booktok

Hey guys, welcome back! I want to take a second to say thank you to everyone who has been reading my ramblings. It means so much that you come to see what’s been going on and those who keep coming back? I love you guys! I do hope that means that you’ve been getting something out of what I’ve been writing about. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I never take for granted those who support myself and this site. It is more than appreciated. ☺️

And now, the ramblings!

In my previous post I was talking about all the rereads of my manuscript that I’ve been doing. What I failed to mention is that because of reading it over and over, I haven’t been doing a lot of actual writing. I had stalled out with coming up with the last chapters. So I figured if I read the book all over again, it would not only spark ideas, but would also be a chance for more edits.

I had been adding to the book during editing, so in that respect, I have written a sentence here…a few words there. However, over the last two days, I’ve written a chapter and a half and it feels so good to be writing again!

Creativity is a tricky thing. I don’t care what your thing is. Meaning, whether you write music or books, create ceramics or works on canvas, make jewelry or bookmarks (that is also me), we ALL go through blocks. I made jewelry for over twenty years and there would be months when nothing would come to me. No ideas whatsoever. Then suddenly, I’d get a burst of creative energy and I’d make ten pieces in a few hours. The spark will come back, it’s really the definition of ‘trusting the process.’

I wrote an article for LinkedIn years ago, (I’ll post the link below), called Creatives Inspire Creatives. It really is so true. I could look at a photograph and get inspired because of the way the photographer made me feel. I could read another author’s book and suddenly an idea, (that has nothing to do with what I’m reading by the way, just want to make that clear), will hit me. We feed off of each other. There is something about the creative mind that attracts others and for that, I am truly grateful.

I’m currently reading a favorite book series for the third time. The latest in the series came out this week and I wanted to familiarize myself with all the characters again. Thanks to the second book, I found where I needed to go with my own characters. Again, not taking anything from this author, it’s just that while I’m reading, my mind frees up and suddenly I get inspired. Not only that, I’ve been paying attention to how the books flow from one to the other as I’ve decided to make my current book its own series. I’m constantly learning from other authors and I highly recommend doing that. I also pay serious attention to the acknowledgments at the end of the book to see who they thank. Their agent’s name, publishing house, editors, everyone. It helps me to look them up and see if they are looking for submissions and if they’d be a good fit for my work.

Speaking of getting inspired by other authors, thanks to #Booktok, I’ve become online friends with several others out there. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to see posts that, while funny as hell sometimes, completely sum up what the writing process is like. From banging a head on a desk hoping to jog the mind into an idea, to trying to come up with a one hundred word author bio, to yelling into pillows when things just aren’t going right that day…it’s been like therapy for me. Booktok does for me what I hope this site does for you. Make me realize that I’m not alone in the struggle. We all go through our own little breakdowns now and then and we need to know that it’s not just us. I mentioned a few posts ago that I was battling the three hundred word summary for my submission emails. I was thankful as hell to see that MANY other authors out there had the same issue. So hey, it’s not just me! (And it’s not just you either.)

Booktok is also a great place to discover your next read. Sooooo many book recommendations out there and many by indie authors trying to get their work into more hands. I’ve discovered lots of new authors who are doing their best to hustle and show the world that months or even years worth of work are ready to be enjoyed. If you are a reader and want to check it out? There’s several hashtags to be used on TikTok to join the fun! #booktok #bookish #readng #booktokfyp and so many more. You can even narrow it down by genre: #romancebooks #darkfiction etc.

And that’s where I will leave you for today! Again, I thank you for being here and hope you’ve gotten something out of this post!

