Looking For Fashion Vibes

Roaming around one of the most fashionable zone in my area left me disappointed. After all the heavy rain, I was looking forward to seeing new Spring fashion and vibrant colors to give me fresh vibes, but I returned home empty hands. Shop windows showed no creativity in visual display and didn’t encourage me to go in and browse. The colors of the clothes hanging lifeless on mannequins were so drab, the shapes resembled pajamas or house robes and the style….what can I say….I would bury it at the bottom of the sea.

While I was walking in this fashionable area, I envisioned Via Condotti in Rome, or Via Montenapoleone in Milan. There, the streets of fashion are stylish, colorful and people dress as they are ready for a photo shoot in a fashion magazine. They stroll with poise and coquetry with the intent to be seen and be admired. A long trail of perfume follows them, they wear original jewelry and the well thought out outfits are the elements that makes each one of them unique. Italy is always Italy and will always be the top for fashion, perhaps I expect too much from other countries.

The fact remains that I have to make triple summer salt to find what I like. Boutiques, family-owned stores and various other stores, not just fashion stores are closing steadily since the economic recession in 2008, forcing everyone to buy online items poorly made in China that often don’t fit or are defected and have to be returned. In fact, the streets of every satellite town around the main cities in America are lined with nail salon, hair dressers, restaurants and bistros, nothing else. Perhaps, this is the government design…..

My day of window shopping or window licking as the French say it, was unfruitful. Looking for fashion vibes didn’t happen, I better continue making things the way I like. I returned home without any fashion items, but with a few pictures of the environment, flowers, food, architecture and curiosity. Give me your thoughts, please. Is it important to you get dressed everyday as it is for me or a simple sweatsuit will do? Ciao,

Valentina
My books on Amazon


Copyright © 2023 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble


Spring, Beauty and Books Series Has Ended

This Spring flew by, between winds of war, fake news, new diseases, corrupted politicians, investigations, and protests around the world to gain the lost freedom, we have arrived almost at Summer. What will it bring us? My hope is always that humanity will mend itself and be infused with so much love, compassion and empathy, as without these elements, life cannot be called life.

With the arrival of Spring, my goal was to instill beauty. Beauty multiplies as it is an entity that everyone wants and everyone recognizes for their wellbeing. I also wanted to spread kind thoughts. Who better than authors can do that? Authors are good with words, they know how to craft them to let the readers live a fantasy, see places and experience new emotions.

Spring is the perfect season for renewal. The authors I have invited to participate in this new series called “Spring, Beauty and Books” each have their own sensibility about Spring and I hope they have inspired the readers. I want to thank them for spreading beauty with their books and thoughts. I had a great pleasure hosting them. Enjoy the video I made with their words on Spring and their books.


Sharon Marchisiello – https://www.amazon.com/Sharon-Marchisello/e/B00NH6N4WK
Colleen Chesebro – mybook.to/WordCraftProsePoetry
Anne Goodwin – https://linktr.ee/matildawindsor
Effrosyni Moschoudi –  https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf
Ann Chiappetta – www.Annchiappetta.com
Liesbet Collaert – https://amzn.to/3jZRrpm
Yvette Calleiro – https://www.amazon.com/HYPE-Yvette-M-Calleiro-ebook/dp/B09L7BFNXG/
Christine Robinson –  cerobinsonauthor.com 
Debby Gies – www.amazon.com/author/dgkaye7
Valentina Cirasola – https://www.amazon.com/Valentina-Cirasola/e/B0031A02H2

“Nature is the source of all true knowledge. She has her own logic, her own laws, she has no effect without cause nor invention without necessity” – Leonardo da Vinci.

Ciao,
Valentina
Amazon Author’s Page

Copyright © 2022 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Spring, Beauty and Books: Debby Gies

Author Debby Gies

After two years of hibernation, taking care of my sick husband, and then ultimately, grieving the loss of my beloved husband, I escaped to a long winter vacation. My grief traveled with me, but the warmth of the Mexican sunshine and being around old friends and new was like a welcomed spring to my soul.

