Thursday Tea Party

Hello my lovelies! Today my tea is a lovely lemon ginger blend. It is good for digestive problems.

Well I think that I have some excitement upcoming! Changes to how I handle my Patreon. Fae Corps also has a few sheduled changes to their blog upcoming. A new children’s book from me… Possibly a series of them.

So let’s talk about patreon. I have been struggling with what to put there. I don’t like duplicate content. I feel like if you are paying for the content then it should be something that is not posted anywhere else. So I have this blog on a schedule with doable content ideas for each day. I am working on getting the fae corps blog set up the same way. And I think that I have some ideas for patreon too. So if you want to help me to keep doing the art and poetry…. And get to see the fun content that is going to be only available on patreon… Go over to patreon and pick a tier. The smallest amount is $1. There are a few posts each month that are free to see.

Or you can send money via PayPal. Ok. On to other topics.

Serena is still plucking away at Nanowrimo. She has not been meeting goals but she is writing daily, except for yesterday as sleep deprivation hit. I have been struggling with the poem a day. Too much sick time. However thanks to a very cranky muse, I woke up from my sickbed a couple of days ago and needed to write a children’s book. Dylan and the pet zombie is completely written and in the illustrator’s loving hands. I am working again with the amazing Ms Shannon Alyce Riddle. She is the same artist that did the princess lost. Dylan will be released in January 2020. I have other ideas for the character, so I am thinking about making it a series. Here is a couple of concept drawings she did for the characters. Dylan and his parents. Note that these are not actual illustrations for the book, only concepts of the characters.

Those who follow my activities with Fae corps know that we are working on a anthology Faerie Footprints. It is being put together now. I am hoping that it will be available for purchase in December. Don’t forget the deadline for submissions for Through the Sunshine is January 31.

I finally found an app for recording of audiobooks. So I can set about recording of the princess lost again. I am hoping to be able to get to the recording this weekend.

Beauty’s Tears is still needing to go through layout. I am hoping to publish it in December. Of course I will announce the release when it happens.

As you know I have been working with coffee house writers. I was in their probation period. Where I worked with a training editor who could help me get used to the routine. She was a wonderful person to work with… She has an editing business, here is her Page. Well I graduated out of her care and into the poetry department there. It honestly feels like home as there as many of the writers are similar to myself.

Well… I believe that is all of what I wanted to tell you… Now that I am done rambling…. What is new with you today?

Thursday Tea Party

Welcome! Pull up a seat, and pour the tea! Today I am having my lovely lavender.

Have you ever felt staggered and humbled by the response to a single statement? That was me a couple of days ago. I posted on my Facebook about how much I enjoy sharing the wonderful things that my artist and author friends are doing. Everyone was so generous in their response. It makes me feel so happy to know such amazing people.

Did you notice the guest blog post a couple of days ago? Well the Blogger who wrote it has two wonderful blogs. Her poetry blog and a really nice homestead blog. I highly recommend that you check both out! She is also a fellow coffee house writer. I am so thankful that she was willing to come visit.

October passed too quickly. I swear I blinked… Tomorrow will see Serena starting Nanowrimo, and me starting the P.A.D. challenge. I have been slacking off due to illness, so I am still a couple of poems needed for Beauty’s Tears. I have no doubt that I will be done in a day or two, but I was wanting to start a clear volume in November. Sigh. It is what it is.

Fae corps blog will be posting a daily prompt for November. I am doing Layout for Faery Footprints. It is planned for publication in December. The deadline for Through the Sunshine submissions is January 31…we hope to see some wonderful light fae stories!

Have you had a chance to get a copy of Inspiration Without a Home? I would love to hear any opinions.

2020 is going to be an interesting year for me. My art studio will be useable. I am planning to be out more. Fae Corps will be releasing a light fae anthology. There is a book that we are publishing for Deedra Nichole. And who knows what else that will be generating for us there. I should be releasing audiobook versions of my books starting in December. The first planned is The Princess Lost.

