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First and foremost; thank you, great Goddesses, for inviting me to spend the day with you and your fellow goddesses! What a wonderful group of like-minded people you’ve gathered in such a unique forum. Again, thank you for including me.
So, let me begin by saying that I bake bread for therapy when I’m writing. Well, okay; I toss all the ingredients in a pan and push a button, and my Zojirushi bakes bread. When the writing is going well I set the machine on the regular cycle, which takes 3 hours and 30 minutes. Writing not going so well, I hit the quick cycle and am munching the warm, farm-butter-slathered indulgence in 1 hour and 58 minutes. Either way, I’m guaranteed nearly a full hour of nose-tickling anticipation as the smell of baking bread wafts through my studio.
Yes, I have a writing studio, because my husband wanted to enter our house throughout the day without having to tiptoe. (I am very easily distracted.) So he bought the camp neighboring our beachfront and moved me, my computer, and my three tons of books into it—the irony being that I had to put shades on all the windows because a lake full of wildlife is really distracting. Then he bought a golf cart for my two-hundred-yard commute to work; partly because I refuse to walk through a gauntlet of sneaky and stinky nocturnal critters at three in the morning, but mostly so he doesn’t have to lug all the stuff I absolutely have to take with me (like more books, crow food, and ten-pound-bags of flour). And I kid you not; he even put headlights and snow tires on the cart.
But you know what the biggest perk of having a studio turned out to be? I get to argue with my characters out loud without anyone realizing how weird I really am—not that my characters waking me up at 3:00 a.m. to tell their stories isn’t proof enough. (For the record, my dear sweet husband has to get up and drive me—in my golf cart—to the studio and then walk home, because I am also very afraid of the dark.)
Anyway, back to my therapeutic bread baking. Writing books that won’t reach readers for at least a year and sometimes longer doesn’t exactly satisfy my need for instant gratification. Baking bread does. Unlike my stories, in as little as 118 minutes, I can find out if my creation is … palatable. Or did I get too daring and that magical ingredient I tossed into the mix sent the whole thing flying over-the-top?
Say, like, was it maybe too far of a stretch for my readers when I rearranged my beautiful state of Maine by moving mountains and turning a large, freshwater lake into an inland sea? I had to wait over a year to find out! (Thank you, everyone who not only embraced my outrageous little stunt but asked for more. I am right now writing book five of Spellbound Falls.)
Authors spend endless hours locked away from the very societies we write about as we wrestle—sometimes beg—our characters to cooperate, all for the sheer joy of creating stories we deeply hope are as comforting and nourishing and satisfying as a warm slice of butter-slathered bread. Which brings my question to mind; when you choose a book out of the hundreds—thousands—being offered, what are you hoping to get from the experience? Reading takes a precious lot of time (although you can read in ten hours what it took an author many months to write), so … Why do you read?
Well, other than escaping the real world. Are you after a feeling? An insight? Inspiration? Or maybe the relatively quick gratification when everyone in the fictional world gets their acts together in only ten hours, and is living happily-ever-after when you reach the last page? Also, feel free to talk about your favorite coping therapies.
Come on, tell me. If you do, I’ll drop in and tell you why I love reading and writing romance. I’ll also send a signed copy of my newest release in the Spellbound Falls series, Courting Carolina, to three lucky winners!
Until later from LakeWatch … Janet
74 Comments on “The magic of bread”
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Hi Janet & welcome. Mmmmm homemade bread. My grandma used to make bread all the time; the old fashioned way; kneading and letting the bread rise on the windowsill. But when it was baking…oh my the house smelled so wonderful.
Why do I read? For the pure pleasure of it. No other reason actually. I love to sit either on the deck in nice weather or the breezeway and read and enjoy the weather.
Sometimes in order to cope when I’m feeling down, I simply pet our little dog, Lacey. Or I talk with one of my two girlfriends and things get back on an even keel.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 6:26 am.
Who can look into such warm eyes and NOT de-stress? Pets are the BEST therapy!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 9:23 am.
Hi Janet, welcome to Mt Oly and TGB. My partner, New Guy and I recently were given a bread maker which we are loving.
I read because at times it is one of the very few things that I can focus and concentrate on while I am off my antidepressants. My other coping mechanisms include warm bubble baths and sleeping with watching Criminal Minds thrown in for good measure.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 7:39 am.
Really? Criminal Minds? And then you can SLEEP? I can’t sleep for WEEKS after watching just one show. I am such a fraidy cat.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 9:13 am.
