StoryStash Books

Oh my goodness do I have a fantastic chapter in store for you. After weeks of tough chapters with the agony and tension of uncertainty Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot have finally arrived...

Last week we left Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot agonizing over the upcoming trip. It's that tension between putting others first (as is so much easier to do) and defiantly taking some time for yourself that we could almost reach out and touch. Finally, it was settled. They were off!

This week, we encounter our heroines through to the commencement of their trip. I know we all think that once the flight, the train or the car ride is finished that the trip is over, but I always forget about that part of the trip that actually gets me from the airport or station to the doorstep.

I took a trip this last weekend and it was the best kind of trip: boring and predictable - that is until the Uber driver couldn't find the house! Thankfully it was easily remedied by a quick phone call and I found my destination. Traveling in the past has often brought more difficult challenges. Going back and forth between home, college and abroad I got myself into some nasty pickles. This included sprinting through airports, begging my way through to the front of the security line, layovers in unexpected cities and a few long taxi rides.

Our lovely ladies have made it to Italy and safely off the train but the last leg of their journey is filled with unexpected challenges; they even fear for their lives more than once. Is the trip over for them before it begins? Join me as we give the ladies some moral support to press on.

This week's chapter is short but effective. You know how there is always a swirl of fear and anxiety right before you take off on a new adventure? Something about changing the pattern of your life that calls down the ravaging doubt storm? I have recently begun to realize that my doubt storms often mean I am actually on the exact right path. Something deep within me recognizes that if I take the very step I'm questioning, it will change me (hopefully for the better). What is it about having the boring, life-sucking processes of our lives threatened that causes us to take stock still and question if the dream we've been yearning to step into has any real value at all??? We're about to find out. To say that Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot have called down a doubt storm is putting it mildly. And yet, I don't know any other way they could have stepped out of the deep monotonous trenches in which they had been ensconced. Necessary; difficult; and takes them one step closer - the last big step - toward their dream of that brilliant medieval, Italian castle: San Salvatore.

Hello My Friends!

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim, read aloud by EmilyGrace Jones.

This is one of my favorite books. Our four heroines (you'll meet two in this first chapter) could not be more different and yet they are all connected by the same thing: the drudge of everyday life has worn them down. Their true selves are so hidden by junk, fears and trivial annoyances that yell so loud that it's easy to take them too seriously. And so, in short, they are in a quandary - a perfect setting for miraculous transformation to take place. But before any of the miraculous can visit, it is time for a rude awakening, or really, not as much rude as a quiet, enticing Italian breeze. Who knew a simple breeze could have such an impact?!? - EmilyGrace