Danielle Steel's Blog, page 10

3/29/21, Resurrection

 

Hi Everyone,

 

I hope last week was a good one for you. These are certainly challenging times, from week to week. Now that we’ve passed the one-year mark from when everything shut down and Covid exploded into our lives, I think we are all more eager than ever for life to return to normal. The vaccine gives us hope of more protection, but the distribution of it seems pretty bumpy and erratic in most countries. And not everyone wants to be vaccinated. It’s very new, and many people are daunted by the pros and cons and the speed with which it was developed. There is no question, we have been part of a historical event, a year that no one will forget. It cast us back a century to a situation so similar to the Spanish flu which decimated the world in a very similar way a hundred years ago. But there is a glimmer of light on the horizon now, and sometime in the next months, we will win this silent war that we have fought so bravely. It’s a war with very real casualties. And for the survivors, we have been very brave and paid a high price for the loss of peace, the risk of illness or worse, and the threat to us and our loved ones. One day we will celebrate our victory, while honoring those who did not survive. I hope that day of peace, recovery, and victory will come soon.

 

Of all the holidays, I LOVE Christmas. I love everything about it, the hope, the joy, families coming together, the sound of carols and happy laughter, the smell of Christmas trees and cookies baking. Happy faces, warm hearts. Like all holidays, there can be challenging moments, or family tensions, or some terrible sadness for those who are alone. But on the whole, it’s my favorite holiday. And as I spent it alone last year, in Paris, during Covid, with no family member nearby and none of the sounds of joy, it was a humbling experience and reminded me of just how hard lonely holidays can be. It was a good reminder that Christmas is not joyful for everyone, and it is an agony for some. It was for me last year, alone.

 

Whether one is religious or not, there are lots of non-religious aspects of Christmas that are fun for everyone. You don’t have to be religious to enjoy Christmas, there is something for everyone, if you’re willing to be festive. And some people enjoy the holiday more than others. Christmas is always a warm happy family time for me.

 

But the holiday which has the greatest religious symbolism for me is Easter. As happens at some other times a year, it is not just a time for Christian holidays, but Passover too, and this year Ramadan, all within two weeks of each other. In the Christian faith, the entire religious symbolism centers around the idea of Resurrection, rebirth, new beginnings, recovery, refreshing our lives and renewing hope, and even faith. If ever there was a year when we need renewal and recovery, this year is it. Last year, it was only weeks into the beginning of the pandemic, and we were dazed, shocked, the full impact of it hadn’t hit us yet, the shock, the losses, the fear, the people who got sick, and those who didn’t make it. This year, we have endured the hardships for a year, survived the challenges, lived with anxiety and tension for a full year. The notion of Resurrection is beginning again, rising from the ashes and rebuilding our lives, repairing the damage, renewing our energy, and finding the courage to start over, to feel new again, to rise from the darkness into the light of love and joy and hope. I can’t think of another holiday or theory that is more appropriate for what we’ve all been through.

 

And I wish all of you the strength and the courage to reach out and feel new again, in small ways, and big ones. I celebrate the Resurrection with you, and may you feel the strength of that renewal in every fiber of your being, whatever your religion or if you have none at all.

 

May the idea of resurrection, renewal and new beginnings fill your heart, put balm on your wounds and bring you joy and peace.

 

with all my love, Danielle

 

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3/22/21, Confined Again, Round 3

 

Hi Everyone,

 

