It’ been awhile. Have you wondered what happened to me?
I’m unpredictable, enigmatic, and always evolving. If any of my past relationships (men) are reading my blog, you can stop smiling now! I write sporadically, sometimes about topics that make you smile, shake your head, and check the post, wondering if I wrote it at all. “This is me,” as a dear friend of mine would say.
When you begin to understand me, I will do a 180 and you have to start all over again. It’s 2019. I rarely look backward, instead, I prefer to move on and live in the moment, moving towards the future. I have many amazing and beautiful things that happened in 2018, including taking back my emotional life and healing a very sad heart. Well, let me think about what I just said. I’m a woman. Do we ever truly heal our hearts? If we are open to love we will always be putting our hearts back together. So rather than look at 2018 let’s move right on into 2019!!
I have lived in Puerto Vallarta, on and off, since 2002. I fell in love with Mexico in the late 90’s. Many believe I moved here for a man. Let’s just say that I moved here out of love… a love that encompassed self-love, a lover, and a need to save my life rather than stay in a bad marriage and die a little each day.
And now the time has come to move on. I’m not saying I will never come back. But there are places to go and people to meet and stories to write and experiences to live, and love…yes, there will always be love.
I’m traveling first to the USA, then Paris to see my son and grandson, then I will visit India. I’ve never been before so if you have any places in India that touched your heart or spoke to your soul, please share them with me. After India I will spend a couple of days in Istanbul, and then I will have my birthday in Israel. First I will stay very close to the Wailing Wall, in the Arab Quarter in Jerusalem. Just writing this sends shivers up and down my spine. I’m drawn to the Holy Lands like many before me. I suppose my Catholic upbringing has a lot to do with that, but so does the life and death of IDZ, and the exploits of Samaar and Raven (operatives in my series, Code Raven– the first 3 are .99 cents).
After Israel I will go to Bangkok. From there I have absolutely no plans, but I will visit and possibly stay, in Bali. I will follow … my dreams.
Yesterday a friend of mine looked me in the eye and said, ‘You’re following your heart. You’re in love with him.” I objected profusely. “I’m in love with life, with travel, with places I’ve never been to and people I have yet to meet.” She raised her eyebrows and smiled. And then we both laughed.
Do I have a return ticket? No. I never look back and rarely go back, I always move forward. “But, will you come back to Mexico?”
The Code Raven Series is so much fun to write. We are up to seven books now. In the last installment, I’ve added characters and expanded the series. I hope you enjoy this first in the series–after Code Raven the prequel.
XPOSED
FREE! Download, Gift to friends for their new iPads, Kindles. This suspense thriller uncovers a dark and dangerous world of high-level intrigue, passion, power, and greed.Luci and Luke at their most intriguing!
“I love a good action flick, and this book is on the top of my list. Right out of the gate we are tossed into a dire situation, and things only escalate from there.” Amazon Reviewer
“Overall I loved this book, this series, and it’s definite super high recommendation from me.” Amazon Reviewer
“XPOSED by Lynda Filler is the first book in her Code Raven series. Exciting and fast paced this book will leave you wanting more. Luci has retired from her old life. After retrieving millions of stolen dollars she has taken her daughter and created a life as far removed from her previous one as possible. Except she can’t leave it fully behind. On the run from her enemies, she finds herself in the company of The Ravens – a group of elite members with a certain skill set. She is introduced and immediately recruited by their leader, Luke. Thrown into a war between the US and China Luci finds herself racing all over the world to try and stop the threat they are facing.” Amazon Reviewer
“The author does an excellent job of providing captivating moments with intrigue, suspense, and steam. This book features a series of characters that are a part of the Raven Group and their camaraderie is well captured. I found this easy to read as the story pulls you through. It includes a well-played mix of suspense within it. Overall, I really liked this book and would highly recommend to any crime, mystery, and/or suspense lover.” Amazon Reviewer
I’m embarking on a journey-of-a-lifetime. In the next 48 hours, I will book my destinations! So many people have asked me why I’m going. Why now?
I’ve sold all my possessions, and yes, I’m taking my photos, and small family heirlooms. So my blogs/vlogging/books/photography will take a different spin over the next six months. Get ready. I promise you it’s going to be amazing and I’m taking you with me!!
