Hello Summer, Goodbye Free Time.

As we approach the official-unofficial start to summer, I was just thinking the other day how I used to look forward to this time of year more than any other. I’d be out of school (no more homework – yay), away from the bullies (duh), and could wear whatever I wanted (no dumb private school dress codes at home). Given how amazing this time of year typically is for me, I’m actually going into it this year feeling a bit stressed.

Wait no – that sounds depressing.

I don’t mean this to sound like a total downer, but there are so many different things happening this summer that I didn’t have to juggle back in my school days.

Things like…

• Freelance blogging
• Editing
• Crocheting art for my vendor shows
• Training to teach guitar
• And somehow still carving out time with my boyfriend (yep, that’s new – read this post for more on that)

They’re all good things of course – but I’ve learned that not all stress is something negative. In fact, sometimes the best things in life freak us out for totally normal, human reasons. And that’s totally okay! But these particular things are requiring a fair amount of adjusting, so I better step it up and reorganize if I ever want to make any headway on my next book.

It’s not what you do with your time so much as the habits you form.

If you’re like me and plan on nixing your habit of laying in bed until noon, that’s naturally going to free up a lot of your time. So sometimes the little changes you apply to your life make all the difference. Don’t be afraid to celebrate those! I’m learning to listen to my body. When I’m tired, I sleep. When I feel motivated to work, I work. Simple as that! Of course, sometimes there are hard deadlines that I have to hit, either for clients, or for a scheduled art show. But aside from those caveats, I let me body and mind lead the process.

Productive rest is also something I want to get a lot better about.

You know, doing something restful besides mindlessly scrolling through Instagram for the umpteenth time that day. Watch your favorite movie, cook something yummy, go out with friends. There’s so much more to life than what you can do. Instead, think about what you can be.

“Be a human being, not a human doing.”

My Quantum Energy Healer, Dr. Mark Mincolla

This particular mantra has always been the toughest for me to master. But I’d wager that’s largely due to societal pressures that make us feel worthless unless we’re actively producing something. But you’ve gotta remember that there are so many wonderful things you bring to the world just by being yourself. Don’t forget that.

Hopefully you’ll be able to have a restful and productive summer. If you have any tips for striking that perfect balance, feel free to reach out to me in the comments. I’d love to hear what you’ve managed to accomplish despite feeling burnt out like I often do!

Happy summer, everybody. Let’s roll.

P.S. – Add my books on Goodreads if you’d like. That would be pretty cool 😉

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NEW Website Launch (Basically Me, but Online)!

Seriously, I finally have all my stuff in one place and it feels *amazing*.

If you’ve been hanging out online with me enough, you probably know by now that I’m not a typical author. Sure, I’ve published six books and talk a lot about those (and you can read my latest time-travel coming-of-age duology HERE). But I’m also an editor, freelancer, blogger, copywriter, and journalist. It’s really hard to market yourself in those capacities with everything scattered around all corners of the web.

Well, it would be… but not anymore. My cousin introduced me to her dynamic and talented friend Olivia Bolger who is an incredibly talented web designer. And the rest, was history. I’m so psyched to get to share the fruits of our labor with you now: angelinasinger.com

This website is everything I’ve built in the past couple years since graduating college, all in one neat package. On this website, you’ll now find:

• Latest event announcements + where you can meet me
• Freelance journalism articles on various platforms
• Where to buy my books and leave reviews
• Contact form to reach out anytime for editorial consultations
• Signup form for my mailing list
• and more!

How cool is that? And I really do have to thank Olivia for doing all the work she did. I really never would’ve figured out how to make it navigate as smoothly as we did. If you need a website, definitely hire her!

Recent photo from my first book signing in a while 🙂

I am so thrilled to see how this website helps me expand my approach in the coming months. All I ever wanted to do in life was write, and I have a feeling this website launch was a massive step in the right direction.

So now, you can check there for all the latest event news and updates. You can even access this blog from there as well (so I’ll do my best to keep both platforms up-to-date). Thank you for all your continued support, and keep doing that whole whale-watch thing.

Oh, you didn’t know? I’m giving away a signed copy of The Rewind Duology at the end of the Summer to one of the sighters of a whale in the wild. Read this recent post on my Instagram page for more on that and how to enter HERE.

