Books by fellow bloggers out now

Maguire's Corner by Heather M. Gardner is finally out in paperback.

Purchase link: Amazon

Secrets of the Ash Tree by Siv Maria Ottem

Purchase link: Amazon

Under construction

It is that time of the year again, the time when my family feels like taking on some type of DIY project that everyone of us has to get involved in. So what are we up to you ask? We are painting the inside of the entire house. That sounds easy you might say, but I am afraid of heights and our ceilings are very high, so any ladder work is out for me. But I still do my bit. Right now my hands are covered with speckles of paint of various colours and I am awaiting my siblings arrival from work so that it can all start again.

I have also decided to work on my writing resume. I am trying hard to come up with some good short story or even flash fiction ideas. Perhaps I need to start small first, before seeking publication for my novel. Who knows, maybe I can better my writing in the process.

I can taste my lung

Man—oh—man, am I unfit. I decided to start exercising again and it was brutal. All I had to do was move to the music of my favourite songs for 20 minutes, but it was tough. You know that awful feeling where your legs start to burn, your chest starts to heave and your lungs are crying for more oxygen? Well, that was me.


Do you know the more depressing part? When I looked in the mirror my love handles and puffy tummy were still there. Wouldn't it be great if you could start losing the pounds after every strenuous work-out? If you walk for an hour, than you see a pound of fat just fall off or if you did aerobics for two hours, you can see your love handles just melt away? It is so easy picking up those damn pounds, but taking them off...very hard work.

What is your fitness level like?

Things to do when you are unemployed

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they will find out what it is like to be unemployed. I have felt like this many times, as I have only ever had temp jobs and then the task of finding a new job ensues, boo hoo, who cares. Anyway, I have come up with a few ideas and things to do when you are unemployed and you have the need to fill your day, or just keep busy.

Of course there are the obvious things to do like:

• Update your CV or resume.
• Applying for new jobs.

If however you have done all that and you still have extra time left, you can do this:

• Watch all the movies you have missed out on the past few months and in my case, even years.

• Read all the books in your book pile that you have promised to get to, but never did.

• Write that great novel you have had bubbling inside you for years.

• Get a hobby like gardening, learn to play guitar or even start a blog or in my case learn to be a better blogger.

• Catch up with friends and family you haven’t spoken to in ages, in my case I avoid all of them because they are far more successful than me and my ego needs a break.

• Watch a few new series or catch up with the old ones you have missed.

• Do tons of window shopping.

• Learn to actually cook or bake.

• Take on those DIY jobs you have been putting off.

• Get some exercise. Something I really need to start doing. My love handles are telling me so.

• Actually start caring about what you are eating, so taking on healthier eating habits.

What would you add to this list as something to do when you are unemployed and looking for something to do?

When the doubt monster steps in (IWSG)

Thank you to Alex and his wonderful team of co-hosts for all that they do. You guys are super amazing. 

As artistic individuals, we live a tortured life. We create wonderful pieces of art, composed of the written word and most of us are at our happiest doing that. But then…there comes a time when we need to share our work with others, to get the exposure we require to give our work the attention it deserves. That of course is the most difficult part, when we start comparing our work to that of others, wondering whether our creations are good enough and we end up seeking the approval of our peers to validate the success of our creations.

The life of a writer is never easy. We go through this rollercoaster of emotions, feeling happy about what we created, doubting ourselves and feeling insecure and then we start hating what we had created. It is a vicious cycle that most of us are always on, sometimes all in a matter of days.

My cure? I think we should have a great support system. Whether it is a family member, a good friend or a fellow writer that will step in when you are on the negative side of that emotional rollercoaster. It should be someone that will keep you on course and focused on what matters most. Someone who can make you smile even when you want to cry. Find one of those people and your creative journey could be a lot less lonely and stressful and who knows, maybe it could even be more fun.

The Insecure Writers Support Group was created by the wonderfully talented Mr Alex J. Cavanaugh, so that writers could talk and communicate to others about the fears and insecurities that they might have. You can visit Alex Here, or if you want to join us in discussing our insecurities on the first Wednesday of each month, you are welcome to join by going Here.

I am just hopeless

This might sound strange, but I am really bad with technology. New social media types especially. I tried to use linky tools last week and those of you who use it will know you get step by step instructions and a demo on how to use it right? Well, I still messed up and I drove myself crazy with one thing and before I knew it, I made a complete mess of my blog layout. It took me an hour to get everything back the way it was. Needless to say, I closed my linky tools account because I am just an idiot who will stick to blogging. How I figured out how to blog is beyond me.

Why use linky tool in the first place? Well, I noticed that I have a lot of people who follow me through other blogging sources beside blogger, which I have a hard time following back, because they do not have Google+ or Google Friend Connect. So I wanted to find a way to follow them back and it backfired. But I should mention, I always follow back and if I somehow missed following you back, please let me know and I will correct it. Another thing, if I can't follow someone the normal way, I always add your blog to my blog list on the right and read and comment on your blog that way. Also, I sometimes find that people tend to follow me, but have no link for me to follow them back with. If you leave me your link, I will gladly follow you back.

I sound stupid, I know.

CassaStorm, That Sadie Thing and Polar Night

The wonderful and totally awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh's book CassaStorm is out now. It is part of a series that I am going to get my little hands on soon. You guys can get your copy here:

Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Amazon Kindle
Goodreads







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That Sadie Thing by Annalisa Crawford is finally in paperback. Another book I want to get my greedy little hands on. You can check it out here:

Goodreads










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Polar Night by Julie Flanders is also available now and it is 10% off if you buy it from Smashwords up until 6 October 2013. I need to get this book too. You can purchase a copy here:

Amazon
Amazon UK
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble
Sony
Kobo