I always have so much going on that I feel seriously guilty when I take a few moments for myself. Between kids, writing, publishing, editing, marketing and promotion, three blogs, three Twitter accounts, two Facebook accounts, a newsletter, reading and reviewing, beta reading, housework, making and attempting to sell jewelry, beta reading, cooking meals, potty training a two-year-old, and all the other crap I do on a daily basis, I actually feel bad when I sit down and take a few minutes for me.
I honestly have forgotten how to fully relax. I can't sit down and read a few chapters of a book without worrying about the stuff I feel like I should be doing. I love watching TV shows and anime but it takes me forever to get through a series. So many interruptions. So many times I end up watching on my phone. It took me five days to watch an episode of Sword Art Online for crying out loud, watching ten minutes here and there when I could sneak it in.
Mommy needs a break.
My break used to be reading and writing. Escaping to those alternate worlds. Immersing myself in some character's life. Being somewhere else and being someone else. It was a great breather. A vacation from reality.
Not so much anymore. Too much worry in my mind.
I worry about finishing a book so I can post a review, especially with my indie author friends. I worry about being objective with my reviews, being honest about errors without being an asshole or being overly gushy without sounding fake.
I get anxious when I think about publishing. I have not published a book since January 1st and I had planned to have two more out by now, one under each pen name. People keep asking me when the next Spunky book is coming out. Umm, Kyra is writing that one so, I have no clue?
I get headaches stressing about money and my multiple side jobs that are so failing at making any extra cash for our family. Being poor sucks.
In other words, I need to take a chill pill. Like, I need a serious enema of happy to chill the hell out these days. I have been so anxious that I haven't been able to write anything but poetry in a month and that is pretty bad, folks.
I have to get a handle on this. I may really just go off the grid at the end of this month. No internet or social media of any kind. (See, I can't even think about that without worrying about people trying to contact me for book information or for help with their writing or wanting to buy jewelry, or... something.) It has gotten that ridiculous.
So, my faithful readers, I might have to disappear for a while. I might need to take an explore in the Hundred-Acre Woods or something. Get the hell out of Online Life and back into nature. Ah yes, nature, the thing that has always calmed me the most. That is most likely the real problem right there, I have not been out in nature enough in the past year. I miss it.
Maybe I will go camping. Alone. With no electronics of any kind.
Okay, maybe a camera. Let's not get too crazy.
February is finally over, including the loneliest holiday of the year.
Binge eating chocolates aside, I had a lot of personal stuff going on this month including deaths and health issues so I was not able to read half as many books as I had originally planned. But let us take a look at the one I did sit down and enjoy.
DEATH LOVE LUST Anthology
by Various Authors
Rating: 5 Stars
Review:
An assortment of delicious stories and poems that are sure to please!
As
the title suggests, each piece of this collection involves a gruesome
death, undying love, or a passionate sexual need. Some contain all
three. Each author brought their own voice, their own style to this
anthology and though every story contained the same central themes, they
were each unique. Some brought tears, some brought a sense of longing,
some brought terror, and some brought lust. Every work contained in this
collection grasped me firmly and held me, riveted, to the page.
I
was captivated from the start, each story and poem leaving me in a
dreamy daze of contemplation. I recommend reading it in the dark.
To purchase this title, find it on Amazon here.
I was able to read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I found this to be an excellent book that I easily give five stars. I plan on starting the next installment soon.
I also launched my new author website last week! Yay!
This site will have all my author info, including buy links for my books, reviews, videos, and a short bio. What I am looking forward to the most is the new blog. Don't worry, this blog isn't going anywhere, the new blog is completely different. That one will be a writing blog. I will be posting a new chapter to an ongoing story called Fur & Feathers each week. Fur & Feathers is a fantasy romance with some action and drama mixed in.
Come by and check out the new site here.
Hello, all.
Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm doing a Valentine's Day giveaway on my Facebook author page! Yes, I have three paperback books, bookmarks, business cards of some indie author friends, and a necklace that I will give to one lucky participant!
I have never done a giveaway of this magnitude before so I'm pretty excited. The necklace is one that I hand-made myself. Oh, I make jewelry and sell it on Facebook. Did I never mention that before? Here is the page for those interested: Groovy Goodies and Shiny Stuff.
But back to the giveaway!
The three books are Box of Chocolates (Appropriate for the occasion, no?), The Life She Didn't Take, and Love Me Today, Kill Me Tomorrow. Ah, there's nothing like some sweet vampire love. These books definitely contain some steamy, and sometimes tragic, moments.
I hope you guys hop over to my Facebook page and participate. I will be picking the random winner on the 14th.
Have a happy Valentine's Day, my faithful readers!
XOXOXO
I don't like to talk about religion because I live in the Bible Belt. In my experience, this means that when I tell people I don't believe in God, I am asked if I am atheist or agnostic. Because I have to be one or the other, right? Or am I a straight up devil worshipper? They are all kind of the same, right? I could easily argue that Judaism, Catholicism, and Christianity are all the same. You all believe in the same god, right?
But I don't. Because I'm not an idiot.
Religion is one of those strange topics that people get up in arms about. So I don't bring it up. Because I don't have a box for that. What do I mean by box, you ask? It's simple really.
Society defines every person, everyone you know by putting them in boxes. We have a box for everything because for some reason, we as a people have to have every little thing organized in our minds. Everything has to make sense. Everything has to have a neat label and sit on the correct shelf. This is how modern day society functions.
You have boxes for religion, politics, and race. You even have boxes for sexual preference and mental/behavioral problems.
You can't just be an energetic kid. You are ADHD. You can't just be attracted to men and women. You have to be bisexual. If you like gaming and anime, you are a nerd. If you like sports and exercise, you are a jock. Introvert, extrovert, Democrat, Republican, girly-girl, tomboy; the labels go on and on.
But what about those of us that don't fit neatly into your specific boxes? I'm not able to keep myself in one box, I kind of leak out from time to time. Not necessarily switching boxes, getting a new label, but kind of outside, on the shelf. I've never been very good at keeping a label.
What if my skin color doesn't determine what music I listen to or who I hang out with? What if I feel more like a guy today than a chick? What if I want to go out with friends and party then come home, curl up with a book and be by myself for a few days? What if I just don't have a religion?
We've all been brainwashed with this idea. Even I have, hence my fear of talking about religion with people. I have put religious people in the "closed-minded" box just because I had a couple bad experiences some time ago. But I know I'm wrong. The entire idea is wrong but we cling to it because otherwise, it's all chaos. And people are terrified of chaos.
This is exactly why the people who don't fit into these boxes are feared and hated. A white person that is a Muslim? No, those boxes don't coincide. That is different therefore it is wrong. A football star who would rather stay home on the weekend, painting? That is too unusual.
These boxes, these labels, this is why there is hate. Why there is bullying. We expect certain people to act a certain way and if they don't... well they are freaks!
Don't try to box me. Don't try to define me by labels and expect me to act the way a person who looks or talks the way I do should. I'm going to surprise you.
I tend to make a mess with my box leaking.
