Nautilus by Nanette Littlestone, author of Bella Toscana

Welcome to the book tour for Bella Toscana by Nanette Littlestone. Today she is sharing with us more about her own spiritual journey in her writing, the search for love, and the meaning of the nautilus. After you enjoy that, please check out the excerpt from the book before you download your own copy to read. Follow the tour for more excerpts, guest posts, interviews, and reviews, plus extra chances to win the giveaway.

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The Nautilus by Nanette Littlestone

When I was thirty-five a psychic told me, “You can do what I do, why aren’t you doing it?” After I got over my initial shock, I wanted to know more. Much more. And so began my quest for more spiritual understanding.

There are many platitudes written about the spiritual life, about awakening and becoming more conscious, but my favorite is the simple statement by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

This lifetime I am learning about self-love and everything that goes with that. I struggle with loving myself truly and purely and coming to a place of knowing that I am a divine spark among many divine sparks. We are all connected, all one, all part of a bigger collective consciousness.

So am I there yet? [Lots of laughter here] Some days I get a glimpse of the beauty this world has to offer and I am in awe of its majesty. Other times I am full of self-doubt and worry and fear. I compare myself to others and come up lacking. I am certain that nothing I do makes any difference at all. And yet I keep plugging away because there is such a pure desire inside to create and to participate in all the wonders around me.

And so my stories center on love and the search for love. Love of others, love of self, romantic love, love of God or Spirit. The journey of finding oneself in the sea of beingness, the exploration, the discovery. Toscana is on such a journey represented by the beautiful nautilus.

The nautilus goes back to the age of the dinosaurs. The spiral shell begins small and as the animal grows, a new chamber forms, with the animal outgrowing its previous chamber and moving into the next. On a physical level the nautilus is all about growth. On a spiritual level, it’s about expansion, moving outside your comfort zone. Each revolution of the spiral completes a cycle of evolution, which is symbolic of the unfolding of life’s mysteries. For Toscana, this means taking a hard look at what she wants in life. She is butting up against the shell of her chamber and needs room to expand, to spread her wings. Is a comfortable marriage good enough? What are her dreams trying to tell her? And what about her attraction to Flynn?

The longer I’m on my path, the more I’m learning to follow my heart, the gatekeeper to my true desires. Everybody, every life has different desires and different lessons.

Can Toscana learn to listen to her heart? What is her heart telling her?

Photo: Nautilus

Nautilus

An explosive yearning that can’t be denied.

Disturbing visions from an ancient past.

A mysterious stranger that somehow feels familiar.

On the night of her fiftieth birthday, the comfortable ride of Toscana’s life takes an alarming plunge. Haunted by seductive visions, she tries to push aside the desire and focus on the husband who adores her. Then she falls for Flynn, a younger man with an eye for adventure and a heart full of romance, who leaves her doubting everything she’s believed about love and passion.

In Atlanta, Rome, and the lush scenery of Tuscany, Toscana searches for answers to the mysteries of her life while she faces her biggest question. If she listens to her feelings will she lose everything she holds dear, or does her heart hold the key to love and joy?

Read an excerpt:

I want something exciting to happen. Something wonderful like selling my brownies in Italy. They’re perfect for the Italian market, the quick savor of delight at the end of a meal with a glass of wine. Or in the morning with the first cup of cappuccino. A little shot of sweet to start the day. If I can just find the right person, the right words. Without Jackson, though . . .

The flutter moves to my collarbone. Persistent. Steady. Like the soft beating of a dove’s wings. My mother’s voice whispers to me. Words she said to me many times as I was growing up. Puoi fare tutto quello che vuoi. You can do anything you want. I close my eyes and see her sweet face, the luminous eyes that glowed with a wisdom I wanted to have. Sì, Mama, I say and nod my head. She’s right. And with that acceptance comes the yearning for my other home, the place of my ancestors. Graceful olive trees that surround my aunt and uncle’s villa; lush gardens filled with jasmine, roses, and lavender; hills of green that roll to the horizon. The memories spring to life and catch me by surprise. Nonna’s golden cakes as light as clouds. Nonno’s hearty hug that squeezed the air right out of my lungs. The moon skimming the tops of the trees. The stars so clear and bright I knew I could touch them if I just reached out my hand.

I need to go. I need to stuff my face with chocolate-dipped biscotti and cassata and torta di nonna and listen to sappy love songs that I barely understand and dance in the moonlight under the stars.

Book Buy Links:

Amazon Kindle * Amazon paperback * Barnes & Noble paperback *  Books-A-Million *  Powell’s Books * Alibris 

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About Nanette Littlestone

Nanette Littlestone never knew she wanted to be a writer until she was over forty. But once she began, the ideas didn’t stop. Her fascination with relationships, history, and the spiritual path has opened her writing to women's fiction, historical fiction, and inspirational nonfiction.

A native Californian, Nanette lives in Atlanta, Georgia, far from the beach (which she loves) but a place that’s warm with spectacular scenery. On the professional side, she helps entrepreneurial women write and get published with Words of Passion. On the fun side, she takes walks with her husband, cooks, plays with graphic design, and makes origami butterflies. She loves to travel, but she’s waiting for the teleportation machine to whisk her off to Greece or Asia. In the meantime, she’s happy with dark chocolate and romantic movies that make her cry.

Author links:

Website: www.wordsofpassion.com

Blog: http://www.wordsofpassion.com/blog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nanettelittlestone

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00STND58Y

Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4426344.Nanette_Littlestone

Goodreads book page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42586516-bella-toscana

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wordsofpassion/

Newsletter signup: www.wordsofpassion.com

Email: nanette@wordsofpassion.com

Nanette Littlestone will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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