Silently sinking below the horizon
Unseen by those who choose not to look
Nature’s beauty for all to enjoy
Streaking a pallet of colours across the evening skies
Ever-changing diminishing light amending the tones
Taking the stresses and strains of today away.
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Tagged #CoralMcCallum, #hope, #IndieAuthor, #mindfulness, #photoblog, #poetryblog, #reflection, #sunset, #wellbeing
I’ve come to the final day of Staycation 2022…
I almost cheated with this week’s blog post and just shared this as I eek out these final few precious hours.
But, after two and a bit weeks of going nowhere, seeing no one (with a couple of exceptions), doing very little, practicing yoga (I’m not very good), sitting in the sun (much better at doing that), reading, writing, journaling, listening to music, going for long walks and the occasional beer or wine or two, I thought I’d share this instead… the edited highlights of Staycation 2022.
As I reflected on the past two weeks, a wee voice muttered in my ear that I’d wasted ten precious days of annual leave from the salt mine then another little voice reminded me that sometimes doing “nothing” and speaking to very few folk is exactly what your body and mind are telling you that they need to do.
***** Riley – coming 18 November 2022 *****
And to keep you going until 18 November, here’s another little sneak peek inside.
“I have one last song for you,” began Riley. “I hope you’ve enjoyed yourselves tonight. I’d like to say a few thank yous. Huge thanks to Dr Marrs, to the guys from Silver Lake, to my record label, to each and every one of you for making tonight magical. This really is a dream come true. A Firefly Dream. I have one final extra special huge thank you for Garrett for hosting this party and for giving me a chance, a job and a home. Garrett, I love you.”
As the cheers died out, Riley continued, “This last song was inspired in this very place. I’d never seen a real four-poster bed before Garrett invited me to stay here. You can work out the rest of the story. Folks, it’s been amazing. I’m going to leave you with Jumping On The Bed.”
The light-hearted song was the perfect choice to end the show with and left everyone in a buoyant mood as the lights came back up and the caterers began to circulate with trays of drinks and canapes. Not quite sure what to do, Riley stayed in the alcove tidying up her guitars and her lyrics folder. Suddenly, she felt two strong arms wrap round her. The hint of a familiar exotic spicy aftershave tickled her nose. Without a second’s thought, she spun round and wrapped herself round Todd.
“You were sensational, girl!” he declared before kissing the top of her head. “Awesome set.”
“Thank you,” said Riley, snuggling in close.
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Tagged #booklover, #bookpromo, #bookstagram, #coming18Nov2022, #comingsoon, #contemporaryfiction, #CoralMcCallum, #ebook, #ebooks, #IndieAuthor, #Kindle, #KU, #newfiction, #Riley
I’m pretty sure that I’ve blogged along a similar theme in the past but bear with me.
Last week I shared Book Baby 7 aka Riley’s front cover with the world. (Here it is in case you missed it – Riley…..cover reveal | Coral McCallum) The reaction to it has been great so thank you but here comes the confession… the story still isn’t quite finished yet. Oops!
I’m not a million miles away from being finished. I mean, what’s a few thousand words between friends?
For me, writing timescales are quite fluid. Writing happens when it happens. The joys of being an indie author. The only person setting word count targets and manuscript deadlines for me is me. And, you know what, that works for me just now.
Creativity is something that’s always there. Even when I’m not actively creating/writing something, there’s that wee part of my brain whirring away with ideas/thoughts/potential characters.
Creativity is also a great coping mechanism in this manic world that we live in. It’s an escape from reality. It’s a way to create a better/alternative reality. It’s a way to express our thoughts and feelings. It’s a way of telling a story.
Humans have been storytellers since the start of time. There was no one sitting in the cave or around the campfire saying that the storyteller needed to stick to a certain length/word count, or a structured formula for the story. There were no paragraph and chapter plans. There probably weren’t that many titles either. Storytellers simply told their stories and over time and re-telling these stories were embellished and enhanced and improved upon or discarded depending on the audience’s reaction.
No one back then worried about having qualifications in creative writing or language or literature.
Folks simply told the stories that were within them to tell.
I follow several groups on social media for authors/writers/bloggers and all too frequently you see aspiring storytellers’ dreams quashed because someone insists that their story is too short/too long, that they need a professional editor that they probably can’t afford or that they need a professionally designed cover that they can’t afford either…you get the picture.
