Finding My Smile

2015 has been a rough year. The previous year, my dad had a stroke, and we spent nearly a year taking care of him and hoping he’d get better. This year, we said goodbye to him. Having never before lost anyone close to me, let alone a parent, it rattled me pretty hard. It's easy to wallow in the hard stuff, especially with the holidays here, and somewhere along the way, I'd lost my smile. I’ve had to take stock of my year and try to refocus on the good things that happened instead.

Not only did I find a lot of good in my year, thanks to modern technology, my phone kept a photographic record to remind me. Let me show you.

In January, I published my short-story collection, Transmonstrified. In March, Phoenix in My Fortune, the final book in my Monster Haven series, came out. And in July, Unfinished Muse, book one in my new Mt. Olympus Employment Agency series, released. Book two, Unamused Muse will be out before the year is over. I wanted to do more, but I've learned where my limits were, at least while dealing with grief. Still, I'm really pleased with how much I managed to get done. Four releases in a year means I'm finally getting the hang of this. But work isn't the only good that happened this year.

I love going on adventures, and this year, that was how I coped. Adventures can be grand and planned out, or they can happen in the quiet moments when you're feeling your lowest. You just have to be open to them. Here are some of mine for the year:

 One afternoon I took a long drive to clear my head. I came around a corner and found a herd of reindeer in an enclosure. Since then, I've visited them several times and come to realize they're probably just regular deer, but in my head, I found magic reindeer. No matter what they are, they were beautiful and unexpected.

My husband and I went on a drive-through safari. This zebra looked up from his grazing, made a beeline for me, and stuck his head in the car for me to scratch. He stayed a long time, even though we weren't feeding him. It was magic.

Mother's Day this year was all about dinosaurs. Because I love dinosaurs and my family loves me. My daughter made me this T-Rex pancake, because when your children grow up, they can do loads of cool stuff for you. 

I was a guest at Kansas City's SFF convention, ConQuesT. I was on several panels, met new people, drank a lot with my friends, and pretended that George R.R. Martin was too shy to approach me in the bar. Bless his heart. I am intimidating.

We went to a Huey Lewis/Jimmy Buffett concert. My first. It was spectacular.

Went to the drive-in for the 4th of July. Best non-Disney fireworks I've seen, plus a double feature afterward. In jammies. With snacks. You can't beat that.

We spent the night in one of the most haunted rooms in the Stanley Hotel. Though we failed to see or hear anything supernatural, we did freak ourselves out. There was also a weird moment where the front desk guy came to our room because he thought I wanted corn. I did not. But the question was--if he thought I wanted corn, why didn't he have any corn to give me?

I went to Denver to hang out with my best friend since third grade. We went to a butterfly garden, tried on squid hats, and went to the Celestial Seasonings factory. The factory was already closed, but we drank tea samples and spent money on tea-related goods. The next day we all went to the museum and saw dinosaurs. Did I mention I love dinosaurs?

Not exactly an adventure, but I bought a new car. (My daughter was using my old one, which left me stuck at home all day, every day. So, I needed a car for adventures. And sanity.) She's purple in the sunlight. I named her Iris in honor of a certain skunk ape from Monster Haven. 

We went to the Oztoberfest and watched the Oz shenanigans while eating lunch from a food truck. Then we tasted many different wines from the Oz Winery and bought several bottles. Lest you should think the Oz winery was a spontaneous side trip, you should know the bartender recognized us from several earlier trips, despite the unusually heavy crowd. Oz wine is special. It comes from the other side of the rainbow.

A lot of other things happened this year. Two of my dearest friends were married. My daughter started college. My son moved out, but started coming home most days to have lunch with me. My friends showered me with love and support. My readers were enthusiastic and patient. My brother and I grew closer through all the difficulties we shared. And as always, my husband stayed by my side no matter how grouchy, sad, or introverted I became.

So here we are, nearly at the end of the year. Not a bad year after all, was it? I looked for the good, and I found it. And in the end, I remembered where I left my smile.  I hope your year has been filled with more good than bad. And I hope you never lose your smile.

Rachel writes stories that drop average people into magical situations filled with heart and quirky humor.

She believes in pixie dust, the power of love, good cheese, lucky socks and putting things off until the last minute. Her home is Disneyland, despite her current location in Kansas. Rachel has one husband, two grown kids and a crazy-catlady starter kit.


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Character Interview: Maurice of R. L. Naquin's MONSTER IN MY CLOSET!

