Nov 1 2022

NaNoWriMo 2022

It’s been a long time since I did NaNoWriMo properly, or have actually won it. But considering all the books waiting for me to write them, I figured it was about time.

So I’ve done it. I’ve signed up to NaNo 2022, and I plan to get book 11 written by the 30th November. It’s day one, I’ve written 1242 words, it is riddled with typos and other issues, but it has begun.

I feel it is likely I will regret announcing this, but seeing as I said book 11 was ‘coming soon’ about 18 months ago, I know I owe it to my readers to get my butt into gear and get it written. Because the story is ready.

Even if I’m not!

Wish me luck. And send me snacks!

Sep 15 2022

Maybe I am a Seer…

The other day I started compiling a list of release dates for my books, because we were considering doing fun posts on the anniversaries of each book. Of course, I used this blog to determine most of them, because this has been a diary of sorts throughout the whole publishing journey.

That meant that I found some funny tidbits, one of which I thought I’d share, because I laughed when I read it. It was in a post called ‘Just Keep Writing‘ written in August, 2015, when I was starting to write The Twin Flame Retreat. I had decided that instead of spending so much time trying to market my books, I’d keep writing new ones instead (a realisation I’ve had many times since, still not properly implementing) and then I said this:

Also, my numbers for the Earth Angel series have changed. I am now thinking that there is likely to be thirteen books in the series in total, and if I were to stick to my current formula of publishing one Earth Angel book per year, I figure it will be 2023 before the final book is released. That is just too far away!

Seems I may have been spot on. Because there will be 13 books in total, so far there are 10 novels and the handbook, so book 11 and book 12 (handbook is book 13) will be coming out, and chances are, at this rate, they’ll be coming out next year. In 2023.

So prehaps, like Velvet, I am a Seer. Who has forgotten she can See. Which makes me wonder what else I might have predicted in this blog…

But yes, books 11 and 12 will come. And I promise there won’t be too much longer to wait. I know how frustrating it is to wait for the next book in the series, there’s a book by my favourite author in my teens that I’m still waiting for. It’s ben 22 years. And that’s far too long to wait for the conclusion of a series!

I won’t do that to you. Promise.

May 10 2022

The Magical Mermaid Portal

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!

You can also now get The Magical Faerie Door in paperback as well as in hardback and on kindle.

The Magical Doorway Series is published by Amber Beetle Press, an imprint of Not From This Planet

May 3 2022

The Magical Doorway Series

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!

The Magical Doorway Series is published by Amber Beetle Press, an imprint of Not From This Planet

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!

My letterpress creations! (Available on etsy 😉 )

Apr 29 2019

A Letter to Writers

Dear Writer,

I don’t know why I am only just realising this, as it seems so very obvious, but I think that writing may be the most difficult art to make a living from. I’m not saying this to put you off of writing, or becoming an author. And I’m certainly not saying this to be negative for the sake of it. Let me explain.

Writing is the most difficult of all the arts to have genius recognised in. Because in order to recognise the genius of a piece of writing, one must actually sit, concentrate and read the words. Which might take thirty minutes or several hours or even days or weeks.

Whereas a song can be recognised as genius in three minutes. A movie in two hours. A painting in seconds. A dance in a few minutes or more.

But writing demands time. And in this world of constant information overload, time is of short supply. Or so it would appear. And so if someone takes the time to read your words, it is truly an honour, because they are saying – your words are worth more to me than several movies or several hours of social media.

As a writer, it is harder to be ‘discovered’. To have that magic moment when someone spots your genius and tells the world about it. You can’t go on a talent show or do a video that goes viral on YouTube.

All you can do is keep writing, and keep hoping that your words will hit the spot for enough people that the word will spread that your words are worth the time and effort they take to consume.

Of course, you will still always hope that one day you will reach that tipping point where every time you hit publish, you sell several thousand copies straight off the bat, and not just a handful. But until then, you keep writing, because you were not born to be a singer or dancer or a movie star.

You were born to be a writer.

So fall in love with the difficulty, the struggle and the stress that comes with this work. Because I promise you, it will be worth it in the end.

Much love,

A writer.

Image – James Pond (Unsplash)

Apr 23 2019

Digital Immortality

Life on Earth was intended to be fleeting.

Our journeys from birth to death, and the transitions through many stages and ages, were to be experienced then discarded and forgotten. We are eternal beings. Our mission here on Earth was to experience the finite nature of humanity.

But the birth of the internet changed all of that.

No longer are the tiny minutiae of our daily lives simply experienced and discarded, by only ourselves and those who are physically present. Now they are recorded, shared, stored and kept (possibly in a country-sized bunker somewhere) for all of time.

The photo of you at seven years old with paint on your face will live in a cloud forever. The ex you dumped ten years ago can still follow your life as if they were still in it. The drunken tweet you posted can cost you the job you really want, even fifteen years after the posting.

Human beings hunger for immortality. To live forever is the ultimate goal. But we’ve forgotten that we do live forever.

Just not in this particular body the whole time.

But the actions, thoughts, meals and nights out that we have experienced in this body may well live forever.

Is digital immortality really what we want? To be known forever for the pictures of things we ate, books we read or songs we like? Is it not enough to just share the moment with the people right in front of us, or even just with ourselves?

Would it not be better to be known for an act of kindness, a job well done or a long, healing hug? Or for writing a book that has moved people? Helped them?

Part of my need to write books is to be remembered. To leave a legacy of some kind when my soul leaves this body and moves onto the next adventure. The idea that a photo of my gluten-free vegan meal might be remembered more than my novels hurts me. So you can expect less banality and more creativity from me from this point onward. Because I came here to write.

And that is what I intend to do.

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.

Jun 6 2018

Cover Reveal for Book 10

I promised to reveal the cover for book 10 soon, and here it is! The book is now finally finished, and it is being edited at the moment, which is cutting it a bit fine to make the 1st July publishing date, but I promise I will not be letting you down! I finished writing it nine years and a day after I finished writing The Earth Angel Training Academy, and I will be publishing book 10 on the 7th Anniversary of the publishing of book 1. I like a bit of symmetry!

Book 10 is the last book in the Earth Angel Series for the foreseeable future. If the story for book 11 arrives, I will of course write it, but I feel that this book brings all the stories full circle, and as sad as I am to say goodbye to my characters, I have so many more book projects awaiting, I am excited to be able to expand the Visionary Collection and to finish writing my children’s series too.

I cannot wait to see what my readers think of book 10. I have been calling it the marmite of the series, because I think it will either be loved or hated… I really enjoyed writing it (despite the resulting RSI!) and I hope you agree it’s the perfect ending to rather a wild adventure we have been on for the last 7 years. (9 years for me!)

How do the covers make you feel? The US cover came from a design I originally considered for book 9, but I loved the circle of fire, and the feeling of completion it gives. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

US Edition Cover

UK Edition Cover

Nov 16 2016

Connections

Earlier this year, in March, I was pleased to be filmed for a short film called Connections, with William Bloom. Mike and Jim of FilmTank came to the woods to film me in one of my favourite writing places and talking about how I connect when I write my books.

The film features six very different people, and shows how each of them connect to something greater than themselves, and I think it’s beautifully filmed. The film was produced by the Spiritual Companions Trust.

Watch the film below, and please do comment with your thoughts!