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Claiming His Mate: Shifter Mail-Order Brides, Book 4 by April Hollingworth

Molokai King is definitely not interested in love, burned once was enough for him, his only interest in women is on his terms for one night. No attachment, no chance of being hurt again. But when his mother makes him and his bear shifter brothers promise to marry, he does something he never dreamed of, finding a mail order bride through an advert written by his mother, and placed after her death. Can love come through the mail, or will claiming his mate be harder than Molokai could ever imagine?

Midnight Mathon is running for her life, as far and fast as she can. Seeing an advert on social media of mail order brides needed, she does the only thing she can in her situation, grab the opportunity and leave Ireland for the safety of a small town in Kingston, Virginia. She’s not interested in marriage, and the ad states no guarantee of being proposed, which suits her just fine. After all, how hard can it be to not get proposed to? This standalone novella is part of a multi-author steamy paranormal romance series about five grizzly bear shifter brothers and the women they fall in love with.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RMHJKM2/

Coming on 1st February 2022 

Claiming His Mate (Shifter Mail-Order Brides, Book 4) by April Hollingworth

Molokai King is definitely not interested in love, burned once was enough for him, his only interest in women is on his terms for one night. No attachment, no chance of being hurt again. But when his mother makes him and his bear shifter brothers promise to marry, he does something he never dreamed of, finding a mail order bride through an advert written by his mother, and placed after her death. Can love come through the mail, or will claiming his mate be harder than Molokai could ever imagine? Midnight Mathon is running for her life, as far and fast as she can. Seeing an advert on social media of mail order brides needed, she does the only thing she can in her situation, grab the opportunity and leave Ireland for the safety of a small town in Kingston, Virginia. She’s not interested in marriage, and the ad states no guarantee of being proposed, which suits her just fine. After all, how hard can it be to not get proposed to? This standalone novella is part of a multi-author steamy paranormal romance series about five grizzly bear shifter brothers and the women they fall in love with.

Are you ready for the King Brothers? Coming 1st February 2022

  https://www.amazon.com/s?i=digital-text&rh=p_27%3AShifter+Mail-Order+Brides&s=relevancerank&text=Shifter+Mail-Order+Brides&ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_2

So good, a must listen to mix

Wylder's Magic (The Wylder West) by Sherrie Lea Morgan

Lillian is devastated. Her goal of owning an apothecary in Wylder, Wyoming is dashed. Her family has promised her in wedlock by proxy, and she hopes her spouse is a reasonable man. Can they forge a compromise about the shop, as well as their marriage?

Hank's hopes aren't high when it comes to his sight-unseen bride. Heck, he'd settle for a good cook and a warm body. However, Lillian is a lady and skittish as a wild filly—determined to take things slow. She proves her point by sleeping in the guest room.

Just as Lillian begins to fall in love, and yearns to become a true wife, Hank is shot. With potions handed down by her ghostly Gammy she works to keep him alive. Will death come calling or will Hank live to share the last unclaimed piece of property on their homestead…his bed?

Buy Now on Amazon 

The Accidental Heiress by C.J. Fosdick is the third book in the time travelling series.

This book is beautifully written, it continues the story of Jess and Robbie, this time they’re heading off on their belated honeymoon to Ireland. But what unfolds is a story of tragedy, survival, and a dark time in Irish history. The way it’s told touches the reader as it shines a light of hope for a brighter future. The heartache and betrayal, love and compassion written in this book will stay with the reader long after they’ve turned the final page.

If you haven’t read The Accidental Wife and The Accidental Stranger, I honestly advise that you do so, this is a series that you won’t want to miss out on, and be prepared for the famous last words, just one more chapter.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NZ329XP/

A Wylder Christmas (Wylder West, Book 4) by Sarita Leone

Blurb: 

Can a Christmas miracle bring a southern belle into the arms of a Union soldier? 

Violet Bloom leaves Charleston to come west as a mail-order bride.  But when she steps off the stagecoach, she's greeted by tragic news.  She vows to begin anew in Wylder, to lay haunting memories to rest, and find peace.  

Former Union soldier Thomas Harvey's dreams of homesteading are crushed, along with his heart, at the passing of his wife.  He moves to town and struggles to survive—not for himself, but for his spirited young daughter. 

