Nov 16 2021

Book Feature: Tongue Cancer and I

As well as being an author, I am a publisher, editor and publishing mentor. I’ve been honoured to work with some really incredible authors over the last few years, bringing their books to life, so in order to revive my blog and share these awesome books with others, I’ve decided to start this book feature.

I met Dev in 2013, at an event in London called the Millionaire Mind. We later met up again, at another event called Unleash the Power Within, with Tony Robbins. We spent several days dancing, screaming, jumping up and down, walking on fire and changing our mindset, it’s the kind of place where you make friends for life!

In 2016, Dev was diagnosed with tongue cancer, and went through an incredible journey of discovery and healing. We kept in touch through social media, but it wasn’t until Dev reached out to ask if I could help him to publish his book, that I got to know what he had been through.

Wow. All I can say is, that Dev is the real thing. Genuine, positive, strong, resilient. He faced each challenge that cancer presented, not only with determination, but also with the selfless idea of recording it all, in detail, so that he could produce a book that would help others in the same position.

And this book will do exactly that. It will help anyone who has been diagnosed with tongue cancer, or who is having treatments, or the friend or family member of someone who has. It is practical, thoughtful, and will take the fear of the unknown out of the journey, so that challenges can be faced with knowledge and from a place of empowerment.

It’s been a pleasure to work with Dev to get his book published, and I’m so proud of him and honoured to be his friend and fellow firewalker!

Dev’s book, Tongue Cancer and I is available now in paperback and ebook, from Amazon and other retailers, links below.

Mar 19 2021

Jon and Michelle’s Horse Cart

Last night on BBC2 Jon and I were on My Unique B&B with Jon’s horse cart! It was so much fun watching the episode, and we can’t wait to welcome guests to the little cabin on wheels!

It was a great experience, working with Simon Parfett and the Plimsoll Productions crew to film the episode and to turn the cabin into a boutique space for people to stay in.

The cabin is now available to book on Airbnb, and you can see all the details through Jon’s Sacred Tree Spirit Website. It is called Char Bareu and really is a wonderful little sanctuary, especially if you are in need of unplugging from your devices and plugging into nature.

The wonderful sign hand-painted by Jess Grimsdale

Even little Chouli starred in the show, so if you haven’t seen it yet, do check it out! The whole series is wonderful, and features lots of great B&Bs in the Forest of Dean area. If you have seen it, what did you think? Let me know!

Jan 19 2021

You Are Invited!

To celebrate my birthday with me tomorrow, at my Woodland Tea Party that is supporting the Secret World Wildlife Rescue.

Lockdown birthdays don’t have to be depressing! Which is why I have had far too much fun organising a woodland tea party. Fear not, the only ones who will be meeting face to face will be the woodland animals! But I would love for you to join me and them virtually through the FB event page, click here to check it out (it is totally public, you don’t need to be logged in)

I have decided to ask people to donate (if they feel called to, and they can afford it) to the Secret World Wildlife Rescue, because they do such wonderful work for the badgers, hedgehogs, deer, foxes and even mice! They rely on donations from visitors, and I imagine that those have been quite scarce over the last year. You don’t have to donate through me on FB, you can donate directly, or buy them something on their Amazon Wishlist.

I have been to the Healing Weekend which is hosted on the Secret World land, several times over the years, and it really is a wonderful place.

So head over to the FB event page on the 20th January (tomorrow!!) and check out the tea party! (Photos and videos will be posted throughout the day)

Jan 8 2021

What is Self Love?

Last year I was honoured to help a wonderful friend (and author of Not From This Planet’s upcoming release, Burglar to Buddha) to publish a book that he had compiled, called Self Love Now. Simon had asked the question – Why is Self-Love important at this time in humanity? and the book contains answers from 54 visionaries, and is beautifully illustrated.

Working on the book with Simon got me thinking. What is self love anyway?

Some would say it’s setting boundaries in relationships. Others might say it’s eating healthily. Or buying yourself treats. Or saying no to things that don’t serve you.

