Tea Flight Reading Guide: What to drink while you read my books

Hello dear friends,

I know this post is long overdue and the emails have just been pouring in but finally here it is:

One does not simply read a book with a random tea selection. The tea choice is critical for optimal book enjoyment. For example: One would not read Christmas Kiss at the Stampede, a holiday-time romance novel that takes place in Branson, MO with a cup of passion tea lemonade. 

And one would not read Hitler Bites, a novel about vampires slaughtering Nazis during World War II with a cup of white chocolate mocha tea. 

So be at ease, I have heard your concerns. Let's begin at the beginning: Magic Headaches. (Spoilers are coming)

Magic Headaches has a duality about it that is unique. The story jumps from Derek's past to Elinor and Derek's present. There is magic and pain and baggage and board games. It's complex and yet cozy. So while you read Magic Headaches brew yourself a cup of each of these...

GREEN TEA

Why? Well it's pretty much the healthiest tea so if you are a hypochondriac and now worry that you too have New Daily Persistent Headache you'll want to calm and aline your body with a soothing yet richly flavored green tea. There is also an earthiness to green tea that will keep you rooted in the present as you travel back and forth in time. P.S. you want your green tea to look almost inedible. The more it looks like the plants the closer you are to victory.

SALTED CARAMEL BLACK TEA

Why? This book mostly takes place in the fall. And during the fall this salted caramel black tea is exactly what you need. It reminds me of the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Which is the greatest compliment I am capable of giving). It's sweet and bold. It's a sweet treat after the seriousness of the green tea.

And now to the next (or the first if we go chronologically) book. But wherever you think The Morland Prince should fit in the reading list here's what you need to drink to process all the man feelings and drawings of handsome brooding soldiers.

DOUBLE BERGAMOT EARLY GREY TEA

Why? Earl Grey's most defining ingredient is bergamot. It is bold. It is strong. I can smell it across the room. Brew it too long and its bitter and thick in the mouth. But brewed just right... it feels like coming home, which is just the feeling you want while reading The Morland Prince. T.A.R.D.I.S. teapot is suggested but I guess not necessary...

JASMINE AND ROSE WHITE TEA

Why? Because this is one of my least favorite teas. It must be brewed so lightly or it turns into perfume. But I feel like this is the kind of tea Jol, the Mage, would brew so you'll feel like you are in Morland. And maybe you'll like it. But probably not, Morland is the worst. Ready to go down the rabbit hole?

And now to the last book in the Morland journey (for now...) is Morland Blood.

MADAGASCAR VANILLA RED

Why? It's caffeine free so it'll keep you calm as things start to get going. It has such a pleasant vanilla flavor that you won't even worry as things keep going wrong. That lion on the box will make you feel that everything is really going to be okay.

ORANGE GINGER TEA

Why? It's tangy and zesty and the warm feeling from the ginger will keep the danger at the forefront of your mind. This one is also caffeine free which is for the best. (I mean your heart is already pounding pretty hard.) The orange and the floral hints will fill your head with romance but the ginger will keep you grounded. Save the kissing till after the battle is done. Use a clear teapot to promote your own self reflection as Elinor and Derek find out who they really are.

And that my friends concludes your Magic Headaches Tea Flight. I hope you enjoyed it. And when you are deciding if you should have just one more cup of tea, remember the wise words of my Sheila. 

And yes that is who you think it is. It's the heir of the Twinnings company. After this picture Sheila had him sign this for me.

This is obviously my most prized possession.

How My Books Get Made

How My Books Get Made: So when a mommy book and a daddy book love each other very much... hahaha lol. It's more like plant reproduction. It involves only one person, lots of time, and then suddenly where there was once a tiny seed is a giant, complex tree.

These are 100% notes I have written down lol.

Welcome to Imagination Headquarters where such great ideas as Computers Screens Snake Attacks are born. Each floor is full of hallways full of closed doors. I found one that says "Morland" and I opened. After exploring it for many years, three books were created or uncovered. But there are more doors...

I got an explosion of ideas. Scenes about best friends, or estranged lovers. Scenes about super heroes and space pirates. Each character and story wanting their chance, wanting me to choose that door.

