Taking the Plunge ~ Darlene Jones!

As some of you may know, my partner and I are taking the plunge (I hope, not literally) and swapping our house for a luxury live-aboard narrowboat and a less stressful existence – depending on whether we give our various offspring our mooring location.

While at the boring stage, selling the house and selecting the hull, I thought it might be fun to invite other people to join me to talk about their own life-changing events, major decisions or physical activities they might have had to psyche themselves up for.

Without further ado, I would therefore like to welcome Loveahappending.com featured author, Darlene Jones, who judging by her profile pic is certainly not someone to back away from a challenge.

Over to Darlene ~ Getting to Grips with The Great Wave:

We're not baby boomers. We’re baby zoomers. Like the Mazda ad says, “Zoom. Zoom. Zoom.” We zoom on a moving highway also known as the great wave.

I’ve been a life-long non-athlete, so what was I doing out in the ocean, body board in hand, with those huge waves pounding mercilessly towards the shore and me!? It was all at the urging of friends who said enthusiastically, and with entirely too much good cheer for my liking, “Try it. It’s fun. You’ll love it.”

“Yeah, sure, right, whatever you say.” I’d been in the ocean a few times. I knew how small I felt up to my neck in the water, the waves looming on the horizon. I knew how scared I was as they crashed over me. I knew how wildly I scrambled for shore, abandoning the water for the gentler, not to mention safer, pursuit of sea glass hunting. But, I persisted, and with the patient and cheerful coaching of my friends, learned to body board.

“Way to go,” they shouted, with each successful ride. “Way to go,” I echoed with the thrill of the second and third push that whipped me into shore. Zoom. Zoom. Zoom.

“Why aren’t you catching the waves?” my friends asked as we stood in the water with our boards a few weeks later.

“They’re not big enough.” Laughter erupted around me. I laughed with them.

The cool exhilaration of boarding—an incredible gift from my friends.

About the Author

A long time ago, I lived in Mali. Every single day, I wished I could wave a magic wand to relieve the heart wrenching poverty. My experiences there led to the writing of this story. Some aspects of EMBATTLED reflect my desire to wave that wand and make the world a better place—if only wishes could come true. And of course, every novel needs its love story, so along with the sci-fi magic, I’ve added the requisite romance. Initially, I intended to write “a” novel. The story and characters took over and the ending of EMBATTLED demanded another. EMPOWERED is that “other.”

I've always believed we can't be the only beings existing in the vastness of the universe, There must be others “out there somewhere” and I'd like to believe they're not all that different from us. Those beliefs are reflected in my writing. My novels stay, for the most part, within the realities of our world, but I've found that I love the magic the sci-fi element of other beings could bring to a story. And no, the story is not quite finished. Watch for BOOK 3 -- EMBRACED coming this fall.

You can find Buy Links for Darlene's books at: www.emandyves.com

Find Darlene on Twitter: @darlenejones47 and Facebook

Taking the Plunge – Phase III… ish

For those that don’t yet know, my partner and I have decided to have our mid-life crisis in style and sail off into the sunset.  Despite one or two hiccups and distinct lack of sun, our plan to swap this:

 for this:

is still advancing full-steam ahead.  Whether to leave a forwarding address for our various offspring is still under debate, but the house is up for sale and the new boat-shell is at planning stage.

Alongside this, we’ve been sprucing up our little 37tft narrow-boat ready for sale, too:

Aquaduck is in situ in our now permanent mooring at Hanbury Marina and suddenly I’m reluctant to let her go.  Aside from all my hard-work, lovingly sign-writing her, black-bottoming her, crawling inside water tanks and down engine holes - me being petite but practical, my man says, looking admiringly on, coffee cup in hand, she’s stuffed full of memories.  I can’t help but reminisce about the many hours we’ve spent putt-putting along, viewing inner-cityscapes from a unique river perspective. 

Or chugging through wide-open countryside in all its rural glory – more often than not in torrential rain, but still, that comes with the territory. The places we’ve moored: city-centres for easy access to theatres and restaurants, quaint countryside pubs, happy to cater for the four-legged members of our family.  Weirs, perched precariously upon, unscheduled stop thereof, at which point the man pointed out – less admiringly, more panicky – how agile I was and gallantly assisted me up to the roof of the boat.  Wherefrom, he suggested, I sprout wings and clear the space between boat and overhead motorway bridge.

I’ll spare you the detail.  Suffice to say, being the determined sort – and averse to drowning, I did it, somehow.  Once perched on a really, really conveniently placed beam 50ft up and rope in hand, the man suggested I find a hole and tie the rope off.  The bridge is iron, I pointed out.  The beam is iron.  The only holes are filled with nuts and bolts.  There is no place to thread it through and tie it.

I’ll throw you the mallet and mooring pin, he yelled, a desperate edge to his voice now, as the fast-moving current threatened to sweep him to a watery demise.

What do you want me to do with them? I yelled back, equally desperate.

Hammer the pin the ground and tie the bloody rope onto it!

It’s concrete!! 

Well, tie it around your waist then!   

Let me put this into perspective:

Me:

Boat:

     

  

So, despite one or two hiccups, we’re still planning to …  Um…?

Cover Reveal: The Star Child by Stephanie Keyes

The world is about to be cloaked in darkness.
Only one can stop the night.

 

Kellen St. James has spent his entire life being overlooked as an unwanted, ordinary, slightly geeky kid. That is until a beautiful girl, one who has haunted his dreams for the past eleven years of his life, shows up spinning tales of a prophecy. Not just any old prophecy either, but one in which Kellen plays a key role.

Suddenly, Kellen finds himself on the run through a Celtic underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of hellhounds, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?

About The Author:

Stephanie Keyes was born in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania and has worked for the past twelve years as a corporate educator and curriculum designer in the Telecommunications industry. She holds a Master's degree in Education with a specialization in Instructional Technology from Duquesne University and a B.S. in Management Information Systems from Robert Morris University. She is a classically trained clarinetist, but also plays the saxophone and sings. When she's not writing, she is a wife to a wonderfully supportive husband and mother to two little boys whom she cites as her inspiration for all things writing. The Star Child is Mrs. Keyes' debut novel.

Stephanie’s Website

Twitter Account: @StephanieKeyes

Facebook

Inkspell Publishing is offering a beautiful giveaway.  This Celtic knot designed antiqued bookmark will go fabulously with this book.  Enter NOW!

a Rafflecopter giveaway