Paula R.C. Readman's Blog, page 4

What is success?

What are your biggest challenges?

The hunt for success has begun.

But, what is success these days?

Is it being self-sufficient financially?

Could it be just finding something you enjoy that brings you a sense of satisfaction and a small amount of financial gain?

Sometimes it isn’t a lack of time that stops us from fulfilling our ambitions, but what we are producting.

Do we create what we love in the hope that others love it, too?

Do we follow the market and jump on the bandwagon in some hope of earning a living from it?

Creating something different and new is difficult because so much has been done before. Creating something that others will love is hard because people’s taste changes so quickly.

Whether you’re writing, painting or any other creative craft… Fame and fortune don’t walk hand in hand, no matter how hard you may work at your art or craft.

So starting this New Year, I’m focusing on just being creative, both in my writing and painting.

I’m just going with the flow with my creativity and see where it takes me.

Happy New Year to you all.

Have a brilliant 2025

Chat again soon.

Wishing you all Season Greetings

2024 has been a tough year for me on a personal level. I know I’m lucky in many ways as I don’t live in a war zone, but a small village in the English countryside. I have plenty to be thankful for, a home, a loving family and especially, a good husband.

This year, I lost my brother to cancer. Over the years, my brother and I grew far closer with our shared interests in writing. I encouraged him to submit his work and he managed to get his work published.

Suddenly, with my brother’s death, and the fact the publisher of my novels closed their business, I lost interest in writing. I felt it was all a waste of time. I needed to focus on something else.

Writing is so time consuming, with little reward, I needed something more something that could excite me. I turned once again to my art.

I started to create small pieces of art for my writing friends that I could give as gifts at the Bridge House Publishing Christmas Party

I can’t begin to explain the joy I felt at painting these small pictures . Suddenly, I felt the joy of creation something so personal to me. My friends love them which makes me happy, too.

I haven’t given up on writing all together, I’m just less stressed about it. Bridge House Publishing is interested in my novels so I’m busy editing Stone Angels and working on a new short story.

From now on, I focusing on being creative rather than being a bestseller or making money.

Have a brilliant Christmas and I will catch up with you all in the New Year.

GoodReads Challenge

My Year in Books
I have always loved reading. Books and art have been my first love. Each year, I enjoy setting a reading challenge on Goodreads, as it allows me to keep track of the books I’ve read. This year, I’ve noticed that I’ve moved away from hard crime novels and have started to read more lighthearted stories.
I can’t wait to see what I will be reading in the new year!
Do any of you set yourself a reading challenge with Goodreads?

To each their own.

What are your feelings about eating meat?

“Man serves the interests of no creature except himself.”

George Orwell – Animal Farm.

I haven’t eaten meat for over 45 years. I don’t like the taste, nor the texture in my mouth. Knowing that the creature has lived, breathed air, had parents and feelings in the same way as myself freaks me out.

My father made me watch a chicken being killed. One minute the bird was running around, pecking at the ground, with its friends the next moment it was dead in my father’s hands

At seven years old, I didn’t want to eat meat any more. My choice. I would just eat the vegetables on my plate.

The problem is we need people to eat meat to justify keeping a wide range of domesticated animals alive. The cost of raising them is expensive. We also need large open spaces for them to live a happy, healthy life before become food to feed us. Having domestic animals means our natural wildlife also has spaces to thrive in.

Mass-produced food with cheap or synthetic ingredients isn’t good for us. Fast food is already taking a toll on our health.

Footpath across farmland

Yes, I’m living prove that you can live on plants alone, but I need to take vitamins to make sure I’m not missing out on important supplements.

We need open spaces and wildlife to keep a balance on this planet. Humans need to remember we are not the only creatures on Earth.

Living in tune with the natural world is important to our health and mental health, too.

In the art studio.

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

— Pablo Picasso

Hello dear followers,

Sorry, I haven’t been around much but I’ve been busy trying to catch up with my art and writing projects.

The recovery of my thigh muscle has allowed me to sit before my easel and main computer. I had been busy editing my novel when my monitor died and the computer went on the blink. Not to worry, I’d been planning to update my computer for quite a while so I had one built. The shop transferred all my files over which made it much easier for me.

The problem with getting older is keeping up to date with modern technology. I don’t want to be left behind so I am always happy to learn new skills.

