Thursday, January 2, 2020

2020 Mantra for A Changed Life~ Simplify, Amplify & Thrive

Did you know there is no word for now in the Hopi language? Someone once said that time is not linear, but we as humans, needing structure, have built our little system of counting the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years of our lives. If you think about the structure of our modern society life is all about how much we can do in a second that assigns our worth. This concept is a little insane.

Every year between Dec 24th and Jan 1st I go into reboot mode. I drop off the social media universe and reflect over the past year, think about my goals for the upcoming year. I have never come up with a mantra before but in speaking with a dear friend I summed up my goals for 2020 in three words.

Simplify
Amplify
Thrive

Simplify
The vibration (I know it is an odd description, but it works) of my current world is to make life as simple as possible. This vibration touches all aspects of my world, from work, rest, and family. The need to rid myself of all surrounding clutter and unneeded items is visceral. During my shut down I sat down and went through many, many, boxes, drawers, & baskets filled with notebooks, memorabilia, photos, and just stuff. I kept anything that (so cliché) brings me joy and gave away everything else. This was amazingly cathartic and really allowed me to focus on what I really need to exist. Yes, I need my history. No, I do not need the glass from my junior prom.

This journey begs a question. What do we really need to live our daily lives successfully? How much stuff do we really need in the age of the terabyte and cellphones that have more computing power than the first spacecraft sent to the moon?

The answer, as with anything in life, is completely subjective. For me, I found what I need to be content is very little. Almost minimalist in nature, I found the realization surprising and hugely satisfying. The weight of stuff (literally and figuratively) is heavy on the mind, body and soul. Unloading the weight of all the baggage is refreshing and reassuring.

Amplify
Amplify - am·pli·fy - to expand (something, such as a statement) by the use of detail or illustration or by closer analysis (Merriam-Webster)

Bigger, stronger & faster. I am the bionic woman!

With the simplification of my world I find myself better able to focus on the amplification of my goals. Looking at the details of each and how to get across the finish line. Attempting to be as realistic as possible and planning out each step carefully to maximize the impact. There are many facets to the business of life, much less the business of business within a life. My default for this organization is Excel. This is completely logical because I live half of my life in the program with my day job.

The goal is to set a plan, put it in motion and accomplish the goals I have set, thus amplifying my universal energy to a place where I can succeed. (I know very mystical). To me, it makes sense. By detailing it out I am releasing and solidifying my larger goals and breaking them down into daily actions.

Thrive
This is such a great word. It evokes images of lush greenery, happiness, joy and well-being. When you thrive you are unstoppable, growing and producing at such a rate you are self-nurturing your soul. Getting to the level upon which you can hop on the thrive train is not easy, and it takes a clear mindset of I am. Not I could, I would or perhaps. I am______.

This is something I need to do every minute. Be in the moment. Be the person I am. By allowing myself to thrive, with no boundaries I am who I am meant to be.

Having a mantra for your upcoming year, or your life is reaffirming and something to evoke strength in your weakest moments. We all have goals, dreams and ambitions within and outside our current reality. Have you thought of a mantra for 2020? It doesn’t need to be clever or even shouted to the world. It is a very personal promise. A promise everyone needs to make to themselves.


Happy New Year, and I wish all of you all of the joy and prosperity life can provide!



Come Find Me!


Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!


Tuesday, December 31, 2019

HOLIDAY READS : Love in the Key of C by Daryl Devore




Love in the Key of C by Daryl Devore


BLURB:
Can a slice of pizza and a flute erase the ravages of life and allow Giselle and Ethan to fall in love by Christmas?


Collapsing in front the biggest department store in the city on one of the busiest
days of the holiday season was not how Giselle imagined her day. Cold and
hungry, she trudged through her daily existence wondering if she'd ever find
happiness again.
Teenagers. Ethan loved working with them and turning their raw musical talent
into something beautiful and rewarding, but that didn't fill the black void in his
soul.
Like fate, the songwriters' muse nudged Giselle and Ethan together. But can
Giselle overcome her fears and can Ethan get past the darkness that surrounds
him, so they can find love?

