Nenia Campbell's Blog, page 16
June 14, 2020
Short story: Finn and Catherine go on a date
Hi! As you may know, I'm currently in the process of finishing the last book in my Shadow Thane series, Dragon Queen.
While writing, I tend to keep a doc with a whole bunch of random scenes and sometimes I end up scrapping ones that are redundant or don't fit. Some are experimental, others are just to amuse me or explore ideas and character development. This one was so cute that I decided to post it as a short story for free.
Warning: Spoilers for books 1-4. Background: Phineas is a witch, Catherine is a shape-shifter, and they used to hate each other before hating each other was cool.
Also, Finn drinks his coffee with lots of salt because that is what witches do.
NOTE: This story is basically self-fanfiction of a much darker work and takes place after he's redeemed. Finn is a raging asshole in books 1-3 of the ST series. The main series is not this cute and I'm happy to provide CWs to anyone who is interested to read it but unsure.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Phineas was initially delighted when Catherine told him she wanted to go on a date. He had been trying to court her unsuccessfully for weeks, sending her gifts for her domicile, which, he imagined, she would put in various places on honor.
Instead, she had called him on the phone and told him to stop, that nobody in their right mind needed that much lace underwear and if they did, they were doing something terribly wrong.
“You have to stop,” she told him. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but my mail carrier hates me, and I can’t use these things. Do you realize I have more underwear than clothes, now? If you’re going to send me things, send me food. But you don’t have to send me anything at all.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” he said. “I wanted to please you.”
“Please stop pleasing me,” said Catherine. “I am over-pleased.”
Finn ended the call and began sending cases of meat to her house instead. A week later, she called him up again. “If you don’t stop,” she said. “I am going to kill you and preserve your corpse in the two tons of spam you shipped to my house. Nobody will find your body.”
“I want to see you,” he said, and he heard her sigh. But it was not the angry sigh, and so he pressed, adding, “I will buy you a meal.”
“Okay,” she said. “But I’m choosing the place.”
She took him to a teahouse, which sounded elegant until they went inside and he saw the baby humans crawling on the floor and the bright music pulsing from the speakers. If it was terrible for him, it would be worse in triplicate for her, with her supernatural hearing, which made him suspect she had done this with the intent of torturing him. He gave her an accusatory look, which made her grin.
“They put salt in the tea here,” she said. “It’s perfect for you.”
“I don’t put salt in my tea,” he retorted. “This is a disgrace to teahouses.”
“It’s not actually a teahouse. I lied.” With that stunning act of defiance, Catherine shrugged him off and went up to the counter to order the drinks, leaving him to fume.
Teahouse, thought Finn, eying a garish painting of a large-eyed panda on the wall. I don’t think so.
“Let’s sit outside,” said the shape-shifter.
He allowed himself to be led. The music was faint outdoors, and she chose a plastic table under the purple awning that would allow her a clear view of the streets.
She was wearing a sundress that revealed her sunburned shoulders and shoes with woven soles that brought her up to his shoulder. They tied at the ankle with ribbon and he found himself studying her legs, until she kicked at him with one of her shoes.
Reluctantly, he tore his eyes away. “Yes?”
“You aren’t listening to me.” She tapped his ‘tea.’ “And you haven’t touched your drink.”
He eyed it with disgust. “It has layers.”
“It’s salt cheese.”
Finn gave her a look. “I,” he said, “do not imbibe cheese.”
She took a sip of her own drink, which was a horrid green. He had to resist the urge to shudder.
“Try it.”
“No.”
Catherine shook her head slowly. “You might like it.”
“It’s lamentable how unfamiliar you are with my preferences.”
She grinned at him, baring her sharp canines. “Not all your preferences.”
Finn choked, and attempted to cover it with a cough. “Really, shape-shifter. How improper.”
“You know,” she said, “you’re kind of cute when you’re a prude.”
He leveled a glare at her that would have had his people scrambling to hide from the inevitable onslaught of magic fire.
She gave him a sunny smile and pushed against his shoe with her foot. Finn caught her leg between his and tugged, yanking her into the table.
“Provocative beast.”
Catherine righted their tipped drinks. “Are you always this uptight?”
Finn looked down at her small, muscular arm, so close to his own. “Only around you.”
