 What’s causing your shoulder pain? This is always a difficult question, due to numerous problems that could happen and the fact that the shoulder is made up of several boney, muscular, and ligamentous structures. Let's start off with a little anatomy review. The shoulder is made up of three large muscles collectively called the deltoids, 4 rotator cuff muscles, and several other muscles. The deltoids individually are the anterior deltoid, medial deltoid, and posterior deltoid. These muscles help the arm with flexion (moving forward), abduction (taking the arm away from the body), and extension (bringing the arm back behind the body). Four muscles together make up the rotator cuff. This is commonly, incorrectly, called the rotator cup or rotary cup. The rotator cuff is made up of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis. Together they stabilize the shoulder, hold the head of the humerus into the glenoid cavity, and maintain the shoulder joint. Other muscles related to the shoulder are: Triceps brachii, which is the large muscle in the back of the upper arm that helps straighten your arm. Pectoralis major, which is a large fan-shaped muscle that stretches from the armpit to the collarbone and down across the chest. Although it seems like a chest muscle, it also is a very important shoulder muscle which helps with bringing the arm towards the body and inwardly rotating your arm. Pectoralis minor which is the smaller pec muscle that fans from the upper ribs to the shoulder. The pec minor can draw the shoulder down, or the shoulder blade (scapula) upwards. Teres major runs under the shoulder and helps rotate the shoulder upward. Biceps brachii, known as the bicep muscle, is a thick muscle that rests on top of the humerus and rotates the forearm and also flexes the elbow. Latissimus dorsi, usually just calls the lats, is a flat rectangular muscle of the back that helps rotate the arm and move the arm away and closer to the body. So why are you having shoulder pain? This is a loaded question as you can see the overwhelming amount of muscles that could be part of the problem. Some problems include: Shoulder pain coming from the deltoids. This could be a strain or caused from trigger points in the muscle belly. Trigger points are when the muscle binds up in one spot making a knot. Think of it like a wrinkle in a fabric. Bursitis, which is inflammation of the bursa (a fluid-filled space) and tendons, which connect your shoulder muscles to your upper arm bone. A rotator cuff tear which could be in any of the four rotator cuff muscles listed above. A rotator cuff tear occurs when the tendons of the rotator cuff separate from the bone. Tendons are the ends of the muscles which attach the muscle to the bone. As such, when a muscle pulls too much they can tear this anchor (tendon). Frozen shoulder, also called adhesive capsulitis. Frozen shoulder is a common condition that leads to stiffness of the joint and sometimes constant pain, or just discomfort when reaching behind your back or head. A true frozen shoulder limits motion so much that even when stretching the joint is very hard or impossible to move. Bicep tendonitis which usually causes pain that develops gradually at the front of the shoulder that moves down over the biceps muscle. The pain is often worse with repetitive lifting, carrying heavy bags, or overhead activities. Other causes could be Bicep Tendon Rupture, SLAP Tears (Superior Labrum Anterior Posterior tear), Shoulder Osteoarthritis, AC Arthritis (arthritis of the place where the clavicle meets the acronium, which is the hard, pointy spot on the top of the shoulder), Shoulder Instability, and Shoulder Dislocation. What this laundry list of possible problems mean is that it’s incredibly hard to diagnose exactly what is going wrong. So, what do you do? First, did the pain come on gradually or suddenly? If pain came on gradually, especially if performing a task that cause repetitive movements, then that narrows it down. Most commonly, this leads to tendonitis or trigger points in a muscle. Ice will help relieve tendonitis, as it decreases inflammation. Helpful hint: any medical word ending with itis means inflammation. If it’s an overworked or tight muscle, then heat will be helpful. Why? Because when a muscle gets tight, it narrows blood vessels. Heat opens these back up and allows the muscle to get fully nourished again. If pain came on suddenly, especially after a movement, lifting, or injury, you’re at a higher risk of having a sprain, strain, or even a complete tear. This is all very overwhelming, I know. So, what should you do? If pain persists then your best option is seeking medical care. The internet is not your friend, as it offers far too much information, causing even more confusion than all the information above. So, some simple rules: Pain comes on suddenly = use ice and rest. Pain comes on slowly, especially after work = use heat and rest. Pain after a traumatic event, like a slip, fall, or car accident = see your doctor. To help prevent