Janis Hill's Blog, page 5

Authors! Respect thy Reviewers no matter what they say.

I had actually wanted to title this blog post “Authors, how not to be an arsehat over bad reviews” but, as I’m trying to be a professional here, I didn’t feel it was the best start. Though it does explain this blog post a little better.

To be more polite about it, this blog post has come about from a recent incident that happened to a new friend and Reviewer I know. They deemed a book they’d been asked to review not that good and so said as much. The response to their bad review was shocking. The author (note the lower case ‘a’ as I don’t feel they deserve the capital) cyberbullied them and tried to crash the Reviewer’s Twitter account by having literally thousands of fake accounts follow them.

Real mature there author person. :-/

Sadly this isn’t the first time a Reviewer friend has been attacked in such a way, so this is my blog about it all. My blog, my opinion. ;-)

Now, bad reviews happen to all of us who dare do, say, act, wear or write something in the public eye. It’s a part of being in the public eye. Not everyone is going to like you, what you do, say, wear, write and so on. It’s human nature, live with it.

Heck, bad reviews have happened to me. As the Author and creator of a literary child, we hope for the best when we let them loose in public. But there are going to be some who just won’t get what our story was saying. They’re not wrong in their opinion, it’s their opinion. Yes we’re allowed to have a bit of a tantrum and vent to our friends about how this person is such a so and so and call their review all sorts of things… but we don’t do that in public. We’re not small children having a tantrum in the middle of the supermarket as we’re not allowed some sweeties. Though, when you do respond badly to a review in public… that’s exactly what you look like.

I will freely admit to replying to reviews, both good and bad. But I try to always start by thanking the Reviewer for taking the time and effort to read and then publically review my work. Even if they’ve just bagged it and hated this and griped about that and put it at the top of their DNF (Did Not Finish) pile… that’s fine. Their reviews are constructive criticisms that help me become a better writer. Yes I will sigh and mutter darkly about their review, but I won’t go on the attack in public, spam them, cyberbully them and, well, be an arsehat.

When replying to Reviewers, I will freely point out bits I think they missed or got wrong… if I feel the need. One Reviewer of my last book actually liked the story but then poked holes in it for things they said weren’t explained… so I pointed out where in the book they were actually explained as I got the feeling they were a skim reader and simply missed them. I was polite, I kept thanking them for their opinion and told them how much I appreciated what they had done. This is how you should approach a review, bad or good.

Other bad reviews, or at least negative comments in an otherwise good review, were that there was too much swearing in my story. I looked closely at this, saw their point and not only toned it down in the final version, but have continued to keep it toned down in the following books of the same series. Constructive criticism makes our work better. It points out flaws we may not have seen. We don’t have to agree with every negative comment, but still try and learn something from them. Me, I’ve been trying a new thing out in life. For every negative situation I find myself in, I try and find the positive (no matter how small) for those situations. It works. For life as well as bad reviews. :-)

Let’s just take the time to think about what it is a book Reviewer does for a moment. Yes they get sent all these free books and then get to sit around reading them and then write about them online. That’s the nice generalised candy floss look at what they do. Reviewers are people, like everyone else, who generally have lives and jobs and many commitments they must attend to. On top of this they agree to read and review your story, usually for free. Just because they have offered to do this, that doesn’t mean they are or have to like it. They are simply there to give an opinion on the story.

A good Reviewer simply tells it how it is for them. A good Reviewer doesn’t bag the writer as a person, or spam them or try and crash their social media accounts. A good Reviewer can often give a bad review as they just didn’t like the book. A bad Reviewer is someone who just says “I liked it” or “It sucked” without explaining why.

I even tried to be reviewer once. I joined up, got my free books… and did not like what I read. I had a lot of other stressful stuff happening in my life at that time and the thought of giving a bad review on top of it all was just too much. So I gutlessly slipped through the cracks and ran away. Being a Reviewer is a tough job. How would you like to be responsible for approving or condemning someone’s work in public? Could you cope with the haters this creates? I couldn’t. Reviewers have to be a lot braver and thick skinned than I could be. Respect Reviewers!

On the flip side, a good Author writes and publishes (or has published) a story they are willing to share with the world, fully accepting that not everyone is going to like it. A good Author will thank all reviewers for the good and bad reviews politely, take what they can from these reviews and write a better story next time.

A bad Author is someone who won’t take constructive criticism in any shape or form. They think their work is perfect and how dare anyone say otherwise. A bad Author is someone who personally attacks the Reviewer and calls them all sorts of names for giving a review the author doesn’t agree with. A bad Author is someone who cyberbullies a Reviewer and attempts to crash their social media accounts by spamming them, or having thousands of fake followers start to follow them so the administers see it as a breach of policy and suspend their accounts.

Don’t be a bad author, be a good Author… note the ‘A’. ;-)

Okay, so I’m pretty sure I’m sounding like a bit of a broken record right now as I keep going over and over the same thing. But I was really shocked at the treatment my friend, and probably other Reviewers, get dealt by simply doing what they’ve been asked to do – give an honest review. If you can’t cope with an honest review, either stop writing, stop publishing or pay someone to lie and love it. Better yet, try reading these reviews to see where you’re going wrong and write a better story because of it.

Take special note of this next bit Authors and Writers hoping to be Authors:

A bad review is like a rejection letter. Yes it’s going to upset you, yes it’s going to make you doubt your worth and reach for the chocolate. But when you look at it, it’s just someone pointing out where they feel you’ve been going wrong and, with a good Reviewer, helping you learn from that to try again and write it better next time. Their review is their opinion, respect it.

As I’m often known to say – simply put on your big girl panties, toughen up and keep going.

Not everyone is going to like your writing… but not everyone is going to hate it either. Be a grown up, take it in your stride and… my favourite mantra of all: Accept and move on. This doesn’t mean accept defeat, it simple means you’re accepting the situation for what it is and you’re keeping on going despite it all.

To all Reviewers out there, even those who haven’t liked my work and who have given me bad review:

Thank you! All your time, dedicated commitment to reading and reviewing is greatly appreciated. Not all Authors are arsehats and I would like to apologise for the behaviour of others… But as it was their behaviour and not mine, it’s not my place to take their crap either. All the same, you’re doing a great job and I’m sorry not everyone sees it that way. Keep on keeping on. ;-)

To everyone else:

Take this as a life lesson. Look at the situation from more than just the side you’re on. Bad things happen. It’s how you, as a person, react to them that makes you who you are. Are you a Person with a capital P to show you’re important? Or a lower case person for not being the most mature person in a situation?

