I hope your week has been feeling focused, energized, and full of simple joys. After an evening spent roasting marshmallows with my family last night, I currently smell like a campfire (I was too tired to shower away the smell, though, admittedly, I kinda like it!), as do my children, who I predict will be asking for bonfires every night this summer after being properly spoiled (in the best of ways) by two back-to-back s’mores-filled evenings, thanks to the special occasion of a visiting friend.

I have a multitude of childhood memories spent around bonfires, making s’mores, telling ghost stories, singing 90s country songs, and giggling girlishly about who knows what nonsense with my friends. I’m looking forward to a summer full of them…minus the ghost stories; we don’t need any nightmares!

What are some of your favorite summertime traditions? Email me at dianatylerauthor@gmail.com and let me know. I’d love to hear about them and possibly try them out with my family soon!

Time for this week’s Top 4. I hope you enjoy!

MESSAGE FOR MY MAMA

In this week’s episode of The Way to Grow Mom Show, I share just a few of the many ways in which my mom has been an amazing inspiration and role model throughout my life. I also do my best to encourage women to focus on the blessings of their upbringings and to learn and grow from the things that weren’t exactly beneficial, rather than be embittered by them. You can check it out HERE.

COFFEE SHOP WISDOM

I saw this written on a chalkboard at our local coffee shop and found it photographable:

“Choose to be kind over being right and you’ll be right every time, because kindness is a sign of strength.”

LIKES > WANTS

“Focus on your likes, not your wants.

You may not want to exercise, but you like how it makes you feel.
You may not want to write, but you like the feeling of accomplishment.
You may not want to wake up early, but you like the calm beauty of morning.

Wanting is the desire you feel before doing something. Liking is the satisfaction you feel after doing something. Let your likes guide you.”- James Clear

RING OF WISHES

Speaking of writing, I’m in the middle of the second round of edits for my next novel, Ring of Wishes. It’s a contemporary fantasy, based on Greek mythology – of course! Here’s an excerpt:

Aphrodite was beautiful, the most beautiful creature Chess had ever seen.

He shivered and turned onto his side, away from Marie, his heart thumping so hard he feared it would wake her. “Aphrodite,” he whispered into the darkness.

Nothing. Not even the light flutter of a drape or a gentle rap at the window.

It occurred to him that he could wish for the answer, but the spark of hope the thought created was instantly extinguished by the question: What good would it do? It was impossible to undo wishes, and so knowing for certain that Marie loved him only because her heart had been tampered with would do nothing but torment him further. He would try to convince her to leave him, to get far, far away and forget all about him, but what would his reasoning be? “Honey, I’m sorry, but Aphrodite—yes, that Aphrodite—made you fall in love with me.”

She’d have him hauled off to the loony bin. And then, because the spell was irreversible, she’d feign madness herself just to follow him there.

And if, on the other hand, Aphrodite revealed that Marie’s feelings for him were authentic, then he would undoubtedly kick himself for wasting a perfectly good wish, all because he was suspicious of how much they loved each other.

This was true love. Deep down, he knew it as well as he knew the colors of the grass and sky. The only demon torturing him was his own head, and he was determined to set it straight.
No more sleepless nights. No more blissful days ruined by psychological bombshells. He was happy. Marie was happy. That was what mattered, and from here on out, that was what he would tell himself.

I hope you enjoyed that snippet! If you’d like to be an Advanced Reader of the book and receive a free digital copy and signed paperback for you AND a friend, just reply at dianatylerauthor@gmail.com and I’ll add you to the list!