Summer Week Continues - The Wild Soccer Bunch

Come meet a rag-tag team of eleven friends and one lovable dog. They call themselves “The Wild Bunch” and their passion is soccer.

As winter turns to spring and the school break finally arrives, the boys’ are anxious to hit the field at any cost. But, once they arrive, they discover a group of large, angry bullies already there – The Unbeatables. With names like the Grim Reaper, Humungous, Octopus and Bull Dozer, these kids are anyone’s worst nightmare. Soon the Wild Bunch find themselves locked in a challenge for possession of the only soccer field in town.

All hope is lost until Larry, an almost soccer pro and owner of the lemonade stand, agrees to coach them. His unorthodox training methods give this team more than they bargained for, but will it be enough?

Told by nine-year-old Kevin, this middle-grade novel isn’t only fun and funny, it touches on some serious aspects of life; Diego has asthma, Roger is timid, Joey lives in a van with his mom, Larry the coach struggles with life’s defeats. The kids learn some serious life-lessons and even Larry walks away a better man.

Check out The Wild Soccer Bunch by Joachim Masannek, the first book of the series at; http://www.wildsoccerbunch.com

Stressed Out? Zen Mama to the Rescue

I stumbled across Betsy Henry, aka Zen Mama on TwitterMoms and just had to find out all about her and her philosophy of life. Check it out!

Tell us a bit about yourself
I am a wife of 23 years, a mother to three teenage sons, a daughter of wonderful parents, an aunt to 6 nieces and nephews and a sister to three siblings! I am a preschool teacher. And finally, what I’ve always wanted to be ... a writer!

Could you tell us about your philosophy in life and with your kids?

With Kids:

~Accepting children as individuals
~Keeping anger at bay
~Unconditional Love and compassion
~Humor

In Life:
~Doing what you love first
~Being as positive as possible

When did you start with Zen?
I’ve always been interested in many different philosophies. I like to find the best in all religions. I conceived the “Zen Mama” concept when I was going through the challenging time with my children a few years ago. I kept joking around that I was becoming a “Zen Mama” so I could let go of the controlling and angry feelings I was feeling towards my teenage sons. As I wrote the book I really researched Zen and Buddhism. I only just touched the surface in my book. It’s really more of an introduction for people like me who are just beginning the journey.

Tell us about your book - HOW TO BE A ZEN MAMA is a book with 13 chapters on how to stop worrying, let go and get closer to your kids. Each chapter has a zen story that reflects the chapter. The Zen Stories are about a young mother studying under a Zen Mama Master. Zen Buddhists learn in life by studying lessons with a master. However, the master will always tell his/her students that they are not really a Zen master, but a student just like them. The Zen Master has just traveled down the road a little way longer than the students.

How has the response been so far?
The response has been wonderful! The book is available on Amazon, through my website and independent bookstores throughout Colorado.

You have a companion web site/blog? Explain how it all works together
At first I started the website as a place to find information about the book or to buy the book. Then I had so many ideas that went with the book but didn’t quite fit in the final draft. So these ideas have become my blog posts.

Anything else you'd like to add?
I’m working on a second book. I’m compiling many of my blog posts plus some other work into a sort of Zen Mama diary. And, I will continue to blog and teach Zen Mama workshops. It’s a second job for me and I love it!

Check out 'Zen Mama' at; http://www.zen-mama.com/