Okay, that’s me done for now. Please think of others (and how you look to others) the next time you need to have a tantrum over something negative. Should it really become a very public cyberbullying event? Or should you just slam the door a few times, stomp about the house and then get on with life? Think about it.

Until next time,

Janis. XXOO

And that’s a wrap – virtual book tour for Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My! now over.

Well, technically the tour was over almost two weeks ago… but life got in the road, me wanting to blog about mental health awareness got bumped up and all in all this post is overdue. You know it, I know it, we’re accepting it and moving on. ;-)

So! Yes, I did a virtual book tour during September with the fantastic Bewitching Book Tours. If you’re a writer of Urban Fantasy and the Supernatural I highly recommend you contact Roxanne and arrange a book tour for your own work. She is friendly, helpful (answered all my dumb questions) and communicated really well as to what was happening, when it was to happen and so on and so forth. And being a stickler for customer service (having done it myself for so long) communicating well with your clients is an absolute must. Roxanne passed with flying colours.

Yes, I am indeed proud to be a…

The sites that she arranged as tour stops were all excellent, well run and fun to visit sites. I actually picked up a few interesting books for my TBR (To Be Read) pile from checking out other authors on tour. They ran my Spotlights, interviews and guest blog posts on time and presented them well (no glaring colours or distracting flickering pics, etc). I even made a few friends along the way while literally doubling my followers on my Facebook Author page and now having more followers than followees on Twitter!

Do a virtual book tour, they might not bring in immediate sales, but they will bring immediate attention to your new book and I honestly can’t remember any of that attention actually being negative. That is how well run the tour was. :-)

Now, I’m not saying that all book tours will be as awesome as Roxanne’s and her Bewitching Book Tours, so shop around before you jump on in. Check out what other people have to say about the sites, see what traffic or followers they have. Ensure your book suits their genre (yes, blogs can have genre too you know) and just have fun.

I don’t want to hear the whole “a virtual book tour isn’t the same as a real one” as duh! I’m not as dumb as I’m blonde looking. For one thing, doing a virtual tour meant I could still fit my normal life of horde wrangling and Haus Frauing around it without a glitch. Yes I didn’t get to travel anywhere, sit for hours in crowded, over-heated bookshops, give myself carpal tunnel from signing books… but hey, you can’t get everything in this world. ;-)

And, to be honest, I’d much rather be at home not knowing how many people do or don’t visit a site to read my interviews, browse my blog posts or check out the free chapter than sitting in an empty bookshop as a Nigel no name nearly begging any passer-by to buy my book so I could sign it for them. Heck, I have book launches like that, I didn’t need a whole tour doing it too. :-D

But you know what? I had five eBooks to give away, along with an autographed promo card of the book. Just five. And how many people entered the competition to win one of them? Over fourteen hundred! For a Nigel no name… that’s a pretty awesome feeling you know.

So don’t turn your nose up at a virtual book tour, whether you have a paper book or an eBook to show off. It works well for both. Just because your books are printed on paper, that doesn’t mean you can’t use electronics to help sell and promote it. We eBook authors aren’t as biased and prissy and will still be your friends and help you out where we can. ;-)

The online community of new Authors you meet and learn from during the tour is amazing. They share your work, help you shake your assets and all for nothing. Well, not exactly nothing… without asking you, their good will simply encourages you to do the same for them. Share their work, give them shout outs and so on. Well, it encourages the good Authors out there. Hint hint to some of you!

Okay, so I did the book tour, I had an awesome time while literally sitting on my couch through-out it all. I met some fantastic people, made from wonderful friends and even got a slightly bigger fan base than what I started out with. Heck, pretty sure I even made some sales, of all the amazing things that can happen on tour!

Besides thanking the lovely Roxanne and her Bewitching Book Tours for the fun time, I really want to thank Hague Publishing for arranging it, paying for it and helping me shake my assets and learn more about the wonderful worlds of being an Author.

If you’re interested to see what I did, where I went and how each stop played out… head on over to Hague Publishing’s blog post about it all.

That’s it for now. A short post for today… but I do have another post brewing so it won’t be too long before you get my next one. It’s going to be about Author’s needing to toughen up a bit and realise that reviewers are just trying to help with their open and honest reviews. Constructive criticism helps Authors write better books… you don’t like the review, have a quiet tanty and move on. Don’t go all cyberbully on the reviewers. Grow up!

Consider that a preview of my next blog post. ;-)

Until next time,

Janis. XXOO

Mental Health Week – judge not as it doesn’t make you the better person, it makes you the one with the problem.

Okay, so it is mental health week from October 5th to 12th and has been created to help lift the stigma from mental health and remove it from the taboo topics. This is an excellent idea, as people with mental health issues have enough troubles without being seen as the person with the problem by those who just don’t understand.

And as I’m not just an author, but one of those ‘one in four’ with a mental health issue, I decided I’d jump on board this particular band wagon and share a few things with you about mental health from my perspective. I’ll start by saying I am not an expert in mental health, I am not a councillor or here to offer anyone any medical advice. I just want to try and shed a little bit of light on what it’s like to have depression and anxiety, how it doesn’t make you a lesser person or a freak and… well, so what if it means you’re not ‘normal’, that is just the average marker for life, be abnormal and above average as it’s a heck of a lot more fun.

So here is my story. My name is Janis, I’m thirty eight years old, married and I have three kids. I’m tall, fat, and plain – I like to describe myself as a fat and frumpy housewife actually. All in all not about to stand out in the crowd for being an eye catcher (I mean, my height sort of does this, but people tend to look away after they see the face). I’m shy but make myself outgoing through almost twenty years of customer service (meaning I can hide easily behind looking normal and happy). Oh, and I suffer from chronic sinusitis meaning my twenty year career in ICT has come to a crashing halt as I can no longer work in air conditioned environments. It also means I have near constant headaches, can’t cope with dust, pollen, weather changes and so on. I can’t hold down a job due it too, but can at least try and be useful as a mum and a Haus Frau. It does mean money is tight and life can be tough, but when you look at other people around the world I’m a very lucky person indeed. Oh, I’m an author of, so far, two books too. Yay!

Most of the time this is all fine and I am okay with my lot in this world. Yes it’s not perfect, yes it’s not always fun and exciting… but it’s what I have, who I am and how I live.

Then there are the days I get visited by the black dogs. The days I wake up and just don’t see the point to it all. Those days of deep darkness trying to crush me into the complete and utter worthless nothing it wants me to think I am. And the darkness that likes making me angry so I try to fight it. As all that does is make me feel even more useless and hopeless. I call that black dog depression.

