Time to Write

These aren’t the easiest times we're living in right now. Financially, it seems like there are nothing but obstacles. Stability is a goal.

It takes a lot of hours at work just to get by, which can make being a romance writer an extra challenge. I’d love to spend all my free time editing, but I guess the trick is finding free time when I have a burning desire to eat and have a roof over my head.

Priorities

I read somewhere that ‘if it's important to you, you’ll find the time.’ Well, whoever said that wants to take a closer look at the high cost of rent and groceries and car insurance, and they’ll understand why my priorities are the ones that pay.

Except, they’re also kinda right. Being a writer doesn’t pay me much, that’s why I have the day job, but I still manage to find scraps of time to scrawl words on paper.

Even this blog. It's 11pm, my baby is sleeping in his cot beside me, the house is quiet and I’m writing this with my phone. It’s important to me, so I’m finding the time. This week, anyway.  

Day in the Life

A lot of my writing actually gets done this way. In bed with my phone, or a notebook in the kitchen while I prepare food, even in the shower. Whenever I can. It may take me a long time, but I get there in the end, even if it cost me a bit of sleep. Too much sleep. I love sleeping.

Being Vigilant

I do try my hand at time management but it’s never been my strongest skill, and I’m such a fan of procrastination. Organising my bookshelves just seemed so important when it came time to write a synopsis.

I do all the things that are supposed to help. Things like to-do lists and drinking coffee and forcing myself to open the document and not wait for inspiration.

It all comes back to prioritising what’s important, but this is also real life, so there are often times that I open the document and have to abandon it to make dinner, take my dog out, or settle a tired baby.

Someone once asked how I have time to write and the truth is I don’t. But I do it anyway.

I’m a Romance Writer

Maybe I have a little more expendable time than others because I keep my romance fictional. It’s all on the page, and it means my time is mine. These really are hard times though, and it would be nice not to have to work all the time just to stay afloat.

Hey, at least we’re in this together, right? In the words of Brandon Lee in The Crow, ‘ It can’t rain all the time.’

In the meantime, I’ll be working on my next book in bed on my phone.

If you liked this post then take a look at some of my other articles, or visit my website. 

Bethany's Camera

 

Bethany believed in magic. She was a witch after all. It was kind of a gimmee that she believed in what she knew to be true.

She’d celebrated Summer Solstice the night before with all her sisters and she’d stolen some of the sunflowers they’d used to decorate the house, to fancy up her studio a bit. They were perfect props for the adorable photoshoot she’d just done with a West Highland Terrier and a three-year-old little blonde girl.

So, yes, an immortal witch in a coven who had just celebrated Summer Solstice obviously believed in magic, but that wasn’t the type of magic she was thinking about.

What Bethany meant was art. Okay, she admitted that sounded cheesy. But it was also true. Art was entirely magical to her.

At first, she’d been drawn to painting but over the last decade or so, she’d switched to photography. She was always hidden behind a camera. Her sisters groaned when they saw her coming, but she didn’t care. Life was intriguing through a lens. It was more beautiful if she could frame it.

Right then, for example, as she walked through the town centre, the flea market was set up, with every stall selling second hand goods, and each topped with a colourful tarpaulin that would have made a bright, uniform image.

She stopped in front of a stall with a red striped canopy, and rain from the British summer trapped in the material. The market stall was selling old camera equipment, and Bethany noticed a particular camera. Vintage and obsolete now, with the range of SLRs and camera phones available, but she smiled when she saw it, because it was the make and model of the first camera she’d ever held.

It had a silver body with black leather and looking through the viewfinder had brought her intense joy. She’d snapped photographs of everything when she’d owned this camera, wasting reels and reels of film on ordinary flowers and overhanging branches, straight roads, wooded forests. None of it had been boring to her.

Now, it was almost ironic that with the unlimited number of digital images she could take, she was much more particular and took a lot less.

The price tag on the camera was £8. It wasn’t worth anything except nostalgia. She searched for the seller of the stall and made eye contact with a man in his late twenties who immediately approached her.

“I’d like this please,” she said.

“Sure thing.” His gaze lingered on her face as she handed him the money. Did she have food on her chin or something? “This is going to sound really forward,” he continued, “But can I have your number.”

