The Fall 2010 Issue is now online!

The Fall Issue of CapeWomenOnline is now available! We have eight new voices in this issue, and many familiar writers as well. We introduce two new "features" in our Working Women section that we hope will catch on - "Women to Watch" and "Living Her Dreams," both designed to introduce readers to more amazing women on Cape Cod.

With lots of interesting and timely articles, we hope readers will take a few minutes to relax and read what Cape Women are up to this Fall season. Check it out, and let us hear from you - either by email or on our Facebook wall.

Happy Fall!

The Summer Issue is Online!

The Summer Issue of CapeWomenOnline is available just in time for the Summer Solstice! Check it out at www.CapeWomenOnline.com

It's amazing how each issue seems to take on a life of its own, creating an overarching theme where we hadn't realized there was going to be one... and then you step back and look at everything as it pulls together and say "Aha! This issue is about..."

The Summer issue is about being brave enough to follow your dreams. For example, in our Life Stories section, you can read about one Cape mom who's taking her young daughter and moving to Mexico for the coming school year, in search of adventure. And read about another brave woman who chucked a secure job in the financial sector to follow her dreams of becoming a chef.

We have another article by Jen Villa, who followed her dreams a year ago to open her own art gallery here on Cape Cod and is now helping and promoting other women in their pursuit of artistic dreams. Debbie Hagen tells us how she's coming full circle in her life, by combining her previous career in nursing with her holistic shop.

Lynn Delaney's "Message from Spirit" always comes to us at the last minute, as Lynn waits for her spirit guides to deliver their message... and again, it never fails to amaze me how the messages fit in with the themes of the issues. This one's theme is "Shift Up from the Gear of Fear" ... don't let fear of failure stop you from pursuing your dreams.

On days like this, I feel truly blessed to be working with such a wonderful group of women and putting out such a good-looking and thought-provoking magazine.

Happy Summer Solstice, and Enjoy the new issue!

Ann Hood explains the Red Thread of destiny

I attended an event this morning sponsored by Where the Sidewalk Ends bookstore in Chatham. Author Ann Hood came to the Chatham Wayside Inn to share breakfast and coffee with us, and to discuss her latest book, The Red Thread.

The blurb on the bookstore's website reads:

"The ancient Chinese spoke of a mythical red thread that connected a child to all of the people who would eventually play a role in his or her life. As time passed, it was believed that the thread tightened, shrinking the distance between that child and those people, until both were finally brought together.

In her latest novel, THE RED THREAD, Ann Hood, the acclaimed author of The Knitting Circle, explores the unique bond between parent and child, and the red thread that binds their lives."

If you ever get a chance to hear her speak, go. Ann is a wonderfully warm, charming, and dynamic storyteller. Her intimate and heartfelt tales made me both laugh and cry as I sat along with the rest of the audience sipping my coffee.

The event was also a fundraiser for WE CAN, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Cape Cod women in transition. Now in their second decade, WE CAN has helped thousands of women on Cape Cod, giving them the ability to lead successful and productive lives.

More literary events are planned for this summer. To find out more, visit the bookstore's website, and be sure to check out the Summer Issue of CapeWomenOnline magazine for my full story.

I love my job.

There are times when I have to smile and say, "I love my job."

Not every day, mind you. Not when there are problems afoot, or writers missing deadlines. But other times, when you get a sign from the Universe that you've done something good.

I didn't work this weekend, as my daughter's Girl Scout troop was on a camping trip. As their Leader, I was camping too. I like camping, but those first few hours of getting things set up and getting all the girls situated in tents can be hectic.

In the midst of all the hectic-ness, one of the other leader received a phone call and had to step away from the mayhem. She was gone for a while (which is why we have several adults in each unit, just in case.) I worried that it was bad news of some sort, but when she returned she was smiling.

"That was a friend of mine," she said, still smiling. "She just read my article, and wanted to tell me that she really loved it."

I met Dorothy Cohen three years ago, when my daughter was first assigned to her Brownie troop. I wasn't an official Leader that year because there were already three leaders. Dorothy was my favorite. She was down-to-earth with a self-deprecating sense of humor that I appreciated, and she was an animal lover. We quickly bonded for life.

The following year, she talked me into being a Leader with her. I'm still a Girl Scout Leader. And now, she's also a writer for CapeWomenOnline magazine. Her article in the current Spring Issue tells about her volunteer work with the Brewster Animal Rescue League.

It made me feel good to see her so excited by the positive feedback. Like I did something really worthwhile.

Editing can be rewarding.

Back online and Greener than Ever!

Did you miss us? Well, CapeWomenOnline magazine is back online once again.

We were missing from the Internet for a few days while our Web Princess transferred us to a new hosting service. Our new home is at Fat Cow, a solar and wind powered company based in the mid-Western U.S.

By switching over to Fat Cow, we're voting with our pocketbooks for greener, more sustainable sources of energy. Better for us, better for you, and better for the planet.

There shouldn't be an visible difference in how the website looks, feels or operates. The Spring Issue still has all the same great articles and links to our creative and wonderful contributors, advertisers and sponsors. The only difference will be our reduced impact on the environment.

Going green feels pretty good.

CWO is Getting Even Greener!

The ocean is beautiful this week. The water is clear and sparkling, in stark contrast to the images on the television news of the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

The oil spill wasn't the main or only reason but it tipped the balance in our decision to make the magazine even greener: We've decided to switch our web hosting over to Fat Cow, a solar and wind powered company in the Mid-West. What a great fit for our already "green" magazine!

In the interim, the magazine will be offline for a day or two while the transfer occurs. The Web Princess is working closely with the nice people at Fat Cow to get us up and running as quickly as possible. Since it's more than a month until our next launch date, it seemed like a good time to try this.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and promise that when the magazine comes back online, you won't even notice the change. It'll still be the same great magazine.

Only greener.

Welcome to our new Blog!

It's been almost a year since I first sat down with Nicola and Jane, and decided to get on board the staff of CapeWomenOnline Magazine.

The magazine had been online since August of 2008, with Gillian Drake at the helm as publisher. At that time, Nicola was the editor and I was merely a contributing writer. In early Spring of 2009, Gillian decided she could no longer make the time commitment to CWO, and offered the magazine to Nicola.

The first issue with Nicola in the publisher's seat (Summer 2009) had a completely different look and feel than the old magazine, and it's kept evolving from there. Printable pages were added, then feedback forms, letters to the editor pages, and now with the latest issue, embedded video.

And we keep evolving. Changing. Making improvements. The embedded video idea came straight from a feedback form submitted by a reader from Brewster. Our Web Princess jumped at the idea, and figured out how to make it work.

The latest innovations are adding to our social networking presence (the buzzwords of spring 2010) with this new blog, our Facebook page, and a Twitter account. We're dipping our toes into these new mediums, and hoping we learn to navigate them pretty quickly.

We hope that you, our readers, will keep making suggestions about what you like and dislike about our magazine. As our motto says, we want to Inspire, Encourage, Network and Share.

We want you to continue sharing your thoughts with us as we head into another year of writing about the creative and inspiring women of Cape Cod!

Thanks for helping make the magazine a success. Here's looking forward to another great year!
- - Katie O'Sullivan, Editor