Friday, September 13, 2013

My taste of London!

What can I say about London? Well, for one...THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE LONDON! 

I'm not particularly world traveled, but I have no regrets about making LONDON my FIRST at a new world traveler.  And it may sound cliche, but I have definitely been bitten by the travel bug.  The city was absolutely magnificent. So much culture, history, and beautiful architecture. I often walked around holding my breath, thinking how incredibly cool it felt to be in a city so old and historic. From the Clock Tower of London, to hearing Big Ben ding-dong in the distance as I walked the stone floors of Westminster Abbey, London Bridge, the beauty of the parks that lay scattered across the city, and Buckingham Palace. A PALACE, you guys, a PALACE! It. Was. AWESOME!









Being an avid reader and movie fanatic, you could imagine my mind instantly retrieving memories of images and description of places out of some of my favorite movies and book. Letting my mind wander as I sat in a local pub, enjoying my very FIRST ale where John Keats and Charles Dickens use to hangout back in the day. Whaaaaaaaa? Yup. That was me! And strolling the streets where the Sylvia Plath and D.H. Lawrence once wrote and lived. I could have had a stroke. Luckily, I pulled it together enough to snap a few pictures. 









 



There was something so lovely about the smell, the texture of the air, the richness of languages that surrounded me everywhere I walked...

Oh, that's another thing...someone should give Londoners a freakin' trophy! These people take walking and the great outdoors to a whole new level. But it was easy to see why they love being out-of-doors as much as they do. The parks and scenery are SPECTACULAR! 

I hesitate to admit this, but walking across London Bridge had me so giddy and awestruck...I almost wet my pants.  Mostly, because I walked sooooooooo much, getting lost more times than I care to admit. HEY! Tubes are tricky. Any who, I would often forget to find a "toilet" in the midst of my self-induced chaos, until I would find myself standing in the middle of a GINORMOUS bridge without a bathroom in sight.  I'm positive EVERYONE who saw me recognized me as the  total cheesy American tourist that I was. But I didn't care...I WAS IN LONDON!





I'm truly grateful to my friend, J, for putting me up for my stay. YOU ROCK, DUDE! Oh, and I'm definitely taking you up on your offer...EUROPE 2014! Woop woop!

So there you have it. My taste of LONDON! 

If you have any travel stories, please share. I'd love to hear about some of the places you've all been or even would love to visit. I'm always up a new place to explore!

Happy Writing & Happy Reading!


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

The beginning of a new chapter...

Well, the world is finally beginning to make a little sense again. Slowly but surely my life is getting to a point of stability. This past year of my life has been, for the most part, the craziest and most difficult I've ever had to navigate. I've become quite ill at times, due to the stress and worry of it all, and have also fought depression quite fiercely. There would be some mornings when I would wake and wonder why I was even here. And at times find it nearly impossible to focus my mind enough to function let alone be myself. It became not just a random struggle...every second of everyday I fought the doubt and fear that threatened to consume me.

In a sense I was drowning in a life that no matter where I turned, I was faced with nothing but more darkness and uncertainty of what my future held. 

But, as always, there was always one thing that could bring my calm in the midst of the storms I seemed to continuously encounter in my life. Writing. So I dove in and gave myself permission to truly get lost and enjoy the one thing that still brought me joy. Even if the words I put down were AWFUL, it still felt so great to pour out this part of ME.

And so now, as I end this chapter of my life, I'm on the verge of beginning a new chapter. A new life. A life on my own and in a new city. I get the opportunity to start over. And I can finally see this as the wonderful gift that it is. While I'll admit that I'm completely petrified of what the future may or may not hold, I'm simultaneously excited about finally taking MY LIFE off hold. I've been standing on the tracks of my life, stagnant, and wondering where I'm headed in my life...it feels good to actually be moving forward again.



My writing over the past year has been spotty to say the least. For that, I apologize. But what I've learned above all else is that writing is and continues to be a comforting form of salvation for ME. I'm currently in revamp mode for the first book of my Origin series, THE ORIGIN REPORT, and prepping for a revamp release that will include the story being available in e-book and hardback format, plus an additional chapter. 

At this time, I have chosen to un-publish TOR, but will re-publish within the next two weeks once formatting and new edits have been completed. Yes, I know. It seems to be a never ending process with me, but it's a learning process and I am definitely learning. 

And I'm the first to admit that I'm not particularly great at balancing the level of social media interaction that some of my peers operate on AND my writing. I've therefor made the choice to find balance and order in the way that best suits me. 

While I understand there are particular methods some people use in proceeding in publishing. For me, at this stage, I'm content to focus on what I love most...writing.  But I will continue to be available to those who wish to reach out to me. It's just at this time, with the craziness of my life on top of writing my series and beginning a new project, I simply have to prioritize in order to keep myself on track with what matters most. It's not that I don't enjoy social media (Facebook and Twitter)...but they tend to be a bit too distracting for me and I really don't want to make this into something that's not enjoyable or feel as if I'm splitting myself too thin. 

I want to thank all those who have continued to reach out and have offered support. It has meant the WORLD to me! I will be around and I'm always watching. *wink*

Happy Writing & Happy Reading!!!

PS - Oh! Did I mention that I just returned from holiday (<-- love saying that!) in the BEAUTIFUL city of LONDON?!?! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! That post will be up in the next day or so! CHEERS!