Last Tuesday one of my favorite bloggers, Don Massenzio, posted a fun challenge for authors called: “Where do you write?” This is my post in support of the challenge, though, it’s not nearly as fun as his! (Like, who can beat Homer Simpson??)
OK so here’s an overview. I will do a close-up of everything and try to make this interesting. I do warn you though. I’m a nerd and not very exciting.
So, yea, that’s the basic work-space there. I work from two computers. Or, I did until my desktop stopped working. Boo. Now it is the holder of my sticky notes (see pic below).
These notes in particular are notes on Renaissance, Book One in The Nora White Story. Book One is finished but I’m writing book two and need to make sure I don’t contradict myself.
These are my awards! I received the glass one in Atlanta last year. It was a gift from my readers and supporters and a wonderful surprise. It is not something I won as a result of a contest or anything like that but I cherish it more because it came from the most important group of people out there: readers!
The standing one is an award I received for my work as a member of my women’s organization Blessed Handmaidens in honor of hard work and dedication.
Poster-sized image of The Road to Freedom! I got this blown up at Walmart and keep it in front of me as I work. It helps to keep me motivated. I also take it down and use it for any book signings for this book. Under it are some envelopes that somehow found themselves in the picture.
On the PC is a YouTube video of Shahrazad Ali doing interviews for The Blackman’s Guide to Understanding the Black Woman, one of my favorite books. It wasn’t supposed to be in the picture either. I think these inanimate objects have a life of their own. I wonder what they are doing when I’m not looking….
Another thing I do for inspiration is blow up pictures of some of my favorite book reviews or the ones that give me the most hope. I appreciate your book reviews! If they are really moving, I will put them on a poster. This one is by Colleen Chesebro on Beyond the Colored Line. It says:
“Even more revealing, is how relevant Stella’s story is in America today. I wonder how many people, faced with the same dilemma’s that Stella dealt with, would be able to reconcile their feelings about their own ethnicity. Stella’s story helped me to discover connections with my own family I never had before. It just proves that even in my own family, nothing is ever just black and white.”
This one is from Anna Kopp on the same book. It says:
“If I had the power, I would put this book in the hands of every middle school child in America and let them truly understand what it means to be beyond the colored line. The thing is, the literary classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Huck Finn definitely bring up the issues of race, but they’re incredibly removed from what is portrayed as in today’s world.”
And now, what we’ve all been looking at. The Bookshelf!
Well, one of them.
This one is filled with mostly research material.
The other one is in the living room and that’s where most of my novels are.
We just moved so there are some books missing. Here’s a close-up of what’s on the shelf.
The top shelf is biblical reads:
Bibles (starting with the gigantic one on the end there with the black man’s face on it) Apocrypha’s, The Book of Enoch, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha’s, The Book of Jasher, the 1611 version of the King James Bible, and the Scriptural Translation published by the Institute for Scriptural Research in South Africa.
The next shelf is Black Historical reads. Let’s see what’s on the shelf:
A Pictorial History of Black America.
Roots. I have no idea what happened to the cover but the book is old. It’s the original 1976 version my husband got from….I don’t know where he got it from but I’m glad we have it.
The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. I’ve had this book for a long time as well (and the Book of Josephus is on the wrong shelf. That’s a biblical read. Well, Historical too but it is out of place. Again, these things are moving around on their own. I am sure of it).
Black Spark, White Fire.
The Miss-education of the Negro, Willie Lynch Letter
From Babylon to Timbuktu.
The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey, The Eyes on the Prize: Civil Rights Reader, and….The Dead Sea Scrolls? I gotta organize this ya’ll lol. Wrong shelf again.
Remembering Slavery, Introduction to Black Studies, From Slavery to Freedom, Bullwhip Days and Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry which should be on the bookshelf in the other room where the novels are.
The Blackman’s Guide to Understanding the Blackwoman, Negro Slave Songs in the United States, and Medical Apartheid.
The Strong Black Woman in American Life and Culture, Black Man’s Burden, The Isis Papers, and
100 Years of Lynching
This could go on forever. To the bottom…
The next to the bottom of the bookshelf is the controversial shelf. More research, Masonry, Fallen Angels, The Watchtower and the Masons, Secret Teachings, Dictionary of Angels, etc. All the “Forbidden Knowledge” type stuff. So, yea, that.
