Michelle Gordon's Blog, page 31

Interview on Indie House Books

I was recently interviewed by the lovely folks at Indie House Books, and the interview was posted on their website yesterday! They have also posted my book trailer, and will be posting more of my videos soon. So if you want to know more about the inner workings of my creative mind, head on over there for a gander!

The Amethyst Angel Christmas Party!

The downside to working from home is that you don’t get to have a work Christmas Party. Well, normally, anyway.

Yesterday, Liz Lockwood, my good friend and editor, came over and we had our very own Amethyst Angel Christmas party. And I have to say, it was the best work Christmas Party I had ever been to She arrived in the afternoon, and after some tea and cake, we went for a walk in the woods.

While walking we talked about the things we wanted to do in 2014, in preparation for our activity later! We also visited a couple of the places that inspired scenes in The Earth Angel Awakening.

Then we headed back to the house to start our activity for the day – creating our vision boards for 2014. We took a break part way through, to have our Christmas meal, which I must say, was very yummy!

I even found my marbles! (They were in the crackers!)

Then we went to finish our Vision Boards. Here is Liz with hers (she still has a bit of space to fill )

And here is mine:

We finished off the evening with some silly Christmas Tree Selfies, and also with giving each other gifts. Liz gave me an awesome book full of Christmas decorations to make, which will keep me and the kids amused for hours and make the house look amazing!

 

And I gave Liz a book that celebrates how awesome she is, and my partner, Jon, made her a shooting star. If you like it, you can order one from him by contacting us at Sacred Tree Spirit.

It really was an awesome party, and we had way more fun than if we had gone out and drunk too much. I would encourage others to have parties where the main aim is to celebrate, eat good food, have good conversation, and do things that will help you to envision your future and inspire you.

Lydney Mind Body & Spirit Fair

Jon and I will be there tomorrow, I will be selling my books and giving a talk and Jon will be doing Emotional Re-programming taster sessions and promoting Sacred Tree Spirit. Would be great to see you there!

The Best Christmas Gift!

You might remember that back in March this year, I attended the Spiritual Renewal Retreat in Oregon – which is four and a half days with Neale Donald Walsch. During the session on the  Friday, I had the chance to speak to Neale, to thank him for running the free retreat, which had enabled me to be able to attend. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I was a Spiritual Fiction Author. He asked for the title of a book I had written, and I replied ‘The Earth Angel Training Academy’.

He said he wanted to read the book, so the following day, I took in a copy I had with me (as I was about to begin writing The Other Side, and had taken it with me for research purposes). I gave it to Neale, who was very excited to be receiving gifts (at the same time, he was receiving a signed CD from the drummer of the Turtles, who was also on the retreat).

On the last day, the Sunday, we all gathered in the room, and I was sitting at the front. As Neale began the session, he pointed at me, and said ‘You!’ He then turned to the rest of the group, and told them that if he looked a bit bleary that day, it was because he had stayed up until 2am to read my book! He told everyone that they should all get a copy, but not to read it at night if they wanted to get any sleep!

Will Richardson, Neale’s friend and the President and Director of Programs at the CWG Foundation, also read The Earth Angel Training Academy, and The Elphite, both of which he reviewed on Amazon for me.

I didn’t want to bother Neale for a review, as I know he is a very busy man, but I was eager to know what he had thought after he had finished reading the book, so I e-mailed him yesterday and asked him for his thoughts.

I never expected to receive a reply so quickly, but I woke up this morning to find his e-mail, and needless to say, have been very happy since!

Here it is -

“The Earth Angel Training Academy packs wonderful and ancient truth into an imaginatively original tale that both delights and enlightens. The result: a read that is both fun and inspiring.”  — Neale Donald Walsch

It was the best Christmas gift I could have asked for. If you would like to buy a copy of The Earth Angel Training Academy as a gift for someone this Christmas, there is still plenty of time! You can get one here.

Have a wonderful day!

Is everything written in the stars (and planets)?

I recently met an astrologer, Keith Bound, through a friend of mine (Liz Chukwu, author of Kismet), who did a reading for me. I have had many readings from mediums and psychics, and also tarot and palm readings. Most of which have been quite good, and quite accurate, but this was the first astrology reading I’ve had, and quite honestly, it blew me away.