I think it may well be different for everyone. For me, self love is acceptance. Of my body, my flaws, my finances, my relationships and my current situation. And it’s not a one-off deal. It’s a daily occurrence. Every time my body changes, I need to accept it all over again. Love it completely again. Whenever my home changes, (which is way too often) I have to accept it again. When my relationships evolve, grow or die, I have to accept those new changes again. Self Love is not berating myself for making mistakes. Self Love is knowing that I am doing the best I can every day in every way. Self Love is never speaking an unkind word against myself, even in jest. (still working on this, self-deprecating jokes are deeply ingrained!) Self Love is a quiet joyfulness. It’s my trust in myself to cope with whatever transpires. Self Love is knowing that I am worthy and deserving of love, abundance and joy, regardless of my productivity or creative output. Self Love is knowing that I have my own back. That I am the sole creator of my own happiness. It’s taking responsibility for my emotions, and not blaming someone else for making me feel bad.

The thing about Self Love, is that it is limitless, it is abundant, and when it is felt in every fibre of your being, it spills out from every pore, and shines on others too. And it is effortless. To truly accept and love yourself is to release all resistance. And when resistance is gone, so is effort and struggle.

So tell me, what is Self Love to you?

Jan 5 2021

Creativity is my Therapy

One of my most popular letterpress prints on my own handmade paper

Apparently I started to write this blog post in February last year. I had the title and a single sentence (which I have just deleted), and then I apparently got distracted.

But oddly enough, it is very relevant in this moment, and was relevant throughout the whole of 2020. Crafting and creating is what kept me sane. And continues to keep me sane. Making things is my favourite thing to do when things get to be too much. And right now, I cannot help keep getting more and more materials to make more and more things. Very much like my main character, Caru, in The Girl Who Loved Too Much, I have a LOT of hobbies.

I letterpress print things on my Adana presses. I knit things. Crochet things. I love making Luna and friends, by Sarah Peel, with their tailored clothing. I enjoy making things out of leather, and stamping metal with words. I love taking photos, making little videos. And then of course I love to write, though you could argue that wasn’t a hobby, but my work.

Why is creating so therapeutic? I know that not everyone has hobbies to the level I do, but over the last year, I have seen quite a few friends who have declared themselves uncreative in the crafting sense, take up a craft and find themselves enjoying it a lot. And not just enjoying it, but being damned good at it too!

I genuinely think that a large part of the difference between those who create things and those who don’t, comes down to whether they were encouraged to make things in their childhood. When I was little, we were ALWAYS making things. Always. And I watched my parents constantly make things. It was normal. But when I ran a little crafting group 15 years ago, I found that none of the children were allowed to craft at home. Because it created mess. Because it meant having to find somewhere to put the things they created. Because it didn’t fit into the neat and tidy lifestyle the parents had created.

Special Edition of The Girl Who Loved Too Much

This is something I tried to address in my latest novel. Is it possible to be creative, while also being wealthy and neat and tidy? So far in my own experience, these things are mutually exclusive. To be creative is to create mess. There are things drying, things in half finished states, things at various stages. Then there are things waiting to be sold, or given as gifts. And money? Well that gets spent on materials, on packaging, on courses to learn more about your craft and on yet more materials.

But when I consider the question whether I would prefer to be creative or be wealthy, or creative or neat and tidy, creative wins every time. Even though it drives me crazy that I can’t find things. Even though I keep moving house and having so much crafting equipment and materials to move is a nightmare.

Because to create things is part of who I am. These things are extensions of myself. They are manifestations of my thoughts, my excitement, my enthusiasm. And they are my way of coping with things. Of moving through these ultra-weird times we find ourselves in.

So tell me, do you create? What do you create? Why do you create (or not)? If you have Instagram accounts, or somewhere I can see your creations, post them in the comments!

Jan 1 2021

Oh the Irony

So. I blogged four times last year. Yes. A whopping grand total of 4. And one of those was about how I never blogged anymore. And another was about how I needed to relax more, because there was too much to do.

Isn’t ironic? Don’t you think?

