Separation Anxiety and Me

Last Thursday I made a huge decision and traded in my truck after 15 years and 151,000+ miles together.

Our story began in June 2000. My ex husband and I were looking for my next car. I already knew what I wanted it was a matter of finding it. 

On a sunny Florida summer morning we made a stop at the Dodge dealership and looked at all the trucks. In the back of the lot I fell in love with a shiny red Dakota 2 door loaded club cab 4.7L SLT.  I knew at that moment it was my vehicle. I'm not a person who rushes into big purchases so I decided if it was still there in two weeks it was mine.

Two weeks later we went back, listened to the salesman try and pitch the new 2001 quad cabs at us for an hour. Then I asked to see what was in the back of the lot. Low and behold my truck was still there. I drove it off the lot that day with 11 miles on the speedometer.

We made two trips to Virginia, a few further south in Florida, I drove it the long trek to college and back for two years, taught my oldest daughter to drive in it, and hauled countless loads of stuff. Cinnamon, my truck, was a daily part of my life for 15 years and the most reliable and fun vehicle I've ever owned.

I needed something more practical for my life now. She averaged 10 miles to the gallon in town, slightly better on the freeway. I traded her for a 4 cylinder SUV. It's a fun car and I still sit up high enough I can see everything. My new vehicle doesn't have Cinnamon's raw power but it has spunk. I can easily fit a car seat in the back and have plenty of room for hauling stuff in the way back and more if I fold the seat down.

I took Cinnamon for one last joy ride, pushed the accelerator to the floor, rolled down the window, and enjoyed our last moments together. She is truly a truck that was worth every penny of what we paid for her and she is missed.

Be My Valentine in Love

BLURB

Beautiful Valentine Dupond is haunted by her name.
“Valen-teeen…”she keeps telling people in her scrumptious French accent, “My name is Valen-teeeeen!”

And Valentine doesn’t just have a romantic name; she speaks French the language of love…
Only, her love life is very far from exciting, in fact she does not have one.

Lovely Valentine is a vegetarian veterinarian in Perth, Australia, and lives with a fat cat and a dance crazed-housemate with two left feet.

So where is “l’amour”,you may ask?
Where is the wild romance?
Where, oh WHERE is the French kissing!!!

Well, hold your horses, girls, cause gorgeous red-hot millionaire Joshua Hudgewich is about to enter stage-left and sweep Valentine right off her dancing shoes. Though not without some Drama, of course, and leaving a few dents and bruises on Valentine's tender heart...

BIO

  

Ami C. Samuel is the pen-name of a beautiful, bubbly Mauritian lady; so lovely you'd be forgiven for mistaking her for one of her heroines! Living in Paradise has inspired Ami to write deliciously funny and light-hearted romances, all with a Tropical twist...

Valentine in Love is her first novel published with WDA, with a second delicious romantic adventure Crystal-balls & Croissants on its way, and a third already in the works! freshly been published, and a third is already in the works.

Giveaway!! 

A signed copy of Valentine in Love and  

Swarovski Crystal Heart Pendant.

The competition is open world wide. 
If the winner neglects to respond in 24 hours of notification the prize will be forwarded to the runner up. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nightwolves Siren's Sing by Clarrissa Lee Moon

This review is long overdue. I started reading this series about a year ago and fell in love with the author's style, the characters, and the plot. Now that I'm caught up with the series I'll be impatiently waiting for the fourth book in this series.



Review:

Nightwolves Siren’s Song (Memoirs of the Nightwolves Series) by Clarrissa Lee Moon was long anticipated for me. In this segment the war between good and evil is heating up to epic proportions. The Nightwolves are working harder than ever to keep the world from destruction and the takeover of vile evil creatures. There are so many intricate details woven into this amazing story which started with the construction of the Nightwolves; a group of supernatural beings and members of the US military.

Catrina the protagonist isn’t an ordinary vampire. She is a goddess who uses magik. She is a strong willed woman who is tough as it gets. Her wardrobe consists of leather and boots. Her mates, all three or six of them, are deliciously hot but she has no time to enjoy them. With the war heating up members of the Nightwolves are spread across the globe and beyond. Her children are facing incredible odds as one has begun a journey to find his soul mate. Another has been cursed. And Cat’s mother makes a nasty appearance.