Mexican sunset

I came home dodging the brunt of our harsh Canadian winter here in Ontario as our city too, began to awake from what felt a long slumber. The freezing temperatures had transformed into crisp fresh air, and I once again began taking walks out in our beautiful walking trails as a wonderful escape into nature, and from the dark doldrums of my interior four walls. A vacation after two years of heaviness was like a new bud of spring opening for my sanity. I am slowly crawling back into life.

 Bright colors with the promise of spring cheer me up, as does anything shiny and blingy. It’s the sunshine that has the power to lift me out of the dark abyss within, that sometimes grabs a hold of me. On those days without enough sun? This is where my huge floor lamp with large, white daylight bulbs can fool my darkness. No substitute for the sun, but a satisfactory backup plan.

My life now is just only coming into spring after two years of my internal harsh winter.

Mexican sunset

Bio

Debby Gies is a Canadian nonfiction/memoir author who writes under the pen name of D.G. Kaye. She was born, raised, and resides in Toronto, Canada. Kaye writes about her life experiences, matters of the heart and women’s issues.

D.G. writes to inspire others. Her writing encompasses stories taken from events she encountered in her own life, sharing the lessons taken from them. Her sunny outlook on life developed from learning to overcome challenges in her life, and finding the upside from those situations while practicing gratitude for all the positives.

When Kaye isn’t writing intimate memoirs, she brings her natural sense of humor into her other works. She loves to laugh and self-medicate with a daily dose of humor.

In the Autumn of My Life

In the autumn of my life
I find myself looking back
On the springs and summers
Of glory days gone past.
As the winter of life approaches,
We often reminisce and look to reconnect
With things and people that brightened our springs and summers,
People who knew us and understood the times
And circumstances of our lives.
It’s a kinship of time that only those who’ve lived then can know.
A time when glancing back brings a dollop of comfort
As we march through the seasons of life
Before winter’s approach.

©DGKaye2022

Books by Debby Gies

Connect with D.G.:

www.dgkayewriter.com
www.goodreads.com/dgkaye
www.amazon.com/author/dgkaye7
www.twitter.com/@pokercubster 
www.linkedin.com/in/DGKaye7
www.facebook.com/dgkaye


Debby, your poem is very meaningful. I am happy to know you are coming back to life, the good memories of your lost husband will give you the strength to face new life challenges. Are you planning new books in the near future?

*******

Please, allow me to add a small promotion of my books.

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Tapas, Wines and Doors

Often, when I walk, I feel curious about things I see in the streets and if I am allowed I push myself inside to explore. I saw these colors through the large windows of this place, they draw me in like a magnet. Warm, vibrant, bold, sunny, these colors spoke to me a Mediterranean language and feelings of savory epicurean delights paired with rare wines. I didn’t know it was a Spanish tapas bar and restaurant with the exotic twist of culture from Latin America.

“Old World taste meets New World appeal at Cascal”, says the advertisement. This is a place where friends could linger over exotic cocktails, music, the bold personality of the architecture and daring food. flavors.

Inside, rather than having a great dining open space, the arcade function as divider of spaces, providing privacy between diners without totally obstructing the lights while mixing the colors into each space.

In the Mediterranean culture, arches embellished with columns, capitels and stones usually surround beautiful doors, also enclose kitchens’ cooking areas and wine storage, but often many arches divide spaces that would be otherwise too open, too cold and too unmanageable.

Colors create cozy interior atmospheres. Painted doors are inviting and show the personality of the people living there. For the Thursday Door Challenge organized by Dan Antion, this is my contribution. Ciao.
Valentina
Amazon Author’s Page

Copyright © 2022 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Spring, Beauty and Books: Christine Robinson

Author Christine Robinson

Winter, Beauty: During Thanksgiving time, our two older dogs crossed the rainbow bridge into God’s new Garden of Eden. A few weeks later, we miraculously met and fell in love with two five-month-old Border Aussie siblings. Maddie and Max were bred on a horse ranch in Ramona, CA. It wasn’t Spring, Beauty, but it was a happy, December winter day. The two pups were in an outdoor pen at the ranch. As soon as we stepped into the pen, Maddie (black & white, more Border Collie) jumped into my partner, Robert’s arms. Max (golden and white, more Australian Shepard) jumped up and kissed my face. At that moment, we were happily chosen for their forever home. 