“Liar.” She plucked at his shirtsleeve. “If someone mounted the stick up your ass, they could fly a flag on it that would be seen from space.”
“I can think of better things for you to mount.”
“Now who’s being improper?”
Finn opened his mouth to defend himself, until he saw the smile. So this was teasing then. He rallied himself to deliver a rejoinder and then abruptly broke off, eying a goggling group of human women.
“Why are those human females staring at us?”
“They’re staring at you,” she said. “They think you’re cute.”
“What?” he bit off the word incredulously. “Is that what passes for human courtship? Gaping as if at a third-rate attraction at some off-road festival? Do they,” he said, drawing himself up, “even know who I am?”
“I’m sure they only like you because they don’t know who you are.” She arched her eyebrows mockingly. “You do look like a prince, you know. Perhaps not quite what they imagined, but still not—mpphhh?”
Finn kissed her hard, winding his fingers in her long hair to keep her still. Her hot tongue had been chilled by her drink and he could taste the cloying sweetness of it, artificial and fruity, and the saltiness of what was—he fought a shudder—layered cheese.
He let a bit of his magic curl around her body, until she gasped into his mouth.
“I think,” he said roughly, “that I’m exactly what they imagined. You do me so little credit, shifter mine. I’m well versed in human princes, and I’ve saved the kingdom, rescued the princess—and, oh yes.” He ran his fingers down her cheek. “Slayed the dragon.”
She stared at him, momentarily robbed of speech, and he allowed himself a smile.
"For you, my lady, I would imbibe the foulest cheese in all the land."
She shook her head, flushing. "Never say 'my lady' again."
"Very well," he said, "but only if you kiss me."
/end
While writing, I tend to keep a doc with a whole bunch of random scenes and sometimes I end up scrapping ones that are redundant or don't fit. Some are experimental, others are just to amuse me or explore ideas and character development. This one was so cute that I decided to post it as a short story for free.
Warning: Spoilers for books 1-4. Background: Phineas is a witch, Catherine is a shape-shifter, and they used to hate each other before hating each other was cool.
Also, Finn drinks his coffee with lots of salt because that is what witches do.
NOTE: This story is basically self-fanfiction of a much darker work and takes place after he's redeemed. Finn is a raging asshole in books 1-3 of the ST series. The main series is not this cute and I'm happy to provide CWs to anyone who is interested to read it but unsure.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Phineas was initially delighted when Catherine told him she wanted to go on a date. He had been trying to court her unsuccessfully for weeks, sending her gifts for her domicile, which, he imagined, she would put in various places on honor.
Instead, she had called him on the phone and told him to stop, that nobody in their right mind needed that much lace underwear and if they did, they were doing something terribly wrong.
“You have to stop,” she told him. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but my mail carrier hates me, and I can’t use these things. Do you realize I have more underwear than clothes, now? If you’re going to send me things, send me food. But you don’t have to send me anything at all.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” he said. “I wanted to please you.”
“Please stop pleasing me,” said Catherine. “I am over-pleased.”
Finn ended the call and began sending cases of meat to her house instead. A week later, she called him up again. “If you don’t stop,” she said. “I am going to kill you and preserve your corpse in the two tons of spam you shipped to my house. Nobody will find your body.”
“I want to see you,” he said, and he heard her sigh. But it was not the angry sigh, and so he pressed, adding, “I will buy you a meal.”
“Okay,” she said. “But I’m choosing the place.”
She took him to a teahouse, which sounded elegant until they went inside and he saw the baby humans crawling on the floor and the bright music pulsing from the speakers. If it was terrible for him, it would be worse in triplicate for her, with her supernatural hearing, which made him suspect she had done this with the intent of torturing him. He gave her an accusatory look, which made her grin.
“They put salt in the tea here,” she said. “It’s perfect for you.”
“I don’t put salt in my tea,” he retorted. “This is a disgrace to teahouses.”
“It’s not actually a teahouse. I lied.” With that stunning act of defiance, Catherine shrugged him off and went up to the counter to order the drinks, leaving him to fume.
Teahouse, thought Finn, eying a garish painting of a large-eyed panda on the wall. I don’t think so.
“Let’s sit outside,” said the shape-shifter.
He allowed himself to be led. The music was faint outdoors, and she chose a plastic table under the purple awning that would allow her a clear view of the streets.