Welcome Janet and thanks for dropping by! It sounds like you have the perfect set up, including a wonderful husband to accomodate your writing! And the smell of baking bread certainly is comforting – just the right note to set when your day isn’t going too well or to ccelebrate when it is.
I read because I have to.
I read for the happy endings and because I was lonely when I was younger. I started reading because that’s what you did in my house, you read, it was expected. The the characters became my friends and constant companions when we were moving every few years. I learned about human nature and strange and surprising facts from my fiction (it’s amazing the research that goes into so many fiction books!). Now I like having the happy endings because I don’t want to read depressing or ambiguous things when my life is so happy. I love a good epilogue that ties everything up and gives you a glimpse into the happily ever after.
As far as my favorite coping strategy, I bake. Cookies, cakes, candy, I bake. I love it. Like you I love the instant gratification and also the smiles on people’s faces when you present them with a sweet. I don’t generally eat that much of what I bake (I’m trying to lose weight) but that’s not the point of baking, it’s the act of creation.
Anyway, now that I’ve written a novel in response to your questions, thanks again for stopping by, it’s always nice to meet someone new.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 7:45 am.
Good morning ladies! You’re such early risers, like me. This blog is so great, and I’ve been looking forward to it for days. I started reading romance at 15 or 16, and I am thankful my mom didn’t pay too close attention to WHAT I was reading
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:02 am.
Okay, don’t know what happened to rest of that comment!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:07 am.
It happened again! Apparently I can’t insert those little yellow smiley faces.
I’ll be back
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:09 am.
Well! I typed them out with colons and brackets and it put them in! Go figure…
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:10 am.
Heh! I wish I were an early bird. Truth be told, I am an Aussie and it’s getting a little late here.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:49 am.
Hey Kelly, don’t burn the midnight oil too late.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 9:11 am.
Hi Janet! Welcome to TGB. What a wonderful husband you have to do so many little things just so we can enjoy your books! Please give him a hug from all of your readers.
I too bake bread when I need to connect to the past. I love knowing I am doing something that people have been doing for generations. The first bite is such a joy. I love to hear stories of other people who bake bread and why.
I read because I must. It is as essential to me as breathing.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:16 am.
And isn’t it cool how every culture has its own bread. Yeah, I guess when I smell it baking, I feel that same sense of connection to the past and across the world into foreign kitchens.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 9:20 am.
Janet, we are so happy to have you here at Mt. Oly! My favorite coping therapy is to run. I am not fast, I don’t have great form, but I am dedicated. When I am running, I am away from everything but my own thoughts, and it’s amazing how many issues I work out in my head when I am away from computers, people, and noise.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:21 am.
Hi Julia! What a wonderful blog. I wish I ran…sometimes. I like WATCHING runners run past my house. They always look so INTO it, that I can imagine they’re deep inside their heads with their thoughts. I think maybe I need a dog, so it would guilt me into at least WALKING.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 9:00 am.
Hi Janet! Welcome! Your writing studio sounds wonderful! What a terrific husband you have to do all that for you. Could he be part of the inspiration behind those fabulous heroes you create? You hooked me with your very first Highlander book and every book since has only reeled me in more. Love them so much!
Baking is my therapy. Sometimes it’s bread. Other times it’s cookies. Or maybe handcrafted chocolates. My various moods – and level of frustration – dictate the product but, when in need of therapy, the kitchen is always the place I go.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:25 am.
There’s just something about the kitchen…warm, inviting, nourishing. And we can get creative (just don’t try a new recipe on guests, I discovered!).
Glad you’ve been enjoying my big strong highlanders. Hard to believe Greylen MacKeage introduced himself to me 10 years ago!
And when my hubby gets a raised eyebrow when he tells someone that his wife writes romance, he then tells them that he does all my research–with a straight face!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 9:10 am.
Welcome Janet! I can smell your bread baking, and it smells delicious. My BFF’s mom used to bake bread all the time, and I loved walking into their house, not only did it smell wonderful, it felt warm and inviting.
I love being whisked away to another time and place, so I guess I read for the escape. I have a little spot in my walk-in closet where I sit and read when I want to be by myself. I often escape there with my book and a glass of wine. It is my little hideout, where the kids know I am not to be disturbed. I also read for the HEA. It’s so nice when love wins against all that’s thrown at it.
If I am not hiding in my closet reading, I love to soak away my stress in a nice hot bubble bath, or eat away my stress with a big pan of hot gooey brownies. When it’s really bad, I will resort to all three.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:38 am.
