​Holidays are filled with many traditions.  Though many might celebrate the same holidays, each family has its own special way of bringing the joy of the holiday into their home and life. 

​It is our background and culture that help shape the way we celebrate the holidays, making it unique and meaningful to each of us. It’s not only the region where we were born and raised that plays a major role in our celebrations, but also individual family’s customs and preferences that are handed down from generation to generation.
 
Food is featured prominently in our holiday customs—its flavor and presentation are greatly affected by tradition.
 
Let’s talk fruitcake. Fruitcake has been one of my favorite foods for many years. However, it was never included on our family holiday menus—that’s why I never bothered to find a recipe and prepare it—occasionally I just get it in the store. However, living and traveling all over the world allowed me the opportunity to explore the many different variations of this holiday tradition. After treating myself to this cake outside of the United States, I understand why many Americans don’t care for it—and why it has become the source of many jokes.

Fortunately, my Romanian friend keeps her family’s tradition alive: Not only does she bring it to her own household and family, but also she brings it to me along with the splendid flavor I experienced while being abroad.
 
With my passion for cooking, I reached out to her, asking if she would share the recipe. “Don’t worry about it. It’s easier for me to just make it for you,” she said.
I figured the language barrier was in her way—writing a recipe in English would take her out of her comfort zone. I finally convinced her to teach me how to bake it.

As I stand in my kitchen and go through the steps she taught me, I promise you this: if this fruitcake unfolds in my house, in my kitchen, in my oven as it does in my memories from the days I lived in Europe, I’ll invite you to my kitchen and share the recipe with you.
 
If you happen to have a “to die for” fruitcake recipe (with the sauce that goes with it), please send it my way.
 
I wish you a delicious holiday.
​
Michelle

​Many of you who read my book would agree that when sex meets real love, the magic of lust is what you feel.
 
It’s not often that a relationship’s climax is unveiled or even reachable. Anyone in this life who has experienced that one-time love would relate to my statement—maybe would even say it’s an understatement.
​
The novel Pinnacle Lust replicated the sex and love between two characters that created the phenomenon of lust.

​Writing graphic sex scenes is a challenge. Unless you wish to unfold a tacky and cheap love story, you have to carefully craft this type of scene.

Here is one scene from my book, Pinnacle Lust, where love and sex created an infinite lust between two people that became lost in their incredible relationship.

Bashfully, I opened the bathroom door just enough to let my hand sneak in a towel and place it at the very end of the countertop. I was about to close the door but Sloan didn’t like the way I acted.
“Hey, the floor is going to get wet,” he said.
Is he trying to convince me to hand him the towel? I stepped back in the bathroom, grabbed the towel, looked straight in his eyes, not glancing down, and threw it toward him.
“Good catch,” I said once the towel was in his hands.
“Don’t you want to get wet?” he asked mischievously.
“I’m already wet,” I said with an inviting smile.
“Let me see,” he wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower.
“See what?” I asked.
“How wet you are,” he said as he lifted me up and set me on the counter, keeping his arms around me. I bet the tight jeans I had on didn’t leave much to his imagination. His lips skimmed over my neck. He studied my smell, inhaling me deep into his lungs and his memory. I took the next step and wrapped my legs around him. It didn’t take long before his hands traveled under my loose, sleeveless shirt. I wiggled closer to him.
“You are hot,” he whispered.
“So are you,” I said.
“I missed you.” He looked at me. I had no choice but to believe him. I felt secure and protected. I had to trust my feelings but still needed reassurance.
“Did you really?”
“I honestly did,” he said.
“Is that good or bad?”
“It’s bad,” he said and picked me up with his strong arms and carried me to the bedroom. He gently put me on the bed. I looked at him and saw nothing but lust. I let him take the rest of my clothes off and explore my body. I was wet by all means. His touch was magical, the most sensual I’d ever felt. He was ready to glide into me and to take me back to the same places we visited the day before. My body grew heavy and my legs shivered. I looked straight into his eyes, trying to find some assurance that he was going to make love to me and not just have sex. He leaned toward me, gently kissed my knees, and let his lips travel north. By the time he reached my nipples we were ready to engage our bodies. I kept my legs around him and turned him on his back. I wanted to be on top this time, to control the pace of our erotic motions. I felt that it was my turn to lead. And I did…
~Chapter 14, Pinnacle Lust, by Michelle Dim-St. Pierre~ 

​If you haven’t read Pinnacle Lust, now would be a good time to delve into a book that delivers you real characters that are so easy to engage with, along with a captivating story from everyday life. ​​Pinnacle Lust is the first novel of a trilogy and now it is offered as holiday special with a full rebate after 45 days from the date of purchase.
 
