Okay, so my third novel is taking a bit longer to write than I hoped (I hate when my books don’t write themselves!) so I decided to release a book in the interim. It’s one that I wrote a few years ago and always wanted to publish. Unfortunately, I never seemed to find the time once my first novel, Wedlocked, took off. I felt bad about ignoring this little baby of mine, so last month, when it called out to me for attention, I decided it was high time I finally shared it with the world.

And so, today I present The Fine Art of Delusional Thinking: Happiness Means Never Having to Have a Reality Check. It is a funny, satirical book that teaches readers how to delude themselves to a happier life. With the explosion of books on the subjects of creative visualization, now more often called the laws of attraction, I thought a fun little parody was in order. As I reflected on all the years I spent floating through life in a delusional haze, I knew I was the perfect person to write it. Talk about books that write themselves—this one practically did! That’s probably because during my ten-year stint in Los Angeles, I packed a wealth of wild experiences, colorful people, and nutty behavior patterns into my daily life, all of which helped to inspire this book. I think it will appeal to an awful lot of people, because aren’t we all a little delusional sometimes? Enjoy!

Have you always wished you had a glamorous career? A spouse who worships you? An awesome set of wheels? A fantabulous social life? With The Fine Art of Delusional Thinking, all these goals can be within your grasp. You’ll never again fret about your weight, your monthly bills, your love life, or your bank account. This witty and concise how-to book from best-selling author Bonnie Trachtenberg teaches you everything you’ll need to know to turn your humdrum existence into a lifestyle others will envy. So delude your way to a happy life—with help from an expert.

EXCERPT FROM THE FINE ART OF DELUSIONAL THINKING:

THE FIVE FUNDAMENTALS OF FANTASY

You can begin the journey of deluding your way to a happier life by studying and implementing the basic principles of the delusional thought process. Incorporate them into your daily life. Never stray from them lest you reap the wrath of resistance: a crude and devastating reality check.

1.      Turn a deaf ear to “practical” advice and criticism.

We all know them too well—the Naysayers. They dictate, advocate, and pontificate. They’ll beseech, belabor, and belittle you. They’re those vexing meddlers who think their all-knowing cynicism is the key to improving your life. Don’t fall prey to their prying antics. They don’t know better than you. Their advice is geared to bring you down to the depressing depths they’ve established as their own reality. They aim to burst your blissful bubble, and thereby validate their own depressing lives.

Take Jason, for instance. He always heeded the “good sense” his parents painstakingly instilled in him. When he said he wanted to be a performance artist, they sent him to law school. When he said he wanted to move to a commune and live off the land, they convinced him to get married. When he told them he wanted dogs and cats instead of children, they goaded him into starting a family.

Now he’s a miserable Capitalist who represents the privileged few, and is driven by the almighty buck. He’s beholden to his boss, his family, and his ulcer. He wonders from time to time what could have been had he developed a backbone early in life and stood up to his overbearing parents. “I used to dream about peace, love, and understanding,” Jason reflects, “now I’m lucky if I can get any sleep at all.”

And then there’s Elizabeth, a thirty-three-year-old legal secretary, who dreamed of quitting her boring job, packing up her belongings, and moving out to The Coast. She had always heard Hollywood calling her name and she wanted to claim her glamorous life before it passed her by. She didn’t have a job, an apartment, or friends out West, but she decided to follow in the footsteps of the brave pioneers and let adventure blaze the path for her.

Her family and friends urged her to come to her senses and get a grip on reality. How could she consider such an impulsive move without any definitive plan? They lectured and badgered, but they couldn’t convince her she was making the biggest mistake of her life. They tried to scare her, to shame her, and even to mock her “silly notions,” but Elizabeth managed to hold a tenuous grip on her dream.

When all else failed, the group got together and performed an intervention. They cornered her, locked her in her room, and pestered her until she finally broke. Anxiety and fear overtook poor Elizabeth and drove her back to her crappy job, her head hung in shame.

“I hated my job before my family and friends convinced me it was the path I was meant to take,” says Elizabeth. “Now I hate my family and friends.”

