Dec 26 2023

Another year… gone

So I managed a grand total of two blog posts this year… wow. I wanted to recap the year to prove that I wasn’t just lazing about, but it’s been such a crazy year, this may take me a while!

I miss the days when I blogged regularly, and it was a diary of sorts. I could check when I released books or attended events. But ah well!

So the highlight reel of 2023-

I moved from my studio into a new shop unit in Bastion Mews, where from July to Christmas, I ran Wish You Were Here, Letterpress Studio & Lifestyle Store. I ran workshops and sold handmade crafts as well as my cards and prints. It was a massive learning curve, and after six months, I hadn’t had any people wanting to print on a regular basis and share the space, and I couldn’t keep it up on my own, so I decided not to renew my lease, and put everything in storage.

I finished writing The Magical Dragon Mirror and released it in July, with the official release taking place at the Legendary Llangollen Faery Festival in August.

I got the rights to Where’s My F**king Unicorn? Back from the publishers, and released Finding My F**king Unicorn: The Workbook.

I published a few more books for other authors, including Waves of Stardust by Elizabeth Lockwood, Flower Pots & Jam Jars by Rowan James, Saviour of Angels by K.E. Riley, Lost London 2 by Vic Keegan, and Behind Door B by Julie Askew.

I made a lot of pants, in a variety of mad fabrics! I also made some leggings and sweatshirts, and hope to make lots more.

I attended many markets, print fairs, craft fairs and wayzgooses selling my wares, and had a fabulous time! Particularly loved the monthly market at the Fold in Bransford.

I helped to organise and run the Harry Potter experience at Hereford Cathedral for the official Harry Potter book night. Had a lil too much fun battling Snape!

I made lots of creatures, some knitted, some sewn, some crocheted. You could say it was the year of the creature making for me! I made 9 crocheted whales, two crocheted triceratops, several knitted frogs, and many felt animals. My own bears (designed and hand stitched by me) started selling really well in my shop, so I even started making them again too. I also made a ton of pumpkins and also crocheted a cardigan and a jumper!

In January, I became the editor of Small Printer, which is the magazine for the British Printing Society. My amazing team and I have produced 6 issues, and have received many compliments! It has been quite a task, fitting in the voluntary work around trying to earn a living, but it has been fun!

And finally, with the help of Lucja Fratczak-Kay, my amazing friend and fabulous artist, I designed a witchy bullet journal, which only went live on xmas eve, so if you like bujos, have adhd and are witchy, go grab a copy! (Bujo of Shadows)

I also got to spend time with my favourite people, and favourite doggo, though probably not nearly enough time.

I have many plans for 2024, hope to share them with you on here soon!

Merry Christmas!

A quick edit to add that I also helped to plant, weed, and water our veggie garden this year, where we successfully grew lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, beetroot, beans, kale, radishes and potatoes! Pulling up potatoes was an excellent dopamine hit!

Sep 6 2023

Into the Woods

Over the last couple of years, I started a podcast where I would record my ramblings while actually rambling through the woods with my doggo. I would just hit record and talk about whatever came to mind, hoping a topic would emerge.

Which is pretty much what I’m doing in this blog post!

I am actually walking in the woods right now, it’s way too early to be out but Chouli was keen for once (she’s not a morning dog!) So we are in the woods, listening to the morning birdsong, talking to random dog walkers.

It’s not as easy to write this as it is to record a podcast, but I am determined to blog more, so here we are!

I had a great conversation with a guy yesterday who helped me to get some of my marketing mojo back (he clearly loves it, unlike me!) and one of the things we discussed was how important location is. That depending on where you grow up, your success in certain careers may be limited. That unless you surround yourself with people who are doing what you want to do, then it’s difficult to succeed. The example that comes to mind is Ed Sheeran. He wanted to sing, so he hung out at gigs, then started gigging, and he made sure he was in the right places to learn, to grow, to improve and to hone his craft that he loved. He literally put himself in the way of greatness. He didn’t stay at home, hoping and dreaming and wishing that maybe one day, someone would find him and make him a star.

Which I can confirm is not the route to stardom! Of course, becoming a successful author is slightly different. It’s a pretty solitary endeavour, there aren’t gigs to attend, but there are book fairs, festivals, workshops, courses, etc. The London Book Fair was an eye-opener, so many writers and publishers in one place. It was quite overwhelming, and though there was a sense of being amongst my people, there was also a sense of complete inadequacy.

Wow, a writer with imposter syndrome? How original!

It’s a weird thing, to have written books, but to not feel like an author. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t write every day, or because my books don’t pay me a living wage, or because I’m not surrounded by other authors. It may just be because authors don’t actually feel any different! Maybe they just feel like regular people who tell stories that get printed.

Hell, maybe it’s just because I’m a woman from the South Wales valleys, where dreams were simply not catered for.

But whatever the reason, it’s no excuse. Because I have written books, and I have amazing readers waiting for the next ones, and they don’t care if I feel like a real author or not, they just want the next story.

So all of that ramble to say, I plan to get writing, and thanks to that chat yesterday, I feel like I’ve got some of my marketing mojo back too. So be prepared, if you’re on my mailing list or social media, you may be seeing a lot more of me!

Jul 29 2023

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

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!