Shelly Hickman's Blog, page 6

Middle Age, How Did I Get Here?

I recently came back from a Spring Break trip to California with my family. The first photo you see above is a picture my husband took of our kids nine years ago at the same hotel we visited this time. It's one of our faves, so we thought it would be fun to recreate the photo. It sure doesn't feel like it was nearly ten years ago that first photo was taken, and when you have kids, it's a constant reminder of how quickly time passes.

My son is graduating high school this year, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Don't we all feel like we just graduated from high school? I mean, in my mind I'm still eighteen, with a body that allowed me to eat whatever and whenever I wanted. At the time, I didn't even appreciate it.

Suddenly, I've found myself coming up on my 46th birthday, and my kids are too old for Easter egg hunts. My husband will be fifty next year. Fifty! How in the hell am I old enough to be married to a 50-year-old? Remember when someone in their thirties seemed ancient?
As I use my Panasonic Pivotal Trimmer to remove the fuzz from my face, it all seems so surreal. And the gray? Don't get me started. The skin under my eyes is thinning, leaving dark circles, and the plethora of beauty products available for such problems doesn't make it any easier.  You'd think with all these changes, I would at least see an end to the pimples I've fought since I was ten, but no such luck. Those still remain. 

Over the past several years, I've had a tubal ligation (signaling the end of child rearing), two hip surgeries (one of them a replacement), uterine ablation (don't ask), and tissue grafting for receding gums. My OB-GYN tells me each time a person undergoes anesthesia, it can lead to hair loss for a year. And I wonder why my hair is falling out in fists. Three vaginal births have resulted in me peeing a little every time I sneeze or laugh too hard, and each year the love handles become slightly more prominent, the tummy a little more flabby.

But... it's all good. I have a wonderful, blessed life. I may have aches and pains. I may get a pinched nerve in my neck from time to time, simply from the act of removing my shirt, but it's been a good ride so far. I'm looking forward to the perks of middle age, such as grandchildren, retirement (still a ways off), and traveling with hubby. Just because we see an older body in the mirror, that doesn't mean the eighteen-year-old inside has to age with it. Happy Easter everyone!

Oh, and I'd love to hear about some of the things about aging that have taken you by surprise. ;)

April 20th, 2014

I recently came back from a Spring Break trip to California with my family. The first photo you see above is a picture my husband took of our kids nine years ago at the same hotel we visited this time. It's one of our faves, so we thought it would be fun to recreate the photo. It sure doesn't feel like it was nearly ten years ago that first photo was taken, and when you have kids, it's a constant reminder of how quickly time passes.

My son is graduating high school this year, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Don't we all feel like we just graduated from high school? I mean, in my mind I'm still eighteen, with a body that allowed me to eat whatever and whenever I wanted. At the time, I didn't even appreciate it.

Suddenly, I've found myself coming up on my 46th birthday, and my kids are too old for Easter egg hunts. My husband will be fifty next year. Fifty! How in the hell am I old enough to be married to a 50-year-old? Remember when someone in their thirties seemed ancient?
As I use my Panasonic Pivotal Trimmer to remove the fuzz from my face, it all seems so surreal. And the gray? Don't get me started. The skin under my eyes is thinning, leaving dark circles, and the plethora of beauty products available for such problems doesn't make it any easier.  You'd think with all these changes, I would at least see an end to the pimples I've fought since I was ten, but no such luck. Those still remain. 

Over the past several years, I've had a tubal ligation (signaling the end of child rearing), two hip surgeries (one of them a replacement), uterine ablation (don't ask), and tissue grafting for receding gums. My OB-GYN tells me each time a person undergoes anesthesia, it can lead to hair loss for a year. And I wonder why my hair is falling out in fists. Three vaginal births have resulted in me peeing a little every time I sneeze or laugh too hard, and each year the love handles become slightly more prominent, the tummy a little more flabby.

But... it's all good. I have a wonderful, blessed life. I may have aches and pains. I may get a pinched nerve in my neck from time to time, simply from the act of removing my shirt, but it's been a good ride so far. I'm looking forward to the perks of middle age, such as grandchildren, retirement (still a ways off), and traveling with hubby. Just because we see an older body in the mirror, that doesn't mean the eighteen-year-old inside has to age with it. Happy Easter everyone!

