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The best feeling in the world is to feel loved. It can right all wrongs and calm all fears. It is complete and utter bliss.

Perhaps I am a little vain for enjoying the control I possess when I write, but when I came upon this month’s quote, I realized there is a lot more to this desire to tell stories than just a power play.

July 1st marks the one-year birthday of this newsletter. When I sent out that first newsletter a year ago, I didn’t know if I would be able to hold to my unstated promise to send out a newsletter on the first of every month. Somehow, though, it all worked out, and here I am.

Over the course of my life, I’ve met a lot of people. I’ve seen a lot of actions taken and consequences ensue. The more I experience, the more I come back to a handful of old sayings I have heard over the years that I believe ring quite true. Here are my favorites...

With a third of the year behind us, I thought it would be good to take a look back at the literary resolutions I made at the beginning of the year to see how I’m doing so far.

The Greeks had several words for love, and we commonly hear about four of them: philia (friendship or affection); eros (romantic love); storge (familial love); and agape (selfless, unconditional, divine love). Any love, though, to be effective and complete, must have an element of sacrifice.

I celebrated my 47th birthday about a week ago, and birthdays have a tendency to make us think about our lives. Of course, the more birthdays you’ve had, the more life you have to think about.

One of the wonderful reviewers I met during the process of finding bloggers to promote my books is Julie, the creator of the blog One Book More. She is a kind person--and also very creative, hard-working, and downright interesting. So, naturally, I wanted to learn more about her!

If I had to pick what I think is the most important feeling or emotion, it would be hope. Yes, I love reading and writing romance, and it may seem odd that I would pick hope over love for my “favorite” feeling, but I think Dostoyevsky is right. Human beings cannot live without hope. Despair kills people from the inside out.

The essence of romance is not finding (in literature or in real life) the perfect mate who will always treat his lover like a princess and never act irrationally or get angry or say hurtful things. Instead, romance is about two imperfect people who can see the imperfections in each other and, for one reason or another, can be okay with those imperfections.

I am a firm believer that often the very thing we need in our lives comes to us at just the right time. We meet the right people, who give us the right advice, at just the right moment in our lives when we can understand and act on that good counsel.

Everyone needs inspiration. No matter what our vocation—writer, parent, waiter, businesswoman, actor, plumber, student, accountant, cashier—we all need a spark every once in a while to help us do what we need to do with more joy.