The abruptness of the request shocked Bethany. “Um…” What was happening? She wasn’t like her sister Martha. She wasn’t searching for her mate. She wasn’t hoping she would find love now that the goddess had forgiven them and it was possible. She was still enamoured with the world, as terrible and as heartbreaking as it could be, and that was enough for her.

“I don’t think so,” she replied, shaking her head.

“Okay, fair enough. How about instead, you let me buy you a drink. There’s a place there.” He jerked his head at a small coffee shop with silver tables outside.

He was handsome, this man. He had a dimple in his right cheek and the beginning of lines around his eyes when he smiled.

“I have a family thing to get to.” Not entirely untrue. With the number of sisters in her coven, there was always something she could tag onto.

“One coffee. Ten minutes,” he suggested.

She played her old/new camera between her hands. This man wasn’t her mate, and Bethany didn’t go on dates, but maybe it was thinking back to the girl she’d been when she’d first discovered art and photography, maybe it was thinking about how excited she was with what her future held. Something made her say, “Yes.”

The camera sat on the table between them as Bethany spent time with someone other than her sisters for the first time in as long as she could remember. This wasn’t going anywhere. It was just a coffee. But it was something. 

The End

If you enjoyed this story, you can find more on my website by clicking here. 

Dreams of Distant Places

 And not so distant places. 

I'm a romance writer so a sense of romance is built in me, and I'm not even as romantic as I could be. I don't like weddings, I don't need a path of rose petals, and a room full of candles just makes me wonder how they got them all lit and how long it takes to blow them out.

But I do love the idea of soulmates, of tangled limbs and twisted sheets, of mixed breaths. Even when I'm not romantic, I'm still a dreamer. 

What Do You Daydream About?

I see wet pavements in foreign cities where I sit under cover at a table, drinking wine and eating food I can't get at home. I see myself in a two-piece on the beach, tropical sunshine warming my skin while crystal water laps at my feet. I see airport journeys and ferry trips. Driving on the wrong side of the road. Friendly strangers. New languages. 

Those are daydreams though. Reality is a little different. Reality is day jobs, budgeting money, and cooking dinner. It's responsibility, bills and parenting. And if I want to travel I have to save up to do it. Save up for a long time. 

Even staycations are few and far between. I don't get many trips to the seaside and I haven't even journeyed to London for years and that's my favourite city in Britain.

Writing is a Dream

I find time to write because I'm a romance writer and it's important to me, but imagine being able to do it in the daytime because I earn enough to not need a day job. That's the dream! To let the words flow. To spend as long as I want on a piece of writing without having to stop because my shift starts early in the morning. 

The dream is to have people reading my books and wanting more. For people to care about my characters as much as I do. To not be an echo in a void.

Maybe I'm getting a bit contemplative but it is eleven twenty at night. Almost midnight. The time of dreams.

Reality is Okay Too.

I'm pretty damn happy with things as they are. As unromantic as I am, and as much as I daydream about the future, I feel content with all I have. Sure, I'd like a newer car, a bigger home for my babies and me, and financial security, but saving up for things I want isn't a bad thing. 

I'll take the holidays I want eventually. I'll earn more money. I'll get by. I'm getting pretty good at budgeting, and when it comes to love? Well, I'm a romance writer. I'll write it. 

If you enjoyed this blog then I have plenty of others on this site to read, or for book news, you can visit my website. 

Beltane

My first book River’s Heart is the first of The Shadow Coven series. It’s series about a cursed coven who have finally found the goddesses forgiveness and now they’re finding their mates.

Wicca and magic is a major theme of the series and with Beltane upon us, let’s take a look at exactly what it is.

What is Beltane?

There are eight sabbats in the Wiccan religion and Beltane is one of four fire festivals throughout the year. The others are Imbolc, Lammas, and Samhain.

Given that Beltane and Samhain are opposites of each other, with Beltane celebrating life when Samhain honours death, you might be surprised to know that they actually have some things in common. It’s during these two holidays where the veil between life and death are thinnest, and both mark a change in the year.

Beltane, however, takes us from a long winter and into a blooming summer.

We get longer and brighter days and the earth flourishes with blossoms, leaves and natural magic. We see the start of the summer farming season. We celebrate purity and protection. We find new life.

