Guest Posts & Happy Stuff

All this plane flying has given me some time to write a few guest posts on other blogs (stay tuned for another one on Smitten By Britain‘s blog as well).

First up, I got to thinking more and more about why British actors are on our airwaves, and are seemingly better actors than us, the American counterparts.

This is what I came up with on Michelle‘s blog, The American Resident: Are British Actors Better than American Actors?

Then, a year ago, Toni Hargis, a British expat who now lives in Chicago and who met up with us in London during out expat bloggers convention (I’m exaggerating, there were about 6 of us), asked me to write about my repatriation experience.

Finally I got around to writing it: Repatriation: An American’s Story.

She also finished my novel, and wrote a smashing review! (You can read all my current reviews here – be sure to leave one if you haven’t already.)

“Don’t be fooled into thinking this is just another “girls-gone-wild” or chic-lit debut novel. Not only is “Three Questions” the delightful love story of American Adele and an Englishman named Guy- it asks surprisingly searching questions of both the characters and the reader.
From the simple – “What is your favorite meal?” to the scary “How would you describe your mom?”, Lopez delves deep into her characters’ hearts and souls. You’ll be rooting for the lovers throughout the book, and you won’t be disappointed with the denouement.”

8 days left before my Kickstarter ends – help me turn my novel into a screenplay through your contributions, and some great rewards (if you haven’t already). Email everyone you know, tweet out to the world, and post on Facebook! We can do this together!

 

Dreamers vs Realists

I was watching a “Modern Family” episode the other day that perfectly described my relationship with Jock. Bear with me for a moment if you’ve seen it.
One half of the family (we’ll call them the “dreamers”) believed themselves completely able to lodge a pumpkin across the length of a football field. The other half (the “realists”) guffawed at the sheer idiocy of such a ridiculous idea.
The dreamers, not willing to give up their, well, ‘dream’, went to the football field with a rubber launching gadget and a pumpkin while the realists stood back waiting to be proven right.

Of course, the idea was ridiculous, the pumpkin barely got a few feet and splattered all over the ground, and the realists gloated for a few seconds while the dreamers were embarrassed and shamed. That’s when the magic happened (says the dreamer, and smiles).
The realists realized their cruelty (I like to call it “stomping on a poor, starving kitten after he rushed to get the last sip of milk”)…ah hem, anyway…and rushed to help figure out why it didn’t work and figure out a solution.

Now, if I weren’t a dreamer, I would never have written a book, left my job at Kelly Services to start working for a new startup nor would I always want the window seat on a plane simply to finally know what it was like to fly. But if Jock weren’t a realist to bring me back to earth, I would have spent all our money already, I would have published my book many months earlier when it wasn’t ready and I would have made countless other mistakes. Plus, we never have to argue about who gets the window seat. He prefers the aisle with extra leg room.

I like to think that I remind him that amazing things can happen if you let them and that sometimes dreaming makes life that much more exciting.

Here’s to the Ying balancing the yang.

Getting to know someone

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most overlooked.

I titled my book “Three Questions” based on the simple concept that Jock’s friend came up with while they were out and about. His friend, Darrell Kingsbury, used to sit in a pub and go around asking silly questions to the boys – “if you were an animal, what would you be?” “If London Bridge is standing why is there a song about it falling down?” or “Who would you rather…”

When Jock and I met for those 8 hours, we knew that there wasn’t much time to get to know each other in Las Vegas, while drinking and dancing. So, he took his friend’s idea, and brought it to our letters while he was traveling through Africa. He randomly chose “three questions” and the rest is history.

At my book launch, I created these great Moo.com Mini Cards where I took three questions from my book, and created conversation starters.

It was such an integral part to the beginning of Jock and my relationship, that I never really appreciated how special it was. Maybe couples that have long-distance relationships actually have more time to get to know each other because they’re not confused by all the physical and everyday stuff that sometimes gets in the way.

There’s just something so intensely romantic about getting to know someone through letters. Of course, the challenge is making sure that you aren’t projecting false information onto that person.

So, do you think you can get to know someone better by being long-distance, or is it better to be in the same town?

