Category Archives: Uncategorized

Writing Prompt: Write A Short Story Using The Title/Lyrics Of A Song. #Soul #Sunday #amwriting #music

Posted on by

Careful

 Writing prompt: write a short story using the title/lyrics of a song.

These songs just came on my ” Sweet Soulful Sunday” Spotify player randomly. Here’s a short( love) story using the lyrics from the two songs.. here we go!

I keep forgetting we’re not in love any more, I keep forgetting things will never be the same again. It all started a year ago, we fell out of love. Slowly, like a cancer eating away at an organ. It started in one area of our relationship , then spread and took over every other aspect. Before  I knew it you were  asking me to leave. To give you space to think and reflect on exactly what it is that you want.

What happened to us? What happened to the days when I thought  we were happy? Sometimes I sit down and wonder why? Why are you gone? I thought our love was real and true.   

It was spring  when we met, like a breath of fresh area  we got caught up in the whirlwind of dates, laughing, joking and getting to know this wonderful new person.  But now you’re gone, and I no longer lay down at night with you. I see you in  the street, at the library, at the cafe and every time you’re near, every time I see your face, and  hear you say “hello you can only stay awhile”  it makes me want to break down, and  cry. How comes I keep forgetting we’re not in love anymore? How comes I keep forgetting things will never be the same again? 

Every time I hear how you never want to live a lie, I wonder why? Was you ever happy or  just her for the sake of it. The love went, then the  intimacy . What is the lie, what is it that you can’t stand anymore. Are you hiding something from me?

Here’s a response from the other person in the relationship!

I’m sorry I told you to go, but it was the best thing for me as I needed to grow. Every morning I wake up, before I put on my make-up I say a little prayer for you..  wishing that you will be OK, and you will find someone new  who can love you and be true. While I’m combing my hair, and wondering what dress to wear everyday, I say a little prayer for you. That God can send you someone new and true.

We were together for a year and I swear that forever and ever you’ll stay in my heart, I will always love you. But I don’t think I am the one for you.

Break ups are hard, especially when you can’t understand why a relationship  fell apart, to live with out you will mean heart break for me.  When I was with you trust me darling there was no one for me but you, yes I’m still in love you .But I must do what’s best for me. I wish you well but now I must say fair well.

Aww! How sad it’s never nice when things fall about in relationships, but sadly they do. Be careful who you give you’re heart to. 

Happy soulful Sunday people!

Author Interview- Serious Reading.com #romancereaders #newrelease #amreading

Posted on by

Evening guys,

Last week I did an author interview over at seriousreading.com, as well as a guest blog. I enjoyed the interview you can read it by clicking right here.

Next week I hope to have a guest blog on my site, from the editor of the wonderful magazine I write for Love Life, Live Magazine. I’ll keep you posted.

 

Character Development- Guest Blog

Posted on by

Are you a writer? Or an aspiring writer? How do you find character development as a task while writing? Sometimes it can be quite a task to bring your characters alive on paper. For me as a reader I always love it when writers really develop their  characters  so well,  I can get a good sense of what a character is like  as a person. Or I have enough detail in the story to work with, to decide whether I like a character or not. 

I personally find that writing from a first person point of view ( which I love to do) also helps with character development, as you get right up and close to a character as the writer and reader. 

I done a guest blog on the topic of character development over at Serious Reading.  Here I share my top tips on developing  your characters  in your writing, you can have a read of the blog post by clicking here.

Writing Prompt: Tree- A Poem #amwriting

Posted on by

Tree

 

Write a response to today’s WordPress one word writing prompt the word “tree”.

Through rain, wind, snow and heat you remain rooted and firm.Sometimes I wish I was that firm. In life I’ve had many lessons to learn, that’s how I’ve become firm.

Regardless of what’s going on you’ll always be there, just five minutes away, in the playground where all the local kids go to play. Whenever I need shelter, comfort or a place to escape, tree, you’re  always there for me.