or reduce pain from all of the above, you can do this: Stabilizing Shoulder Exercises. Why? When the shoulder is stable and the muscles are strong, your risk of injury or all the problems above go down significantly. Also, many injuries only get better after performing Stabilizing Shoulder Exercises. So, what are these? Here’s a list of some of the best: Shoulder circles- Hold arms out at sides like you’re a bird and make small arm circles until the shoulders are tired. Prone flexion- lay on stomach with arm hanging over edge of bed. Raise arm up to ear like you’re Superman flying. Prone abduction- lay on stomach with arm hanging over edge of bed. Raise arm up to the side like you’re a bird or an airplane. Prone extension- lay on stomach with arm hanging over edge of bed. Bring arm backwards towards your hip. Prone rows- lay on stomach with arm hanging over edge of bed. Keep elbow bent and pull arm up at the side like you’re pulling on a lawnmower cord or rowing. Wall push ups- with feet away from the wall, and hands up on wall at shoulder’s width apart, lower face towards wall and then push back out. Many people get obsessed with the ‘show muscles’, which are the muscles that becoming bulky and good looking; but they forget all the other shoulder muscles. What happens when one muscle becomes too strong and one too weak? Well, think of strapping a fridge to a trailer, only you didn’t tighten one side enough, and the other side you tightened as far as it could possibly go. What will happen? Most likely while bouncing down the road, the straps won’t keep the fridge stable and it will tip. The same can be said of the shoulder. So, what’s causing your shoulder pain? Or should we ask: what started that led to the shoulder pain? Imbalance. 
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 Many of use have tried it. It seems like a sound way to market right? Every time we scroll we see through our timeline we get an onslaught of ads, so why not. Well here are a few reason.
Facebook constantly changes how they do ads. The newest change coming Fall 2019 is that AI customizing where your money goes when you make multiple ads. This means if they see one underperforming, they will push your budget towards the one performing well. Sounds good right? Well it’s a double-edged sword. If you are looking to promote your book two different places and you know you have a limited audience in one so you put your lesser budget there and the ad dies well, then it means Facebook will funnel most of your budget towards this one. Facebook also rolls out new changes constantly and tries very hard to make sure you cannot target small audiences. For them they prefer an audience of 130,000 plus. On one of our recent promotions we wanted to focus our ads at readers who like paranormal, short stories, and live in Winterset Iowa. This is because the book is a paranormal, collection of short stories, and set in Winterset Iowa. This was too small of an audience for Facebook and their little meter lit up red, demanding we make the audience bigger. So how did it go? Horribly. Not only were there no sales, but the ad specifically said it had a certain amount of engagements while at the book of the ads page said no engagements. Well which is correct? Did you just funnel the money into open air and no one ever clicked it? Did you spend all the money on the two people who commented on it that were our page followers? Overall Facebook is a spiderweb. It seems you need LARGE budgets to net results. We recommend $40-$50 a day for a minimal ad run of 5 days. Yes that’s $250! Makes Facebook seem a lot less cost friendly now. Rating: Price: 1 Time (time to complete/response time/etc): 5 User Friendly: 3 Return: 1 Overall score: 10/20  We found this site to have a lot of promise and signed our book up for we thought was their review and listing program for around $10. The listing was easy, price good, and site well laid out. But it changed. Not long after we submitted the whole site was redone. Books have poor quality photos in the library, and the page is now laid out more like a chat site than a book promoter. After three weeks no review has been done and no sales seem to have be netted from this site. We may have made a mistake when signing up and not gotten a review, but that being said it seems we’re getting no traffic from this site. On top of that, where authors can sign up to have their book listed is either very hidden or totally gone. Classes have now been posted and it’s heavily connected to social media. Overall it seems to be a source for writers and NOT a place to connect your book with readers. If you’re looking for something different than Facebook to connect with other writers, this may be worth checking out. If you’re already tired of typical Facebook style then stay away. This sight is filled with groups, posts, and it easily becomes overwhelming. **Update** We are now receiving spam in our Email from this site! Rating: Price: 4 Time (time to complete/response time/etc): 2 User Friendly: 1 