Oh, and I'd love to hear about some of the things about aging that have taken you by surprise. ;)

Deadly Bloodlines by Elke Feuer

Years after leaving Cayman because of her notorious serial killer mother, Angel Mason returns as an inspector on the police force. On the twentieth anniversary of her mother’s capture, someone is murdered in the same manner as her mother’s victims.

To complicate matters more, Angel’s old flame, Bren McDougal, is assigned to help her with capturing the killer, and soon it’s undeniably clear that the passion between them is hotter than ever.

As the killer repeats her mother’s deadly pattern, Angel must face the terrifying truth she’d been hiding for twenty years. What people are saying

“Elke Feuer skillfully keeps you guessing in this twisty-turny romantic suspense story about a Cayman investigator tracking a copycat killer-one imitating the crimes of a her own serial-killer mother. Suspenseful and satisfying!” ~Francine LaSala, author of The Girl, the Gold Tooth, & Everything.

Excerpt

Angel Mason sat on the edge of her bed and squished the thick caramel carpet between her toes, assurance the deadly grip of another nightmare was gone.

On the nightstand her phone vibrated, startling her. It was Dustin Williams, Chief Superintendent. The time, 6:30 a.m., flashed in red from her clock. She cleared her throat and prayed there was no trace of the bottle of vodka she’d finished off the night before in her voice. “Inspector Angel.”

“Dead body at Galleon Bay.” He never minced words.

“Some tourist die in their sleep?”

“No, looks like she was murdered.”

Brittle silence hung in the air as the words echoed in her mind like a broken record.

“Angel?”

“I’ll be there in half an hour,” she stammered.

“Good, I want this dealt with quickly. There hasn’t been a tourist murdered on the island since…”

“Since Meredith,” she finished for him.

“Yeah, and we remember how that turned out,” he said dryly.

The phone imprinted her hand as she squeezed it. No one had forgotten how it turned out, least of all her—no matter how hard she tried.

“I want you to collect the evidence,” Williams said.

“What? Why?” She didn’t normally question his decisions, but she hadn’t worked in forensics since she had been promoted to inspector.

“You’re the most experienced scene of crime officer we have.”

“I’ll take care of it, sir,” Angel assured him.

“Johnson, Sanchez, and Ebanks are already there controlling the traffic and crowd,” he said, his voice sounding miles away.

“Yes, sir.”

The phone went dead without a goodbye, not that she expected one. He didn’t converse beyond necessity, but she never took it personally. He was like that with everyone.

She went to the bathroom, took out the bottle of painkillers on the second shelf of the cabinet on the wall, and downed two.

As the pills made their way to her queasy stomach, she searched the cloud in her head for how she had gotten to bed last night. Leftover Chinese and drifting to sleep during the nightly news in a vodka-induced haze was all she remembered.

Horrifying screams and blood splattered across her hand paraded before her, remaining trickles from her dream, and the smell of blood filled her nose.

“No!” She gripped the edges of the porcelain sink to steady herself and clear her mind of the images. Her dreams were becoming more frequent and the vivid details lingering long after she awoke.

She let out the breath she was holding and splashed cold water on her face. The reflection in the mirror was an unwanted reminder that she couldn’t escape her heritage or the history that came with it, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Once she showered and got dressed, she pulled her hair into a ponytail. She walked down the short beige corridor to the living room and grabbed her keys off the hook on the wall. The cool morning air blew against her makeup-free face when she opened the door. She inhaled the salty air, and watched the sun peaking over the horizon of the ocean. They calmed her nerves as she made her way down the stairs and to her car. Starting the engine, she pulled out of the parking lot and towards the hotel where Meredith, her mother, had worked before she was arrested for murdering the guests. Author Bio

Elke was born and raised on Grand Cayman and lives there with her husband and two kids who keep her on her toes. She has a sarcastic, quirky sense of humor not everyone gets, and is in a race to become the first Caymanian in space. When not writing, she's helping other writers in Cayman through her organization CayWriters.

Author of For the Love of Jazz and Deadly Bloodlines, book one in her Deadly Series scheduled for release in March 2014.

