Lindsay Emory's Blog, page 4
November 21, 2019
The 2019 All Purpose Gift Guide
The 2019 All Purpose Gift Guide
Stocking Stuffers/ White Elephant/ For Everyone, Young and Old!
It’s baaaa-ack!
Here’s this year’s version of the super-convenient, pretty-affordable, Prime-ready, one-stop shopping list. Almost everything on this list has been tested/ approved by me or someone close to me. Enjoy!
For the person in your life who’s almost ready to bite the Botox bullet but also wants to try all the miracle products first:
For the brilliant coworker who spaces out in meetings but somehow pulls it all together in the end:
For the neighbor who had their Christmas lights turned on November 1:
For your friend who hibernates from November to March:
For the uber organized traveler who shows up three hours before flights and still prints out travel documents:
For new parents who are too busy to finish a cup of coffee before it cools off:
The picture is of this nice copper but that seems to be going in and out of stock, so the link below is for a black one. FYI.
For the proto-hipster who insists on sleeping with their phone outside their bedroom because of electro-magnetic-whatevers but spends the other 18 hours a day scrolling…:
For the nieces/ nephews when you forget how old they are/ don’t know what they like :
For the fashionista who has everything, darling:
For the prepper/ parent/ crafter that needs to corral their stuff but also make it look good on Instagram:
For everyone, seriously:
For the freelancer who spends 10 hours a day at their desk:
For the teenager who thinks she likes Bob Ross because it’s ironic but secretly loves feeling comforted in a world of strife and turmoil:
For the person who would rather cook at home than put their nice bag on the bathroom/ restaurant floor:
For the hyperactive child/adult who always needs to move:
And if you still can’t find what you’re looking for, check out some of my other lists!
If I don’t get a chance to see you in person, I hope with all of my heart that you are able to celebrate whatever holiday makes your heart happy with whoever makes you laugh and brings you peace.
See you in 2020!
November 19, 2019
Best Books to Read Now - November 2019
Reminder/ Caveat/ Disclaimer: This is my (hopefully) monthly list of books I’ve read and enjoyed. These are not reviews, I do not include books I didn’t enjoy because life is too short to speak badly of books!
Welcome to the Best Books to Read Now Book Club! My (hopefully) monthly blog featuring my reading list, my TBR pile and the books I think you and your best friends should be reading.
If you’re not sure whether you’ll agree with my recommendations, check out my blog post on My Reader Wheels and my podcast, Women With Books . Those should help you decide if you’re going to be into my recommendations.
The best book club recommendations for you and your friends!
Oh man. I’m sorry. I knew it had been a minute since I’d done one of these posts but I didn’t realize I’d skipped TWO MONTHS!
What have I been reading?
Well, a lot. And not a lot.
I’ll explain. I finished writing a book, editing it, and then editing it again. And then I had to do some work to get THE ROYAL BODYGUARD ready for its release. And honestly, I’ve started reading A LOT of books, but these are the only ones I’ve finished. I’ll go into more detail in my newsletter about why I didn’t finish reading more books in the last few months (spoiler: It’s a combination of DNF’s and my writing process). But in the meantime, let’s look at what I finished AND enjoyed!
Love on Lexington Avenue - Lauren Layne
Amazon || Apple Books
This one came out in September I think? And it’s the second in a trilogy that I love sooooooooooooo much. I call it Sex and the City for the Hallmark Channel. Three women who are brought together by one lying, cheating jerk become friends at his funeral and promise to help each other navigate dating and relationships. I can’t WAIT for the third book, in January, too!
My Fake Rake - Eva Leigh
Amazon || Apple Books
Y’all. Eva Leigh has become one of my favorite historical romance authors this year. This book comes out on November 26th and is a slow burn, friends to lovers, fake relationship delicious story with two scholarly main characters.
It Had To Be You - Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Amazon || Apple Books
I already wrote about this in my Best Football Romances post but yes, for real, I had to re-read this first book in SEP’s Chicago Stars series. Like I said, at this point it qualifies as an “old school” romance but the development of the relationship between Phoebe and Dan is a masterclass, IMO.