We believe that traveling around the world shouldn’t be hard: it’s actually something everyone should be able to do at least once in their lives. Whether you choose to spend a few years or just a couple months traveling this beautiful planet, it’s important to see what’s out there. It’s up to you to make the dream come true and take the first step. Launch TripPlanner to piece together and price your ideal route. Not sure where to start? You can always call one of our travel consultants and get some complimentary advice!
2. Travel opens your eyes.
If you’re open and willing, travel will make you an incredibly more well-rounded human being. And that’s really the goal, isn’t it? If you don’t know where to start, check out our Around the World planning guide.
3. Traveling helps you learn who you are.
Bali
All the challenges and opportunities travel lays at your feet help you discover who you are in a way that’s only possible on the road.
4. Travel creates meaningful relationships
People you meet while on the road become some of the most valued names on your contact list. They become places on the map to visit later on. These folks give you a glimpse outside your hometown circle of friends, and force you to take in new and refreshing perspectives, and ultimately realize that everyone is the same.
5. Traveling develops skills you didn’t know you had
Sometimes it’s only far from home that you realize you you’ve got skills you’ve never used. It’s travel that brings them to the surface and makes you smile, satisfied to have reached the mountain top, or crossed a gorge or helped a villager clean up after a storm, or even to have successfully ordered a meal at a rural Chinese restaurant.
6. Travel helps you learn new languages
There’s something satisfying about being able to throw around a few words of Greek, knowing how to say thanks in Thai, pulling out that long dormant Spanish to book a room in Santiago, or simply hearing a language you didn’t know existed just a few weeks before.
The Dome of the Rock
7. Travel means adventure
Zip-lining over the jungle canopy in Peru, successfully navigating the maze-like streets of Venice, bartering for the best price in the traditional markets of Marrakech, taking a speedboat ride in New Zealand, or hopping in a Land Rover and heading out to watch animals grazing in Tanzania: these are adventures worth having. People are hardwired for the excitement of adventure and travel may just be the best way to tap into it.
8. Traveling gives you perspective
Meeting people from other cultures will teach you that the way you’ve been looking at the world isn’t the way everybody else does. In fact, your point-of-view might have some major blind spots. Seeing the world for yourself will improve your vision and your grip on reality.
9. Travel helps you move forward
If you’re between jobs, schools, kids, or relationships, around the world travel can be a perfect way to move from one of these life stages into your next great adventure. A big trip won’t just ease your transition into the next stage of your life, it’ll give you a chance to reflect on where you’ve been, where you’re going, and where you want to end up.
10. Travel is education
Seeing the world provides an education that’s absolutely impossible get in school. Travel teaches you economy, politics, history, geography, and sociology in an intense, hands-on way no class will. Fortunately, the school of travel is always taking applications, no entrance exam required.
11. Travel challenges you
Getting your daily latte at the same place and staring at your screen at your nine-to-five every day not nearly interesting enough? Even if you choose to work on the road (and keep staring at the screen), you’ll have to find a new place to drink your latte, and depending on your destination, finding coffee, and foamy milk or a good place to sip them could prove to be a sizeable challenge. Travel is full of moments of joy and challenges. Overcoming the challenges gives you some of the greatest joys of all.
12. Travel shakes things up
It sucks to be stuck in a rut. Everyone knows what that’s like. A big trip can be your perfect solution. Fly around the world, stopping over in all of the places you’ve always wanted to visit. Go ahead and plan your ideal route around the world (it’s easier than you think!)
13. Traveling proves that dreams do come true
You imagined it, daydreamed about it, envisioned it. Guess what? It can be done. Around the world travel is possible, you just have to decide you’re willing to take the first step and start planning your itinerary. What are you waiting for? We’ve put together some specials to inspire you to live your dream.
14. Travel gives you cool stories
Let’s face it. Even for folks who can’t tell a story, just the words “last year in Mongolia” get you instant party points. Even when events seem trivial, nostalgia and distance create an irresistible spin that makes mundane things like getting your laundry done in Zanzibar, entertaining. Just don’t be that person and overdo it!
15. Travel is literally food for thought.
You’ll be constantly surprised at the flavors the world has to offer. The way people in other cultures and countries prepare food, and break bread together (not that all cultures even eat bread) will astound you.
