In my head, I’m 40 lbs lighter and ten years younger. Is anyone else like that? Now, I’ve tried on enough clothes to know what size to look for in the store, but in my head, when I see a medium on a rack, I figure it should fit! Which makes me chuckle a little as I type this.

I’m NOT a medium. I’m nowhere close. But seeing myself as a medium in my head isn’t just about size, but about how attractive I feel. For the most part, we’re fed that message that tiny=beautiful. If you look at the supermodels, there isn’t very much woman under those clothes. So I catch myself traipsing along with the societal messages twisted around in my head–seeing the size medium and feeling like that’s for me, because I feel beautiful.

That’s the thing–I do feel utterly beautifully at my current size. (Somewhere around size 14-16, depending on the cut.) I don’t want to change my body–it’s done well for me! I love the way I look and the way I feel. I just need to change my mental attitude about it. Beautiful isn’t necessarily a medium. Beautiful, in my case, is plus-sized.

I’m currently starting a brand new book entitled, HIS LITTLE GIRL’S HERO for Harlequin Heartwarming. The heroine in this book is plus-sized and gorgeous. This is my second plus-sized heroine for Harlequin Heartwarming. The first comes out in October of 2018. I like writing plus-sized, beautiful heroines because I think it’s high time we start recognizing that beauty has nothing to do with a clothing size.

When I read a romance novel, I like to put myself into that heroine’s shoes and feel what it’s like to be her for a few hundred pages. And sometimes I enjoy being the tall, lithe athletic type for a little while. But what I love more is seeing a heroine who looks a lot like me, and having her be the most beautiful woman in the room. With some extra padding, ample cleavage, a softened tummy and silky skin. When the hero sees her, he’s put under a spell. Her femininity is intoxicating.

And that’s how I like to feel about myself. No need to starve yourself–just shop in the right stores and put a twitch in your step. 😉

Beauty begins in the way we see ourselves.