So, how was your week last week? Mine was busy doing the usual errands, writing, and trying to catch up on my desk after a book, which takes a while. And the big news in Paris this week is that we’re in confinement again, which is definitely an odd confinement. The reason for it is that the hospital beds are full up, because unfortunately they have not added more beds in the past year, so with rising numbers of new cases again, there is a shortage of hospital beds and the Paris area and the South of France have been put on lockdown, while the rest of France has not. The confinement from March to May last year was of the strictest regime in all of France. Total lockdown, you could only leave your house for an hour a day, for an essential reason, within a short distance of one’s home. Offices and businesses, restaurants and schools were closed. The entire country was shut down for two months, with disastrous economic consequences to the country. The President has become determined to avoid lockdown as much as possible. And in spite of that, we were back in lockdown from the end of October until the end of November, and that time restaurants were closed (and still are since then), but shops were open for business, but you had to order and pick up outside, schools stayed open, and offices, and eventually a 6pm curfew was set in place. The idea was that you could work or go to school, but there were to be no social gatherings, no going out in the evening, and nowhere to go. And now here we are again, Round 3, with restaurants still closed (till May or June, they have taken a brutal hit, being closed since October), offices open with people urged to work remotely where possible, shops open for order and pick up but not shopping in store, schools are open, hairdressers are open and have been deemed ‘essential’ (I second that), and the new twist this time is that everyone can go outside as much as they want and are encouraged to, until curfew at 7pm. The weak spot there is, that encouraged to go outside, suddenly there are big groups of people picnicking together in the parks, (without masks while they eat and drink), playing sports, lining the river, filling the streets on the weekends. It is hard to believe that those rules will bring the numbers down. Vaccination continues at a snail’s pace, after a 3 day hiatus (with concerns about blood clotting possibly being related to the Astra Zeneca vaccine,from Britain). And in all forms, modified, local, or general, people are generally fed up with the confinements and regulations, lack of a social life, no restaurants. It has definitely been a long year, and everyone is hoping that the vaccines will return life to a semblance of normalcy. I hope too that things get more normal soon. People are worn out by the hardships, the risks, the uncertainties, the lack of ability to plan anything, the lack of a social life. It WILL get better, and the virus will eventually go away, but it’s a long road getting there, a lot longer than anyone knew a year ago. I hope that we see the last of it soon.

 

Meanwhile, I am writing and talking to my kids. It’s still wintry cold, with many rainy days. We need a big dose of good cheer, and good news, and hopefully the vaccines will be part of that, and with Spring will come new freedoms, and fewer people getting sick, and the hospitals less crowded than they are now.

 

I am reading and writing, and I hope you’ve had time to read my new book “The Affair”.

 

We just have to keep going until we reach the end of this long road. The current confinement will be under review in a month. And let’s hope this will be the last one. We will certainly remember this past year, and I hope the months ahead are a vast improvement. Hang in!! And have a great week!!!

love, Danielle

 

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3/8/21, “In Shakespeare’s words”

 

Hi Everyone,

 

I hope you had a good week. I got something wonderful from a friend this week, supposedly quoted from Shakespeare. I have no way of verifying that or authenticating it, but whoever wrote it, if not Shakespeare, said some wonderful things I think are worth sharing. So I am sharing them with you.

 

“I’m always happy, because I don’t expect anything from anyone. Expecting things always hurts.

Problems are not eternal, they always have solutions. The only thing that has no remedy is death.

Don’t let anyone insult you, humiliate you, or diminish your self-esteem.

Shouting is always the tool of lazy, mean people, those who don’t think.

We will always know people who consider us to blame for their problems.

We have to be strong and rise when we fall, from the falls that life imposes on us.

We have to remember that after a dark solitary tunnel, good things always come.

Before discussing something….breathe.

Before speaking…listen.

Before you criticize….examine yourself.

Before writing….think.

Before hurting someone…look.

Before giving up….try.

Before you die….LIVE!!

The best relationship is not one with a perfect person, but one where each person learns to live with the flaws of the other, while admiring their qualities.

He who doesn’t appreciate what they have, will lose it one day.

If you want to be happy, make someone else happy, if you want to receive, give of yourself.

Surround yourself with good people, and be one yourself.

Remember that sometimes when you expect it the least, someone will do something nice for you.

Don’t spoil your present by looking pointlessly back at the past.

A strong person tries to keep their life in order, and even with tears in their eyes, will adapt with a smile, and say “I am good.” ”

 

I loved this, and I hope you do too!!! Have a great week, love, Danielle

 

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3/8/20, The Affair

 

Hi Everyone,

 

Wow, if you follow me on Instagram at officialdaniellesteel, you saw that it was a crazy busy week for me. My new hardcover book “The Affair” came out on Tuesday, and some wonderful opportunities came my way to highlight the book. The book is fun and intricate, about an affair, with a husband who has fallen in love with another woman, and all the people it affects, the wife, of course, the other woman (a sexy, very young starlet, not exactly wife material, but very appealing to him, although his wife is lovely too), and her family. Her mother (head of a major fashion magazine) and three sisters rise to the occasion to support and advise her, and in the end, she must decide herself what to do about her marriage. Her sisters are all interesting characters, all totally different, who each give her completely different advice: the very relaxed Bohemian sister in LA who is a TV chef, and doesn’t believe in marriage, the sister who is a Superior Court Judge, extremely conservative and judgmental who tells her to divorce, but has some dicey long-buried secrets of her own, and the sister who is happily married with three kids, is a fashion designer, and advises her not to make any sudden decisions, and really think if she wants to divorce or forgive her husband and go back and try again. I love the book, and the characters in it, and I hope you do too.