All in a Day!

What a day!

I scheduled my first newsletter announcing the arrival of my paperback to go out this morning. By 8AM, 200 people had opened the email, and by the end of the day, my open rate was 15.6% higher than the industry average (31.9% open rate), with a total of 522 people reading it! The amount of support that came flooding in after I sent that email was overwhelming – you just never know where the support will come from.

Email marketing is not to be overlooked – I’ve sold more books today than I have in the past month and a half. Thank you to everyone out there who has helped so far – more to come soon.

When I got home, two large boxes were sitting on my kitchen counter – the 50 books I ordered for my launch party have arrived, and my oh my – it all feels so official. Wow – three years later, and what started as an idea, a few letters, and a little laptop is now a real life book.

Now that the books are here, I’m able to offer signed copies for sale (unfortunately for now, it’s only in the United States)! If you are interested in receiving a signed copy, please click below:

Also, the arrival of the books mean I can officially set a date, and celebrate! Let me know if you’re interested in attending the launch party – if you happen to be (or want to be) in the Chicago area, and I’ll add you to the list.

If you just want to receive updates on the book tour, promotions, and news, you can sign up here:

Thank you all again – I promise more real (and less promotional) blog posts soon! I have a juicy one coming up on why I decided to stay in Chicago, rather than pursue acting again in Hollywood…

In the meantime, I present to you the BOOKS….

 

Back in England

Did I mention I was back in England?

I am! It’s our good friends, Gemma and Liam’s, wedding in a small town at the very West of Wales called Pembrokeshire. We’re stopping off in Portsmouth back at Jock’s parents house before picking up Tommo and Greg in Bristol, and then heading off to the wedding.

I don’t remember everything being so small. I mean, I do, but I think I thought I had imagined it. But no, the houses and cars and streets and buildings all remain very small, and dare I say it? Quaint…

The past months have been a learning time for me – learning to readjust to working life, learning how to live in the midwest, and almost re-learning a bit of my independence. When we lived in England, I was very reliant on Jock for most everything – directions, money, car, friends, social life and support.

Now that we’re back in the states, a lot of that has changed. We’re both working, I am making my own friends, as is he, and we don’t have a car, so directions aren’t needed. It feels good to reclaim that, and now that I’m back in England, I feel like I’m looking at it all with fresh eyes – the past, England, his family and what it was like to live here. I could certainly live here again…

I don’t often admit this, but I think there was a bit of shame in me living off someone almost completely. Granted, I was writing my novel, and tending to my running, etc…but in the back of your mind, you can’t help but feel a bit useless for not bringing in money or contributing in that way. Jock, at this point, would shrug and say ‘it was what it was,’ and we had to make ends meet, and I would have done the same, etc. All very true, but as much as you tell yourself that, it still feels (for lack of a better word) icky.

I look forward to seeing all of our old friends and reconnecting.

I can’t say what it is yet, but there are more changes to come in the next year. Everything feels so exciting.

I was watching the movie, “The Adjustment Bureau” on the plane ride over here (while the woman next to me rested her baby on my lap and took a nap, and her other son screamed in my other ear…and did I mention the 50 Americans all wearing purple shirts that literally had a big crown on it with the words “What Makes a Man a King?” – embarrassing) -

ANYwho…the movie, “The Adjustment Bureau,” is mostly about these “angels” or “men in suits” who tinker with a human’s free will. They adjust events so that everything goes “according to plan.” I’ve often felt this throughout my life, why I dropped my bottle of water on the way to the plane, or bigger events – like walking down a back alley in Amsterdam only to run into old friends from LA, or  in September walking into LaGuardia just at the moment that my 2005 roommate from Paris was flying out – but I really do feel like there are angels who have my back, and steering me down the right course.

But more on that later…(and why my plans are coming together)

Now, it’s time for some tea.

P.S. I got into the country safely, obviously. I was questioned by the guard, but he said I would probably have to be detained each time because of the Visa that got denied a few years back. Such silly legal advice we got. But he was very nice, and said that the more often I come into the country, the better it will be.