Absence and a Message Sent

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Photo credit: ioanamtc on Pixabay

Hey guys, welcome back! Here we are, the final week of August and today is Starbucks PSL launch day…my happy season hath begun! However, life deals the good and the bad and lately it’s been a roller coaster. Lots of crazy stuff going on these days. And still, no writing.

If you are new here, welcome! Quick backstory, I have written two novels, both in deep edits. For the last year and a half, I have been working hard on one that I want to get out first and over that time, I’ve only missed working on the manuscript for maybe a day or two here and there. I’m now going on weeks since I’ve touched it and in some ways, it has made me feel like a failure.

I was fully planning on opening it up this morning to work on it and while rereading a book I love, Beach Read by Emily Henry, I read passage that was like a freaking beacon reminding me just why I love to write.

If you are unfamiliar with the book in question, it’s about two writers who are blocked and make a bet. Each must write a book in the other’s genre. They do research trips, get to know each other and being a romance, well, things happen. However, for me, it’s the dynamic of them being writers that draws me in every time I read this. (Annual Summer book.) Reading about their struggle of staring at the blank page before them, losing their spark, their motivation and then remembering just why they love what they do, gives me the inspiration to keep going.

This is the passage: “The nights spent writing until the sun came up and my back hurt from needing to pee but not wanting to stop working because nothing felt more important than the book, than giving these fictional lovers the ending they deserved, giving my readers the ending they deserved.”

Reading this book at this particular time was like getting the sign I needed to keep going. I’ve worked too damned hard to stop…not that I ever would completely. I believe in this story so much that nothing will stop me from finishing it. But maybe this step back that I’ve taken will let me look at it now with fresher eyes than I’ve had. After all, when you are reading the same thing over and over for a year+ it can become almost like white noise for your senses. Not having even opened it in a month? Maybe this is just what I needed. A sort of refresh.

During the time off of writing and editing the book, I have come up with some new ideas that may tighten up the storyline a bit. What I’ve needed though is to sit and actually write them out. Instead, I have been doing everything but that. There is a line in my book that I wrote: Show me a writer and I’ll show you a professional procrastinator. 

Oh how true that is.

So while not writing I’ve been creating more designs for my online shops. I’ve added more pieces to my eBay listings, I’ve scrubbed the bathroom until I could see myself in the tile. I’ve also started to work out a little and that has been great for working off the stress and anger that has been coursing through me.

Now, it is time to write. To get back to my true love. My purpose. What I have always wanted to do. And maybe, just maybe, the timing of rereading this book was the final message that I needed to get going again. The final push.

Anyway, I hope you got something out of this, whether you write or not, motivation is motivation. Maybe you have been feeling a little lost as well and have been looking for some sign to get going? I hope this was it. I hope this helped.

And that is where I will leave you for today. Until next time folks…be well and get yourself a PSL. Tis the season after all!

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To follow me on social, including my #booktok, Amazon storefront (where you will find Beach Read and other Emily Henry books) as well as my other links, click: HERE

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To find my other shops, click: HERE

(If you click there and scroll down to ‘stuffwefind’ click that for my eBay listings.)

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and will see you soon! 🙂

Summer Fog – Reminiscing – Looking Forward

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Photo credit: stafichukanatoly on Pixabay

Hey guys, welcome back! I know, I know, it’s been a while. (Good song.) The Summer fog has taken hold and I have been less than motivated to write anything…and I mean, anything.

Besides missing out on the fun here, I haven’t even touched my manuscript in several weeks. This has never happened before. I’ve gone a day or two to regroup, but I haven’t so much as opened it up and looked at it in quite a while. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not done. Not by a long shot. I’ve even been coming up with some story ideas that can get me from cover to cover while being able to delete a bunch of things and get my word count under control, it’s the sitting down to do it that gets me stuck.

I’ve mentioned here several times that I am not a Summer person. The heat gets to me, the humidity messes with my breathing (and my hair), all things that don’t exactly inspire motivation. Funny thing is though, these last weeks, physically I’ve been feeling better. I’ve lost weight, I’ve started moving a little more and yet, the brain fog continues. It’s like I can’t concentrate on anything except reading. I just want to sleep. A lot. So I have been. I had just come off of a long insomnia period, something I get a few times a year and making up for it in spades. I’ve finally talked myself into sleeping whenever it hits me. Like most people, I try to push myself to stay awake to get things done. But how good is that if it feels like you are going through life sleepwalking? Besides, my most recent health setback hit a year ago this week. If I push myself too much, it will just hit all over again and I refuse to lose another year of my life. So I rest when I need to rest…as should you. Listen to what your body is telling you, trust me on this one. The rest will even itself out and soon I’ll be back to my regular OCD schedule of doing the same thing day after day, something that most may consider boring but I consider almost soothing in a way. It’s what makes me, me.