Each season that passes I visit you often. Sometimes weekly I’ll head out,  and seek thee -my beautiful tree. For some time to reflect, digest and de-stress , it’s the best place, as  while I sit under you somehow

Everything seems brand new,  I see the world from a complete different view. My beautiful thinking tree, I’m happy for the day I sat down on the grass and found you.

 

It’s been a bit of a stressful day today! I can’t actually write – not what I’ve sat down to work on about two hours ago, so I’ve done a writing prompt poem instead.  

Writing Prompt: Value- One For The Ladies

Posted on by

o Lol

Value

Today’s WordPress writing prompt is the word value, and I noticed it’s been suggested by one of my favourite bloggers Roberta Primentel all the way in Norway.

 Do you value yourself? Seriously do you? Don’t just say  “yeah I do” think about it- when was the last time you put yourself first? When I saw today’s prompt, what came to mind is one’s self, how much value we place on us.  Secondly, I thought of myself and how much I (now) value myself, compared to this time last year. As a romance writer it is so easy to whip up the perfect characters and everything is nice and everyone is happy, (after a few hurdles), but in reality love and life is not always like this. I’ve found in my thirty-three years of living, that the slightest thing can cause you to de-value yourself or compromise yourself. Sometimes with no thanks, or without even realising it.

You all know how much I love music, Amy Winehouse just came on my Spotifier player I thought of her, the poor girl. She was just a year younger than me  and sooooooo talented I went to one of her concerts here in London – when she was at the top of her game. And I brought the album Back to Black the day it came out, as well as her first album Frank. I have a lot of respect for her as an artist dead or alive, especially after I heard her sing live. But she died not because she was addicted to drugs and drink, what brought her to that point? In my view low self value. She valued another person more than herself ( her lover), it got so much for her the heart ache of placing this guy above herself she turned to drink and drugs to numb the pain.  I have read interviews over the years where her ex-husband has stated that he does feel guilty, and partly to blame for her death. So sad. She never got the chance to bounce back from Back to Black and come out the other side valuing herself more than some guy who clearly did not deserve her heart. Have you listened to that album? I mean really listened, not just to Rehab and Valarie the well known songs. Every every song has some reference to her heart ache. One thing I’ve always said about Amy is, out of her heart ache, came a masterpiece of art, her words, her feelings and her great voice earned her award after award all that from a broken heart and low self value.

Tell me ladies, is it really worth it? Not valuing yourself enough ? Letting yourself go so badly that you go from one extreme to another in your looks, ability to perform and be who you are?

RIP Amy.

The Amy I’ll always love

 

Last Friday, I read the morning’s papers and there was an interview with Britney Spears, how she’s fearful that her boys were growing up so fast, how she feels more herself in her thirties than her twenties. I can relate to the latter 100%. Britney is another woman who lost herself by placing less value on herself and more on someone else. We all remember watching her decline from a pop princess to a shaved headed maniac, hitting the paps with an umbrella… why? Why did this happen? We’ll never know but my guess is that a lot of it was to do with pressure of motherhood, then single motherhood , divorcing her shit-bag husband, a  breakup with Justin Timberlake all kinds of bull shit, I guess she was trying to please everyone but Britney, and it ended up with her melting down. Thank God she bounced back. Over the years, I’ve been secretly rooting for her comeback,  when I heard her her comeback song ” Gimmie More”  in 2007 the opening is   ” it’s Britney bitch” then she sings, I laughed and I still do when I hear it as it’s like two fingers up to all her haters. Good for you Britney! You’ve had so much stick over the years, I’m glad you’re back on top and doing what you do best.

 

The Britney I’ll always love

 

That’s not all what about Whitney Houston? Gosh that voice, the hair in the 80s, I love Whitney but she too lost her self worth and value  to yep- another person. Bobby Brown. We all know her story and it is so sad that she died, and even sadder how she died. Just another example of what can happen when a woman loses her self value and worth.

