Oops I did it again

So last year, (how was it that long ago?!) I started blogging again, determined to get back into writing posts regularly, and strengthening my writing muscles while connecting with you, my readers.

But somehow, it’s been nearly a year since my last post. What the actual?

To be fair, it’s been very busy, I have published several more books for clients, become a step-grandma, moved my print studio and opened a shop, and published book 3 in my children’s series, The Magical Dragon Mirror.

So it’s not like I’ve been particularly lazy, but goodness, I wish I could stick to the things I’ve decided to do!

But I have also filled my time with random shit that I didn’t need to be doing, like scrolling insta, watching reels, and zoning out in front of Netflix/prime/disney. I once had an app on my phone that calculated how much time I spent on apps. I worked out that in one month, I wasted the equivelant amount of time that I could have written 150k words.

My whole life, I have thought that I was just a bit crap with making good habits, with sticking with things (I’m most definitely a quitter) and then, thanks to my hours and hours of scrolling, I started to realise that actually, the likelihood is that I have ADHD.

Now I’m not a label fan, and I’m not rushing to get an official diagnosis (nothing against it, just not something that would help or benefit me personally) but the realisation and the understanding of the underlying reasons for certain behaviours has helped me immensely. Mainly with just being a bit kinder to myself. I’ve also stepped up my supplement game and found that I’m not quite so exhausted, and I can recognise the approaching burnout and rest before I get ill.

I have gone through periods of anger and mourning. Anger that no one ever saw it, including me. Yet when I say it to people I know, their response is ‘well of course!’ And mourning for all the lost potential, and for the support that I could have had, that might have meant my finances weren’t such an atrocious mess for so long.

But then, the flip side is that not knowing meant that I pushed myself harder to do the things I found so difficult. I set deadlines and wrote whole novels. I completed projects after the initial dopamine hit wore off. I pushed through the tiredness and exhaustion. So, in essence, I got things done that many with ADHD cannot.

Because I assumed I was a regular human with a terrible memory and little sticking power, so I had to override these things. Now there’s a reason for it, I do find myself not pushing so hard, so of course, things don’t get done.

I’m still learning so much about myself, still learning the ways that work for me, how to best take care of myself, and how to not annoy the people around me. But I know that the label won’t do anything for me other than help my understanding of how I approach life, and how I interact with the world.

So I’m not going to promise to write this thing regularly, because I hate breaking promises, even though I seem to do it a lot.

And I’m not going to say that book 11 is coming soon, or the six other books I want to write. To be honest, I’m just doing my very best to keep creating an income, keep surviving, and not burn out. So, really, any content I create is a bonus, because honestly? Writing has not been a lucrative thing for me. I don’t make my living from it. In fact, it’s probably cost me more than it has made.

Of course, that’s because I suck at marketing and find it completely impossible to do anything consistently, which I think I’ve demonstrated with this blog!

So if you want to read more of what I write, please buy my books, if you already own them, buy them as gifts! Or you can just chuck me a few quid to paypal.me/theamethystangel

Or if you live near Hereford, pop to my new shop and buy some cards. Would love to see you! My insta is @wishyouwerehere.store

So that was a bit of a rambling info dump, but hey, welcome back to my blog! There may or may not be another new post soon.

Just in case no one has told you this recently. Xx

The Magical Mermaid Portal

So happy and excited to reveal the cover for my newest book, The Magical Mermaid Portal! Here it is! It will be available in paperback, hardback and Kindle on the 20th July, 2022. I will get the pre-order online as soon as possible, and am planning a special pre-order of signed copies (signed by me and illustrator Lucja Fratczak-Kay) with a little gift, so do keep an eye out for that announcement!

Here is the full cover!

I really can’t wait to get this book out! I will be releasing some excerpts on videos on Instagram over the next couple of weeks, will reveal a few more details about it. Though the reading age is aimed at 8-12, this story really is perfect for all ages. Fans of The Magical Faerie Door range from age 6 to 66!