As with Clarrissa’s other books her characters and plot are well developed. She paints each scene with vivid detail and explanation of her (Cat’s) beliefs and true legends the book loosely follows. This is not an ordinary vampire saga. If you are looking for supernatural that doesn’t fit the mold than look no further.


Excellent series, waiting for book 4!

Find Siren's Song here
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble

WDA Short Story Competition

WDA Short Story Competiton

Enter the SHORT STORY COMPETITION and have YOUR story published by WDA Publishing as an e-book!
The WINNER will get his or her story (up to 5.000 words) published by WDA Publishing as an e-book, and included in a PRINT end-of-the-year anthology of short stories by our Authors.

To enter write a one hundred and fifty word synopsis of your own true STARCROSSED love story, and buy a copy of Suzanne Carroll's STARCROSSED (it's on PROMOTION on AMAZON for 0,99$).
http://www.amazon.com/Starcrossed-Suzanne-Carr…/…/B00S34234G

Please send your Synopsis to us at
http://www.wdapublishing.com/contact-us.html

The winning entry will be selected by WDA Editorial Department, and announced, at the STARCROSSED BOOK PARTY on the 20th of February.

Entries must be in by 18th of February!

GOOD LUCK!

Word of Mouth

Why do people choose to buy the books they do? I recently found a blog post that discusses the top reasons people choose to buy a book.

According to Kristine Kathryne Rusch at http://kriswrites.com/2011/04/06/the-business-rusch-promotion/#sthash.OCzwYVNC.EYxR4uBb.dpbs most people choose to buy books depending on personal recommendation and author reputation. She bases this on her own research.

It all boils down to word of mouth, sharing. We can all do that easily.

1. Tell a friend, family member or coworker about a good book you enjoyed or an author you have come to love.

2. Share books you love with your social media, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or whatever media you use.

3. Buy a book and give as a gift such as Christmas, Birthdays, Valentines, any other holiday, or just to give something to someone you care about.

4. Leave a short review for your favorite authors books. As an author my most liked reviews are the shortest reviews so don't shy away from leaving a review because your intimidated about leaving a 250 word rave review. One or two heartfelt sentences will do. Some sites such as iBooks, Kobo, Google Play allow you to leave a simple rating.

5. When purchasing the book like reviews others have left.


6. Follow your favorite author at book stores such as Amazon and Smashwords.

7. Sign up for their mailing list and follow them on social media to keep up with their news and share with others.

These are all simple activities we can do that don't take much time. I blog and share all my favorites here. I read a wide variety of books so there is something for everyone here. Check out my reviews, author interviews and blog tour posts to find new books or even authors you may already love.

Share your favorite author or book today!

Character Astrological Reading for Cleo- Baby Girl Series

Whether you are a believer in Astrology or not is beside the point. I had astrological readings done for two of my characters. The first I'm sharing with you is Cleo's from the Baby Girl series.

There are a few reasons I had this done.
1. As an author I thought it could only help strengthen my character should I choose to write more books in the series.

2. My own curiosity and enjoyment.

3.It's unique. Not many authors think to have an astrological reading done on their characters.

To find out more about the benefits of having a reading done on your characters visit Marcha's blog.

As I read this my jaw dropped at how closely she pinpointed Cleo down to small details that haven't been released yet in subsequent Baby Girl manuscripts.

Should you be interested in a computerized natal chart they are available at Valkyrieastrology.com for $14.95. What you need is a date, place, time of birth, and/or biographical sketch. The more specific you are the more precise the natal chart will be.

Here goes:

The Cosmo Natal Report for

Cleo
August 1, 1993
10:35:33 PM
New York, New York

Calculated for:
Daylight Savings Time,   Time Zone 5 hours West
Latitude: 40 N 42 51     Longitude: 74 W 00 23

Positions of Planets at Birth:
Sun      9 Leo 50               Pluto    22 Sco 43
Moon     5 Aqu 14               N. Node  10 Sag 34
Mercury 20 Can 48               Asc.      9 Ari 41
Venus    0 Can 11               MC        5 Cap 08
Mars    23 Vir 48               2nd cusp 18 Tau 25
Jupiter  9 Lib 56               3rd cusp 13 Gem 54
Saturn  28 Aqu 16               5th cusp 27 Can 12
Uranus  19 Cap 24               6th cusp 25 Leo 43
Neptune 19 Cap 13