Anywhoo, onto other things…

These dog days of the season have me reminiscing a lot. For me, it’s a kind of milestone time as it was twenty years ago this year that I met the group of friends I have now and my life was never the same.

Our group here in CT is the most international mix of people I have ever been with in my life. We have French, Dutch, Danish, Asian, Czech, Hispanic, tons of Irish among others. Less than a handful of folks are actually from Connecticut. I’m not originally from here myself, but I have now lived here for 32 years, longer than anywhere else in my lifetime and I now consider my city my home town.

I don’t know about you, but one way I relive memories is through music. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of old playlists and with every song I’m thrown back in time like I’m still there. I can picture being on the dance floor on a Friday night or staying after hours at the bar with the late night crew making up our own drinks. Seeing each other every day. Talking for hours about nothing and everything all at the same time. Heading down to Yankee Stadium or to a concert together and getting silly on the way to and from the venues. Sunday brunches and dart games and laughing until we had tears in our eyes and our stomachs hurt.

Since those days we’ve seen couples meet, get married, have kids. Some of those kids are now in high school dreaming of their own futures and still not knowing what their parents were like back in the day. I have graciously offered not to tell them as long as I’m paid handsomely by their parents. I mean, what are friends for, right? 🙂

We may not see each other every day or hell, even every month or year anymore but knowing they are still there means everything. I dubbed them my second family a long time ago and I mean it every time I say it. We know that whether a few blocks away or several states away, we can still drop a text or DM and they will be on the other end. If there is an emergency, we know who to call. They are never far from my heart, head or occasionally, my back deck. They found me when I was in my mid thirties and through them, I found myself. Twenty years later, I still owe them for that. 

While looking back is always fun, looking forward to the unknown can be scary. It can also be exciting. Case in point, FALL IS ALMOST HERE! Yes, I am excited. My favorite time of the year is almost upon us and as I missed it all last year, I refuse, REFUSE to miss out this year. At least that’s what my mind is telling me.

I get such a rush from the cooler temps, the changing leaves, all the pumpkin spice lattes and goodies that come out every year. I breathe better, I think better and here’s hoping that this year I move better. We all have that time of the year that speaks to us. For me, it’s from September 1st through New Year’s Eve. After that, you can have the rest of it. Ok, so I’ve been enjoying Spring a little more, but the ‘Ber months? That’s when I feel alive and that is something to look forward to!

And that my dear friends, is where I will leave you for today. I hope that you too have something to look forward to and that maybe you got a little something out of this post.

Thank you for continuing to follow me here, even though I drop the ball every now and then. But hey, I always come back and when I do, I hope that you get something, even a little something, out of what I post here.

Until next time folks…Cheers!

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To find my links including my Amazon storefront, shops and socials (including my #booktok) click: HERE

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I am doing the Read Every Day Challenge in August for the American Cancer Society. If you’d like to make a donation, you can click HERE (thank you!)

To listen to Staind’s “It’s Been a While” click: HERE

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If you’ve gotten this far, thank you so much and I’ll see you soon! 🙂

Book Bandwagon – Lessons Learned – Christmas in July

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Hey guys, welcome back! I know, I know, I’ve been MIA again. The days are getting away from me lately and while I’ve been super productive in some ways, I’ve been neglectful in others. And for that…I apologize.

So let’s get right to it, shall we? 

It’s Christmas in July week and yes, I am one of those people who loves to celebrate it. I read holiday themed books, have some cocoa and of course wear Christmas pjs. (Although, I live in those year round but I still think they are ‘special’ during times such as this.)

I have a huge pile of Christmas themed books that I’ve both read and are on my TBR list. The ones I’ve read, I recommend and a couple have stuck with me, long after I’ve read them. I have them up in my Amazon storefront and will post the link below this post if you’d like to check any out. Just note, some have spice, some don’t. You have been warned. 🙂

As for my TBR list, (‘to be read’ for those who don’t know the acronym) I’ve been saving a couple for just such an occasion. One in particular, I’ve seen everywhere. It’s big on #booktok and I’ll admit, I jumped on the bandwagon to buy it and it’s sequel for last Christmas season. I never got to them though so I thought I’d save them for July. While I’m not usually one to be so highly influenced by trends, I have found some great reads through #booktok as well as my Facebook algorithm. Go figure, right?