She was wearing a sundress that revealed her sunburned shoulders and shoes with woven soles that brought her up to his shoulder. They tied at the ankle with ribbon and he found himself studying her legs, until she kicked at him with one of her shoes.
Reluctantly, he tore his eyes away. “Yes?”
“You aren’t listening to me.” She tapped his ‘tea.’ “And you haven’t touched your drink.”
He eyed it with disgust. “It has layers.”
“It’s salt cheese.”
Finn gave her a look. “I,” he said, “do not imbibe cheese.”
She took a sip of her own drink, which was a horrid green. He had to resist the urge to shudder.
“Try it.”
“No.”
Catherine shook her head slowly. “You might like it.”
“It’s lamentable how unfamiliar you are with my preferences.”
She grinned at him, baring her sharp canines. “Not all your preferences.”
Finn choked, and attempted to cover it with a cough. “Really, shape-shifter. How improper.”
“You know,” she said, “you’re kind of cute when you’re a prude.”
He leveled a glare at her that would have had his people scrambling to hide from the inevitable onslaught of magic fire.
She gave him a sunny smile and pushed against his shoe with her foot. Finn caught her leg between his and tugged, yanking her into the table.
“Provocative beast.”
Catherine righted their tipped drinks. “Are you always this uptight?”
Finn looked down at her small, muscular arm, so close to his own. “Only around you.”
“Liar.” She plucked at his shirtsleeve. “If someone mounted the stick up your ass, they could fly a flag on it that would be seen from space.”
“I can think of better things for you to mount.”
“Now who’s being improper?”
Finn opened his mouth to defend himself, until he saw the smile. So this was teasing then. He rallied himself to deliver a rejoinder and then abruptly broke off, eying a goggling group of human women.
“Why are those human females staring at us?”
“They’re staring at you,” she said. “They think you’re cute.”
“What?” he bit off the word incredulously. “Is that what passes for human courtship? Gaping as if at a third-rate attraction at some off-road festival? Do they,” he said, drawing himself up, “even know who I am?”
“I’m sure they only like you because they don’t know who you are.” She arched her eyebrows mockingly. “You do look like a prince, you know. Perhaps not quite what they imagined, but still not—mpphhh?”
Finn kissed her hard, winding his fingers in her long hair to keep her still. Her hot tongue had been chilled by her drink and he could taste the cloying sweetness of it, artificial and fruity, and the saltiness of what was—he fought a shudder—layered cheese.
He let a bit of his magic curl around her body, until she gasped into his mouth.
“I think,” he said roughly, “that I’m exactly what they imagined. You do me so little credit, shifter mine. I’m well versed in human princes, and I’ve saved the kingdom, rescued the princess—and, oh yes.” He ran his fingers down her cheek. “Slayed the dragon.”
She stared at him, momentarily robbed of speech, and he allowed himself a smile.
"For you, my lady, I would imbibe the foulest cheese in all the land."
She shook her head, flushing. "Never say 'my lady' again."
"Very well," he said, "but only if you kiss me."
/end
June 3, 2020
How I review and what the ratings mean
Everyone reviews differently and my system is a bit weirder than most. I rate PURELY on entertainment alone. This is why manga and romance novels can get 5s while Shakespeare and that one history book you found super informative can get 1s. I'll usually acknowledge any benefits a book might have, but I won't change my ratings based on them. This has made people angry with me in the past but I'm not going to apologize for feeling the way I feel about the things I read. I either liked it or I didn't.
I like genre fiction. I don't think there's anything shameful about that. Romance novels are fun, which is why I read so many of them, but sometimes nonfiction and classics can be fun, too. (I have a special shelf for fun classics.)
5 stars - I couldn't put it down. Would possibly read again and would definitely recommend to a stranger. I am going to look for more books based on their similarities to this one. It's a game-changer.
4 stars - Not perfect but really enjoyed it. Maybe it was problematic. Maybe it was a guilty pleasure. Fuck off, I still loved it. I would recommend this too, and probably without any sorts of caveat.
3 stars - Flawed read but still a-OK. Some people use 3 stars to rate books that they didn't like but don't want to say so. NOT ME. If I gave your book a 3 I liked it, but probably found it forgettable, slightly awkwardly written, or skimmed some sections of it. A good read that's a bit of a throwaway. It passed the time.