I’m very lucky when it comes to depression as I am considered only “mildly” depressed. This doesn’t mean I’m just a little bit down and could snap out of it if I wanted to. No, it merely means that when I do have the dark days that engulf me, swallow me whole and loudly point out all my flaws, how much I suck and what a loser I am… mild depression simply means I’m not constantly feeling that shitty. That I’m not constantly followed by that black dog. It’s more a monthly visitor that I have to acknowledge is there and wait patiently until it wanders off again. I have recently had to start taking a mild anti-depressant to help encourage the dog to leave me from time to time, but I do classify myself as being very lucky that I do get a break from its visits.

Other times, when life seems to be fumbling along just fine I suddenly start fearing and worrying the dumbest things. And the frustrating thing is I know they are dumb and irrational and I just can’t shake the near hysterical worry I get from them. Is this the day some idiot on the freeway is going to wipe me and the kids out as I drive home from school? If I walk in the park will one of the branches from the giant gum trees fall on me and crush me? What happens if someone in my family doesn’t wake up this morning and have died in the night? What about all the bills and obligations and possible bills and issues that might happen in the future? Will I have enough money to feed my family this week? Do they think it’s all my fault as I can’t get a job and therefore hate me for being so useless? That black dog I call anxiety and it’s been in my life for a while longer than depression. It has, sadly, had puppies who now follow my girls around. Heck, mine was a puppy I inherited too so it’s hardly surprising it gets passed along.

These are my two black dogs. I have accepted them as part of my life, despite not wanting them, as I know I can’t get rid of them completely… merely work around them when they’re visiting and not miss them when they’re gone.

Mental illness is an illness of the mind and comes in so many different forms, shapes and sizes there is no black and white answer that will cure all. Although I have friends who also suffer from depression, I can’t tell them to do what I do to chase my dog away, as it might not help them in the same way. What I can do is sympathise when they are having trouble, understand they’re having a bad time and just be there for them.

So, if you see a friend on social media who posts something like: “Dear world, f*ck off. That is all.” What will you do? Merely ‘like’ it to acknowledge you’ve read it? Comment with a smiley face or a ‘LOL’ as that person is always such a kidder and a joker and being funny? Sigh and give them a big lecture on how you find it so easy to be happy and not depressed and tell them to just buck up and get over it? Or, and this is my favourite (note sarcasm) one – simply unfollow them as they’re being so dark and negative and you don’t need such toxic people in your life. If only they could keep their dark thoughts and such things to themselves and off social media your life would be so much nicer and you’d be able to stay their friend. Yes, yes I have had people do this last one to me a few times… I’d call them friends but would be lying as real friends don’t do that.

What should you do if a friend posts something like that? Well, I’m not you so can’t tell you how you should react… but I can suggest the following. If you don’t feel comfortable commenting out in public, send them a private message simply asking if they are okay or if there was anything you could do to help. Yes you might cop abuse or even silence as a response… but you’ve still shown them someone noticed their outburst and is concerned. Don’t lecture them, don’t offer advice, simply offer to be there if they need an ear.

Me, I tend to leave a *hug* or ask if they are okay or similar to show I saw the post and am there for them. I don’t ignore it as I’m generally sure they have their own black dog visiting and although they’re unable to really talk about it, knowing someone is there, who understands and who accepts them in fair mood and foul, it helps. It really really helps.

You see, I use social media (mostly Facebook as I am only connected to actual friends and family and not the world in general there) to vent when my black dogs are visiting. I find those nasty, dark, eroding, corrosive thoughts better to be let out than kept in. Sometimes I can’t voice them so just bitch about the world in general. I do it on FB as it’s far better than keeping it in, far better than taking it out on someone face to face and far better than taking out on my kids. I can also delete the vent after writing it, rather than posting it. As sometimes simply writing it all down and removing all the blackness from within me is enough. I don’t post all my darkness, just some of it. And what I love is I have friends and family on there who see it as me having a bad day, see that my black dogs are with me and accepting it. Reminding me they’re there as friends and asking me if there is anything they can do. Friends like this are gold and if you’re like this – you are an awesome person and I thank you for being that way.

And you know what? Writing really does help me feel better. It is a therapy for me, an escape to somewhere I can just stop being me and let it all go. I recently read a blog post by Neil Gaiman about how Terry Pratchett writes angry and I totally got it. I get frustrated at my own flaws, at my issues and I then get angry at myself for not being able to stop being how I am, being unable to control my life or feel how I feel. But I can then slip into a different world and just write. I can stop being where I am and in a place I can’t control, I can become a god and make the world act the way it should. Not all of my writing comes across as angry, in fact my sense of humour tends to kick in and have a ball instead. Isn’t it amazing how many depressed people hide it in humour? Maybe laughter really is the best medicine… to some extent?

With anxiety, you can’t just tell people to stop being silly and just snap out of it. With depression you can’t just tell people to buck up and try to be a little more positive in life. Just in the same way that if you have a friend with diabetes who is having trouble with their blood sugar levels that day and therefore not feeling the best – you can’t just tell them to eat a doughnut and stop worrying. These are all illnesses, all real issues and all need to be accepted as who we are and make up the amazing person we are.

The biggest message I want to get out about the mental illnesses I know about personally, as I have them, is this:

You are not alone. No matter what those nasty thoughts in your head are saying, you’re not the only person in the world who can feel that crappy and worthless. That doesn’t mean you should just snap out of it as I know it’s not that easy. Just realise you’re not alone. Some of us understand. Maybe not exactly why you feel the way you do as we’ve not lived your life… but we understand that some days you’re just going to feel that way no matter what. And although those thoughts aren’t nice, it’s okay. You are not alone and you are worth the effort. You are not the toxic person, those who can’t accept or understand what you’re going through and so ignore you – they are the toxic people.

Be yourself, remember you are worth it no matter what those damned black dogs are saying and remember you are wanted, you would be missed and there are people there for you. And if you feel there aren’t, please contact someone. Here in Australia I suggest Beyond Blue, Lifeline or similar… overseas I’m sorry but I don’t know but maybe people will comment on this post and suggest places.

Our black dogs come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and shades. They are our dogs and so we know them better than anyone else does. Accept them as a part of your life, but don’t let them be the master of it – that’s your right, not theirs.

True friends accept you for who you are on sunny days and dark… and you are worth it. Never forget how awesome you are, even when those dogs are breathing heavily down your neck.

Until next time,

Janis. XXOO.

 

Foodism – fad or new faith?