She stumbled into writing romantic suspense because of her fascination with serial killers, but also writes other genres because characters keep telling her their stories and she's a sucker for a crazy story. You can connect with Elke:

Website

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Enter to win a copy of Elke’s first book, FOR THE LOVE OF JAZZ. a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Baby & the Bride by Laura Barnard

Check out what looks to be a funny read by author Laura Barnard! Sequel to the #1 Amazon Best-Seller, The Debt & the Doormat (available for FREE) 
Poppy and Jazz’s lives sound perfect on paper. Jazz has a new baby and Poppy’s getting married. But their realities are very different. 

Poppy must strive to keep her cool new job with crazy hours, while trying to keep Ryan happy. Before she knows it her wedding has got out of control, thanks to her mother, the runners at work are bullying her, her parents are in financial difficulty and she’s doubting everything and everyone she ever knew. 

Meanwhile Jazz is struggling with motherhood, something a credit card won’t fix. Why won’t this baby give her a break? Will Jazz be able to cope before she loses it? 

And will Poppy make it down the aisle? Will Ryan even be waiting? Excerpt
Suddenly, out of nowhere, someone jumps in front of me and puts their arms round me. I don’t have time for my body to react as I lose my footing, dragging both of us down to the floor. My headphones get yanked out on the way down.

I gasp for air as my reality settles on me. Oh my God. I’m being attacked. I’m being raped.

I start whistling with all of my might and turn my rape alarm on, throwing it away from me. My God, it's SO loud! 

WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP.

I close my eyes and continue to whistle. My heart is beating so hard I’m sure he can hear it. My attacker loosens their grip on me, but all I can do is lay there in shock, my eyes scrunched shut. If I don’t look at him I won't be able to identify him and then hopefully he won't have to kill me. I spit the whistle out of my mouth and start shouting.

‘HELP!  RAPE!  HELP!  I’M BEING RAPED!’

I clench my body up in complete fright. My skin crawls from the thought of someone touching me. Please let Ryan save me. Please God, just let it be over quick.

‘You’re mental!  Stop this!’ I hear from over the alarm.

I look up to see my attacker pull down his hood and begin to reveal his face.

‘No!’ I shout.

I don't want to see his face. If I see his face he’ll definitely kill me. He’ll know I’ll be able to identify him and won't waste any time in smashing my head in with a rock. I look around on the floor desperately for any kind of weapon. A big rock comes into focus. I scramble for it and smash him over the head with it.

He goes down like a sack of potatoes.

‘Fuck!’ he shouts, as he pulls the rest of the hood from his face.

Oh my God. It’s Richard!  My brother Richard. What the fuck have I done?

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Guest Post by Author Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba

Books vs. Movies

Reading the books or watching the movies, can you handle the possible, sometimes inevitable disappointments?

FRIENDLY WARNING: This post does not include Jane Austen’s novels and movie adaptations. It deserves its own post; Miss Austen would have been as big, if not bigger, than J.K. Rowling if she were here today. People who read some of my previous guest posts know my feeling about “borrowing” Austen’s plots for your own novel. That being said, Bridget Jones's Diary is one of my favourite movies (not the novel!) And Clueless is every 90’s teenager’s guilty pleasure. Ha ha! Maybe I’ll drop a few lines then…

Who has never been excited about his/her favourite books coming alive in a big or small screen? I know I always am. Your beloved characters will finally have a face, a voice and will forever be immortalized as… whatever actor/actress has agreed to take on that challenge. However, who has never dreaded that they butcher the story? I always do. I can talk about it as a writer, but my angst is more for the reader, fan and TV/movie addict that I am.

Famous quote: “The movie is great, but it has nothing to do with the book!” --Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba. A lot of movies and TV series are from adapted screenplays. Sometimes you’re lucky enough and you haven’t heard about the book so you get to fully enjoy the movie and the series. My example, Practical Magic (novel by Alice Hoffman), I didn’t know it was a book until recently and the book and the movie have very little in common. Did it change my opinion? No, but only because I saw the movie first and I loved it. When the opposite happens, well, I try to avoid it. If the movie is great, I would not read the book. I am not a glutton for punishment, because I’ve been burned before.

Famous quote: “Oh my God! This book was amazing! But the director was a hater!” --Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba. Right… maybe, just maybe, not all books are supposed to become movies or TV series. Getting inside a writer’s head is not something I would advise. You end up cutting corners, changing plots, the casting is dodgy, the location is foreign to the story, you even end up in the wrong decade so viewers could relate. The writer that I am has a stomach ache just thinking about it.