2 stars - Meh. I didn't hate it and the reasons this didn't work out might be more of a "me" thing than a "you" thing. It's possible I didn't finish this, or if I did, I really had to push myself. The writing style was probably incompatible in a major way. I might read more from this author, though. They had potential.
1 star - I hated the book. Maybe it was all kinds of boring. Maybe it made me angry or offended me (by being boring or otherwise). Maybe it was filled with spelling errors or promised to be something it wasn't. Maybe I just was having a really bad day. There's a high chance I didn't finish. Either way, one star.
***More notes:
-I read a lot of vintage romance novels from the 1970s and 1980s because I find them hilarious. A lot of them have problematic content. I will usually try to post content warnings in these reviews and won't typically recommend these to people unless asked since they have so many tropes that don't fit in with what most people are seeking in romance. I also do not condone or endorse the things that happen in these books (it needed to be said).
-I don't read christian fiction (except, on very rare occasions, historical romances). I am not religious and typically, these books have very little to offer me.
-Someone once pointed out to me years ago that I didn't really have any books by people of color on my shelves. They were right-- I didn't-- and I've made a concerted effort to really try to read more diversely since then. I think it's really important for those with voices on this platform to seek out and boost books with characters of color and LGBT+ characters (specifically F/F, which is only just starting to get the love that it should have had all along-- now more ace and bi rep, please).
-I'm a 30-something-year-old who likes comics. I think they're fun.
-My snark is worse than my bite. I might come across as a condescending snob-- and I am-- but it's usually not coming from a place of ill intent. That said, I don't take kindly to rude comments. I get a lot of them, so if I snap at you, it's probably because you were lucky #100 that day. If you have a problem with me, it's probably just better for you to block me.
I like genre fiction. I don't think there's anything shameful about that. Romance novels are fun, which is why I read so many of them, but sometimes nonfiction and classics can be fun, too. (I have a special shelf for fun classics.)
5 stars - I couldn't put it down. Would possibly read again and would definitely recommend to a stranger. I am going to look for more books based on their similarities to this one. It's a game-changer.
4 stars - Not perfect but really enjoyed it. Maybe it was problematic. Maybe it was a guilty pleasure. Fuck off, I still loved it. I would recommend this too, and probably without any sorts of caveat.
3 stars - Flawed read but still a-OK. Some people use 3 stars to rate books that they didn't like but don't want to say so. NOT ME. If I gave your book a 3 I liked it, but probably found it forgettable, slightly awkwardly written, or skimmed some sections of it. A good read that's a bit of a throwaway. It passed the time.
2 stars - Meh. I didn't hate it and the reasons this didn't work out might be more of a "me" thing than a "you" thing. It's possible I didn't finish this, or if I did, I really had to push myself. The writing style was probably incompatible in a major way. I might read more from this author, though. They had potential.
1 star - I hated the book. Maybe it was all kinds of boring. Maybe it made me angry or offended me (by being boring or otherwise). Maybe it was filled with spelling errors or promised to be something it wasn't. Maybe I just was having a really bad day. There's a high chance I didn't finish. Either way, one star.
***More notes:
-I read a lot of vintage romance novels from the 1970s and 1980s because I find them hilarious. A lot of them have problematic content. I will usually try to post content warnings in these reviews and won't typically recommend these to people unless asked since they have so many tropes that don't fit in with what most people are seeking in romance. I also do not condone or endorse the things that happen in these books (it needed to be said).
-I don't read christian fiction (except, on very rare occasions, historical romances). I am not religious and typically, these books have very little to offer me.
-Someone once pointed out to me years ago that I didn't really have any books by people of color on my shelves. They were right-- I didn't-- and I've made a concerted effort to really try to read more diversely since then. I think it's really important for those with voices on this platform to seek out and boost books with characters of color and LGBT+ characters (specifically F/F, which is only just starting to get the love that it should have had all along-- now more ace and bi rep, please).
-I'm a 30-something-year-old who likes comics. I think they're fun.
-My snark is worse than my bite. I might come across as a condescending snob-- and I am-- but it's usually not coming from a place of ill intent. That said, I don't take kindly to rude comments. I get a lot of them, so if I snap at you, it's probably because you were lucky #100 that day. If you have a problem with me, it's probably just better for you to block me.
May 24, 2020
Last week to get books 1-3 of the Horrorscape series for 99c!
To celebrate Escape getting 100 reviews and also because quarantine suuuucks (even though it is necessary for staying safe and keeping your loved ones safe) you can get each book on sale for 99c!
*used car salesman voice*
BUT THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF THE SALE so you must BUY NOW because in June, they will be reverting back to full price. Oh no!
*normal voice*
You can find the link to the books here!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
I'd be really excited to see what you think of them. Even if you hate them, I'll still be thrilled that you read them. Especially if you write a wickedly funny one star review that I can laugh at.
(Although I hope you don't hate them.) :D
*used car salesman voice*
BUT THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF THE SALE so you must BUY NOW because in June, they will be reverting back to full price. Oh no!
*normal voice*
You can find the link to the books here!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
I'd be really excited to see what you think of them. Even if you hate them, I'll still be thrilled that you read them. Especially if you write a wickedly funny one star review that I can laugh at.
(Although I hope you don't hate them.) :D
May 13, 2020
Get Books 1-3 of the Horrorscape Series for 99c EACH!
*parachutes into your mentions*
The price changes are LIVE! FEARSCAPE, HORRORSCAPE, and TERRORSCAPE are all 99c each right now in the Kindle store on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
If the link doesn't work for you, make sure that you have the domain set to your correct Amazon marketplace (i.e. .co.uk).
Thank you so much for reading my series and enjoy the cheap books! <3
The price changes are LIVE! FEARSCAPE, HORRORSCAPE, and TERRORSCAPE are all 99c each right now in the Kindle store on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
If the link doesn't work for you, make sure that you have the domain set to your correct Amazon marketplace (i.e. .co.uk).
Thank you so much for reading my series and enjoy the cheap books! <3
May 12, 2020
Exciting news!!! CHEAP BOOKS ON THE HORIZON!
Hi all! I want to share an exciting milestone! Escape just hit 100 reviews after being out for just under 2 months! I am so excited and happy about this that I am making the first three books in the series 99 cents. I inputted the changes about half an hour ago, so they should go live soon! I'll post an update when they do.
Second, I submitted a cleaner copy of Escape that fixed most of the typos reported to me! So thank you for that! If you have the older edition, you should be able to update to the newer one in your Contents and Devices section.
I'm also currently in the process of fixing the typos that people pointed out to me in Terrorscape, which I really appreciate, because I do not have an editor. Only Zuul (and myself hahaha). So expect a cleaned up copy hopefully by this weekend!
Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for your amazing support! It means so much to me as an indie author and as a book blogger, since I know how much time and dedication goes into not just reading but also posting reviews. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and stay safe out there. ♥
Second, I submitted a cleaner copy of Escape that fixed most of the typos reported to me! So thank you for that! If you have the older edition, you should be able to update to the newer one in your Contents and Devices section.
I'm also currently in the process of fixing the typos that people pointed out to me in Terrorscape, which I really appreciate, because I do not have an editor. Only Zuul (and myself hahaha). So expect a cleaned up copy hopefully by this weekend!
Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for your amazing support! It means so much to me as an indie author and as a book blogger, since I know how much time and dedication goes into not just reading but also posting reviews. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and stay safe out there. ♥
March 28, 2020
FREE BOOKS! 3/29-4/2
A lot of authors are making their books cheap or free right now which I really appreciate, because I've been SO BORED at home. Since I'm a believer in paying it forward, I just made a whole bunch of my books free for five days starting from March 29th.
Eligible titles are:
Cloak and Dagger
Armed and Dangerous
Locked and Loaded
Cease and Desist
Star Crossed
The Darkest Night
The Pocketbook of Sunshine and Rain (This one ends April 1st)
Eligible titles are:
Cloak and Dagger
Armed and Dangerous
Locked and Loaded
Cease and Desist
Star Crossed
The Darkest Night
The Pocketbook of Sunshine and Rain (This one ends April 1st)
March 27, 2020
Thank you so much!!!
Escape has been out for a week now and it's been amazing seeing people buying and reading the book. The reception it got exceeded all of my expectations and it's been truly humbling. I'm so grateful to everyone who supported me through the (many) years it took to complete the series, some of whom have been following me since I serialized the work for free on Fictionpress in the mid-2000s!!!
The journey is finally over. :)
Special thanks to my friends Heather Crews who beta-read this for me and to Louisa, who designed the covers for the entire series. You guys are amazing people and I'm so grateful to you for this and many other reasons. <3
If I thanked the many other people who deserve it this post would be a million pages long, but if you ever bought the book, read the book, messaged me about the book, posted status updates or reviews for the book on here or on Amazon, or did something to support me for it in any way, even if it was just a "hey, you can do it! good job!" you're amazing and I love you.
Thanks for everything.
P.S. I've had a few people tell me that it isn't showing up in some of Amazon's int'l markets (Amazon India and Amazon France) and I can't figure out why, since I've checked and triple-checked and it seems like I've done everything right on my end with regard to how I've set up the rights. I'm sure Amazon's being inundated with all kinds of requests right now with the shortages of food and toilet paper from COVID-19 panic-buying, so as soon as that all dies down, I'll email their support and see if I can figure out what's going on. Thank you for letting me know about this issue, and I'll continue looking for a way to get the book out to those markets in the meantime.
The journey is finally over. :)
Special thanks to my friends Heather Crews who beta-read this for me and to Louisa, who designed the covers for the entire series. You guys are amazing people and I'm so grateful to you for this and many other reasons. <3
If I thanked the many other people who deserve it this post would be a million pages long, but if you ever bought the book, read the book, messaged me about the book, posted status updates or reviews for the book on here or on Amazon, or did something to support me for it in any way, even if it was just a "hey, you can do it! good job!" you're amazing and I love you.
Thanks for everything.
P.S. I've had a few people tell me that it isn't showing up in some of Amazon's int'l markets (Amazon India and Amazon France) and I can't figure out why, since I've checked and triple-checked and it seems like I've done everything right on my end with regard to how I've set up the rights. I'm sure Amazon's being inundated with all kinds of requests right now with the shortages of food and toilet paper from COVID-19 panic-buying, so as soon as that all dies down, I'll email their support and see if I can figure out what's going on. Thank you for letting me know about this issue, and I'll continue looking for a way to get the book out to those markets in the meantime.
March 21, 2020
ESCAPE playlist!
I love music and listen to it a lot when I write! Now that Escape has been published (whee: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08636P727), I'm posting the "official" playlist here so people can listen while/after they read!
And at the very least, you'll get to listen to some awesome music!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJw5N...
1. Sweet Dreams // Emily Browning
2. Am I Still the One? // Daniel Powter
3. Echo Lake // Pierce Fulton
4. Ghosts in the River // AG
5. Hope // Abi Wade
6. Somebody's Watching Me // Anna Waronker
7. Strangelove // Black Math
8. Better // Plumb
9. Dead Man's Arms // Bishop Briggs
10. Lost Control // Anathema
11. The Reckoning // Halestorm
12. One Way or Another // Until the Ribbon Breaks
13. Familiar Taste of Poison // Halestorm
14. Flow // Transister
15. Whore // IN THIS MOMENT
16. all the good girls go to hell // Billie Eilish
17. How Do You Like Me Now? (Raffertie Remix) // The Heavy
18. Mr. Sandman // SYML
19. White Dove // Koda
20. Who Do You Think That You Are? // Midnight Divide
21. Seven Devils // Florence + the Machine
22. Deathstar // DeLooze
23. Crazy in Love (Remix) // Beyonce
End Credits: Mind Games // Sickick
And at the very least, you'll get to listen to some awesome music!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJw5N...
1. Sweet Dreams // Emily Browning
2. Am I Still the One? // Daniel Powter
3. Echo Lake // Pierce Fulton
4. Ghosts in the River // AG
5. Hope // Abi Wade
6. Somebody's Watching Me // Anna Waronker
7. Strangelove // Black Math
8. Better // Plumb
9. Dead Man's Arms // Bishop Briggs
10. Lost Control // Anathema
11. The Reckoning // Halestorm
12. One Way or Another // Until the Ribbon Breaks
13. Familiar Taste of Poison // Halestorm
14. Flow // Transister
15. Whore // IN THIS MOMENT
16. all the good girls go to hell // Billie Eilish
17. How Do You Like Me Now? (Raffertie Remix) // The Heavy
18. Mr. Sandman // SYML
19. White Dove // Koda
20. Who Do You Think That You Are? // Midnight Divide
21. Seven Devils // Florence + the Machine
22. Deathstar // DeLooze
23. Crazy in Love (Remix) // Beyonce
End Credits: Mind Games // Sickick
February 21, 2020
How to grow your social media following
The trick is...