After Thomas rescues Violet during a snowstorm, neither has any thought of romance. But Christmas magic is in the air. It's a time of forgiveness and new beginnings—even for lost souls.   

Excerpt:

Dear Lord, the man was in a snowbank.

She bent her knees until she crouched, pulled in a huge breath, held her arms above her head, and jumped as hard as she ever had. 

Strong hands grabbed hers. He lifted her body out of the hole, rolling over onto his back as she cleared the tunnel of snow he'd dug to reach the trap door, and pulled her onto his body. 

They were both breathless from the exertion and lay panting for several moments. 

Violet's back and feet were instantly cold. She began to shiver, which caught the man's attention. 

He sat up, holding her in his lap, and unbuttoned his shirt. Beneath the flannel he wore a red woolen undershirt, which he pulled her against as he wrapped the ends of his outer shirt around her.

"Let's get inside before we both freeze to death. I'll come back to cover the cellar later." 

Thomas stood, taking Violet in his arms and carrying her.

When she felt his large, warm hand on her skin, she learned that the nightdress that had been so lovingly created for a wedding night was torn on the back side.

And the man's hand? It was on her bare backside. 

Links:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MDKHYVQ/

A Walk on the Wylder Side (Wylder West, Book 3) by Laura Strickland

Blurb:

Outspoken, rebellious Cissy Arkwright was sent west from her Chicago home to work at a boarding house in Wylder, Wyoming. The last thing she expects is friendship with the handsome new boarder, a man with an air of danger and the power to make her smile. Buck Standish is on the run from his past. He'd like to put aside the life of a gun-for-hire, especially once he meets Cissy. But experience tells him the past has a way of catching up, pistols in hand. He's lost his heart to Cissy—should he protect her by hitting the trail again? Or stay in Wylder and fight for their future?

Excerpt:

He wore a gun. No, two of them, one on either hip.

Cissy still hadn't got used to that. People in Chicago owned guns, sure. And unsavory elements there went about performing even more unsavory deeds, with the help of those firearms. But they didn't strut around with pistols strapped to their sides the way men—and some women—did in Wylder, Wyoming.

This man wore his weapons low, like some sort of gunslinger, and looked more than prepared to use them. Or maybe he just sought to shield them from the deluge of water.

Apart from that, he wasn't one of Mrs. Culpepper's roomers, all of whom Cissy recognized. He looked about thirty, a tall man and lean with it—those hips certainly were lean—with a well-sculpted face now expressing extreme shock. He wore black—black trousers with a black shirt and leather vest. His hair was also black, longish in the back, and at the moment sodden.

For an instant frozen in time, Cissy stared at him and he stared back at her as if nothing—no one—else existed. 

Links: https://www.amazon.com/Walk-Wylder-Side-West-ebook/dp/B08L732XQ9/

Wylder Hearts (Wylder West, Book 2) by Kim Turner

Blurb:

Caleb Holt is the man to see for a good horse. Abuse an animal and he'll teach the lesson that goes with it. When he lands on top of a woman in the midst of a brawl and snags a passionate kiss, he sparks a fire he never expected. But it doesn't take the cowboy long to learn a lesson of his own… sometimes love comes with a price. Seamstress Laurel Adams is embarrassed by Caleb's stolen kiss. Though she is determined to raise her son alone, she wonders at the ease of falling for the handsome horseman. But when the husband who abandoned her returns, there is only one choice to make—the one that breaks her heart into tiny pieces.

Tag Line:

Torn between obligation and true love, Laurel must make a difficult choice.

Excerpt:

The businessman bolted forward and swung a fist that made contact with his chin, leaving him off balance and staggering backward. Trying to avoid the crowd that had collected he bobbled and went down, expecting to hit of the ground. But the impact never came. Instead he landed softly to a shrill feminine scream, and the greenest eyes he’d ever beheld.

Time simply froze, the world around him a haze as he found himself mesmerized by the beauty of the woman beneath him. It had been a damn long time since he was in such a position as this.