Don’t let anyone break you! The next time you are confronted with harsh opinions and admonitions that declare your blissful outlook to be naïve or preposterous, stare blankly at your accuser and IGNORE EVERY WORD. Think about other things as you drown out their negativity. Imagine the Publishers Clearing House people have just knocked on your door with your check and some colorful balloons. Daydream about the moment Martin Scorsese spots you having lunch in a downtown eatery and begs you to star in his next film. These images, and others like them, will help muffle the irksome voices that strive to destroy your delusional pleasures.

Find out my other four fundamentals of fantasy and much more HERE!

BUY The Fine Art of Delusional Thinking for ONLY 99 cents at AMAZON

BUY The Fine Art of Delusional Thinking for ONLY 99 cents at BARNES & NOBLE

I recently introduced a new book by my friend and colleague, YA author Andrea Buginsky. It’s called Destiny. I’m thrilled to have Andrea back to tell us what it was that inspired her to write the book. Welcome back, Andrea!

Thanks, Bonnie! The idea for Destiny came from my love of updates to the King Arthur story. I love the newer movies, such as First Night and Avalon High. But my favorite is Mists of Avalon. This is the only version I’ve seen that focuses primarily on the women of Avalon. I loved the story lines of these women. And so, I was inspired to create my own.

I decided I wanted to create my Avalon in the present time, not the past. So, I came up with a plan to do so, using a modern young girl who struggled to fit in to portray my story. Elena is very near and dear to my heart. She reminds me a lot of me… Writing her character gave me a lot of insight into myself. When she learned of her destiny in the story, I could almost feel exactly what she was feeling. It was very easy to write about her, and develop her character.

Of course, there were times when Elena took me by complete surprise and showed me parts of herself that I wasn’t aware of. But that’s my favorite part of writing: when the characters take over. I ended up totally reworking the plot of the story, and that gave me the ability to create something bigger than I imagined at first: a new series. And several additional characters to go along with the series. I loved getting to know these girls and am looking forward to learning even more about them in future books of the series.

Part of my inspiration for creating these additional characters is the friendship I got to develop between them. I love storylines with a group of friends who are inseparable. I’ve had wonderful friends in my life, some of which are still in my life, and I want to continue to portray that kind of bond in my books. Since I write for teenagers, I feel they too will understand the need for this connection. It’s something I hope each of them has in their own lives.

Destiny is very near and dear to my heart. The inspiration behind it comes from so many places, both inside me and in the wonderful creative world we live in. I truly hope my readers will embrace it as one of their favorites. I know it’s one of mine.

It sounds like a wonderful fantasy! Thanks so much for sharing it with us, Andrea! And readers, don’t forget to enter Andrea’s rafflecopter giveaway and check out the other stops on her blog tour, below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Andrea Buginsky is a freelance writer and author living in Overland Park. “The Chosen,” a middle-grade fantasy novelette, was her first book, and was followed by “My Open Heart,” an autobiography about growing up with heart disease. “Nature’s Unbalance” is the second story in THE CHOSEN series. Andrea is currently working on her new YA fantasy series, “New Avalon.” To learn more about Andrea, visit her on her website.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/Andrea.Buginsky.Author

Twitter: @andreabuginsky

Google+ https://plus.google.com/#117234398007434496419/posts

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/andipandi10/

TO GET YOUR COPY OF DESTINY, CLICK HERE

I’m very happy to welcome author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson to my blog. This is her first visit, and she’s here to introduce her new book, Unfinished Business. As you can see, the cover is beautiful! Here’s much more about the book including an excerpt. Also, don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter to win a FREE copy!

Unfinished Business

An Angela Panther Novel

By

Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

________________________________________________________________________

Sometimes the dead need our help and sometimes, we need theirs

ANGELA PANTHER HAS A PERFECT LIFE:  A lovely home, an attentive, successful husband, two reasonably behaved children, a devoted dog and a lot of coffee and cupcakes. But while her life might border on mundane, she’s got it under control. Until her mother, Fran dies-and returns as a ghost. It seems Fran’s got some unfinished business and she’s determined to get it done.

Now Fran’s got some nifty celestial superpowers and isn’t opposed to using them to levy a little ghostly retribution on her granddaughter’s frienemies and even her own daughter, which doesn’t make Angela happy.

While Angela’s shocked and grateful to have her mother back, she’s not thrilled about the portal to the afterlife Fran opened upon her return. Now every ghost in town is knockin’ on Angela’s psychic door, looking for help-and it’s a royal pain in the butt.