So there I am, pulling out the Christmas books for the week and ready to dive on in. I couldn’t wait for this first one and yet, within the first two pages, I wanted to scream. This book lost me in the prologue! I have never had that happen before.

So I push through. Deciding to at least get to know the main characters, right? Well, I hated them instantly. Not one redeeming quality among them all. Just an example, the matriarch of the family needs help after hurting herself. Part of the family won’t come because they have a timeshare in the Caribbean and are in the canasta tournament. So they call their daughters to drop everything, including their careers, fly to another part of the country to take care of their relative. That is where the whining, um, complaining from the daughters begins and lasts through several chapters. I gave it my all for five chapters before throwing in the towel. I’ve never read a book that tries so hard to be something and failed so miserably. I also found myself yelling at the editors in my head.

While I normally don’t read reviews, (movies and tv included) because I like to be my own judge of something, I just had to go in and see if others caught what I did. Thankfully, I was not alone in any of my thoughts on this book. The first five chapters could have been two. Literally. Every detail of every aspect of life was described here and there was no reason for it. I don’t need to know how a reindeer feeder keeps the feed fresh. Just say, “I filled up their trough and was on my way.’ Instead, we get step by step details of the thing that took up an entire paragraph.

Also, I was quite put off at the ageism in this book. They made a woman in her fifties seem feeble and a woman in her eighties like she should be put out to pasture. Now, that could just be me as I was already hating on this book, but I still didn’t appreciate it. The fact that I’m in my 50’s may have played a role in that as well. Just sayin’.

Now, if you’ve been following along with my own writing journey here, you know that I am in the process of editing my own manuscript. That my own writing has been more than wordy, (like this post) and that I’m in the process of cutting down thousands of words to get my book to where I can submit it to a publisher. If anything, this book I just tried to read was a freaking wake up call of what NOT to do. How I can rework some things in my own book to cut even more words from it and keep my future readers from thinking what I did with this one, “what the hell were they thinking letting this get published?”

The ultimate irony of all of this is? The publisher in question here, is the one I’m hoping upon hope to submit my book to. I’ve read so many others from them and have honestly loved each one. Not every book is for every person and this current one is just not for me. However, that will not stop me from reading more from them. It may stop me from reading more from this particular author though.

I don’t relish talking about another writer this way. After all, I certainly wouldn’t like these things being said about me. But this is why I don’t leave bad reviews, post something about it on TikTok and mention the title or author by name. Just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean others won’t as well. Plus, I know the hard work it takes to get their work out there and I fully respect the process.

This is the second time in a year I’ve tried to read a popular author and just did not like the work. I know I’m in the minority here on both. Hell, one is being turned into a streaming series and I couldn’t get past chapter two of that one!

I think the point here is that we are all influenced in some ways about things in our lives. Be it clothes, decor, cars, hell even food. I mean, here in my area we have pizza wars…it’s quite a time to be alive. I am always up for suggestions for books to read and have found a lot of great authors by listening to those suggestions. Like anything, it’s hit and miss. Not everything is going to be a winner. The main thing is, I tried, right? I mean, this particular author is famous for a reason. Maybe I shouldn’t judge by this one book and maybe in the future I’ll try one of her works again. In the meantime, I have a lot more in my TBR pile to get through and I’m ready to move on to the next one…a little sooner than expected.

Again, I do have lots of fun holiday book recommendations (ironic I know) in my storefront and while I’m not trying to influence you, I’m just sharing what I’ve enjoyed reading in the past.

And that is where I’ll leave you for today. Until next time folks…cheers!

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To follow me on social, including #booktok as well as see my other links, click: HERE

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Link to my Amazon storefront below and if you’ve made it this far, I thank you for it.

You can click the image above or click HERE to get to my Amazon storefront.

Heatwave – Chronic Illness – A-ha Moment

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Photo credit: me 🙂

Hey guys, welcome back! Hope everyone has been hanging in there with the heat, wherever you are. Here in the Northeast, we are gearing up for a long stretch of brutally high temps and I’m already counting down the days to my first pumpkin spice latte.

If you know me at all, or have been following along, you may know that I am not a summer person. Ok, so that is putting it lightly. I hate this time of the year. Having said that however, the last few years, I’ve been learning to embrace it a bit more. I think I even remember enjoying the last few summers! (Go figure.)

