The Days Before

 

In a few days, my fourteen single titled book is dropping. It’s entitled Fear of Dating. You’d think after that many books the whole writing and publishing process would be easy for me. That I’d have a formula, a process, or a list of all the items required to ensure I’ve done absolutely everything I can to make this book PERFECT, that I’d walk through this process like the expert, I pretend to be. But, that is so far from reality.

 

 

The moment I push the button to put the book up for pre-order, I begin to get nervous. As if this were my first time writing and publishing a book. I wonder if the writing is good enough, if there is anything else I can do to make it better, if I’ve done enough to promote the book, if readers will receive the book with enthusiasm. My list of doubts goes go on and on. As the release date grows closer, the anxiety increases.

 

I don’t know if this is normal for all authors, but this is my experience. I want to think many writers/authors have questions about the things they’ve written just before they let it loose on the world. Every day I spend time checking and double-checking all the things that I need to do. Making sure I’ve included all the acknowledgments, the proper links, that I’ve placed it on all the available sites and a hundred other small things. I feel like I have a blinking-neon light over my desk warning me of something else I need to do.

Part of the publishing process for me is trusting that I’ve done the best that I can this time. My hands are sweating, my head is swirling, and on October 18th I will wake up nervous that my email is full of messages stating something has gone wrong—like there are no words in the book, just a bunch of blank pages. I’ll run to the computer and double check everything. Then I’ll turn my attention to reviews. It’s a process with no end. But one day, I’ll have to stop thinking about Fear Of Dating and move on to the next book that is awaiting my attention.

 

I could be doing something that is easier, like knitting sweaters for my dog, who doesn’t complain about anything that I do, but it wouldn’t bring me the kind of joy that writing does.

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Standing on the Corner of Zen and Zany

We’ve all been here at some point in our lives when we want a laid-back, peaceful weekend or vacation, but the fast pace of everyday life creeps over the boundaries. Or maybe we want a night of wild and crazy fun, something so different from our routine that we don’t recognize ourselves.

 


The most disappointing thing for me is when I don’t get what I’m expecting when I want it. And, like most things in life, we don’t have the control we imagine.

I realize I need equal amounts of both in my life. I wish I could push a magic button or speak into a drive-through window and order up what I want when I want it.

No matter how much-advanced planning, I do there is no guarantee I’m going to get the zany when I want to cut loose or the Zen when I’m more in need of a mellow mood. On a recent family trip that was supposed to be all about sight-seeing, and partying and shopping, the weather decided not to cooperate and turned what was a trip a year in the making into a rather laid-back vacation. Rain forced us inside—who can party on the beach in a torrential downpour? We ended up adjusting on the fly and still managed to have a reasonably good time.

 

The other weekend I’d plan to spend both days on the sofa, reading a good book, catching up on my saved list of television shows and munching on some good snacks. I decided, working out may not happen if I didn’t feel inclined to expend any energy. Instead, I got a call that several friends were in the neighborhood and getting together for some memory rehashing, shopping and outright rowdiness was called for. I dashed my plans, opted for the new itinerary and was off to something altogether different and just as satisfying.

 

The moral to my story is, expect the unexpected. Too much planning only allows for more disappointment. Life is a grand adventure, learn to wing it.

LETTING GO OF BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS

As a writer, I sit down every day and write about relationships. The coming together of two people, or the angst they go through when they’re breaking up. And I’m not just talking about the relationship between men and women. I’ve written about mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, best friends and sometimes natural enemies. And no relationship is stagnant. I’ve been married longer than I’ve been single and our relationship has morphed several times over the years. Any good relationship changes with time. Trouble weasels into a relationship if you can’t find a way to grow and change together.

The hardest thing in the world to nurture is the relationships we have with the people in our lives, but they are also the most fulfilling. I’ve had to let go of some associations in the last couple of years. Each one for different reasons and each one was an agonizing choice. I had to make a decision based solely on emotions. Mine. The friendship that didn’t feel too friendly and the sisterhood that faded over time caused me more unhappiness than I was willing to tolerate. But I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t come out of them unscathed. There is still a part of me that wants to rekindle those connections. But sometimes its best leave broken ties behind.

What I had to accept was relationships come and go. Friendships come, and friendships go. If I’m lucky some of the people will be with me for a lifetime, others are passing through on their way to where they need to be. I have to trust that everything happens for a reason and enjoy the people, who are right in front of me now. I have to embrace them, love them and if the time comes when I have to let them go, I have to accept that and let go.

IT’S A NEW YEAR – 2018!

It’s a New Year, and I want to think that the person I was in 2017 is not the same person I will be in 2018. I want to be more of something and less of something else. I’m not sure exactly how that’s supposed to happen. Just because the shorthand on the clock moved passed the number twelve, I’m supposed to change all the bad habits into new, more worthy ones.

 

I haven’t found a way to reset my thoughts that easily. I woke up on January 1st, feeling the same way I did the day before, the week before, the month before. But like the masses, I’m going to be different, better, new and improved.

