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7 books challenge….

I’ve been doing one of those Facebook challenges this week where every day you post a book cover of one of your favorite all time books and no explanation of why it’s a fav.

So, these are the ones I’ve put up:

 

This is a pretty eclectic bunch of reads, no? All of these books MEANT something to me and changed me in some way.

Books: they’re a good thing!

Upload covers, or tell me, some of the books that have influenced you the most over your life. I love to hear how books have challenged people and changed them.

When I’m not reading you can find me here:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// BookMe

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Did you know I can juggle?

I’d better clarify that title in case people think I’ve gone circus-mad!
No, I can’t toss things in the air with the greatest of ease and catch them in a synchronized pattern of flawlessly timed manual dexterity. ( how’s that for a sentence? Hee hee) But I can — and do — juggle things in life every single day. Of course I do, because I’m a woman in the 21st century with a career, family, personal life, dreams, and desires.

Let me ‘esplain it, Lucy.

Like so many woman nowadays, I not only have a family I care for – which includes my husband and daughter but also now my rapidly aging and health diminishing parents – I have a career that depends on me and me alone to -literally – get the job done because I’m a solo writer. If I don’t put the words on the page, no one else will. I have a personal life and circle which includes people outside my family whom I love getting together  and socializing with. I also have hobbies, those things I do for my self, my sanity, my creativity, in the privacy of my own home during any free time I can spare.

When my daughter was a wee bit younger and still living at home, I was her chauffeur to school, after school activities and everywhere else she needed to be or wanted to go. Even when she started to drive, I was still the one who did her laundry, cooked for her and made sure she was healthy, balanced, and happy.

My husband has a demanding career and is often gone up to fourteen hours a day. Even when he is home he still has to take phone calls and manage problems, so that leaves little time for him to do the things that he’d have to do to run his life if he were single. That means I am tasked with cooking, cleaning, shopping, paying bills, and doing all these sundry other tasks that require our home to  run. I draw the line at mowing grass and taking out the garbage though. Those things – my little feminist heart aside – I classify as man tasks. Don’t judge me!

My writing career depends on my getting my stories on the page in a coherent, concise, and quick manner. At this point in my career when I am still an unknown in the publishing world I can’t take up to a year to write one book. Luckily, I write fast, so I’ve been able to average 3 books in print a year since I began my journey in 2015. In order to do this effectively and in a timely manner, I need to juggle the time I spend on everything else so that I have enough time to write.

In the purest sense of the word, my life is a juggling act.

Those of you who know me know I don’t sleep much. Chronic insomnia rules my life. I utilize this sleepless state to write, put together book promo marketing, and do other sundry writing things ( like this blog, for instance. – it’s 2 am EST right now as I type away.) Most days I write between the life stuff. I’ll go to the gym ( because my a** has gotten larger since I sit most of the day) then write for an hour. Grocery shop, then edit. Visit my parents to give my mother a shower, then bang out a blog post. Once I actually finished a scene while I was at the dentist office waiting for a cleaning.

I’m not alone in doing this. Every female writer I know juggles every single day just to carve out time to write, exist, and keep the family happy, fed, and healthy. The key is to find that elusive balance needed so that no one – especially the juggler ( Moi!) feels like they’re missing out on something.

They kinda go hand in hand, don’t they? Juggling and Balance.

Think about it.

On any given or random day, you can find me juggling here:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// BookMe

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Never forget….

No other words are necessary……

 

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Fall Into these Great reads BOOKATHON from N.N. Light’s Book Heaven #giveaway

Isn’t it funny how when we think of back to school stuff we think of all sorts of things, including getting new books? Well, I haven’t been in school in- ahem- decades, but I still like a good book, and Fall is the perfect time to start finding new authors, stacking up on soon to be released reads, and getting reacquainted with all your favs.

N.N. Light’s Book Heaven is having a month-long binge readathon, chock full of amazing authors ( myself included! Heehee) and new books. Plus, there’s a chance for a $150.oo Amazon Gift card!!! I love me a good rafflecopter, don’t you?!

