Hey guys, welcome back! It has been a rather busy week here and all of it was medically related. However, it is now the weekend and I get a break from it for a bit. Through it all though, my mind has been kind of wandering.
The testing I had done this week kind of threw off my already rather strange sleep schedule. Which frankly, has my mind drifting around. I mean, if I’m going to be awake, I’d like to be writing, delving more into the book that I’ve been reading or designing more things for my shops. Instead, I’ve been completely zoned out. With that ‘zoning’ though? Has come thoughts of music that I haven’t listened to in a long time.
While my favorite bands are Rush, Collective Soul and Foo Fighters, (yes, I’m a chick who likes Rush. We are a rare breed.) I also love songs from the 90’s thru about 2020 or so. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up with 80’s one hit wonders and am one to have a memory reserve for their lyrics, but the 90’s had a vibe all their own. Chris Cornell for the win, amiright?
Anyway, I’ve been revisiting some old playlists lately and one thing I forgot about was that the 1990’s were an INCREDIBLE era for women in music. I mean, come on, it was the decade of Lilith Fair after all!
I can still remember where I was when I was listening to Joan Osborne, Meredith Brooks, Sheryl Crow and Melissa Ethridge (the latter two I sang at karaoke). I remember being in my friend’s car as she introduced me to the Indigo Girls while we were on a work adventure. Janet Jackson showing what she could do without her family, that she had grown up and having us all trying like hell to mimic her dance moves. So many talented voices that brought back messages reminiscent of the 60’s both with folksy tunes as well as their own power ballads.
Music is escapism at its finest.
If I hear Oasis’ Wonderwall? I’m back at the Irish pub I hung out in with the soccer team drinking baby Guinness shots in celebration of another win. (For the record, I wasn’t a player, just hung out with the team.) Jumping ahead to 2007, put on some Rhianna Pon de Replay and I’m working my ass off at the gym. 2016 having my work playlist that included some Nine Inch Nails and my beloved Collective Soul that I listened to every single day while I wrote blog posts for my company after lunch.
Songs, lyrics, instrumentals…they are instantaneous memories that will make you forget where you currently are and take you to a time in your life that meant something to you.
It really is an amazing thing isn’t it? I can’t think of another, what, medium(?) that can do that. That can take your mind on a ride and make you relive a part of your history that maybe you forgot about. Even if it was something as simple as just listening to a cd in a living room by yourself, not all memories have to be monumental after all.
Before this last week or two, I hadn’t been listening to music like I used to. Music was a constant in my life and one that I’ve neglected for quite some time now. It’s been fun listening to old playlists and reliving those memories. The good ones of course, don’t need to relive any bad ones. It’s a great way to turn a day or night around. Bad day? Dance it out! Good day? Keep it going with a favorite album.
This is nothing you don’t already know and I understand that. It’s just, when you forget about something you used to love and find it again? You want to share it. And maybe in the process, remind someone else out there that there is a way to turn things around. Even if it is just a mood. Because that could be a way to get things started, to motivate the next chapter to come. And if not, I refer you to the previous paragraph and dance it out!
And that is where I will leave you for today. Thanks for reading and hope you’ll put your own favorite playlist on soon!
Until next time…cheers!!
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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and will see you soon! 🙂
Hey guys, welcome back! And hey, welcome to May!! I’m still in shock that we are already five months into this year. It still feels like February to me.
Anywhoo, there has been a lot going on, which explains my staggered posts as of late (sorry) and I missed the year anniversary of when I began writing my current book. Btw, I say ‘current’ since the first one, that needs a ton of editing, was finished a while back.
So here it is, a year later. Hundreds of thousands of words written and thousands cut and lately it seems I’ve really been making some good progress on it. I think one of the things I’m starting to allow myself to do is take a night off here and there. I started pushing myself so hard to try and get this finished, that I started to lose the spark of the story and it felt more like a chore than anything else. After having to take a few nights off because I wasn’t feeling well, I picked it back up again and suddenly I was able to rework and cut a lot of stuff. After that happened, I realized that there would be nights I just didn’t have it in me to work on the book and told myself that it would be ok if I put it away for the night. The next time I opened it back up again? More progress. So see, there is a reason to take time off from things. To relax and recharge!