I was in a play two years ago at The Dusable Museum of African American History. Yea, it was awesome. The program and tickets are also hanging on the wall for inspiration:
I think I’ve showed you everything. Oh, wait! The Calendar. My husband went out and got me a calendar after seeing way too much yellow…
I’m kinda obsessed with sticky notes.
I admit, they are everywhere.
And of course, throughout this tour of my office one thing remains:
Coffee! Lol
And water. See. I have water too. So, yea.
That kinda justifies it. ; )
So, authors, why don’t you join us? Show us your writing spot! It’s a fun challenge and helps you connect more with your audience. Be sure to check out Don HERE for details.
Welcome back to Introduce Yourself, a new and exciting blog segment of The PBS Blog dedicated to introducing to you new and established authors and their books.
Today I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Colin Guest. Welcome to The PBS Blog! Let’s get started.
What is your name and where are you from?
Colin Guest, from England.
What would your perfect writing / reading room look like?
I like writing while sitting on the sofa, which I find less stressful than at my computer desk.
I feel you. I love the big comfy couch in my reading room. What is the most annoying habit that you have?
Working at a Wild Animal Rescue/Rehabilitation Center.
Aww. I love animals. I really really want a dog. Do you have a dog? Any animals?
Until moving to Istanbul when I married age 72, I have had several dogs, and three parrots. As dogs are not allowed in apartments here in Istanbul, I had to leave my dog Oscar with a friend back in Kemer, nr Antalya, where I used to live. I see him each time I go down there, and pay his vet bills. I have adopted a Tiger named Jasper from Care For the Wild/ Born Free for the past ten years, with my wife and I having a cat here in Istanbul.
A Tiger? Wow! What skill would you like to master?
Writing.
There are so many aspects, right? What skill do you think you’ve mastered?
Quality control of inter fit-outs to high-class projects.
Cool. In your own words, what is love?
Love is something you feel when you meet that someone special in your life.
Awwue. I’m definitely feeling the love up in here! If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house be like?
Eco-friendly.
I know that’s right. Gonna get a little personal here, what’s your favorite drink?
Vodka Tonic.
Alright now! I’m scared of you. Now, blogging, does it help you to write?
I like to think so.
What’s your favorite color?
Blue.
Who is your favorite writer?
Le Child.
What kind of music do you like?
Many, but I like Jazz.
Ohh me too! Give me a glass of wine with some Jazz in the background and I am good. Now, inquiring minds wanna know, when did you publish your first book? What was that like?
Lol! Wait, how you gonna butter her all up like that then come back with this. I hope you not sleeping on the couch tonight Mr. Spending time with your wife, sheesh.
What do you wish you knew more about?
Writing and good books.
What small things makes your life easier? What makes it difficult?
Being able to phone and have meals delivered to the house. The over-crowded roads.
I feel you. Home delivered meals sounds nice. Colin, are you a political man?
Not really, but I am more of a Conservative.
What’s the most difficult thing about being a writer? The most exciting thing?
Getting publicity for what I write. Satisfaction on completing, having it edited and publishing my books.
Why is writing important to you?
By writing, it gives me satisfaction that others might learn something by reading my books.
I love it. What do you love about yourself?
My understanding of what’s what.
What don’t you like about yourself?
I get angry about the lack of thought by others.
Lol. Whew, Colin you’re something else. What genre do you write in?
Fiction & Non-fiction.
In your own words, what is truth?
Truth is what too many people and politicians don’t know the meaning of. You cannot trust a liar.
I know that’s right.
Thank you, Colin, for spending time with us today, we enjoyed you!
Colin Guest, a retired Englishman, is married and living in Istanbul Turkey. Colin has written three books: An Expat’s Experiences of Living in Turkey, Follow in the Tigerman’s Footsteps, sub-titled the Adventurous Life of an Expat, a memoir and Terror Holiday. He is presently working on a short fiction book and a romantic novel.
Colin also enjoys writing poetry, with several of his poems doing well in contests. As a result of one poem read out at a festival, he was so taken by the reader that he is now working on preparing an audio version of his memoir.
When Colin has the time, he enjoys reading books by Le child, Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler and Eric Ludlum.
