Sep 3 2022

A Long Pause

I’ve had quite a long break from blogging regularly. There have been a myriad of reasons, work, relationships, moving home, etc.

At first it was nice to have a break, then after a while, I missed it. But it seemed too difficult to get back into the habit, as so many other things had taken its place.

It also felt impossible to try and catch you up on the many happenings of the last 4 years, I just didn’t know where to start.

So I’ve decided not to try to. I will just start again from where I am.

I’ve been reading a book called Do/Pause – You are not a to-do list by Robert Poynton. It seems perhaps I needed this long pause from blogging. For what reason, I may never know. But from now on I hope to write more regularly, though I’m warning you now, my posts will likely be riddled with typos, as I am now blogging through the app on my phone and my autocorrect hates me quite passionately.

So hello there, thank you for reading this, I hope to see you again very soon.

May 10 2022

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

May 3 2022

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

May 2 2022

Magic Michelle Musings!

Yes, it’s true. I started a podcast. In true Michelle style, it is not a regular thing, I create episodes when I am out walking the dog, it’s pretty rough (slightly edited to remove excessive barking etc.) and there’s no rhyme or reason to my ramblings, but actually, there’s some good stuff!

You can listen on pretty much any podcast platform, including Spotify and Apple, or on Anchor, which is where I record it.

Check out an episode or two, and I promise to keep randomly creating them!

Feb 3 2020

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!

Feb 2 2020

A decade of blogging

I’ve never really experienced writer’s block in the way that other writer’s describe. Where the ideas have dried up, and they have no idea what to write. Ideas are definitely not a problem.

But I have hit blocks in terms of getting the words and ideas onto the page. Not just when writing books, but also in terms of this blog. In December this year, this blog will be 10 years old, and just a couple of weeks ago, it hit 100k views all time. As proud as I am of this, I wonder where to take things next. With the shift toward Instagram and YouTube, I admit to neglecting this blog over the last year or two, with posts dwindling down to a couple here and there, instead of every week or even every month.

I never used to worry about what I posted, I would just write whatever came to mind, but lately, I haven’t been sharing as much, because there is the pressure to only share what is useful to others, or that teaches, inspires or at the very least, entertains. There is more leaning towards things needing to create revenue and get clients and customers and not just simply provide a glimpse into the world that I inhabit.

I didn’t write any books last year either. I was focused on publishing The Winter’s Sleep by Monica Cafferky, and also found myself moving house too many times to mention! I took part in many festivals and MBS shows, and by the end of the year, found myself needing to focus on my health more, as I got quite fatigued and couldn’t keep up the pace I had set.

I did however discover a passion for letterpress printing, and papermaking, and even leatherwork. So although my writing has been at a minimum, my creative output has been pretty extensive! So I feel maybe I just needed time to be creative in other ways.

I have no idea what 2020 has in store for me, and unlike last year, I haven’t made a huge long list of things I want to accomplish, because inevitably, when I set the bar too high, I end up being disappointed with that I have managed to do. I do however have a few books in the pipeline, some are by other authors and some are by myself, the first one is a poetry book, called Duelling Poets, which I can’t wait to release into the world. (post about this coming soon)

So what direction do you think I should go in? Do you enjoy the random wonderings? Is it just useful information you are looking for? Or more gluten free recipes? (those posts got a lot of views!) I don’t want to abandon the blog altogether, as it has been with me from the very beginning of my writing journey, but I would love to hear what you think.

I do hope 2020 has been kind to you thus far, and that we get to interact more in the coming 12 months!

My letterpress creations! (Available on etsy 😉 )

Oct 17 2019

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!

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

Jan 19 2019

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 faerie door to Eireaf was handmade by Jon Fellows

The hinges were forged in Russia!

The giant cupcake was made by myself and my talented mother, Sally

The cover art and interior illustrations were created by Rachel Miller

Reading my book to an audience for the first time!

I’m a Faerie Realm Advocate!

Aug 14 2018

EarthAngelTV is coming soon!

On the first of September 2018, I will be launching my TV show – EarthAngelTV! For the first week there will be a video released each day, then there will be a video released every Friday. These videos will contain information on Earth Angels and Twin Flames, and I will touch on different topics and questions in each one. If you would like to ask a question, contact me!

There will also be interviews released on my channel in-between the weekly videos, and other bonus content too! I am so excited to be launching this, I hope it helps more Earth Angels realise who they really are and how amazing they are, coming to this crazy planet to help people!

Here is the promo, I hope you will subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive notifications on new episodes.

Jul 31 2018

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!