Spring, Beauty: Maddie and Max, now 9 months old, are energetic, smart, and loving pups. Showstoppers, they are magnets for animal lovers, who smile and pat them. Best of all, they share, in depth, their own incredible doggie stories. What better way to spread Spring, Beauty.  

Spring, Beauty and Books: May Flowers and a Debut book coming: Three Years of Her Life: A Novel. To be published on Amazon, May 3, 2022.


Author’s Bio
Christine E. Robinson spent years as a nurse practitioner before venturing into the world of fiction writing. Three Years of Her life is her first novel. A background as a published poet, experience in writing fiction/non-fiction books and screenplays, helped craft this story. Robinson lives in Southern California. Watch for a Women’s Fiction novel, available later this year.

Website: cerobinsonauthor.com 

Before Sundown
http://cerobinsonauthor.com 

Author Christine Robinson

Three Years of Her Life: A Novel

This debut novel is an indelible portrait of family love, trust, commitment, and unrelenting prejudice. A stirring tale that rides the line between historical fiction and romance, inspired by a famous musician’s hidden secret in Germany.

Three Years of Her Life, set in New England and Central Europe, is similar in concern and significant issues to bestselling American Epic books of the Great Depression, The Great War and the U.S. South. People and places focused, the novel’s heartwarming and heart-wrenching themes mark history in unsettled times.

A mystery woman’s photo, in question, is in the famous grandfather’s gold pocket watch for over fifty years. It devastates Elizabeth’s estranged grandmother, and she convinces Elizabeth to find the link. At a loss how, Elizabeth’s on track to be a nurse not a detective, she gets help from Erik, the doctor who captures her heart. He becomes obsessed with uncovering her grandfather’s secret and discovers more in Germany than the family can take. Now he shares a family heritage. When Elizabeth tries to stand up for Erik and her grandfather, it backfires.

Complicating her own life, Elizabeth falls into an entanglement with her guitar teacher. It’s only a longed-for connection to musicians, her absent father and dead grandfather, but it causes uncertainty. She’s now torn between two very different men. And what happens if and when she lets one of them go? Erik tips the balance for Elizabeth’s decision. He proves his character by risking his life transporting East Berlin hospital patients to the West through the Berlin Wall. But, what if border guards trap him in East Berlin? Unbeknown to Elizabeth, before Erik leaves on the mission, he sets up her future. And, he’s dead serious about his plan.

Elizabeth’s estranged grandmother convinces her to find the link to a mystery woman. Her photo is in Grandfather’s gold pocket watch. At a loss how, Elizabeth, a nurse, gets help from Erik, a doctor who captures her heart.”

Christine, I love the story of your two puppies, you saved them and they made your Spring.
Your novel “Three Years Of Her Life” sounds romantic and intriguing and the cover design is evocative of an era gone by. Is it by any chance some of your life story in there? I wish you great success with this new publication.

*****

Allow me to add a timid advertisement for my books.

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Spring, Beauty and Books: Yvette Calleiro

Author Yvette Calleiro

South Florida doesn’t really experience the seasons, so Spring doesn’t show itself as it does in the northern states. Sure, we have some frigid days (by South Floridian standards), but we mostly enjoy pleasant weather with bright blue skies and swaying palm trees. Despite the lack of visual representation, the energy of Spring is ours for the embracing. Spring is about renewal and growth. It encompasses dreaming and setting new goals. During this season, I enjoy spending more time outdoors. Whether it’s bike riding, walking, visiting the beach, or camping, nature rejuvenates my soul. This season also excites me because my son and I plan our summer road trip, a journey that creates long-lasting beautiful memories. Our steps are lighter, our vision is brighter, and our hearts begin soaring in Spring.

