One Mile at a Time, I’m Making Life Happen.

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.

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Battling Project Overload: Coffee & Concepts

And no – it’s not a cool science fiction title. This is literally just the story of my life as an overactive busy-brained freelance writer.

My brain is so tired – like all the time. And I’ve found I also don’t retain things as well because of it. So, it’s high time I handle my crazy workload before it gets too big for me to manage. That’s why I really enjoyed my recent conversation with Walt Robillard – Editor in Chief of WarGate Books.

I was fortunate enough to land a spot on his podcast show, Coffee & Concepts, to talk about my books and my writing process. What so many people don’t think of when it comes to interacting with their favorite stories, is the way authors have to weave these narratives from literally nothing. And finding time / motivation to write can be challenging at best and near impossible at its worst.

We talked about what kinds of coffee we like (which is largely frappuccinos and lattes for me), as well as what kind of inspiration I gathered for my latest release of The Rewind Duology. This series is so important to me, because it really took the struggles I experienced as a kid, and flipped them all around. Where I used to feel weak, these books transformed into a triumph – and I’m also donating a portion of the proceeds to KIND Campaign as well!

Giving back to the community is a crucial component of my work – that’s why I love being able to support an amazing charity that I believe in. Alongside my work with high school students who have an interest in getting into the writing field, as well as my work on the Board of Directors for ARIA, it’s been a blessing to donate my time and efforts.

Excerpt from Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember (The Rewind Duology #1):

“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. 

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?

I have plans to start drafting my next concept, but my life has been so chaotic. Here’s hoping things settle down soon. But until then, keep hustling!

Listen to my Latest Podcast Interview HERE!

This morning, I got to be a guest speaker on WNRI’s Author Hour, with my fellow Association of Rhode Island Authors Board Member Wayne Barber. I answered all kinds of questions about my writing process, as well as offering some opinions about current events and publishing in general.

It’s always fun reflecting on how far I’ve come, because I remember starting the publishing thing for no other reason than I had a story I was dabbling with. I didn’t set out to publish my first book; I swear it happened totally accidentally. And it’s for a very amusing reason, LOL.

If you’d like to take a listen to hear all about this and more, you can do so at THIS LINK HERE.

Additionally, I am so pleased to say that I’ve hit the 95k word mark on my latest book, the sequel to my time-travel coming-of-age story Forgetting What I Couldn’t Remember. The sequel will be called Forgiving What I Couldn’t Change, and I’ll have ARC’s available pretty soon, so if you want to be the first to hear about that, join my review team HERE.

This one is so important to me, because I’m finally coming to terms with the bullying I lived through from ages 5-14, and how that profoundly affected my outlook on life. But luckily, there are so many healthy ways to adapt and grow even though that was extremely difficult at the time. Writing this sequel, and the prequel before it, has helped me immensely. If you want to read book one of the Rewind Duology where Vera Bartlet time-travels back to middle school to teach the bullies a lesson, you can grab a copy of it HERE.

Life is about growth and change, after all. And I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given. Thank you for reading this far, and feel free to share a bit about yourself in the comments. Tell me something you’ve GROWN through that felt awful at the time, but now is a source of strength ❤