Lucy Mitchell's Blog, page 51
November 4, 2019
#BookReview
This book took me to new heights of reading pleasure. It is a wonderful uplifting read and I felt rejuvenated afterwards. Before I read this book I was in a bit of reading rut and I was longing for a book to rush to my aid.
This is a book written by a booklover. It was clearly written for booklovers and guess what? It is a story about a BOOKLOVER! *Screech*
It ALSO has a DELICIOUS romance in it which unfolds in a bookshop. Damn it – I want to now rewind twenty years or so and meet my beloved in a book shop (as opposed to a dodgy nightclub in Wolverhampton).
The first chapter of this book drew me in. Sara, main character, a booklover, leaves Sweden, and goes to stay with her American pen friend, Amy, also a booklover, and when Sara arrives in the forgotten town of Broken Wheel she discovers some shocking news.
Before I give too much away, here’s the blurb from Goodreads:
Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen…
Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds that Amy’s funeral has just ended. Luckily, the townspeople are happy to look after their bewildered tourist—even if they don’t understand her peculiar need for books. Marooned in a farm town that’s almost beyond repair, Sara starts a bookstore in honor of her friend’s memory.
All she wants is to share the books she loves with the citizens of Broken Wheel and to convince them that reading is one of the great joys of life. But she makes some unconventional choices that could force a lot of secrets into the open and change things for everyone in town. Reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, this is a warm, witty book about friendship, stories, and love
Here’s my review:
The book captures the craziness of a Swedish stranger in a small forgotten town in America beautifully.
Sara, the main character, shares my obsession with books.
“For as long as she could remember, she had thought that autumn air went well with books, that the two both somehow belonged with blankets, comfortable armchairs, and big cups of coffee or tea.”
Agree, Sara!
“Can you smell it? The scent of new books. Unread adventures. Friends you haven’t met yet, hours of magical escapism awaiting you.”
Yes I can, Sara!
If more bookshop owners had taken the responsibility to hang warning signs, her life would have been much easier. Cigarette packets came with warnings, so why not tragic books? There was wording on bottles of beer warning against drinking and driving, but not a single word about the consequences of reading books without tissues to hand.”
High five to this idea!
“One of the most difficult things when you were trying to navigate the world of books was dealing with all the unreliable authors. They were so unbelievably tricky to keep track of. An author might write a brilliant book, only to follow it up with something utterly mediocre. Or, and this was almost worse, one might have written a brilliant book but then turn out to be dead. Then there were those authors who started a series but never finished it.”
I loved everything about Sara, even how she and Amy exchanged letters whilst living in Sweden and America, and in spite of their difference in age and location (Amy is an old lady, Sara a woman in her 20s) they bonded over books.
The town of Broken Wheel needed healing. I loved this setting for the book.
There are strong themes of community and belonging running throughout the book. Prior to arriving in Broken Wheel Sara felt like she only ever belonged between the pages of a book.
Sara’s idea for a bookstore is inspired and the way it was described in the book made me want to hot foot it down B&Q, buy in a shed load of yellow paint and then go buy some old vintage sofas. Wouldn’t we all like to go to a sunshine yellow bookshop, full of every sort of book and two comfy old armchairs to sit in and read all day?
There’s a lot of references of good books throughout the story and this adds to one’s reading enjoyment.
This book is a great read and it is on my list of top reads for 2019. I want to buy copies for the booklovers in my life, press into their hands and tell them to go and enjoy.
Thank you to Katarina Bivald who reignited my love of books.
Have a great day reading fans!
#BookReview
This book took me to new heights of reading pleasure. It is a wonderful uplifting read and I felt rejuvenated afterwards. Before I read this book I was in a bit of reading rut and I was longing for a book to rush to my aid.
This is a book written by a booklover. It was clearly written for booklovers and guess what? It is a story about a BOOKLOVER! *Screech*
It ALSO has a DELICIOUS romance in it which unfolds in a bookshop. Damn it – I want to now rewind twenty years or so and meet my beloved in a book shop (as opposed to a dodgy nightclub in Wolverhampton).
The first chapter of this book drew me in. Sara, main character, a booklover, leaves Sweden, and goes to stay with her American pen friend, Amy, also a booklover, and when Sara arrives in the forgotten town of Broken Wheel she discovers some shocking news.