Today I felt like blogging but didn’t really want to do a “Look at me, I’m a Writer!” blog until after my book tour is over… as I want to then reflect on my month in the spotlight and all the fun I’ve had with it.

So I’ve decided to do a little blog post on another passion of mine… being a foodie. Now, before I start do I really need to explain what a foodie is, really? As I don’t want to. ;-)

The main reason I don’t want to is actually covered in this blog… which you will find is a lot about the meanings and interpretations of words and not just me waffling on about food. Yes, I am a Writer first (hence it having a capital letter while foodie is all lower case) and so even when discussing food, I’m really still talking about how we weave our words together to make sense of the world around us.

Which is what writing is about. Often, we fictional Writers simply weave a world we wish was real, rather than merely describe the one we’re actually in.

In my current series of the Other World I’m often harping on about how words are important. As, you know what? They are, they really are. Because we base our lives and how we live them on how we interpret the words used to teach us how to live. Whether it be the written letter of the law we all must adhere to so as to maintain social cohesion (oh yeah, I did legal studies in High School and that’s about all I remember!) through to what our teachers and parents speak to us on how to be a better person. Those are words and they are important.

And whether we take their literal meaning and interpret them one way or take their figural meaning and understand them another… that is what makes the world go round. So although I’m about to talk to you as a foodie, I’m still doing it as a writer.

Gosh that was a big waffle just to get out of explaining what a foodie is! I really was just trying to lead up to saying I don’t want to explain what one is because there is no definite explanation or answer! Which is also what this tongue in cheek blog post is all about.

But if you must know, my interpretation of a foodie is someone who loves food. Real food. Not instant snip and serve muck… Whole foods, natural foods, the glorious process of knowing where the food comes from, how it’s grown, how it’s cooked and then enjoying the taste. I am very much an old school foodie, so much so I made up an acronym about my food beliefs. Yes, you know how serious a person is when they take the time to make an acronym!

Mine is this: I love S.L.O.W food. Food that follows said Slow food principles. Food that is Local, Old (heirloom varieties) and Whole food. Whole food is your basic raw ingredients for those who need that explained too.

So that’s me and my foodism. Being a foodie I hang out in real life and online with a lot of other foodies and that is what has really brought me to this blog post idea…. And the audacity to create such a radical word as foodism. I’m sure other people have used this term too, I’ve just not seen them so am staking a claim to it for the time being. :-)

Now I’m finally getting to the point the title of this post is trying to make, hurrah! The following was originally a post I made on Facebook to my friends a couple of years ago and it met with such appreciative response (friends are like that you know) I decided to turn it into a blog post. I was going to wait until I’d gotten my foodie blog up and running, but it’s been two years now and it’s still hidden out the back of WordPress in mothballs so I’m putting it here instead.

As my views have grown and expanded since the original brain dump of thought… so has the post. And here it is…

You know what I’ve come to realise? Food could turn out to be the next religion – no offence to my religious friends, hear me out! I honestly don’t mean any disrespect to religion… I deliberately avoid talking about it online as it can be so easy to offend some about it. But I’m simply looking at this idea from a faith and belief side of things, not belittling anyone’s chosen God (or Goddess) and all they stand for.

Basically, as people have become very passionate about food, nutrition and health in the last few years – their faith in their food principles have become very vocal and almost as passionate as a true religion.

There are multiple faiths as to what is the correct way to be healthy and which foods are better for nutrition – backed up on both sides by qualified Doctors and scientists with results that vary depending on who is funding the research and how it effects their products – and depending on how a result is interpreted, fights break out as to its ‘true meaning’.

Is butter bad or good? Saturated fats, carbohydrates, wheat, nitrates, sugar! Oh the wars that break out on social media about such things!

People have started to follow, with blind faith in some cases, those ‘experts’ who spout positives to their way of looking at food (even when it comes from other countries whose health and food standards are a lot slacker than the ones in their own country). So if their food idols say this is how it should be based on that country – it must be true! Blanket statements are what I’m trying to say. I really really hate blanket statements. Such as: “Carrots grown in such and such country are done so in open sewerage next to petrol stations that still use petrol that contains lead. So therefore all carrots are bad as they contain high doses of lead and harmful bacteria absorbed from the sewerage… even the ones grown in your own yard!”

(I made that blanket statement up by the way… I do that, I’m a Writer. I was just trying to make a point. Eat your carrots, they’re good for you. Unless you’re in one of those Foodism faiths that don’t allow carrots… then don’t eat your carrots. ;-) )

With these blanket statements from their food prophets and idols, friends become enemies when one feels the paleo is the right faith, where others still think Atkins calorie counting must be adhered to.

Can Low Carb, High Fat people still be friends with someone who enjoys rice with their chicken curry?

Will a locavore have their membership details blacklisted if they dare include chocolate in their diet that comes from outside their ten mile radius?

Let’s not get into the fractured sub faiths within these faiths too. Can a paleo person have dairy, potatoes and peas? Or are they just paleo wannabes and only those who grow, hunt and forage for their own food be the one true followers of the faith?

Oh no, won’t someone think of the Vegans!

Or the children, won’t someone think of them too! As MAN! catering for a birthday party amidst this all is a torment. Nut free, grain free, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free… I’m so glad I make a mean fruit platter!

It’s quite a funny analogy to make isn’t it? Food and the new religion – Foodism. I do hope you realise the high level of humour I’m using as I write this as I’m trying to make light of a crazy situation and mean no disrespect to any of the multiple Foodism faiths… or real religions for that matter.

Me, like with religion, feel it’s absolutely brilliant that I live in a country that gives me the freedom to follow what I wish and that personal beliefs are just that – personal. And I also love seeing all the different opinions and options out there and then making up my own mind…. like religion.

Though I am now starting to wonder if being into S.L.O.W foods, a balanced diet of all things in moderation, while being as refined sugar free as possible means I’m still allowed to be a Pagan? As I’ve now seen the Light, kicked my sugar addiction and no longer crave chocolate as much as I used to, must I give back the Pagan Chocolate Goddess – May the Fudge Be With You sticker I carry in my purse? I mean, it’s there to remind me I’m not only a card carrying Pagan, but a chocoholic too!

Oh heavens, what about the salted caramel hot chocolates I had recently? What penance must I now do to make up for it?

Okay, I’m done being silly. More about writing when I post again, honest. ;-)

Until next time,

Janis. XXOO

Told you I made a mean fruit platter. ;-)

I’m on tour with Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My!

