Serenity Pig & Impatient Elephant
In this Edition:
Quote
Update & Motivate: Patience
Book recommendation: BOOK LOVERS (finally finished)
Women’s Fiction day: June 8
The difference between Women’s fiction and Romance
What I’m reading next & an embarrassing bonus story (I should not be admitting this)
Medical Moment: Flaxseed
Final thoughts
Update:
Happy Monday!
I’ve been torn on what to write about this week as a few topics have been circling my mind.
The first is patience, something I’ve discussed before, but it’s a topic that doesn’t seem to age. In order to learn something, you need to see it more than once (usually). In order to perfect something, you have to practice it, keep it at the forefront of your mind. Repetition.
I told my 3yo to pick a book for me to read to her yesterday morning. I’d just poured a steaming cup of coffee, and as I waited for her to make a choice, I took my first glorious sip and thought about what I wanted to write in this newsletter.
I began thinking of how long of a process getting a book published is. It requires a ton of patience.
And then Amorette handed me a book, pulling me back into the living room and out of my own head. The book? Waiting Is Not Easy! by Mo Willems.
I smiled. A sign? A coincidence? I knew I needed to at least touch on “the waiting” today. As the book says, it isn’t easy.
The children’s book follows a cheeky pig who tells his elephant friend that he has a surprise. The elephant is all excited, wants the surprise NOW. But Piggy says Elephant has to wait. Elephant waits. Elephant grows tired of waiting. This freaking pig is like a zen master, “but we must wait.”
Elephant gets upset. I mean I couldn’t really blame him. Even I, the wise adult reader, was getting a little jealous of this fictional pig’s serenity. Elephant has a fit.
He can’t wait!
He won’t wait!
Serenity Pig makes him feel inferior because he’s just lost his top while Piggy’s like, “But we must,” all calm, like he studied with Gandhi and has his stuff together. Frazzled Elephant has waited until dark. Still no surprise! He’s angry that he’s waited ALL day and for what?? Finally, FINALLY the pig points up to the sky, says, “For that.”
There are millions of stars in the sky. It’s beautiful, breathtaking, a stunning display, like diamonds strewn across the bodice of a dark blue evening gown.
Elephant says, “This was worth the wait.”
Piggy says, “I know.”
The moral of the story: patience pays off.
I had a warm, fuzzy feeling after that, until I started thinking about how that self-righteous, jerk pig could’ve saved that poor Elephant (His name is Gerald. I should’ve been calling him Gerald this whole time.) a lot of heartache!
I mean, would it have cost the pig anything to simply tell poor Gerald that the surprise would at least come at night. He could’ve kept it a secret. I mean, really! Anyway, I digress.
It’s a good lesson. There’s a reason we wait.
Later, I asked my 6yo, “Is having patience a good thing?”
Aerie, “Yes.”
I asked, “Why?”
She replied, “If you don’t have patience while you wait, then you won’t have a happy life.”
I smiled as she walked away. Patience isn’t about waiting. It’s about what you do while you wait.
I got to have breakfast with friend I went to PA school with this past week. She’s a cardio-thoracic surgical PA and helped me with Minnesota details in my novel, THE FALSE FLAT.
She wants something out of life. She doesn’t have it yet. But she’s calm about it, not anxious at all. I asked her how she could be so calm and accepting. God was a part of her answer, but she essentially said she had a life right now. And even though she wanted something else, that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to live her life to the fullest right now.
That was inspiring. She seizes the day, makes the most out of what she has in her hands right now. She’d be happy to get what she wants, and she won’t stop going after it, but she’s content in the state she finds herself in. She’s happy. She’s patient.
So yes, I’ve talked about patience before. It’s a thing I’ll talk about again because I have to keep reminding myself to be patient in many areas of life. I have not mastered that skill.
Final thoughts below.
Book Review:
Finally! Book Lovers!
