dinner with friends? Calling you constantly?Does your inbox constantly get bombarded with messages from them? Or Twitter, Facebook… Any social media? Are they watching you while you go about your daily life in your own safe home?

It usually starts with the phone calls. The endless calls, when the phone rings and you recognize the phone number.

How to recognize a stalker:

• You go to your local stores and they ‘accidentally’ run into you and try to start conversation.
• You are driving and you look in the rear mirror, only to see that they are two cars behind you.
• It is late at night, you look out of your window and their car is down the road parked, engine and lights off, in total darkness.
• They call at your house wanting to talk to you, to reconcile the relationship.
• You find messages, emails, letters, gifts and small packages left for you.
• They start to threaten you and your loved ones.

It makes you feel vulnerable, stressed, fearful and threatened. Your privacy is gone and you have a stalker.

Stalkers have different psyches. It can be the jilted lover, husband or wife. It can be a co-worker, an admirer or friend, a social media ‘friend’. They come from all occupations and lifestyles.

What to do if you have a stalker:

• Make sure safety is paramount in your home, check the locks on all doors and window locks work etc. and the phone cable outside is out of reach.
• Rally your friends, family and co-workers for help and support.
• Keep a journal of all the events
• Get an additional phone number and keep it private. You must keep the old number and let it go to voice-mail, do not answer it or engage in conversation at all.
• If it is an ex-lover, calmly and politely tell them you are not interested. Do not get angry or shout this can acerbate the situation.
• Inform the police. Every state has Stalking Laws; I know the UK calls them Harassment Laws, this I know as the police told me I would be one of the first to use it when it passed in June 1997. (It worked too; my stalker was found guilty and now has a criminal record)
• Find a network or group in your area to help you.
• One of the first options you will be given is an Order of Protection, or a Restraining Order. This can work, but it can also push them over the edge to be violent or make them more determined.
• Always before starting a relationship, trust your instincts, if they say run, then run. Never communicate, talk or respond to a stalker. They can become violent and murderous.

I list all the above to help people understand what it means. The word ‘Stalker’ is banded around as a flippant joke, but when it happens to you, it is debilitating and frightening, even those of us who know we are strong and tough!

When it happened to me, I took all the advice I could and when it didn’t stop, I was strongly advised by the police that I sell my home and move away, far away…350 miles difference in fact (Which in the UK is regarded as far!). When a police officer tells you he believes your stalker has murderous intent, you tend to make plans to move quickly! It didn’t stop until after the court case. I still received phone calls at my new place of work, but when the Magistrates Court declared him guilty and threatened him with imprisonment. It stopped.

 

If you have a stalker please don’t think you can handle it all by yourself. Get help! There are people out there dedicated to helping you. You do not have to go through it on your own, terrified. Know you are not alone!

As the National Stalking Organization says:

Stalking: Know it, Name it, stop it!

www.rainn.org

www.safehorizon.org

www.ncvc.org

www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/12/31/presidential-proclamation-national-stalking-awareness-month-2013

Related articles

• Stalkers find friend in GPS technology (kansascity.com)
• Local counseling center works to shed light on stalking during national awareness month (ktbs.com)
• New Law To Tackle Stalkers Comes Into Effect (news.sky.com)
• Scotland’s oldest sex stalker confesses to preying on second elderly victim (dailyrecord.co.uk)
• Stalkers face five years in jail to curb risk of them turning violent (thetimes.co.uk)
• Do the new stalking laws show we are taking this crime seriously? (guardian.co.uk)
• Stalking Bloggers in 2013 (breezybooksblog.wordpress.com)
• #India -The Bitter Truth Regarding Delhi Police’s Womens’ Help-Line #Vaw #Justice (kractivist.wordpress.com)

My New Year gift to you! A free Kindle Edition of A Broken Ring

So many people have been so wonderfully supportive over 2012 and I wanted a way to give back.

To say a HUGE thank you for everything!

A free Kindle edition of A Broken Ring – A Woman’s Journey from Abuse to Empowerment to ring in the New Year!
My gift to you for 2013.

Available for 2 days only 1st-2nd January 2013

Please go to Amazon Kindle for your 2013 download (link below).
Wishing you a wonderful New Year!

www.amazon.com/ABrokenRing

Cyber Monday needs A Broken Ring Perk vote!