Keith had my basic information – birth date, time and place. He also knew that I helped authors to publish their work. But that was it. He then looked at my chart and recorded a 58 minute reading and sent it to me as an MP3. The first time I listened to it, I alternated between giggling and gasping, wondering how on earth he could get so much information from just my basic details.

I won’t go into detail about what Keith told me in the reading, although I will say that the overall theme is that the next 12 months of my life are going to be very exciting, with lots of big opportunities coming up. The reading came at the perfect time, as I was in need of confirmation that I was on the right track, and Keith gave me that confirmation, and the confidence to continue on my path.

Having the reading made me wonder, yet again, about fate and destiny. Do we really have the free will to choose what we want to do in our lives, or is it all mapped out ready for us from the moment we are born? Or is it even decided before we are born?

I explored this idea a little in The Elphite, where Ellie lives the same life over and over again. She tries to change things each time, but no matter what she does, there are certain things that happen regardless of her actions. But as you will know if you have read the book, she does manage to change her life when she changes her thinking.

People have asked me why I would want to have a reading that foretold the future, why I would want to know what is going to happen ahead of time, and my response to that is that I like to have confirmation that I am on the right path. I have had readings where I’ve been told that certain things aren’t going to work out, or that situations or relationships are going to be difficult. And instead of this information worrying or upsetting me, I find that it gives me the gift of being able to choose how I handle the situation when it arrives. Because as much as I hate plotting my novels and I love to surprise my readers with mad twists, in real life, I like to know what’s going to happen next.

Stay tuned, because 2014 is going to be a wild ride, and this is where you will be able to read all about it.

PS. Get in touch with Keith for a reading, it will be the best thing you’ve ever done, I promise.

Living life to the fullest

I was really sad to hear the news this morning about Paul Walker dying in a car accident in California. Having been an avid fan of The Fast & The Furious, and a fan of his before that, as Varsity Blues and The Skulls were two of my favourite movies, it was awful to think that I wouldn’t see him in any future movies. (After Fast & Furious 7, which I hope they are still able to finish). Forty years old is way too young to be leaving this earth, but after talking to my partner about it, he made me realise that actually, Paul Walker has probably lived more in those forty years, than most people do in twice that amount of time.

He followed his passions, took risks, made blockbuster movies, and also supported charities, raising awareness for different causes. I get the feeling that he was the kind of person who lived without regrets. How many of us can say that? How many people die every day, having never realised their dreams, followed their passions or figured out their purpose? Too many, I think.

And so, I have decided, that 2014 is to be a year of making things happen. Of realising dreams, pursuing passion and leaving no room for regrets. 2012 was a year of destruction of the old ways, 2013 has been a year of transformation, so it makes sense that next year will be the year that it all comes together. In fact, I have been told that the next 12 months are going to be the most exciting yet for me, I will tell you more about that in my next post.

Rest in peace, Paul, and thank you for teaching us to live life to the fullest. x

Calling all Angels…

…Faeries, Mermaids, Old Souls, Starpeople and Leprechauns!

I’ve written this blog post several times in my head, which is where I would rather it stay, but I know that I need to actually type it and put it out there. Because this blog post is about the truth. Which is that I need help.

You would think that by the time I’d written and published my 7th book, (not to mention helped to publish several books for other authors) that I would know how to market them. That I would have an established way of launching my books so that they made an impact, that I would be selling hundreds, if not thousands of copies.

But the truth is, I’m just as bad at marketing now, as I was when I began. Why? Because traditional marketing does not feel authentic to me. I am a great believer that people find a  book at the right time for them to read it, and if they’re constantly blasted with messages of – you must buy this book right now – then it will just irritate them if it’s not the right time.

I figured it might be a good idea to get some help with the marketing, so I found a PR company who would write a press release and send it out to journalists for me. They wrote the piece, and though it sounded good, in all honesty, I couldn’t read it without giggling, because it bigged me up so much, that it seemed a little ridiculous. At the time, I was still in – ‘this is how you market stuff, you make it look like the next big thing’ mode, and so I approved it for them to send. Didn’t receive a single email, call or query about it, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t expect to. Why? Because it was not authentic. If you would like a good giggle yourself, please check it out on the only place I’ve seen it online. (Click here) (Just to add, the company were great to work with, very professional, and very good at what they do. I have no complaints about the service I received)

I’ve been doing the Brene Brown eCourse, and one of the main threads (because that has been her main focus for her research) is vulnerability. We build armor around ourselves, making up stories about things, so that others perceive us in a certain way. I know that there are a few people out there who assume that I am selling loads of books and make a ton of money. And though it’s nice that they think highly of me and my books, it’s just not the truth.

