Michelle Gordon's Blog, page 39

Mind Body Spirit Event in Gloucester

At the last minute, I went to the Mind Body Spirit event in Gloucester hosted by Dawn of Enlightenment. Held in the Guildhall, it was a great event, and I met some wonderful people. The highlight of the day was having a reading with Psychic Medium Ray Ball. Not only was he incredibly accurate, he was a genuine, lovely guy. I also met a lovely incarnated Faerie called Martina. My fabulous friend, Rachael Barnwell came with me to help out for the day, and she took a couple of piccies too:

Indie Author Insight – J. Lawrence

This week I interviewed Indie Author J. Lawrence. Lawrence is the author of Inborn.

On Spirituality

Do you believe in Angels or Faeries?

I believe that there are other beings out there just beyond our senses. I don’t really know what I’d call them, but I do feel that they’ve been watching over me at times. I would like to think they are beautiful flying beings but I sometimes wonder if that is just our interpretation of what our rescuers should look like.

Have you ever had a spiritual experience, involving synchronicity, angels or Spirit etc?

I wish.

Do you believe in life after death? Why?

Good question. I do, although I can offer no proof of any kind whatsoever to back that up. I guess it comes down to this for me… I just can’t believe that all of this around us is the product of blind chance. It is too elegant, which leads me to believe that it is only a shadow of the next world.

Have you ever had a near-death experience?

Only when I run out of coffee. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Do you believe in God?

Yes, the designer of the elegance we know as life. I always feel as though I am drawing closer to God. I have yearned for the connection since I was a small boy. Due to some horrific experiences I have watched others go through around me I find it difficult to believe that God is intricately involved in our day-to-day existence.

On Life

If you won several million pounds in the lottery, what would be the first thing you would do?

Let my boss know that I would happy to train my replacement, but he better learn quick.

Who is your favourite Visionary/Spiritual Author?

Maybe it is the writer in me, but as I think about journeys of the heart I think of David, the ancient King of Israel. He was quite a flawed man, yet his passion for God, evident in the Psalms attributed to him, is heart-rending stuff. It is also great fodder for the fiction writer in me.

Have you ever experienced the ‘dark night of the soul? If you did, how did you get through it?

When I feel the dark, I ask myself a question. What one small thing can I do to improve the moment? It has to be simple and quick, so that I can realize an immediate small change. Once I make that happen, I do something incredible. I repeat it.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would really like to go back to Iceland. I was born there and met my high school sweet heart there. We are still married 27 years later. The cold rugged terrain inspired the setting of my first novel.

On Writing

Do you believe that your work is divinely inspired? That the words come from a higher source?

I like to believe that I have something to say with my work that has deep spiritual roots. What you ask? To find the answer to that, you have a lot of reading to do. (My series, not the blog interview.) But to answer as straightly as I can, let me ask you a question. If the higher source is the Creator, then isn’t art, indeed fiction, his craft anyway? Caves are painted with stories all across the globe. Just about every religion is founded on some story of one kind or another. Jesus himself used parables to communicate to the masses. So, what do I take from this? As an author I am the wielder of a powerful art. I can touch people in a way many others cannot. I will not abuse this gift and use it only for monetary gain. I intend to enlighten. Of course it is nice to eat too.

What inspires you to write?

It doesn’t work like that for me. My characters and their plights are running in the background 24/7. The moment I can sit down to write, it just starts going.

Do you schedule time to write or just when the inspiration takes you?

Too busy for a schedule. I write when I can.

Are any of your characters based on yourself?

Great question. They all are, each to some extent. I’m a pretty twisted guy, so I need all the writing therapy I can get.

On being an Indie

What motivates you to be an Indie Author? Is it the control? The possibility of making more money? Or just because you want to get your books out there as soon as possible?

When I found out how much of a percentage and Indie Author makes on each sale, I never even tried to send it to an agent or publishing house. I just figured if it was going to happen and I wrote a breakaway hit, I’d like my family to benefit the most.

If you could give another Indie Author just one piece of advice, what would it be?