Return: 1 Overall score: 8/20  Have you ever written the greatest novel of your life only to start editing and find you used the word Nice 402 times in your novel? Sometimes even five times or more on a page. We all fall into this. They said. He was nice. Nice day. They roll off our tongue so much in everyday conversation that they haunt the pages of your novel. Well no more. Here are over 150+ alternative words to use in your novel. Instead of NICE try… enjoyable - pleasurable – thoughtful - courteous - lovely - likable - pleasing - gracious - congenial – cordial – admirable - considerate Instead of GOOD try… excellent - amazing - wonderful - pleasant - marvelous - exceptional - fantastic - super – outstanding – terrific - splendid - stupendous Instead of BAD try… awful - rotten - naughty - mean - dreadful - nasty - wicked – lousy- terrible - unpleasant - disagreeable - wretched Instead of HURT try… pained – ached – stabbed – stung – throbbed – burned – bit – pounded – tingled – cramped – agonized - smarted Instead of SAD try… depressed - gloomy - miserable - cheerless - unhappy - forlorn – sorrowful - upset - downcast - tearful - somber Instead of HAPPY try… cheerful - delighted - pleased - glad - joyful - ecstatic - content - jovial - amused - merry - thrilled - elated Instead of LAUGHED try… giggled - chuckled - roared - howled - whooped - snickered - guffawed - shrieked - grinned - cackled - bellowed - chortled Instead of LIKE try… admire - approve - adore - treasure - fancy - marvel - appreciate – respect - cherish - favor - desire - enjoy Instead of SAID try… commented - replied - remarked - declared - stated - exclaimed - shouted - whispered - announced - responded - boasted - explained Instead of BIG try… huge - giant - gigantic - enormous - large - massive - colossal - immense - bulky - hefty - tremendous - jumbo Instead of LITTLE try… small – tiny – petite – miniature – tiny – itsy – bitsy – minuscule – mini – minuet - microscopic – skimpy – wee Instead of RAN try… bolted – sped – hurried – sprinted – jogged – rushed – galloped – hustle – skipped – raced – dashed - fled Instead of WALKED try… strolled – sauntered – tiptoed – trotted – marched – glided – strutted – shuffled – correct – trudged – hiked - paraded Instead of PRETTY try… beautiful - gorgeous - appealing - cute - lovely - exquisite - attractive – elegant – handsome – stunning – fair - dazzling. Instead of LOOKED try… gazed – examined - glanced – viewed – observed – peeked – studied – noticed Instead of SCARED try… afraid - frightened - spooked - horrified - startled - fearful - petrified - anxious - aghast - alarmed - terrified - shaken 
 Ouch, you didn’t think anyone would write this did you? Well we are. While most women know what it’s like to be hormonal we decided to hit on a few tricks to put this into writing.
Out Of Habits When a woman is hormonal the body wants or craves different things. While your character may have a bowel of cereal every morning like clockwork, during this dreaded time of the month she may run out and get all you can eat pancakes. You can use these things to subtly hint at the natural workings of a woman without outright writing ‘She’s on her period.” Emotional Outbursts Yes, it’s true. Hormones make for a roller coaster of emotions. It is totally possible to have a woman happy and on top of the world one moment and the next a screaming yelling demon. Something like this can really help move along a story and add in some action during slow times. Just remember you can only use this technique once a month. Sex Hormones changes the sex drive so most often a woman will have either a higher or lower sex drive during this time of the month. They also usually never want to take advantage of this, causing mixed emotions. The woman can very easily act on her desires then back out feeling to embarrassed to go any further. Lady Purse Not necessarily part of hormonal body language, but something to remember. A woman has to have access to her products during that time of the month. This many mean she will carry a purse if she doesn’t normally or maybe a larger purse. Cramps Hormones cause pain. Sometimes just mild aches and bloating to buckled over stabbed in the abdomen pain. This can be a crippling blow to a character if something like this would happen in an intense situation. Remember you can use this to add drama, conflicts, and bring your reader closer to your character.  