Unable to move with the crowd about them, he apologized allowing a slight smile to curl his lips, though he knew he should get back to the fight. He reached to tip his hat and realized he’d lost it. The feel of her bosom pressed between them stirred up a thing or two. “Beggin’ your pardon, Ma’am.”

“I’m quite all right.” She pushed to rise, but the crowd surrounding them was thick.

“Actually, I was apologizing for this.” Caleb bent to kiss her, slow and searing, her lips plump and tender, holding him there a moment longer than needed. He held her surprised green-eyed gaze a moment more and then he was back to the fight.

Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Wylder-Hearts-West-Kim-Turner-ebook/dp/B08M23VGNV/

The Wylder County Social Club by Nicole McCaffrey Book 1 in the brand new multi genre and author Wylder West series!

Blurb:

Eliza Jane O'Hanlan is called west to care for her ailing mother. Raised by a spinster aunt, she only knows that her mother is a successful businesswoman. When she arrives in Wylder she is shocked to learn her mother is the town madam. But the secrets don't end there… Doctor Sam "Coyote" Sullivan saw enough suffering and dying in the war to last a lifetime. He is more than happy to help the town madam keep her girls free of disease—and worse. The moment she arrives in town, the madam's daughter makes it clear she doesn't approve of her mother's unconventional methods—or him. Before long, Eliza doesn't just have the town of Wylder in a stir. She has Coyote pretty stirred up, too.

Excerpt:

"Howdy!" The girl said, regarding her with a wide smile. "You new here, honey? Miss Addie didn't say we had any new girls comin' on."  She walked to the porch rail and extended a hand.  "My name's Ruby."

Eliza climbed the steps. Up close, Ruby looked much older than "girl." Considerably so.

"Miss O'Hanlan," the doctor called from the yard below.  "Before you go inside, I think—"

"Come on in," Ruby held the door open.  "Miss Addie had a fall a little while back so she won't be down here to greet you, but I'll take you up. What'd you say your name was ag'in hon? Course it don't matter, we'll be changin' it anyway…"

The girl rambled on but Eliza stopped in mid step.  Heavy red drapes with gold trim covered the windows, blocking most of the light and keeping the interior dim. A gold-trimmed mirror all but covered one wall and a life-sized painting of a woman who looked just like Mother, wearing a low-cut velvet gown, dominated the first landing.  

The cloying aromas of perfume and tobacco mingled to tease her nose along with another muskier scent she couldn't place. "This looks like…" She turned a slow circle.  

The doctor bounded up the steps.  "Miss O'Hanlan, I think you should know—"

A prickle of realization moved over her skin.  "This is a whore house!"

The town of Wylder is coming soon, find your new must read books and series brought to you by The Wild Rose Press.Coming soon in this multi author and genre series are the first four books. Are you ready for Wylder?

Author Linda Nightingale's Tomorrow’s Angels series

Love for Sale (Tomorrow's Angel's, 1) Going on Sale July 31, 2020

Love for Sale, a story of true love…a sentient android and a dreamer, their happiness and their lives threatened by her past and his future.

Life For Sale (Tomorrow’s Angels, 2) Release Date: August 24, 2020 ~ Available for pre-order NOW!

A sentient, humanlike android and his owner race to stop an insane robot before someone else dies

Buy Links:

Love for Sale: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Sale-Linda-Nightingale-ebook/dp/B00XCZ6EVY/

Life for Sale: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D2Z5XLC

Life For Sale (Tomorrow’s Angels, 2) by Linda Nightingale

Release Date: August 24, 2020 ~ Available for pre-order NOW!

*~*

BLURB:

Mayfair Electronics has created life.But four of their Special Editions—sentient androids indistinguishable from human—have escaped. Rebel, Christian Aguillard and his owner, March, are on the run, but they have a bigger problem than his creator's plan to destroy him. They've discovered that one of the renegades has suffered a dangerous malfunction, threatening them with more than just exposure. Trapped on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic, March and Christian must stop the insane robot before someone else dies. All the evidence points to March being the killer's next victim.