Hoping to see you soon at an upcoming event! And if you check out the new website, feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below. I really love your feedback 🙂

Life Doesn’t Come with Cheat Codes.

Hello friends! I’m writing today with some VERY exciting news about my yet-to-be-published book.

Before anyone else, I’m going to let you see my book cover and cover blurb. How cool is that?

But first, a little background: So this newest book, Forgiving What I Couldn’t Change (The Rewind Duology Book 2) is the sequel to Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember. Both books deal heavily with coming of age, struggles with bullies, and finding yourself amidst the noise. Vera Bartlet is the main character, and in book one, she has to track down her missing dad while dealing with issues like time travel, dating, and learning to adult. If you like snark and clever tagline, you’d probably like this book, and you can find it on Amazon HERE.

Here’s the blurb for book 2:

Life doesn’t come with cheat codes.

Vera Bartlet finally lands her dream job after rescuing her dad from the psychotic bullies who held him captive. Despite dealing with the recurring trauma from being bullied and the psychological struggles surrounding it, Vera’s moving in a much better direction. With time travel under her belt, happily engaged friends, and an improved relationship with her previously estranged Uncle Edgar, life is stable – until the time machine gets stolen.
Vera’s family worries that a machine immune to the limits of time and space in the wrong hands would spell disaster for more than just their family. But when she’s quite literally dragged into the epicenter of the nefarious operation, Vera gets thrown into the very same virtual reality world that imprisoned her dad for the better part of a decade.

This place isn’t like anywhere Vera’s been before. Sporadic sky patterns with a deadly acid nightfall, man-eating purple-blooded wolf creatures, and an avatar with totally unnecessary upgrades is only the beginning of what she has to deal with. Her only saving grace is the frustratingly attractive Fader, who’s been in the game longer than she has and knows a way out.

Can Vera make it out of the game alive, forgive her bullies, and level up before her whole world glitches?

AND HERE’S THE COVER…

Seriously, how cool is this?!?! I’m obsessed with this cover. My designer really nailed this one.

As of now, I’m planning far a soft-release, maybe later next month if all goes to plan. But I’m not making any formal announcements yet as I’m still in the editing process right now. Even the cover may be subject to change depending on how everything is laid out, but I’m really excited to see how it goes.

There’s just so much that goes into all this, and I’m really hoping that it’ll all go smoothly, but the key is to just keep rolling with it and not panic. But then again, that’s also just life. And lately, I’ve been really bogged down with all my freelancing work on top of it all. And getting out of burnout is really, freaking difficult. I’ll probably blog about that soon too – but today is not the day.

In the meantime, if you want to join my review team, you can do so at this link: http://eepurl.com/df6qqf

Thank you so much for all your continued support! Angelina signing off for now, but I’m never too far away. Comment below to connect or follow me on Instagram and Tiktok.

Meet the Characters of My Latest Book

Have you read my coming-of-age time travel yet? If not, well, maybe this blog post will convince you. Besides the fact that I literally wrote my old middle school bullies into the story, and then cosplayed as a couple of them (yes, seriously, keep on reading below), the story is romance and family drama all rolled into one. Oh yeah – and all the awkwardness of growing up and stuff is front-and-center too.

“Maybe getting older lets you finally see all sides of the dice – not just the ones that are facing up.”

Vera Bartlet is a soon-to-be college graduate with absolutely no idea how messy her life is about to become. It’s not just the job search looming on the horizon or her lack of a boyfriend that’s got her stomach in knots – rather, her dad has been missing for almost a decade, and no one knows what happened to him.

Click HERE to “Meet” the characters of my book, cosplayed by me 😉

When Uncle Edgar mysteriously arrives back onto the scene, he comes armed with some interesting new ideas about what may have happened to Vera’s dad – and an even more revolutionary idea of how to find him. With nothing short of bending time and space, Edgar sends Vera back in time in the hopes that she might find the clues they need to get her dad home.

As she sifts through the mangled pieces of reality and her altered memories of middle school drama become jumbled in between truth and fantasy, Vera has to choose which elements of her past should stay in the past, and which she might like to incorporate into her future. Time travel is never simple, and there are always side effects – but in this case, it might just hold the key to finding her dad. Will Vera stay sane long enough to find her dad and make peace with the bullies who made her miserable?