At our latest event we experienced a first. The worst first that has spawned things like stricter review policies on Amazon. A bad apple. This one almost ruined an event that hosts 20-50 indie authors every year. The IABE (Indie Author Book Expo) hosts a yearly event where they put authors in front of various crowds. Lately they have been pairing with a Des Moines Mall to allow people to naturally and casually discover authors. This year they expanded into doing live readings on stage to bring in a bigger draw. As with any event some authors sold out and others did not sell at all. Overall, it’s a friendly event with a host that bends over backwards to try and please her authors. To be honest, she’s too nice as we saw many people constantly demanding new spots, different tables, and leaving before tear down time. Each time she accommodated them. These weren’t even the bad apples. The first step into the bad fruit barrel came from a report from the mall that authors were rude to staff and security. IABE was already on shaky footing because is this continued this event would have to find a new location. Then, the topper on the rotten cake. After the event was over the mall made it know there was a thief amongst the authors. They had caught, on camera, an author stealing a money bag from one of the mall kiosks. This footage was handed over to police for the thief to be found. Even worse, the thief reached out on social media trying to say he ‘found’ the bag. A believable statement if they were not caught on camera. Ohh, yes before the footage came out there were suspects. Like a mystery detective, each author was analyzed. The reality was the thief was the least expected person. A children’s author, outwardly nice, who donated several books to the raffle, was the culprit. It was a heart-breaking situation as the mall decided the IABE could no longer be there. After some pleading, it was allowed back under much stricter rules. Just like there became stricter rules on book reviews on Amazon after a bad apple, there is now more rules placed on this Midwest event. What’s worse? IABE is a nonprofit that helps bring classes to children around the Midwest and is currently working towards investing in a printer to provide small indie authors cheaper printing. One bad apple risked it all for every author. So, what’s the point of this articles. To raise awareness. People, even authors, are not always as they seem. It’s these bad apples that ruin the writing world for other authors. Don’t let this happen to you, and don’t be that bad apple.  You only have one tweet in a whole flock to catch someones attention. In comparison this is like on bird in a whole flock calling for his mate. It’s hard, but it cane be done. So how do you get heard? Well, first of all it’s not by posting links to your book over and over. This will get you unfollowed, in twitter jail, or just ignored. What you need to do, and this is the same for all social networking, is give people what they want. Twitter over the last several years has become a large information network, more and more be dominated by trends and news. This means, research should be done on trends and trending hashtags. You can look at trending hashtags on Twitter each day for a good idea, but this obligates you to get on every day and come up with appropriate content. So, what do you do? Well, if you have a lot of time on your hands you can log in everyday, look at trending hashtags and articles, write a relative blog post, and then blow your twitter feed up with content relating to the most popular hashtags. Another approach is building your following via interaction. Since twitter is like riding the rapids do it quick, preferable within an hour of the post going live and never later than 24 hours after the post went out. Share posts that you like. Comment and share opinions on others. Twitter works the best when using it to connect to people. Keep it short. Even though Twitter has a 140 character limit, leave a little room. Anywhere from 15-25 characters less. This leaves room for others who want to retweet your post or add a comment. Retweet and tag others by using their @usernames. People appreciate positive sharing and are more likely to follow you back. Set up a content plan and plan out specials that air on certain days to gain consistency. Monday could also have a joke of the week while Friday might be the cocktail of the week. Also you could feature other authors on Wednesday, tagging them and singing their praises to help build good faith. Want to know another trick. Interacting with people with the largest influence will help your page more. This is simple math as they usually have more active followers than anyone else allowing you to get your message or even yourself out in front of a larger crowd. Some sites such as Klout, Twellow, and Commun.it allow you to see who among your followers has the greatest degree of authority. Focus on helping others solve their problems. Offer quality advice. Share big media articles and use trending hashtags to drive up your relativity. People will like a post about current events, but they’re seldom going to like a post about your book which they have never heard of. PAULETTE MAHURIN Paulette Mahurin lives with her husband Terry and two dogs, Max and Bella, in Ventura County, California. She grew up in West Los Angeles and attended UCLA, where she received a Master’s Degree in Science. Paulette did something amazing with her books. She used the profit to save 155 dogs rescued from kill shelters. Not only is she a 5 star author, but her books have been making a difference and waves all across the