After my little blogging hiatus, my birthday is next week, and I’ve officially hit that age (basically any age after 21, am I right) where every birthday is less fun and usually comes with a dose of existential dread.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my life and all the amazing experiences I’ve had that brought me here.
But there are moments where I’m like “woah, I’m closer to 30 than I am to 18” and that’s seriously terrifying. In many ways, I’m happy with where I’m at. And in other ways, I feel like I’m way behind. That might just be the way things are, perhaps a bigger commentary on the human condition as a whole. Whatever it is, I feel it big-time whenever another birthday rolls around.
But this year, instead of feeling sad, I plan to fully emerge myself in all the blessings I’ve experienced recently. Having an attitude of gratitude is the way to go, right?
Right. Okay cool.
That’s why I decided to spend my birthday blog post this year with thankfulness. Thankful for the blessings I’ve been given and all the blessings yet to come.
There are too many to post, but alas, here are my top 5:
#1: New publishing opportunity
A recent book I read to help me develop my story!
This one I can’t talk about a whole lot yet, but it’s going to be the secret sauce that makes Breakup Queen the epic saga that I know it will be. If you’re newer to my blog, you might not know that I’ve been publishing books since I was in college (and my debut novel was published when I was 19). So this is going to be an amazing milestone for me and my creative work, and it’s going to happen this year when I’m 26.
#2: More freelancing work
I also am self-employed, and recently I’ve gotten more gigs that are getting me closer and closer to hitting my personal financial goals — and that’s a really exciting thing. If you also graduated from college semi-recently like me (class of 2019, what’s up), then you probably know the job struggle all too well. But things are looking up, and networking like crazy actually paid off. I’m so happy with where things are at and all signs point to more work and opportunities on the way. My professional life is blooming, and I’m so grateful for it because I know it was a steep climb to get here, and there’s still so much more I want to do.
#3: Boyfriend ❤️
Aren’t we so cute? I adore him so much.
This one appeared out of nowhere (jk, we met online but it still felt super sudden). But Andrew, is very possibly, the best thing that ever happened to me. He’s the most kind-hearted, mature, and sweet family-oriented guy I’ve ever met, and can’t wait to see what’s in the future for us. Oh, and did I mention he’s in the national guard? It’s impressive, for sure. I wouldn’t be brave enough for something like that, but I’m so grateful God makes people who are ❤️
#4: Friends both near and far
While I sadly don’t have many local friends, I am so grateful for the friends I do have that are only a text or call away. I know it takes a village, and I count myself so blessed to have people all over the country that care about me. Even one or two in other countries, isn’t that wild? Distance is no problem with technology, and I’m so glad to have met these kind souls any way I could.
#5: Never Growing Up
Back when I had pink hair, pictured with one of my crocheted unicorns and very apropos Yarn Punk leggings.
I’ve been so surprised at the value and joy I get out of re-connecting with my inner child. Sticker books have been one way I love relaxing when I’m stressed, or watching shows that take me back to a simpler time (Gilmore Girls, I’m lookin at you). And I think anytime a birthday rolls around, it’s so important to connect with the younger version(s) of you too. Before you were twenty-something, you were 18. And 16. And 12. And so on, and so forth. A birthday is a wonderful time to give yourself a hug from every era, in preparation for your next eras and adventures to come.
Anyone else with a birthday in March? Let me know, we can share ideas and celebrate!
Hey everyone! While I hope you’ve been doing well, I gotta be honest and say, I’ve had a lot of things working against me.
It’s fine, I know it’s just time to level up and hit my stride with the next era of my life. And I’m feeling overall good about it. But what no one tells you in the aftermath of a breakup or losing a writing gig (as both of those things happened to me recently) is that it’s perfectly normal for emotions to fluctuate.
Meaning, some days I feel great like I want to take on the world, pouring myself into my new blonde attitude and motivating myself to meet my goals. Other days, I’d rather just sit around and scroll through Instagram. If you relate to that feeling, I wanted to take a moment and share what I’ve been doing to combat that sluggish, icky, “why me?” energy that does more harm than good.
Get out and about more! For me, that meant joining a gym. The way I see it, this has two, very crucial components to it: both feeling good and meeting new people.