Daily blog posts: Bookathon

Rafflecopter link: giveaway

Open internationally
Runs September 1 – 30
Drawing will be held on October 1.

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Saying goodbye…

So.

I’m not going to go into too many specifics here because I want to protect someone’s privacy as much as I can.

But…

My husband and I had a conversation the other night at the dinner table – where all the great conversations in the world should occur, I believe – about dying. Specifically, the things that get said to the person dying and the things the dying person needs to say to the survivors.

My husband is the smartest person I have ever had the privilege to meet and know. Truly. He is bat-shit brilliant when it comes to most things. If I didn’t love him to the moon and back I’d be wicked jealous of all those brains.

Any hoo.

He told me that he was at a lecture once on death and dying ( for those of you not in the know – hubman is a physician//surgeon) and something the lecturer said has stuck with him since then. It was about what a dying person needs and wants to say to the people he/she is leaving behind but doesn’t know how to articulate exactly what needs to be said.

The lecturer said there are only 11 words that need to be said  – by either party – before someone’s death. These are:

I am sorry; You are forgiven; Thank you, and I love you.

That’s all.

Those 11 words cover everything – every single thing – that ever occurred in a life or during a relationship. Think about it. Think about someone you love who is dying. Wouldn’t saying those words do justice to every thing that has ever happened in your relationship?

You don’t need to state what you are sorry for – the person already knows. Saying you are sorry  is enough.

You do need to tell them they are forgiven because they need to hear it, but they already know why you’re forgiving them without stating the reason you are.

You thank the person for being in your life, for being there during the good and bad times and everything in between, and again – you don’t need to state specifics about why you are thanking them.

Saying I love you is the most important thing you can ever say to another human being. 3 simple words, without any further exposition, is enough.

I love you.

‘Nuff said, no?

So. From me:  “I am sorry. You are forgiven. Thank you. I love you.”

 

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So, I took a little break….

I’m back.

Did you hear Arnold’s voice when you read that last line? Hee hee

My self imposed break from all social media that I told you about a bit ago (A different track) has officially ended. I was so stressed with everything that had been going on in my life of late – personally, professionally, medically, and spiritually – that I needed a little time to decompress and re-evaluate. Some sleep wouldn’t have hurt, either, but alas, I never sleep.

So. How did my little social media exile go?
Well, the first few days were hard. And by hard, I mean EXCRUCIATING! I had a real issue with FOMO ( Fear of Missing out!)


I seriously was concerned I was missing out on EVERYTHING and that I’d miss something crucial to my career or LIFE that I’d need to know. That lasted about four days. Seriously. I had hives.

Day five something happened. I woke up and the first thing I did wasn’t reach for my phone like I typically do. The first thing I did was kiss my husband good morning. The fact that it was three o’clock in the morning didn’t faze him a whit. He’s used to my insomnia.

And, no. My hubby isn’t Ryan Gossling. Just clarifyin’

Any hoo.

Days 6-10, no social media checks at all. Nada. In fact, I was cut off completely from news of the world on all counts: cyberspace, social media, and world, because I was in  the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a cruise and no wifi. Oh, I could have had it if I wanted to pay $20.00 a day to hook it up, but seriously! Have you met me? Calling me cheap is the best compliment you can give me!

Day 11 was a travel home day. When we pulled in NYC port, I turned my phone on for the first time in 5 days. It didn’t stop pinging for almost an hour. When all was quiet again I had 1596 emails, 620 spam mails, 42 texts, 122 facebook updates, 501 twitter notifications, over 200 updates on Instagram and those were just the ones I checked. The good Lord above knows how many Pinterest, Book Bub, Goodreads and TRiberr notifications I had!

It took me almost 2 entire days to go through all the emails because a great deal of them required responses.  I found out – via FB and Twitter that  two people I knew had babies, one was admitted to the hospital, had emergency surgery and was now, once again,  home.  The world was still spinning, the day was still breaking every 24 hours, and my life as I’d known it before my imposed exile was still the same.

Was I, though?
Was I any less stressed after unplugging for 14 days?

