There’s No Place Like Home

I’ve been displaced for some time now, moving from one place to another, until now. My move to Germany went as smooth as possible. We had a day and evening layover in London before making it here.

In the past, we would be booking flights to travel to different places in Europe, but we had to put that on hold. Too many things to get done, such as getting the flat in order and signing up for German classes, which I already did. I’m excited about my German classes. It’s definitely a necessity living here. I can’t very well walk around saying, “Ich bin aus USA und ich lerne Deutsch aber nich gute.” (I am from the USA and I learn German but not good).

Our flat is coming along great. We have one junk room, like most homes, where we just threw everything in to deal with later. We’ve been planting, painting, hanging curtains, shopping for items for the flat, and cooking in between. My love and I love to cook, BUT we are also trying to lose weight, so we’re basically staying home and making our own meals.

This is a dish my Love made when we first arrived. It’s Quinoa with Sausage and Peppers. We have parsley, basil and chive plants, which you’ll see parsley sprinkled on top with some gouda cheese. This dish is fantastic. I think I’ll keep him for this meal alone. *smiles*

I make most of the meals, but once in a while he likes to pop into the kitchen, mess it up, and present scrumptious things. Last week, my Love made two walnut zucchini breads. I only had a few slices spread out over a few days and it was wonderful.

My Love likes the egg and muffins I make that are much better than McDonald’s. So again, he made these sausage patties and we froze them for when we have these for breakfast. Below are the Turkey Sage Sausage Patties he made--another fantastic recipe, and much healthier than McDonald’s. 

As of now, we’re coming along in our new home—making it our own and warming our bellies in between. Hope this finds everyone well.

Home and Cooking,

Bea

Chronicles of a Displaced Writer

http://pinterest.com/pin/137852438564110167/

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve literally moved from one place to the next as things were sorted out. From time to time, I would promote my book by asking for reviews, did a radio station interview and two book giveaways on Goodreads. For those readers and writers out there unfamiliar with Goodreads, I would suggest you check it out. It’s a great place to get to know other people who enjoy books, get free books, and if you’re a writer, a great place to build an audience and promote. These are some of the ways I’ve promoted my book, Net Switch.

I have done a few guest author spots on blogs. It gives my book exposure to people who have never heard about it. Here are links to a few places I’ve been a blog guest: JLB Creatives, CMash Loves to Read (also a book giveaway), and 10 Day Book Club. The comments I have received for being a new author are wonderful, and I do treasure each one.

It’s very important as a new author to get reviews, whether it’s on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, a blog, Goodreads, etc. People do read reviews and make a decision as to whether or not they’ll like the book. As a reader, I sometimes look over the reviews and it’s what is said about the book that helps me decide. Anywhere and any way you can get reviews as a writer, you get out there and get them. Many people like to read and review sci-fi, fantasy, YA or paranormal, so I’ve had to dig a little deeper to find reviewers willing to read suspense. I reached out to a blog that does reviews, Indie Book Blog, and someone in one of my LinkedIn groups, Kaptica Book Reviews and News…and my quest for more reviews continues.

A few ways I also promoted my book was creating my book trailer, on the side bar, and a bookmark.

Free advertisement is always a great way to get the word out. I did a few Press Releases on PRLog and Press Release Point. I also did a radio interview on The Author Show, but it was only for one day. From that interview I received some wonderful responses that you can read here on my Facebook Event Page. Along with the free press releases and Facebook exposure, I also joined Pinterest and have my novel listed on the Pinterest Board of Book Junkies.

I still have the Goodreads Giveaway going until July 2. You’ll also find a link to that on the top right side bar. My Goodreads profile, Net Switch has a 4.5 star rating out of 5 with 9 ratings and 4 reviews, and 125 people have added it to one of their book shelves. 

So like I’ve asked the Goodreads community, Could you find true love in an online chat room?

My book promotions have moved from one place to another, much like I have from one location to the next…but I will always have an online imprint.

While I am still promoting, I’ve started another book and I’m in the process of finding somewhere I can settle down and catch my breath.

Displaced and Unforgettable,

Bea

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

It’s funny how quickly life takes a spin and puts you in another direction. This week I’ve been planning things month-by-month as to where and what I’ll be doing. In a way I’m a displaced person, currently living in my mother’s condominium while cleaning it up, boxing things I want of my mom’s, and getting it ready for sale. Staying at my mother’s place has been tough, so I booked a flight to Germany for next week where I’ll be staying for a month.

I will fly out on Thursday and arrive on Friday in Amsterdam and be in three countries in one day; United States, Holland and Germany. My Love will pick me up and we’ll stay at our flat for the night and then on Saturday head to the United Kingdom. We’ll drive (okay, he’ll drive) from Germany to the French Coast (3 countries; Germany, Belgium and France). From there, we will take a ferry across to Dover, U.K. and then drive to Canterbury where we will stay until Monday. We will be in 4 countries within a matter of 6 hours. I am looking forward to getting away and relaxing.

While I’m out there, we will be looking into other flats because the plan is (for now) that I will be moving out to Germany for a year or two, returning for holidays and summer vacation. The flat we have is all right, but we figured it would be nice to have a little more room or a balcony. If we can’t find anything cheap, then we’ll just make do with the flat we have now. Here are pictures I posted before of our flat.

It’s a learning experience living in another country. We didn’t have much out there—we actually lived like college students—but we had the essentials. This way of life was great because we focused on each other, things to do and cheap travel. When I returned to the States last year, I realized how much STUFF I had that wasn’t really needed. But I appreciate the way of life in the U.S. and in Germany.

When I lived in Germany, I made some videos of the places we went to. Here are a few of those videos.

A Glimpse of Germany

 

Many Faces of Spain

 For The Love of Italy

What are your plans for the next month?

Planning and Wandering,

Bea