Now for some news of the odd persuasion and warning, there will be four letter words coming…in the last couple of weeks, I was suddenly contacted by someone using the name of one of my favorite authors. I will not say which one because I don’t want the real person to have to deal with this, although she has been alerted.
I’ve mentioned before that I have a great love of TikTok. That I’ve met online some wonderful people out there all doing the same things I have. For my small business account, myself and other owners have chatted and learned from each other about suppliers, or tips and tricks that have really come in handy. And on my #booktok account for this website that you’re on now, I’ve followed and am followed by other authors and we’ve had fun commiserating on editing woes and character issues as well as learning about new releases and book recommendations. So imagine my surprise when I got a direct message from one of my favorites!
Yeah it’s not her.
I’m acquainted with several scams on social by those trying to push fake small business help, always starting with messages like, ‘hey I went to your shop and I love your products!’ You know, utter bullshit.
Now I’m not going to lie, the first time I was messaged by ‘fake author’ for half a beat I got hopeful. She/he/whoever it actually was started off strong. ‘I like to talk with other authors’ kind of message. Sure, right? I mean, I talk to others, why can’t it be her? However, without letting out too much, because I don’t want this to be a ‘how to scam 101’ class, it was so blatantly not the real person it was astonishing.
You may ask, how did I deal with such a person? I had some fun of course. I played the part of uber fan girl. Acting about 30 years younger than I actually am, swooning over said author and making it sound as if I was so honored that they reached out to me. (I had a lot of fun.)
It didn’t take long for the sideways sales pitch to creep in. Without saying too much to me, the questions began. How long have I been working on my book? Who does the marketing? Who is editing? Who is designing the cover? Who designed my website? Who is doing the book launch video? You know, typical things a famous author would ask a complete unknown while oddly, never talking about her own work. Just a barrage of questions sent my way. (Insert eye roll here.)
Let me also tell you this, I follow the real author on her other socials. And the kicker of all of this? Something I wasn’t sure I wanted to make public because again, I don’t want to give this person any tips on how do fake someone’s identity. But it was this…as of this post, the real author? Is not on TikTok. She does the occasional videos for her publishing house, but that’s it.
That’s not to say she won’t in the future, but as of now, she’s not on the platform.
The faker is stealing her graphics though, which really pisses me off. Frankly, the whole thing pisses me off. If you want to scam people, then don’t use someone else’s identity. Especially that of a woman who has worked damned hard to get to where she is now! Scamming leads to reputation hits and some idiots out there ARE going to believe that this is the real woman messaging them. If you do real services such as editing, etc, why pretend to be someone else? Do it legit. Don’t take down someone else because you are too chicken shit to do it the right way. And if you don’t and are just trying to get some unsuspecting person to pay for nonexistent services? Well then that’s just crap. Oh and remember, karma is a bitch.
I did block her so there’s that.
I find it funny. I live my life in the dark hours and in bed 99% of my time and yet, I still have opportunities to live some crazy adventures. And not just in books either!
Yes, always trying to look on the bright side of things, because why not?
And that is where I will leave you for today. Thanks so much for coming back to visit with me and if this is your first time here? Welcome! I hope you’ll come back again. Oh and be sure to check out the links below the post.
Until next time…cheers!
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To follow my socials including my #booktok and to shop my linktree shop click: HERE
Btw, you can also click the product links around this site as well. You’ll find the blank journals and apparel I designed, as well as book recommendations that yes, I need to update to add lots more.
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Hey all, welcome back! So I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been absent lately. I keep thinking that it’s only been a week since my last post, but as my last post was on St. Patrick’s Day, this week will hit a month since I’ve been here. Sorry to let you down, however, here I am!
There’s a few reasons I haven’t been around, nothing major. However, I do put some of the blame on Daylight Savings Time as it does a number on me every Spring. As someone who lives her life at night, the extra sunshiny hours have been messing with my head a bit and sometimes a step back is needed. (We vampires like to keep it dark you know.)