It’s a conundrum. I was happy while I wasn’t checking my phone every two minutes and living in the moment of the exile, but all the work I had to catch up on when I got back home was a little overwhelming. But, I’ll admit, since I was so relaxed, it didn’t feel insurmountable like it had before I decided to go social media-less.

So. What’s the takeaway with all this? What did I learn about myself from unplugging and stepping away from all my technology and social media platforms?

First, that’s it’s possible and I can do it again if I need to.

Second, the world still spins without you knowing what’s going on 24/7.

Third, immediate knowledge and hearing about realtime events, while a good thing, can make you blind, deaf and dumb to your own life and the events and people surrounding you.

Fourth, while unplugging totally can be a good thing, you still need to be locked in to certain things – like emails from editors who request FULL MANUSCRIPTS of your latest work! Yeah. Happened to me while I was unplugged. Le sigh. That was the first email I answered when I was on-line again, with an apology for the time delay in responding because I was out at sea.

Fingers crossed, peeps!
And last, while social media may rule the world, you can rule your own little part of it by limiting what you allow into you life everyday. I don’t need to check on all my SM accounts daily ( or even hourly, like I was doing!). I don’t need to respond to every single tweet or FB comment I receive. And I don’t need to check my phone the moment I wake up and the last thing I do before going to bed.

So, overall, I have to say, unplugging and going in a different track for a few weeks proved to be a good thing. For me, anyway.

These are the places you can find me if you’re looking. I may or may not be checking them hourly anymore, though! hee hee

Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// BookMe

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So, an Angel walks into a room and…..

So let me tell you something funny – any by funny , I mean unusual – that happened to me yesterday….

 I breezed out of my office door into the reception area. Whoa… I rubbed my eyes. Was I seeing what I think I was? Wings? I ventured farther in and…sure enough. Tall, dark and WOW.

“Hello, I’m Caden Silverwind from An Angel’s Unintentional Entanglement. I’m filling in for Tena. She’ll be a long later.”

Shuffling my papers, really buying time, I snatched up a pen. “Uh…okay. Let me gather my thoughts and make a couple of revisions to the questions. You probably don’t know what inspired your story.”

(Caden) “I wouldn’t be so sure.” A devastating grin spread across his chiseled features. His green eyes sparkled with mischief. “Shoot.”

Hot damn. I said to myself fanning the air with my interview papers. That deep voice, smooth as honey warmed my… “Let’s start with where did the idea come from for An Angel’s Unintentional Entanglement.”

(Caden) “Tena claims she rounded the corner of one of the abandoned cabins (dating back to 1880-1890) that dot the landscape near the top of Independence Pass. It’s over 12,000 feet in elevation, you know. The first scene apparently played out right there. Or possibly lack of oxygen.” He snickered.

“Okay. So tell me a little about you.”

(Caden) “I’m a warrior angel… You do know the difference between angels? Right?”

“Not exactly. Why don’t you enlighten me.”

(Caden) A white angel is just what you would expect of an angel. They help people in need, and other divine duties as called upon to perform. The warrior angels are beings who are good souls but extenuating circumstances made them unable to fit that mold. Most were soldiers, warriors, or misfits with a good heart and soul in their human life. Warrior angels are the renegade angels up above. They take on the dark demons or dark ones that rise from the bowels of Hell, or are caught in between, and leave death and destruction in their wake. Mortals have no idea such creatures walk among them or even exist. That’s the way the big guy likes it.” Clearing his throat, he glanced at the heavens and grinned wide. “Warriors are considered outcasts by the white angels, but let one of those dark demons break through the perimeter and listen to the white one’s squeal.” He roared with laughter.

“Wow, didn’t have any idea… So are you going to be in trouble for telling me?”

“Nope, Tena spilled the beans in the book. She’ll have some explaining to do one day at those pearly gates.

“Uh oh. What’s your story?”