Oh, love the hideout idea! Don’t you just hate it when someone talks to you when you’re reading. Smart solution, AmyS! Sometimes I hide in my studio and PRETEND I’m writing.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 9:03 am.
There was a rule in our house, it was called the last six page rule. If someone said they were on the last six pages that meant walk away and you get to live.It wasn’t always the actual last six as much as it was a warning that you were not in a space to deal with anything less than 6.0 on the Richter scale.
The same held true for the first cup of coffee in the morning, my sons would try to talk to me and I would ask, “What am I doing?” “Drinking coffee.” “Which cup?” “The first? Sorry I will come back.” I am happy to announce my sons are alive and giving me grandchildren because they could read warning signs.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:43 am.
You go, evlqn! I told my sons that if they were bleeding but hadn’t hit an artery, then deal with it. And they are alive and can cook and do laundry because Mom was always READING.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:02 pm.
Quick hubby story: one morning at 3:00 am, I heard a ruckus in a bedroom of my studio and husband came out brushing down his puffed-up chest and said there really WAS a bogeyman hiding in the closet, but that he sent it on its way and told it to go haunt some other crazy lady’s closet. Gotta love a man who still has a sense of humor after being dragged out of bed at such an ungodly hour to walk his wife to work through six inches of new snow (hence the snow tires were put on golf cart).
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 8:56 am.
Welcome, Janet!
I read because when I do I enter a private world. When I was little it was a way to find some privacy, and it still has that special sensation of closing off the rest of the world and just indulging myself.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 9:04 am.
Welcome to Mt. Oly!
I read because I love to. Pretty simple, eh? Reading offers a way for me to look into someone else’s creative process. I try to read a little every day to keep my own imagination open. Make sense?
I love to garden, so I guess that would be one thing I do to straighten out my thoughts.
I visited Maine last year and fell in love! What a beautiful state.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 9:43 am.
Thanks Kelly. And you’re right! Reading–or listening to music or watching a good movie–does get my own creative juices flowing. Artwork, too. I find it amazing that something that doesn’t really exist, is just a thought in someone’s head, can move onto a page or canvas and YOU get to see it.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:58 am.
Oh! I love your books! I’ve read them all. I think it rocks that your husband did all that for you, and I got a chuckle out of the fitted golf cart! I hope you stick around
My coping mechanisms are to workout. I do triathlons so my me time/stress reliever is a good ride or run or swim! The added benefit is that it gets me outside and is good for me.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:17 am.
What a great hubby you have to get you, your own little retreat and work space..
I read because I just love it. As far back as I can remember a book has never been far from my side.. My mom and grandma, my aunts and cousins all love to read.. The woman of the family are all avid readers. Not so the men int he family, but I am trying to pass on the love of books to my nephews…
Thanks for a great give away..
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:19 am.
I can’t get ANY of the men in my family (two sons- grown) to read. They can’t sit still long enough. One son did do Hunger Games on audio. I told him that counted.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:50 am.
As for the studio…I’m pretty sure he did it for himself more than for me.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:52 am.
My favorite way to escape it all has always been to read, because then I can leave my own problems behind and enter someone else’s world! I also love to walk and spend time with my many nieces and nephews, which helps me gain perspective on things. Any time that I write, be it a letter or anything else, I feel better. I started writing poetry when I was 16 years old, so whenever I need emotional release, I sit down in a quiet place (so I can relate to being locked away!) with my purple pen and my purple pad and just feel, and amazing words come out!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:14 am.
Hi, Janet. Thanks so much for being here today. Your studio sounds fantastic. (So does the bread!)
Like Julia, I’m also a running coper. Or is that a coping runner?
As for reading, I love being pulled into the story so far that I can’t stop reading and voraciously plow through to the end. That happens pretty rarely but when it does it’s magic.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:15 am.
Oh yum on the bread… I LOVE bread… almost any kind.. once stayed at a B&B where the breadmaker was set up to make cinnemon bread.. We all got up EARLY at that B&B… I like reading both because I learn about new things/places but I also love being ‘transported’ out of my life for a while.. I’m so excited with your new series!! Thanks!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:19 am.
Welcome Janet, happy to have you here today,enjoy your visit.
I read because I HAVE TO KNOW! I can’t stand seeing this wonderful invention called writing all bound within covers and not knowing what is inside. Reading is necessary for me and everyone around me; because not reading would send me around a bend no one wants me on. I have to read to get balance in my life, what ever else was happening in my world, books have been there.