Before I give too much away, here’s the blurb from Goodreads:
Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen…
Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds that Amy’s funeral has just ended. Luckily, the townspeople are happy to look after their bewildered tourist—even if they don’t understand her peculiar need for books. Marooned in a farm town that’s almost beyond repair, Sara starts a bookstore in honor of her friend’s memory.
All she wants is to share the books she loves with the citizens of Broken Wheel and to convince them that reading is one of the great joys of life. But she makes some unconventional choices that could force a lot of secrets into the open and change things for everyone in town. Reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, this is a warm, witty book about friendship, stories, and love
Here’s my review:
The book captures the craziness of a Swedish stranger in a small forgotten town in America beautifully.
Sara, the main character, shares my obsession with books.
“For as long as she could remember, she had thought that autumn air went well with books, that the two both somehow belonged with blankets, comfortable armchairs, and big cups of coffee or tea.”
Agree, Sara!
“Can you smell it? The scent of new books. Unread adventures. Friends you haven’t met yet, hours of magical escapism awaiting you.”
Yes I can, Sara!
If more bookshop owners had taken the responsibility to hang warning signs, her life would have been much easier. Cigarette packets came with warnings, so why not tragic books? There was wording on bottles of beer warning against drinking and driving, but not a single word about the consequences of reading books without tissues to hand.”
High five to this idea!
“One of the most difficult things when you were trying to navigate the world of books was dealing with all the unreliable authors. They were so unbelievably tricky to keep track of. An author might write a brilliant book, only to follow it up with something utterly mediocre. Or, and this was almost worse, one might have written a brilliant book but then turn out to be dead. Then there were those authors who started a series but never finished it.”
I loved everything about Sara, even how she and Amy exchanged letters whilst living in Sweden and America, and in spite of their difference in age and location (Amy is an old lady, Sara a woman in her 20s) they bonded over books.
The town of Broken Wheel needed healing. I loved this setting for the book.
There are strong themes of community and belonging running throughout the book. Prior to arriving in Broken Wheel Sara felt like she only ever belonged between the pages of a book.
Sara’s idea for a bookstore is inspired and the way it was described in the book made me want to hot foot it down B&Q, buy in a shed load of yellow paint and then go buy some old vintage sofas. Wouldn’t we all like to go to a sunshine yellow bookshop, full of every sort of book and two comfy old armchairs to sit in and read all day?
There’s a lot of references of good books throughout the story and this adds to one’s reading enjoyment.
This book is a great read and it is on my list of top reads for 2019. I want to buy copies for the booklovers in my life, press into their hands and tell them to go and enjoy.
Thank you to Katarina Bivald who reignited my love of books.
Have a great day reading fans!
#BookReview
This book took me to new heights of reading pleasure. It is a wonderful uplifting read and I felt rejuvenated afterwards. Before I read this book I was in a bit of reading rut and I was longing for a book to rush to my aid.
This is a book written by a booklover. It was clearly written for booklovers and guess what? It is a story about a BOOKLOVER! *Screech*
It ALSO has a DELICIOUS romance in it which unfolds in a bookshop. Damn it – I want to now rewind twenty years or so and meet my beloved in a book shop (as opposed to a dodgy nightclub in Wolverhampton).
The first chapter of this book drew me in. Sara, main character, a booklover, leaves Sweden, and goes to stay with her American pen friend, Amy, also a booklover, and when Sara arrives in the forgotten town of Broken Wheel she discovers some shocking news.
Before I give too much away, here’s the blurb from Goodreads:
Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen…
Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds that Amy’s funeral has just ended. Luckily, the townspeople are happy to look after their bewildered tourist—even if they don’t understand her peculiar need for books. Marooned in a farm town that’s almost beyond repair, Sara starts a bookstore in honor of her friend’s memory.
All she wants is to share the books she loves with the citizens of Broken Wheel and to convince them that reading is one of the great joys of life. But she makes some unconventional choices that could force a lot of secrets into the open and change things for everyone in town. Reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, this is a warm, witty book about friendship, stories, and love
Here’s my review:
The book captures the craziness of a Swedish stranger in a small forgotten town in America beautifully.
Sara, the main character, shares my obsession with books.
“For as long as she could remember, she had thought that autumn air went well with books, that the two both somehow belonged with blankets, comfortable armchairs, and big cups of coffee or tea.”
Agree, Sara!
