Public Romance

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by C. Margery Kempe

I love this shop. Galway is full of little surprises around every corner. Away from the touristy strip along Shop Street there's a wide variety of interesting places. One of the best bakeries in my neighbourhood is called Sweetie Pie. They have a glorious variety of cupcakes that can be hard to resist with creamy chocolate icing swirling to unbelievable heights and just the right amount of sprinkles for contrast.

There's also the legendary Charley Byrne's Bookshop: back, tempter! I've already been to one reading there and yes, gave in and bought one book. But it was a Flann O'Brien collection of his Myles na gCopaleen columns, so I kind of had to buy it. He's an Irish legend.

Here's the weird thing: I live in a townhouse off Eyre Square — a place the rivals NYC for never sleeping, believe me. There are two exits from our little community. One goes down to an alley that lets on the square, the other goes into the multi-storey car park attached to Dunnes. Dunnes is like the Marks & Spencer of Ireland, a nice department store that includes a food hall (hallelujah — yes, it's where I do most of my shopping). But it's very odd to leave my little place, walk into the car park and right into Dunnes. I can also cross to the elevators and go out the alley on the opposite side, right into the heart of the pedestrian district.

It's exciting getting to know a new city — and having a bit of a public romance while I do so. If you follow the real me on Twitter, you may have already experienced that (well, there have been people implying or out right saying "get a room!"). I find it humbling that no matter how much I write about romance, I always find new surprises when it shows up at my door. Here's to keeping your heart open to the possibilities.

I will have a new 99¢ ebook any minute now! Check my website or Facebook or Twitter for the announcement, but here's the cover by the fabulous Queen of Everything, S. L. Johnson:

Filed under: C. Margery Kempe, contemporary romance, ebook readers, erotic romance, Flirting, inspiration, Kit Marlowe, New Release, romance, What inspires you?, Writer's Life, Writing Topics