“Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.” – Mother Theresa
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Beth Fred’s Book Release: THE OTHER MARLOWE GIRL
We are shifting gears away from the stupid-funny sports-themed posts usually found on THE COACH HAYS blog to highlight a clean romance book release from the wonderful Beth Fred. Beth tirelessly helps authors promote their work through her blog and social media and, today, I am proud to do a small part to help return the favor. So, without further ado, here are the promos for Beth’s new release, THE OTHER MARLOWE GIRL, Book 2 in the The Marlowe Girls series, and Book 1 in the series, THE FATE OF A MARLOWE GIRL.
Beth, the stage is yours.
Meet Beth Fred! That’s me! I’m a full time ELF keeper and part time writer/blogger/writing instructor. I’m represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyons Literary Agency. I like my tea hot, my romance sweet, and my guys chivalrous. Real men hold open doors, refer to you as ma’am, make promises they keep, and aren’t afraid to profess their undying love. It’s not breakfast if there aren’t carbs(at least, not in the South). Fajitas, carnitas, and churros are just few of my favorite things. Bet you can’t guess where I’m from 😉 Wanna know more about me? You can find that here:
Email me: bethfred08(at)gmail.com
Blogger: bethfred.com
Tweet me: bethfred08
FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/bethfred08
When twenty-four-year-old Tiffany escapes her sister Kammy’s too wild Cancun bachelorette party, she finds herself in a bar with the unwanted attention of a gorgeous local named Luke.
Luke may be charming but Tiffany is leaving in two days and doesn’t need any complications. But complications are exactly what she gets when the cops show up to raid Kammy’s party. When Kammy is arrested, Tiffany agrees to have dinner with Luke, so he’ll help her get Kammy out of jail. Kammy’s arrest forces her to spend an extra day in Cancun, meaning she’ll miss a crucial meeting, and as an accountant in tax season, she is already drowning in work. Not to mention, every second she spends with Luke makes it harder to leave. With Luke, Tiffany can forget about work.
But will the airport be their final goodbye?
Available at: Amazon & Smashwords
ebook, 42 pages
Published September 12th 2012 by Amazon
ASINB0096PWTUO
edition language: English
original title: Kismet
When twenty-four-year-old dance school drop out Kammy Marlowe is evicted by her mother, she goes to her favorite bar. She finds an unlikely friend in the blunt eye candy, Enrique. But Kammy knows there is no way she and Enrique have a shot because he’s her brother-in-law’s brother and has been privy to her wild past.
Enrique swears he’s only interested in the person she is today, but their relationship is tested when her ex-husband’s drug dealer attacks her, looking for money. With no options and a money hungry drug dealer on her back, Kammy accepts a position as a dancer at a strip club. But when Enrique shows up at the club, their relationship is over. With no reason to stay in Texas anymore, Kammy auditions for the Bolshevik Ballet and gets the opportunity to go to Russia. Only Enrique is determined to stop her.
Will she give up the chance of a lifetime to stay with the man she still loves?
Available at: Amazon
Ebook: 107 pages
Published: April 5th 2013
edition language: English
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Character
Character walks and talks
It leads and it follows
It pushes and it pulls
Character makes the man
It shines in dark times
It anchors in rough times
Character draws strength
It collapses weakness
It builds a solid foundation
Bring character
Grow character
Live character
Every day
Every way
Show Your Character
Filed under Rants, Reads, Training, Uncategorized, Writes
“Keep going, keep going, and keep going.”
My kids showed me this video tonight at dinner. It is very awesome. We all need a pep talk. I, for one, needed it big time. Submission time. You know that time when it’s so hard to hit SEND, so hard to put your butt on the line.
Kid President, thanks for reminding us to be awesome and to keep going out and trying to create awesome.
“Boring is easy.”
“Don’t stop believing…unless your dream’s stupid. Then get a better dream.”
“We got work to do.”
“We were made to be awesome.”
Okay, time to kick it up. Time to keep grinding to create something awesome. Wish me luck as I hit send.
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Step Up
Coach Pat Kelsey’s courage shown in his press conference trumps everything I had in line for the The Coach Hays blog.
Decent human values are important.
They must be taught
They must be lived.
Be an agent of change.
It is time.
Step up!
Filed under Uncategorized
The Isaiah Awesomeness
“For to us is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonder Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore.” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Regardless of religion, faith, or beliefs, these words from Isaiah are magnificent. An amazing couple of sentences; perhaps even a couple of the most beautiful sentences recorded in mankind’s history.
It’s definitely one of the best introductions in written history. Can you imagine the guest speaker at an event taking the podium with an introduction using the words from Isaiah? “Holy moly, Ralph! I didn’t know the upholder of justice and righteousness from this time forth and for everyone is our Noon Optimist Club speaker this week.”
I want to be better when I read these words, especially when the narrator in my head uses his James Earl Jones voice reciting them. These words inspire me to be a better husband, father, writer, scientist, athlete, and coach. In other words, they just make me want to be a better human being.
