Is it just me, or is there something special about this time of year? The days are still warm, but the nights are crisp and cool. Routines are being established (or re-established), bedtimes are earlier, my favorite shows are coming back on TV, the holidays are just around the corner; here on the Shore, the crabs are fatter and tastier, and I could go on and on. Spring might be the time that the world renews itself, but fall is my time to renew and reflect. It’s when I start thinking about and writing my newest novel. Truthfully, it’s when I do my best writing. It’s when my head seems to be clearer, and my mind is ready to focus. I think a lot of it has to do with the girls returning to school. We are all ready to get back to business. But there’s no question that a good part of it has to do with living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland at this most beautiful time of year. Read more
Tag: books
My Best Friend
I consider myself an extremely lucky person. I have a wonderful husband, Ken, to whom I can talk about anything. I have a remarkable group of women on whom I can count without question – Debbie, Anne, Ann, Julie, Linda, Angie, Alix, Kimberly, Trissy, Judy, and my sister-in-law, Lisa. As my daughters grow and mature, we are developing that wonderful kind of friendship that I know will keep us close forever. But above all of this, I am so lucky that my best friend truly is my mother. Read more
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
What a great night we had last night! Yesterday evening, the Carpenter Street Saloon in St, Michaels, Maryland held a book launch party for my latest mystery, Picture Me. What a success it was! We had non-stop action for the entire two hours, and I sold an entire case of my new book plus several copies of my previously published works. How blessed I am to live in such a great community! And that has me thinking about how wonderful it is here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Remember the old Cheers theme song?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name. Read more
A Whale of a Tale
If I were to ask you, or most people, what your favorite animal is, I’m sure you, or most, would answer “cat,” dog,” or other similar such creature. My children have always thought me a bit strange because I have a great love for (they would call it an obsession with) elephants, sharks, and whales. Since I was a small child, I have always been fascinated by these three majestic creatures. When I was very little, I had a small collection of whales – glass figurines, stuffed animals, and such. As a teenager and young adult, I had quite an extensive collection of elephants – everything from clothes to glass and wooden figures to unique collectibles from around the world (gifts from friends and family). For Christmas a few years ago, my husband gave me a shark dive in Australia. It was the most amazing experience ever! Read more
Larger Than Life
This Sunday is Father’s Day here in the States; and all over the nation, families will gather around the grill to celebrate their dear old dads. For some, this will be a joyous first time celebration, and for others, it will be a bittersweet day of remembrance. Mother’s Day has become such a commercial event with flowers, chocolates, and cards, but for many girls and women, there’s nobody in the world like our daddies. Read more
Just Breathe
Breathe. We all do it. Ultimately it’s what keeps all of us alive. Without breath, there is no life. About it, songs have been sung, books have been written, and even movies have been made. In the Bible, we are told that God breathed life into Adam. This was essentially the very first breath of life.
I am often asked how I do all that I do – manage a household, be a loving and devoted wife and mother, run a Girl Scout camp, volunteer at two schools, maintain a blog, website, and other social media, and write books. Most people who know me know that I am a rather calm person. It takes a lot to get me befuddled. So what is my secret? It is simple. I trust in God for He is my strength through which all things are possible. And I breathe.
Sometimes all I need is a calming breath in and out. Sometimes I need several breaths and a prayer. Other times, I need time and space to reconnect to myself and the world. But at all times, I simply
– need
– to
– breathe.
I often tell my girls, when they are worried or beginning to panic, that a cleansing breath or two is all it takes to maintain or regain calm and put your life back into focus. Whether it is a ten second intake and release of breath, an hour at Mass, or a two week vacation, the key is simple. Whatever battles you’re fighting, roads you’re traveling, or mountains you’re climbing…
Just breathe.
Amy Schisler is an author of mystery and suspense novels. Her first book, A Place to Call Home is in its second printing and may be purchased in stores, online, and through ibooks. Her previously published children’s book, Crabbing With Granddad may be purchased in stores and on Amazon.
You may follow Amy at http://facebook.com/amyschislerauthor on Twitter @AmySchislerAuth and on her web site http://amyschislerauthor.com
Stretched Thin
Do you remember Stretch Armstrong? He was the superhero doll from the 70s who could be pulled and stretched to three times his size just for the fun of it. I’m not sure why many children from my generation spent so much wasted time stretching this otherwise useless toy to his limits just to see him warp back into himself again. Sometimes I think we did it just to see how far we could pull until he broke and that gross, gooey, syrupy stuff came oozing out of him. Looking back, I think whoever made that silly toy must have had a vision of the future. Somehow he knew that GenX was going to live the life of poor Stretch Armstrong every single day. Read more
What’s Your Dream?
“Welcome to Hollywood! Everyone’s got a dream. What’s your dream?” Those are both the opening and the closing lines in the movie Pretty Woman, a story in which every young woman’s childhood dream is realized when Vivian is swept off her feet by Mr. Right, a very rich and very handsome Mr. Right (okay, I would argue that she actually swept him off of his feet, but you get the point). Though many would argue, understandably so, that the road Vivian took to find her dream – running away from home, living on the streets, becoming a prostitute, and being hired by Edward for the week – is not the best way to achieve one’e dream, it’s those words that open and close the movie that come back to me over and over again. I hear them echoing in my mind at least once a week, but I can’t really explain to you why. After all these years, I’ve decided to chalk it up to my inner voice constantly reminding me that as a little girl I had a dream that until recently was nothing more than a wispy cloud elusively hovering just out of reach as I stretched my hand out the window on a mountain road. Read more
Favorite Novels – What’s on Your List?
As I sit here this morning looking out over our backyard, a heavy mist shrouds the landscape. The snow and grass seem to be in a struggle over which parts of the yard belong to whom. Across our property lies a patchwork of white, brown, and green bordered by trees that actually seem to be looking down upon the earth wondering when it will be time to awaken from their long, cold slumber. And as if the East Coast hasn’t already had more than its share of winter, more snow is heading our way. The good news for those of us in the Mid-Atlantic is that at least we’ve been able to thaw a little in between each storm. Not so for Boston, Buffalo, and many other cities and towns north of here!
I’ve already accepted the fact that there will be four people in the kitchen tomorrow baking Katie’s sweet sixteen cake rather than just one, and I might just have many more hands available to decorate for her party on Friday. However, I so long for an entire week of writing without interruption! I understand that many people are just itching to get into their gardens and out in their boats. I would just love to have a five-day stretch where I can sit in quiet and complete a chapter or so per day in my next novel. Alas, that doesn’t seem to be in the forecast for me this week, but perhaps a good read is in your future. So I’ve decided to share with you my list of my all time favorite books. Like all good librarians, I will categorize the list. I hope there is something here that you will enjoy reading. I believe that you will find a few hidden gems amongst some of the more well-known titles. So pick a book, sit by the fire, and remember that spring is just 15 days away!
Amy’s All Time Favorite Books: Read more
A Mother’s Love
Nineteen years. Sometimes I can’t believe it. Tomorrow, February 12, marks nineteen years since I became a mother. I don’t know where the time went since the doctor first placed my beautiful Rebecca Kathleen into my arms, but they sure have flown by. Now she’s a sophomore in college, and it’s hard to grasp the reality that she’s pretty much all grown up. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without Rebecca or her sisters, Katie Ann and Morgan. They are my daughters, my muses, and yes, as they grow older, my friends. My husband says he sometimes finds it hard to fit into our world, and I can understand that. Though we all try our best to include Ken in everything we do, we are like our own little club, my three daughters and I. Read more
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