“Can you smell it? The scent of new books. Unread adventures. Friends you haven’t met yet, hours of magical escapism awaiting you.”
Yes I can, Sara!
If more bookshop owners had taken the responsibility to hang warning signs, her life would have been much easier. Cigarette packets came with warnings, so why not tragic books? There was wording on bottles of beer warning against drinking and driving, but not a single word about the consequences of reading books without tissues to hand.”
High five to this idea!
“One of the most difficult things when you were trying to navigate the world of books was dealing with all the unreliable authors. They were so unbelievably tricky to keep track of. An author might write a brilliant book, only to follow it up with something utterly mediocre. Or, and this was almost worse, one might have written a brilliant book but then turn out to be dead. Then there were those authors who started a series but never finished it.”
I loved everything about Sara, even how she and Amy exchanged letters whilst living in Sweden and America, and in spite of their difference in age and location (Amy is an old lady, Sara a woman in her 20s) they bonded over books.
The town of Broken Wheel needed healing. I loved this setting for the book.
There are strong themes of community and belonging running throughout the book. Prior to arriving in Broken Wheel Sara felt like she only ever belonged between the pages of a book.
Sara’s idea for a bookstore is inspired and the way it was described in the book made me want to hot foot it down B&Q, buy in a shed load of yellow paint and then go buy some old vintage sofas. Wouldn’t we all like to go to a sunshine yellow bookshop, full of every sort of book and two comfy old armchairs to sit in and read all day?
There’s a lot of references of good books throughout the story and this adds to one’s reading enjoyment.
This book is a great read and it is on my list of top reads for 2019. I want to buy copies for the booklovers in my life, press into their hands and tell them to go and enjoy.
Thank you to Katarina Bivald who reignited my love of books.
Have a great day reading fans!
November 2, 2019
How Your Approach To Makeup Can Change While Writing Your Book #Writing
On this blog I like to record tales from my book writing journey. Hopefully a few of my readers will relate to my experiences.
Today I am going to tell you about how my approach to makeup changed while writing my debut novel; Instructions For Falling In Love Again.
Makeup became my secret weapon while writing my debut novel.
Please don’t think I was at makeup artist standard prior to deciding to write a novel. When God was handing out makeup skills I was at the back of the queue with my head stuck in a book. My technique was very much, ‘dab a little bit here, maybe a little bit there.’ Makeup didn’t really have a purpose in my life before writing my book.
Once I started writing seriously, my creative levels went haywire and everything changed.
I also want to point out I did spend a lot of time on my own and it was mainly my three cats and dog who got to see my dodgy makeup attempts.
Here’s what I discovered:
A good application of glittery gold eyeshadow before writing was at times a life saver. I spent a lot of time alone at the kitchen table with my laptop and because of the way the stainless steel toaster was positioned every time I looked up to groan or mutter a series of naughty words about my work, I would catch sight of my reflection. My glittery gold eyeshadow would stand out (as I had layered it on thick prior to writing) and I would find myself forgetting about my creative troubles and sighing at my glittery eyes. I would find myself muttering, ‘Mitchell, your seventh chapter sounds dire but those eyes are stunning!’
The power of bold red lipstick and literary rejections. When I experienced any sort of literary rejection I would enter into a period of inner turmoil. This would normally involve shuffling over to the sofa to cry into a fluffy cushion and hugging the life out of the dog. Days later I would make the life changing decision to get off the sofa, chuck away my damp cushion, release the dog and come back fighting. This is when I found applying bold red lipstick really helped. There is something very powerful about red lipstick as you go about your business. It gets you back into that kickass author mood.
Book idea excitement can cause havoc with your eye shadow. Good ideas for my book would always come to me when I was busy applying a vibrant shade of eye shadow to ONE eye. Squealing with joy I would rush off to find a notebook leaving the other eye bare. Fast forward several hours and a loved one would be staring at me with a puzzled expression.
My left eyebrow liked to arch higher than the right brow during the creation of an intimate scene. I don’t know why but I would put on some makeup before I sat down to write a naughty scene. After writing the intimate scene I would catch sight of my left brow in the hallway mirror and gasp. That brow was almost touching my hairline.
