Tag Archives: reading

Celebrating life choices and culture

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Hello, friends!

Today, February 17th, my husband and I would like to share a double celebration with you: six years ago we moved to the city of Timișoara (English pronunciation: tee-mee-shoo-a-ruh), and also today is the official date when Timișoara takes the crown and becomes this year’s European Capital of Culture.

This prestigious title is awarded to a different European city every year, and it serves as a celebration of the cultural diversity and richness of Europe. The title is awarded to a city that demonstrates excellence in culture and creativity, and Timișoara has certainly earned its place as Europe’s cultural capital for 2023.

Timișoara is a city with a rich and varied history. It is located in the western part of Romania, close to the borders of Serbia and Hungary. The city has been inhabited for thousands of years, and it has been part of the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Communist Romania. This diverse history has left an indelible mark on the city, and it has resulted in a fascinating and unique culture that is ripe for exploration.

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The European Capital of Culture program was established in 1985, and since then, it has become one of the most important cultural events in Europe. The program is designed to showcase the cultural richness of Europe and to promote cross-cultural understanding and cooperation. Each year, two cities are chosen to be the European Capitals of Culture, and they are given the opportunity to showcase their unique cultural heritage to the rest of Europe.

The Timișoara program for 2023 is both exciting and varied. The city organizes a series of events that will showcase its rich cultural history, including exhibitions, concerts, theater performances, and workshops. Some of the highlights of the program include:

An exhibition on the history and culture of the Banat region, where Timișoara is located. The Banat region is a unique cultural and linguistic area that straddles the borders of Romania, Serbia, and Hungary.

A series of concerts featuring traditional and modern music from Romania and the surrounding countries. Timișoara has a thriving music scene, and the city is home to many talented musicians and composers.

A theater festival that will showcase the work of local and international theater companies. Timișoara has a rich theater tradition, and the festival promises to be a highlight of the program.

A series of workshops and conferences on topics such as architecture, art, and literature. These events will bring together experts from around Europe to discuss the latest trends and developments in their fields.

There were thousands of people today at the grand opening of the festivities, and the mild weather turned this into a perfect evening.

Photo credit: Dominic Fritz Facebook page

Photo credit: Dominic Fritz Facebook page

I love living in Timișoara, and it’s one of the best cities to experience Romania. In fact, two of my books take place in my homeland, more precisely in Transilvania, the place Romania is most known for. Transilvania is the central part of Romania, the land roughly surrounded by the Carpathian mountains. If you’d like a good romance, a dash of suspense, and a rich multicultural experience, I hope you will try my books, The Diary and International Affairs: London, which are free to read in Kindle Unlimited.

 

Fondly,
Melinda

My Favorite Place on Earth: Siesta Key, Sarasota

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It’s summertime, and I am currently in my favorite place on earth: Siesta Key, Sarasota! I fell in love with it back in high school when I lived in Sarasota for four years. The day my parents and I moved away, I cried for hours in the car. I was able to come back once, a few years later, for a friend’s wedding, but then it was years before I stepped foot back on the white sandy beaches.

For my 50th birthday, I brought my husband and my daughter to Siesta Key to see it for the first time. Both of them fell in love with the soft powder sand and beautiful greens and blues of the ocean. Now, today is my 53rd birthday, and we are back again. The older I get, the more I want to listen to the waves, kick back, and relax.

We have driven around town and checked out some places that bring back many memories. We have enjoyed shopping around St. Armand’s Circle and taking the trolley into Siesta Key Village. We also visited Turtle Beach and drove down to Venice, where we checked out Caspersen Beach, the home of shark’s teeth. We didn’t find any, but we found many beautiful shells! We hope to try again later in the week.

Each night, we watched the sunset and walked on the beach. It’s time away from the world’s stress and the chance to reconnect with my family.

If you are a beach person and enjoy reading on the beach, check out my short story series: Finding Love in Special Places.

Finding Love on Christmas Vacation

Finding Love on the Summer’s Surf

Finding Love with Dear Santa (Amazon Exclusive)

Finding love in a Champagne Toast

Finding Love on the High Seas (Amazon Exclusive)

Finding Love on a Dude Ranch

Making Time For Things We Love

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In the last two years, when I was at home for a while, the days seemed to be everlastingly long. Half the time, I couldn’t tell what I’d done with each day. At the same time, all the things I needed to do didn’t seem to get done.

Now, I’m still working from home some days, but they go by so quickly, it’s hard to reconcile the fact that so much time is passing. That brings to mind all the things I enjoy that I don’t do enough of—blogging is one of those things.

As I scrolled through my posts recently, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed the blogging community and that I’ve lost contact with a fair number of people whose company I used to enjoy. Visiting other writers’ blogs was fun and I learned so much about places I was unlikely to visit. Plus, the writing community is filled with so many wonderful people.

These days, most of the writing I do is fiction and rest is for work. Sometimes, at the end of the day I’m so exhausted I can barely think, much less write. More than ever, I’ve been thinking how important it is to make time to do the things we love. Life is so short and goes by in a flash.

I’ve been trying to make more time for reading and I’m hoping I can practice my calligraphy because it has been a while. Gardening seems to be a distant thing in my rearview mirror. It’ll take some doing to switch things up, but I’m game. Life is about living to the fullest and that’s what I am to do.

What are some things you like to do but find you aren’t indulging in them anymore?

Speaking of time, I’d like to introduce you to a character who refuses to acknowledge that her relationship has changed over the years. She has become the woman scorned but has no intention of making that her permanent situation. At least not without a taste of revenge. https://lrd.to/absolution

The good, the bad, and the ugly

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Dear friends,

It’s been a while since I was able to check in and give you an update. This is one of the most challenging things that I ever wrote, because the past months have been very difficult for me. My father was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of November, so the holidays were dark and grim in my family. Just when the first spring sunrays seemed to head our way, war started in Ukraine. I live in Romania, which shares a border with Ukraine. It’s fortunate because we are able to help hundreds of thousands of refugees, but it also makes the horrors of war too close for comfort. However, I have no right to complain. I can’t even imagine what the poor people across the border have to endure every moment, living and dying in constant bombardment, as their country is destroyed, inch by inch.

The thought that this destruction might extend throughout the whole world is daunting. I’m only thirty-six years old, and already I’ve lived through a pandemic, the terrible illness of a loved family member, and now I am witnessing a war.

Needless to say that all of this has affected my creativity. I want to apologize to you all. I know you’re waiting for the next books, and I am struggling harder than you think to write the best mysteries that I can. That includes a lot of research, endless brainstorming, writing, deleting, not to mention mustering the physical and emotional state to write. I’ve had a lot more bad days than good, so the progress is slow, but I try to celebrate the small victories, like hitting the first 10k of a new book!

It’s a new series, which I’m very excited about. I can’t tell you anything about it yet, so please be patient with me. I just hope you will continue to share these small joys and make these baby steps with me.

In the meantime, I would love to offer you a free short story from my Lovestruck collection, which is available exclusively on my website, melindadeross.com. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! 🙂☘️

Also, I have another series that I would love to recommend, because as a friend of mine says, we all turn to books for solace when reality becomes too harsh to endure.

If you would like to help the people of Ukraine in any way, fellow AB author Stephanie Queen has generously put together an anthology of ten stories, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to support Ukrainian refugees all over the world. Please consider buying this box set, so that someone who had to abandon their home can have a hot meal, medicine, or a bed for the night.

Stay safe,

Melinda