#210 Tiny Reminders > Forgotten Dreams: What My Kelly Slater Binge Taught Me

When I was in my early 20’s and the surf was flat and blown out, I would stagger home from the beach and pop in an old surf movie. If Tony was there with me, it would usually be Thicker Than Water or September Sessions. Sometimes, we'd even throw in Peaches, one of the only female focused contemporary surf films at the time.

But when Tony wasn’t around, I’d go back to my first surf movie I ever owned, Kelly Slater in Black and White. I watched that thing until I knew every turn, every floater, and every heavily synthesized musical note that they were set to. I memorized every line, every single funny answer Kelly would give to the horrendous interview questions (he was barely sixteen at the time.) They became inside jokes for me and the misfit band of female surfers I ran with in high school. We even made our own version of the flick on my dad’s ancient video camera complete with our own horrendous surfing clips.

So now, as I am trying to get myself back in the water to reclaim a simple joy that was stolen from me by illness and injury, I have begun to crave old surf movies. But, even though I still have the old VHS tapes, I don’t own a VCR. So, I subscribed to The Surf Network. And the first movie I watched? Kelly Slater in Black and White. And then Peaches, and 7 Girls. And then I went down the rabbit hole of old 60’s and 70’s surf flicks like the monumental Five Summer Stories. 

And the great thing is, when I come home from school way too wiped out to surf, or when the errands I have to run after school bring me home well after dark, I can still pop in (or more accurately, stream) an old surf flick and keep my stoke alive. So that when life does present an opportunity to get in the water, I have the motivation to seize the chance.

So, what’s the takeaway here? Find little easy ways to remind yourself of your goal so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of life and to do’s and adult responsibilities because, before you know it, you’ll wake up next year and realize you forgot what you wanted to do in the first place. 

It's amazing what a familiar TV show or movie can do for your brain. When you know every twist and turn, your mind can settle in to the easy distraction, and it actually becomes relaxing to watch. So, what's your Go To movie or TV show to settle your stressed out mind?

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#209 Which story would you fall into? 📘

I’m pouring some real love into California Promises right now and I need your help with a quick decision.

Which new hook feels more exciting to you?  

Just tap your favorite — takes literally one second.

When your best friend becomes the biggest ‘what if’ of your life.

Charlie Sands knows exactly how to navigate a man's world, but she has no idea how to handle the man she’s actually in love with.

Friendship has rules. Love doesn’t care about any of them.

Friendship has a Rule Book. Love has a match. Welcome to the bonfire.

So grateful for your quick take — sending you ocean-sized thanks! 🌊🙏

#208 Take the Spruce: A Second Chance for California Promises

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/2613d2_ae1f3f7a86dd441a99ff2f62f8455483/720p/mp4/file.mp4

For all the crazy advice Lorelai has given, and boy does she know how to mess up her own life, she got this one right.

Take the spruce.

That’s the advice I have given to my first book California Promises. Take the spruce.

I pushed California Promises out into the world at the tail end of one of the hardest years of my life. My daughter’s near-fatal health issues. My dad’s actually-fatal health issues. Our six-month kitchen-flooding-landlord-failing nightmare of being without a kitchen and purchasing a house in the midst of unbelievable grief. I mean, washing dishes in a tub in the backyard is only fun for so long.

So, when it came time to complete the final steps of sending my book baby out into the world, I had very little left to give. I didn’t give it the polish that it deserved. And I was so excited to dive into Billie and Ryder’s story in Anything Anytime Anywhere, I just plowed straight ahead. 

By the time I launched Souvenirs this last summer, not only did I have more time to polish that book, but I had learned so much about publishing that it was an entirely new process.

And the whole time, I was thinking back to California Promises. There was so much more I could have done. That I wanted to do. But when the choice comes between being there for my family and going the extra mile for my writiing, I will always choose family. And I am not sad I did.

But things have calmed down. And I have learned so much. I am finally ready to go back and give California Promises the love it deserved all along. Fresh editing. Fresh blurb. Fresh series title. And a launch party with a great cover and awesome ARC team. The other books will get their turn in the polish factory, too, later this summer before finishing up my fourth book, Coast of Carolina, and sending that your way. 

And I can’t wait to take you along for the journey.

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