January - Reasons to be cheerful, and a free book too!

I’m in the last half of the college year now, only three months to go and the time already flying. I’m working on my thesis, which for multimedia journalism is flexible and exciting. Late last year I covered the UN Environment Programme’s conference,
Sea Of Solutions, which deals with marine plastic waste. I’ve written that up and while I get to pretty up the work, I have moved on to the next articles.



My lecturers introduced me to Adobe Spark. This is a great platform for creative people and blends images with movement and text, allowing for endless variation. Not all images work well so I have had to take new ones to freshen up articles. I am learning how to use the medium to best advantage.

Check out some of my journalism articles on Spark:
The Road to Being Irish.
https://spark.adobe.com/page/JGXuYbS9...
Science Fiction.
https://spark.adobe.com/page/QmGxCRVD...
Decline of Eurasian Curlew.
https://spark.adobe.com/page/yswxYdab...

Yes, online college is different. We mostly felt tired coming to the close of the autumn semester; Zoom burnout was cited, as well as general lack of social life. In that my younger friends are suffering more than I am. I’m finding
concentration more difficult than usual, which I counter by writing a note of anything I need to do and logging everything that I do. If I don’t feel I can dive into a lengthy piece of work, I at least get a few small items out of the way, which cheers me immensely and gives me a feeling of efficiency. Still, I am thankful that I am in college, and learning with every class. My lecturers are pleasant and helpful, and student officers are busy keeping us all busy.

As President of the Journalism Society, I have been asked to come up with an event each month, and can invite other societies or the whole college to participate. I have planned a fire safety event - I’ll be asking students to send in photos of fire doors, fire extinguishers and the like. I believe now is always a good time to plan your exit in case of fire.

I also have a guest speaker lined up; sports journalist Thomas Lyster has kindly agreed to talk to us on Zoom.

And I am posting a short series of articles about how to write for the web, complete with photos to illustrate dos and don’ts of featuring images in your posts. Find these on Inside DBS. I’m keen to pass on the lessons I have learned over several years to younger, upcoming writers.
https://insidedbs.wordpress.com/

January also brings us to Multicultural Children’s Book Day. I’m thrilled that my 2020 book A Pony For Quarantine was nominated for this festival by educator Carolyn Wilhelm of The Wise Owl Factory. Carolyn is also the author of Climate Change Captives and other books.

Meanwhile, a signal honour; author and reviewer Jemima Pett chose A Dog For Lockdown as her Middle Grade book of the year. Both the Irish Lockdown books made it to her shortlist.

According to Goodreads I managed to read over 300 books during 2020. Around the Christmas holidays, as always, I was privileged to review several seasonal offerings for Fresh Fiction. Each and every one of these books would lift the spirits of a melting snowperson. Here are some of the covers.











With bitter or wet weather, I have been continuing my daily walk as best I can, but since the lockdown resumed and travel to college is currently off the agenda, I decided to do more. I am exercising at least twice a day, before lunch and before dinner. Nothing beats getting out in the fresh air. I walk around local parks and talk to the dog-walkers, pat the gorgeous dogs and photograph trees.

My second stint is on Wii Fit Plus at present. This game platform has been here for years and is going strong. Recently my husband discovered that it works best with non-rechargeable batteries, unfortunately. I used it for stepping with hand weights this morning (wet day)
and yoga followed by balance games this evening. This is not a patch on what I would be doing if I was heading in to college each day with my backpack and netbook, so I owe it to myself to keep fit. I return to the computer invigorated.

Activity floods the body and brain with oxygen, which is required for health and energy. If you are feeling blue (today is Blue Monday) make yourself move. Put on lively music and walk around the room, loosening up your arms and shoulders. You might even dance. Cortisol is a hormone which is released when we are stressed, and which causes us to put on weight around the middle. Once you know this, you can start to do something about it. Generally, stress is caused by feeling an inability to change our situation. But you can move more, and play great music, and help yourself.

This month I am making Murder At Scottish Mensa free for Kindle download. Grab it: January 22 – 25, 2021.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E78J0W0

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E78J0W0

Follow my published articles on my JournoPortfolio page – a site I highly recommend.
https://clareobeara.journoportfolio.com/

All my books are in the Kindle Unlimited programme. If you enjoy a book please leave a review, which helps other readers.

Watch my book trailers for my science fiction series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GadPp...

Visit my website:
www.clareobeara.ie
for news, puzzles, books, reviews and events.

We have created a new page for Young Adult readers. This contains plenty of horses and dogs! You can find my podcasts about Octocon on the News and Events page. I provide a Writers’ Page giving tips about how to be an independent publisher. I am also adding book covers to Pinterest boards after I review the books, so feel free to find me on Pinterest.