Chapter 1: How You Approach Life and How You Appear To Others

Aries Rising:

    You meet life head on and throw yourself into new experiences with zest and enthusiasm. You are direct, straightforward, assertive, and usually completely aboveboard in all your dealings. Candid and incapable of guile, insincerity or phoniness, you project a confident and sometimes arrogant appearance to others. You often lack tact and sensitivity, and can be completely oblivious to others' needs, and inadvertently selfish. You are self-reliant and don't depend upon social approval and reinforcement as much as other people do. You like to be original and do not mind going it alone. You may feel that you do not fit into groups very well, and that you do not naturally blend in and cooperate with others very easily. You like to be either a leader or a loner.

    You are a doer and thrive on freedom, challenge, and activity. You tend to think in clear, black and white terms, and to be somewhat simplistic in your outlook, which enables you to act in a very decisive and self-assured manner. When inspired with an idea, you feel such a sense of urgency and excitement about it that you will often charge ahead and try to implement it in a rather bold but poorly planned and crudely executed way. Patience and careful attention to details are not your forte. However, you never accept defeat and will have brilliant and unprecedented successes and discoveries, as well as painful failures. To you it is far better to make mistakes than it is to play it safe and never try.

    You are scornful of what you see as weakness or passivity in others and also of the human tendency to imitate and follow. You are not a follower. Others see you as a strong individual, and perhaps brash and brazen as well. You present a strong front to the world and generally do not allow others to see your vulnerable or insecure side.

Chapter 2: The Inner You: Your Real Motivation

Sun in Leo:

    Proud and intensely individual, you really want to stand out, to be the very best you can be, and to be recognized and appreciated for your unique contributions. Doing something well and being respected for it is extremely important to you, and you cannot tolerate being in the background, taking orders from others, or being "just one of the team". You must put your personal stamp on whatever you do, and direct your own course in life. You need to have a place where you can shine, express yourself creatively, and be the one in charge.

    You have big dreams and the determination, spirit, vitality, and enthusiasm to bring them into being. You also have a noble, romantic heart, and a love of the dramatic, colorful, and extravagant.

    For you it is true that "all the world's a stage" and you secretly (or perhaps not so secretly) desire to be the Star or Hero in the play. You want to be great, and to receive the love and applause of an adoring audience, even if the "audience" is just one other special person. You need someone to believe in you and your dreams. Though you appear radiantly self-confident and independent, you are actually very much dependent on the affirmation, love, and recognition of others. You cannot bear being unnoticed or unappreciated.

    You also love wholeheartedly and generously and really know how to make the person you love feel special. You love the magic of "being in love" and know how to keep the romance alive in your relationships. You are also immensely loyal and will defend your loved ones and stand by them to the end - as long as they never offend your pride or betray your trust. However, you like to be the strong one in a relationship and you really do not share the leading role very easily. Ideally you need to find a person who is as strong-willed as yourself, but who will not try to dominate or compete with you.

    Your strengths are your zest and love for life, your creative power, and your warm and generous heart. Your primary fault is your tendency to be very egocentric, so concerned with the impression you are making and with your own creative self-expression that you forget there is another, larger world that does not revolve around you.

Sun in 5th house:

     You have a very dramatic, creative, expressive nature and you love to perform. You enjoy being the center of attention and you seek to shine, to excel, and to be outstanding in some unique way. You are very involved in your own creativity and self-expression, and take great pleasure in developing and using your special talents, whether these are artistic, athletic, or intellectual. You have a strong sense of pride.

Sun Opposition Moon:

    You often feel that you are at cross purposes with yourself, for your conscious intentions and desires conflict with your subconscious emotional needs and drives. You are pulled in two different directions. You have difficulty satisfying both your need to be an individual and your need for caring relationships and a sense of belonging. Also, you send out mixed messages so people don't always know how to respond to you or know what you really want, thus creating confusion or conflict in close relationships.

Sun Sextile Jupiter:

    You have big aspirations but do not struggle or labor to achieve them. Your self-confidence and inner harmony attract success and benefits to you in an almost magical way. Your optimism and cheerful generosity also win you many allies and successes in life.

