Welcome back to my Life Lessons 101 series. Today I’m going to be discussing and pointing out a few reminders for us all – Live in the moment and make good use of all your living moments.
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Some of us are always waiting for that great magical thing or that long-awaited event to happen without realizing we are missing out on the life we’re presently living while wishing away precious time we have now. Life is always going to be a series of happenings and busyness, so if we keep waiting for our dreams because we wish to get through our wading list, we’re never going to do anything else exciting.
Take for example, the people who are always putting off things for tomorrow. Life goes by so quickly, and there is always something that crops up to add to our to-do lists. If we don’t take a moment to realize that life is continuously going on and we keep putting off something that our heart desires, we may never get the chance.
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An example of the procrastination – take a person who has had a heart attack. He may have a high stress job and won’t slow down, until that almost fatal thing that happens to him, giving him no choice but to slow down and smell the roses. Ultimately, many do get a dose of this shocking reality and often only then will re-adjust their lifestyle, but only after a near fatal scare.
We as humans often feel as though we are invincible – just one more hour,just have to complete this project – just, just . . . until it’s too late to take that break, or so much time – even years – have passed until that person realizes and decides they better get to that bucket list before it’s too late.
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Here’s a good example of living in now and not putting off until tomorrow – I’ve been asking one of my BFFs to go away with me, and she always has many excuses, work, work, work. I like to give her subtle reminders that no days are promised, and life is for living now. I keep reminding her that we are all getting older and since we don’t know what tomorrows will bring regarding our health, and while we still have good walking legs, she needs to stop putting it off. Because life is a crapshoot, we aren’t guaranteed next year or the year after. Tomorrow isn’t promised, so making excuses because of this and that, will keep us further away from doing things for pleasure.
Make adjustments and go on that trip. Buy that dress. Take that course. Write that book. Follow your dreams. Live your best life every day. Every day is another gift we are living. We may not all be able to travel, but we all have dreams and aspirations. If we continue to allow life with all our commitments, drama, and disasters, to hold us back, we will look back and regret what we should have done to enhance our lives, while each day continues to pass by.
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While we are living our daily lives, and making plans for the things we wish to do, don’t forget the importance of making some ‘me time’ every day. Self-care is essential for both, our minds and bodies, to maintain wellness and mental health. Give yourselves a little time-out daily to do something you enjoy. Break up your day so you can give yourself that time. That time could be a half hour blocked off just for yourself to do something other than just tasks. Think of all the possibilities you can do with a half hour to yourself, whatever you choose. With so little downtime, take that time to read a chapter of a book you’re enjoying, make a personal phone call with someone who makes you smile. Get out for a walk, or do some form of exercise, work on a hobby project, or just plain relax and meditate.
How I Reassessed and am Enjo
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How I Reassessed and am Enjoying more Living
How I Reassessed and am Enjoying more Living
I will admit that I am a well-organized person. I used to decline outings with friends if I had a work project. When I’d be writing books, I’d work eight-hour days, often neglecting to get up to make dinner. When I’m on a project, I’m all in. And that is me driving myself, because I have no boss but I’m about being accountable to myself. And once I started something I was full speed ahead until the end – operative word was. . . . Please continue reading conclusion at Sally’s Smorgasbord.
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing a short story about a woman about to be scorned and her own self-discovery.
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Blurb:
When her boyfriend bails at the last minute, a New York woman embarks on their couples’ cruise alone to find that maybe the person she was supposed to fall in love with was herself.
After a string of bad dates and no prospects, Sophia Othonos has finally hit the jackpot: an actual nice guy. When he suggests a romantic getaway, she’s sure they’re about to take the next step toward their future. A rustic cruise to the Galápagos Islands isn’t exactly her idea of a vacation, but Sophia is ready for anything…until her boyfriend has to cancel.
Now she’s all alone on a trip that was meant for two. Sophia finds herself at a crossroads about who she is, what she wants, and whether her relationship is really everything she thought. But if she’s going to suffer an identity crisis, at least she gets to do it amid the unexpected majesty of nature.
Eight days of wild, unobstructed beauty are enough to make anyone reevaluate their life. These islands are all about adapting to your surroundings—and change just might be what Sophia needs most of all.
