Kate McVaugh's Blog, page 6

Free now! Armchair Travel, Smiles, Escapism

Two More Days to get your Free Downloads - March 26 &27.
Bali, Mexico, Tel Aviv, Brazil, Italy -
Take a trip from the comfort of your self-isolation.
Forget about the anxiety, laugh and smile, enjoy
Guaranteed to please.

Free ebooks, Relax, Laugh, Escape!

There is not much I can personally do to help out during these stay-at-home days, or so I thought. But of course I can! I write books. I can give away free kindle copies.

Most of my titles will be available for free download on Amazon from MARCH 23 - MARCH 27

FULL BLOG POST HERE

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GREAT NEWS! I can now add my latest, A Neapolitan Intrigue to the list.

Day 1 Self Isolation

It's the first day of Mandatory Self Isolation. As said previously, I self-isolate most days as a matter of choice. Still, I wondered if anything would feel different. And there were changes. No traffic, for one.

I live on a fairly busy street. It's not big and wide, not in the middle of a large major city, but it is a commute route for folks trying to cut through town. Commute hours are the worst. But this morning, at around 6am, scarcely a car rushed past on its way to wherever it is cars go.

It continued to improve. The workers on the mansion down the street, for the first time in nearly two years, did not arrive. A day without tile cutters, drills, machinery piercing the ears of all the neighbors, is better than almost anything I can imagine.
Read Full Post Here

Officially on Lockdown

The entire San Francisco Bay Area is now officially on lockdown.

Regrettably, I don't live on a charming Italian street where the residents come out on their balconies to sing with their neighbors.

Fortunately, I live in a house with a lovely garden I can work in...provided the rain stops and it warms up. Except that we want the rain after almost no winter wetness here. I can wait.

I have no problem avoiding restaurants and nightclubs and concerts and crowds. I am basically a loner, by choice, and am happy with my own company most of the time. I hate crowds at all times. So all in all, the Shelter in Place mandate actually doesn't change my life.

The problem lies in the food chain and the hoarders. I'm not a big person. I do not require a lot of food. Still, I sort of need to occassionaly eat.
Read Full Post Here

Success at Barnes & Noble

On Feb 15, Four Local Authors provided an inspirational and entertaining panel at Barnes & Noble in El Cerrito, CA.


Participant info here

Kate at Barnes & Noble

EVENT:
Meet Your Featured Local Authors
Barnes & Noble

PLACE: Barnes & Noble,
El Cerrito Plaza
6050 El Cerrito Plaza
El Cerrito, CA 94530
TIME: 2:00pm
Please join me, along with two other local authors. I will be reading, (just a tad), from A Neapolitan Intrigue, and answering questions.

Barnes & Noble - I'll be There in Feb

EVENT:
Meet Your Featured Local Authors

PLACE: Barnes & Noble,
El Cerrito Plaza
6050 El Cerrito Plaza
El Cerrito, CA 94530
TIME: 2:00pm
Please join me, along with two other local authors. I will be reading, (just a tad), from A Neapolitan Intrigue, and answering questions.

Eucalyptus Magic

In the East Bay Hills of the San Francisco Bay area, Eucalyptus trees dot the landscape. Some might say that they are a dangerous tree; highly flammable and easily breakable. But I love them. There is no better feeling than to inhale their heady aroma while strolling beneath them.

There is no rain here in the summer, and this year the wet weather came later than usual, at the end of November. A few days after the first soaker of the season, I noticed something odd - the wet eucalyptus trunks were striped in color.

Read Full Post Here

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers

My entire life, I have dreamed of living amongst rows and rows, and beds and beds of flowers. Brilliant colors, intoxicating scents, sharing the air with hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.

I doubt I will ever actually achieve that dream, but fill the need to be surrounded by flowers by visiting nurseries. And then I found FLORET FLOWERS. Floret Flowers

Read More Here

Floret Farm's Fabulous Book:

1969 - What a Year!

Fall is almost here, but there's still time to roam around Naples, Italy, and flashback to 1969. What could they possibly have in common?
A Neapolitan Intrigue
MYSTERY-COZY THRILLER-BERKELEY HISTORY

Present day Naples, Italy, and Berkeley, CA, circa 1969; what could possibly be the connection?
It's a question Letty will have to answer if she is to survive her recent retirement from the CIA and Interpol.

Berkeley, CA People's Park, 1969 copywrite K.McVaugh