For Better or Worse

I feel this way too. I love Valarie’s writing and I’m gload she’s taking back what is hers. This is a great post for all writers.

Organizing Chaos Other Misadventures

I’ve spent a great deal of time over the last year considering my writing: what I want from it, what I’ve learned from it, mistakes I’ve made and victories I’ve enjoyed.

I’ve come to some conclusions I’m aware seem illogical to many, but here’s the thing about my writing:

It’s mine. The books I write are mine. The decisions I make regarding them are mine. The amount of time I choose to spend on writing, on promoting, on building relationships with readers & bloggers – that’s mine to choose as well.

I’ve removed myself from the idea of competition. I’ve removed myself from the idea of making a living on the books that I write. That’s not giving up – that’s making a choice that is right for me. The constant guilty feeling that I’m never doing enough, the stress of daily promoting and marketing, the unbelievable amount of pressure…

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Product Photography on Etsy

Really great way to take photos for items 🙂 – I’m reposting as I also have an Etsy shop, and taking pics is always a challenge 🙂

Through The Looking Glass

I started off taking photos on a sheet in bright sunlight when I started on Etsy and was quickly told that they weren’t very good. Then I moved to taking photos on a mannequin in front of a brick wall in the shade outside my house, and while they were a lot better, I had no idea how to improve.

I didn’t (and still don’t) have a lot of money to spend on photography props and lights. I was lucky enough to meet Lyndsey James at an Etsy Team Captain Summit in Berlin. She teaches product photography with her business Photocraft and set up a free webinar that I attended and learned some tips to improve my photos.

For my inside photos for small items, I went out and bought a sheet of MDF (particle board) and got it cut into pieces that I thought would work. I’d get bigger…

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My review: The Oak S. L. Dearing

A Review of my novella The Oak: A Grown Up Fairy Tale ❤

Maria Gibbs

Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/2sapiOb

This is the first book by S L Dearing that I have reading what attracted me to it was the cover which is very striking and unusual.
This is a story about a woman, Keitha, who lives in a forest in France. Keith uses her skills of healing to help the local villagers and harness the power of nature. The characters are likeable except the “baddies”. There is an element of cliche in the stereotyping of good guy, bad guy but I don’t think it detracts from the story at all. It is after all “A Grown Up Fairy Tale.”

The story flows beautifully and the writing is often quite poetic. There are surprises in store in this book and I would recommend reading it.

I will certainly read more by this author.

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