Procrastination and makeovers. I did find giving myself an unexpected makeover a lot while procrastinating. Some of my novel was written at my dressing table and it became so easy to ignore my plot issue and imagine myself on the red carpet at my book’s film premiere with subtle smokey eyes. I will say this is a good time waster, it certainly livens up procrastination and I looked like I had been digging coal at one point.
Giving oneself a stern writing PEP talk in the hallway mirror is more effective when one has a made up face. I do give myself a lot of PEP talks which mainly consist of me telling my reflection to get a grip. During my novel writing I felt like I was constantly stood in the hallway mirror telling myself yet again to stop moaning and get a grip. I found the PEP talk was better when I wore makeup.
Concealer has its limits. I have found that concealer for bags under the eyes and dark purple circles due to late night editing has its limits and sometimes you just have to except no amount of concealer is going to get rid of the zombie look. Once my concealer reached its limit I knew it was time for self care (a warm bath, a Twix and listening to 90’s hits).
I hoped you enjoyed this blog post.
The next time you are in the depths of rejection despair, reach for your bold red lipstick 
How Your Approach To Makeup Can Change While Writing Your Book #Writing
On this blog I like to record tales from my book writing journey. Hopefully a few of my readers will relate to my experiences.
Today I am going to tell you about how my approach to makeup changed while writing my debut novel; Instructions For Falling In Love Again.
Makeup became my secret weapon while writing my debut novel.
Please don’t think I was at makeup artist standard prior to deciding to write a novel. When God was handing out makeup skills I was at the back of the queue with my head stuck in a book. My technique was very much, ‘dab a little bit here, maybe a little bit there.’ Makeup didn’t really have a purpose in my life before writing my book.
Once I started writing seriously, my creative levels went haywire and everything changed.
I also want to point out I did spend a lot of time on my own and it was mainly my three cats and dog who got to see my dodgy makeup attempts.
Here’s what I discovered:
A good application of glittery gold eyeshadow before writing was at times a life saver. I spent a lot of time alone at the kitchen table with my laptop and because of the way the stainless steel toaster was positioned every time I looked up to groan or mutter a series of naughty words about my work, I would catch sight of my reflection. My glittery gold eyeshadow would stand out (as I had layered it on thick prior to writing) and I would find myself forgetting about my creative troubles and sighing at my glittery eyes. I would find myself muttering, ‘Mitchell, your seventh chapter sounds dire but those eyes are stunning!’
The power of bold red lipstick and literary rejections. When I experienced any sort of literary rejection I would enter into a period of inner turmoil. This would normally involve shuffling over to the sofa to cry into a fluffy cushion and hugging the life out of the dog. Days later I would make the life changing decision to get off the sofa, chuck away my damp cushion, release the dog and come back fighting. This is when I found applying bold red lipstick really helped. There is something very powerful about red lipstick as you go about your business. It gets you back into that kickass author mood.
Book idea excitement can cause havoc with your eye shadow. Good ideas for my book would always come to me when I was busy applying a vibrant shade of eye shadow to ONE eye. Squealing with joy I would rush off to find a notebook leaving the other eye bare. Fast forward several hours and a loved one would be staring at me with a puzzled expression.
My left eyebrow liked to arch higher than the right brow during the creation of an intimate scene. I don’t know why but I would put on some makeup before I sat down to write a naughty scene. After writing the intimate scene I would catch sight of my left brow in the hallway mirror and gasp. That brow was almost touching my hairline.
Procrastination and makeovers. I did find giving myself an unexpected makeover a lot while procrastinating. Some of my novel was written at my dressing table and it became so easy to ignore my plot issue and imagine myself on the red carpet at my book’s film premiere with subtle smokey eyes. I will say this is a good time waster, it certainly livens up procrastination and I looked like I had been digging coal at one point.
Giving oneself a stern writing PEP talk in the hallway mirror is more effective when one has a made up face. I do give myself a lot of PEP talks which mainly consist of me telling my reflection to get a grip. During my novel writing I felt like I was constantly stood in the hallway mirror telling myself yet again to stop moaning and get a grip. I found the PEP talk was better when I wore makeup.
Concealer has its limits. I have found that concealer for bags under the eyes and dark purple circles due to late night editing has its limits and sometimes you just have to except no amount of concealer is going to get rid of the zombie look. Once my concealer reached its limit I knew it was time for self care (a warm bath, a Twix and listening to 90’s hits).
I hoped you enjoyed this blog post.