Chapter 3: Mental Interests and Abilities

Mercury in Cancer:

    You are highly interested in inner, subjective, and personal issues, and your thinking is based more on feelings, intuition, personal experiences, and prejudices rather than reason or logic. Intellectual abilities and accomplishments without heart or soul mean little to you. You are empathic and would be an excellent counselor, for you are a sensitive listener and deeply interested in a person's feelings and inner life. In addition to psychology, you are drawn to education, art, poetry, music, or mythology. You are not especially confident about speaking in public, but will open up and share your thoughts in small, intimate groups. You enjoy keeping a diary or personal journal and reading the chronicles of others' lives and personal development.

Mercury in 4th house:

     You have an introspective turn of mind and may enjoy keeping a journal or a record of your dreams and personal experiences, or learning about psychology, history, and the inner workings and emotional foundations of your own life. You are studious and something of a bookworm.

Mercury Opposition Uranus:

    You are an original thinker, capable of unique discoveries and innovations, but you tend to scatter your energies into too many directions at once and to make impulsive or hasty decisions. You grasp ideas very quickly and become impatient with duller or more conservative minds. A fast-moving, mentally stimulating, and unpredictable atmosphere suits you quite well, even though you may complain about the stress and the crazy pace. You have a technical bent and are interested in the newest scientific theories and findings, electronics, computers, etc.

Mercury Opposition Neptune:

    Your mind is highly imaginative and creative and you possess dramatic, artistic, or musical abilities. As a child, you enjoyed daydreaming, fantasizing, pretending, and probably lived in "your own little world" a good deal. You perceive things which are not obvious to other people and you have an uncanny ability to "read" people and situations without being told anything about them. However, you must learn to discriminate between a true psychic perception and your imagination. Learning to discipline and focus your mind is necessary if you wish to use all of your creative potential. Otherwise, you could be simply a dreamer.

    Communication with others is difficult for you because you often find words frustrating and inadequate to express your experiences and perceptions. Also, you may purposefully mystify or deceive others.

Mercury Trine Pluto:

    Your mind is deep and penetrating and you are interested in anything secret, mysterious, or hidden, including the deeper aspects of the human psyche. You possess an aptitude for private investigation, psychology and research work. You are also drawn to esoteric or occult studies.

Mercury Sextile Mars:

    You speak clearly, decisively, and convincingly, and thoroughly enjoy a vigorous discussion or debate. You would be an effective lawyer or public speaker, a salesman of ideas. Others tend to listen to you and follow your lead, and you have a talent for directing people and making decisions. You also have an aptitude for writing, especially criticism or satire.

Chapter 4: Emotions: Moods, Feelings, Romance

Moon in Aquarius:

    You are not easily moved by emotional displays and can be curiously detached from your own and others' emotions. It's almost as if you could turn your feelings on and off at will so you should be careful not to leave the switch "off" too often, for you could easily become too impersonal. Family ties and attachments are not as important to you as they are to most people and you often consider your friends closer to you than your blood relatives. Certainly, your sympathy and concern extends much beyond your immediate family. In your personal relationships, you insist upon a certain amount of independence and the freedom to pursue friendships with as many people, of both sexes, as you choose. You do not appreciate a jealous, possessive partner.

    You feel comfortable in an atmosphere that is open and experimental, and you have little taste for convention and tradition.

Moon in 11th house:

     You get a lot of emotional fulfillment through your involvement in groups, clubs, organizations, community activities, or a network of close friends who support and care for you. You make friends your family, and feel a close kinship with people who share some ideals or beliefs that you hold dear. You need people outside of your physical family to relate to and belong to.

Moon Trine Jupiter:

    You are easygoing, agreeable, and tolerant, willing to overlook others' mistakes, forget the past, and begin again on a positive note. You enjoy making others comfortable and happy, and sometimes overdo your generosity. You often feel that "everything will turn out all right no matter what I do", and so become lazy and lackadaisical.

Venus in Cancer:

    Sensitive and sentimental, you are deeply attached to your family, old friends, familiar places, and the past. You are romantic and tender in love, and the remembrance of birthdays, anniversaries, family rituals, and other days of personal significance is very important to you. You seek caring, emotional support, and security in love. You like to be needed, to cherish and protect your loved ones, and you are somewhat possessive of them.