Today, I’ve been busy in my art studio playing with pouring paints I watched a few videos on Youtube and found them fascinating and wanted to try something different.

This is my second accept.

My cat, Brutus joined me in the art studio. At first, he slept on my chair but while I was having lunch he explored the studio as it was the first time he was allowed into it. Normally, my cat, Willow had the freedom of the upstairs rooms.

Willow doesn’t like Brutus so he was kept downstairs. When I returned to the studio after lunch, I spotted some footprints on the guest bed.

Brutus had jumped up on a painting I left drying on a small table. Luckily, I had painted it yesterday so it had been drying overnight.

Guilty, paint on pawDamage on painting. Footprints on cover.

No real damage but I shall keep an eye on him in the future.

Have a brilliant week. I look forward to catching up with you again soon.

Keeping it in the family.

 “Silence is a weapon for the oppressed, but your voice is a tool for liberation.”

If you could revisit one moment in your life, with what you know today, what would you change or say to your young self?

I would tell my younger self to trust my inner self but not to trust certain members of my family. Just because they are family doesn’t mean they have your best interests at heart.

Look what happened to the parents of Virginia McCullough Great Baddow, Essex, England. A younger daughter murdered her parents and hid their bodies in the house where she lived with them for four years. It was a doctor who reported her parents’ disappearance to the police.

I realised I was too trusting and caring towards others who didn’t deserve it.
And before you tell me to let go and move on please let me explain.
I have spent years bottling it up, creating the perfect family I wanted to be part of in my head. Making excuses for someone’s behaviour towards me.
It was only when talking to someone just recently all the pieces fell in place and a great weight was lifted from my shoulders.

Many years ago, things got too difficult for me and I had no one I could turn to for help I did the unthinkable. I thought ‘no one really cares about me.’
After my young son came and told me how much he loved me I threw up the pills I had swallowed. The next day I went to the doctor, he phoned a certain family member to ask them to run me to the hospital.
On the journey to the hospital they moaned and complained about how I was ruining their day. I told them to stop the car and let me out so they could get on with their day.
Not once did they ask me why, not once did they ask me why I hadn’t turned to them for help.
Throughout my life, I blamed myself. I was worthless in other people’s eyes.
Why couldn’t I be like them? I mean you used to eat meat. These silly ideas of yours. He’s only after your money. How long is this relationship going to last?
Give up work to be an author, what you expect others to support you, do you? Etc…,

Why do we allow others to define us, to shape who we are as people?

In three months’ time, I will take back my life completely and become the person I should have been if I hadn’t allowed the criticism from the person to shape me.
The spite, belittling and pure nastiness that dominated my life because our mother was too frightened to upset her.
‘Sisters should forgive each other no matter what! So forgive her.

Yes, you are right, it is time to move on to let go. I’m just sorry I never spoke to my brother about what was happening to me, and he was suffered the same without telling me.
That’s the problem people don’t talk, speak out about nasty family members simply because they are family members and they are too ashamed to admit to what is happening. Mental abuse is just as painful as physical pain.

Maybe if the parents of Virginia McCullough had spoken to the other children that they were worried about her behaviour they might be alive today, but they trusted their daughter, well you would, wouldn’t you?

Be kind to yourself because you are worth it.

Chat again soon.

Editing.

What have you been working on?

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” Oscar Wilde.

I’ve been busy editing my novel, Stone Angels. It seems a strange thing to be doing especially as the book has been published. So you’d think that it would be perfect and not need a lot doing to it. My new publisher has allowed me to read through the book again and I am so glad to have this opportunity especially as I found quite a few errors. What I find strange is that none of the 85 reviews the book received commented on the mistakes.

Reading through the book has allowed me to clarify some areas, which I now find to be oddly written. This, I think, is because my writing has improved over the last four years. I shall see this as a good sign. Hopefully, my new publisher will employ a better editor.

I know it’s hard to see mistakes in your manuscript but having a four-year break from the book has helped me see them more clearly. Hopefully, when I work on my other two novels, I will be able to make improvements, too.

I’m looking forward to working with my new publisher and hopefully, Stone Angels will reach a wider audience this time.

My thigh muscle is recovering nicely. I’m looking forward to walking again.

Chat again soon.

I don’t do hate!

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

If you hate a person , then you are defeated by them- Confucius.

