It is a dark and stormy night--both in and out of your book.

Safely burrowed under the covers of your bed, you jump as the thunder rumbles outside your bedroom window and lightning lights up the pages of your book in a bright blue sizzle. Rain tears at your plants outside and the wind howls, whipping around trees and slapping against your sliding doors.

All the while you are turning page after page of your latest read, a novel rife with Gothic drama--evil power-hungry villains, wild magic, breathtaking adventure, and a heroine who seems to handle it all in stride, even the thunder and lightning. The storm outside your window only serves to punctuate the plots twists in your book. Boom! says the thunder: your heroine is in grave danger. Flash! goes the lightning, illuminating a mystery long buried under history and subterfuge. Tap, tap nudges the rain on the roof: don't forget that small detail for it will be her salvation and the villain's undoing.

You pause from your page turning only long enough to glance about the room when the lamplight flickers...but you drag your thoughts quickly away from potential power outages and back to your book. After all, you have candles nearby. And matches. They will be enough light to finish your story by.

And when you do finally drift off to sleep, serenaded by the storm, your mind still reeling with the shocking ending, speculating as to what might happen in the next installment, you dream of Gothic plots and magic and thunder--an intoxicating potion of cathartic experience.

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational collection of musings touching on life’s simple pleasures, everyday enchantments, and delectable recipes that will guarantee to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe here.

Want even more inspiration to make your dream life a reality? Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Thanks for following!