16. Travel gives you a sense of accomplishment
If you’re the kind of person that dreams big, you’re probably one to reach for new challenges. Finishing a trip gives you the satisfaction that you were able make a goal to travel and accomplish what you set out to do–see the world.
17. Traveling for the hell of it
Why travel? Because you can. Because you want to. Because it beats the alternative (staying home). Why not pick up your tickets and get the ball rolling!
Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.
Have no fear of perfection-you’ll never reach it. Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature. Never try to correct them. On the contrary: rationalize them, understand them thoroughly.
The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was a poet; the first to repeat it was an idiot.
The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant.
At the age of six years I wanted to be a chef. At the age of seven I wanted to be Napoleon. My ambitions have continued to grow at the same rate ever since. Every morning when I awake, the greatest of joys is mine: that of being Salvador Dali. There are some days when I think I’m going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.
I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.
Many people do not reach their eighties because they spend too much time in their forties.
The only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad.
“My work is to figure out how to share emotions and stories with people to turn lights on for them. And the part of it that scares me is wasting the privilege, wasting the leverage, wasting the opportunity. So that’s why I keep pioneering and pushing new ways to do it encouraging people to copy me.”
“After you innovate, you have to keep pushing forward, coming up with new ways to move things forward.”
“Writer’s block is a myth. Being a professional is showing up everyday and making something despite how you feel. The world needs more artists, who love what they do, and do it despite uncertain outcomes.”
“Whoever fails the most, wins. Now if you fail too big, you don’t get to play anymore. So we have to learn how to fail, just the right amount to keep on going. Make small calculated risks so you can be in the game long enough to succeed.”
“If I come to your barbershop for a haircut. I don’t care if you had a fight with your girlfriend and don’t feel like cutting my hair. I came to you for a haircut. Cut. My. Hair. That’s what it means to be a professional.”
I think I’ve given you a few key notes to think about. Sometimes I’m asked questions on Quora about writing. Often times it centers around story ideas or writers’ block, or ‘what should I write?’ The reality is if it’s your job to write, don’t talk about it, write something! And don’t waste your readers time. If my reader expects to learn something or be entertained on my page, then it’s my job to deliver that to you/him/her each and every time. No excuses. The same when I write a novel or a non-fiction book. You are trusting me to deliver what you are paying for…entertainment or ideas and knowledge.
It’s become a habit that even when I am working on the marketing and sales of my books, I will not go to bed without writing something. It might be a blog like this or a few fun things on FaceBook, but if time is limited, I go on Quora and answer questions. A writer writes. No excuses.
I hope you’ve enjoyed a few ideas I picked up on You Tube today. I love to share with my readers and will answer anything and everything you throw my way. If you have any questions about any of my areas of expertise, feel free to send me an email or drop a note in the comments. And remember, I spend far too much time on Facebook so feel free to connect with me there and get my latest news.
And speaking of news: I have a free prequel for you.
Drop by Amazon and download a free copy of Luke Raven and Code Raven, how this exciting and fun series began.
I cannot begin to explain my excitement in discovering this book.
Meet Alex Banayan with Larry King.
He dropped out of Med School when he was 19. He decided that he was dying in Biology classes following a pre-ordained path set by his Iranian Immigrant parents who expected him to be a doctor. He woke up one morning and knew he didn’t want to be a doctor. The disappointment and consequent heartbreak due to his parent’s sacrifice for his education will sound familiar to many. And he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life, but he was passionate about finding out how the great ones started–not what made them successful, there’s a lot written about that. But how did super successful get that first break?
My enthusiasm for this book and the interviews I’ve listened to have brought both tears and tons of inspiration, into my life. It doesn’t matter what stage of life you’re in, what age, or what career choice you’ve made, this story is for you. And if you have children or partners struggling with life decisions, buy this book for them too.
I can’t wait to hear what you think.
There’s the First Door: the main entrance, where 99 percent of people wait in line, hoping to get in. The Second Door: the VIP entrance, where the billionaires and celebrities slip through. But what no one tells you is that there is always, always . . . the Third Door. It’s the entrance where you have to jump out of line, run down the alley, bang on the door a hundred times, crack open the window, sneak through the kitchen–there’s always a way.
I’ve still not recovered from my trip to Miami! I don’t know what I expected. The event started in the hotel lobby bar (don’t most amazing relationships) when Mark Wayne Adams, the famous illustrator, told me to get ready for one of the most incredible experiences of my lifetime.