Photo: JPlenio on Pixabay – license free for commercial use

Harmony

step away from life’s hustle and bustle
let go of the need to do – just be
enter lush, magical forests
exhale your envy and angst
inhale earth’s energy
be one with nature
embrace jade’s gift
joyfulness
calming
peace

My novel:

My newest novel is called HYPE. Here is the book blurb:

“Cici’s junior year in high school is going to be the best year ever. Popular co-captain of the varsity cheerleading team, she’s dating the starting quarterback. Even her jealous co-captain’s attempts to steal her boyfriend can’t curb her enthusiasm.
When her mom moves in with her fiancé, a handsome, wealthy man, only one small detail threatens Cici’s perfect life. The school’s social pariah is about to become her stepsister, and Cici wants nothing to do with her.
Everything changes when someone Cici cares about throws her life into a tailspin, and the one person Cici couldn’t stand becomes her only ally.”

Warning: This story contains scenes of sexual assault.

Link for purchase: 

Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/HYPE-Yvette-M-Calleiro-ebook/dp/B09L7BFNXG/

Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1114232

Yvette M Calleiro

Author of HYPE – November 2021

Author of Breathless: A Short Story – July 2020

Author of The Chronicles of the Diasodz Series:

The One Discovered – January 2014

The One Enlightened – December 2014

The One Betrayed – December 2015

The One Revealed – December 2016

The One Awakened – December 2017

The One Chosen: A Diasodz Short Story- June 2021 

Yvette, you are blessed to live in Florida, with pleasant weather all year round. I remember going to the beach one year when I was there for Christmas. Your poem is inspiring. I wish you great success with your book “Hype”.

********

Allow me, please to add a small advertisement for my books.


Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Spring, Beauty and Books: Liesbet Collaert

Liesbet Collaert

“Spring is the most promising and prettiest season. Color, beauty, and fragrance befall nature and dominate our senses. Spring means a fresh start, a new chapter; a reset in the world. There is hope, there is a promise, there is a breath of fresh air. The days grow longer, with opportunity, quality time, and smiles. Anything seems possible again as new life emerges and with it our belief in positive changes on a personal or universal level.

I’d like to say, as a nomad for almost two decades, that I search for spring year-round. Mentally and metaphorically, definitely. But physically and geographically, this would be a lie. While we have occasionally and accidentally followed spring around the world, it is eternal summer that we pursue during our travels. Summer is not as elaborate as spring, but it is certainly inspired and encouraged by it.”

A touch of spring color in the town of Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Cactus blooms emerging in the California desert

Author bio
Liesbet Collaert’s articles and photos have been published internationally. Born in Belgium, she has been a nomad since 2003 with no plans to settle anytime soon. Her love of travel, diversity, and animals is reflected in her lifestyle choices of sailing, RVing, and house and pet sitting. Liesbet calls herself a world citizen and currently lives “on the road” in North America with her husband and rescue dog. Follow her adventures at www.roamingabout.com and read her travel memoir Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary for a compelling, unique, intimate, and refreshingly honest account of life aboard a 35-foot sailboat in the tropics; the joys, the challenges; and anything in between.

Blooming ocotillo cactus in the desert of Baja California, Mexico
A touch of spring color along the alleys in the village of Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Book blurb: Plunge
Tropical waters turn tumultuous in this travel memoir as a free-spirited woman jumps headfirst into a sailing adventure with a new man and his two dogs.

Join Liesbet as she faces a decision that sends her into a whirlwind of love, loss, and living in the moment. When she swaps life as she knows it for an uncertain future on a sailboat, she succumbs to seasickness and a growing desire to be alone.

Guided by impulsiveness and the joys of an alternative lifestyle, she must navigate personal storms, trouble with US immigration, adverse weather conditions, and doubts about her newfound love.

Does Liesbet find happiness? Will the dogs outlast the man? Or is this just another reality check on a dream to live at sea?

