April Showers of Appreciation

As many of you know, my self-publishing journey began in 2012. It wasn’t planned. I was collecting the usual mound of rejection letters from agents and preparing to paper many a wall with them when the kernel of self-publishing took root in my mind. Once this occurred it was then up to me to navigate this large and daunting world. Very much under the impression I was taking on this monster completely solo, I was astounded to discover many a helping hand.

The first of these was my wonderful writing friend Sydnee Blake who gave me the opportunity to participate in an Emily Benet blogging workshop. I was terrified, convinced that setting up a blog was well beyond my scope. Furthermore, what would I have to say to the world? How wrong was I? Here we are 7 years later and I haven’t yet run out of things to say and share. Sydnee, you opened floodgates in me I wasn’t even aware were there. Emily, you gave me the confidence to fight a fear of technology I was certain was beyond me.

Emily’s blogging workshop set all sorts of other things in motion. I was urged to join The Alliance of Independent Authors [ALLi] if I was determined to pursue this going-it-alone business. Now the helping hands came thick and fast. A special shout out here to Ian Hooper for his patience with a very frazzled me as I attempted to tackle Amazon’s Tax pages. To say I was terrified of the task is putting it mildly. But Ian saw me through it with step by step instructions and screen shots to aid my individual special needs. To you Ian, this may have seemed a small thing to do for a fellow indie author, but to me it was a gift from the gods.

ALLi has since provided this bumbling self-publisher with continued succour in the name of Melissa Addey and Joanna Penn. As well as writing both fiction and non-fiction, Melissa runs very handy writer related workshops at The British Library. I’ve attended several in a bid to become more of an authorpreneur and less of an authormess. Thank you Melissa for helping me see beyond the writing of the books so that I work smarter rather than harder on the bit of self-publishing I least enjoy.

Joanna is the person who I believe coined the word authorpreneur and it suits her perfectly. She regularly shares a mountain of FREE information via video and cheatsheets. I practically use these on a weekly basis for some aspect of admin to do with my website, social media and mailing list. Without her generosity of spirit I’d be forking out tons of cash for services which can be done for free or at minimal cost. Thank you Joanna for paying-it-forward.

Quietly yet stoutly supporting me behind all the ALLi boffins are my core group of friends.
I simply cannot do without them.They are:

My Sheffield bestie – Bev who I met on a writing holiday in Skyros

My London bestie – Chantal who has accompanied me to countless tango sessions, shared meditation hours and become a Scrabble junkie due to me

My Irish bestie – Dervalla who I met on a painting holiday in Italy many moons ago and who I’d very much like to see more of in person

My Ozzie bestie – Mands, a childhood friend who still gets me even after all these years

My cousin bestie – Michelle, who is always rooting for me and ready at the end of the phone to listen to my woes or cooking up a tasty treat to tantalise my tastebuds

These ladies are an invisible yet ever present bracelet of diamond emotional support. Ladies, I salute you. You keep my soul flying high.

Equally as important as they, are you. Much appreciation for having signed on to my mailing list, reading and commenting on 1^st drafts, sharing my work with friends and family or taking a moment to write a review or email me.

Faetaera: Through The Rabbit Hole

Larell’s heart was full to the brim. His audience with Aurelia had been unexpected and full of wonder. He was not surprised she was aware of his plans to send a force through to the other side. Aurelia always knew everything going on in her world. At times he thought he saw the weight of it bearing down upon her. Then he wished to take her in his arms and carry her as well as the burdens she bore. But of course he would never do this, merely imagine it. It made him love her all the more. She thought he did not know how she came by her information and he planned on keeping it that way. It was the only way he knew to express his love for her without feeling foolish. In the crystal lined chamber he felt her load more palpably than usual. He knew it was simply his foolish love-sickness for his Queen but he let the feeling soak through him regardless. Aurelia's lips twitched briefly as though she was amused. She was kind in her tolerance of his ridiculous obsess

Faetaera: A Triumvirate

A Triumvirate Brairton’s minions slipped through a barely noticeable fissure. The tear would close shortly. Despite the increase in their regularity the breaches rarely stayed open very long. To the three insidious spies, the stink of the new world was almost unbearable. But in time the triumvirate would each become so used to it they would scarcely notice it at all. That it poisoned them they did not know. Brairton was not in the habit of informing his operatives of fatal consequences. Their programming precluded any thought beyond the mission they must complete. In this Brairton had been exact and had performed the necessary rituals himself. Each had their mission branded into their being. They would travel together for some time but then slip off to their secret destinations one by one, never to see each other again. The threesome latched on to their individual targets and began their particular brand of individual mischief immediately. Minion one skulked off to en

Aphasia - Phase 1

It was one morning of May 2021. I woke up and I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know I had a stroke. I carried on as though I was okay. I even tried to negotiate with my guest when she was leaving. I tried to talk but only mumbles came out of my mouth. She left me with a big hug. I knew something was wrong. I tried to call my cousin, Michelle. With a few grunts, I convinced her to come round to my place. In the end she came round and she was very worried. She stayed with and we had lunch together. After she left, I called my friend in Sheffield, Bev. I tried to say what was wrong with me. I couldn’t speak. She rang my neighbour, Kathy. Kathy was out with Nelson, her fabulous dog. Bev rang her so she came round. When she came to my house I was sitting in the dark. Bev said she should call an ambulance. I took the phone from her and shook my head. Before long my neighbours Lizz and Leo came to see how I was. Kathy told Leo to ring the ambulance because I took her phone. She did not know w

Rae of Light

Search This Blog