Theresa Paolo

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Summer Bucket List

It is almost my favorite time of year! Though, I pretty much say that at the beginning of every season... There is just something about summer that I have loved since I was a little girl. Growing up on an island surrounded by amazing beaches and marinas I have always lived for this time of year. As I got older though, and spent my days in an office, summer lost its luster. I didn't have time for the beach, or to take a walk around my block before the sunset. Most of the time I watched the sunset in my rear view mirror as I drove home from another long day of work.

Summer was no longer two and a half months off to do as I pleased. I couldn't spend an entire day on the beach, basking in the sun and swimming in the ocean. My weekends no longer consisted of going out on my parent's boat, crabbing off the docks, taking walks along the beach at night because I was too busy squeezing in as much writing as I could and getting my errands done before work on Monday.

This year, however, I am no longer trapped by the schedule of a day job and I am so excited to have my summers back. It's only been a couple weeks here of summerlike weather and I absolutely love it. I wake up energized and ready to start my day. I open my windows and my blinds and I just smile. For the first time in a very long time I'm able to just enjoy the season.

I'm a sucker for a bucket list and have one for every season as well as a few others. So here is my bucket list for this summer:

Take the ferry to Davis Park (Fire Island)
Have a hotdog on the grill
Watch fireworks
Sit around a bonfire
Have a drink on a rooftop bar in NYC
See a concert at Jones Beach
Pig out at Smorgasburg
Get an ice cream cone from an ice cream truck
Visit Shelter Island and the Shelter Island Brewery
Play mini golf
Visit a new vineyard
Visit a new brewery
Go for a ride on my bike (with my current back issues this will be a challenge)
Go to the beach
Get a Spumoni Italian ice from Ralph's
Watch the sunset
Go see Finding Dory
Enjoy a margarita
Spend a morning in the sun reading
Attempt a DIY project
Spend an afternoon drinking cosmos on the deck with Mom
Take a weekend trip
Visit a museum
Find the hidden bar at Brix & Rye
Spend a day going to yard sales (My mom collects antiques and has found so many awesome pieces at yard sales)
Run through the sprinklers
Go for daily walks
Have a burger or clam strips at Flo's (Can never decide)
Start wedding planning
Spend some time looking up at the stars
Stay up all night
Sleep in
Make smores
Go crabbing off the docks
Go to the park and swing on the swings

So here is my summer bucket list! What is on your list?

Look for my summer bucket list updates on Instagram

Monday, April 25, 2016

The New Me

I made this list in November 2015 when I felt as if I was at a standstill. Was determined to make a change and get out of this horrible funk I was drowning in. These were the things that I felt would help me be a better me:

Read more
Write more
Watch more movies
Say yes more
Eat better and drink less
Quit the day job
Pay off credit cards
Finish a book
Stop letting fear control me
Stop making excuses
Beat my anxiety
Live in the now, don't dwell on the past, or worry about the future
Exercise

I kept the post hidden, sitting in my drafts and looking at it every now and again as a reminder. I'm finally posting and I'm happy to say I have checked off more than half the list and I do feel like a better me.

Before I started this journey I was a ball of stress. My blood pressure was high, I was losing my hair, and my anxiety was so bad I was having panic attacks up to three times a day. And not just a small moment of panic, but full on heart racing, room spinning, can't get my breath, afraid I'm going to pass out, completely irrational thoughts that no matter what any one said I couldn't get it to pass. Just horrible.

My anxiety comes and goes now. It's not a constant anymore and for the most part I can control it when I feel it coming on. It is my biggest accomplishment because it began to control my life. I'd go out with my girlfriends and I'd have to leave the restaurant because an attack would hit, fight or flight would kick in and I always chose flight. I stopped doing things I loved, I cancelled plans constantly, made excuses to avoid situations that might set me off, and I was miserable. I missed doing things I loved, I missed my friends, and I was driving my poor fiance crazy.