You can find out more about Colin at https://colinguestauthor.com and htps://tigerman74.wordpress.com and the other links below! Go show him some love.
I’ve learned so far that there’s a lot more to building an email list than getting people signed up. I’ve had an email list for years but I feel that only now am I starting to really understand how it works. A little. OK so maybe I just have an inkling of an idea. Who knows but it’s a start.
While having one is great, building an email list and the upkeep is not easy! OK, well, it’s not hair-pulling difficult but it does take some tending to. I don’t want to scare anyone away. It’s not brain surgery or anything like that but I guess that’s why they call it “building”. You don’t build anything over night. There are lots of steps and parts to keeping an email list updated and valuable.
Here are some things I learned, or I should say I am learning, about the email list:
More Subscribers Mean Little to Nothing
At first, I was concerned with getting more subscribers. I mean, that’s a start, right? Yes and no. Yes because of course I want readers. No because that’s just the beginning.
I learned that getting people to subscribe, as challenging as it can be, turned out not to represent as much of the process as I’d thought. While getting subscribers is great, you should know that it’s never a guarantee that people will:
Stay subscribed to your list (people can unsubscribe anytime)
Open the emails you send
Click on your links
Support your product / service
One of the first lessons I am learning in my continual quest to better understand list building is that subscribers mean little to nothing in the grand scheme of things. It is not so much how many people are on the list so much as it is how many of these people are engaged: open emails, read the content, click links and offer feedback. Are they part of my target audience or just taking up space? Are they at all interested in what I have to say?
I’ve learned that an email list of only ten people on it in which eight are engaged and supporting is better than a thousand who can care less.
2. The “From” Address – Use the name that is the most popular and noticeable to your readers
When setting up an email list, part of the process is to enter a “From” Address or the name you want to appear as the person the email is coming from. For the two years or so of sending emails through Mail Chimp I used Literary Korner Publishing, my business name and all was well.
Toward the close of last year, I decided to do something different. I stopped using my business name and used my name, Yecheilyah, instead. I wanted to see if my open and click rate would increase. It did. It worked because it is the name most familiar to my readers.
3. Email – Use a business email address
Another thing I started off with is using my personal Gmail account as the email linked to my list. When setting up an email list, you’ll also have the option of choosing where the emails will come from / people can reply to. In the beginning, it was my Gmail account. I have since changed this.
Toward the close of last year I changed my email. It required an upgrade but it was worth it. It does look more professional but I’ll be honest in saying I didn’t do it for how it would look. I did it to make sure my emails aren’t going into my subscriber’s spam folders. As a result, my open rates did increase. I didn’t get a snapshot so you’ll have to take my word for it. I’ll remember to snag some images next time.
What’s a good business email address?
Your name (at) your domain name dot com (yourname@yourdomainname.com)
4. Headline – Choose a headline that will speak to your list
I didn’t start off paying much attention to my email list headline. If people opened the email they opened it. If not, oh well. That’s how I saw it.
And then I grew up…
I am not doing this for my health which means that it does matter if people are finding value in the content or not and if I am seeing a return as a result. So, I started to pay more attention to the Headline of my emails or the title that people see that tells them what the email is about. It didn’t occur to me that if this didn’t speak to them there would be no reason to open the email! Yikes.
Somehow, I’d taken it for granted that people, though signed up, are not obligated to open and read the content. I thought about blogging and how important the title of the blog post is. (Click Here for 5 Creative Ways to Headline Your Blog Post) I decided to apply this to my list.
Just like someone must be interested enough to click on the blog and read it, someone must also be interested enough in the email headline to open the email and read it.
The headline is the first clue to the reader on what the email is about. If it is something they can care less about, they will not open the email. I have noticed that putting more thought into my email headlines has increased the open rates as well. Meaning, more people are opening the emails and clicking on the links. (A decent open rate is anywhere from 30-55%. It means that most of your list is seeing every email. But do not expect everyone on your list to be engaged. I’ve learned that even if only 20% of my list is communicating with me, that’s good).
5. Dividing the List – Sub divide your list by interest
I really didn’t want to do this. The only reason I can think of is laziness. I didn’t feel like splitting anyone up and sending more than one email.