EXCERPT: Christian stood transfixed, staring in horrified disbelief. From the open box, dead blue eyes gazed into his living ones. The head rested in a puddle of blond hair, and Daniel had been right. Except for the bloodless pallor, the face closely resembled Christian’s own. The severed head had obviously been embalmed. Revulsion seeped through him on a chill, permeating every sophisticated atom in his mechanical body.Slippers plopped on the cherry wood floor in the hall, March returning to his office. Christian stiffened, frantically searching for a place to hide the monstrosity. His central processing center hummed, his heart thundering.  These programmed and learned responses could disable. Shock held him motionless. He simply stared at the box. She called ahead, “Dear, we should go out soon. We need a bottle of wine for your boss’ dinner party tonight.”Her voice penetrated the horrified fog. He slammed the box closed, glanced up and time ran out. She stood in the doorway, her hands braced each side on the door frame. He took a deep breath of her perfume and exhaled the tension that had built to a crescendo.He wasn’t one to lose it easily, but he’d never had to deal with pure horror before. His logical mind struggled with this brutal assault.  “Right. Give me a minute. I’ll need to shower and dress, too.”The contents of the closed box had been branded on his retinas. Damn their eyes, who’d do such a heinous thing? Christian took control of his body, stilling his trembling hands. By effort of will, he didn’t acknowledge the package by even a glance. The pilot had been decapitated in the crash, but how the hell did his head end up in Houston, Texas, more particularly in their home?“Who was at the door?” March must have seen something in his face. Frowning, she hurried to his side. “What’s that funny smell?”The embalmed head of a man who looked like me. Another cold quiver leapt along his sensors. He’d never forget the look in the dead pilot’s eyes. Fear now had a physical illustration. If he’d possessed a stomach, he’d have been violently ill.“I don’t know how to tell you this.” He swallowed hard and shrugged. “What’s in that box…” he pointed, “is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen. It can’t have come from Mayfair. They’d never resort to terror tactics.”“Christian, what is it?” She reached for the vessel containing a man’s—once a living, breathing human being’s—preserved head.“No.” He seized her hand. “March, you mustn’t. I refuse to let you see what’s in that box. It’s disgusting…and horrible.  The pilot who died in the Jersey crash…it’s his head. The article mentioned he was decapitated.”“His head!” March recoiled. “Dear lord, who’d send a dead man’s head to us?”“Not to us. To me.”

Buy Link:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D2Z5XLC

PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

Linda Nightingale’s Life for Sale takes the characters from Love for Sale and sets them on a dangerous adventure for these androids posing as human. After fleeing at the end of the first book, they are trying to hide from the watchful eye of Mayfair, but decide a reunion is in order. 

One of the four, however, is suffering a murderous malfunction. The resulting story is not so much a murder mystery as it is a study of a chaotic mind, albeit lab created, yet eerily human in its madness. 

Nightingale has seamlessly made the unbelievable believable for the reader with a totally unexpected, but thoroughly satisfying ending to this duet. Imaginative premise, well developed characters and an insight into a mind gone wrong make this a great read…S. Hutchinson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After 14 years in Texas, Linda returned home to her roots in the South Carolina red clay. She has eight published novels, four of which are available from Audible.com in audio. For many years, she bred, trained and showed the magnificent Andalusian horses. So, she’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer. She’s won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers’ Magnolia Award for Excellence, the Raven Award, and the SARA Merritt. In real life, she was a legal assistant.

LINKS:

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LNightingaleFacebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LindaNightingaleAuthorWeb Site:  http://www.lindanightingale.com – Visit and look around. There’s a free continuing vampire story.Blog:  https://lindanightingale.wordpress.com/ - Lots of interesting guests & prizesGoodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4839311.Linda_NightingalePinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/lbnightingale1/Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Linda-Nightingale/e/B005OSOJ0UBook Bub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/linda-nightingale

Love for Sale: Tomorrow’s Angels Book 1 by Linda Nightingale

Going on sale for 99c on the 31st July 2020, just before book 2 Life for sale releases!

March Morgan believes in true love, but her faith in finding her soul mate is slowly fading.

She’s been married but never in love. So, it’s a miracle to find that fantasy exists on the last page of a women’s journal. Mayfair Electronics, Ltd., in a glossy black and white ad, offers Love for Sale. The London firm has engineered sentient androids indistinguishable from human. She flies to England and meets the man she has been searching for her entire life.