word. AMAZON U.S. Trebonius Octavianus 5.0 out of 5 stars*****Great Historical FictionMarch 27, 2019 Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase Well written, Paulette Mahurin pens a terrific historical fiction about a Woman’s heroic journey to America. A Different Kind of Angel: A Novel, sure opened my eyes to a not so ancient past., and sometimes I can’t believe the world in which we live. 5 stars! Book Lover 222 5.0 out of 5 stars*****The Courage and the Spirit to SurviveMarch 13, 2019 Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase A Different Kind of Angel by Paulette Mahurin is the incredible story of Klara Gelfman, a Russian Jew fleeing to America after her family life is destroyed in 1881 by soldiers massacring Jews. Klara flees to America with her father for safety. Her father dies on the way over. Alone and speaking no English, she gets mugged and everything she had was stolen. From here, her story takes a drastic turn for the worse. Well written and well researched, at times this story is very hard to read. It speaks to the courage and spirit of an individual to survive horrific conditions. AMAZON U.K. Joey 5.0 out of 5 stars*5/515 March 2019 Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase I have always loved Mahurin’s books and this one did not disappoint. While based on a true story, it is heartbreakingly told. Klara confined to a mental institute on an island in New York simply for not speaking English. The story splits between Klara’s early life and into the future towards her final escape. I loved the way it was told and found it to be beautifully written. A chilling story of prejudice and the lengths some people will go to to get what they want. An amazing book and one I highly recommend! GOODREADS  Paulette has even recently received the Gold Recommendation Award by NeoLeaf Press for have a wonderful 5 star book. NeoLeaf Press has several Amazon exclusive books on sale just for you. Take advantage of your Kindle Unlimited subscription today with these great reads for free.   ALPHA - Mystery Buy HERE How well do we ever know anyone? Even someone we might be falling in love with... On a rainy October morning, Mallory Petersen, private detective and martial artist, discovers the corpse of her boyfriend, Bobby Furillo, in front of her office in Des Moines, Iowa. Bucking police authority, and continually attacked by unknown adversaries, Mallory uncovers Bobby’s devastating secrets. Each new revelation puts Mallory in deeper peril from powerful and dangerous people. And just what are those enigmatic RSVP cards that keep showing up in Mallory’s mail? Kathryn D 5.0 out of 5 stars Alpha by Stephen L. Brayton December 1, 2012 Format: Paperback Verified Purchase "Alpha" is Stephen L. Brayton's second novel with heroine Mallory Petersen. Her story feels reminiscent of Robert B Parker's character private eye extraordinaire Spencer. Like P.I. Spencer, Miss Petersen sees things black, white and gray. The reader observes the right way and the Petersen way in which she resolves her cases. Mr. Brayton's format of Now. . . and Then. . . in the "Alpha" story gives the reader an opportunity to catch their breath between action scenes. "Alpha" introduces the reader to many characters we want to follow in more Mallory Petersen and "Night Shadows" novels. We want more Mallory, Lawrence, Darren, and Harry Reznik. PLEASE.   BETA - Mystery Buy HERE An eight-year-old girl’s life is at stake... will P.I. Mallory Petersen find her in time? Mallory Petersen, a Private Investigator in Des Moines, Iowa—and a fourth degree black belt with her own taekwondo school—splits her time between teaching martial arts, and her often inane cases. It’s not that she wants bad things to happen to people, but it does make life more interesting when they do. When Mallory accepts a case to find Cheryl McGee’s kidnapped eight-year-old daughter, she is pulled into the dark underworld of child pornography. The trail soon leads to the Quad Cities, where Mallory partners with tall, handsome officer from the Special Case Squad. As the investigation deepens, Mallory discovers there’s more to the girl’s disappearance than her client let on. Kindle Customer 5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read May 16, 2019 Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase This is a very well written and dark mystery. I found the parts with Mallory much easier to read, due to the subject matter with the little girl. Thankfully we are mostly in that thread and there was a narrative distance in the sections that touched on the sensitive material that also made it easier. Mallory is a wonderful lead, with a lot of pluck. I also really loved Lawrence, who added levity with his personality. He was a great contrast. The story is fast paced and has a lot of tension. Great read. Kindle Customer  Creating Grace - Paranormal Romance Buy HERE Can love really heal a rift between heaven and hell? Phenex was once an angel, a secret she keeps hidden behind her cold assassin