His long fingers slithered down her body, seeking refuge from the cool air of the chamber : Chapter Two — Find Part 1 here Des’s bedchamber rivalled that of the Gods on Olympus, Persephone was sure. Demeter preferred their small cottage. Even if she could have had any palace she wanted. Everything was decorated in dark gray. Masculine and hard. The bed frame and four posters, of black wood, glowed…

with cream please… — Coffee first I was feeling good in nothing but a silky, skimpy pair of black lace panties when I found him in the kitchen brewing coffee. I pulled open his robe and pressed my body to his, rubbing my hips against the morning bulge. “Did you sleep well?” I purred…

Persephone steeled herself for the usual lecture. Don’t talk to strangers. It’s not safe : Chapter One — “Mother, I’m going for a walk.” Persephone gripped the door handle of the little cottage she occupied with her mother, Demeter, a goddess. She was always in awe of her mother, small and pale in the shadow of the great Goddess of the harvest. Overprotective to a fault, however. Keeping…

Achieving Competence Requires Effort — Achieving competence or greatness at any skills requires effort and there are no shortcuts. Our brains increase our difficulty to focus to gain competence. We often view successful people as “an overnight” success when they practiced for years or decades. …

It’s not all bad —

Just feel them — Our emotions are constant, but we rarely recognize them. We miss our feelings for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they overwhelm us so we stuff them down and scroll social media or play a video game. Sometimes they don’t fit the logic of the situation, so we ignore them. This…

Unhealthy Coping Strategies — I had two major problems as a kid. My parents fighting and my inability to fall asleep. This led to my engagement with fantasy while laying in bed. I fantasized of great love, often a celebrity, saving me, falling in love, and having a fabulous life. They would recognize me…

Life is not a game — Life seems rather out of control lately. There‘s multiple wars and the news says World War Three is imminent. Global warming/climate change and an economy on the verge of collapse. Just to name this morning’s news stories. Society tells us we are both helpless and we also must hustle more to fix…

That’s Where Peace Is — For too long, if Damon was upset, I labelled myself a bad person. I berated myself by raging out loud and self-harming. He became angry at me for raging at him. We became stuck in an awful cycle. I discovered a suggestion for the book, The Courage to Be Disliked…