Creative souls are sensitive souls. They need to be nurtured and encouraged. This world needs more storytellers.
So, my message to any aspiring authors/writers/storytellers is simple – tell your story your way and in your own time and enjoy telling it.
Just write! And keep on writing.
And on that note, I’d better turn my creative attention back to my unfinished book baby.
Image sourced via Google- credits to the owner
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Tagged #blogger, #books, #CoralMcCallum, #creativewriting, #creativity, #IndieAuthor, #storyteller, #storytelling, #tales
Taking a deep breath, she put the old-fashioned key in the lock and turned it. She’d half expected it to stick, given the age of both, but the mechanism moved with ease and the of the shop door swung open before her.
What on earth was she supposed to do with the place?
The shop smelled stale and musty and slightly unclean – a bit like its previous owner, her late great-uncle. It had been over twenty years since she had last visited “The Society For The Protection Of Unwanted Objects.” She’d been shocked to learn that she had inherited the place when her uncle had passed away three months beforehand. Growing up, she’d been passed around the family after the death of her parents, spending most of her childhood with her aunt. The shop had always been a bit of a sanctuary for her, seeing herself as the “unwanted object” in the family. As a child, she’d imagined the shop as a “real life” episode of Bagpuss; as an adult, she was at a loss as to what to make of it.
What did she know about running a shop?
Glancing round, all she could see before her was clutter and junk. A thick layer of dust covered everything in sight. Most of the items on the shelves and in the display cabinets looked as though they’d been there since her last visit.
Leaving the door open, she ventured further inside. A letter addressed to her, in her uncle’s shaking writing, lay amongst the dust bunnies on the glass counter. Leaving it unopened for now, she explored the rest of the shop. Both storerooms were piled high with yet more junk. The small kitchen cum sitting room right at the back of the building looked completely unchanged from her childhood and was desperately in need of a good clean.
“Oh, why, Uncle Samuel?” she sighed as she walked back through to the main shop.
A cough from the doorway startled her.
“Hi. Are you the new owner?” asked a tall guy with long dark hair, pulled back into a ponytail, his bare arms covered in tattoos. “I’m Sam. I’m your neighbour. I own the art gallery next door.”
A ray of sunlight broke through the clouds at that moment. With a cloud of dust motes creating an aura around him, he smiled.
Maybe he was the reason she was here….
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Tagged #coffeebreakread, #continuethestory, #CoralMcCallum, #flashfiction, #IndieAuthor, #shortstory
Happy Easter.
Want to spend the weekend at the beach with a hot rock star? Want it for free?
Look no further, Stronger Within, book 1 in the Silver Lake series is free to download this holiday weekend. Oh, and books go great with chocolate eggs!
Here’s the links to that hot date with Jake Power
This week I’d like to introduce you to fellow indie author BH Lynn. Our paths crossed through a mutual love of the same music (Yes, it involves Alter Bridge and Myles …stop rolling your eyes! LOL) and I’m delighted that she spared me some time recently to answer a few questions about both her debut Scars and Souvenirs and her new novel As It Was. So, without further ado…
Tell me a bit about yourself. Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I’m an accountant by day, and a wife and dog mom by night when I’m not trying to do this crazy thing called writing (Or watching Hockey!). I’ve always had a creative drive. I played multiple instruments and toyed around with writing poetry as a teen, but I never thought I had what it took to fully develop characters. I actually didn’t pick up reading and seriously writing until about three years ago. After graduating from college, I was looking for a new challenge, and I truly enjoy the way writing is something I can always be working at.
Your latest book As It Was is due to be released on 15th April 2022. It’s the second book in the series charting Aiden and Jason’s story. What can you tell me about it without giving away any spoilers?
As It Was picks up about 7 months after Scars and Souvenirs ends and is from Jason’s POV this time. It’s a story about how as a relationship grows, you have to learn to grow with it. Like many of us, Jason has his own scars, and though they aren’t as visible as Aiden’s, they are just as real. His own past is becoming harder to ignore, and if he doesn’t get a handle on how to address the way he views his own vulnerabilities, it’s going to cost him the future that he and Aiden are fighting for.
Which of your characters do you like most? Why?
While I deeply love all my characters (even the one’s no one else has met) Aiden is my baby. He came to me in a time when I most needed him, and though I never set out to make him a version of myself, he helped me work through my own insecurities as he did so through book one. He’s as real to me as any friend I’ve ever had, and that might make me sound crazy, but I’ve been called worse.