Now Angela’s got to find a way to balance her family life with her new gift and keep her mother in line. And it’s a lot for one woman to handle.

________________________________________________________________________

Carolyn Ridder Aspenson tackles, with comic cleverness, the serious subjects of mother-daughter relationships, death and raising teenagers in this smart, funny take on the love of family and the uncontrollable paths our lives take.

“It’s about ghosts, the love of family, the never-ending love of mothers and daughters…add some humor and it’s the perfect combination of adult/chick- lit/paranormal (all in one book).” – The Book Trollop

“Aspenson hits the ground running with her debut novel and carries the reader along on a rollicking adventure highlighting both the joys and conflicts of mother-daughter relationships.” – Katrina Rasbold

READ AN EXCERPT FROM UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

The air in the room felt frigid and sent a chill deep into my bones. Searching for comfort, I lay on the rented hospice bed, closed my eyes, and snuggled under Ma’s floral print quilt. I breathed in her scent, a mixture of Dove soap, Calvin Klein Eternity perfume and stale cigarettes. The stench of death lingered in the air, trying hard to take over my senses, but I refused to let it in. Death may have taken my mother, but not her smell. Not yet.

“You little thief, I know what you did now.”

I opened my eyes and searched the room, but other than my Pit Bull, Greyhound mix Gracie, and me, it was empty. Gracie sensed my ever so slight movement, and laid her head back down. I saw my breath, which wouldn’t have been a big deal except it was May, in Georgia. I closed my eyes again.

“I know you can hear me, Angela. Don’t you ignore me.”

I opened my eyes again. “Ma?”

Floating next to the bed, in the same blue nightgown she had on when she died, was my mother, or more likely, some grief induced image of her.

“Ma?” I laughed out loud. “What am I saying? It’s not you. You’re dead.”

The grief induced image spoke. “Of course I’m dead, Angela, but I told you if I could, I’d come back. And I can so, tada, here I am.”

The image floated up in the air, twirled around in a few circles and floated back down.

I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to right my brain or maybe shake loose the crazy, but it was pointless because when I opened my eyes again, the talking image of my mother was still there.

“Oh good grief, stop it. It’s not your head messing with you, Angela. It’s me, your Ma. Now sit up and listen to me. This is important.”

As children we’re conditioned to respond to our parents when they speak to us. We forget it as teenagers, but somewhere between twenty and the birth of our first child, we start acknowledging them again, maybe even believing some of what they tell us. Apparently it was no different when you imagined their ghost speaking to you, too. Crazy maybe, but no different.

I rubbed my eyes. “This is a dream, so I might as well go with it.”

I sat up, straightened my back, plastered a big ol’ smile on my face, because it was a dream and I could be happy the day my mom died in a dream and said, “Hi Ma, how are you?”

“You ate my damn Hershey bars.”

“Hershey bars? I dream about my dead mother and she talks about Hershey bars. What is that?”

“Don’t you act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Angela.”

“But I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ma.” I shook my head again and thought for sure I was bonkers, talking to an imaginary Ma.

“Oh for the love of God, Angela, my Hershey bars. The ones I hid in the back of my closet.”

Oh. Those Hershey bars, from like, twenty years ago, at least. The ones I did eat.

“How do you know it was me that ate your Hershey bars? That was over twenty years ago.”

The apparition smirked. “I don’t know how I know, actually. I just do. I know about all of the stuff you did, and your brothers too. It’s all in here now.” She pointed to her slightly transparent head.

She floated up to the ceiling, spun in a circle, and slowly floated back down. “And look, I’m floating. Bet you wish you could do that, don’t you, Angela? You know, I’d sit but I tried that before and fell right through to the damn basement. And let me tell you, that was not fun. It was creepy, and it scared the crap outta me. And oh, Madone, the dust between your two floors! Good Lord, it was nasty. You need to clean that. No wonder Emily’s always got a snotty nose. She’s allergic.”

“Emily does not always have a snotty nose.” She actually did but I wasn’t going to let Ma have that one.

The apparition started to say something, then scrutinized the bed. “Ah, Madone, that mattress. That was the most uncomfortable thing I ever slept on, but don’t get me started on that. That’s a conversation for another time.”

Another time?