 

On Monday, I was on Good Morning America with Robin Roberts, whom I love as an incredibly special person, and a dear friend. I was on Zoom live from France, which was somewhat technically challenging, and my first Zoom. And I loved being on with Robin, as I always do, although I missed our hug at the end!! It is always an enormous privilege to be on the show with her.

 

On Tuesday, the book came out, which is always exciting.

 

And on Friday, I was part of collaboration with the amazingly talented designer Jonathan Anderson, for Loewe, the fashion brand. Like all fashion shows right now, it could not happen with an audience, so they cancelled the show, and printed a newspaper of their own showing the collection, to be distributed with major newspapers, in major cities all around the world, translated into the language in each of about 20 countries. And as a ‘surprise’ with their newspaper, were the first 25 pages of my book “The Affair”, also translated where necessary. It was really great, and fantastic to be included in such an innovative concept. As a result, I was interviewed by Vogue.com on Friday night.  And Jonathan and I did a podcast, where we interviewed each other alternately, which was really fun. I hope you have a chance to hear it.

 

So it was a very exciting week. I hope you had a great week too, and that you have a wonderful week going forward—-and a chance to read “The Affair”.

 

many thanks, and much love,  Danielle

 

 

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3/1/21, Good Morning America with Robin Roberts

 

Hi Everyone,

 

I hope the last week was a good one for you. We’ve had better weather, and some sunny days, which cheered everyone up!!! And today is a VERY exciting day. Tomorrow my new book, The Affair, comes out, in hardcover. And today, I am appearing on Good Morning America, with Robin Roberts, who is one of THE nicest people I know, and an amazingly talented, wonderful (very beautiful) woman, whom I am honored to consider a friend. I am a huge admirer of her talents, her intelligence, her poise, her charm, her kindness to guests on the show. Being on the show with her is an honor and a privilege every time, when she has me on the show. This time will be new and different, I won’t be seated next to her, I will be three thousand miles away, in my own living room in Paris, on Zoom, joining the show live. And I’m somewhat behind in technology—it will be my first Zoom!! I will miss giving Robin a hug at the end of the show, but in the pandemic, the show is put together with appearances by Zoom, although Robin will be in the studio.

 

I’m usually very shy, and VERY nervous before TV appearances, particularly Live ones, but Robin makes it a wonderful experience every time, highlighting the books and being incredibly kind to me, which puts me at ease. I am so thrilled to be on the show with her, and we’ll add a clip of the show to the blog so you can see it too, in case you missed it on TV. Robin is just a spectacular person, and I know you’ll enjoy watching her.

 

Have a great week, full of happy surprises, great opportunities, fun moments, and good news!!

 

love, Danielle

 

Here is a link to my interview:  https://bit.ly/3uLv366

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2/22/21, Why Not?

 

Hi Everyone,

 

How are you? Hanging in, I hope. Despite the challenges, the sometimes alarming news, and learning to live with masks, curfews, reports of contagion and mutations of Covid 19, and living our work life on Zoom, our family life on Face Time, and having no social life at all (with restaurants closed, and a 6pm curfew in Paris), we’re all struggling to maintain a semblance of normalcy in our lives, and explore new avenues. I’ve been working a lot and doing some fun things related to the work front, some great promotional opportunities that keep life interesting. And meanwhile, I have a new book coming out on March 2nd, The Affair. It’s a fun, slightly racy book as the title suggests, and I hope you love it!!

 

I’m scheduled to appear on Good Morning America on Monday, March 1st, which is always the high point of my year. Robin Roberts is one of the most amazing women I know, someone whom I admire enormously and have a deep affection for. Being on the show with her is always an honor, a privilege, and a heartwarming treat.  As a guest on the show, she makes you feel very special, and like a Queen. This time, I will miss out on giving her a hug in person, but even being on the show with her on Zoom is exciting. I’m the least high tech person I know, so a small team of people (Covid tested before) are coming to help man the equipment, and the person who does my make up for TV is in New York, so I am trying someone new. The Thrill of it for me will be being on the show with Robin, as always. We’ll be talking about my new book, “The Affair”.

 

That same week, I am very honored to be included in an exciting promotional event by Loewe, the luxury fashion brand that make gorgeous clothes, and I’ve been invited to join their very talented designer Jonathan Anderson for a special event—-full of surprises, and a very exciting opportunity for me. They are wonderful people to work with, and Jonathan Anderson is an incredibly talented designer.