My 4 Star Review:
A bit of a mysterious story about Sophia a 34 year old real estate agent with hopes of getting married and having a family and her somewhat elusive 54 year old, said divorcee boyfriend, JD. The two are about to board a plane heading to the Galapagos Islands. JD is a nature photographer and Sophia thinks they are blissfully in love after their six-month romance. Just as they are about to check in for their flight, JD is called away without telling Sophia anything about why he is leaving her stranded at the airport, other than some concocted-sounding story (to me) about his unstable son, ‘apparently’ out of rehab, now in some trouble.
Sophia takes the trip by herself as JD urges her to, and she meets some interesting people on the same trip. She continues to try and contact JD as soon as she gets wifi, and unsurprisingly, he never answers her. Just when she becomes worried something terrible must have happened, she gets a phone call from a strange woman who gives Sophia an eye-opening FYI.
Four stars because the book is good writing, but the plot I found a bit lacking and predictable, and I skimmed through some of the overly descriptive prose. Also, I don’t find the title defines the story. Nonetheless, a good read.
Welcome to my August Writer’s Tips. In this edition, Jacqui Murray offers some useful Apps and Tools for writers, Jane Friedman discussing how A.I. is being used by publishers, Amazon Reviews and A.I. by Deborah Jay, Dave Chesson (the Kindlepreneur) shows us how to get Epub files onto our Kindles and he shares a great short video on finding best categories for our books on Amazon.
Jacqui Murray shares her always helpful Tech Tips and Tools for Writers
The Kindlepreneur discusses a dilemma I have every time someone sends me an ebook. Amazon doesn’t accept mobi files anymore, yet, many people’s Kindles (like mine) can only load mobi files. I found a work-around long ago using Calibre, but Dave Chesson can explain it to you much better.
Bonus video by Dave Chesson – the Kindlepreneur. This is a short an informative video on how our author books are interpreted by Amazon’s algorithms, often leading to our books being displayed in wrong categories.
And while I’m here talking about Dave, I’m wondering if any writers here use his Pocket Rocket, which is quite popular for finding best categories for our books?
I’m thrilled to be reviewing my friend and cohort, Sally Cronin’s new release – Size Always Matters. This is the fourth edition as Sally has updated and added to her book from her original – Size Matters. I enjoy everything Sally writes, so I was looking very forward to reading, and as always – Sally never disappoints.
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Blurb:
At age 41 in 1994 and weighing 330 lbs, Sally Cronin had two choices when she was told that she was unlikely to live to 45. Carry on eating or get her act together. She chose to study nutrition and change the way she approached the food she ate and her other lifestyle choices.
Her first book, Size Matters, told the story of her weight loss of 154 lbs and shared the programme she designed to both lose the weight and regain her health. Now, thirty years on from the start of that journey, having worked as a nutritional therapist with hundreds of clients as well as acting as a health consultant on radio for several years and on her blog, she shares an updated version of the programme.
Weight loss is not just about calories in and calories out. It is about identifying the physical, emotional and mental attachments we have to food and developing a deeper respect for the fuel we require to be healthy. As well as exploring the many elements involved in healthy weight loss, she also shares the nutritional balance we need to achieve to prevent many of the lifestyle issues that accompany obesity. This includes some easy to prepare recipes which provide nutrient dense dishes for the whole family.
In 2022, 2.5 billion adults aged 18 years and older were overweight, including over 890 million adults who were living with obesity. 37 million children under the age of 5 were overweight. Over 390 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 years were overweight, including 160 million who were living with obesity.
If you need to lose 10 lbs or 100 lbs you can adapt this programme to lose the weight healthily and to enjoy a better quality of life. Don’t be included in the statistics and start losing weight today.
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My 5 Star Review:
Sally Cronin’s nutritional therapist background and a story of her own, make this book fit a few genres – health and wellness, self-help, and memoir. This is Sally’s story and journey of battling the bulge of 330 pounds, and how her weight issues had her diving into health and nutrition, and in this book she shares her very personal struggles with her weight, and her courage and her own taking the bull by the horns with a healthy attitude and healing herself. In this book we’ll learn the root cause of obesity while Cronin educates us about how several conditions, along with over-use of antibiotics can play a part in stubborn weight gain.