What drew you to write MM romance?
MM romance offers me a world where I can relate to characters, love their love, root for them, and as a woman, not feel the urge to compare myself to them like in a traditional romance. Traditional romances I’d read portrayed women as in need of a relationship to be seen or made them into hypersexual beings which I am not. I don’t enjoy reading a book and thinking “Why aren’t I like that? Is something wrong with me?”. Also, MM romance offers a great power balance and unique issues for relationships to overcome. It just felt like home from the beginning.
Is there one particular person who inspired you to write?
I was once close friends with another Author who turned me onto the genre by asking me to BETA/ARC read for them. We unfortunately had a falling out, but they planted the seed. It was after I read the Snow and Winter Mysteries by C.S. Poe that I got the urge to write in first person, and that totally changed the game for me! I credit her with helping me find my voice.
A cruel question, but what’s your favourite book/who’s your favourite author?
This probably should be harder than it is for me to answer, but The Mystery of the Curiosities by C.S. Poe is my favourite book. Sebastian Snow is that lightning in the bottle character for me, and the vulnerabilities shown by him, and his hero love interest Calvin were just so darn genuine in that book. Even the hero needs help sometimes. I felt so seen by that series, and the mysteries are absolutely bizarre and a lot of fun to read. C.S. Poe is my favourite author, but Gregory Ashe and Josh Lanyon are right up there.
Tell me a bit about your approach to your writing. Are you a meticulous planner or do you tend towards letting your characters go with the flow?
No matter how many times I say it’s the opposite way around, my characters are the boss and I’m just along for the ride. I do very little outlining or planning. I go in with points A, H, Q, and Z. They fill in the rest.
I love to write outdoors. Where’s your favourite place to write?
I also love to write outside, but I do some of my best work at Starbucks. No idea why. I think it’s because it’s the only place where I’m not being interrupted with curiosity about what my husband is doing, or the urge to hug my really cute dog who also wants to go outside 100 times a day.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
O gosh. Pretty much anything the great Gregory Ashe has said to me. Especially when it comes to pacing and not trying to fit a chapter into a certain length etc. Just let the scenes be the scenes and the sequels be the sequels, no matter how many or how little words it takes to convey it. I got really obsessive about that at one time and since I’ve abandoned that, I’ve found my execution of my objectives has been much easier.
What advice would you give to other aspiring authors out there?
Do it for you. At the end of the day, readers, purchases, reviews…none of those things are promised. Write what you want for you, and if it happens to bring joy to someone else, that’s a nice big cherry on top.
How do you overcome writer’s block?
By reading. If I’m stuck on something, I go read something that is far from what I’m writing as a way of resetting my brain. So if I’m writing hurt comfort, I’ll go read a mystery etc. Also, I’ll sit down and write my characters doing something totally mundane and not related to the story. Sometimes I learn something about them that unclogs the mental jam.
So, what’s next creatively? Are you working on anything else just now?
While Aiden and Jason have a third story on deck, I plan to switch up and release the first story in my LEO/whodunnit series next. I think it’ll be nice to get back to two other characters I love who have wildly different stories. I don’t want to burn myself or anyone else out on one set of characters. I think it’ll light an even bigger fire in me when I’m ready to return to story three.
Then for a bit of fun:
Favourite food A big fat juicy cheeseburger!
Favourite drink Caramel Macchiato’s
Favourite band Alter Bridge. Their music saved me more times than I can count.
Favourite holiday destination Chicago, Illinois. I just love that city!
If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why? Teleporting, because I hate driving! Also, I would love to travel but also don’t really enjoy flying. I just want to click my fingers and be somewhere else. That’d be ideal for me.
Scars and Souvenirs review
BH Lynn’s debut novel is the first MM romance to cross my radar. Within a few pages I was captivated by Aiden’s vulnerability. When Jason was introduced, my protective “momma” mode kicked in. Would he be good enough for Aiden? No spoilers from me so if you want to know the answer to that you’ll need to read Scars And Souvenirs for yourself. Both central characters are strong characters that are each other’s Yin and Yang. The chemistry just works here. I have a clear picture of Jason in my head. Aiden less so.
There’s a sensitively handled subtlety to this tale. It drew me in. I was quickly invested in this one and am already looking forward to reading book 2 As It Was when it is released next month.