This is too accurate. Sometimes I'm scribbling out the scene in my head and before I'm even done the next scene starts talking over the first and I'm trying to remember everything I'm seeing. One of the many problems with getting inspiration this way is that it's impossible to reproduce. Once I lost all my notes for the evening and I could not remember one word I had written. The doors had stopped talking and I couldn't even remember the conversation. So I try to be quick or I have to let that one go knowing I may never see it again. Butterfly catching: Can't catch 'em all.

 If you want to write a novel I don't know how it can be done without Story Mill. It's so easy to organize. Want to write a book? Step 1: Buy Story Mill.

I hate copy editing!! So much. I'm not good at it and I'm too poor to pay for it. So I wrangle all my teacher friends and everyone who has ever used a comma correctly and make them edit it with me. It somehow gets done. Or well enough because there is always, and I mean always at least one typo in the manuscript. 

I'm pretty happy with Kindle Direct Publishing. I'll post more on that detailed process later. But it works for me.

How posture and migraine affect migraine- Migraine World Summit Blog Review

Another great couple days at Migraine World Summit 2019. Background information: my neck hurts all the time. All day every day. It's just a piece of my New Daily Persistent Headache. And I've tried sooo many things to make the neck pain ease, just a little (to no avail). So I found this talk FASCINATING.

The day 4 talk was discouraging. I get that neck pain does not create migraine or new daily persistent headache but I need some help managing it. His main point was treating the migraine will treat the neck pain because neck pain is just a symptom of the migraine. BUT what about those of us that can't treat our disorders because they are chronic or intractable. I would LOVE to just treat my headaches but nothing works. Nothing treats them. So in this guy's opinion I'm just stuck.  

But day 5's talk!!!! So so wonderful. Here are all my takeaways.

Introducing Headache Girl! Her powers include:

Nausea (the ability to want to hurl all night while you rock back and forth)

Light sensitivity (the ability to be annoyed by light leak from under a closed door)

Weakness and Fatigue (the ability to sit for hours and not feel rested)

Headache (the ability to look like you are trying to read minds while you trying to rip your own skull off by the temples)

These are by far the most fun/awesome/amazing pictures I have drawn in a while!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dodging False Promises and Treatment Claims- Migraine World Summit 2019 Day One

Wooho!!!!! I love Migraine World Summit time! So much information and learning and community. Here are my thoughts on Dodging False Promises and Treatment Claims with Elizabeth Leroux MD. So I don't have migraines. I have New Daily Persistent Headache but for the sake of Migraine World Summit posts I'll use Migraine and NDPH interchangeable. We are one big family and a lot of things apply to both disorders. Like trying to decided on which treatment to try next and keeping up hope in the mean time.

She started by says that it's natural to want to believe that we will get better. To Hope. I think about hope a lot. She then talked about the history of migraine treatments and how "natural" and "long-standing" treatments aren't always best.

Oh and don't forget leeches! Leeches stand the test of time! Side note: Matt was not impressed with my crocodile drawing but he did like my ducks (spoilers)

Man, I've fallen for a couple of these. It just sounds so good. But I'm always that 5% lol

Repeat this over and over. 

Doctors don't know why one medicine works on one person and not another. What factors are inhibiting relief? What is different about person A's migraine and person B's migraine? who knows. Migraine (and headaches) are weird.

So here is the awesome advice for the talk. Memorize this, Current Megan. And remind Future Megan of this.

Can't wait to listen to Day 2's talks!

If my chronic headaches were a... MOVIE!

If you know me in real life then you'll know that I 

L-O-V-E the movie Groundhog Day. I don't know how many times I've seen it. Something about it is just so rewatchable to me. (I guess that's ironic?) I've talked about how my headache disorder, New Daily Persistent Headache, is the Groundhog Day of headaches. 

But my shot post last spring has not emptied my headache+groundhog day reservoir in my soul. So here is MORE!

Flashback to April 5th 2011.

(I think you should be singing "I've got you babe" for the next couple minutes. Just to put you in the right mental space.😜)

Pro Tip: Changing your hair color often helps keep the crazies away. It's nice to be able to change things. Even small things.

As I like to say "It's a fine, fine life."