 

I just finished an article for a major American magazine, which is fun to do. And am editing two books that will be coming out soon. So I’m keeping busy, and the work challenges of the pandemic make us all come up with new, different and creative ideas and ways to do business and share our work in new ways. High end restaurants are doing take-out, that would never have considered it before, people are making films, documentaries, writing books and articles in spite of the challenges we’re all facing. It’s a learning experience to do new things and brings new elements into our work. It’s teaching us all creativity and flexibility, with a “Why not? “attitude. In fashion, without the traditional Fashion Week shows, they are finding new ways to show us their collections, and we’ve all adapted to shopping on line. The secret is to keep businesses and industries alive, and make them better than ever. It’s a time of exploration, serious thought about new avenues, and inventiveness. It’s a benefit of these unusual times. People are discovering new talents, and interests, they’ve never thought of before and didn’t know they had. So if you’re tempted to do something new, try it, do it!! You may find a whole new world opening up to you with a talent that has lain dormant all your life. I think “Why Not?” is the right answer right now. What have we got to lose? Try something new, a painting, a hobby, something you haven’t had time to do before. Stuck at home, you have more time to try new things. (And no, I am not learning to cook, that might be asking a little too much of my limited talent in that area. But anything relating to writing or art seems like a great idea to me. And I’m very excited to be invited into the world of fashion by Loewe.)

 

My youngest daughter started a tie dye business and is having a ball, my artistic daughter in law is doing paintings for commissions, and my daughters who work in fashion are expanding their horizons too, as is my son in his field. And I have several friends starting new businesses, not easy, but well worth doing if you can. It’s a time for entrepreneurs, and brave, creative people. And when the pandemic finally ends, it will leave us with newly developed talents, new interests, new connections, and new friends, along with the ones we had before.

 

So why not? Whatever you’ve been mulling over and hesitating to try, give it a whirl, you may open the doors to a whole new opportunity and some fun, even if it’s doing a thousand piece puzzle, watching shows you’ve never seen before, learning a new language,  painting, baking—-even making money doing something you love to do and never thought of charging for before. The possibilities are endless.

 

So I’ll see you on Zoom, and let’s have some fun with what we CAN do, rather than mourning what we can’t do right now and think we’ve lost. And when this is all over, we’ll have found a new talent. Why not?

 

 

Have a great week, I send you a virtual hug and lots of love,

 

Danielle

 

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2/15/21, Love

 

Hi Everyone,

 

I hope that all is going as smoothly as possible for you on the roller coaster ride of the pandemic. The numbers seem to be coming down in a lot of places, and then you read about the “mutations” and it scares you all over again. I hope we’re all being as careful as we can be, and being as safe as we can, without missing out on life entirely. It’s a fine line to walk, following all the rules, and not getting totally isolated, and missing out on life entirely. And lots of people are trying to figure out how they feel about the vaccines.

 

People are social animals, and it’s really hard to be deprived of the company of others and our loved ones. I always feel better when I get out and see people. I REALLY miss seeing friends at restaurants. The restaurants in Paris have been closed since late October, and there is talk that they won’t open again until April and May. I see a few friends at my home, with plenty of fresh air and a respectful distance, but there are only a handful of people I see now. I can’t wait to give a party when this is all over!!! I can hardly wait for that.

 

Valentine’s Day turned out to be really lovely. I talked to all my kids, and they spoiled me as usual, and a very dear friend came by for a visit. It is soooooo nice to talk to a friend, share opinions and just relax, and have a good laugh. And the day before, two other friends came for a visit. So it was a pretty nice weekend.

 

It has been very, very cold in Paris, and icy-scary-slippery on the streets, and it snowed twice. I spent some time with my son and daughter in law on Face Time helping them move things around in their home, to make more room (I swear by Ikea closets, and have them everywhere!!). And it was really fun, being part of it. I am a great ‘space maker’, with nine kids, and always a house full of people, with a ton of stuff—and five daughters who have a lot of clothes, I’ve been figuring out how to create space for ‘stuff and people’ for years. Give me a measuring tape, a note pad, and an Ikea catalogue and I can create miracles. I had a walk in closet with a window once, and turned it into a tiny cozy bedroom. It worked well for several years!!!

 

I’ve been doing some writing and editing. Sometimes I feel that I am slower at getting things done in the pandemic. There is always an underlying anxiety, which is distracting, and I don’t whiz through things as fast as I usually do. I don’t like putting things off till the next day, but some days I just have to.

