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January 19, 2016

Escaping the daily grind @sloanebcollins #PlottingPrincesses #Escapism #PearlsPerils #amreading #MFRWorg #scrapbooking #feedmysoul


I'm pretty much a loner, and need to escape the daily grind of a big city and a demanding day job. So when I'm taking a break from writing (or have the dreaded writer's block), I find other ways to feed my soul.  I don’t usually play a lot of games, and was never into video games, but lately I’ve been playing a game on my iPhone called Pearl’s Perils, a hidden objects game.  But it’s not like any iPhone game I’ve seen before. This is the official description from the Facebook page:Get swept back to the romantic and sordid 1930’s along with our trailblazing heroine, Pearl Wallace, ace pilot and world explorer. Pearl’s glamorous social life grinds to a halt when her father mysteriously dies and she inherits a strange island filled with perilous secrets. Journey with Pearl and her deliciously sarcastic best friend, Iris Hillman, as they travel the world, uncover a global conspiracy, and navigate a chilling mystery you won’t soon forget!” 

The story line is fun, and the artists are truly talented. The scenery is lush and beautiful, and true to the time period of the 1930’s.  The story takes place on Artemis Island, and in Paris, New York, and Russia.  While following Pearl on her journey and trying to solve a mystery, you earn coins, cash, and energy, but you also get to build and design your own Artemis Island. That’s the most fun part to me.  As the story progresses, you earn, badges, coins, and cash to help you purchase decorations and buildings.  I usually play the game on the train commute to work, and before I go to sleep. It’s my chance to escape the daily world and go to a romantic era and location, and design a place I’d love to live. 


I used to do cross-stitch, then for many years I was hooked on scrapbooking.  I still have all my supplies, and keep all my photos and memorabilia so I can get back to it when I have spare time. I like to do a scrapbook for each vacation, so I've got stacks of boxes, one for each trip, ready to go.  So until I can actually work on those scrapbooks, I've been doing shadowboxes for each vacation.
This one from Hawaii is still a work in progress, but I'm almost done!

Books are my other choice of escapism.  Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, and Cozy Mysteries are my favorite genres.  In books, I can go anywhere I want.  I think part of why I love Cozy Mysteries so much is they take place in small towns, and have a cast of characters the reader gets to know and love.  And there’s usually a theme to each series: knitting, cooking, sewing, magic, crafting. 

I just realized as I was writing this post that I tend to lean toward small towns even in my choice of escapism: the small towns of Cozies, and the island in iPhone games.  I’ve always wanted to live in a small town.  Life seems so much simpler.  You don’t have a long commute, have to deal with strangers every day, there’s a slower pace, and a sense of community that is lacking in a sprawling big city. 

My husband and I prefer to vacation in places where we can get back to nature.  We might venture into a big city for a day, but we don’t stay very long, and would much rather be out among the mountains, forests, coastlines. 

So until we can build our cozy little cabin on the outskirts of a small town in the mountains, or a forest, or on the coast of Maine, I’ll keep reading my favorite genres, designing an island of my own, and remembering vacations in shadow boxes.


What ways do you escape the daily grind of life? Books? Movies? Games?  What are your favorites? 

5 comments:

Vicki Batman, sassy writer said...

Hi, Sloan! I'm a huge movie fan. Handsome and I try to catch one every weekend. And watch a lot on tv while stitching. I began embroidering at an early age and haven't stopped. I do needlepoint as well. I even picked out thread for a new project, a pillow top. And every night before I go to sleep, I read for at least 30 min. Takes a long time to finish, but I love it.

Kathy Ivan said...

Books! And more Books! I escape into a story every chance I get, when I'm not writing my own. There's something magical about opening the pages and disappearing inside with the characters. I've been doing it since I could put two words together and I doubt I'll ever stop. Even with the vision dimming, if it becomes necessary I'll switch to audio books, but books will always be my escape from the day to day drudgery.

I will admit to a certain fascination lately with the ID channel. Which might be a good thing, since one of the series I write is suspense. I'll admit to getting an idea or two watching these shows. LOL

Cathy McElhaney said...

I love book and I love to read...unfortunately, it's difficult to do with these 4 monsters around! I escape into games mostly. I have not played Pearls Peril, but I play one similar on Facebook called Criminal Case. You don't build a word, but solve murder mysteries. I also am hooked on Padcasts and currently listen to 5 of them!

Alexandra Kelley said...

This is a good game I saw in mod apk gamestoremobi , a site that provides the best and most free apk games and applications available today.

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