The next time you are in the depths of rejection despair, reach for your bold red lipstick
How Your Approach To Makeup Can Change While Writing Your Book #Writing
On this blog I like to record tales from my book writing journey. Hopefully a few of my readers will relate to my experiences.
Today I am going to tell you about how my approach to makeup changed while writing my debut novel; Instructions For Falling In Love Again.
Makeup became my secret weapon while writing my debut novel.
Please don’t think I was at makeup artist standard prior to deciding to write a novel. When God was handing out makeup skills I was at the back of the queue with my head stuck in a book. My technique was very much, ‘dab a little bit here, maybe a little bit there.’ Makeup didn’t really have a purpose in my life before writing my book.
Once I started writing seriously, my creative levels went haywire and everything changed.
I also want to point out I did spend a lot of time on my own and it was mainly my three cats and dog who got to see my dodgy makeup attempts.
Here’s what I discovered:
A good application of glittery gold eyeshadow before writing was at times a life saver. I spent a lot of time alone at the kitchen table with my laptop and because of the way the stainless steel toaster was positioned every time I looked up to groan or mutter a series of naughty words about my work, I would catch sight of my reflection. My glittery gold eyeshadow would stand out (as I had layered it on thick prior to writing) and I would find myself forgetting about my creative troubles and sighing at my glittery eyes. I would find myself muttering, ‘Mitchell, your seventh chapter sounds dire but those eyes are stunning!’
The power of bold red lipstick and literary rejections. When I experienced any sort of literary rejection I would enter into a period of inner turmoil. This would normally involve shuffling over to the sofa to cry into a fluffy cushion and hugging the life out of the dog. Days later I would make the life changing decision to get off the sofa, chuck away my damp cushion, release the dog and come back fighting. This is when I found applying bold red lipstick really helped. There is something very powerful about red lipstick as you go about your business. It gets you back into that kickass author mood.
Book idea excitement can cause havoc with your eye shadow. Good ideas for my book would always come to me when I was busy applying a vibrant shade of eye shadow to ONE eye. Squealing with joy I would rush off to find a notebook leaving the other eye bare. Fast forward several hours and a loved one would be staring at me with a puzzled expression.
My left eyebrow liked to arch higher than the right brow during the creation of an intimate scene. I don’t know why but I would put on some makeup before I sat down to write a naughty scene. After writing the intimate scene I would catch sight of my left brow in the hallway mirror and gasp. That brow was almost touching my hairline.
Procrastination and makeovers. I did find giving myself an unexpected makeover a lot while procrastinating. Some of my novel was written at my dressing table and it became so easy to ignore my plot issue and imagine myself on the red carpet at my book’s film premiere with subtle smokey eyes. I will say this is a good time waster, it certainly livens up procrastination and I looked like I had been digging coal at one point.
Giving oneself a stern writing PEP talk in the hallway mirror is more effective when one has a made up face. I do give myself a lot of PEP talks which mainly consist of me telling my reflection to get a grip. During my novel writing I felt like I was constantly stood in the hallway mirror telling myself yet again to stop moaning and get a grip. I found the PEP talk was better when I wore makeup.
Concealer has its limits. I have found that concealer for bags under the eyes and dark purple circles due to late night editing has its limits and sometimes you just have to except no amount of concealer is going to get rid of the zombie look. Once my concealer reached its limit I knew it was time for self care (a warm bath, a Twix and listening to 90’s hits).
I hoped you enjoyed this blog post.
The next time you are in the depths of rejection despair, reach for your bold red lipstick
How Your Approach To Makeup Can Change While Writing Your Book #Writing
On this blog I like to record tales from my book writing journey. Hopefully a few of my readers will relate to my experiences.
Today I am going to tell you about how my approach to makeup changed while writing my debut novel; Instructions For Falling In Love Again.
Makeup became my secret weapon while writing my debut novel.
Please don’t think I was at makeup artist standard prior to deciding to write a novel. When God was handing out makeup skills I was at the back of the queue with my head stuck in a book. My technique was very much, ‘dab a little bit here, maybe a little bit there.’ Makeup didn’t really have a purpose in my life before writing my book.
Once I started writing seriously, my creative levels went haywire and everything changed.
I also want to point out I did spend a lot of time on my own and it was mainly my three cats and dog who got to see my dodgy makeup attempts.