Plunge paperback book cover

Have you ever wondered how life could be if you had made different choices? If you didn’t marry early, commit to a large loan for the house, focus on your career, or start a family? 

Maybe you’re just curious about how a person thinking outside the box manages? A person without boundaries, striving to be flexible, happy, and free.

What you are about to read is how one such person follows her dreams, no, her intuition, and how she survives her naivety, life-altering twists, and a relationship in close quarters. 

Plunge is a story of what happens when you go with the flow, when you have a bright idea – or thought you had one – and ride the waves of the unknown. 

Plunge paperback & eBook cover

Purchase Links Plunge

For general info on my blog, including free chapters, reviews, and purchase links: https://www.roamingabout.com/about-plunge/

To buy on Amazon (universal link): https://amzn.to/3jZRrpm

For eBook versions worldwide: https://books2read.com/plungememoir

For paperback distributors worldwide: https://www.ingramspark.com/how-it-works/distribute

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/55848458-plunge-one-woman-s-pursuit-of-a-life-less-ordinary

Liesbet, I admire your sense of adventure. It takes courage to live as a nomad since 2003, you have understood what is important to you and followed your heart. Your photos express well your free life. Your life sounds very interesting. I wish you much success with your book.

*****

Allow me to add my book adventures with yours.

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Spring, Beauty and Books: Ann Chiappetta

Author Ann Chiappetta

“I am an empath and feel the change of seasons by observing with my senses.  Being a poet means writing and sharing my experiences. The connection to the lunar calendar and other environmental shifts compel me to begin preparing for nature’s bounty after a harsher existence through the cold winter months.  

Photo cherry blossom by photographer Cheryll Romanek 

April is a notable time because in the United States we not only celebrate Easter and Passover but also National Poetry Month. Spring is the time to replenish and awaken after the winter’s cold slumber. Here is a poem I wrote to celebrate  Spring and national Poetry Month.”

Botany

From Words Of Life, Poems and Essays © 2020 Ann Chiappetta

    softly pointed silken petals
unfolded delicately.
Some spiral to the ground.
Such a sweet nectar.
forsythia blooms
trumpet-buds announce flavors
of honey‑sweet spring.

Book of Poems by Author Ann Chiappetta

About the Author

Annie Chiappetta author and multi-media specialist. Making meaningful connections.

The author of five fiction and nonfiction books, Annie’s poems, creative nonfiction, essays and fiction are featured in anthologies, online magazines, blogs and small press reviews.

Annie is excited to be the new host of WDOMI’s Chat and Connect podcast and hopes to bring an increased audience and appreciation of the meaning of the word, “disability” with energy and a wide-open lens.

Annie is also a cohost of the Friends in Art of ACB, Art Parlor  podcast. Prior to the pandemic pause, Annie visited schools and organizations in Westchester County presenting a disability awareness and people with disabilities program to K-6 grade students. Visit Annie’s website, www.Annchiappetta.com to purchase books, listen to poetry essays and view video performances or to request Annie as a guest speaker.

Annie’s interests include disability awareness, exploring the human and canine bond through service dog partnerships, guide dogs, literature and creativity, the paranormal, military families and veterans, and
continuing to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with her assistive technology.

Blog: www.thought-wheel.com
Website: www.Annchiappetta.com
Facebook: Annie Chiappetta
Twitter: Anniedungarees
Instagram: annie_bird_c

Subscribe to the monthly newsletter and be the first to find out when Annie’s next book, a YA novel titled, Hope for the Tarnished is released.

Subscribe to Anniesharesnews+subscribe@groups.io

Thanks to Valentina for this posting opportunity and blessings to all.

Ann, to be an empath, one must be connected to the universe to feel what others feel and it seems you are very connected. It was my pleasure to host you, I got to know you a little more. I wish you much success with your new release.

******

Allow me to add my collection of books and be part of this creative world of writers.