Venus in 3rd house:

     Beautiful, elegant, and harmonious surroundings are very important to you, and you have an innate sense of style, design, and form. Socially, also, good form and politeness are important to you and you instinctively avoid crudeness and dissonance.

     You enjoy talking about love, relationships, art and the beautiful side of life. You appreciate artistic people.

Venus Trine Saturn:

    Loyalty, fidelity, and security are very important to you in love. You are cautious about giving your heart away but true to the one who does win your love. Your tastes are simple, even austere, and you do not appreciate frivolity. You are interested in a person's character and inner qualities far more than their appearance. Casual or superficial relationships don't interest you at all, for love seems to get deeper and richer and more satisfying for you with time.

Chapter 5: Drive and Ambition: How You Achieve Your Goals

Mars in Virgo:

    You are a perfectionist and have high standards for your own work. You often feel that if you want something done right you must do it yourself, for others do not do as thorough a job as you do. Doing a task well is very important to you, and you may labor over minute details that others wouldn't bother with. You strive for accuracy, efficiency, and precision, and you become very irritable when things are not done "right".

    On the other hand, you can become so much of a perfectionist and so self-critical that you will not even attempt many activities and projects, feeling that your efforts simply won't be good enough. You are usually modest and realistic in assessing what you can accomplish and, if anything, you underestimate yourself. Of course, practice makes perfect, and if you do apply yourself diligently in some area, you gradually gain self-confidence as you master skills and develop expertise.

      You conserve your energy and pace yourself so that you do not waste or diffuse your efforts. An unwillingness to take risks or venture from the beaten track can sometimes limit your opportunities. In short, you may not aim high enough and settle for too little in life.

Mars in 6th house:

     You expect to work hard for anything you accomplish and you have no patience for people who don't pull their own weight. Work is a passion for you at times, and you push yourself too hard. You can be too demanding of the people you work with also.

     If your energy is not invested in a job or career, you can become a fanatic about your health, and you may exercise or "work out" vigorously and perhaps excessively.

Mars Trine Uranus:

    You are dynamic, decisive, and somewhat impulsive.  You respond quickly and spontaneously to challenges, and you enjoy vigorous physical activities that require fast reflexes and a good sense of rhythm and timing. You have an abundance of energy and vitality, and a restless desire to see progress and change - you hate stagnation. You are individualistic and make a good leader, spearheading new projects and inspiring others to act.

Mars Trine Neptune:

    You dream up creative solutions to problems and take an imaginative, unusual approach to getting a job done. When difficulties arise you prefer to avoid conflict and confrontation in favor of more peaceful or subtle methods of resolving problems. Working to help others or for a cause that transcends your own narrow, personal interests is satisfying for you. You have an artistic flair and appreciate the colorful, unique, or strange.

 
Mars Sextile Pluto:

    You have a strong sense of mission and you instinctively know that to achieve anything great, one must eliminate superfluous activities, and give oneself wholly to the goal one wishes to accomplish. Your zeal, enthusiasm, and clarity of purpose enable you to succeed and to achieve whatever you aim for. You have a strong will, but you are usually quiet and understated about it.

Chapter 6: Other Influences

Jupiter in Libra:

     Your strengths lie in your ability to cooperate, to be diplomatic, and to know just what behavior is called for in whatever social situation you find yourself. You also possess a strong sense of fairness, the willingness to listen to opposing viewpoints and opinions, and the ability to be (or at least seem to be) impartial and moderate, rather than extreme and one-sided.

Jupiter in 7th house:

     You are a very sociable person, and you need to reach out and communicate with many different people. You are interested in what others can teach you and are drawn to those with more knowledge or breadth of experience than yourself. You expect a high level of integrity and sincerity from others and you do not tolerate pettiness or hypocrisy in your close friends or marriage partner.

     You also need freedom and want a partner who will support your need to keep learning and growing, who will not limit you or set too many boundaries. Your marriage is likely to be very satisfying and rich.

Saturn in Aquarius:

     You have an innate distrust of groups and/or a cynical attitude toward society that may leave you feeling out of step and unable to participate in activities with your peers. Overcoming a sense of aloofness and alienation from others is an important task for you.

Saturn in 12th house:

     You may have nebulous but ever-present guilt and fears that are difficult to pinpoint or eradicate. It's as if you don't trust Life itself, and are always seeking ways to defend yourself from its dangers and its unknowns. You must learn to overcome your ingrained habit of discouragement and anxiety, and to see the world more as a friendly place than as a treacherous one.

