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THE 5 TYPES OF BLOGGERS

Posted on by staceyjaine in reblog, Stacey Jaine McIntosh

This earnt a reblog, because it’s so so true. And because I think I fall somewhere between blogger number 4 and blogger number 2. But, I’m working on it.

Ragazza Triste's avatarRagazza Triste

In my two years of blogging, with more than 800 followers, thousands of likes, hundreds of comments, I have encountered hundreds of different, talented and amazing writers along the way. I am blessed and will be forever thankful to be a part of this community. WordPress gave me a chance to be different and to embrace my weirdness.

Through the years, I’ve met a variety of bloggers, and I decided to share it with you.

Here it goes.

1. THE PASSIONATE BLOGGERS– I’d like to think that I am one of these people. They are in love with WordPress, they are driven and motivated to read, post and interact with the community. They post according to a coherent schedule, they make sure that their page is designed to attract readers and followers. They also motivate and impel current and new bloggers to do better as their page grows.

2…

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Finding Time to Write with Four Kids… Continued

Posted on by staceyjaine in Indie Author, mum of four, Parenting, Stacey Jaine McIntosh

315648CB-7C82-48E7-89C5-4E6009A747CBOne month ago, I posted about the trials and tribulations of writing with four kids and even shared some tips I employ to make it work. It’s not always easy, and I’m by no means an expert. I’d love to get paid more, but I do love what I do.

You can find that blog post here.

Since then, a conversation I had in a group on Facebook recently gave way to this post.

I’ve had a host of people tell me I can’t write with four kids. I have a significantly smaller number of people tell me, I can (and should) write with four kids.

Fact is, I ignore the host of people telling me what I shouldn’t do and listen to the one’s telling me what I should do. And, if I’m completely honest for a moment, my sanity depends on it. The momentary escape from reality. Yes, as cliched as it may be, the reason I write is to escape. It hasn’t changed in the twenty-one years I’ve been writing, and I doubt it ever will.

So, what’s an average day to a mum of four? Well you’re about to find out.

My kids for reference sake are twelve, eleven, nine and seven. My only girl is the eleven year old. That dynamic alone is hard enough. The amount of times she’s begged her dad and I for a sister… it’s only a little heartbreaking.

An average (week)day for me looks like this… note the lack of writing time. I do steal the odd minute here and there by writing on my phone. While waiting to pick my kids up, for instance. But solid blocks of time are hard to come by.

5:30am : First alarm goes off. I ignore it. For the simple fact that it feels like I’m getting to ‘sleep in’ when I do and I hit the snooze button.

6:30am: Second alarm goes off and I spent about two minutes debating whether or not I can afford to sneak an extra 15 minutes of sleep. I am not a morning person. I was before I had kids. Usually, I decide it’s not worth it and get up.

6:30am-6:45am: All four kids are woken and the kettle is switched on. Three of them are up, out of bed and eating cereal. My nine year old son, struggles to get up.

7am: I have coffee. Anyone with kids will tell you if they don’t have coffee in the morning, they simply can’t function. True story. My kids know I’m grumpy in the morning if I haven’t had coffee. And yes, they do remind me to have said coffee if I haven’t.

7:15am-7:45am: I make their lunches. It’s not fancy. I don’t bake half as much as I want to. But they don’t go hungry.

8am: This is the time I aim to have all four of them packed, ready and out the door. It doesn’t happen.

8:15am: Is when they’re typically out the door and heading for school.

9am-9:15am: I’m back home. The kettle goes back on for a second cup of coffee. Yes, I’m a coffee addict. Four cups a day is common.

9:15am-10am: Check Emails etc

10am-12pm: Housework. I do 1-2 small-medium loads of laundry a day. Wash/Hang out. Bring it in when dry. I try to sort the clean clothes weekly and put them away. Tidy main living areas/bathrooms/floors etc. Kids clean their own rooms.

12pm-12:45pm: Lunch. Yes, I’m only human and I do take lunch breaks.

12:45pm-2:15pm: Housework. See above. I have something of a roster happening.

2:15pm-2:30pm: Break.

2:30pm: Pick kids up.

3:20pm: Home from picking kids up.

3:20pm-4:30pm: Organise kids. Snacks/Homework etc

4pm-4:30pm: Wash dishes

6pm: Dinner prep

7pm: Dinner

7:30pm-8pm: Kids bed time

8:30pm-9pm: Kids settle/sleep finally.

9pm-11pm: Downtime/TV/Writing time

11pm-12am: Read in bed/Social media catch up

12am: Bedtime. I don’t usually stay up much past midnight, when I do I don’t function well the next day.

**It’s not a perfect representation as things do change from day to day but it is an accurate baseline.

So, for all those writers out there without kids, the ones who like to say that kids aren’t an excuse for not writing? I beg to differ. I’m by no means saying you can’t write with kids, because you can (and I do write around my kids) but there’s a completely different dynamic when you write around kids to that of writing when you don’t have kids. There’s more freedom. And it’s quieter. If I didn’t walk my kids to school, I wouldn’t leave the house. There’s just too much to do inside the house.

