Dec 2 2013

Is everything written in the stars (and planets)?

I recently met an astrologer, Keith Bound, through a friend of mine (Liz Chukwu, author of Kismet), who did a reading for me. I have had many readings from mediums and psychics, and also tarot and palm readings. Most of which have been quite good, and quite accurate, but this was the first astrology reading I’ve had, and quite honestly, it blew me away.

Keith had my basic information – birth date, time and place. He also knew that I helped authors to publish their work. But that was it. He then looked at my chart and recorded a 58 minute reading and sent it to me as an MP3. The first time I listened to it, I alternated between giggling and gasping, wondering how on earth he could get so much information from just my basic details.

I won’t go into detail about what Keith told me in the reading, although I will say that the overall theme is that the next 12 months of my life are going to be very exciting, with lots of big opportunities coming up. The reading came at the perfect time, as I was in need of confirmation that I was on the right track, and Keith gave me that confirmation, and the confidence to continue on my path.

Having the reading made me wonder, yet again, about fate and destiny. Do we really have the free will to choose what we want to do in our lives, or is it all mapped out ready for us from the moment we are born? Or is it even decided before we are born?

I explored this idea a little in The Elphite, where Ellie lives the same life over and over again. She tries to change things each time, but no matter what she does, there are certain things that happen regardless of her actions. But as you will know if you have read the book, she does manage to change her life when she changes her thinking.

People have asked me why I would want to have a reading that foretold the future, why I would want to know what is going to happen ahead of time, and my response to that is that I like to have confirmation that I am on the right path. I have had readings where I’ve been told that certain things aren’t going to work out, or that situations or relationships are going to be difficult. And instead of this information worrying or upsetting me, I find that it gives me the gift of being able to choose how I handle the situation when it arrives. Because as much as I hate plotting my novels and I love to surprise my readers with mad twists, in real life, I like to know what’s going to happen next.

Stay tuned, because 2014 is going to be a wild ride, and this is where you will be able to read all about it.

PS. Get in touch with Keith for a reading, it will be the best thing you’ve ever done, I promise.

Dec 1 2013

Living life to the fullest

I was really sad to hear the news this morning about Paul Walker dying in a car accident in California. Having been an avid fan of The Fast & The Furious, and a fan of his before that, as Varsity Blues and The Skulls were two of my favourite movies, it was awful to think that I wouldn’t see him in any future movies. (After Fast & Furious 7, which I hope they are still able to finish). Forty years old is way too young to be leaving this earth, but after talking to my partner about it, he made me realise that actually, Paul Walker has probably lived more in those forty years, than most people do in twice that amount of time.

He followed his passions, took risks, made blockbuster movies, and also supported charities, raising awareness for different causes. I get the feeling that he was the kind of person who lived without regrets. How many of us can say that? How many people die every day, having never realised their dreams, followed their passions or figured out their purpose? Too many, I think.

And so, I have decided, that 2014 is to be a year of making things happen. Of realising dreams, pursuing passion and leaving no room for regrets. 2012 was a year of destruction of the old ways, 2013 has been a year of transformation, so it makes sense that next year will be the year that it all comes together. In fact, I have been told that the next 12 months are going to be the most exciting yet for me, I will tell you more about that in my next post.

Rest in peace, Paul, and thank you for teaching us to live life to the fullest. x

Nov 21 2013

Calling all Angels…

…Faeries, Mermaids, Old Souls, Starpeople and Leprechauns!

I’ve written this blog post several times in my head, which is where I would rather it stay, but I know that I need to actually type it and put it out there. Because this blog post is about the truth. Which is that I need help.

You would think that by the time I’d written and published my 7th book, (not to mention helped to publish several books for other authors) that I would know how to market them. That I would have an established way of launching my books so that they made an impact, that I would be selling hundreds, if not thousands of copies.

But the truth is, I’m just as bad at marketing now, as I was when I began. Why? Because traditional marketing does not feel authentic to me. I am a great believer that people find a book at the right time for them to read it, and if they’re constantly blasted with messages of – you must buy this book right now – then it will just irritate them if it’s not the right time.