Have a great weekend! Until next time…

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If you’d like to follow me on social, including my own #booktok, shop my shops (including shopping directly through my linktree): linktr.ee/promosocially

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To read my article, Creatives Inspire Creatives click: HERE

(to see other past articles, hit the ‘past works’ on this site)

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Find a new title on Booktok that you want to check out but don’t want click one of my Amazon links to get it? That’s ok! I’m a PangoBooks Ambassador! It is a great app/site where you can buy used books nice and cheap!! I got two for $1.38 each on my first order!! Use my link to get $5 off your first order, click: HERE

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Looking for some fun Halloween tshirts and stuff? Be sure to check out my various shops with designs done by me: linktr.ee/stuffwemade

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The book series I mentioned above is the one by author Laurie Gilmore. Book one is The Pumpkin Spice Cafe. Just a note on this series…the covers are cute and cozy, the stories are small town romance and there is a bit of spice to them. So make sure the kids don’t think it’s something for them! (Never judge a book by it’s cover is so true here.) Bonus FYI…if you are an ebook reader, as of this post, you can get a FREE copy for Kindle/Kindle app through Prime Reading. For all formats click: HERE

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By the way, I’ve been trying to sell a domain for a few years now and the name would be perfect for fantasy writers, musicians, medieval folks, even Harry Potter fans. It was my old jewelry site that I shut down a while ago and I’d really like it to sell so I can stop paying for it. I’m not responsible for the pricing, but you can find out more: TheGoblet.com

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you!! Being a ‘starving artist’ means every time you click on stuff on the site or donate to my Ko-Fi, it helps to support my site (and me too). I thank you again for being here and will see you again real soon. 🍁

Hey guys, welcome back! Hope everyone had a great weekend out there. We here on the East Coast have been getting drenched with a few more days to go and I for one, am happy. There, I said it. LET IT RAIN!

There are a few reasons for this rush of love for the wet stuff…the first being that the high pitched screaming neighbor kids will have to stay inside which means I can open up my windows and let the fresh air inside. Also, I love, love, love reading during a good rainstorm. There is just something about it that gets into my soul. The smell of the fresh air, the sound of the drops hitting the different surfaces outside…it is quite simply Mother Nature conducting her own symphony for me while I escape into someone else’s words.

Btw, I wrote a very short story called Instrumental Raindrops about just such an event. I’ll include the link after the post. 🙂

The next time there is rain in your area, take a break from the devices, grab a cup of tea, hot chocolate or a good whiskey and a book and just listen to it fall while you read. I love putting the focus feature on my phone and IPad on so I won’t get any notifications and lose myself in someone else’s writing. Plus, this time of the year the temps are still cool out there so no AC for now! Ok, I’ll stop. Just excited for the rain and the current postponement of Summer temps of which I am not a fan. But that’s a subject for another day. Maybe. People seem to get pretty heated over that the same way I get pretty passionate about my love of Fall. But I digress…

Please understand my statement up above about the kids is not my general feeling of them all. I absolutely love kids. I really do. We just have some bad eggs here in our neck of the woods that make me crazy. In general, all for them!

In fact, over the weekend I got to celebrate one of my favorite kids in the whole world. (His brother will have his own celebration next month—woo hoo!) Anyway, it was a good day. Filled with lots of laughs and catching up with folks, many of whom I haven’t seen for a few years. I love days like that. Just lots of visiting with people you truly love and have a lot of fun with. And the little guy was so excited and very smiley all day. Plus, you gotta love a kid who goes around and thanks each individual person for their gift. Seriously, what other eight year old does that?

As hard as I am trying to hold on to these good memories of the day, I unfortunately had a lot of problems I was dealing with. I was trying so hard not to reveal the immense and extreme pain I was in. I’ve partially discussed my medical issues here and there on this site. One thing I have failed to get across is that ever since my setback hit a year ago this month, I have been living in pain 24/7. We have tried to mix and match meds to help alleviate the symptoms but there are just some days that are worse than others. This was just such a day and the fact that I missed my time to take one of my painkillers while I was getting ready to go, didn’t help the situation at all. I’m on a very rigid schedule for these pills and I missed it. I also had none with me and didn’t put this all together until it was too late. So I did what anyone else would do, I opted for wine. #becausewhynot

Why am I sharing this? Well, first off, it’s my blog and I can share what I want to. KIDDING. Well, ok, not so much. It is technically true. However, I want it known that there are people out there like myself who have what are known as ‘invisible disabilities.’ You can’t see them just by looking at someone. When I walk, you KNOW I have issues. I have to hold onto something. I have to take it at a snail’s pace and you can see me wince with each step. I should be using my crutches, but hate the stigma of them so I try to do without. Stupid? Yes, yes it is. But there you go.

