Jan Sikes

Friday Free For All – Something New

It’s Friday again! The weeks sure go by fast, don’t they? My daughter once said, “The days are long, but the weeks and months go fast.” I hope you’re ready for a wonderful weekend!

I told you about the red light therapy table in a previous post, and this week I tried something else new. Have you ever heard of Cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy is a technique designed to help the body heal by immersing the body in a chamber with extremely cold temperatures. Benefits include increased energy, improved sleep, reduced inflammation and swelling, and can help speed up the body’s metabolism and help with weight loss. The temperature inside the chamber gets down to -160 degrees Fahrenheit. Sounds brutal, doesn’t it? But you only stay inside the chamber for a max of three minutes. I started out at two minutes.

Here’s what the chamber I got into looks like.

Photo courtesy Revive Health and Beauty

I honestly had my doubts about this being anything other than utter torture, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it was not only tolerable, but the after-effects were rejuvenating and stimulating! I plotted my next book while waiting for the sauna to open up. Will I do it again? Most definitely! I guess, if nothing else in life, I’ve been adventurous. That hasn’t always worked in my favor, but this time it did. I’d love to hear from all of you. Have you ever tried anything like this?

I’m going to be starting a new blogging series next week that I’m calling “Wednesday Words.” I don’t think I can fit it in every week because of time constraints but will post a couple of times a month. It will encompass any and everything related to words. So, I hope you’ll join me for some fun!

On the reading front, I finished John Howell’s latest, “The Last Drive,” and highly recommend it! “The Eternal Road” gave me a lot to ponder concerning the afterlife, and his new book carries that theme forward in an expansive way. By the way, they’re both free on Kindle Unlimited.

While deciding what to read next, I came across a new author to me, and her book sounded like a fun, lighthearted read, so I picked it up. I’ll be posting reviews later this month, and maybe it will appeal to you, too. When I set my Goodreads challenge for 2023, I gave myself some breathing room by setting it at 85 books for the year.

On the writing front, I started critiquing with a new partner this week, and I think it is going to be so beneficial. While I will continue to critique with my sister, it never hurts to have another set of eyes on my work. This brings me to a question.

We all know there are some hard and fast (sort of) writing rules. In writing romantic suspense, do you think the book must open with some immediate action or with an introduction to the characters and setting? As writers and readers, what do you prefer, or does it vary from story to story? I tend to prefer stories with a slow build to a climactic event, giving time to set the story and characters. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Also, related to the world of writing, if you are of the praying type or just believe in sending good vibes, our fellow author, friend, and Story Empire contributor, Staci Troilo, lost her mother this week. It is a hugely devastating loss, and I’d love it if you’d join us in sending loving thoughts to the family.

That’s enough rambling from me for one day. I hope you all have a great weekend, and thank you for visiting!

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