HA. There is no trick.
I keep getting people who ask me how I've gotten the following I have who also want to "grow" their followers and the best advice I have is honestly, to just be yourself. I know that's a frustrating answer that sounds like something out of a self-help book, so let me explain.
Influencing has made a lot of people feel the need to live their best lives, or look like they are. Which means posting pictures of exotic locales, expensive purchases, or shiny gifts from grateful sponsors. On the one hand, it all looks very cool and desirable... but on the other hand, it isn't very relatable and comes across as highly manufactured. Who can afford to buy the special edition of every Big Title, PLUS all of the fan merch on etsy while also looking like they stepped off the covers of a European fashion magazine and dining out every day?
Well, I'm sure somebody can, but it isn't me. LOL. And unless you're part of that controversial 1%, probably not you, either.
I've gotten the followers I have by being myself-- at my best and at my worst. When I was in my early twenties, I was pretty unhappy with my life, so I said and did a lot of things that I regret and probably alienated some people in the process. But that was me then, and the me I am now is much happier, and so I like to think that the people who have stuck with me through all those years have watched me grow into a person that I can be proud of. Because it is the real me. It always has been. It just took me a while to become the person I always wished I was.
The short answer to this question is: don't exhaust yourself by trying to pretend to be somebody you're not. Be the real you. Be authentic. Be honest. Even when it isn't easy. Even if you think you're boring, or that nobody cares, there will always be somebody who does care, and if you manage to forge one real, authentic connection... well, that's worth about 1,000 of the fake "follow4follow" variety.
Then do that 1,000 more times and you'll have a devoted following of people who you genuinely love engaging with and talking to. If people know that you're not about that bullshit life, they will trust you, and in a world where everyone lies online, that trust is precious. That's basically how I feel every time I log in to my social medias-- that I have connected with people whose opinions I trust and with whom I feel a genuine sense of camaraderie-- and I'm so grateful to everyone who makes that happen. ♥
HA. There is no trick.
I keep getting people who ask me how I've gotten the following I have who also want to "grow" their followers and the best advice I have is honestly, to just be yourself. I know that's a frustrating answer that sounds like something out of a self-help book, so let me explain.
Influencing has made a lot of people feel the need to live their best lives, or look like they are. Which means posting pictures of exotic locales, expensive purchases, or shiny gifts from grateful sponsors. On the one hand, it all looks very cool and desirable... but on the other hand, it isn't very relatable and comes across as highly manufactured. Who can afford to buy the special edition of every Big Title, PLUS all of the fan merch on etsy while also looking like they stepped off the covers of a European fashion magazine and dining out every day?
Well, I'm sure somebody can, but it isn't me. LOL. And unless you're part of that controversial 1%, probably not you, either.
I've gotten the followers I have by being myself-- at my best and at my worst. When I was in my early twenties, I was pretty unhappy with my life, so I said and did a lot of things that I regret and probably alienated some people in the process. But that was me then, and the me I am now is much happier, and so I like to think that the people who have stuck with me through all those years have watched me grow into a person that I can be proud of. Because it is the real me. It always has been. It just took me a while to become the person I always wished I was.
The short answer to this question is: don't exhaust yourself by trying to pretend to be somebody you're not. Be the real you. Be authentic. Be honest. Even when it isn't easy. Even if you think you're boring, or that nobody cares, there will always be somebody who does care, and if you manage to forge one real, authentic connection... well, that's worth about 1,000 of the fake "follow4follow" variety.
Then do that 1,000 more times and you'll have a devoted following of people who you genuinely love engaging with and talking to. If people know that you're not about that bullshit life, they will trust you, and in a world where everyone lies online, that trust is precious. That's basically how I feel every time I log in to my social medias-- that I have connected with people whose opinions I trust and with whom I feel a genuine sense of camaraderie-- and I'm so grateful to everyone who makes that happen. ♥