Refocusing my short- and long-term goals. Kinda hard to make progress in any one direction when you don’t even know where you’re going, isn’t it? That’s why investing even a little bit of time in knowing exactly what you want out of your life is going to pay dividends. Or, if you’re not sure yet, that’s totally okay. Just think about the general direction of where you want to end up, and take concrete steps to get that momentum going.
Changing up my look. Now I’m not asking you to go crazy and pierce your whole face or something radical, but if you’ve been craving a particular new sparkle, I say go for it! I’ve had my nose pierced for a couple years now and it’s pretty much my favorite decision I’ve ever made. That plus changing my hair color gave me a much-needed new perspective on life and all the messiness that it brings.
While these ideas aren’t guaranteed to change your mood permanently, they’ll certainly help you find your stride again, so I highly recommend giving them a try.
I also believe that once you look at challenges at opportunities to grow and better yourself, your whole outlook changes. Suddenly, the things that snuck up on you out of nowhere don’t feel so bad. Once you learn that you control the mindsets you move into, you’ll be unstoppable.
As for the concept of leveling up, it’s something that I’ve been thinking about…
… for a while as I wrote the second book in my virtual reality coming-of-age duology, Forgiving What I Couldn’t Change, a couple years ago. While Vera quite literally has to survive the game to get out alive, she’s also got to level up her mindset to make her life better. I’m so proud of this book, and if you liked Maze Runner, Sword Art Online, or Jumanji, it’s safe to say you’ll love it too.
It’s February (or more specifically, the long-awaited TWOS day of 02/22/22) and oddly enough, my life has felt pretty blah the past couple weeks. There were moments of intriguing progress that seemed to be made, and moments of sparks that fizzled out. But you know what? I’ve learned that it is these moments of bland boredom that bring the best opportunities to reflect on progress.
I started out 2022 by buying a brand-new car. Yes, seriously. Like, fresh from the lot, covered in smell-good chemicals, and connected to Apple play (just the way I like ’em). How did I afford this? Well, it was a combination of my freelance work, a smattering of book sales, and longtime saved revenue from my crocheted art business. Point is, I worked my butt off for this car. And it was a lovely consolation prize after getting rejected by yet another crush (now that I know buying a new car makes rejection hurt a lot less, I might file away that technique for the future).
From there, I started hitting the ground running by leveraging my resources (as all good leaders do). I looked at all the publications I’ve been writing for, and figured out ways to make those writing samples work for me. I can’t even tell you all the potential I’ve been able to squeeze out of a recent article I wrote about aromatherapy. There’s also a secret journalism project that I’m not permitted to talk about yet. But it’s really cool and something I’m very passionate about. See? The possibilities are endless – if you know where to look for them.
Then, I started sharing my expertise in my field with others. If you’ve been following me for a while, then you’ll know that I’ve been appearing on as many podcast shows that will have me (and you can listen to them all via my website here). The way I see it, I have learned so much by chasing this particular profession of being a writer. While I have ties in both the publishing and freelance branches of the industry, the lessons I’ve learned are the same, and basically boil down to asking for what you know you’re worth. And then, perhaps the most important part of it, is showing up for your clients and giving them the best of what you have to offer. Sounds simple, right? But it’s so critical to building that client base that you can rely on – then, they’ll rely on you right back!
So where does this all situate me in the coming weeks and months? Hopefully somewhere amazing. And I’m already shifting my focus into that positive attitude – because that’s the key. Haven’t you heard? Whatever you focus on the most expands. For me, that means I’m focusing on my physical and mental health, while making my dreams a reality (and that starts with my next book concept, lovingly dubbed Breakup Queen). So on this TWOSday (and every mundane Tuesday after this one) I’m choosing to focus on only the best and brightest versions of my dreams – and hopefully, you’ll feel empowered to do the same.
If you’re looking for a unique and sassy read to take your mind off things, why not check out my latest time-travel concept? The Rewind Duology is available in paperback, ebook, and audio – and I’m confident that if you love Back-to-the-Future and Sword Art Online, you’ll love this goofy romp of love, liplocks, and lunkheads.
