Well, I'm back and breathing.

 Hello, beautiful readers!
 

2023 has been, well, difficult. My beloved stepmother died in March, finally free from her dementia. I traveled to Ireland (hooray!) in May, where I promptly picked up pneumonia (boo). I spend all of June healing from that infection. I'm waiting (and waiting and waiting) to get to a surgeon to schedule my first of two needed knee replacements. I got Covid at end of August, and now, in the beginning of October, I have a cold.

So, a whole lot got put by the wayside, including you. While I've had this time to reflect, I realized that I want to make life more fun. And I thought - who doesn't like getting snail mail? I'm thinking of creating a proper, old-fashioned mail newsletter. Do you dig the idea? It would come out twice a year, interspersed with any small updates, probably sent on postcards. Tell me if you would like this!

Second, I wanted to update you on my writing. :) I'm working on two co-authored books. The first is with my long-term collaborator, Shea MacLeod, and is the fourth book in our fabulous Dream Factory series. My new co-author, April Aasheim, creates incredibly witchy novels, especially the Dark Root Series. We are working on a new series that follows her Dark Root Ancestry series. Wow! I'm so excited to work with such brilliant women.

Lastly, I'm brainstorming on a brand new book that will incorporate steampunk with my love of Middle Eastern history. It's still in the idea phase, so no firm updates yet.


Let me know if you would like to have a pretty newsletter show up in your meat-space mailbox.

I've made it to the Big Time.

 

Be luscious now.

 When my mother died thirty years ago, my family burned her beloved Bayberry candles - which she had rarely used. My mother was a truly kind woman, the kind you are lucky to meet once in your life. But she didn't extend the same kindness to herself.

Now, this isn't an exhortation to, "Use the good china!", because that's pretty self evident. Today's luscious life is about taking care of yourself, no matter where you are in your journey.

I was a wreck even before Mom died - struggling in  school and in my marriage with my now ex-husband. That night, I learned that I didn't have to have my life together to enjoy  beauty and pleasure. Like all of us, I'd been taught about self-denial, about delayed gratification. That I had to live in my poverty and hand-me downs in misery. This mind set sucks and makes an already bad situation even worse.

You get to enjoy life, no matter where you are in your finances. Be luscious now, not later.

Little Luscious Luxuries

 

 

It's the little luxuries that keep me going in my day to day life. I have been lucky enough to be able to go to wonderful locations in my lifetime and those memories keep me warm. When it comes to feeling luscious everyday, though, it's the tiny things that keep my spirits high.

When The Charming Man and I decided we wanted to be together, I asked him questions about what he felt about all the little things that can trip up a relationship- including how he felt about fruit bowls (he was totally down with it and we've been together for nearly thirty years now:).

I can't help it- I smile every time I see my beautiful fruit bowl on the counter. There is something about the colors. the scent, the shine of the fruits that gives my heart a little lift.

What are your small, everyday pleasures that make your life better?

 

P.S. I don't want to toot my horn too much, but I think Shea Macleod and I captured the luscious feelings that fresh foods bring us in The Cafe of Hopes and Dreams and Dream of Words.

 

Fun First.

 

 I'm in the middle of scheduling my fun for the year. Not just big fun like trips, but little fun, like visiting the library, having high tea with my friends, and at-home spa days. I am going to attempt to give myself something wonderful every month, if not every week.

What fun are you planning?

 

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Living a Luscious Live: Avoiding Burnout.

 

Living a Luscious Live: Avoiding Burnout

 

Little luscious acts throughout the day can really ease you, therefore, easing your burnout. Some of my favorite things:

• Take one minute to sit and enjoy the sensation of rubbing lotion into your hands and elbows. Does your lotion have a scent? Does it please you? Give yourself a tiny hand massage.
• I love lying with my legs up. It helps reduce swelling and is super relaxing. My mother used to call that time, "The Miser's Vacation." Five minutes (if your body tolerates it) can even help back pain.
• Brush your hair, or if you are bald, rub your scalp. Ahhhhhh.
• Naps. :)

None of these things cost money and can be sneaked in during a busy day.



 

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New Covers!

NEW COVERS!

Sometimes, an independent author just feels the urge to shake things up. So I got my first three books, Dracula's Secret, Dracula's Desires, and Dracula Unleashed, new covers and pretty formatting. 

Amazon.com

 

Happy New Year!

 

Making a Luscious Life!

 

Many years ago, I dyed my hair purple, wore a hot pink coat, an acid green sweater, and visited to the waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. The air was fresh, wet, and clean. Walking around the many waterfalls in the Gorge illuminated many things I had not realized before.

I discovered I wanted to live a luscious (my favorite word) life. I didn't want to wear boring black clothes. I wanted color, exuberance, and pleasure. I didn't want to live filled with anxiety or constant worry about what could go wrong.

As part of wanting a luscious life, I took last December off.  I had written eleven books in two years (one of the few bright sides of lockdown).  I liked them all, but i was worn out. I had ruptured the meniscus in my right knee last year, in addition to a number of weird stresses. Over my vacation, I decided I wanted to try new things.

I want to rework how I do my outreach. I want to make it more fun for me.

I always want to bring you the very best of me and my work so I get wound up about writing meaningful, deep, thoughtful essays. My vacation taught me that I was making the stakes for my newsletters and blog waaaaaay too high. What does that mean?  More pretty pictures! More talking about creating a life that makes you shine.

We are going to have so much fun.


 

 

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