Write a book you love.

Where can we find you and your books online?

Amazon US    J. Lawrence on Facebook

Amazon UK    J. Lawrence on Goodreads

Indie Author Insight – John Lawrence

This week I interviewed Indie Author John Lawrence. John is the author of Inborn.

 

On Spirituality

Do you believe in Angels or Faeries?

I believe that there are other beings out there just beyond our senses. I don’t really know what I’d call them, but I do feel that they been watching over me at times. I would like to think they are beautiful flying beings but I sometimes wonder if that is just our interpretation of what our rescuers should look like.

Have you ever had a spiritual experience, involving synchronicity, angels or Spirit etc?

I wish.

Do you believe in life after death? Why?

Good question. I do, although I can offer no proof of any kind whatsoever to back that up. I guess it comes down to this for me… I just can’t believe that all of this around us is the product of blind chance. It is too elegant, which leads me to believe that it is only a shadow of the next world.

Have you ever had a near-death experience?

Only when I run out of coffee. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Do you believe in God?

Yes, the designer of the elegance we know as life. I always feel as though I am drawing closer to God. I have yearned for the connection since I was a small boy. Due to some horrific experiences I have watched others go through around me I find it difficult to believe that God is intricately involved in our day-to-day existence.

On Life

If you won several million pounds in the lottery, what would be the first thing you would do?

Let my boss know that I would happy to train my replacement, but he better learn quick.

Who is your favourite Visionary/Spiritual Author?

Maybe it is the writer in me, but as I think about journeys of the heart I think of David, the ancient King of Israel. He was quite a flawed man, yet his passion for God, evident in the Psalms attributed to him, is heart-rending stuff. It is also great fodder for the fiction writer in me.

Have you ever experienced the ‘dark night of the soul? If you did, how did you get through it?

When I feel the dark, I ask myself a question. What one small thing can I do to improve the moment? It has to be simple and quick, so that I can realize an immediate small change. Once I make that happen, I do something incredible. I repeat it.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would really like to go back to Iceland. I was born there and met my high school sweet heart there. We are still married 27 years later. The cold rugged terrain inspired the setting of my first novel.

On Writing

Do you believe that your work is divinely inspired? That the words come from a higher source?

I like to believe that I have something to say with my work that has deep spiritual roots. What you ask? To find the answer to that, you have a lot of reading to do. (My series, not the blog interview.) But to answer as straightly as I can, let me ask you a question. If the higher source is the Creator, then isn’t art, indeed fiction, his craft anyway? Caves are painted with stories all across the globe. Just about every religion is founded on some story of one kind or another. Jesus himself used parables to communicate to the masses. So, what do I take from this? As an author I am the wielder of a powerful art. I can touch people in a way many others cannot. I will not abuse this gift and use it only for monetary gain. I intend to enlighten. Of course it is nice to eat too.

What inspires you to write?

It doesn’t work like that for me. My characters and their plights are running in the background 24/7. The moment I can sit down to write, it just starts going.

Do you schedule time to write or just when the inspiration takes you?

Too busy for a schedule. I write when I can.

Are any of your characters based on yourself?

Great question. They all are, each to some extent. I’m a pretty twisted guy, so I need all the writing therapy I can get.

On being an Indie

What motivates you to be an Indie Author? Is it the control? The possibility of making more money? Or just because you want to get your books out there as soon as possible?

When I found out how much of a percentage and Indie Author makes on each sale, I never even tried to send it to an agent or publishing house. I just figured if it was going to happen and I wrote a breakaway hit, I’d like my family to benefit the most.

If you could give another Indie Author just one piece of advice, what would it be?

Write a book you love.

Where can we find you and your books online?

Amazon US    J. Lawrence on Facebook

Amazon UK    J. Lawrence on Goodreads

 

 

 

And the Camp Nanowrimo winner is…. Me!!

I have just completed my first Nano Summer Camp! Just stepped over the finish line minutes before the midnight deadline with 50074 words.

Admittedly, my last few scenes probably won’t make the final cut of the book, but nevermind!