Christian requires no programming to love March at first sight. He’s handsome, cultured…absolutely perfect…and a little different from the other androids. He has an unexpected independent streak.

March signs on the dotted line, buying her dream man. They return to Houston, but soon her past and his future threaten their Happily Ever After — indeed their lives.

Excerpt:

Motionless, she watched the parade of beauty, but none of them struck the special chord that would make her heart sing. They can be customized, March reminded herself. Still, it took more than looks to make her fall in love.

Then he strode through the door, and her heart did a double back flip. She inhaled a soft gasp. He was perfect, no customization needed. The only programming required was a sense of humor and an intense libido. Lord, she wanted to touch him, run her fingers through his hair and kiss that luscious mouth.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” His voice defined musical and played that special chord she’d dreamed of. “I was on the phone.”

The Special Editions had gathered around her. The auburn haired woman whispered a laugh. “Is there any need for more than one introduction, Ms. Morgan?”

That someone was speaking barely registered. March didn’t respond. She was speechless and couldn’t peel her gaze off the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. His eyes were crystalline blue, his hair wheat colored. She’d wanted sparks. She’d gotten fireworks! No way in hell was she leaving London without him.

Spellbound, March was drawn one step toward perfection, her willful eyes traveling over his body, pausing at his zipper, sliding down his long legs. The wasted years looped through her memory, regret stinging her eyes.

Melissa squeezed her hand. “Ah, you like our blond.” She beckoned. “Come, Christian.”

In tight jeans and a tux jacket with plaid cummerbund and bow tie, her dream man paused in the light of a crystal and gold chandelier. His shoulder-length hair shone like silk. Mischief sparkled in his eyes. Full lips parted on a smile, his teeth white and even. March loved a beautiful smile, and everything inside her melted.

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XCZ6EVY/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After 14 years in Texas, Linda returned home to her roots in the South Carolina red clay. She has eight published novels, four of which are available from Audible.com in audio. For many years, she bred, trained and showed the magnificent Andalusian horses. So, she’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer. She’s won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers’ Magnolia Award for Excellence, the Raven Award, and the SARA Merritt. In real life, she was a legal assistant.

LINKS:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LNightingale

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaNightingaleAuthor

Web Site: http://www.lindanightingale.com — Visit and look around. There’s a free continuing vampire story.

Blog: https://lindanightingale.wordpress.com/ — Lots of interesting guests & prizes

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4839311.Linda_Nightingale

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lbnightingale1/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Linda-Nightingale/e/B005OSOJ0U

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/linda-nightingale

Being diagnosed with autism changed my life – for the better

APRIL HOLLINGWORTH DISCUSSES HOW AN AUTISM DIAGNOSIS CAN ACT AS A CATALYST FOR POSITIVE CHANGE AND EMPOWERMENT.

I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a type of autism, when I was 38 years-old, for me this diagnosis was a relief, simply because I could now understand myself better.

For example, I learned why switching from one task to another felt unnatural and in job situations near impossible. I also understood why sounds felt amplified and overwhelming, such as when a group of people are all talking together. It feels to me as if they’re shouting and their voices echoing off of every surface.I learned why my sense of smell is heightened, which can affect me in shops, especially in the detergent and deodorant isles. 

Those smells linger with me well after the person has left the shop, making that section cloying and hard for me to enter, leaving me feeling as if I’ve been sprayed with fifty different scents directly into my face, making it almost impossible to breathe.

There are many preconceptions about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) that are seriously wrong and can be damaging to a person who has it. For instance, when someone finds out I’m autistic they might say:“You don’t look autistic are you sure you have it?”Yes, I’m sure I’m autistic and have the letter to prove it. Autistic people are not born with a tattoo across our foreheads stating we are autistic. We look just the same as everyone else.

“Is there any medication to cure you?”Autism is not a disease. So no, there is no medication for it to ‘cure us’ of it.“I know someone who is more autistic than you are, so you’re fine!”

Every Autistic person is different, you might find strong similarities between one autistic person and another, but there will be differences. This is why it’s called a spectrum. Also, and this is a very important point, it will depend how well the autistic person masks. (I’ll explain later about masking).