 

RIP Whitney

 

 

And my last female example is Lauren Hill, I am a MASSIVE  fan of her, it was her and the group The Fugees that introduced me to Hip Hop. My older sister brought me the album     “The Score” by the Fugees on tape I remember LOL, and she also brought me Lauren Hill’s album ” The Mis-education of Lauren Hill” back in the day. Lauren’s story is not so much highlighted as the other ladies in the media, but she too lost her self worth and value to another person. She also considered aborting her son due to media/industry pressure. Now she’s back  and is now on the up from watching You- Tube updates on her. Good for you Lauren!

 

Glad to have you back Lauren

So what is the point that I’m actually trying to make… a very simple one. Ladies value yourself . Choose your male mate wisely Aretha Franklin said it “R.E.S.P.E.C.T. ME! ” Remember you are like a flower you need to be watered and tended to regularly in order for you to bloom. If not you will wilt away and die- your personality, goals, hopes, dreams, ambition and self belief that you can do whatever it is you’d like to achieve. You will not value yourself as you should and may make poor decisions.

The four ladies I’ve used as examples of women who have lowered/compromised or lost their self value are extreme I know, as two of the four died, but two of the four have bounced back and   that’s the message I want to give.  Bounce back! As I said earlier in this post, this time last year, I would not say I had no self value, but it was lowered, compromised and  I was pleasing everyone but Kim. I put a stop to it, for the sake of my own sanity so I’m able to continue to  be the best mother I can be,  write, laugh, be me and over see the safety of both myself and my son.  Now life is much more better!

 The last thing I want o say is, this month is Domestic Violence Awareness month, I was alerted of this yesterday…. so  if you are in any form of abusive relationship or friendship, get the help you need NOW and get out. And if you are in an emotionally abusive relationship (this is just as bad) get the help you need NOW and try to walk away. The year is ending start 2017 with a new attitude… love you before anyone else.

Thank you to Roberta Primentel for today’s suggestion, and inspiring me to write.

 

.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Posted on by

Emotional abuse is also form of abuse many women and men suffer from, it can go unnoticed also. Say no to any form of abuse physical, emotional or even financial! No to abuse full stop.

U.G.L.Y Forever's avatarU.G.L.Y Forever

Today marks the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I will forever stand for this cause. There are so many women and men filled with embarrassment and continue to make excuses for the people who inflict this type of pain upon them. Some people are blind to that fact that they have even become a victim of domestic violence because it is the only type of treatment that they have ever received or witnessed growing up. I wanted to share a song that was almost written poetically that explains how this can feel.

Brooke Valentine – Laugh Til I Cry

Right from the start hell yeah
You were the one even without a kiss you were so much fun
Hurting me all the time but yet it felt so good
Knock me down but my love still stood

You didn’t wanna hurt me but you still did
Couldn’t see behind my back you…

View original post 247 more words

Being a writer

Posted on by

Amen! I love this.

floridaborne's avatarTwo on a Rant

catdeadline A reminder that cats make terrible beta readers but are great at inducing writer’s block.

If you’re a novel writer, blogger, or poet, you’ve heard one or more of these worthless rhinestones of advice presented to us as priceless gems:

  • “Get a real job.”  (From the man who hates his job and is counting the days to retirement)
  • “You have a better chance of winning the lotto than being a successful writer.” (From the guy who won $50 in the lotto 10 years ago and continues to pay out $10 a month for lotto tickets)
  • “It’s a waste of time.”  (From the person who spends 4 hours each night watching game shows and reality TV)
  • “You’ll never make any money writing.”  (From the millionaire who never pays for anything if he can get it for free).