And then I grew up…
I have recently began the first process of dividing my list and I feel good about it so far! The feedback alone told me a lot about the people who open and read my emails and gave me an idea into what it is they each want. Right now, I am only working with two lists and it was interesting to see who fell into which group.
Monthly – My monthly email list is compiled mostly of people who have either known me for years (at least more than two years but also as long as ten), enjoy getting everything summarized into one list, or who I know have busy schedules and don’t feel like being bothered with me more than once a month. They know me too well.
Bimonthly – My bimonthly email list, which is much smaller, is compiled mostly of people who have met me recently (anywhere from one week to one year ago), open my emails regularly and give the most feedback, are interested in emails about inspiration and motivation, and who like their emails smaller.
I loved the process of dividing them up! It was fun and helped me to focus on every single subscriber and to get to know them on a more personal level based on their interest.
6. Less is More – Limiting the Creative Mind
I consider myself a boring person outside of writing. But when I am writing and putting together emails I love colors and images! I love doing different things and experimenting. I love being silly and using my cartoon avatar. However, I have since pulled back a little with this.
Maybe I’m just getting older or I just know better but I cut a lot of that out. My avatar remains but outside of this I’ve limited the number of images used, switched to a basic theme with a white background and toned down the colors. While I’d love for my email to look like a magazine spread, images increase the possibility of spam as well and too much going on is distracting. The white background on the other hand made everything pop and it is easier to read.
7. Removal – Taking people off your email list
What? You mean I did all that work to get people signed up and now I have to…take them off?
Yea, pretty much.
It took my numbers down a notch but I feel that the cleaning will do me some good. I am not interested in having people subscribed who really don’t want to be there or who are just there to spy, just for the sake of numbers. That’s never been me. One thing I am sure everyone should do every now and again is to clean up their email list.
This means to go through the list and either (1) reach out to or (2) remove altogether those emails belonging to people who never open your emails or interact with you at all. I imagine they see the emails and trash / spam them but for whatever strange reason they don’t unsubscribe. Or maybe they subscribed because you had a contest or offered something for them and now that they got it they’re no longer interested. Whatever the reason, it’s their business. Growth is not just about gaining. It’s about losing too. I believe trimming the weeds will help me to grow and I will soon have twice as much support as I’ve had to lose.
The point is that I want people on my email list who want to be there. Not people who are just there to spy or be nosy. They hate my guts but they open every email. That doesn’t make any sense. I also don’t want people on my list who never open a single email but they won’t unsubscribe. I don’t understand why they are there.
Even when people unsubscribe themselves, I’ve learned this is not a bad thing. It literally does me no good to have people around who don’t want to be. This is a business not a hobby. Whatever is not contributing to growth has gotta go. Don’t be afraid to get rid of dead weight.
When I look at my list today I feel good. I know that the people subscribed want to be there and if they ever feel bored, I hope they will just unsubscribe. That’s just the realness of it. You win some, and you lose some but you live. You live to fight another day. Yes, that’s from the movie Friday. It doesn’t have anything to do with this article but I thought I’d leave you with a chuckle. Or not.
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Interested in being part of my crew? They’re great! Emails go out once or twice a month based on your preference. CLICK HERE to sign up and thank you!
Welcome to Introduce Yourself, a new and exciting blog segment of The PBS Blog dedicated to introducing to you new and established authors and their books. I am so excited to get started and boy do I have some writers to introduce to you! I have decided to make this a weekly feature and so I’ll be introducing one author a week as long as the spots stay booked.
Today I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Paige Addams. Welcome to The PBS Blog! Let’s get started.
What would your perfect writing/reading room look like?
Wall to wall books. Like the library from Beauty and the Beast. Big windows to let in lots of light. A comfy couch and probably a papasan. Inspirational trinkets – geeky and fantasy type things like little pewter dragons or replica weapons from video games and movies I love – on some of the shelves and on my huge desk in the middle of the room. In the rare parts of the room where there’s actual wall instead of built in bookshelves, the paint would reflect the fantasy theme – and I tend to like darker colors in blues, purples, greens, and reds. Something interesting with those colors.