I also sew garb and paint ceramic heads & masks for an outlet. I haven’t baked bread for years but I am a kitchen sink cook whatever sounds good can and has gone into what I am cooking.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:27 am.
LOL! I read EVERYTHING. Have a hard time staying focused on a conversation if I catch sight of a magazine nearby with an interesting headline. Painting heads sounds interesting. For dolls? Or busts? And masks…I like that idea. Creative.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:49 am.
Hi, Janet! Glad to have you hear at Mt. Oly (I just arrived yesterday myself). Now I want a writing studio. And baking bread. I have a machine in my kitchen that I haven’t used in a while so you just inspired me to pull it out again.
Why I read…it’s just my favorite form of entertainment. Portable, always available when I am, and takes me away to new worlds. My mom was a big reader and it just rubbed off, I guess. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t have a big stack of books waiting for me.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:31 am.
Hi Christie. Congratulations on your new goddess appointment! The trick to using a bread machine is to keep everything in the cupboard over it, and tape your favorite recipes inside the cupboard door. If you don’t have to hunt down ingredients, you’ll just toss them in on a whim.
And then you get addicted!
And yeah, reading is portable entertainment, especially today with e-readers. I lug 50 books wherever I go.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:55 am.
My coping techniques are reading, writing, swimming, hot baths, and my favorite a massage. When I am stuck, worried, out of sorts – I find that if I give myself a gift of at least 10 minutes I can move forward.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:47 am.
I read for a lot of reasons – sometimes for a good laugh (with certain time traveling characters, ahem), sometimes for pure escapism. I also love that there’s a HEA or a HFN at the end. I like tidy packages, which is why I also love to watch shows on HGTV! They start with a messy, unsellable house, and 30 minutes later everything looks fabulous! Really, it’s so very satisfying to my OCD, lol.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:51 am.
Ah yes, it’s that instant gratification thing. I love HGTV!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 11:57 am.
First, let me say how much I enjoy your books. I picked up the first one years ago and had to go back and hunt for the two previous installments. Second, I’m so jealous! Of course, having a studio would mean one more area to keep clean, but the pros certainly outweight the cons. My bread maker is in the basement; youngest didn’t realize I usually save bread baking for when I’m angry. Have for years. The bread is always wonderful, thanks to the punching and pounding, and having an outlet that also functions as a reward has saved lives.
I read to be transported, entertained, enlightened, or just because there’s a book there! The best books transport, however. Life, with all it’s problems, falls away for a time. Often the act of overcoming, reaching the HEA regardless of obstacles, boosts the spirit enough to face whatever awaits in the real world.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:03 pm.
Thanks Gwyn. (love your name…am always looking for names!). I used to bake bread the good old hands-on way, too. But now my fingers are busy typing.
I’m happy for your youngest.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:09 pm.
Wow, I can see I’m not going to get any writing done today! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a busy blog. You ladies are fantastic! I guess that’s why I love romance readers. You’re so my kind of women.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:05 pm.
Hi, Janet!! Welcome to Mt Oly!
I read to get my mind to be quiet and escape. I don’t often like really deep or serious books – reading is my time to just enjoy. Romance is perfect with some other genres tossed in for variety.
I also like crafting/creating things or going out and being with friends.
Between you and Barbara Samuel, I think I have caught the breadmaking bug again… I don’t have a bread machine anymore, but I have a counter to knead on. I might have to make some this weekend… assuming your book I ordered doesn’t get here for me to sink into instead.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:14 pm.
Hey, you can read while the dough is rising.
and while it’s baking and you’re smelling it.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:30 pm.
An added benefit of bread baking!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:46 pm.
Hello, Janet! Welcome to Mt. Oly where we’re all a little crazy, but we’re friendly!
First of all I have SERIOUS writing studio envy! Your husband is a real keeper and your studio sounds perfect!
I read to refill the well as I am an aspiring romance writer. But I also read to escape from my DDJ (Dreaded Day Job) and all of the stress it produces. Reading takes me off to another world where even if the characters have problems they aren’t MY problems, they’re usually worse than my problems, and best of all they are always solved with a HEA. (I read primarily romance and research books about the Regency era. Mainstream fiction depresses the heck out of me!)
My other coping mechanisms include watching Disney movies curled up in bed with my dogs and cats. And watching BBC period dramas like North and South and Cranford and Pride and Prejudice (Mr. Darcy, need I say more?) And if that doesn’t do the trick I take my dogs for a walking on my five acres in the middle of nowhere. Most of my property is wooded and you never know what you might see!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:16 pm.