A Broken Ring Indiegogo Campaign

Indiegogo is holding a competition for CyberMonday!

PRIZES FOR CAMPAIGN OWNERS

First Prize ⇒ $500 contribution to your Indiegogo campaign
Second Prize ⇒ $300 contribution to your Indiegogo campaign
Third Prize ⇒ $200 contribution to your Indiegogo campaign
Fourth through Eighth ⇒ Indiegogo prize bags (branded tote bag with a water bottle, notebook, pen and sticker)

PRIZES FOR VOTERS

5 randomly selected voters will get Indiegogo prize bags that include an Indiegogo tote bag with an Indiegogo water bottle, notebook, pen and sticker

Please click a vote for me, the most votes win!
Please share with as many people as you can!
Thank you so much, hugs xox

Please click the link here and click :Vote”! Indiegogo Competition

Thank you so much for voting! <3

Related articles

• Cyber Monday vs. Black Friday: How Do You Prefer to Shop? [EXCLUSIVE] (mashable.com)
• Let’s Cyber: Tips for Increasing Cyber Monday Sales (scottsmarketplace.com)
• Awesome! Indiegogo campaign is LIVE! (brianholler.wordpress.com)

Indiegogo is a go for A Broken Ring

It took longer than I thought it would… but then everything seems to take longer to set up than I think! I look at sites to be set up and think “Ah.. will only take an hour!” and four hours later I finally sit back with a “Phew, finished!”

But I did it!!

I now have an Indiegogo campaign!!!

Why?

I am looking to raise funds through crowdfunding to fund a publicist because I know a publicist will be able to get the word out there better than me. Firstly for the book and secondly which is what I consider even more the word of domestic violence and abuse.

The purple ribbon for Domestic Violence Awareness month

I have watched the news this month, seeing a lot of pink for breast cancer awareness which is truly needed and awesome but not a lot about the fact that it was also Domestic Violence Awareness Month too. I even posted on a Facebook of a news channel asking what and when were they going to cover it… when I checked back later to see if maybe I had received a response, even just a simple “Like” to the comment I found my comment had been deleted! The only comments that  were left there focused about how cable needed to bring it back :-/

This is why I have put up a campaign on Indiegogo to raise funds to get the message out there!

I really hope you can support me by sharing this campaign. Please tweet, Facebook, blog… raise a flag lol Anything! It would be so greatly appreciated!!

Here’s the link to it:

www.indiegogo.com/abrokenring

Thank you, Thank you… and by the way Thank you!!!!

It says it all! <3

First Press Release of A Broken Ring… : )

This is my very first attempt at a “Press Release”

Please feel free to rip it apart and comment as you feel fit after falling off your chair laughing! lol

“For Immediate Release”

A Broken Ring – A Woman’s Journey from Abuse to Empowerment

 

Contact:

Email: jvc.cappetta@gmail.com

Website: www.clairecappetta.webs.com

Claire Cappetta is a creative writer, living in New York. She recently retired from the financial world to concentrate on the dream of publishing a first book. The story is heartwarming and inspiring which follows a woman’s journey through relationships, domestic violence, inspiration and empowerment.

To be released: 23^rd September 2012

A Broken Ring – A Woman’s Journey from Abuse to Empowerment will be available on Amazon in Print and Kindle, Barnes and Noble for Nook. It is a story for those who have either been or are going through abuse so they now they are not alone and also to help those who have not been through abuse better able to understand it. First chapter available online in PDF Format, Synopsis and Video Book Trailer.

Testimonial:

“An engaging and riveting journey that impacts both the mind and heart. The reader is immediately captivated from the opening lines and is launched on a journey of discovery and empowerment. I guarantee you will be overcome by your need to read what happens next. This is a powerful story of discovery and hope for anyone who has been impacted (directly or indirectly) by abuse.”

Dennis E. Golden

CEO, IM-SAFE® Keeping Women And Those They Love Safe

Thank you for your support :)

I want to say a big thank you for all your support on the book trailer I made for A Broken Ring. It went down so well that I decided to pay the subscription fee to make the video stronger with reviews and pictures.