Lol, in theory it would be orderly and maintained, and I’d know where everything is. (notice in my above description that I never mention any kind of filing system… and did not go back to edit that as I’m writing this, because that would be a big fat lie, lol) In reality, it would probably look like a hurricane went through. Bookmarked novels piled up on different surfaces, and my notes strewn around in seeming chaos. But I seem to have magical chaos spider senses or something, because I still somehow know where everything is in the catastrophe that is my writing/reading space.
Wow! I love your writing / reading room! I’d have to invite myself over ; ). Are you employed outside of writing?
Yes – I’m a licensed massage therapist, and I absolutely love it! Originally, I thought I wanted to be a nurse. The medical field fascinates me – the body is amazing when you sit and think about all the things it does on a daily basis, and all the ways each individual system affects the whole. There was always a thought in the back of my mind that I was interested in alternative medicine, but I always kind of ignored that for some reason. I think maybe I wasn’t really confident in what I wanted? Lol, I think what you’re really supposed to be doing keeps coming around to poke at you though. After a couple years of nursing school, I finally switched to massage therapy. Now I can help people without needles, which is awesome. 😊 I do some relaxation work, but most of what I do is focused on things like injuries, headaches/migraines, TMJ, whiplash, carpal tunnel, plantar fasciitis, sciatica, and frozen shoulder. I also do hot stone, and will be continuing my education in fibromyalgia, work with cancer patients, and thai massage. Lol, I’m a bit biased, but I think I have the best clients ever! 😊
That is so cool. I went for Medical Assistance but Massage Therapy sounds way more cool. I always wished I did that instead! Speaking of likes, what do you hate most about writing advice? What do you love?
Lol, if I had to say I hate something about writing advice, it would be the overwhelming feeling that I’m not doing it right – whatever “it” may be for the day. That’s not the fault of the person giving the advice – advice that someone takes the time to sit down, put thought into, and write out to help others is never something I could hate – it’s really more a me and my own insecurities thing. I struggle with confidence, so sometimes when I’m reading advice I can’t help but think I should just scrap everything and start over. I feel like I break a lot of writing rules, so when my confidence is low there’s a danger of me getting stuck in an over-editing loop and accidentally gutting the soul out of whatever I’m working on.
What I love most about writing advice is that I can get a different perspective on things. I spend so long looking at my own writing that I become blind to it. Because I’ve already mapped everything out in my head, and I know where the story will end up, I will automatically fill in any plot holes without really seeing them. I’ll have that sinking feeling that something’s wrong with a scene somewhere, but I just can’t find it. Also, my grammar is not always the best and I have a comma problem – I either sprinkle them haphazardly around like confetti or forget they exist. Lol – I need advice on those things especially. Lots and lots of advice.
Lol. I am terrible with commas! I’m definitely the sprinkle type. I feel you on the not doing anything right thing and I think you’ve just spoken to the heart of all the writers reading this. Insecurity is real so thank you for being genuine. We ALL experience that for sure. Now, what skill or skills would you like to master?
All of them. I think I’m like a jack of all trades, master of none. I’m interested in mastering all kinds of things, and have started learning several. But to actually master them? Lol, that’s another story entirely. I’ve been working on getting my black belt in Tomiki style Aikido – been practicing since 2010-ish I think? This is the skill I’m most passionate about trying to master. I absolutely love this martial art. It’s more about blending with the person, redirecting them, and using their own energy against them. So you don’t have to be bigger or stronger necessarily. It’s considered a “softer style” of martial art. It’s not something I’ll ever master, but I’ll happily work on it the rest of my life though and see how far I can get. 😊 Some of the other skills I want to learn are contact juggling, belly dancing, art (like being able to do portraits of my characters and landscapes of the scenes, maybe in colored pencil?), Ninjutsu, Iaido, and learning other languages (especially Japanese and Polish).
Wow. Gone on ahead then witcha bad self! Belly dancing huh? Don’t get any ideas guys. What would be the most amazing adventure to go on?
In a more peaceful time, I would love to see the world. There are so many beautiful places I would love to go. Gorgeous places in nature I’ve only looked at in National Geographic magazines with my mom. Cities with amazing architecture. Ideally, I’d like to take my mom to see it all too. She’s all about adventure. And the food! Seriously, the food though. I would eat all the things. Like Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, vegan edition.
Cool. If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house be like?