…I know there is still two months! Why am I talking about 2020? I am seeing November as being so busy that I may not be able to do a lot of planning. December will be recovery and edits. Layout and publishing. So I think that I am going to be busy.

So, tell me… What in the new year would you like to see this blog cover? Do you like the way that I have been handling it? What can I improve? What irritates you that I do?

Thursday Tea Party

Hello lovelies! Tonight, I have coffee instead of tea… And lots of it. I am in the home stretch for Beauty’s Tears – only 9 poems left to write. I am hoping to knock out the writing before the first. I likely will not be getting to Layout until December, but it means that Heart Drops will be started with the poems of the PAD challenge.

Fae Corps will be doing another round of daily prompts in November. I will probably be reblogging many of them. The first group got a good reception so we decided to do them for nano/poetry writers in November.

I have been approached by another poet/author about doing a guest blog. Her idea intrigued me! So I will be posting it as soon as she gets it to me for you to read. I enjoy her poetry so I believe that you will enjoy the post.

So… I am facing my fears… And then some. I asked about doing a author signing event yesterday. I also have found a craft fair to try and sell my art and crafts at. This is such a big thing. I have been making art, jewelry, and resin pieces. And due to fear, I have been sticking it all in bins. Anxiety often keeps me from doing. I was called out for my bs. Joe, my boyfriend, told me that if I was not going to do anything to sell or use it then I should stop making it. I hate it when he is right. So I am swallowing the what if I fail fear. The first craft show is a local hot dog sale on the first Saturday in November. I have to get to earning money for books for the signing event. I personally have 19 poetry volumes, 3 kids books, and a memoir. Plus Serena’s 2. And the anthology. That makes it expensive to have even a small amount of copies to sell. Those numbers just make me want to cry.

The beginning of the year will be seeing a lot of new things, from me and from Fae Corps. We have a lot planned. I will be seeing the release of my Beauty’s Tears and the anthology Faery Footprints in December. I am hoping that Serena will have a book ready for release with the new year. I am looking at the release of the audiobook version for the princess lost.

This year is still going to be bringing new challenges. What are you hoping to do before the end of 2019?

Thursday Tea Party

Hello lovelies. Today I am having a blend of herbs in a tea. Which herbs you ask? Oh dear me… I seem to have forgotten most of them… My boyfriend makes it for me, so I only put them in my 🦉(yes my tea strainer looks like an owl) and drown the owl. I do know that he uses 5 different herbs. It has Lavender, Jasmine, and a small amount of Mandrake. Oh dear, I really have forgotten the other two. Well rest assured that it tastes like a miracle, and aids my pain meds(back and hands are extra sore today.

Well… A week into October… So much going on. My first post for coffee house writers is up. If you missed it, go here. Of course my Saturday post on here was filled with the links for my books, Serena’s books , and other places to find me.

Serena is definitely doing Nano this year. The link to her Nano page is Here. I will be doing the P. A. D. Challenge, as usual. Though I do not always use just the Writer’s Digest prompts, they usually have good ones. For the ones that want to try to follow along, or try the challenge themselves, the link for the section of the site is Writer’s Digest – Poetic Asides. It is a wonderful column regardless.

Serena has two projects to attempt working on. Kingdoms of Sin and Life, Guilt, and undeath. I believe that both are listed as active due to the desire to not allow writer’s block to slow down the momentum.

My craft studio is nearly together. We have moved most of the stuff in there, but I have still to organize and such. I have been considering doing a studio tour video. We have not gotten the electric fixed in it yet. One thing at a time, right?

With all that is going on in November…I don’t know if I can juggle everything. We will see. I may have to do a couple of less days here a week. It will depend upon my dexterity. I will be juggling a bi-weekly deadline for Coffee House Writer’s, a poem a day, an attempt at doing 1667 words in one or the other or both of Serena’s stories, homeschooling my daughter, and housework. Plus the blog and any art I can squeeze in. It is not going to be easy. So, I beg your grace ahead of time for missed posts. I will return to the normally crazy of this blog in December regardless. I am hoping that I will be able to juggle it all in November as well.