Here’s what I discovered:
A good application of glittery gold eyeshadow before writing was at times a life saver. I spent a lot of time alone at the kitchen table with my laptop and because of the way the stainless steel toaster was positioned every time I looked up to groan or mutter a series of naughty words about my work, I would catch sight of my reflection. My glittery gold eyeshadow would stand out (as I had layered it on thick prior to writing) and I would find myself forgetting about my creative troubles and sighing at my glittery eyes. I would find myself muttering, ‘Mitchell, your seventh chapter sounds dire but those eyes are stunning!’
The power of bold red lipstick and literary rejections. When I experienced any sort of literary rejection I would enter into a period of inner turmoil. This would normally involve shuffling over to the sofa to cry into a fluffy cushion and hugging the life out of the dog. Days later I would make the life changing decision to get off the sofa, chuck away my damp cushion, release the dog and come back fighting. This is when I found applying bold red lipstick really helped. There is something very powerful about red lipstick as you go about your business. It gets you back into that kickass author mood.
Book idea excitement can cause havoc with your eye shadow. Good ideas for my book would always come to me when I was busy applying a vibrant shade of eye shadow to ONE eye. Squealing with joy I would rush off to find a notebook leaving the other eye bare. Fast forward several hours and a loved one would be staring at me with a puzzled expression.
My left eyebrow liked to arch higher than the right brow during the creation of an intimate scene. I don’t know why but I would put on some makeup before I sat down to write a naughty scene. After writing the intimate scene I would catch sight of my left brow in the hallway mirror and gasp. That brow was almost touching my hairline.
Procrastination and makeovers. I did find giving myself an unexpected makeover a lot while procrastinating. Some of my novel was written at my dressing table and it became so easy to ignore my plot issue and imagine myself on the red carpet at my book’s film premiere with subtle smokey eyes. I will say this is a good time waster, it certainly livens up procrastination and I looked like I had been digging coal at one point.
Giving oneself a stern writing PEP talk in the hallway mirror is more effective when one has a made up face. I do give myself a lot of PEP talks which mainly consist of me telling my reflection to get a grip. During my novel writing I felt like I was constantly stood in the hallway mirror telling myself yet again to stop moaning and get a grip. I found the PEP talk was better when I wore makeup.
Concealer has its limits. I have found that concealer for bags under the eyes and dark purple circles due to late night editing has its limits and sometimes you just have to except no amount of concealer is going to get rid of the zombie look. Once my concealer reached its limit I knew it was time for self care (a warm bath, a Twix and listening to 90’s hits).
I hoped you enjoyed this blog post.
The next time you are in the depths of rejection despair, reach for your bold red lipstick
How Your Approach To Makeup Can Change While Writing Your Book #Writing
On this blog I like to record tales from my book writing journey. Hopefully a few of my readers will relate to my experiences.
Today I am going to tell you about how my approach to makeup changed while writing my debut novel; Instructions For Falling In Love Again.
Makeup became my secret weapon while writing my debut novel.
Please don’t think I was at makeup artist standard prior to deciding to write a novel. When God was handing out makeup skills I was at the back of the queue with my head stuck in a book. My technique was very much, ‘dab a little bit here, maybe a little bit there.’ Makeup didn’t really have a purpose in my life before writing my book.
Once I started writing seriously, my creative levels went haywire and everything changed.
I also want to point out I did spend a lot of time on my own and it was mainly my three cats and dog who got to see my dodgy makeup attempts.
Here’s what I discovered:
A good application of glittery gold eyeshadow before writing was at times a life saver. I spent a lot of time alone at the kitchen table with my laptop and because of the way the stainless steel toaster was positioned every time I looked up to groan or mutter a series of naughty words about my work, I would catch sight of my reflection. My glittery gold eyeshadow would stand out (as I had layered it on thick prior to writing) and I would find myself forgetting about my creative troubles and sighing at my glittery eyes. I would find myself muttering, ‘Mitchell, your seventh chapter sounds dire but those eyes are stunning!’
The power of bold red lipstick and literary rejections. When I experienced any sort of literary rejection I would enter into a period of inner turmoil. This would normally involve shuffling over to the sofa to cry into a fluffy cushion and hugging the life out of the dog. Days later I would make the life changing decision to get off the sofa, chuck away my damp cushion, release the dog and come back fighting. This is when I found applying bold red lipstick really helped. There is something very powerful about red lipstick as you go about your business. It gets you back into that kickass author mood.
