Cyber Monday Special

 

Purchase the contemporary romance One Enchanted Evening by Sandra Bonaldi and receive a free coupon for the scent One Enchanted Evening inspired by the book created by Deep Midnight Perfume Oils.  Please order by emailing directly sanbonaldi2002@yahoo.com with One Enchanted Evening in the subject line.

 

Diary of a FaceBook Stalker

I can admit that I am a FaceBook stalker.  I post small tidbits and the like but I enjoy reading about how my friends are doing way more than posting.  The reason I am on FaceBook at all is because of the promotion.  Let’s face it – FaceBook is a wonderful platform for getting your work recognized.  Being an author makes it a necessity for me to be on FaceBook.  At least that is what I tell myself.  Yeah, right.   

 

And then there’s the nonsense and what I will refer to as FaceBook Drama.  I find it amazing the things people put out there for the world to see.  Talk about having no secrets.  There are many people that have absolutely no filter at all.  Between knowing what they are having for dinner to knowing where they are going for vacation.  That is some scary stuff when you really stop to think about it.

 

So we have been sucked into social media.  From FaceBook to Twitter to Instagram we are ‘Live’.  Sure it is great to connect with old friends just as it is nice to see pictures of family far and wide.  Between taking ‘selfies’ to posting video in Real Time we are a generation living in the Now.  We have to have it right now.  Tomorrow is no longer good enough.  Waiting for anything is unheard of.  So, how did we get to this place where our demands need to be met this very moment?

 

Do you really want to know what I’m thinking right now, or what I am doing right now for that matter – probably not.  And that’s okay because believe me – the feeling is mutual.  With friends like mine who needs ‘frenemies’.

 

While I’ll be the first to admit that it is easy to get sucked into everything FaceBook there needs to be a way to do a FaceBook Detox and live to tell about it.  Let me give it some thought and I’ll be sure to post my findings.

Once upon a Time

 

Today started out as a regular day.  Upon waking I took the pups outside to do their business.  Ordinarily I am in a hurry but since it was Saturday and a little later than usual I decided to take my time.  As I roamed the backyard I took in the beautiful clear morning.  For the past couple of days I had done nothing but rush here and there.  I was tired of rushing.  I just wanted to stand still and breathe in the nice fresh air.

In the distance there were birds singing and the sounds of people doing yard work.  Then there were the strains of angry voices rising above all. 

The voices rose above the sounds of the weed whacker and I was immediately thrust back in time.  Twenty five years ran down the drain as I was frozen in place my ears picking up a full blown once upon a time.  Angry frustrated pitched voices rising higher and higher.  The words were ugly and hurtful.  I found myself flinching with each unkind word hurled at the other.

As I was caught up in the moment I found myself rooted to the ground.  Although I still could not detect where these voices were originating from I suddenly realized did I really want to know?  With a deep breath I looked up and uttered a small prayer of thanksgiving.  God had taken me out of that pit so long ago and I was forever grateful.  Today I pray for that married couple as they had hurled such unkind, cruel and wounding words.  These are words that can never be taken back.  Words that can cut a person to the quick as well as crush a spirit.

While I know it was so long ago for that brief moment it was as though it were only yesterday.  I turned and looked at my house with a smile.  This was my life now.  My life was now with a kind Christian man that cherishes me and would never blindly hurl cruelty in my direction.  Sure, we’ve had our ups and downs but that’s married life.  But we strive to be better tomorrow than we were yesterday.  Marriage is giving 100 percent.  It is not a 50 – 50 deal.  It’s the only way it will work.  You give 100 percent of yourself and you will reap the benefits.  You also need to trust God.  A marriage needs to be firmly planted on The Rock.  That Rock being Jesus Christ.  Once you do this, everything else is gravy.  I am not saying it will be perfect.  Nothing is, but once you understand God’s love your life will only become richer because of it.

So today, as I pen this distant memory of my once upon a time I reflect but only for a moment.  I thank God for bringing me out of the fire and into His wondrous light.  And I also pray for that unknown couple.  I pray that God shows them the way and heals their hearts from all of those cutting words that I am sure they didn’t mean as only He can! 

Turning Fifty - The New Forty NOT!!!!