Uranus in Capricorn:

    You are part of a 7 year group of people who are active in reforming businesses, governments, and other large social structures. A great deal of streamlining and reorganizing takes place, most of which will help to improve the well-being of people, the ultimate goal of these reforms. Your generation will promote various reforms that will vary in different nations. For example, some will increase socialization of public services and others will put more services in the hands of private industry. In either case, your
generation strives for greater efficiency and a great deal of waste is eliminated from industry and government.

Uranus in 10th house:

     You are likely to have a career that is highly unusual or that somehow challenges the mainstream of society and the status quo. Being an instrument for progressive change in the world is your role, whether in a humble or grand manner. You need to shake things up wherever you are. You also may change careers, life direction, and your long range goals many times in your life.

Uranus Conjunct Neptune:

    You were also born during a period that lasted approximately 5 years and is characterized by an unusually high degree of imagination and sensitivity. You are part of a group of people who are very inspired but also unstable. Many unusual contributions to the arts, music, religion, and psychic development are brought forth from your age group. These works are often strange and bizarre, and always original. Your age group also inspires intense political movements that are often fanatical or unreasonable in their goals.

Uranus Sextile Pluto:

     You belong to a group of people who will be the positive reformers and innovators in society. Peaceful methods and new techniques which do not create too much disruption, but which bring about fundamental and profound changes in society, will be your contribution.

Neptune in Capricorn:

    You are part of a 14 year group of people who are conservative and traditional in spiritual aspirations and religious outlook. Your age group returns to some traditional basics in religion, and also traditional styles in music and art. Classical music and literature have a revival with your age group, and a great deal of inspiration is gained from the masters of arts, music, literature, and philosophy throughout history. Your age group is contemplative and reflective about religious matters and you take an objective and logical approach to religious issues. Many of you are cynics and critics of spiritual and metaphysical ideas.

    Other age groups criticize your group for not having enough heart and compassion. Sometimes this is true and is evidenced by some unusually crafty and manipulative fraud and deception that occurs in the higher ranks of governments and large businesses.

Neptune in 10th house:

     You are a very idealistic person, and you want to see your ideals, hopes, and dreams made concrete and real in the everyday world. You are driven to put your ideals into action.

     When young you may be rather aimless or confused about your place in the world. In early adult life it is likely that you struggle to find ways to express your imagination, fantasies, and ideals in your career. Work that involves compassionate service (such as medicine or the ministry) may be your calling. If you lack personal integrity and honesty, you quickly go to the opposite extreme and you can con others through dishonesty and trickery. Music, art, film-making or entertainment are also areas in which you are well-suited.

Neptune Sextile Pluto:

     The entire generation to which you belong has tremendous opportunities for spiritual rebirth and awakening. This will not be forced upon you or precipitated by unavoidable events, rather it comes from an inner yearning and a natural propensity to seek the depths.

Pluto in Scorpio:

    You are part of a 12 year group of people who have a complex and deep emotional side. Your age group has a great fascination for the mysteries of life, and members of your age group will make extraordinary breakthroughs in the understanding of life processes; major advances in biological sciences will open up new technological possibilities. Intensive probing into genetic structure and cellular processes will accelerate genetic engineering into new vistas. Your generation also probes the mysteries of birth and death, and members of your age group will even develop laboratories for forging new understanding of what happens at birth and death. Other breakthroughs will be made in the understanding of animal behavior and sexual activity. Archeological studies will unearth vast new insights into the history of man, and the exploration of the ocean will receive a new impetus, spurred by unusual and interesting findings made at the bottom of the sea.

    Behind all of this work is the deep, probing, penetrating interest in the mysterious. There is a deep fascination with sex, power, and the occult as well. Hypnosis, karate, and other mental and physical training techniques are likely to be very popular with your age group. The love of mystery is also likely to bring a revival of mystery novels and movies; your age group will bring the macabre into current fashion and style.

    You are an emotionally complex group, and you can be prone to some very strange behavior. Intrigue and mystery are exciting to your age group, and hopefully this does not get the better of you, causing you to act in a cruel or grotesque manner. There is a chance that crime, violence, and emotional disturbance will be relatively high in your age group, but hopefully your interest in the mysterious, strange, grotesque, and macabre will not manifest in this way.