 

 

Busy as a Bee

Posted on by staceyjaine in Anthologies, Epeolatry Book Reviews, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, The Eldritch Series, The Horror Tree, Updates

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Yep. I’m still around. Just haven’t written anything since Wednesday. Been just a tad busy. However, I do have a valid reason for being so busy. I’ve been writing.

Yes, I know… I can hear you saying: But don’t you write daily? I do. And for those of you who don’t know. Yes, I write everyday. I aim for 300 words. Why such a small amount? Well, I have four kids and a husband, and a house to take care of.

Plus, I have a couple of small freelance writing gigs on the side. As well as coordinating a team of book reviewers and writing author interviews on behalf of The Horror Tree.

I’m also gearing up for the release of Twisted II which is happening in July 2018. The 13th to be exact, so if you haven’t already please purchase a copy of the first installment of the series. It contains two short stories, Red and The Summer Girl, that connect to The Eldritch Series, of which I’m currently writing Book 6.

My short story, The Wild Hunt which will appear in Twisted II is also connected to my novel series.

I’d love to say that with all this work I have going on, I’ve become a little more organized, but I’m just not sure I have. Granted, I manage to somehow catch up each week. So, maybe I am becoming better organized. One can hope, I guess.

Now, if only I could get enough time to finish reading the latest book on my TBR pile, life would be all the better for it.

 

Character Profiles : Tristan Lyons

Posted on by staceyjaine in The Eldritch Series, Zooey

Continuing on with these because they’re fun… Next is Tristan.

(Image of Charlie Hummel, courtesy of Google.)

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Basics
Full Name: Sir Tristan of Lyonnese aka Tristan Lyons (mortal world) (Later King of the Winter Court)
Nickname: None
Race: Fey
Gender: Male
Age: ~400 years old in 2011
Birthday: Unknown
Place of Birth: Arcadia

Physical Appearance
Height: 6ft4in
Weight: 185lbs
Body Type: Average
Skin: Pale
Eyes: Grey
Hair: Blonde
Scars: None
Tattoos: None

Family Relationships
Mother: Isabelle
Stepmother: Elesa
Father: Meliodas
Half Siblings: TBD

Social Relationships
Marital Status: Married
Spouse: Zooey
Child: Leo
Stepchildren: Fox, Ever and Rue

Character Profiles : Zooey Donovan

Posted on by staceyjaine in The Eldritch Series, Zooey

I haven’t done one of these in forever. So, I decided to go back to the beginning and share Zooey with you. She’s first seen in The Winter Princess aka Book One of The Eldritch Series.

(Image courtesy of Google. I wasn’t very original with this one, I’m afraid. Zooey = Zooey Deschanel)

largeBasics
Full Name: Zooey Marie-Margaret Donovan aka Princess of the Winter Court (Later Queen)
Nickname: Zoh, Zee and Salinger
Race: Half breed Faerie
Gender: Female
Age: 17 as of 2011
Birthday: 9 September 1994
Place of Birth: Knox, Maine

Physical Appearance
Height: 5ft5in
Weight: 122lbs
Body Type: Average
Skin: Pale
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Scars: None
Tattoos: None

Family Relationships
Mother: Annan
Father: Patrick
Siblings:
Andrew “Drew” Patrick Donovan
John “Jack” Francis Donovan
Ethan Alexander Donovan
Zackery Christopher “Kit” Donovan

Social Relationships
Marital Status: Married
Spouse: Tristan & Robin
Children: Fox, Ever, Leo and Rue

What Makes Paranormal Romance, Paranormal?

Posted on by staceyjaine in fae, faerie, paranormal, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Writing

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What makes Paranormal Romance, Paranormal?

Well, there’s no real hard and fast rule, so to speak, but there are a few elements that should be included.

Magic. Paranormal Romances, by nature, blend the real with the mysterious. It’s for this reason, and this reason alone that I love both writing Paranormal Romance and reading it.

In fact, I once began a story with the definition of magic, because it seemed to capture the essence of the story. So, what is the definition of magic? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines magic as the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces.

Now, not all Paranormal Romance stories has magic. In fact, Paranormal Romance can be defined as a sub-genre of both romantic fiction and speculative fiction. Paranormal Romance blends romance together with themes from speculative fiction genres such as fantasy, science fiction and horror.

As a writer of Paranormal Romance, I often find myself looking for some ‘thing’ that hasn’t been done to death. Of course, I write about Faeries and Werewolves, which has been done to death, sadly. However, I have put my own spin on things.

Immersing my own characters into a world inhabited by supernatural creatures, such as faeries and wolves. There’s the odd vampire thrown in but that’s purely because I wanted to round things out a little.