Book idea excitement can cause havoc with your eye shadow. Good ideas for my book would always come to me when I was busy applying a vibrant shade of eye shadow to ONE eye. Squealing with joy I would rush off to find a notebook leaving the other eye bare. Fast forward several hours and a loved one would be staring at me with a puzzled expression.
My left eyebrow liked to arch higher than the right brow during the creation of an intimate scene. I don’t know why but I would put on some makeup before I sat down to write a naughty scene. After writing the intimate scene I would catch sight of my left brow in the hallway mirror and gasp. That brow was almost touching my hairline.
Procrastination and makeovers. I did find giving myself an unexpected makeover a lot while procrastinating. Some of my novel was written at my dressing table and it became so easy to ignore my plot issue and imagine myself on the red carpet at my book’s film premiere with subtle smokey eyes. I will say this is a good time waster, it certainly livens up procrastination and I looked like I had been digging coal at one point.
Giving oneself a stern writing PEP talk in the hallway mirror is more effective when one has a made up face. I do give myself a lot of PEP talks which mainly consist of me telling my reflection to get a grip. During my novel writing I felt like I was constantly stood in the hallway mirror telling myself yet again to stop moaning and get a grip. I found the PEP talk was better when I wore makeup.
Concealer has its limits. I have found that concealer for bags under the eyes and dark purple circles due to late night editing has its limits and sometimes you just have to except no amount of concealer is going to get rid of the zombie look. Once my concealer reached its limit I knew it was time for self care (a warm bath, a Twix and listening to 90’s hits).
I hoped you enjoyed this blog post.
The next time you are in the depths of rejection despair, reach for your bold red lipstick
How Your Approach To Makeup Can Change While Writing Your Book #Writing
On this blog I like to record tales from my book writing journey. Hopefully a few of my readers will relate to my experiences.
Today I am going to tell you about how my approach to makeup changed while writing my debut novel; Instructions For Falling In Love Again.
Makeup became my secret weapon while writing my debut novel.
Please don’t think I was at makeup artist standard prior to deciding to write a novel. When God was handing out makeup skills I was at the back of the queue with my head stuck in a book. My technique was very much, ‘dab a little bit here, maybe a little bit there.’ Makeup didn’t really have a purpose in my life before writing my book.
Once I started writing seriously, my creative levels went haywire and everything changed.
I also want to point out I did spend a lot of time on my own and it was mainly my three cats and dog who got to see my dodgy makeup attempts.
Here’s what I discovered:
A good application of glittery gold eyeshadow before writing was at times a life saver. I spent a lot of time alone at the kitchen table with my laptop and because of the way the stainless steel toaster was positioned every time I looked up to groan or mutter a series of naughty words about my work, I would catch sight of my reflection. My glittery gold eyeshadow would stand out (as I had layered it on thick prior to writing) and I would find myself forgetting about my creative troubles and sighing at my glittery eyes. I would find myself muttering, ‘Mitchell, your seventh chapter sounds dire but those eyes are stunning!’
The power of bold red lipstick and literary rejections. When I experienced any sort of literary rejection I would enter into a period of inner turmoil. This would normally involve shuffling over to the sofa to cry into a fluffy cushion and hugging the life out of the dog. Days later I would make the life changing decision to get off the sofa, chuck away my damp cushion, release the dog and come back fighting. This is when I found applying bold red lipstick really helped. There is something very powerful about red lipstick as you go about your business. It gets you back into that kickass author mood.
Book idea excitement can cause havoc with your eye shadow. Good ideas for my book would always come to me when I was busy applying a vibrant shade of eye shadow to ONE eye. Squealing with joy I would rush off to find a notebook leaving the other eye bare. Fast forward several hours and a loved one would be staring at me with a puzzled expression.
My left eyebrow liked to arch higher than the right brow during the creation of an intimate scene. I don’t know why but I would put on some makeup before I sat down to write a naughty scene. After writing the intimate scene I would catch sight of my left brow in the hallway mirror and gasp. That brow was almost touching my hairline.
Procrastination and makeovers. I did find giving myself an unexpected makeover a lot while procrastinating. Some of my novel was written at my dressing table and it became so easy to ignore my plot issue and imagine myself on the red carpet at my book’s film premiere with subtle smokey eyes. I will say this is a good time waster, it certainly livens up procrastination and I looked like I had been digging coal at one point.