 

What I do subscribe to is the belief that every day of the year I get an opportunity to improve.  And that’s what I will do in 2018. I will try to be more thoughtful. I’ll try to be more positive. I’ll try to be more present.

I’ll write down those resolutions and some others. But if one month in I walk away from them, that doesn’t make me a dreadful person, a person without purpose or a person without willpower or drive. It makes me human in every sense of the word. What I must remember is that every day I get the opportunity to become a better version of myself. I don’t have to wait for the end of the year or the beginning of a new one.

 

Total Eclipse of The Sun

Today, August 21, 2017 there was a total eclipse of the sun. I hope you were lucky enough to experience this amazing event. If not, you’ll get another chance in seven (7) years. I’ll mark my calendar and be much better prepared the next time.  Join me and prepare early.

DEALING WITH FRIENDSHIPS

It took me a very long time to understand that friendships are ever-evolving. Unable to remain static, they wax and wane like the cycles of the moon.

When I was a little girl, my friends living on the wide city block came and went almost unnoticed. When the Littlejohn clan moved away we didn’t miss a single turn of the jump rope and almost instantly they were replaced with the Matthews family. On that active block of hopscotch, dodge ball, and Simon says we opened our circle and let them in and kept on playing.

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Growing up for me meant learning which friendships I needed to value and which ones I needed to dismiss. I’ve had to learn to redefine my definition of a friend and how to get friends as I can meet friends at school or even online in sites like https://chatempanada.com. It was a word I used to freely. Friends have a pecking order and not all of them warrant my same level of loyalty or confidence.

Friends II

 

I hold on to those endearing friendships with a grip so fierce, prying them apart is unthinkable and impossible for me to imagine. I try to cherish my true friends like I cherish my family because in so many ways they are.

 

WAVING BYE TO 2016

As 2016 comes to a close, I’m sitting in my office with mixed feelings. I’m wondering if I’ve done everything I can to be a better person. If I’ve pushed myself hard enough, or long enough. I’m not certain I can say I did.

 

books-and-pens

I’m wondering in the remaining days of this year, what else I can accomplish. I’m a person who likes list and I love checking stuff off as I accomplish them. But sometimes I’m so driven by getting things done I forget to enjoy the now, the moment. Maybe next year that’s something I can work on.

There is a long list of people who will not journey into 2017. I’m missing those loved one that did not make it this far into the year. There are some losses that shocked me and others that rocked me. But I still wake up each morning with a heart full of thanks and praise. I’m sure one day I’ll have the answers to the questions I seek.

 

dead-end

I’m hoping 2016 doesn’t deliver any more surprises. I’m not so sure I’ve got the strength to handle anything else. And even as I type those words, I realize how absurd they are. As if I had some control over anything or could deem them so, just by writing them down.

I’ll prepare for 2017 with the optimism that circulates in my soul. And like always I’ll try to see the lighter side of life. And just in case I don’t post again before 2017, I’m wishing you and yours all the best.

Lena Hart – The Devil’s Bedpost

 

*NOW AVAILABLE*

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He had it all…

 

 

Lena's

 

 

Good looks. Thriving business. Beautiful fiancée. Life for casino owner David Carrone and his sweetheart Athena Lewis is at its peak—until a scandal of lies, a secret from his past, and an unspeakable tragedy tears a wide rift between them.

 

He lost it all…

With his reputation in question, his business in ruins, and his world crumbling around him, David struggles to protect all he holds dear. But when the most important person in his life is met with danger, he can no longer play by the rules.

 

He risked it all…

Desperate to get back the woman he loves, David recruits the help of some unlikely allies—and become the monster many believe him to be. Because when risking it all for the one you love, sometimes you have to face the devil with a demon

iBooks | Nook | Kindle | Kobo | Google | ARe

 

Where to buy:

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All Romance: http://smarturl.it/DevilsBedpost_ARe

 

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COMING SOON!

COMING SEPTEMBER 15, 2016

THE SWEET ROAD SERIES

Three sisters, Three love stories. All different.

Who said relationships were easy?

 

TheSweetRoad Home200x300 TheSweetRoadToLove200x300TheSweetRoadBack200x300

 

LISTIFYLIFE CHALLENGE WEEK 3

Listify Life – LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

listifylife

 

I like to think if myself as an uncomplicated creature. I tend to be optimistic, even in the face of hopelessness and I’m easy to please. I can find happiness in the simplest things.

  • Hearing my children laugh
  • Sunny days
  • Sitting beside my husband
  • Spring flowers and the sound of birds

Flowers

  • Walking the dog
  • Writing a good chapter or a good book
  • Finishing a manuscript
  • A good meal

Dinner

  • A good workout
  • Being with my friends and sharing
  • The sound of ocean waves

Ocean Waves

  • Relaxing with a good book
  • Finding the perfect pair of shoes, or shoes in general
  • Talking to my mother
  • Ice Cream

These are just a few things.  I’m sure I could go on and on. How about you? What makes you happy?