I haven’t been idle though and have recently hit the one year mark of working on my novel. The only update I can really give is that I’ve cut a few more thousand words from it and I’m pretty proud of that. Still so much to do on it though and I’ve been getting rather frustrated with the process. My determination to finish this book is still driving me and come hell or high water, I will finish this thing!
In the meantime, I’ve been thinking a lot about numbers. Not just the word count I’m dealing with, but numbers in a different way. It hit me after my last post. Almost no one read it. Frankly, I was a bit surprised. I thought it was good, gave a bit of my back story and for once, wasn’t about my writing. Looking at it now, I realize that it may have been the title’s fault. Just stating that ‘St. Patrick’s Day is Here’ gave no indication to what the post was about. So ok, lesson learned and no hard feelings. This was all on me.
When I worked in social media, I had to keep track of lots of numbers. Follower count and best times of day to post to what platform, etc…I dreamt in digits. I also had to figure out what posts worked and what didn’t and then troubleshoot the lower tallies as well as try to decipher algorithms.
While that was ten years ago and pre-TikTok, algorithms still elude me. Trying to get something seen has mystified me since the dark days of social media. Not just blog posts either. This goes for my blog posts, my videos, my photos, my print on demand, Etsy and eBay listings, the list goes on and on.
I was most recently baffled when a video of mine on my #booktok account jumped my counts from hundreds to thousands. Before and after this video was posted, I had numbers that ranged from 109 to 906 views with an average of about 349. Still very low but at least seen. Then I posted this one video about a book I had been reading that had misprinted and uncut pages and had to be sent back in the middle of my reading it. My viewer count at the time of this post? 3065.
Are hashtags the key? The material? The fact that the book was recently released and was taking Booktok by storm? I have no clue. What I do know is that I haven’t been able to duplicate it since and it’s driving me crazy. I’ve had other videos jump past 1000 views which I was always happy with, considering that I currently only have 1068 followers on my NewChapterCove account. However, I’ve also had views as low as 23. Seriously. 23.
Being honest, I don’t have super high views here. That’s ok as this is still a growing site. Sometimes, both posting in a specific niche and not having consistency in my posting as a whole has led to such low views. Again, this is all on me and I take responsibility for it. This isn’t the first time I’ve had such a site, albeit, this is the first one I’ve really posted about my personal life. But in this case, I understand the number counts, which is why I am grateful to every single person who reads, subscribes and shares my site. I know that I don’t make it easy to keep following and I accept that.
But when I’m posting more consistently to a platform in very similar ways to others, using similar subject material and I’m still getting just a handful of views while others get thousands? This is where I lose it. I’ve tried different times of day. Different hashtags. Different filters. Different tags. I took suggestions from the platform itself to post photos instead of videos and then vice versa. And still, the view counts are low.
I think what makes this all the more frustrating for me is that I once made my living knowing just what to do and how to handle the low numbers. I’m not out of touch with social, despite how different the landscape is now compared to when it began. But like many, I learned as it grew and became much more than the old message board and MySpace days. (Dating myself here, but you get my point.) Social grew because of its users and we grew along with it.
As stymied as I am by all of this, I will never stop using social media platforms. There are days when I would gladly throw in the towel and escape it completely. But it is my link to the outside world. While keeping in touch with friends and family this way has been good for me, I also like social because for someone like myself who is trying to promote both products and a blog, these outlets are basically free. I will never be someone who buys follower counts or hires an ‘influencer’. As long as I can keep posting without paying anything, I’ll keep going.
Having said all of this though, it still comes down to how to get the messages out there. Take my last post here. Again, I left a simple title up and unlike all of my other post titles, it gave no indication of what the post was about. Just that Paddy’s Day had arrived. Now had I added a few words? Had I done what I normally do and use a phrase (or paraphrase) something from the post itself? My numbers would have been better and my story would have been read by more of you. Again I say, this one is on me and I know better than what I did…I’m also changing the title today to see if that changes anything.
