#Thursday13 - Relax & Reduce Stress

1. Stretch like a cat. Have you even noticed a cat curled up in a ball and then how she wakes with a yawn and a wonderful yoga stretch? Try it! 

2. Take a walk… with your honey if possible so you can steal a few kisses too. Otherwise enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet to let your mind rejuvenate. 

3. Soak in the tub. Place a few lavender candles around and grab a glass of wine. Don’t forget to lock the door. 

4. Chocolate! That is my cure-all! Works for everything. 

5. Bask in the sun. Take a few moments or a half hour if you can to let the sun caress your face. Take a few deep breaths, relax, and just enjoy being. 

6. Grab your comfort food… chocolate, ice cream, cheesecake… and then invite me over. 

7. Get a massage. Whether you go to a local spa or pay your child $5 to rub your feet. But if you ask your honey while holding some whipping cream… 

 8. Candles and incense work for me and I find them to be inspiring at the same time. Carefully select your scents tho. Lavender is known for its relaxing properties as well as rosemary and mint aid with stress. 

9. Music! Turn up your tunes. Pop in something you listened to as a teen or at college that brings back fond memories. Dance & sing! Put on those white socks and slide across the floor. My kids die of embarrassment when I dance & sing while cleaning the house. But hubby likes it when I grab him for a spin. 

10. Get a dose of cuddles and snuggles. If your honey isn’t around, grab one of the kids or pets or even a best pal for a little snuggle time. 

 11. Walk in the rain and jump in the puddles. Take some time to find your inner child. 

12. A good stiff drink. Maybe even try Sex on the Beach or a Screaming Orgasm. 

13. Laugh! Laughter is the best medicine. Laughter combined with some good luvin’ is nice too. Try this: take some whipping cream and your neckid body… cover your body in the important parts and walk into a room your honey is in. Just make sure the kids aren’t home when you do this. 

 Hmmm…. I think I need to make a list of 13 things to do with whipping cream.

For more fun Thursday 13 lists, CLICK HERE.

Adult Fairy Tales - Hansel & Gretel Retold by Erica Lynn

Need a quick little tale to help you escape the middle of the week blues?

 How about a twist on an old childhood fairy tale?

This is the true account of Hansel and Gretel. Forget your silly, misguided tales of two siblings and a house of gingerbread and cakes. This is the story of what happens when love battles against lust. When the yearnings of the heart are forced to wage war against the base needs and desires we all possess. When the time comes to face who we really are. What we truly want. What we need. 

A Warning: Their story should not be taken lightly, for we all toe the line between human and savage animal. We walk around in the light, hoping others don’t see the depravity lurking within, begging to be let free. So take a deep breath, set up your defenses, and slowly turn the page. I dare you. 

**This is a dark and extremely explicit retelling of the classic fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. In this novelette, Hansel and Gretel are NOT brother and sister.**

BUY NOW ON AMAZON

Do You Know a Writer?

This started out as a #Thursday13 but I ran out of points. 

Things you should know if you are acquainted with a writer. 

1. It's not that I'm anti-social. It's just that I'm currently writing at least three books in my head. It's hard to mentally outline and talk at the same time.

2. I'm not staring at your ear because I'm a stalker with a weird fetish. You just did something that gave me an idea for my WIP.

3. I'm not talking to myself. I'm PLOTTING.

4. You mangled the spelling of that word and yes, it will eat at me FOR HOURS.

5. Please don't reference any mainstream, highly successful novels unless you know for sure that they are free of typos and weak writing. And make sure there are no adverbs in it. Otherwise, you'll set off a literary hissy fit of epic proportions.

6. James Patterson is the Antichrist. Don't ask me why. Because I'll tell you. Ad nauseum.

7. IT IS NOT A F***ING HOBBY!

8. Yes, I'm neurotic. I'm a writer, duh.

(Yes, this is borrowed.)

1. It's not that I'm anti-social. It's just that I'm currently writing at least three books in my head. It's hard to mentally outline and talk at the same time.

2. I'm not staring at your ear because I'm a stalker with a weird fetish. You just did something that gave me an idea for my WIP.

3. I'm not talking to myself. I'm PLOTTING.

4. You mangled the spelling of that word and yes, it will eat at me FOR HOURS.

5. Please don't reference any mainstream, highly successful novels unless you know for sure that they are free of typos and weak writing. And make sure there are no adverbs in it. Otherwise, you'll set off a literary hissy fit of epic proportions.