A Wedding in December - Sarah Morgan
Amazon || Apple Books
If you want a holiday book that is basically a luxurious winter getaway in paper form, grab this book. The story centers around a Christmas wedding at a luxury resort in Aspen and if you’re anything like me, you’ll fall for the descriptions of the accommodations, the food, the shopping trips and the scenery as much as the multi-generational stories of romance, second chances and family.
What you need to do when you get this Sarah Morgan book.
And like I said, there were some books I did not love this month…. I’ll be talking more about those and why I think they didn’t connect with me in my newsletter this month.
Do you like books on sale?
Make sure you’re following me on Facebook because that’s where I post great books on sale!
And what about you?
I’d love to hear what you’ve read and loved lately or what you’re looking forward to reading next! If you want these book recommendations (and a sneak peek at my TBR list and advanced reading copies) sent straight to your inbox, remember to sign up for my newsletter where I’ll be including all the best book club recommendations throughout 2019!
And one more book!
Like I mentioned, my latest release, THE ROYAL BODYGUARD came out last week! It’s also a Best Book To Read Now, if I may say so.
Claim your copy here:
November 15, 2019
Why You Need to Quit Nanowrimo
Why You Need to Quit Nanowrimo
(Look at me with the clickbait title!)
Okay, I don’t mean YOU need to quit Nanowrimo.
I mean, you, over there. Yeah. You need to quit.
You who have tried everything and don’t understand why writing a whole book in a month isn’t working for you when OBVIOUSLY it works for kajillions of other people in November every damn year.
[Side note: Nanowrimo is National Novel Writing Month and also an organization that promotes this event. Nanowrimo encourages participants to write 50,000 words during November.]
For myself, I have “won” Nanowrimo (it’s called winning when you complete 50,000 words in one month.) That was the year that I graciously accepted all the prizes (yes, there are prizes), one of which was a nice discount on Scrivener , the writing software that I still use for all my first drafts to this day.
I’ve also attempted Nanowrimo and “lost.” (They don’t call it losing, but it’s the opposite of winning so…) But of course I’ve never considered it a loss. ANY words on the page are great. Any stab at a book means, well, that the book is closer to… dying? (What kind of metaphor is ‘taking a stab at,’ anyway?)
I’ve also encouraged and recommended Nanowrimo to almost anyone who has come to me, seriously, and said they want to write a book. (If I haven’t recommended it to you, it’s because I didn’t take you seriously, Mr. Dude at the Sports Bar who had a Great Idea for a KGB Spy Book but like, Harry Potter Style That Will Be Bigger Than 50 Shades of Gray.)
Why do I recommend Nanowrimo to new / aspiring authors? Because you don’t know if you can write a book until you actually try to write a book. It’s as simple as that. Writing books is a lot more than having ideas and picturing them in your head. Writing a book entails WRITING FIFTY to ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND WORDS (approximately) in a (mostly) legible way and making sure it tells a complete story. That’s… a lot. I’m not going to make it sound like it’s not.
So, you know, if you’re reading this and have always wanted to write, go sign up at Nanowrimo.org and see what they have to offer.
But you said I had to quit Nanowrimo, Lindsay.
I did.
Because I think you should try. And then quit if it’s not working for you.
Why? I hear you saying, “I want to be a writer. I have this amazing idea for a Harry Potter style KGB spy novel that I must gift to the world as my legacy!”
Awesome. The world needs that book, ASAP. (The more times I type this, I might steal this idea, honestly.)
But Nanowrimo doesn’t work for everyone. It’s worked for me, and then it hasn’t. And look, I have five books published with traditional publishers and two self-published books. I have a great agent and a very popular podcast and fans around the world.
And I still know that I’m not going to be able to write fifty thousand words this month.
How do I know that? How do I know that this fantastic program that’s helped so many aspiring writers is most definitely not going to help me this month?