Great debut novel.
As It Was
Jason: Three fourths. Seventy five percent. It was a passing grade in school, so why wouldn’t one accept such when it came to life?
After eight years in a disastrous relationship with a controlling drug addict named Ben, I’d resigned myself to being the type of person who just wasn’t meant to find love. I’d stepped up to the plate, swung my bat more times than any umpire would allow, then finally struck out. I had a great career, great friends and family, and over three years I’d hardly found myself missing all that comes with being in a relationship. That was until I met Aiden.
Aiden made me realize I’d been swallowing down that lie for so long that I’d almost convinced myself it was true.
But even the best relationships run into issues, and when my past comes back with a vengeance to threaten my future, I discover that there’s more damage left inside of me than I ever wanted to admit. As my instincts to protect Aiden from that part of my life go astray, and the missteps and pressures add up, I realize that I have to make a decision that will greatly impact our future:
Keep trying to hold my head above water and protect the persona of strength I’d fought for years to build.
Or risk looking like the fraud I feel like I am sometimes and admit insecurities I’ve tried to bury before they drown me.
Can I find the strength to make the right choice in the face of the type of discomfort I’d sworn away after Ben? Can Aiden and I both fight our own fights and still fight for each other? Or will it all be too much, and life will return to as it was?
UK links:
Scars and Souvenirs : Aiden and Jason #1 eBook : Lynn, B.H. : Amazon.co.uk: Books
As It Was: Aiden and Jason Part Two eBook : Lynn, B.H.: Amazon.co.uk: Books
Amazon.co.uk: B.H. Lynn: Books, Biography, Blogs, Audiobooks, Kindle
US/rest of the world links:
Amazon.com: B.H. Lynn: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle
Huge thanks to BH Lynn for her time. Please check out her books on Amazon this holiday weekend. They go great with chocolate!
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Tagged #Amazon, #AsItWas, #BHLynn, #books, #ebooks, #IndieAuthor, #introducing, #Kindle, #MMfiction, #MMromance, #newauthor, #newfiction, #ScarsandSouvenirs
It’s funny the things you remember from your childhood. Memories of this box of crayons popped back into my head yesterday when I was in Paperchase deliberating over which journals and pens to treat myself to. I love fancy pens and notebooks!
I remember saving up to buy this box of crayons when I was about 10 years old. I eventually bought my box, complete with sharpener, at the ACME on holiday in America in 1980. No idea what I paid for it but $5 rings a vague bell (it was a long time ago even for my crazy memory).
Even back then I loved colourful pens and pencils and crayons. That box of crayons was my treasured possession at the time. I took great care not to overuse any of the colours in case I had to tear the paper down. (Anyone else remember doing that or is it just me?) The built-in sharpener was used sparingly but I loved the wee colourful curls it spat out. Sad but true! LOL
Oh, happy days….
Now life’s busy. Life’s stressful. Those innocent childhood days when the biggest decision was whether to use Indigo or Violet or Purple are long gone but one of my favourite sayings still harks back to those days.
We’re all a little broken but last time I checked broken crayons still colour.
(images sourced via Google – credits to the owners)
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Tagged #CoralMcCallum, #crayolacrayons, #crayons, #IndieAuthor, #memories, #reflections
I’ve been known to enjoy the occasional meander or two…. Ok it’s a daily occurrence.
If you ever pass me when I’m out walking alone, please don’t be offended if I appear to ignore you. Meandering time is head space time. Time to rationalise the thoughts of the day. Time to reflect.
It can also be time to daydream and create. Many scenes from my book babies have come to fruition after a good meander.
My mind is seldom still and quiet.
Last Sunday, I enjoyed a short (ok very short) meander with my Girl Child when we visited a holistic therapy centre for a mother/daughter treat. We were early for our appointments and decided to explore the trail beside the centre. There were two routes of differing lengths to choose from. We opted for the shorter one just to be on the safe side.
As we walked along the narrow path, we were surrounded by the sights and sounds of spring. All good for the soul.
Then I spotted it….
My imagination has been whirring away ever since. Who lives in this tiny house? A tiny wizard? A fairy? A witch? …..
I can’t help but think that there’s a story waiting to be told about the “person” who lives behind this tiny door.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged #CoralMcCallum, #imagination, #IndieAuthor, #spring, #storyteller, #tirnanog
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Coral McCallum 