We will learn about the various ailments and the nutrients needed to keep our inner engines running smooth, and about the various things going on in our bodies that can hamper weightloss. A few to mention: stress, antibiotics, Candidas Alibans, and more!
Sally will guide us through this book of her detailed weightloss program she designed – not a fad diet, but one that becomes a life eating plan. And most importantly, Sally will share why diets get sabotaged, especially when it comes to maintaining lost weight.
Cronin’s eating plan will keep us motivated as she discusses the pitfalls we can fall into while trying to lose weight. We’ll learn how we can be overweight, yet still be mal-nutritioned. She will share tricks for us to be able to enjoy eating out by designing our own eating plan. Weightloss plateaus are skillfully explained. And we’ll also learn the importance of getting enough sleep and how it corresponds with weightloss.
Near the end of the book Sally gives a rundown of the importance of vitamins and minerals and fats in our diets and lists them all. Followed by a fascinating description of how our food is processed in our bodies in her Chicken Sandwich journey through the digestive system, followed by some great healthy recipes.
Sally’s new book is a fourth edition of her original – Size Matters. As Sally felt it was important to make some updates from the last twenty years as the world progressed since she published the original version, and still maintains her healthy eating journey after thirty years ago when her quest to become healthy and fit began. Sally is not a diet expert, but more, a food, nutrient, and healthy diet expert. As she shares, her healthy eating plan that has been successful with over 1,000 people using her eating program, Sally shares her own story of her success, and her stories will help guide us on our own healthy living journeys.
We will learn how to take back our power of eating in this book and as she said, “This program works – even for the ‘hopeless’ cases who have decided that enough is enough.” And that’s good enough for me! Sally Cronin is an inspiration for us all who strive to be in the best health we can be.
Today I’m delighted to be featuring Sally Cronin and her latest book release -Size Always Matters. I’m pretty sure that those who follow this blog are well aware about Sally Cronin and her wonderful, always heartfelt books, and her infamous Smorgasbord Blog Magazine, but Sally is also a nutritional therapist and shares much about keeping good health on her blog – Smorgasbord Blog Magazine. And besides Sally’s informative articles, her blog offers a wealth of all sorts of information, entertainment, laughter, books, reviews, and more! Also, I am honored to have a guest writing column at Sally’s blog, this year’s topic is Life Lessons 101.
Sally says about her new book – “This book is about eating, not starving. No gimmicks, pills, or special diet foods,” just how to eat and live naturally.
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About Sally
In her latest release, Sally shares the secrets of her past, and her venture into the world of natural healthcare and talks about bad eating habits. She begins her book explaining her journey into weightloss thirty years ago when she weighed in at 330 pounds and was told by her doctor, she’d be lucky to see the age of forty-five. This news inspired her to design her own weightloss program. Not just a fad diet, but one that became a life eating plan, and most importantly – about how to maintain the weightloss. This book covers a few genres – Self-Help, Memoir, and Health and Wellness.
Sally’s new book is a fourth edition of her original – Size Matters. As Sally felt it was important to make some updates from the last twenty years as the world progressed since she published the original version, and still maintains her healthy eating journey after thirty years ago when her quest to become healthy and fit began. Sally is not a diet expert, but more, a food, nutrient, and healthy diet expert. As she shares, her healthy eating plan that has been successful with over 1,000 people using her eating program, Sally also shares her own struggles and story of her success, and her stories will help guide us on our own healthy living journeys.
Sally will show us how to take back our power of eating in this book and as she said, “This program works – even for the ‘hopeless’ cases who have decided that enough is enough.” And that’s good enough for me! Sally Cronin is an inspiration for us all who strive to be in the best health we can be.
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About the book
At age 41 in 1994 and weighing 330 lbs, Sally Cronin had two choices when she was told that she was unlikely to live to 45. Carry on eating or get her act together. She chose to study nutrition and change the way she approached the food she ate and her other lifestyle choices.