Valentina

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Spring, Beauty and Books: Effrosyni Moschoudi

Author Effrosyni Moschoudi

Springtime, for me, is a time for renewal. It’s the time to shake away the chill of the winter, and not just from my bones – from my heart and soul too, as I find winter depressing and dreary. Not my favourite time of year at all, so the spring has always been for me a time when I take conscious action to renew myself and to ‘come alive’.

At the first signs of spring, I get to work, opening windows wide and letting the sun soak every nook and every cranny of my home, while I go through it with a fine comb, so to speak, to renew it from the inside out.

Starting from the inside, other than the much-needed spring cleaning, I always make sure to go through my wardrobe, giving away what is not needed. Next, I go through the books in my heaving bookcases. Thank goodness for the local library and the eager friends, who take the unwanted ones from my hands!

I believe in the Universal Law of Recycling, which says that if you create a vacuum in any physical space, the Universe will rush to fill it with something new. More often than not, people come with offerings shorty after I’ve given things away. Always makes me chuckle!

Other than cleaning the house and giving away what I don’t need, I also tidy up all living spaces from the clutter that tends to accumulate in the winter months. I find this helps to calm and clarify my overloaded mind, which tends to get worse when I see disarray and overstuffed corners, especially when it comes to paperwork in my study.

Tidying up and getting rid of unnecessary old papers do wonders for my sense of well-being and mental clarity.

All the above are indispensable procedures I follow religiously every spring.

But that’s not the fun part. The fun starts when I venture out to my balcony and garden… where my two fur babies daily offer me laughter and affection in abundance.

Loulou and Sissi

Meet Loulou (left) and her daughter, Sissi. They are both gentle souls, and the only cats I’ve ever had who’ve never clawed at me. I feel so lucky to have them, as they bring me untold joy, though I may occasionally feel otherwise – that is, whenever they bring up to the balcony birds of all kinds and sizes, mice, roaches, or lizards. I tend to like them a little less, just for a little while, as I clear up the carnage LOL.

Loulou and Sissi take great interest in my activities on the balcony and around the garden – when I replant pots or pick weeds or vegetables, for example. They tend to follow me around when I water too, making me laugh with their excited manner and meows. Every spring, especially, there is lots of that, because I tend to plant colourful flowers to place on the balcony. By miracle, Sissi, who is quite naughty, has never destroyed a single one of them, even though she tends to attack everything else!

Working from home, especially in the spring, has wonderful benefits. One of them is that I will occasionally take a small foldable table outside to sit with my laptop and work in the fresh air, sweet birdsong in my ears. Having beautiful blooms around certainly brightens my day even further.

I live in a small seaside town near Athens, which means I get to enjoy wonderful sea views during my walks along the seafront. There are beaches and a large marina with a string of cafes and eateries, and it’s all pretty idyllic.

This is one of my favorite spots for sitting to look out to sea (and the island of Salamina that’s opposite at a very short distance). Sitting on this bench, I love to empty my mind, and other times to plot my stories, or even to pray or meditate when I feel stuck mentally or emotionally. Sitting on this bench has often proved a lifesaver, my mind clearing and my heart lifting within a few minutes as if I’d been touched by a magic hand. In the spring, of course, this idle pastime serves to plan my summer vacations, too, or simply to dream endlessly about them!

Living near the sea is a huge blessing that adds fun and beauty to my days all year round. Enjoying swims daily is easy throughout the summer since the beach is only a five-minute drive away from home. My husband and I love to sit under a pine tree and enjoy a packed lunch (or a bought souvlaki!) sometimes after our swims with the cricket song in our ears. During the spring, picnics on the beach are just as precious and help to bring the summer a little closer. Personally, I start daydreaming about the summer at the first sign of spring, and it tends to offer new inspiration for new stories to write too. Blessings all around!

A novel by Effrosyni Moschoudi

$1.99 on preorder. Clean romance short read (launches April 25)

Spyri never forgot that old summer in Corfu when she met Markos…

Spyri, a half-Greek restauranteur in her early thirties, is back on the island of Corfu, staying in her grandmother’s village home for a few days to decompress from her busy life in London. Her nostalgia for the good old summer days hit her upon her return.