“I’d battled dark demons for a very long time. The last confrontation with them nearly destroyed my body and shattered my soul. I’d known it was coming for nearly a year. The darkness seeped into my consciousness a little more with each battle. I talked with my legion commander who ultimately decided the feeling would pass. It didn’t. At least I hadn’t endangered the mission when I failed to act. Against the advice of my superiors, I choose an indefinite sabbatical in the Colorado Rockies. The rugged strength and majestic beauty allowed me the serenity to pick up the pieces, face my fears, and contemplate the future. That’s when I found Mystic. She lay naked, battered, and beaten several yards off the trail. Her long, straight black hair fanned around her head, tangled with twigs, bits of grass and dried blood. That vision still haunts me today.

What did you do?

“Ah…well… you’ll have to read the book to find out. Don’t want to give anything away.” Leaning back in his chair he tented his fingers. “Don’t want her to kill me off in another book. You know how authors are.”

“Tease.”  The door to the outer office banged opened. Tena knocked and rushed in.

“I’m so sorry I’m late, Peggy. It’s been one of those days. Characters running amuck all over the place. I trust Caden kept you entertained.”

“Why yes, yes he did. I shuffled my papers and relaxed back in my chair. “Tell us a little about An Angel’s Unintentional Entanglement.”

Warrior angels are forbidden to fall in love…sometimes fate has other ideas.

Fallen warrior angel, Caden Silverwind, lives alone in Colorado’s rugged Rockies, healing from physical wounds as well as the mental anguish suffered during battles with dark demons. Then he finds a woman barely clinging to life after a horrendous beating. He is not prepared for the entanglement she brings to his life, nor the feelings she awakens in him.

Bureau of Indian Affairs Agent, Mystic Rayne’s personal dilemma and assignment nearly gets her killed. Divine intervention is a complication she never expected and her growing attraction to Caden is undeniable. Can she trust him with her secret?

Their quest to uncover her attacker takes them from the pristine mountains in Colorado to the wilds of Wyoming. Along the way, they find answers which may place them in more danger. Determined to solve the mystery, they must also navigate their feelings and fears to find love and unite heaven and earth.

How about an exclusive peek between the pages of An Angel’s Unintentional Entanglement?

Of course.”

She threw up her hands. “Where does that leave us? If there even is an us. What are we doing? Friends? More than friends? Protector and protected? What?” Oh geez, what am I doing. I learned to quit babbling on and on when I felt uncomfortable or not in control in law school. Clear, concise, and to the point. Did all my education fly right out the window, when an angel flew in? The corner of her mouth twitched, and she blew out a breath. She had to get a grip. Thinking with him so close was impossible.

“Not sure where our relationship is going, but I damn sure intend to find out,” he said.

“But if you are forbidden to associate with me…” She looked up at him, wriggled out of his hold and put some space between them on the couch. There, that’s better.

“Nope. I’m no longer a warrior, nor do I intend to return. I can’t be sure that I won’t succumb to the dark demon influence again. Physically I’m not one hundred percent either. That makes me a liability in battle, and I’m not sure when or if that will ever change.”

“I’ve fallen for a defective angel. Wouldn’t you know it.” She threw her hands up in the air then tried to stifle a giggle.

His heart took a leap, and his pulse quickened. “Did you?”

Available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon AU, itunes, The Wild Rose Press and Barnes and Noble

Thank you for sharing. What are you working on now? Peggy, I’m excited. A Magic Redemption, fifth book in A Demon’s Witch Series is in edits as we speak. Hopefully it will release by the end of 2018. This one is Synn’s story. She has been a reoccurring character in the series. I wanted people to understand who she really was and how she transformed.

Also I am working on a new series my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, put together about a small town in Willow Springs, Vermont. Where anything can happen. My book is a paranormal romance entitled Mystic Maples.

About the author:

Tena Stetler is a best-selling author of award winning paranormal romance novels. An over-active imagination, led to writing her first vampire romance as a tween to the chagrin of her mother and delight of her friends. After many years as a paralegal, then an IT Manager, she decided to live out her dream of pursuing a publishing career.

