… but they don’t seem to last. I’m beginning to wonder if they are meant to?
I have been most fortunate to have had several of my dreams come true, from seeing my name on a book spine, having my books sold in bookshops, living in America, having a twin flame relationship, and having a studio in one of my favourite places.
But they have all been relatively short-lived, and thus relatively unsuccessful beyond the initial realisation.
My books are in print, but my sales are low and I don’t receive much income from them. I only lived in America for 10 months, and now I see very little hope of even visiting there again, let alone living there. My twin flame relationship… well, went up in flames. And now after a year of having my studio, I am in the process of packing and moving, again.
Which got me thinking, were any of these things supposed to last? Or is this pinball way of life just my path? Bouncing from one dream to the next, experiencing glimpses of the life I thought I wanted, but never fully settling into it?
Or is it that realising the dream is the easy part, but maintaining it, growing it, nurturing it, that’s where the work really begins. And that’s where I have typically fallen short.
Perhaps this next chapter of my life will be about the maintenance and growth of my neglected dreams, where I will look at where I went wrong, and perhaps finally experience the success that comes when you really give it everything you’ve got.
I plan to start with my books. After doing an event at a bookshop recently, where I met a few of my youngest readers, it lit a spark of excitement to return to writing the Magical Doorway Series, and get the rest of the books written before my audience is old enough to read the Earth Angel Series!
What is your neglected dream? Perhaps it’s time to dig it out and dust it off.
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
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!
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!