Well, the ‘hard’ full moon of 27 March came and went. Angry planets in opposition are never a good sign so, yes, there were a few complications but life is never straightforward, is it? Often it’s a case of lending a listening ear, adjusting the plan, or picking yourself up and dusting yourself off. A hint of sadness remains for a couple of problems I heard about, but with which I couldn’t help, only sympathise. Being a Gemini isn’t always easy when you want to fix every problem you come across!
This week involved a lot of finger puppet theatre – how many unique voices can YOU create? It was Miss Red Riding Hood in a squeaky, girly voice and the three pigs ranged from gruff, to extremely gruff. With an audience of one, a two and a half year-old, you would think it would be easy, wouldn’t you? But no, this little one takes things very seriously (aside from our session on the bouncy Castle at Cheeky Monkeys, when I had to bounce equally as high) and is quite discerning when it comes to the ‘right’ sound. I did much better when it came to reading Thomas the Tank. Train voices seem to come naturally to me…
Easter was a mix of family things and work. With a ‘to do’ list the size of a neatly wound toilet roll, there was no slacking and the bonus was that I had someone there to make me coffee whenever I began to flag! Easter eggs and fun were abundant, but I also managed to fit in two very long work days. Loveahappyending morphing into Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine was a major change for the whole group. I felt a bit like Bob The Builder ‘Can we do it?’ and everyone replied ‘Yes, we can!’ Well, six weeks after the changeover and the articles keep coming. The variety of content is amazing, but developing the website and bringing the sister website, the LLm Bookshelf, more in line with the new logo and ethos all takes time. To celebrate the changes, our March Newsletter featured an interview with best-selling author Daniela Sacerdoti and wonderful book reviewer DizzyC. I’m now lining up the next interview due out on 27 April 2013 – exciting!
I began work on the Lifestyle downloadable emag, which will be available three times a year. At the moment it’s still the biggest task on my ‘to do’ list, but I made a start and am working on the first cover. It’s a brave new step, so I’m going to do three covers and will be canvassing opinion.
Part of the holiday weekend involved some quality time with my lovely husband and a few walks alongside the river Severn, checking out the sheep and the first signs of spring.
Our ‘treat’ was to begin watching the boxed sets of Downton Abbey my other half bought me for Christmas. Our first session began at 9pm on Good Friday and it was hard to turn the TV off and not say ‘just one more’…
For me it was quite thrilling as I seldom have time to sit in front of the TV these days; there are just too many other things I want to be doing. So when it was live on TV I probably only caught two or three of the episodes. However, we did the same with ‘24’, ‘The Good Wife’ and ‘Lost’ – watching episodes back-to-back long after they had been aired. Not having to wait a week in between episodes is the ideal way to really appreciate a series. Sometimes ‘quality’ time is simply about sharing the simple pleasure of doing nothing and being entertained. We were both totally caught up…and now I have a Pinterest page for it, of course!
I spent a full day loading some new plugins to all three WordPress websites and finalising the static pages for both LLm and The Bookshelf. A call to have all our authors pages ready to go ‘live’ before the monthly newsletter on 27 April 2013, meant a round of sharing information/tips on how to use WordPress. I admit I’m no expert as I’m self-taught, but setting up three very different styles of website has helped me learn a trick or two. I’m always happy to share knowledge. I don’t see the point in everyone inventing the same wheel if there are shortcuts. For some of the authors and contributors it’s the first time they have used WordPress and it can be daunting. However, another round of fascinating articles went out this week and the hits have double since February, so we are all thrilled.
Manning three inboxes isn’t easy and it can be very time consuming. There are a lot of spam emails and requests to be featured on the websites. Wearing my author’s hat, I had a number of emails from very different people wanting to talk about personal psychic experiences. In particular, two people contacted me after finishing one of my novels (Touched By The light and Never Alone) to tell me how the stories had affected them. I never share detail that is given to me by other people about their personal experiences, but suffice to say for both of them there was an instant connection with some of the psychic elements in the stories. All of the experiences I include in my stories are based on things that have happened to me in the past because I think it then has greater meaning. Of course, I continue to get experiences myself and there are a few people I regularly talk to and share those moments with. It serves to remind me it’s not unusual and that helps. I might have crossed the line whereby I can say ‘I am no longer a sceptic’ but I always look at things sceptically. It’s habit. But there is a tendency to keep thinking it’s a vivid imagination, as some of the things that happen are very strange and often not witnessed by anyone else. Then, of course, there are the shared experiences and for those I’m grateful! It’s nice to know I’m not crazy…
A lovely reader who won first prize in the recent competition for the launch of Never Alone sent me a Tweet to say she had finished reading the signed paperback I had sent her.
It was a part of the ‘romance pack’ – pillow, candles and cut glass crystal tea-light holder, plus a pink heart placemat. So thank you to Johanna Whiting for a great review on Amazon:
S. Bellamywhiting reviewed Never Alone
31 March 2013
I received this book after winning a competition and I’m so glad I did as I couldn’t put it down!!!!!
It was gripping from the start, although I felt sorry for Holly, the main character, as her boyfriend Will wouldn’t win boyfriend of the year!!!!
Great UNexpected ending, definitely a re-read!!!! Congratulations Linn x
Of all the stories I have written, Never Alone is the one that stretches the reader’s imagination the most. There are lots of clues along the way, but essentially when you reach the end it becomes clear that the story isn’t quite what it seems. The way each reader will interpret how it plays out will, in part, be coloured by their own life experiences. I have really enjoyed the emails I’ve received from readers eager to tell me their interpretation, or admitting that they immediately re-read it to discover what they had missed. One lady asked me if she was ‘right’, and the answer is that there is ‘no right answer’. My own interpretation is probably a little too ‘off the wall’ to be a general opinion, but that was the fun in writing it!
I also penned two guest post articles that will be appearing in April when I visit some author friends and I’m planning a promotion for The Restaurant and The Quintessential Gemini – never a dull moment. I just wish there were more than 24 hours in a day…..
Have you started your weekly diary yet? Or maybe glanced at your stars…
