Why I can wear a bikini or how writing is exactly like stripping

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Michelle Garren-Flye

I’m on vacation, hence the lack of updates to my blog. However, I thought I’d tie the two together so my blog gets updated at least once this week. And since my mind is occupied by sun and swim and sea, I’m writing about wearing a bikini.

You see, I got tired of my matronly one-piece. Every year I think “This is the year I’ll get toned and firm and be able to wear a bikini.” Well, it has yet to happen. This year, I decided the hell with it. I don’t like one-piece swimsuits. They’re a pain to struggle in and out of when you go to the bathroom, they make me look like an old lady, and let’s face it, if I wait until my body is perfect…well, after three pregnancies, you can imagine how long that’s going to take.

So I bought a bikini. A very, very modest bikini, but it still bares more of my body than I’m usually comfortable with. I put it on and I went out on the beach. I went to the pool. I even walked up to a beachside restaurant. All of this with a bare midriff.

And I wasn’t uncomfortable at all!

What’s happened to me? I haven’t worn a bikini since college and for a long time there, I couldn’t imagine showing any skin that jiggled at all. So why now? I certainly don’t look like I did in college.

I’ve decided my writing has a lot to do with it. I’ve put a lot of myself into my books. Each scene I write in my novels is like stripping a bit of clothing off, and by the time I’ve finished a novel, I feel pretty damn exposed. I must have a lot of layers, though, because I’ve now finished four novels and I’m pretty sure I’ve got more in me.

We’ll call my writing the dance of 7,000 veils.

Countdown to Winter Solstice: 25 days.

Blogging at Lyrical Press today! One month to WINTER SOLSTICE!

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Michelle Garren-Flye

Come by and check out my guest blog at Lyrical Press!

WINTER SOLSTICE Excerpt Up at Lyrical Press!

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Michelle Garren-Flye

Just a quick weekend note to let you know Lyrical Press has put up the blurb and excerpt of WINTER SOLSTICE. You can find it here: Winter Solstice at Lyrical Press, Inc. Hard to believe in just a little over a month, it’ll be out and I’ll be a multipublished author. 🙂

Winter Solstice Blurb

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Michelle Garren-Flye

A quick note to let you know I finished the galleys and just in time! The blurb for Winter Solstice is now complete. Check it out below or on my Books page.

Assignment from hell, or divine romance?

Becky Gray expects her new job in the Public Relations Office of Buncombe
County Hospital to be easy, but her first assignment takes
her onto the front lines of the Emergency Room. Assigned to follow sexy Dr.
John Grant–whose skill as a physician is overshadowed by his reputation as
a womanizer–Becky is caught up in a whirlwind of emotion and drama.
Can she find safety in the arms of a man she should despise?

Breathing in the heat

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Michelle Garren-Flye

Have you ever really tried to breathe in 90 degree humid heat? I’m relearning the technique. Today I walked outside to check the mail and was a little stunned by the utter stillness. I think the heat at that time was about 92 degrees Fahrenheit. And while it’s not as muggy as it will be later in the summer, it didn’t take me long to break out into a sweat. In spite of this, I stood for a minute listening to the silence. A big fat black bumblebee buzzed my head, then buzzed back, probably attracted by the sun glinting off my silver hairs. But other than the bumblebee and me, there might have been nothing else alive for miles.

And I breathed.

I’ve been breathing all along, although I haven’t updated my blog in a while. My daughter’s birthday was yesterday and we had a blast celebrating with her. And today was her last day of preschool for the year. Caught me off guard and I was just a little stunned to realize another school year (her first) is drawing to a close.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Of course, the end of the school year brings with it all the kids activities and projects and parties that make memories special later on. I’m loving it. I’m enjoying it. I’m breathing.

Through all this, I’m attempting to get myself ready for the RWA Nationals in New York (yippee! Can’t wait!) and proof the galleys of WINTER SOLSTICE. (I’ll have some thoughts about WINTER SOLSTICE and what I’m learning about my own writing next week.)

And to top it all off, I am the guest blogger on Lyrical Press, Inc.’s blog this Friday! If you’d like to stop by and say hello, I’d love to “see” you there. I’ll post a link on Friday, but that may be the last you’ll hear from me. What will my topic be? I’m thinking of doing something about my experience as PTO president this year.

Keep breathing!