Happy 10th Birthday to Me! Part 3 of 3

I can’t believe that it’s been 10 years since I started writing children’s books. In Part 1 I talked about my books while Part 2 focused on what stopped me from writing. In Part 3, I’ll share what my future plans are for the next ten years…

More Mystery Adventures

I really, really enjoy writing mystery adventures. I wrote The Blue Crocodile (starring Jafari, Kendi, Fay and her dog Zoya) and enjoyed the action-packed scenes, the tension, the ups and downs, the suspense. I’ve written another action-packed mystery adventure book starring Mya Dove, her best friends Libby and Jimmy, and the D-twins (Dixon and Daria Davis). I enjoyed introducing my characters to each other! I’d love for both books to become a series someday, but that depends on what you, the readers, want. Maybe one story is enough. Maybe you’ll want more. We’ll see how it goes…

Spread God’s Word

Last year, I became a Christian again. I was away from God for around 20 years, but He welcomed me back with open arms. Yay! I’m planning a Christian children’s book series. It’ll feature two young characters who’ll learn important information, for example, how to get to Heaven, how to deal with bullies, how to pray, etc. I feel that God gave me the ability to write to spread His word. I just didn’t realise that until now.

Stop Hiding Myself

Writing a book is much easier than marketing it. Marketing a book is a bit scary for me. I’m always scared that you won’t like me because my social anxiety makes me come across as a bit strange sometimes, I think. I want to beat my fear of people not liking my books or me. I’ll be marketing more and taking the chance that people out there won’t like my stories. If I hide my work, the people who do like my work will never see it! Now that I’ll also have Christian books, it’s more important than ever to market. Those books will spread God’s word, just like Jesus Christ said we should.

What About You?

How have your last ten years been? Some of you weren’t even alive ten years ago, right? What are your goals for the next ten years? Maybe you’ll become a teenager or graduate from university. Maybe you’ll become a writer like me or start another job. Whatever you’re aiming for, I pray that you’ll reach your goals and discover what God has in store for you. We won’t always get what we want. Sometimes we get something even better…

Let’s Keep in Touch!

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Happy 10th Birthday to Me! Part 2 of 3

I can’t believe that it’s been 10 years since I started writing children’s books. In Part 1 I talked about my current books, reflecting on how things have gone since 2013. In Part 2, I’ll share why I haven’t written as many books as other authors…

I Got Sick…

I developed chronic pain all over my body. Chronic means the pain doesn’t go away. The chronic pain started in my hands in 2011, which was very upsetting. I’m a writer, I need my hands to work! Eventually the pain spread all over my body from head to toe. Vitamins help me manage the pain, but I can’t write for as long as I’d like to. I have to pace myself and accept that I can’t write thousands of words daily like some writers do. But something is better than nothing, right? If I’m in too much pain to write, I do other things instead, for example, design my book covers.

I’m Not Giving Up…

I’ll have up days and down days. Times when my body pain is too much. Times when my anxiety is too much. Times I wish I could write more. Times I wish I could be read more. But I’m still here, still writing, still reading, still learning.

I’ve learnt a lot about books over the past decade. I know a lot more about covers, blurbs and publishing. Now I know that writing a book is much easier than marketing it. Now I know that “success” is different for everyone. Now I’ve accepted that I’ll never be read by millions of people. Being “successful” or “popular” isn’t as important as making a difference to the world. I can make a difference by raising awareness of important things like social anxiety, obesity, tinnitus, unemployment, and fun topics like picking up dog poo and not picking your nose.

What’s Coming Next?

After everything I’ve been through, I’ve still got books planned for the near-future. So, what’s coming next? You’ll find out in Part 3