When things go right

Today is a great day for me. Why? Because today I woke up knowing exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life. I have been feeling really lost since I quit my awful job last year and having been unemployed for almost a year. But now, for the first time in my life I have the opportunity to have a say in my employment status. How you ask? Because I am going to be my own boss. I have committed myself to becoming a self-published writer.

I know what most of you think "You can't make a living off that when you are starting out and an unknown writer." Well, I am currently broke and sponging off my family, so when I'm self-published at least I will be doing something that I have been wanting to do for the last 7 years. Yep, that is how long I have been working on this book. I will be doing a job I love and would find stimulating.

For a long time I have been in denial of this fact, but I am a creative person with a creative personality. I want to wake up each morning knowing that I am living my life the way I want to live it and doing the things I love. For me life is too short and after that horrid job from last year, I couldn't see or imagine myself going back to any kind of job I was not passionate about.

Right now I am still helping out my brother and I have even been flexing my entrepreneurial muscles by offering to take over my family members' chores for a fee. Hey, I have to make money some way. Every penny I am making I am putting towards my potential book expenses like a cover, formatting, etc. Unfortunately I cannot afford professional editing, no matter how much I save. I will ask a few people to read my MS and get their input and try and make the manuscript as perfect as I can. I know many of you don't approve, but this is the best I can do at this point.

The best thing about working for my brother and doing chores is that I get to have lots of revising and editing time. This weekend I got a lot of editing done, which left me sporting a stupid grin all weekend. And yes, we might be adults, but my mom still makes us do chores. It keeps us humble.

Happy Mother's Day

To all the mother's out there, I hope you have a wonderful mother's day and that you will be spoiled plenty. You are special to your families, even if they don't always know how to show it.

How do you handle criticism? (IWSG)

In the past few weeks I have decided that I would love to be a self-published author. The option would suit my needs so much better and I would get to have more control. But now I want to know, how do you published authors cope with having your work out there for the whole world to read and criticize? I know that it’s hard to please everyone, but I’m afraid my work is too much of an acquired taste and that bad reviews could sink my potential writing career before it even begins. I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but I like having realistic expectations. I’m currently in the editing phase and would love to publish by this time next year. 

At this moment I think I should keep going and publish my book, even though most people might not like it. How I will react when people beg me stop writing crappy books, I don’t really know. But when the time comes, I hope there will be at least one or two people who might like it. At this point I think I need thicker skin. 

The Insecure Writers Support Group was created by the wonderfully talented Mr. Alex J Cavanaugh, so that writers can share the insecurities they have with each other and/or encourage others who need support with their insecurities. 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.

The Trouble Series Cover Reveal

The Trouble Series by Rachel Morgan

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Four new heroines are about to enter the book world in this romance series full of swoon-worthy guys, comical moments, witty dialogue, and hot kisses…

#1: The Introvert

Sarah doesn’t talk to strangers, but the cute guy sitting next to her on the plane might have to be the exception. Hours of random conversation later, Sarah thinks Aiden could be her happily ever after. The trouble is, he’s gone now—and she has no idea how to find him.  ~ The Trouble with Flying

#2: The Nerd

Livi sees her first year of university as a chance to redefine herself and finally fit into the popular crowd. But how far will she go before realizing that what she really wants has always been right in front of her? ~ The Trouble with Flirting

#3: The Fraud

After a stupid miscommunication, everyone in Andi’s new res thinks she’s secretly dating Damien, boyfriend of resident queen bee Charlotte. Since the rumor’s already out there and refuses to be squashed, Andi and Damian decide to keep up the facade in the hopes of snagging the attention of the people they really want to be with. ~ The Trouble with Faking

#4: The Artist

With exam stress, family wedding craziness, and a spiraling relationship with her boyfriend, Sophie finds herself sucked further and further into the darkness of depression. The only thing making her remotely happy these days is her art—and the guy on the other side of the internet who seems to really get her. But is that enough to keep her from falling off the edge entirely? ~ The Trouble with Falling

Get the prequel novella, FORGIVEN, for FREE at most online retailers!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/series/126161-the-trouble-series

AUTHOR BIO:

Rachel Morgan was born in South Africa and spent a large portion of her childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. After completing a degree in genetics, she decided science wasn't for her—after all, they didn't approve of made-up facts. These days she spends much of her time immersed in fantasy land once more, writing fiction for young adults and those still young at heart.

Author Links:

https://twitter.com/RachelMorgan13

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5458477.Rachel_Morgan

http://www.rachel-morgan.com/

My review for Miss Mabel’s School for Girls

I loved this book. Bianca is one kick-ass girl that I couldn't help but cheer for. The plot was full of unexpected twists, which made for great reading. I am just sorry Bianca had to lose so much in such a short amount of time, but at least she has Camille and Leda in her corner. I must confess, every so often I found myself wishing that I could slap the crap out of Miss Mabel.

Katie Cross has a wonderful talent for storytelling―the kind that keeps you captivated and wanting to read more. Once I started I couldn't stop and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I will even go so far as to say that this book could be the start of a new bestselling series. I can’t wait to read more.

You can purchase your copy here:

Kindle

Paperback

Smashwords

You can visit Katie Cross here:

Website

Blog

Happy Easter

I hope that all of you will have a great Easter weekend and that all of you will stay safe.

What do you mean you can't save my document?

My bad-luck streak with technology still continues...alas. Last night I had the sudden urge to start editing again. So I started making changes to my document and saving changes as I go along...until Microsoft Word stopped saving my document, saying that the program is non-responsive. Of course at this point I had swallowed my last breath as I realized that all my changes might not have been saved. But that was the least of my worries. When I finally had the courage to enable task manager and the unresponsive program is closed, I went back to check on my document, only to find that it was removed.

At this point people I wanted to start crying. I have had a lot of computer problems and I guess it wouldn't be so bad if I knew how to fix them. So now I have to uninstall my Microsoft Office package and re-install it. Of course when I mean me, I mean my brother. Hopefully it will be sorted out soon. Luckily I had a back-up of my work, but still...losing your work is never a nice feeling. I understand why certain writers still prefer typewriters. At this point I think my computer hates me.

How is your writing going?