Just when I think things are about to settle down, they always seem to ramp up again, LOL. I spent this past weekend selling a ton of my books at Burrillville Arts Festival in RI – which was super fun! It never gets old meeting other creative people and bringing new readers into my work. I know summer is pretty much over, but I’m always the last to put the shorts and crop tops away for the season. Maybe if I add the flannel (like in this picture) I can wear them longer?
I also wanted to pop on here to firstly, say thank you for 1.2 followers on Instagram (like seriously, what even is that?!?). You guys are amazing. If you haven’t seen my page because you’re new here, you can access it HERE. And you just might hear about a giveaway I’m doing soon… so it’s worth your while!
The second big thing I wanted to talk about here is that my good friend Liz Theresa invited me onto her entrepreneur podcast recently, and my episode just aired today! Ugh, it was SO MUCH FUN and I am so grateful to be given another platform on which to share my life and my creativity. You can listen to that episode HERE.
Listening to my segment now reminded me of how far I’ve come as an author and freelancer. Not only am I happier (and busier) than I’ve ever been, but I’m finally stepping into my full potential. It took years of healing and mindful adjustments, but I got there – and you can too! So if you have a spare few minutes, take a listen. We discussed…
🌸 balancing sense of self with personal branding 🌸naming your fears so they don’t eat you alive 🌸 where I got my story inspiration
So no matter where you are in life or what you want to accomplish, I think there’s something in here for you that could make all the difference! B sure to let me know if it helped you! At the very least, I hope that the lessons I’ve learned in my life can help others avoid frustrating things. Because then you’ll have your own struggles, but at least they won’t be the same as mine. Life sure is fun, isn’t it? LOL.
Regardless of all this, I am so humbled by your support. Please do pop by one of my upcoming events, which you can find on my events tab @ angelinasinger.com!
What are your upcoming plans for this fall? Anything in particular you’d like to tackle? Tell me in the comments! Stay well, live your best life, and if you see me at one of the aforementioned book signings, don’t be shy – come say hello!
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 🙂
This year didn’t completely suck! Here’s a brief run-down of the bright side of the whole thing.
It’s safe to say this year was collectively a turd sandwich for just about everyone, at least in one way or another. So I was thinking back on my year as we’re about to welcome in 2021 later this week, and along with it, a fresh start. And I realized something interesting, that I honestly didn’t expect: this year was actually pretty lucrative for me.
Sure, all my in-person book signings and concerts were cancelled (of course) and I do really miss all those things. But something I didn’t expect was how the creativity in my mind didn’t stop moving – not at all! It just leaked out in new and innovative ways that I probably wouldn’t have discovered had 2020 not happened the way it did.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m upset and frustrated at the craziness of the world right now, and praying that it improves soon, but through it all, I realized I still have so much to be grateful for. So, as we move into 2021 which is hopefully a significantly better year than the preceding one, I’ve outlined below some cool things that happened to me this year. My hope is that by reading the good things that happened to me, you’ll be able to reflect on your own year too, and get pumped for what’s up next!
1. My social media following grew.
Seeing as how everyone has been stuck at home on their TV and devices, I’ve been able to capitalize on my reach. The biggest example of this might be my Boston Sports Desk music article gig, which has seen a good handful of my article get like 80k views (seriously, I’m shocked too). My Instagram page @ angelinasingerauthor also just hit 900 followers today, so I’m pretty psyched about that! Additionally, this blog is pushing almost 100 followers, not even counting my Facebook and Twitter following. I’m so grateful for everyone who’s taken an interest in my work! I’ve also met more amazing new friends through social media, and I’m so grateful for them as well.
I also published my sixth novel, the sequel of which will be available for purchase hopefully mid-2021. In the meantime though, you can read the first book, Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember available on Amazon HERE.
2. Freelancing became my main hustle.
And I’ve never been happier. I spent the majority of the year and a half or so since graduating from college looking for corporate jobs, padding my resume, and just generally pulling my hair out trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to be doing. But as it turns out, I’ve been doing the thing I’m meant to do all along. And that thing is: writing. Through this gig, I’ve connected with some pretty high-profile people, like Tree Paine (Taylor Swift’s general manager) since I provided some media coverage on her latest two surprise albums Folklore and Evermore.