So it’s been a week since Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My! was let loose into the world and so far so good. In the mean time I’ve not been sitting there waiting for the money to roll in as, well, that’s not how it works for an emerging Author and not what I set out to achieve. I write as I enjoy it and I share my stories in the hopes others will enjoy it too. And, so far so good! :-)

What I have been doing this week is a virtual book tour with Bewitching Book Tours, and I’m loving it! I highly recommend any emerging Author wanting to get their books noticed (whether paper or an eBook) to invest in a virtual book tour. And I highly recommend Roxanne at Bewitching Book Tours if you’re writing in the paranormal or urban fantasy genre.

Yes I know a virtual book tour doesn’t physically take you anywhere and it’s not as glamorous as being able to swan in and out of a book store smiling for pics and signing autographs… but let’s face it fellow emerging Authors – that isn’t going to happen for the majority of us, no matter how good our books are.

Don’t poo poo the virtual book tour as it is a fantastic way to get exposure to your work. Throw in a give-away to entice the readers and you can double your following of fans on social media. Now you have their attention though, it is up to you to keep it. The tour has done its magic and it’s now time to do your own.

A virtual book tour is definitely a worthy investment – if you find the right one that best matches your work – and shows your book off to far more people interested in that genre than an ad on say Facebook ever could. Go the virtual book tour! :-)

As for me, what am I doing on my tour? Well, below you will find my schedule. I technically should have blogged about this last Monday when it started but my sharing and caring hordes have passed on a couple of different winter bugs to me and so I’m a little behind in my asset shaking. Still, the links to where I’ve already been are still valid so please feel free to go check them out. Not just for my work but for the other awesome Authors out there shaking their assets just as hard.

My tour schedule:

September 1 Guest blog
Mythical Books
http://www.mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/

September 2 Spotlight
Cassandra M’s Place
http://www.cassandramsplace.com/

September 3 Interview
Pembroke Sinclair.  
www.pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com

September 4 Spotlight
3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy,Sissy. Too!  
http://3partnersinshopping.blogspot.com

September 5 Spotlight
Deal Sharing Aunt
www.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com

September 8 Spotlight
Lisa’s World of Books
www.lisasworldofbooks.net

September 9 Spotlight
Jodie Pierce’s Ink Slinger’s Blog
www.jodiepierceauthor.blogspot.com

September 10 Interview
Roxanne’s Realm 
www.roxannerhoads.com

September 11 Guest blog
Fang-tastic Books
www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

September 12 Guest blog
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
www.creativelygreen.blogspot.com

September 15 Interview 
Bewitching Book Tours Magazine
www.issuu.com/bewitchingbooktours

September 16 Top Ten List
Darkest Cravings
www.darkestcravings.blogspot.com

September 17 Spotlight
Deal Sharing Aunt
www.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com

September 18 Spotlight
Soaring Eagle Publicity 
www.soaringeaglepublicity.com

September 19 Interview
Eclipse Reviews
www.totaleclipsereviews.blogspot.com

September 20 Spotlight
Cover Reveals 
http://CoverReveals.blogspot.com

September 22 Character Interview
Author Karen Swart
http://authorkarenswart.blogspot.com/

September 23 Spotlight
Sapphyria’s Book Reviews 
http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/

September 24 Top Ten Comfort Foods
Review
Cabin Goddess
www.cabingoddess.com

September 25 Spotlight
Share My Destiny
http://sharemydestiny.blogspot.com

September 25 Review
Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock
www.pratr.wordpress.com

September 26 Spotlight
CBY Book Club
http://cbybookclub.blogspot.co.uk

September 29 Guest blog
VampChix
www.vampchix.blogspot.com

September 30 Interview and review
happy tails and tales 
http://magluvsya03.wordpress.com

There you have it, my virtual book tour. I hope to see you around the sites and there is always the option for you to come and say hi to me on my Author page on Facebook or to tweet me on Twitter.

I’ve really enjoyed the interviews and blog posts I’ve done so far and I send out a big thanks to Roxanne and all the people who opted in to host me on this tour. You are all awesome and emerging Authors appreciate your help… well, this one does anyway. Thank You!

Until next time,

Janis. XXOO

Book Launch for Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My!

Yes, it’s all over and done with. Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My! has been let loose into the world and I hope it makes lots of friends and entertains many people.

I’d like to thank Hague Publishing for taking on this new book and putting so much time and effort into getting it to this point. Here’s hoping we have some success!

Another big thank you goes out to the Mount Barker Community Library for hosting the launch and providing such lovely support. It means a lot to have such fantastic backing.

Oh, and finally a huge thank you to both the Adelaide Hill’s Courier and to the Weekender Herald for helping to promote me and my new book. Being a big supporter of local businesses, talent and producers, it’s fantastic to see I’m not alone and others are willing to help out the ‘little guy’ so – THANK YOU!

Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My! listed in the Courier’s ‘Bookshelf’

My interview with the Weekender Herald.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, onto the launch. Well, we had it. Our bookings indicated we’d get a small crowd and in reality we got an even smaller one. Story of my life really… but this was my third book launch and I can happily say the crowds have been steadily growing in size since the first one. :-)

My display – beautifully created by my middle child (7).

So, I sat, figured out what I wanted to say… chatted about the first book and then about the entire series. So far it appears I’m onto a winner with the third book We represent the Demon Guild and now I just have to get around to writing it. Left testicles did get discussed as it was scary to realise it was mentioned in the book so manytimes. I blame Trishna, he said it. :-)

Me figuring out what I was going to say. I’d obviously spent too much time and effort on the catering.

If you see the hand gestures you know I’m talking and not paying attention to what I do… too caught up in the world I’m spinning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was food, of course there was food. I love to bake and so used the little launch as an excuse and did the catering. Yeah, don’t cater your own launch. A very wise and experienced writer told me last year you should never cater your own launch. It doesn’t matter how small it is or how much you like to bake. It just adds to the stress so don’t do it. I have learnt my lesson.

Grain free chocolate brownies… hmmmmm…..

Though my grain free chocolate brownies were awesome. Just saying. :-)

So, the launch it done. Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh my! is out there to be enjoyed and can be bought from all major eBook retailers. Now to keep going with the second book in the series There’s no place like Hell and hopefully get it out to audiences late next year.

My blogging will return to normal now the launch is over with one minor exception. It’s been pointed out to me that there are many worthwhile and simply amazing charities and non for profit organisations around the world that are too small to be heard when they ask for help and support. So I’ve decided to add my voice, as small as it too is, and help them out. So I will be highlighting such charities, with their permission, on my blog to lend them my voice. If you know of any such charity or organisation, feel free to mention them and I will go check them out. I will be starting with charities I already donate to on a regular basis (both big and small) and explain why it is I give to them. I feel if we all took the time to find up to ten charities to support, all our small voices could start to make a big difference.