With the Rocky Mountains outside her window, she sits at her computer surrounded by a wide array of witches, shapeshifters, demons, faeries, and gryphons, with a Navy SEAL or two mixed in telling their tales. Her books tell stories of magical kick-ass women and mystical alpha males that dare to love them. Well, okay there are a few companion animals to round out the tales.

Tena’s social media links:

Website // Authors’ Secret Blog // MySay What blog // Facebook // Twitter // Goodreads // The Wild Rose Press // Amazon // Newsletter // Pinterest // Triberr // Book Bub // Instagram

Thanks so much for stopping by Tena and Caden. It’s been an honor.

“The pleasure was all mine.” Caden stood, towering over me by at least a foot. Leaned over took my hand kissed it.

My cheeks heated. But WOW…An angel.

“Thanks Peggy. Come on Caden, Mystic is waiting for you… something about ice cream in a waffle cone?”

He winked at me as he left. Whew what a day! My daughter and husband are never going to believe this.

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Denver or bust…

SO I made it! YAY!

I didn’t have the best experience on my second flight. On the first I had a flock of Nuns on board with me so those of you who know me KNOW how happy this made me! I felt safe, protected ( hello? Brides of Christs, peeps!) and so calm.

Then the second flight happened.

What is it about some men that feel they have the right to manspread? To invade your personal space without a care? A thought? The guy sitting next to me was about 6 feet 2 and almost as wide. When he shoved himself into the middle seat ( his wife was at the window) I lost more than a third of my personal space because took over 1/3 of my seat. I even put the arm rest down between us but that just made him spread his arm all over it, so I had absolutely no room to put my arm. He was touching me from shoulder to knees for 4 friggin’ hours! I wanted to work on my WIP but when when I opened my laptop I realized I needed my left hand to type and if I wanted to do that, I hit him continually with the movement.

So horrible. You think he would have gotten the message, but who am I kidding? The guy reeked of entitlement and masculine douchery. Is that even a word? Don’t know, don’t care, because it describes him perfectly.

Any hoo.

I’m here now, and ready to party, that rude gentleman relegated to a quick mention in a blog piece. On the agenda today is the Contemporary Romance Writers Retreat all day long. The speakers are R.L. Syme and my writing spirit guide, Damon Suede. Oh, and BTW, I’m a finalist in the CRW Stiletto contest in the Romantic Suspense division. Pretty cool, huh?

 

 

Stiletto Finalist 2018

More later. Off to learn things…..

Check for me here:  Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triber// Book Me

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So…Iceland

Last week I promised I’d share some memories of my recent Iceland trip and I’ve finally gotten a moment to sit down and put something together. This was a trip orchestrated by my daughter and which included myself, hubby, darling daughter and one of my fabulous nieces. This is us at the start of the trip. Notice the excellent and wicked expensive hiking boots we all have on. Necessary for walking, hiking, and basically existing in Iceland.

On my last blog I shared the things I liked and didn’t like so much about the tiny island. One of the things I had trouble with is the weather. I rained everyday. Every. Single. Day. All day. So we spent a great deal of time in the car, traveling to sites. One of my favorite places was to a waterfall, about 50 miles from downtown Reykjavik. Touring a waterfall on a warm, sunny day would have been bliss. On an already 45 degree, raining and windy day it….wasn’t. But it was fun! We actually got to climb up the perimeter of the waterfall and go behind it. I filmed a few seconds of our time as we stood behind the powerful rush and took a bunch of photos.

After the waterfall we drove to a LavaRock Tunnel. Think Carlsbad Caverns, but in Iceland. We went down into the bowels of Iceland about 60 meters ( 180 feet for you Americans, like me!!). I have to tell you, I was scared. Of so many things, but the biggest thing was the fear of being trapped underground should the lava shift and fall in on us.

You can see from this picture that this is the start of the “tour.” There is a huge whole in the ground where snow routinely falls into all year long. Notice the black rock we maneuvered over – that’s lava rock. 1,000,000 year old lava rock. Okay I’m not sure that’s how old it is, but you get the idea. It didn’t form last week. Not even last century! And yes, those are hard hats with lights attached to our heads. Second biggest fear? The lights would burn out and we’d been in total and complete darkness and unable to find our way back to the beginning of the cave. Told you I was scared!