Basically I need to figure out how to get the algorithms in my favor so that my posts and products will show up more without shelling out money for them. Because it isn’t just social…if you go to say Etsy, Zazzle or Redbubble (as examples) and try to find my products? Chances are that unless you have a direct link, you won’t find me. It’s discouraging too because I have hundreds of designs on thousands of products and sales are few and far between.
Let’s look at my facebook feed. I once, ONCE clicked on a book recommendation ad from Amazon that popped up. Now my entire feed, no matter the time of day or night, is filled with similar ads, with the ads outnumbering the actual people I’m connected with. Granted, I’m interested in the genre and have accumulated quite a list of future books to download, but how did that first title get to my feed in the first place when I’ve never talked about such books on FB? Inquiring minds want to know.
I know I should be better at this. It was what I did for a living. It was what I was good at. I used to keep daily tallies on a white board and post-its at my desk. Watching the numbers grow gave me a sense of accomplishment and drive. Now I feel like it’s a game of roulette and what is barely viewed one day will go viral the next and that the system is set up to have us fail more than succeed. Oh and for the record, I will never rely on AI to try and get me higher view counts. Yes, I’m one of those that despises it.
So here I am. Continually trying to figure things out while I sit, edit, read and contemplate the inner workings of this internet thing. Some days I like the challenge. I love it. Trying to prove myself wrong and finding that post that gets out there? It makes me feel like I’m still doing it right. And then, some days, I step away and pull a Scarlett O’Hara, “tomorrow is another day.” (It works for me ok?)
And that is where I will leave you for today. I hope you are all well and thank you once again for hanging in there with me. I welcome the new followers that have joined over these last weeks and to those who continue to come back? I appreciate you so much.
Until next time…cheers!
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To follow me on social, including my #booktok and to shop my linktree shop (now with a book rec’s section that I will continue to build): Click HERE
Hey guys, welcome back! Today is St. Patrick’s Day and I have to say, it is a favorite holiday of mine. While I can’t celebrate like I used to, I still continue some traditions of my own and love to look back at past celebrations as well.
My past is a strange one. For example, if one was to look at my resume, it would read more like a ‘what’s what’ than anything else. However, I’ve had some amazing experiences in my life and one was working for a professional theater. Why do I mention this? Patience grasshoppers.
Working at that theater had been a dream job for me. When I was 11 years old, I saw a production of Annie there and I vowed to myself that I would one day work in that space. Many years later, not only did I get the opportunity, but I actually got to meet/work with/take over for the girl who played Annie in the production I had seen! She was my age and it was so surreal when not only did I get the chance to get to know her, but when she left her backstage position for an acting role in another state, I got to take over for her. It still amazes me that I had been able to do this.
I was a theater major in school and learned a great deal working both on and backstage. So to be able to take what I knew and not only put it to use, but to do it in the theater I had wanted to work at? Priceless.
Our place performed not only Broadway caliber shows, but on ‘dark nights’ (night where the main stage shows weren’t used) we’d have specials: Comedians, music groups, etc. We also did a lot of seasonal shows as well and I’d try to work as many as I could, not just for the experience to learn more, but to also meet some great acts. (I actually got to work with the comedian I had seen years before on my prom night in NYC…talk about surreal.)
For St. Patrick’s Day, they always booked Irish acts and I was more than ecstatic when the Clancy Brothers were to appear. I am part Irish and grew up knowing more about my Irish heritage than anything else really. My great grandmother was from Dublin and even passed away on St. Patrick’s Day. I knew the Clancy’s music well and remember the days that my aunt would have them playing in her house. So when they needed someone to do multiple roles for their evening(s), I jumped at the chance!
I was more than fortunate enough to work several of their gigs. I got to know them, got to help load their stuff in, worked the spotlight and made sure they were comfortable backstage among other duties. When the shows were over though, that’s when the fun really began!
We’d hang out for hours afterwards. They’d tell story after story while the drinks were flowing and the laughs were never ending. I was very young back then, barely in my 20’s and being that I’m under 5ft tall, they kind of adopted me. I was all for it. The late and wonderful Liam called me his ‘Little Leprechaun’ and whenever I’d work a show for him, he was always the first to greet me with a monster hug.