6. James Patterson is the Antichrist. Don't ask me why. Because I'll tell you. Ad nauseum.

7. IT IS NOT A F***ING HOBBY!

8. Yes, I'm neurotic. I'm a writer, duh. When have you ever met a sane writer?

9. Meet my delicate artist ego. Stroke it. Praise it. It will purr for you. Then it will cry. Then it will accuse you of being disingenuous. Then it will tell you to go to hell. Then it will beg you to like it. Then it will be aloof. Then it will curl itself into the fetal position and suck its thumb until you stroke it again.

10. Don't ask where I get my story ideas. How the crap should I know? It's not like I have a storage locker....

9. Meet my delicate artist ego. Stroke it. Praise it. It will purr for you. Then it will cry. Then it will accuse you of being disingenuous. Then it will tell you to go to hell. Then it will beg you to like it. Then it will be aloof. Then it will curl itself into the fetal position and suck its thumb until you stroke it again.

10. Don't ask where I get my story ideas. How the crap should I know? It's not like I have a storage locker....

 

 

Watering The Grass - A Father's Day Reflection

After a long, hot day of work my dad enjoyed sitting on the front porch, smoking his pipe and watering the lawn. On hot evenings, he'd let my friends and I run through the stream of the hose to cool off. You see, growing up in the 70's, we found fun in everything we did.

As I grew older, I would simply sit next to my "old man" and chat about life. He wasn't one to be be forthcoming and share, but if I asked him questions he would open up. I love listening to tales of his childhood and would hand on every word when he told stories of his time in the South Pacific during WWII. The man was always calm and cool but had a mischievous streak which I see in my sons today.

Dad was called upon in 1994, to be a good Marine and guard the pearly gates of Heaven when I was only 27.

While sitting on the steps on my deck, watering my grass, I think back to a simpler time when I sat next to my dad. Closing my eyes, I smell the damp grass and pipe smoke.

Happy Father's Day in Heaven to Uncle Jack (r) and Dad (l).

Summer Book Recommendation

Pippa Grant is one of my favorite authors and have read everything she's written. I found one of my old banners from when Real Fake Love was released. It's summertime and baseball is in full swing. If you haven't read this one yet, you definitely should. This romcom is a must for summer reading.

BLURB

If people have polar opposites, Luca Rossi is mine.

His butt is in the baseball hall of fame. Mine’s comfortably seated in the hall of lame.

When he’s not snagging fly balls out in center field, he’s modeling in shampoo commercials. I once jammed my own finger while stirring cookie dough, and sometimes I forget shampoo is a thing.

He’s a total cynic when it comes to love.

I make a living writing love stories.

But after my latest broken engagement (no, I don’t want to talk about how many times that’s happened), it’s clear he’s exactly the man I need.

If anyone can teach me to be the opposite of me, it’s him.

The first thing I want him to teach me?

How to not fall in love.

And as luck would have it, he’s in desperate need of a fake girlfriend to get a meddling grandmother off his back.

We couldn’t be more perfect together, because the last thing Luca Rossi will ever be is the next man to leave me at the altar.

Or will he?

 

Real Fake Love is a line drive straight to the heart featuring a grumpy athlete, a jilted bride, a fake relationship, and the world’s laziest cat. It stands alone and comes complete with sibling rivalry, the world’s most awkward shower scene, and a sweetly satisfying happily ever after.

PURCHASE LINKS!

 

US: https://amzn.to/34IbeSI

UK: https://amzn.to/2YI3pbM

CA: https://amzn.to/2QLF3tH

AU: https://amzn.to/3gC9FZ4 

 

Free in Kindle Unlimited!

#HappyPlace

Sometimes while sitting on the back deck my thoughts travel to my parents. (Dad passed in 2994, Mom in 2016.) Today, my mom's presence is missed. 

Mom's favorite things were books, birds and flowers. Her Happy Place was sitting outside reading a Harlequin romance with birds chirping nearby. During summer vacation at the cottage, after chores were done, flowerpots watered and birdfeeders filled, you'd find her under a tree, in a lawn chair at the edge of the lake. At home, she'd be on the porch or in our screened-on garage she turned into a summer room.