The sheer amount of talent in one room was both exhilarating and awe-inspiring! The Readers’ Favorite Awards outdid themselves in pulling together some of the most talented authors in the world. I absorbed every single word, learned many new aspects of the industry from Marketers, Agents, Publicists, and Print Houses. Overall, all my fellow authors inspired me to work harder, to hone my skills, to become a better writer for my fans.
Layla wakes up one morning to an empty bed in steamy Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She drowns herself in wine, espresso, and pot but nothing seems to dull the ache of losing Mateo. A change of scenery in the trendy city of Guadalajara might be the answer.
Insert Pablo, a hot young fashion photographer. Add forty-something writer Layla, her pink stilettos and her insatiable appetite for hot young men. Complicate things with Omar, a musician, and a one-night-stand. Enter Mish a University student who is relegated to the friend zone in Layla’s life. But will he stay there? Then invite the cartel boss’ son to a private opening of the fashion photographer Pablo’s latest erotic exhibit. A bomb goes off, and the action goes into overdrive.
If you love sexual-tension, and a complex series of titillating and exciting twists and turns, you will want to read Shoot Me. Layla is a woman with a heart who keeps searching for love in all the wrong places. Will she finally find it?
Hot off the heels of Peoples Favorite award-winning Lie to Me an exposé on sex for money, comes book 2, Shoot Me.
“Lynda Filler has once again delivered a fast-paced, sexy and sometimes gut-wrenching page-turner that will unnerve you and leave you breathless.” Readers’ Favorite.
“Hot, sexy and dangerous.” M. S.
“Lynda Filler sure knows how to keep the reader engaged. This was a roller coaster of a ride book.” KMC
“A beautiful, sensual and tantalizing story. With real, vivid characters, you can delve into the sultry, sexy scene in Mexico and fall in love with the intoxicating rhythm of love.” S. J.
SHOOT ME available for .99c on download and also available in paperback! Thanks so much for supporting my passion!
Yikes, this weekend saw so many authors with books that dropped out of the Amazon system. I experienced half of my novels directly “not available for sale,” or they disappeared altogether. I don’t know what happened, but apparently, it was a technical issue. If I lost sales for 3 days, can you imagine what this international glitch cost the company in lost revenue?
But, after all that, I finally got SHOOT ME up and running, linked with the paperback and the ebook on pre-order. But the question remains, should an author put all her book eggs in one online basket? I don’t know. The top authors are not too upfront about this specific issue. Are the other online retailers responsible for a large percentage of sales? Or do they represent single digit percentages?
Readers’ Favorite Best in Contemporary Fiction 2018
In Lie to Me, an exposé on sex for money I introduced you to Layla an American writer who has an insatiable curiosity about the men in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico who sell their bodies to vacationing women. Yes, it is as interesting as it sounds. Who wouldn’t want to know how a male prostitute feels about his life and the clients he services.
Tomorrow I head for Miami, Florida to receive the 2018 Bronze Award for Contemporary Fiction Social Issues for Lie to Me. I will be posting from the Miami Book Fair, and the Readers’ Favorite Awards show. It should be so much fun. A wonderful side benefit will be the interaction with fellow authors that I only know online.
Layla wakes up one morning to an empty bed in steamy Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She drowns herself in wine, espresso, and pot but nothing seems to dull the ache of losing Mateo. A change of scenery in the trendy city of Guadalajara might be the answer.
Insert Pablo, a hot young fashion photographer. Add forty-something writer Layla, her pink stilettos and her insatiable appetite for hot young men. Complicate things with Omar, a musician, and a one-night-stand. Enter Mish a University student who is relegated to the friend zone in Layla’s life. But will he stay there? Then invite the cartel boss’ son to a private opening of the fashion photographer Pablo’s latest erotic exhibit. A bomb goes off, and the action goes into overdrive.
If you love sexual-tension, and a complex series of titillating and exciting twists and turns, you will want to read Shoot Me. Layla is a woman with a heart who keeps searching for love in all the wrong places. Will she finally find it?
I can keep it simple or make it complicated. Let’s assume that so many have answered this question already so I will keep it short and sweet.
