For the Criminally Inane

 Shopping in Japan is a beautiful experience! I love how they make everything beautiful and appealing. Here are a differences of shopping in Japan than in USA. The first thing is that if you are trying clothes on, they will ask you to remove your shoes in the dressing room. They may also have a facial cover for you to put on so that your makeup or sweat won't get on the item. They are very polite about this, so please remember to do it. Often the item you are trying on isn't the item you will purchase. They have "try on" items and then in the back, they have the same items already wrapped and ready for purchase. I actually like this since you won't take home an item of clothing that has been tried on a thousand times by other shoppers and I kinda wish we'd do that too. It also makes their sales floor less crowded since they only have displays out, not their inventory. Maybe it's also Inventory Loss protection, but I kind of doubt it. It just looks really n...

So you want to go to Japan... First off, if you're going, congrats! It's a cool very unique country with strong ties to culture and tradition and yet they fully embrace technology too. This will focus on Tokyo. I can do one for Osaka later if you wish. The flight: We flew ZipAir which is a new cheaper flight over to Japan. We flew LAX to Narita airport. 11 hours or so. Zipair is cheap but you'll have to pay extras including checked luggage and meals. You can bring your own food and I highly suggest it. If you order something from them, you'll need to retain your boarding pass so they can confirm your seat. So keep that handy or in a pocket. We pre-paid and reserved a ticket on the train going into town. You'll still have to find the ticket office to get your assigned seating. It took us an hour to get into Tokyo proper from Narita. Jet lag: Because Japan's time zone is so different, I would suggest going to sleep at 11pm local time. That was one piece of travel ...

Clean and Wholesome was a category designated on Amazon. The term clean came from them and those of us who write “no-spice” romance wanted a way to better communicate what was in our books and better meet readers’ expectations. “Clean” can mean a whole lot of things, but let’s start with this. Clean romance is not the opposite of dirty --or imply that intimacy is dirty or smuty. I see the definition as more of “free from” like I had a clean performance, free from mistakes. I went to a conference once where a very popular author said that talking about sex on page through metaphor was considered clean. I want to say this, no one in the clean author community that I’ve talked to agreed with that statement. Most clean authors will say no sex on page--not even in metaphor. But even if we say clean doesn’t have sex on page, there is still a large variation from a chaste kiss to implied sex through closed-door. So what can you expect from a clean author? First, let’s define a few words: Clos...

 Many people poo-poo reading as a waste of time, or even worse, bad for you for introducing bad ideas into your head. Hello, Gaston! Here are five reasons why reading is good for you! #1-- Reading makes you smarter. Whether you're reading non-fiction or fiction, you are learning new things--vocabulary or even how things work. My husband learned so much about the West while reading Louis L'amour books when he was a kid. #2-- Reading makes you empathic and compassionate. When you read, you are walking a mile in someone else's shoes for a while. You learn that every one has reasons for their actions. You can experience another person's life, all from the safety of your own room. #3-- Reading helps you to understand the world better. I read to see the world in a different light. I gain perspective and knowledge. It gives me context for certain behaviors. It introduces me to other cultures. #4-- Reading gives you good hormones . The endorphins you get when you accomplish a...

 If your goals for 2025 included reading more books or reading more often, then I'm here to help you out with five tips to get more reading in. #5-- Audiobooks are a no-brainer! You can put them on your phone, put in headphones and make chores less boring. I have listened to many hours of audio while exercising, folding laundry and running errands in the car. If you're a commuter and spend extra time in the car, there is no reason for that time to go to waste. Enjoy it instead with audio. If you like Audible, you can sign up here. OR.... BONUS #1: Many authors are now offering audiobooks for free on their YouTube Channel. Subscribe to my YouTube for free audiobooks.   (Coming soon!) I'll create another post with all my sweet/clean friends who have FREE audiobooks up on their channels. #4-- Find a designated time. I read just a few minutes before bed. I've discovered that even if I read a few pages before bedtime, I'm more relaxed and have cooler dreams than if I ...