A friend once told me - "If you think you're a bad-ass at forty just wait until you hit fifty!"  OMG!  Was she right!  If you thought I told it like it was then - wait for it...  Oh yeah!!!


I don't discuss my age nor do I discuss my birthday.  Those days I treat as though they are any other day!  Yeah, I know.  We're not getting older - we're getting better.  Like fine wine...  Blah-Blah-Blah…  However, those milestone birthdays have a way of sneaking up on a person.


I had no problem with forty, I actually embraced it!  By the time I had reached thirty-nine I was already preparing myself for what lay ahead.  But now!!  I’m not so sure I am ready for the BIG ONE!  I don’t feel it and I pray to God I don’t look it!!  Not ready!! 


Age is just a number and I'm going with that.  We'll revisit this in another couple of months and I am sure I will feel differently.  For right now...  That is all I will say on that matter...

Past Reflections - a contemporary first love story that transcends time!

http://www.wings-press.com/Bookstore/Past%20Reflections.htm

 

 

 

One Enchanted Evening

Take an exhilarating limousine ride with Jessica and Ben as they leave a company holiday party together. The cold winter night is perfect with dozens of stars set in the inky velvet sky with the sizzle of electricity in the air.

Meet Jessica Adams. She's young, innocent and beautiful. When she decided to attend the Brookes Brothers holiday party she had no idea she would ultimately end up leaving with an older handsome executive. However, the moment she climbed into that limo and met Ben's deep blue eyes she'd come to realize that she was going to get a lot more than she bargained for.

Meet Bennett Brookes, VP of Brookes Brothers. Turning forty had Ben looking at his life through different eyes. His marriage was on the rocks and had been from day one. He knew there had to be a lot more to life than the corporate mergers he handled with diplomacy. Ben attended the holiday party every year. However, this year had turned out differently as he spotted a woman across the room that he knew he had to meet. One thing led to another and before he realized what was happening he had fallen. Hook, line and sinker.

However, the moment Jessica had learned that he was married that had been the end of what had begun as a fairytale beginning. Without a word Jessica had up and vanished. She was gone from his life just as quickly as she'd entered.

Time slowly passes and Jessica comes to realize that loyalty is a high price to pay and sometimes love is destined to rise above it all. Will Jessica come clean with the truth as she believes it to be and will Ben's love be strong enough to withstand the secret that had pulled them apart to begin with?

A Taste of Past Reflections

Julie Finch had always left a sheltered life, from attending catholic school to the no boys rule.  Now at seventeen and the verge of womanhood she is looking at life through different eyes.  First love is painful enough but picking up the pieces of a broken heart prove even more difficult when there is no closure and tragedy strikes!

-      ~ -

 

For all of her young life Julie had played by the rules.  She was never one to buck the system but when she had met one of her older brother’s friends something suddenly changed.  Instant crush!  Scott Rourke was older and worldlier but he was also definitely interested.  They met in secret and Julie fell in love. 

When Julie gets into a car accident that leaves her permanently scarred it seems as though Scott uses that as a chance to back away from her.  Not too long after that they go their separate ways but Julie never quite gets over Scott.

Some time later she gets an opportunity to become a camp counselor and jumps at the chance to get away for the summer.  Maybe a change of scenery will help her get over her feelings for Scott once and for all.  Everything else in her life seemed to be falling into place.  But there was that one little lie that seemed to dog her.  Julie had lied about her age to secure the position and it looked like now it might come back and bite her.

Meeting Kevin had started her heart to come alive again.  However, he was a junior counselor and that made him off limits.  Seeing Kevin would be against the rules.  She knew she had some choices to make and Kevin had made it crystal clear where he stood.

Through all of the serenity Camp Wiskle offered the memories of Scott had followed her.  Not only was she battling those old feelings but she was falling for a young man who wouldn’t take no for an answer.  While her heart and head are waging a war tragedy strikes and suddenly there are no choices left to make. 

 

 - ~ -

Past Reflections is a teen love story that will take you on a whirlwind of different emotions.  From first love to loss to love again.  Julie Finch is a determined young woman who comes to learn that breaking the rules is not always a bad thing!!