Café Paradise: Presenting

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Some of you might be familiar with Suzy Paradise who appeared in Getting To Mr. Right. Two years have passed and Suzy has given up online dating. Here’s a scene between Suzy and Lyse, her friend and mentor:

“I haven’t been online for three weeks,” I told her as I poked my finger in one of the donuts to test to see if it was cool enough to glaze. 

“You sound like an alcoholic who hasn’t had a drink in three weeks,” Lyse said,

“A perfect analogy,” I said. “At first you get a high from all these men hitting on your profile. All this interest. But after a while, it gets boring and disappointing. What’s your secret with Teddy?” Lyse had been married for over forty years.

In Café Paradise Suzy is pursuing a lifelong dream of hers. I like the idea that on the cusp of mid-life she goes after her dream. As I went along writing the novella I was inspired by a hanging in my office:

We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us. E.M. Forster  

 Suzy is confronted with– as anyone with a dream is –choosing between letting go of her dream or hanging unto it.

 

Café Paradise is now on sale at Amazon.

Cafe Paradise CoverNewCover

 

 

 

41 thoughts on “Café Paradise: Presenting”

  1. What a strange coincidence! Just a couple of hours ago I was writing to another friend, (*but Susie, not Suzy) about the very same thing – your last line. In quite another context and another type of relationship. But eerie that you had to post this now 🙂
    Good one 🙂

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    • Through this novel I wanted to explore the notion of fulfilling a dream. I used the cafe image as metaphor for any of our dreams. Suzy has some tough decisions to make about whether she lets go of her dream or not.
      It’s really serendipity that your friend Susie is facing a similar dilemma. 🙂 Wish her the best! 🙂

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  2. Congratulations on this new sequel and how appropriate a topic to read about~ for me. I love fiction with meaning and purpose. I will get a library request form over the weekend and hope they get both books as a “pair” or set. 🙂 Good luck, Carol.

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  11. Nice to see you back in action, Carol. Hope all is well with you. Love that quote from E.M.Forster. A very challenging thought/decision. Often we get caught up with what we think we should have, or the life we should lead. Sometimes, life has other plans for us. Bigs hugs x

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    • It’s so great to be back, Shirley. I’ve been reading your newsletter. Very touching stuff!
      I agree about life having other plans for us and my experiences have shown me that usually life’s plans turn out to be better! 🙂 Hugs XXX

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  12. Congratulations my friend! Your summer disappearance has kept you a busy beaver working on your new book! I love the story, and surely so many women of that ‘certain age’ can relate to the subject. I wish you much success and look forward to reading! I’ve shared across my channels. Have you joined google, twitter or facebook? If so, please connect with me. xo 🙂

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    • Thank you, Debby. Thank you for sharing on other channels.
      I really am not on many channels (Google+, LinkedIn, Goodreads, Amazon Author) and I’m at the learning curve on how to make use of them. There are only so many hours in a day and so many other things that need to be tended to.
      Have a Happy Weekend. 🙂

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      • That is a fact! We must choose our weapons carefully, lol. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing you anywhere 🙂 Also, when I share to twitter, it never showed your name, only @wordpress.com, so I just wanted to check. I must check if we’ve linked up on LinkedIn, I’ve been a tad neglectful there myself, but it’s a fine site. 🙂

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      • Debby, I got this in my e-mail yesterday from Judy Penz Sheluk. I featured her in my series How I Got Published ages ago and will be featuring her again in November.

        “A couple of things. You may or may not know about http://authl.it where you can get Amazon links for multi-locations.

        Consider signing up for Reader’s Gazette and add this as a Bargain Book (under $4.50 Kindle qualifies). They do a lot of Twitter promotions. No charge to you. Can’t hurt.”
        Thought I’d share. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      • Thanks so much Carol. I’ll be looking into that later today. Thanks for always thinking of me when you find some helpful and newsworthy info. 🙂 xo

        Liked by 1 person

    • Hi, Diahann. Yes, it is a new book. I had taken some time off blogging and filled it with writing, editing and everything else that goes with self-publishing.
      I’m glad you needed to hear that message. Suzy, like so many of us dreamers, is caught between letting go or holding on. Not an easy solution. Good luck with yours.
      Thanks for commenting and being here. 🙂

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