This year though, I’m just trying to get through it. Not being someone for hot weather, it is already gearing up for a long season. I’ve been escaping into books as usual and have a line of holiday themed ones ready for Chrismas in July escapism. I’ve already seen back to school ads on tv and I will be looking for the first fall catalogs to come in the mail after the 4th of July, which always gets me through.

Now I know a lot of you out there are rolling your eyes and that’s fine. I do the same when I hear the complaints about cold weather and the holiday ads coming way too soon. So I get it. What many don’t understand though isn’t just that I’m not a fan of the summertime, it’s a difficult season when you live with chronic illnesses.

When I was younger, I had a lot of fun in the summer. Vacations or cookouts with friends, it was all good. When I got sick just under 10 years ago, the hot weather started to wreak havoc with the pain that I deal with on a 24/7 basis. You see, I have what some call ‘invisible disabilities.’ Meaning, you wouldn’t know to look at me that I have a whole lot going on.

Between pain and breathing issues, it has taken a toll on me. If you’ve been following along here, you know that I started my latest setback last August. I missed out on my favorite time of the year because of it. (September-New Year) So here we are in summer once again and I was JUST starting to pull out of this setback. I’ve been a little more active. I’ve been able to help out more, doing such trivial tasks as taking the garbage to the other side of our complex and grocery shopping. Yes, I’ve even had fun at the grocery store. I mean come on, they play good music there now!

With the heat though, comes a little backslide. The pain increases, sleep is hit and miss. I’m either completely passed out or up for a day or two. Add humidity to the mix and my breathing is shot to hell. And to add insult to injury? My bedroom AC died and I’m dealing with a room that got up to 97 during the last time the temps rose. This time I’m trying a few different things to get the room cooler, just call me MacGuyver!

I’ll get off of this subject in a second, just wanted to say, if you know someone who deals with illness of any kind, be sure to check up on them. Make sure they are ok. Be sympathetic if they are having a tough time or keep canceling plans on you. There just might be a reason they do that and that reason could be that the heat is giving them a harder time than they usually have. Enough of the soapbox, let’s get back to the regular stuff…

During one of my sleepless nights, or in my case, days, I suddenly had an idea about how to cut a shitton of words in my manuscript! It would help cut my word count by a whole lot and bring about a deeper part of the storyline that has been lacking. Now I just have to write it.

With ADHD comes a lot of doing everything but doing what I’m supposed to do. So after I had this remarkable revelation on how to fix my book, I did what any other writer would do. I read a book, did some laundry, cleaned the bathroom, binge watched 9-1-1, edited previously edited chapters. Now it has been two days since I figured out how to fix this story bridge and I have yet to rewrite the section.

The one great thing about this, is that I know I’m not alone. I’ve befriended a lot of writers on the internet and we all do the same thing. We do anything but what we are supposed to be doing, ADD or not. It’s in the author’s DNA to postpone the work. Thankfully, I’m not on a deadline. Actually, if I was, I’d do it last minute like I always did in school. (At least stuff got done.) Having no deadline means I can take my time to make this right. Or binge more Chicago Fire when my brain decides to take a vacation.

The point here is, I’ve figured it out. The execution of it? Hopefully I’ll have better news on that front in a future post.

In the meantime, for those celebrating, Happy 4th of July. For those beating the heat? KEEP HYDRATED. And for those sticking with me throughout all of this? I thank you greatly!

Until next time folks…cheers!!

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To follow me on social, including my #booktok and to shop my new Amazon storefront as well as my other shops, click: HERE

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If you’ve gotten this far, I thank you and will see you soon!

Prime Day Announcement

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Photo credit: justynafaliszek on Pixabay

Hey guys, welcome back! This will be a quick post, but one that I promised to make…

With Prime Days now upon us, I have now made my Amazon storefront LIVE to shop through!

I’ve curated lists for readers and writers alike as well as some author recommendations and small biz goodies. Of course you can always shop through the links for anything else as well, which will help support this site.

You can access it by heading to my linktree: linktr.ee/promosocially and clicking on the ‘My Amazon Storefront’ tab.

I will continue to add to this shop as time goes on and of course, I will be adding Fall and holiday goodies soon because that’s how I roll. So be sure to keep the link handy to keep checking back for updates or hit the ‘follow’ button on the storefront itself.

I had said that I’d get this shop up and running in time for Prime Day and here I am making good on it. Hope you find something fun to treat yourself with or a gift for a friend. Maybe a new Summer read as well!

Thanks so much for checking it out, for being here and I’ll be back soon with a more ‘normal’ blog post.

Until next time…cheers! 🙂