First, I would have my own library/writing space. It would be both, and it would be big, lol. I would fill it with books and geeky things. My husband would have his own gaming room (we’re both gamers), also probably with more geeky paraphernalia of various kinds. We’d have an entertainment room for watching movies and setting up my gaming systems because me and the husband don’t share games well, lol. Or we could play together that way too. We’d have several bedrooms, for when we have guests, and a large kitchen with an island and different cooking tools I would learn how to use so we don’t starve or eat out all the time.
There would be a nice big garden where I would grow fruits and vegetables. Maybe a greenhouse for the winter? And a hedge maze, because it sounds fun and why not? Stone paths and archways with vines growing over them.
The house would be built around a private meditation courtyard right in the middle, with shade tolerant plants. The only way to get to it would be through the house. The house would be made of stone on the outside, and have some kind of wrap around porch. I would live just close enough to civilization to easily get to a hospital or the grocery store, but far enough away that I couldn’t see my neighbors. Don’t get me wrong, I like neighbors, but I want a place more like my grandpa’s – kind of out in the country a little. It’s peaceful there.
Wow! Your descriptions are amazing. I can just imagine your books! Lol at geeky paraphernalia. Let’s change the script a little bit. Have any songs memorized?
Lol, I listen to a lot of music, and do a lot of full-volume car singing. Some of them are: every song David Bowie sang in Labyrinth. “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera. “Footsteps” by Pop Evil. “Sally’s Song” from The Nightmare Before Christmas. “Radiator” by Family Force 5. The soundtrack to Queen of the Damned. “My Demons” by Starset. “Holding On To You” by Twenty One Pilots. “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons. “In The Shadows” by The Rasmus. “Star of the County Down” and “Perfect Song” by Enter the Haggis. “Free” by Switchfoot. “Here” by Alessia Cara. “Blossom” by Kerli. “Sleep to Dream” by Fiona Apple. “Kiri” by Monoral. “Duvet” by Boa. There are tons of songs I have memorized, much to my husband’s amusement. Lots of car concerts going on, and random serenading as we pass in the hall.
Car concerts are the absolute best. Sounds like you got a nice mix here far as music then huh?
Lol, I’m kind of an entertainment junkie. I listen to all kinds of music, but my favorites are usually rock and alternative. I really am all over the board though. I love Lindsey Stirling, Gackt, Korn, Linkin Park, Rhianna, Buck-Tick, Celldweller, Elle King, Anberlin, Beyonce, Switchfoot, Flyleaf, The Weeknd, Family Force 5, The Glitch Mob, Poe, and many, many more, lol.
When did you publish your first book? What was that like?
My first book will tentatively be self-published 4/7/17. If not, then the following Friday, definitely. I say “tentatively” because I’m having an issue converting the fantasy map I included in the book on Amazon. My amazing editor has been helping me, and the fantastic designer that did my cover is going to format it for me. Lol, I generally always refer to them as fantastic and amazing because they are genuinely great at what they do, have been endlessly patient with me, and deserve all the praise I can dish out.
I’m both excited and terrified to self-publish. Lol, it’s a scary thing putting a story out there and not knowing how it’ll go. I know my writing won’t be everyone’s cup of tea – maybe they don’t like my genre, or just my particular style of writing. Or maybe I should have re-read some of that advice on grammar, and calmed down on the rampant comma abuse, lol. My editor cleaned it up big time and made it readable though, so I’m thinking it’ll come down to: have I managed to write something that’s entertaining/interesting? We shall see. 😊
I’m feeling more excited and optimistic than scared though. Even if only my mom and close friends buy it, it’ll feel good to finally be doing something with my writing. I kind of feel like I’ve accomplished something. Writing is as important to me as my job as a massage therapist, and to be able to put it out there is a dream come true.
COMING SOON!
Congratulations on the book! Author to be in the house ya’ll! That cover is nice!
Now, if you could live in a movie, which would it be? Why?
That’s a tough one. Maybe Harry Potter? The Sorcerer’s Apprentice? Somewhere I could use magic! Or maybe a marvel movie? Basically, anywhere I could have superpowers or magical abilities or something along those lines. As for the why – lol, because I’m chaos and would spend my time levitating everything around my house and snapping my fingers to clean so I don’t have to dust anymore. Plus, superpowers are just awesome!