As they say, if you don’t feel small actions make a big difference – see a tissue left in a trouser pocket in a load of darks. ;-)

Until next time,

Janis.

XXOO

An asset shaking moment – updates to Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My!

Hello everyone, taking a step back into ‘look at me, I’m an author!’ mode with this post as I have some pretty exciting news to share.

Firstly, the first four chapters of Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My! are now available over at Hague Publishing here. If you find them as interest as I hope, you can pre-order the book. You save money on doing a pre-order and everyone loves a bargain, right?

Secondly, if I’m going on about pre-ordering… it must mean I have a publication date, right? I DO! Hague Publishing are proud to announce their 7th book (2nd by me by the way) is to be released on Saturday August 30. It coincides with a book launch at the fabulous Mount Barker Community Library. I can promise the catering is good. ;-) When we have fine-tuned the details of the launch, I will post them here.

As Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My! is currently looking for reviewers, anyone interested is to please contact Hague Publishing directly where, if they qualify as a reviewer, will be given access to the story via Netgalley. Seriously, to qualify I think you just need to be an honest reviewer who will actually take the time to review the book, not just sneak a read for free and post nothing.

I’m also taking Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My! on book tour in September! Well, virtual book tour. The sort I can do from the comfort of my own home while still getting a chance to horde wrangle and Haus Frau. Again, as the fine-tuned details arrive in my inbox, I will pass them on to you here. Who knows, you may even get to chat or Skype to me on tour. Scary, I know. ;-)

And as this is a short blog post today I’m going to end it with a bit of awesomeness. The trailer for Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My! Yes I know, a trailer for my eBook, and done so very cleverly. I hope you enjoy it and are getting as excited about its release date as I am.

Book Trailer: Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My! by Hague Publishing.

Pretty cool, huh? I would love to see any questions or comments you have on it so please post away.

Okay, that’s it. I will try and come up with a new topic to blog about soon. Trying to restrain myself from making it a cooking blog, especially as we celebrated the Winter Solstice today and so I went a tad cooking crazy.

Until next time,

Janis. XXOO

Capturing history in something as simple as a book dedication.

This week’s blog post is a little different as I won’t be talking about being a Writer, an Author or trying to sell my own books. Shock horror, I know!

Instead I will be dabbling into another topic I love – old cookery books. And one cookery book in particular because of its historical associations. The book in question is this: The Cookery Book of Lady Clark of Tillypronie, pictured below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought this book via an online auction site a few years ago now. Why? Because I’m deeply in love with old cookery books and the older they are the better. Plus, for being a one hundred year old cookery book, it was priced at only sixty dollars and therefore within my miniscule book budget. It was old, about cooking and cheap. So, yes, I coveted it and wanted it and eventually bought it.

What has made the book even more special since it became mine is the front inscription, here:

If you can’t quite read it (as I’m a Writer, not a photographer) it says: To L Collins from the “Eton Old Boys Club” members and their “father”. Gerald V. Wellesley. Xmas ‘09

Oh, and that’s Christmas 1909 by the way, not 2009.

This inscription was not mentioned at all in the sale, nor was the hand written recipes I will go into later in this post. So they came as an interesting surprise as I’d never heard of this “Eton Old Boys club” and the only Wellesley I was aware of was that chap also known as Wellington who had done something over at Waterloo. ;-)

Say hello to my little friend Google. I of course put in this name ‘Gerald V. Wellesley’ and, to my amazement and delight, had a whole chapter of history open before me. And that is what this blog post is about! How a, possibly witty, inscription to one friend from another all those years ago could capture a piece in time that, from what I can Google is long gone and mostly forgotten.

I really do hope you’re reading this on the edge of your seat and screaming “So who is he?!” and that you’ve not ruined the suspense by going and Googling him yourself.

For he is, was, Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington. So yes a descendant of the chap at Waterloo. Wow! And he signed my book! And here I was thinking the Reginald Hill book I had, signed just before his death, was a pretty awesome treasure.

After some research, I discovered he had been a diplomat, held many titles and prestigious awards and had indeed gone to Eton. So who were these old boys and how was he the father of their club? At first I searched for information simply on Eton and found a lot regarding that school and a lot of pros and cons (snobbery and distain) about it being an elite place for the top brass and those rolling in money. But then I realised this was the school, and that they actually attempted some good for the ‘lower classes’ of the time. Including a Christian mission to assist boys from impoverished areas (like the West End of London) have a slightly better chance at life.

The ‘Boys club’ was actually set up by former Eton students, Wellesley being one of the co-founders, as a branch of the Christian mission to help those from poorer areas have access to sporting facilities. Wellesley was the head of this club until after the first world war, where he handed the reigns over to Arthur Villiers, who I believe is more well known for being in charge of this club and other, similar, sporting facilities. Here is a picture of the two of them together, thanks to Wikipedia.

And that sadly is all I can find out about this book’s connection to the club and its founding members. I wish I knew more, I wish I knew how it ended up on an auction site in Australia with the seller seeming oblivious to its history… or possibly not thinking it that important. But to me it is a fascinating window into the past and one I would dearly love to find out some more about.

Especially, who is this L Collins it is dedicated to, as it’s not a name that has appeared once in my searches. Are they a lady (as it’s a cookery book)? Are they a member of staff at the club? The mother or friend associated with the club? One reason I’m writing this blog post is in the vain hope someone who knows more about it all can shed some light on it. Especially as it is a part of history, and one that continues as we start to discuss the hand-written recipes in the back.

The saddest part about the hand-written work is some was done in pencil and is but a mere faded shadow now and I wish I knew how to capture it before it was gone completely. One of the most well preserved recipes is shown below, well the title is.

Even I can’t make it out clearly, but believe it reads: Xmas Pudding Francatelli’s, as used for King Edward VII household.

Why I think that name reads Franactelli? Google, pure and simple. It started by me typing in what I thought it said, and this found me a PDF from what I believe is a Western Australian government website showing an old newspaper of real estate ads. I don’t know its age or true source, but in the first column, about half way down, was an advert for 88 Airway’s House and there was a Francatelli’s café. So I googled the name and discovered… a lot!