“Autistic ‘meltdowns’ are an excuse for bad behavior!” 

No, far from it, a meltdown is not fun.“Autism is caused by something the mother did wrong when the child was in the womb!”No, autism is not caused by anyone. It is how our brains are wired and this is why autistics are classified as neurodiverse.

“Autism is caused by the baby having immunization injections!”

No, it most certainly is not. Nothing ‘causes’ autism. Autistics are born autistic, you can’t catch it, it’s not contagious and you can’t be given it either.

“I wish my autistic child had cancer so that they can be cured or die.”

Yes, you read that correctly, there is a book written by a father of two autistic children that wrote this! Being autistic is not a death sentence, does it make us different, yes but that’s not a bad thing. Everyone is unique and every autistic is unique from each other too. This is why it’s a spectrum – not a one for all.

“You must be good at maths if you’re autistic?”

No, in fact I’m terrible at maths. Autistics normally excel in a certain thing because they have a deep interest in it. I excel in the written word. I love reading, history and writing. I’m an author and have always been fascinated by different genres and certain aspects in history and the supernatural. Whereas for subjects that don’t hold my attention, my brain switches off, goes for a holiday and forgets to tell me. My interest isn’t there, so my brain doesn’t see the point in retaining that information.

WHAT IS A MELTDOWN?

Well instead of telling you what a meltdown is, I’m going to help you understand it by getting you to imagine what exactly it feels like.

Imagine you’re in a situation and you feel overwhelmed.

Now, amplify every sound around you by eighty percent. This includes electronic sounds, cars, people talking, music, your own heartbeat. Bring in the scents around you, you won’t want to because your hearing is already distressed but bring them in anyway.

You’ll have the smell of food, sweat, grass, car fumes, deodorants and perfumes, oil, and other smells depending where you are at the time. Once you have those smells rack them up to seventy percent.

Now this is two external factors that are amplified and affecting you. So, let’s move onto your next one, skin contact. Your skin will become aware of every fibre touching it – this is why autistics are particular about what we wear. 

Certain textures can aggravate us and feel constrictive, every fiber that touches our skin, especially during a meltdown, can either sooth or hinder us.If the item is soft, it can give us a sense of comfort or even be one less obstacle taken out of the path of a meltdown, whilst rough tight clothing can add to our distress. The jeans that were comfortable a moment before? 

Those fibers are now itchy, the button is now digging into us and the nickle it’s made of is aggravating.The top you are wearing now feels like it’s constricting your throat. You try pulling it away to help you breathe, but whilst this is going on an external contact can come about from another person. 

This is something you can’t control. You can choose what you wear to control how the clothing feels against your body, but not what another person is wearing or even what scents they use.And now on top of everything else your chest is tightening. You can’t breathe because your lungs feel as if they can’t work, your body is feeling weighted down and you have to do something, your brain is screaming at you that you must do something now!

Your hearing and sense of smell have now increased to one hundred percent. Panic has set into your mind and body, it is all consuming and devastating, you must take control of yourself before you collapse or tailspin out of control completely. Your anxiety has skyrocketed, and nothing is making sense anymore.

Congratulations, you have now reached meltdown status.

MASKING

Masking is one of those things’ autistics learn to do from an early age. It’s not always a conscious effort, but it does take a strain eventually. Autistics mask so that they can adapt in a world made for neurotypical people.A way to think of masking is like this. 

Imagine you walk into a room filled with people, they’re all talking about different things and laughing at jokes. You don’t understand the joke though. Your brain can’t see what’s funny about it but, instead of standing out you chuckle along with everyone else feeling completely alien and bewildered, yet your expression will reflect that of others so that you fit in and don’t draw unnecessary attention to yourself.

Now you wander into a different room and there are different social key points happening, but you don’t know what they are. It’s like someone handed out the how-to guide to navigate the world and forgot to pass one out to you. So, you’re constantly trying to figure it out and it’s not as if the social etiquette stays the same; nope, that would be too easy, instead it constantly changes. Everyone is getting their updates, except you.

Reading this might make you wonder if this makes autistics ‘fake or deceivers’, the simple answer is no, it most certainly doesn’t.