Aren’t they? So, Paige, married? How long?
Yes – I’ve been married for 8 ½ years, but we’ve been together for a little over 16 years. We were high school sweethearts. We met in social studies class, when I was a sophomore and he was a junior. I feel like we were really lucky. We got to go off to college together, live together, and have some healthy fights before we got married. Lol, the man knew exactly what he was getting himself into – brave soul that he is. I really am blessed – he loves me and all my weird little quirks.
Brave soul lol. That’s awesome. I feel like marriage don’t get enough play these days and I am always excited to meet couples who’ve been together a lifetime. Speaking of time, Paige, what takes up too much of your time?
YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and video games. Not always in that order. I am amazingly skilled at procrastination. The one skill I’ve already mastered, lol. Right now, I’m playing Mass Effect: Andromeda, and loving every second of it.
Lol! You’re a gamer for real. What do you wish you knew more about?
As far as knowledge goes, I wish I knew more about computers, history, and math. Those are my biggest weaknesses, knowledge wise. My brain just doesn’t work in any kind of logical or orderly fashion. If you hand me a math book I’m pretty sure my brain would force quit, and I’d just start hearing elevator music.
I wish I could say it’s because I have trouble concentrating, but I seem to have no issue playing the same video game for 8 hours straight, or watching Netflix all day. I think this is just a shining example of what people call left brain vs right brain. My left brain is always sleeping I think.
I love you for hating math. So do I. Lol. Speaking of Netflixin it, what’s your favorite TV show? Movie?
I watch way more TV and movies than is probably healthy. Here are my current favorites: TV (I’m including anime series in this) – Blindspot, The Blacklist, Lucifer, Game of Thrones, Sense 8, Castle, Stitchers, Forever, Bleach, Yona of the Dawn, The Twelve Kingdoms. Movies (also including anime movies here) – The Illusionist, Divergent (and the sequels), Warm Bodies, Excess Baggage, He’s Just Not That Into You, Pride and Prejudice (all of them, including the one with zombies), The Matrix (only the first one), Beastly, Scrooged, Ladyhawke, Beautiful Creatures, Jupiter Ascending, Legend, Unleashed, Labyrinth, Alien (all of them), Knight and Day, The Princess Bride, Penelope, Blood and Chocolate, Kubo and the Two Strings, The Shack, Appleseed (2004 version), Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away.
The only thing from this list I can agree with is Matrix and Lucifer. Although, I kinda fell off Lucifer and probably can’t tell you about the last ten episodes? Anyway, what is the most thought provoking book you’ve ever read?
I’ve been reading these books by John Eldredge, and one he wrote with his wife, Stasi. They’re books about exploring Christianity in a different way. I’ve always considered myself a Christian, but I have been told I don’t Christian correctly, lol. I have a different way of approaching some things, I guess.
I think the reason I find them thought provoking is because they approach faith in a way that is more relatable to me. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to approach faith – it’s subjective to each person – but I do think there’s a way that fits my own relationship with God the best. I like the idea that he’s not some unreachable being, and you aren’t expected to be perfect, or follow a prayer recipe. I can just be myself.
I’ve read Wild at Heart, Captivating, and am currently reading Beautiful Outlaw. The main theme in all of these is getting to know God on a more intimate level. Wild at Heart and Captivating talk about the masculine and feminine parts of God you can see in everyday life, and in yourself and others. The wildness of storms, a man storming the castle for a woman, fighting battles and going on adventures. The beauty of sunsets, a woman’s desire to be pursued, the fierce protectiveness of a mother or a sister or a bestie. And Beautiful Outlaw is about getting to know the personality of Jesus. He got angry, joked with the apostles, and showed His human side. It’s a way of looking at Jesus that I’ve never thought of before. The author also suggests there can be a difference between religion and faith, which I thought was really interesting. Even if you aren’t Christian, I think these may be interesting reads if you like exploring this kind of subject. 😊
Interesting. I can definitely agree there’s a difference between faith and religion but that’s another story. What’s the most difficult thing about being a writer? The most exciting thing?