When she hears that Markos, the one she never forgot, is staying at the village, she becomes excited. Sparks begin to fly when they meet, but Markos has his own hurts of the past to deal with…

VISIT AMAZON:  https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

About the Author
Effrosyni Moschoudi was born and raised in Athens, Greece. As a child, she loved to sit alone in her garden scribbling rhymes about flowers, butterflies and ants. Today, she writes books for the romantic at heart. She lives in a quaint seaside town near Athens with a British husband, two naughty cats, and a staggering amount of books and DVDs. Her little town is heavenly enough, yet her mind forever drifts to her beloved island of Corfu.

The Ebb, her new adult romance that was inspired by her summers in Corfu in the 1980s, is an ABNA Q-Finalist. Her debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, won a silver medal in the 2017 book awards of Readers’ Favorite. Her ghost romance novella, The Boy on the Bridge, was a Top 10 winner in the “50 Best Indie Books” awards of Readfree.ly in 2021.

What others say about Effrosyni’s books:
“Effrosyni layers her words on the page like music.”
~Jackie Weger, author of The House on Persimmon Road

“Very few writers have such a gift for realism.”
~Kelly Smith Reviews

Go here to grab FREE books by this author: http://effrosyniwrites.com/free-stuff/

Visit her website for free excerpts, book trailers, her travel guide to Corfu, delicious Greek recipes, and to join her email list for her news and special offers: http://www.effrosyniwrites.com

Like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoreffrosyni
Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/frostiemoss
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/effrosyni
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7362780.Effrosyni_Moschoudi

I remember my many visits to Greece and Corfu. It was easy to cross the sea with an overnight ferry from my native city of Bari when I lived there. I will never forget the blue-green transparent waters of Corfu and the food, of course, was delicious!
Good luck with your new launch on April 25th, I wish you much success with “My Corfu Love Story”

*************

Allow me to attach a bit of advertising for my books.

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Spring, Beauty and Books: Anne Goodwin

I am not the only one amazed at how a tiny seed can grow into a giant healthy plant. This year, I planted strawberries, and for the first time, the birds are not eating them. These little red juicy jewels hanging from a pot beautify my garden incredibly. I mix strawberries with a bit of sugar to make a natural facial exfoliating that refreshes and nourishes my skin. Of course, I eat my strawberries as well.
Author Anne Goodwin feels the same amazement with her Spring seeds.

Author Anne Goodwin

“I love to watch my garden emerge from hibernation, to awake to birdsong, to see butterflies and bees and find frogspawn in the pond. I’m always amazed how a tiny seed can grow into a plant that dwarfs me. It’s like the germ of an idea that becomes a story. But, like writing, gardening with nature does not always go to plan. Some seeds take root where I least expect them and, like weather and reader reactions, it’s not all within my control.
Yet it’s wonderfully therapeutic to bury my hands in the soil or the keyboard.  Such a thrill to harvest the fruits of my labours: the food on the table; the words on the printed page.  Or to lift my gaze from my desk to the window and catch the flowering cherry in bloom.”

Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home Blurb

In the dying days of the old asylums, three paths intersect.

Henry was only a boy when he waved goodbye to his glamorous grown-up sister; approaching sixty, his life is still on hold as he awaits her return.

As a high-society hostess renowned for her recitals, Matty’s burden weighs heavily upon her, but she bears it with fortitude and grace.

Janice, a young social worker, wants to set the world to rights, but she needs to tackle challenges closer to home.

A brother and sister separated by decades of deceit. Will truth prevail over bigotry, or will the buried secret keep family apart?

In this, her third novel, Anne Goodwin has drawn on the language and landscapes of her native Cumbria and on the culture of long-stay psychiatric hospitals where she began her clinical psychology career.

To purchase a copy and/or find out more, go to Matilda Windsor link tree https://linktr.ee/matildawindsor

Congratulations on your third novel, Anne, wishing you much success.

Please allow me to advertise my books.

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

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