This month I am working more aggressively on my over-all goals. I love writing. In fact, since May last year, I have completed 45 newsletters. All with bits of what I am up to, what new books there are out there, and snippets of my novels. But now it is time to up my game. I want to be a full-time writer. In fact, there is a scholarship that I want to apply for, but that requires up to 75 reviews on Amazon, just for me to apply. Being a full-time writer means I must consistently sell enough books to support a family of seven. I have included my elderly parents in the mix. It is an enormous responsibility, and I need new skills to make that happen and hence the application for the scholarship. If you have read my books and qualify as an Amazon reviewer, please head over to Amazon to give me a review. I need 75 of which 10 must be a 5 star review. I average at about 4.3 across all the platforms and one on seven reviews will give me a 5 star review. Which if you are percentage type...

  I admit I wrote most of Book 3 during lockdown. It was a troublesome time with me having to learn how to home school and deal with lots of conflicting expectations. So it does not surprise me that my characters seem to be all over the place with some of them resistant to lessons they need to learn. After my editor started going through the first draft, she pointed out some of these characters who seem to stray off and doing their own thing without sticking to the mission. So now I have to ask myself some tough questions. Are these behaviours a reflection of my mind as I have persevered through the “stop start” feel of 2020? Or are these reflections of the characters’ journeys? It means I have to do some serious reflection on the suggested rewrite from my editor. As authors, we want independent creative expression and feedback is something that makes us stop and reevaluate our position. It is not a natural process for an author because feedback seems a lot of like criticism and of...

What are you wanting to achieve this year? They say there is a no such thing as a free lunch. I believe this is true. With everything you want to achieve, there is a cost. Sometimes that cost is time, sometimes it is money or relationships. I had to sacrifice a lot of time in order to write the Chronicles of Nadine. As I was writing part time, I got up at 03H00 every morning to carve out some time to write. Not much has changed. Since the start of the pandemic, I have to home school two children as well, so in order to work on the book series, I need to get up early. I changed my Television viewing material. Instead of watching the series that I used to, I watch documentaries of medieval times on YouTube. I swapped watching my Tinyhouse shows to researching medieval weapons. My daughter said I was part-time author physically but full time emotionally. I had to give up some relationships. People who could not understand my journey or who tried to dissuade me from following my dream. Som...

  Have you ever had one of those days where you don’t know how to carry on? A time where you feel so overwhelmed by responsibilities that the weight of it suffocated you? If you have lived long enough, you know everything changes, just like the tides of the ocean. I grew up in a coastal area and some of my happiest times were at the beach jumping up as the waves pushed us forward. The ocean can be a refreshing and fun friend, but also a raging enemy in times of storms. Many years ago I had a nightmare of a wave that seemed as large as a three story building. I was about to run and way, when I heard a voice telling me to shelter myself but remain where I was. The only thing I had was a tabletop. Well, as you know these things just appear in dreams in a way that makes perfect sense. As the waves thundered over the door, I sat with my eyes closed and waited for it to pass over me.  The scene had a familiarity to it. When I was just a child, my friends and I were playing on a buri...

Does 2021 feel a little like Deja vu for you? Some challenges we had from 2020 have carried through to this year. But I have to admit that being in lockdown brought a fresh perspective to me. I used to feel a little guilty that I was robbing myself of income producing hours and that my children would suffer for it. However, I came to realise that while I do not wish to have a repeat of last year, I could write without the guilt that I used to carry. That was so liberating for me. Established authors who created courses for authors released some of their material for free, and I grabbed on with both hands, so I could create better stories for my readers. While I can not minimise the sorrow and suffering that so many people had, I am grateful for what I have gained in that time. I learned more about my craft and the publishing process. While I am convinced that my computer was an original issue in Noah’s arc, I still completed the first draft of book 3 on it in 2020. This year I started...

  Have you ever met someone who has told you to “just get over it?”  Sometimes this is easier said than done. We all face our own challenges. No one set of people has the same circumstances, but sometimes journeying with others who are facing challenges and who overcome them can encourage us.  I know that when I was a teenager; I found my courage through books. I did not find courage through people overcoming small trials, rather I found courage when reading about people who overcame massive trials.  My mother used to tell me that if we all threw our problems in a hat, we would probably want to take our own troubles back out again when we compared our problems to others. While I do not believe that it is true in all circumstances, I know that no one can fully understand my personal trials. However, I can learn of people who have overcome similar trials or can bring a fresh perspective to me. This week I released my Novella. This Prequel Novella deals with the nastier...

It feels like we have had at least three quarters of the years dedicated to lock down. While we have had more freedom in my part of the world in the last few months, there have been some changes that have been long lasting. Many people have become more fearful, and that is difficult to remedy. This Christmas I wanted to invite someone I know who was alone for Christmas, but then I realised we have to restrict ourselves to just family. It is one of the many sad realities of living in a decade where there is a virus of this magnitude. My husband is 63 and in a higher risk category (because of age), which meant that I had to ask myself what would happen to my children if something were to happen to their father. That kind of distancing fear annoys me, because too many people were alone for Christmas. In my new Novella, A Mother’s warning, readers get to learn about Lady’s Christine’s mother Queen Isabella. King Radolf trapped Queen Isabella, manipulated her and silenced her until she had ...