What do you think of the cover? Are you excited? Let me know!

You can also now get The Magical Faerie Door in paperback as well as in hardback and on kindle.

The Magical Doorway Series is published by Amber Beetle Press, an imprint of Not From This Planet

The Magical Doorway Series

The series is expanding! Finally! The Magical Faerie Door was released in 2018, and now, finally, book 2 is underway. The cover and release date for The Magical Mermaid Portal will be revealed on the 10th May 2022!

You can also now get The Magical Faerie Door in paperback as well as in hardback and on kindle. The audiobook is still on the list, but I promise it will happen!

We are even talking about book 3 in the series, so watch this space!

The Magical Doorway Series is published by Amber Beetle Press, an imprint of Not From This Planet

The Girl Who Loved Too Much

New Release!

What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in a different reality that was better for you, but not for those you loved?

Caru loves to make things. And collect things. And give gifts. She loves to print, sew, knit, paint. Her life is full of unfinished projects, yet devoid of financial stability and romance. Though she loves her life, she finds herself disappointing people and struggling to keep everyone happy.

So when Caru wishes life could be simpler, and then finds herself in a completely different world, where her life is easy, money is abundant, and her long-term boyfriend is the most fabulous cook, she can’t quite believe her luck.

But will all her wishes come true? Or will the dream turn into a nightmare?

The Girl Who Loved Too Much is a modern day ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’.

The Girl Who Loved Too Much is my brand new novel, published by Jasper Tree Press. It will be available in eBook and paperback, but I am also doing a special edition hardback, with a letterpress printed dust jacket and bookmark, which you can pre-order only from my website here.

Duelling Poets – Coming Soon!

In the summer of 2012, I duelled with another poet, Victor Keegan, for 30 days. each day, we chose a topic to write about, and then wrote a poem each. We took it in turns to choose the topics, and they got pretty random at times! Now, a mere 8 years later (!) we are finally ready to release those poems, and we are asking that you, the reader, choose the winner!

The poems are not credited, so you simply read them all, tick the boxes under your favourites, then tally up the points at the end. Then you can declare your winner on Twitter, using the hashtags #duellingpoets and either #michellewinstheduel or #victorwinstheduel

The book will be available to buy as a paperback and on Kindle, from the 20th February 2020.

May the best poet win!

Not From This Planet

What a year 2019 has been! (I’m aware it’s not over yet, but I also can’t understand how it’s October already?!)

I haven’t been as active online this year as I have been busy working on some amazing projects. As well as a brand new business which I am hoping will reshape the way publishing works.

My editor, Liz Lockwood, and I have been plotting, and we have created a whole new publishing model that we are very excited about. This new model seeks to blend the best bits of both traditional and indie publishing, in a way that the author feels supported and it works financially for both publisher and author. Working closely with authors to create books that they adore feels like the best way forward, and so, we have begun our own publishing house, Not From This Planet.

Under this cosmic umbrella, we are creating several imprints to cover different genres, and so far we have four – The Amethyst Angel (Visionary and metaphysical fiction), Labradorite Press (non-fiction), Amber Beetle Books (children’s) and Jasper Tree Press (General fiction).

We are releasing new books before Christmas, please do check out our website and Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates, and if you are interested in finding out more about how our new model works, do get in touch!

promo image 6

The Winter’s Sleep by Monica Cafferky published by Jasper Tree Press

 

The Magical Faerie Door

On the 8th December 2018 I released my very first children’s novel! The Magical Faerie Door is the first in a magical series I am creating for children from 8 to 12, (though so far my older readers have been enjoying it too!) and I have to admit, I have been having a lot of fun!

I worked with an amazing artist, Rachel Miller, to bring the book to life, and I absolutely adore the cover image she created, as well as the smaller pencil illustrations that she created for each chapter. The book is available in hardback and on kindle, with the audiobook version (my first audiobook!) coming at the end of January 2019 on Audible.

