Within This Frame

by Zart, Lindy

  “Thank you. I enjoy doing it. Most of the time we have to prove to ourselves that we can do things on our own before we believe it,” Maggie said, her eyes shining bright.

  “Even with making soap,” Lance murmured, staring at his wife. Damn, she was breathtaking.

  “Even with soap,” she quietly agreed.

  Lance touched a lock of her hair to get her attention, and when she turned those large eyes on him, he winked. Maggie winked back, sending desire shooting through him like a potent injection straight to his lower region. He gave her a warning look and she smiled. He mouthed that he loved her and her smile grew, overtaking her face like the sun, blinding, ethereal.

  Moving to a sitting position on the corner of the blanket, the interviewer said, “I want to talk about why you both are doing this and what your long term goals are for the program, and then we’ll wrap up with some scenes of you playing with the twins. How’s that sound? Should take about forty-five minutes to an hour, if everything goes smoothly.”

  “Let’s do it,” Lance said as Clark wiggled in his arms. He kissed his baby powder-scented head, leaned down to offer the same to Josephine, and then kissed his wife lastly, and firstly, and lastly.

  “Tell me about the first time you two met . . .”

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  We all struggle with our looks—we think we should look a certain way, we think others expect us to look a certain way. It makes it hard to love ourselves, and when you can’t be confident with who you are, the people around you don’t as easily see that light we all have inside us. I myself have fought against my own vicious thoughts; that voice inside my head that tells me I need to eat less, be skinny, skinny, skinny. That nothing I ever do is good enough. That I’m ugly. That I’m worthless.

  I hate that voice. That voice is a bitch.

  I know it’s hard to think we’re beautiful when the mirror is telling us otherwise, but that’s just a mirror—an insignificant, inanimate object that means nothing as far as our worth. Find something you like about yourself, tell yourself one thing unique that sets you apart from others. Believe that you’re strong. Smash the mirrors—figuratively if not literally—and know you’re more powerful than any lifeless piece of matter can ever be. You’re more than anyone and anything around you. Be the voice that lifts you up. You have to protect yourself, even if it’s from you. One simple sentence, if repeated often enough, can change your world: You are strong, you are beautiful, and you are loved.

  And damn it, give yourself a hug, and love that imperfect body and that not so perfect face. They are yours. Own them.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Shodi Moris was gracious enough to let me watch her make a batch of homemade soap, which is how I “somewhat” knew what I was talking about with the soap making scenes in Within This Frame. If you’re interested in learning more about Shodi and her skills/products, check out her Facebook page and her website www.livingsecondnature.com

  Special thanks to Amy Jibben Freese for the title suggestion of Within This Frame. It worked out brilliantly.

  As always, thanks to all the people that were involved in putting this book together.

  From the beta readers this round—Kathy Sheffler, Kelly Merkett, Judith Frazee, Kendra Gaither, Desiree Wallin, Megan Stietz, Tiffany Alfson, Tiffany Dodson, Jacinda Owen, Sarah Lowry, Jen Andrews, Tawnya Peltonen, Melissa Simmons, and Diana Hoenou-Smith—to Wendi Stitzer, editor extraordinaire, to Kelley C. Hanson, who took the photograph used on the cover, to Christine the formatter at Perfectly Publishable, and certainly to Kari Ayasha, who made the pretty cover—you all helped make my WIP an actual book. Thank you so much . . . and pretend that wasn’t a super long sentence.

  And, of course, much appreciation and love to the people who read my work: my eclectic, unique, amazing clan of Zartians.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lindy Zart is the USA Today bestselling author of Roomies. She has been writing since she was a child. Luckily for readers, her writing has improved since then. She lives in Wisconsin with her family. Lindy loves hearing from people who enjoy her work. She also has a completely healthy obsession with the following: coffee, wine, bloody marys, peanut butter, and pizza.

  You can connect with Lindy at:

  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Email

  Listen to the playlists for Lindy’s books on Spotify.com

  Get an eBook autograph from Lindy at Authorgraph.com

  Check out Lindy’s YouTube channel.