On the last day of the trip we spent the day sightseeing in Reykjavik. Since it was yet another cold, rainy, and windy day, we figured we’d museum hop. 

I was able to take one picture before my daughter silently pointed to a sign that said “photography prohibited” in eight languages. Ooops. One cool thing about the city: tucked into sidestreets and painted along the sides of buildings and random houses, are dozens of street art painting. This one was my favorite:

It covered the complete side of an office building, so to get some perspective on it, the entire mural was about ten feet wide by 30 feet tall. Impressive!

Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the food and some other places we went. Here’s a hint: it was rainy and cold. (Heehee)

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Tales from Iceland…

So. I’ve been on radio silence for the last week because I’ve been vacationing with the family in Iceland.

Yes, that Iceland.

Why Iceland, you ask? Well, I’ll tell ya.

I’ve mentioned before that my daughter and I no longer give one another birthday presents, instead opting to give one another experiences. Last year we went to trapeze school, so this year, I decided I wanted a trip for my b’day. My daughter went to Iceland for work a few years ago and loved it. I am a rabid fan and watcher of all things Housewives related and last year the OC girls went to Iceland and it looked beautiful. So, I said, why not go there this year? Daughter said yes, hubby said yes and we invited my niece ( who’s also hubby’s Goddaughter) to go with us. Hubby would be in charge of our itinerary, and daughter would reserved our lodgings. She did good, too. We AIRBNB’d at a farmhouse in Reykjavik.

Too cool.

Now, over the next few days I’ll give you a feel for what we did, but first I want to tell you the things I liked and didn’t like so much about Iceland.

Liked first:

1.The people

2. The roads

3. The venues we traveled to

4. The airport

5. The cleanliness of the country

 

The things I wasn’t too thrilled about:

1.The water smells like rotten eggs ( sulfur)

2. The weather is awful. All the time.

3. The price of things is waaaaaaaay ridiculous

4. You can’t go to the bathroom in a public place without having to pay.

5. it’s light out, literally and truthfully, 24 hours a day – no nightfall at all while we were there.

And now for some clarity. On the things I liked list:

The people are so friendly, they ALL speak English ( so yay!!) and they genuinely seem happy. The roads are amazing. Single lanes both ways, but not one pothole, dirt road, divet, or detour anywhere we traveled. You can see what they spend tax money on plain as day. All the places we went to visit were great! The airport was super clean,  accessible, and made sense to a foreigner ( me!). This is the cleanest country I have ever been in. No garbage, no litter, no homeless, no druggies.

Now, the negatives.

The country was formed when a volcano exploded so there is lava rock everywhere. Because of this, they are geothermal. The water comes from the underbelly of the lava so it smells like sulfur. Big time. I held my nose every shower I took. It rained everyday. All day. And never got above 50 degrees. I will never complain about the prices of things in the US again. A hamburger cost 29 dollars. A 16 oz. diet soda was 5.5o. Lunch routinely cost us 100.00. LUNCH! The kronur is 100 to 1 US dollar. 5 dollars is 500 kronars. Ridiculous. Also ridiculous is that you have to pay to pee. Everywhere. The public restrooms cost us 200 Kronur per pee each. I’m sorry, but there are some things in life that should be free: air, water, dirt, and the ability to pee. My daughter told me that this is a big thing in Europe = paying to use the public toilet. I stopped drinking completely when I found this out, Really. I was practically dehydrated, but I didn’t have to pay to pee. Everywhere we stopped I told my girls, ” find out if you can pee for free.”

A word about the perpetual light. It’s a real thing. There were blackout shades over all the windows in the house we stayed in, but it really didn’t make that much of a difference. At 2 oclock in the morning it looked like 3 pm outside. Very unsettling to the psyche.

Overall, I enjoyed the vaca, despite the few negatives. Would I go back? Probably not. It was a one and done for me. But I’m glad I went and saw the land of the midnight sun. Which is a thing. Really.

 

 

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