(Just as a side note, I was supposed to be going to Alanis Morissette’s concert in Birmingham in September. It was postponed, obviously, and I find it quite ironic that it would have been the first concert I’ve been to in 12 years, and only the third one I’ve ever been to in my life. And it was cancelled because of the plague.

Pretty much like the first flight you’ve ever gone on crashing down…)

Anyway, it’s been on my mind for the last few months to start blogging again, because though I love Instagram, and tolerate Facebook, there’s still nothing like sharing actual thoughts in a semi-coherent fashion and then posting them online for the world to read.

Because, after all, I’m a writer. Well, I have written. One of my other plans this year is to write something every day. Whether it’s a poem, a bit of a novel or a blog post.

Guess what won today?

I have no desire to talk about last year. Not because it was a terrible one for me personally, but because I’m sure, like me, you are tired of hearing about it, and wish people would talk about something else already.

But I will share that I was very busy at the latter end of the year with publishing work, and was very pleased to have published a new novel, The Girl Who Loved Too Much, and also the paperback edition of The Old Soul’s Handbook, and then I also helped to publish a collection of short stories called Delayed Dreams, and a book on the hidden gems of London called Lost London. I’m also in the process of publish a new book called Burglar to Buddha, under our Not From This Planet imprint, Labradorite Press, and also the new Heal Your Home book by Adrian Incledon-Webber. So I haven’t been slacking by any means, in fact, I have spent way too much time on my laptop.

I’m not going to make any wild promises, but I do hope to write on here more often. You have been warned.

Sep 4 2020

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.

Feb 4 2020

Michelle says RELAX

Do you relax? And by that I mean, do nothing and just chill, while awake in the day? I think I have somehow lost the ability or the gene to be able to sit and do nothing, because even when feeling ill, I still find it difficult to simply BE.

Doingness has taken over. I must be doing something all the time, otherwise I am wasting time. And because time is precious and finite, wasting it is the ultimate sin.

Which means I find myself chatting to a friend online, while watching Netflix, while eating dinner. Because doing any of those tasks on their own would waste time. And I write a blog, while also editing a book, while checking my email and drinking my tea. Or I sew while watching a movie while talking to my partner.

When did multi-tasking become the only way to be? What happened with just sitting and having a cuppa? What happened to eating a meal, and noticing the tastes and enjoying each bite? Why do I feel the need to cram as much as I can into every waking moment of every single day?

In case you were hoping for solutions, I better warn you now, I have none! Other than – if you feel the same way, then becoming aware of your addiction to doing is the first step in changing it. If you want to change it, of course.

I know that part of my issue is that there is just so much I want to do. So many creative projects, so many work projects, so many things I enjoy… at times when I find myself with some spare time, I get overwhelmed at all the possible things I could fill it with. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed, that all I can do is something domestic and mundane. Relaxing is never really an option. Not when the car needs washing and clothes need folding and the firewood needs collecting and the kitchen needs cleaning.

Being addicted to doing has never really been a problem for me. You could say I’ve thrived on it. But by the end of last year, even though I hadn’t achieved all I’d planned to, I hit something of a massive slump. I felt depleted and exhausted, and in early December I had no energy to do anything at all.

I saw my kinesiologist and got back on track, but it took a long time for my mojo to return. Then in the new year, I got a virus. Now, having got over that and getting myself back on track, I find that I don’t have nearly as much oomph to get things done as I once did, and I wonder if I ever will again.

It’s tricky when the mind and the body are not in sync. When my mind is trying to beat me up and make me feel bad for not getting everything on my to do list done, and my body is saying – I need more sleep, just sit for a while, and it’s okay, you can do things tomorrow – it leaves me feeling more exhausted.

So I plan to use my trusted friend – EFT – to do some reprogramming. Because if my body needs rest, then I need to feel okay with resting, and relaxing. Because feeling guilty about it certainly isn’t going to help my body either. I’m also exploring this whole topic in my new novel, which will hopefully help me to work out a way forward too.

How do you relax? Do you multitask too much? Do you feel guilty for chilling? Would love to hear from you.

No time to relax? Stare at this photo for a full minute and imagine the sound of the waves on the pebbles…

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!