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 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.

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!

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!