I have a few examples, but the one that made me cry in front of the TV screen recently was my all-time favourite book series, Cedar Cove series by Debbie Macomber. I discovered this book at Washington Dulles International Airport in January 2002 on my way back to Toronto. I bought the first of the series 16 Lighthouse Road, released in September 2001, and fell in love with all the small town characters. A new book was released each September for the next seven years and I was buying them right away. I needed to know what happened to Grace or Olivia, my favourite couples Maryellen and Jon and Seth and Justine... the rest of the town. Seriously, you need to read these books. There are a lot of characters, at least twenty, but you get to know them and their stories. What do you know, Hallmark made a TV series from the books and it wasn’t my beloved series anymore. For the people who do not know the books, it’s a nice series, for me, ‘The dove cried’. I should have stayed away from it, but as I said, I always get excited about an adaptation.

Famous quote: “I’ll just wait for the movie.” --Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba. We’re all guilty of that one. I haven’t read the Harry Potter books, The Twilight Saga books, The Lord of The Rings books, The Hunger Games books, any big series made to movies in the last decade. I just watched the movies. Why? Because it was made as a movie so quickly that I didn’t bother to do both and get disappointed. Note: Lord of The Rings books are older than my parents, but were not popular in Central Africa otherwise I would have read them. Really!

Famous quote: “A book, a movie, a mini-series or/and TV series, a cartoon can it be?” --Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba.  I have two words for you, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and all the books of with the same characters. But I’m Canadian so I have to mention Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery and all the books after that. Anne of Green Gables is my favourite TV series, yesterday, today and tomorrow since I was twelve years old. This, for me, is what an adaptation should strive for. It should inspire you to read the books, be faithful to the story, and make the author proud.

So, what is it going to be? The book or the movie?
Series name: Coulda Woulda Shoulda Song
Genre: Family saga/ chick lit/ interracial romance/ romantic comedy
First Publication: January 2013
Number of books: 3, possible spinoffs later This Could Have Been Our Song! A coulda woulda shoulda ballad… – Book One
Length: 93000 words/ 400 pages
Release date: January 18 2013

Book One:
Love can be such a “coulda, woulda, shoulda” song sometimes… 

Lucia Mpobo-Riddell could have been a dancer like the rest of women of her family but instead she chose music. Marcus Grant could have been a doctor like the rest of his family but instead he chose music. She also could have not fallen for Marcus on her birthday but she did. And Marcus, he could have told Lucia the truth about his real reason for being in Toronto that night, but he didn’t. Now they have to deal with big reveals and consequences: Marcus almost stealing her job and being forced to work on an album together. Marcus, because he couldn’t swallow his pride, leaves Toronto and goes home to London. Lucia, because she just couldn’t give up on her first amazing opportunity to produce a whole album. And to complicate the situation further, the band they’re working for is not the easiest one. Mary Gillis, Marcus’ on and off flame, still has a hold on him. Greg McMullen, Lucia’s close friend and former dance partner is back in town and has been in love with her for years. Then there’s Marcus and Lucia, in the middle of their own professional and personal tug-of- war with each other and the rest of the world. But maybe things could still work out… All things considered, this could have been one heck of a love song! Smashwords
Amazon Link 
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Length: 90000 words/ 350 pages
Release date: January 18 2014

Marcus, Greg and Lucia are back in the second part of their journey to their perfect love song... will they finally find it?

Book Two: This would have been their perfect love song…

It has been two years since Lucia Mpobo-Riddell has made her choice between the two men in her life. She and her beloved would have been perfectly happy if it wasn’t for… the constant distractions from her past, her sister Noor’s complicated life, her own doubts and fears. Maybe there wasn’t such a thing as perfection and this was a lesson that Lucia was going to learn the hard way. Greg McMullen and Marcus Grant’s lives had been affected by Lucia’s choice that day in Glasgow two years ago. Since then one had been fighting to keep her when the other had been relentlessly trying to get her back. It soon became apparent to them that she wasn’t the Lucia they met and fell in love with anymore. Her life and priorities had completely shifted. To even consider keeping her or just getting her back, they would have to accept it or they would have to let her go. But would they ever be able to do either? Amazon
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Meet Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba The Author, The Blogger, The Cheeky Reviewer

“My life journey is like my playlist, amazingly unique but full of contradictions with surprising joys with every song...”