We launched the book at the Abergavenny Cwtch Winter Wonderland fair, with the help of an amazing child-sized faerie door that was handmade by Jon Fellows of Sacred Tree Spirit. For the first time, I read out parts of the books to a very attentive audience, and we had so much fun! In my second reading of the day, I got to the end of the first chapter and the adults listening looked at me and went – well keep going! We need to know what happens!

As well as being a magical adventure that all ages seem to enjoy, The Magical Faerie Door touches on the subjects that are very close to faeries’ hearts – the environment and the destruction of it. We are destroying the natural world and are therefore eradicating the faeries and magic from this planet, and I feel that if we don’t inspire people to change their ways, then it won’t be long before there are no faeries left.

And I for one, do not want to live in a world with no faeries! It would be like living in a world with no colour, no music, no laughter and no joy.

Anyway, here are some photos of the book and the launch, if you would like a signed copy you can purchase one here, and you can also get copies on Amazon.

 

 

 

The end of an era

A month ago I released the final book in my Earth Angel Series – book 10, The Twin Flame Resolution.

What a ride it has been! 9 years of writing, 7 years of publishing, 10 books, 607,158 words, 158 characters.

I haven’t really known how to feel for the last few weeks. In the run up to publication I was so excited, because this meant I could now turn to other projects that have been impatiently waiting in the wings. I was also excited because I knew that book 10 held some ideas that were bound to annoy people. (Not that I love annoying people, but I do love a good twist)

But once it was out there in the world, I felt… sad.

This world of faeries, angels, starpeople and old souls has been my home for nearly a decade, and I love the characters, the places and the stories. So I felt a bit lost. Even though I already have three books lined up to release by Christmas, so it’s not like I don’t have plenty to be getting on with.

I feel the same way when I finish watching seasons of TV shows. Or a series of books I have followed for years. There’s a sense of completion but also a sense of loss. Because now it’s time to return to the ‘real’ world, and leave the characters behind within the pages. At least there is a sense of completion. There is a series of books I read as a teenager, which was never completed. 18 years later, I still await the final book!

If you have been reading the Earth Angel Series, how do you feel about it completing? And what did you think of book 10? (Try not to give too many spoilers 😉 ) Let me know in the comments below.

No doubt I will spring back, and I will try to blog a little more regularly! In fact, I have been working on a brand new project that will be released in Sept, look out for posts on that soon!

Cover Reveal for Book 10

I promised to reveal the cover for book 10 soon, and here it is! The book is now finally finished, and it is being edited at the moment, which is cutting it a bit fine to make the 1st July publishing date, but I promise I will not be letting you down! I finished writing it nine years and a day after I finished writing The Earth Angel Training Academy, and I will be publishing book 10 on the 7th Anniversary of the publishing of book 1. I like a bit of symmetry!

Book 10 is the last book in the Earth Angel Series for the foreseeable future. If the story for book 11 arrives, I will of course write it, but I feel that this book brings all the stories full circle, and as sad as I am to say goodbye to my characters, I have so many more book projects awaiting, I am excited to be able to expand the Visionary Collection and to finish writing my children’s series too.

I cannot wait to see what my readers think of book 10. I have been calling it the marmite of the series, because I think it will either be loved or hated… I really enjoyed writing it (despite the resulting RSI!) and I hope you agree it’s the perfect ending to rather a wild adventure we have been on for the last 7 years. (9 years for me!)

How do the covers make you feel? The US cover came from a design I originally considered for book 9, but I loved the circle of fire, and the feeling of completion it gives. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

 

US Edition Cover

UK Edition Cover

Book 9 Cover Release

Only 10 more sleeps! And then you will be able to read The Twin Flame Reignition!

I have the final covers, and wanted to share them with you.

The cover that won the vote for the US edition:

 

The UK Edition:

The Twin Flame Reignition will be available worldwide on the 20th January 2018, on Amazon, (paperback and Kindle) and through other online retailers. I will be launching it at the following event:

 

This instalment of the Earth Angel Series was a really exciting one to write, I can’t wait to hear what you all think!