What's inside?

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Escaping a life of controlling parents, a demeaning boyfriend, and lackluster career, an unexpected gift gives Bella the opportunity to move to California and launch a business of her own.  

She finally has it all: a beautiful apartment near the beach, her dream job, and Jack, the newly available yet complicated business owner next door.  Jack is everything her parents warned her about. Is that what makes him so intriguing? 

Things are finally looking up when she learns her business is in jeopardy.  

Will passion, grit and determination be enough to save her happily ever after? 

This contemporary romance will take you on a journey of friendship, love, heartache, and triumph. 

Welcome to Winchester, a small town in upstate New York where something special is in the air. You see, its Christmastime, the time of gingerbread and holly. A time where anything is possible — especially love — but that doesn’t appear to be the plan for Stephanie. Much to her mother May’s disappointment, Stephanie is a wedding planner who seems to be “always the planner and never the bride.” 

She came close to love once, but it just wasn’t in the cards for her, leaving her with unresolved feelings of hurt and abandonment. Everything changed when she planned the Chambers wedding. She finally got her big break and it turned her life upside down, putting her in the position of getting things done in a “better late than never” fashion the entire Christmas season. 

She ends up falling head over heels in love with a man who is not available — yes, it’s a customer but no, it’s not the groom. She knows it’s a bad idea, but as a hopeless romantic, what do you do when the heart wants what it wants. Will she jump in with both feet and finally find her happily ever after, or will she be once again left heartbroken?     

Have you ever wished for more? More love, romance, happiness, joy, friends, success, money? Do you wish your life had more passion, purpose and fulfillment? This is exactly where I found myself when I was thirty-nine years old. I had a wonderful husband, two great kids, a great career, my dream home — all my dreams had become reality and yet I felt depressed. I wasn’t sure if maybe I was having a midlife crisis or if I was struggling with chemical depression, but either way I wanted off the hamster wheel of life. Eat, sleep, work, repeat. I was sick and tired, I knew there was more to life and I was determined to find it. 

I needed to learn to love myself, I needed to figure out who I was, what I wanted, why I wanted it and how I was going to get there. I began a journey of self-discovery that took me years. I learned as much as I could, I took classes, went to seminars, read books, blogs, articles, watched documentaries, videos and talks.

It turns out I was not broken and there was nothing wrong with me or my life. I just needed to gain some perspective and make the decision that I would no longer settle for someone else’s narrative for my life. It was time for me to step away from my old story and write a new one — one where I was strong, empowered and courageous. I was determined to live life on my terms and these ten steps are exactly how I got there.