 Last week, I did something I never do at Starbucks: I ordered a different drink than my plain black coffee or my iced vanilla coffee. I’d seen a recipe on TikTok for a customized Iced Shaken Espresso and decided to give it a try. And you know what?? It’s now my FAVORITE drink. Like seriously, so good (Order an iced shaken espresso, no sweetener, Oat Milk, one pump of white mocha syrup, and cinnamon on top. That's it!)
I’ve been saying a lot in this space that mixing up your life is so underrated when it comes to making big changes, to finding your passion. So often, we get stuck in routines and monotony. We get up and do the same things, eat the same things, see the same people, watch the same shows, drive the same routes. Our lives become endless days on a Merry-Go-Round. Predictability becomes our guiding light…and then we wonder why so many of us feel a little dead inside. But I’m here to tell you that today, right now, you can choose differently. It doesn’t have to be as big as jumping on a plane and uprooting your life for Fiji. It can be little. In fact, it’s crazy how little changes add up in big, inspiring ways. Take the different route to work. Get that new coffee you’ve never tried. Wear the shirt you never thought you would. Try the new lipstick color. Switch up your exercise class. Try a new tea in the evenings. Put on that show that never quite seemed like you. Put out the fancy plates for dinner. Paint your toenails a different color. Buy a new pen. Go out for dinner on a night you normally wouldn’t. It’s in the little changes that you can rediscover your vibrancy. This world is so big. Ridiculously big. Stop living small. Stop boxing yourself in. Start adventuring more in the tiniest ways and soon, you’ll understand the power not just in mixing it up…but in taking control of your life, today, right now. You can decide to be different, to do something different. And when you understand that principle, I really do believe life opens up tenfold.
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The Summer Song Excerpt
They always say you can’t go home again, but let me add to that advice. If you do return home to live with your stoic, lawyer father and meddling mother, make sure you’re not thirty with a bankrupt business and a failed romance.
These were the TED Talk-like thoughts running through my mind as I hunched over boxes in the mildewy basement of Tino’s Italian restaurant, thankful there wasn’t a mirror for me to peruse the assuredly disastrous state of my hair. I rolled my eyes at my senseless inner monologue as the wind howled outside, threatening to send the ancient boardwalk restaurant crumbling. “Let’s face it,” I said aloud, admittedly like someone who was one incident shy from a complete meltdown. “No one’s calling your disastrous self for a TED Talk anytime soon.” My shirt covered in food and my mood as low as it gets from what happened before retreating to the basement, I moved box after box, looking for the mysterious serving dish. Plumes of dust and probably death-inducing mold wafted into the air, but I was a bit thankful for the escape. The Italian music blasted up above, and there were footsteps dashing about as the dinner rush was on. My own feet ached from waitressing all night–and not well if I was to be honest. Still, it felt good to have a moment away from the hustle and bustle of Tino’s, of spilled drinks, and of the constant reminder that everything had fallen apart. And just as I had told myself life couldn’t possibly get any worse, it did. Because as I stepped backward, I lost my balance. The bare bulb shined brightly, now illuminating what I imagined was a horrific face as I tumbled down the stairs, the box and heavy silver platters clanging on top of me. I crumpled down, down, down, thinking this was where it all ended—on the dingy steps of Tino’s basement. Maybe they could use the silver platters at my funeral. When I finally landed at the bottom of the stairs, time warping back to normal speed, everything was fuzzy and fading. My entire body hurt, and I felt myself slipping away. But before it all went black, I heard what I thought was a distinctively British voice yell out a punctuated and startled, “Oh no.” Oh no, indeed, I mused as everything turned inky.  We hear so many things about how if you keep dreaming, good things happen–and I really do believe that. However, sometimes you find yourself in a season of life where you’re just stuck. Where it feels like the dream is so far away. Where you just keep getting rejected.
That was the inspiration for my book “The Summer Song.” Tillie Ashby isn’t your typical stars-in-her-eyes romance character at the beginning. She’s really struggling–with a failed business, a failed financial situation, a failed relationship, and a lost best friend. When she moves back to her hometown of Ocean City, Maryland, at the age of thirty, it feels like things can’t get any worse. But Tillie’s story is also about how sometimes magical, once-in-a-lifetime dreams and love can come from unexpected, chance encounters. When a UK pop sensation who is hiding for the summer literally runs into Tillie, a series of life-changing events take place. But can Tillie and Leo’s worlds really mesh? Or is Tillie destined for heartbreak again? This is a book about rediscovering your dreams. It’s a book about pulling yourself up from the ground–again and again. It’s a story, too, that reminds us popstar or down on our luck, we’re all just trying to find happiness. “The Summer Song” is a sweet romance ready for pre-order now. Grab your beachy read and find out why falling in love with a popstar can be a bad idea…or so it would seem. |
 
 *As an Amazon Affiliate, I get a small fee for any books purchased through the links below.
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