Tag: lifestyle

A hard choice #MFRWauthor

BCity lifeecause of our nomadic lifestyle, hubby and I have had the luxury and privilege of living in both cities and the country. We spent 4 years in Richmond, Virginia—not huge, but still a decent sized city—and 12 years in a neighboring county with 13,000 people in the county. We lived just outside New York City and then moved to live in Appleton, Wisconsin, where 10 minutes would get you to the airport and about ten steps separated you from the baggage claim, loading gate, and car rental desk. We moved to the heart of San Francisco, across from City Hall and the ballet, and then moved to Greenwood, SC, where ten cars constituted a traffic jam. Our last move was from the urban Tidewater area (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Hampton and Newport News) to a tiny town in Idaho. I can honestly say I enjoyed each and every place we lived.

In San Francisco, we went to the ballet, numerous plays and museums and Small townsvisited the Wharf weekly. The restaurants are deservedly legendary. In Richmond, too, we had season tickets to the theater. New York offered Radio City Music Hall and a city throbbing with energy, and Tidewater, where I’d lived for nine years growing up, was home in a way. None of those things were true in the small towns/country where we lived. In our Virginia county, we were 35 miles from the nearest city, and 50 miles into Richmond, so shopping had to be planned. As I said, the airport in Appleton was close but everything else was pretty limited. Still, the people were amazingly friendly, and the town was fun to explore. I loved living in rural South Carolina! Anytime was a good time for a ride in the country and all kinds of interesting things presented themselves for exploration.

Cities have things to do and a variety of places to eat. Country/small towns have peace, the ability to get around easily, and a more relaxed lifestyle. I love them both.

Which lifestyle do you prefer?

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Dee
Burning Bridges by Anne Krist: old letters put the lie to Sara’s life. Now, mending her past mistakes while crossing burning bridges will be the hardest thing she’s ever done.

One Woman Only
Only a Good Man Will Do
Naval Maneuvers

Resolutions. Bah! #MFRWauthor

Happy New YearI don’t know if I’ve ever revealed this or not, but I am not the most disciplined person in the world. I used to be better. If I started reading a book, I finished reading the book. If I began a needle work project, I finished the needlework project. If I set a resolution at New Years, I followed through with said resolution.

Then one day I woke up older. If I started reading a book and I wasn’t all that fond of it, I put it aside and started another. Thanks to Kindle, I always have more books waiting in the wings! If I began a needlework project and it became too tedious, I gave it to Salvation Army in case someone else might enjoy finishing it. And if I made a resolution and didn’t feel the need in February to diet the rest of the year, or exercise my butt off in the cold, I said, “What the hell?” and dropped it.

So what changed? As I said, I woke up older. I think age makes us prioritizeTime things differently than when we were younger. When you feel like the whole of life is stretched out in front of you, pushing through that 1,000-page book about earthworms in the Antarctic doesn’t seem quite so bad (I said quite so bad!). You might even make your own annotations. But now? Give me a good 300-page romance and forget earthworms. I leave the 15×15 inch counted cross stitch to someone else to do now, and I usually avoid making resolutions.

Arbitrary decision timeResolutions seem to be fly-by-night. If something is important enough to do, you don’t wait until New Year’s Eve and decide to do it. You weigh the pros and cons and make a logical decision. You make a plan, set a path, and follow it because you know it’s right, not because you suddenly feel overweight after weeks of holiday food. You do it because you need to and when you need to.

Of course, you can plan to make a life-changing resolution, too.

I just don’t. 😉

This is our last scheduled blog post of the year. Thanks so much for sticking with me, for reading my posts and for your comments! May the rest of your holidays be the happiest, and wising you a wonderful 2020!!

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Dee
One Woman Only: The Good Man Series, Book 2 Jonah’s story! Can a simple mechanic rekindle with his high school love? She says no, but Jonah loves a challenge!

Mystic Desire
Only a Good Man Will Do
Naval Maneuvers

Blazing HOT! Paging Dr. Turov: Gibby Campbell

Welcome, Gibby Campbell! I loved Paging Dr. Turov!

Paging Dr. Turov

Blurb
Dr. Victor Turov is at the top of his game. A world-renowned heart surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, he is also wealthy, good looking, and in complete control of his life. The only problem is he needs the right kind of woman, and a good submissive is hard to find.

Enter Abby Shea, a young and beautiful widow, who runs into Dr. Turov while volunteering. Sparks fly between the two, but something about the good doctor scares Abby off. Victor has to aggressively pursue her until she agrees to a date. Now he just needs to convince Abby his lifestyle is something she can live with.

There are many obstacles along the way including worried friends, nasty in-laws, a voyeur, and one highly judgmental counselor. Through it all Victor keeps them on track with creative punishments, while Abby grapples with how much freedom she is willing to give up in the name of love.

https://amzn.to/2PJ0xpD
www.gibbycampbell.com

Interview
NA: How did you come up with the idea for your book?
GC: I knew I wanted to write an erotic romance, and I was debating what career to give my Dom. I wanted him to be confident, wealthy, and controlling. One night I was having dinner with a friend who is a nurse. She complained about a prickly surgeon, but in the next breath told me how he spent the night in the ICU with a risky patient. My first thought was, wow, what a caring doctor! My second thought was, damn, I just found my Dom. The book kindof took off from there.

