Maria E. Andreu's Blog: Maria E. Andreu on Goodreads, page 84

Can an app make you happy?

There it was in my Facebook feed, one of those ads for new apps I normally just scroll past. The first one caught my eye because it annoyed me so much. It was called “Facetune” and it purported to “improve” your photos. Tagline: Why do you think your friends’ selfies look so good? (Answer: if […]

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Kiss the book!

Yesterday I was delighted to learn that THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY was chosen as one of the Top 50 Secondary titles of 2015 by Kiss the Book and presented last week to the Utah state librarian’s conference (UELMA). How awesome is that? It’s in some pretty impressive company, so I am loving my life […]

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He is mine!!

Do you ever find yourself feeling a kind of ownership over something or someone you found first? Like a quirky foreign film you happened to stumble upon at an art house theater, only to have it go on to be a runaway Oscar winner? Or a song you hear from an unknown band that eventually […]

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Tools for Writers: Word Sprints

Writing a book takes a lot of different skills: the ability to plan and stick to the plan (and know when to chuck the plan when it’s not working). The ability to silence the little critic in your head and listen only to the muse, sometimes for years before getting any direction. Probably the number […]

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The Big Spring Clean – Day 12

Sunday I kind of slacked on the Big Spring Clean. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I purged 27 items. More than 27, actually. I raided my bathroom closet and got rid of at least 40 old creams and half-empty hair sprays and an old, dusty make-up bag I haven’t used in years. But I did […]

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The return of happiness

Happiness has returned to my life and its name is… gardening!! I have tried really hard to stay positive through the end of this interminable winter. But just like the urge to pee gets unbearable when you’ve been holding it a long time and you make the turn onto your block, so have I been […]

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My Wellies and the Real Americans

I have a category of things in my mind that’s labeled “Real American.” I started filing things in there early. When I was four, my Malibu Barbie with her big, round sunglasses was a real American. Marcia Brady, with her sheets of blonde hair, was a Real American. 1970s Cadillacs were for Real Americans, as […]

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Going Crazy

I’ve been thinking a lot about the Germanwings pilot who (allegedly) flew the plane into the mountain with 149 people aboard. I see that the general reaction seems to be anger and revulsion. I join in everyone’s sorrow at the loss of so many innocents. But I can’t bring myself to revile the perpetrator. When […]

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Here is an interactive map that should scare the bejeezus out of you

I am researching book # 4, which is set about 50-100 years in the future. I wanted to check out what sea levels might look like then to figure out where to set certain events. I came across this map that scared the pants off me. If sea levels rise 70 feet as some scientists […]

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The Power of Flowers

Every year, I go a little nutson my garden spending. I’ll gladly forego a new outfit for a beautiful hydrangea (or five). I’ll hold off on a haircut just to fund my rue and hyssop habit. Garden stuff is my weakness. From about April through September, I can’t go to the garden center or even […]