Release date – Dec 23, 2017

eXtasy Books


EXCERPT:
She looked so cold and weak, like she hadn't eaten in a while and was clinging
with failing resolve to any semblance of a normal life. I heard the rumbling of her
stomach. Anybody could who happened to be within a ten-foot radius. But more importantly, she was beautiful. No, not her outside. Her clothes were
worn and hung on her like she'd purchased them three sizes too big. The
sallowness of her skin resembled some of the dead and faded leaves that
still clogged the city's sewers. Her hair was wet from the weather and a small
cap of whiteness rested on her shoulders. A shiver shot through me as I glanced
down at her feet. Tired shoes soaked from the slush on the sidewalk. I fought off
the sensation of how cold her toes must be. It was her eyes that captured me. No, not the color, which was brown if you really
needed to know. It was the pain of her existence that poured from them. They
were a billboard exposing the humiliation that hung around her shoulders and
robbed her of the proud stance she'd once possessed. I wanted to help her, offering her a moment of warmth, rest and nourishment.
What stopped me? A debate raged inside. Did I offer her this gift and then release
her back into the elements and despair that had become her life? Wouldn't that
be cruel? Or, did I look away and pretend she didn't exist, like so many others had
done? I knew how this city worked. What we refuse to acknowledge does not then
taint our lives.
Taint. Taint me—dammit. I needed to meet this woman.



***


Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!




Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!


Tuesday, December 24, 2019

HOLIDAY READS: The President’s Daughter by Seelie Kay



The President’s Daughter by Seelie Kay

Release Date: Dec. 22, 2018
Publisher: Extasy Books
Romantic Suspense, three flames

An Interview with Seelie Kay:



Q.  Why do you write romance?


Because I am fascinated by the games people play to find and secure a lasting relationship, which is not always love. There’s the chase, the courtship, the falling, the surrender. That’s what I try to capture in my stories.


Q.  Do you prefer a certain type of romantic hero?


I adore smart, dashing gentlemen who aren’t afraid to live on the edge. They can be a bad boy, a billionaire, a prince, or a secret agent. That hint of danger just hooks me! However, I also love strong, independent women who aren’t afraid to fight for what they want, even love.


Q.  Why did you write “The President’s Daughter?”


Actually, the book is dedicated to my editor, since he inspired the idea for the book. About a year ago, he posted a photo on Facebook. It turns out he was adopted by an American couple at eight years old from an orphanage in Italy. That started me thinking about the adoption process and how families aren’t necessarily born of blood, sometimes they are born of the heart. So as my overactive imagination began to wander, I came across an article about someone who was kidnapped as a baby and as a teenager, discovered her true origins. From there, I wondered what happens when, after being raised by your kidnappers, you are suddenly faced with the truth? How does that impact your concept of family? Do you love your kidnappers any less? At the time I was looking for a holiday story and family is so important during the holidays that my musings became “The President’s Daughter.” 


Q.   Romantic suspense is a new genre for you. You’re most known for your Kinky Briefs series, which are collections of stories about lawyers in love, with a dash of kink. “Snatching Dianna,” your first attempt at suspense was released Oct. 19 and this book has the same elements. Why the shift from erotic romance?


I have always had a preference for mysteries and thrillers. I enjoy plots that challenge the mind. My characters still enjoy erotic, loving relationships, but now the action focuses on solving a dilemma or crime. And in “The President’s Daughter” the lead character is faced with the discovery of two families. She must decide whether blood takes precedence over the heart.


Q.   How does your former profession as a lawyer impact your writing?


After 30 years, the law and the legal world are so firmly embedded in my brain that I can’t flush them out. That has become the lens through which I view the world and that naturally guides my characters and plots. Little peculiarities that I have witnessed in lawyers and the law always work their way into my stories. 