LEARN to love you, yourself, first. Get rid of your stupid insecurities and focus on your amazing inner beauty. Don’ t let any guy/girl take away your confidence or tell you who you are/should be/should do! The sooner you learn your self-worth, the happier your life will be.
If you don’t believe that love is an inside job, look at the divorce rate. If we knew how to love ourselves, we wouldn’t get into some of the stupid relationships we choose when we’re young. And for some of us, we continue with the age-old definition of insanity: repeating the same action over and over again and expecting a different result.
The more confidence and self-love you have, the more likely you are to choose or be chosen by a man/woman who has the same thing going on. Likes attract.
If you spend your life looking for your soulmate you miss the opportunity to really connect with the soul-mate-that is-you!
I want you to remember these words forever: you should be your first and last love. You are the only one that can truly keep you safe and warm at night. LOVE yourself first.
What do your children pass on the streets on the way home from school?
What would you be prepared to do to save them?
So today I want to honor the victims of war in general. Those who lost family members in the Holocaust, those who lost fathers or grandfathers who fought in the war, and you who will be reading this note and nodding your head. We too are victims. We too suffered the effects of the long-term war.
My father, and uncles participated in World War II. Although I’m Canadian and was not a child of this era, my Dad was in the Royal Canadian Army Signal Corps and was stationed in England.
My father never talked about the war. I remember watching programs on TV with the family years later. But I never really knew what he did. Was he in combat? Was he in an office behind listening devices. Did Dad code, or decode messages? Dad was a recognized Math genius. He entered competitions every year in the military. And my father kept a workroom in every house we lived in, to use his ham radio and talk with people from all over the world. So it’s possible he was involved in things he could never talk about. Or saw horrible deaths that he carried in his mind and heart his whole life. I will never know.
My Dad left a special legacy for us, the children of a parent who fought in the war.His legacy was anger and pain. He drank excessively. He fought with my mother. Although I never saw physical abuse–or maybe I blocked it–my younger sis says she saw marks on my mother’s neck.
I remember Dad drank excessively and by dinner time he was impossible to talk to. We fought all the time. My family dinner memories were of me leaving the table crying. I don’t think I ever finished a meal in my teenage years. My sis remembers only that I was the one who spoke up, so she didn’t have to!
My childhood was not pleasant. I suppose at the time, I didn’t know the difference. It was my reality. But with early blanked memories, I know there were things that happened that my mind has decided I don’t need to remember. And I’m good with that. I was one of the lucky ones. I suffered no long-term effects of that period on my life unless you count several divorces, and the inability to form deep, trusting relationships. I’m sure I’m not alone. Unfortunately, to this day, the men and women who go to war bring it home with them. It’s not their fault, I understand that. And many will get help and life will go on.
I implore legislators around the world, governments, who merely sit in the gilded cages and sign documents allowing militaries to destroy economies and lives, to think, just stop and think, about the ravages of war. Think about our own militaries–my nephew who served several times in Kabul, my SEAL friends who’ve lost their lives and those of their friends. Think about the long-term effect of war zones and war, before you routinely decide to blockade a region, turn off food supplies or close your borders!
Mexico, shame on you for separating men from their families and only permitting women and children to come through on Caravan from war-torn Central America. You must take full responsibility for the kidnapping of 100 women and children this past week. It doesn’t matter that its drug cartels or human trafficking rings, you alone bear the responsibility for leaving them unprotected.
And the US, I have no words for the leadership of the USA. The world once believed it was the greatest nation in the world. Everyone wanted to go to America. And now the best and the brightest from around the world are afraid to join your working ranks. Some refugees have no choice but to flee or die. But others have choices, and they are choosing to seek great job opportunities in other nations, places where they are wanted. If you’re not careful, all that will be left in the USA is the next generation of racists.
So take this moment to put yourself in the shoes or no shoes of the people who are fleeing the countries that in many ways first-world-countries have helped to destroy. Think about bearing responsibility for our actions in all things in life. And show compassion and love today not just for those who have died, but the current victims of war.
Refugee:
A refugee, generally speaking, is a displaced person who has been forced to cross national boundaries and who cannot return home safely. Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by the contracting state or the UNHCR if they formally make a claim for asylum. UNHRC
If you are curious about a first-hand fictional story of a refugee: mother and child, fleeing Syria read Lynda Filler’s DISPLACED