3. My diet got healthier.
Despite the temptation to binge on sugary carbs all the time since I’m home and there isn’t much else to do, I’m determined to cut down on my intake because I feel better when I eat more proteins and healthy fats. Don’t get me wrong – I still love a good late night bag of chips, but I try to only do that occasionally at most. Taking care of yourself, including amping up on vitamins, was critical to get through this year without getting sick. I’ll definitely be carrying those habits into 2021 too!
I guess this wasn’t really part of the diet thing, but I also got my nose pierced this year finally! I’ve been wanting to since high school honestly and I feel so much more confident with it than I did without it. And most importantly, it’s a promise to myself to be happier with my appearance and love myself a lot more than I used to. Overall, a win-win. Still figuring out why it’s taking months to heal, but I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles!
4. My faith in Jesus got stronger.
When everything is crashing down around you, turning to Jesus is the only thing that truly brings me comfort. He even helped me with frustrations about the pacing of my life, and how I worry that I’m so far behind everyone else. I’m 23, but it literally took most of my life to realize that it actually doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing. The only thing that matters is doing what God has for you the best you can. I know for a fact that I’m meant to write, and that’s exactly what God has me doing – and I’ve never been happier!
5. My author association voted me onto the board!
This is very possibly one of the coolest things on this list, but I was so humbled and blessed by the opportunity! My main responsibility as a board member in the Association of Rhode Island Authors is to recruit more young adult authors to join up, so if you live in or around Rhode Island, reach out to me for more info! I’ll be setting up an Instagram (and possibly Twitter) account for them too so that everything will be more accessible to younger writers as well.
6. Landed a weekly blogging gig.
Semi-related to the author’s association above, one of my good friends invited me to join her writing team for the Inkitt Writer’s Blog. It’s a really cool platform where writers can share stories and ideas about writing. It’s a nice little paid gig, and I love doing it! Stuff like this is super productive and helps me fill my time post-grad. I’d definitely recommend it for anyone looking for something similar.
7. My music journalism expanded into a magazine.
Yet another plug through my author association, I met someone at an expo event a year or two ago who manages Rhode Island-based Motif Magazine. Then earlier this August, I reached out to them to ask if they had any writing positions open, and they said yes – freelancing. So now I do the bulk of their music critiquing for local artists and bands. It’s super fun to network this way, and I love that I get paid for my articles to be included in a printed magazine!
8. Finally met a long-distance friend in person!
This one, was probably the most incredible of the whole year. Still not over it, to be honest. When his family went on vacation within driving distance of where I live, he invited me to spend a few days with them. So I did, and it was just so surreal and amazing. I’m grateful for the time we got to spend together, and hopefully it’ll happen again sometime in the near future.
As the pandemic wore on, my music teacher wasn’t as available for lessons, so I lost my rhythm (no pun intended, LOL). But that time away from more structured lessons gave me time to reflect and take a little breather from my in-depth music theory studies and guitar training. I’ve been learning guitar for over 12 years, and now I’m training to teach part time. Although it was a bit uncertain switching to an instructor who was more available (as I really admired my other teacher), I’m actually excited about a fresh perspective and new ideas. Very 2020 of me to say that, right? Like how life surprises us sometimes, but it’s what we do with it that matters. And I’m absolutely making the most of the opportunities I’ve been given to learn all I can!
10. Enjoyed more family time.
With nothing to do outside of the house, my parents and I found ourselves hanging out with the small group of just my aunt, uncle, and their two kids (my cousins) on weekends. We’re all feeling totally fine, and spending time together in a safe, home environment every week. We play games, eat a big dinner, and laugh a lot. It’s made my 2020 a lot brighter, and I’m so grateful for them.
I hope this little list of things I actually enjoyed in 2020 brought you to some of your own realizations. That maybe after all, this tough year had some good lessons in it. And that after we get through 2021 and everything turns back around, you’ll see that you’re more resilient than ever before. And in some ways, that makes the struggles (almost) worth it!
Happy new year, my friends! Here’s to a bigger and even better 2021.
P.S. – Keep an eye out for my next book, Forgiving What I Couldn’t Change, coming in (hopefully) mid-2021!!!
Angelina Singer Author Updates 