Well, here’s the second piece of advice I started giving new writers about eighteen months ago.
…There’s a class you need to take.
It’s called Write Better Faster. The instructor is Becca Syme.
And she’s helped me sooooo much. I wish I’d taken this class when I was just starting off. Through her insights and the application of a variety of personality/ strength/ self-knowledge instruments, you’ll start figuring out whether something like Nanowrimo will work for you.
Plotting, pantsing, worksheets, writing alone, writing in groups, sprints, critique groups, accountability, deadlines, BICHOK, “treating writing like a job,” “getting in the flow…” You hear about all these things when you start dipping your toes into the writing community and at first, most of us are tempted to TRY EVERYTHING. And then we’re frustrated when we’re struggling to complete a novel and the people we started off with have self-published a ten-book high fantasy series.
Becca’s classes (and I’ve taken three of them and been coached by her) have helped me learn my strengths, my personality and the type of environments I work best in. All of these lead to greater productivity and greater, well, wellness, truth be told.
I don’t stress out as much as I used to when the words don’t “flow.” I don’t feel the need to jump on every bandwagon, sign up for every writing course, buy every “how to do novels” book. I know what works for me, and if I don’t, I have the tools to figure it out.
Nanowrimo probably worked for me that first time because I’m a highly competitive person, because I had a small, tightknit group of people who were doing it with me, because I had a steady, predictable schedule at the time and because I’d thoroughly thought out my story ahead of time.
Nanowrimo hasn’t worked for me since because I either jump in without a fully intellected story (that’s a word in Becca-land) or because it hasn’t been necessary for my publishing strategy. (I know now that my strategic strengths are very strong – and I should always listen to them).
But that’s me. And what I (now) know about myself. ^^^ All those reasons may not apply to you.
So yes, by all means, try Nanowrimo. PLEASE. Again, you never know until you try. Keep sludging through, keep at it!! It’s a thrill to win!
Or… sign up for Becca’s Write Better Faster course. And save yourself some essential pain if Nano seems… harder than it should be? There’s a new class starting January 6th, 2020 (PERFECT for those I’m going to write a book resolutions.)
She also has a new course called Live Better Faster for those who want to know themselves better to succeed at other life/ career endeavors, not necessarily writing. That’s also starting January 6, 2020.
If you register using the links below, you will get TEN DOLLARS OFF! (And I get a small discount on future courses, but honestly, I’ve run out of courses to take with Becca. That’s how much I believe in her.) And I want her to help YOU, so just take my TEN DOLLARS, okay?
$10 Off Write Better Faster (One time payment)
$10 Off Live Better Faster(One Time Payment)
And if you end up taking Write Better Faster, I can’t wait to see you in the Facebook groups or hit me up on social media and let me know ALL the THINGS that you’ve learned and what you’ve learned to Quit.
More Nano/ writing advice:
Alexis Anne’s Five Tips for Writing Nanowrimo
Women With Books Podcast: Chapter 4 with Alexis Daria
Becca’s books if you want to learn more about her philosophy (Yes, I stole her clickbait convention.)
Dear Writer, You Need to Quit
Dear Writer, Are You in Burnout?
Dear Writer, You’re Doing it Wrong
And you can listen/ watch Becca on her Youtube Podcast, The Quit Cast
November 11, 2019
URGENT PRESS RELEASE FROM THE ROYAL FAMILY OF DRIEDEN
Per the Palace’s instructions, please do not go to these sites and support the amazing author of this scandalous piece of fiction:
Amazon || BN.Com || Apple || Amazon UK || Kobo US || Amazon CA || Waterstones || Blackwells || WH Smith
October 29, 2019
Modern Royal Family Scandals
How I’m Inspired by Modern Royal Family Scandals
My next book – The Royal Bodyguard – is the second book featuring the Royal House of Laurent in the fictional European nation of Drieden. The main character in this book is Caroline, the former princess of Drieden. You may remember mentions of her in The Royal Runaway. She’s Thea’s sister, who eloped with a Formula One driver and had her title revoked.
