Tag: books

What is Super Thursday?

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2020 seems to have been an un-darned, stinky sock made patchwork quilt of a year – stale, yet oddly nostalgic, making people long for a normality that already seems like distant childhood…

And for the publishing community this is as true as for anywhere else.

With more hours at home we have seen a rise in indie authors this year, for better or worse, and for the kindle and self-publishing market especially, this has meant a flood of new authors vying for our attention.

But what does this mean for traditional publishing or more importantly, what does this mean for you? As an upcoming prospective author, how are you going to stand out and make sure your light shines brighter then everyone else’s? After all, there used to be times and strategies that you could put into place…and yet 2020 seems to be just a free for all.

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Why I Use Grammarly

agentlewomanandascholar5 Comments

I recently wrote a post about my experiences with a teacher in High School who seemed hell-bent on giving me bad advice regarding my dream of being a writer. I must say I have been blown away by the private messages I have since received from my readers, many of which have also been from teachers, saying how much you all believe in my decision to power through the criticism and go for gold. Can I just say a huge thank you to everyone who has written to me, as your encouragement means more to me then I can ever put into words!

But this was not why I wrote the post. As heartfelt and wondrous as your comments are (and believe me, I am truly grateful!) my aim with The teacher that told me ‘no’!  was to inspire others by my story. There seems to be a common stigma in our world that writers have to be linguistic and grammatical geniuses and always know exactly where every comma goes. And it simply isn’t true. As much as I have found negative responses to my dyslexia, I have also found that people are more likely to ask me how to spell something because I am a writer.Read More »

The teacher that told me ‘no’!

agentlewomanandascholar15 Comments

I’d like to think I am not the sort of person to hold a grudge but even I must confess to not always being a saint about this. In fact, there is a grudge I have been holding on to – for over 16 years now…

But in many ways, this grudge is a good thing. It has fuelled me through hard times and given me enough determination to overcome obstacles and fight the battle for my dreams.

Back when I was just 12 years old I used to take support classes for my dyslexia. Now here’s the confession no writer ever wants to make – my thirteenth birthday was coming up and I still could not read or write!Read More »

Winning

agentlewomanandascholar1 Comment

With all the daily bustle and grind we put ourselves through; the thankless tasks, the hardships no one else sees, the constant nagging feeling of having something else to do…it can be hard to focus when life gets busy or rush. But when we have an overwhelmingly long list of tasks and commitments, we must also remember to take a little time to stop and celebrate the wins in life.

Admit it! How often do you throw your hands up in the air, jump up and down and scream at the top of your lungs ‘I got the kids to bed on time!‘. Probably never. And though this might be partly due to not wanting to wake said children up again, its because you probably also think it’s not an accomplishment worth shouting about. And I’m here to tell you it is!Read More »

Why is it So Hard To Get Rid of Books?

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I love my books. No I mean I really love my books.

As someone who could not read or write until I was thirteen years old due to dyslexia, you could say I have played catch up and over compensated ever since. Seriously, I am book mad. I have collected volumes with a vengeance, devouring them until my eyes dimmed. In my mind, there is nothing better than a good book.

Having said that, I currently have my smallest book collection since discovering Amazon in college and have, in that time, needed to do several book purges. My library has ranged around two-four hundred volumes the entire time, and though this may not sound like loads to the dedicated bibliophile, trying to cram that many books onto two book-shelving units is not easy. In fact, it ends up becoming a rather frustrating game of Tetris come Jenga.Read More »

Senses Sensation – 5 Ways To Improve Your Harmony With Smell

agentlewomanandascholar4 Comments

I can remember a long time ago at my old primary school, in the  dusty library going over and over my reading with the librarian due to my dyslexia and getting nowhere. One fine summers day when the other students were enjoying PE I was once again stuck in the library trying my hardest to make progress with the gobbledygook letters before me. As my energies flagged the library/support teacher took pity on me and read for a while out loud so I could follow.Read More »