Curl Up With A Good Book…

It was a good night for a bath. To stretch out, surrounded by bubbles and replay the letter. Maybe she would even think about what she’d write back.

She’d stayed in the guest room she and Carter Anne had chosen that first night and the bath just down the hall. Chris had wanted her to sleep in the master bedroom with the bath right there but, Angie shook her head at herself. Nope. Chris’s room needed to stay just that.

Wrapping herself in her robe, Angie wandered to the bathroom. This was perfectly functional. Just fine. So what if the tub was a kinda shallow. And just a little too short. That big ol’ claw foot soaking tub was Chris’s. “Aw hell.” Angie muttered under her breath. Gathering her bubble bath and towel, she padded down the hall to the master suite.  ~ Falling In Love

I know. Most of us feel as if we are simply too busy to relax and soak in a tub. This is the kind of thing we save for rare and special occasions. But guess what? A hot bath can be an evening ritual, if you’ll let it be. Even if you don’t have a lot of time. This whole event can be done in 20 minutes – but you’ll feel as if you spoiled yourself rotten. Seriously. You’ve heard of power naps and power lunches? Consider this a power bath.

What you’ll need:

• something nice for the bath
• a cool drink
• a kitchen timer
• a towel

First, go start the bath. Get it nice and hot. Add the something nice to the water and get your cool drink. Now, if you are busy enough that you just don’t have time to wait for the tub to fill, then use this time. Load the dishwasher, make the kids’ or your own lunch for tomorrow, or fold some laundry. Whatever you need to do so you can give yourself over to the next 15 minutes.

Once the tub is full, set the timer for 15 minutes and hide it under the towel. The goal here is to not hear it ticking but be able to hear it when it goes off. Now? Now lower yourself into the tub, close your eyes and relax. Don’t think about what you aren’t doing, what you need to be doing, the project at work or the state of the house. These 15 minutes are yours and yours alone. When the timer goes off, the bath is over.

Ideally, you will be able to slip out of the tub and into bed. Because you did use the time while the tub was filling, right? Of course you did. Even if you can’t get right into bed, you are now relaxed, warm and happy – a far better condition in which to deal with the last stuff before bed than stressed, uptight and tired. After a few nights of this, you’ll find yourself relaxing as soon as your toe hits the water.

For the disclaimer…don’t make the water so hot you burn yourself or pass out.  Don’t put something in the water you’re allergic to.  Be smart about all this.  Just remember to enjoy!

It’s a champagne life…on a beer budget.

Over and over again, one of the things I’ve heard about my female characters is that my readers can relate to them, that they are “real” women.  That’s important to me.  I do want to write about “real” women.  I hope to capture the realities of being us ~ juggling our families, our jobs, our lives, our friendships ~ and still trying to find time for ourselves and live the life we’ve always dreamed of and our happy ever after.

And that’s what curling up with a good book and living a champagne life on a beer budget is about.  Living the life we’ve always dreamed of…within the reality of, well, our own lives.  So be sure to stop by every week for tips on how to take care of yourself (while you’re taking care of everyone else!), live a fabulous life, and not break the bank.  From me to you ~ real tips for real women with real lives.

It’s a champagne life on a beer budget!

~ Pauline

Don’t let the title of this post scare you.  I’m not about to tell you stories you don’t want to hear.  This was, however an observation another author made when I told her about this weekend.  This weekend, I am attending my first ever writing workshop.  Yes, the truth of the matter is I have written and published a novel without ever having taken a single writing workshop.  It’s my secret, though, so don’t tell.

Sometimes, I feel like I’m really just faking this whole “novelist” thing.  Apparently, I’m not alone in this ~ which is nice to know on some levels.  One author I know of defines “success” as the first time she sold a contract and didn’t think “Ha.  These people think I can write a book!  What are they thinking?”  The fact that this same author had several books on the shelves before reaching this point brings me some sense of relief.  It also scares me.  What do you mean you still wondered about your ability to write a whole novel?  And what hope do I ever have of being confident in my abilities to do this if you still wondered?

Which is partly why I am attending this workshop this weekend.  Because one thing I have learned is that confidence comes with repetition.  Learn, listen, do.  Then learn, listen, do.  Wash, rinse, repeat.

So, I’m excited about this weekend…even if I’m not 100% sure what we’re doing or what it will be like.  Do one thing every day that scares you, huh?  How about a whole weekend and a whole career?  Tune back in.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Until then, find time to curl up with a good book.

~ Pauline

Hi…you found my website and my blog. I’m glad you did. As a new author, I’m never quite sure anyone knows I’m out here, let alone if you take the time to read my blog. That’s one of the things they don’t tell you about writing but that you eventually learn on your own. It can be a very isolated, very isolating profession. Fulfilling in huge numbers of ways ~ and isolated at the same time.

Luckily for me, I have ~ just today so drum roll please ~ helped found a critique group. Two fellow members of my local Romance Writers Association of America chapter and I have decided to come together once a week for support, encouragement, constructive criticism and general cheer leading. After all, who better to understand why you haven’t written in three days or how frustrated you are with these characters or the problems in finding another word for “snort” when, what your character does is, well, snort, than another writer? And more importantly, who better to help you get past all that and writing again?

So thanks for joining me on this trip ~ one new author’s journey from first publication to…wherever we end up. My critique group, the other members of RWA, my ever patient fella and friends, and you. Did I just say this was an isolated career? Seriously? Anyway, here’s hoping we all enjoy the ride and still have time to curl up with a good book.

~ Pauline