Creating Sparks That Last & All Things Relationships

Reflection, Relationships, Romance Book Review: Watercolors and Tears by Jose Orlando Castaneda My review follows a request by the author who gifted me with a digital copy of Watercolors and Tears . My Thoughts: It was a moving tale that I did not want to rush. The observations by the author on human nature were evocative, made poignant by the fact that they were based on real situations told to the author. I truly wanted to absorb the resonance of the main characters portrayed.  Manuel and Elvira started their lives together full of promise and soon wanted more for themselves and their family. This resulted in separate quests for a decade; what follows, is a story of deep self-reflection, resilience, tenuous relationship longevity. What I loved about the book: I have many highlights to share with you from the story, first and foremost was Elvira's depth of knowledge as she grew into womanhood searching for a meaningful life. She falls under the guidance of Sister Felisa where she ...

🧖🏻‍♀️🧖🏻‍♂️ Love & Laughter (and other disasters) It’s LAUNCH DAY for Love & Laughter,  and I am so ready 🎉🎉 We’ll be having a Live Instagram Launch Party where you’ll hear a little about the cast of eclectic midlife friends who live in the empty-nest-turned-love-nest village of Pelican Cove. 💕 In the meantime, you can read this glowing article about Love & Laughter’s launch, by the Australian Romance Reader’s Association, here: Australian Romance Reader’s Association article: 🥰 And here’s the buy link for you. Just follow the books2read link: Love & Laughter: ebook and paperback 🤗 Remember to subscribe for more exciting news! Blog Sign Up Form:

Grab it With Arms Open Wide When life propels you forwards, be sure to grab it with arms open wide. I could never have imagined the life that my novella, Love & Laughter, has taken on all of its own accord. The secret to the novella's success? Community. Creating genuine connections and friendships is the answer to lasting support from your circle of influence. But this will never happen with fake and shallow engagement. To feel part of a warm environment of belonging, we have to encourage each other wholeheartedly. Okay, let me explain. My life cycle on Instagram began as a nonfiction writer-turned-self-published author with the advent of a close-knit network called, Nonfiction Network. In that tight circle of support, we shared each others' work on a weekly basis, then bi-monthly, and now monthly. You can check out our community at this hashtag: #nonfictionnetwork What has this got to do with my novella, you might ask. It is that same community of nonfiction writers and a...

And How to Escape Them Here are my Top 3 Tips for escaping Silly Season Antics: 1. Deep BELLY breathing Main takeaway: JUST BREATHE 2. Solitude  Main Takeaway: Find solitude, even if it’s in the LOO 3. Journaling - But it must be handwritten. Here’s the correlation between handwriting and your wellbeing: Benefits of Handwriting  - Psychology Today It can be as simple as: All is well today. If you have time for more, all the better. Main Takeaway: Journal just a FEW WORDS   If you can’t manage all 3 tips, just one of them will help.   BONUS TIP: Something we can all do. Set a reminder on your phone to take a moment. Just a moment to reflect. Here’s mine: I’ve set my reminder for 15.00 daily (I know, the list calls itself Morning Intention), for the ENTIRE month of December. I’ve sent myself some pink love hearts to remind me to take a moment to reflect. And that, my friends, is how you escape Silly Season Antics. Please share these tips with your friends. We could al...

Book Review   Broken: An Autobiography by A.R. Grosjean   Join author, A.R. Grosjean on her journey as a survivor of bullying and emotional struggles. With her underlying message of not giving up, you will find a woman of strength and resilience surrounding her inner turmoil of vulnerability and fragility.   Trigger Warning:   This story contains themes of mental abuse. However, it is told in a gently unfolding, manageable manner.   My 5 Star Review:   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐   Despite the topic being deep and heavy, A.R. Grosjean writes with refreshing honesty. As such, her book, Broken , embraces the genre of autobiography perfectly. The author takes us on a visual voyage as we see inside her life as an often-overlooked child and, later through the window of her school days, a bullied teenager, into adulthood. Her childhood questions are never answered and as such she grapples to understand this treatment from people she felt rejected...

This Exciting News Couldn't Wait! Hah! I bet you never expected to see me twice in your inbox in one month, but, here we are. Haha. And for good reason I might add. My most exciting news is that my novella manuscript is nearing publication stage and I am seeking a street team to help with its visibility. Love & Laughter (And other disasters) is a 31000 word friends-to-lovers contemporary fiction story. If you enjoy clean romance, empowering midlife protagonists and schmoozy cats, reach out for your chance to read it first! But, reading the novella is not essential if you'd just like to be on the street team. We're simply sharing promotional posts for it, now and again. No review required. Comment your interest below, or email me if you'd prefer: elora.canne@gmail.com - Subject heading: LAL Novella My second exciting piece of news is that my memoir, EN ROUTE , is available FREE to members of the group We Love Memoirs on Facebook. It's easy to join and is well-kn...

Eligible Bachelor Bungalows for Shy and Bold Alike I went on a deep dive recently to find the perfect bachelor pad   for   my fictional bachelors in two of my manuscripts. I wanted realistic bungalows for them and felt that these three suited their stories. (All images sourced from Canva and Unsplash)                     Bungalow 1 Bungalow 2 Of my two manuscripts, one has a shy, isolated yet genuine bachelor, Nel in Forest of Sun and Shadows. The other, from Love & Laughter (And other disasters) , has a bold, charming mid-life bachelor, Louis .  Bungalow 3 Both are perfect gentleman with only honourable intent regarding their lady friends, but will they be lucky in love? You’ll have to find out when both books release in early 2025. I would love your input regarding suitable bungalows for both bachelors, from the choices above. Leave a comment below this post to let me know. News from my holiday in England: I had a...

Deep and Heartfelt In the wake of a devastating family loss, 24-year-old May finds herself adrift, her belief in love and happiness shattered. Determined to shield herself from further heartache, she concocts a radical scheme to safeguard against future abandonment. That is until May meets Mr. Parsley, a charming retiree who becomes May's unexpected neighbour.  Will May stick to her meticulously crafted schedule, or will the warmth and kindness of the Parsley family lead her down an unforeseen, life-altering path?   Join May on her poignant journey of resilience, love, and the transformative power of human connection in the face of life's most profound challenges. ⚠️ Trigger Warning:  . . This story contains themes of death and suicide.  My 5 Star Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Though the topic is deep and thought-provoking, the author, Helen Aitchison, lightens the prose with anecdotes of May’s quirky personality as we walk through her daily life with her. May is weighed down w...

More Love, More Laughter, More Happily Ever After It’s going to be a cracker of a year! The feedback from Beta readers for Love & Laughter has been well worth the wracking nerves of sending it ‘out there.’  They helped bring greater depth to the complexities of midlife love. This novella promises to shake up the world of midlifers from a mundane routine existence. >> Critique readers will be requested in early March , so if you’d like to be part of the journey for Love & Laughter just comment below or send me an email headed Critique Reader to: elora.canne@gmail.com  What I read in the holidays: Just two books, which felt so luxurious to slowly languish through. Both were stories that required that leisurely reading pace, not the fast pace of an edge-of-your-seat story.  The books in question? The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. Touching on love, both young and midlife, culture, ancestry and nature, this story comprises everything I value. Beautiful...