Life has been bumpy lately. Figuratively and Literally! 

My mother-in-law and nephew were in town for the Fourth of July week and I got to host which was nice but hectic. Coming off of so many book events I was tired but couldn’t relax because I felt I needed to entertain. Fortunately, my mother-in-law and nephew are pretty chill but we did get to go on some fun adventures all together as a family. 

I was able to take them to the local spots in Central Florida, including East End Market and The New Romantics Bookstore where my mother-in-law saw my Struggles of Power book and bought it then made me sign it in the store! That was funny. I love local bookstores so please check them out if you’re in town.

Our biggest adventure was going to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It was one of the hottest days of the week with no clouds in sight and long lines. Fun times. We arrived at opening and didn’t have the energy or capacity to stay late so we left at around 3pm. That’s when things got bumpy. The car started shaking…bad. We checked the tires but they were fine and our low pressure sensor hadn’t gone off. My husband worked the next day and we needed to take my mother-in-law and nephew to the airport, so we kept driving.

On the way to the airport, the car was shaking non-stop. We kept checking everything but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. The hubby made an appointment for Monday morning to get the car checked. Well, come Monday morning, I arrive at the dealership to find the appointment was for August not July! Fortunately, they took me but the shuttle I thought I would get was not available anymore and they had to ship the car off to another location which could take half a day. Umm…nope. So I took an Uber home. Not what I expected or wanted to spend money on but here we are.

After a couple hours I get a video of the car…it was a shredded tire! Literally, the inside tread of the driver’s side front tire was coming off, but the pressure held! The guy told me he’d never seen something like that before. It was a miracle, even with the bumpy road to get there.

Lately, that is how life has felt. The road is bumpy but I don’t know why. It’s been busy and I keep going but everything just seems extra hard to do. Maybe it’s fatigue, burnout, or just how life does. Either way, I’ll be finding ways to rest in the meantime. Have you ever felt that way? Like life is extra bumpy but you can’t pinpoint the reason? I hope you can find your rest too.

Because of that, it is why I love to write. It grounds me, even if it’s just journaling my thoughts for the day, or writing a couple pages toward a new novel. I can disengage from the things that stress me and get lost in a world that is all my own.

If you haven’t read my works, they are available on Amazon (links at the end of this email) and Purple Glass (my newest release) is at Spellbound Bookstore, For the Plot, and The Story Room Collective. They each have signed copies along with book swag so if you are in the Central Florida area, visit them to snag a copy.

Don’t live in the area but still want a signed copy? I got you! Click below to purchase from my shop page:

If you prefer hard copies, I have some up on my shop page, but they are limited in supply! Otherwise you can purchase off of Amazon.

Continuing the Conversation

I mentioned working on a side spooky mystery project which is coming along on. I’m about 9 chapters in and am hoping to get this done soon. It’s shaping up to be a fun story, I just want to make sure it’s spooky enough.

With reading, I had to jump off my reading list and help an author friend beta read the last two books in her series Fairytale. It’s a fun take on Polish lore and I really enjoyed the culture aspect threaded throughout. If you’re interested in reading the first few books (they’re free and short, around 100 pages), then click the link below to start. AK Nevermore is a fantastic author, my mentor, and a great friend so I will always push her books:

What are you reading now?

Until next time friends, Happy Reading!