Wonder Counselor! Are you kidding me? That is next-level awesomeness.
Filed under Rants, Reads, Training, Uncategorized, Writes
Leap Of Faith, Trust Your Cape
Being a part of a marriage, a family, or any sort of a team requires the players to take a leap of faith to achieve success. To build this type of faith, there needs to be built a trust between all involved. Faith and trust that the other members of the team unit will take care of their role and do the thing, or things, they are supposed to do. It is a simple concept of a team unit. Everyone has a job and needs to focus on accomplishing that job.
It’s not easy, though. It is not easy to trust that someone else will hold their own, especially when you know their faults and their weaknesses. It’s easy to lack faith in each other and try to perform all the parts yourself. This doesn’t work very well, believe me.
Trust doesn’t come prepackaged and FedEx’d overnight at our convenience. This type of trust and faith needs to be pounded into shape with consistency and time and repetition. Perform adequately. Every time. Over time. The harder the challenge, the more faith and trust is built; a baptism by fire, as I like to say.
When you trust those around you, it’s like wearing the superhero’s cape. Your cape gives you powers beyond just yourself, it makes you stronger, and it makes you a better individual. With a team, a family, or a marriage, the more intertwined the individuals are, the stronger the unit becomes. We need to help those around us build with their own capes by being faithful and trustworthy teammates.
So, be a true and faithful teammate, wear your capes proudly, and live life as Guy Clark wrote in his song, The Cape:
“Yeah, he’s one of those who knows that life is just a leap of faith. Spread your arms and hold your breath and always trust your cape.”
Filed under Reads, Uncategorized, Writes
Football Is NOT Life: Reprise 2012
I originally wrote this post for me, to help me get over myself being down in the dumps over another year not coaching football. I wrote is as a therapeutic reminder that, even though I miss coaching dearly, this great game of football is not, and should never be, the MOST IMPORTANT thing in life.
I am re-posting the blog piece, Football is NOT Life, for you. You know, you folks out there who have let things slip out of focus. The ones who are half crazed with the emotion and the frustration and the disappointment associated with sports, especially when things are heading south in a hurry.
Everybody wants to win, it is written in the marrow of our bones. However, not everybody can win and we need to remind ourselves there are worse things in life than losing a game of football, no matter how much it hurts.
Respect the kids and respect the coaches. Respect the work and effort everyone invests, no matter how disappointing the outcome is. Use games and sports to build character in our young people, not to expose poor character. Please read this post and think about it. If it helps, then pass it on to the next person before we adults take all the fun out of this great game.
Football is NOT Life! (originally posted on September 21, 2010)
I know this may sound highly irrational and maybe even a bit hypocritical coming from me, but contrary to what the t-shirts say, FOOTBALL IS NOT LIFE!.
Football is the greatest damn game ever invented, but it is not life. Football is intensity, competitiveness, sportsmanship and violence, but it is not life. Football requires immense strategy and teamwork, but it is not life. Football provides education, drama, entertainment, and a solidarity which binds communities, campuses and fan bases throughout the nation, but it is not life. Football is universal, it is played by presidents and paupers, genius and idiot, big and small, aggressive and passive, rich and poor, but it is not life. Football should not be all consuming. Football should not be the top priority. I know this for a fact, I have tripped and fallen down this hole before (see my story).
Football can be like a package of Oreos, both need to be consumed in moderation. You’ve been there, you open the package of Oreos and leave it out on the counter. Sooner, rather than later, the whole package is gone and you don’t feel so good. But if you open that package and only take a couple of Oreos and place the package in the cupboard for a later date, they not only taste spectacular, but last and satisfy for days upon days. Football is not life. It should be taken in moderation and/or with a tall glass of milk, (1% or skim preferably).
Football has it’s proper place, it has it’s proper perspective. Football is not the primary reason for the existence of high schools, colleges and universities.
Yes, football is important. It is important to compete. It is important to work hard to be the best coach or player you can be. It is important to compete with purpose, pride and passion. But I think Coach Paul Lane said it best with his prioritization of the sport, “Faith, Family, Football, in that order”.
Football is important to me. But football is not life. Let’s work to keep football in it’s proper perspective and place. I would hate for you to get a football belly-ache.
Filed under Reads, Uncategorized, Writes
“In football…”
“In football a man was asked to do a difficult and brutal job, and he either did it or got out.” – Frederick Exley, novelist.
Filed under Uncategorized
A Friday October Night Interrupted
You are lying on a bed of green grass on a crisp October night with stars swirling about your head. Muffled music from a high school marching band floats from somewhere near. You smell the Fall in the air; a mixture of fallen leaves with a hint of winter. For a millisecond, life is beautiful.
Then a whistle blows. Your full senses snap back and the reality drops on your chest like a 24 megaton bomb. You’ve just been physically beaten into the ground by your opponent. At this moment a singular thought invades every cell of your being,
“I wish I would have done the work in summer conditioning.”
Do the work. The clock is ticking.
Hard work is the magic.
Filed under Rants, Reads, Training, Uncategorized, Writes
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