However, if you see me sitting? You would never know there was anything wrong. During the ceremony at the church on Saturday, I had some nasty looks from folks when I had to stop all the standing and sitting stuff because it just hurt too much. Then they see me sit and think I’m being disrespectful. (It was part of why I sat in the way back to begin with but there are eyes everywhere.) If you talk to me for a bit, you will hear my speech change a little and I may have a hand twitch here and there as well, but in general, you will just see a woman who is having a nice conversation and laughing with her friends.

What you won’t see is what is going on inside. The pain, the frustration, the anger. Not being able to really get comfortable on a chair while in a discussion in public, or at home just sitting on the bed. You won’t see me going home after the day and finally letting go. Being able to collapse from the exhaustion from holding myself upright all day. When I came home the other day, I got home just before the Kentucky Derby post time….watched the race…then passed out for 18 hours. Yes, you read that right. I did, thankfully wake up for an hour in between for some water and my meds, but slept right through again to Sunday night. And you know that if I skipped a day reading? I was exhausted!

There are THOUSANDS of people like me out there! We put on our brave faces to show the world we can be like everyone else. We try to do everything everyone else is doing, but the truth is, we are hurting. And some of us are hurting real bad. So I’m sharing this for awareness sake. That person you see in the store, on the bus, at the office, waiting on a table, running a company, raising a kid, maybe in excruciating pain but trying to live their lives. They may be short of temper or say something in a tone that sounds rude but was never meant to be because they are trying not to cry or absolutely lose it in public. Everyone has bad days and some have bad weeks, months and years. So I ask that in general, be kind. Ok?

While I was able to tie in the above with the kids, I can’t figure out a good segue to discussing Booktok so I’m just going to dive right in here…

I’m on TikTok for my two shops. I also happen to like it. I’ve learned a lot from other sellers and crafters out there. Despite what many think of the platform, TikTok isn’t all stupid stunts and people documenting their every move. It is what you make of it. And I have found some great and supportive folks there.

One section of the platform if you didn’t know already is something called Booktok. Thanks to the hashtag that grew the phenomenon, brick and mortar bookstores have seen a resurgence and physical books are being sold more now than they have in recent years. What’s great as well is that it has created a major boom for local bookstores, thrifting books and for authors, it is a marketing marvel since it’s free to promote their work! (My TBR pile has grown because of Booktok that’s for sure.)

I learned about several authors this way and the more progress I make on my own novels, the more I’m thinking I may need to start my own account for this site in the Booktok world. Will I? Not sure yet. I have secured my account for YouTube when it looked like the great TikTok ban was about to hit but I have yet to create any videos for it. I hate putting my face out there, I don’t even FaceTime or zoom with people I know, I certainly don’t want to do it on a social platform! (I did once or twice, but I used filters and was on meds.) Thankfully one of the trends right now are faceless videos and that I can do no problem. Basically this is me thinking out loud and trying to psyche myself up for finally creating an account. I mean, you don’t have to post at all! I could start by just creating a good list of people to follow first. All it takes is that first step, right?

So here’s to taking that first step! It’s a new month and a new week. Maybe it’s time for new opportunities as well. (Sounds good right?)

And that is where I will leave you for today. I do hope something here resonated with you in this post. I know this was another ramble and that’s what I do here but this was the first time in a while that I’ve done a more personal one. Thanks for sticking with me and getting this far.

Until next time…Cheers All! 🙂

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The story I mentioned earlier: Instrumental Raindrops

It can also be found in the ‘past works’ tab in the top menu bar, look under the first link for my Publish0x.com pieces.

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I’ve added two designs including one about reading in the rain to my Dashery shop! You can click my icon in the right sidebar or click the site’s linktree: linktr.ee/promosoically

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You can find my other shop’s social links, (including my TikToks if you are interested):

Vintage & Estate Jewelry: linktr.ee/stuffwefind

Stickers, bookmarks, tshirts and more: linktr.ee/stuffwemade

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Thanks for getting this far! If you are liking what I’m doing here, please hit the follow button upper right and you’ll get an email letting you know when I post. 🙂