If I can I am hoping to get around to the children’s book I am working on in December. It is a middle grade story. Attack of Shoe Mountain. If I do then 2020 will be a huge year of publication for me. Both Serena and I have poetry being published in Fae Corps Publishing Faery Footprints. She is likely to have a story in the Through the Sunshine anthology. I am also hoping that at least one, if not both, of her W. I. P. novels will be published in 2020. I am usually publishing roughly 3 poetry volumes a year. If I can also add Aosm… Yeah 2020 will be a big year for me and mine. Though I might be publishing Beauty’s Tears in 2019 still. Depends upon the poetry muse. 😉

Thursday Tea Party

Hello, lovely friends. I hope that this tea party finds you well? If not I think that I can find you some lavender and jasmine blend to ease the belly.

My tea today came from the gas station . I have a weakness for peach.

It is really good, and all of the ingredients are pronouncable. I wonder about the chemicals that are in food nowadays. Sometimes, I feel like a lab rat for all of the chemicals in my food. So, when possible, I like getting more natural food.

A friend shared a nice meme with me yesterday made me smile.

I am not sure that I qualify as a Positive Patti. Though I do try. Some of the topics that I discuss are not meant to be positive.

My memoir is in preorder. I almost did not write it. I am not famous , not someone who most people would seek out to read the life story of. However, I tell my stories semi freely. I can’t help it. I don’t want to hide the past… Hiding brings shame. I have no reason to be ashamed.

Well a couple of women in one of my author groups on Facebook pushed me to write a memoir. Memoirs are for people who are famous or have enormous stories to share, I argued. They pointed out that my stories were bigger than I realized.

From stories of surviving abuse and rape to cute childhood memories, interspersed with poetry, I believe that Inspiration Without a Home is worth the read. It is my truth. There is some people who have reason to claim I am lying. I don’t intend to argue. This is my story, my truth. Let them tell theirs if they wish.

I am finally in a place in my life where I can speak my truth and not fear for the cost.

Friday my bestie, and partner in Fae Corps Publishing, releases her new YA novel. A Royal’s Undoing by Cyndi Pilcher is the first book in what looks to be an interesting set. It is filled with Elves, Murder, magic and political intrigue. Not wanting to spoil it, because I truly think it is worth the read, but the ending has a great twist.

Creative’s Rising E-Zine is in the process of production. Things that caused the summer edition to be stopped have been set to rights. So the Fall edition will be on time. I will have poetry within.

I recently interviewed for a bi-weekly writing position. If I get it I will be doing a bi-weekly article there as well. Maybe I will get in to their poetry department.

In order to apply for them, I had to do a resume. I was surprised by the amount of places I could claim in the last few years. Though I have been writing my whole life, I have only been doing the publish and share thing since 2010. Which seems like so much longer than it really is.

Oh my! Rambling on today. I didn’t realize how much I had to say! So, I am going to leave you with a question. If you had to write a memoir, what is the first memory that you would want to include?

Thursday Tea Party

Today is two days of less sleep than necessary… So today I am drinking monster (I love the ultra violet zero). Add in the passing of someone I once knew… Yeah, I think it is a good idea to do something different today.

I want to direct you towards a book I am currently obsessed with…. Winnie’s Courage(Back to Oz book 1).

It is a really good story that travels through quite a few lands of fantasy. The characters are strong. And it has a interesting view of quite a few favorite literary characters. And I am only half of the way through.

It’s by a fellow author, Jess Reece. Guys , I am so in awe of her! She writes amazing stories, she draws gorgeous art, she makes beautiful polymer clay stuff. She is so cool! 😍

Tomorrow, I will be posting another bit of Serena’s Kingdoms of Sin. It is coming along nicely.

