Imagination Is Everything

It looks like traveling won't be in the cards for any of us anytime soon. My trip to London will more than likely be cancelled after having that on my bucket list for years. Guess the queen will have to wait! But I'm going to remain positive that one day I will get there. Until then...I'll travel though old photos of vacations gone by, meet new friends in the pages of a book, and make the most of the "new" normal. So when I'm not scouring old photos or getting lost in a good book, I'll be sitting right here in my own backyard, pretending I'm in an English garden sipping on some tea. If you can imagine it...you can go anywhere!

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My Midweek Advice

As I said in previous posts, I stopped watching the news a while ago. Not because I don't care about what's going on in the world, but my anxiety level can't take it. Instead, I'm trying to stay optimistic by thinking of what the world will be like once this is all over. Simple things I took for granted, like getting my hair done, going to the mall and shopping, going to the grocery store and being able to amble down the aisles and take everything in. Then I focus on bigger things, like planning my next vacation or what my next big home improvement will be. Until that time comes, I'm trying to stay positive and keep myself busy by doing small things around my house, like making floral arrangements from flowers I normally overlooked in my backyard, always giving them a quick glance when they'd bloom, thinking "oh yeah, they're pretty". Never giving much thought that these beautiful blooms come back year after year, regardless of the harsh winter they may have encountered, regardless of the amount of sun, the amount of rain or the amount of tending to. They come back every year without fail, even if it's just to give us a week's worth of beauty...it's up to us if we choose to see it or let it fade away. This year was the first year I really chose to see that beauty and bring it inside to enjoy a little longer. 

So my midweek advice is this: Find beauty in things your took for granted. Do something that makes you happy, and most importantly...Stay Positive! Brighter days are ahead!

"The End" Is So Bittersweet

"The End" are two words every writer strives to type and then feels as if they're saying goodbye to a little part of their heart when they get there. I typed those two bittersweet words a month ago, and I'm still feeling the loss of my characters who I'd spent months with through all their ups and downs. It's that time you spend as a writer, when these characters only live in your imagination and on the screen of your laptop, before anyone in the world even knows they exist that's truly magical. Now here I am, making all the preparations to send them off to the world, like a mother getting ready to send her child off to school for the first time. That's the thing about writing and publishing, that feeling never gets old. No matter how many characters you create or how many books you publish. I'm so excited for everyone else to meet them...but I have to admit, I do enjoy that time when I could call them all my own. 

Todays Recommendations By "Moi"

First let me start this post by saying, I hope everyone is well and staying safe. This is such a scary time. There are days that I think, all will be okay and days where I'm on anxiety overload because of it. Anyone else feel like that?

I think trying to stay busy is key. I'm working from home every other week, and I find the weeks I'm in the office, I feel much better. What are you doing to stay busy at home? Writing is my number one got to, it takes me out of the craziness around me and plops me into my own little fictional world. I've just finished up my most recent book and am awaiting editing. Since it takes me forever to transition from one book to the next, writing is not in the cards for me right now. But here are some things I have been doin to keep myself occupied that may be of some help to you to pass the time away:

1) In the beginning of the year I set out to learn French. I took four years of it in High School and was surprised how much I remembered on my trip to France a few months ago. I played around with Duolingo back in January and was doing pretty good, but then life got in the way. Well, I'm happy to report that, J'y suis de retour! (I'm back at it!)

2) Binge watching: Probably the most popular pass time of all. Here are my picks, just in case you haven't seen some of them:

Call The Midwife (Netflix)

Broadchurch (Netflix)

Dr. Foster (Netflix)

Unorthodox (Netflix)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime)

Downtown Abbey (Amazon Prime)

3) Reading: If you haven't read a book by yours truly  (shameless plug) what are you waiting for? They're all available on Kindle Unlimited. Here are some others that I highly recommend.

A Fire Sparkling

White Rose, Black Forest

One Day in December

So, that's some of my suggestions! Feel free to comment with some of yours!

Until next time... Au revoir et restez bien!!

Need An Escape From Reality?

Does anyone else feel like they're living in a dream? You know, the kind you wake up from with your heart beating fast, thankful that it wasn't real. Lately that's pretty much how I've been feeling. Going to the grocery store for necessary things is like going out to hunt on the African safari with lions and hyenas waiting to attack, but instead of it being animals I'm afraid of, it's this darn virus. I find that keeping myself busy with writing, and doing little projects around the house helps. I try not to watch the news at all because it makes me more anxious. I think staying positive it key or we'll all end up going mad before this over. Last night I was feeling particularly stressed, so I went on my kindle and revisited with a few of my characters who made me smile the entire time I was creating them, They instantly made me feel better! So allow me to introduce you to them:

Faith - Hot mess single mom

Joey - Her adorable five-year-old daughter 

Gabe - Faith's workaholic, perfectionist, boss (the complete opposite of her)

And the star of the show...

Sylvia - A hip "80 something" Jewish grandmother whose not afraid to tell it like it is!

This cast of characters will have you in stitches and help to temporarily take your mind off the world with their antics. So, if you need a little escape give them a try. They're the perfect kind of therapy we all need for times like these!

𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑎 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑! 𝑆𝑦𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑎 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑧𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑧𝑦 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑠. 𝐽𝑜𝑒𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒! 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠! 𝐺𝑎𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ.....𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟.

𝐺𝑒𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔!!!

- 𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑧𝑜𝑛 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑒𝑟

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