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!

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.

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!

The Winter’s Sleep by Monica Cafferky published by Jasper Tree Press

Feb 25 2019

Comparison – The Thief

Roosevelt said that comparison is the thief of joy, and I have to say, I quite agree.

It’s a completely different world for authors right now, to just a mere ten years ago, and now, it feels like we should be producing at least ten books a year, to keep up with reader demand. Gone are the days where you could take several years to write a book and hope to do well.

Since I began publishing properly in 2011, I have published at least 2 books a year, and I now have 16 books available. Quite an awesome accomplishment, but instead of revelling in the joy of what I have created, I find myself looking at authors who have published 50 or 60 books in that same amount of time, and wondering why I have been so lazy in comparison.

Then I saw the posts about the latest plagiarism scandal. It seems that a bestselling author in Brazil has been taking chunks of other authors’ work, and giving it to ghostwriters on Fiverr and then publishing what they’ve cobbled together and making a mint from it. She has a large list of books available, and it would seem that none of her material belonged to her.

Which made me wonder, how many of the authors with massive output are actually writing it all themselves? Or even using original material?

And somehow, this made me stop comparing myself to them. Because I know that I write every word of my books. And I know that I only write books that turn up and annoy me until I write them. And that it’s actually quite realistic to write and publish two or three books a year, when you take into account the editing and proofreading, publishing and marketing.

So although I am quite upset for these authors who have had their work ripped to bits and made into bad books that have made thieves a lot of money, I am also grateful to now have been released from this comparison game, and I plan to revel in the joy of each creation, knowing that I am producing work that I am proud of, and that readers will love, and that is wholly my own.

Do you compare yourself or your creativity or your life to others? Do you think that you should be further along, or richer, or better, because you look at what other people are doing?

Let me know in the comments.

Jul 31 2018

The end of an era

A month ago I released the final book in my Earth Angel Series – book 10, The Twin Flame Resolution.

What a ride it has been! 9 years of writing, 7 years of publishing, 10 books, 607,158 words, 158 characters.

I haven’t really known how to feel for the last few weeks. In the run up to publication I was so excited, because this meant I could now turn to other projects that have been impatiently waiting in the wings. I was also excited because I knew that book 10 held some ideas that were bound to annoy people. (Not that I love annoying people, but I do love a good twist)

But once it was out there in the world, I felt… sad.

This world of faeries, angels, starpeople and old souls has been my home for nearly a decade, and I love the characters, the places and the stories. So I felt a bit lost. Even though I already have three books lined up to release by Christmas, so it’s not like I don’t have plenty to be getting on with.

I feel the same way when I finish watching seasons of TV shows. Or a series of books I have followed for years. There’s a sense of completion but also a sense of loss. Because now it’s time to return to the ‘real’ world, and leave the characters behind within the pages. At least there is a sense of completion. There is a series of books I read as a teenager, which was never completed. 18 years later, I still await the final book!

If you have been reading the Earth Angel Series, how do you feel about it completing? And what did you think of book 10? (Try not to give too many spoilers 😉 ) Let me know in the comments below.

No doubt I will spring back, and I will try to blog a little more regularly! In fact, I have been working on a brand new project that will be released in Sept, look out for posts on that soon!

Nov 14 2017

Here’s My F**king Unicorn!!

It’s here!! The Unicorn has landed!! You can now get the Unicorn book in all its super shiny glory! It is available in shops and on Amazon and if you want a signed copy – from me! (email me 🙂 )

Very excited that you can now get your hands on a copy, let me know what you think!

Mar 16 2017

Gallery

A Unicorn Shaped Announcement!!

This gallery contains 2 photos.

So, you may have noticed that I have been a little quiet on the unicorn side of things since Christmas, well, I’m pleased to finally be able to say why! Where’s My F**king Unicorn? is being published by Ammonite Press, … Continue reading →

Sep 2 2015

To be a Writer…

Last week I bought a copy of The Big Leap on my Kindle, by Gay Hendricks. The book set off a stream of ‘aha’ moments and huge realisations, most of which I still haven’t quite figured out what to do with yet!

There are so many amazing parts to the book, to try to describe them here wouldn’t work, I recommend grabbing yourself a copy and seeing for yourself. But there is one thing that I wanted to share, that I realised from reading the book, because it may well help other writers out there.

Hendricks talks about the four zones that exist, which are the Zone of Incompetence, the Zone of Competence, the Zone of Excellence and the Zone of Genius. He said that a lot of us spend most of our lives in the first three zones, and that it takes a big leap to get into the Zone of Genius. I realised that I have spent most of my life in the Zone of Competence, doing work that anyone could do, but that I was okay at too. I think my Zone of Excellence is when I am helping others with their publishing and social media, or indeed when I am publishing my own work, but it occurred to me that my Zone of Genius is when I write. And not just write anything, when I am writing my novels.

There were three sentences to complete, to really nail down what your Zone of Genius is, and these were my answers:

I’m at my best when… I’m writing.

When I’m at my best, the exact thing I’m doing is… going with the flow and creating.

When I’m doing that, the thing I love most about it is … the magical alchemy of turning words into worlds.

Yes. When those words flowed out of my pen onto the page, a massive grin spread across my face and it hit me squarely in the chest. That was it. My Zone of Genius. I am not a writer, not an author – I am an Alchemist. I take simple, ordinary words, and create entire worlds, people, events and objects. All of which live inside the mind of the reader when they read the books. And one day, will hopefully be portrayed on a big screen.

It was a revelation to me, that what I really loved about writing was not the actual act of it, but the deliciousness of the creation. With just a few taps of the keyboard, I can create life, and I can take it away. I can make someone happy, or make them cry.

I also realised that I had been spending much more time in my Zones of Competence and Incompetence (still terrible at marketing!) than I had in my Zone of Genius. I have so many stories flying around in my mind all shouting to be told, that it seems crazy not to be spending more time in that Zone, doing what I know I do best.

On that note, I am off to write some more of my new book. The Twin Flame Resurrection is in beta reading mode and the cover is being created too, which I am very excited about! Will post the cover reveal very soon. Let me know if you read the big leap, and if you discover your Zone of Genius!

Dec 1 2014

Nanowrimo Winner 2014!

Was thrilled last night to reach 50,000 words and become a Nanowrimo winner! I decided to do a little video on my experience with Nano over the last five years since I first discovered it. You can watch the video below. High fives to everyone who took part this year, you are amazing!

May 3 2013

Local Author Events at the Malvern Book Co-operative

I am happy to say that I was contacted by the Malvern Book Co-operative to be a part of their local author week from the 13th to the 18th May. There will be several local novelists taking part, and I am looking forward to it!

On Tuesday the 14th, at 7.30pm, there will be a ‘Speed Pitching’ evening, where the authors will be pitching their novels in a few minutes. (Apparently like speed dating only without the embarrassing chat up lines!) Then afterwards there will be time to chat to the authors about the good bits and bad bits of writing and publishing.

Then on Thursday the 16th, between 1pm and 4pm, I will be in the shop in Malvern, doing some writing and having a cuppa, and would love it if any other writers or budding writers wanted to join me for some informal writing/chatting about writing and publishing. I would be happy to answer any questions or make any suggestions 🙂

Then on Saturday the 18th, there will be two sessions of the local novelists coming in to sign their books and chat with readers. We would love to see you there!

Please pass this on to anyone you know in the area. You can find the Malvern Book Co-operative on Facebook too.