Charles Elmé Francatelli was born in London from Italian migrant parents and, apart from many things, was the chief cook to Queen Victoria. And who succeeded this Queen? Her son King Edward VII. Another wow! Now this Francatelli wrote some very interesting cookery books in the eighteen hundreds that I would dearly like to get my hands on. The originals mind you, not the nineteen ninety reprints. I mean, it could just be the recipe hoarding nerd within me, but who isn’t excited by such titles as:

The Modern Cook
A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes
The Cook’s Guide and Housekeeper’s & Butler’s Assistant
The Royal English and Foreign Confectionery Book.

Yes, going to have to give another wow here as these are exactly the sorts of cookery books that fascinate me. Especially as modern cooking seems more suited to TV reality shows than actual, decent, sustaining cooking. It is my passion for the old recipes where simple, whole foods (mostly local) were used to make magnificent feasts on little to no budget. Something modern day seems to have lost as it’s deemed as too fiddly, too expensive and too time consuming. Pah!

Oh dear, I see a ranting soapbox moment about to happen so I will kick that wooden object back out of the way and get back to the post at hand. ;-)

So, my sixty dollar cookery book’s little window into history has opened further. Who wrote that recipe into the book? Was she the head cook of someone important? Whoever they were, and as nameless as they currently are, their memory lives on in my book. I mean, this book was published in 1909, Wellesley inscribed it in 1909, King Edward died in 1910… History happening here, in my cookery book and I’ve not even started cooking yet.

Do you write inscriptions in books when gifting them to people? I do, and so has my family for a few generations now. How do I know? As the gift givers may be long gone, but their writing and words live on between the pages. Even family and friends lost within my own life time shine out at me when I open certain books. While their words live on, so do they. And I that is pretty much what this post is also about. How amazing it is to see the past still with us through a few quickly written notes of endearment on the inner cover of a book.

To those who feel writing in a book is blaspheme – poo to you! ;-) Sorry, I’ve been reading Regency romances again. Seriously though, why are you so down on it? Yes there is a time and place for it and no that isn’t when my children scribble in books as all toddlers tend to do. And no this isn’t the same as when people underline all the swear words in the shared dictionaries at school or draw little smiley faces on inappropriate things in shared Biology text books. What I’m talking about here is capturing a moment in someone’s life centuries ago and therefore keeping them alive today. Due to my curiosity I’ve now learnt about the Eton Boys Club and a very clever chef from the 19th century. Think of this the next time you gift a book to someone important in your life. Think of what those words may or may not mean to those who read it in the years to come.

And, yes, I am indeed the sort of person who sighs sadly when reading such loving inscriptions in the front of books I pick up at a second hand shop. To me, it’s as sad as seeing a strangers photo albums of loving family pics for sale. Love and history lost. :-(

Oh, and for those of you who haven’t guessed it yet, this post is also an online plea to anyone able to help me fill in some of the gaps to the history of this cookery book. Who was L Collins, how did the book arrive in Australia? I happily welcome any and all helpful information people can pass my way.

Until next time,

Janis. XXOO

Why is the Australian voice silent in writing – why can’t it be heard?

Hello everyone! Yes I have been silent for a while as April is apparently a really busy month for me. What with birthdays, school holidays and my old laptop finally giving up the ghost with a puff of smoke and some sparks. That means the imp has escaped, by the way, and your laptop is now a doorstop. Trust me, I work in IT. ;-)

Add to that me going over the first edits of Isis, Vampires and Ghosts – Oh My! with a fine tooth comb before sending it back aaaaannnnddddd yeah, I’ve been busy. But I’m back and full of some hopefully good blog ideas. Yay!

In this post I want to talk about why major publishers are more interested in a narrative that sounds American or British and how Australian writers are encouraged to not sound Australian in their writing. It is one of the biggest brick walls I have come across that I just don’t understand.

In my most tactful and polite manner I’m asking: Why the hell can’t I write like an Australian? I am one! What is so wrong with teaching the world how we sound in our writing? They seem to like our actors!

No, not going to go all venty and carry on. Remember, that is why I have a Facebook account. I’m just really frustrated over the fact that we must remove what makes us us and be a clone of another country before anyone will read our work.

When I discussed this with friends from others countries, a really good point made was that they have a certain accent in mind when they read and don’t want it to sound all Australian. It is a very good point. Though I would like to point out that when I read all I get is either British or American voices in my head as that’s all that’s out there. Why must Australians put up with these accents while the other countries can’t be open minded enough to put up with ours? Are we just more accepting of other cultures and their voices?

Another point made was because they don’t understand our dialect or slang terms. And, sorry, but that isn’t going to work with me. Growing up, if I didn’t understand a word in a book I looked it up in a dictionary. And in this age of Google, you can find a meaning for almost everything. Plus, I know friends who have read something I’ve posted on Twitter or Facebook that was a term they didn’t understand (I think I said something about ‘chucking some hot chook on a damper bun’). What did this friend do? Did they unfriend me as I was too hard to understand? No! They googled the words and soon realised I had put some hot cooked chicken onto a bread roll. *Gasp* A-maz-ing!

But obviously not everyone wants to open their mind or use the intelligence we all have (yes we do, don’t doubt yourself) to figure this out. They just want to read. Though why they are reading if not to open their mind to new ideas and possibilities is beyond me and I will just stop there before I sound too catty. :-) But I will add that I will shortly be posting a blog entry about how idiot proofing the world is just creating bigger idiots unable to think outside the box. But let’s not spoil this theme right now with another.

So! Here I am an Australian author who is adamant to write with a distinct Australian voice. From what I’ve picked up from various panels of ‘those in the know’ – publishers, agents, authors, etc – what I am doing is a big no no and I won’t ever get anywhere in this world as an author. These experts say that no one wants to hear the Australian voice in books… So the reviews saying that they loved my ‘fresh new voice from Australia’ are wrong. Please don’t tell the reviewers that, as I love what they had to say about my book. ;-)

Now, those who follow my blog will know I’m a cynical cow and honestly do find the statement “The Audience is not interested in hearing the Australian voice” is like a parent who doesn’t like vegetables and who rarely eats vegetables lamenting that their child doesn’t like to eat vegetables and that they have no idea why.

Meaning – they don’t like the idea of an Australian voice, so they don’t expose their audience to it. And as their audience is not asking for book with an Australian voice – because they’ve never been exposed to it – they therefore don’t want to read anything in that said style.

I freely admit I could be wrong here and there has no doubt been hours and hours of research done on this topic… but I would ask exactly when that was. In the last year? The last five years? The last ten? As we all know how static and staid the publishing world has been in that time – note sarcasm.

Isn’t being Australian a big thing in the arts right now? Doesn’t the world just love our actors, our television shows and movies, our musicians and our designs? But apparently our writing style is not the done thing, so let’s just slip into that cookie cutter mould people expect books to be like and crack on with the good old British strictness and American candour. There’s no place for we Australians in books – nothing to see here so move along. :-)

I do hope people see the humour I am trying to thread into this post.

A previous post I did on Halloween touched on the whole complaint of Australians not wanting to be American clones… at how we should simply embrace our multi-cultural background and run with all the traditions it brings. We are a multi-cultural place, despite what certain minorities – and politicians – are showing the world. We do accept other cultures ideas and customs and it’s probably why we don’t make a fuss that what we read is rarely written in the Australian voice. As our voice has the many tones and inflections of other cultures. But! Touching on the ‘clone’ issue, sales aside – shouldn’t Australian publishers (and Australian branches of international publishers) be looking at enforcing our culture through our writing? Just a thought people.

All in all I really do write simply because I enjoy it. And am very lucky to have found an Independent Publisher proud of the Australian voice that happens to feel my work is good enough to publish. I don’t write for the popularity, simply to earn enough to buy some good chocolate. So I can’t really complain.

However I will play the mum card here and say I am disappointed that my book loving children are starting to use the American spelling of words and use American slang rather than Australian – as that is what they are exposed to when they read. Why can’t we mix that multi-cultural passion up a bit and introduce the world to our voice? As I say to my kids: you never know if you will like it or not if you don’t at least try it first.

Australian publishers – think on that. Just saying. ;-)

Until next time,

Janis. XXOO

Do you use emotional memories to write a better story?

Hello! Yes, I’ve been a bit quiet on my blog for a few weeks. Partly due to yet another sinus infection (I’m good at those) and partly as my crappy old laptop is going through another phase of only opening a little and having the screen work at the same time… if that makes sense.

Basically, I can either type or I can read the screen, it won’t open up wide enough for me to be able to see what it is I’m actually typing… and that sort of puts a dampener on my writing as I tend to read it as I’m writing (not looking at the keys as I type as some do) and so I now feel like I’m on a typewriter and oh those are some painful memories!

See, I was raised in a technologically advanced family and have been using computers since I was five years old. So to then be forced to do a typewriting course in high school… Yes I failed the course as I, like many software programs, was unable to downgrade my abilities to suit the equipment. The rather blunt remarks – about the Stone Age tools I was being forced to use – to any teacher listening possibly didn’t help my grades either. ;-)

So that’s my excuse as to why I’ve been a bit quiet. Call it a diva moment at not being able to write to my best capacity and therefore having a dummy spit. I’ll agree to a point. But seriously, I’ve been sick in bed the last week with a sinus infection, followed by head cold given to me by my hordes and that has caused more issues with my writing.

But I’m not spending this post going on and on about being a slack blogger. No, I use Facebook to whinge about my life and this blog to try and sound like I’m more with it and knowledgeable. So let’s skip over all the unwell and crappy laptop issues and get on with the real reason for the post – Do you use emotional memories to write a better story?

Why do I ask this? Thank you for asking! Basically, as I write this we are marking the fourth anniversary of my son having to undergo open heart surgery to fix a doubly committed ventral septal defect (aka a hole between the bottom two chambers of his heart just below the valve that may have caused a valve prolapse and possible death). He was nine months old when, as I artistically describe it they: took my baby away, put him to sleep, cracked his chest open like a chicken, stopped his heart for two hours and fixed his ticker.

He was diagnosed with the hole at eight weeks of age and it was so bad you could feel the way the blood was being pumped incorrectly every time you put your hand on his tiny chest. The good thing was he was a perfectly normal child in appearance, other than that. Yes he couldn’t go outside during the winter as he got chest infections at the drop of a hat… but other than that he seemed perfectly fine.

As you can probably imagine, my life at the time was pretty horrific. Not only had an organisation I’d worked at for several years forced me into redundancy (in a rather messy, nasty way I won’t go into) I then gave birth to a child who was a ticking time bomb. My cynical outlook on life grew darker, I gained a lot of weight from the need to medicate myself with copious amounts of chocolate and all in all it was a dark time in my life.

But! He had the operation and within four days of being treated like said chicken he came home with me… on my birthday. They did the operation in Brisbane, Queensland (one of two cities in Australia that do it) and we got a free trip there and got to spend a week at my in laws on the Sunshine coast to recuperate. So I guess there were some positives… I just don’t remember them as I was just in a stressed out haze at the time. And my son today is fine… as far as we can tell. He is due for his next cardiologist check-up later this year. He’s not been since he was two and they didn’t want to see him until he was five. As the check-ups for ‘bad’ cases are annual, I’ve always taken this as a good sign.

So back to the Writer side of it. Now, if I ever want to write something sad, painful and full of remorse and tears and you know, the stuff people love to read and feel themselves – I go back to those memories and that nasty part of my life. Heck, I’m a mum of three… I’m fairly certain there are still a few bad moments to come but I like to think I’ve gotten some training in to start with. So, fellow writers, do you do this too?

As now I’m wondering am I a bad parent to exploit those emotional times and fuel my words and stories with them? I suppose I must think of good, happy times for parts of my books too. I just don’t remember them as strongly as when I need to draw on this ‘inner darkness’ to be creative.

Are Writer’s sick individuals to feed off the bad bits of reality and use it to spin stories? Are we sadist that we want other people to have these emotions rub off on them too? Or am I just being too depressingly dark and I should focus more on the times my kids have cracked me up and how those moments have influenced funny parts of my stories?

Is it only the bad stuff that makes me guilty? I mean, it’s not as if I put down word for word what happened in my life and pretend it’s a fictional story. Dear God that would be boring if I did. It’d all be ironing, cleaning, cook books and whatever funnily embarrassing thing my hordes had done to me that day. Like my nine year old having a tanty the other day that she couldn’t enrol in a degree to do bioevolutionary science as you need to have passed year twelve biology to do it… and she’s only in year four. How I would wind that into one of my stories I don’t know… but my kids do sometimes make it stranger than fiction. ;-)

I guess I have reached that massively waffling point where I should end the blog. Have I really even covered the point I was trying to make? Or just made everyone depressed by sharing some memories of this day four years ago?

To summarise – is it wrong to take emotional times from our lives and use them to try and write a better story? Not the actual experience, just the emotions that came with them? The good, the bad and the pass the tissue box moments in life? Does it make for better reading? Or is it more of a therapy to the Writer?

I’m curious to know what other people think on this as maybe I’m just making myself feel guilty for no reason and did actually use this blog as a platform to remember a dark time in my life.

Until next time,

Janis. XXOO