In the past two years, while living in Canada, England and France I wrote four novels: This Could Have Been Our Song! A Coulda Woulda Shoulda Ballad... (Book one) currently available on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, Barnes and Nobles and Smashwords. The sequel This Would Have Been Our Song! Catchy Tunes and Dancers’ Tales has been released in January 2014. Bird Of Prey, my first mystery romance novel, has been released in October 7th, 2013 and its first sequel The Plot Thickens (a novella) in December. The second one, Polliannah Got Married! will be released in April 2014 or earlier. I’m currently residing in Paris, France. Author website

Blogger website Danielle-Claude Indie Book Reviews

Twitter: @weissdaughter

Facebook Author Page

Danielle-Claude Indie Book Reviews facebook page

Goodreads

If You Only Knew, by Zanna MacKenzie

It's my pleasure to share with you today the release of Zanna MacKenzie's chick lit novel, If You Only Knew. Check it out!


Is the past about to destroy the future for Faith when she discovers her new boyfriend and her first love are in business together?

Would you have the courage to feel the fear and fall in love anyway...?

Faith owns The Coffee Pot in the outdoor adventure sports mecca of Derbyshire’s Peak District. She hasn’t had a man in her life for a while, as she has been too busy serving cakes to weary rock climbers and mountain bikers to find time for the complications of a relationship with the male of the species.

Then Zane and Matt arrive on the scene as the new owners of the Carrdale Adventure Sports Centre.

Dating Zane, she soon discovers he’s not the Mr Perfect she thought he was; and why is he so reluctant to talk about his past?

As for Matt – well, to Faith he isn’t Matt at all because he was a completely different person when he broke her heart all those years ago.

With her new boyfriend and her first love running Carrdale as business partners – Matt out to cause trouble and Zane keeping secrets – Faith struggles to keep the peace between them whilst trying to figure out how she feels about the two men in her life…
Links to Purchase
Crooked Cat Publishing
Amazon UK
Amazon US Excerpt:

This couldn’t be happening.

Zane had said his business partner was called Matt. She was sure of it. Yes, he’d definitely just introduced him as Matt. But the man standing before her wasn’t Matt.

It was Aaron.

Faith wiped her hands on a tea–towel. She wanted to speak, but couldn’t get her brain into gear enough to make her mouth form the words.

She’d thought Aaron was gone from her life.

It looked as though she was wrong.

She took a step back, wrapping her arms around herself. Suddenly she felt cold and shaky. Aaron was back? This was impossible.

Yet here he was, standing in her kitchen. She felt dizzy and light-headed.

How should she react? Should she admit they knew each other? Why had Aaron changed his name to Matt anyway? Would he prefer it if the fact they knew each other was kept quiet?

But she knew she couldn’t keep something like that from Zane.

As she debated what to say and do next, the room remained awkwardly silent. Zane was looking at her questioningly.

What should she say?

Come on, think, woman. Think.

Too late. Aaron spoke first.

“Faith, it’s amazing to see you again after all these years.”

OK. So he didn’t want to keep it a secret that they already knew each other.

“Aaron,” she managed to say. “This is a bit of a shock.”

“That’s an understatement,” Matt replied, stepping forward to pull her into a hug.

“Hang on a second,” Zane said, pushing into the room. “Aaron? That’s your proper name isn’t it?” He raised enquiring eyebrows at Matt. “What’s going on? You two already know each other?”
Author bio:

Zanna Mackenzie lives on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border with her husband, 4 dogs, a vegetable patch that’s home to far too many weeds and an ever expanding library of books waiting to be read.

Being a freelance writer and editor of business publications is her ‘day job’ but, at every opportunity, she can be found scribbling down notes on scenes for whatever novel she’s working on. She loves it when the characters in her novels take on minds of their own and start deviating from the original plot!

If You Only Knew is Zanna’s third novel; her previous books The Love Programme, and How Do You Spell Love? were both published in 2013.
Find out more about Zanna:
www.zannamackenzie.blogspot.co.uk
www.zannamackenzie.co.uk
Twitter: @ZannaMacKenzie
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Vegas to Varanasi Soundtrack

Come stop by Laura Chapman's blog, Change the Word, 
where I share my chosen soundtrack for Vegas to Varanasi.

