Welcome to GLITTER BOMB

8 May 2023 — Leave a comment

This is GLITTER BOMB! The blog that seeks to inspire while sprinkling a healthy dose of 80s metal glitter your way!

Welcome to the first post. The post that will strive to convince you that – YES! YOU! CAN!

You know that thing you want to do, but you have a load of self-doubt…YES YOU CAN

YEAH – that THING! The one that you know deep down you really want to do. But, there’s that VOICE. The one that tells you that you can’t do that thing that you really want to do.

Well, I’m here to tell you that you can. YES. YOU. CAN.

I’ve had a lot of self-doubt throughout my life. It’s just something that is there. I used to listen to it a lot. Now I don’t. My ability to tune it out did not come naturally. It took some work.

When I started writing Final Track (book one in my beloved series), a lot of the self-doubt that I had left behind came rushing back. Writing a novel was a big path change for me. A whole new journey. The novel that I wanted write was a fusion of 80s metal and serial killer thriller. I had so many moments when I was working on the first draft where my mind would fill with so many thoughts.

Is this stupid?

Will anyone ever read this?

Should I be doing this?

But…often when someone would ask me what I was working on, their eyes would light up when I said serial killer, detective, 80s metal. I realized that I had a world of support around me. I reminded myself that embracing that support was a huge part of letting go of my self-doubt in the past, so why not do it again?

I also chose to tap into a better voice. A voice that I had cultivated over years of focus. A voice that spoke of love and belief in me. It’s so easy for many of us to believe in others. But, for some of us, it’s really hard to believe in ourselves.

I’ve continued to feed off of the support offered to me, and accept it like something that I deserve. I’ve also continued to choose not to listen to that negative voice, but rather to reinforce that positive voice. I’m glad I did, because Final Track has gotten a lot of love from a lot of readers, and it turned into a whole series.

What is it that you want to do, but that you are stopping yourself from pursuing? What barriers are you creating for yourself?

Take a few minutes and jot down your answers. That’s the first step to moving forward.

Finding Flow in the New Year

4 Jan 2022 — Leave a comment

Some of us had time off during the festive season. For those of you who didn’t, I hope you can find time and space to rest and recharge. This year, I took a full week between Christmas and New Year’s. I didn’t allow myself to work on anything book or writing related. I love to write. But being an indie author brings many other things that have to be done, other than writing books. I realized that I quite dedicated to my little book business, and thus I don’t tend to take conscious breaks. Especially at a time when travel and adventure has been off the table.

So, I consciously took a full festive week. It was great. I read a lot. I went on nature hikes with my hubby in the winter cold. I cozied by the fire with festive Christmas beer (brewed by my favorite brewery). I had a tonne of fun in the kitchen! I have a passion for learning how to make French pastry. I have a French pastry idol, and have taken his master class, and bought his book. That poor book sat on my shelf, alone. Over holidays, I opened it up and dove right in. I was quite proud of my execution of the homemade jam-jam style cookie, the ever so sweet chocolate chip cookie, and tiramisu. I love how this type of baking requires a slow, focused pace. I love the art of it, and creating something so divine to the sight and the taste buds!

The festive break was also a time to connect with people that I love. And to spend some real quality time with my hubby. It felt good to be completely away from the computer and the office.

Yesterday, Monday, January 3, marked the intended day of my return to the office. It didn’t happen. I was quite run down from my festive and fun week. I recognized that, and I took a full rest day. This morning, I feel quite different. I feel good, relaxed, and in a full state of flow. I have some hefty and exciting goals for this year to realize some visions. I am overly excited about them. I wanted to fling myself right back in. But, if there is one thing I have recognizedd this past year, it’s that I don’t want to be in a state of force. I want to push myself when I know I need it, want it, and it is right. But, when I know my being needs a break, I want to back off. This is something I have not always been good at. Sometimes, I have been terrible at this.

This year, I seek flow.

I will achieve my goals, bringing my visions to reality. I want to do it in a healthy state of creativity, passion, and oneness with my physical, mental and spiritual beings.

This week I will translate my visions for my projects into concrete actions. I have decided to start with the first four months of the year, as I have some big targets for May. Instead of madly jotting down all the things that need to get done, I will start by reflecting on what these visions truly look like to be in a state of success. What success means to you is the most important thing in defining a goal. I will then identify those tasks for each month and week that will take me to my idea of of success for each of those projects. The whole time, I will seek to be in a state of positive energy, passion fueled creativity, and trust in my talent and comittment.

Sound good? Do you want on this train? Stay tuned here. I’ll share my journey, the steps I am taking, and tips along the way.

My Fiction Writing Journey

14 Jul 2021 — 3 Comments

During the first two years of writing fiction, and attempting to produce a full novel, the process was slow, for me. There were tears. There was a lot of sweat. And…maybe a little blood?

I declared the start of my fiction writing journey to be officially happening in the fall of 2017. There had been a gap between writing and producing my non-fiction work, I had continued to plunge myself into the local writing community, and just attended my favorite, local writing conference. With no particular goal, or project, in mind, I attended a plethora of presentations and discussions, all on topics that intrigued me. I met a local Detective, and was blown away by his presentation on principles of investigations. It stirred within me the passion for true crime books and shows that had been swelling within me for a long time.

I decided I wanted to know if I could write a novel.

I had no idea what that meant, really. But, I knew I wanted to try. It was a strong desired pulsing in my gut. I had to forge forth and let the journey unfold.

I did make a plan, of course. And that plan was derailed from time to time, of course. That is life. But if I’ve learned anything from the ventures and projects that I’ve thrown myself into, it’s how you respond to such derailments that really matters.

I remember the first year of researching and trying to write. At times, I could have sworn I was trying to extract blood from a rock. It took me a while to get it. To be able to let go, let my imagination run wild, and to write freely, words falling on the page. What a glorious moment that was when I realized I’d found my flow.

Now, looking back, and staring at my author page, I am grateful, delighted, hell, I’m ecstatic, that I have continued to set goals and to work hard, and to find my own writing process.

Today, four and a half years after declaring my fiction writing journey has started, I am thrilled to be able to share my author profile here. Eeeeek!!!

First line up: my core series. An 80s metal dark crime series, comprised of two full novels and a novella. The third in the series is planned for launch early 2022.

I have had two short horror stories published! Yes! Someone else loved my story enough to publish it in their works – TWO TIMES! I am also collaborating on a horror anthology that will be released in Oct (The Omens Call). I had no idea I would be working with others, and co-creating an anthology!