 

And I was reading your comments to this blog tonight. Thank you for your wonderful messages.

 

I’m going to share something with you that I have on my desk. I have it framed and it inspires me. I’m not sure where I got it, but I framed it so I can see it every day, right next to my computer. Maybe it will inspire and comfort you too.

 

It’s titled “Love”

 

“There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer; No disease that enough love will not heal’; No door that enough love will not open: No gulf that enough love will not bridge; No wall that enough love will not throw down; No sin that enough love will not redeem.

It makes No difference how deeply seated may be the trouble, How hopeless the outlook, How muddled the tangle, How great the mistake; A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all. If you can love enough, you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the world.”

 

 

I hope that helps you. It does me. Stay safe and take care, and have a fantastic week!!!

 

all my love, Danielle

 

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2/9/21, Be My Valentine!!!

 

Hi Everyone,

 

Even with all the craziness of our lives these days, sheltering in place, confinements, masks, curfews, social distance (ugh, No kissing), in spite of all that, there are some things we can’t avoid and are going to roll around anyway. And some of them are Wonderful!!—-like Christmas, some birthdays, babies being born, and Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day can be a mixed bag however. But when they’re good, they’re fabulous!!!

 

I’ve had two marriage proposals on Valentine’s Day, which was pretty wonderful, and VERY romantic. And I’ve had some real duds—my Valentine’s Days got off to a poor start, as the only girl in third grade who didn’t get a Valentine. And I suppose Valentine’s Day will be challenging for some or even most people this year. It’s hard to be romantic in a mask, standing 6 feet apart!! And not so easy to meet people with restaurants and bars closed in some places, and no gatherings of more than 6 people, although it only takes two people to make a terrific Valentine’s Day.  Valentine’s Day can be romantic at any time of day, at any distance, and flowers, candy, chocolates, a card and someone you care about remembering you can make it extra special. It can really be a lovely day.

 

So I wish you all the Valentine’s Day of your dreams, and if it misses a bit, and doesn’t measure up, there is always next year. And the nice thing about life is that it’s full of wonderful surprises, not just hard ones, and you never know what or who is just around the corner to turn your whole life around. So have a wonderful day, and thank you for being my Valentine and reading my books!!! I’m working on a new one!!

 

lots of love, Danielle

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2/1/20, Busy!!

 

I’m writing a new book for you!!! See you next week!!! Have a great week in the meantime,love, Danielle

 

 

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1/25/21, Something Different

 

Hi Everyone,

 

When I first started writing, I wrote poems. I started in my teens, and the first things I published were poems, before I started writing novels, and one of my first books published was a book of love poems. I still write poems, although not very often. I always compare poems to artists’ sketches, they are just quick little drawings of one’s feelings, while a book is like a big oil portrait. (and short stories are somewhere in between.) The poems I write are usually love poems and they’re very spontaneous. They just bubble up to the surface and I quickly write them down.

 

That happened with the poem below a few days ago. I was thinking about the face we all present to the world, and the unseen scars and ‘broken parts’ we hide deep within us, hoping that no one will see them, fearing that others will love us less because of them. All or most of us have ‘broken parts’, scars from the past, old hurts, sadness or abuse in our childhood, the damage inflicted by people who hurt us. The scars are there, buried deep, and we hide them, not realizing that those who love us see them anyway and love us all the more because of those old broken parts, just as we love them with and for their broken parts. Those scars make us who we are, stronger, better, more human, more compassionate, lessons learned at a high price that have become part of us, and make each of us special, unique, and more beautiful, in the world, and to those who love us.

 

Have a great week,  love, Danielle

 

   Broken Parts

Looking in the mirror

    of another’s eyes,

   you realize

       who they see,

the scars so glaringly

    evident to you,

  the broken parts,

    the darkest ones

        you think

  only you can see

     seem insignificant

        to other eyes,

  and matter not at all.

you’ve worn them

    for so long

  you’ve forgotten

     that they’re there,

the scars have faded

    to a shimmer,

  the wounds no longer

    quite so deep,

 you look again

   to see if they’re

        healed

   or well concealed,

     only to realize

        that seen by

           loving eyes

  they’re part of the beauty

    they see in you,

        the courage

    and the strength,

   not ugly to them

      but part of

          the landscape

             of your soul,

   just as their flaws

         or wounds

             or broken parts

     are part of who

           you love in them.

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