Guest Post: Change of Pace by Sofia Essen

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First of all I want to say thanks to Jennifer for letting me take up space on her blog today. Thank you, Jennifer!

So who am I? My name is Sofia Essen and I’m the author of a novel called “Change of Pace“. I spent 20 years as an expatriate bouncing around Southeast Asia and the Middle East before settling on the Greek island of Crete three years ago.

People who come to Crete to stay for an indefinite period of time, not tourists, come here because they’re searching for something. They might be in pursuit of a better way of life, love, enlightenment and inner peace, or any combination thereof. Many come looking to recapture the dream-like experience they had as tourists while on vacation.

The reality of living in Crete on a permanent basis is quite different. Cretan culture is unique and can take a little getting used to. Yes, the laid-back Greek island lifestyle is a refreshing change of pace to the bustle of a capital city. This being said, life in Crete is a not without its frustrations. Take bureaucracy, for example, which seems to have been refined into an art form and often requires endless patience as you wade through a mountain of red tape to get anything done.

Living in Crete is what made me pick up a pen and start writing. I was sitting in a café in a small Cretan village one afternoon, watching a couple of tourists desperately trying and failing miserably to order a cup of coffee, and said to myself, “This place would be a great setting for a book.”

Change of PaceIt’s now three years later, and my book is published! “Change of Pace” is a story about a woman who loses her job, gets dumped by her boyfriend, and turns thirty in one unfortunate week. In a moment of uncharacteristic spontaneity, she books a ticket to Greece and winds up following a sexy Englishman she meets on the plane to Crete… and then her life really turns upside down!

I’m going to go now before I overstay my welcome. I hope to see you again!

Best Wishes, Sofia

Change of Pace is now available at Amazon & Barnes & Noble

To the Gardens!

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So yesterday, I took a trip with the fam to enjoy my very first visit to Longwood Gardens here in PA! I had a marvelous time there, despite the fact that I am now in severe pain from all the walking we did while we were there (the place is huge).

I brought my camera with me & got tons of photos as well. I’m a little disappointed in most of them though ’cause the lighting was so bad ’cause of the cloud cover I could barely see the screen let alone my settings and they just came out like total crap (plus my group was moving so fast I barely got time for anything real decent at all), so if they suck, please ignore it. I’ll do better next time.

Kloey also tagged along with us (hiding from the light in my bag pretty much the whole time).

She wanted to show off her new outfit that came over the weekend, and in the process we managed to freak out some little girls. Well, I don’t know if they were freaked out but they were definitely curious as to what she was & why I was carrying her around. :P I found it funny & it kinda made my day.

But it was a pretty memorable experience & I can’t wait to go again this summer (for their new displays & such). I definitely need more time to enjoy it & get some better photos ;)

April #AtoZChallenge Zebra’s Aren’t the only B&W hotties!

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And we’ve made it!! :P The final day of the A to Z Challenge! I really didn’t think I could do it, but I did & I feel awesome! It’s also have me the motivation to expand the topics of my blog & that’s always a good thing, so here’s to the Challenge! If you’d like to look back on my other challenge posts, you can find them here!!