More interesting to an erotic romance writer, though, is this season of fertility and passion. Hell, it’s the season of lust.

You’ll probably be invited to more weddings as we enter this time of year, or if you have Wiccan friends, handfastings. It’s a sabbat full of sensuality and sexual energy.

In fact, some people will encourage you to have a little sexy time in your garden. Just try not to shock the neighbours.

When is Beltane?

Beltane takes place between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, It’s traditionally held on the 1^st of May.

 Decorate Your Altar.

When it comes to decorating your altar, think about the colours of spring. Greens, yellows and blues. You want lush colours. Colours of the flowers, of the grass and of the sky, and you can use them for your altar cloth or your candles.

Frankincense and rose are good choices for your oils or incense, and when choosing gemstones, consider rose quartz, fire agate or aventurine.  

You can add a bouquet of spring flowers to your altar. Daffodils, daisies, tulips, dandelions, lavender. Include peppermint and rosemary too.

Beltane is one of the four fire festivals, but it might not be easy for you to include a bonfire in your ritual. An alternative is to represent the element on your altar. You can do this with candles, with a small caldron filled with yellow and orange items to imitate flames. Even paper will work for this. Another option is to simply use images of fires. Whatever works for you.

Other symbols for your ritual include May baskets, floral crowns, chalices, antlers, honey and oats, and fruits like cherries and pomegranate.

How to Celebrate.

Dance around a bonfire, weave around a maypole: there are many ways to celebrate this festival.

Easiest methods are to make May baskets, or you can wash your face in the morning dew, decorate your garden bush with ribbons, The most simple and natural way to show your appreciation for Beltane is to go outside. Spend some time outdoors. It’s as easy as that.

A Fertile Earth

In wiccan mythology, Beltane is the time of the year when the goddess and god came together to fertilise the earth, and because of this, the world bursts with new life. Celebrate by sharing mead and cake with your family. Make the most of this time of love and passion.

 If witch romance is your thing then River’s Heart is just the beginning of The Shadow Coven series, and if you enjoyed reading this article then you can read more like it on this blog.

 

 

A New World

 I'm currently working on the first book in what will be my third series. This series is a little different to the others because it doesn't include any supernatural elements. This series will be a love story set in London. 

The Three Series

The three series of books I'm writing are The Shadow Coven, Lunar Falls and this, as yet unnamed London love stories compilation, and these are the worlds I will be concentrating on for the foreseeable future. 

As a romance writer I love creating worlds and watching them develop and I can't wait to write the stories of all the characters who are just waiting to fall in love. Read on for a little information about the worlds that are about to grow. 

The Shadow Coven

When love makes its way to a cursed coven...

Years ago the sisters of the Shadow Coven committed an act of evil and for that they were punished. The witches of the coven would no longer find their soul mates, but be destined to live out their eternity alone, without true love and without children. 

The descendants of these witches have lived knowing they only had each other, but centuries after the evil act, a goddess has forgiven the witches and now they're soulmates are finding their way to The Shadow Coven and a world of witchcraft. 

Protecting Their Heart

Home to the Accalia wolf pack.

Lunar Falls is a small town and it's the home of the Accalia pack of wolves. Their land is in this town and though the shifters' and humans' lives are intertwined in town, the territory of the wolves is forbidden to all without an invitation. Trespassers will be killed - not eaten. 

That is until Penny, a human female who lives on the border is chased onto their land and into the arms of two male shifters. Not only is this trespasser spared. They want to keep her. 

Now, with every story, the wolves of the Accalia wolf pack are connected to others outside their pack. 

The London Series

Love and passion in the city of London.

Four roommates living their lives in London are each about to find love in a way they never expected. It's not just one man for these women. In this menage series, it's two men for each woman. 

These four friends are about to be whipped into a world of money, romance and passion. 

Still to Come...

Along with the first instalment of this new series, the next books I'll be releasing will be Martha's story in The Shadow Coven and Rose's story in Lunar Falls, both characters we've already met in River's Story and Protecting Their Heart. 

You can visit my website for book extras, including free short stories, or take a look around this blog and read more here. 

