Travel In Your Mind

Monday, Monday!! Does it even matter what day of the week it is anymore. Everyday seems like the movie Groundhog Day. This week is my week to work from home, and I never thought I'd say this, but I like the weeks I have to go into the office. It's so weird how you get into a routine and don't like to deviate from that (at least I don't, anyway). What have you guys been doing to keep busy besides the usual (cooking, cleaning, laundry)? I binged watched season 1 and 2 yesterday of Call the Midwife...again! I've seen all of the seasons already buy I love that show so much. I'm doing my part in trying to stimulate the economy by ordering things online that I really don't need. I have more friends on Words with Friends than I can keep up with. I've taken more pictures of my dogs than I probably have of my kids as they were growing up, and I've reread, changed, added, took some things out of my latest book. Now I need to find some new characters to hang out with! Since none of us are getting out these days, what I've found myself doing is looking through my photos and finding some of the places I've been that made me happy! It kinda makes me feel like I'm there again just reliving the memory of it. Here are some of my favorites:

                                                          Black Forest Germany

                                                                Innsbruck Austria
                                                     

                                                                Strasbourg France

Stay positive, stay healthy, and find new and innovative ways to travel without ever leaving your house!

~Beth xoxo

Time Is A Gift

I know many of you who have been stuck at home are thinking, "I can't for life to go back to normal." Be careful what you wish for. Yes, it does stink that we can't get together with friends, go to the movies, head out to the mall...the normal everyday things we're so accustomed to. But think of the gift we've been given. TIME. No amount of money can buy it and now amount of wishing can bring it back. So use it wisely and make the most of it...one day you'll look back and see it was more valuable than anything you've ever owned. 

If anything these past few weeks has taught us...it's that life can change in an instant. Be thankful for the time we have and the time we've been given to slow down and enjoy life...other's who are helping to fight this virus or are sickened by it are wishing they had it as well. 

"𝘐𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰. 𝘚𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯."

                                                          ~ 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦

I've Got A Little Secret...

I was going to wait to officially announce what I've been doing to help get me through the craziness  in our current world, but I couldn't keep it secret any longer. I know it's early, but I wanted to share  what's coming your way from me (more than likely not until September). I'm hoping this will give you something to look forward to if you're feeling hopeless and down during these uncertain times we're living in. I have to say, these characters are some of my favorites (I know, I say that all the time after each of my books...but what kind of author would I be if I didn't fall in love with the characters I created.) Through them, I got to relive my recent trip and the magic of the Christmas markets in Germany, France and Austria. I visited England (even though I've never been...but I'm still holding out hope that I'll be going fo the first time this summer), and I also learned a lesson in forgiveness. Funny, how we can teach ourselves so much through our own words. So with out further ado, I give you....

Add to your TBR List

I'll be sharing lots more with you as the time gets closer. Until then: Stay healthy, stay positive, and go an adventure every day...even if it's only in your mind! This too shall pass!

A Lesson Learned...From My Dog.

 I wanted to switch things up and not talk about my books or writing in this post. Instead, I wanted to focus on something that may help to give you a little perspective in these crazy times we're living in as of late.

Did you ever hear the saying, the best therapist has four legs and a tail? I truly do believe that. I have 2 four legged friends. One who is my therapist, and the other one warrants that therapy (but in his defense he is still a puppy and has a lot to learn). My therapist came to me eleven years ago. I was home sick from work and scrolling through Petfinder. When I saw a picture of him on the site,I was immediately drawn to him, like he was destined to be mine. I never owned a dog as an adult and wasn't really sure of all the responsibility that came along with it, but I put an application in for him anyway. Much to my surprise, I was notified within a few days from the rescue that I was approved, and he would be coming to us all the way from Mississippi. I'm not gonna lie, I kind of freaked out after that, running around, preparing like I was ready to give birth. Bogie, as we came to know him came into our life all those years ago and since then he has become a loving member of our family, and a huge piece of my heart . It saddens me so much to see him slowing down, his graying eye brows and not being able to last for more than 15 minutes on the long walks he used to love to take. He's always been so in tune with my feelings. He knows when I'm sad, and he knows when I'm angry...sometimes before I even know I am.

The other night, I realized just how much his presence affected me. I was having a crappy day, stressed out about everyday things and the world in general. I took the crazy puppy, (whose name is Georgie by the way) out on his leash to go to the bathroom one last time before going to bed. Bogie joined us like he always does. He works the perimeter of our yard, acting as the security guard by patrolling the area in the dark, making sure that nothing happens to me or his bratty little brother. He waited patiently for Georgie to do his business, and when I turned around to see where he was, he was looking up to the sky with the most soulful, gentlest look in his eyes. The kind of look you see in a wise old man who has seen a lot of things in life. When I tilted my head upwards to see what had him so mesmerized, I saw it -- the most beautiful clearest, star-filled night I had ever witnessed in my life. I know what my sweet little dog was trying to convey to me--slow down, shut the world away and just take in the beauty. If he wasn't out there with me, I know I would have just went through the motions, waited for Georgie to do his business and went back inside without ever seeing that beauty that lingered just above me.I don't know how some people can say animals have no souls because to me they are more in tune with our feelings than our fellow humans. So I guess the moral of my story is, no matter how crazy life gets, no matter how scared the news we turn on the TV makes us, there's still beauty in this world, you just have to look for it. And sometimes it may take an old faithful friend to show it to you.

Meet The Therapist:

Escape With a Book or Two or More...99 cents and Freebie!

Happy Monday! Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. In case anyone needs to escape the craziness out there, I've put three of my books on sale for .99 cents and one for free until March 21st. Grab your copies today <3

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Creativity Takes Courage

As I'm getting a little closer to typing "The End" on my next book, I doubted myself a few times along the way. Not because I don't like my storyline, quite the opposite, I love it. It's because some of my characters are seriously flawed in ways that some readers may not be able to look past. I thought about changing some things for those who refuse to read a book that has a certain element to it, but I just cannot bring myself to do it because it's the heart of the story in which everything else flows. I love to read realistic fiction, as do a lot of readers, and to me "realistic" means...real life. And in real life people are flawed, people make mistakes and if they're lucky, they learn from them and move forward using that knowledge in a positive way. There are no perfect people in life, and there are no perfect characters in books (at least not mine anyway). So, I'm embracing all their faults and loving them just the same...as I hope you will too.

Be original, stay true to yourself, and don't be afraid of the criticism that may come from it.