Giving oneself a stern writing PEP talk in the hallway mirror is more effective when one has a made up face. I do give myself a lot of PEP talks which mainly consist of me telling my reflection to get a grip. During my novel writing I felt like I was constantly stood in the hallway mirror telling myself yet again to stop moaning and get a grip. I found the PEP talk was better when I wore makeup.
Concealer has its limits. I have found that concealer for bags under the eyes and dark purple circles due to late night editing has its limits and sometimes you just have to except no amount of concealer is going to get rid of the zombie look. Once my concealer reached its limit I knew it was time for self care (a warm bath, a Twix and listening to 90’s hits).
I hoped you enjoyed this blog post.
The next time you are in the depths of rejection despair, reach for your bold red lipstick
How Your Approach To Makeup Can Change While Writing Your Book #Writing
On this blog I like to record tales from my book writing journey. Hopefully a few of my readers will relate to my experiences.
Today I am going to tell you about how my approach to makeup changed while writing my debut novel; Instructions For Falling In Love Again.
Makeup became my secret weapon while writing my debut novel.
Please don’t think I was at makeup artist standard prior to deciding to write a novel. When God was handing out makeup skills I was at the back of the queue with my head stuck in a book. My technique was very much, ‘dab a little bit here, maybe a little bit there.’ Makeup didn’t really have a purpose in my life before writing my book.
Once I started writing seriously, my creative levels went haywire and everything changed.
I also want to point out I did spend a lot of time on my own and it was mainly my three cats and dog who got to see my dodgy makeup attempts.
Here’s what I discovered:
A good application of glittery gold eyeshadow before writing was at times a life saver. I spent a lot of time alone at the kitchen table with my laptop and because of the way the stainless steel toaster was positioned every time I looked up to groan or mutter a series of naughty words about my work, I would catch sight of my reflection. My glittery gold eyeshadow would stand out (as I had layered it on thick prior to writing) and I would find myself forgetting about my creative troubles and sighing at my glittery eyes. I would find myself muttering, ‘Mitchell, your seventh chapter sounds dire but those eyes are stunning!’
The power of bold red lipstick and literary rejections. When I experienced any sort of literary rejection I would enter into a period of inner turmoil. This would normally involve shuffling over to the sofa to cry into a fluffy cushion and hugging the life out of the dog. Days later I would make the life changing decision to get off the sofa, chuck away my damp cushion, release the dog and come back fighting. This is when I found applying bold red lipstick really helped. There is something very powerful about red lipstick as you go about your business. It gets you back into that kickass author mood.
Book idea excitement can cause havoc with your eye shadow. Good ideas for my book would always come to me when I was busy applying a vibrant shade of eye shadow to ONE eye. Squealing with joy I would rush off to find a notebook leaving the other eye bare. Fast forward several hours and a loved one would be staring at me with a puzzled expression.
My left eyebrow liked to arch higher than the right brow during the creation of an intimate scene. I don’t know why but I would put on some makeup before I sat down to write a naughty scene. After writing the intimate scene I would catch sight of my left brow in the hallway mirror and gasp. That brow was almost touching my hairline.
Procrastination and makeovers. I did find giving myself an unexpected makeover a lot while procrastinating. Some of my novel was written at my dressing table and it became so easy to ignore my plot issue and imagine myself on the red carpet at my book’s film premiere with subtle smokey eyes. I will say this is a good time waster, it certainly livens up procrastination and I looked like I had been digging coal at one point.
Giving oneself a stern writing PEP talk in the hallway mirror is more effective when one has a made up face. I do give myself a lot of PEP talks which mainly consist of me telling my reflection to get a grip. During my novel writing I felt like I was constantly stood in the hallway mirror telling myself yet again to stop moaning and get a grip. I found the PEP talk was better when I wore makeup.
Concealer has its limits. I have found that concealer for bags under the eyes and dark purple circles due to late night editing has its limits and sometimes you just have to except no amount of concealer is going to get rid of the zombie look. Once my concealer reached its limit I knew it was time for self care (a warm bath, a Twix and listening to 90’s hits).
I hoped you enjoyed this blog post.
The next time you are in the depths of rejection despair, reach for your bold red lipstick