The second book of the Pinnacle trilogy is scheduled to be released in 2018. Each of the installments in the trilogy is a stand-alone book…but reading them all in sequence will leave you in awe. Brace yourself for the other part of these characters’ relationship, where pain creates a reunion and reality to what started out just as an affair.

​Give the gift of a book to yourself or to someone special.
 
Michelle

​Facebook, the giant tool of social media, keeps many of us busy all day long. It was not long ago that people spent time on Facebook trying to reconnect with the world—people searched for others from their past and quickly brought them to their present. Nowadays, Facebook serves as a place where people market themselves or their business, while others find it as a comfort zone where they can express themselves or find sympathy. Sure enough, in no time, people learned everything about everyone—yuck. 

About three months ago an acquaintance of mine posted on Facebook. As I read the post, I noticed that he made a significant spelling error. It was not an autocorrect error or a typo… It was a mistake. 

ontemplated whether I should bring this to his attention. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings or embarrass him in public.
 
Finally, I sent him a private message, telling him he should edit his post so it would be errorless. I even went as far as to include in my message what would be the right word to use. I reread my message several times and finally pushed the button to send it. 

Seconds later, my Facebook friend sent me a message, thanking me for bringing this spelling issue to his attention.

Similar to that incident, look what happened to me. Two days ago, I posted my Blog #50 late at night. As always, I included a few photos to create a more attractive blog. 

The next day an acquaintance of mine posted a comment to my blog page stating, “Watch your grammar dear.” Wow, that was loud, I thought.  I rushed to check my blog and noticed that one of the images I included had text in it—and it had a grammatical error. Obviously, she was right. Not only was there a grammar mistake, but also as an author, I shouldn’t post anything that doesn’t convey proper English. I kept my response to her on the lighter side as I tried to put some humor in it and also admitted guilt—“It is not my English… lol. But you are right, I shouldn’t have posted it.” I was sure that this would satisfy her, and decided not to replace the image.

 
Surprisingly, that was not the case. The picky acquaintance had more to say. She went on and on, hanging me in public. At that point, I found it more than just loud—I thought it was rude. I replied to her post, telling her to move on, that she made her point very clear and that there was no need continue. Not only did I think she was rude, but I was also upset. What got to me the most was that juvenile game of Ping-Pong that I went through with her.  

Finally, I put my emotions aside and hid the entire dialog with her so that no one else would see it.
 
Apparently, removing it from my page didn’t wipe it off my heart or from my memory. People are odd, I thought. Does she go around commenting on every grammatical mistake she sees on Facebook? Because that would require more hours than a full-time job.

I took the day off!

And will resume blogging tomorrow.

Don't you think I deserve it?

Michelle

​Achievement and success aren't necessarily the same. While one fulfills your goals and dreams the other will bring you earnings.
 
Which one of these is more important? Well, it depends who you ask. 

To me achievement is often more significant than success. Don’t get me wrong; of course I like the success part.  Yet, the feeling of accomplishment is beyond words—the butterflies in the stomach, the weak knees, and the lightheaded feeling—is mesmerizing. That hypnotic moment when the adrenaline reaches high levels and then drops.
 
It’s addictive. And when it happens, it stays with me for a long time.
 
Yesterday, the first order of packaging supplies for my new business, Crooked Cracker, arrived at the door. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to open the box. I was eager to see the supplies. I hoped they would be as attractive as I had envisioned when I placed the order. 

As I unpacked the delivery and examined the supplies for some time, it felt much the same as when my first box of published books arrived. Both were a sign of accomplishment. They brought a feeling of hope for great things to come—the success.

Which is most important to you, accomplishment or success?
 
Michelle

​It has now been over seven months since my initial idea to manufacture my Incredible Crooked Crackers. Each breakthrough in the process led to new problems. The process has been wearing with very little joy. I quickly learned that what I needed most was patience… Well, those of you who know me will agree that there is very little of this characteristic in me. I need everything to be done right away if not yesterday.

Here are a few things to remember if you want to start a new business.

1. Be patient.
2. As much due diligence as you may do, it is never enough. Take your time to do the bookwork before investing in your business.
3. Spend time to create the best name for your new business. You don’t want to file for Doing Business As if you all of a sudden come up with a different name!
4. Register your new entity with the Secretary of State.
5. Whenever a clerk tells you something, cross check it with at least two more sources.
6. Dig into all of the rules and regulations.
7. Don’t take no for an answer.
8. Watch who you argue with? You don’t need any enemies when dealing with bureaucracy. 
9. Always think about people as potential clients or customers. Compliment and thank every person that is part of your adventure.
10. Be patient.
11. Be patient.
12. Be patient.
13. Be patient.
14. Be patient.
15. Be patient.
16. Last but not least, be patient.

​It’s all about being patient! How much patience do you have?
 
Michelle