Sneak Peak: Meet Martha

Martha is the female main character of my work in progress. The second book in the Shadow Coven series which is a paranormal romance series about a cursed coven who has just been given forgiveness. The book focuses on the 28-year-old witch who we first met in River's Heart and who is about to have her own story told. 

Who is Martha?

Martha is a vital part of the coven. She's strong but shy and she's as loyal as they come. Nothing is more important to her than her sister witches. She's been seeking her mate, but as the book starts she's tired of looking, and she makes the decision to give up dating. 

She's in a transitional stage of her life, having just lost her job at the library she's worked at for years, but everything is about to change for Martha.

Martha's Story

Martha's book has romance, sex, magic and adventure, not to mention a deeper look into her coven and the witches who are her family. This book-smart, stubborn but naive female is going to find herself in trouble. 

The book is a work in progress. I'm currently making my way through the first draft of this paranormal romance book. If you're looking for something to keep you amused between books though, you can visit my website for free short stories and book extras. 

Or take a look around and read some of my blog posts here. 

Between (Writing) Jobs

 One book finished... Another to start.

Protecting Their Heart is officially released, and I've been on a bit of vaycay before getting back to writing. Even a romance writer needs a break. 

Now, though, the break is over. Time to work. Time to write that book. 

It's been quite a rest period, and I admit that there have been feelings of guilt. So how long is too long when you stop writing? I felt justified when I decided to spend some time on other hobbies, reading books, and binge-watching boxsets, after all, I don't take time off at Christmas. I just keep writing.

Now I'm getting back to it, I feel like I've taken too much time. If I hadn't had that break, think how far through my first draft I would be...

Is It Okay to Rest?

Heck, yeah. When you work a day job, as I do alongside writing, you get annual leave. You get vacation days. Because burnout is a real thing. 

You might still think about your project and that's okay, but it's also okay if you don't.

Take a break because it's been proven that those who take time off are more productive, and happier. 

Warning Signs 

How do you know it's time to take a rest? Look out for these feelings:

Writer's Block

Sure, maybe you can push through writer's block. Maybe you just need to take a walk, read something else, switch to longhand. But maybe it goes deeper. If you're stuck, deeply stuck, then don't be afraid to take some time for yourself. 

Exhaustion

This could be the border of burnout. If you can't face sitting down at the screen and getting words down, if you're looking for a way to avoid it, then it won't benefit you to force yourself. All you're doing is increasing that fatigue. 

If dread accompanies your writing then you're doing something wrong. It doesn't have to be fun every second, and it doesn't have to be easy, but you should want to do it. It should be important in the moment. You should still love being a writer. 

You Just Don't Want To

I love writing. The stories I'm plotting and planning always play in my brain, so if I don't want to do it at all, then that means there's more wrong than a lack of motivation. This isn't the same thing as being stuck on a scene, or a part of your book not being as fun to write as another. This is when there's no will at all. 

Something More Important 

Writing can't always be your first priority. It's not possible. We're adults, and we have other responsibilities. Whether that be a day job, a family, or something else... If you have something in your life that needs to be resolved first or put before your book... Writing will still be there. It will wait for you. 

How to Take a Break

I have a lot of hobbies and many things that I like to do, but most of all, my favourite thing is books books books. After all, it's why I'm a writer. So, if I have time to spare, I'm going to spend a chunk of it reading. 

I'm also going to watch TV. It's the perfect opportunity to catch up on shows you've always wanted to watch but never had the time. Binge-watch, baby. It's what streaming services are for!

There are a thousand things you can do. Go outside, get exercise, eat out, eat lots, see your friends, meditate, go dancing, drink cocktails, paint, draw, skate, ski. There are so many things in the world to do. There's no way that you won't find something you love. 

Romance Writer Clocking In

All vacations must come to an end, and mine has reached that point. That's not a bad thing. As I've already said, I love writing, and the story ideas and scenes don't stop coming because I'm doing something else. 

I've got so many stories I want to tell, and I can't wait to share them. To meet new characters, and find out what happens to them. To develop old characters and learn new things about them. 

Protecting Their Heart is on sale, but I have plenty to be getting on with. After all, the books to be written by a romance writer never ends. There's always writing to be done.  

If you enjoyed reading this blog then feel free to read some of my others, or take a look around my website and learn about my books and book extras.