“And I hated that chair.” She pointed to the one next to the bed. “You should have brought my chair up here instead. I was dying and you wanted me to sit in that chair? What with that uncomfortable bed and ugly chair, my back was killing me.” She smiled at her own joke, but I sat there stunned, and watched the apparition’s lips move, my own mouth gaping, as I tried to get my mind and my eyes to agree on what floated in front of me.

“Ah, Madone. Stop looking at me like that, Angela Frances Palanca. You act like you’ve never seen a ghost.”

“Ma, I haven’t ever seen a ghost, and my name is Angela Panther, not Palanca. You know that.” My mother always called me Angela Palanca, and it drove both my father and me batty. She said I was the closest thing to a true Italian she could create, and felt I deserved the honor of an Italian last name. She never liked Richter, my maiden name, because she said it was too damned German.

“And that recliner of yours was falling apart. I was afraid you’d hurt yourself in it. Besides, it was ugly, and I was sort of embarrassed to put it in the dining room.” I shook my head again. “And you’re not real, you’re in my head. I watched them take your body away, and I know for a fact you weren’t breathing, because I checked.”

Realizing that I was actually having a discussion with someone who could not possibly be real, I pinched myself to wake up from what was clearly some kind of whacked-out dream.

“Stop that, you know you bruise easily. You don’t want to look like a battered wife at my funeral, do you?”

Funeral? I had no intention of talking about my mother’s funeral with a figment of my imagination. I sat for a minute, speechless, which for me was a huge challenge.

“They almost dropped you on the driveway, you know.” I giggled, and then realized what I was doing, and immediately felt guilty, for a second.

Ma scrunched her eyebrows and frowned. “I know. I saw that. You’d think they’d be more careful with my body, what with you standing there and all. There you were, my daughter, watching them take away my lifeless, battered body, and I almost went flying off that cart. I wanted to give them a what for, and believe me, I tried, but I felt strange, all dizzy and lightheaded. Sort of like that time I had those lemon drop drinks at your brother’s wedding. You know, the ones in those little glasses? Ah, that was a fun night. I haven’t danced like that in years. I could have done without the throwing up the next day, though, that’s for sure.”

Lifeless, battered body? What a dramatic apparition I’d imagined.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes and considered pinching myself again, but decided the figment was right, I didn’t want to be all bruised for the funeral.

There I sat, in the middle of the night, feeling wide awake, but clearly dreaming. I considered telling her to stay on topic, seeing as dreams didn’t last very long, and maybe my subconscious needed my dream to process her death but I didn’t. “This is just a dream.” I tried to convince myself the apparition wasn’t real.

She threw her hands up in the air. “Again with the dreaming. It’s not a dream, Angela. You’re awake, and I’m here, in the flesh.” She held her transparent hand up and examined it. “Okay, so not exactly in the flesh, but you know what I mean.”

This wasn’t my mother, I knew this, because my mother died today, in my house, in this bed, in a dining room turned bedroom. I was there. I watched it happen. She had lung cancer, or, as she liked to call it, the big C. And today, as her body slowly shut down, and her mind floated in and out of consciousness, I talked to her. I told her everything I lacked the courage to say before, when she could talk back and acknowledge my fear of losing her. And I kept talking as I watched her chest rise and fall, slower and slower, until it finally stilled. I talked to her as she died, and because I still had so much more to say, I kept talking for hours after her body shut down. I told her how much I loved her, how much she impacted my life. I told her how much she drove me absolutely crazy, and yet I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

So this wasn’t Ma, couldn’t possibly be. “You’re dead.”

The figment of my imagination shook her head and frowned, then moved closer, and looked me straight in the eye. I could see through her to the candelabra on the wall. Wow, it was dusty. When was it last dusted?

“Of course I’m dead, Angela. I’m a ghost.”

I shook my head, trying hard not to believe her, but I just didn’t feel like I was sleeping, so God help me, I did.

My name is Angela Panther and I see dead people. Well, one dead person, that is, and frankly, one was enough.

Unfinished Business is on sale Sept. 19 – 23 for only 99 cents. Buy it here:

http://dld.bz/cQeQN

http://dld.bz/cQeTv

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Carolyn Ridder Aspenson is the author of two novels, Unfinished Business An Angela Panther Novel and Unbreakable Bonds An Angela Panther Novel, both of the chick-lit and paranormal genres.