So back to what I said before. I need help. I know there are readers out there who have read and loved my books, who have not written reviews or recommended them to friends. If you are one of those people and you are able to, could you please do that for me? Reviews on Amazon really do make a difference, and you can write one there even if you bought the book directly from me or from a shop I sell them in. If you don’t have an Amazon account, then you can post a review in the comments below or on Facebook.  If you are on Facebook, you can like my page and share it with others who might like my books.

If you haven’t bought your Christmas presents yet, you could buy a copy of one of my books as a gift. With the new covers, the Earth Angel books now look really awesome. You can also still buy the Oracle Cards that accompany the books, directly through me on my website, or from Peace of Stone in Monmouth.

All of these things help to just make my books a little more visible and accessible, and word of mouth recommendations are far better than this false marketing that I have been attempting to do. After all, I know that my books will not appeal to everyone, I don’t want to sell millions of books only for them to be read by just a few. I write books for them to be read, for them to help people. But I can only do that with the help of my readers. To make it easier to share the links to my books on amazon, I have universal links to them all, which make it easier when tweeting or posting on Facebook. I’ve listed the links below. Even a tweet every now and then helps

Thank you for reading, and for letting me share this with you. I don’t find it easy to ask for help, and to admit that I don’t know how to do something, but I can’t keep on pretending like it’s all easy and taken care of. And as much as I wish I could sometimes, I really cannot do it all on my own.

viewbook.at/earthangeltrainingacademy

viewbook.at/earthangelawakening

viewbook.at/otherside

viewbook.at/theelphite

viewbook.at/doorwaytopam

viewauthor.at/michellegordon

The Other Side is here!

You can now buy The Other Side on Amazon! Get in on Kindle or in paperback. (Please ignore the reviews, Amazon have somehow mixed by book up with another book by an author called Mary Gordon! I’m hoping they’ll sort it out soon!)

To celebrate, here is a book trailer for the series, which features the amazing song – ‘Ready When You Get Here’ by Bobby Andonov. I found the song by chance and realised that it described the idea of Twin Flames perfectly, and really fit the stories of the characters in the Earth Angel series. I listened to it on repeat while writing The Other Side. Please check out his other music, he is awesome.

The Launch Party is happening on Facebook, come and join us

 

 

Twas the Night Before the Launch…

And Michelle was ridiculously excited!

In just a few hours, The Other Side will be officially launched into the world and I am very excited, though a little nervous at the same time! Having only finished writing this book 7 weeks ago,  it feels like it’s been a crazy sprint to bring it to publication.

Today I recorded a couple of videos to post on the page of the Online Launch Party on facebook tomorrow (please join us!) and I will also be posting the Book Trailer I created for my books and there will be some interactive stuff, so check it out and join in

There’s still time to enter the Rafflecopter draw – you could win a signed set of the Earth Angel Books!

I will be having a second Launch at Peace of Stone in Monmouth on Tuesday the 26th November at 7pm. It’s a join launch with Adrian Incledon-Webber. His book – Heal your Home – is a must-have for every home. There will be drinks and nibbles and everyone is welcome to join us.

In case you’ve managed to miss it so far, here is the beautiful cover for my new book – (yes, I really am over-excited!)

The countdown to The Other Side begins!

Only 6 days to go! Yesterday, the proof copies arrived. I was incredibly excited to see the new covers on The Earth Angel Training Academy and The Earth Angel Awakening, and to see The Other Side for the first time. I think the three of them look amazing together as a series, and I’m very pleased with how they look, thanks to Liz and Jason.

I’m just giving the proof copy of The Other Side a check through for last minute errors, but as a sneaky tip to anyone reading this – the new editions of Academy and Awakening in paperback are already available on Amazon The Kindle versions and Smashwords versions with new covers will be ready by the official launch next Wednesday.