Today Here Be Magic has the distinct pleasure of interviewing Maurice, the Monster from R. L. Naquin's new book MONSTER IN MY CLOSET!

Here's what the book is about, as explained by Zoey Donovan, the heroine:

I stopped believing in monsters long ago. But I knew I wasn't imagining things when I found one in my kitchen baking muffins. I'd seen him before: lurking in my closet, scaring the crap out of my five-year-old self. Turns out that was a misunderstanding, and now Maurice needs a place to stay. How could I say no?
After all, I've always been a magnet for the emotionally needy, and not just in my work as a wedding planner. Being able to sense the feelings of others can be a major pain. Don't get me wrong, I like helping people—and non-people. But this ability has turned me into a gourmet feast for an incubus, a demon that feeds off emotional energy. Now, brides are dropping dead all over town, and my home has become a safe house for the supernatural. I must learn to focus my powers and defeat the demon before he snacks on another innocent woman and comes looking for the main course...

And now to interview Maurice:

What was your life like growing up?
Up until I was eight, I lived with my parents. I don’t really like to talk about it. After the fire, I lived at Zoey’s house for awhile. Her mom was awesome. I still miss her sometimes. She found me a great foster family with lots of other monsters my age. I had a rough start, but it was a good life. A lot of good people in it.
Before the action in the book, what were your plans/hopes for the future?
I wanted kids of my own. Maybe open a restaurant for the Hidden. A nice, normal, happy life in the suburbs with my wife.
What changed that?
My wife, Pansy, changed all that. She was sleeping with a bridge troll. I was willing to try to work it out, but she wasn’t. That’s why I went to Zoey’s house. With my foster parents retired and living in a condo in Italy, I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I used to be happy at Zoey’s. I needed a friend.
How would you describe your personality?
Friendly? I don’t know. I’m just a regular guy who happens to sleep in a closet. I like to take care of the people I love—you know, cooking for them, cleaning up. It’s better when they appreciate it, though. Pansy never noticed, but Zoey cares. That means a lot.
Do you have a motto or code you live by?
Sit-sit-sit! You’ll feel better after you eat something!
What one thing would you take to a desert island?
My iPod. Zoey bought it for me so it wouldn’t be so quiet around here when she’s at work.
Where would you go on vacation?
England. I hear they have wardrobes there instead of closets. That sounds so exotic.
What is your most distinguishing characteristic?
Personally, I’d say it’s my snappy sense of style. Zoey doesn’t think so, though. She says I dress like a circus clown. Considering how weird her wardrobe is, I don’t think she’s a good judge. I guess my eyes are kind of striking. They’re big and yellow. You don’t see that very often.
What is your major skill or talent?
I love cooking more than anything in the world. I got my start as a kid with Zoey’s Easy Bake Oven in her closet while she was asleep. I got into a lot of trouble for doing that. So worth it.
What’s your favorite color? Favorite food?
Color? Plaid, like my favorite pants. Food? Pickled eggs, but Zoey won’t let me make them since they stink up the whole house.
If you had to pick another career, what would it be?
I would make an awesome deejay.
What’s on your bucket list?
I’m still trying to get the wine stain out of Zoey’s Egyptian carpet. It looks like Phyllis Diller, and it was there when I moved in. Don’t tell Zoey I said this, but she can really be a slob sometimes.
Which actor or actress would you want to play you in the movie?
Paul Rudd. He’s everywhere these days. He’ll have to stop eating for awhile first, though. I’m really skinny.
Who are your closest friends?
Zoey’s my best friend, of course. And there’s Iris, the skunk-ape, Molly, the brownie, and I really like Zoey’s friend Andrew, but I’m still kind of shy around him. Unknown humans make me nervous.
Who do you love?
I still love Pansy. I know I shouldn’t, but I’m still holding out hope that we can work out our problems.
What are your future plans?
Sometime this week I’m going to try making a chocolate soufflé. It’ll be epic! Further into the future? Keeping Zoey alive. Maybe getting my wife back and going home. I don’t know. One thing at a time. Let’s focus on the soufflé. 

While he focuses on the souffle, I interviewed Zoey on my blog this week and R. L. is doing a giveaway of the book plus a $10.00 Amazon gift card over there.

But we'd appreciate comments here too, even though it's not a giveaway!  Did you have an imaginary playmate (or monster) when you were a kid?

You can find the book here:
Carina Press  Amazon  Barnes & Noble
<= Here’s R. L. , by the way!