I don’t do hate. I might not understand or be confused by others but I don’t hate them.

Let’s change the question- What do people hate about me?

I’ve never really had somebody tell me to my face that they hate me.

Does that mean I’m blessed? Does that mean I never done anything to offend or upset someone?

I’m sure there are people who do hate me for whatever reason. I certainly don’t go out of my way to make people dislike me. I’ve tried to go through life not offend others but I might have unknowingly upset some.

Don’t shout explain.

I suppose people could dislike me for my honesty. For me, it’s important to be honest to other people, if you expect honesty from them.

It’s called respect.

I like straight-talking people who politely speak their views and opinions clearly. Who are never rude, nasty or belittling of others? I don’t like injustice, rule-breakers, liars or manipulators, so these types of people might dislike me.

To me, rules are put into place to make life easier for others and for ourselves. Rules are like boundaries we put in place to protect children and ourselves, if they weren’t there, there would be chaos within society.

Some people might not like the rules, want to break them to serve their only needs. This puts others at a disadvantage which is unfair.

I’m a perfectionist and opinionated, which I suppose others might dislike about me. Having an option is a good thing as long as you are willing to listen to other people’s points of view too. The more we ask questions the better we understand each other. I’m never afraid to ask why until I understand why.

I do try to see things from both sides, to walk a mile in somebody else’s shoes as the saying goes. Of course, the world is not all black-and-white, there are shades of grey, which is why it is important to sit down and talk things through, to find a level ground. It’s only through dialogue that we can truly understand both sides of an argument.

I’m always willing to learn new skills, widen my horizons and listen to others. So hopefully this gives you a better understanding of who I am.

Thank you for reading my post.

Autumn.🍂

 Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree – Emily Brontë

After spending so much time sitting on my bed staring out the window, looking down onto the road below, watching delivery vans, cars, dust trucks, children with their parents and siblings going and coming home from the village school in all weathers my view of two trees now tell me autumn is here.

The leaves on the trees are beginning to change from green to golden. Today there is sunshine and a slight breeze which causes some of the golden leaves to fall. Hopefully, soon I can take a walk up to the woods to hunt out fungi and other signs of autumn but at the moment I’m still having to rest my leg with another four more weeks to go.

The leg is showing signs of recovery. I have good days and bad days it all depends how long I have been standing during the day. This morning I was busy doing some household chores and soon my leg became quite painful. Now I’m back sitting on the bed resting my leg while editing my novel. I really must take my time and allow Mother Nature to repair the damage completely.

As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see –

Vincent Van Gogh

I have a big order coming from Amazon tomorrow of new art stuff. With my leg on the mend, I hope to be able to sit in a normal chair at my desk. I have some art projects I want to do as Christmas gifts. Also there an art show taking place in the village next year, I want to enter, too.

Having some art to focus on is helping me mentally and giving me hope that so I will be back on my feet, enjoying the nature world. I’m hoping to try a new style of painting. So I shall keep up updated,

Chat again soon.

Editing… or re-edit my novel.

What have you been putting off doing? Why?

“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy books and that’s kind of the same thing.” Anonymous

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to but more that I had lost my heart. Seeing all those years of writing, editing and rewriting stretching before me once again.

I thought I would be busy working on something new but instead, I found myself moving backwards. Then my mind gets stuck in a quandary. Do I carry on writing the new book or do I go back to editing everything I’ve done before? The task just seemed too big.

Stuck on my bed resting a
torn thigh muscle

I was trying to work out what would be best what would be more productive. Suddenly, I running around in circles. Then I start panicking, am I wasting time?

Writing doesn’t pay…. Is it worth wasting more of my time?

Everything became too much for me. I wanted to paint, I wanted to write. I wanted to do the garden but in the end, I’m stuck on a bed with a torn thigh muscle feel depressed, and not doing anything much.

This morning was the first time I felt I could face editing my book again. I have another five weeks lazing on my bed hoping that my thigh muscle will soon be able to take my weight without giving me pain.

So it’s time to get busy editing also I hope to reduce the word count on my novel. I must stay focused because I’ve just discovered our village is going to put on an art show in May next year. It would be lovely if my work was accepted so I’ve decided to get the novel done and submit it to the publisher, so I can focus on producing some new pieces of art for the show.

Happy writing everyone, chat again soon.