Pluto in 8th house:

     You are a person of great depth and have a deep interest in the hidden or darker side of life. Issues and experiences others shun, you are drawn to and compelled to examine. The use and misuse of personal, social, and political power intrigues you. Death is also an area you are fascinated with and may explore in depth. You may have many experiences in which you are forced to burn your bridges and start over again.

How do you drown your sorrows?

Life isn't always easy nor is it fair. At times life is nearly unbearable.

When my best friend passed away 2 years ago I was a wreck and spent two weeks locked in my apartment. I went out only to rent movies or check them out free from the public library. I watched movie after movie, an activity we enjoyed doing together, and I looked for him. I could feel and hear him I just couldn't see him. I have always been a believer in the paranormal but wished at the time to be "Ghost Whisperer" and see and talk with him once again.

When I wasn't watching movies  I was reading As Snow Falls. The night he passed away I popped open my computer folder containing all the many rough drafts and nearly finished books I had written, Writing is an old friend in my sorrow- filled life. As Snow Falls spoke to me in a sense. I popped it open and read, my eyes already filled with tears. I read the story several times that night and found what I was looking for. A solace and outlet to my sadness. I made the decision then to publish the book. To me it was the most fitting story to publish first- you have to read it to get that. 


With renewed purpose, although still locked in my apartment I spent every morning into the late hours of the afternoon drinking Italian blend Starbucks coffee and researching ways to publish books. 

I made a lot of decisions that night and have worked hard over the past two years to make them a reality. Sometimes possibly I work too hard.

After my two week hiatus on life I realized he would always be with me and those he loved. So I returned to the land of the living with not just single goal of publishing As Snow Falls but a list of goals to work towards. They have been the fuel that burns throughout my soul and edges me closer and closer to attainment.

As mentioned earlier sorrow is an old friend to me. Like an old pair of shoes that are worn out but hard to part with. My sorrow tonight is nothing as intense as losing my friend and I won't be locked away for two weeks. Instead I turn to my familiar comforts. A soft pair of sweats and T-shirt, pizza with pepperoni, black olives and tons of cheese, a super-infused margarita, and writing.

When sad write. I find my mind is most focused when I'm sad. My brain and body slow down allowing me to gather my thoughts and let out my emotion. In moments of happiness my mind races with a million thoughts coalescing all at one time and I have a difficult time focusing on any one of them. 

Instead of sorrow I take the opportunity to focus, eat pizza, and write the next few chapters of my next novel.

Max E Stone One Minute There

Max E Stone's style of writing is both intriguing ans suspenseful.

My Review of One Minute There

Max e. Stone One Minute There opens with a gristly scene and Melissa fleeing while her daughter looks on screaming for her mom; a great emotional beginning while at the same time frightening. The reader is given small clues throughout the novel that allude to what happened, building suspense, and curiosity. As with Stone’s other books One Minute There is richly brewed with a thick, twisting plot, and mystery.

Stone with a stroke of genius uses multiple viewpoints to move the reader through the novel and always leaves the reader hanging in suspense before moving on to the next character. As the plot progresses the clues and characters merge into a climatic ending and the reader is left thirsting for the next book.

This is the third book in the Warren/Bennett/Johnson New England series and every bit as intriguing. It isn’t a must to read them sequentially but I would recommend it. Each character builds from one book to the next in this ongoing saga.


An emotional ride complete with a deadly plot.

Buy Links- Preorder
One Minute There (Warren-Bennett-Johnson/New England Book 3)
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords

Find Max E Stone
Website
Blog

Nominated for a book award, Me? Happy Day

I have been nominated for the Double Decker Book Awards in 4 different categories!

Blogger of the Year 2014- The Troubled Oyster

Author of the Year 2014 Series- Baby Girl

Author of the Year 2014 Contemporary Romance- As Snow Falls

Author of the Year 2014 Paranormal- Eye of the Storm Eilida's Tragedy

http://doubledeckerbooks.blogspot.com/2015/01/vote-today-for-your-favorite-author-of.html

This is the first time I have been nominated for a book award and I'm sooo excited! It is a huge honor to be nominated and part of their book awards. I would love your vote for my books and blog. 

Thank you Double Decker Books for nominating my blog and books.