Q.   Any plans to write outside the romance genre completely?


Actually, I ghostwrite non-fiction for other professionals—doctors, lawyers, financial gurus—so I dip my toes into a lot of different genres. However, I have been itching to write a book about a relative who founded a religious cult. I researched it for years and found a lot of information that had been buried. I have a pile of paper a foot high. Someday, I need to go through it carefully and start writing. I have the interest, just not the time.


Blurb:
Be careful what you wish for because it just might send your life into a tailspin from which you may not recover.


When presidential candidate Jamisen Powell meets volunteer Sarah Lee Pearson, he is shocked to discover her eyes mirror his own. But Sarah was raised by two loving parents and has no questions about her heritage. Instead, after their death, she merely longs to find an extended family. She becomes convinced that Powell could be a distant relative. Powell, on the other hand, has spent twenty-five long years haunted by the memory of a daughter kidnapped from her bed. He suspects Sarah could be his long-lost daughter. As both launch separate covert searches for the truth, Sarah is found by the estranged parents of the man who raised her. Suddenly, the truth will no longer set her free. It could destroy the happy memories of her childhood. Hang on to your seat, and more importantly, hang on to your heart, as one woman discovers the true meaning of family.


Excerpt:
“You think I’m Sally Jane Powell?”
“I can’t confirm that, not without a DNA test, but…” Lisa pulled out two driver’s licenses from the envelope. “I found these in that shoebox you gave me, the one with your parents’ personal effects and your photos and stuff. Your parents were first issued driver’s licenses in Wisconsin in nineteen ninety-four, five years after you were born, also the year Sally was kidnapped.” 
Lisa tapped the photos on the licenses. “Look at your parents, Slee. You look nothing like them. Do you know the chances of two brown-eyed adults, both with dark hair, having a blonde, blue-eyed child? It’s exceptionally rare. It’s possible one of your grandparents had blue eyes, but I couldn’t find any photos to confirm.”
“Maybe I was adopted. I always wondered…”
Lisa shook her head. “I’m sorry, Slee. I couldn’t find a record of that either.” She pulled out two more news clippings. “Slee, this is a photo of you when you were seven. When you won a spelling bee? It was in your box.” She handed the other clipping to Sarah. “Compare that photo to the one of Sally. The one the police distributed when she was taken.”
Sarah studied both photos. Then she shook her head. “There are some similarities, sure. Same eyes. Same color hair. But there are also some differences. My face is thinner. My hair is long and straight. Hers is curly. It could just be a coincidence.” She looked up at Lisa and her eyes filled. “No way I was kidnapped. My parents loved me too much. Besides, don’t people kidnap for money?”
Lisa shook her head. “Not always. Sometimes, they just want a child.” She patted Sarah’s hand. “Slee, I know this is disturbing, but let’s not put the cart before the horse. And no matter what we find, that doesn’t make your parents any less your parents. Sure, there’s a chance that you don’t share their blood, but they loved you. Hold on to that.” 


Buy links:









About Seelie Kay:


Seelie Kay is a nom de plume for a writer, editor, and author with more than 30 years of experience in law, journalism, marketing, and public relations. When she writes about love and lust in the legal world, something kinky is bound to happen!  In possession of a wicked pen and an overly inquisitive mind, Ms. Kay is the author of multiple works of fiction, including the Kinky Briefs series, The Garage Dweller, A Touchdown to Remember, and The President’s Wife. 


When not spinning her kinky tales, Ms. Kay ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and other professionals. She resides in a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she shares a home with her son and enjoys opera, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine. 

Ms. Kay is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her message to those diagnosed with MS:  Never give up. You define MS, it does not define you!


Author links:


Twitter: @SeelieKay https://twitter.com/SeelieKay


Prior Books:




Coming soon:


Infamy (Part Two, Feisty Lawyers):  January 4, 2019
Cult (Part Three, Feisty Lawyers): TBD

Seizing Hope (Divorce Divas anthology): January 24, 2019

Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!