NA: What is the main thing you want readers to take away from your book?
GC: I think a lot of people misunderstand BDSM. I wanted to show how a D/s relationship can be safe and long-term under the right circumstances. I also wanted to show how a novice might be drawn into the lifestyle over time.

NA: A fun fact about writing your book.
GC: I’m from Cleveland, Ohio, and I love this city. My book takes place in Cleveland, and all but one of the locations is real.

NA: Do you have a day job?
GC: I am mostly a stay-at-home wife who takes care of all of the indoor and most of the outdoor chores. I also teach social science courses at a local university on occasion.

NA: What do your friends and family think about you being a writer?
GC: Everyone is proud of me. However, my siblings refuse to read this book. I am the youngest girl in a family of eight kids. They have all told me reading my sex scenes would ruin their image of me as a sweet little sister. They are probably right!

NA: The biggest surprise you had after becoming a writer.
GC: I was shocked at how much I enjoy the writing process. In the past I dabbled at it and only wrote when I was in the mood. Now I make a point to write every day, and it is a true labor of love.

NA: Do you outline books ahead of time or are you more of a by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer?
GC: I hash out a rough outline and try to come up with some character names first. Then I start the actual writing, at which point the outline tends to go right out the window. In Paging Dr. Turov, Victor has a best friend named Yuri. This character was meant to be supportive, but somehow he ended up morphing into a creepy voyeur. I was stunned when that happened, but I went with it, and it gave me some other scenes later in the book.

NA: What kind of scenes are the hardest for you to write?
GC: Anything that requires a good description. I am NOT a visual person, and that old adage of “show not tell” can be tough for me. I much prefer dialogue and action. Having said that, sex scenes can be a challenge too. I often find myself giggling like a schoolgirl as I’m writing them. I mean, there are only so many words for a dick, right?

NA: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
GC: I love hiking, the theatre, and swimming. If you read my book, you will soon discover my character, Abby, has the same hobbies.

NA: Why did you choose the shirt you have on?
GC: I didn’t. My husband picked it out.

NA: First thought when the alarm goes off in the morning?
GC: Is the coffee ready?

NA: What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
GC: Gerard Butler. He’s yummy. I picture a younger version of him with a Russian accent as my Dr. Turov character.

NA: What are you working on now?
GC: I just finished an Amish romance, which was fun but way outside my comfort zone. I’m also halfway through writing another erotic romance. This one takes place in Ireland and involves two friends who grew up together. I was bawling the other night writing one scene. It was another case of my outline taking an unexpected and dramatic turn.

NA: What is the question we didn’t ask that you would like to answer?
GC: Hmmm. I can’t really think of anything. I do know a lot of people ask if I’m in a D/s relationship. My answer is always the same…I’m not permitted to say. LOL.

Gibby Campbell's Paging Dr. Turov

Excerpt
He motioned her over to him, and she found her feet moving of their own volition in his direction. They stopped when she was standing in front of him, and she risked a glance at his face. He was giving her a reassuring smile. Then he gently turned her around and pulled her onto his lap.

“When I give out a punishment, Abigail, I like to talk about what occurred. That way you’re very clear about my expectations, and hopefully the behavior doesn’t happen again.” He added, “Honesty is crucial to our relationship and to a punishment. If you’re honest with me, then the punishment goes a lot quicker. Does that make sense?”

She nodded, and he continued. “There was a major disconnect between what you said to me on the phone yesterday afternoon and what occurred last night. We need to figure out what happened to cause that disconnect.” He had his arms around her waist, and his face was leaning towards her ear. “Stand up, little one.”

She did what she was told. Victor reached around and pulled the drawstring on her pants. Abby jumped in shock and then instinctively reached down with her hands to stop him. “What are you doing?” she asked.

He explained, “I like to spank a bare bottom. It stings more, and I get to see your ass redden from my palm.”

“Oh,” was all she said, but she did not remove her hands.

He reassured her. “You have a beautiful body, Abigail. Don’t be embarrassed. I saw it all last night.” He quickly grasped the hem of her pants and panties and pulled them both down in one quick motion. Abby was mortified. She didn’t have time to think, though, as Victor half turned her and said, “Lay across my lap.” His voice was calm but left no room for argument.

He helped her into position. She was lying face down with her ass centered over his lap. Victor had wrapped her pigtails around his left hand and was firmly holding her head in place. His right hand was resting on her bare butt, and he gave her a test smack. The sound was loud, and Abby flinched.

“Did that hurt?”

She thought about it. “Kindof.”

“Good.”

Author Bio
Gibby CampbellGibby is no stranger to the perils of romance. Single until the age of 37, she dated many an interesting (dare we say crazy) guy until meeting the love of her life, Jim. They are married and live in the Cleveland, Ohio area with their very spoiled dog, Scoob. Gibby believes there is no true norm when it comes to relationships, and they all take hard work and dedication. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her hiking, at the theatre, or napping.