SCANDAL!
To find out what happened to her and why she’s single and ready to mingle with a former bodyguard, you’ll have to read the book and find out. #sorrynotsorry
But I will disclose that I enjoyed poking around the histories of modern European families for inspiration while writing of the Driedish royals’ many affaires du coeur.
In fact, nearly every major European royal family has had some pearl-clutching moments in the past century – and not the kind that they’re trying to drum up against our beloved American princess, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. (That time she wore a messy bun! Or sent emails in the morning! Or that time she dared to be pregnant at another person’s wedding! OMG. How will the monarchy ever survive such a dreadful person? /sarcasm font)
In Britain’s own history, let’s just recall that not one hundred years ago, they had a king renounce his throne to marry his divorcee American mistress (Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, later the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.)
And let’s just conveniently forget that same king and his wife were Nazi sympathizers, shall we?
One of the best things about the Netflix series, The Crown, is that it is reminding us of the complete and total messiness of Princess Margaret – her ill-fated affair with a married Royal Air Force Officer and then her marriage to a commoner (later the Earl of Snowden) who had affairs with men and women, which is totally fine – except when you’re married to the Queen’s only sister.
Really, almost all the Windsors have been messier than Meghan Markle’s favorite hairstyle. Prince Charles dated Lady Sarah Spencer then married her little sister, Diana, then had a long-term affair with another old girlfriend (Camilla) who he then married (and really, I’m happy for those two kids. Just wish so many people hadn’t been hurt along the way, you know?)
And do we have to talk about the Yorks? Andrew’s soft porn actress girlfriend and the Duchess of York’s toes being sucked look positively innocent and sweet compared to the nastiness of the Duke of York’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
(Someone! Quick! Mention that Meghan Markle didn’t curtsy or hold her purse in the correct position to distract us from possible pedophilia accusations!)
I could go on and on about the Windsors but cross the channel and we find more and more scandalous royal stories fit to be written about in novels.
I’m sure someone would tell me that it is “unrealistic” in this day and age for a monarch to have not one, but multiple secret babies with girlfriends and mistresses. However… have you met Prince Albert of Monaco? The press has reported about two illegitimate royal babies but there’s always whispered speculation about more….
And in my books, Caroline’s titles are stripped when she elopes with a handsome race car driver, Stavros. Is that unrealistic? Not so much. Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf removed his sister’s, Princess Christina, HRH status when she married a commoner (and the same thing had been done to their other two sisters by their father) yet two years later, he married a German (non-royal) interpreter and gave her the title of Her Majesty Queen Silvia. All three of his children, Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine have married commoners as well (a personal trainer, a reality star and a businessman, respectively.) They’re all beautiful and have good hair and no one ever mentions that Queen Silvia’s father *might* have joined the Nazi party at one point anymore, okay?
The wedding of Prince Carl Phillip and Princess Sofia. No, not that one.
In fact, there seem to be just as many commoners in royal households as people who were manor-born and these real-life stories are so inspirational to me, a writer of royal romance. When Norwegian Crown Prince Harald met the love of his life in 1968, a commoner named Sonja, King Haakon reportedly had serious misgivings. But Harald declared that if he could not have Sonja, he would not marry anyone which would have effectively ended the Norwegian monarchy because he was the only heir to the throne.
A story fit for a romance novel, right?
King Harald’s oldest child, Princess Martha Louise, announced in the Spring of 2019 that she had found love as well. Actually, her exact words were, “her twin flame.” Sounds spiritual, doesn’t it? Rightfully so, since her twin flame is a celebrity shaman.
Y’all. I don’t think even I could make this stuff up.
The queens of the Netherlands and Denmark and Spain were all born commoners as well. Queen Letizia of Spain was a television journalist and divorced and supposedly she and King Felipe dated secretly just like Harry and Meghan did!
Similarly, Crown Prince Fredrick of Denmark met his Australian wife, Mary while at the 2000 Summer Olympics and flew back in forth in secret for over a year to see her until the press discovered them. (JUST LIKE HARRY AND MEGHAN.)
And finally, let’s talk about one of my absolute favorite royals: the woman formerly known as Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti.
Yes.
The one. The only. Queen Máxima.
The story goes, that when Máxima met then-Prince Willem-Alexander he only introduced himself as Alexander and didn’t tell her he was a prince until he knew if they would keep seeing each other. Their road to a picture perfect royal HEA was bumpy when the press discovered that Máxima’s father was an Argentine cabinet minister at the same time a bunch of people were rounded up, killed or disappeared. Ouch. Her parents weren’t even allowed to come to their wedding because of the… (dum dum DUM!) SCANDALO!
The Dutch royal family. heart eyes
When I read all this, I almost wonder if I haven’t gone far enough in my books! Maybe that’s why one blogger called The Royal Runaway “completely unrealistic.” Maybe I should have included more toe sucking and illegitimate kids and shady foreign connections.
Maybe I will fix that in the next book…
If you love royal romance and scandal, check out my Royal books here. (And pre-order THE ROYAL BODYGUARD!)
And follow my Facebook page for more royal fashion and discussion every Friday.
AND!
If you want more behind the scenes peeks at my writing and free snippets and chapters of my books, you are invited to join the Inner Circle - my newsletter with all the juicy stuff.
See you there!
October 22, 2019
THE ROYAL BODYGUARD - COVER REVEAL (The Sequel)
I am one lucky, lucky author.
I have a book releasing.
It’s the second in a series.
And it has TWO covers already.
Earlier in the summer, when I released the new UK/ World English covers, I was overcome by all the positive responses. But the number 1 question I got was, “Well, that’s great for all your British fans, but what about the Americans and Canadians who also want to order THE ROYAL BODYGUARD???”
I can now announce that all the information you want can be found here: The Royals of Drieden Series
Y’all.
I can’t.
And when you read this book, you’ll understand how perfect this cover is. And I loved how both my publishers got it soooo right. You can maybe guess what some of the main themes are…
THE ROYAL BODYGUARD has:
a princess in hiding
a grumpy bodyguard
explosions
thousand-year old secrets
luxurious European residences
a king in a car park
pesky paparazzi
banter
a grandmother with a sword
kissing
Basically, it’s…
I’m In.
I heard you say that. ^^^^
For the full info on the book, please click to this page: The Royal Series.
If you’re American or Canadian, you can reserve your copy of The Royal Bodyguard here or at your preferred retailers:
Amazon US
If you’re British, Irish, Australian, etc., you can reserve your copy of The Royal Bodyguard here or at your preferred retailers:
Amazon UK
And I’ll be dropping more hints, clues and sneak peeks on my Facebook, my Instagram (make sure you’re checking my Instagram Stories!! I have some fun stuff planned over the next few weeks) and my newsletter. Sign up and follow now to get all the scoop (like who I dedicated the book to and why they made me rewrite the whole darn thing.)
October 10, 2019
The Best Football Romance Novels to Read this Fall
The Best Football Romance Novels
It’s that time of year – the constant roar of the crowd is now my background meditation (cough) every weekend. Pretty much as soon as the first round of Monday Night Football opened up, I got the irrepressible urge to re-read a football romance.
Which one?
It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
I’ve read this one so many times, at least once a year.
And as I pressed the button on my Kindle, I thought I’d recommend some more of my favorite football romances to the rest of the world!
(Before I get started, here’s the usual caveat. Y’all. There are SO MANY football romance novels. Hundreds, if not thousands. I know there are a few that I’ve left out, so please feel free to recommend your favorites to me!)
Here we go.
As I mentioned, you probably need to read the Chicago Stars series by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I’ve read most of them (I think?) but my top 2 are the stories of Molly and Phoebe Sommerville; It Had to Be You (Book #1) and This Heart of Mine (Book #5) . This is a series where you can definitely jump around but I think it’s really nice to read #1 and then #5 back to back, since the heroines are sisters.
I have a special fondness for Nobody’s Baby but Mine (Book #3), too, mostly because of the side characters and the second half of the book.
Of the three of these, It Had to Be You is definitely VERY football focused, the other two much less so.
(Second Caveat: These books are over twenty years old, on average. Let me tell you how old the first book is – Donald Trump is mentioned - FONDLY! - and it’s pre-Apprentice. I still enjoy them but I’ve noticed that some of the attitudes and references have not aged well. In addition, there are some sex scenes that are old-school-esque borderline-consensual/ non-consensual. FYI.)
Another romance that is football adjacent is Changing the Play by Julia Blake. The heroine is a sports agent and the hero is a reporter but football obviously plays a big role in the book.
Next recommendation! Sidelined by Suzanne Baltzar! I recommended this here and I’ve also had the hankering to re-read this during football season. Seriously, people. This is such a good book. Go grab it. (Hear me talk to Suzanne on Women With Books here.) This one is about a female high school football coach and her offensive coordinator. If you are psyched up about #equalpay then this is the book that will have you sighing and fist bumping your pals.
Also full of football players and the women who show them the score? Alexa Martin’s Playbook series! Start with Intercepted (Book #1) and you’ll fall in love with Marlee’s voice and wit. (And bonus points! Alexa is a former professional football wife herself! Hear my chat with her on Women With Books here!)
And speaking of WAGS, Naima Simone’s WAGS series should be required reading for anyone who loves a seriously swoony football hero. Start with Scoring With The Wrong Twin and enjoy the sexy, witty, sweet ride.
And uh… While I was making up this list I kept remembering one more book… and I realized, it was mine!
Yeah, my debut novel has some football-related shenanigans in it: Know When to Hold Him. So, you know. Read it!
Or, pick up my NEXT book, which is definitely NOT football related but it’s just as good.
More info coming VERY soon on that! I can’t wait to share it with you!!!
September 25, 2019
What to Pack for a Writing Retreat/ Girls Weekend to England
A Writing Retreat - what to pack and what to leave behind.
If you have followed me on Instagram this month, you’ll have seen two types of posts: #readwriteplan challenge photos and pictures of my glorious writing retreat in England with my friends.
How it came about: My amazing friend Julia Kelly is an Anglo-American author who now lives in London {you must read her debut historical fiction The Light Over London and her upcoming release, The Whispers of War}
Click and Pre-order now!
Anyway, Julia graciously invited us to London and her family manse in the countryside and five of us eagerly accepted her hospitality.
And I’ll just skip to the part where I tell you that it was magical. A big part of that is the retreat location, of course. England is so historical, so verdant, so charming (to us Americans living in suburbia, especially) that it can’t help but inspire ALL THE STORIES in my head. But another big part of this is the amazing retreat effect - getting out of the day-to-day #momlife, the feeding of humans and animals, car pool and same old scenery. I love my life, and I am blessed in thousands, if not millions of ways. But a change like a walk down the Thames (or Seine or Hudson or Nile) can excite lots of neurons for months, if not years.
So now you’re convinced (I think you probably already were….) You want to go on a girls’ weekend/ spiritual / writing retreat. Great.
First you need a suitcase. I picked an ancient yet indestructible canvas LL Bean duffel and a Dakine rolling suitcase.
What to pack:
This list may or may not work for you, but maybe it will be a good starting point. After all, I spent weeks thinking deeply and strategizing this suitcase selection so if it helps someone else, that would mean all my mental effort went to good use.
Then you pile everything you might want to take in a big heap on your bed.
*Carry-On Packing for a Week in England in September*
Clothes (in 20 inch rolling suitcase)
1 pair of jeans
1 pair of leggings (I love the Zella Live in Leggings) (LINK)
1 pair of “other pants” (this is whatever you like best. I picked a pair of black sweatpants that would be comfortable but chic on the plane)
1 cozy cardigan (I wore this one on the plane for warmth and to save space in my bag) (LINK)
1 lightweight jacket (rain proof if possible)
3 long sleeve shirts
3 t-shirts
3 lightweight scarves
Pajamas
Underthings/ lingerie/ socks
Birkenstock clogs (can double as slippers in a cold 500 year old house) (LINK)
Adidas Superstars (or other comfortable and cute walking shoe) (LINK)
Pro tip: ROLL. ROLL. ROLL.
*Now, since we were staying at a house, I knew we had the opportunity to do laundry. But I still think this list would be good for a week even if you weren’t planning to wash any clothes.
Now you start your next pile of essential items. Yes, a chocolate bar is always an essential for travel.
Non Clothes (in carry on sized duffle)
Medicine/ vitamins/ glasses
Small toiletry case with all the minis: shampoo, conditioner, curl cream, shower gel, toothpaste, toothbrush, face cleanser, lotion, etc.
Face spritz / moisturizing balm for travel (I brought both, but this was the first time for me to use a moisturizing balm stick and I think this one will be my go-to for now on. It was so convenient and really made my hands/ face/ elbows nice and dewy) (LINK)
1 extra pair of earrings, 2 necklaces
Paperwhite Kindle (I adore mine - so many books can fit in a pocket!) (Link)
Bluetooth headphones (noise cancelling help you sleep on the plane) (LINK)
[And because this was a work/ writing trip:
Computer/ cords/ chargers/ converter
Notebook/ planner/ pens]
So all that in 2 bags + a small crossbody purse (with my phone/ wallet/ lipstick/ hand sanitizer) that I could stash inside the duffle while flying.
My iPad mini + bluetooth keyboard was perfect for writing in an English garden.
Things I Left Behind:
Water Bottle - at home in the United States I am virulently anti- plastic water bottle. It makes me physically sick to think of all the plastic we’ve littered this planet with because we don’t want to wash a glass. #sorrynotsorry. BUT. I can’t justify the weight and bulkiness of my stainless steel bottles when I’m flying carry-on only internationally. So I accept that I will buy a plastic water bottle or two on the trip and try to refill at the house/ hotel.
My usual laptop - This was another tough decision. Writers have an attachment to their computers which makes sense given all the time we spend with them and, frankly, all the intimate things that we put on there. But I ultimately decided to leave the laptop at home and just bring my ipad mini / bluetooth keyboard. This wasn’t really an issue of space/ weight (I have a very lightweight laptop and the ipad combo, while smaller, isn’t much lighter.). This was a practical decision based on how many chargers/ cords I’d have to bring. My Ipad obviously shares the same charging requirements as my iphone and air pods and the keyboard uses the same cord as a Kindle. It made sense to me to streamline all this technology as much as possible but of course, your (airplane) mileage may vary
Travel blanket - I love the idea of a travel blanket, but again, I can’t justify the space/ weight when wearing a chic shawl/scarf and cozy cardigan will keep me warm enough anywhere.
Extra notebooks - ah, a writer’s heartbreak. It was hard deciding which babies to leave home, which ones had ALL THE GOOD THINGS already written in them. But again, I went with weight and practicality and just brought one cheapie notebook from a conference.
More sweaters - When we scheduled a writing retreat - in England, in September - this Texas girl day dreamed for months about strolling through moors in all sorts of cashmere and knit. Alas, the weather was a bit warmer than my daydreams which was probably best for my space issues. One beloved sweater, one practical jacket and layering with scarves kept me warm enough.
New country, who this?
Where to go next?
I’d go back to the UK in a heartbeat… Maybe travel to Scotland? France? Or somewhere closer to home? I’ve been wanting to do a beach trip for forever. Where would you go?
Fancy a getaway that’s a little easier/ cheaper than a week in Europe? You could, of course, check out my books: The Royal Runaway and the upcoming The Royal Bodyguard which will first be published in the United Kingdom and around the world!
Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive details about The Royal Bodyguard here: INNER CIRCLE NEWSLETTER.
And if you want more packing tips for a business conference, I have posts on that HERE and HERE.
September 3, 2019
#ReadWritePlan Challenge- For everyone who loves to read, write, or plan.
READ.
WRITE.
PLAN.
Longtime readers will know that these are probably three of my top five subjects to talk about and therefore it is no surprise that I’m a co-founder/ host of a multi-year Instagram challenge called…. (wait for it… )
#READWRITEPLAN
The September Instagram Challenge Every Planner, Reader and Writer Needs to Join.
Follow along all month long as I and (hundreds? Thousands? Of) my best friends share snapshots into our reading, writing and planning habits, hacks, tricks and tips.
If you’re interested in my planners, specifically, I talked about what I’m using in 2019 here: My Planners As Planned.
My loves and inspiration: Hobonichi, Louis Vuitton and Frida Kahlo
Since it’s September, I’ll give a mini update. I’m still using everything as planned! In fact, I just ordered a Hobonichi cousin for 2020. This will be my fourth? I think? (I get confused because the first year I used it I actually bought an April start planner and started it in June and counting years is hard.)
I still haven’t found a use for this:
In fact, I had forgotten all about it until I looked at this blog post. I’ve really enjoyed using my medium ring planner to keep track of my review reading, my blog posts and things I want to remember for the newsletter (SIGN UP because I’m starting something fun and SECRET in 2020)
My reading log has worked out great and I’ve been using some of the pages in the Hobonichi for a habit tracker & IG Challenge Tracker (for the months I do that).
Overall, I’m pretty happy with the flexibility of my planner system right now. I still tweak some things as I go as some months/ weeks require different things. The one thing I think I want to focus on going forward is figuring out a consistent system for habit tracking as I’ve been doing a lot of work on habit development since reading Atomic Habits (I talk about it in this blog post.)
Hopefully, the #readwriteplan challenge will give me lots of good eye candy AND some good ideas into my writing/ reading/ planning systems.
I’d love to see how you plan/ work/ read so please jump in anytime on Instagram using the hashtag! And if you have any questions about my products/ systems, ask me here, drop me a line or hit me up on Instagram.
August 29, 2019
Women With Books - 2019 Summer Reading Challenge: What I Read!
Women With Books - a curated collection of conversations about your favorite books, media, and other fabulous things.
Well??? Did you complete the Summer Reading Challenge? I did!
For last year’s challenge and the books I read, click here and here.
As I said before, the 2018 Summer Reading Challenge was one of my most popular episodes of last year – this one and the round up episode. And I’ve loved hearing what everyone was reading this summer!
What I did for this challenge was give you broad themes and you find the book that best fits that for you. After all, at Women With Books, we only want you to read what you love.
I know everyone wants to know, though, what I read for the challenge this year. Some of my picks can fit into more than one category, so I may just slot them into different places… if I need to.
Pretty Dress Cover
Read: The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams (More about it here on Best Books to Read Now)
Debut Author
Read: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Beach Cover
Read: The Southern Side of Paradise by Kristy Woodson Harvey (More about it here on Best Books to Read Now)
Diverse/ Inclusive Read
Read: Alisha Rai’s The Right Swipe (More about it here on Best Books to Read Now)
TBR List
Read: Temptations of a Wallflower by Eva Leigh (HOLY CRAP THIS WAS GOOD WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG????)
Comfort Read
Read: Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins (She had not been a Women With Books guest when I read this book but she is now! Find her episode here.) And Nina Bocci’s On the Corner of Love and Hate.
New Genre
Read: Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri (also an #ownvoices author and a debut author! This was so good y’all… read more about it here!)
Former WWB Guest (Find them on WomenWithBooks.com )
Read: Sidelined by Suzanne Baltzar (hear her episode here) AND The Southern Side of Paradise by Kristy Woodson Harvey (hear her episode here)
Sign up for the Women With Books Newsletter here for all the updated information on Season 5 and a comprehensive list of the best book club reading recommendations!