Book 1 of The Rewind Duology, Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember

I had way too much fun dressing up like my characters, as seen in the hyperlink above. Seriously, they’re a unique bunch. And Summer’s makeup took FOREVER to wash off. But it was so worth it, LOL.

The sequel to this book will be available hopefully later this year, but if you wanna catch up and read Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember ahead of time, you can do that HERE. It’s available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook if that’s more your thing 😉

And oh boy, let me tell you – the plot twists in book 2 are BONKERS. Literally, there are a few things that will drop your jaw. I’m honestly blown away I even thought up these things in the first place, but I’m super excited about it. Now, I just need the motivation and focus to finish. If you have any tips to share for crossing that finish line, feel free to share below. I would truly appreciate it.

Technology Dependence and Writing – How to Survive Without Devices

I had to get my laptop battery replaced the other day, because it was dying on me way too fast and that obviously isn’t cool (especially when you’re a writer with heavy dependence on your tech). Anxiety around keeping your work safe is real, and I for sure was not enjoying gambling with my battery percentage before my computer would die on me.

So naturally, I made an appointment at Apple and got that fixed up. The tech people there are always super nice and professional, but I was still SUPER nervous. If you’re in the same boat as me and need to invest in some new hardware or a quick fix, read on for my tips on what to do while you’re waiting to get your device back.

#1: Ask any questions you may have.

Seriously. Like while I was there getting my battery replaced, I asked about some issues I was having with storage maintenance on my MacBook Air. The technician was able to help me sort through that, and thankfully warned me that even though I now had space to download the latest operating system, I should probably wait because it would change the formatting of my super-old Microsoft Word software (as an author, that’s a BIG deal, so I opted to wait until I finish my current book duology so that everything stays consistent). The point here is, asking those other questions helped because I had a plan of action, and a good reason to wait before stupidly downloading a thing that would create a massive headache for my formatting consistency.

#2: Plan to be without your device for at least a day or two.

If you’re a freelance blogger, journalist, and copyeditor like I am, you’ll know how important it is to follow through with your deadlines. Early is always cool, but late is not. So since I knew I’d have an album review due this past weekend, and a blog on Inkitt due on Wednesday, I went ahead and wrote those ahead of time. That took a lot of the pressure off, because I knew that when I handed off my computer, I’d be all set for essentially the rest of the week.

You can find my latest album review for local Rhode Island Motif Magazine HERE: https://motifri.com/jelly-side-down/

The only thing I wouldn’t be able to do was work on my story draft, but I figured a little break from that would be good for me anyway (and if I got really desperate, I could always write a scene on my iPad, iPhone, or even an old-fashioned notepad to add in later). And if blogging here called my name, I downloaded the nifty WordPress app and logged myself in. Finding other ways to stay on task even without my laptop relieved a lot of my anxiety, because I realized I wasn’t so limited without it.

#3: Invest in some YOU time!

If you’re a workaholic like me, use the time while waiting for your repair to be finished by doing things you might not typically have time to do. You already worked ahead, so there’s no need to worry. Maybe you want to spend time with family more, or pick up a dormant hobby that you’ve been missing. Or maybe you’ll just curl up with a new book (shameless self-promo here, but here’s my latest time-travel coming of age book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084QK6DFW/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1)

Regardless of how scary it can be to leave your beloved tech in the hands of someone you don’t know, it helped me to remember that these people are trained professionals. The odds of them breaking it or something are extremely low. I mean yeah, it’s good practice to still back everything up before you go, but you’re not likely to really need it.

And as for my repair? I literally got my laptop back within twenty-four hours (yes, I was shocked too). They told me it would probably be a few days, but they replaced my battery super fast and I was beyond grateful. So don’t worry about timing so much – I’d wager they’re often faster than they tell you.

#laptoprepairs #technology #devices #writers #batteryreplacement #copingwithanxiety #selfcare #indieauthors #timetravel #sciencefiction #loveyourself #hobbies #newideas #blogging #freelancing #freelanceblogging #freelancecopyediting #copyediting #writerslife #lifeofawriter #authorlife #youngadultbooks #college #newadultbooks

When Writers Meet: Closing the Distance from 800 Miles Apart

Besides working on my next book (the sequel to THIS BOOK), I got the rare opportunity this past weekend to meet someone I’ve been talking to for literally 3 and a half years. Honestly, that’s part of the reason why my writing lagged quite a bit lately – I was honestly SO NERVOUS and couldn’t focus on anything else. But well, that was excited nerves (not bad nerves) because in my heart, I knew it would be a great time. I’ll walk you through this whole surreal experience, but first I gotta backtrack a few years. Back to April 30th, 2017, to be exact.