I’ve been enamored by faeries since I started delving into Celtic Mythology. I fell in love with Welsh myth, soon after diving further into my family tree and I wanted to bring the Arthurian Legends into modern times. As well as untangle Morgan le Faye from the web that had been spun, linking her to both The Morrighan and Queen Mab. So, over time I set about creating three very different characters. It wasn’t easy. But with time, I accomplished it, and I believe, I’ve done a good job in capturing the very essence of these characters. Characters, which I will share with you, in more depth, in a later post.

For now though, I’ve leave you with one question? What is your favourite supernatural creature? My favourite are faeries.

 

 

Down the Rabbit Hole

Posted on by staceyjaine in Indie Author, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Writing

7B651C74-3D1E-4BCE-AA29-BB7D1213D6C9I had another post planned for today, but it will have to wait until later.

I wanted to discuss something I stumbled upon yesterday, that threw me down a rabbit hole searching for as much information as I could.

That rabbit hole was Faleena Hopkins’ trademark on the word cocky.

I was and still am blown away by it all.

Now if you’re an indie author, as I am. You put your heart and soul into your stories. I can be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my novels. That’s why I’m so slow at putting them out. Short stories it seems are easier to get down on paper but harder to sell. Royalties can be hard to come by. Reviews even harder at times. You have to bleed for your work. And this kind of action hurts authors everywhere.

This author has trademarked a common word. One that appears in the dictionary. One which other authors have used on book titles and are now being slapped with cease and desist orders. Amazon is apparently being Amazon and removing titles, or so I hear.

i find the entire situation scary. I’ve never planned to write a series with the word cocky in the title but it does set a dangerous precedent not just among Romance authors but other genre authors as well.

And, despite knowing that there’s a high chance it will get thrown out. I worry, as I am want to do, that it won’t. And in the case that it doesn’t, this action will surely snowball, and then where will it end?

Wrapping Up April

Posted on by staceyjaine in Stacey Jaine McIntosh

I challenged myself this month.

First with Camp NaNoWrimo by trying to write 25,000 words throughout the month. I failed. Sadly. Although I did manage to put my fingers to the keyboard and write something each day, so that’s a win in a small way.

Second, was a photo challenge over on my instagram page. I succeeded in that I managed to make 30 posts, one a day relevant to the daily prompt and posting with the aid of the #campnanocampout hashtag. It wasn’t always easy to find relevant images but I persevered.

Third, was a personal one, mostly. Job hunting is hard. And it hit me that I’ve been viewing my writing like more of a hobby than a business, and I really want it to be a business. I want not only to share my writing with others, but I want to earn money from writing. When I was asked as a teen what I wanted to do as a career it was either work in some capacity with horses (I had my heart set on the police force, as I was too tall to be a jockey… but both my physical abilities and my maths skills let me down) or be a writer. And as I can make one of those happen, I’m going for it. I’ll try not to bombard everyone with blog posts and emails and such, but it would mean a great deal to me if you would join my newsletter. You can sign up here: Click Me to Sign Up!

 

Blog Schedule Update

Posted on by staceyjaine in Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Updates

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So, you might have noticed I’ve been more active on my blog over the past month. That’s because I’m trying to establish a blogging schedule, and I think I’ve settled on one that works. Finally. It’s only taken me a year to get the hang of updating monthly, so I figured now was the time to kick it up a notch.

There will be new blog updates from me every Monday. With additional content by way of author interviews and book reviews at random every month.

I’m also in the middle of creating some new content and pages for my website, so if things change slightly you know why.

With all these intended changed I’m hoping to make my webpage and blog a much more friendly and interactive place to hang out.

Please feel free to drop me a comment or like and let me know what you’d like to see in the coming months. I’d love to hear from you.

 

Finding Time to Write with Four Kids

Posted on by staceyjaine in mum of four, Parenting, Writing Advice

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I started my author journey in 2012. Many people didn’t understand why I wanted to write or how I could enjoy it. Writing can be a very solitary pursuit. One that could take you away from more, dare I say it, mundane tasks.

So, naturally if writing takes me away from every day mundane tasks, one would assume that it could quite easily take me away from my children. Not so. And, it doesn’t have to. It took me quite a few years, early on in my writing journey, before I even got published – when my kids were babies – to find the balance. However, I can successfully say, with the utmost confidence, that I have found a way to both write and be present in my kids lives. Now if only I could find a way to both write and keep on top of all those mundane household tasks that often fall to the way side while I be mum to my kids, I think I’d be set.

Now my kids are twelve, ten, nine and seven and parenting is a bit more challenging now than when they were babies, but I found some things that work for me, and keep me from feeling too overwhelmed.

Here’s five tips I employ in order to write around household chores and FOUR children.

  1. You have to make time for yourself and your writing. Write when the kids are in bed at night. Or get up early and write while every else is still asleep.
  2. Write everyday. I cannot stress this enough. Even if it’s only 10 words. Write!
  3. Get your kids involved with the household chores. That way you’ll have time to write.
  4. Use a schedule, and stick to it!
  5. Get enough sleep! A grumpy mum is no good to anybody, let alone your kids.

I hope you find these tips as helpful as I have!