“My other coping mechanisms include watching Disney movies curled up in bed with my dogs and cats. And watching BBC period dramas like North and South and Cranford and Pride and Prejudice”
I knew I liked you.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:48 pm.
Right back at you, Sheridan!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 2:07 pm.
Welcome to Mt. Oly, Janet! My mom used to make bread on Saturdays for many, many years. I loved to help her, probably because I got one on one time with her (I have 6 siblings) since no one else wanted to help her.
I read for so many reasons – as a distraction, time filler, I HAVE to know what happens, want to exercise my imagination, etc. This is especially true when I’m trying to design a piece of jewelry, and it’s just not working out. If it’s really bad, I’ll take a walk. I walk with my 9 yo daughter, too, when she’s really upset. Sometimes it just helps to get out of the situation.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:19 pm.
Oh nice Janae. You’re teaching your daughter coping skills, too.
that is such a gift youre giving her, to learn how to calm ourselves.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:35 pm.
Okay, first off reading is my coping method. And uhmm, 10 hours, I can totally read a much anticipated book faster than that. I love spy/suspense books I think I am looking for excitement. But I also have a lot of just funny books, Julia Quinn is good for these.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 12:31 pm.
I will read the other comments later because I HAVE TO KNOW their answers as well…
I ADORE YOUR BOOKS I recommend them to EVERYONE!!! I read to escape and to feel loved. Your books leave me feeling blessed and sometimes give me examples of how I can be a better person. It’s like my grandmother was telling me a story in the snug comfort of her arm in her rocker. I fell in love with Robbie MacBain first when he was a child and discovered his gift of a Guardian. I recognized this gift in my son and I loved reading your stories to see how Robbie grew. Your Maine is much like my Oregon and I find parallels in your love for your state. You feed my soul and with the chaos of my life your books bless me. THANK YOU!
I read for escape and refreshment. The world goes away for a while and the characters find love. I like to believe in HEA and you do it in spades. THANK YOU!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 1:05 pm.
I read to be swept away to another time and place and share in an adventure that otherwise I would miss out on. While I’m reading, all the stress of the real world vanishes away. Plus, in most books you can learn something. The added bonus is that we get to meet such wonderful authors and readers in the process.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 1:10 pm.
Greetings, Janet, and welcome to the Mount. Your bread baking reminds me of the time I entered the adult world and rented my first apartment. I celebrated by baking a loaf of bread and making banana pudding from scratch. Yum.
In addition to romance, mysteries, thrillers and suspense are also on my go to list as means of escape. Another biggie for me is music. I like most kinds but am switching between country and Rod Stewart’s easy listening repertoire right now.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 1:28 pm.
Love music. Also found Naturespace. It’s holographic digital sound tracks like thunderstorms, birds singing, wind, ocean surf. It is AMAZING with headphones, like you are surrounded. I lay back, close my eyes and chill out.
And they’re long, like 15 to 34 minutes, so it’s not just a quick, repeating loop. I actually feel my heart rate slow!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 5:34 pm.
I’m totally a bread baker, especially when the writing is not going well. I tend to want to pound and smash it, though, so I go for the type you have to knead.
Welcome. Nice to have you.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 2:11 pm.
I read for the pure enjoyment of meeting new characters and “seeing” new settings. For becoming intertwined in the characters lives.
For coping through stress? I tend to bake, or exercise and try and remember (most of all) to breathe.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 3:04 pm.
I do read for the escape as you mention. I also like the HEA feeling.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 3:29 pm.
mmmmmm Bread sounds so good right now!!!
Janet reading takes my daily stress away from my life….I love reading about the highlanders in Maine… they are my favorite highlanders….
Oh how I would love to sit and view out those windows of yours… but then of course I am not a writer.. LOL
So, give up that bread recipe to give me a reason to pull out my bread machine.
hehe
Glad you came out from under all those pages to visit with us!
Talk to you soon.
<3
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 3:34 pm.
And those windows are exactly why I have to close the curtains.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 5:28 pm.
Hi Janet,
Welcome to the Goddesses domain. I myself read for relaxation, get my mind somewhere else and also just for the sheer joy of it. What better way to learn about different places, spell better, learn meaning of words. Also, I get to meet great authors who overall are pretty much like me in everyday life, just that we work differently but hard. Have a great Friday and weekend.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 4:33 pm.
Yes, you CAN go Inside a book and leave the real world behind for a bit, can’t you.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 5:37 pm.
Sorry for being so quiet. Changed locations by about 80 miles.
hopped in the camper and went to the ‘fictional’ Pine Lake. Thank heavens for cell phone towers and iPads!