I figured it might be a good idea to get some help with the marketing, so I found a PR company who would write a press release and send it out to journalists for me. They wrote the piece, and though it sounded good, in all honesty, I couldn’t read it without giggling, because it bigged me up so much, that it seemed a little ridiculous. At the time, I was still in – ‘this is how you market stuff, you make it look like the next big thing’ mode, and so I approved it for them to send. Didn’t receive a single email, call or query about it, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t expect to. Why? Because it was not authentic. If you would like a good giggle yourself, please check it out on the only place I’ve seen it online. (Click here) (Just to add, the company were great to work with, very professional, and very good at what they do. I have no complaints about the service I received)

I’ve been doing the Brene Brown eCourse, and one of the main threads (because that has been her main focus for her research) is vulnerability. We build armor around ourselves, making up stories about things, so that others perceive us in a certain way. I know that there are a few people out there who assume that I am selling loads of books and make a ton of money. And though it’s nice that they think highly of me and my books, it’s just not the truth.

So back to what I said before. I need help. I know there are readers out there who have read and loved my books, who have not written reviews or recommended them to friends. If you are one of those people and you are able to, could you please do that for me? Reviews on Amazon really do make a difference, and you can write one there even if you bought the book directly from me or from a shop I sell them in. If you don’t have an Amazon account, then you can post a review in the comments below or on Facebook. If you are on Facebook, you can like my page and share it with others who might like my books.

If you haven’t bought your Christmas presents yet, you could buy a copy of one of my books as a gift. With the new covers, the Earth Angel books now look really awesome. You can also still buy the Oracle Cards that accompany the books, directly through me on my website, or from Peace of Stone in Monmouth.

All of these things help to just make my books a little more visible and accessible, and word of mouth recommendations are far better than this false marketing that I have been attempting to do. After all, I know that my books will not appeal to everyone, I don’t want to sell millions of books only for them to be read by just a few. I write books for them to be read, for them to help people. But I can only do that with the help of my readers. To make it easier to share the links to my books on amazon, I have universal links to them all, which make it easier when tweeting or posting on Facebook. I’ve listed the links below. Even a tweet every now and then helps 🙂

Thank you for reading, and for letting me share this with you. I don’t find it easy to ask for help, and to admit that I don’t know how to do something, but I can’t keep on pretending like it’s all easy and taken care of. And as much as I wish I could sometimes, I really cannot do it all on my own.

viewbook.at/earthangeltrainingacademy

viewbook.at/earthangelawakening

viewbook.at/otherside

viewbook.at/theelphite

viewbook.at/doorwaytopam

viewauthor.at/michellegordon

Nov 13 2013

The Other Side is here!

You can now buy The Other Side on Amazon! Get in on Kindle or in paperback. (Please ignore the reviews, Amazon have somehow mixed by book up with another book by an author called Mary Gordon! I’m hoping they’ll sort it out soon!)

To celebrate, here is a book trailer for the series, which features the amazing song – ‘Ready When You Get Here’ by Bobby Andonov. I found the song by chance and realised that it described the idea of Twin Flames perfectly, and really fit the stories of the characters in the Earth Angel series. I listened to it on repeat while writing The Other Side. Please check out his other music, he is awesome.

The Launch Party is happening on Facebook, come and join us 🙂

Nov 12 2013

Twas the Night Before the Launch…

And Michelle was ridiculously excited!

In just a few hours, The Other Side will be officially launched into the world and I am very excited, though a little nervous at the same time! Having only finished writing this book 7 weeks ago, it feels like it’s been a crazy sprint to bring it to publication.

Today I recorded a couple of videos to post on the page of the Online Launch Party on facebook tomorrow (please join us!) and I will also be posting the Book Trailer I created for my books and there will be some interactive stuff, so check it out and join in 🙂

There’s still time to enter the Rafflecopter draw – you could win a signed set of the Earth Angel Books!

I will be having a second Launch at Peace of Stone in Monmouth on Tuesday the 26th November at 7pm. It’s a join launch with Adrian Incledon-Webber. His book – Heal your Home – is a must-have for every home. There will be drinks and nibbles and everyone is welcome to join us.

In case you’ve managed to miss it so far, here is the beautiful cover for my new book – (yes, I really am over-excited!)

Nov 7 2013

The countdown to The Other Side begins!

Only 6 days to go! Yesterday, the proof copies arrived. I was incredibly excited to see the new covers on The Earth Angel Training Academy and The Earth Angel Awakening, and to see The Other Side for the first time. I think the three of them look amazing together as a series, and I’m very pleased with how they look, thanks to Liz and Jason.

I’m just giving the proof copy of The Other Side a check through for last minute errors, but as a sneaky tip to anyone reading this – the new editions of Academy and Awakening in paperback are already available on Amazon 🙂 The Kindle versions and Smashwords versions with new covers will be ready by the official launch next Wednesday.