Meeting Online

Per the suggestion of another writer at my church, I went ahead and joined the Facebook group 20booksto50k. At the time, it was a really great research forum for writers to help each other figuring out anything from creative tips to technical publishing resources. I’ve since left that group because it started to get too strict about what you could and couldn’t ask (which I’d say really defeated the whole purpose, but I rest my case).

His first message to me on Facebook

I noticed Joel’s post, talking about how he was a nineteen-year-old sci-fi writer. Wait, hold up – did he say 19? Yeah, he did. And that resonated with me because I myself was in my sophomore year of college, and I had just turned 20 at the time. It was rare to find someone my age even mention pursing publishing at this level, so I immediately commented on his post and introduced myself, thinking it was cool but not expecting anything really. That night, I had a new direct message in my inbox – and you guessed it – Joel reached out to me wanting to chat. Cool!

Building a Connection 

In the literal years that followed, Joel became someone I found myself talking to in some form multiple times a week, if not everyday via Instagram memes or something equally silly but entertaining. Sometimes I’d call him if I was especially upset, Or even FaceTime just to catch up on life and visit (the only way we could as we live about 800 miles away from each other). He even introduced me to other writers my age, bringing me even more friends I could relate to on a deeper level.

I also edited and formatted his debut science fiction novel, Terith (which you can find on Amazon HERE – and you absolutely should because even though I might be slightly biased, it really is great). Over time, he even started helping me to conceptualize my story concepts better, including helping me improve my fight scenes (the first of which he collaborated with me on was in book 2 of my dystopian sci-fi trilogy The Upperworld Series, which is available on Amazon and Audible HERE.)

Next Chapter

Fast forward to earlier this year (yes, as in 2020 and all the headassery that is this trash fire of a year). I was chatting with him on the phone, and on two separate occasions, he mentioned some exciting news that caught me very much off guard but in the best way. The first thing was that he would be vacationing nearby me, and would I like to visit him in person at that point? And the answer was absolutely YES.

The very first picture of us the day we met IRL

So now this past weekend, I arrived at his brother’s house where he was vacationing, and I got to see him, face-to-face, no screens necessary. I’ll never forget the moment when he opened the door, and he was just there. I’m pretty sure I just said “wow” or something (okay, that sounds so awkward to type it that way, but I promise it wasn’t awkward in this context LOL). He just hugged me, and then we got to spend the next couple of days walking the coastline and enjoying the beach and shops in the area (totally felt like living an episode of Outer Banks, but that’s irrelevant haha).

I read some threads on Reddit to hear about what I could expect this experience to maybe feel like, and I have to say that the suggestion of it being like meeting a celebrity is an accurate one. The only main difference is that this person most likely actually knows (and cares) a lot about you at this point, LOL.

I noticed I didn’t feel awkward at all, even if my brain kept switching in between feeling totally natural and being totally dumbfounded that I even got to be in the same geographic location as this person that has slowly become such a big part of my life even from a distance.

What Now?

There’s one more thing I didn’t tell you – He’s relocating to be (coincidentally) a lot closer to where I live. Within the next year or so, it’ll be a very drivable distance. I’m really, really thrilled about that. Life is wild, and God is so good.

Joel even told me he only posted in that group page ONCE – the post that I saw. It’s definitely a good thing (God thing?) that I was scrolling when I did, or else I never would have met him.

I’m still coming off the high of this whole crazy thing. It was easily the best thing that happened to me all year, and I’m so so grateful to have had this opportunity. 

I would love to hear some of your experiences with meeting an online friend IRL if you have one! Lmk in the comments below ❤

#longdistance #friendships #meetingforthefirsttime #authorsofinstagram #authorcommunity #writingcommunity #fiction #strangerthanfiction #Godisgood #meetingIRL #vacation #summerliving #beachliving #shopping #Facebookgroups #editing #writing #indieauthors #youngadultwriters #youngadultbooks #sciencefictionbooks