Here  is my Camp Winner’s badge!

Now I’m off to bed! I will be at the Mind Body Spirit fair in the Guildhall in Gloucester tomorrow, so I’d better get some sleep!

Are you an Earth Angel?

A few weeks ago, I joined 4Networking. It’s a Social Business Network that has meetings all across the UK. From the very first meeting, I loved it. I met fantastic people, made great connections, and saw the value of it immediately. At each breakfast (and evening) meeting, there is a slot where a member of the network gives and insight into something, whether it’s an interest or hobby, or their life experiences. So I decided I should do a ’4Sight’, to get over my life long fear of public speaking.

My first 4Sight was today, in Chepstow,  and I have to say – I enjoyed it so much! Everyone got involved, and had fun. My topic was Earth Angels, and I decorated the room, and got everyone to do a small quiz to work out what kind of Earth Angel they might be. There was plenty of heckling and teasing, but hopefully they may have got something meaningful from the experience as well.

Aside from eating plenty of chocolate this morning (I reckoned if it’s capable of helping people after being near Dementors, it would help my public speaking fear!) I watched a video about a week ago, on using EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) to get rid of your fear of public speaking. Well, I think it’s quite amazing, because usually, any kind of public speaking would reduce me to a jelly-legged, beetroot-faced, quivering, tongue-twisted stuttering mess – but today? A slight tremor in my knees. That was it.

So if you have a fear of public speaking, watch this video right now. Then repeat the actions if you think necessary. Then go out there and be a star

Reviews, glorious reviews!

A new review just went live today, of the Earth Angel Training Academy, you can see it here! Thank you to Monica for such kind words!

Also, there are two new five-star reviews on Amazon.co.uk! One for The Earth Angel Training Academy and one for The Earth Angel Awakening.

I do love getting great feedback!

Oh! And camping update – I’m nearly done!! I have just 4,527 words left! As I’m busy for the rest of the week, I am trying to cross the Nano finish line today, so keep your fingers crossed for me! The story is getting crazier by the minute!

The Elphite – Coming soon!

I have just released on Youtube a video sample of my new novel – The Elphite. Please view it below and let me know what you think!

Yes, I know I’m procrastinating…

… but I wanted to share this video I came across on YouTube of J.K. Rowling. It’s an interview she did in 1998, when you was writing the third Harry Potter book. I really enjoyed watching the interview, because I completely resonate with her when she says that she always wanted to write. I love that she was completely unaware at that point how massive Harry Potter would become, and I think it’s a wonderful glimpse into her life as a writer before it all exploded.

I’m going to go carry on writing now, I promise!

Camping Update!

The first draft is done! I have my new novel! Well, sort of. The word count is far short of the 50,000 target, so I am now doing what I hate doing – I’m going back through it and adding to it. Admittedly, there are plenty of scenes that need more detail, back before I had my breakthrough, I skimmed over details because I wasn’t sure what to write. But still, I’m not sure it’ll be enough. So I am now considering an extra thread to the story. What it will be, I’m not sure, but hopefully something will come to me!

So there you have it, an update of sorts, sorry for the rambling nature of it. One thing is clear though – there will be a book called The Elphite, and it will be released for your consumption in December this year. And my fingers are crossed that you like it!

A Faerie, the Madhatter and a truckful of Wizards!

Just another weekend, really!

Of course, it was a weekend like no other, as it was the Monmouth Music Festival Carnival Day! I was there with my wonderful Faerie friend, Claire Weeks, who had given up her Sunday to help me. After a bit of a wet, stormy beginning, the weather brightened up and the masses arrived!

We had teamed up with Phillip from the fabulous Peace of Stone (a beautiful crystal shop in Monmouth) as he was lacking in adequate cover! We had a great time and met many lovely people. I was too busy talking to take many photos, but here are a few highlights!

Clairey-Faerie!

I want wings!!

Fancy a spot of tea?

I think this was the best float!

All in all, it was a great day, and as well as selling some books and Oracle cards, I met some wonderful people that I look forward to meeting up with again soon.