Think of how you are when you travel to somewhere different and the rules of the place haven’t been explained to you. If you get them wrong though, there will be serious consequences.So, you try and traverse through the rules and regulations as best as you can, without causing offence or unwanted attention directed at you. 

Does this change who you are? No, obviously it doesn’t, this is exactly the same for autistics except everyday we’re having to do this, eventually this causes a strain on our health and we can tailspin into depression.This is why quite often the autistic in your life might take time out for themselves, which might last from a few minutes to a few years, depending on how much we need.

LIFE FOR ME AS AN AUTISTIC

For me, finding out I have autism has been a blessing. As I mentioned earlier, I have learnt why certain things affect me the way they do and why I find certain situations almost impossible to traverse. But it’s also made me realize my own potential.

I didn’t do well in school, I was informed by a career guidance counselor that my dreams of being a writer were ridiculous as I’m not smart enough, so I was advised to think about what shop I want to work. This, as you can imagine, affected me substantially.

Even with the encouragement I received from my family to get my poetry published, I believed that was pointless. As the words of the guidance counselor bellowed in my head, “you’re not clever enough!”

I sent off some of my poetry and won Best Irish Poet Award for my poem “Don’t Morn the Dead.” But I still didn’t believe in myself. I started writing more poems and made attempts at some stories (which I still haven’t finished), and in 2010 I finally self-published my book of poems, called Different Kinds of Emotions.It took another few years, for me to start following my dream of being an author though, but once I did, I became happy in myself. 

Now I have a trilogy (The Candi Reynolds Series) and a short novella (Be Mine: A Candy Hearts Romance) published through The Wild Rose Press publishing house and am currently writing my next series.

I’ve finally, after 25 years, realized I’m not stupid and can achieve anything that I decide to do. The only limitations I have, is the ones I place in front of me. My school career guidance counselor made an assumption about me due to the difficulties I had, but those assumptions impacted my life in more ways than anyone ever could have imagined.

I doubted myself. I doubted my talent, my interests, my very passion for research, history, and creativity. Even with the encouragement from my family, I still doubted I was smart enough, capable enough or good enough.Once I was finally diagnosed, I was able to re-evaluate myself, I looked at my achievements – such as becoming an author, something I was informed I was not capable of – and I wondered, what else can I achieve?

I found a course I was interested in, by pure accident, and applied for it and was accepted straight away. That course was Journalism in the Digital Age, which I followed up with a course in Radio Broadcasting, both of which I passed with distinction.

I’m now getting ready to head off to university to study for my BA (Hons) in Media Production.This is why I believe being diagnosed with autism is a blessing for me. With my diagnoses I have been able to understand myself and make changes in my life that I never would have thought I was capable of.

This is why it’s important not to put limitations or assume things about others. You don’t know how it will affect them and what it can prevent them from achieving. Being different, thinking in a way that is different from the norm, is not a bad thing – far from it.

Presumptions are one of the worst things in life, they can hold people back, prevent amazing things from happening and destroy wonderful potential connections because someone assumed something about someone else.Life is short and too precious to be ruled by someone else’s prejudices.

https://thecurrent.ie/being-diagnosed-with-autism-changed-my-life-for-the-better/ #autismawareness #thecurrent

Hi everyone, if you would like a free copy of my first book in The Candi Reynolds Series click on the link below. If there isn't any copies available for the country you're looking for, check again soon as there will be more :) Double Magick in the Falls: The Candi Reynolds Series, Book 1  Audible AudiobookApril Hollingworth (Author), Fiona McGuire (Narrator), The Wild Rose Press (Publisher) After serving in the Army, Candi Reynolds has returned home to her Grandmother's small town. She hopes for a quiet life but instead finds mystery, murder, and an oh-so-hot vampire who leaves her questioning her feelings. Searching for answers to his own mystery, Victor Harlow finds himself drawn into Candi's search for the murderer and finds himself attracted to the beautiful witch. With the help of Candi's best friend, and a werewolf detective they race against time to find the killers before they become the next victims. Can Candi harness all the powers she possess to save them and give their love a chance?

https://freeaudiobookcodes.com/book_details.php?BOOK_ID=2837