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 5:25 pm.
When I daydream, I often imagine my H/Hr face obstacles. Alas, those obstacles are not well-thought. I get the beginning, the middle, the end, but not in-between. Or I get the in-between, the end, but not the beginning or the middle. Thus, the gaps are there, but I still enjoy imagining about them.
And arguing with your characters is normal. I “argue” out loud with them, re-enacting such and such, though I don’t do it often. There ARE other people in my household, so I just do the “arguing” in my head.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 5:54 pm.
I cannot begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed your books. I have read them all but the last one which I haven’t found yet. Of course, I traveling at the moment so it is difficult to find a “real book”. I want to read something that entertains me, makes me laugh, etc. I want to feel happy when I finish the book. I haven’t made bread in years. I make it without the bread oven. I love to knead bread.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 6:43 pm.
I read for the happily ever after.
Posted on September 7, 2012 at 10:12 pm.
I also read for the HEA. I love getting to know the characters, getting invested, if only for a short time, in their lives, and taking an adventure with them. Because Romance novels are so well researched, I have learned a lot of history through osmosis, and as such, have confounded a few people with acquired knowledge when watching Jeopardy and playing trivia games. Just another perk that I enjoy while reading.
How do I de-stress?? If I can’t read, I drive. I get in Lucy, my trusty wonder-van, fill the tank and point her nose to wherever my mind takes me. Usually I have my camera with me and I end up taking photos as well. When I return home, my mind is clear, my camera is full and I am ready to face the world again.
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:25 am.
I read because when I’m reading, I’m able to totally tune out the current world and be immersed in a different one. I’m not at all creative but I feel like reading allows me to access the right side of my brain and exercise those muscles that otherwise have no outlet.
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 12:54 am.
I’d love a studio to hide out in. I’d also love a bread maker.
When I read I want to be entertained I guess & if I learn things along the way – then great!!
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 4:00 am.
Reading escaping my tiny corner of the world to visit new places, meet new people and experience life through other people’s eyes. I treasure their humor, their insights, their relationships. I love knowing a HEA awaits all those characters I red about.
I’ve made yeast breads by hand. I love that fresh yeasty smell! My mother-in- law taught me. She was a fantastic cook. I miss her a lot!
I read, walk, swim and knit.
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 9:49 am.
Thanks for visiting!
Well, any book I read HAS to have the happily ever after. I usually like the ride to be serious, funny, and a couple of ‘punched in the gut’ feelings. I need lots of emotional content too. I like the witty banter, cute funny scenes, etc, but I have to have that eye contact, that emotional intensity. If he is a highlander, that doesn’t hurt either
For coping, I like to clean (don’t throw rotten fruit at me!). It helps me feel like if I can clean and organize and sort things out, that SOMETHING is in my control at least.
I do like to read as an escape too, but sometimes my mind is too busy to settle down and I have to clean.
Posted on September 8, 2012 at 1:24 pm.
Well, I can tell you baking/cooking for sure would not be on my ‘de-stress’ list. As a matter of fact if I started baking bread, it could cause an explosion we might never recover from!If you don’t believe me, ask my husband and kids about the sweet potato incident of 2005 (or somewhere in that area). Lets just say, it wasn’t pretty.
But why do I read? Wow, now there’s a tough question. I love to learn new things, so I read lots of historical type romances. I Love history, so those types of books are like a giant encyclopedia, but usually with a happy ending. I like chick lit, I admit it. But there is something about a group of women, who’ve come together for whatever reason, which makes me feel good. I LOVE time-travel books and almost anything about witchcraft, two things I’ve very interested in.
But I guess it would depend on my mood at the moment which type of book I would pull off the shelves or run to the library to read.
Posted on September 9, 2012 at 12:34 am.
After reading this blog post, I feel like I’ve nestled into a cozy couch, a quilt on my lap, hot cocoa on the table next to me, and I’m in a remote cabin. I like that feeling. I’m going to have to check out your books to see if they make me feel as relaxed.
Posted on September 10, 2012 at 11:08 pm.
I was the kid reading under the covers with a flashlight after lights out. I was the kid who dragged boxes of her favorite books off to college with her, to her father’s disgust when they had to be carried up 3 flights of stairs. I’m the grownup who packs dozens and dozens of boxes of books each time we move (not often, fortunately). I finally have my library with new bookshelves in the new house. It’s where I write. There’s no question that it’s MY room.
Posted on September 18, 2012 at 2:06 pm.