Carolyn wrote her first novel, Unfinished Business shortly after her mother died. She felt the need to let the world know a little about the woman who drove her absolutely crazy but loved her with intensity unknown to normal people. While some of the book is loosely based on events surrounding her mother’s death, the author swears she’ll never tell if she really did bury her mother illegally.

An avid fitness buff, Carolyn writes a monthly health and fitness column for Northside Woman Magazine. She also writes several freelance articles monthly for various Atlanta area media outlets including the Forsyth Herald, the Milton Herald, The Revue and News, The Johns Creek Herald, Countyline Magazine and many Internet publications.

www.carolynridderaspenson.com

www.facebook.com/unfinishedbusiness

www.carolynridderaspenson.com

www.twitter.com/awritingwoman

Andrea Buginsky’s latest book, Destiny, has just launched! I absolutely love the cover and the book sounds like a great read. Andrea will be back here on Sept. 29th with a guest post, but in the meantime, here’s a preview. Also, check out her blog schedule below!

Coming Soon

Constantly teased and taunted by the popular girls, Elena Baxter desperately wants to fit in. On her sweet sixteenth, she receives two shocking gifts: telekinesis and the surprising truth about her heritage. With high hopes that things will be different now, Elena returns to school to find that nothing has changed. Only this time her hurt feelings and frustration boil into something even she cannot understand.

When her powers explode, chaos ensues and she learns that her new ability is greater than she ever desired. As she learns to control her powers, Elena discovers there’s so much more to her heritage than she ever imagined.

Excerpt:

As Elena bounded back up the stairs, her mom watched, smiling, thinking about the last 16 years, and of all this next one would bring.  She knew there would be a lot of changes, more so than Elena could possibly know, and she was looking forward to every one of them.  She could hardly wait for Isabel’s arrival the next day so they could finally tell Elena the truth about who she was, and help her to blossom and start to become whom she was meant to be.

TO GET YOUR COPY NOW, CLICK HERE 

Andrea Buginsky is a freelance writer and author. “The Chosen,” a middle-grade fantasy novelette, was her first book, and was followed by “My Open Heart,” an autobiography about growing up with heart disease. “Nature’s Unbalance” is the second story in THE CHOSEN series. Andrea is currently working on another series: a YA fantasy. To learn more about Andrea, visit her on her website.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/Andrea.Buginsky.Author

Twitter: @andreabuginsky

Google+ https://plus.google.com/#117234398007434496419/posts

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/andipandi10/

Welcoming Rachelle Ayala back to my blog.  She has a new novel out (love the cover!) and it sounds great! 

Knowing Vera, a thrilling romantic suspense and cross-cultural family drama, released September 6 on Amazon.

Vera’s dating Zach, casually, not committed, when she finds out her long-departed father is the killer of Zach’s mother many years ago.

Meanwhile, Zach reevaluates his life after a tragic accident and realizes he’s falling in love with Vera.

Can their timing be so wrong? Vera knows the relationship is doomed, but she cannot resist the tugging of her heart and Zach’s panty-melting grin.

Caught in a web of family secrets and hidden agendas, Vera and Zach must depend on each other for survival. A dangerous killer is on the loose, and Vera must find the truth, wherever that leads, even if it’s shocking news for Zach.

From the Author:

Vera Custodio is possibly my most favorite character. I never planned on making her a heroine, but she grew on me. In Broken Build, she first appears as the sister of a dead man, and then as the flirt enticing Dave Jewell with her pancit malabon. From there, she grew to be Maryanne Torres’ best friend in Hidden Under Her Heart. She met Zach Spencer, a playboy triathlete, and succumbed to his charms, but under her terms. Since she was a side character, she had several bad traits she had to grow out of to become a true heroine. She was a flirt, had trouble keeping her panties on, and dropped boyfriends like used nail extensions. But she was also caring, loyal, and a darn good cook. When Zach Spencer suffers a crippling injury, I knew Vera would be the perfect woman for him. But first, she has to overcome the mystery in her past and open her heart enough to trust. And that’s the theme of Knowing Vera.

So, download Knowing Vera for 99c, kick up your heels and enter my awesome Giveaway, featuring the all NEW Improved Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, a paperback, and gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway