Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 71

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Quotes For March 25th 2019

Smooth seas do not make skilful sailors.
~African Proverb

Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.
~Rumi

The impressions we pick up as children, when our minds are still open to influence and as soft as damp sponges, are likely to stay with us the longest.
~Ann Patchett

We tend to think that, if someone is deprived of a blessing that we ourselves possess, their life is the sadder. But in fact the man who has less than his neighbour is only unhappy if he had been hoping for more and chooses to feel jealous.
~C.R. Milne

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.
~Charles Dickens

None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith.
~Paulo Coelho

Never stop dreaming, never stop believing, never give up, never stop trying, and never stop learning.
~Roy T. Bennett

Friends Of #FurkidFriday: Bertie

Hi everyone. This is Joshua the degu.

Last month, I introduced you to my friend, Roscoe. Well, today I'm going to introduce you to someone who shares the same human caretaker as Roscoe. His name is Bertie.

Hello there, Bertie. I know Roscoe is known as more than one thing. How about you? What's your name?

Bertie. Mummy sometimes calls me Bertie Bassett. She used to call me Bertie Bossyboots as well, but she says I’m not bossy any more. Now she sometimes calls me Bertie Boots.

At least you know if "Bertie" is in there somewhere, she means you. Glad you're not bossy any more though. My brother, Jenks, was like that. It wasn't very fun for the rest of us. Anyway, what species and breed are you?

I’m a silver agouti guinea pig. Silver agouti is really a colour, but it’s treated as a breed I think.

The Mummy human said she had one that colour once. For the benifit of those who don't know what that looks like though, describe your appearance. I know you've sent a photo along (which I'll share in a moment) but please describe yourself too, for the benefit of those who can’t see the photo.

I have a smooth, shiny silver coat (unlike my twin brother who’s got a plain grey curly coat!). The hairs aren’t really silver, each one is white, grey and black as you go along it. It gives me a sort of speckly effect, which is called agouti. I also have a twirly bit between my ears, which is called a crest (anywhere else on my body it would be a rosette). And I have white markings on my face (and a line on my side), and big black eyes to charm you with.

You sound like a handsome guinea pig. Here's the photo of you in your tunnel for everyone who can to see what you look like:


So, what sort of place do you live in? Who do you share it with?

I live in a run upstairs next to my Mummy’s workdesk. It backs onto Roscoe and Neville’s run so we can chat and disagree and steal each other’s hay if it pokes through the grids. My brother Biggles is in a run above their run and forming a balcony over mine.

I used to share the run with my best buddy, uncle Percy. He looked after Biggles and me when we first came to live here when we were six weeks old. Percy died last year, and I miss him lots.

I can understand that. I lost all three of my brothers two years ago, and I still miss them lots and lots. By the way, here's a photo of Bertie with his Uncle Percy:


So, Bertie, what’s your favourite thing to do?

Eat grass in the garden. Run around and see who I can irritate. Snooze in my snugglesac. The list is endless.

Nice that you keep busy, though you probably shouldn't try to find people to irritate... That's not nice. Anyway, do you have a favourite toy? If yes, what is it?

I suppose my snugglesac counts. Any sort of tunnel is fun, I love tunnels. I’ve also got a cuddly snowman in the corner of my run. I inherited it from Percy, I think. I don’t pay much attention to it, but I nose it around the run sometimes. I get cross with Roscoe when he nibbles the bobble on his hat when it sticks through the grids, though.

I thought the tunnel might be a favourite of yours. I'd get cross with Roscoe for nibbling my toy too. Speaking of nibbles... What’s your favourite food?

Grass. I like cucumber too. We get cucumber with our cuddles in the morning. I sometimes think that the first person down gets more cucumber than the last, but sometimes it works that the last person gets more, so I’ve stopped worrying if Mummy decides to take Biggles down first. The first person gets the longest run in the kitchen int he morning. I like running around in the kitchen.

Sounds nice. I hope she takes it in turns to let you have the longest run around in the kitchen. Speaking of your Mummy, what’s the one thing your human does that you love most?

I had to think about this. I love it when she rubs my ear at the base above my eye. I also like being held with one arm because she cuddles me up against herself when she does that. I like having selfies taken because she does that too.

I'm not a big cuddler myself, but my brother Jasper used to like cuddles like that. The human caretakers are good about doing the things we like best. At least mostly. But what’s the one thing your human does that you hate most?

Either looking at my teeth or trimming my nails. I wish she wouldn’t do these little things. I’m fine. I don’t need checking.

Yeah... It's really annoying when they pull us about like that, isn't it?

On another note: I happen to know your human is a writer. Has she written anything about you? If yes, can you tell us about it? If no, do you think she will in the future?

I’m getting very worried about this. Everyone that’s ever been here has been in at least a story, even if not in a book, and I think only Hector was in a story but not a book. And he’s supposed to be in book 10, anyway. Midge and Oscar only got mentions in book 7, but it’s still a mention. And all these other guinea pigs that Mummy knows get in there like Auntie Dawn’s pigs in New York City, wherever that is. Why not me? I’m clever. I’m mischievous. I’d be a brilliant character.

Oh, there’s even someone called Joshua in the next one.

Me and the Mummy human have been enjoying reading all those adventures, and both think it's great about a Joshua being in the next book! We hope you get to be in one too. Tell her to put you in the one after that or something... Or at least write you a short story. Speaking of her writing though, what do you do while your human writes?

I watch her, secretly, from my tunnel. I try to will her to write something about me. If I could make up a story I’d try mind melding with her to make her write it. I think Fred used to mind meld with her, from what she says about Fred’s Looks. I’m working on that. The trouble is, I think Roscoe is working on it, too.

I hope you can make that work, and she writes something about you soon. In the meantime, is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

I write the blog posts at George’s Guinea Pig World. I took over from Percy, so I’m well trained. I also look after the Facebook page. It’s georgesgpworld for short.

Thank you for inviting me to talk to you, Joshua. And thank you for all your comments on the blog, we love reading them.

You're very welcome, Bertie. I always enjoy your posts, so I'm glad you enjoy reading my comments on them.

***~~~***

Author bio, links, etc:

Jemima Pett has been writing since she was 8 years old. Her early fiction attempts failed for want of suitable inspiration: she couldn’t get characters or plot that seemed interesting, and her first attempts were derided by a ‘friend’. She was better at drawing maps of her worlds and arranging the train timetables! Jemima had the bug for writing, though, and wrote articles and event reports for newsletters and magazines whenever she got the opportunity. Her career in business and in environmental research kept her chained to a desk for many years, but also gave her the opportunity to write manuals, reports, science papers, blogs, journals, anything and everything that kept the words flowing. Finally the characters jumped into her head with stories that needed to be told….

Jemima lives in a village in Norfolk with her guinea pigs, the first of whom, Fred, George, Victor and Hugo, provided the inspiration for the Princelings stories.

Find Jemima on her blog, on Facebook, Twitter, Amazon or Goodreads

The Princelings of the East

The Princelings of the East is the first in the series of the same name.
We meet two princelings—nonentities really, but related to the king. They spend their time doing experiments and wondering how the world works. When a disaster hits the king’s birthday party, the blame is put on them, so they set out to find the real cause of the disaster. What follows is a fast paced adventure, meeting the friendly Prince Lupin, busy barkeeper Victor, and cola salesman Hugo, until both of them separately come to the conclusion that time is not what it seems — and neither is Hugo.
The Princelings of the East is suitable for good readers aged ten and up.

Buy it on Amazon. If you buy the paperback on Amazon, you can get the ebook free.
Or… why not get the first three books in one go for your Kindle, iPad, Nook, or Kobo reader?
Buy the first Princelings of the East box set at Smashwords and choose which reader version you prefer.

***~~~***

I hope you enjoyed getting to know my friend, Bertie, and meeting his human, Jemima, again.

If you'd like to be a friend of Furkid Friday too, get in touch with me, the Lilie dog, or our chinchilla sister, Mollie, by sending an eMail to us at keroberous2004@gmail.com with the subject line "friends of Furkid Friday" (Mummy might accidentally delete it if you don't make sure to put that in the subject, so please make sure you remember) and we'll send you the questions you need to answer. Remember: there's only one spot a month available, so the sooner you get in touch, the sooner you can have your visit on this blog.

Squeak soon,
Joshua

#AmReading + #AmWatching - March 21st 2019 #Reviews

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

Secret of the Cannon Room by Steven Allan Pease
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this latest installment of the series. I love the characters, and was glad to join them on the next stage of their adventure. The plot is exciting and action-packed, holding your attention from start to finish. Also, I was pleased to see the improvements in the author's writing compared to the earlier books in the series.

Majipoor Chronicles by Robert Silverberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an excellent collection of stories, which are woven together beautifully, and wonderfully written. Though I was initially disappointed that it wasn't actually a continuation of the story from the first book, that disappointment quickly disappeared, and I got swept up in the enjoyment of learning more about the world, and the various races that inhabit it.

As for what I've been watching:

I did actually watch stuff this week, though I have no reviews for you, since what I watched was mainly just old episodes of shows I enjoy on TV. A couple were cartoons... I found "Tom And Jerry" with audio description, which was kind of cool... The others I watched were old episodes of "Friends" and "Big Bang Theory" mostly, with a few episodes of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama" thrown in. Oh, and I caught the end of "Homeward Bound" one day too... Love that movie! Basically, what I watched this week was whatever I found on TV that I felt like watching whenever I was in the living room for long enough to make it worth seeing what was on TV. That means I was usually watching the shows while playing ball with Lilie, hanging out with Joshua and Mollie, or doing some combination of those things. Hey, at least I watched something this week. *wink*

#WriterWednesday - March 20th 2019

My Magical Chapters Trilogy books are up for audition for a new narrator on ACX. The narrator I'd had originally lined up is no longer able to complete the projects, due to unavoidable changes in her circumstances, so we agreed it would be best to dissolve the contracts. If you're a female narrator who wants to narrate some fairy tale style children's fantasy books, and you're on ACX, feel free to look them up and submit an audition.

I'll soon need to decide between those who have auditioned. If you also find yourself needing to choose a narrator for the audio version of one of your books, check out these tips for choosing your audiobook voice. If you're interested: regardless of view point, my preference for the narrator's gender is based on the gender of the main character. In my Magical Chapters Trilogy, for example, the main characters are Paige, Daisy, and Luke. Since two of the three are female, the first and third books focus on Paige (the second one is officially more Daisy and Luke's story, though Paige is a big part of it, especially towards the end) and I want to use the same narrator for all three, I'm only asking for auditions from female narrators.

Anyway, in other news: during the past week, I finally got to do some writing again. I managed to write a couple of poems, and do a little work on the adventure story I've been trying on and off to write for some time now. It wasn't much, but it was more than I've been able to do in a while, and it felt good to be able to do as much as I did.

I'm not complaining about not having been able to work on my writing for a while. Sometimes you have to make writing your priority, and other times life has to be the priority. Recently, life has had to be the priority for me. Whatever the case is in your own situation, instead of complaining about your sacrifices, be proud of them.

No matter how you choose to juggle everything you want and need to get done, if you're trying to get a job that involves writing, and someone tells you, "You're a great writer, but..." chances are they mean it. Pay attention to what comes after the, "But," and realize that sometimes the reason they're not hiring you isn't personal. Also, remember that your ultimate writing goal doesn't have to match what you want to do with your life.

Still feeling anxious about how things are going with your writing? Take a look at this post about why journaling might be the key to overcoming your writing fears. Maybe it will help. If nothing else, you can use the writing prompts towards the end of the post if you're struggling with writers' block.

Whether you journal or not, if you have a blog, or intend writing posts to have on the blogs of others, here are some tips for writing strong web content.

Speaking of blogs: if you're a blogger - regardless of the platform you use - check out these ways to stay inspired and avoid blogger burnout, especially if you're looking for ways to breathe new life in to your blog.

No matter what you write, you need to take care of yourself, and make sure you get enough sleep. Or try to anyhow. You won't write your best stuff when you're tired, and that's OK. But if you can remember to get enough sleep, and avoid being tired as a rule, that would be even better.

#Storms By The #Ocean, Medical Mutterings, #Baking, And Phone Upgrades

The above video is what it looked and sounded like when looking out of our living room window towards the ocean last Tuesday. The whistling sound is caused by the wind. It got worse and started raining shortly after that clip was done. Needless to say, the plans of the repair guys to be up on the roof doing more work that day were changed. The guy in charge came to make sure the skylight was secure, but wasn't about to do more than that. Quite frankly, we didn't blame him for not wanting to do the outside jobs in that weather. He promised to come back the first day it was safe, which was fair enough as far as we were concerned. Although, I don't know why they didn't just do the inside jobs while the weather wouldn't allow for them to be doing the outside jobs. Either way, I spent the day listening to the stormy weather and rough ocean, while alternating between playing with Lilie and doing things I both needed and wanted to do around the house. Well, that and resting some, since I'm still not 100% recovered. Pretty close though from my point of view, since I'm doing loads better, and don't hurt so much any more.

The weather wasn't quite as bad on Wednesday, but it was still pretty rough, so the repair guys still didn't come. Mostly that means it ended up another day like Tuesday had been, except I randomly decided I wanted to bake cookies. There's a sign I'm doing better right there... I haven't done much baking in the past couple of years, because I haven't really felt up to it. Anyway, I made some chocolate cinnamon cookies. Well, with some help from Kelly, since he had to reach up to get things down from the cupboards, and bend down to deal with the oven for me, since I'm still meant to be avoiding too much bending and stretching. Either way, chocolate cinnamon cookies were baked, and we enjoyed eating them afterwards. Kelly was pleased to have me baking cookies, and said the only way they could have been better is if they were brownies. Given his love of a good brownie, I took it as a compliment. No. I don't have photos of the cookies. I only made a small batch, and we'd eaten them before I thought about it.

Most of the rest of the week continued in the same manner. I didn't do any more baking, but the storms of various intensity prevented the workmen from coming to finish the roof and fix the skylight until yesterday, when the sun finally decided to return. Well, the sun actually returned on Sunday - rather appropriately - but they don't work on weekends if they can help it. As I said, I'm not sure why they didn't just come do the inside jobs while the weather was stopping them from doing the outside ones. It wasn't my choice to make though. If it had been, that's what they'd have done. But there you go.

Anyway, the not knowing what would happen each day until we got up and saw what the weather was doing made it even more difficult to plan what we'd be doing each day than it usually is for us, which was a bit frustrating. OK. A lot frustrating. Not that we usually have everything planned out, but we generally at least have tentative plans, and the result of the weather situation was that the tentative plans I'd had for the week went out of the window. Although, I did somehow end up being quite productive regardless, and I managed to cross lots of little tasks - both online and offline ones - off my to-do list, which is a good thing.

I made another attempt to get the bin of used needles sat on our kitchen counter picked up. I'm talking about the ones from the shots I had to have for the first week I was home. Yeah, we still have those. The council keeps insisting they don't have the paperwork to approve the pick-up, despite the hospital having done the paperwork twice already. Well, three times if you count the one they did for me again yesterday. The hospital would just take them and dispose of them for us, except they apparently aren't allowed to do that any more. Kelly did take them in, because they thought they could, and were going to. But apparently they're not lisenced to any more or something, because the nurse was told she wasn't allowed to accept them when she went to do so, and Kelly ended up bringing them back home. So we're still trying to get them picked up and disposed of. Bearing in mind, it's now almost six weeks since I had my surgery, which makes it about four weeks we've been trying to arrange for these used needles to be picked up now. It's the council causing the problem. I know for a fact the hospital has filed the paperwork. Anyway, let's hope the council actually agree they have the paperwork that approves the pick-up this time.

The other thing I sorted was upgrades for both phones. By which I mean, the home phone and internet, and my mobile phone. I needed to do the mobile badly, since - as I told the guy from the company when he finished his professional greeting, and asked me how he could help me - "My phone is dying, and I want a new one before it finishes the job." Yes, I actually said that. Anyway, while I was thinking about phones, I figured I'd get the internet upgraded too, since they've been offering a newer modem for a while, and we only hadn't accepted it because we were going to worry about it when we moved, and then we didn't move, and I kept not getting around to calling them back. It's different companies, but I figured I'd call both while I was thinking about it. Anyway, in both cases it's just newer versions of what I already had. Same companies, newer models of the same equipment really, and pretty much the same contract details. Although, I do have more internet data with my mobile now. Both the modem and the new phone should be here Friday or before. Oh, by the way, for those who might be wondering: my new phone is going to be an iPhone 6S. A silver one. Yes, I know that's not the most up to date version of an iPhone. However, it's a lot more up to date than the iPhone 4S I've been using, and it's what my brother, Carl, upgraded to a few months ago, so I know from him it's a good phone (both in general, and in terms of accessability for the visually impaired). I figure if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me, especially since it was him who provided me with the iPhone 4S, which has served me well for more than three years now, despite having been his for more than a year before that. Plus, I've heard stuff about some of the newer models not being so great in terms of accessability, so wanted to play it safe with getting one I know someone else who's blind is using just fine.

Other than that, I worked on some of my own writing, helped Kelly with some write-ups for one of his characters for a roleplaying game he's involved with, gave Joshua and Mollie some attention, played several hundred games of fetch with Lilie, helped out a little with what Kelly would let me help with around here, and took naps whenever I needed them. So, the week may not have gone quite to plan, but it was a productive one, and a reasonably good one. I hope your week was as good, if not better.

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Quotes For March 18th 2019

The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.
~Paulo Coelho

If you don’t want anyone to know, don’t do it.
~Ancient Chinese proverb

Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.
~Plato

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!
~Dr. Seuss

Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.
~Frank Zappa

There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.
~Elie Wiesel

Where flowers bloom, so does hope.
~Lady Bird Johnson

#FurkidFriday: Joshua The #Degu Celebrates Turning Six

Hi everyone. This is Joshua the degu.

Last Saturday (March 9th) I had one of those birthday things. I'm now six years old. That's a big number. Here's a photo the human caretakers took of me on the morning of my birthday:


The human caretakers got me this toy:


It's a great toy. It's got coconut shell, grass, and wood involved in it, all of which I love. But I wouldn't play with it. At least, not until I got my morning Shreddie. The Mummy human kept trying to show it to me, but I just kept waiting for my Shreddie. After I'd had that, I went to check the toy out, and had a great time playing with it. In fact, here are a couple of photos of me doing just that:


Don't get me wrong, I love birthdays. Who doesn't? But I also love Shreddies, and I wasn't about to skip getting mine. Not even if it was for a birthday present. Hey, a degu's got to eat, after all, birthday or not.

Squeak soon,
Joshua

#AmReading + #AmWatching - March 14th 2019 #Reviews

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love the books in this series! Harry is an excellent and often entertaining character, and the other characters are well-rounded and interesting too. Also, the worldbuilding is wonderful. It's been the case for all the previous books in this series, and was the case for this one too. The story grabs you from the start, and holds you captibe while taking you on an action-packed emotional rollercoaster ride, which will have you laughing out loud one minute, and crying tears of frustration the next. At least, it did that for me.

White Night by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Awesome book! I thought the previous ones were gripping reads, but this one... WOW! If I hadn't kept needing to sleep, I'd have ended up reading it in one sitting, because it was just so hard to put down.

As for what I've been watching:

Yeah... You can just skip this part if you like. I almost didn't even bother writing it. I got nothing watched again this week. No movies, and no TV shows - new to me or otherwise.

#WriterWednesday - March 13th 2019

Make yourself comfortable, because I've been very productive this past week. Not with writing - despite my story's pleas for me to come spend time with it - but with sorting that huge stack of eMails and post notifications that were waiting for me to deal with them. This means I have quite a few posts and articles to share with you today. I'm proud of me for managing to get caught up. I gave myself March to do that, and actually managed to do it before we got half way through the month. And, yes, I did step away from the computer when I started to hurt, and rest when I needed to. I do feel a bit guilty for ignoring my writing in favour of dealing with everything else, but it was a concious decission, and I am glad I did it the way I did, especially since it's easier to get back in to reading something if you have to stop than it is to get back in to the flow of writing something. Now I'm able to sit at the computer comfortably for longer, and have caught up on things, perhaps I can get some writing done?

It's normal to feel a bit guilty when you don't get your writing time in though. I mean, every writer feels guilty sometimes when they don't write. If you're feeling that way right now too, here's how to deal with it. You're not alone! Besides, there is a time to write, and a time to not write. For example, sometimes your plan to just write on the plane (or whatever your backup plan was) can't work out for a valid reason. If that's the case, figure out why, and see what you can do for the future. But don't waste time feeling guilty about it. I'll try not to waste time feeling guilty too.

Have you forgotten to have fun writing? Then make it fun again!

Do you ever feel like you're not making any progress at all? Yeah, me too sometimes. But look at what you've achieved, and break what you still need to get done in to smaller chunks. It helps. Really. It does. Honest. Baby steps really is the way to get big projects done, and helps with solving the 'focussing problem' most writers don't realize they have.

By the way, are you overthinking everything you try writing? Just stop it. Yeah, I know that's easier said than done. But figure out how to do it anyhow. After all, it's one of the reasons why so many beginning writers never become successful - though not the only reason, of course. Having said that, here's why you should give yourself permission to quit, if you find writing really isn't what you want to be doing any more.

If it's not that you want to quit, but that you're just afraid of failing, here's how to write something knowing you might fail. Also, read this right now if you have no idea what you're doing.

Oh, and if you're worried you have nothing new and unique to say, don't be. Just find your own way to say it, even if others have said it already. Don't let that be your reason to quit. Just keep writing whatever it is you love to write.

So, let's assume you do want to keep writing. With that in mind, you're going to want to define success for you - the post I just linked to explains why. Also, here's the biggest change that must happen when you become a 'serious' writer, and some tips for being an effective writer, for you to bear in mind if your definition of success is more than just writing for yourself whenever you feel like it.

If your goal is to become a freelance writer, check out this ultimate answer sheet for advice on how to go about it, and answers to questions you might have.

Not having much luck getting freelance work, or making writing pay your bills some other way? Well, would it really be so bad if writing never became your day job? Short answer: no.

On the other hand, if you do manage to write for a living, here are some tips for the work-at-home author, which you might find useful.

Next, here's a post full of tips on how to establish a writing routine, one on developing a writing practice, another that asks how often you unplug, one that reminds you of the importance of scheduling your downtime and writing time, and another that talks about your priorities. These will come in handy when I'm working on establishing a new routine after a bit more recovery time. Or, more accurately, attempting to. I never have been great with routines. I plan to try a few things though. I'll figure out what works for me eventually.

On a similar note to the previous articles: please remember that sitting at your desk all day, while potentially great for productivity, is bad for your health in the longterm. I mean, look at what sitting too long is doing to your body. Not good, is it? So, remember to take care of yourself while working on your writing. To help you with that, here are some self care tips for writers. So, how's your writing going? Have you been remembering to take care of your health while working on it?

Are you distracted by your phone or other things all the time? Or are you good at staying off the phone and social media when it's meant to be your writing time, and only going online when you're not meant to be writing?

Regardless of how much time you spend online, if you're an author, you need to consider your online presence, and these mistakes to avoid.

Oh, and... Yes. blogs are still relevant in 2019 - just in case you were wondering.

Does showing people what you write ever stop being scary? Short answer: not really. I've published several thousand blog posts, and more than 50 books, and I still get that quivery butterfly feeling when I hit, "Publish," on anything. Probably always will.

No matter how you feel when it comes time to share your work, or even if you share it at all, what do you write?

Do you write short stories? Or, perhaps, you're thinking about doing so? If either of those applies to you, you might want to check out this series of posts on writing short stories for some tips.

Or maybe it's poetry you want to start writing? If so, here's how to start writing poetry.

Alternatively, if you write the kinds of fantasy stories where you're going to need an army in your tale, here's a post that talks about the popular tools of the trade for fantasy armies, another with tips to creating a fantasy army, and another that talks about using military casters.

Whether you write fantasy, adventure, or some other genre, if your characters have to make a journey, here are some tips for when a story hits the road, so you can make sure your characters are prepared for their journey, and that you know where they're going, and why.

Speaking of your characters: have you ever written anything using a decoy/false protagonist? Would you ever do it? As a reader, what do you think of the idea?

In reality, even the best of friends will argue sometimes. With that being the case, it's only natural you'll sometimes have a situation crop up when friends fight in fiction.

No matter who's in your story, or how well they get along, you're going to want to promote your book at some point. So, are character interviews worth the effort? I think so. I also think they're fun to do, and have done several myself.

Speaking of marketing: consider those times when free isn't really free, and word things correctly. We already know books on Kindle Unlimited are free to subscribers, so do everyone a favour and only mention the word "free" in your advert or post if you really mean it. If it's only free to subscribers, or to those who sign up for something, make sure you make that clear from the start.

By the way, have you heard of using your magic garden to tie your stories together? I hadn't either. It's an interesting idea though, don't you think? Could be fun. Mind you, you could say I've done something like it without realizing, because of the use of my pets in many of my stories - both stand alone and series - and poems, especially the degu books, where I've conciously used my degus for all four of them, even though only two of them belong to the series, and one of the stand alone stories isn't so obviously about my own degus (I make it clear that Buddy from "How To Trust Your Human" is Joshua, but don't make it so obvious that Oscar from "Degu's Day Out" is Jasper, because it's not so important for you to know that).

Anyway, no matter what you write, and whether it's part of your own magic garden or not, if you're feeling a little sour about the writing process right now, check out this post on turning a lemon in to a book.

Next, here's an interesting mini series. It talks about how stories go through phases just like matter, considering the solid foundation, the flowing liquid of plot, and the churning gas of ideas. Being the kind of person who likes to exercise both sides of her brain, I enjoyed this combining of the creativity of writing with scientific thinking. I hope you do too.

Last, but certainly not least, always remember that not everyone will like your story, but that doesn't mean it's a bad story. People have different tastes, and that's OK.

Of #Ocean Views, Medical Mutterings, Weather Reports, Home Repairs, #HarryPotter Boxes, And #Crafting

The photo at the top of this post is one we took of the ocean this past Sunday (March 10th). Here's a short video taken around the same time, for those who might want to hear it too:







Well, I'm doing a lot better. I'm still a bit sore, but nothing like I was. I can sit up for a long time now without it hurting, and have been able to reduce the amount of painkilers I'm taking. I wish I could have stopped them completely by now, but I'm getting closer to that point at least, which is something.

By the way, just because I can, here's a photo of the get well card my Dad and Nan sent me, which I didn't get a chance to have Kelly sort a photo of until now, but wanted to share:


Anyway, as it turns out, it's just as well I'm doing so much better really, since it's unexpectedly been a week filled with workmen doing repairs around here, and looks to be a similar week this week. At least, assuming the weather continues to co-operate, since they keep talking about storms. So far the storms have been good about coming at night most of the time though, so I get to enjoy listening to them - the parts I don't sleep through anyhow - but they aren't stopping the guys from doing the work.

Naturally, Lilie liked that the repair guys were here at first. That is, until she realised they were here to work, and not to play with her. Lilie loves people, so she's happy they greet her when they see her. But, if she had her way, they'd spend more time giving her attention, and less time working. Good thing Lilie's not in charge of them, isn't it? *wink*

So, they got the keys from the new downstairs neighbour, at last, and were finally able to fix the buzzer thingy. Well, mostly, which I'll explain in a moment. Anyway, it was, as we suspected, because of what nasty neighbour had done before she left that it was completely broken. She had jammed the button on the handset in that apartment so well it kept sticking. They actually had to replace the handset for that apartment because of the button sticking as fast as they freed it. So it works again now. Finally! At least, the part where we can let people in to the building works. The speaker... That's where the problem lies. You see, we thought that part was fixed too. Even tested it with the guy who fixed it, and everyone could hear each other. Except then the speaker stopped working again, which we only discovered because we got a delivery on Saturday and they couldn't hear us telling them to come in. They were able to because the button to open the door worked, and they pushed it when they heard the buzz, but they hadn't heard Kelly speak. We'll have to let the guys know when they're back this week that the speaker part isn't as fixed as we thought. It's progress though. At least we no longer have to try and get down to the main door before the postman gets bored of waiting to be let in to the building. That's a good start.

They're coming back this week because they're doing some other work around here too, including some work on the roof. Now they're doing the work on the roof, maybe they'll actually get the issue where it keeps raining in the downstairs hallway properly resolved. The guys who came before were only fixing the inside part of the problem. These guys are actually doing the outside repairs too, so there's hope. Plus, we know they're working hard, since we're running a cable out for the electric for them to be able to run their tools, so we'd know what time they arrive and leave even if we couldn't hear them working. Let's hope they keep it up.

Also, we discovered when Kelly went up in the attic to rescue the pigeon that the skylight up there is broken. We suspect it has been for a while, since it would explain why it's so drafty that side of the apartment, regardless of how warm the rest is. We don't go up in the attic, which is why we never noticed. Kelly only went up there that day because Lilie and I heard the pigeon, and he braved a trip up there to verify what it was, and try to rescue it. It turned out not to need rescuing, since it got out the way it got in. But it was good he went up there, because that's how we found out the skylight was broken. Although, the guys might have noticed while they're up on the roof. Either way, they'll be fixing that too. They plan to do it this week, as long as the weather isn't too nasty for them to be able to go up there, since they need to fix it from the outside, which means them being four stories up on the side of the building facing the ocean. I don't envy them that task, and certainly don't blame them for saying they're not coming to do that on a stormy day.

Oh, and they're going to put a couple of rails up in the bathroom for us. The occupational therapist finally got in touch, but they're the "emergency response" team, and since I'm now at the point where I can move enough that I don't need one of their bath chairs - especially since it will have been six weeks since my surgery by the time they could get me one - and they'd have to ask the landlords about doing some rails in the bathroom apparently anyhow (there's no rail to grab to steady yourself when you get out of the bath at the moment) we politely told them to forget it. We wanted them for help when I was first out of hospital. What that team can do for me it's a bit late for now. I thought they'd likely be too late when we got the letter saying I was going on their waiting list. As it turns out, we've got a couple of rails we were given, which we already know the landlords are happy for us to put up, but nobody got around to putting up, so we've asked the repair guys to do them. In all fairness, the repair guys did ask if there was anything else we had that needed doing. We figured it wouldn't hurt to mention those, and they said they'd do them. In theory that's going to happen this week too. The occupational therapist asked if there was anything else they could help with as well, but there's nothing else they handle that we need help with, so I told them no.

Anyway, let's hope these repair guys do follow through, and the work they promised to do does get done... Preferably soon, like they said it would. So far they've been great workers... Much better than most of the guys the landlords have had do stuff around here in the past. But we'll see what ends up happening in the longterm. If nothing else, at least the buzzer thingy now mostly works. I mean, that's an improvement to start with.

Although, I notice there's still nobody talking about when the windows will get replaced, even though that's something we've been promised for a couple of years now. Maybe I should mention those when the guys are around this week...

In other news...

My February Harry Potter box arrived right at the end of February, like it's meant to. But I didn't get a chance to have Kelly sort photos of the contents for me to post about it last week. So I'm doing it this week instead.

Inside was an owl wand...


A deer picture...


A t-shirt with the animals that are the symbols for the Hogwarts houses on it...


Some chocolate frog tea...


A butterscotch bath bomb...


And an ornamental golden egg...


Just thought I'd share photos of it all, for the benifit of those of you who like to know what's in my boxes.

Lastly, I haven't finished the owl I'm stitching yet, because I haven't really been working on it. I have managed to sort out a photo of the elephant for you though, like I said last week I'd try to do, so here it is:


And that's my week in a nutshell. Well, actually, that's my week in a blog post, but let's not be technical. *wink*