My anxiety affected every single thing on this list and once I took control of my life, and stopped letting my anxiety control me, it was easy to make the changes. I still, however, have days and moments where it comes and I'm helpless to it, so it's still a process, but more days than not I'm the winner.

Now that this list is mostly accomplished I'm going to add to it and will eventually share again. So tell me, what would be on your list to get to a better you?

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Yes, I read reviews. No, they don't bother me. Well except for...

As a writer, one of the biggest pieces of advice you are given is don’t read reviews. It was never something I listened to. Call me a rebel, a glutton for punishment, whatever you like, because it’s not going to stop me.

I like to read the reviews for my books because personally I think it helps me as a writer. If more than one person points something out, I think about it, try to understand their reasoning, and even some times take it into consideration when writing my next book. I don’t go crazy if someone rates my book a one or two star and then writes a review explaining why they rated it that way. For me, books are an art, and when you put them out into the world you are leaving them open for interpretation just as a painter/photographer/sculptor does when they place their work in a gallery.

And guess what. Not everybody likes the same thing. Shocker! I know. Think about it for a second. How boring of a world would we live in if everyone interpreted things the same way? If everybody, felt exactly the same, with no varying degrees of emotion. I don’t know what you think about that, but it is definitely not a world I want to live in. I love diversity, opinions, and how I can look at the same painting as ten other people yet each one of us see and feel something completely different.

There is however something that bothers me in reviews and maybe it’s just me and I’m being oversensitive to the subject. Maybe I’m completely contradicting everything I said above, but before you jump to that conclusion, hear me out. I actually cringe when I read a review for a Young Adult book, whether it be one of my books or someone else's, and the reviewer says I hated the characters because they were dumb teenagers…

I don’t know about everybody else, but I was a dumb teenager. If you weren’t, good for you and more power to you, but for me that wasn’t the case. I was emotional and irrational and to this day don’t know how my parents didn’t ship me off somewhere far far away from them. I felt with all of my being, and the simplest thing, in my eyes, was the end of the world. I loved deeply and lived fearlessly. I acted dumb, I made dumb decisions, and I don’t regret a single one because that’s what shaped me to be the adult I am today.

So when I write my YA books I write them from a place I hold dear in my heart and I try my best to keep them as authentic as I possibly can. I let the adult in me take a nap and I open myself up to the teen I once was. I write through her, through her memories and her experiences. I tell the story with her view of the world because it hasn’t been tainted by the rational thinking of adulthood.

My books aren’t a PSA and they never will be because I’d rather a teen read my book and be able to relate to the characters, to all of their beautiful, messy, confusing flaws. There’s enough pressure on teens today being told how to act and how to live their lives and I refuse to jump on that bandwagon, creating a world in my books that strips away the gritty truth of being a teen.

I know, as an adult, it’s hard to rationalize with a teen’s mind set. I think of all the things I did back then, how I overreacted daily, let my emotions control me, and again the first word that comes to my mind is dumb. It was dumb. I can’t deny that. However, if I send the adult in me to go take a nap and let my teen self emerge, she would think there is nothing wrong with it.

I started this post with saying everybody interprets things differently and I stand by that. The only thing I want is when you read a YA book and you get frustrated with the characters just take a second and think back to your teen self. Imagine what he/she would say. Would your teen self be frustrated or would they be able to relate? I think most times than not you’d be surprised with the answer.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Monday, April 4, 2016

Lift 2016

April is Autism Awareness month, shining a global light on the condition an estimated 3 million people in the United States and 70 million people in the world live with every day. 1 in every 68 American children. 1 in every 42 boys. Though Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability, affecting this many, for those outside looking in, it often remains a mystery. This month we hope to shine light and spread compassion for families living with Autism. In addition to raising awareness, we also want to take action. This is the second LIFT 4 Autism campaign, rallying the romance reading community around this cause. More than 200 authors and bloggers are partnering with this effort, many donating books and other items to an auction the last week of April. Proceeds from this auction will go directly to our charitable partner, Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating, empowering and supporting families affected by autism. Specifically, our efforts will benefit families served through TACA's scholarship program to offset medical and therapy costs. To stay abreast of LIFT news and developments this month, join our Facebook Group. LiftLogo2016 (1)

How can you be involved?

