by Christine | Observations
The Bedroom Diaries is a new anthology I’m in, and it’s all about the wrong bed! Here’s the official blurb:
Curl up with this collection of romances where fate, mistaken identities, and falling into the wrong bed lead to unforgettable love stories. From moonlit encounters never meant to happen to fiery passion ignited in the most unlikely situations, each story unfolds with a twist of destiny and desire.
Whether it’s a second chance at the one who got away, strangers linked by a booking mishap, or old friends rekindling romance in unexpected places, the wrong bed becomes the right place for love to bloom.
Escape to lush, fun, and unexpected places where the thrill of discovery sets the action (no pun intended) in motion and our satisfying endings leave you believing in the power of love, fate, and a little bit of serendipity.
Go
HERE to pre-order yours!
Secondarily, but just as (if not moreso) important, HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 Sending love and lots of hugs and recognition to all my LGBTQIA+ family and friends. You are valuable, you are loved, and you matter.
It’s past my bedtime now, so off I go. Sending lots of love to you, wherever you are!
–Christine
by Christine | Life, Tarot, Writing
Be Here Now
Photo of V and Mitchell Osborn at Readers Studio 2024 taken by me. (Mitchell is also the bomb. Check his website out!)
Back in the day, Be Here Now, a book by Ram Dass published in the 1970s, ended up being a catch phrase for everyone to stop thinking too far into the future and to focus on here and now. Last weekend when I was at Readers Studio, I had a tarot reading with the AMAZING V, your Tarot BFF. First we talked (okay, I kind of fell apart, lol) and then she started pulling cards. And what it all came down to was, I was trying to use old software on new hardware…like trying to get a floppy disk read by a USB port. Not happening, right?
Well, the systems I had in place when I was regularly writing novels, you know, fifteen-twenty years ago, probably won’t work for me now because – surprise! – I’m that much older (and don’t like getting up at 3am if I happen to wake up, and going to write for a couple hours). I need a new system in order to get the books written.
I don’t have that new system in place quite yet. I’m still working on it. But I’m writing, bit by bit, word by word. The desire and the need is there. The heart is there. I will find a way, a new system, that works with the me that I am now, post pandemic. And as I go, I will give myself grace. I don’t change overnight. I don’t create the new in the blink of an eye. It takes me time to find my groove, and work out the wrinkles. I’ll get there, and hopefully soon, because I’d really like to have this book finished and turned in before the end of June. We’ll see.
All this to remind you that you aren’t the you of twenty years ago…nore are you who you will be twenty years from now (give or take). So be here now…adjust your systems to work with today’s you, not yesterday’s you.
You’ve got this. And so do I.
Love, always.
by Christine | LA Times Festival of Books, Life, Observations, Writing
I Did It!
I only went to the wrong parking garage twice. Sigh. BUT. Traffic behaved (though there were a couple of folks out there who learned how to drive by playing Mario Kart 8). I got there, parked, found my way to the Los Angeles Romance Authors booth (924), and settled in to start the volunteer process.
Let me tell you – we had SO many people! We were out of free goody bags way before lunch! I don’t know how Alexis Morgan-Roark and all the other wonderful volunteers did it. A great big beautiful booth, not too far from the LA Times Main Stage – we were perfectly positioned for excellent foot traffic, and we got it.
Yes, there were a LOT of people. But the Festival was spread out across the campus, so it wasn’t like we were all crammed into a performance venue. Below is our booth…The Duke, Just Ken, and Fabio got a LOT of attention. Just Ken is the object of an Opportunity Drawing…a fundraiser for our chapter. We’re hoping someone will take him home today!
There was music, there were outdoor talks that were free, there were panels and indoor talks that you needed to have previously purchased tickets for. There were food trucks galore, and they all had huge lines, but I chatted with Kelle Z. Riley and we got to know each other a bit, which was nice.
I took Sandy R. home (a chapter mate I’ve known since 2002), but unfortunately we received the wrong directions to get to the Shrine Parking Garage – We were sent to Exposition Blvd and should have been sent to Jefferson St, which we were actually closer to! Which means we walked the length of the Festival. Twice. But I got 8,200 steps in, so that counts for something, along with aching feet.
The drive home was jammed with traffic – where was everyone going??? Always a mystery…but I got Sandy home safely, and made it to my house where Tom had my bath ready. A hot bath, a lovely nap, and some wonderful Mario Kart 8 racing (Tom won, thanks to the algorhythims. Bloody blue bomb…). A tasty dinner, and a wonderful night’s sleep, and all is right with my world.
My fears dissipated with the morning clouds yesterday – and I vowed then and there that I’d be signing books next year, at the Festival of Books, with my LARA Chapter mates. Which means I have plenty of work to do now. It took me twenty years, but I did it.
Is there something that scares you, but that you know you want / need to do? Grab your courage with both hands and give it a go. You’ll never know until you step into your power and do the thing.
Sending everyone love and hugs. Always.
–Christine
by Christine | Life, Writing
After 20 Years of Resistance – I’m Being Brave. Seriously.
Seriously. It’s been at least 20 years since I’ve known about the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, but I’ve never gone. Today – in little over an hour, actually – I am going to show up. This is a BIG deal for me. I LOATHE huge crowds. I am always anxious about driving to places I’ve never been to – and anywhere downtown or near USC is enouch to put me into a near panic attack.
But I’m going. I signed up to be a volunteer at the Los Angeles Romance Authors chapter of Romance Writers of America booth (#924 in the Black Zone) for today, for six hours. I figured out parking and even paid for my spot, got the app, did the stuff. I just need to shower, dress, remember to feed myself, and actually get in the car and go.
That last part will be extremely difficult. I find I don’t like going to new places anymore at all, especially not by myself, but no one in my family wants to go, and no one in my chapter lives close enough to swing by and pick me up (or I pick them up, either way), so…it’s just me and my sense of impending doom, toddling off to USC. The main saving grace in today’s adventure – looking on the bright side here – is that it’s during the day, not at night. Also, I have a full tank of gas, so I won’t have to find a gas station down there.
I’m not going to be that stereotype person who as she gains wisdom, experience, and silver in her hair, also decides to become a hermit and never go anywhere or try anything new.
This is me, trying something new. And I’m just a few shades of terrified. I’ll take photos and write an update when I return this afternoon.
Be cool, people, and be kind. You just never know.
Always,
Christine
by Christine | Observations, Publishing, Writing
March is almost over, and I’m finally turning my attention to my website again. I know, it’s been rough and I haven’t been here. I apologize. Life, you know? At any rate…so much has been happening. I did a lot of travel after my book about Scott came out in September last year; San Diego, Massachussets, London…it all wore me out, and after we got home from London, both Tom and I got very sick. So December was mostly a rest month, and the first quarter of this year has been about me reclaiming myself.
Which basically means putting relationships in the past, after acknowledging the good and the ill I received (and gave) to them. That was a very long season of help and harm during some of my worst moments over several years; now it’s done and done, and I’ve moved on. I’m eating healthier (and feeling ill when I don’t eat healthy); I’m loving Pilates, and walking the dog, and gardening again.
And I’m back to writing. I’m behind in the book of a new series, which I’m SO excited about but can’t really talk about just yet. So there’s that. I’m also figuring out the details of getting a newsletter up and running again; as soon as I do, I’ll let the world know.
I don’t know if I’ll get back to blogging about affordable wines…it seems very few are under $10 anymore, which was my top price when I first started blogging about wine. We shall see.
In the meantime, thanks for being here. I promise I’ll be showing up more. Sending you love and lots of hugs.
Cheers,
Christine