Myself and Liam at the end of a good night. (I was so young.)
Years after I had not only left the theater, but also the state, I went to see them perform there again. This time, it was nice to be in the audience. Hoisting a beer with the crowd during Wild Rover, singing along to Jug of Punch and tearing up to Will Ye’ Go Lassie Go and The Parting Glass (Go Lassie Go was also sung at Liam’s gravesite during his burial).
My friend who was hosting that night gave us house seats and I took a chance and sent a note backstage. I didn’t know if they’d remember me at all, but I figured, let me try. Sure enough, I get a message back saying that I’d better get backstage after the show to have a drink with them. The friend I had brought with me, very Irish himself, was in shock and the time we had with them after the show was one I have always treasured. I didn’t have to work, I didn’t have to clean up the stage or anything. I got to just relax and enjoy and be one of them for the night. They even teased the hell out of me because when I did work their shows and was working the spotlight, the light always shook as I laughed during their nephew Robbie’s song, Sr. Josephine. Truly, a damned funny song and I’ll link it under this post.
It was a special time for me and as the years went by, I mourned every one of their passings. As he was the one I was the closest with, I watched the footage of Liam’s funeral and both laughed and cried horribly. Thanks to the internet, I got to see interviews he did, talking about his friendship with Bob Dylan. Then watched a Dylan interview with his side of things. They all lived incredible lives and I was more than honored to have worked and played with them. Even if it was only four or five nights out of my lifetime, they are nights I will never forget.
These men will live forever in my heart.
Speaking of never forgetting…while the Clancy’s were fun and more lighthearted, another Irish band I worked with and who’s name I’ll keep hidden for now, were more political and let’s just say, ‘spirited.’ I had a great time with them as well.
The first time I met them, they were having a fist fight amongst themselves near our dressing rooms. Apparently the argument they were having in the car spilled over and they decided to fight it out more physically when they arrived. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I got between them and thankfully they stopped the punches. I guess having a rather small female suddenly jump between three burly guys was enough to stop it. We laughed and then we had to stop some bleeding before they went onstage. Throughout the show, all you could hear in our headsets was stuff like, “um, we need more napkins for their heads” or “do we have any bandages around? The blood is still dripping.”
After the show, you’d never know anything had happened and they invited me out drinking with them at a local pub. I spent a good portion of that night hearing stories and shooting darts with them and of course the best question of the night, “what the f**k were you thinking jumping between us like that?” To this day, I don’t know how I did it, just that I did it. (After many many shots, the rest of that night is a blur.) It is still a hilarious memory that comes around this time of year, every year and I have to say, fighting or not, they put on a hell of a show. It was a fun and crazy night and I still thank them for the invite afterwards.
As I got older and found the group of friends I’ve had for the last twenty years (holy crap twenty!) we would have our ‘second Christmas’ on our city’s parade day. Parade Day here in town is a sacred one for many of us. We’d start early, pregaming before the parade even began with pints and yards of green beer and shots of Jameson flowing morning til close. Most days we’d stay at one spot but there were the occasional PD’s where we’d hop back and forth to our favorite spots on the street to make sure we saw everyone. From our local Hibernian’s club to three pubs that we frequented, we were never having a bad time.
We’d be treated to music all day from the bagpiper’s from local firehouses going from bar to bar to play inside for those in attendance to the music from whoever was performing on stage. I always call Parade Days ‘homecoming’ because some friends who had moved away would come back to town for the day’s events. Basically, they were awesome times spent with awesome people.
They still go on of course, unfortunately I had to miss this year’s because of health reasons. However thanks to social media, I was able to live vicariously through pics and stories. I miss the old days though. So much crazy fun and laughter that would make your stomach hurt for days afterwards. I miss those times. But that’s why we have memories, right?