1. Authors – Donate books or other items for auction

2. Bid in the auction, and your money goes straight to TACA’s scholarship fund. (You'll be asked to register before the auction date to bid.)

3. Purchase a LIFT 2016 t-shirt

4. Make a tax-deductible donation to TACA

LIFT Giveaway! $5 Amazon Gift Card, LIFT T-Shirt and E-Book from any LIFT Author

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Release Day is Here!

It's been six long years in the making and finally Dead Girl is here! I'm so excited for this release because this book is very near and dear to my heart. It even earned a spot in the acknowledgements:

And lastly, to this book, six years is a long time to spend on one project, but I would do it all over again. I have learned so much from that first draft until now and I’m a better writer for it. Thank you for showing me failure, determination, humility and gumption.

I'm so excited to finally be able to share it with you! And for today only it is $0.99!!!!

Why do you want to read this you ask? Let's start with the blurb:

If her mother wasn’t watching, Kylie Presby would punch Queen Bee, Natalie Silvers, in the face -again. But as Kylie wipes her tears away with the layers of toilet paper encasing her car, she knows she can’t retaliate like she did last time. Her dead mother wouldn’t approve. Kylie no longer cares about popularity. Invisible would work just fine.

Then the new kid, Braydon, mysterious, good looking and too clever for his own good, shows up and sacrifices his social status, becoming Kylie’s shield from the front line assault. After enough chocolate ice cream and movies it’s as if they’re best friends. Crazy, since Kylie knows so little about him.

As Natalie continues her relentless attacks on Kylie another person deals with his own line of bullies. Jack Stine was popular until his deepest secret was revealed and his friends abandoned him. Kylie and Jack bond over their tormentors and form an unbreakable friendship.

Three lost souls each with a story that binds them together, but will it be enough when the bullying goes too far and secrets are revealed?

Still not convinced? How about some early reviews:

Braydon is the guy who made me fall in love with friends to lovers stories. - Cassie Mae, author

With a well paced plot and complete character depictions that evoke strong positive and negative emotions, Dead Girl is a realistic YA novel with an important message. - Sharon, Goodreads user

This is definitely a book for everyone, well written and engaging from the first word, this will draw you in and has a little something for everyone.- Julie, Goodreads user

I LOVED IT! The story is amazing i cried so many time and i laugh as much!- Patty Di Palma, Goodreads user

And the consequences were so real and left me an absolute snot-nosed wreck... - Lenore Kosinski, Celebrity Readers

Have I sold you yet? No... :( What about a few teasers?

If I haven't convinced you yet it's only $0.99 today! That's less than $1!

If you do decide to take a chance on me and my little book that could thank you! :)

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Get Lucky Release!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

How about we celebrate with a

NEW RELEASE?

(I was going to create a post, but Kelly did such an amazing job on hers I had to steal it. Thank you Kelly for putting the post together.)

$0.99 for a limited time!

AVAILABLE NOW ON:

Amazon

Get Lucky is a YA anthology featuring six contemporary romance short stories from some of today's hottest

(and my favorite) Young Adult authors!

Short meaning each story is around 20,000 words or

80-85 pages, so you'll get your money's worth.

(Especially since it's only $0.99 for a limited time.)

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Cover Reveal: Dead Girl

Today is the cover reveal for my newest Tessa Marie book Dead Girl, a YA contemporary, releasing March 31, 2016. This book. Oh man this book. It has been with me from the very beginning. I began work on it at least five years ago and it has been through a ton of rewrites since then. This was the first book that I ever cried while writing. I remember trying so hard to type the words out but unable to see the screen through the tears. These characters brought me on an emotional roller coaster and because of that they are very near and dear to my heart. I've been waiting a very long time to bring this book to all of you and I cannot wait for you to read it.

So here we go. The blurb and cover for Dead Girl:

Pages