Anna DeStefano's Blog, page 7

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

“When your cup is empty, you do not mourn what is gone. Because if you do, you will miss the opportunity to fill it again.” ~Sarah Addison Allen, Lost Lake

I can’t WAIT to read this one.

It’s finally at the top of my TBR pile. It received a starred Booklist review, and from everything I’ve heard SAA is back with a vengeance ;o)

“One would need a heart of steel, or the skin of an alligator, not to fall in love with Allen’s beguiling cast of misfits. A surefire star of feel-good fiction, Allen always manages to nimbly mask her potent messages of inspiration and romance beneath her trademark touches of mirth and magic, but this endearing tale of surprising second chances may just be her wisest work yet.” –Carol Haggas, Booklist

Stay tuned… I suspect I’ll be reading this one lightening fast!

Ban My Ass…

I love books, and I love reading. And Readers, I LOVE you; I do. But to quote J. K. Rowling, ” A very famous writer once said, ‘A book is like a mirror. If a fool looks in, you can’t expect a genius to look out.’”

Don’t read to criticize.

Don’t troll the Net looking for someone to take down (or with intent to take down, on someone else’s behalf).

Bad reviews and uprisings to ban and heated debates over who’s worse than whom leave me cold. I’ve been guilty in the past. I have definite opinions about what I read. But why tear an author or a book down, I’ve realized, simply because you’re not a fan. Or is the urge about something else: something lacking within or a sense of ill use or, “that’s not fair,” or, “why her?”

For whatever reason you dislike an author or a series or a book, by all means discuss your opinion.

But to those to rip and tear and shriek that something isn’t for them, I say, “Move on.” Just move on. Rant on, and you’re just making yourself look silly.

Duly noted, your dislike. Thanks for the feedback. But if it’s your job, in your own mind, to tell us how you’d have written the story differently–you know, the story that someone else imagined into being well enough for you to at least want to read it in the first place–then find someone else whose purpose in life is to tear at another’s creativity (I suspect because of a lack thereof within you), dig a whole, and pour all your poop in ’til your heart’s content.

The rest of us don’t care.

Or we shouldn’t care.

Let’s really, really try, writer and reader friends of mine, to STOP caring about those bad reviews and rumors and nasty, back-biting snippets of gossip about how an Author A doesn’t deserve or how Author B should have or how Publisher C or Imprint D is total garbage.

Let’s move on from that, my friends. Because the nitwits inviting us to share their poop likely won’t. Fools usually lack the capacity to rise above the mess their making in their diapers. Leave them to it!

BONUS: Read more AMAZING reactions by famous authors to their books being banned ;o)

Family is EVERYTHING.

“Family isn’t an important thing. It’s everything.” ~Michael J. Fox

Love Eternally…

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Gluten Free: Sugar Rush

Lots of questions lately about eating Gluten Free and how I stay on track, now that my health depends on it. It’s not easy, in a world where most of your favorite smells and textures can no longer be yours, unless you make them yourself or are the most annoying person at the the table, asking the waiter/chef for a detailed rundown of how everything was made.

Still, when you’re talking either a week of being sick vs. being judged as a picky eater or a pain in the ass, who are we kidding? I’ll have the baked potato, even if it’s gluten-free pizza dough, if all your dough is rolled out on the same counter, or if you use pre-grated/packaged shredded cheese, canned tomatoes that aren’t labeled GF or flavoring/meets of any kind that contain artificial anything. That’s just the charm of me.

I’ve learned a lot the last few years.

Rule number one–NEVER settle. My husband is even on board now, annoying man, leaning in when we’re out and I want just one bite, to say, “Be careful…” Argh!

But he’s right. I’m always right, when I’m taking care of my health.

Eat clean and natural and mostly home/handmade. That’s my life now. And I’m a healthy girl again because of it. We can all be healthier, I’ve learned, by cutting back on the gluten. Even if it’s not a sensitivity acting up for you, the inflammation and bloat and blood sugar spikes (sleep disorders and aches and pains and cognitive function issues and energy levels) you’ll trim away as you cut back on the gluten in EVERYTHING is a given. So, maybe give it a try, just a little?

Hope you’ll join me on my journey and share my favorite staples, recipes and goodies!

Today’s tip:  Sugar Rush!

I eat sugar sparingly, but when I’m out and others are snacking or deserting or basically indulging and I can’t have ANY because most processed and pre-prepared sugary anythings contain gluten, I need a back up plan. Here are three of my easy to travel with favorites:

Tic Tac’s Strawberry Fields.

Just one or two, sweet and tart, and you won’t be craving that cheese cake as much!

YumEarth’s Organic Lemon Drops (Cheeky Lemon). These are tarter that tic tacs, but long-lasting and fizzy and a bite of satisfying sweetness. I always have some in my bag. Sometimes Marshals and TJ Maxx cary them. Order from Amazon, if you can’t find them near you.