Being at home these days, I still celebrate a bit. I do an annual Father Ted marathon…and if you don’t know what that is, Father Ted is a classic and totally irreverent Irish comedy show that ran in the 90’s and never gets old. (It’s on the free Tubi app btw.) I wear green, either my Irish shirt or one of my St. Patrick’s Yankees shirts, I listen to the Clancy’s and have a drink or two to celebrate the day. While it may not sound as exciting as the past days have been, (and it’s not), I still honor the day with great love and lots of laughs thinking of past celebrations. There were a whole lot of good times revolving around this day in my life and I am grateful for every damned one of them.
And that is where I will leave you for today. I know this wasn’t a ‘normal’ post for me, but that’s good! I need to get away from my usual stuff now and then. I just hope you enjoyed this post. I’ll put some links below to a few things I mentioned in this post for you to enjoy. 🙂
Until next time folks…Sláinte!
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If you’d like to follow me on social, shop my links and find my #booktok, click: HERE
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These Clancy links are from around the time I knew the boys.
(Please note, if you get offended easily, this show is not for you. It’s a comedy about priests who do not act like priests and it just gets shamelessly silly. You have been warned.)
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You can also shop the links on the sidebar or in my linktree up above in the first link given here.
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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and will see you soon!
Hey guys, welcome back and welcome to March! We’ve made it through the dredges of the Winter months and Spring is on the horizon. Of course there is still lots of unpredictable weather ahead and I’m fine with it. I love a good stretch of dark, rainy weather. But then, I’m a vampire and am not too fond of sunlight.
Anywhooooo….been trudging along with stuff and trying to find the humor in the everyday nonsense that is life. After all, if we do not do this, we would spontaneously combust and really, who has the time for that?
The one area where my humor is currently lacking is my book. No not in the content, after all, I have it pegged as a romcom (albeit with some serious undertones), but with the execution. I mentioned in previous posts that I’ve found a solution to my word cutting issue. Well, that has since gone out the window.
My solution so far this week has been to try and clear my head a bit. Watch more meditation and ASMR videos (yes, I love ASMR, so relaxing) and recently I’ve found someone on YouTube who deals with art therapy. Using different art techniques to focus on the task at hand to clear your mind up for other things. I love this idea as I used to create things to do just that. Refocus my energy to open myself up to new ideas.
I do this a lot while I’m making dinner or in the shower or even reading. Suddenly an idea comes to me and it’s the eureka moment I crave. I’ve thought of many plot lines while doing other things. In fact, over the weekend I came up with another story idea and had to get it out of my head. I ended up writing two chapters of it which actually felt great as I’ve greatly missed the writing part of writing. However, it didn’t help me with the task at hand.
Anyway, when I got into this rut of just reading my manuscript over and over and not coming up with something that would help me, having this artist woman say exactly what I used to say to myself? It was like a mini eureka moment. I mean, how have I not been doing this? It’s my pattern after all! When I used to make jewelry, I’d come up with so many ideas for other things. When I design a new card or sticker or bookmark for my creative business, I become clear headed about life stuff. However, sometimes it takes an outsider to give you that virtual slap against your head to jiggle your brain into action. Now I just need to find that trigger that lets me know how to get from point A to point B in my book.
In the meantime, I’ve been revisiting some other small business owners’ socials that I’ve followed for a while to learn how to create new products and how to integrate certain things into the shops that I have now. I’m thinking that this incredible bout of editor’s block may end up helping me in other ways. I just really, REALLY want to finish this book.
If you’ve been following me, you know of my passion for this work of mine. I love it. I really do. And I think the fact that my mind won’t get off the endgame of it…having it published and in the readers’ hands…is now more of a distraction than motivation. As someone who has trouble with focus, I need to get back to the motivation of it.
So here I am, hoping that by writing this post and getting my worries out into the universe, my mind will clear up even more and I will suddenly get the revelation that I so greatly need. Because I know it’s there. I can see it off in the distance waiting for me. Now I just need to figure out the best way to find it.
And that is where I will leave you for today. I know that most posts, I try to leave you with a bit of motivation. I really strive for that and do hope you got something from this post as a whole. However, every now and then, a ramble such as this just needs to be let out and I thank you for being here to read these ramblings.
Until next time…cheers!
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