Lol, I think the most difficult thing about being a writer, for me at least, is corralling all the crazy ideas I have into something that makes sense. My mind is generally all over the place – I’ll write scenes for the middle of the book before I write the beginning or end, and sometimes write parts of the end before the beginning too. Then I’ll write scenes for the fourth and eighth books, because all the plots are touching each other like spaghetti.
My writing space is chaos. My writing process is chaos. Lol, I’m pretty sure I am chaos. My husband would probably agree.
I think the most exciting thing about writing is that it’s okay to be chaos. 😊 It’s a crazy, unorganized mess – but it works for me. When I try to be too structured, I can run into trouble. But when I’m just letting it all go, and just putting down whatever is in my head, I get a lot done. I feel like the characters have a life of their own when I let them do what they want, lol. Even if it’s not used in the story I’m currently working on, I have something to consider later. A lot of my secondary characters end up as primary characters later in the series. So the spaghetti method ends up working for me, lol.
Why is writing important to you?
Writing is important to me because I think it can be a form of escape. Life is not always butterflies and daisies, but when I sit down to write it can be. I also think it can be therapeutic in some ways, depending on what you’re writing. Either way, whether you write fiction or nonfiction, whatever genre is in your heart, you’re putting your creativity and pieces of yourself into it. I mainly write paranormal romance – full of magic and happiness, lol. But I have written some more personal, serious things too.
“Life is not always butterflies and daisies, but when I sit down to write it can be.” I love that. I’d have to feature you in a quote one day. You’ve spoken about a few things. Tell us, what genres do you write in? Why?
I write paranormal romance for two reasons. First, it’s my favorite genre to read. And second, I can run amuck and really do whatever I want with it. I enjoy being able to create whatever I like, with very little restriction. So much chaos, lol. But part of the fun for me has been starting from the ground up – creating the races in my fantasy world, their history and traditions, their language (I got a book on language creation), and their different forms of magic. Winding all the plot lines together has been fun too. I’ve enjoyed mapping everything out. The more I branch out, the more opportunity I have to build the world up even more.
Paige, it’s been an amazing journey spending this time with you! Thank you for stopping by.
Photo Credit: Paige Addams. Used with permission.
Paige Addams is a pseudonym. She lives with her very patient and amazing husband and their dog in Ohio. When she’s not writing, she’s growing her business as a LMT, practicing Aikido (and trying not to kill herself in the process) and trying to learn contact juggling (like that scene from Labyrinth). Otherwise, she’s generally procrastinating with video games and far more YouTube than is probably healthy. Paige will be self-publishing her first novel in the coming weeks, and there will be many more!
Reblogging in support of Chris Graham for his unwavering support of Indie Authors! Y’all know he’ll reblog you in a minute! So show him the same. Happy Anniversary Mr. Ape!
Chris Grahamis much admired, respected, and appreciated in the blogging world. His indefatigable support of authors and bloggers is rivaled by few others.The Story Reading Ape‘s 4th blog anniversary is April 4th, and I can think of no better way to show my appreciation than by featuring him on my blog. Here’s to you, Mr. Ape! May you live long and prosper. I’m also putting energy out there for you to win the lottery 😊
One of the biggest challenges to Indies is getting a professionally published looking book when up against the costs of editing, proofreading, formatting and cover designs. If you can afford these services then foregoing them is not a good idea, but when you really can’t afford them they can mean the death of some really great literature. There are a couple of things that can help though.
Editing or Proofreading Swopsies
Rather than simply asking for Beta readers, offer to swop proofreading services. Writers have a different kind of eyeball when reading. I’ve just finished a Joanna Trollope book, professionally published by one of the big houses, professionally edited and put together, but so far I’ve found a couple of typos and instances of poorly strung together sentences. As far as the cover design is concerned, if it wasn’t for the fact that I was specifically looking for and wanting…
I love the warm weather! The flowers are blooming and everything is just abounding with life. What a perfect occasion to introduce something new.
Last week I announced the start of a new series on The PBS Blog and boy have you all responded!
So, this post is to remind you that if you want in this summer you may want to go ahead and submit your questions. Spots are filling up fast! I’ll be introducing our first author tomorrow, Monday, April 3, 2017 and then every Monday afterwards we’ll meet a new author (just as long as the spots stay filled). I am booked up through April and there is only ONE spot left for May so again, if you want to be featured this summer, don’t wait.
The PBS Blog 