Her first book, Size Matters, told the story of her weight loss of 154 lbs and shared the programme she designed to both lose the weight and regain her health. Now, thirty years on from the start of that journey, having worked as a nutritional therapist with hundreds of clients as well as acting as a health consultant on radio for several years and on her blog, she shares an updated version of the programme.
Weight loss is not just about calories in and calories out. It is about identifying the physical, emotional and mental attachments we have to food and developing a deeper respect for the fuel we require to be healthy. As well as exploring the many elements involved in healthy weight loss, she also shares the nutritional balance we need to achieve to prevent many of the lifestyle issues that accompany obesity. This includes some easy to prepare recipes which provide nutrient dense dishes for the whole family.
In 2022, 2.5 billion adults aged 18 years and older were overweight, including over 890 million adults who were living with obesity. 37 million children under the age of 5 were overweight. Over 390 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 years were overweight, including 160 million who were living with obesity.
If you need to lose 10 lbs or 100 lbs you can adapt this programme to lose the weight healthily and to enjoy a better quality of life. Don’t be included in the statistics and start losing weight today.
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Excerpt
Be prepared for some surprising reactions from the people around you when you start on your program. You are going to be making some major changes to your appearance, and some people will find this threatening. Changing from a plump, motherly, comfortable, predictable sort of person to a slim, sexy, confident and slightly surprising ‘new you’ can make the people you love uncomfortable. Most people are wary of change and, if their perception of your role in their life does not fit with your new image, a certain amount of emotional upheaval may ensue.
The last thing you want at this point is to feel tempted to hit the comfort food. So, as soon as you hear things like ‘Don’t lose too much weight; you’ll look gaunt’ or ‘You are beginning to look ill’ or ‘I liked you the way you were’, you will need to sit down and discuss your reasons for losing weight.
Husbands, especially, can feel a bit threatened if their wife and the mother of their children goes from being their ideal picture of how a mother should look to a slim and perhaps sexier looking woman, who is now getting compliments, particular from the opposite sex. Some men are delighted to have back the woman they married, but others may need some extra attention and reassurance the changes you are making will benefit both of you.
Mothers can always be relied on to pass comment on any changes you make to your weight, up or down. You are her baby at any age and she will interfere whether you want it or not. Mothers will spend all their time telling you to lose weight and then when you do, they will tell you to eat properly, don’t starve yourself and have another cake. ‘One more won’t do you any harm’. They are natural worriers, so just accept this and try to work with it. Involve them wherever possible, and, who knows, you may just change some of their habits of a lifetime.
Welcome Sally, I am currently reading your book and making lots of notes from your excellent health tips. I’d just like to ask you a few questions to add to the feature.
Thanks very much Debby for inviting me over to get Size Always Matter a spotlight… your support is always appreciated.
My absolute pleasure Sally!
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Sally, would you please share with us what inspired you to revise and update the original Size Matters?
Since I began my journey 30 years ago, I have continued to research both weight loss and the health issues obesity is responsible for. Combined with working with hundreds of clients this has provided me with even more determination to make sure others understand how vital food and its nutrients are for long term health. This new edition has more nutritional content and health related chapters as well as recipes that were not in the original version. The obesity statistics continue to rise at alarming rate across the age groups and I hope at least for those who read this book it will make a difference.
D.G. – Well, it’s been a while since I read the previous version, so I’m looking forward to refreshing my memory and learning some new tips!
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I know your healthy eating habits have become a life plan, not a diet. Can you explain to us a summation about why fad diets don’t work and the benefits of slow and steady dieting?
The body in its current form has been evolving for many thousands of years and has a very strong survival instinct. It reacts very quickly to starvation and has a strong mechanism in place to counteract a lack of not just food, but the nutrients it needs which are essential for our health. Its response will be to go into storage mode. In my late teens through to my early 40s I completed many fad diets, cycling through four or five low calorie and very low fat periods of about six weeks duration each year. I would lose a lot of weight and then within another six weeks put the weight back on plus extra. This is the body’s insurance policy as it expects through experience there will be another famine soon. This yo-yo approach to dieting resulted in me weighing 330lbs and suffering from malnutrition! In the book I go through this in more detail with recommended calorie restriction limits and how the body utilises the calories we consume during the day and night.
