C.L. Wells's Blog, page 10

Self Harm Series – 4th Entry – Interviewing Kate

Welcome, everyone. I’m so glad you’re here. If this is the first blog you’ve seen from the self-harm series, please go to the archives and take a look at the previous interviews after you read this one. If you’re currently self-harming, my hope is that you find someone’s story that you can relate to and see your own possibility for recovery in them. When I first decided to write this series, I thought I would have a hard time finding willing interviewees, but that wasn’t so. I found Patti, Caren, and Sami who told their stories for the sole purpose of letting others know that hope and healing is within arm’s reach. Now I want you to meet Kate, a young lady who resides in the UK. She is still on her journey to recovery and I’m so grateful she was willing to talk with me. CL: Welcome, Kate! I ... click here to read the full article.

Self Harm Series – 3rd Entry- Interviewing Sami

Hi, everyone. Welcome to the third instalment of the Self Harm Blog Series. Thank you so very much for joining us in this journey about a topic that can be difficult to read about and discuss. While there are similarities amongst self-harm victims, each case is completely unique, just as no two snowflakes are alike. With that said, meet Sami.  CL: Sami, Thanks so much for allowing me to interview you. Could you start off by identifying the way(s) in which you self-harmed? Sami: When I was twelve or thirteen I would cut up my arms, normally with a razor blade. I also have a few burn marks on my arm from a lighter and cigarette. It got less frequent as I got older, but I struggled with cutting and depression until I was around nineteen. What do you feel caused your behavior? I was so tormented. I felt hopeless ... click here to read the full article.

Self Harm Series – 2nd Entry – Interviewing Caren Gibbs

As I sit on my couch and prepare this blog, a song is running through my head. ~ ♫ This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. ♩~ It fits so perfectly because that’s what these folks, who are bold and brave enough to talk about their experiences with Self Harm, are doing. Letting their light shine so that others may see and reap some of the blessings from their hardships. Caren. Welcome. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to answer all my questions and emailing me back and forth. CL: As you know, the main character in my debut novel struggles with cutting. What type(s) of self-harm did you struggle with? Caren: Bulimia, hitting myself with a brush, and using an eraser to erase my skin. Were you using all these coping mechanisms simultaneously or in stages? I used all those methods simultaneously. Bulimia was the easiest to keep ... click here to read the full article.

Self Harm and its many forms. Interviewing Patti Smith.

Hello, everyone! This is the first in a series of blog posts I plan to write on self-harm. Please join me in welcoming Patti J. Smith, author of ‘Moments with God’ as well as many other works in the Christian, Romance, and Suspense genres. CL:  Welcome, Patti! First of all, thank you for being willing to speak with me about a topic that is so personal. You’re very brave. As you know, I just released my debut novel in June titled, Memoirs of a Girl Who Loves God, and the main character is a fourteen-year-old girl who struggles with a self-harm addiction. Her particular addiction is cutting. Could you tell me what forms of self-harm you were or are afflicted by? PS:  I was afflicted by alcoholism and promiscuity which resulted in my being institutionalized for being suicidal. What do you feel caused your behavior? I learned through therapy, alcohol rehabilitation and a ... click here to read the full article.

Self Harm and it’s many forms. Interviewing Patti Smith.

Hello, everyone! This is the first in a series of blog posts I plan to write on self-harm. Please join me in welcoming Patti J. Smith, author of ‘Moments with God’ as well as many other works in the Christian, Romance, and Suspense genres. CL:  Welcome, Patti! First of all, thank you for being willing to speak with me about a topic that is so personal. You’re very brave. As you know, I just released my debut novel in June titled, Memoirs of a Girl Who Loves God, and the main character is a fourteen-year-old girl who struggles with a self-harm addiction. Her particular addiction is cutting. Could you tell me what forms of self-harm you were or are afflicted by? PS:  I was afflicted by alcoholism and promiscuity which resulted in my being institutionalized for being suicidal. What do you feel caused your behavior? I learned through therapy, alcohol rehabilitation and a ... click here to read the full article.

“Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.”

~ by Bob Marley or Bob Dylan? Not sure. A meme with this quote was in my newsfeed on Facebook the other day. It made me stop scrolling, I thought about it for a minute. It was nice… but also poignant. It made me wonder what I may have missed so far. I scrolled on. Today, when I finally pulled myself out of bed, I decided I’d better run a few errands and get some things for the house. Then I’d return home to get my day going. Last night was the fourth of July so I slept in later than usual, which was lovely. My holiday was spent at my cousin’s house who lives out in the country. I had fun with my peeps and then got some much-needed rest. The first store I stopped at was Dollar Tree. While I was waiting in line behind a mom and her ... click here to read the full article.

Author, Photographer, & IT Guy. His name isn’t Jack, it’s Earl.

Get it? Jack of all trades… Oh well. I met Earl in a Facebook author group named Clean Indie Reads. If you’ve been following me at all, you’ve heard me mention them quite a few times. If you’ve read my book, you would have seen my mention of them in the acknowledgements. Earl is a man of many talents. His journey of giving up cigarettes led him to publish a book detailing the steps he took to kick the habit. It’s an interesting read with humorous tidbits thrown in. You can take many of the things he says and apply them to your own journey. If you follow Earl on Twitter, you might be the lucky recipient of one of his many beautiful landscape or flower photos. However, I have been the lucky recipient of some serious web building skills. I used to have another website that a friend help set

Who’s that Zei? More than a book cover artist.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but my book cover will knock most peep’s socks off. I’m not being big-headed; I’m just being honest. Easy for me to be boastful when I didn’t do the work. Well, I did one thing. I took the photo of the girl on the cover. That’s it. I’m not going to post it here because I don’t want to you to see my cover any other way than how it is right now. You know, I can’t even take credit for finding Zei. He actually did some work for my honey first… and then I kind of stole him. Zei helped us take our projects to the next level and I’m so grateful. He took the time to work with me and ask questions. He made a gazillion changes for me when I couldn’t make up my ever-lovin’ mind! I know I drove this poor ... click here to read the full article.

Melissa Manes! Copyeditor extraordinaire!

Oh my goodness. I don’t know where to start so I better try the beginning. Melissa and I met on Twitter. I think it may have been through Adam Dreece (YA Steampunk Author), but I’m unsure. I was looking for beta readers and Melissa jumped in to help me out. Now, for the most part, beta reading is on a volunteer basis (free service). Some peeps try to charge, but there’s a good reason to try and stay away from paying for beta services. I digress. Melissa has probably been through my book as many times as I have. Okay, that might be stretching it a bit. However, she beta read, copyedited, and proofread my book all for a very reasonable rate, but that’s not all. Melissa also assisted me in ‘getting my affairs in order.’ The amount of work that goes into self-publishing from top to bottom is ghastly! ... click here to read the full article.

Meet Alex, My Content Editor!

Storytime! While I was still writing my book, I began preparing for the future. I set up Twitter and started collecting followers. I watched a bazillion youtube videos and read a million blogs. Do this! Don’t do that! If you don’t have a college degree, you can’t be a writer! Don’t overuse this word or THAT word! Have a support network! Ding, ding, ding! Yes, a support network is needed. In the midst of the preparations, I began joining facebook author/writers groups. Do you know how many of those there are? A LOT. One particular group stood out above the rest and it’s still the only one I spend any quantifiable time in. I really hope I used that word correctly. After a few bad experiences with other editors, and then wading through a mass of ego-strokers who read my first five thousand words, told me how wonderful it was, and then ... click here to read the full article.