Queenstown, MD – Lauren Monroe, author of The Maryland Shores women’s fiction series will greet book-buying customers, looking for last-minute gifts on Monday, December 23, 2019 at Book Warehouse/Queenstown, all afternoon/evening.
“According to a researchers at the University of Sussex, reading even six minutes per day is enough to reduce stress levels by more than two thirds. It slowed down heart rate and eased tense muscles in those study subjects,” the author cites. “What’s more, other postgraduate research explored how readers had advanced social skills and more empathy because they tried to fill in the gaps on the page and understand what characters were up against.”
Wearing her therapist hat, Oberlin says understanding is often what human relationships are about and what makes them challenging. She stresses that she always tries to write real scenarios as well as authentic character traits in her books.
“Reading provides a distraction from your own problems,” she says. “It can also validate that sense of universality, that you’re not alone in feeling how you do or in facing life struggles.” Readers often identify new solutions or see things from another perspective. There’s also fun in merely reading about familiar scenery and pastimes.
Letting Go: The Maryland Shores (Book One) takes place mostly on the Annapolis side of the Chesapeake during the anxious year after 9/11 when a young widow attempts to rebuild her life. Second Chances: The Maryland Shores (Book Two) features a family living on Kent Island. All is well until it is not. Amid Chesapeake boating and cheering the Ravens or Steelers, characters face unexpected hardship through historic storms, a hurricane and much drama. The plots of both books intertwine with themes of loss, intricacies of workplace dating, and difficult people who stand in front of their goals, even their happy holidays.
Oberlin co-wrote Overcoming Passive-Aggression about dealing with difficult people, and she launched Writing to Make Money: Short Projects, first in a series of how to make from writing. According to Forbes, half of U.S. workers will be employed in what’s known as the gig economy. Oberlin’s series paves the way for writers, students and small business people with knowledge and stories to share. It’s the perfect gift for students, retirees and others.
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Join her via social media @laurenmonroenovels, @OvercomingPassiveAggression, @writingtomakemoney, and check out the book links on www.loriannoberlin.com/books. Loriann Oberlin’s profile and blog can also be found on Psychology Today.