D.G. – Thanks so much for explaining this Sally.
(Sally at 330 pounds)
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Is there anything you can share with us about how to keep up the diet morale, and any tips of your own on any favorite low-cal tricks for when it comes to craving snacks?
Fruit is a good option for a snack and I always have a banana to hand, also a small pack of unsalted nuts is useful when on the go. In my programme there are three main meals a day and three snacks dependent on activity level, so hunger is not really an issue.
I believe in setting small targets and celebrating when they are achieved with non-food treats. I used to hang up a dress a size too small on the front of my closet and tried it on once a week until it fitted. Then out to the theatre or cinema.
Probably one tip I can offer from my own experience is our attitude to not just the food we eat for our main meals but our attitude to treats.
As small children when we do something simple we are rewarded, and if we graze our knees we also get a treat of some kind but usually sweet. This habit tends to carry over to adulthood and whether we have had a good day or a bad day, the response is to say…’I deserve a glass of wine, bar of chocolate, takeaway, tub of ice-cream, or all of the above!’ I had to learn to stop behaving like a five year old and instead think about what I was putting in my mouth and around my waistline like an adult. Like most things in life you cannot have it all, and if your health is being severely compromised by your actions, you need to change your language and think about what your long suffering body needs.
D.G. – I like the idea of hanging the smaller size dress in front of your closet, kind of like a vision board to remind you.
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Okay, now a personal question for my own satisfaction, lol. Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to fire up metabolisms for those of us that have spent a good part of our younger years on silly yo-yo diets? Asking for a friend or twenty, lol.
One of the problems associated with yo-yo dieting is a confused metabolism. If your body is in starvation mode it is not going to give up its prized energy in the fat cells unless it is absolutely forced to. This is why eating nutrient dense meals and snacks steadily over the waking hours will encourage a better response and therefore weight loss.
Also activity is important, it does not have to be fast and furious and I have found these days two 30 minute walks a day keep the pounds moving for me based on my food intake. I know you do far more than that with your gym workouts and it is about finding the balance so you are eating the right nutrients for your particular level of activity.
As they say, age is not for the faint hearted, and our body and its operating systems do tend to slow down including our digestive system. This is why I have found smaller main meals with light snack between if I really need it, is the best way to keep the metabolism ticking over at a regular and effective speed. I also find exercising first thing in the morning before my breakfast works too, as by the time I get around to eating my breakfast an hour after getting up my body is ready for it. Green tea has a moderate caffeine hit and two or three cups a day help speed things up a little.
I have been working on some new posts later in the year based on my ongoing research in to anti-aging and there are some supplements and herbs which are proving interesting in studies. I am taking some of these before I write about them and I would say my energy levels, physically and mentally, are better than they were a year ago which translates into a general speed up of all the operating systems.
D.G. – Thank you so much for your valuable information Sally. I appreciate your tips and always look forward to your health posts. They are informative and just make good sense!
Thanks for the great questions Debby… as always you know just what to ask…💜
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Thorne Moore’s – Moments of Consequence. A book of short stories sure to keep you engaged!
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Blurb:
A collection of short stories: comedies, tragedies and histories. What is the true value of an old tea pot? What happened on an uneventful day in Gloucestershire? Has anyone stopped to look at a monument in the middle of Haverfordwest? Can there be a perfect crime? What lies behind the torn wallpaper of an old cottage? What makes the best Christmas ever? And many more.
My 5 Star Review:
I was happy to pick up this book by Moore as I enjoy her writing and her always engaging storylines, I thought it would be a treat to read several short stories by her in one book. Every standalone story was perfectly polished as length doesn’t compromise the depth in her storytelling.
In this book there are several short stories that keep us engaged right until each ends in a twist. Some lessons to be learned in some of her stories, touching upon human behavior – some funny, eerie, karmic, historical and even tragic and dark. Each story zeroes in on human behavior in various ways. If you’re looking for sweet romance and love stories, you won’t find them here. But if you want to get engrossed in some deep, dark and meaty stories, look no further than this book.