Category: Romance/ Rom-Com (Women’s fiction elements)
As I suspected, now that I’ve finished the book, I will recommend it. It’s a great romance book. Very funny. I laughed out loud multiple times, and it gives you some insight into the writing world, which is very relevant to me and interesting for those who don’t know. There were a few sections that I felt lagged a little toward the end, but overall, it;’s a great book to tuck into your summer bag on vacation or dive into at home. (Steamy scenes are present.)
Goodreads Summary:
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laid-back dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
When I first wrote my book, I thought I’d written a romance. But turns out, it’s classified as “women’s fiction.”
Books have to be shelved together, so what you call your book matters. Since Women’s Fiction Day is coming up on June 8, I thought this would be a good time to let you know the difference in case you were unaware.
When people ask me what kind of book I’ve written, I always hesitate because it has romantic components in it. The category is women’s fiction, but it’s been read by men and enjoyed by them.
So what is women’s fiction and what makes it different from romance?
A romance novel focuses on a romantic relationship. The story is about these two people, how they meet, and how they change because of each other. If you read a romance, you’re guaranteed a happy ending or a happily-ever-after.
Women’s fiction focuses on a woman’s journey, usually through different obstacles in her life. This may or may not include romance, but the romance isn’t the story. It’s all about how the woman faces and overcomes challenges in her life. With women’s fiction, you can expect an emotionally satisfying ending but it’s not necessarily a happy ending.
An embarrassing bonus story:
I should not tell you about this.
So I’ve been reading a lot of romance/women’s fiction lately to learn what readers want in these genres. Well, normally, I read the book blurb before I pick one up. (I know what the book is about.)
This time, I didn’t. I went with an author I knew I liked. I started this audio-book without knowing anything about it except that it was well rated. I listened to it at a pool party Aerie had been invited to, a kid’s birthday party.
I was tired and a little antisocial, so I put the earpiece in and started listening as I watched the kids splash. Well, it got steamy fast, odd steamy, way too steamy. And suddenly I was HIGHLY concerned that someone would hear what I was listening to. I thought surely the scene would end and move along to something not sexy. (I think I’ve told you that I prefer tame intimate scenes, nothing graphic.)
I pulled out my earpiece and joined the other moms, feeling awkward, like they somehow knew, like I had just become a horrible person.
Later, I decided to look up the book.
You guys, it was erotica.
I had accidentally started reading erotica. It happened SO fast. One minute things were normal, a regular story, and the next minute…well, let’s leave it at erotica because I can’t even…
Needless to say, I will not be finishing that one.
Moral of the story: READ THE BOOK JACKET!!!!!
My next read: MEANT TO BE by Emily Giffin
Medical Moment: Flaxseed
You heard me talk about Chia seed, now meet it’s twin (at least in my mind). Flaxseed!
Health is more than mental and emotional. If you don’t take care of your body, you’re missing a key component.
So let me tell you about this wonderful flaxseed!
It’s a tiny seed that’s rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and many other nutrients. You need this in your diet.
It comes in many forms, but I typically use it in its ground form. Find it at any grocery store with the baking products usually.
Like chia seeds you can use it in many ways:
On yogurt or oatmeal
In soups, stews and sauces
Add it to meatloaf or meatballs
In baked goods: cookies, cakes, muffins
I use it as an egg replacer in my baked goods. Nothing replaces an egg entirely, but when eggs show up on your food sensitivity test and might contribute to your autoimmune disease, you do what you can. You use flax.
My egg replacer recipe:
1 TBS ground flaxseed
2 1/2 TBS water
Mix together and let set 10 min. Use in place of eggs in a lot of recipes.
Check out my demo of how I use flax in my recipes on Instagram. (Click the social media link at the top of the page.)
Final thoughts:
You only have what you have right now. Make the most of out it. Live for today. Make today the best you can make it.
You might not get another.
As Aerie essentially reminded me, don’t spend your life fretting over what you don’t have or what you don’t have yet. Find a way to be happy in the scenario you are in right now. Make the most out of today. Be the best you can be today, even if it’s not exactly what you want.
Have a great week!
Until next time, much glitter,
Melissa
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