Cover Reveal for Debut Novel, The Right Design

I'm happy to take part in the cover reveal for Isabella Louise Anderson's novel, The Right Design. I met Isabella through a Facebook group she created for women writers, which has allowed me to interact with some fantastic ladies, Isabella being one of them. The Right Design is Isabella's first novel, and I wish her tons of success!

Interior designer Carrie Newman’s day starts out perfectly. For their sixth anniversary, her boyfriend, Roger, gives her diamond earrings, but the sparkle is lost later that same day when she catches him in the act with another woman. Heartbroken and in disarray, Carrie chooses to leave the past behind, possibly forever. She lands in ritzy Palm Beach, Florida where a new job and a new client leave her wondering if THE RIGHT DESIGN for her life has finally been found.
Isabella Louise Anderson grew up with a book in her hand, and to this day nothing has changed. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and has been featured on several blogs. While Isabella doesn't blog a lot, she focuses her time on featuring other writers, along with writing and editing.

She lives in Dallas with her husband and cat. She enjoys spicy Mexican food and drinking margaritas, and can be found spending time with family and friends, cheering on the Texas Rangers, and reading.

Isabella's short story, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, was featured in Simon & Fig's Christmas anthology, Merry & Bright, in November 2013. The Right Design will be first novel.
Release Date: Coming Soon! Contact Isabella Louise Anderson
ChicklitGoddess.com
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When the Past Makes a Sneak Attack

Last weekend I went with my daughter to see Saving Mr. Banks, the story about Walt Disney’s efforts to persuade P.L. Travers, author of Mary Poppins, to allow him to make that wonderful movie.  I had really been looking forward to this film for a few reasons. One, I adore Tom Hanks. Two, I’m a diehard Disney freak. Disneyland is absolutely my favorite place in the world. I’m the only one in my family who never tires of going there, and that includes my kids. And three, I loved the film Mary Poppins.

I read the reviews for this movie and it had received lots of praise from viewers, saying what a touching story it was, how it made them laugh, made them cry. Okay, so I anticipated it was going to get me a little misty at times, but that’s not a major feat when it comes to me and movies... or music... or commercials. Are you getting the picture? But I wasn’t prepared for the strata of nerves this film would pluck within me.

First, there were the obvious heart-tugging memories that Travers had of her father, that I’m sure caused quite a few wet eyes in the theater. Then there were many other elements to this story, in and of themselves, that had nothing to do with me personally, but somehow they wriggled their way into my heart via a different route, and suddenly I was dealing with all sorts of moments from my past that I hadn’t thought about for some time.

I haven’t watched Mary Poppins since my oldest daughter died fourteen years ago. And every scene in Mr. Banks that depicted the creation of those jubilant, catchy, lovely songs in that Disney classic, immediately brought me back to her hospital room, only days before she passed away, when for some reason she had taken to watching Mary Poppins repeatedly.

As I watched Travers reliving the pain of her past with each relinquishment of her beloved Mary, I was reliving the pain of losing my daughter, remembering a night she watched Mary yet again. My father-in-law sat in the room, talking about how she could make him another bird house once she came home, when deep down, we all knew she would be making no more bird houses.

During the premier of Mary Poppins, Travers cried at the end of the film as she released the hurt that she’d held inside her entire life, and I was crying right along with her, for the same and yet different reasons. In that moment, I almost felt like I was her. It was really weird, powerful, and difficult to express. I was hoping to God that my youngest daughter, who was there with me, wouldn’t ask me why my face was a sopping mess. Thankfully, she didn’t.

Isn’t it amazing how music and stories can do that? How the past can sometimes sneak up on you?  I didn't even consider the effect anything Mary Poppins-related would have on me when I stepped into that theater. I don’t know why I felt the need to write about this. I just had to attempt to describe this totally unexpected reaction to a seemingly harmless event. Maybe you’ve had one like it?   

I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to watch Mary Poppins again, but the movie will always hold a very special place in my heart. It brought her joy in her final days, and for that, it will forever be dear to me.

Check Out the Fussy Librarian!

Check out the new website, The Fussy Librarian, to sign up for personalized e-book recommendations to be sent directly to your inbox! You can choose from forty genres and indicate preferences about content, and then the computers work their magic. It's pretty cool! Vegas to Varanasi will be featured there this Sunday.