A few of my favs:
The Accountant – a karmic tale of unexpected payback, under the heading of – A Touch of Darkness.
Food For Thought: Chef’s Special – What’s for dinner? Reminds don’t get the chef who holds the knives, angry.
In – The Food of Love, we’ll discover consequences in a tale about a wife with an obsession for feeding her husband. I will say no more. Beware of people who are always trying to feed you.
Literary Corrections – encompasses the author’s “shameless mangling of other people’s masterpieces” – with twisted new retellings in – A Midsummer Nightmare – Just don’t mess with a woman scorned.
Time flies. I find myself saying this more and more. And I’m not the only one! The old saying ‘time flies’ comes from the Latin – ‘tempus fugit’.
Do you feel like time is passing much faster than it is? Is this our imagination or is it really going faster? Well, it seems to me anyone who mentions time also feels it is passing faster than before – but is it?
A common answer I found in my search to find if time is indeed moving faster said our brains can only process so much as we age. I’m not sure I can agree with that unless of course, someone’s brain is medically challenged. An aging brain is the reason for our perception of time? No proof, but food for thought.
When we were kids, looking forward to an upcoming event, it seemed like eons to a child waiting for that time to pass. Why? Why are children always wishing time away, and those of us middle-aged and more, feel like the days pass much too quickly?
Is it because as life passes by and we accumulate so many memories from our experiences and looking back on them make us feel they were so long ago leaving us to realize that each time fracture that has occurred in our lives makes what time we feel we have left feel smaller? Take a look at the video below where a man shares his theory about why time seems to pass faster as we age:
This man’s theory is demonstrated using circles of time for the amount of years we’ve lived on earth describing how it affects our feeling that time is passing faster:
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I do know how quickly time flies when using digital devices – especially when on computer. I can be doing a twenty minute project that turns into over an hour because of digital hiccoughs that weren’t planned in that time allotment.
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The earth is spinning faster now and actually speeding up, but it is possible to slow down again. BBC Earth uses a climate change example to demonstrate why time shrinks and expands:
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Someone else shares that “It’s not time that speeds up but our psychological perception changes due to increased stress, and the demands of modern life . . .” are what make us feel time is going faster:
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Honestly, I did some searching around to find if the feeling of time passing faster is indeed true, and most of what I came across were same thoughts or theories from most as I’ve shared on the above videos. Maybe it does make sense since life is getting busier with our to-do lists, maybe we’re just feeling that time is going faster. On another note, scientists seem to relay the time speeding up due to climate change, demonstrating how the melting glaciers have a play in why time passes too fast. Or just maybe the guy from video #1’s perception makes a whole lot of sense – Each successive year leaves us with a smaller percentage of time left.
I think how a clock measures time and how we perceive time are quite different.
What do you think?
P.S. I would just like to note that we are now, once again in mercury retrograde for the month of August. Reminder to double check everything, plan ahead, and expect lots of technical glitches and mishaps. On another note, I have noticed in my many blog reading travels and leaving comments that I haven’t been receiving replies from some of those blogs, which is unusual. A few blog friends have told me they found me in their spam. So I just wanted to let you know that if you’re used to seeing me around your blog, and think you haven’t seen me around in a while, please check your spam. Thanks 💜
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m sharing my reviews for two sneak peek prequels for – The Second Mrs. Astor and An American Beauty, both by Shana Abe. I have previously read the full versions of both books and reviewed them, but it was after reading these fantastic books based on historical fiction, that I found the prequels. I enjoyed the books so much that I read these prequels after reading the full books. But I was glad I read them after I read the full versions because both books gave us a deeper look into the characters we learned to love in the full version. Both these prequels are FREE on Amazon.
Blurb:
Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Shana Abé is inspired by the true story of Arabella Huntington—a charismatic, complex woman born to poverty who became one of the most powerful and wealthy figures of her time.
1867, Richmond, Virginia: Though she wears the same low-cut purple gown that is the uniform of all the girls who work at Worsham’s gambling parlor, Arabella stands apart. It’s not merely her statuesque beauty and practiced charm. Even at seventeen, Arabella possesses an unyielding grit, and a resolve to escape her background of struggle and poverty.