I’ve found that most of the people who tell you to give up writing and do something “meaningful” with your…

View original post 246 more words

Writing Prompt & Book Excerpt: “I Disagree…asshole!” #amwriting #amreading #romancereader

Posted on by

Disagree

Today’s WordPress writing prompt is disagree. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have your own mind, and not agree with everything and everyone. In A Stranger in France my main heroine Kate,  clearly feels the same way. Here’s an excerpt from A Stranger in France showing Kate’s POV and her  explosive disagreement with her husband Danny. I’m not going to tell you what they disagree about, who, what or how  helps her to gain  her inner strength back, to stand up to Danny….. oh the suspense continues!…. You’ll need to download it from Amazon to find out…. So far A Stranger in France has received only 5 star reviews.

 

I slam  my fist down on the kitchen table to punctuate my last word. He raises his eyebrows at me in surprise. I don’t know what he’s so surprised about, how can you come out with a bullshit comment like that to the woman you’ve been married to for five years that’s offered financial and emotional support without any resentment….. up until now.

‘’Look Kate, let’s not argue.”

Suddenly, I see Danny through different eyes, the rose tinted glasses have been removed. I look him up and down and realise I’m too much for him, clearly not the type of woman he needs I’m just not needy enough. That’s what makes him feel like a man a needy woman. Does he not know behind every successful man stands a strong woman. In a rage I scream out at him.

“That’s the problem Danny, we don’t argue or even communicate for that matter, and you’ve shut me out and made me feel unwelcome in my own home. You said you’ve hated me at times! Hated me for me being who I am? For working hard and achieving? Having a plan and sticking with it? Not failing in life? Not being the one who was made redundant? What?’’

I walk up to Danny and stand under his six foot one frame, I’m no longer fearful or feel I need to censor my words. I get right in his face.

“Tell me what have I done? For you to fucking hate me asshole?”

Amazon

Writing Prompt: Unfinished Business…

Posted on by

Unfinished

Write a post for today’s WordPress one word writing prompt unfinished.

By nature I’m a little bit of a perfectionist, I like to do things just so if it means a lot to me, I feel a sense of satisfaction when I have completed something  I’m not a fan of  unfinished business. The most recent thing I’ve left unfinished for much longer than I would have liked, is a story I’ve had rolling around in between my ears since October 2015. One full year! But what I’ve learned is that sometimes it is best to have unfinished business, as when you go back to finish up – things can be a lot more better.

Since I completed all writing and edits for A Stranger in France, and finally got to release day   in between that and  waiting for my second book to come back from the editor, I’ve gone back to the drawing board on this unfinished story. Six things happened when I read what I wrote a year ago through….

  1. Shock, it was terrible! All over the place in terms of presentation, layout, and I was not a fan of how the characters/ story came across. My (tiny) experience  from writing two other books kicked in.
  2. I re- drafted on paper the story ,about four times before I settled with what I have now!
  3. I re-wrote the first 4 chapters ( not from scratch) but I removed a good chunk 
  4. I managed to take the story in a new suspenseful/mystery  direction then I originally had done.
  5. I wrote and edited the first three chapters, once happy I sent it off ( last weekend ) to my publisher for feedback, with the full book synopsis.
  6. I feel now much more happier.

So I guess unfinished business in some cases can be a blessing if you’re a writer or  hope to have some of your work published some day, you can go off learn something from another project, then come back stronger,  and finish up in a more happier place. 

I hope I do get some positive feedback, even if I don’t I will still write the story for my own satisfaction  to not have unfinished business! 

What unfinished business have you got? WHY have you not finished it? What is your plan to have it complete?

 

Where Will History Have You Seated?: The Current Racial Situation in the U.S.

Posted on by

It’s hard for me to read these statistics, and to know that in the USA with all that’s gone on and is currently going on with regard to the African – American community and the law, that sadly in the eyes of some, my son will always be public enemy #1. Just because who he is. I hope that one day, every white male will look at my son and see him as a man and an equal -not a threat, possible drug dealer or someone to be man handled roughly, oh and believe him when he says this belongs to him!  YES he is the owner of this brand new car it is not stolen! It’s his! … I hope by the time he’s a man things will change for him, and people will see him differently.