Incense
The stick is lit. Smoke takes to the air like a runner after the gunshot, but only for a moment does it run. With a sudden yawn, the smoke relaxes and begins to gently twist and turn. A floating spiral, on an upward path.

Scented smoke carries my thoughts, my memories, my spirit with it. I feel lifted, unburdened by physical things. My spirit calls out to my ancestors and to my God. Wings of grey take me to weightlessness. I am free. No pain, no sorrow. I am light.

I bend and arch in the currents. Smiling as I float in this newfound space. Twisting, turning as I soar. My heart beats out a soft drum. It is an empty space as is my soul. I breathe deep; the smoke brings to me words from heavenly voices.

Warm air wraps around my body, across my skin and through my bones. Delicate webs weave me a staircase to follow. Exotic scent beckons to me. Grey wings pull my spirit higher. I feel peace. I am one with the elements of air, earth, water, fire.

A line of smoke rises and splits into two lines forming a pair of wings. They take flight and ramble in time as they play. Circling, twirling, weaving through memories.

The wings begin to fade, the scent lingers. I’m not ready. Take me with you, let me fly some more. The smoke moves as if in slow motion, not waving farewell but giving me a smile. Even when I can’t see it, the scent is there and I will be at peace. I know I am not alone.

Thursday Thirteen - Reasons to Smile

1. To show you’re happy.

2. Like yawns, smiles are contagious.


3. To do a simple act of kindness.

4. Because you are wearing a new shade of lipstick. (After all, a girl cannot have too many shades of lipstick.)

5. You feel confident knowing your best girlfriend will tell you if you have something stuck in your teeth.

6. Because that piece of chocolate cheesecake was amazing.

7. You love the sensation of those new panties against your skin.

8. You feel joy in your heart and love energizes you.
(Or was that an oversized pink bunny that just went by?)



9. If you smile enough, you’ll start to believe your face.

10. You just took a deep breath and realized life is grand.

11. Because happiness is the result of being too busy to be miserable.

12. It takes fewer muscles to smile than frown.

13. My favorite reason: Always smile… because others will think you are up to something. And maybe you are.


What makes you smile?

Check out my Thursday Thirteen - 13 Sexy Quotes on Romance Writers Behaving Badly.

New Release - check it out

THE PERFECT DISH by Kristen Painter is now out!

Who doesn't love a hot chef hero?

Blurb: Texas-born Kelly Spicer is not just one of Manhattan's hottest young chefs, he's also one of the city's most eligible bachelors. Desperate to help his grieving sister, Kelly uses the magic cookbook passed down through his family's generations to conjure up a recipe of chocolate-laced persuasion to enlist the help of the only woman he thinks can reach his sister.

Psychologist Meredith Black has buried two husbands,an experience which has made her an expert in grief and pushed her to pen two books that landed her on the Oprah show and the best seller list. A cynic in matters of the heart, her success does nothing to ease her belief that she's a jinx. She vows never to love again and when she makes that sentiment public, dating Kelly becomes her best damage control.

You can find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.