I have to say though some of the support made me giggle as my friend Robert posted this on his Facebook wall at the weekend:

“SUCCESS ALERT!!! If you know me then you know this is very important to me. If you plan on continuing to chill with me in VIP and pop bottles or consider yourself a friend of mine this should be important to you as well. Because with out this person I wouldn’t be half as successful. My good friend and business associate Claire Cappetta has got her animoto video for her book “A Broken Ring”. I want all of you to check this out because it is a very big deal and a very great story. Make sure you get the book. Thanks in advance. Like my status if you check out the video as well so I will know who my real friends are and know who the hell I will invite to kick it with me next time. I need a minimum of 50 likes. Show your support FB fam.”

LOL I told him he didn’t have to strong arm people but thought it was funny as one of his friends joined in and said she would be sharing too.

It is so wonderful to have friends who have your back and look out for you through all the ups and downs of life.

I will be creating the video soon but in the meantime I hope you are all having a wonderful week!

 

The new book trailer for A Broken Ring!

Last night I had a few hours to myself, Yay!  It was so peaceful I tried to catch up on everything I had missed over the last few days with everything going on.

When my husband returned from his fishing trip, I showed him what I had created… I hit play and when it was over I was giggling. He was laughing, saying I looked like a ‘kid in a candy store’!

I used Animoto to put it together. It’s a great site with different levels of what you can do with it. I chose the ‘free’ option because I wanted to see how it would turn out first, but now I’m happy with it I think I’ll upgrade because then you can have it run longer and get more words into it. As it is now, I can’t get my reviews into it or extra’s .

Having said all that I’m happy with my first ‘bash’ at it!

Short and sweet lol

Please let me know what you think

Breaking news!! IM-Safe with my book, A Broken Ring

A Broken Ring

At the very beginning of my journey writing, it was to be a healing tool for myself. It wasn’t meant to be shared with the world, just my story. My husband suggested I should do it so that I could understand what had happened to me in the past a little easier and if I was really lucky, maybe find some peace within it. I told him he was crazy but he kept pushing on the issue. I had another friend who kept telling me that with my experiences I should write a book. My reaction was to laugh with the reply of “Who on earth would want to read my about my life?”

Well, I started slowly and it built momentum. I learned about PTSD and RTS (Rape Trauma Syndrome, which I know a lot of people don’t like that title, but for me it fits) I’ve learned about my own personal issues and “Zones” as I call them as to how I react to certain situations. I have cried many tears and laughed out loud with joy, as the journey built into this blog and my Facebook page: C.L.Cappetta. I then turned my Linkedin page from finance to my writing and joined different groups about writing, blogging and violence/abuse. I suddenly started to make make new amazing friends who all had similar views. This was amazing as I had always thought I was alone!

One day I was introduced to a wonderful man called Dennis Golden. He is the CEO of the IM-SAFE Institute based in Connecticut with his daughter, Jennifer Lownik. They can be found at: im-safe.com. It is designed to help teach people self defense and personal empowerment by holding different types of self defense workshops. Some of their clients have ranged from Johnson & Johnson, ESPN, Cisco Systems, to name just a few! Their slogan words ring “Keeping women and those they love safe”.

They also have a forum for women to join, to discuss issues they have encounter regarding abuse and trauma, IM-SAFE forum. It is entirely confidential for sharing stories, events and most of all help and support.

I was absolutely delighted when Dennis Golden so very kindly gave me an excellent review for, A Broken Ring!

And here it is! TA-DAH!!!

“An engaging and riveting journey that impacts both the mind and heart.  The reader is immediately captivated from the opening lines and is launched on a journey of discovery and empowerment.

I guarantee you will be overcome by your need to read what happens next. This is a powerful story of discovery and hope for anyone who has been impacted (directly or indirectly) by abuse.”  

Dennis E. Golden, CEO, IM-SAFE®

 Keeping Women And Those They Love Safe

I have to say I feel so incredibly blessed! After he sent me the review, we organized a call. My first time talking to him and I am excited to say we will be collaborating together in the future on some exciting ventures to help keep women safe and spread the word about self-defense and empowerment.

How incredibly exciting! I am just so thrilled!