And what’s my indulgence at home (in a crystal jar, to tempt me to taste when I’m in the kitchen and my kid’s snacking on something I’m dying to have but can’t)?

I have no idea how they do it, but all Jelly Bellies are GF. And how do they make these taste like buttered popcorn? Magic? Witchcraft, perhaps, like Turkish Delight. I don’t let myself down them by the handful (and I could, no prob, if I wanted to), because of my low blood sugar. But a few at a time do the trick, when someone’s in my face (say the teenager) downing something buttery and tantalizing and mouthwateringly chewy. Some grocery stores carry bulk Jelly Belly dispensers. Sometimes you can find specialty packs like this one in Marshals and TJ Maxx stores. They’re always there on Amazon, too.

So there you have it, my secret weapons to keep me out of the cakes and ice creams and party drinks and cookies and you name it that are in my face every damn day.

What’s your GF sugar fix?

Readers and Writers…

Reading today? Escaping, passing time, relaxing, recharging?

What’s tops on your TBR pile?

I’ll take a bite of them all–as a writer, it’s all the same. Inspiration and research and understanding and filling the well. I’m more creative with my mind relaxed and loose, the way reading recharges me.

Just finished Nora Robert’s Bride Quartet series. Fun and flirty with touches of deeper tones. I write with a bit more angst, and I like her characters better when they have more conflict and struggle to deal with. These friends are just a bit to cutsie to be ideal cup of tea. But Nora’s amazing, the way she unfolds story and people and relationship. So much to enjoy and admire.

What’s your poison?

What I’ve seen while I’ve been away…

Sky and water and peace and space…

Inspiration.

Join me, won’t you?

Pay It Forward RT 2014 CHALLENGE–Collect, Donate and WIN!

Pay It Forward

Romantic Times 2014 Challenge


WIN $100

for the

Charity of Your Choice…
And it costs you nothing!
Simply Collect books at

Romantic Times 2014, New Orleans,

and donate them in your community,

to those who cannot access books of their own.

I challenge readers and authors to help me donate 50,000 books by the end of 2014, through my  Hearts for Hearts Initiative.

And RT 2014 is the PERFECT opportunity to make HUGE headway in our goal.

How do you win $100 for the charity of your choice?

Set aside books from the free ones you collect at the 2014 Romantic Times convention in New Orleans, to donate to your community. It costs you nothing!
Not going to RT2014? Select books from your personal library to donate, find somewhere in your community to share them, and you’re in!
Report what you’ve collected and where you want it to go in your community, on the Anna DeStefano Author FB page or in the comments of this blog post. I’ll be talking more in both places about the Pay It Forward RT Challenge and Hearts for Hearts , from now through the convention.
I will choose a randomly selected winner from all who participate. The winner will be announced on the Anna DeStefano Author FB Page , and contacted from FaceBook (or via email, if you comment here), to ask where you’d like your $100 Prize donated!
Simple, right?

For donation recommedations

and exciting information about Hearts for Hearts,

visit http://bit.ly/J7I7LL.

Together, we’ll build community, one story at a time!

MAGIC FB DISCLAIMER WORDS

By commenting/participating, you release Facebook from any involvement in or responsibility for this contest.

The owner of this blog/giveaway acknowledges that this promotion is in no way sponsored,

endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

Lost a dear, sweet friend today I haven’t seen for too many years…

Love, too brave and infinitely pure to hold close for always. It lives to be freed, to grace more than an earthbound home allows. Fly onward, sweet Ellen, strong and sure. Beautiful forever. This is not darkness, these longing shadows you leave behind. A new beginning, light drawing closer. Share it. Think of us again, generous spirit. My friend…

Pay It Forward Friday: Mentoring

Who do you know, who is where you’ve been, waiting for you to help them stretch their wings and soar far beyond their dreams?

Just about a year ago, I was asked to mentor a math/science wiz at my son’s magnet high school, who wanted to write a novel–a collection of short stories, actually. During our first meeting I realized that she in fact wanted to PUBLISH said novel. And as of this week, twelve months of hard work and back and forth and a lot of generous industry professionals pitching in to help later, she has.

Working with someone with stars in her eyes each time we talked about making her stories better and putting them out in the world for others to read has meant everything to me. I’ve received so much more than I’ve donated to this project, in inspiration and energy and the thrill of witnessing a seemingly impossible dream come true.

More to come on this project–I’ll write a full article soon about her journey and every single goddess in this industry who’s stepped in to make this happen.

But for now, as you help me celebrate Chinye Ijeli’s Fresco, I ask you to consider paying forward your gifts and talents and connections by helping someone else reach their goals and beyond!

Mentoring. This Pay It Forward Friday’s focus. Look into it. You’ll be glad you did!