exterior, her ‘let no one get close’ rule, and the curse of her acquired demon powers. Gabriel is the Archangel of Death whose task of killing demons and bringing lost souls to the light has stolen his ability to feel emotion. When the pair collide on the battlefield, their connection is instant and their desire daunting. As rogue demons begin an all-out assault, the two must unite for the greater good. But is their bond strong enough to save them? Or will the power of Lucifer tear this fragile love apart? Kindle Customer 5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read April 12, 2019 Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase I instantly adored Phenex and of course what's not to love about Gabriel? While this story has a lovely relationship what I was most drawn to was the action. Boy wow was there some great fighting scenes here. Phenex is really intense and tough as nails. I loved that the story didn't get lost in the romance because the world, creatures, history, book, etc were all super fascinating and very creative. I hope to read more from this author soon.  This Light Won't Go Out - Inspirational Anthology Buy HERE 18 authors donated their time and stories to make This Light Won’t Go Out happen. Our goal is to raise money for charity to help bring some light to families during the holidays. This anthology, re-released in 2018, has a special meaning as we feature the writing of Terri Duncan who lost her fight with cancer. Her hope was that the poems she left behind would help adults and children understand the cancer battle. Each story was specially donated to bring warm feelings of the season to our readers. This Light Won’t Go Out features prize winning authors D. Fischer, Cassandra DenHartog, Michael Van Natta, and Stephen Brayton. For more on the This Light Won’t Go Out Charity please see www.neoleafpress.com/charity.  Chills Down Your Spine - Horror Anthology Buy HERE Sitting around the campfire, trying to scare each other with tales of horror and legend, has been a tradition since before the keeping of written records. Despite the Internet becoming our modern campfire, the tradition continues. We’ve collected works from thirteen — yes, 13; it just worked out that way, honest! — of today’s best upcoming and award-winning authors, asking them to send us whatever keeps them up at night. Boy, did they deliver! And you thought things that go bump in the night were your worst worry... after you read these stories, you’ll know better! Turn on all the lights in your house, find someone to hang on to, and settle in for an evening or three of chills, scares and horrors!  Mighty Miserable Monday - Humor Anthology Buy HERE We've all had them... Mighty Miserable Mondays! You get back from a great weekend only to find your desk piled high with work, your co-workers goofing off, and your boss screaming about mandatory overtime... yep, it must be Monday. Inside these pages you'll find a wide variety of Monday stories, most funny, some sad, and one or two that will warm your heart. From a man and his dog having a tough time getting their Monday started, to fulltime RVers and their unique Monday madness, to memes, jokes, and texts that couldn't happen on any other day, Mighty Miserable Monday will help you make it to your next weekend... and through the Monday that always follows. Gary Resnikoff 5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious. October 7, 2018 Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase Great read. Love the pictures too. We all hate Mondays (or I did till I retired)...in fact Mondays are so bad they ruin Sundays. Anything you can read that helps lighten it up is a good thing. Life is short so have so fun.  Coming To Kindle Unlimited Later This June!
Past In Shadows - Dark Paranormal Buy HERE Love doesn’t come easy. It doesn’t come fast. It comes with everything that’s made to destroy the heart and soul. Nikolai is a crippled PI suffering from fibromyalgia and a bad case of brokeitis. On the surface his crass disposition comes off rough, but deep down a loneliness eats at him Ada is hiding from her past, a victim of being pimped out at a young age. Her dream of becoming an artist is cut short by a boss with an evil agenda and creatures trying to attack her in the night. When Ada reaches out to Nikolai for help they soon realize neither of them will have answers if they can’t address their own emotion turmoil. They are thrown into a dark world, but when her life is in danger it’s the mysterious vampire named Steel who saves her. Together they can break a curse hundreds of years old and in the process might just find the love they have been yearning for. Together they make a love triangle between two people no one expected. Kathy Tjernagel 5.0 out of 5 starsHard to put down! May 31, 2017 Format: Paperback Verified Purchase Great book! Cassandra has quite the imagination. The ending had a great twist. Good read. Ready for her next book to come out. Kathy Tjernagel |
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