Whispers of the muse is live on more places. The preorder for Inspiration Without a Home is still going on until the 30th. After that the link is the same to buy the book. You can still get Under the Mists, as well. Not a link post, just wanted to be sure that the most recent books get extra time in the light.

I have been getting a good bit of new followers lately. I want to welcome all of you. Please feel free to comment. I love interaction of any kind. Whether it always suits the post or not.

Don’t forget to check out the blog of Fae Corps Publishing. We are doing Daily prompts in September to celebrate the upcoming poetry anthology Faery Footprints. The deadline for submissions is the 30th. We are so excited for this, as the submissions so far have been amazing.

Sketchtember has been happening all over my social media. This year I am staying busy. Doing Sketchtember, Inktober, Nanowrimo. By December I am going to be tired. 😂

What would you like to see on this blog? I am flying by the seat of my pants here, so feedback would help me to keep the good stuff coming up.

Thursday Tea Party

Hi all! Pull up a seat! So much on my mind… I am a wee bit squirrel brained lately. All that it takes to distract me is a shiny object in my side view.

First… I want to express my grief at the sad demise of Grant Thompson. He was way too young to die. *a moment of silence *😭

Now, I think that I promised a Tea recommendation? I love tea. Homemade, store-bought, hot or iced. I prefer sweet, but anymore I settle for adding splenda. One of my favorite store-bought teas are Stash Black Chai Spice. I prepare it with half milk and half water and it is a luxurious treat.

I have been working on the publishing company a lot here lately. It has been a learning experience. I am learning about contracts and the messy part of publishing… That moment when crap hits the fan. It is frustrating when it is your work with snafus… It feels like failure when you are handling other authors work. I am blessed with authors who understand and are patient with me.

Fae corps anthology Under the Mists is available in Ebook format… However as the platform that I chose to use for the paperback is still in Beta… We are looking at a month wait for the paperback. We are still going to be trying to get it in as many hands as possible because these stories are really worth the read.

I am quite sure most of you saw the call for submissions that I shared yesterday. Fae corps has two new anthologies in the works. We are going to do another fae story one, this one about light fae. We are also going to do a poetry collection.

Fae corps is also pleased to announce that we are going to be representing Ms Deedra Nichole in her In a small world series. We are in contract negotiations now, but I have no doubt that we will be able to do it.

I submitted 3 poems in a call for submissions that I found on wordpress. One of the three was accepted. My poem is supposed to be published on August 5th. With all of the feels of failure in the publishing… This felt like a win. I will take it.

Oh… And soon the next edition, the summer edition, of Creative Rising Ezine will be publishing. I will share the link to subscribe as soon as I get it.

Hmmm I think that is everything…. So I will be back tomorrow with some sort of tips on writing…. So for now… Time to gather tea leaves.

This is Thursday

Thursday is my weird day. I have found the groove on every other weekday. So every Thursday I sit here staring at the app on my phone and I wonder what to post. I look through the blogs I follow hoping for a clue… Throwback Thursday…. Hmmm. It would be easy… Just post old pictures… Nah man that is not really fair to the ones that actually do read the blog… Though I may be doing that on patreon today. Posting old art.

I saw one blog this time doing a pay it forward thing. That could be cool… But I have no idea what to do with that.

I am struggling with this because I want something that both is interesting to read(and write) and something that I am likely to engage y’all with. So far I am liking the way Tuesday tunes are working. Monday poetry always seems to be a good thing. And wordless Wednesday is good. Friday prompts and writing tips seems to work. So what the heck do I do with Thursday? Tea party works… But I don’t always have conversation for the tea. A good tea party needs a conversation don’t you think? So talk to me. Tell me what topics you would like me to cover at my tea party. Next week I will do a tea party with recommendations for a good tea and a topic of conversation hopefully suggested by y’all.