Collis Huntington, railroad baron and self-made multimillionaire, is drawn to Arabella from their first meeting. Collis is married and thirty years her senior, yet they are well-matched in temperament, and flirtation rapidly escalates into an affair. With Collis’s help, Arabella eventually moves to New York, posing as a genteel, well-to-do Southern widow. Using Collis’s seed money and her own shrewd investing instincts, she begins to amass a fortune.
Their relationship is an open secret, and no one is surprised when Collis marries Arabella after his wife’s death. But “The Four Hundred”—the elite circle that includes the Astors and Vanderbilts—have their rules. Arabella must earn her place in Society—not just through her vast wealth, but with taste, style, and impeccable behavior. There are some who suspect the scandalous truth, and will blackmail her for it. And then there is another threat—an unexpected, impossible romance that will test her ambition, her loyalties, and her heart . . .
An American Beauty brings to vivid life the glitter and drama of a captivating chapter in history—and a remarkable woman who lived by her own rules.
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My 5 Star Review:
This book is a short prequel for the page-turning book, An American Beauty. I loved both books. As I read and enjoyed the full book first, then coming across this sneak peek, I couldn’t resist but wanting to learn more of these real life characters – Arabella Yarrington and shipping magnate, Collis Huntington, which we will learn more about in this short and insightful read that informs us more about how Collis and Belle met, and Belle’s rise to riches from literal rags.
Belle was a woman of resources and well ahead of her times. She had a generous heart and never forgot where she came from. Despite Collis being married and thirty years Belle’s senior when they first met, Belle was a strong woman, years ahead of her real age of only seventeen and never had designs on fetching a man for personal advancement, including Collis, but destiny made her one of the richest women in America of her time – the Gilded Age.
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Blurb:
Special Extended Excerpt Sneak Peek!
Be one of the first to read this sneak peek of the latest thrilling historical novel from New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Shana Abé, an epic story in the tradition of The American Duchess—a sweeping love story between John Jacob Astor, the richest man in America, and teenaged beauty Madeleine Force, set against the backdrop of the drama and tragedy of the sinking of the Titanic.
“I won’t begin with our ending, which everyone in the world knows anyway. Our beginning, however, belonged only to us. . . .”
Madeleine Talmage Force is just seventeen when she attracts the attention of John Jacob “Jack” Astor. Madeleine is beautiful, intelligent, and solidly upper-class, but the Astors are in a league apart. Jack’s mother was the Mrs. Astor, American royalty and New York’s most formidable socialite. Jack is dashing and industrious—a hero of the Spanish-American war, an inventor, and a canny businessman. Despite their twenty-nine-year age difference, and the scandal of Jack’s recent divorce, Madeleine falls headlong into love—and becomes the press’s favorite target.
On their extended honeymoon in Egypt, the newlyweds finally find a measure of peace from photographers and journalists. Madeleine feels truly alive for the first time—and is happily pregnant. The couple plans to return home in the spring of 1912, aboard an opulent new ocean liner. When the ship hits an iceberg close to midnight on April 14th, there is no immediate panic. The swift, state-of-the-art RMS Titanic seems unsinkable. As Jack helps Madeleine into a lifeboat, he assures her that he’ll see her soon in New York. . . .
Four months later, at the Astors’ Fifth Avenue mansion, a widowed Madeleine gives birth to their son. In the wake of the disaster, the press has elevated her to the status of virtuous, tragic heroine. But Madeleine’s most important decision still lies ahead: whether to accept the role assigned to her, or carve out her own remarkable path . . .
My 5 Star Review:
I read this beautiful and heartfelt story of Madeleine’s love letter to her four-months-old baby son. This beautiful prequel takes us deeper into Madeleine’s story after losing her husband Captain Jack Astor, the richest man in America, when the titanic sunk. I found this strange at first, writing a prequel that begins in the full book’s aftermath. But as the blurb states, the true ending is no surprise to anyone who knows the sad tale of the Titanic sinking. This sneak peek is Madeleine documenting her love for her deceased husband and the journey through their first meeting and their courtship so that her son will one day learn how great his father was, and how deeply they loved one another.
DGKayewriter.com 