Nov 1 2013

Giveaways Galore!

In celebration of the launch of The Other Side on the 13th of November, I have created a Giveaway on Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And because I have done so little marketing for The Elphite and I’m feeling happy, I have created a Giveaway on Goodreads too!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Elphite

by Michelle Gordon

Giveaway ends December 01, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Good Luck! And please share these giveaways with your friends!

Oct 30 2013

Imperfection? It’s a doddle…

I have been inspired to write this post by two things. I am doing an eCourse with Brene Brown at the moment. It’s a 6 weeks course based on her book – The Gifts of Imperfection. I found a video of her on Youtube a few weeks ago and I was hooked immediately. I love the way she talks, how she is so open and honest and authentic, and how she put things in such a simple yet profound way. The course is in its second week now, and I am enjoying the art journaling, it’s been a while since I let myself mess around with paints and not worry about the outcome.

Something that I’ve begun to admit openly recently, is my inability to be imperfect. Sounds crazy, I know, but when it comes to trying something new, if I can’t do it right straight away – I’m usually not interested. Unless of course, I can practice in secret where no one can see/hear me, and then when I’ve perfected it, reveal it, looking all shiny and amazing. Yet, I’ve always encouraged people to try things, to experiment. When I worked in Buck’s Rock Summer Camp, my motto was ‘the wonkier the better’. I would encourage the campers to just create, and enjoy the process, and not worry about whether it was perfect. After all, the more imperfect it was, the more handmade it looked, and therefore people knew how much love and effort had gone into the making of it. When I worked in Derby College in the art department, it was a similar story. I would encourage the students to be creative, to experiment, and to not be afraid to do it wrong or to fail, because they could just keep trying. I would then tell them the story of Doddle.

Sometimes, there have been times that my first attempt at something was truly terrible, but for some reason, I was inspired to keep trying. One day, my mum had a craft magazine, that featured a mini fabric teddy bear. In the article, it said – ‘This little bear is a doddle to make in an evening.’ Well, mine took me a week, and was a painfully slow and frustrating process. My mum’s attempt went in the bin after a few hours. But I finished mine, and here was the end result:

Though I find him to be quite endearing now, he is still so incredibly imperfect. The stitching is terrible, the shape is awful, I didn’t figure out how to attach his ears, so they have ragged edges, the list of his imperfections is huge. But do you know what? Every person who has met Doddle has fallen in love with him. I went on to make many more bears, getting a little better each time. I started making them from bear felt, which was easier to use than fabric. My friend worked in a Traditional Toy Shop, and she sold many of my bears in there for me. Then, after a year of two, I started using mohair. It was a big step for me, because mohair is over £100 a metre. My first few mohair bears weren’t perfect, but I still found families to adopt them. After a while, I was creating bears like Robert:

He still may not be perfect, but he is a million times better than my first attempt. (sorry, Doddle!) And all it took to get from one to the other, was time, practice, patience and perseverance.

I plan to keep Doddle on my computer as a reminder that as Brene would say, Imperfection and vulnerability is the birthplace of creativity. And that I am imperfect, and I am enough. (As is Doddle 🙂 )

Oct 30 2013

NaNoWriMo 2013

Yes, it’s that time again. In just a few days, thousands of writers all around the world will begin their novelling quest. I am a huge NaNo fan, as I know that without it, I would never have written a single book. Though my last attempt during Camp NaNo in April didn’t go so well, I have decided to talk part in this years November NaNo, in the hopes that I can get my next book written, and then publish it by January/February next year. My goal for the last three years has been to publish two novels a year. I managed it in 2011 and 2012, but this year, I am afraid that it will just be one. I will do my best to publish three next year to make up for it!

Oct 28 2013

Final Full-cover Reveal!

Apologies for the lack of posts, I have literally been so busy I have not stopped! I have been mainly working on the final copy of The Other Side and party planning. Post-party (which will have its own blog soon!) I am now back to my publishing projects and getting my books published. I know I keep pushing the release date back, I blame it on Mercury being in retrograde… The release date for The Other Side and for the new editions of The Earth Angel Training Academy and The Earth Angel Awakening is now set as the 13th November 2013.

The final covers are now done, thanks to Jason Mordecai of Dark Horizons Media and Liz Gordon of madapple designs. Without further ado, here they are: